Chapter 43: Aside From Treating Her Injuries, We Didn’t Do Anything Else
Under the moonlight, Chen Yin gently stroked the back of the Violet-Mane Thunder Tiger, calming it down. His eyes, however, were fixed with a playful glint on the veiled Yu Xiang.
"We meet again, Miss Yin."
"It's been a while. I trust you've been well?"
Yu Xiang's body trembled slightly. No one could see her expression beneath the veil.
After a long silence, her voice, forced to sound calm and suppressing its quiver, finally came:
"...It's you? You're actually alive?"
"Hey, that's kind of harsh," Chen Yin said with an innocent expression. "I did fall off a cliff for your sake, after all. Isn't it a bit cold-hearted to say something like that?"
"It's just because—"
Yu Xiang's tone nearly broke into something more heated, but she quickly reined it in, reverting to a frosty demeanor:
"I never asked you to save me. Who knew you'd be such a fool, doing something so reckless for a complete stranger."
Though she tried hard to hide it, Chen Yin still caught a hint of grievance in her words.
"Ahem… That's not the way to look at it," he said, shaking his head in mock seriousness. "Cultivators seek a clear conscience. How could anyone just stand by and watch a young lady being bullied?"
Yu Xiang, slightly exasperated, retorted, "You didn't even know me. How could you tell whether I'm a bad person or not?"
"What if… I really were the demonic cultivator they claimed me to be?"
The moment the words left her mouth, Yu Xiang regretted them.
But Chen Yin merely stroked his chin thoughtfully. After a moment, he turned to her and asked, "Well then, Miss Yin, are you?"
Yu Xiang bit her lip and replied softly, "Why should I tell you?"
"If you tell me, I'll know whether the person I saved is good or bad."
"Does being part of the demonic faction automatically make someone evil?"
Chen Yin considered her question briefly before replying, "I don't know if people on the demonic faction are all evil. And frankly, I don't care."
"I just want to know whether the person I saved is a bad person or not."
Suddenly, he spread his arms wide, exposing his chest to her with a carefree smile. "If you truly are a bad person, go ahead and strike me down. You can treat it as silencing me."
Yu Xiang's voice grew anxious, "Do you think opening yourself up like this to a stranger means I won't dare?"
With that, a slender sword pointed straight at Chen Yin.
But Chen Yin remained motionless, smiling at her with ease.
"If you dare… then what are you waiting for?"
The aura of the sword grew sharper for a moment.
But in the end, it softened like a flickering candle, slowly extinguishing. Finally, the blade dropped limply to the ground.
After a long pause, Chen Yin heard her biting, exasperated voice:
"You… How can someone like you exist in this world?"
"Thank you for the compliment, Miss Yin," Chen Yin replied, his grin beaming.
"Now that you're here, why not stay and chat a bit before leaving?"
Yu Xiang hesitated, casting a glance at the now-docile Violet-Mane Thunder Tiger beside him, and then slowly nodded.
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By the mountain stream, on a large rock. Moonlight poured down like silver, blanketing the earth. The Violet-Mane Thunder Tiger lay by the stream, licking its furry paws.
Chen Yin and Yu Xiang sat side by side on the rock, though separated by a noticeable distance.
Though she wore a veil and her black dress gave off a cool, reserved air—completely unlike the lively, adorable Xiang'er—sitting next to Chen Yin still made her nervous, afraid she might inadvertently reveal her identity.
To ease the awkward tension and distract herself from her unease, she asked,
"How did you survive falling from such a high cliff?"
"Who knows? Maybe I was just lucky," Chen Yin answered, lounging carelessly on the rock.
"Then why did you speak up for me back then? Was it really just because you couldn't stand by and do nothing?"
"Maybe," he shrugged. "Or maybe I just didn't like those guys and wanted an excuse to cause trouble."
—Taking issue with a group of Upper Clarity Realm cultivators just for fun? Yu Xiang was almost speechless. She could only mutter under her breath, "You're just a little Cloud Realm cultivator. Where do you get the audacity to say something like that?"
"Ah, that's where you're mistaken, Miss Yin."
Chen Yin immediately sat upright with an air of exaggerated seriousness. "If I have one defining trait, it's my thick skin."
"Forget Upper Clarity Realm cultivators—even a Great Purity Realm immortal couldn't pierce my face!"
That was true enough.
Even his master, who tried time and again to break his resolve, had never managed to breach his wall-thick shamelessness.
Watching Chen Yin proudly puff out his chest, Yu Xiang couldn't help but grow more frustrated. "Don't you ever worry about getting yourself into trouble? About what might happen if something really went wrong?"
"Have you never considered," she added, "how worried the people around you would be if something happened to you?"
Chen Yin's smile gradually faded, his tone turning calm as he asked,
"And what about you, Miss Yin?"
"Didn't you worry about getting into trouble and making those around you anxious when the elders interrogated you, Miss Yin?"
"I…"
Yu Xiang was immediately at a loss for words.
Chen Yin's gaze was unusually calm, devoid of any emotion. Yet Yu Xiang suddenly felt a trace of fear under his stare and couldn't help but turn her head slightly.
"I have no close people by my side."
"How can that be? What about your parents or the brothers and sisters in your sect?"
Yu Xiang's expression dimmed, and her tone grew quieter. "...I've long since lost them."
"They've been gone for over ten years now."
Chen Yin's eyes narrowed slightly.
"I heard some people mention that your sect is called… Changli Palace?"
Yu Xiang turned her head to ask, "Do you know this sect?"
"Uh, pardon my ignorance."
"Heh, of course." She lowered her eyes, the corners of her mouth curling into a faint, self-deprecating smile. "It's only natural that you wouldn't know."
"In today's cultivation world, who still remembers this sect?"
Chen Yin hesitated briefly before speaking, "Then, Miss Yin, would you be willing to—"
"Don't ask anymore."
Yu Xiang's voice suddenly turned cold. She raised her head and cast a frosty glance at Chen Yin. "Knowing this won't do you any good."
Chen Yin withdrew his gaze, lowering his head thoughtfully, saying no more.
The evening breeze swayed the flowers on the riverbank, and gentle ripples spread across the stream's surface.
Looking at the flowing water before her, Yu Xiang suddenly felt a wave of sadness.
—Why has it come to this?
She had finally reunited with her senior brother and learned that he was safe. She didn't want to make things so tense.
But she had to end this topic decisively.
This matter must not involve her senior brother.
While Yu Xiang's thoughts were in turmoil, Chen Yin's gentle voice suddenly broke through.
"Let's not talk about this. Miss Yin, do you have someone you like?"
Yu Xiang froze for a moment, then turned her face away with a hint of irritation in her tone. "Why?"
"If I say no, are you planning to flirt with me?"
"Ahem, am I really such a disgraceful person in your eyes?"
"Pretty much," Yu Xiang said with a slight pout, her tone carrying a hint of annoyance. "You look like a playboy at first glance."
Chen Yin immediately defended himself. "Miss, you can't make baseless accusations. Is there anyone more devoted than me in this world?"
"You?" Yu Xiang sneered.
"Not to mention the lady in red who accompanied you to buy clothes at Wanxiang Pavilion that day."
"And what about Shen Shuanglian, the fairy who jumped off a cliff with you?"
Chen Yin chuckled nervously, clearly guilty.
"Uh, well, she… she got injured protecting me and is still recovering."
Yu Xiang turned her head, a hint of hostility flashing in her veiled eyes.
"…Recovering?"
"So, these past few days, you've been with her?"
Cold sweat drenched Chen Yin's back as he stammered to explain:
"Ahem, well, yes, but aside from treating her injuries, we didn't do anything else."
This… shouldn't count as a lie, right?
But Yu Xiang still seemed a bit jealous, snorting softly and turning away.
"Why bother explaining to me? We're not close. I couldn't care less who you're involved with."
Seeing that Xiang'er was upset again, Chen Yin couldn't easily console her this time. He could only awkwardly lean closer. "Miss Yin, listen to my excuse—"
"No need."
After a long silence, he suddenly heard Yu Xiang speak in a low voice, "…Thank her for me."
Thank her for taking the huge risk of jumping off the cliff to save Senior Brother.
Otherwise, given Senior Brother's early-stage Cloud Realm cultivation and his half-baked grasp of Record of the Forgetful Blossoming Heart, he might truly have been in mortal danger.
Seeing Chen Yin's curious gaze, Yu Xiang simply turned her head away. "It's nothing."
"Didn't you mention you have a junior sister waiting for you at home?"
"Being so close to Fairy Shen, aren't you worried your junior sister will be jealous?"
Chen Yin was momentarily flustered and scratched his nose. "My junior sister, huh?"
"She's a bit naive and simple. She wouldn't mind."
"You—" Yu Xiang's eyebrows shot up, and she was about to lash out but held herself back. Finally, she let out a soft huff.
"Hmph. Poor girl, having a scoundrel like you as her senior brother."
Unexpectedly, Chen Yin shrugged nonchalantly.
"Yeah."
"My junior sister really did draw the short straw. Having a flirtatious, lazy, good-for-nothing senior brother like me."
"If I were better, more capable, and more devoted—someone she could entrust her life to—"
"Maybe… she wouldn't have to endure such a hard life." Chen Yin's tone softened unconsciously.
Yu Xiang stared at him blankly for a long while before snapping back to her senses. She held back the tears in her eyes and whispered softly:
"Actually… you're not as bad as you say. Don't belittle yourself."
"Perhaps many people would wish for a senior brother like you but can't have one."
"Really?"
Chen Yin burst out laughing. "So I'm not that bad after all."
"If only my junior sister felt the same way."
"…That would make me very happy."
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