After Crossdressing and Provoking Long AoTian

Du Heng laughed.

He glanced between them. “None of you look as though you have some irreconcilable grudge. You seem more like members of the same group.”

“Exactly! We were supposed to be on the same side from the beginning.” Yu Qingtang nodded rapidly. “Didn’t you say before that you were going to protect us?”

Ye Chenyan looked between the two of them and finally understood. “You were...”

“I was entrusted with a task.” The Girl in the Bamboo remained unmoved. “Until you reach the Out-of-Body stage, I cannot allow you to leave Nanzhou.”

“But if I stay here, I’ll never reach the Out-of-Body stage in this lifetime.” Ye Chenyan raised a brow. “Did the person who told you to protect me intend to trap me in Nanzhou forever?”

The Girl in the Bamboo froze. She lowered her eyes thoughtfully. “I don’t know.”

“I am not skilled at guessing what lies in people’s hearts. I only know that once I promise to do something, I must see it through.”

Du Heng chuckled and swept his gaze over them. “There aren’t many people as straightforward as you. Most people hide another meaning behind every word.”

The Girl in the Bamboo frowned, looking uncertain.

Yu Qingtang tried to negotiate with her. “Why don’t we help you analyze it?”

She stared at him.

Yu Qingtang put on an utterly righteous expression. “Why would I ever lie to you?”

Had she met a few swindlers before, she would have known that anyone who said such a thing was usually about to do exactly that.

Unfortunately, she had not.

After some hesitation, the Girl in the Bamboo lowered her green bamboo staff. “I do not wish to hurt either of you.”

She first looked at Ye Chenyan. “Nanzhou is filled with all manner of people, and your identity is unusual. Inevitably, some will watch you from the shadows. I promised Candle Nine Yin that I would guard the Immortal-Bewildering Forest, keep outsiders without command tokens from entering, and prevent you from leaving the forest at will.”

Then she turned to Yu Qingtang with a frown.

“As for you...”

“He never said you weren’t allowed to leave. Besides, I failed to realize it before, but you should also be my master.”

Ye Chenyan raised his brows in surprise. “Master?”

Only then did Yu Qingtang remember that he did not know. He leaned close to Ye Chenyan’s ear and whispered, “She said whoever lives in the bamboo-grove cottage in the Immortal-Bewildering Forest is her master. It should originally have been you, but...”

He pointed at himself.

He had spent more than a month as her housemate and somehow reaped a huge benefit from it.

Ye Chenyan nodded in understanding, now even more certain. “You are not human.”

The Girl in the Bamboo avoided the question once again. “After passing the demon-race trial, you should be free to move about Nanzhou City.”

“But you still cannot leave Nanzhou.”

She reviewed the situation, then nodded decisively. “As I thought, I still need to take you back.”

Before she could act, Du Heng asked, “Did the senior who gave you those instructions ever tell you why he cannot leave Nanzhou before reaching the Out-of-Body stage?”

The Girl in the Bamboo paused, then shook her head gently. “I did not ask, and he did not tell me. However...”

She looked at Ye Chenyan.

“I watched you in the forest and noticed that there is something unusual about you.”

“The immortal and demonic energies within you wax and wane against each other. They are not harmoniously integrated, merely restraining one another. If you break through the Nascent Soul stage and enter the Out-of-Body stage in that condition, failure to endure it will split you in half.”

Yu Qingtang drew in his neck. “And if he does endure it?”

The Girl in the Bamboo answered with perfect calm.

“He will divide into two.”

Yu Qingtang fell silent.

Don’t tell me he could still live after being split in two.

“That is correct. To ease the abnormality in his body, he also requires a Harmonizing Pill,” Du Heng said with a slight nod. “That pill was originally supposed to be refined by the old Pill King, the sect master of the Fire Cauldron Sect. Unfortunately, he has encountered some trouble and has yet to deliver it.”

He shot the other two a meaningful look, signaling them not to tell her that someone else could also refine the pill.

Sure enough, the Girl in the Bamboo followed their lead without resistance. Her brows drew together in faint concern. “Then what will you do?”

“If the mountain will not come to me, I will go to the mountain.” Ye Chenyan pointed toward Yunzhou. “If he cannot come here, I will go find him.”

Yu Qingtang nodded along. “Doesn’t that make perfect sense?”

The Girl in the Bamboo fell into thought.

“Didn’t you acknowledge us as your masters?” Ye Chenyan raised a brow. “Shouldn’t you listen to us?”

“Not yet.” She raised her eyes. “Your cultivation levels are still weak. I cannot shelter you too much. Otherwise, you will grow accustomed to relying on the strong and cease to improve.”

Yu Qingtang asked curiously, “Did Senior Candle Nine Yin tell you that too?”

“No.” She shook her head. “I came to that conclusion myself.”

“I think it makes perfect sense!” Yu Qingtang applauded her with complete sincerity.

The Girl in the Bamboo stood there at a loss, as though she had no idea how to respond to such sudden praise.

“See? You can make your own decisions.” Yu Qingtang smoothly continued misleading her. “Sometimes you need to adapt to the situation.”

The Girl in the Bamboo said nothing.

“We can’t shake you off anyway.” Ye Chenyan draped an arm over Yu Qingtang’s shoulders. “Just follow us. If you notice anything wrong, you can take us back then.”

Though the Girl in the Bamboo sensed that something was not quite right, she could not help feeling that their argument made some sense.

More importantly, she truly did not want to fight them in earnest or risk injuring them.

“Very well,” she said. “But unless your lives are in danger, I will not intervene. Pretend I am not there.”

She put away her green bamboo staff and looked ready to leave.

“Wait!” Ye Chenyan called after her, visibly eager. “I won’t ask you to help us, but can I practice techniques against you?”

Yu Qingtang slowly turned his head. “What?”

“You wish to spar with me?” The Girl in the Bamboo blinked, then frowned slightly. “That is acceptable, but I have never helped anyone practice before. I may not know how to stop at the proper moment.”

Ye Chenyan already had his spear in hand. “Forgive me!”

“Hey!” Yu Qingtang failed to stop him and rubbed his temple in exasperation. “What about Scholar Xiao’s signal?”

“There’s no rush.” Du Heng laughed, sat down, and took a drink of water. “He only said we could follow. It wasn’t an urgent plea for help.”

“They were moving slowly to begin with. We might as well give them a head start. Besides...”

He sniffed lightly.

“There is a faint smell of blood nearby.”

Yu Qingtang asked curiously, “You have a keen nose?”

“Of course.” Du Heng smiled. “I am both a pill cultivator and an herbalist. Observation, listening, questioning, and examination are all part of my craft.”

“With that faint bloody scent in the air, some fierce beast may have hunted nearby. We should remain cautious.”

“All right.” Yu Qingtang nodded and raised his guard as well.

After all, they had already disrupted the plot. In the original novel, Long Aotian had left Nanzhou under entirely different circumstances. Naturally, the trouble they encountered would change too.

Now it was not only the Girl in the Bamboo who needed to adapt.

So did they.

Ye Chenyan exchanged only a few moves with the Girl in the Bamboo. Knowing they still had to continue their journey, he did not take things too far.

Even so, when he landed, he sucked in a breath and shook the hand that had gone numb from the impact.

Yu Qingtang immediately gloated. “You lost, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” Ye Chenyan admitted honestly, his eyes gleaming. “But I still gained something!”

He glanced back at the Girl in the Bamboo. “You do not fight like someone who uses a staff. You seem more like a swordswoman.”

She put away her green bamboo staff and answered calmly, “Swords injure people too easily.”

Ye Chenyan laughed, clearly unwilling to concede. “Next time, I’ll make you draw yours.”

The Girl in the Bamboo stared at him, then looked at Yu Qingtang.

Yu Qingtang blinked in confusion. “What?”

“Your turn,” she said.

Yu Qingtang’s eyes slowly widened. “My turn for what?”

“Two masters.” She nodded solemnly. “I cannot show favoritism.”

“He practiced. You must practice too.”

Yu Qingtang fell silent.

“...Thank you, but I’ll pass.”

The Girl in the Bamboo stepped forward. “No.”

Yu Qingtang slowly turned toward Ye Chenyan, then bolted.

“You dragged me into this!”

Ye Chenyan widened his eyes innocently. “I didn’t know this would happen either!”

The Girl in the Bamboo caught up in a single step. Looking down at him, she said, “You are weak. I will use my bare hands.”

Realizing he could not escape, Yu Qingtang skidded to a halt, grabbed hold of a tree, and circled it once with her while attempting to negotiate.

“But I’m a music cultivator. I play the qin. If you stand too close, I won’t be able to use any techniques.”

The Girl in the Bamboo considered this, then nodded. “You may attack first.”

Yu Qingtang looked toward the other two, who were clearly delighted to watch the spectacle.

“I-I really don’t need practice. You know that music cultivators usually use wide-range attacks. We mostly act as support, and when we do attack, it’s easy to hit friend and foe alike...”

“It does not matter.” Her attitude remained firm. “They can withstand it.”

Yu Qingtang stared at her.

“...Do I absolutely have to demonstrate a technique today?”

She nodded.

Yu Qingtang closed his eyes in anguish. “Can I stop halfway? That piece consumes too much spiritual power.”

In truth, he had never learned a specialized offensive qin piece at the Biehe Sect. All he knew were simple sound-wave attacks, along with physical attacks that relied on his first-rank spiritual artifact’s sturdy shell and its fondness for beautiful women.

However, the score engraved on the flute Venerable Burning Gold had shown him was a short offensive melody.

The piece had no name. It was highly powerful, but consumed an enormous amount of spiritual power.

In any case, he was rarely required to fight personally. Even when he did act, he usually supported the others from the sidelines. He had never once performed the piece properly.

Had he not been forced into it now, Yu Qingtang would gladly have left it buried until the day he could play it effortlessly.

The Girl in the Bamboo remained unmoved. “Finish it.”

She paused.

“Or receive one move from me.”

Yu Qingtang immediately sat cross-legged. “I’ll play!”

At that moment, he suddenly felt that the Lotus Realm was not so bad after all. Karmic fire might scorch his backside, but at least the activation posture suited qin cultivators perfectly.

He could hardly imagine how ridiculous it would look if spear or sword cultivators learned such a technique and had to plop down cross-legged every time they defended themselves.

Having found a scrap of amusement in his suffering, Yu Qingtang warned her, “I’m starting.”

The notes of the qin drifted far into the distance, gentle, refined, and ethereal. The strings thrummed and trembled, making every listener’s heart inexplicably quiver.

Du Heng raised a brow. His playful smile vanished, and he sat cross-legged to resist it.

Most qin pieces attacked with waves of sound. Their killing intent was forceful and decisive, their notes ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) sharp and metallic, brimming with murderous force.

Yu Qingtang’s piece was different.

It disturbed the mind.

Fine, invisible threads seemed to wind around the listener’s heart and gradually tighten.

The Girl in the Bamboo’s expression shifted. Remembering that she was here to help him practice, she waited until he had played more than half the piece before suddenly moving.

Her green bamboo staff struck the ground.

The earth trembled.

Yu Qingtang lurched sideways and lost his posture. The Lotus Realm flickered once before vanishing at once, and the tip of her bamboo staff came to rest against his forehead.

Yu Qingtang stared wide-eyed.

The Girl in the Bamboo lightly tapped his forehead, stopping precisely at the right moment.

“You are sufficiently practiced in the melody, but it lacks killing intent. Because you do not wish to hurt anyone, it becomes weak and powerless.”

“You lost.”

With an anguished cry, Yu Qingtang toppled backward.

Ye Chenyan immediately caught him and asked with concern, “What’s wrong?”

Yu Qingtang collapsed into his arms, clutched his chest, tilted his head, and feigned illness.

“Weak. Injured. I don’t think I’ll be able to practice again for ten days or half a month.”

Ye Chenyan fell silent.

The Girl in the Bamboo did the same.

Du Heng slowly opened his eyes and laughed. “I agree that you should not practice it too often. Listening to that piece fills the mind with agitation and leaves all the frustration in one’s heart impossible to dispel.”

He raised a Heart-Cleansing Pill to his mouth and swallowed it.

“If there is someone you hate, play this melody for them every day for ten days or half a month. Even without spiritual power, they might still die of depression.”

“It’s that powerful?” Yu Qingtang’s eyes widened. He patted Ye Chenyan, urging him on. “If the Esoteric Sect causes trouble again, I’ll go perform outside their gates for an entire month!”

Ye Chenyan laughed helplessly. “You would still need the ability to escape afterward.”

“Good point.”

Yu Qingtang lay back down.

“How about this?” Ye Chenyan poked his cheek. “You focus on mastering the piece. Once you finish playing, I’ll throw you over my shoulder and run.”

Yu Qingtang propped up his chin and considered whether that might work.

For some reason, provoking an ancient sect that stood as one of the cultivation world’s great powers—a thoroughly Long Aotian-like act—sounded, when described that way, less like a heroic challenge and more like a childish prank where someone rang a doorbell and ran away.

The Girl in the Bamboo shook her head lightly. “Today’s practice is over. I will leave for now.”

“Wait!” Yu Qingtang shot upright, aghast. “What do you mean, today’s practice? Don’t tell me we’re doing this again tomorrow?”

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