Chapter 117: The Non-existent Past of Bai Suzhen and the Mystery of the Celestial Serpent Sect.

Liu Yan was sitting on Yang Wei's bed, waiting for him.

She glanced around and muttered to herself, "Did he go out again?" Then, shaking her head gently, she pondered, "No, maybe he didn't even come back here last night?"

Lost in thought, her hand wandered to her chin, gently stroking it.

Suddenly, a bright golden portal swirled open out of nowhere, earning only a raised eyebrow from Liu Yan—her maximum level of surprise in most situations.

Yang Wei emerged from the portal, "That's the most intense cultivation session I've done in months, I feel so great! It reminds me of the tribulation clouds that struck me before... well, that one, not so great."

But when he noticed Liu Yan, his focus shifted. "Oh, Liu Yan, you're here already," he said.

There was no response from her; instead, her gaze traveled from his face down to his well-defined collarbone, his muscular chest, and his prominent V-cut abs.

Her mouth hung slightly open.

Yang Wei, noticing her distraction, asked, "Big Sister, are you alright?"

Still no response.

He had to snap his fingers in front of her face several times before she blinked and replied, "Uh, oh, uhm, yes, was there something the matter?"

Yang Wei leaned in, concerned. "I should be asking you that question. You went silent all of a sudden." He gently placed a hand on her forehead to check her temperature. "Are you sure you're feeling alright?"

With him so close, Liu Yan had a full view of his body. She didn't blush, instead she suggested, "It'd be better if you put on some clothes. It's a bit tasteless to dress like this in front of a woman."

Yang Wei looked at himself and chuckled. "Oh, my mistake."

Just then, Bai Suzhen rushed out of the Osmanthus World, exclaiming, "Wei! You forgot me!"

Yang Wei replied casually, "Oh, did I?"

Bai Suzhen gritted her teeth and spoke through clenched jaws, "You could've at least pretended it wasn't intentional! You should be grateful I even shared some drops of profound insights from my endless river of knowledge."

Yang Wei sighed and waved his hand dismissively. "Ah, shut up," he said, stretching his arms tiredly.

"Don't tell me to shut up! How dare you?!" Bai Suzhen fired back.

Liu Yan remained quiet, feeling lost and left out, as Yang Wei didn't fill her in on the details.

A portal opened out of nowhere.

He came out of it shirtless, and so did a young lady.

What exactly was she supposed to think?

Bai Suzhen's voice rose slightly in frustration. "How could you understand? I feel like I lost a huge part of myself when I was sealed in that medallion. Even now, I haven't completely broken out of the seal," she explained with heavy sadness in her eyes. She looked back at Yang Wei. "You can't expect me to know everything."

Liu Yan placed a comforting hand on Bai Suzhen's and reassured her, "No, of course not. That's definitely not what he meant to say. It just came out wrong."

She turned to look at Yang Wei, frowning slightly.

Yang Wei shrugged innocently and said, "Hm, what did I do?"

But Liu Yan didn't respond, just redirecting her now softer gaze to Bai Suzhen. She continued, "I don't know much about this Celestial Serpent Sect or your past, but I'm sure it's linked to the White Serpent Sect in some way."

Bai Suzhen pondered, "Is that really possible? There's a possibility everything about my sect died after I was sealed away?"

Liu Yan shook her head. "No, of course not. We just need to ask the right questions. The only way we can learn more is if we enter the Inner Sect."

Bai Suzhen smiled solemnly. "So there's still hope then..."

In truth, there wasn't much hope as far as Liu Yan could tell. Still, she wanted to comfort Bai Suzhen for the time being. She'd never heard of the Celestial Serpent Sect before, not even from ancient scrolls, which meant either it didn't exist or was wiped out ages ago.

Liu Yan held both of Bai Suzhen's hands and assured her, "Of course. There's always hope..." She then turned to Yang Wei, her gentle expression fading to a more stern one as she addressed him, "Right?"

Yang Wei, still lost in thought, absentmindedly replied, "Uh, yeah, sure..."

Celestial Serpent Sect...

Celestial Serpent Sect...

Hmm, I'm certain I've heard that name somewhere...

Bai Suzhen sighed. "As usual, he's not paying any attention."

Yang Wei raised an eyebrow. "What? Not paying attention? Since when? I may not be offering meaningless words of comfort, but that's because I find the situation rather stupid. To solve this case, all I'd need to do is go straight to the matriarchs of this useless sect, tell them to surrender, and get them to spill everything they know.

Easy."

Liu Yan abruptly turned to him, dismissing his idea. "Definitely not. Haven't you been listening to anything I've been saying? The Heavenly Court would retaliate immediately upon hearing this, and it would mean the end of our sect..."

Yang Wei yawned. "Do you really think the Heavenly Court could defeat m—" He paused abruptly when he noticed Liu Yan bowing her head.

"Please, take my advice on this. I was given a task and I plan to stick to the rules set for me. I'm not underestimating your strength, but if all three matriarchs of our sect chose not to challenge the laws of the Heavenly Court, I would advise you didn't either. I already made a solemn vow the day we talked in the Dragon Vein Spirit Pool..."

She then lifted her head and looked at Yang Wei as she held one of his hands gently her two soft palms. There was concern in her beautiful, green eyes—something rather rare for this woman who is never willing to express her emotions.

Gently, Liu Yan bit her soft, cherry lips—like the next words were hard to say.

"Junior Brother, please, I don't want to lose you..."