When the White Moonlight Holds the Script - Chapter 39.1

That day when they returned to the Blade Sect, everyone retired early.

A few days later, they began to discuss with great ambition how to handle the money they had earned in the Snow Realm.

This time, they unanimously decided to hold their meeting in an abandoned wooden hut halfway up the mountain.

Wan Mengchen patted the thick layer of dust on the bench and coughed from the irritation. “I think we should start by renovating our sect a bit.”

The Sixth Junior Brother, eyeing the cobwebs everywhere, agreed with a sense of dread. “I second that.”

Both of them turned to look at the tall figure standing by the window, her back to the group. “Sect Master, what do you think?”

Luan Wu: “…”

“Minor repairs are acceptable, but do not make too much of a show of it,” she finally said. “You shouldn’t be consulting me about such matters.”

After their experiences in the secret realm, the group no longer feared her as much as before. At least at this moment, they weren’t deterred by her cold demeanor.

The Sixth Junior Brother shrewdly ignored the latter part of her statement and asked, “Why can’t we make a show of it?”

Just then, footsteps could be heard outside.

Everyone fell silent and grew alert.

The door creaked open, and Zhu Zhihan walked in.

The Sixth Junior Brother dramatically patted his chest. “You scared me! Why are you so late today, Junior Sister?”

“Elder Tu had some matters to discuss with me,” she replied, untying the heavy longsword from her waist and placing it on the table. Her gaze inadvertently fell upon Luan Wu standing by the window, and she flinched.

“…Why is Master here?”

“Oh, we thought it would be good to have the Sect Master join our money-making group, so we invited her along,” the Sixth Junior Brother explained.

Truthfully, it was also because of Luan Wu’s “righteous intervention” during that incident, which made them realize they could involve the Sect Master whether as a cover or for other purposes. Haha.

“It’s all for the sake of the sect’s development,” even the Eldest Senior Brother chimed in, actively persuading her.

Zhu Zhihan: “…”

Talk about inviting trouble.

She had been deliberately avoiding Luan Wu these past few days, never expecting to run into her here.

Seeing that Zhu Zhihan seemed a bit off, Wan Mengchen leaned closer and whispered, “What’s wrong, Junior Sister?”

Zhu Zhihan snapped out of her daze. “I…”

Luan Wu turned around, her gaze settling on her.

Zhu Zhihan’s heart raced for a moment, unsure whether it was due to nervousness or something else.

After a pause, she lowered her eyes uncomfortably. “I was just a bit surprised. What were you all discussing earlier?”

The Sixth Junior Brother took over and repeated what they had been talking about.

Zhu Zhihan used the time to compose herself. By the time she looked up again, she had returned to her usual demeanor. “Sixth Senior Brother, have you forgotten what Master told us before?”

The Sixth Junior Brother scratched his head. “Huh?”

Zhu Zhihan shook her head helplessly. “Our sect has a feud with the Immortal Alliance. Wealth should not be flaunted, so we naturally can’t renovate the entire sect in a grand manner and risk drawing their attention.”

“Ah, I completely forgot about that!” the Sixth Junior Brother exclaimed in realization.

Wan Mengchen immediately retorted, “What do you even remember?”

The Sixth Junior Brother shot back, “You didn’t react immediately either just now!”

Eldest Senior Brother interjected, “Alright, alright!”

Zhu Zhihan untied the storage pouch from her waist. “This is what Master entrusted me to keep earlier not a single coin is missing. How should we handle it?”

The Sixth Junior Brother rubbed his hands together eagerly. “Is this the reward we got from robbing. I mean, legitimately defending ourselves in the secret realm?”

“Yes.”

Wan Mengchen said, “I think…”

In the end, they only managed to sketch out a rough plan. As time was running short, the group split up and returned in batches to avoid drawing attention.

Zhu Zhihan and Luan Wu were intentionally or unintentionally left in the last group.

Only the two of them remained in the room as the sun slanted westward.

Zhu Zhihan felt her heart, which had just calmed down, beginning to stir again.

She unconsciously fiddled with the beads hanging from her storage pouch, unsure whether she wished for the silence to continue or for something to break the atmosphere.

“I was genuinely surprised when they asked me to come,” Luan Wu’s slightly deep voice shattered the quiet.

Zhu Zhihan snapped back to attention. “Ah, yes, why?”

“They’re not unaware of my past. It’s quite brave of them to let me join.” Luan Wu paused for a moment, searching for the right word.

Zhu Zhihan almost laughed, her tension easing slightly. But then she thought about Luan Wu’s bizarre luck with money and felt it would be inappropriate to laugh. “Nothing has happened recently, right? I think it’s fine.”

Luan Wu deliberately put on a stern face. “Go ahead and laugh.”

Zhu Zhihan covered her lips with her hand, shaking her head repeatedly.

After a moment, Luan Wu suddenly asked, “So, do you want me to join?”

Zhu Zhihan replied, “Of course, I do.”

Luan Wu turned to her, her gaze serious. “Really?”

Her slightly upturned eyes, dark and profound, seemed as if they could see through everything.

Zhu Zhihan held her breath, her mind going blank for a moment.

Did Luan Wu know?

What did she know?

“I feel like you’re avoiding me,” Luan Wu said.

Zhu Zhihan’s heart plummeted until she heard Luan Wu’s next words: “Does my joining make you unhappy? It’s alright, you can say it directly.”

Zhu Zhihan: “…”

“Cough, cough!” She nearly choked on her own saliva.

Luan Wu hurriedly patted her back, though somewhat awkwardly. “What’s wrong?”

Zhu Zhihan shook her head.

After catching her breath, Zhu Zhihan felt both amused and exasperated. “What kind of misunderstanding is this?” So, Luan Wu had thought she was unwilling to see an “adult” join their secret, youthful activities.

“I’m definitely not that childish.”

“Hmm.”

“Actually, I’m not as young as I appear on the surface.”

“Hmm… What?”

After finally clearing up the misunderstanding with Luan Wu, Zhu Zhihan breathed a sigh of relief. Only then did she realize a thin layer of cold sweat had formed on her back, and her hands and feet were still icy cold, not yet warmed up.

Once her mind cleared a bit, reflecting on their earlier conversation, she suddenly realized, why had she been so guilty?

Was there something she was afraid Luan Wu would find out?

“Really, there’s nothing?”

Before parting, Luan Wu asked once more.

Zhu Zhihan couldn’t even remember what assurances she gave afterward. By the time she regained her senses, she found herself nearly at the back mountain.

Most of the back mountain was part of the Blade Sect’s forbidden grounds, so she quickly stopped in her tracks.

Truthfully, she had lied.

She really had been avoiding Luan Wu.

Before Luan Wu asked, she hadn’t given it much thought.

She just felt that if things continued as they had before, something beyond her control might happen.

Zhu Zhihan was someone who preferred to keep every aspect of her life firmly in her grasp.

For instance, she would set plans for herself, allocating every ounce of energy rationally. Even after an emotional outburst, she would quickly regain composure, calmly reflect, and eliminate the causes that led to her loss of control.

Thus, before she could even ponder the underlying reasons, she would subconsciously steer clear of the source.

Until now.

The earth swallowed the sun, and dusk gradually gave way to night.

Zhu Zhihan suddenly heard the sound of sobbing nearby.

In the silence, it was rather unsettling.

She rubbed her arms and mustered the courage to call out, “Who’s there?”

She hadn’t expected a response, but as her voice faded, rustling sounds emerged from a nearby thicket of withered trees.

A figure rose from within the dry bushes.

Zhu Zhihan gripped the hilt of her blade, focusing her gaze, and was taken aback. “Second Senior Brother?”

Her shallow impression of Second Senior Brother Li Yihe over the past few days had been that of a cool, handsome young man, someone fierce with few words.

But the Second Senior Brother before her now was clearly drunk, his cheeks flushed red and his eyes swollen, as if he had just been crying.

A rather unfortunate thought crossed Zhu Zhihan’s mind: Could it be that the sobbing earlier was from Second Senior Brother?

What a sin, what a sin, how could she think such a thing about her senior brother.

“Second Senior Brother, are you alright? Should I take you back to your quarters?” she asked.

But Li Yihe pouted, “I’m not fine! I’m not going back!”

Zhu Zhihan: “…”

It seemed the sobbing really could have come from Second Senior Brother.

She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “You’re drunk!”

A drunken Second Senior Brother was no small matter. Zhu Zhihan couldn’t find a reasonable excuse to escape and ended up listening to him recount his romantic history for what felt like ages.

Zhu Zhihan: “Wait, Second Senior Brother, you fell for the pheasant spirit from the neighboring mountain? And she doesn’t like you back?”

Li Yihe grimaced, aggrieved. “Yeah. This is the forty-ninth person I’ve fallen for. Forty-nine is a significant number, you know.”

Zhu Zhihan: “Alright then.”

After half an hour of ‘heart-to-heart’ conversation, Zhu Zhihan finally saw what kind of person Second Senior Brother truly was.

This senior brother, who appeared as elegant as a crane and as steadfast as a pine, was actually someone who frequently developed crushes on others, only to face rejection. Most of the time, his romantic endeavors ended in failure right after he confessed.

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