Xu Chang'an didn't ask her for help, and Li Zhibai bypassed her to seek out the Profound Sword Bureau.

This is the real reason for her anger. Just Xu Chang'an alone isn't enough to make Zhu Pingniang gnash her teeth in hatred.

"..."

Xu Chang'an blinked upon hearing this.

Is this what the teacher thinks?

At the time, he only made the request because the atmosphere demanded it, yet the teacher actually thought of the Profound Sword Bureau, warming his heart for a moment.

However, listening to Zhu Pingniang's mutterings, Xu Chang'an rubbed his forehead.

Now he understood why she was angry.

Women... even someone like Senior Zhu, can really be—troublesome.

"Senior, the teacher ought to know you've been busy in Beisang City for years and didn't want to trouble you, so he just sought some information," Xu Chang'an explained.

"Stop speaking well of her." Zhu Pingniang sat back down, tilted her head away from Xu Chang'an, and slowly said, "How has she cared about me in these years? How does she know what I'm doing? She's only concerned with her cultivation and that bit of alchemy... can't be bothered to talk about her."

Ever since she fell into the brothel, Li Zhibai hadn't come to see her again, even when returning to the mountain, she had to take the initiative to speak with her.

This is the real reason why Zhu Pingniang seemed like a powder keg ready to explode at the slightest touch.

Hearing this, Xu Chang'an fell silent.

The affairs between girlfriends were something he dared not meddle in at this time.

"..." Zhu Pingniang's chest heaved violently for a while before she calmed down and asked, "Chang'an, do you know why I'm so upset?"

Xu Chang'an shook his head.

"I, of course, know Ah Bai's temperament. I know she's busy daily and doesn't want to disturb my heart refinement... after all, she thinks I'm refining my heart," Zhu Pingniang said. "She doesn't like going out, doesn't like noise, naturally doesn't like brothels, all of this I know..."

Xu Chang'an quietly listened.

Zhu Pingniang sighed and looked up, "But as a woman, even knowing it's for one's own good, I still hope she could come to see me more often... can you understand that?"

After joining the brothel, surrounded by the scent of rouge, she became more and more like an ordinary woman.

Or to put it another way, Zhu Tongjun's adolescence came late.

"I understand." Xu Chang'an nodded.

"Eh?"

"I understand."

Xu Chang'an said frankly.

He still remembered when he was just beginning to cultivate, saying he wouldn't go to the Celestial Bright Peak to see Yun Qian, yet went there every day without missing a day... even affecting Yun Qian's cultivation with Wen Li—after all, spending time with him at night left no time to review what she'd learned during the day.

But he still went daily because, compared to benefiting Yun Qian, making sure she wasn't anxious was more important.

In this regard, he undoubtedly did better than Li Zhibai.

But here's the problem.

He and Miss Yun were married, but what were Li Zhibai and Zhu Pingniang?

The teacher has no reason to care so much about Senior Zhu's thoughts...

Hmm, this is a thought that can't be spoken aloud, or else Xu Chang'an felt that an angry Zhu Pingniang could just swallow him whole.

——

"You're better than your teacher," Zhu Pingniang said as she stared at Xu Chang'an for a while, then crossed one leg over the other, her toe sliding subtly toward Xu Chang'an.

Xu Chang'an wanted to look away.

Because he didn't know when, a jade wine cup appeared in Zhu Pingniang's hand, swirling with the color of Jade Dew inside.

The pavilion was filled with the fragrance of wine, its rich aroma noticeable even without conscious breathing.

The crystal-clear liquid swirled gently in the white wine cup.

A few drops of the fine wine spilled over the rim, dampening the hem of Zhu Pingniang's skirt.

"I have a good temper," Zhu Pingniang squinted, raising her head to sip the wine all at once, "I'm rarely displeased with Ah Bai... but today I am, and with good reason."

Saying this, Zhu Pingniang leaned forward, produced another wine cup, and pushed it in front of Xu Chang'an.

Xu Chang'an: "?"

"It means I want you to drink with me, don't you get it?" Zhu Pingniang smiled.

Xu Chang'an picked up the wine cup and raised his head to scrutinize Zhu Pingniang.

The woman's long, jet-black hair cascaded like a waterfall, her figure highlighted exquisitely by her posture, but looking at her indistinctly... Xu Chang'an always felt Zhu Pingniang's gaze on him carried a hint of danger.

Happy one moment, annoyed the next, and now so intimidating.

It's quite strange, almost as if she's not in the right state of mind.

But recalling that the Zhu Tongjun in the teacher's scroll and Zhu Pingniang are the same person, her transformations into anything shouldn't be surprising.

After all, there's nothing with a greater gap than Fairy and Madam.

Isn't there a saying, a woman's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea.

"Stop dawdling." Zhu Pingniang thought for a moment, then took a rapier out from her storage ring and placed it on the table.

Xu Chang'an, being a sword cultivator, was instantly drawn to the black-and-white interwoven scabbard.

The scabbard was lustrous as jade, gleaming faintly. From the sword's body, it was less than half the width of a usual sword, lacking the imposing aura of common weapons, but it emphasized being thin and long.

It seemed like a lady's sword.

"Here." Zhu Pingniang pointed at the sheathed longsword on the table with nostalgia, saying, "This sword... was something I prepared for her a long, long time ago. Unfortunately, she gave up on cultivating swordsmanship after a few years, so it was never gifted, but now it seems fitting to give it to you."

"Senior, this doesn't seem right," Xu Chang'an reminded her.

After all, he just desired a low-level spirit sword around the eighth grade, nothing this troublesome.

"Stop talking nonsense, if I say it's suitable, then it is." Zhu Pingniang slapped the table, "Drink up!"

"..."

With Zhu Pingniang staring at him, there was naturally no place to escape. Xu Chang'an picked up the wine cup and drank it all in one go, then raised his eyebrows.

It's Jade Dew?!

But somewhat different from ordinary Jade Dew, its taste was more intense.

"It's wine specially made for me by Qingluo," Zhu Pingniang explained, "Tastes good, doesn't it?"

"Yes." Xu Chang'an responded, then lowered his head, with a strange look in his eyes.

He remembered something.

Zhu Pingniang... once gave a jug of Jade Dew Wine to Li Zhibai, but it was then passed on to Qinling.

If it were in the past, he wouldn't think much of it.

But now discovering that Zhu Pingniang was eyeing Li Zhibai, the gift of Jade Dew Wine as a hint altered its entire meaning.

Xu Chang'an immediately understood why Qinling said Zhu Pingniang would go out of her way to trouble her.

A gift intended for one's object of affection was passed on to another admirer?

Gosh.

What a tangled relationship.

Turns out, Qinling was fully aware of Zhu Pingniang's feelings.

"Qingluo's Jade Dew Wine doesn't have the Golden Wind Wine to go with it, so this kind of drink is meant for one person," Zhu Pingniang murmured.

Indeed.

Even Yun Qian and Xu Chang'an when drinking at night would each have their own drink, as Yun Qian couldn't tolerate spicy food, while Xu Chang'an complained the wine wasn't strong enough.

Xu Chang'an looked at the wine cup in front of him and blinked.

Since Zhu Pingniang said the wine was for one person, why was she giving him a cup and forcing him to drink?

This was against her own statement.

"Want to know why sister... wants to drink with you?" Zhu Pingniang immediately guessed Xu Chang'an's thought.

She gently swept her black hair behind her ear, elegantly refilling both her and Xu Chang'an's cups.

"One more, and I'll tell you." Zhu Pingniang was the first to pick up the cup and down it, then wiped the corners of her mouth, staring at Xu Chang'an.

The drink was subtly elegant in flavor and carried a slight fruitiness, making Xu Chang'an somewhat hesitant.

Things... were developing entirely out of his comprehension.

How did he end up drinking with a senior in a brothel?

But with Zhu Pingniang's daunting gaze upon him, he wasn't one to retreat.

He drank the wine.

Zhu Pingniang smiled with satisfaction, poured herself some more wine, gestured toward Xu Chang'an, then drank it all, a blush arising on her face.

The wine trickled from the corner of her lips down to her jet-black, cinched waist-length skirt, darkening its color.

"This wine is meant for one, and I gave it to Ah Bai, but she took it to share with you," Zhu Pingniang told Xu Chang'an: "I, sister, haven't even had a drink with Ah Bai, yet you beat me to it, so now, it's made up to me."

Round up, and it's as though she drank with Li Zhibai.

Zhu Pingniang stretched lazily, licking the corner of her lips: "If you think about it, we've both drunk with you, the next time I find her, she can't refuse me by saying she doesn't like drinking."

Xu Chang'an: "..."

Drinking with the teacher?

No wonder Zhu Pingniang was looking at him so menacingly earlier, it turns out she was jealous.

But the issue is, it was Miss Yun who did it...

Xu Chang'an looked at the satisfied Zhu Pingniang and was a bit confused for a while.

She thinks he and the teacher drank together.

It's a misunderstanding.

What should be done now.

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