The brilliant morning sun cast a warm glow over Ji Wuye and his Senior Sister as they ascended the final step onto the cliff's expansive landscape.
A tranquil scene greeted them - a serene pond glistened in the golden rays, its glassy surface disturbed only by the gentle ripples trailing two graceful ducks gliding across it.
An exquisitely arched wooden bridge separated the pond into two halves, providing a picturesque vantage point to take in the natural splendor.
"It's really beautiful..." Shen Bi murmured in an awestruck hush, her eyes wide with wonder as she drank in the idyllic vista before them. Her lips parted slightly, as if savoring the crisp morning air tinged with the fresh scents of dewy grass and wildflowers.
"They've been waiting," Qiu Xia's voice sliced through the reverent silence, her words snapping the dazed Shen Bi back to alertness. Their gazes shifted to Elder Qiao, seated with serene poise upon an ornately carved stone chair beside a round stone table.
Her disciples flanked her in a disciplined arc, their expressions a studied mask of detachment despite the furtive glances they stole towards the newcomers.
They seemed to have been anticipating Ji Wuye and his Senior Sister, poorly masking their surprise at seeing Qiu Xia, Lian Rougang, and Shen Bi with their once-concealing bandages now shed, leaving their striking features brazenly exposed.
Ji Wuye, however, radiated an aura of unruffled calm as he strode past the skeptical disciples, his gait unhurried yet purposeful. With a dignified flourish, he cupped his hands in a respectful greeting, "Greetings, Big Sister."
Elder Qiao's inscrutable gaze locked onto him briefly before flickering over to assess the condition of his Senior Sisters with a measured scrutiny. A curt nod signaled her tacit approval, allowing Ji Wuye to settle himself casually upon the vacant stone chair opposite her own.
Her graceful fingers deftly grasped a rounded dumpling with nimble chopsticks, effortlessly bursting it open before consuming the morsel.
Yet her serene smile masked a probing edge as she remarked, "Little Brother, you say you'll walk the same path with us, yet there are things hidden beneath the surface like a mantis stalking its prey. You never mentioned Senior Brother Xia would be your stepping stone."
Her piercing words hung in the air like a taut cord, yet Ji Wuye's expression remained inscrutably placid, betraying none of his inner thoughts as Elder Qiao's captivating eyes locked onto him with intensity.
Meanwhile, his Senior Sisters stepped forward in a ceremonial arc, cupping their hands in deferential greeting, only to be dismissed with an impatient wave of Elder Qiao's hand.
"Please pardon me, Big Sister," Ji Wuye replied, his tone courteous yet casual, "but even the smartest housewife cannot cook without rice."
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He offered no further elaboration, merely holding Elder Qiao's penetrating stare, his placid countenance providing no insight into the depths of his words - a mere pebble tossed into the ensuing, furrowed silence of Elder Qiao's frown.
At that moment, one of Elder Qiao's disciples, Su Xinyi, stepped forward with practiced grace. Her movements were fluid and unhurried as she gently lifted the ceramic teapot.
With intense focus furrowing her brow, she tilted the spout and created a spiraling stream of fragrant green tea that flowed smoothly into Elder Qiao's cup without a single errant droplet or ripple marring its path.
"Is this the reason why you sought the right to enter or gain knowledge of the Sword Aura?" Elder Qiao's probing question sliced through the tranquil atmosphere as she brought the steaming cup to her lips.
A light gulping sound emanated from her plump, slightly pursed lips as she sipped the tea.
Her long nails glinted like lacquered talons as she adjusted her flowing white martial robe with dark yellow stripes, the fabric shifting gracefully around her lithe and youthful frame. Her skin was smooth and unblemished, her eyes narrowing into piercing slits.
Deep wrinkles etched across her temples as she narrowed her eyes into piercing slits, her gaze boring into Ji Wuye's placid countenance. Her eyebrows furrowed like drawn bowstrings as she studied his enigmatic expression.
"'Yes and no' are like the front and back of the hand, Big Sister," Ji Wuye replied evenly, holding her scrutinizing stare with his intense crimson eyes.
He brought his own cup to his lips, savoring the rich aroma before taking a measured sip.
The brief pause seemed to amplify the weighted tension blanketing the space before he continued, "Hurting Elder Xia was never in the book of my intentions, but as they say, when the mountain blocks your path, you must find a way around or through it. He simply stood there like an immovable boulder."
This time, Elder Qiao's pupils flared wide for the briefest of moments, the only flicker of surprise cracking her inscrutable mask, before reverting to their previous narrowed intensity.
Yet no words passed her pursed lips in response to Ji Wuye's solemn declaration. Only a soft sigh slipped forth, her exhalation met with a contemplative smile.
How could she not have noticed the poisoned undercurrents rippling between them all these years? Her Senior Brother's attitude towards the unassuming Ji Wuye had long since transgressed propriety, festering into intensely personal slights.
Now, the bitter seeds sown reaped their wretched harvest, despite her countless unheeded warnings echoing like cries into the tempest.
'What can I do now? Little Brother Ji's small grievances have accumulated into deep hatred,' Elder Qiao's troubled thoughts churned inwardly as vivid flashes of memory assailed her - the derisive laughter, the smirking eyes, the satisfied exhalation of breath from Ji Wuye as he held her Senior Brother's throat in an unforgiving grip.
How could she, or how should she, tell Ji Wuye that... Her Senior Brother Xia...No.
Elder Qiao shook her head subtly, mentally stamping out that dangerous trail of rumination. 'It's a business between men. I should not meddle further.'
But then, Lian Rougang's voice sliced through the weighted silence like a blade, "Please pardon my intrusion, Elder." She stepped forward purposefully, cupping her hands in a respectful gesture as she fixed Elder Qiao with a determined gaze from her position beside the impassive Ji Wuye. "Is everything Junior Brother Ji said true?"
Now it was Elder Qiao's turn to make searing eye contact with Ji Wuye. For the first time since their tense exchange began, she noticed the minute shift in his demeanor - the calm, indifferent mask of a leader in control cracking ever so slightly as he sighed and gave her the smallest of nods.
The subtle admission seemed to freeze Elder Qiao momentarily, her features slackening briefly in surprise before a slow, sly smile bloomed across her lips. Instead of responding verbally, her piercing gaze flickered over to study Lian Rougang with an intense scrutiny.
Her eyes raked over the Lian Rougang from head to toe before coming to rest squarely on Lian Rougang's own burning stare - alight with fervid curiosity yet laced with undeniable traces of simmering anger kept tightly leashed.
"What do you think? And how much do you understand?" Elder Qiao's words carried a lofty, almost taunting edge as she rested her chin upon her upturned palm, regarding Lian Rougang with the raised eyebrow of one possessing intimate knowledge.
Her gaze briefly flitted over the rest of Ji Wuye's 'beloved' Senior Sisters standing behind Lian Rougang.
She noted Shen Bi's head tilted in open bewilderment and the conflicted furrow knitting Qiu Xia's brow before returning her attention to Lian Rougang.
"Now I understand everything, even the parts my Junior didn't tell me," Lian Rougang replied carefully yet with an undercurrent of steel resolve. She maintained her deferential cupped-hand posture, an action which only deepened the sly curl of Elder Qiao's smile.
"You are smart, I like that," she purred in an almost patronizing tone. "But have you considered the offer I gave you?"