Ch. 318 - Heroine’s Dance

The bright moon hung high in the sky, casting a silver-white moonlight and illuminating a small river running through the western side of the Heavenly Gate City with sparkling light.

There was an arch bridge over the stream, which seemed to be a path connecting day and night. One side of the bridge was the bustling night market on Long Jade Street, while the other side was enveloped in the tranquility of the night.

Dressed in her lavender uniform, Xiao Yunluo was looking down at the paving tiles on the ground. Her blue and white embroidered shoes stepped on the center of each brick with very small steps as she tried her best to avoid stepping on the lines that connected the tiles.

Since Ye Anping was her study companion, they should have had a lot of time alone, but in fact, when they were in Black Star Sect, except for returning to their residence after every morning and evening class, Ye Anping spent most of the time with Pei Lianxue.

After that, whether he went to Dragon House or Moon Shadow Sword Sect, Ye Anping didn't take her with him.

Therefore, Xiao Yunluo cherished the time she could spend alone with him.

It had been several months since she left the Black Star Sect to follow her mother, and she had thought about the person walking beside her right now all the time, rehearsing countless topics in her mind and secretly practicing them in front of the mirror.

---"Ye Anping, I'm already in the late stage of Foundation Building. Awesome, right?"

---"Ye Anping, I've grown a little bit taller. You haven't seen me for so long, have you noticed?"

---"Ye Anping, while you were away, I've been practicing my sword and condensing my qi seriously every day according to what you taught me."

...

However, now that she was finally alone with him, she could not say a single word of what she had prepared beforehand.

After crossing this bridge and walking another hundred steps along the street, there was the inn where Ye Anping, Pei Lianxue, and the others were staying, and the alone time that she had been looking forward to for so long would soon come to an end.

Perhaps subconsciously reluctant, Xiao Yunluo's pace became slower and slower, and when she arrived at the center of the arch bridge, she stopped in her tracks.

Ye Anping, who was in line with her pace, took a few steps forward before he noticed she didn't follow. He immediately turned to look behind. "Sister Xiao, what's wrong?"

"Ah..."

Xiao Yunluo raised her head to glance at Ye Anping's expression which showed no emotion, then took a deep breath and mustered up the courage to say, "So, what kind of dance... do you like to watch? I was interrupted by the Empress' maid when I was about to show you..."

Ye Anping looked around. There were only willows on both river banks and no one around. He could only hear the sound of gongs and drums from the direction of Long Jade Street.

After a moment's hesitation, he asked softly, "Here?"

"Well... there's no one here, and..." Xiao Yunluo frowned and said wilfully, "And when we were at the Red Pavilion just now, didn't you say you wanted to watch it? I saw you staring at the four ladies dancing... I can dance much better than them."

The one who was staring was your mother... Ye Anping felt a little helpless looking at Xiao Yunluo's flushed cheeks under the moonlight. He thought that if he told her not to dance, this girl would probably cry in front of him.

Although out of fun, he wanted to say, "I don't want to watch", still, he knew that if he did that, it would make things awkward between him and Xiao Yunluo when they met again in the future.

So, he hugged his chest and smiled. "Sister Xiao, are you really willing to dance for me?"

Xiao Yunluo tucked her hair behind her ear and looked away, nodding slightly. "It's only for you to see, just take it as... as... as..."

"As what?"

"Nothing!! Don't blink. I will only dance for you once!"

"Okay."

A breeze blew across the stream, causing the willow branches on both sides to sway lightly.

The full moon in the sky reflected on the surface of the water, along with the two people standing across from each other on the bridge.

Xiao Yunluo covered her chest and took a deep breath. Secretly counting the beats for herself, she then slightly raised her cloud-patterned sleeves and danced gracefully to the sound of water. Her long lavender hair swirled around her body under the silvery moonlight.

Ye Anping did not know how to dance, so he could not make valuable comments. In his eyes, there were only two types: "good dance" and "poor dance", so he had little interest in dancing.

Before Xiao Yunluo started dancing, he thought it would be quite awkward. After all, there was no musical accompaniment and no dazzling makeup or dance skirts.

However, looking at Xiao Yunluo biting her lips and turning around in front of him as if she was shy and holding back, he seemed to be able to feel her emotions directed at him.

---Xiao Yunluo liked him.

Those watery eyes furtively peeked at his face, like a sad but proud small bird, as if she had a lot to say to him but couldn't speak.

Perhaps for people who knew more about dancing, Xiao Yunluo's dance was stunning, beautiful, and moving.

However, he saw a young girl who wanted to show off to him but was too shy to express herself in words and had to use this way to express her shyness with a touch of pride.

Feng Yu Die's first mate, the heroine in "Heavenly Sword Fantasy".

Xiao Yunluo herself was far superior to other cultivators in every aspect, no matter the bloodline, qualifications, destiny, and even appearance. However, in the game, Feng Yu Die's aura as the protagonist was too formidable, and so she was relegated to the background.

She was just a clumsy and naive little girl.

Pearl tassels rotated, stars swayed, and the moon danced in the middle of the drooping willows.

Her clear face and purple dress made her look like a fairy or a spirit. As her cloud sleeves rolled down, Xiao Yunluo stopped her movements, lowered her head, slowed down her slightly chaotic breath, and then raised her head to see Ye Anping's reaction.

Seeing Ye Anping looking at her with the same impassive expression, she felt inexplicably nervous.

It was only at this time that Xiao Yunluo realized.

She just danced like that, with no music to accompany her...

Well...

How embarrassing!!

Xiao Yunluo curled her toes inside her embroidered shoes, bit her lower lip tightly, and even entertained the thought of killing herself with a sword.

However, Ye Anping didn't feel that way at all. After a short hesitation, he raised his hands and clapped softly. "Sister Xiao, you dance really well. Much better than those four girls."

Xiao Yunluo's eyes lit up. "...Really?"

"Really. If the Central Region Emperor could watch Sister Xiao dance every day, I think he would forget about all that shit he's stirring."

Hearing this, Xiao Yunluo felt a little relieved, but then immediately puffed up her cheeks and looked away. "What kind of analogy is that? How could I show him my dance? You're the first person who's seen me dance besides my mom, humph~"

Ye Anping smiled. "Didn't Miss Xuanji also see it?"

"Oh..." Xiao Yunluo paused and then changed her words. "Then, you are the third one."

"Then, I am the fourth person to watch you dance, Sister Xiao~ Heehee..."

Feng Yu Die's voice came from behind Ye Anping.

?!

Startled, Xiao Yunluo immediately looked toward the source of the sound and saw a girl with flowing silver hair squatting next to the pier at the head of the arch bridge, covering her mouth and snickering.

Seeing that she had been discovered, Feng Yu Die stood up and walked to Ye Anping. "Hey, Young Master Ye~ Hehe..."

Ye Anping looked gloomy at Xiao Yunluo's clenched fists. Thinking that this girl would probably not be able to sleep tonight, he sighed and reached out, grabbing Feng Yu Die's face. "How long were you peeking?"

"Hey ~ don't, don't, don't..." Feng Yu Die quickly grabbed Ye Anping's hand. "When Sister Xiao started to dance, Sister Pei had been waiting for you to go back for quite a while. We were afraid that something might happen to you, so we came out to look for you, then we separated."

"What about my sister?"

"Brother!"

Pei Lianxue's voice came from behind Xiao Yunluo. Seeing Ye Anping standing on the bridge, she ran over quickly. It seemed that she was looking for him on Long Jade Street just now.

When she heard Pei Lianxue's voice, Xiao Yunluo turned pale with fright.

If Pei Lianxue knew that she had been dancing for Ye Anping, would she think that she was trying to snatch him and then come over and chop her off?!

Xiao Yunluo greeted nervously. "Lianxue... you... you're here."

?

Pei Lianxue walked up and saw Xiao Yunluo looking a little flustered, so she was slightly confused. "Eh? Yunluo, what's wrong with you?"

"Hehehe, Sister Xiao was just showing Young Master Ye..."

Halfway through Feng Yu Die's words, Xiao Yunluo suddenly moved like a ghost and was by Feng Yu Die's side in an instant. She pinched her mouth and glared at her with an oppressive look: If you dare to tell Lianxue, I'll finish you off!!

"Oops..."

But noticing Ye Anping looking at her, she quickly changed her fierce gaze and looked at him with pleading eyes: Don't tell Lianxue that I danced for you, okay?

"..."

Speechless, Ye Anping pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. Xiao Tian, who had been floating above, watching the show, slipped down, crossed her legs, and sat on Ye Anping's shoulder as she shook her head. "Anping, tsk tsk tsk..."

Ye Anping glanced at her and said nothing.

Pei Lianxue looked at Feng Yu Die whose mouth was pinched by Xiao Yunluo, but didn't care and just asked, "Brother, where have you been all day? You have been out since morning... I thought you ran into some trouble."

"If I run into trouble, I will definitely take you with me." Ye Anping knocked on her head and continued, "Sister Xiao and I went to the palace, met with the Empress, and arranged the next steps of the plan. It took some time."

"So... what preparations should I make? You want to kill the Emperor of the Central Region, right?"

Ye Anping smiled wryly and shook his head, then gently pinched his sister's face. "The Emperor of the Central Region has to be killed, but not by you. You or Sister Feng going there would be suicide. Also, why don't you ask me why I want to kill the Emperor?"

"Well, I asked Brother Liang before, on the way. He said that the Emperor did some bad things and that you are helping people to fight against injustices."

That sounds pretty noble... Ye Anping was speechless and didn't answer.

Feng Yu Die looked at Ye Anping and signaled that she had something to say. After Xiao Yunluo withdrew her hand, she raised her eyebrows and said, "Young Master Ye, didn't you come to the Central Region to earn spirit stones? I thought there would be some benefits here."

Ye Anping rolled his eyes at her. "Can't you just fight injustice for the common people?"

"Yes, yes, my master also told me to help people in need! But... you still have to get something out of it, hehe~~"

"You really don't move a finger without some profit. Where are the moral principles of the Immortal Family?"

"I have morality! But I lack spirit stones..." Feng Yu Die grinned. "So, how are we going to get some spirit stones this time?"

Ye Anping shook his head. "The Emperor's treasury."

"Huh?"

"We'll take as much as we can when the time comes, but let's not rush this matter. In a few days, we will kill a demonic cultivator."

"Another demonic cultivator?"

"Yes, we will ambush and kill her. I will ask Brother Liang to bring the Justice Division people to help. It would be best if he could kill her... But I estimate that there is a high possibility that she will escape. Anyway, we have to force that person away. Otherwise, we will be in a lot of trouble when the Demon King comes to the city."

Xiao Yunluo pursed her lips slightly as she listened. Suddenly, she felt as if she was not on the same channel. Feeling slightly awkward, she said, "Then, I'll go back now. You guys can talk..."

"Sister Xiao, come over in a few days too. And don't forget to bring your sister."

Hearing that she could help, Xiao Yunluo's dim eyes lit up again. "Ah, great!"

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