Master, Please Help Me Break the Love Curse! - Chapter 21

Shang Qianye’s dark, luminous eyes fixed on the dazed figure before her, a faint blush rising on her cheeks. Yet she maintained her unwavering gaze on Luo Jiu, hoping for an answer.

“This is my first time doing something like this,” Shang Qianye murmured, her voice soft and defensive, her eyes like those of a pleading puppy. “If Master finds anything lacking, please tell me. I… I’ll improve next time.”

Luo Jiu flinched under that intense gaze, hastily averting her eyes. Her hands, resting on her knees, trembled slightly.

She found herself utterly at a loss for words.

Praising Shang Qianye would feel like flattery.

Criticizing her harshly might crush her confidence.

And Shang Qianye’s burning, undisguised gaze seemed determined to extract an evaluation from Luo Jiu.

“You…”

Luo Jiu’s mind froze. After stammering for what felt like an eternity, she finally forced herself to say, “You were too… slow.”

Shang Qianye blinked in surprise, then straightened her posture, a smile playing on her lips as she looked at Luo Jiu. “Yes, Master. I’ll definitely improve next time.”

The conversation could go no further that day.

Luo Jiu’s face burned with embarrassment. She rose from her chair, avoiding Shang Qianye’s gaze, and said coldly, “I need to rest now. Don’t stay here and annoy me.”

With that, she fled the room in a panic, as if escaping something.

Shang Qianye watched Luo Jiu’s retreating figure, blinking slowly. She couldn’t understand what she had done to anger Luo Jiu again, but this time… Luo Jiu didn’t seem quite as furious?

Just as Shang Qianye was puzzling over this, a massive surge of spiritual energy erupted from the highest peak of Lingxiao Sect. She sprang to her feet, her gaze snapping upward toward the mountain.

Even Luo Jiu, who had just entered her room, sensed the energy. She reopened the door, stepped back into the courtyard, and stared into the distance.

A dark cloud had suddenly enveloped the towering peak, and golden light streamed from beneath it like celestial rays, strikingly vivid against the gloom.

Nearly every disciple in Lingxiao Sect looked up at that moment, spotting the faint, dark cyan gate hidden within the swirling clouds.

Later, they would learn that this was the Gate to the Ghost Realm, opened by Master Kongming for Princess Pei Hui…

The Gate to the Ghost Realm hung conspicuously above the Lingxiao Sect’s highest peak for half a day. During that time, everyone buzzed with speculation, wondering what the Underworld beyond the gate was really like—whether it resembled the descriptions in popular tales.

Gu Jin stood in the courtyard with her hands clasped behind her back, staring anxiously at the gate. The Eldest Princess had stationed guards on the mountain to prevent anyone from approaching, and Gu Jin had also deployed her own disciples to assist in the watch, strictly forbidding them from venturing near.

Luo Jiu, however, remained remarkably calm. She sat on a bench in the courtyard, sipping premium Dragon Well Tea, and watched Gu Jin’s agitation with amusement. “Stop staring,” she advised. “No amount of looking will get you inside.”

“I’m not just curious,” Gu Jin retorted, glaring at Luo Jiu before settling at the table. “I just think it’s… inappropriate to leave the Gate to the Ghost Realm so openly displayed.”

“What’s inappropriate about it?” Luo Jiu glanced at her. “They’re not using your people, just borrowing a bit of land. And they’ve given you a glimpse of a sight rarely seen in this world. What’s wrong with that?”

“No, you…”

Luo Jiu raised her hand to interrupt Gu Jin. “Don’t speak yet. Listen to me first.”

Gu Jin blinked at her.

Luo Jiu continued, “Tomorrow is the day I enter the Heavenly Dao Brake for seclusion.”

“Already?” Gu Jin asked, surprised. “Didn’t you just come out? Has it really been half a month?”

Luo Jiu nodded. “This time is different. I need to bring Shang Qianye with me into the barrier. I wanted to give you a heads-up.”

Gu Jin raised an eyebrow, propped her chin on one hand, and gazed at Luo Jiu. “Isn’t it enough that your little disciple clings to you every day? Now you have to take her into the barrier too? Do you like her that much?”

Luo Jiu glared at her angrily. “What nonsense are you spouting? What makes you think I like her?”

“If you don’t like her, why are you always with her? Now you can’t even bear to be apart during seclusion—you might as well hang her from your belt!”

“You—!”

Just as the two were bickering, two figures walked through the door. One of them happened to be the very person they were discussing.

“Oh, Qianye’s back!” Gu Jin greeted her with a radiant smile. “How did things go with the Eldest Princess?”

Gu Yunqing, standing beside Shang Qianye, spoke first: “Mother, things went quite smoothly with the Eldest Princess. We even saw Pei Hui sit up from her ice coffin!”

Gu Jin’s expression turned incredulous. “Truly resurrected from the dead?”

Shang Qianye nodded solemnly. “However, Pei Hui’s condition isn’t as good as we’d hoped. Master Kongming said her soul power was drained by a soul-devouring magical artifact. Since we only performed the summoning ritual outside the gate, her consciousness remains clouded. He said… this is how she’ll be from now on.”

Gu Yunqing added, “In other words, Pei Hui is now mentally impaired, with a mental age of no more than three years old. And this is permanent.”

Gu Jin sighed deeply. “What a pity… such a waste of her exceptional talent. Still, the fact that she’s alive must bring some comfort to the Eldest Princess.”

“Yes, the Eldest Princess saw Pei Hui wake up, hugged her, and cried. She said she would keep her by her side as a Little Princess and never bring her to this place again.”

“Ah…”

Despite these words, Gu Jin breathed a genuine sigh of relief. As long as the girl was alive, everything else could be sorted out.

Gu Yunqing, like her mother, was a talkative person. When the two women were together, they began to chatter endlessly. With no outsiders present in the courtyard, the usual formalities were abandoned.

Luo Jiu listened intently as Gu Yunqing recounted the events involving the Eldest Princess. Suddenly, she noticed her disciple, Shang Qianye, was unusually silent, sitting quietly beside her without saying a word, as if lost in thought.

“Qianye,” Luo Jiu called out. “Tomorrow, I will be entering seclusion at the Heavenly Dao Brake. You will come with me. During our seclusion, we cannot leave, so make sure to bring everything you need. If you forget something, no one will be able to lend it to you.”

At these words, Shang Qianye, who had been deep in thought, abruptly looked up at Luo Jiu. “I’m coming too?”

Luo Jiu gave her a look that said, What else would I do?

Previously, the love gu could be suppressed every seven days, allowing her to time her exits precisely. But now, to prevent Shang Qianye from being tormented by the Heart Demon, the suppression needed to be done every six days. No matter how they calculated the timing, it wouldn’t align. The only solution was to bring Shang Qianye into the barrier—the only foolproof plan.

Gu Yunqing was the first to react, asking in surprise, “Junior Aunt, are you planning to have Senior Sister Shang replace you as the guardian of the Heavenly Dao Brake?”

Gu Jin pinched her daughter’s cheek. “Qianye is Luo Jiu’s prized disciple. It’s perfectly reasonable for her to eventually guard the Heavenly Dao Brake. Why are you making such a fuss?”

Gu Yunqing grew anxious, turning to Shang Qianye. “Senior Sister, if you become the guardian of the Heavenly Dao Brake, you’ll never be able to leave the Lingxiao Sect for the rest of your life.”

“Yunqing…”

Realizing her words were inappropriate, Gu Yunqing quickly apologized to Luo Jiu. “Junior Aunt, I didn’t mean to say that. I’m just worried about Senior Sister. She’s still so young—she shouldn’t be trapped in the Lingxiao Sect forever.”

Luo Jiu understood Gu Yunqing’s meaning. Guarding the Heavenly Dao Brake meant being confined to the Lingxiao Sect for life, trapped within its confines until the next successor emerged. Gu Yunqing had assumed Luo Jiu wanted to escape this fate, which was why she had been grooming Shang Qianye to inherit the duty so early.

“I have no intention of training Shang Qianye to guard the Heavenly Dao Brake,” Luo Jiu said calmly, dispelling Gu Yunqing’s worries with a single sentence. “As long as I live, I will never let her inherit the Heavenly Dao Brake. You can rest assured, Yunqing.”

Gu Yunqing’s face lit up with relief, and she shyly apologized, “I’m sorry, Junior Aunt.”

Luo Jiu shook her head and turned to Shang Qianye, who was sitting beside her. “I simply need her to handle some urgent matters. The Heavenly Dao Brake is quiet, and the situation is pressing, so I asked her to join me in seclusion. Qianye, what do you think? Are you willing to come with me?”

Shang Qianye understood Luo Jiu’s meaning perfectly. She stared intently at Luo Jiu and nodded slightly. “If Master asks me to go, I will go. It’s not just seclusion—if one day I were asked to guard the Heavenly Dao Brake, I wouldn’t refuse either.”

Gu Yunqing’s expression immediately became complex. She was about to speak when Gu Jin stopped her.

“Alright, it’s just a minor matter. Why are you making such a fuss?” Gu Jin tightly gripped her daughter’s hand under the table, her gaze fixed on Luo Jiu and Shang Qianye. “Luo Jiu, you’re still young. You can guard the Heavenly Dao Brake for at least another forty or fifty years. There’s no need to rush to find a successor.”

Then she turned to Shang Qianye. “There’s nothing inside the Heavenly Dao Brake. Even though you’ve achieved bigu (grain avoidance), you should still bring extra supplies. Since this is your first time, ask your Master for advice.”

Shang Qianye bowed respectfully. “Yes, Sect Leader.”

Gu Yunqing opened her mouth to speak, but her mother pinched her arm. She looked at her mother, her face filled with confusion.

Luo Jiu, oblivious to the mother-daughter exchange, finished her tea and stood up. “We’ll be entering at dawn tomorrow. Come with me. I’ll explain the precautions you need to take. Don’t ruin my barrier.”

Shang Qianye rose and followed her out, leaving Gu Jin and Gu Yunqing alone in the courtyard.

Gu Yunqing’s gaze remained fixed on Shang Qianye until they disappeared. Only then did she reluctantly withdraw her gaze, only to find herself staring directly into her mother’s eyes.

Her heart clenched in fear.

“M-Mother,” Gu Yunqing stammered, quickly rising to her feet. “I just remembered I have something urgent to take care of. I need to go now.”

“Yunqing, stop right there.”

Gu Jin halted Gu Yunqing’s attempted escape, narrowing her eyes as she studied her daughter. “You’re acting very strangely today,” she said slowly. “Shang Qianye is just going into seclusion, yet you’re so anxious and terrified.”

She asked, “Yunqing, do you… do you have feelings for Shang Qianye?”