Master, Please Help Me Break the Love Curse! - Chapter 29

Jade Court Forest.

Under the soft moonlight, Luo Jiu sat alone in the pavilion of the main hall, sipping clear wine. She leaned against a daybed, a low table beside her holding the Daifuku fruit and Peach Blossom Fermented Rice Wine that Shang Qianye had left in the room.

Half of both items had already been consumed. Luo Jiu stared at the tranquil pond in the distance, silently gulping down another mouthful of wine.

Just as she set down her cup, Luo Jiu sensed a surge of spiritual energy nearby. She turned her head and saw Shang Qianye standing outside the courtyard gate. Their eyes met across the distance.

“What are you doing here?” Luo Jiu asked, her brow furrowing slightly. She glanced at Shang Qianye before looking away to pour herself another cup of wine. “Weren’t you supposed to go hiking with Yun Qing? Why are you back so early?”

Shang Qianye didn’t answer her question but instead slowly walked over and stood directly in front of the pavilion.

Luo Jiu caught a whiff of alcohol and looked up at her. “Have you been drinking?”

Shang Qianye’s cheeks flushed crimson, her dark, luminous eyes now shimmering like a pool of water as she gazed at Luo Jiu. Her thick lashes trembled slightly, as if she had something she wanted to say.

“Master,” Shang Qianye murmured softly, “today is my birthday.”

Luo Jiu met her gaze without speaking.

Shang Qianye’s voice carried a hint of grievance as she whispered, “You haven’t spoken to me all day, Master…”

Luo Jiu looked at Shang Qianye, who seemed on the verge of tears, and felt a pang of guilt. In truth, she had deliberately avoided Shang Qianye all day, wanting to avoid being alone with her.

The day Luo Jiu emerged from her seclusion, Gu Jin had pulled her aside to discuss some matters.

Regarding the Demonic Sect that had been causing trouble recently, the Lingxiao Sect had uncovered some clues. Gu Jin wanted Luo Jiu’s help in searching for the sect’s hidden strongholds.

The operation went smoothly. Luo Jiu quickly located the Demonic Sect’s gathering place, and today they had captured all the sect disciples present.

Though the number of captives was small, it was a promising start.

Afterward, Gu Jin didn’t let Luo Jiu return immediately. Instead, she led her aside to chat about trivial matters and family affairs.

“Junior Sister,” Gu Jin said, clasping her hands behind her back and gazing at Luo Jiu. “There’s something I’m not sure whether to tell you. If I don’t, it’ll weigh on my mind, but if I do, I’m afraid it might upset you.”

Luo Jiu glanced at her, her tone dismissive. “When are you going to cure yourself of this talkative habit? If you have something to say, just say it. If not, I’m leaving.”

Gu Jin quickly stopped her. “I do have something to say! Would I bother you otherwise?”

After a moment’s hesitation, she asked earnestly, “Today is Qianye’s birthday, isn’t it?”

Luo Jiu replied lazily, “Yun Qing rushed out early this morning. Didn’t you know?”

“I just wanted to confirm.”

Hearing Luo Jiu mention Gu Yunqing, Gu Jin pondered for a moment before saying, “Come to think of it, Qianye is turning twenty this year, and Yun Qing is nineteen. They’ve grown into young women in the blink of an eye, yet I still see them as children. I remember when you first brought Qianye to the mountain—she barely reached your waist. Now, in the blink of an eye, she’s grown so tall.”

“It’s time we started thinking about Qianye’s future,” Gu Jin said.

Luo Jiu blinked in surprise, looking at her with confusion.

Gu Jin awkwardly scratched her nose and cleared her throat. “Junior Sister, don’t think I’m meddling, but Qianye is growing up. Do you really plan to keep her by your side forever?”

Luo Jiu frowned. “I’ve never considered that.”

Though Shang Qianye was Luo Jiu’s disciple, Luo Jiu had never intended to keep her by her side for life. She would unconditionally let Qianye leave whenever she wished.

Gu Jin gazed at Luo Jiu meaningfully, a gentle smile playing on her lips. “Do you know if Qianye has someone she cares for?”

Luo Jiu remained silent, her lips pressed tightly together as she clenched her fist within her sleeve.

Gu Jin noticed her reaction and sighed softly. “Qianye has a bright future ahead of her, Junior Sister. You should cherish your relationship with her…”

Gu Jin’s words still echoed in Luo Jiu’s mind, especially whenever Shang Qianye looked at her with that soft, tender gaze. Luo Jiu would always remember Gu Jin’s warning.

Shang Qianye loved her.

Luo Jiu knew this better than anyone.

She had been torn about the fact that the disciple she had raised with her own hands loved her. Ever since Shang Qianye had been afflicted by the love gu, Luo Jiu could feel the other woman’s overflowing affection, almost palpable.

Whether through her gaze or her actions, Shang Qianye had never hidden her feelings.

Luo Jiu was well aware of this.

But knowing it herself was one thing; having others know was another matter entirely.

“You…” Luo Jiu frowned slightly, tilting her head to look up at the person before her in the moonlight. Her voice remained steady as she said, “You shouldn’t be here.”

Shang Qianye looked puzzled.

“Go find Gu Yunqing. Go find your other fellow disciples. Just don’t overdo it. Pick up your wine cup and go anywhere else.”

“What if I don’t want to?”

Shang Qianye took a step forward, closing the distance between them. She loomed over Luo Jiu in the moonlight, leaning down to press her hands on either side of her. The scent of wine wafted from her as she leaned in, startling Luo Jiu so badly that the wine cup slipped from her grasp and clattered onto the table.

The wine spilled across the table.

“Shang Qianye.”

Luo Jiu frowned. Shang Qianye was too close; their noses were almost touching. Luo Jiu’s lower back pressed against the edge of the soft couch, making it look as if Shang Qianye had pinned her down.

Shang Qianye’s eyes were frighteningly dark as she lowered her head to inhale Luo Jiu’s faint scent. She murmured softly, “Master, you promised me a birthday gift at the Heavenly Dao Brake. I’ve come to collect.”

“Where’s my gift?”

Luo Jiu frowned and pushed her away. “I didn’t prepare a gift for you. Get off me.”

Saying nothing would have been better. Her words only agitated Shang Qianye further.

Instead of moving, Shang Qianye braced her knees on the couch and leaned even closer, her head bowed. “Why? You promised me a birthday gift. How can you break your word?”

“So what if I break my word? I only said it casually. Can’t I change my mind?”

Shang Qianye felt deeply wronged. She had waited all day for her gift, only to have Luo Jiu dismiss it as a “casual promise.”

How could she not feel wronged?

Luo Jiu’s words stirred an inexplicable resentment in Shang Qianye’s heart. She had been thinking of Luo Jiu constantly, yearning for even the slightest hint of warmth from her. Yet, in the end, Luo Jiu remained stubbornly unresponsive.

I should strip her bare, bite her lips under her startled gaze, and then pin her down on this bed and ravish her.

Shang Qianye thought it, and she did it.

Catching Luo Jiu off guard, she leaned in for a kiss, the lingering taste of strong wine still on her lips. Luo Jiu gasped in surprise and raised her hands to push Shang Qianye away.

But Shang Qianye had anticipated this. She seized Luo Jiu’s wrist with one hand, pinning her down, while her other hand deftly untied Luo Jiu’s sash. As Luo Jiu struggled, Shang Qianye’s knee wedged between her legs, immobilizing her.

“Shang… Shang Qianye!”

Luo Jiu’s breathing grew ragged from the kiss. When Shang Qianye’s hand roughly squeezed her br3ast, she gasped sharply, her eyes widening as she watched Shang Qianye’s dark, gleaming eyes bore into hers. Shang Qianye lowered her head and bit deeply into Luo Jiu’s bare shoulder.

“Ugh!”

Luo Jiu gripped Shang Qianye’s robes tightly, her face pale with pain.

As Shang Qianye’s fingers plunged deeper, Luo Jiu straightened her chest and frantically cried out, “I-I lied to you!”

Her eyes reddened as she stammered, “The gift… I’ve already prepared it. It’s inside…”

Shang Qianye blinked, then suddenly smiled.

“Thank you, Master.”

She kissed Luo Jiu’s lips, murmuring, “Master really does love me.”

Luo Jiu was speechless. When Shang Qianye lifted her into her arms, her legs went weak, leaving her clinging to Shang Qianye’s shoulder as she was carried inside, her buttocks supported by Shang Qianye’s hand.

A long, narrow box lay on the bedside table. Shang Qianye opened it to reveal a blue hair ribbon.

The ribbon was slender and adorned with tassels at both ends, its surface covered in intricate runes—Luo Jiu’s signature life-saving talismans, capable of withstanding most fatal blows. These were talismans that the world would pay fortunes for.

Now, Luo Jiu was offering it as her own birthday gift.

Shang Qianye gently placed Luo Jiu on the bed, picked up the blue hair ribbon, and sat down again facing her.

“Master, please tie it for me.”

Shang Qianye’s eyes sparkled as she gazed at Luo Jiu, offering her the ribbon inscribed with spiritual energy runes.

Luo Jiu bit her lip, regretting her decision. If only I’d given her the gift directly, I wouldn’t be suffering through this.

Oh well, it’s Shang Qianye’s birthday today. I’ll humor her.

Luo Jiu took the ribbon and tied it in Shang Qianye’s dark hair. The pale blue ribbon stood out vividly against the black strands, perfectly complementing her half-undressed state and accentuating her fair skin and crimson lips.

When did Shang Qianye become so beautiful? She’s completely different from the dirty, scruffy child she used to be.

Shang Qianye smiled, her lips curving into a gentle arc. She took Luo Jiu’s hand, which hadn’t yet been withdrawn, and pressed it to her lips, bowing her head to kiss it softly. “Thank you, Master. I love it.”

Luo Jiu’s face flushed crimson. She yanked her hand back and turned away, refusing to meet Shang Qianye’s gaze. “Now that you’ve received your gift, you should go back.”

Shang Qianye blinked slightly, then suddenly leaned in close to Luo Jiu, pressing her lips against the other woman’s.

“Mmm…”

A warm tongue plunged deep into Luo Jiu’s mouth. With a gentle push, Luo Jiu fell back onto the bed, her brow furrowed as she glared at the woman looming over her. In anger, she bit Shang Qianye’s lip.

Shang Qianye didn’t flinch. Instead, she used the momentum to knead Luo Jiu’s waist.

Amidst soft moans, Shang Qianye gradually lost herself.

Her feelings for Luo Jiu had grown increasingly complex, a tangled mix of love and resentment. She had even bitterly wondered why she couldn’t be like Qin Wangyue and Yu Shiyan, able to stroll through the lantern festival openly together.

Luo Jiu hadn’t even bothered to wish her a simple “Happy Birthday.”

The woman being kissed into a daze flushed crimson, her resistance weakening significantly. She even draped an arm around Shang Qianye’s shoulder, pressing herself closer.

“Master, you like me, don’t you?” Shang Qianye murmured into Luo Jiu’s ear as she kissed the woman beneath her. “Even if you despise me, even if you hate me, I will always adore you.”

Now, Shang Qianye was finally enjoying her birthday gift.