It was midday, and the sun hung so brightly in the sky that a mortal person wouldn’t even be able to look at it directly.

Standing in that bright sunlight, Gu Muqing shone like an immortal. Though her pale orange daoist robe covered her from head to toe, she was attractive in a way the garment couldn’t conceal. The curves accentuated by the fabric made it possible to imagine the kind of slender, elegant figure that was hidden beneath. The skin not covered by the sleeves of her robe was as fair as a lotus in the snow, and coupled with the waterfall of black hair going down her back, made her exceptionally beautiful.

As Zhang San looked at her bathed in sunlight, he seemed a bit distracted, and was even blushing a bit. In contrast, Xu Qing, who still stood in the shadows, didn’t look any different than usual. In fact, his cold eyes were currently measuring up the young woman’s throat. To him, it didn’t matter if she was beautiful.

This wasn’t his first time encountering her. There weren’t a lot of conclave disciples in the capital city, and he recognized the time he’d encountered her at the entrance of the medicine shop a few months ago. [1]

He had brushed past her, nothing more. But the fact that she knew his name caused his guard to go up even more than usual. He needed to determine quickly whether or not she was a threat.

After assessing her, he came to the conclusion that if it came down to a fight,...