Yang Guo: I'm invincible in the opening battle against Aunt Guo!

After breakfast.

Xiaolongnu has been summoned by Yang Guo to the Cold Jade Bed Stone Chamber to continue cultivating the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra.

Li Mochou, meanwhile, was in her room consolidating her cultivation after the breakthrough she had made the previous night.

Lu Wushuang sat alone on a stone chair in a stone chamber, hugging her knees, her eyes somewhat vacant.

"Junior sister."

Hong Lingbo's voice came from behind.

Lu Wushuang turned around and saw her senior sister walking slowly towards her, sitting down beside her.

"Senior sister... what's wrong?"

Hong Lingbo looked at her, remained silent for a moment, and then suddenly whispered, "You like Young Master Yang, don't you?"

Lu Wushuang's cheeks flushed instantly, and she instinctively tried to deny it: "I...I didn't..."

"Stop pretending," Hong Lingbo interrupted her calmly. "Look at his eyes, even a blind person could see it."

Lu Wushuang bit her lip, lowered her head, and remained silent.

Hong Lingbo sighed softly, "So what do you think now? Look, Master is already... and Uncle-Master Long is Young Master Yang's rightful dual cultivation partner. Aren't you afraid that Young Master Yang will leave you and there will be no place for you in his heart anymore?"

These words were like a needle, precisely piercing the softest spot in Lu Wushuang's heart.

Her body trembled slightly, and her eyes gradually reddened.

"I...I know I'm not as aloof and ethereal as Uncle Long, nor as beautiful and mature as Master. I'm just an ordinary woman, and I used to be lame, and my background is..."

Her voice trailed off, choked with sobs, "Brother Yang... someone like him, he already has Uncle Long and Master by his side, how could he possibly look up to me..."

Inferiority.

A deep sense of inferiority.

Watching Yang Guo and Xiaolongnu's tacit understanding during their dual cultivation, and seeing their master's radiant appearance after healing their injuries and greatly improving their cultivation.

The admiration she felt was gradually overwhelmed by self-doubt.

Looking at her like this, Hong Lingbo felt both pity and helplessness.

She reached out and gently patted Lu Wushuang's shoulder:

"Silly girl, why do you underestimate yourself like that?"

Lu Wushuang looked up at her, her eyes blurry with tears.

Hong Lingbo said earnestly, "Do you know how wonderful you are? You're young, lively, and innocent; your smile is like the purest mountain spring. More importantly—"

She paused, then softened her voice even more:

"Your affection for Young Master Yang is genuine and unadulterated. This affection is no less than anyone else's."

Lu Wushuang listened in a daze.

"As for Uncle-Master Long and Master..." Hong Lingbo smiled, "How could someone like Young Master Yang be bound by ordinary etiquette? If he had no feelings for you, why would he have treated your injuries so meticulously, and why would he have protected you so constantly?"

She leaned closer and whispered:

"Junior sister, when it comes to matters of the heart, sometimes you have to take the initiative. If you don't make the first move, are you going to wait for Young Master Yang to guess your thoughts?"

Lu Wushuang's heart suddenly raced.

"But...but I don't know what to do..."

"Then go ask him," Hong Lingbo said bluntly. "Tell him how you feel. The worst outcome is that he politely declines. But if he also has feelings for you..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but the meaning was clear.

Lu Wushuang gripped the hem of her clothes tightly, her mind in turmoil.

After a long while, she suddenly looked up, a resolute glint in her eyes:

"Senior sister, you're right... I'll give it a try!"

Hong Lingbo smiled: "This is the Lu Wushuang I know."

She paused, a flicker of curiosity flashing in her eyes, and lowered her voice:

"However... junior sister, I still really want to know, what does it feel like?"

Lu Wushuang was taken aback: "What does it feel like?"

"It's just..." Hong Lingbo was unusually hesitant, "Master was in Young Master Yang's room last night... that kind of thing. Listening to the sounds, I felt... something was off, but also... it seemed very comfortable?"

Lu Wushuang's cheeks instantly turned red.

She recalled the tingling sensation that had made her feel like she was floating on air when Yang Guo massaged her feet, and the embarrassing moment she had lost her composure...

"I...I don't know either..." she stammered, "Wait...wait until I try it and I'll come back and tell you..."

As soon as the words left her mouth, she was startled—how could she have said that?!

Hong Lingbo's eyes lit up: "Really? Then it's a deal!"

Lu Wushuang nodded, her face flushed, but she had already made up her mind.

late at night.

The ancient tomb was completely silent.

Yang Guo had just emerged from the cold jade bed stone chamber, ending his day's practice of the "Jade Maiden Heart Sutra" with Xiaolongnu.

As their inner strengths merged more harmoniously, their connection of minds became increasingly clear.

When she finished her practice, Xiaolongnu even gave him a rare smile, her cool eyes softening with warmth.

Yang Guo was in a good mood and returned to his stone chamber. Just as he was about to meditate and regulate his breathing, there was a gentle knock on the stone door.

"Brother Yang...is he asleep?"

It was Lu Wushuang's voice, tinged with a hint of timid probing.

A hint of surprise flashed in Yang Guo's eyes as he got up and opened the door.

Outside the door, Lu Wushuang was dressed in a light green shirt, her hair loosely tied up with a few strands hanging down beside her ears.

She lowered her head, nervously twisting the hem of her dress with both hands, her cheeks flushed in the dim light of the fluorite.

"Wushuang? It's so late, is there something you need?" Yang Guo asked gently.

Lu Wushuang looked up, her eyes flickering. "I... my ankle is still a little sore. I was too embarrassed to say anything during the day... Brother Yang, could you massage it for me again?"

He spoke with a guilty conscience, and his voice grew softer and softer.

Yang Guo's gaze lingered on her face for a moment, and then he understood.

He smiled and stepped aside: "Come in."

The stone chamber door closed gently.

Lu Wushuang sat on the edge of the bed, took off her shoes and socks, revealing her fair and slender ankles.

Yang Guo knelt down in front of her and took her left foot in his hand.

The warmth from his palm sent a shiver through Lu Wushuang.

"Relax." Yang Guo's voice was gentle, and he had already channeled his internal energy into his fingertips, slowly pushing and pressing along the Foot Shaoyin Kidney Meridian.

This time, his technique was even more refined.

Each time the fingertip touches an acupoint, it carries a pure and gentle internal force, seeping into the meridians in subtle ways.

Lu Wushuang bit her lower lip, but still couldn't help but let out a soft moan.

So comfortable...

The warm current seemed to have a life of its own, flowing through her meridians, not only clearing blockages but also bringing a tingling, bone-deep comfort.

What alarmed her even more was—

As the massage deepened, that familiar warm current began to gather in my lower abdomen again, and my legs gradually became moist...

"Brother Yang..." Her voice trembled, choked with sobs, "I...I think I'm going to..."

Yang Guo suddenly stopped.

He looked up at her flushed cheeks and dreamy eyes, and suddenly smiled:

"Wushuang, did you really come to me tonight just for a foot massage?"

Lu Wushuang froze.

She opened her mouth, as if to say something, but couldn't utter a single word.

Only tears welled up in my eyes without warning.

"I...I like Brother Yang..." She finally mustered her courage, her voice choked with emotion, "I know I'm not as good as Uncle Long and Master...but I...I just can't control myself..."

She became increasingly distressed as she spoke, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

"Brother Yang, please don't hate me... I... I'll leave now..."

She was about to get up as she spoke.

Yang Guo suddenly reached out and gently pressed her back onto the bed.

"Silly girl."

He sighed, his voice so gentle that it made Lu Wushuang's heart tremble.

How could I possibly hate you?

Lu Wushuang stared at him blankly.

Yang Guo reached out and wiped away the tears on her face:

"You're young, lively, and innocent; how could I not like you?"

These words were exactly the same as what Hong Lingbo had said during the day.

Lu Wushuang's eyes widened, unable to believe what she was hearing.

"But...but Uncle-Master Long and Master..."

"They are them, and you are you."

Yang Guo said earnestly, "I admire Long Niang's aloofness and ethereal beauty, and I also appreciate Mo Chou's maturity and resilience. But as for you—"

He paused, his gaze piercing deep into her eyes:

"I like your simplicity and straightforwardness, and I like the undisguised admiration in your eyes when you look at me. Love in this world isn't simply a matter of one thing or the other. Do you understand?"

Lu Wushuang stared at him blankly, tears welling up in her eyes again.