"Wow... that was good," Langtian sighed, setting down his bowl after finishing the last drop of sweet soup.
It was so delicious that, even though he had thought there was no way he could finish the whole pot... he did.
Somehow, spoonful after spoonful, he’d emptied it all.
Across from him, Yue Ling watched quietly, a faint smile playing at her lips.
"Huh? S-Senior Sister?" Langtian blinked, startled when he noticed her looking at him.
"You’ve got a little something on your cheek," she said softly.
Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, she leaned in and gently wiped the corner of his mouth with her thumb.
His body tensed. His heart skipped a beat the moment her skin touched his.
But Yue Ling didn’t seem to notice the effect it had on him. She simply gave him a warm smile, gathered up the empty bowls, and stood.
"I’ll go wash these," she said lightly, and turned to leave the room.
Now, alone, Langtian sat quietly, waiting for her return, but his heart was pounding, and his chest felt a little tight, a little strange.
He placed a hand over his chest and let out a slow, shaky breath, as he now realized that even though they had been separated for so long, even though she had changed, and he had changed too, there were still things that remained the same.
Senior Sister was still that caring, gentle senior sister. Those small, quiet gestures, they were unmistakably hers.
A moment later, when Yue Ling returned, she brought something else with her.
"This is for you." she gave it to Langtian.
"Eh? What is this?" Langtian asked as he recieved the book.
"That’s the thing I want to show you." Yue Ling .
Langtian then looked down at the book in his hands.
It was black thick, about two finger-knuckles deep, and old. The cover had a simple lotus drawn on it, but it was worn and faded, the corners torn and frayed. Scratches and cuts ran along the spine like battle scars. Blood stains marked the surface, dry and dark, smeared across the edges and soaking part of the title.
It looked less like a book and more like something pulled out of a battlefield.
’Something happened to the other person who held this...’ Langtian thought.
Curious, he tilted the cover toward the light and squinted at the title.
The ink had faded badly. Some of the characters were scratched out or missing entirely. But with some effort, he pieced the title together.
His voice cracked with disbelief.
"Lotus Heart Sutra of the Tranquil Dao...!"
His hands trembled slightly as he gripped the book tighter.
"Senior Sister Shangguan... h-how did you get this?"
Because this sutra—the Lotus Heart Sutra of the Tranquil Dao—was no ordinary technique.
It was a sacred scripture of the Crimson Lotus Sect! — A reclusive, highly respected sect known for its mastery of inner peace, spiritual clarity, and the cultivation of serenity through the Dao.
This sutra was their inner sect’s core inheritance. Only the most trusted disciples were allowed to study it.
In the cultivation world, sects guarded their exclusive techniques fiercely, and they had their ways of doing it.
Some sealed their scriptures with spiritual arrays or seals, allowing only their disciples—those carrying a sect token or branded spiritual imprint—to even open the pages.
Others went further, binding their cultivation manuals with soul seals, allowing only a specific person’s soul signature to read or cultivate from it.
And in some sects, disciples who learned core techniques were required to swear Heavenly Blood Oaths. They are vows bound to the heavens themselves. If they ever taught the technique to outsiders, they would be struck down by divine lightning, their soul shattered and scattered to the winds.
On top of that, of course, there was always the final warning: Anyone caught stealing or secretly learning such techniques would be hunted down by the entire sect.
In short, these techniques weren’t just secret. They were sacred treasures!
And the Crimson Lotus Sect was known to be one of the strictest in that regard.
Even when offered wealth beyond imagination, their disciples would never break the law and pass on a core technique.
How did Senior sister Yue Ling—who was a former disciple of the Mysterious Sun Sect—get her hands on this?
As Langtian inspect further, he then noticed a broken seal.
And given the bloody mark on the book... there was only one possible explanation.
"Senior Sister... did you..." Langtian’s voice dropped into a whisper, heavy with dread. "Did you kill a Crimson Lotus Sect disciple and take this book?"
Because that was the only way the seal could be broken.
Only upon the original owner’s death would the protective bindings vanish, and the scripture could fall into someone else’s hands.
’There’s no way she would do that... right?’
’Senior Sister is a good person! She wouldn’t just kill someone to steal their technique!’
’Maybe... there’s some kind of misunderstanding?’
"Don’t worry. I didn’t do such a thing," Yue Ling said calmly.
"Phew..." Langtian let out a sigh of relief. "But then... how did you get your hands on this book?"
"They were already dead when I found them. The seal had already been broken."
"Ah... I see..." Langtian murmured.
If the person was already dead...
Then it was a whole different story.
"Alright. Why don’t you spend the rest of the night reading through this book?" Yue Ling suggested.
"But... are we really allowed to do that?" Langtian hesitated.
After all, learning another sect’s exclusive technique was a major taboo in the cultivation world.
If found out, he could be hunted down, executed.
To that, Yue Ling simply laughed.
"Silly Junior Brother," she said with a shake of her head. "Look at the situation we’re in. How can you still worry about such trivial things?"
Langtian’s eyes widened.
"Oh right... how foolish of me..."
Because here, in this cursed valley where the outside world had forgotten them, there was only the two of them.
There was no one to see, no one to report, and certainly, no one to come after them.
And besides... this technique was exactly what he needed at the moment.
To resist the voice of the inner demon, Tranquil Heart Breathing alone wasn’t enough. What he needed was something stronger, more profound.
And it just so happened that the Lotus Heart Sutra of the Tranquil Dao was now in his hands. It was said to be the most powerful meditation and spiritual purification method in the whole Celestial Dragon Kingdom — a high-grade Earth-tier technique, renowned for its ability to strengthen the soul, calm the mind, and resist emotional corruption.
With this, his path in demonic cultivation might actually be possible.
"Alright then," Yue Ling said with a gentle smile. "Once you’re done reading, get some rest."
"Wait, Senior Sister... where will you sleep tonight?" Langtian asked, guilt rising in his chest.
He had taken her room, and now she had nowhere to sleep.
"Don’t worry about me. I can sleep in the pill-refining workshop," she said casually. "Besides, I still have some things to take care of."
"Ah... I see," Langtian replied, a little hesitant.
"So just yell if you need anything, alright? Senior Sister is right next door."
"Good night, Junior Brother. Don’t get eaten by your inner demon in your sleep."
"Haha. Have a tranquil night.... Senior Sister Shangguan."
Yue Ling gave him one last glance before walking out of the room.
Langtian sat down and opened the book, flipping through the old, blood-stained pages.
"Wait..." he froze, eyes widening.
’She’s been stuck in this valley for over ten years...’
’Then how... could she have come across a disciple from the Crimson Lotus Sect?’