Chapter 183: Enmity and Gratitude Can Be Repaid, But What About That Affection?

Their interaction unfolded with a distinct, almost logical pattern: if there was a trigger condition, affection was permissible; if there was no trigger condition, affection was forbidden.

Lu Xingzhou clutched his chest and slumped into his wheelchair. "That little demoness drugged me before she left..."

Dugu Qingli looked bewildered.

A mix of exasperation and amusement swelled within the white-haired girl. She even felt like drawing her sword and chopping him to pieces. So, she actually raised her sword, poised to strike, just to scare him.

But the moment her sword moved, Lu Xingzhou reacted with lightning speed, seizing her wrist. Dugu Qingli was startled. Although her move was merely a feint, someone of her skill level meant that even a fifth or sixth-rank martial artist would likely be unable to clearly perceive the sword's trajectory, let alone accurately grab it.

When they last parted, Lu Xingzhou was only a lower sixth-rank. How much time had passed for him to reach fifth-rank already? His eyesight was precise, and his moves were swift. His potential was undoubtedly far greater than that chart-topping Qi Tuizhi... As her mind deeply analyzed Lu Xingzhou's strength, a powerful force surged from his grip, pulling her forward.

Dugu Qingli hadn't expected him to become so strong. Caught off guard, she was pulled onto his lap and held. Annoyed and flustered, she pushed against his chest. "What are you doing...?" As she spoke, her hands subconsciously pushed a couple more times. His chest felt different too! Much more muscular. What had happened to him in the intervening days?

"I was defending myself," Lu Xingzhou replied, "Someone was trying to cut me with a sword."

"Let me go!" Dugu Qingli struggled. "I told you, we don't have that kind of relationship!"

Lu Xingzhou recalled the "one, two, three, four" list the white-haired girl had given him before their last parting – a list so dry it could extinguish all desire and make one laugh.

"But I missed you, Qingli."

Dugu Qingli's struggles momentarily paused, then quickly resumed with renewed force until she broke free, standing coldly before him. "I see no sign that you missed anyone, especially not me. You're getting cozy with that demoness from the Joyous Union Sect."

Lu Xingzhou said nothing, simply smiling as he watched her. The white-haired girl's expression was icy, appearing like a block of ice to outsiders. But in his eyes, it was utterly adorable. Dugu Qingli particularly disliked the way he looked at her, as if she were a "pretty flower," and turned her head to avoid his gaze. This only made her seem even more endearing.

"Since you captured her before, why did you let her go? And why make her promise not to target me? Am I afraid of her?" Dugu Qingli asked, turning her head. "You can tell her to withdraw that demand. Let her come find me, or I'll go find her."

Lu Xingzhou couldn't help but chuckle.

Dugu Qingli turned back, glaring at him. "What's so funny?!"

"Initially, I let Chu Yun go because I wanted to establish a connection with the Pei family; her identity offered a useful leverage point. But having released her, while I personally fear no repercussions, I didn't want her release to cause you any trouble," Lu Xingzhou said softly. "Do you truly see no sign that I was thinking of you?"

Dugu Qingli choked for a moment. "I'm not afraid either!"

Lu Xingzhou smiled.

"Don't you dare laugh," Dugu Qingli said, striving to maintain an icy demeanor. "Everyone else looks at me with caution, so why do you always smile when you see me?"

"Alright, alright, I won't smile."

"You initially wanted to connect with the Pei family. What about now?"

"Now I feel there's not much to gain from them. They're an aristocratic clan with different perspectives... We can have private interactions, but they're not partners for equal cooperation. Or rather, it's not the right time."

"So, you have private interactions with Pei Chuyun? How exactly do those happen?"

"I was referring to Pei Yu..." Lu Xingzhou said, taking her hand. "Alright, let's stop talking about other people. Don't you have anything else to say to me?"

"No. Oh, wait, yes," Dugu Qingli said, looking down at his hand. "Let go of me."

Lu Xingzhou sighed and released her hand. Seeing him sitting dejectedly in his wheelchair like a pathetic puppy, Dugu Qingli suddenly felt a strange urge to laugh. She suddenly understood why he always smiled when he looked at her.

"We are just friends, and we shouldn't be so casual with physical contact." Dugu Qingli tried hard to sound serious. "Last time was an accident, and we've already clarified it. You can't pretend to forget."

"If you don't want to be friends, then what terms do you propose?" Lu Xingzhou asked.

"Isn't it simple? We can just break ties. I was thinking of it anyway."

"Why would you want to break ties with me?"

"You reek of that Joyous Union demoness. It's disgusting."

"Then we're back to square one, aren't we? Shouldn't Your Ladyship, the Heavenly Jade Saintess, occupy my time more, leaving the Joyous Union demoness no opportunity?"

Dugu Qingli stood there expressionless, her "CPU" seemingly overheating. After a few seconds of blankness, she suddenly burst out angrily, "It's all your fault! I can't break through to the third-rank because of you and Shen Tang!"

Lu Xingzhou was momentarily stunned. If Dugu Qingli's cultivation required her to forget these things, then blaming him might make sense. But what did Shen Tang have to do with it? He didn't know that Shen Tang's "three soul-piercing questions" before Dugu Qingli left had been far more deeply affecting than any intimacy between the two of them. If Dugu Qingli occasionally thought of Lu Xingzhou during this period, it was invariably accompanied by Shen Tang's profound inquiries.

"I'm breaking ties with you," the girl declared seriously. After a moment's thought, she swung her sword and snipped a tiny bit of her garment hem. "'Cutting the robe to sever ties,' isn't that how it goes?"

"That's not a robe," Lu Xingzhou reminded her. "And it's dirty and tattered. Are you seriously going to cut that and throw it at me? How about cutting your hair instead?"

Dugu Qingli was momentarily confused. Wasn't "cutting the robe" meant to be thrown on the ground? Why would she give it to him, and then be ridiculed for it being dirty and tattered? But then a thought struck her: she was currently wearing his hair on her middle finger, which counted as him cutting his hair. So, if she cut a bit of hers and gave it to him, wouldn't that complete the "severing ties" ritual? She then genuinely snipped a small lock of her hair and offered it to him.

Lu Xingzhou opened a sachet and, smiling, carefully placed the strand of white hair inside.

Dugu Qingli's eyes widened. It was only then that she remembered that giving hair or carrying it in a sachet was actually a symbol of betrothal or deep affection, signifying that loved ones would always be together.

The girl trembled with anger. "Lu Xingzhou! You shameless man! Give me back my hair!"

"No, I won't give it back. It's hard enough to get something to remember you by," Lu Xingzhou kindly reminded her. "The one you have on your hand isn't good quality hair. Why don't you throw it away? I can cut another lock for you?"

"I'm certainly not throwing it away! I'll use it later for a curse ritual against you!" Dugu Qingli retorted furiously, then turned and walked away.

If she stayed any longer, her two months of cultivation would completely collapse. She had thought her emotions had entirely cooled, that she would only occasionally recall him, and that her heart contained only her sword. But in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, all sorts of messy emotions—shame, anger, frustration—had resurfaced. Her sword training had been in vain. If she lingered, her cultivation might even regress!

Dugu Qingli dared not stay. She immediately went directly to the Imperial Preceptor's Abode.

Ye Tinglan stood silently on the Star-Gazing Platform, watching her disciple approach with a straight posture and slow steps. Dugu Qingli looked up, and a strange, unfamiliar perception arose within her: *My master is so beautiful.* Before, when she saw her master, she only felt awe and solemnity; she had never considered her appearance. But now, for some reason, her first reaction was "beautiful," more beautiful than anyone she had ever seen. That Joyous Union demoness wasn't even worth a single strand of her master's hair.

To outsiders, Dugu Qingli's advance was still as sharp as a sword and as cold as ice. Yet, Ye Tinglan subtly frowned. "Your mind is unsettled."

Dugu Qingli took a deep breath, quickly expelling extraneous thoughts from her mind. "Master once said that my journey to protect Shen Tang was also a worldly trial, to experience more of human affairs. But these worldly affairs are chaotic and disturb the heart, making it less peaceful than before. Is this truly beneficial?"

"Only by immersing oneself in worldly affairs can the heart be disturbed. What have you immersed yourself in?"

Dugu Qingli thought for a moment. "Grudges?"

*She's even learned to lie now...* However, it was a well-crafted lie, perfectly aligning with Ye Tinglan's assessment of her disciple's recent behavior. "Do you have an old grudge with the Pei family girl?"

"Yes. She ambushed me in the martial arts world." Dugu Qingli seized the opportunity to ask, "If my cultivation requires me to forget worldly affairs, like the moon reflected in a cold river, then should I also forget grudges and not dwell on them?"

"Encouraging people to forget grudges is indeed a teaching of some schools," Ye Tinglan replied, "but our sect does not advocate it."

"Then what should be done?"

"Repay kindness, avenge wrongs. Act freely and let your thoughts flow unimpeded."

"...Master, are you sure you're talking about *my* cultivation?"

"Your master speaks of immortal cultivation... If one cannot be free and unrestrained, acting as one pleases, how can one be an immortal?"

Dugu Qingli was silent for a moment. "But Master has many worries."

"That's why your master also finds it hard to become an immortal," Ye Tinglan smiled. "But you have more hope than I do."

Dugu Qingli delved into deep thought, then abandoned it.

"Your cultivation path, being inherently detached and unemotional, naturally means you don't have as many worldly concerns as others, which in itself is a form of liberation," Ye Tinglan explained. "However, being detached doesn't mean being ignorant. Not understanding worldly affairs or human nature makes one a stone, not an immortal. Therefore, you must experience them. By having you protect Shen Tang, you could witness the vagaries of human relationships, see siblings turn against each other, and observe disciples betray their sect... A month of such observation can be more insightful than ten years. Once you awaken from this 'great dream,' you will realize that worldly affairs are merely fleeting, and then you can transcend."

Dugu Qingli nodded.

Ye Tinglan continued, "As for experiencing the mundane world, it naturally entails encountering kindness and enmity... Those who have received kindness should repay it, and those who have suffered wrongs should avenge them. From then on, one's spirit will be lightened, and all shackles will be removed. This too is a form of cultivation."

Dugu Qingli pondered for a moment. "Kindness, grudges, emotions, vengeance... Kindness and grudges can be repaid or avenged, but what about emotions?"

"Emotions? How could someone like you possibly fall in love..." Ye Tinglan shook her head. "Even if you did, it would be slow and cold, and after a year or so of secluded cultivation, you would forget it completely. It's like the bright moon reflected on a river; it appears as if there's a moon on the river, but in reality, nothing is left behind."

Dugu Qingli looked thoughtful. "Master, do you mean... there's no need to resist?"

"There's no need to resist in the first place. Go with the flow; that is the Way."

Compared to sects like the Huo family or even figures like Gu Zhanting, the most striking difference with Heavenly Jade Holy Land was that they genuinely practiced immortal cultivation; their entire way of thinking and perspective was fundamentally different. Ye Tinglan's responsibilities prevented her from escaping worldly affairs, but Qingli had the potential to transcend. She held great expectations for her disciple.

Seeing Dugu Qingli in thought, her previously somewhat unsettled mind had now calmed, and there was even a faint aura of a breakthrough in her cultivation realm. Ye Tinglan was very pleased with her disciple's comprehension and kindly beckoned. "Why are you standing so far away? Come here and let Master see. It's been a while; how much have you grown?"

Dugu Qingli walked onto the Star-Gazing Platform, and Ye Tinglan smiled as she gently took her disciple's hand, as if to gauge her growth. The moment her hand touched, her expression subtly froze. "Why is there hair wrapped around your finger... Strange, what kind of hair is this?"