GalaxyTL
Above their heads was a layer of clouds, almost within reach. Ye Anping stood on a flying sword, following behind Xiao Yunluo.
At this moment, Ye Anping had already received the sect attire from the Profound Star Sect. They had just come out of the embroidery workshop and were on their way to his future residence.
However, he was more concerned about his junior sister’s cultivation progress than where he would be staying. After leaving the mountain cave in the Hundred Lotus Sect’s back mountain, they had rested for several days in the sect before spending about half a month returning to the Profound Star Sect. If you added the initial half-month it took for him and Xiao Yunluo to return from the Profound Star Sect to the Hundred Lotus Sect, his junior sister had been inside the Spirit Gathering Array for nearly four and a half months.
Although the time required for cultivation varied from person to person, ranging from one to six months, his junior sister had a Singular Water Spirit Root, and he had made thorough preparations before she entered the Spirit Gathering Array. Now, after four and a half months, she had not yet emerged from the array. As her senior brother, he couldn’t help but feel worried.
However, it was only a slight concern. The current situation still fell within the normal range. The events at the Chi Dragon Mansion were still about three months away. When he left the Hundred Lotus Sect, he had also obtained a token that led to the Chi Dragon Mansion from his father. As long as his junior sister finished her foundation establishment and stabilized her cultivation for a few days, they could depart from the Profound Star Sect to prepare in advance.
After flying for a while with Xiao Yunluo, Ye Anping landed at the entrance of a relatively small courtyard.
He looked around the courtyard’s surroundings and couldn’t help but feel a bit puzzled. Xiao Yunluo had said she was taking him to his residence, but this courtyard…
Although the Profound Star Sect was a major sect, it seemed a bit too luxurious for an accompanying disciple like him to stay here.
“Senior Sister Xiao, is this where I’ll be staying in the future?”
“Hm?” Xiao Yunluo paused for a moment, then nodded. “Yes, that’s right! Why, are you not satisfied?”
“It’s not that I’m not satisfied, but I’m too satisfied, and being too satisfied usually indicates that something is wrong.”
Xiao Yunluo pursed her lips, avoiding his gaze for a moment, and replied, “Well… for the next ten days to half a month, you’ll stay here. After that, you’ll move to the foot of the mountain. There are some small courtyards there, and I’ll help you get a separate one.”
“Why can’t I move there right now?”
“Well, right now…” Xiao Yunluo contemplated for a moment and said, “Right now, it’s full over there!”
Ye Anping immediately understood. This place was probably where Xiao Yunluo lived, and she was planning for him to stay in the same courtyard as her for now.
While it’s common for accompanying disciples to live with their masters, in most cases, it’s people of the same gender who share living spaces. After all, having a male and female sharing a courtyard could lead to unintended complications.
However, Ye Anping didn’t voice any objections and saw it as an opportunity for better accommodations. Seeing that he accepted her explanation, Xiao Yunluo happily introduced him to the various rooms.
“Ye Anping, this is your bedroom. It was empty before, so I’ve been using it to store some miscellaneous items. You can clean it up later. The things inside, please help me move to the main hall. I’ll tidy up here myself.”
“Okay.”
When they reached another room, Xiao Yunluo hesitated for a moment and turned to him seriously.
“This is the bathing chamber! But let me make it clear in advance, if you dare to peek while I’m bathing, then…”
Ye Anping nodded and added, “Senior Sister Xiao, I definitely won’t peek while you’re bathing. But please don’t peek at me either when I’m bathing, alright?”
“I– I won’t peek at you while you’re bathing!” Xiao Yunluo blushed and spoke softly. “Where have you seen a woman peeping at a man’s bath… What do you take me for…”
Ye Anping understood and thought to himself that he would need to prepare some anti-peeping talismans for tonight. This girl was likely to come and peek when he took a bath.
Ye Anping nodded and said, “I understand. What about the next room…”
“Ah– um, this is…”
They continued to tour all the rooms except her bedroom, and then Xiao Yunluo brought him back to the courtyard. She stood there with her hands on her hips and asked, “By the way, Ye Anping, do you know what an accompanying disciple needs to do?”
“Yes,” Ye Anping thought for a moment and asked in return, “But are you sure you want me to help you with those things?”
“… …”
“To help you bathe and scrub your back, assist you with your intimate clothes, enter your bedroom every morning to wake you up while you’re sleeping soundly, and help you change and comb your hair…”
“I– I…” Xiao Yunluo’s cheeks turned crimson, and she hesitated before answering, “You don’t need to help with back scrubbing and washing clothes– You can just accompany me during sword practice, and if anything else comes up, at most, I can ask you to help me comb my hair. The rest, well… male and female disciples…”
Xiao Yunluo hadn’t finished her sentence when Ye Anping nodded. He took a face towel from his storage pouch, covered his face with it, and walked towards his own bedroom.
“Alright, I’ll go tidy up the room.”
“Ah–”
Watching Ye Anping busily cleaning the room, Xiao Yunluo couldn’t help but clutch her skirt. These past few days, she had been thinking about one thing: how to explain to her junior sister, Pei Lengxue, that her senior brother had become her accompanying disciple.
Previously, she had sworn to Pei Lengxue that she would never develop any feelings for her senior brother. However, now…
She said she didn’t like him, but she knew deep down that she was just lying to herself.
After spending these few months alone with Ye Anping, Xiao Yunluo had come to terms with her true feelings:
Now, watching Ye Anping busily cleaning the room, Xiao Yunluo’s heart raced. After all, Pei Lengxue hadn’t come out of the Spirit Gathering Array yet.
It was good to have him stay here for now. That way, she could see him every morning when she woke up. As for when Pei Lengxue came out, if necessary, she could help Ye Anping find a nice place to move to.
In any case, as long as she acted like she had no interest in Ye Anping in front of Pei Lengxue, Pei Lengxue probably wouldn’t be too jealous.
“Um…” Xiao Yunluo bit her lip and nodded slightly. She walked over and said, “Ye Anping, let me help you clean.”
“Thank you for your kind offer, but there’s no need. This room is not very big, and one person can clean it faster than two,” Ye Anping politely declined. He then picked up a broom and walked into the room to start sweeping.
Just at that moment, there was a sudden knocking on the courtyard door from outside.
Bang, bang…
“Senior Sister Xiao! It’s me, Feng Yudie! I’m out!”
Hearing this, Xiao Yunluo was slightly surprised. She hurriedly went to the courtyard door and pushed it open.
Outside stood Feng Yudie, disheveled and unkempt. Her hair had grown so long over the past few months that it reached the ground, and it was a tangled mess.
“Where’s Lengxue?”
“Junior Sister Pei… Junior Sister Pei is still inside the Spirit Gathering Array, but she should be out soon,” Feng Yudie replied.
“Ah, I see,” Xiao Yunluo sighed in relief and glanced back at the courtyard. Then she asked, “Why didn’t you go back to your own courtyard first? Why did you come here?”
“It’s just that when I heard you had an accompanying disciple, I wanted to come and see who it was,” Feng Yudie explained, pushing her tangled hair aside. She looked at Xiao Yunluo curiously and added, “Is it a beautiful senior sister? Is she in the courtyard?”
“?”
Seeing Xiao Yunluo momentarily stunned, Feng Yudie continued, “Could it be a little junior sister?”
At this moment, Ye Anping, who had been cleaning the room, also heard Feng Yudie’s voice. He walked out of the room directly.
“It’s me.”