Chapter 153: Chapter 153: You and Him Are Not a Good Match
Lu Sangjiu froze. ’Such a cheesy pet name... Other than my master, Duan Xingyun, it seems no one has ever called me that.’
She turned around, completely bewildered, only to see Xie Ningyuan walking slowly toward her.
Although he wasn’t using his original appearance, he was still exceptionally handsome. Coupled with his extraordinary presence, he drew the gazes of many female cultivators.
When he saw Lu Sangjiu turn around, a warm smile bloomed on his face. His tone was intimate as he said, "I’ve been looking all over for you. What are you doing way out here? Come here."
Lu Sangjiu: "..."
’Did Xie Ningyuan... take the wrong medicine???’
She looked at him in confusion, but she couldn’t just embarrass him in front of everyone.
After a moment’s hesitation, she asked cautiously, "You were looking for me... Did you need something?"
Xie Ningyuan tilted his head. "Didn’t we make plans to go shopping for new clothes for you today?"
Lu Sangjiu: "???"
She looked completely baffled, but then she heard Xie Ningyuan continue, "Or do you not want to go anymore? In that case, I suppose I prepared these Spirit Stones today for nothing..."
Lu Sangjiu: "!!!"
All her doubts vanished in an instant. "Yes, yes, of course I do!" she declared. "I’ll go with you right now!"
’Finally, a chance to freeload off a rich guy! I can’t let this pass me by!’
Besides, she’d been feeling that going with Sword Bu Gui would be strange anyway, so this gave her the perfect excuse.
So she turned back around. "I’m sorry, Senior, but I already have plans, so..."
Sword Bu Gui glared at her, his expression dark. "So, you’re just going to leave with this other man and abandon my disciple?"
Lu Sangjiu: "..."
The corner of her mouth twitched. "Senior, your choice of words..."
Before she could finish, Sword Bu Gui ignored her and turned his gaze to Xie Ningyuan. "And who are you to her?"
The corners of Xie Ningyuan’s lips curled up slightly. "I am, of course, the one who buys her clothes."
Lu Sangjiu: "..."
’Something feels off. The atmosphere is getting stranger and stranger!’
’Thinking about it, there was technically nothing wrong with Xie Ningyuan’s answer. But for some reason, saying it at this particular moment seemed to imply something else entirely.’
Their gazes met, and it was as if sparks were crackling between them.
A moment later, Sword Bu Gui stopped making things difficult for Lu Sangjiu. With a cold snort, he turned and left, Gu Jue in tow.
Once he was a good distance away, Feng Lin hesitated before saying to Lu Sangjiu, "I have a feeling... that Senior was angry."
Lu Sangjiu was vexed. "...Just because I didn’t go with him? It’s not like I could do anything if I went back with them. And they have Liu Xi over there, who can’t stand the sight of me. Wouldn’t I just be making trouble if I went?"
But Feng Lin wasn’t one for subtleties and couldn’t grasp the complexities of the situation. She just shook her head and said, "I don’t know either."
By now, Xie Ningyuan had dropped his unsettlingly gentle demeanor. He said languidly, "So what if he’s angry? He’s not going to condescend to attack a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator like you over such a trivial matter."
He had a point, but Lu Sangjiu couldn’t help glaring at him. "Look at you, making light of it now. Would any of this have happened if it weren’t for you?"
Xie Ningyuan looked all innocent. "You were the one who wanted to come with me. How can you turn around and blame me?"
Lu Sangjiu: "..."
’Well, he had a point...’ she thought, growing more vexed. She could only say, "Whatever, I don’t want to think about it anymore. Weren’t you going to buy me clothes? Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!"
With that, she grabbed Feng Lin. "Let’s go, Feng Dao You! Everyone who’s here gets a share!"
But Feng Lin didn’t know Xie Ningyuan and naturally felt awkward about it. She shook her head in refusal. "I want to watch the competition a little longer. Why don’t you two go on ahead? I’ll come cheer for you when your match is about to start."
Knowing Feng Lin’s reserved nature, Lu Sangjiu didn’t push it. She simply nodded and said, "Okay... I figure my match won’t be until this evening anyway. We’ll see you then!"
After saying goodbye to Feng Lin, Lu Sangjiu and Xie Ningyuan left the Sword Seizing Conference grounds. Once they reached a deserted spot, she stopped in her tracks and demanded, "Alright, spit it out. What’s your game?"
’He wouldn’t just show up out of the blue and say all those fabricated things; he definitely had a motive.’
’I couldn’t ask too many questions in front of Feng Lin, so now’s the time to get a straight answer.’
Xie Ningyuan replied without a hint of sincerity, "What game? I just think that outfit is hideous and genuinely want to buy you a new one. Don’t be so ungrateful."
Lu Sangjiu didn’t buy it for a second. "If that’s the case, you could have just said so. Why did you have to claim we’d already made plans?"
"I saw you didn’t want to go with Sword Bu Gui, so I gave you an out. Honestly, you should be more grateful."
Lu Sangjiu narrowed her eyes. "Is that the only reason?"
Xie Ningyuan paused, choosing his words carefully before continuing. "Alright, fine. The main reason is that I didn’t want you to go with Sword Bu Gui."
Lu Sangjiu was confused. "Why?"
"Why?" He raised an eyebrow. "Couldn’t you tell that old bastard is trying to set you up with Gu Jue? And you’re still asking me why?"
Lu Sangjiu: "..."
Embarrassingly enough, she really hadn’t noticed.
She recalled Sword Bu Gui’s attitude and shook her head. "You’re reading too much into it. He clearly has a big problem with me."
She paused, then a sudden thought struck her as wrong. "Wait a second... even if he is trying to set me up with Gu Jue, what does that have to do with you?"
Xie Ningyuan paused, his gaze suddenly turning serious. "Because... Gu Jue isn’t right for you. Whether you truly like him or not, whatever is between you two... it ends here."
Lu Sangjiu didn’t like Gu Jue, but... she didn’t like hearing Xie Ningyuan say that.
She frowned. "Whether he’s right for me or not, and who I end up with, is my business. Why should I listen to you?"
Having her life dictated by others was a sensitive topic for Lu Sangjiu, and her tone immediately soured.
It was rare for Xie Ningyuan to be so serious; his tone was almost earnest. "I’m not telling you to listen to me. It’s just... have you ever considered the consequences if your Immortal and Demon Dual Cultivation were to be discovered?"
"When that happens, there will be no place for you in the Cultivation World. If you were with Gu Jue, how would he be expected to handle that?"
"With his personality, are you certain he would stand by you?"
"And even if he did, would he have to be just like you, shunned by all the cultivators in the world? Would you make his family and friends suffer for it?"
Lu Sangjiu remained silent... but she knew Xie Ningyuan was right.
Someone like her was unsuited for an overly intimate relationship with anyone.
Family and friends were one thing. They could still be family and friends even if they were worlds apart.
But a Dao companion was different... A Dao companion would have to endure and face far too much.
Seeing her silence, Xie Ningyuan let out a soft sigh. "Have you heard of Bai Sheng, the disciple who defected from the Beast Taming Sect and became a Demon Cultivator several hundred years ago?"
"She was a friend of Gu Huang. Perhaps... you’ve heard Gu Huang speak of her."
