Even if you gave Luo Luo a hundred extra brains, she’d never have imagined that Li Zhaoye would cut himself off from her like this.
All she knew was that he had changed.
He’d reverted to his old self—obsessed with cultivation, muttering incantations and techniques under his breath.
No, not exactly the same. There was one difference—he no longer sparred with her.
In short, he was avoiding all physical contact, refusing to get close to her.
She watched him come and go with a brooding gaze, feeling like a resentful ghost haunting his steps.
Stepping outside, she looked up and saw two plump, fluffy birds perched on a pear blossom branch, preening each other’s feathers before snuggling together affectionately.
Luo Luo grew even gloomier.
Look at her life now—even the birds were doing better than her!
“Li Zhaoye!” she called out, turning toward him.
He was pacing in the loft, reciting cultivation mantras, and only half-turned at her voice. “Hm?”
His expression was serene, detached—utterly indifferent to worldly matters.
Luo Luo fumed. “Nothing! Go back to your cultivation!”
He nodded and actually did just that.
Luo Luo: “…”
She glared at him for a moment before storming off.
Qingnv Hall.
Xu Junlan had sneaked the sword Wushuang out again while her sister was in seclusion healing.
When Luo Luo arrived, a crowd had gathered around the gold-trimmed black lacquer altar, deep in superstitious fervor.
Upon closer inspection, the offerings weren’t just roast chicken and rice wine—there was also a voodoo doll with needles stuck in it.
Luo Luo: “…”
She picked up the doll and, sure enough, a slip of paper was pasted on its back, bearing the words “Qing Xu.”
Luo Luo was speechless. “What are you all doing?”
The group startled, then immediately pointed at Zhao Yu. “It was him! He did it!”
Zhao Yu’s face twitched. “What? You’re selling me out? Weren’t you all cheering when the needles went in?”
Luo Luo sighed. “This won’t work.”
“Exactly!” Senior Brother Buyang shook his head in exaggerated dismay. “I warned them! I said this was too much! No matter what, Qing Xu is still our martial uncle…”
Luo Luo continued, “Just a title isn’t enough. Get me a brush—I’ll write his birth date on it.”
Everyone: “…”
Never underestimate the ruthlessness of the seemingly honest.
Amid the curling incense smoke, Luo Luo crouched by the altar, peering at the sword with keen interest.
“You really saw the sword spirit?” she asked.
The group nodded like eager chicks.
“During the final battle, it flew up on its own! We all saw it clearly!”
“It attacked that giant monster by itself!”
“So we thought we’d try to… motivate it again.”
Luo Luo frowned thoughtfully. “But that had nothing to do with Li Ermiao. It awakened because of the Sage.” She tapped her chin. “Where would I even get the Sage’s birth date?”
Everyone: “…”
Xu Junzhu emerged from seclusion, instantly irritated by the commotion.
“Have you all finished today’s training? Mastered your sword forms? Recited your mantras? Completed your physical tests? What were your scores?”
The crowd’s expressions turned panicked.
“S-Sect Leader!”
“Uh… almost! We’ll get to it!”
“Practically done, just about!”
“The tests… cough… definitely won’t be delayed till tomorrow!”
Xu Junzhu stopped in front of Luo Luo. “Junior Sister, I was just looking for you.”
Luo Luo answered promptly. “Done. Mastered. Ninety-nine times. Tested. Perfect score.”
The others twitched. “…”
There’s a traitor among us!
Luo Luo was led to a side chamber.
“Here’s the thing,” Xu Junzhu said seriously. “The sword technique you and Senior Brother created is truly exceptional. After discussing with the elders, we’ve decided to make it a mandatory part of our sect’s legacy.”
Luo Luo’s eyes sparkled. “Really?”
Xu Junzhu smiled. “Would I joke about this?”
Luo Luo nearly jumped. “I’ll go tell—”
Then she remembered—she was in a one-sided cold war with Li Zhaoye.
She wasn’t telling him anything.
“Wait—” Xu Junzhu called her back. “I’m not done.”
Luo Luo plopped back down. “Oh.”
Xu Junzhu rubbed her temples. “The technique needs a name. The elders agreed you and Senior Brother should decide.”
Luo Luo blurted, “Dog-Paddle Style.”
Xu Junzhu: “…”
Some things never change.
She’d dealt with these two long enough. “Go discuss it properly with Senior Brother. Whether you make it up or cobble it together, I want ten possible names to choose from!”
Luo Luo: “…Fine.”
“Was there something else you needed?” Xu Junzhu asked.
It took Luo Luo a moment to remember. “I need some Soul-Mirage Jade.”
Luo Luo returned to Luo Luo Pavilion (formerly Flowing Light Pavilion).
After her dramatic exit, Li Zhaoye hadn’t even noticed her absence.
He sat by the window, meditating like a stone statue.
She glared at him, then crept closer and crushed the Soul-Mirage Jade—slipping into his spiritual realm to spy on his thoughts.
“…Huh?!”
To her shock, this “Li Zhaoye” wasn’t him at all. At some point, he’d replaced himself with a wooden puppet.
Luo Luo blinked dumbly.
So all this time, she’d been sulking at an automated dummy.
She laughed bitterly. “You’re unbelievable!”
Just as she was about to withdraw, she detected a faint pulse of energy from the puppet—a spell recording its surroundings.
“Huh?”
The spell was old, clearly placed years ago. In a world where soul arts were unknown, no one had ever suspected these puppets were Qing Xu’s spies.
Luo Luo froze. “…He knew we stole his pills. Knew, and still hid more.”
As she processed this, the puppet’s recent memories flooded her mind.
For days, it had impersonated Li Zhaoye in the loft.
Luo Luo, oblivious, had dutifully cultivated across from it, exchanging the occasional bland remark.
“Li Zhaoye ran off!” she realized, stunned. “He left without me—who knows where!”
In the memories, the light faded as night fell.
The loft was unlit, bathed in cold moonlight.
Her thoughts raced until movement caught her eye—someone else was in the memory.
Beyond her own oblivious form and the puppet, a figure stood outside the rear window.
“What?!”
A man stood there, silent as a shadow.
The upper half of his face was obscured, leaving only the sharp line of his jaw and the faint curve of his lips.
In the monochrome moonlight, his bone structure was starkly elegant, his silhouette razor-sharp.
No matter how you looked at it, there was an overwhelming, almost sinister sense of something inhuman lurking in the air.
In the darkness, the faint glint of dangerous cold light reflected in those eyes was just barely visible.
They were the ruthless eyes of a predator, and from his vantage point, Li Zhaoye could see Luo Luo’s figure sitting in meditation.
Hiss!
So this was how she looked when she was deep in cultivation at night—completely unaware of being watched!
A chill shot up her spine, crawling all the way to the back of her skull.
It was so thrilling it felt like her soul might evaporate from sheer shock.
Luo Luo’s heart pounded wildly.
She recognized him instantly—it was Li Zhaoye. But the fact that it was him made the situation even more electrifying. Instead of staying in the loft to accompany her cultivation, he was lurking in the shadows, silently observing her.
The darkness obscured his features, but it couldn’t hide the overwhelming sense of danger radiating from him.
Luo Luo held her breath, waiting, until finally, a gust of night wind parted the clouds, allowing a sliver of moonlight to spill over him.
The corpse puppet’s face was deathly pale, his expression cold and rigid.
Luo Luo: "..."
He’s the real ghost here!
The thick clouds closed again almost instantly, swallowing the moonlight once more.
But that brief glimpse had already burned itself into Luo Luo’s mind.
Under the moonlight, his skin was ghostly white, his pupils pitch-black. His eyes brimmed with an unsettling mix of icy detachment and scorching intensity—repressed, violent, and twisted.
The way he stared at her was pure, unadulterated possession, so dark and consuming it was indistinguishable from murderous intent.
She had no doubt this "male ghost" wanted to devour her whole.
He looked far more resentful than she ever had, as if nothing short of tearing her apart and feasting on her flesh could sate his hunger.
Under that gaze, Luo Luo felt her bones turn weak.
What’s wrong with him…?
A while later, the Luo Luo in the vision finally stirred from her meditation.
She blinked dumbly at the wooden puppet in front of her, calling it "Li Zhaoye" and pouting when it ignored her—completely unaware that the real Li Zhaoye had been staring at her like he wanted to consume her alive.
The male ghost flickered, vanishing soundlessly out the back window.
Luo Luo dazedly lifted her hand, pushing the wooden puppet aside as she stopped replaying the memory.
She blinked slowly, still baffled.
She didn’t understand!
Li Zhaoye had replaced himself with a wooden puppet to keep her company, while he himself lurked in the shadows, watching her with those eerie, ravenous eyes in the dead of night.
Just recalling that scene made her scalp tingle and her entire body shiver.
"What does he want to do to me…?"
She murmured the question to herself after a long daze.
"Then why doesn’t he just do it?"
Luo Luo stared blankly at the wooden puppet for a moment before suddenly snapping to attention.
She abruptly stood up, marched to the mountain path, and dragged back another wooden puppet—this one to replace herself.
She knew this trick too.
In the blink of an eye, two wooden puppets sat obediently across from each other by the window—one Li Zhaoye, one Luo Luo.
Wooden Puppet A: "Li Zhaoye."
Wooden Puppet B: "Here."
A: "Cultivating?"
B: "Cultivating."
A: "Mm. Cultivating."
B: "Right. Cultivating."
A: "Okay. Cultivating."
Luo Luo’s eye twitched violently, half-expecting them to get stuck in an endless loop.
Fortunately, the puppets weren’t that stupid.
Once they reached an agreement, the two fakes began their mock cultivation session.
Luo Luo: "Phew…"
The sky darkened further.
Luo Luo quietly suppressed her aura, pressing herself against the wall beside the back window.
She was lying in wait—for a certain sneaky dog.
Night fell frame by frame, the moonlight creeping up the treetops and casting dappled shadows.
Luo Luo’s heartbeat quickened.
Suddenly, the temperature around her dropped.
A shadow slid over the windowsill.
Her pulse spiked. In one swift motion, she leaped up and stuck her head out the window!
"Got y—... Huh?"
There was nothing outside.
The shadow had just been a patch of tree branches swaying in the night breeze.
Luo Luo’s shoulders slumped in disappointment. "...Not here yet."
She pulled back inside—only to freeze.
Her breath hitched as she slowly, slowly turned around.
Behind her, standing so close she could feel his icy body heat, was a tall, slender figure.
"Were you lying in wait for me?" His voice was laced with amusement—and danger.
Luo Luo: "..."
His features were still shrouded in shadow, but the curve of his lips was undeniably wicked.
Luo Luo: "!"
Thr—thrilling!
