Chapter 324: Zhang Shuyue’s Scheme; Ye Xiuwen is Trapped!

Translator: Minotauruz

Jun Xiaomo couldn’t be bothered to butt heads and flap lips against Zhou Zilong any longer, and she motioned to follow after Ye Xiuwen once more. Yet to her dismay, Zhou Zilong stepped in front of her, obstructing her movements again.

“Martial Brother Zhou, just what are you trying to do?!” Jun Xiaomo had discovered for the very first time how this martial brother of hers could be completely impervious to reason.

“I...I’m just trying to ask Little Martial Sister to give Miss Zhang some time. She really doesn’t have any ill intentions. She...she’s incredibly hurt by the turn of events, and she wishes to have one final attempt to clear the air so that she would be willing to give up.” Zhou Zilong’s face flushed red as he explained.

He sincerely felt that his actions were not being fair to his Little Martial Sister. However, he also believed in Zhang Shuyue’s character – he believed that she would know her limits and act in moderation, and he believed that she would never do anything that would hurt his Little Martial Sister.

Yet Jun Xiaomo simply chuckled coldly, “Isn’t the fact that Martial Brother Ye and I are officially together sufficient for her to give up? What else is she looking for? Are you saying that she wants to attempt snatching Martial Brother Ye from right under my nose, and she’s only willing to give up when her efforts end in failure?”

Zhou Zilong was rendered completely speechless by Jun Xiaomo’s spiel. After all, he hardly gave the matter much thought back when Miss Zhang sought out his help in this regard. At that time, the only considerations weighing on his mind was the fact that Miss Zhang appeared to be in such pain, distress and hurt, so he had assessed that there was simply no harm in letting her make one final attempt to clear the air before giving up.

After all, he was certain that Zhang Shuyue’s thoughts would no longer run wild once Martial Brother Ye had cleared the air regarding his intentions with her.

Jun Xiaomo noticed that Zhou Zilong had grown taciturn, so she continued snidely, “I’d never seem someone as magnanimous as Martial Brother Zhou. You’re evidently fond of Zhang Shuyue. Yet quite apart from confessing your feelings to her, you’re even obsessed about creating an opportunity for her to get closer to Martial Brother Ye. Anyone who’s unaware of your identity might even think that Zhang Shuyue is your martial sister.”

“Martial Sister Xiaomo, I’m sorry.” Zhou Zilong’s heart was incredibly stifled, and he was overwhelmed by guilt at this stage, “I know I’ve acted on impulse, but I’m willing to hedge everything on Miss Zhang’s character. She’s promised that this will be the last time, and she will no longer harass Martial Brother Ye after this.”

“Don’t call me ‘martial sister’ anymore. I can’t bear the burden of such a title.” Jun Xiaomo had reached her boiling point, yet her mind had never been any clearer or more composed, “Zhou Zilong, you only give regard to the fact that Zhang Shuyue has rescued you once, yet have you ever considered the fact that Martial Brother Ye and I have saved all of your lives? We’d done so much to infiltrate the Dawn Sect and rescue you from the horrific prison, only to be treated like this? Martial Brother Zhou, I’m thoroughly disappointed!”

Jun Xiaomo’s heart felt as though it had been washed over by sleet and snow. In her previous life, she was largely to blame for why Ye Xiuwen would fall in love with Zhang Shuyue. If not for the fact that she had time and again disappointed and let down Ye Xiuwen’s expectations, Martial Brother Ye would never have found himself so deeply embroiled in the relationship with Zhang Shuyue and been unable to extricate himself from the situation when push had come to shove.

In this life, she sincerely thought that she had done more than enough, particularly when it came to her martial brothers from the Heavenly Peak. After all, she had never done anything to wrong or disappoint them.

In her heart, they were all part of her family, and she was disinclined to be calculative with her martial brothers at all. But just what did she receive in return?

Were her martial brothers going to overlook their relationship that had been build on decades of being martial siblings just because of a single outsider? Just what hypnotic pills had Zhang Shuyue fed them to make their hearts, minds and souls wander like that?

Jun Xiaomo’s cold, distant words had only made the overwhelming guilt in Zhou Zilong’s heart burgeon even more. On the one hand, he was bent on maintaining his belief in Zhang Shuyue’s character; yet on the other hand, he acknowledged that everything which his Little Martial Sister had said up to this point in time was completely right, and his actions right now were akin to repaying good with evil. Martial Brother Ye and his Little Martial Sister were already an item, yet he had resorted to deceitful measures just to separate them so that Jun Xiaomo’s love rival could have some time alone with Ye Xiuwen.

Even if Zhang Shuyue stuck to her words and refrained from doing anything untoward or improper to Ye Xiuwen, he knew that his Little Martial Sister would still feel ill at ease by such an arrangement.

“I’m sorry...”

Apart from repeatedly apologizing, Zhou Zilong didn’t know how else he could continue to face his Little Martial Sister.

“I don’t need your apology.” Jun Xiaomo calmly stated, “Martial Brother Zhou, if you’re still not going to step aside, don’t blame me for making a move against you. I’ve already recovered substantially over the last few days. Right now, you’re no longer my match.”

Jun Xiaomo had already attained the elementary-tier Nascent Soul stage of cultivation, and someone like Zhou Zilong in only the twelfth level of Qi Master was not somebody who could possibly be a threat to her.

“Little Martial Sister, I’ll never raise a finger against you.” Zhou Zilong responded with agony in his voice.

He was already overwhelmed with guilt right now, so how could he possibly make a move against his Little Martial Sister?

“Hah, you won’t be able to do a thing even if you attempt to make a move.” Jun Xiaomo curtly responded. Then, she immediately walked around Zhou Zilong’s body and landed a swift, calculated blow on his neck.

Zhou Zilong’s heart constricted slightly. But before he could properly respond to the situation, he saw his surroundings fade to black, and he passed out completely.

Jun Xiaomo looked down at Zhou Zilong as he lay motionless on the floor, and her heart was filled with dismay.

She had never wished for an internal conflict with her martial brother if she could help it. But who could have expected Zhang Shuyue to be so insidious to be able to sow such seeds of discord and create a rift between the Heavenly Peak disciples?

In Jun Xiaomo’s previous life, Zhang Shuyue had done the exact same things as well.

With a grimace on her lips, Jun Xiaomo retrieved a Windsail Talisman from her Interspatial Ring, applied it on herself, and then swiftly charged out of the courtyard, following in the direction that Ye Xiuwen had departed in.

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Ye Xiuwen was so worried about the emergency faced by Martial Brother Zhuo that he had completely overlooked the fact that Jun Xiaomo and Zhou Zilong had not followed behind him at all.

Besides, given that he had the aid of his Windwalk ability, he was running at speeds that were well above that possessed by Jun Xiaomo and Zhou Zilong to begin with. Thus, he hardly thought too much about the others falling behind at all.

That said, it was only when he arrived at the woods that he discovered something slightly amiss.

The feeling that something was wrong struck him quickly and suddenly. Yet, it was not a logical process that he could put a finger on. Rather, it was more akin to an intuitive feeling.

Thus, Ye Xiuwen slowed down his steps and released his divine sense into the surroundings as he slowly followed the path forward and into the woods.

Just then, a scent of blood wafted through the air and swept past his nose.

Ye Xiuwen’s heart constricted, and he no longer moved with caution. Releasing his Windwalk ability once more, he sprinted through the woods in the direction where the scent of blood came from.

Just as Ye Xiuwen was about to arrive at his destination, his surroundings suddenly changed, and the scent of blood vanished completely. Instead, his surroundings had transformed into a light pink coloured peach blossom forest.

Ye Xiuwen immediately exclaimed in his heart, “Something’s wrong.” Thus, he began to muster more spiritual energy with thoughts of retreating.

Having engaged with so many battles with his Little Martial Sister in the past, he was now well acquainted with formation arrays. At the very least, he knew that the present sight he saw was something that could only be created by a formation array.

Unfortunately, leaving the domain of a formation array was hardly as easy as entering it. In the very next moment, Ye Xiuwen noticed a figure flutter across his line of sight, before a wave of severe drowsiness hit him.

Very soon, his surroundings faded to black, and he collapsed to the ground, completely unconscious.

When Ye Xiuwen came to his senses once more, he discovered that he was now lying on an exquisite-looking bed, and even the mattress was pink in colour. It was obvious that this was a lady’s residence.

The gentle aroma of incense filled the room. As Ye Xiuwen breathed in the smoky scent, it seemed only to haze his mind, distracting and discombobulating him.

He began to muster his spiritual energy once more, thinking to expel the smog that seemed to enshroud his mind. However, it quickly became apparent that the incense seemed to possess special properties, and the more he attempted to resist it, the more it clouded his mind.

Thus, Ye Xiuwen gave up on resisting the haziness in his mind, and he relied solely on his willpower to forcibly regain some clarity of mind.

At the same time, he began to feel slightly better having ceased operating the spiritual energy in his body.

Just then, the door to the room opened up, and a set of gentle footsteps echoed out. Ye Xiuwen furrowed his brows, thinking of sitting up so that he could see who this person was. But to his dismay, he suddenly discovered just how weak and feeble his body was right now – it was as though all of his strength was gone!

Ye Xiuwen cursed himself at being far too reckless and careless. He had let his guard down and assumed that his surroundings were safe on consideration of the fact that he was in a valley, and there were no traces of human habitation in a radius of one hundred miles. Otherwise, how could he have possibly allowed himself to slip into such a straightforward trap?

The only questions that remained were who the perpetrator was; and whether Martial Brother Zhou was involved in this at all.

His bed curtains were quickly drawn open. In the very next moment, Ye Xiuwen noticed a pink coloured dress entering his field of vision. This dress was so thin that it was practically translucent, and he was able to see the lady’s undergarments through the dress.

“It’s you?” Ye Xiuwen finally recognized the perpetrator’s appearance, and he immediately furrowed his brows.

He should have guessed it – after all, was there really anyone else apart from Zhang Shuyue who possessed sufficient control over Zhou Zilong to use him as a mouthpiece? Besides, the valley belonged to Zhang Shuyue’s master to begin with, and outsiders would never be able to make their way in that easily.

A warm, radiant smile was plastered all over Zhang Shuyue’s face. She looked at Ye Xiuwen as she assured him, “Brother Ye, don’t worry. I’m only here to have a nice little chat with you, and perhaps have a heart-to-heart talk.”

“Hah, is there really a need to go to such an extent just for a ‘little chat’?” Ye Xiuwen glared coldly at Zhang Shuyue as he refuted.

“Of course there is. Brother Ye has been so entranced and obsessed by Sister Xiaomo in recent times that I’ve got absolutely no opportunity to talk to you at all. Otherwise, why would I have resorted to such measures?” Zhang Shuyue gave Ye Xiuwen a distressed look. If her suitors saw this expression on her face right now, they would most certainly feel their heart wrench with pity and sympathy for her.

However, these “suitors” obviously did not include Ye Xiuwen.

He placidly responded, “If Miss Zhang doesn’t want to risk burning bridges with me, I’ll advise you not to do anything foolish.”

“I don’t want to do anything foolish either. But, if I don’t do anything foolish, how would Brother Ye be willing to remain by my side?” Zhang Shuyue responded with a coquettish voice as she took another step forward. Then, she removed the top part of her dress seductively. With her shoulders revealed, she sat beside Ye Xiuwen and gently caressed his chest as she quipped, “Brother Ye, tell me, if Sister Xiaomo sees us tussling in bed together, will she still remain by your side?”

Ye Xiuwen’s spirits suddenly tensed up, and he lifted his hand with all the might he could muster and smacked Zhang Shuyue’s palm off his chest. Pak!

As she rubbed her hand that had just been slapped away, a sense of indignation washed over her heart. Glaring back at Ye Xiuwen, she no longer spoke with the soft, coquettish voice as she had earlier. Instead, she mocked contemptuously, “You’re not bad, aren’t you? I can’t believe you’re still able to muster that much strength to resist me.”

Ye Xiuwen continued to glare frigidly at her, “If I’ve got any more strength remaining in my body right now, your hand wouldn’t simply have been struck to the side.”

Zhang Shuyue was initially infuriated by his response. However, after thinking about it for a moment, she suddenly smiled again, “Brother Ye, stop with your futile resistance. Why don’t you just take things in your stride and try to enjoy yourself? Don’t worry, even though you don’t have much strength in your body right now, I’ll release the restraints on your body’s strength once the effects of the incense kicks in.”

“Effects of the incense?” Ye Xiuwen had initially thought that the incense was only used to render him incapacitated. How could he have known that there was an additional purpose to the incense?

“It’s something that will send us both over the moon...” As Zhang Shuyue explained, she slowly leaned closer to Ye Xiuwen’s body, gazing at his stunning looks with a twinkle in her eye as she added coquettishly, “Brother Ye, shall we ascend to the peaks of ecstasy together?”