Chapter 41: Second Layer Of The Mysterious Pass

Chapter 41: The Second Threshold of the Mysterious Gate

Well, getting back to the main topic, everyone had been chatting normally all evening, thinking you’d let those awkward moments go, but it turns out you’ve been holding a grudge all along, waiting for this?

Zhao Changhe was on the verge of tears; there was no way to respond to that!

What made it even more awkward was that this time, his mind had indeed wandered a bit, and he couldn’t honestly claim he hadn’t thought of anything.

No help for it—that’s just how us virgins are... Zhao Changhe’s face flushed as he admitted honestly, “I really hadn’t thought about it before... That was just banter with the brothers in the stronghold, don’t take it to heart.”

Yue Hongling’s brows arched sharply.

What did he mean by “hadn’t thought about it before”? So now he was thinking about it, was he?

Then Zhao Changhe said, “But could you stop touching me? I’m still a normal man, after all... Besides, it’s just about sucking in my stomach and breathing deeply—I can do it, I can do it, there’s really no need...”

Yue Hongling’s hand nearly turned into a bloody palm print as she gritted her teeth and snapped, “Who’s touching you! I’m waiting for you to draw in external breath, helping you guide your dantian to blend and circulate with your internal breath! Do you think the method of internal breath inhalation is just about how to breathe? Without someone guiding you, how would you practice it!”

Zhao Changhe opened his mouth, then hung his head. “Then go ahead and touch.”

Yue Hongling: “?”

How did it end up seeming like I was taking advantage of you?

I came to you for refuge, you sought my guidance, so I selflessly taught you. We were supposed to be open and aboveboard, a fine tale—how did it come to this?

She clenched her teeth and pressed harder. “Deep breath, focus your mind...”

“Boss! Boss!” The door burst open with a bang, and a bandit ran in, panting. “Outside... uh...”

Yue Hongling turned her head expressionlessly to look at him, then slowly looked down at her own posture—leaning over, hand reaching down toward Zhao Changhe’s lower abdomen. There was no need to imagine what this looked like to others at that moment.

Her reputation was utterly ruined now.

No, I’m not Yue Hongling; I’m a woman who looks a bit like Yue Hongling.

Zhao Changhe’s face stiffened. “What is it?”

“Uh, some brothers went to the back mountain and found a trap had been triggered. It didn’t seem like an animal—someone might have entered the mountain.”

Zhao Changhe jolted, all his chaotic thoughts vanishing in an instant. He stood up abruptly. “You did well... Everyone drank a bit too much tonight; this is indeed the perfect time for a night raid. I overlooked that...”

Pacing a couple of steps, he said to Yue Hongling, “Yue... Yuer, stay hidden in the room, don’t come out. I’ll go check the situation and also reassign people to guard this place.”

Yue Hongling twitched the corner of her mouth and turned her head away without answering.

Zhao Changhe strode out the door, and faintly he could still hear the bandits outside saying, “Boss, the sister-in-law really does look a bit like Yue Hongling. So the boss has secretly had a thing for Yue Hongling all along, huh...”

Zhao Changhe’s muffled voice faded into the distance: “None of your damn business... Go get people to guard the place, don’t let your sister-in-law get startled.”

“Of course, leave it to us, bro! If your sister-in-law loses a single hair, I’ll twist my head off and give it to you as a chamber pot!”

“The hell you will! Get to work!”

Yue Hongling suddenly felt like laughing. Whose reputation was really being ruined here? After all, no one knew this was the real Yue Hongling; her reputation wasn’t actually damaged. Instead, the rumor that Zhao Changhe had a secret crush on Yue Hongling was now impossible to shake.

Would that Saintess Xia chop his head off or something...

Just as she was thinking this, her heart stirred, and her long sword was suddenly in her hand. “Which master has graced us with their presence? Why not show yourself?”

A muffled voice came from the treetops outside the window: “It’s me.”

The voice sounded very weak, as if from an invalid.

“Cui Yuanyong?” Yue Hongling was dumbfounded. Damn it, now someone really knew it was Yue Hongling...

No, what are you doing here!

She was so furious she wanted to kill him. “You’re even more injured than I am, and you come running to a mountain stronghold in the dead of night? Since when did the Cui family care so much about a low-level wanted criminal? Even if you were serious about catching one, you wouldn’t risk your life like this!”

From outside the window, the sickly voice said, “I heard a rumor that the bandit chief’s wife at the Beimang stronghold was quite beautiful and even looked a bit like Yue Hongling. So Zhao Changhe had that taste... I thought it didn’t sit right—what if it really was you, captured by bandits? I couldn’t rest easy, so I came to check. Now it seems I came for nothing. Not only that, but I came at a very bad time.”

Yue Hongling’s face darkened like the bottom of a pot. “When did you arrive?”

“Just now... right when you leaned into him and your hand was reaching down. Truly, at times like this, a woman’s spiritual awareness is nearly zero... The moment he left, you became incredibly alert. I didn’t do anything, and you sensed me...”

“Clang!” Sword aura blazed, killing intent soared.

“Cui Yuanyong, go to hell! The reason I sought refuge with him, the reason I fell into that trap—it was all your fault from start to finish!”

“Clang, clang, clang!” The clash of swords faded into the distance.

“Cough, cough... I meant well, just accidentally interrupted your pleasure. Why be so harsh...”

“I’ll kill you!”

“Truly, only women and petty people are hard to deal with... Farewell.”

“If I hear even a whisper of gossip outside, I’ll—I’ll be at odds with the Cui family forever!”

...

“So it was a misunderstanding? The other party meant no harm?” Back in the room, Zhao Changhe clasped his hands, looking speechlessly at Yue Hongling’s red-faced fury. He suddenly wondered if Cui Yuanyong’s real job was to be a wingman...

Look at how this turned out...

But to be honest, he really didn’t want things to become like this. There was truly nothing between him and Yue Hongling; it only brought trouble to both sides. Not only did it make their interactions awkward, but it might even mean that to avoid suspicion, they could no longer even be friends.

He didn’t know whether to thank this Brother Cui or to kill him.

But just as he was thinking that they might not even be friends anymore, Yue Hongling suddenly spoke. “There’s a spy in your stronghold.”

Zhao Changhe was startled, then nodded. “Yes. You only fell into the pit this evening, and before midnight, Cui Yuanyong, who was in the city, had already heard about it. Clearly, someone’s been gossiping.”

Yue Hongling said, “Do you know who it is?”

“Yes.”

“Need help dealing with it?”

“Not for now. When it’s time, I can handle it myself... But if you want to vent, we can deal with it now.”

“Since you have a plan, no need.” Yue Hongling said flatly, “Alright, since it was a misunderstanding, don’t dwell on it. Sit back down, and I’ll guide your breathing.”

Zhao Changhe was dumbfounded. “You... still...”

“What? Why not? Cui Yuanyong is from a good family; he shouldn’t be as vulgar as village gossips spreading rumors. Besides, Yue Hongling has a clear conscience. I’ll do what I ought to do, regardless of what others say.” Yue Hongling glanced at him and suddenly smiled. “What, did you think I’d break off our friendship over something like this? What fault is there of yours in this matter? Why would I take it out on you?”

“I...” Zhao Changhe pressed his lips together and finally said no more, sitting down quietly.

It was still the Yue Hongling in his heart—bold and straightforward, clear in gratitude and grudges, unchanged.

The setting sun’s red plume cannot be confined. How could she be troubled by mere worldly gossip?

Zhao Changhe sat there quietly, and Yue Hongling again placed her hand on his lower abdomen. As he took a deep breath, a gentle flow of true qi entered from his abdomen, merging with the external breath he had drawn in, as if demonstrating. “Remember this feeling. From now on, breathe in three long and two short, gradually regulating your breath. When you get used to it, you won’t need to do it deliberately anymore.”

“Understood.”

“I’ll teach you the mental method and incantation. Memorize them...”

The female master’s faint fragrance still lingered, her hair still brushed his cheek, but Zhao Changhe could no longer harbor any lustful thoughts. Her crisp, decisive words came one by one, and Zhao Changhe sank into the cycle of breathing and internal qi circulation, gradually entering a meditative state.

Yue Hongling’s hand had long since withdrawn. She too sat to the side, eyes closed, circulating her energy to heal her injuries.

I don’t know how long passed before Zhao Changhe opened his eyes. In the darkness, it seemed a light flashed—a spark in an empty room.

The second threshold of the Mysterious Gate.

Yue Hongling opened her eyes almost simultaneously and smiled faintly. “On your first lesson, meant only for familiarization, you sensed a breakthrough approaching and directly broke through without hesitation. That fierce decisiveness, true to your name—like a long river surging, unstoppable.”

"...You flatter me. I think my name is rather rustic. Speaking of your last line, if only it were a verdict from the Book of Chaos—damn that wretched book..."

Yue Hongling ignored him, frowning slightly. "Your cultivation technique... so powerful... merely at the second level of the Mystic Barrier, yet generating lightning in an empty chamber. I've never heard of such a strong technique, and yet I can detect no special traits—just pure, vast, and enduring... What divine art is this?"