Dao Companion Crippled, Coveters Move

Chapter 426 412: The Scandalous Truth About Me and Junior Brother Pei, Does Junior Sister Really Want to Hear It?

Lu Ruoxi's eyes were downcast. She pursed her slightly pale lips and subtly turned her face away, her gaze landing on the swaying bamboo shadows in the distance.

She didn't want to discuss her current wretched, listless state with Junior Sister Ye.

To be pitied and consoled by a junior sister she had once helped was too great a blow to her pride as the Eldest Senior Sister.

When their Master had left, he had clearly wanted her to look after her junior brothers and sisters.

But instead, she had coveted Junior Sister Ye's Dao Companion. She had betrayed her trust with Junior Brother Pei, harming him and wronging Junior Sister Ye in the process.

She couldn't even help her youngest junior sister, Nangong Jin.

'What a terrible senior sister I've been...'

Lu Ruoxi pretended to rub her eyes, wiping away the shimmer of tears from their corners.

She still wanted to put on a brave face, unwilling to show any vulnerability in front of Pei Yuhang.

Besides, she knew that showing any sadness in front of Junior Brother Pei now would likely only disgust him. He would just think she was putting on an act.

But while Lu Ruoxi had no intention of discussing it, Pei Yuhang was not about to let her off the hook.

He hadn't come to find his senior sister today just to have a cup of tea and let Lu Ruoxi laugh off and conceal her recent decline.

Pei Yuhang hoped that even if she was no longer with him, his senior sister could still find her own purpose in the Dao.

He still remembered how his senior sister used to be. Back then, she wasn't so cunning. And while her fairy-like cleavage was still as deep as a supermodel's...

...the sunny, innocent girl she had been was still unforgettable to Pei Yuhang. The senior sister of that time had aspired to become the world's greatest Alchemist. Her Dao Heart had been pure, not turbid and muddled like it was now.

Pei Yuhang wanted to help the Lu Ruoxi of today rediscover her original purpose for cultivating.

It had nothing to do with their grievances; Pei Yuhang simply couldn't stand to watch Lu Ruoxi, the one who had personally guided him onto his path of cultivation, degenerate like this.

"Senior Sister, I heard the person who took your Elder seat is a High Tier Pill Master named Huang Wanshi."

"Is your abdication related to this woman? Do you need me to go have a talk with her?"

As Pei Yuhang spoke, his voice took on a cold edge, clearly intending to get justice for his senior sister.

"Don't..."

Lu Ruoxi's pupils contracted, panic flashing in her eyes. She reached for Pei Yuhang's wrist almost instinctively. Her fingertips had just brushed his sleeve when he smoothly evaded her touch.

Her hand froze in midair, fingertips trembling as if she'd been scalded. She slowly drew it back, letting it fall to her side. Her fingers unconsciously traced the embroidered patterns on her cuff, as if to hide her lapse in composure.

"Senior Sister, is there something you want to say?"

Pei Yuhang murmured, breaking the silence.

Lu Ruoxi's long lashes were lowered, casting a shadow that hid the churning emotions in her eyes.

"Junior Brother Pei, it has... nothing to do with her."

"I've already told you, I voluntarily gave up my Elder's seat in the Dan Yun Pavilion."

Her voice was barely a whisper, the final words trembling like thin mist scattered by the wind.

'That woman has proof of my affair with Junior Brother Pei.'

'After my true colors as a depraved Fairy were exposed to Junior Brother Pei, how could I have the nerve to ask him to seek justice for me?'

'Besides, I'm terrified that Junior Brother Pei will go looking for that Huang Wanshi woman.'

'That Alchemist Huang already has a Dao Companion, and rumor has it they have a good relationship.'

'But what if she meets an ethereally handsome man like Pei Yuhang, gets wicked ideas, and then uses the evidence she has to threaten him—'

'"Peng Sword Immortal, you wouldn't want your Dao Companion to find out about your dirty little secret with your senior sister, would you~?"'

'Just imagining that scene made Lu Ruoxi feel like she was going to lose her mind.'

'Because she knew Junior Brother Pei. He was a man who gave in easily.'

'Especially now that Lin Qianyan is gone.'

'Without that formidable woman to protect Pei Yuhang, Lu Ruoxi worried he would run into another wicked woman like Shang Miaoyan.'

'He'd be eaten alive.'

'Now, the Elder's seat has already been given up.'

'She just wanted herself and Junior Brother Pei to stay far, far away from the woman who had the proof.'

However, Ye Liyuan, who was beside them, misunderstood Lu Ruoxi. She thought her senior sister was afraid and worried about retaliation from Huang Wanshi.

She rose and moved in front of Lu Ruoxi. The sudden proximity made the already distraught Lu Ruoxi flinch, but Ye Liyuan only moved closer.

"Senior Sister! Please, just tell me and Ah Han the truth! Does that Huang Wanshi have some kind of dirt on you?"

Lu Ruoxi flinched as if burned by Ye Liyuan's fervent, sincere gaze. She turned her head, and a few strands of dark hair fell across her forehead, hiding her wavering eyes.

"There's nothing..."

"How could that be? Senior Sister, you're lying to me!"

Ye Liyuan's voice suddenly rose in pitch.

She felt Lu Ruoxi's distrust and was instantly hurt, her voice taking on a whining, tearful quality.

"Senior Sister, why don't you trust me anymore? We've known each other for a hundred years! I thought we were best friends who could tell each other anything..."

Hearing Ye Liyuan's accusation, guilt and self-blame flooded Lu Ruoxi's heart like a tidal wave.

She hung her head, her thick lashes casting shadows on her pale cheeks. The color had drained from her lips until they were nearly transparent.

The guilt churning in her chest nearly drowned her, her insides twisting into a knot.

'Doesn't she, Lu Ruoxi, want to find someone, anyone, to vent her grievances to?'

'Does she really want to bear all these terrible things by herself?'

'But... but can I possibly say it?!'

'Even if you ask me, Junior Sister Ye, there's no way I can tell you...'

'...that an outsider has proof that I slept with your man—!!!'

'Do you really want to hear something like that, Junior Sister Ye?!'

'That's the whole truth! Do you really want to know it?!'

'The senior sister you thought treated you best has actually been coveting your Dao Companion all this time, constantly scheming to drive you away and sleep with him!'

'Do you really want to know that you've been completely played for a fool by the person you're closest to?!'

An agonizing fire seared Lu Ruoxi's conscience.

She couldn't face Ye Liyuan.

Because Ye Liyuan's concern for her was too genuine, too pure.

She was a liar and a thief. She had stolen what was most precious to her junior sister, yet she still had to act innocent and pretend to be good to her.

Now, every ounce of Ye Liyuan's concern was a knife in her heart, a reminder of just how wretched her character truly was.

Lu Ruoxi knew she was an awful person, unworthy of anyone's sympathy. Being able to see Junior Brother Pei again today was already a blessing from the heavens.

But Ye Liyuan wouldn't give up. She gently shook Lu Ruoxi's shoulder, determined to make her confess her troubles.

To Lu Ruoxi, Ye Liyuan's voice was just a cacophony of noise.

Her conscience was being seared by the flames of guilt. She couldn't take it anymore—

'So... what if I just tell them?'

'If I tell them, Liyuan will be utterly disappointed in me, and Junior Brother Pei will never see me again.'

'Then I could be alone forever. All my attachments would vanish. Nothing would matter anymore.'

'No one would care about me, no one would worry about me, no one would love me.'

'All alone, walking toward a lonely future that ends in death.'

In that moment, Lu Ruoxi felt an impulse for self-destruction.