All The Female Disciples Want To Kill Me

The room was lit by flickering candlelight.

Su Bei, with a touch of curiosity, opened the storage ring that Mo Li had handed to him.

He was greeted with a piece of fabric that looked all too familiar. Swallowing hard, he carefully spread it out.

In an instant, a crumpled Red Bellyband appeared before Su Bei's eyes.

The storage ring preserved items excellently because it had no air circulation. For this reason, the Red Bellyband was presented in its original form. Besides the Red Bellyband, there was also a pair of scissors in the ring.

Hmm... just a very ordinary pair of scissors.

Su Bei thought back to that spine-chilling woman at Youjia Tavern in Mo City, the one who had applied aphrodisiacs to her dagger. He shivered unconsciously as he looked at the gleaming scissors.

Putting the scissors aside, Su Bei carefully examined the bafflingly damp Red Bellyband, as a faint fragrance mixed with an indistinct scent wafted through the air.

Doubt filled Su Bei's eyes.

What was this woman named Mo Li doing giving me this? It looks like the same Red Bellyband she wore at the Red Pavilion's cold spring.

Perhaps Su Bei was just doing what any normal, ordinary man would do.

Alone, he brought the Red Bellyband to his nose, saying solemnly, "Well, I'm just taking a sniff, in case there's poison inside… After all, this elder is very upright."

Just as the delicate and smooth fabric touched Su Bei's nose, the next moment, a piercing sword cry rang out!

CLANG!

Turning around, Su Bei saw the shattered doorway.

And under the cold moonlit night, Dan Wulan's snow-white, drifting hair and her icy eyes.

Su Bei looked from the Red Bellyband in his hand to Dan Wulan. He forced a smile and said awkwardly, "Junior Sister, this is all a misunderstanding. I can explain…"

Dan Wulan didn't know what expression to wear.

Her face was as cold as usual as she looked indifferently at the Red Bellyband in Su Bei's hands.

The little spark of excitement she had felt coming to find her Senior Brother seemed to shatter at that moment.

All the words she had rehearsed countless times at the doorstep, all the courage she had mustered, seemed to dissipate with the wind and snow.

Her Senior Brother hadn't done anything heinous. Yet, for some reason, seeing the way he cherished the Red Bellyband—presumably another woman's—stirred an indescribable feeling in Dan Wulan's heart.

Her expression was still calm, but her words, when they reached Su Bei's ears, seemed to regain their usual chill. "Senior Brother need not explain to Junior Sister. It was I who was rash. Thank you for the Qi Blood Pill."

...

The wind and snow blew in as Dan Wulan sheathed her Longsword.

Su Bei looked down and saw her bare feet, still without shoes.

Perhaps she came in such a rush?

Su Bei gave a wry smile and casually tossed the Red Bellyband aside. Its red silk edge silently dipped into the water in a cup by the bedside.

Perhaps in Junior Sister's heart, she already sees me as a pervert... My image as a noble and righteous Senior Brother is destroyed in an instant. All the goodwill I've built up these past few days has gone to waste. It was so hard to build up, yet it can be lost in a moment.

Su Bei felt he should explain. Clearing his throat, he began, "This, this Red Bellyband was given to me by the Mo Family's young miss…"

...

Seeing Dan Wulan's face darken, Su Bei realized his explanation was flawed and seemed to be making things worse. He quickly added, "Not in that way, I mean, at the time, the Mo Family's young miss asked me to look after it alone…"

...

Silence filled the air.

Dan Wulan's face was unreadable. The cold wind made her purple dress and white hair flutter as she regarded Su Bei coldly.

Then she turned and disappeared into the snowstorm.

Su Bei opened his mouth, looking forlornly at the door he had just repaired.

Why does it always feel like fate is conspiring against me? How could it be so coincidental? She didn't come earlier, didn't come later, but precisely at this moment? My good-for-nothing disciple didn't break through earlier, didn't break through later, but just now?

He sighed deeply, picked up the Red Bellyband once again, and observing the water dripping from one corner, tucked it back into the storage ring along with the scissors.

「...」

Dan Wulan walked barefoot on the snow.

Her crystalline toes pressed into the snow. The warmth from her skin melted it, the resulting water soaking the tops of her feet. Under the moonlight, the delicate veins there were faintly visible.

Was I too harsh on him just now? But I just can't stand the sight of him handling another woman's belongings.