"Yes—clearly I've spent even more time with junior brother, yet he's so devoted to Master alone!"
"Master, why is that? Do you have any idea what's going on?"
Su Lingyuan also grew bolder, blurting out whatever came to mind.
The moment the words 'deeply devoted' left her mouth, a faint blush instantly spread across Luo Huangjun's stunningly beautiful face.
She shot Su Lingyuan a glare.
This foolish apprentice—she never should have let her stay behind.
At the same time, she secretly checked her own status panel.
When she saw that her favorability had already reached 79, her heart grew even more unsettled.
Then she glanced at Dantai Jinglian and Su Lingyuan.
The former had previously been at 64; now she had only pitifully risen by a single point, reaching 65.
As for her own disciple, thanks to these days of interacting with Chu Ge, she had unknowingly reached 69.
But compared to herself—
The gap was enormous!
This was dangerous.
If it rose a little more, it would reach the level of romantic affection.
If, at that time, Chu Ge truly made that so-called move of "challenging his master"… what would she do?
Should she evade him? Or gently refuse?
Or perhaps…
No! She couldn't keep thinking!
Feeling her state of mind beginning to waver again, Luo Huangjun immediately cut off those scattered thoughts.
What she didn't realize was that when she sensed this dangerous thought, the only options she considered were avoidance or gentle rejection.
She hadn't even once thought about firmly suppressing it.
Nor had she considered extinguishing it at the root to prevent it from heading in an even worse direction later.
"Senior Sister, you're overthinking it. We merely live together in Taihuang Hall, so things naturally turned out this way. I haven't done anything special."
"I am, after all, his master. It's normal for him to trust me more. Don't read too much into it."
Luo Huangjun explained seriously, as if everything were perfectly reasonable.
Then, without waiting for either of them to respond, she continued:
"If there's nothing else, you may both disperse. I'm going to cultivate."
She spoke coldly, doing her best to maintain her usual aloof image.
Yet the faint trace of lingering red on her delicate earlobes mercilessly betrayed her.
With Luo Huangjun's departure, only Su Lingyuan and Dantai Jinglian remained.
Being left alone with the "bad woman" made Su Lingyuan recall some rather unpleasant memories from the past.
All those times she'd been teased and toyed with by Dantai Jinglian replayed in her mind, and her heart couldn't help but tremble.
"Ha… Martial Aunt, I'm going to cultivate too!"
She forced a stiff smile. After speaking, she turned to leave.
"Wait."
The instant those words fell, Su Lingyuan's heart skipped violently.
"Hehe… Martial Aunt, what are your instructions?"
She replied in a low voice, carrying the air of someone facing death with resolve.
"Martial Niece Lingyuan… did you forget something?"
Seeing Su Lingyuan looking as though she were facing a great enemy, Dantai Jinglian's playful spirit surged.
That signature mischievous smile appeared on her face. Her voice was lazy, yet tinged with a seductive magnetism.
This was a smile Su Lingyuan knew all too well—she had seen it countless times before.
With light lotus steps, Dantai Jinglian had already moved to Su Lingyuan's side.
Those fiery red eyes swept over her from head to toe, making Su Lingyuan shudder.
At this moment, she only felt weak, pitiful, and helpless.
"W-what… what is it? Martial Aunt, please speak plainly."
She forced a smile uglier than anything.