CH 17

Bai Wan didn't lie to her, Han Shengyao really did appear.

Lin Qianshuang felt like her mind was in a mess. Her current posture was very frisky and it looked like she was flirting with Bai Wan.

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Plus, the atmosphere that Bai Wan's words created was very thought-provoking.

Han Shengyao once forced her to watch the love between men and women when she suspected that she liked women. This obviously meant that she was extremely disgusted with the relationship between the same sex.

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Now, she and Bai Wan were caught being ambiguous together in the middle of the night and the two seemed to be flirting.

Their conversation also involved the slanderous suspicion of their master and disciple relationship.

On one side is the love rival she can't wait to get rid of, and on the other side is the disciple she has high hopes of.

Lin Qianshuang can completely imagine how big of an impact this could be on the delicate, sensitive and irritable mind of Han Shengyao.

Would she hate her at this moment?

Then wouldn't her efforts be in vain?

With this thought, Lin Qianshuang felt a little panicked and timidly called out. "Master."

Han Shengyao was not as angry as Lin Qianshuang imagined. She lightly flicked her gaze between Lin QIanshuang and Bai Wan, then turned around and simply left.

When Lin Qianshuang met Han Shengyao's eyes, her body instantly felt cold as if she had fallen into a cave of ice.

She had never seen that look on Han Shengyao before. She had unfamiliar cold eyes, as if she was looking at a complete stranger.

Bai Wan was in a happy mood after appreciating the look on Han Shengyao's face. Making this arrogant woman unhappy was the most enjoyable thing for her. Who told her to make trouble every day with a straight face and keep opposing her?

Her eyes gradually turned to the pale white Lin Qianshuang beside her.

Bai Wan contemplated for a moment, before squeezing her hand with some demonic energy and slowly let go with a slightly affirmative tone. "It seems that you... genuinely like her."

"Nonsense, how can you joke about such a thing? If you were trying to test me, then you've succeeded."

Lin Qianshuang was no longer calm. She was so anxious that she decided to deal with Bai Wan with a few words.

Seeing the scarlet figure disappear into the woods, she could care less about Bai Wan and pushed her away, chasing after the figure.

Watching Lin Qianshuang depart, Bai Wan took out a long whip and tied it to the end of a tree. She lightly jumped and nimbly tapped her toes on its trunk to propel herself upwards to its branches with the momentum from her whip, before closely following after the girl. Her skillful movements were unlike that of a pregnant woman.

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The dappled shadows of leaves from the tree's canopy shrouded the side of her face. Her ink-black eyes seemed to be covered by a thin layer of mist, making it impossible to see her thoughts.

Han Shengyao aimlessly walked around the forest. Her heart felt as if a poisonous snake was gnawing at it, and a nameless flame of jealousy sprang up.

Even if Shuang'er liked women, it shouldn't be a messy woman like Bai Wan.

She knew Bai Wan was trying to provoke their master and disciple relationship with such a low-end tactic that she could see through it with a glance.

But everytime she thought of the scene she witnessed just now, her reason seemed to collapse instantly, replaced by the desire to kill Bai Wan immediately.

Which would go all according to Bai Wan's plan.

Han Shengyao felt a strong demonic presence gradually approaching her. Although the presence concealed the pressure it emanated, She could still determine that its strength was no different from hers.

A purple light flashed in her half-closed eyes, and she vigilantly took out the bone flute from her waist. The hems of her silk robes fluttered and spread around her like a cicada's wings as a few wisps of demonic energy searched the surrounding darkness.

This demonic presence arrived and left just as quickly, as before she could use her own demonic energy to find its specific location; it had already vanished.

"Master, you walk too fast. This disciple couldn't even catch up to you with her own demonic energy."

An aggrieved and pitiful voice came from behind her.

Han Shengyao was stunned. The demonic energy returned to her body and she looked towards the source of the voice. Lin Qianshuang was leaning against a tree, panting, and her watery eyes were staring at her with gentleness.

Her chest was slightly heaving due to the shortness of breath caused from rushing over. Unable to find a proper support, she gently tugged on the drooping peach branch. Her originally plain and beautiful face was stained with a layer of thin crystal sweat, and her cheeks were smeared by a gorgeous reddish colour.

The imagery of the girl's delicate and slender body powerlessly leaning against the tree with the colourful peach forest behind her looked very beautiful.

Han Shengyao's gaze shifted from her undulating chest, to her white and slender neck, and finally to her gasping pink lips. The light in her eyes darkened and her heart soared, feeling as if it was hit hard by something.

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[Host, your weak figure is awesome! Look, Han Shengyao is fascinated by you.]

Lin Qianshuang observed Han Shengyao's demeanour and said to the system with some doubt. "Do I really look good? It looks like she's still in a bad mood, will she really patiently listen to my explanation?"

[Don't worry host, I rate your appearance a 99/100. The extra point is deducted because of your cockiness.

Also, look at the way she looks at you. It's obvious that she's stunned and can't even move, ok?]

With the system's guarantee, Lin Qianshuang felt relieved. She walked up to Han Shengyao with a slightly lowered head, a posture that made her appear as if she was about to admit her mistake. It was like a student in trouble facing her teacher, waiting for the reprimand to come.

"Master, there is nothing going on between me and Bai Wan. Your disciple was originally practising her sword skills in the Frostwood forest, but who knew that she would suddenly come here... she... uh!"

She was roughly pushed on her back and she fell to the ground of soft green grass. The pale pink peach blossoms fluttered down her eyelids, dazzling her already dizzy sight. Silk-like black hair scattered from above and rubbed against her cheeks, giving an itchy sensation.

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Lin Qianshuang's lips were deeply blocked by Han Shengyao's. Her wrists were locked to the sides of her head and a heavy object pressed against her lower body, rendering her immobile.

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The scorching hot and irresistible kiss made her lose her basic ability to think, as if a circuit was suddenly cut off and her mind went blank.

She instinctively tried to clench her teeth to prevent the harsh intrusion of a foreign object.

The hot and supple tongue wandered around her soft walls and licked her teeth. As if it anticipated her rejection, it withdrew from her mouth.

Lin Qianshuang breathed a sigh of relief and was about to push Han Shengyao away when she suddenly felt a moist touch on her left ear.

Her small and round earlobe was gently sucked and rolled around, punishing her with torturously slow licks and bites on a sensitive spot.

Just as she was teased to the point her breath became unstable, her lips were pried open again and the other party's strong tongue drove straight through the gap between her teeth. It entangled with her own warm and soft tongue and forced her to reciprocate.

Lin Qianshuang was already stimulated from the sensitive spot on her earlobe. Her sensitive tear glands felt itchy, and tears uncontrollably flowed from her eyes down to her thin chin that was slowly raised by the other party.

"Shuang'er, you're crying."

Lin Qianshuang opened her moist eyes and looked up at Han Shengyao's dark purple eyes that were up close. The strange light in her eyes had faded away, and at some point, the hand clasping the back of her head had already lowered.

Han Shengyao loosened her grip on the hands pinning Lin Qianshuang to the ground. Her cold fingertips wiped off the tears on her face, and her indifferent-sounding voice said in a lazy tone with a hint of desire:

"Bai Wan said that you like me, which is completely wrong."

"When you like a person, even if they suddenly do such a thing to you, your reaction shouldn't be like this. Instead, it should be full of happiness and joy at that moment, as well as unconditional obedience and pandering."

"So, you don't have feelings for me. Shuang'er, you're just too dependent on me."

Lin Qianshuang's confused eyes narrowed for a moment. She had recovered from the unexpected kiss, and her bitten lips were slightly swollen and burning hot.

Han Shengyao lowered her head and bit Lin Qianshuang's neck; It seemed that she wanted to remind her of today's lesson with the pain. She said in a harsh tone. "Remember, stay away from Bai Wan. You must always remember your identity as a useful chess piece of mine. Your future husband can only be the Demon Emperor, don't let anybody else touch you."

When Han Shengyao said this, she didn't use the arrogant "mine"(1), but the personal "mine".

With eyes still filled with tears, Lin Qianshuang carefully studied Han Shengyao's behaviour and thoughts.

She obviously had some thoughts about her own disciple, otherwise, with her usually lofty nature, she would never use the amiable version of "mine".

Now, she is desperately trying to deny her feelings and persuade her disciple who "likes her" to admit this fact.

Han Shengyao was a little moved by her, but the Demon Emperor still occupied the spot in her heart.

Lin Qianshuang turned her head to the side, avoiding her line of sight. Her heart was entangled with numerous thoughts.

Making Han Shengyao fall in love with herself and ridding her thoughts of the Demon Emperor is one of the system's many options, and also the next best strategy.

Her original intention was just to brush up Han Shengyao's favorability points so that she would pay enough attention to herself.

From her point of view, she sincerely hopes that the other party will find her true love, but she also hopes that the person she loves does not happen to be herself.

This goes against her original intention...

At this moment, Lin Qianshuang made up her mind to pick a good taoist companion(2) for her master in the future before she left. And after that, she must stop getting intimate with others and should start getting along as ordinary friends instead.

Han Shengyao slowly tidied her messy clothes. Her face was as cold as frost, but her heart was a little regretful.

She spoke too seriously. She wanted Shuang'er to distinguish the emotions in her heart, but she hurt her in the process.

She shouldn't have said "a useful chess piece of mine".

"Master, is the Demon Emperor really that important to you?"

Han Shengyao stared, and the hand that was still tying her hair paused for a moment. She wanted to answer "no", but what came out of her mouth was something else entirely. She coldly said. "I love him, and I will never let go of him in this lifetime."

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"Master, this disciple is willing to be your chess piece and obey your orders."

Lin Qianshuang's voice faded away as she stoically bent her knees to kneel in front of Han Shengyao with a calm demeanour. She raised her head with obedience and looked at her tenderly, "This disciple will be satisfied as long as she can gain master's trust and affirmation."

Clearly, these words were what Han Shengyao wanted to hear the most. But at that moment, when she looked into her disciple's respectful yet estranged eyes, what she felt in her heart was not joy, but a strange shuddering pain.

Han Shengyao took one last look at the lonely figure kneeling in the forest whose head hung low and forlorn. She turned her unwillingness into determination to leave and left in a cloud of demonic energy.

"Stop kneeling, the person has already gone far away. Sister Shengyao can't see you even if you continue to kneel and admit your mistake."

......

(1) T/N: HS has been referring to herself arrogantly in third person with "this seat" the entire time, which doesn't really make a lot of sense in english so I've been using "me/my/mine" instead. Her using the regular and personal pronouns shows that she has lowered her stance and does not consider LQ as an outsider anymore.

(2) T/N: A Taoist companion usually refers to (in this case) a cultivator's husband/wife/lover.

T/N: I'm not sure if this is the Author's or MTL's fault but the paragraphs have been switching between past and present tense so I apologise if it gets a little confusing/messy at times. ^^'