Her eyes, wide and unblinking, froze in a state of utter surprise. Her soft lips, usually pressed together in a demure line, now parted in a small 'o' of shock as her gaze focused on Ji Wuye's chiseled abs that she had never imagined existed beneath his martial robes.

A furious blush crept up her porcelain cheeks, spreading like a crimson wildfire across her delicate features. Her slender hands flew up reflexively, fingers splaying to block the compromising vision from view.

"I-I didn't mean this, Ju-junior! I-I'm... s-so...s-s...ssorry!" She stammered, the words tumbling out in an incoherent rush.

Without waiting for her Junior Brother's reply, she whirled around, the fabric of her white flowing robes swishing with the abrupt movement, and fled from the living quarters' door, leaving Ji Wuye, standing frozen in stunned silence.

A long, weary sigh escaped Ji Wuye's lips as his eyes drifted upward, releasing the tie that bound his long, white hair, allowing them to cascade freely down his back like a pale waterfall.

"It will be hard to face her in the future," he murmured, the words a low rumble in his broad chest. Donning his long white robe adorned with aqua stripes, he padded toward the open door, gaze drawn to the brilliant azure expanse of sky where the morning sun had crested above the bamboo roof tiles.

Yet Ji Wuye's sharp eyes soon focused on his immediate surroundings—the courtyard now pristine and empty, thanks to the efforts of his Big and Senior Sisters.

His brow furrowed as his attention snagged on the courtyard gate, where a telltale hem of fabric peeked out from behind the wall, betraying the presence of a hidden observer.

"It's okay, Senior Sister. You can come out," Ji Wuye called out softly, his deep voice carrying a gentle reassurance.

True to his words, the slender figure of Lian Rougang herself emerged hesitantly from her hiding spot, delicate hands still lifted to shield her blushing face from view.

"Just so you know, I-I didn't actually know that-" she began, her usually melodious voice wavering with uncharacteristic nerves.

"It's fine. Let's sit down a little bit here," Ji Wuye interjected, cutting off her flustered rambling with a warm chuckle that rumbled from deep within his chest.

Seeing his ever-composed Senior Sister so discombobulated—the one who typically wore a kind smile no matter the situation—was an endearing sight.

The memory of how she also had reacted with equal bashfulness when he unexpectedly embraced her flickered through his mind, coaxing an inward smile as he settled onto the living quarter's deck, patiently awaiting his Senior Sister.

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She approached with small, tentative steps, slowly lowering the slender arms that had shielded her embarrassed countenance.

He knew well that if she didn't have something important to convey, she would have fled the scene immediately, avoiding any further interaction or eye contact, much like she had after the re-evaluation test.

…

A few moments later, the charged atmosphere in Ji Wuye's courtyard had simmered down somewhat as Lian Rougang, now seated beside him, revealed a faint dusting of rose across her porcelain cheeks. Yet her eyes kept darting furtively between his lower body and his face, unable to fully meet his gaze.

Meanwhile, Ji Wuye himself made a pointed effort to keep his eyes trained on the open sky above. If he allowed his focus to waver, this delicate situation might cause the flustered girl to bolt before delivering her ostensibly important message.

"Thank you, Senior," Ji Wuye broke the weighted silence, turning to face her as she started, snapping from her distracted reverie. "Thank you for waiting and for helping me all this time."

A gentle smile curved his lips before he shifted his gaze back towards the heavens. "You know, when the other disciples ignored me, or most of the male disciples wouldn't deign to even speak with me, only you and the other Big Sisters sought to include me..." His deep voice took on a wistful quality as he spoke.

Beside him, the earlier charged embarrassment gradually dissipated as Lian Rougang listened with rapt attention, unconsciously nodding along to his words.

"So having you and the other Big Sisters really gave me the motivation to ‘persevere’ and ‘remain’ here, in this sect," Ji Wuye finished, the simple admission carrying profound weight.

At his last words, Lian Rougang's delicate brows knitted together in a small frown at the implication of him potentially leaving.

"Don't say that. No, never say something like that," she interjected suddenly, her usual melodious lilt hardening into a tone of firm solemnity.

When Ji Wuye turned to face her once more, he found her piercing gaze boring into him with an intensity that suggested he had committed some grave transgression.

"If you're worried about that two-year agreement, trust that you can accomplish it. But if you cannot, I—as your Senior Sister—I can...no, I will handle it for you," she avowed, the faint blush having entirely drained from her porcelain features.

Yet deep within the molten depths of her eyes, Ji Wuye detected an undercurrent of anxiety and worry, as if the mere prospect of his potential failure filled her with dread.

"Well, even if I fail, I'll be forced to marry some random woman," he replied lightly, letting out an awkward chuckle that did little to diffuse the sudden tension.

Inside, however, Ji Wuye's mind remained razor-sharp, his thoughts ringing out like a clarion call: 'If that happens, then there's no choice or reason left for me to linger here...even if it means sacrificing my advantage... the future knowledge…'

As a man, as a martial artist, having his will stripped away by forces beyond his control was an unforgivable affront to his pride, even for the most weakest disciple of the Kunlun Sect.

Not to mention the uncertainty surrounding his prospective bride—there was no information, no known identity, age, appearance, nothing from either his previous or current timeline to shed light on who this mystery woman might be.

'But it's not like I'm invested in such trivial matters,' Ji Wuye mused inwardly. Reaching the rarefied heights of the 4th realm was well within his grasp anyway.

"Ah well...that's not bad actually..." Once again, the confident and stern demeanor that typically cloaked Lian Rougang had evaporated, replaced by an unnatural shyness like before.

This abrupt shift in comportment caused Ji Wuye to examine his Senior Sister anew with a discerning gaze.

'Wait...Lian family...Lian…. Rougang...could she be...?' While entertaining this speculative notion, Ji Wuye's eyes narrowed infinitesimally at the girl now studiously avoiding his penetrating stare like a demure child.

"Anyway! I came to inform you that the martial alliance gathering will be held in a few weeks here at Kunlun," she interjected, deftly steering their dialogue onto a new trajectory as her momentary bout of shyness was subsumed beneath a calm, solemn facade once more.

'Ah, the martial alliance...' Ji Wuye's thoughts turned pensive. The next pivotal event where the insidious unorthodox sect would unleash their brazen attack against the mighty martial alliance.

From his previous timeline to this one, Ji Wuye still puzzled over what the unorthodox sect hoped to gain by brazenly assaulting the alliance gathering, where nearly all the realm's most formidable martial artists would converge in one place.

'But such concerns are not mine to untangle. Instead...' the true casualty, which took many lives as the catalyst that had enabled such an audacious strike, was the overconfidence and complacency that had left even the vaunted Kunlun Sect ill-prepared.

Yet as Ji Wuye's mind drifted back through the harrowing memories of the previous timeline, his Senior Sister's next words sliced through his reverie, grounding him firmly in the present once more.

"But...I heard whispers that the sect is no longer safe. Do you have any explanation for this, Junior?"