Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 461: Souls in Harmony

Chapter 461: Souls in Harmony

Fortunately, even though the two in the courtyard were quite bold, they still did not have the nerve to do anything in the open-air courtyard. They had no idea that right outside, the virtuous saintess was standing guard. In these times, when people came and went, jumping over walls at will, if someone happened to hop over the wall right now, they would see everything.

So, Zhao Changhe carried “Sisi” into the house and locked the door.

Outside, Sisi could no longer hear the murmurs of “master” and “Sisi,” and everything fell silent.

She, however, felt even more irritated, as if a cat were scratching at her heart. Quietly, she snuck back and pressed her ear against the wall to eavesdrop.

So you’re playing like this, huh? I refuse to believe that Yue Hongling can utter provocative words like “Master, is this to your liking?”

She carefully pressed her ear against the paper window. After listening for a long time, she heard no such provocative words, only hearing some suppressed sounds from Yue Hongling... Sisi recalled back in Yangzhou when Yue Hongling had groped her randomly, she made a similar sound through her nose.

Thinking about it this way, it was Yue Hongling who started it back then. I’m just getting back at her now...

But seriously, you claim to be well-traveled and experienced in the jianghu, yet you can’t even say any seductive lines. Is moaning really all you can do. Does he even find pleasure with you? If you weren’t wearing my face, maybe he wouldn’t even want you.

Hmph.

Wait, no. Why is she using my face to do this with him? I never intended to do this with him!

Sisi was going crazy.

Inside, things had yet to reach its peak, yet the eavesdropper outside had already reached her limit and stormed off angrily.

The sounds inside quieted down, as if both were listening intently. After a while, Yue Hongling chuckled softly. “Did she run off?”

“Seems like it.”

“Her feelings for you are strange... But I feel there’s a difference between her and us. Don’t get carried away just because she flirts with you and says a few seductive things.”

“I know, I know...” Zhao Changhe kissed her. “I only want my big sister Yue...”

“Alright...” Yue Hongling whispered softly: “Sh-should I turn to the side?”

“Hoh, that would be great...”

In reality, Yue Hongling had not put on a disguise at all, she was still using her own face. She may truly have been willing to put makeup on herself, but Zhao Changhe could not bring himself to do it. He felt it to be too strange and disrespectful to her.

So, they did not go through with the disguise part. They set aside all messy thoughts and truly immersed themselves in dual cultivation.

The so-called healing was meaningless. Although both of them had unhealed wounds, they were all external injuries. Especially when Zhao Changhe sliced off flesh from his arm—the scene looked terrifying and full of heroic spirit—but in reality, it barely affected his combat strength much. It had, after all, just been a small piece of flesh on his left arm.

It was the continuous battles where he had to continuously use every possible means available to him that left him mentally exhausted. Without daring to use the Vicious Blood Art, he had been relying mainly on the Six Harmonies Art, an area where Zhao Changhe had always been relatively average. Dual cultivation had a particularly good effect on this aspect, more effective than any miraculous medicine.

More importantly, this reunification relieved their longing for each other. Amid the vast sea of people, for completely different reasons, they came to a fated reunion at the edge of the world.

Yue Hongling was deeply moved by this, and Zhao Changhe felt the same.

Zhao Changhe seemed to have been flitting among the flowers for quite some time, but in reality, the only person with whom he could truly open his arms and indulge in dual cultivation was none other than Yue Hongling.

And this time, Zhao Changhe found that the effect of dual cultivation was particularly good.

It was for no other reason than him having truly caught up to Yue Hongling in strength.

Even if he was still slightly inferior, it was only by a thin margin, and it was only due to his lacking internal cultivation. In fact, in terms of external cultivation, he seemed to have slightly surpassed her. Overall, they were evenly matched.

Dual cultivation between practitioners of comparable levels had always been the most effective. They were a true celestial couple in perfect harmony.

Both of them wished they could merge into each other’s body, and even after it was over, they still held each other tightly, unwilling to let go.

Anyone else would have been exhausted, but the two of them had fully recovered their energy and were glowing with vitality.

“You...” Although Yue Hongling was in good spirits, her voice was a bit hoarse, and her lips were somewhat dry. “You really... have gotten stronger...”

Looking at her disheveled hair sticking to her cheeks, Zhao Changhe found her even more alluring and could not help but lower his head to kiss her again. “It’s because I’m afraid of not being able to keep up with you.”

Yue Hongling responded tenderly, but there was something she did not say out loud.

The feeling of being conquered has become even more evident now than when we were beyond Yanmen...

From him chasing her shadow, striving hard to match her so that their cultivation levels were not too different and they could wield their blades and roam the world together, to now, when he seemed to have become a pillar that could hold up the sky, the backbone of the household.

She had been prepared to step in during the sword trial against the Hundred Tribes, but unexpectedly, alone save for his sword, he stood above all others, breaking through any strange and bizarre tricks.

In a daze, she had a feeling, as if she could just hide under his outspread wings, being a comfortable feather... Yue Hongling believed that Sisi would feel the same.

A man’s strength, in this world, was akin to a permit.

Yue Hongling was somewhat infatuated with this feeling but also afraid of it, afraid of losing herself.

Fortunately, Zhao Changhe seemed to care about her sense of self even more than she did.

Thinking of this, Yue Hongling could not help but find it amusing.

The Yue Hongling in his heart, the lone silhouette he had been chasing after, might actually differ slightly from the real Yue Hongling... but that did not matter. Yue Hongling knew exactly how to be the Yue Hongling he envisioned.

She gently pushed away the Zhao Changhe who was clinging to her and said softly, “Alright now, you’re acting like a child.”

Zhao Changhe pouted. “This child is hungry and wants to eat...”

Yue Hongling pretended to lightly smack him. “I’ll give you a big slap to eat instead.”

Zhao Changhe laughed foolishly.

Yue Hongling found it amusing as well. He always called her a little girl, though it was just his way of not wanting to admit it. He constantly wanted to show that he had grown up. But deep down, he always thought of her as an elder sister, and when he was around her, he acted like a boy.

So her expression turned more serious. “Are you planning to learn the sword now?”

“Yes.”

“Have you given up on the saber?”

“No,” Zhao Changhe replied. “I’ve felt that my progress with the saber, especially in terms of saber intent, has slowed. I’m facing a bit of a bottleneck. I hope to gain some insight through sword arts. In truth, I want to learn the sword to help me understand the saber better. The saber is still my foundation; everything is for that.”

There was a buzzing tremor from the ring. A certain saber was delighted at his words.

Zhao Changhe did not notice it and continued, “My idea, for now, is to practice sword arts, and once I’m confident, maybe I can try wielding both—sword in the left hand, saber in the right—though I’m not sure if that’s necessary. We’ll see. Ultimately, I’ll return to my roots, and it will always be just the saber.”

Dragon Bird felt immensely pleased, trembling in satisfaction before settling down, seemingly more at peace than its owner at that moment.

Yue Hongling did not care much about his plans for his martial arts. She was just a little happy at the opportunity now presented to her. “So now I can teach you the sword, right?”

“Uh...”

Yue Hongling put on a stern face, “What? You don’t want to learn from me? Do you think your mastery of the sword is already on par with mine? Or are you saying that the sword arts you learned from the Tang Clan in Gusu are more useful than mine?”

“Nothing like that... I’ve always aimed to learn from different masters to gain more insight. And my main sword art isn’t even the Spring Water Sword Art, it’s the Sword Emperor’s sword arts I found with Sisi...”

“I don’t care what sword arts you use, but you need to incorporate mine too,” Yue Hongling interrupted, biting his ear. “I want to make sure that next time you face someone in a sword duel, there’s a bit of me in it, so I can feel involved.”

Zhao Changhe could not help but laugh.

She really does have a bit of a girlish temper.

He bit her ear back and said, “I wasn’t hesitating because I didn’t want to learn your sword arts. I was wondering if you wanted to learn the Sword Emperor’s sword arts.”

Yue Hongling froze, feeling a bit embarrassed.

She had planned on continuing to be the big sister, teaching him. He wanted her to do so too, which was great... but without realizing it, she found that he could actually teach her as well, and she wanted him to do so as well.

The feeling from back then was gone, never to return... but that was fine. This was what it meant to stand side by side, helping each other out.

Yue Hongling cheerfully said, “Alright, teach me too. Now that we’re in good spirits, how about getting up to practice some sword arts?”

“That’s unnecessary,” Zhao Changhe grinned. “We’ve both unlocked the Profound Mysteries, and our souls are in harmony. Do we really need to go back to the early days of demonstrating moves one sword strike at a time?”

Yue Hongling responded with mock irritation, “What sneaky idea do you have in mind? It’s one thing to pass on sword intent through dual cultivation, but learning actual moves that way seems a bit far-fetched.”

“Your husband has his ways...”

“Hey, take it easy...” Before Yue Hongling could protest, her mind was suddenly overwhelmed, as if she had entered a new, breathtakingly beautiful secret realm.

A divine sword was suspended in midair, gracefully demonstrating profound sword arts, even more intricate and mystical than what Zhao Changhe had previously shown.

Yue Hongling was stunned.

What the fuck?! He was serious?

So, while other men might waste their time and energy on women, not only could he enhance his cultivation with them, but he could even practice martial arts with them...

Yue Hongling suddenly understood why he was able to advance so quickly. Many moves seemed as if he mastered them just by seeing them once. This must be some kind of treasure, a secret opportunity that he possessed.

“You... you’re sharing your secret, your... your most precious thing with me?” Yue Hongling could not help but ask, “Aren’t... aren’t you afraid that I... ha...”

Zhao Changhe almost burst into laughter, “My little girl, at a time like this, just stop asking... Is there really any difference between what’s mine and what’s yours?”

“I...”

“Am I your husband or not?”

“You’re just bullying me now, aren’t you? Just wait until daylight, then you’ll... you’ll see...”

As dawn broke, the soft rays of sunlight caressed a pair of bare feet stepping into the courtyard once again.

If one listened carefully, they would find that the sounds inside had not yet stopped.

Sisi stared incredulously at the distant sun, as if in a dream, her mind hazy as she opened the courtyard door and left.

“Saintess, saintess!” The young girls came running over. “Oh no, we overslept! We didn’t come to take over the watch during the second half of the night... Saintess, you’re really tough. You’re actually still standing guard here...”

Sisi’s eyes glinted dangerously, her delicate hands clenched tightly with audible cracks. “I’ve put up with you for long enough...”

In the early morning mist, the young girls’ cries of pain echoed one after the other, as if accompanying the symphony coming from inside the house.