Yue Lingxi Knows

If one were to ask how Gu Changyuan viewed his feelings toward his seven disciples—if he said he didn't like them, that would definitely be a lie.

The appearances of the seven women were top-tier existences in the entire Nine Heavens Realm; they were breathtakingly beautiful, each with her own unique charm.

Coupled with the fact that Gu Changyuan had spent so much time with them—not just a few days or a few years, but hundreds of years.

From the time they were inexperienced young girls, he had watched them grow step by step into the independent experts they were today.

The things that had settled over those years could not be summarized by a simple "like" or "dislike."

After his emotions returned, knowing that they had that kind of affection for him, he also harbored feelings of fondness for them.

On this point, Gu Changyuan didn't want to lie to himself, nor could he.

However, as for exactly what to do next, he truly had no idea.

Confess his feelings? Impossible, he was their master. Pretend not to know?

His emotions were all back, how could he pretend?

Put the restriction back on? That would be too inhuman.

He would just have to take it one step at a time.

Right at this moment, a knock sounded at the door.

Without his cultivation and spiritual energy, Gu Changyuan naturally could not probe who was outside the door, and couldn't even easily catch the sound of footsteps.

"Come in."

His voice was a bit louder than usual, carrying an unaccustomed exertion.

The sound of the door opening echoed.

A slender figure walked in from outside.

Yue Lingxi.

She wore a moon-white long dress, a silver ribbon tied around her waist, outlining a waist so slim it could be held in one hand.

Seeing his fourth disciple enter, a smile appeared on Gu Changyuan's face.

Yue Lingxi noticed this, and her footsteps paused slightly.

After entering the room, her gaze fell upon Gu Changyuan.

Her master was smiling.

It wasn't his usual gentle, reassuring smile—that kind of smile was nice, but it always felt like it was missing something.

But at this moment, her master's smile had an added touch of soul.

Yue Lingxi's heartbeat skipped a beat.

"Little Xi, what's wrong?"

Gu Changyuan's voice came from ahead, his tone natural and carrying a hint of concern.

Yue Lingxi shook her head, her voice light and clear:

"Nothing, I just wanted to come and see Master."

After saying this, she herself felt it was a bit strange.

She was not the type to take the initiative to chat with her master; normally, she would come along with her eldest senior sister Ye Qingxue or her third senior sister Bai Ling'er.

But today, when passing by her master's door, her footsteps had stopped involuntarily.

It wasn't intentional; her body had made the decision on its own. By the time she reacted, she was already standing at the door, her hand raised, having already knocked.

Moreover, for some reason, a thought suddenly popped up from the bottom of her heart.

In the past, she had never used her soul body to probe her master.

It wasn't that she couldn't, but that she had never thought of it. Master was Master, an existence so powerful that he needed no one's protection. Probe him?

That would be an offense, as well as redundant.

But at this moment, she had that thought.

And, she carried it out.

A subtle, almost imperceptible soul fluctuation probed out from between Yue Lingxi's brows, silently enveloping Gu Changyuan.

Given Gu Changyuan's current state, where even his most basic perception abilities were barely stronger than an ordinary person's, he was completely unable to detect this probe.

A trace of surprise flashed through Yue Lingxi's eyes.

"Master, your cultivation?"

Gu Changyuan's expression didn't change at all, as if he had long expected someone to ask this question and had already prepared an answer.

"Your master is researching some new things, so I currently have no cultivation."

Yue Lingxi fell silent.

She looked at Gu Changyuan, the expression on her face becoming complex.

Gu Changyuan looked at Yue Lingxi's face, which clearly showed she was overthinking things, and his heart stirred slightly.

"Don't worry, it's not caused by that battle."

His voice was gentle and certain.

"You all should have felt my complete recovery earlier.

Right now having no cultivation is indeed due to researching a new secret technique. My cultivation will return in a few days."

He spoke very seriously, his gaze looking directly into Yue Lingxi's eyes.

Yue Lingxi looked into those eyes and read honesty and certainty in them, with no evasion or guilt.

She breathed a slight sigh of relief, and the complex emotions in her eyes dissipated a bit, though they didn't completely disappear.

"Mhm."

Yue Lingxi stayed in the room for a while, chatting casually with Gu Changyuan for a bit.

After a while, she stood up.

"Master, then I will head back first."

"Alright."

Yue Lingxi got up and left, walking out of her master's courtyard.

No cultivation.

Master currently had no cultivation.

This thought swirled around in her mind, then collided with another thought.

A master without cultivation, wasn't he just an ordinary person?

An ordinary person without any spiritual power, no different from a mortal, who could be easily manipulated.

Yue Lingxi's heartbeat suddenly accelerated.

She didn't know why she had this thought.

This was wrong; this wasn't something she should be thinking about.

But that thought was like it had taken root, firmly nailed into her mind, impossible to drive away no matter how hard she tried.

Moreover, the longer she stood in the corridor, not only did that thought not dissipate, but it actually grew stronger and stronger.

No, she didn't dare to do it alone.

Yue Lingxi gritted her teeth, turned around, and quickly walked away.

She didn't return to her own residence, but instead went straight to find Ye Qingxue and Bai Ling'er.

After telling her two senior sisters about her master's temporary loss of cultivation, she also voiced the bold idea in her heart.

Hearing their fourth junior sister's idea, both Ye Qingxue and Bai Ling'er were filled with shock.

Among all the disciples, Yue Lingxi had always been the most calm and indifferent, always acting steadily and with restraint. Who would have thought she would actually have such a bold idea.

But in fact, it was understandable. Over so many years, they had hinted and explicitly shown their feelings so many times, yet their master just couldn't grasp it.

They didn't know the reason; they only knew that their master hadn't responded, and they didn't dare to extravagantly hope for his response.

But their master not responding didn't mean their feelings would disappear.

Those feelings accumulated deeper and deeper in their hearts, growing thicker and thicker, so thick that sometimes they even felt like they were going to overflow.

A month ago, when that palm descended from the sky, they could do nothing.

They could only watch as their master flew into the sky alone, faced that world-destroying strike alone, and stood there bathed in blood alone, fighting with his own life on the line.

At that moment, besides fear and heartache, they had another thought in their hearts.

If, if there was a future, if their master could still come back alive, they wouldn't wait anymore.

The three gathered together and discussed for a long time, still filled with shyness and apprehension, hesitating to take action.

Simply hardening their hearts, they called Tushan Youyao, Luo Qingchen, Mo Yingluo, and Mo Yingyue over as well.

"What?! Master's cultivation is gone?"

After learning that their master temporarily had no cultivation, the ones with the biggest reaction were naturally Mo Yingluo and Mo Yingyue.

The eyes of the two girls were currently shining astonishingly bright.

Previously, they didn't dare to use force on their master because they couldn't beat him.

Now that their master had no cultivation, that threat was gone.

Mo Yingyue turned her head to look at her older sister.

Mo Yingluo met her younger sister's gaze and nodded slightly.

There was no need for words; the profound, tacit understanding between the twin sisters was displayed to its fullest at this very moment.

As for the aftermath, who cares!

They would just do what they had been yearning to do and worry about the rest later.

They had waited for over a century, to the point where they nearly believed they would never get a chance in this lifetime. Now, that long-awaited day had finally arrived.

Besides, what if their Master actually harbored the same feelings for them?

If they did not try, how would they ever know the answer?

Without waiting for their senior sisters to say another word, the two girls vanished in a flash, heading straight for Gu Changyuan's room.

Seeing the two girls suddenly appear, a look of surprise flickered across Gu Changyuan's face.

"Xiao Luo, Xiao Yue, why are you..."

Before he could even finish his sentence, his body collapsed backward.