Volume 1, Chapter 152 – Ye Ling’er Gets Jealous

“Master Mama! A-Yao’s back!”

“Second Junior Sister and Fourth Junior Sister bought me candied hawthorn skewers…”

The palace doors swung open. The little girl held aloft two glistening skewers of candied hawthorns, her round cheeks flushed with excitement.

But the instant she saw the scene inside, her smile froze.

Gu Luoli and Ye Ling’er, following close behind, stopped in their tracks as well.

It was as though time itself had been put on pause.

Inside the main palace, beside the cloud couch.

Empress Lingshuang leaned slightly forward, the sleeve of her ice-blue palace dress nearly brushing the hem of Gu Han’s moon-white skirt.

They were standing extremely close. One of Empress Lingshuang’s hands still seemed to hover beside Gu Han.

As for Gu Han…

She was leaning back slightly, one hand braced against the cloud couch.

A faint, distinctly unnatural blush tinged her exquisitely beautiful face, usually so cool and composed.

A trace of subtle, taut tension still lingered in the air, not yet fully dissipated.

The sight was simply far too shocking.

“M-Master Mama?”

A-Yao blinked her big eyes and tilted her little head, forgetting even to eat the candied hawthorns in her hand.

She looked at her blushing Master, then at the pretty big sister in the blue dress standing so very, very close to her.

Her little head was filled with questions.

Were they playing some sort of game?

A sharp flash of gold flickered through Gu Luoli’s double pupils!

She could see things more “clearly” than A-Yao and Ye Ling’er.

She could “see” the faint traces of spiritual power lingering in the air and the momentary disturbance in her Master’s aura.

She could also see the faintly aggressive, icy Dao Resonance around Empress Lingshuang that had yet to fully recede.

This… This had definitely not been an ordinary discussion of the Dao!

First Senior Sister was innocent and might not understand what she was seeing, but Gu Luoli understood at once.

A moment ago, the Empress of the Northern Region had probably been making some deeply improper advance toward her Master!

In Gu Luoli’s heart, her Master was supreme, as aloof as the moon, a sacred existence no one was permitted to profane.

Even someone as powerful as Empress Lingshuang should never, ever have treated her Master with such… disrespect!

What made her feelings even more complicated was that her Master did not seem to be angry.

Standing beside Gu Luoli, Ye Ling’er went rigid as though struck by a bolt of icy lightning!

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The skewer of candied hawthorns slipped from her hand and hit the floor with a splat.

But she did not even notice.

Her gaze remained fixed, utterly fixed, on the two figures beside the cloud couch who had nearly been pressed against each other.

Especially… the hand Empress Lingshuang still held suspended beside her Master.

Had that hand just… touched her Master?

The thought coiled around her heart like a venomous briar, tightening viciously!

Her ice-blue hair stirred without wind as a cold chill spread uncontrollably around her.

It was a sign that her Lunar spiritual power was leaking out under the violent upheaval of her emotions.

She clenched her fists, her nails digging deep into her palms and sending sharp pain through them.

Her Master…

Her Master…

The Master who had given her a new life in her darkest moment, who was the bright moon, a towering mountain, and her entire world…

Was now being treated like this by another woman.

Even if that woman ruled an entire region, possessed peerless beauty, and wielded unfathomable power.

But… But!

Ye Ling’er felt blood rush to her head. Her eyes instantly stung, and even her vision blurred.

Why…

Why was this woman allowed to stand so close to her Master?

Could her Master possibly feel something for her…?

No! Impossible!

Her Master was so aloof and noble. How could she possibly…?

But how else could she explain the scene before her?

An intensely strange silence descended over the palace, so complete that the air itself seemed to solidify.

The only sound came from the melting sugar coating on A-Yao’s candied hawthorns as a droplet fell to the floor with the faintest tap.

Yet that tiny sound was like a key, instantly unlocking frozen time and space.

Gu Han was the first to react.

As though jolted by electricity, she abruptly moved half a step back, putting some distance between herself and Empress Lingshuang.

At the same time, she raised a hand and hurriedly straightened her slightly disheveled collar and hair.

“A… A-Yao, Luoli, Ling’er, you’re back?”

A barely perceptible rasp roughened Gu Han’s voice. She tried hard to remain composed, but clearly lacked conviction.

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Empress Lingshuang slowly straightened as well.

The faint ripple of emotion stirred by her close confrontation with Gu Han had already vanished from her face.

She had resumed her usual icy, indifferent demeanor.

Yet on closer inspection, even the rims of her ears were tinged with an almost imperceptible pink.

She turned, calmly sweeping her gaze over the three figures standing dumbstruck in the doorway.

When her eyes met Ye Ling’er’s furious glare, which looked as though it might burst into flames,

Empress Lingshuang arched one eyebrow almost imperceptibly.

This girl… was certainly reacting strongly.

“It seems I have interrupted Fellow Daoist Gu’s reunion with her disciples.”

Empress Lingshuang’s voice remained cool, betraying little emotion.

She inclined her head slightly to Gu Han.

“Today’s discussion of the Dao was most enlightening. Let us continue another day.”

With that, she paid no further attention to the three by the door and strode straight toward the exit.

Her steps were unhurried, and the hem of her ice-blue palace dress swept over the polished floor, carrying a bitter chill that warned others to keep their distance.

As she passed Ye Ling’er, Empress Lingshuang seemed to pause for the briefest instant.

Her gaze swept over Ye Ling’er’s tightly clenched fists, trembling body, and eyes brimming with resentment, anger, and hostility.

The faintest hint of a smile touched Empress Lingshuang’s lips.

Then she looked away and left the main palace, disappearing around a bend in the corridor.

Silence returned to the main palace.

But now, it was even more awkward and charged with even more unspoken tension.

A-Yao looked at her Master’s flushed, embarrassed face, then at the shattered candied hawthorns on the floor. Her little mouth turned down, her face full of distress.

“Master Mama… A-Yao dropped her candied hawthorns… Second Junior Sister and Fourth Junior Sister bought them for me…”

The little girl still did not fully understand what had just happened.

She only knew that the atmosphere felt strange, her Master seemed unhappy, and her candied hawthorns had broken.

Gu Han drew a deep breath and forced her turbulent emotions to settle.

She walked over to A-Yao and crouched down, gently stroking her little head. Her voice regained its usual warmth.

“It’s all right. Master will buy you more.”

“Be good and go play outside with Third Junior Sister for a while, all right?”

A-Yao sniffled and nodded, then turned an aggrieved look on Gu Luoli.

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By now, Gu Luoli had also concealed the shock in her eyes and resumed her usual cool demeanor.

She stepped forward, took A-Yao’s little hand, then bowed to Gu Han.

“Master, I’ll take First Senior Sister outside.”

Her voice was steady, the storm raging in her heart forcibly suppressed.

“Mm.”

Gu Han inclined her head slightly and said nothing more.

Gu Luoli did not linger. Holding A-Yao’s hand, she quickly left the main palace, while the little girl looked back every few steps.

Only Gu Han and Ye Ling’er remained in the palace, the latter still rooted to the spot with her head bowed.

Gu Han looked at Ye Ling’er’s tightly clenched, white-knuckled fists and faintly trembling shoulders, then sighed softly to herself.

“Ling’er.”

Gu Han walked over to Ye Ling’er, softening her voice even further.

Ye Ling’er shuddered but still did not look up.

Her ice-blue hair spilled down, concealing most of her face and the intense emotions churning in her eyes.

“M-Master.”

Her voice was very soft and trembled with suppressed emotion, so faint it was almost inaudible.

“About what just happened…”

Gu Han opened her mouth to explain, only to find that she had no idea where to begin.

Was she supposed to say Empress Lingshuang had merely leaned closer to ask a question, and that Gu Han had panicked a little after being cornered?

Even she found that explanation feeble and unconvincing.

Besides, the embarrassment she had felt in that instant had been entirely real.

“Empress Lingshuang is very direct by nature. We merely had a minor disagreement while discussing the Dao.”

Gu Han chose her words carefully, trying to make her tone sound natural.

“It wasn’t what you thought.”

Ye Ling’er slowly lifted her head.

A sheen of tears veiled her eyes, their rims red, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall.

She looked at Gu Han, her gaze filled with hurt, confusion, and a fear she herself did not yet fully understand.

“This disciple… understands.”

She answered softly, her voice still trembling.

She understood?

What exactly did she understand?

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Seeing Ye Ling’er clearly miserable yet forcing herself to remain composed, Gu Han felt helplessness and tender concern well up inside her.

This girl was sensitive and stubborn. Once she made up her mind about something, it would likely be very difficult to change it.

Judging by her current state, she probably had not believed a word of Gu Han’s explanation.

Gu Han sighed softly and gave up trying to explain with empty words, knowing they would only make an already suspicious situation look worse.

She reached out, an almost imperceptible warmth gathering at her fingertips, and gently laid them against Ye Ling’er’s clenched fist.

“Open your hand. Your nails have already drawn blood.”

Gu Han’s voice was gentle yet filled with concern that brooked no argument as her fingertips softly brushed Ye Ling’er’s clenched hand.

The cool touch made Ye Ling’er tremble slightly, and she instinctively relaxed her fist.

Her nails had indeed gouged several deep red marks into her palm, with faint traces of blood seeping from them.

Overwhelmed by emotion a moment ago, she had not felt the pain at all.

A faint light flashed at Gu Han’s fingertips, and a wisp of pure, gentle spiritual power silently sank into the wounds.

The cool yet warming energy instantly soothed the stinging pain and quietly eased the taut strings of Ye Ling’er’s heart.

“Master…”

Feeling the warmth spreading through her palm, Ye Ling’er’s nose prickled, and the tears she had been holding back suddenly became almost impossible to contain.

She hurriedly lowered her head, unwilling to let her Master see her looking so vulnerable.

“Silly girl,”

Gu Han’s heart softened as she looked at the disciple before her, head bowed in silence, shoulders trembling faintly.

Ye Ling’er was, after all, still a child not much older than A-Yao, even if she was more strong-willed than others her age.

But deep down, her dependence on those close to her and her sensitivity to their every gesture had not changed.

Gu Han reached out and gave Ye Ling’er’s shoulder a reassuring pat.

The gesture made Ye Ling’er’s entire body jolt.

The next instant, as if she had suddenly summoned every last ounce of courage, or as if her long-suppressed emotions had finally broken free,

Ye Ling’er took a sudden step forward, threw open her arms, and hugged Gu Han tightly, almost recklessly.

Her movements were somewhat stiff, but her arms tightened around Gu Han’s waist and back as she buried her face deep in the fabric at Gu Han’s shoulder.

Gu Han could clearly feel Ye Ling’er’s body trembling and her stifled, tear-damp breaths against her shoulder.

Gu Han gently returned the embrace, soothing her overwhelmed young disciple.

“All right. Everything’s fine now.”