Pei Yuhan did not feel like pushing him away right now.

A long while passed.

"Master, aren't you supposed to go to Chaoduan Peak? I'm fine here, I'll be okay after resting for a while, you should go ahead." Lin Yi was using reverse psychology.

Pei Yuhan hesitated for a moment, then she shook her head gently. "Seeing you like this, I can't rest easy. Chaoduan Peak… let's just forget about it."

She had been looking forward to it for so many years, would there really be a different result this time?

It would be nothing more than leaving with hope and returning with disappointment.

She was already used to it.

Habit was truly a terrifying thing; she was used to that man leaving, and she was used to the Disciples of the Cold Palace Sword Sect leaving as well…

"Master."

"Hm?"

"It's Winter Solstice in a few days, let's eat dumplings together."

"…"

"Are you unwilling? Master?"

At least having Xiao Yi accompany her now wasn't bad either.

"Alright."

[Heart of a Teacher, Dream of a Disciple (Stage 1) completed, rewards have been issued, please collect them yourself.]

[Now initiating Heart of a Teacher, Dream of a Disciple (Stage 2).]

[The Cold Palace Sword Sect is the leader of Sword Dao in the Qiongming Domain; its death represents the death of Sword Dao. Pei Yuhan will never allow such a thing to happen, and the arrival of the Yin Yang Pavilion seems to have brought the outcome to a fork in the road of fate.]

[Agree to the unreasonable demands of the Yin Yang Pavilion; only by sacrificing Pei Yuhan's body can the Cold Palace Sword Sect continue to survive, perhaps even expand the Sect and continue recruiting Disciples, rather than the current situation of having only one big cat and three small kittens.]

[Refuse the unreasonable demands of the Yin Yang Pavilion; the Cold Palace Sword Sect will face the hostility and slaughter of the Yin Yang Pavilion, and even Pei Yuhan, a Soul Transformation Great Master, may perish in the encirclement…]

[Heart of a Teacher, Dream of a Disciple (Stage 2): Please make your own choice and act.]

[Reward: Seventh Realm of Sword Dao, Golden Core Early Stage cultivation.]

Lin Yi silently looked at the mission introduction on the mission interface. This was an open-ended mission; he could choose to agree to the Yin Yang Pavilion's demands, or he could choose to refuse.

The generous rewards also indicated that this mission was extraordinary. He was currently at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, and according to his estimates, it would take another five or six years to have a possibility of stepping into the Golden Core stage, and that was just a possibility, not a certainty.

If his luck was bad, he might be stuck here for the rest of his life.

Poor Aptitude was like this, while those with good Aptitude broke through barriers like flowing water.

Lin Yi's thoughts were tangled. The consequences were all listed in the introduction, but… did he have a choice?

Was he truly willing to use his Master to exchange for his own survival?

Regardless of what his Master thought, he was not willing, so… he would just follow his heart.

Lin Yi lay on Pei Yuhan's fragrant couch. By this time, Pei Yuhan had already left to boil some spirit food for Lin Yi.

Lin Yi looked at the flying snow outside the window and clicked to collect without hesitation.

Insights into the Fourth Realm of Sword Dao quietly surged into his heart, and the parts he had previously only half-understood were all cleared up.

The world suddenly became transparent. He raised his finger, and a sharp Sword Intent quietly emerged from his fingertip, as cold as the flying snow outside the window, chilling one's heart.

"Ah!! Senior Brother!!! I heard you were injured!!!" A charming female voice came from outside, and Yu Xiaotang pushed the door open and ran in.

This was Pei Yuhan's room, and under normal circumstances, others were not allowed to enter. It was only Lin Yi who relied on his relationship with Pei Yuhan—being both teacher and…—to ignore these rules.

"Junior Sister, when Master comes back later, be careful of your bottom." Lin Yi looked at the beautiful young girl with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.

He withdrew the finger resting on the edge of the bed and flicked Yu Xiaotang on the nose. He had wanted to do this for a long time; didn't novels always write about the Senior Brother flicking the Junior Sister's nose bridge?

Yu Xiaotang's face was flushed, and she didn't know if it was because of the snow or shyness.

"Hmph, Master wouldn't scold me." Yu Xiaotang wrinkled her pretty nose. "Oh, right! Look at this! What is it?!!!"

Yu Xiaotang mysteriously took out an object wrapped in oil paper from her storage ring and placed it in front of Lin Yi as if she were presenting a treasure.

Lin Yi shook his head with amusement; at a glance, this was obviously a wrapped candied hawthorn.

"Where did you get this candied hawthorn?" Lin Yi asked curiously. He took it, opened the oil paper, and sure enough, inside was a candied hawthorn. Because of the storage ring, the crystal-clear sugar coating on the surface was not damaged in the slightest.

"I snuck down the mountain!" Yu Xiaotang looked left and right, clearly afraid of Pei Yuhan's appearance. Although she said Master wouldn't scold her, she also knew that what she had done was against The Rules.

Master wouldn't scold her, but she would make her swing her sword ten thousand times.

Thinking of the punishment, Yu Xiaotang's voice lowered quite a bit. "Senior Brother, you must not tell Master."

"So this candied hawthorn was a bribe you gave to your Senior Brother."

"Mm-hmm, hm?!!!" Yu Xiaotang answered subconsciously, but immediately after, she realized something was wrong.

This clear female voice came from behind her.

And Senior Brother was still looking at her with a smile.

Lin Yi took a bite of the candied hawthorn and watched with a smile as Yu Xiaotang stiffly turned around.

"Mas, Master!!!" Yu Xiaotang looked with a mournful face at Pei Yuhan, who was holding a bowl of spirit food. "If I said that was just now what Second Senior Brother told me to say, would you believe me?"

"Swing your sword ten thousand times tomorrow, no slacking off, I will go and check." Pei Yuhan kept a straight face, looking at this quirky third Disciple of hers. She had talent, but she was just too playful.

"Ooh… okay…" Yu Xiaotang responded dejectedly.

"Then why aren't you going back yet? What are you still staying here for? Your Senior Brother needs to rest."

Yu Xiaotang walked out subconsciously. When she reached the doorway, she suddenly remembered the second reason she had come here.

It was all Senior Brother's fault for not warning her when Master arrived!!

She hated Senior Brother the most!!

Yu Xiaotang turned around and gave Lin Yi a fierce expression.

It just looked a bit cute no matter how you looked at it.

"Master, I want to ask, after Senior Brother's spiritual power went into turmoil, can he still practice Qi…" Yu Xiaotang knew this had always been her Senior Brother's pursuit.

For this, he practiced in the bitter cold of winter and the scorching heat of summer, having endured so much pain and suffering. If he couldn't practice Qi anymore…

Thinking that Senior Brother might commit suicide because of this, Yu Xiaotang felt heartbroken. She decided that if Senior Brother could never practice Qi again because of this, no matter what price she had to pay, she would cure him!

"I see you haven't been listening properly. Spiritual power turmoil is very normal, it just needs time to recuperate. Junior Sister, don't curse me." Lin Yi chewed the candied coating with a crunch, his voice muffled.

"Xiao Tang, the upcoming Dao Trial Conference for our entire Cold Palace Sword Sect depends on you. Don't let your Senior Brother's expectations go to waste." Pei Yuhan said earnestly to her little Disciple.

Yu Xiaotang blinked, then looked at Lin Yi lying on the bed, and she nodded heavily. "I will make Senior Brother and Master look at me with new eyes!!!"

Yu Xiaotang decided that she would start practicing tonight!

Since Senior Brother had fallen, she would take over his burden!

After Yu Xiaotang closed the door, Lin Yi and Pei Yuhan exchanged a glance, and both of them revealed a knowing smile.

At least during this period, the usually lazy Yu Xiaotang would work hard under their motivation.

"Come." Pei Yuhan held the spirit food and sat on the edge of the bed, trying to help Lin Yi sit up.

"Ooh… Master." Lin Yi brought the candied hawthorn to Pei Yuhan's lips.

Pei Yuhan was stunned. "No, this is what Xiao Tang gave you… ooh…"

Lin Yi didn't care about all that; he pushed the candied hawthorn directly into Pei Yuhan's mouth.

Pei Yuhan helplessly bit off a hawthorn wrapped in sugar coating. It was sweet and sour, unexpectedly not bad.

Pei Yuhan recalled her own childhood, when she was also taken by that man into the marketplace to play with some Mortal trinkets.

It was just that gradually, that man, who was also her Master, Ye Linyuan, became more and more heartless.

He cultivated the Heartless Sword, and in his eyes, she, this Disciple who had become like a daughter, was probably also an expendable existence.

Ye Linyuan, this existence who was both teacher and father, was a belief to Pei Yuhan.

He taught her to practice the sword, let her guard the Sword Dao, and guard the Cold Palace Sword Sect he had founded.

But now… the Sword Dao had indeed declined.

It had even reached the point where it was vaguely called an Evil Path in the Xuanyuan Dynasty.

And the Yin Yang Pavilion, which should have been called the Evil Path, instead wanted to occupy the position that once belonged to the Sword Dao.

Pei Yuhan pursed her lips, a trace of sweet and sour taste still lingering on her taste buds. She suddenly felt that she was too weak today.

Lin Yi saw Pei Yuhan bite off a candied hawthorn, and he smiled and followed the spot where Pei Yuhan had bitten to bite the next one.

To be honest, in the eyes of someone who had experienced the modern era like him, this candied hawthorn didn't taste very good; it wasn't sweet enough, and it was too sour.

But combined with the taste of his beautiful Master, it could still satisfy his cravings.

Pei Yuhan's heart was in chaos, so she didn't pay attention to these trivial matters.

"Come, Master."

"I don't…"

Seeing Pei Yuhan wanting to refuse, Lin Yi put on a pitiful expression.

Forget it, Pei Yuhan sighed softly.

Then she leaned forward and took a bite of the candied hawthorn.

And so, with the sharing between teacher and Disciple, a stick of candied hawthorn was quickly finished.

"Alright now, eat this bowl of spirit food." Pei Yuhan gave Lin Yi a look of annoyance. Lin Yi had gained an advantage but didn't act cute, he just sat up with a grin under Pei Yuhan's support.

"Hiss… so painful…" Lin Yi's eyes twitched, and then his body seemed to lose control and leaned onto Pei Yuhan.

Pei Yuhan was stunned for a moment; the boy's aura made her somewhat at a loss, and Lin Yi's sturdy body made her face feel hot.

"It's right that it hurts. Next time, let's see if you dare to over-train. Extremes beget opposites, moderation is the key; this is the Great Dao." Pei Yuhan looked like she was lecturing.

However… Lin Yi looked at his beautiful Master's earlobes… they were already turning rosy…

Lin Yi mischievously blew a breath into Pei Yuhan's ear.

"Xiao Yi!!" Pei Yuhan subconsciously wanted to push Lin Yi away, but considering Lin Yi still had injuries, she reached out, but immediately retracted her hand.

"Master is truly cute." Lin Yi was still grinning; Pei Yuhan's reaction was within his expectations.

He needed to break Pei Yuhan's perception of him as just a little boy, and boiling a frog in warm water wouldn't do; he needed to use a heavy dose!

"Master, I lied to you."

If he failed, he would at most return to his previous state. If he didn't have the courage to burn his bridges, he deserved to be cuckolded.

Lin Yi interacted with Pei Yuhan while looking at the System's affection bar.

[Affection Level]

[Pei Yuhan: 80/100 (Master-Disciple) → 75/100 (Master-Disciple)]

[Yu Xiaotang: 60/100 (Lover) → 65/100 (Lover)]

Pei Yuhan's affection had decreased, but the color was gradually changing from white to pink.

In Lin Yi's understanding, white meant a normal relationship, including friends, family, Master-Disciple…

Pink meant a romantic relationship, including lovers, couples, sweethearts, spouses, and the like.

Besides this, he didn't know if there would be other colors, such as enemies, which would need to be changed from an enemy relationship to pink through "training"…

Ahem.

Lin Yi closed the affection bar, just lying in Pei Yuhan's arms like this, leaning against Pei Yuhan's plumpness, comfortably enjoying being fed by Pei Yuhan.

Lin Yi raised his eyes and looked at his beautiful Master's smooth and graceful chin; there seemed to be some remaining sugar coating from the candied hawthorn at the corner of her mouth.

Lin Yi reached out, wiped the corner of Pei Yuhan's mouth, and then put it into his own mouth.

Pei Yuhan's fingers paused. She took a deep breath, suppressed the messy thoughts in her heart, and continued to feed Lin Yi.