**Chapter 389: A Girl’s Secret**
It’s really strange… why am I thinking this?
Qin Hongye furrowed her brows, completely puzzled. She shook her head helplessly, trying to push aside her chaotic thoughts and adjusted her sitting posture.
“Forget it, I should focus on my training and give it my all for the competition,” Qin Hongye silently reminded herself.
This sect competition had fierce competition.
The prizes were so tempting that even a bunch of hidden dark-list talents were preparing to make an appearance!
As everyone knows, every sect has a ranking system for its disciples to measure their overall strength.
Xuantian Sect was no exception; it had its ranking system and rules for climbing the ranks. The higher the rank, the more abundant the training resources one could obtain.
However, what many inner gate disciples didn’t know was that behind the apparent ranking, there was a secret list!
The Xuantian Sect was full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. Many geniuses quietly trained away from the limelight, with no desire to compete in rankings. As a result, some disciples who had been in the inner gate for three or four years had never seen their true forms.
They were as elusive as dragons; although they weren’t on the ranking, their strength left one’s jaw on the floor!
When they finally made their move, it was a stunning reveal!
As the daughter of the sect master, Qin Hongye certainly knew the scoop on these individuals.
Don’t let her carefree demeanor fool you; she was head over heels for the competition, able to train for days on end. Recently, she had also become addicted to the bizarre “toys” on the black market, to the point of losing herself in them.
But her sense of honor was top-notch!
As the daughter of the sect, failing to achieve a good result in the competition would undoubtedly tarnish the sect’s reputation.
For someone with a strong sense of pride like her, that was simply intolerable!
This time, the sect competition would not be as simple as it looked on the surface. To stand out in such a fierce competition, one must put in even more effort and sweat than before.
As a result, Qin Hongye had lately taken a vow of celibacy, channeling all her energy solely into training.
Curiously, after her vow, her training efficiency shot up! The fires of desire ignited this fire-attributed prodigy, allowing her to break through several realms within just a few days; she was now at the seventh layer of Golden Core!
Evil fire is still fire!
Qin Hongye felt that with a bit more effort, she might just be able to compete with those seasoned dark-list masters!
…
On another side, at the party Qin Hongye missed—
When the farce ended, Yun Zhonghe was nearly exhausted, messed up and tossed around by everyone, looking like he’d lost his former charm. He was just a wilted flower.
Even Tao Jiu’er felt it was all a bit “too much.”
Everyone was so excited, taking turns subjecting Yun Zhonghe to various forms of “testing,” leaving him feeling utterly overwhelmed.
The key part? Through the entire ordeal, Yun Zhonghe was almost completely passive, at the mercy of the crowd with no strength to fight back.
Despite that, he showed incredible composure, enduring wave after wave of teasing without letting his yang energy falter one bit. This level of resilience was somewhat admirable.
Finally, when Yun Zhonghe was “released” from this “disaster,” he was ready to tell the girls the truth.
When they learned the truth, everyone was shocked.
“Wait, you mean that pig-headed dude was actually that flirty fox?!”
“No way, that’s a male cultivator, right?”
Facing the crowd’s skepticism, Yun Zhonghe practically shouted, “Seriously! You gotta believe me! At first, I didn’t know either! But when we met, I found out that Xiao Hu is a girl! Otherwise, even if I had ten times the courage, I wouldn’t dare not report to Jiu’er!”
Yun Zhonghe seemed pretty convincing.
His words threw the gathered girls into a brief silence, and they started to avoid eye contact.
“Well, no matter how you slice it, it’s still your fault, Yun Zhonghe!”
Faced with such unfounded accusations, Yun Zhonghe could only smile wryly.
Oh well, he was used to it; after all, he was the recognized number one bro in the country. The folks here were his close friends. They often joked and played together, so he could only choose to graciously overlook such pranks.
But…
The curiosity and confusion gnawed at his heart like ants, making it hard for him to let it go.
“Can you tell me what you all just did to me?”
This question lingers in Yun Zhonghe’s mind.
The punishment had already happened, his drag costume had been removed, and he wouldn’t dwell on that anymore.
But being unable to sense things while they did who-knows-what was seriously bugging him.
What the heck did they sneakily do when he couldn’t move?!
However, when Yun Zhonghe threw out this question, the atmosphere grew a bit strange. The girls’ eyes started darting around, as if some shameful secret had been touched upon.
They were blushing like ripe tomatoes; some looked down, others tried to cover their embarrassment with laughter, and a few pretended to be deaf, avoiding the topic altogether.
“Ah, I just remembered I have something else to do. Jiu’er, excuse me!”
Mu Jixue awkwardly chuckled and found a lame excuse, preparing to make a swift exit.
Knock! Eat and run, huh?!
“I—I need to prepare for the last parts of the competition too. I won’t disturb you!” Lin Zhongyu followed up with a polite but awkward wave, making a quick getaway.
Both girls’ ears were so red they looked like they might bleed! They vanished from everyone’s sight in the blink of an eye.
Yun Zhonghe: ???
Wait, isn’t an explanation in order? Being all dodgy and secretive is really suspicious!
A bunch of mysterious folks, and Yun Zhonghe was completely baffled.
Next, Su Xiaoxiao, Su Xinghe, and Xia Linglong all displayed equally bashful expressions and hurriedly left the scene.
As for Qing Luan? She looked like her head was smoking, being half-dragged away by Xia Linglong, looking as dazed as if her brain had short-circuited.
As she was being pulled away, one could vaguely hear Qing Luan mumbling, “Oh my god… this is too extravagant…”
At that moment, the little black room was left with only Yun Zhonghe and Tao Jiu’er.
**[Xue Yunjian! Xue Yunjian!]**
Yun Zhonghe shouted in his heart, wanting to get to the bottom of everything.
He was really concerned!
Yet, Xue Yunjian responded in an equally complex tone: “Master, don’t ask; it’s for your own good.”
Yun Zhonghe: ???
He didn’t get it! What could possibly be so shameful?!
“Alright, Young Master, that’s enough for today. Let’s go home and rest well.”
Tao Jiu’er smiled gently, her voice soothing. After releasing Yun Zhonghe, she seemed to return to her usual kind and understanding self.
As she got up, Yun Zhonghe felt his feet were light, even a bit wobbly.
He looked at Tao Jiu’er with a complicated expression; her familiar and beautiful face glowed softly under the dim light, hiding emotions he couldn’t quite understand.
“Well, uh… Jiu’er…” Yun Zhonghe gulped.
“Young Master, I know what you want to ask.” Tao Jiu’er turned slightly away from Yun Zhonghe; her lovely face seemed flushed, looking more radiant than ever.
With a teasing smile, she gently placed her slender finger to her lips in a shushing gesture, a playful yet slightly provocative pose: “Young Master, girls have some secrets they don’t want boys to know. If you don’t want everyone to be awkward, it’s better not to inquire too deeply, okay?”
Yun Zhonghe: ……
Yun Zhonghe could only swallow back the question that was on his lips.
Seeing that Yun Zhonghe was so perceptive, Tao Jiu’er’s smile became even brighter, her eyes sparkling with satisfaction and approval.
She took Yun Zhonghe’s hand and led him step by step toward home.
“Let’s have a good sleep tonight, Young Master.”
It seemed that Yun Zhonghe would never uncover the truth.
