A mysterious maiden in blue had suddenly visited the Water Melody Palace and she looked extremely annoyed today even though she had veiled her face except for her eyes.
However none of the protégés of the Water Melody Palace dared to stop her, not even the current Palace Mistress Shui Qingqing.
It was because even though this veiled maiden in blue was a complete stranger to them but their Venerable Palace Mistress Shui Xisi had given her the special right to come and go as she pleased. Until today, no one knows who she is.
Right now, she had stormed directly to where Shui Xisi was.
When Shui Xisi saw her, she began to smile casually. "Leave, all of you." She instructed her attendants and protégés.
When they had all left, she chuckled softly. "I wonder what brings my elder sister here today?"
"So you still remember me that you have an elder sister?" The veiled maiden in blue returned coldly.
"Of course I do! You are my elder sister Feifei and I'm your younger sister Sisi." Shui Xisi laughed. "My sister doesn't seem to be too happy today?"
"Why did you take my blue phoenix without my knowledge?" the veiled maiden in blue asked coldly.
Shui Xisi laughed. "Sister, you have misunderstood. I didn't take your blue phoenix. Xiao Ruan had been our playmate since she was little. I was just taking her out for a little play."
"You had taken Xiao Ruan out so that you can intimidate Ji Yuan. Why?" The veiled maiden in blue said coldly.
Shui Xisi chuckled. "My sister's eyes are everywhere. Listen sister, he had bullied my Qingqing. If someone rides over my head, I ought to teach him a lesson, do you agree or not?"
"You can teach him a lesson but you cannot use my Xiao Ruan for your nefarious purposes."
Shui Xisi kicked her foot soundly on the ground before she said unhappily. "Sister Saintess Fang Zhenfei, just because you are a year older than me, you really think that you can boss me around? Mother Consort is so prejudice. She gave you Xiao Ruan, hmph!"
The veiled maiden in blue was indeed Fang Zhenfei. "Mother Consort gave you a crimson phoenix mount as well as her immortal sword. She is already generous toward you. I don't even have an immortal sword."
"What is the use of an immortal sword? I can't use it when and then. But Xiao Ruan, she is different. Can you imagine the look on their faces when I flew her into the midst of the Spirit Blue Moon Sect and none of them can stop me!"
Saintess Fang Zhenfei hummed coldly, "I am taking Xiao Ruan back. Do not ever touch my Xiao Ruan again or Ji Yuan."
Just as Saintess Fang Zhenfei had turned around, Shui Xisi smiled coldly. "I had heard that you had a duel with a certain Yuan Ji not long ago. He is actually Ji Yuan, am I right? Don't tell me that you have actually fallen in love with that uncultured rascal?"
Saintess Fang Zhenfei turned around and said coldly. "This is none of the business of my little sister so please mind your own business. If you dare to hurt Ji Yuan in any way, don't mind me for severing our already fragile sisterhood."
"So we have no sisterly love over a mere beardless man?" Shui Xisi smiled. "Do you know how ugly he looks when he is beardless?"
Fang Zhenfei hummed coldly, "And my younger sister is always in an old hag skin and trying to pretending to be ugly. Just because you want to prove that you are older than me? Give it up. You can never change the fact that you are my younger sibling. What if your protégés see your real face one day? They may even think that you are an intruder."
Shui Xisi smiled, "This won't happen." But then she lowered her voice to say. "Sister, I don't get it. What is so good about that Ji Yuan? You sound so defensive about him and so irrational. This is so unlike you. Moreover he is also a beardless and ugly man now. Do you want me to introduce some mates for you?"
Fang Zhenfei interrupted coldly, "No thanks. Ji Yuan, he is worthy of me. He has already passed all my tests. Even if he has no beard, he is still ten times better than all the bearded men out there."
With that she had left the place.
Shui Xisi was blinking her eyes. Ten times better than all the bearded men out there?
Then a sly look appeared in her eyes. "I don't believe. Why don't I put you to the test as well. You may have passed my sister's test but you have not yet passed mine yet! Heehee."
But when she thought of Ji Yuan, there was a slight flush on her countenance. The encounter with Ji Yuan had left her with many sleepless nights as she recalled her fight with him. She had never met such a rude fellow before and moreover she had never really expected for him to survive one hundred rounds of beatings from her.
In the end they had fought for three hundred rounds and she was even forced to use her unique miracle profound art to gain an advantage over him. Although this was not a fair fight because he was a pure sword cultivator but he had handled very well against her.
Although she hated to admit it but this Ji Yuan was really quite a formidable fighter and he really got a lot of nerves.
And she liked men that had a lot of nerves.
But she must do it discreetly. It was because it was a well-known fact that she did not like Ji Yuan in the past. It was because…
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A hundred and fifty years ago…
At a tavern, a big group of cultivators were crowding rowdy in a private room and she was sitting next door.
"Brother Ji Yuan, you have the most beautiful beard among us. How do you fend off all the beautiful maidens that are always around you?"
"You must be so busy trying to fend off the many attentions from yourself."
Ji Yuan laughed, "Brothers, I am unlike any of you. Although I may flirt but I have never formed any romantic attachment with anyone."
"Oh? Why so?"
"Is it because none of the maidens are able to catch your eyes?"
Ji Yuan laughed, "Why give up the entire forest for a single tree?"
He was lying of course. So far, he had not gotten over the abuses by Little Princess and by the sudden leaving of Saintess Yuxian aka Yuluo.
But because he had wanted to maintain his face, he pretended to boast. The truth was, nothing could ever replace the loss of Yuxian in his heart. He had three failed relationships in such a short pace of time.
Little Princess was not considered to be a proper relationship but he had included it as a failed relationship. It was more of a forced relationship. This was a shame that he had never truly recovered and a blemish to his soul sea. And it turned him into a rascal as he sank deeper into depravity.
"If I can have one of the two Goddess Maidens Ling Feiyue or Xue Qianxue as my consorts, I will gladly give up my life." A cultivator said loudly.
"Me too!"
"Brother Ji Yuan, what do you think of Ling Feiyue or Xue Qianxue?" A cultivator was heard asking.
Ji Yuan laughed, "I have never met Ling Feiyue or Xue Qianxue before. Although they may be rumored to be very beautiful maidens but it may be just rumors. Haha. There are so many beautiful maidens in the fraternity, how is it possible for the two of them to be so much more outstanding than the rest?"
"I had caught a glimpse of Xue Qianxue in the past. She is really very beautiful." Another cultivator was heard saying.
"Really? Haha." Ji Yuan laughed it off. "Beauty is only in the eyes of the beholder. Although they may be very beautiful on the outside, they may well be venomous in the inside." He was actually thinking of Little Princess when he was talking about Ling Feiyue and Xue Qianxue.
"Brother Ji Yuan, you sound like a sour grape. Is it because you know that you have no chance with either of the two Goddess Maidens?"
Ji Yuan roared with laughter. "I have no chance? Mind you! I have one of the most beautiful beards in the fraternity, they should be going over heels over me! Haha."
Many of the cultivators had a look of disgust in their eyes as they listened to Ji Yuan. It was because they did not believe him at all.
Finally one of the more courageous cultivators smiled, "Brother Ji Yuan, it is not that we do not believe you but you are a little poor."
Immediately almost all the cultivators in the room were all roaring with laughter; Ji Yuan was indeed very poor.
Ji Yuan roared with laughter, undeterred that he had been mocked by these cultivators. "Even the Venerable Old Hag of the Water Melody Palace don't mind my poor background, do you think that Xue Qianxue and Ling Feiyue mind my background at all?"
"You have flirted with the Venerable Palace Mistress of the Water Melody Palace?" Many of the cultivators were shocked.
Ji Yuan cleared his throat with a loud hum, "Of course!"
Shui Xisi who was listening to their conversations next door almost choked on her drink. "Ji Yuan you! From this day onward, you shall be my number one public enemy!"
She resisted the temptation of storming their room. If she had made her appearance then everyone would think that Ji Yuan had really flirted with her.
Therefore she had decided to wait for an opportunity to ambush Ji Yuan when he was alone and to beat him up in secret.
But after following him in secret for a while, she began to be intrigued by him. There was even a time when she had the opportunity to beat him up but she did not lift her fingers on him. She was even flushing a little as she watched him from afar. What a beautiful man…
"This saintess is not so petty. On account that you may only be boasting, I've decided to spare you for now or else I may be made a laughing stock for bullying you."
The truth was she was in the guise of an old woman and she did not want to ruin her very first impression with Ji Yuan.
Back to the present, Shui Xisi was smiling. "Ji Yuan, I'm not going to let you fall into my sister's hand just like this. I will deliver you from her instead!"
This was actually an excuse to convince herself. It was because she had set a rule in the Water Melody Palace that her protégés must not lust after the men and must disdain the beardless men. This rule to disdain the beardless man was set after she had met Ji Yuan...
She was still smiling sweetly in secret after the events that had happened at the Spirit Blue Moon Sect; she had actually stormed the Spirit Blue Moon Sect to confront 'Li Yuan' as her successor Shui Qingqing was singing her praises for 'Li Yuan' nonstop. This irritated her especially after learning that 'Li Yuan' was actually a beardless fellow. But to her pleasant surprise, it turned up that Li Yuan was actually Ji Yuan.
She was secretly delighted to see him again but she was quite disappointed that he had turned into a beardless cultivator. All of a sudden, the beautiful beard Ji Yuan that was deeply etched in her mind was gone all of a sudden.
At the same time because she had suddenly realized that Ji Yuan was with Ling Feiyue, she was secretly upset too. Although Ji Yuan and she had not really been introduced to each other yet but she did not want Ji Yuan to belong to any others. Therefore, she did not hesitate to beat him up, not because of Shui Qingqing but because she had a personal vendetta against him.
Now that she knew that her Sister Saintess Feifei was interested in Ji Yuan, her urgency had suddenly increased because she did not want to lose to her.
"Ji Yuan, I won't let you belong to anyone other than me." Shui Xisi was suddenly smiling to herself.