Perhaps she needed to spend the night thinking carefully about what was going on with her Disciple’s abnormal and overly intimate behavior.

"…"

It still couldn't be suppressed.

"Xiao Yi, I don't recall failing to teach you about the boundaries between men and women." Pei Yuhan's expression carried a hint of coldness.

After feeding the last bite to Lin Yi, she helped him lie down and said indifferently, while tucking in the corners of his quilt.

This room was hers, and the bed was one she had used; she planned to meditate all night, so it was fine to let Lin Yi sleep there.

But… was it really fine?

Recalling the inappropriate actions Lin Yi had just committed, she hesitated as to whether her own behavior was appropriate.

Lin Yi was already a man; he was eighteen years old. In the mortal world, he would already be the father of several children by now.

Were her actions toward him too intimate?

Even between her and her Master, Ye Linyuan, there had never been any special physical contact. By the time she was taken as a Disciple by Ye Linyuan, she was already five or six years old.

She had handled all matters, big and small, by herself.

"It is precisely because I know of the boundaries between men and women that I keep my distance from Junior Sister." Lin Yi's eyes held a trace of sincerity, and his words caused Pei Yuhan's body to tremble.

It was over; the scene she least wanted to see had appeared.

Keeping distance from Junior Sister, yet having no distance from her…

And having just done so many overly intimate things…

Didn't this mean…

Was Lin Yi planning to betray his Master and defy his ancestors?

"Lin Yi!" Pei Yuhan stood up; she didn't even call him Xiao Yi anymore. "I hope you understand that what you should be doing most is focusing all your energy on the sword and the Dao…"

"That is why I am lying here." Lin Yi seemed completely unaffected by Pei Yuhan's icy expression.

Pei Yuhan was choked by Lin Yi's words.

He had put all his energy into practicing the sword, and then his spiritual power had gone berserk.

"…Sleep here tonight, leave early tomorrow, and you are forbidden from stepping in here ever again." Pei Yuhan forced herself to turn around; she had to be this heartless. She could not let other Sects make a mockery of the Sword Sect.

Apart from those filthy wretches from the Yin Yang Pavilion, no other Sect had a Master and Disciple getting involved with each other.

This would be ridiculed by everyone in the world!

Not to mention, she had watched him grow up since he was a child; between her and him…

Pei Yuhan felt she needed to calm down tonight.

Or perhaps… she should just agree to those people from the Yin Yang Pavilion…

This way, the Sword Sect and the Dao of the Sword could survive, and Xiao Yi would not…

[Warning!]

["Heart of a Teacher, Dream of a Disciple" (Phase 2) is heading toward the "Agree" ending!!]

Lin Yi frowned; the glaring red word "Warning" appeared in the top left corner of his vision.

"Master." Lin Yi called out.

"What is it? Is there anything else?" Pei Yuhan did not turn around. Her tone was flat, even carrying a hint of coldness, colder than the flying snow outside the window.

"Can you give me a hug? I'm a bit cold…" Lin Yi's voice was very earnest.

"No, stop overthinking. Get some rest." Pei Yuhan shook her head decisively and, as she spoke, prepared to leave again.

"I know my thoughts are wrong…"

This sentence made Pei Yuhan's footsteps falter. She stopped, wanting to hear what Lin Yi would say next.

If Xiao Yi knew he was wrong, it would be a significant comfort to her; deep down, she still had feelings for Lin Yi.

[Pei Yuhan: 75/100 (Master-Disciple) → 60/100 (Master-Disciple) → 65/100 (Master-Disciple)]

The affection level kept fluctuating, but the color was becoming increasingly pink.

"I will reflect on this properly, Master. Perhaps I… just missed my mother a little…"

That's right, Xiao Yi had lost his mother when he was young; it was normal for him to mistake this kind of attachment for love.

On the side that Lin Yi couldn't see, Pei Yuhan's expression softened.

"Sorry… Master, I won't do it again in the future…" Lin Yi's words made Pei Yuhan let out a soft sigh of relief.

"Let this be the only time." Pei Yuhan turned around, her face wearing a forced expression of coldness.

"Just now, when Master was so cold, I felt like the sky was collapsing." Lin Yi's face showed just the right amount of timidity, as if his superficial strength had been stripped away due to his injuries.

Pei Yuhan's jade fingers behind her back clenched into a small fist; she felt a pang of heartache, as Lin Yi was, after all, someone she had watched grow up.

Pei Yuhan hesitated for a moment, then walked over and rubbed Lin Yi's head.

"Don't scare your Master; your Master will not expel you from the Sect." Pei Yuhan's voice softened.

Huh? Expel me from the Sect?

Lin Yi blinked. Damn, beautiful Master, you aren't playing fair; you actually wanted to expel me from the Sect.

Looking at Lin Yi's bewildered expression, Pei Yuhan revealed a smile. Of course, she had said that to scare Lin Yi; she wasn't so heartless as to go that far.

Besides, without her protection, given the current suppression of the Dao of the Sword in the Qiongming Domain, her Disciple Lin Yi would likely be abducted the moment he left the Sect.

And then used to threaten the Cold Palace Sword Sect and her.

This was also the reason she did not allow her three Disciples to go down the mountain.

Later, she still had to properly discipline that disobedient little Disciple.

"Master…" Lin Yi looked at Pei Yuhan pitifully.

"Know fear now, do you?" Pei Yuhan's smile grew deeper.

"Mm-hmm, Master… I, can I give you a hug…"

"Hmm?" Pei Yuhan frowned.

"No, is it… not allowed?" Lin Yi asked cautiously.

*Sigh*—forget it, just this once.

"Just this once, let this be the only time." Pei Yuhan tapped Lin Yi on the head, annoyed.

"Okay!!"

Pei Yuhan shook her head and then opened her arms.

Lin Yi sat up from the bed and then hugged the beautiful Master in front of him.

"Master."

"Mm."

"I lied to you."

Before Pei Yuhan could react, Lin Yi captured Pei Yuhan's soft, succulent lips.

Chapter 5: I Admit I Had a Gambling Element, But I Won the Bet

Because of the shock, Pei Yuhan did not push Lin Yi away immediately, letting him take quite a bit of advantage.

Feeling Lin Yi's unruly tongue pass through her teeth, Pei Yuhan subconsciously wanted to bite down.

At this moment, however, Lin Yi had already pushed Pei Yuhan away.

Pei Yuhan's expression was icy, her willow-leaf eyebrows arched in anger. She hadn't expected it; she truly hadn't expected that this guy Lin Yi would actually dare to make a move on her.

Looking at Lin Yi, who was still smiling in front of her, she was furious; a surge of anger made her strike out fiercely.

She was a great cultivator of the Soul Transformation Stage!

She herself hadn't expected that she wouldn't have dodged Lin Yi's surprise attack. Was it that she really had no defenses against him at all?!!

With a bang, the door of the Cold Jade Palace opened.

Lin Yi was thrown out from inside by Pei Yuhan and landed, dizzy and disoriented.

"Go down the mountain. Pretend that I, Pei Yuhan, never had a Disciple like you. From now on, the bond between us as Master and Disciple is like this sky full of flying snow."

"Since I picked you up from the heavy snow, you shall also leave in this cold winter."

"Pretend that for these past fifteen years, I never taught you the Dao of the Sword. You may go and join another place on your own."

"From now on, you have no need to call yourself a Disciple of the Sword Sect. Should we meet again in the future, I will certainly purge the Sect's reputation."

A cold, clear female voice came from within the Cold Jade Palace, her tone indifferent, even carrying a hint of disgust.

[Warning! "Heart of a Teacher, Dream of a Disciple" (Phase 2) is significantly veering towards the "Agree" ending!]

[Warning! "Heart of a Teacher, Dream of a Disciple" (Phase 2) is significantly veering towards the "Agree" ending!!]

[Warning! "Heart of a Teacher, Dream of a Disciple" (Phase 2) is significantly veering towards the "Agree" ending!!!]

Lin Yi reached out to support his body and shook his head with a smile.

[Pei Yuhan: 65/100 (Master-Disciple) → 25/100 (Lover)]

After this kiss of his, Pei Yuhan completely viewed him as a man, not a child.

As for the drop from the original 80 affection level to the current 25…

Believe it or not, if he were to kneel here right now and claim he repented, the affection level would rise back above sixty by tomorrow.

It was just that by then, the color of the affection level would be white, representing the Master-Disciple relationship.

Master, oh Master, you really are soft-hearted.

Lin Yi ignored the warnings in front of him and sat on the ground. The moment Pei Yuhan threw him out, she had also tossed out a quilt, clearly worried that in this cold winter, with him covered in injuries and illness, he would freeze to death in the wind and snow.

In Pei Yuhan's expectations, if Lin Yi were smart, he would take the quilt and find his second or third Disciple to stay the night, then go down the mountain tomorrow.

They would also help plead on Lin Yi's behalf. If Lin Yi knew he was wrong, she would step down from the metaphorical slope; it would just require setting three rules. If he didn't know he was wrong… then let him go down the mountain.

The reputation of the Cold Palace Sword Sect could not be destroyed in her hands.

Pei Yuhan stood in the hall of the Cold Jade Palace, silently looking at the soft couch where Lin Yi had just committed his act of impropriety.

She could still recall the taste of the youth's lips and teeth.

She hadn't expected… hadn't expected that Lin Yi actually…

Pei Yuhan shook her head; she still couldn't believe that her eldest Disciple actually had such dirty thoughts about her!

Had he not listened to a single word of the respect for Master and Dao she had taught him all these years?

These thoughts made her Dao Heart somewhat unstable.

Pei Yuhan used her Heart Sword to cut away those distracting thoughts, and her will became clear.

No matter what, Lin Yi could not stay by her side!

Lin Yi watched in the wind and snow as the lights in the Cold Jade Palace in front of him were extinguished, and the whole world dimmed.

Only large flakes of snow in the pitch-black night sky remained, clinging to his body.

He waited silently.

He admitted that there was a gambling element involved.

"Are you still not going down the mountain?" Pei Yuhan's tone was as icy as ever.

But he had won the bet.

At this moment, it had been about two hours since Pei Yuhan had thrown him out.

Lin Yi's body was already covered by the heavy snow, and the cold had soaked through his bones; Lin Yi's consciousness was already blurring.

"Because… I didn't want Master to be… to be bullied… by that bunch of things… from the Yin Yang Pavilion…" Lin Yi's voice trembled; his teeth were chattering.

"Because… I… I like… Pei… Pei Yu… Yuhan…"

"Because… I wanted… wanted to make… Master… happy…"