Su Qing was caught a little off guard by Chang'e's kiss...
She had thought that now that Chang'e was sober, even if provoked, she would absolutely not actually kiss her.
At most, she would just talk tough... and bicker with her.
Even if it came down to it, she would only pretend to scare her.
After all, she was the Mistress of the Moon Palace... Although this woman was unreliable, she was definitely not impulsive, nor was she a lesbian.
Even if her aloof exterior was an act, as a Palace Mistress, she certainly wouldn't lack the necessary composure.
Therefore, no matter how she thought about it, she didn't believe Chang'e would be provoked by her small trick.
But...
She could never have imagined.
Chang'e actually seemed to have been genuinely provoked by her clumsy trick, and truly kissed her.
To say she lost out?
Of course, not at all...
It was still the same saying.
This was Chang'e, after all!
It was just that Su Qing felt somewhat sorry for Chang'e.
After all, she had provoked her.
At the same time, she felt she might have gone too far.
And just as Su Qing felt a pang of self-reproach...
Chang'e's voice echoed in her mind.
“So this is what your lips taste like?” Chang'e said with a hint of a smile. “Not bad at all~”
Su Qing was momentarily stunned by those words...
Chang'e...
Had she truly been provoked by her trick, and that's why she kissed her?
How was it that now... it seemed not to be the case?
And Chang'e's earlier words didn't seem like mere stubbornness during a playful argument... had she been telling the truth?
Thinking of this...
A million thoughts raced through Su Qing's mind.
And as she pondered.
Chang'e lifted her head, separating her lips from Su Qing's... and at the same time, removed the hand covering Su Qing's eyes.
After Chang'e removed her hand, Su Qing could finally see again...
Su Qing opened her eyes and looked at Chang'e...
There wasn't the slightest hint of embarrassment or shyness on Chang'e's face.
Instead, she wore a smile, looking at Su Qing provocatively.
Su Qing was momentarily speechless...
“...”
She looked at Chang'e and said, “Sister Chang'e, you always manage to do things that completely surprise me.”
Hearing this, Chang'e tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said, “Oh? Does this surprise you so much?”
Su Qing nodded and said, “Yes! So, Sister Chang'e, did you kiss me because of my provocation?”
“Don't you have your own answer?” Chang'e smiled faintly, then said.
“...”
Alright...
Su Qing indeed had her own answer.
The reason she asked was merely to confirm it.
However, Chang'e's reply seemed to have already corroborated Su Qing's answer, making further questioning unnecessary.
Su Qing rolled her eyes helplessly, then said, “Then, Sister Chang'e, could you please stop straddling me? Or do you have something else you want to do?”
Chang'e shook her head and said, “Of course not~ I won't do what you're expecting right now.”
“...” Su Qing was even more speechless for a moment, saying, “I wasn't expecting anything else, Sister Chang'e, stop teasing me and get up! You're heavy~”
Chang'e chuckled, then pressed down on her with force, asking:
“You little brat, how dare you say I'm heavy?”
“I'm wrong, I'm wrong~” Su Qing quickly apologized with a smile.
In reality, being pressed down by Chang'e like that didn't cause Su Qing much pain or discomfort.
After all, Chang'e was still very light, not as heavy as Su Qing had just complained.
Her complaint about Chang'e was merely to get her to get off her quickly...
Hearing Su Qing's apology, Chang'e couldn't help but pout. That girl's apology truly lacked any sincerity, not earnest at all...
However, she didn't care much about it; Chang'e wasn't a petty person.
She merely squeezed Su Qing's face in dissatisfaction, then got off Su Qing...
In fact, Chang'e didn't intend to keep pressing down on Su Qing. What she wanted to do was done, and the lesson she wanted to impart had been given...
There was no point in continuing to press down.
After all, she didn't intend to take things further at this moment!
Such things were best left for later.
For now, forget it.
After Chang'e got off Su Qing, she quietly stepped off the bed...
To tidy up her disheveled hair and clothes from sleeping all night.
Su Qing naturally did the same...
After all, neither of them could go out looking messy.
If they went out like that, who knew what strange rumors would spread if people saw them!
And as she was tidying up, Chang'e suddenly turned to look at Su Qing and said with a smile:
“Oh, right, a reminder: don't you dare forget what you promised me! Understand?”
Su Qing, who was tying up her hair, paused at Chang'e's sudden remark... then nodded with a smile.
“Of course, I won't forget.”
She would naturally not forget what she had promised, nor could she possibly forget it.
Seeing Su Qing nod and hearing her reply, Chang'e couldn't help but smile...
Before long, Chang'e had also finished tidying herself.
She stood up, stretched, and said:
“Oh, right, aren't you going to find Gongsun Zhixue? I'll go with you in a bit! I have nothing to do anyway...”
Su Qing had also nearly finished tidying herself by now...
Hearing Chang'e's words, Su Qing nodded and said, “Alright! Going together will be a bit livelier. And it'll also help alleviate the Osmanthus Tree's concerns.”
“The Osmanthus Tree's concerns?” Chang'e paused at that, then smacked her palm with an ‘Oh,’ and said, “She's afraid you have feelings for her, isn't she?”
Su Qing's mouth twitched slightly...
Although she really wanted to refute it, she found she couldn't.
So she could only nod helplessly and say, “Yes~”
“You're quite amusing, you know? Even a tree knows your story now.” Chang'e couldn't help but chuckle, saying, “Oh, that's right. If it were just rumors, it'd be fine, but you really are just like the legends say, which is indeed concerning.”
Su Qing: “...”
Faced with Chang'e's teasing, Su Qing was speechless...
She could only retort weakly, “While I do like women, I'm still far from what the rumors claim, alright? And I wouldn't go as far as to lay hands on a tree! Especially one whose age is unknown!”
Hearing this, Chang'e chuckled, staring at Su Qing with an expression of disbelief...
This left Su Qing quite speechless.
Why did it feel like Chang'e didn't believe her words either?
She clearly understood her well.
She should know that she wasn't that kind of person.
“Sister Chang'e, you understand me. While I do like women, I am still pure as ice and clean as jade.” Su Qing, not giving up, intended to explain further.
What if she actually convinced her?
However, Chang'e, hearing her, still just smiled at Su Qing, looking as if she had seen right through her.
Seeing this, Su Qing could only pout helplessly and give up.
She changed the subject, speechless, saying, “Never mind, let's go find Gongsun Zhixue quickly!”
Seeing her speechless expression, Chang'e's smile widened... as if her mischievous plan had succeeded.
However, Chang'e didn't press her advantage.
Instead, she nodded with a smile and said, “Alright, let's go!”
Su Qing saw Chang'e's beaming smile.
She immediately understood that this woman had definitely been doing it on purpose... just to annoy her.
But Su Qing had no way to deal with her, nor could she do anything to her...
As for continuing to argue with her... it seemed pointless.
After all, there were other things to do.
Helpless, Su Qing also pouted, too lazy to say anything more.
She simply left the study, heading towards the Osmanthus Tree.
Seeing Su Qing move, Chang'e also chuckled and followed her...
Although she deliberately wanted to tease her, they still had to go where they intended.
Their speed was also very quick.
Before long, the two had arrived beneath the Osmanthus Tree.
The Osmanthus Tree was still the same, with no particular changes, only lacking the phantom of Wu Gang.
And beneath the Osmanthus Tree sat a person, none other than an adult Gongsun Zhixue.
After such a long time, Gongsun Zhixue's appearance hadn't changed, and Su Qing couldn't discern any changes in her cultivation realm either.
However, her overall demeanor had become much calmer... losing some of the lively and mischievous air of a young girl.
Su Qing was somewhat surprised by this, but had nothing particular to say.
She simply called out to Gongsun Zhixue from a distance.
“Why are you here?” Gongsun Zhixue saw Su Qing and was slightly surprised, asking.
“Can't I come to see you?” Su Qing rolled her eyes and said, “Actually, I came yesterday, but when I passed by, I didn't see you, and then I was busy with other things, so I didn't have a chance to find you.”
Hearing Su Qing say this, Gongsun Zhixue nodded slightly and said:
“Of course it's fine for you to visit me! It's just that many people came yesterday, and I'm not good at interacting with strangers, so I hid in the courtyard. I didn't expect to miss you...”
Su Qing shook her head indifferently at that, saying, “That's alright... But more importantly, how has your cultivation been recently? And how is the Osmanthus Tree treating you?”
Su Qing had come here intending to catch up and chat casually with her.
So she naturally said whatever came to mind.
Gongsun Zhixue also slowly replied:
“Master treats me very well. I've learned a lot from her. Although my cultivation realm hasn't improved much for now, what I lacked before has been greatly supplemented. In short, I've learned many incredible things... yes, many.”
Indeed, Gongsun Zhixue had learned a lot from the Osmanthus Tree... some things even shattered her worldview.
Su Qing didn't know all the details; she was just happy that Gongsun Zhixue had grown.
She nodded with a smile, looking at the Osmanthus Tree, and said, “I see, that's quite good then. Oh, where is she?”
“Master said she doesn't want to see you... so she's hiding.”
Gongsun Zhixue was silent for a moment, seemingly listening to the Osmanthus Tree's sound transmission, then said:
“She told me to chat with you slowly...”
Su Qing pouted, a little speechless.
The Osmanthus Tree's actions were not at all unexpected.
Although annoyed, she was too lazy to complain.
She merely rolled her eyes, then continued to chat with Gongsun Zhixue.
As for Chang'e, although she had come along, she merely stood to the side without speaking, gazing at the Osmanthus Tree in a daze, seemingly chatting with it via sound transmission.
Although Su Qing noticed, she didn't pay much attention, simply continuing to chat with Gongsun Zhixue...
The two chatted for quite a while, and half an hour passed without them realizing it.
After chatting for so long, Su Qing knew everything she wanted to know and felt much more at ease about Gongsun Zhixue's life.
So she felt it was about time to leave...
Thus, she stretched and said, “It's about time, I should go! Someone is waiting for me back in the Northern Continent.”
Hearing this, although Gongsun Zhixue was curious who that person was, she didn't ask further, merely nodding.
Gongsun Zhixue looked at Su Qing and asked, “Do you want me to see you off?”
Su Qing waved her hand at that, shaking her head, “There's no need for that... I'll go back by myself. Just keep learning diligently from the Osmanthus Tree! Cultivate well~ I still remember you once said you'd beat me!”
Gongsun Zhixue paused for a moment...
Then she pouted and said helplessly, “I understand... I'll diligently follow Master's teachings. But as for beating you, let's just forget that! I have some self-awareness.”
Su Qing shook her head at that, saying, “Not now, but who knows about the future! Cultivate well, and you'll always be able to! Alright, I won't say more, I'm leaving~”
“I know, I'll cultivate diligently.” Gongsun Zhixue said, speechless, “I'm much more hardworking than you think!”
During this period of learning with the Osmanthus Tree...
Gongsun Zhixue had also grown a lot, and naturally understood the gap between herself and Su Qing.
However, even though she knew she couldn't beat Su Qing, cultivation still needed to be done diligently.
Because she had other goals to strive for, she naturally wouldn't slack off...
Su Qing heard Gongsun Zhixue's words, nodded with a smile, praised her a couple of times, then waved goodbye and walked back the way she came.
Seeing this, Chang'e smiled faintly, took one last look at the Osmanthus Tree, then followed Su Qing.
Once their figures had receded into the distance.
“They've left, you should also calm your mind and cultivate well!” The Osmanthus Tree's voice rang in her mind, saying.
Gongsun Zhixue took a deep breath, looked up at the Osmanthus Tree, and asked, “Master, can Sister Su truly overcome that Great Tribulation?”
“Hmm? Why are you suddenly asking about this again? Haven't I told you already?”
“I just... after seeing her again, I couldn't help but want to confirm it.”
“Ah, you don't need to worry about her... You don't need to worry about her more than anyone else.”
The Osmanthus Tree's phantom appeared before Gongsun Zhixue, saying with a somewhat helpless tone:
“The people who can help her are far more numerous than you imagine; she is arguably more stable than anyone. If even she cannot overcome that tribulation, then... no one in the Immortal Realm will be able to survive it.”
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