Chapter 59: The Middle Way, Artfully Mending Mirror Images and Water Moon

Zhao Wujiang opened the rosewood box gifted by Shen Hao, the wealthiest merchant in the world.

Inside the box were three small containers of rouge and powder from the Si-xiang Pavilion in Jiangnan.

"Precisely three small boxes? Is Shen Hao doing this on purpose or by accident?"

Zhao Wujiang took out one of the boxes. The wood of the small box was of exceptionally fine quality; though he did not know the exact material, it was undoubtedly expensive, as he could practically smell the scent of money.

He gifted one box to Li Yunrui. Li Yunrui was by no means lacking in cosmetics, but upon seeing the rouge from the Si-xiang Pavilion, she cheered with delight and planted a fierce, affectionate kiss right on his cheek.

"Hmph, women."

Cradling the remaining two boxes, Zhao Wujiang made his way to the rooms of Ling Qingxue and Liu Ruyan, presenting the last two to the two sisters.

Upon receiving this unexpected gift, Liu Ruyan was both surprised and delighted. Her gaze toward Zhao Wujiang grew increasingly tender; as it turned out, staying at the Prince's Manor was vastly different from the residence of Long Zhan—whenever Zhao Wujiang had something nice, he would proactively think of her and her senior sister.

She proactively stepped forward to wrap her arms around Zhao Wujiang's waist, lifting her alluring eyes with a wave of autumn-water-like charm:

"Do you realize you were too hasty before and hurt me? Are you here to compensate me?"

Listening to Liu Ruyan's uninhibited and coquettish remarks, Ling Qingxue stood holding the small box of rouge, momentarily at a loss for where to put her hands.

Accepting gifts leaves one feeling indebted, and accepting people's favors leaves one soft-hearted. Naturally, she liked the rouge, and she accepted Zhao Wujiang's goodwill as well, which gave her a feeling quite different from what she had experienced at Long Zhan's residence.

Although both she and her junior sister Liu Ruyan shared a cooperative relationship with Zhao Wujiang, her junior sister's cooperation with him had grown deeper and their relationship closer.

Previously, she had felt a twinge of jealousy and had even intended to advance their cultivation of the Bridal Veil Divine Art with Zhao Wujiang, only to be refused by him.

Being naturally aloof, even though she had the inclination to cultivate further, she felt too shy to bring it up a second time.

"Zhao Wujiang." Liu Ruyan teased him playfully, then suddenly turned serious, using her eyes to signal Zhao Wujiang to pay attention to Senior Sister Qingxue, who was standing absent-mindedly to the side. She said softly:

"How is your cultivation of the Bridal Veil Divine Art coming along?

The Bridal Veil Divine Art requires complete harmony of minds, and the one thing it fears most is deepening estrangement. Otherwise, in case of any emergency where you need to borrow each other's power, you might not succeed...

Even if you manage to borrow it, the power will be greatly diminished...

You and Senior Sister should practice a bit more..."

Ling Qingxue turned her face away, her eyes flickering.

————

"Turn your face back over. How are our minds supposed to connect if you keep doing that?"

On the cultivation platform, Zhao Wujiang looked at Ling Qingxue's delicate profile and spread his hands.

Ling Qingxue's fair skin seemed to be bathed in a soft glow, yet she stubbornly kept her face turned aside.

"Still angry?"

"No."

"Heh, turn around." Knowing that Ling Qingxue had a thin skin, Zhao Wujiang said gently and understandingly:

"I really had matters to attend to last night."

"You don't need to explain to me." Ling Qingxue's voice was clear and cold, but the expression on her delicate cheeks softened somewhat. Clearly, Zhao Wujiang's explanation had some effect. She slowly turned her head back:

"Let's begin the cultivation."

"If I don't explain and you harbor resentment, the Bridal Veil Divine Art might regress instead of progress, falling short at the very last hurdle like before."

Zhao Wujiang reached out, his hand gently resting against Ling Qingxue's waist, transmitting his internal energy to initiate the cultivation of the Bridal Veil Divine Art.

He could clearly feel Ling Qingxue's delicate body shiver slightly the moment his palm touched her waist.

"What is it?"

Ling Qingxue closed her eyes and shook her head, also beginning to transmit her energy to practice the art.

Just a moment ago, when Zhao Wujiang reached out, an unusual feeling arose in her heart, as if she had envisioned Zhao Wujiang embracing her junior sister Liu Ruyan, or the Seventh Princess Li Yunrui.

And when Zhao Wujiang's warm hand pressed against her body, remaining entirely proper, turbulent waves surged beneath her calm sea of heart.

She worried that Zhao Wujiang might act rashly and disorderly, yet she was also somewhat resentful that he kept his conduct strictly within the bounds of propriety.

Now, as she slowly opened her eyes, Zhao Wujiang still had his eyes closed, sensing the power of the Bridal Veil Divine Art.

[Why is Ling Qingxue getting so warm? Could it be that autumn is growing colder and she's caught a cold?]

Hearing Zhao Wujiang's inner thoughts, Ling Qingxue's eyes trembled as she stared at him. Was Zhao Wujiang an idiot? Her martial arts realm was not low; how could she possibly catch a cold from ordinary autumn weather?

He was worried she might catch a cold while they were right in the middle of cultivating the Bridal Veil Divine Art, yet his mind was still wandering.

Why would Zhao Wujiang care about her? The two of them were merely in a cooperative relationship; she would never be as affectionate with Zhao Wujiang as Junior Sister Liu Ruyan.

[I don't remember her being this warm before. Why is Ling Qingxue getting hotter and hotter?]

Zhao Wujiang slowly opened his eyes. Seeing this, Ling Qingxue quickly closed hers, pretending to be nonchalant, while a smile unconsciously tugged at the corners of her lips.

Back in her sect, her master and fellow disciples only ever cared about her progress in the martial arts realm and her martial arts cultivation, never caring about anything else.

She had never expected that Zhao Wujiang would be the first person to care about her. Although he hadn't said it aloud, his inner voice couldn't lie.

[Ling Qingxue really is pretty. Since we're pressed so close together, what would happen if I suddenly kissed her?]

Looking at Ling Qingxue's pretty and delicate face, Zhao Wujiang slowly moved his face closer, eager to try.

Feeling the robust masculine aura of Zhao Wujiang drawing closer and closer, Ling Qingxue's heart thumped violently. She decided that the moment Zhao Wujiang kissed her, she would slap him right across the face.

Yet she waited for a long time without feeling Zhao Wujiang press against her, hearing only his inner thoughts.

[Forget it, Ling Qingxue isn't like Liu Ruyan; she certainly wouldn't agree and might even beat me up.]

Zhao Wujiang's aura receded. Ling Qingxue muttered a curse inwardly, though what she cursed was unclear—most likely something along the lines of calling him a coward.

Cultivation time flew by. The two gradually entered the zone, unknowingly pressing closer and closer together, and achieved remarkable progress in their cultivation of the Bridal Veil Divine Art.

Now, the duration for which they could borrow each other's power had become more sustained and efficient.

An hour later, their progress slowed down once more. It seemed they had reached a bottleneck in the cultivation of the Bridal Veil Divine Art, unable to advance any further.

"If only Senior Sister Yun were here," Ling Qingxue sighed. Given Yun Jinshu's comprehension and talent in martial arts, had she been present, she surely could have helped her and Zhao Wujiang take a step further.

However, they had fallen out with Yun Jinshu; there was no way Yun Jinshu would help her and Zhao Wujiang.

With their progress stalled, Zhao Wujiang pondered and slowly said:

"Is it possible that for the Bridal Veil Divine Art to reach perfection, we need to truly fall in love? How about..."

Ling Qingxue met Zhao Wujiang's gaze. Of course she knew the second half of the sentence Zhao Wujiang had left unspoken. Her heart skipped a beat, and feeling that she wasn't all that averse to Zhao Wujiang, she wondered: *Should we give it a try?*

But this dangerous thought was quickly and forcefully rejected by her. She shook her head:

"You are not allowed to think about it! Now that our progress has stagnated, we can just find another way."

"Sigh, what a pity. It might actually have worked," Zhao Wujiang sighed.

"Since the Bridal Veil Divine Art can only go this far for now, and I need more power, why don't you teach me the Mirror Flower Water Moon technique?

That way, I'll have an extra layer of self-preservation and be a bit safer.

After all, you and I are currently grasshoppers tied to the same rope; you wouldn't want to watch me get into trouble, would you?"

Ling Qingxue was taken aback. She wanted to refuse, but what Zhao Wujiang said made some sense...

Today she had accepted that priceless box of rouge from Zhao Wujiang, and just now she had rejected his proposal of physical intimacy. Now she felt rather embarrassed to refuse his request to learn the Mirror Flower Water Moon technique.

She couldn't just keep taking things from him while constantly turning him down, could she? She, Ling Qingxue, was nothing like those women in the pugilistic world who leeched off men!

Yesterday Zhao Wujiang had rejected her, and she had felt somewhat displeased. Today she had rejected Zhao Wujiang repeatedly—could Zhao Wujiang possibly be happy about it?

Thinking of this, Ling Qingxue nodded. She agreed.

Before long, the naturally gifted Zhao Wujiang quickly mastered the Mirror Flower Water Moon technique. Watching from the side, Ling Qingxue was left dumbfounded, shock rippling through her heart.

Could Zhao Wujiang's talent possibly be this monstrous?

Siding with him alongside her junior sister truly was a choice she would not regret!