Chapter 2361: Cold Sword Cultivator and His Bound Sword Spirit 05

In the depths of Zhu Lin, sword qi and morning mist flowed together.

Xie Qingmo's figure darted through the green bamboo shadows, his white robes fluttering, sword light like snow.

But now, this tranquil Zhu Lin was no longer his alone.

Jin Chen found a bamboo stalk, leapt up and sat on it, pinching a freshly plucked bamboo leaf between his fingertips and bringing it to his lips.

Still the same intermittent, oddly tuned whistle, lacking any pattern—yet Xie Qingmo found himself already growing accustomed to it.

As his cold sword moves swept about, the off-key leaf whistle became background, blending with the rustle of bamboo leaves and the swoosh of the blade cutting air.

Sword intent flowed, and Xie Qingmo immersed himself in it.

Suddenly, a sharp yet light aura sliced in silently.

Jin Chen's apparition appeared like a ghost at his front‑side, finger extended like a sword, tip gathering sword‑light that shared the same source as Xie Qingmo's yet subtly complemented it.

The two sword intents collided, merged, and complemented each other.

Xie Qingmo felt the stagnant parts suddenly open up; as his sword moves turned, they gained a smooth, unrestrained harmony beyond the usual.

Of course, more often than not, Jin Chen was not so proper.

As Xie Qingmo focused his mind on circulating sword qi, his fingertip sword qi suddenly shifted, flicking toward the end of the hairband binding his hair.

A strand of black hair was gently lifted by the sword qi, brushing against Xie Qingmo's clean neck.

The sword momentum halted abruptly.

Xie Qingmo turned his head, his icy gaze sweeping toward the instigator, yet he felt no true annoyance.

Jin Chen met that gaze, smiling even more wantonly, "You should rest, Xie Qingmo."

Xie Qingmo's tight lip line eased a little; he turned his wrist, the sword tip drawing a tiny flourish, and lifted that fallen strand of hair back behind him.

Zhu Lin remained as ever; where the wind passed, bamboo leaves rubbed together, emitting a soft rustle.

Jin Chen thought Xie Qingmo had taken his words to heart, and was about to head to the stone bench to rest, when his steps halted—Xie Qingmo snatched away the hairband fashioned from his sword tassel.

Jin Chen, his face smeared with hair: "……"

Rarely seeing the sword spirit suffer a setback, Xie Qingmo chuckled lightly, hanging the sword tassel around Jin Chen's waist, "Tit for tat."

【Villain Heartthrob Value +3, total 3!】

Day after day, half a month passed quickly.

Under Jin Chen's alternating focused guidance and mischievous teasing, Xie Qingmo's sword intent flowed ever more smoothly and perfectly, like a dust‑covered pearl wiped clean, its inner radiance revealed.

—

At dawn, Yun Che returned to Heaven Derivation Sect.

This mountain‑down demon‑subduing expedition lasted over half a month; though he suffered some minor injuries, he ultimately fulfilled his mission.

"Senior Brother!" As soon as he stepped through the mountain gate, Xing Yan bounced forward to greet him, eyes sparkling as they fixed on his waist pouch, "I heard you beheaded that century‑old tiger demon?"

Yun Che laughed as he ruffled the Third Junior Brother's head, taking from his storage bag a few stalks of faintly glowing spirit grass, "This is the moonflower grass I promised you—go make pills with it."

After distributing the spirit grass to the other junior brothers and sisters, he finally took out an exquisite jade box from the innermost layer.

Inside lay a stalk of spirit grass whose whole body shimmered with starlight, its leaf edges fringed with a faint silver‑blue glow.

"Senior Brother, this is…" Fourth Junior Sister Lan Yi stepped closer, her eyes widening slightly.

"Starlight grass," Yun Che said softly, "It grows on the cliff near the tiger demon's nest, only one stalk every hundred years."

He carefully closed the jade box, "I'll take this to the Second Junior Brother."

Just as he turned to leave, his sleeve was gently tugged.

Liu Qingcheng stood behind him at some point, eye sockets slightly red, "Senior Brother, I—I can come with you, right?"

"I really want to see the Second Senior Brother......"

Yun Che's steps halted.

Since Xie Qingmo retreated to the back mountain, Liu Qingcheng had never voluntarily mentioned wanting to visit him.

Today's unusual behavior aroused suspicion in his heart.

But seeing the Little Junior Brother on the verge of tears, that doubt was washed away by habitual pity.

"Qingcheng, you......"

"I know the Second Senior Brother doesn't like me." Liu Qingcheng lowered his head; a single tear fell just right onto Yun Che's hand‑back, "But I truly want to apologize to him…… Senior Brother, could you take me once?"

That tear felt as heavy as a thousand jin.

Yun Che let out a quiet sigh, then finally nodded.

"All right. But remember—if Qingmo refuses to see you, we'll leave right away."

Liu Qingcheng burst into laughter through tears, his fingers secretly tightening around something in his sleeve.

The two walked along the blue‑stone path toward the back mountain.

The closer they got to Zhu Lin, the slower Yun Che's steps became.

He hadn't seen the Second Junior Brother in a long time, and his heart couldn't help but flutter with unease.

When was the last time they met? It seemed like half a year ago, when Qingmo and Liu Qingcheng had another quarrel.

"Senior Brother?" Liu Qingcheng's voice pulled him back to reality, "Your complexion doesn't look good."

Yun Che shook his head, raised his hand, and knocked on the wooden door of the bamboo cottage.

When that familiar white silhouette appeared behind the door, his throat tightened suddenly, "Second Junior Brother, I…… we've come to see you."

Xie Qingmo was sitting on the stone bench, wiping his Chen Sword.

He lifted his gaze and saw Yun Che's tall figure appear at the doorway, holding a jade box suffused with spiritual aura.

Yet, the slender figure trailing behind Yun Che instantly caused Xie Qingmo's surrounding gentle aura to turn cold.

The Chen Sword at his waist also gave a faint hum, and Jin Chen's aura vanished without a trace.

Xie Qingmo rose to his feet, gave Yun Che merely a faint nod, "Senior Brother."

Yun Che stepped forward a few steps, extending the jade box in his hand, "Qing Mo, this time down the mountain to exterminate demons, I obtained some star radiance grass, which is quite helpful for nurturing sword intent; this is for you."

The jade box opened, the spiritual grass lay within, its spiritual energy pure and mighty.

"Second Senior Brother!"

As soon as Yun Che's words fell, Liu Qingcheng couldn't wait to peek half his body out from behind him, his voice thick with sobbing, his eye rims instantly reddened.

"Eldest Senior Brother... he... specially picked the best stalk for you! I... I didn't even take my share, just wanted to follow Eldest Senior Brother to come see you, to apologize to you......"

While speaking, he furtively glanced at Yun Che's expression with caution, his fingers nervously twisting the corner of his clothes.

As if afraid that the Eldest Senior Brother would blame Xie Qingmo for not appreciating the favor, "I know, Second Senior Brother, you're still angry with me, I......"

Xie Qingmo's brows instantly knit, familiar irritation and coldness surged in his heart.

【Zero Egg, using protagonist's halo to play a weakening card.】

【Received~ weakening card taking effect, dialogue between villain and protagonist can trigger it, gradually strengthening over time~】

At this moment, a playful voice sounded directly in Xie Qingmo's sea of consciousness.

"Xie Qingmo, don't be angry."

Jin Chen said lazily: "Learn from me, piss off the little white lotus."