Chapter 429: Even if she’s the princess’s older sister, she can’t possibly have her maid do that kind of thing, right?
Bai Feng noticed that Tian Yan was casually lying on his chest, staring at him with her clear, unblinking eyes. He reached out and poked her little face, asking:
“Weren’t you already breakthrough? Why are you still staring at me?”
“I was just wondering… why does your secret manual work on me?” Tian Yan replied, eyes like two polished gemstones, seemingly devoid of any emotion. “I thought that cultivating while attached to you would be quick, but apparently… it can go even faster?”
“I didn’t think you’d actually start stripping off my clothes just like that when I casually mentioned it,” Bai Feng said, pinching her cheek with a bemused look. “Shouldn’t you have at least confirmed before jumping into that?”
“No worries. We’re Dao partners, after all. Besides, even without the manual, I’d still want to test things out,” Tian Yan said, raising her chin slightly.
“You think because you’re Tian Yan Saint Maiden that you—”
“Think I dislike or can’t do such things?” Tian Yan tilted slightly, her golden eyes holding no ripples of emotion as she looked at Bai Feng. “But, you guessed right. As Tian Yan Saint Maiden, I do need to avoid unnecessary feelings and focus solely on cultivation.”
“And that means…?”
Before Bai Feng could finish questioning, Tian Yan pressed her finger to his lips. “Don’t you see the core issue here? It’s because Tian Yan Saint Maiden must avoid unnecessary emotions for the sake of cultivating, but now, there’s a contradiction. If I want to cultivate, I have to stay with you. If I don’t, my cultivation speed drops significantly. So, should I reclaim my feelings to keep cultivating, or refuse to cultivate to avoid extra feelings?”
“Ah, I see what you’re getting at,” Bai Feng nodded subtly.
“It’s all because of you,” Tian Yan lowered her head slightly, softening her tone. “You’re the one who called back my feelings. That’s why I’m doing this.”
“Whoa, suddenly being so direct—I’m not quite sure what to say…”
Bai Feng averted his gaze, feeling a bit awkward about this straightforward approach.
“No need for words. Just respond to me,” Tian Yan said softly.
“What?”
Doesn’t that sound conflicting? If I don’t say anything, how am I supposed to respond?
The next moment, Bai Feng watched as Tian Yan reached out, gently tucking her golden hair behind her ear before slowly lowering her head.
A moment later…
Tian Yan lifted her face from his lips, her expression still as composed as ever—no blush, no flicker of emotion. Yet Bai Feng could see her eyes glimmer with a hint of flustered shyness, subtle enough that only he noticed.
*Looks like the only way to really see Tian Yan’s obvious reactions is during… ahem… that sort of thing!*
Bai Feng hurriedly shoved the stray thoughts out of his mind.
With no words exchanged, the room fell silent again—only the sound of breathing and heartbeat resonated in the quiet air.
After a while, Bai Feng broke the silence first, glancing at Tian Yan who had retracted her presence and asked, “By the way, after breaking through to the Refinement Stage, anything different?”
“Not much,” Tian Yan replied softly. “Just that I can see my fate more clearly.”
“So, you can calculate things more accurately now?”
“Something like that. For example, I can now guess what you’re thinking.”
“I think that’s unnecessary,” Bai Feng said, rolling his eyes.
“Since the night is still young, and you could practice a bit more,” Tian Yan suggested, eyes shining with mischief.
“…”
—
Finally, the drawing is finished!
Shui Miao Miao threw down her brush, stretched languidly, and beamed. After days of diligent practice, her art was now six or seven parts a pretty good match to Bai Feng’s. She clutched her favorite piece, practically itching to rush over to Bai Feng’s place and show him. Maybe—just maybe—she’d get a good compliment.
Her gaze drifted to a failed drawing, and her excitement waned a bit. “Sigh, it’s a pity… Bai senior didn’t give me many pictures of men. How on earth am I supposed to draw male bodies?”
“I really should pay Bai senior a visit and ask him.”
Another surge of enthusiasm lit up on Shui Miao Miao’s face. She carefully stored her favorite painting into her storage bag, then changed out of her sleepwear into a lovely dress.
Fully dressed, she hesitated for only a moment before pushing open her door, her heart pounding with excitement, heading toward Bai Feng’s place.
A little while later…
“Water Sister, you’ve finally finished your ‘closed-door cultivation’!” Bai Feng greeted her with a teasing smile outside his door.
“Haha…” Shui Miao Miao blushed a bit, then hurriedly produced her latest drawings. “Hey, Bai senior, could you help me see if I need to fix anything?”
“Come inside first. We’ll talk later,” Bai Feng gestured, stopping her from pulling out more sketches. Usually, disciples of Qingzhu Peak didn’t frequent him like this, but better safe than sorry—don’t want someone passing by to get the wrong idea.
Inside the house, before sitting on the sofa, Shui Miao Miao eagerly laid out her recent works before Bai Feng.
He looked at her expectant face, picked up a drawing, and examined it.
“Bai senior, how is it? Anything that needs fixing?”
Faced with her eager question, Bai Feng set down the picture and gave her a big thumbs-up. “Quite good. The overall handling is pretty solid.”
That wasn’t just polite praise—it was true. Shui Miao Miao had improved a lot, absorbing everything he’d shared and applying it far better than her earlier attempts.
“Hehe…” Shui Miao Miao couldn’t help but giggle happily.
“If I had to say something lacking…” Bai Feng picked up a few more pictures, scrutinizing them. “Water Sister, do you only know how to draw one body type?”
Those pictures all featured characters with similar body shapes besides their clothing—almost like they were copies. And… he couldn’t shake the feeling that the characters resembled Shui Miao Miao herself…
He unconsciously glanced at her, then looked back at the drawings. Yep, his instincts were right.
“This…”
Shui Miao Miao looked thoughtful, lowering her head and blushing faintly.
After all, her purpose in learning to draw was to depict *that* kind of scene—ahem—well, to draw herself and Bai Feng… cough cough!
Her face grew even redder, eyes fixed on her fingers on her lap, unwilling to meet Bai Feng’s gaze.
Fortunately, Bai Feng was still studying her artwork and not paying much attention to her reaction.
“Honestly, it’s quite a challenge for a beginner,” he admitted. “When I first learned, I couldn’t even draw from photos well. And you don’t even have any reference images—you only have yourself to go on.”
He paused thoughtfully and suggested, “Water Sister, maybe you can have your maid take some photos with the Image Retainer and send them to you? That way, you won’t just be drawing the same body type over and over.”
“Eh?” Shui Miao Miao lifted her head suddenly. “Wouldn’t that be… inappropriate?”
Though she’s a princess—or rather, now the elder sister of the Empress—it still felt a bit awkward to have her maid do that kind of thing, right?
