Chapter 2

The moment her fingertips touched her wrist, it felt like touching a piece of exceptionally smooth and delicate silk, warm and soft beneath her fingers. “Take it.” Su Wanqing was concise. Her fingertips lightly encircled the girl's wrist, and she secretly marveled at how slender it was, though her expression remained unchanged. “It’s getting late. If we wait any longer, we won’t be able to get a good task.” Lu Renjia's eyes trembled slightly as she looked at the Divine Movement Talisman in her hand. Her lips moved gently. “Then... thank you, Senior Sister.” With the Divine Movement Talisman, the two of them traveled much faster and arrived at the Disciplinary Hall before noon. Su Wanqing glanced at the girl beside her, who was still breathing lightly from the journey, and shook her head. “Sit down. Give me your jade token. I’ll get the task for you.” Lu Renjia naturally felt a little embarrassed, but along the way, she had already gained a general understanding of Senior Sister Su's personality. She knew that Su Wanqing did not like wasting words with others, so she could only purse her lips and remove the jade token from her waist, handing it to her. Su Wanqing took the jade token and decisively turned around, walking to the back of the long line. Lu Renjia sat on a chair nearby. While wiping away her sweat with a handkerchief, she kept glancing toward Su Wanqing in the crowd. She was much taller than the other female cultivators, almost as tall as some men. Although her figure appeared slender, she was by no means delicate or weak. After traveling with her, Lu Renjia already knew that Senior Sister Su possessed extraordinary stamina. She had even managed to keep pace with Lu Renjia while she was using the Divine Movement Talisman. Lu Renjia had originally heard that Senior Sister Su was aloof and indifferent, and that in the three years since entering the sect, she had never befriended anyone. She had never expected that after accidentally meeting her and bravely greeting her, Senior Sister Su would actually treat her so kindly. Warmth spread through Lu Renjia's heart, and the corners of her lips unconsciously curled upward. Meanwhile, Su Wanqing had initially felt somewhat uncomfortable under the intense gaze coming from the side. After a while, however, she simply got used to it. Soon, it was her turn. She handed over the two jade tokens. Then she looked up at the list of tasks hanging on the wall and casually pointed to two of them. “Clearing weeds in the Hundred Herbs Garden and watering the spiritual plants.” A disciple of the Disciplinary Hall quickly entered the two tasks into the jade tokens and returned them to her. “Complete them within five days. You’ll receive ten task points.” Su Wanqing said nothing. She took the jade tokens and turned to leave. However, when she returned to the place where Lu Renjia had been waiting for her, there was no one there. Outside the Disciplinary Hall, Lu Renjia looked at the man standing before her, who was a full head taller than she was. She instinctively formed a smile, but unlike the natural smile she had shown in front of Su Wanqing, this one was somewhat stiff. “Senior Brother Zhang.” The man addressed as Senior Brother Zhang stood eight feet tall and had a fairly handsome, upright appearance. The jade token hanging from his waist was different from those belonging to Lu Renjia and Su Wanqing. Its material and craftsmanship were slightly more refined, with a large character carved into it: **Outer.** Zhang Lin looked at the woman he had not seen for several days—the woman he had long regarded as the one he loved. Although he had deliberately tried to restrain himself, he still couldn't help taking a step forward and reaching for her delicate hand. Lu Renjia reacted extremely quickly. The instant he reached out, she casually raised her hand and tucked the loose strand of hair beside her ear behind it. Lowering her eyes and lashes, she adopted an especially gentle and graceful posture. Zhang Lin was instantly captivated. He completely failed to notice that Lu Renjia had deliberately avoided physical contact with him. Instead, he smiled as he watched her arrange her hair. After a while, he took a storage pouch from his waist. “Junior Sister Lu, these are the spirit stones and pills I've accumulated over the past few months. I'm giving them to you.” Lu Renjia froze. “This... These belong to Senior Brother Zhang. How could I possibly accept them?” Zhang Lin did not care. “What belongs to me belongs to you. What's the difference between yours and mine? Your spiritual root aptitude is poor, and your cultivation is difficult to advance. These spirit stones and pills will at least be beneficial to your cultivation. Take them.” As he spoke, he once again reached out to grab Lu Renjia's hand. On the one hand, he wanted to place the storage pouch in her hand. On the other, he wanted to touch the snow-white, delicate hand of the woman he loved. Lu Renjia nearly spat blood after hearing him describe her as having “poor aptitude” and “difficulty advancing in cultivation.” Yet she still had to smile at him. There was no other reason for it. Zhang Lin was the grandson of an elder who served as an administrator of the outer sect. His status and position were extraordinary. Lu Renjia was merely a lowly servant disciple and did not dare confront him directly. All she could do was handle the situation gently and indirectly. “Even so, Senior Brother Zhang needs to cultivate as well. How could I possibly—” Lu Renjia had no intention of accepting anything from Zhang Lin. On the surface, Zhang Lin appeared to be an upright and proper man, but in his heart, he had already regarded her as his possession. Even when she refused to take a single thing from him, he would still claim that anything he had was hers as well. If she truly dared to accept his belongings, the Zhang family would probably send people to her doorstep the very next day to formally ask for her hand in marriage. Lu Renjia took a step backward, avoiding Zhang Lin's reaching hand. The smile on her face had become increasingly strained. “Senior Brother Zhang, I—” Zhang Lin, however, had no idea what she was thinking. Or perhaps, even if he knew, he simply wouldn't care. After all, just as Lu Renjia had expected, if she truly accepted his things, he would naturally ask his grandfather to send people to her home to arrange a marriage proposal. “Junior Sister, you don't need to worry about me. My grandfather is an elder of the outer sect and has plenty of spirit stones and pills. I won't be lacking anything.” Zhang Lin's expression was arrogant as he took two steps forward and reached for Lu Renjia's delicate hand. Lu Renjia retreated several steps until her back pressed against the wall. There was nowhere left for her to retreat. “Senior Brother Zhang—” The commotion between the two had already attracted the attention of others. Several people nearby had gathered around, pretending to watch casually. Zhang Lin didn't care. If anything, he seemed rather pleased with himself. Lu Renjia, however, was so humiliated and angry that her eyes had already filled with tears. She bit her lip tightly, stubbornly holding them back and refusing to let them fall. As more and more people gathered around, Zhang Lin became even more smug. His outstretched hand was now almost touching Lu Renjia's hanging wrist. The tips of his fingers brushed against her soft, smooth skin. His entire mind reeled. Unable to restrain himself any longer, he reached out, intending to pull the beautiful woman into his arms. Suddenly, a sword scabbard appeared from nowhere. It swept around from behind Zhang Lin, spun through the air, and flew straight toward him with tremendous force, striking him hard in the shoulder. “Ah—!” The man who had been so smug just a moment ago suddenly let out a terrible scream. His entire body was sent flying several meters backward. The crowd nearby hurriedly scattered. Everyone watched as Zhang Lin crashed into a large tree not far from the Disciplinary Hall. **Pfft!** He spat out a large mouthful of blood. “Who? Who did that?” Panic spread through the crowd as everyone hurriedly looked around. Even Lu Renjia, who had nearly fallen into despair moments earlier, looked utterly astonished. The sword scabbard that had knocked Zhang Lin away did not fall to the ground. Instead, it circled around Lu Renjia once before shooting straight into the sky. Everyone followed its path upward. In the distance, a cold and imposing figure tore through the morning light and descended toward them. In an instant, he landed on an open patch of ground not far from the Disciplinary Hall. The flying sword beneath his feet let out a low hum. Its blade trembled slightly in the air before suddenly slipping back into its pitch-black scabbard with a sharp sound. The scabbard and sword flew back onto the man's back. “It's him! Senior Brother Xiao Yan from Myriad Swords Peak!” “That sword scabbard belonged to Senior Brother Xiao! No wonder an ordinary scabbard could have such incredible power!” “Why would a direct disciple from Myriad Swords Peak be here?” For a moment, shock, excitement, and confusion filled the crowd as countless gazes turned toward the black-clothed man who had arrived on his flying sword. Yet he did not look at anyone. His expression cold and stern, he strode forward. But just as he was about to reach Lu Renjia, he suddenly stopped. The sword scabbard on his back was trembling. Xiao Yan furrowed his sword-like brows and first tried to suppress it with his divine sense. However, it had no effect. Instead, the scabbard and the sword within it trembled even more violently, as though they were about to break free from his body. With no other choice, he followed the direction in which the scabbard was trembling most violently and looked over. At that exact moment, Lu Renjia raised her head. Her eyes, still filled with tears, looked at him in alarm. The sword scabbard immediately stopped trembling. Yet Xiao Yan felt something within his heart, which had remained cold and hard for eighteen years, suddenly tremble. The two stared at each other. The crowd continued whispering around them, but Xiao Yan could no longer hear anything. All he could hear was the faint rustling of the girl's long eyelashes as they trembled. He heard the sound of her skirt fluttering in the wind and brushing against the rough ground. He heard the beating of her heart, quickened by unease or nervousness. And he heard his own heart pounding violently in his chest. **Love at first sight.** Xiao Yan had always thought such a cliché would never happen to him. But sometimes, fate was simply that mysterious. He looked at her and finally began walking slowly toward her.