Firmament Sword

Sun Xiaohong stood to the side, frowning. She didn't say a word, knowing she couldn't interject in a situation like this, but she was furious inside.

Xu Luo, however, showed little reaction. He just nodded. "That's right. I'm Luo Tian."

"As the Senior Brother of the Medicine Garden, I haven't seen you do a single thing for it!" Qi Yue continued her tirade. "I hear you've even gained the approval of the Medicine King Ring, and your status has been acknowledged by the Sect Leader himself. So... how exactly do you plan to revitalize the Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden?"

Xu Luo smiled. He looked at the aggressive Qi Yue but didn't answer her directly. Instead, he countered, "What are your thoughts? You can share them with me."

"You..."

Qi Yue was speechless with anger. She'd never met such an audacious man. She had come to call him to account, yet he was acting like her superior, turning the question back on her. Qi Yue desperately wanted to ask him: 'Can't you see I'm here to cause trouble?'

"If I'm not mistaken, you must be Qi Yue, correct? As the Senior Sister of the Medicine Garden, you must have your own unique insights and ideas on how to revitalize it."

Xu Luo said with a wide smile, "You should know that I've only been in the Medicine Garden for half a year, and I've been in seclusion that whole time. As a result, I'm not very familiar with the situation here. I'll need the full support of an experienced and outstanding disciple like you!"

His words made Qi Yue roll her eyes. 'Who do you think you are?' she thought. 'Do you really see yourself as the Senior Brother of the Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden? Talking to me with that tone? Even the Elders are polite to my face!'

"I came to see you... to have a proper discussion, not to fight!" Qi Yue said, blinking her bright eyes and glaring at Xu Luo, a blush of frustration on her face.

"Hm? Aren't we having a proper discussion right now?" Xu Luo asked, looking at Qi Yue with an innocent expression. Inwardly, he found it rather amusing. 'This woman before me is nothing like the Senior Sister of the Medicine Garden,' he thought. 'She's more like a petulant little girl.'

"The Medicine Garden's annual competition: last place, every single year." Qi Yue's bright eyes flashed with indignation as she looked at Xu Luo. "That's what outsiders say about our Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden. When you hear that... how does it make you feel?"

"Well... that's just a fact, isn't it?" Xu Luo said with a smile, rubbing his nose.

"You... You're not angry at all?" Qi Yue stared at Xu Luo furiously, her heart sinking with disappointment for this renowned Senior Brother of the Medicine Garden.

At that moment, Sun Xiaohong quietly slipped away. She felt it was no longer appropriate for her to keep listening; by now, it was obvious this Senior Sister had come purely to cause trouble.

"Angry? Why should I be angry?" Xu Luo asked, looking at Qi Yue with a surprised expression.

"You are the Senior Brother of the Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden!" Qi Yue reminded him, enunciating each word through gritted teeth.

"So you really do see me as the Senior Brother?" Xu Luo asked, a faint, unreadable smile on his face.

"I..." Qi Yue was at a loss for words. 'This audacious rogue isn't just shameless... he's cunning, too!' she fumed internally. 'He won't answer any of my questions directly. He has no sense of responsibility at all! A man like this... and he expects me to acknowledge him as the Senior Brother? In his dreams!'

Just then, the smile vanished from Xu Luo's face. He grew serious and looked at Qi Yue. "Whether or not you see me as the Senior Brother is irrelevant. I don't care. I know that true respect comes from the heart, not from empty words."

Qi Yue looked up, surprised. She probably never expected him to say something like that.

Xu Luo continued, "The reason I'm not angry isn't because I don't see myself as part of the Medicine Garden, nor is it because I feel its honor and disgrace have nothing to do with me. There is only one reason..."

"What reason?" Qi Yue asked instinctively.

"Because I wasn't there for any of the past competitions." Xu Luo glanced at Qi Yue, his tone casual as he delivered the incredibly arrogant statement.

"..." Qi Yue was stunned for a moment, then she let out a laugh. The next instant, with the speed of a thunderclap, her figure blurred as she shot toward Xu Luo. Her slender, fair hands struck out like two vipers, aimed at two vital points on his chest!

Qi Yue's attack was sudden and ferocious, completely unlike anything one would expect from a delicate, beautiful girl.

And yet... she did it anyway!

Moreover, her strike was so vicious it seemed she was trying to kill him!

Xu Luo's expression showed no surprise. With a faint smile, his hands shot out, intercepting her attack despite moving second. He precisely grabbed both of her fair wrists and pulled...

"Ah!"

Qi Yue cried out in alarm. Her body was now pressed flush against Xu Luo's, her face... a mere finger's breadth from his.

If Xu Luo leaned forward just a little, he could kiss her cherry-red lips.

Qi Yue's ample bosom was pressed firmly against Xu Luo's chest. She could clearly feel the warmth radiating from his body, and even the beat of his heart.

In that instant... she froze completely.

Growing up, she had never been in such intimate contact with any man.

In an instant, a deep blush spread across Qi Yue's beautiful face.

A misty sheen formed in her gorgeous eyes as she looked at Xu Luo with a gaze that was part accusation, part grievance.

Their posture was strange. To an outsider, they would have looked like a couple in an intimate embrace, about to kiss.

Xu Luo hadn't intended to take liberties with Qi Yue; he was simply annoyed by her attitude.

"Even if you despise me and look down on me in your heart, you could at least maintain a little politeness and decorum to my face, couldn't you?"

Seeing the tears welling up in Qi Yue's eyes, Xu Luo gave a helpless smile. He immediately dismissed any thought of teasing her further.

Otherwise, a thin-skinned girl like her might do something drastic.

He slowly released her fair wrists. Red marks were visible on her skin, which was whiter than snow. Xu Luo took a few steps back, sat down in a chair, and said, "How could you be so clumsy? Watch where you're going next time."

Qi Yue stood there, looking completely crestfallen, as if she hadn't heard a word he'd said. She bit her lip hard, refusing to let her tears fall.

Then, without another glance at Xu Luo, she turned and bolted out the door.

"Well, that's it... I've really offended her this time..." Xu Luo's lip twitched. 'It wasn't on purpose,' he thought. 'You attacked me first, and it's not like I actually took advantage of you...'

Besides, there was no way to explain something like this. It would just have to fade with time.

A moment later, Sun Xiaohong's surprised voice drifted in from outside. "Senior Sister, you..."

It was followed by another woman's voice. "Huh? Isn't that Qi Yue? What happened to her?"

Sun Xiaohong sounded puzzled. "I don't know either..."

Then, the sound of two sets of footsteps drew closer. Sun Xiaohong came to the door and knocked lightly. "Young Master... Miss Xie Yurou is here to see you."

"Please show her in," Xu Luo said.

Sun Xiaohong showed Xie Yurou in, then excused herself and departed.

The moment Xie Yurou entered, she looked Xu Luo up and down, sizing him up carefully. Then she said bluntly, "You don't look like him. Not at all. You're not that mysterious fellow!"

"..." Xu Luo, of course, knew what she was talking about, but he was still left a little speechless. 'Are all the women in Celestial Brilliance this... "frank" when they speak?' he wondered.

"Hello," Xu Luo said with a smile, greeting Xie Yurou.

Xie Yurou blinked her incredibly expressive eyes and looked at Xu Luo, asking point-blank, "What's your relationship with the guy who auctioned the Nether Flower Seed?"

"And... what does that have to do with you, Miss?" Xu Luo retorted just as directly, rolling his eyes inwardly.

"Seriously? That guy never mentioned me to you? How ungrateful! I saved him for nothing!" Xie Yurou pouted, plopping down into a chair discontentedly.

"No, he's never mentioned you," Xu Luo said, a picture of innocence. Inwardly, however, he was laughing. 'Why would I talk to myself about it?'

"That's just too much!" Xie Yurou couldn't help but grind her teeth. She looked at Xu Luo and said, "He's your friend, right? Back when he auctioned the Nether Flower Seed, he was targeted by a lot of powerful groups. It was my sister and I who took pity on him and helped him escape! Hmph... and he can't even remember such a huge favor!"

"And... how do you know he doesn't remember, Miss?" Xu Luo asked, rendered speechless by her powerful logic.

"If he remembered, why wouldn't he have told you about it?" Xie Yurou's large, clear eyes were fixed on Xu Luo, as if trying to find a crack in his facade.

"As long as he remembers it himself, that's what matters. It's not the kind of thing he'd need to tell me about," Xu Luo said nonchalantly.

"How disappointing. I really thought you'd know who I am!" Xie Yurou grumbled. Then she looked at Xu Luo with vexation. "So, over the past six months, I've come looking for you several times... your people don't think I have a crush on you, do they?"

"..." Xu Luo was even more speechless now. The corner of his mouth twitched. "Surely not..."

"What do you mean, 'surely not'? They must have! Hmph, that explains why Sun Xiaohong always gives me such a weird look. She must think I'm pursuing you!" Xie Yurou looked utterly defeated, burying her face in her hands. "My lifelong reputation is ruined!"

"Ahem... Miss Xie, was there something you came to see me about?" Xu Luo felt that if he didn't interrupt, the girl would probably agonize over this all day.

"Oh my... how could I have forgotten!"

Xie Yurou was instantly like a different person. The speed of her mood swing left Xu Luo dumbfounded.

Xu Luo thought, speechless, 'The girls in Celestial Brilliance are truly impossible to figure out...'

Xie Yurou looked at Xu Luo and said, "The annual competition is coming up. Do you have any idea how many eyes are on your Medicine Garden right now? Or to be more precise... on you!"

"That... I'm not really aware of." Xu Luo wasn't lying. He had barely appeared in public for the past six months. And frankly, he didn't care how many people were watching him.

'Why worry about it? I'll just fight my way to the top!'

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