The silence was becoming stretched, and every second was making the Cloud Piercing Sect members more awkward and embarrassed. And yet, they could not bring themselves to say anything to Wu Long either. Grand Elder Fu’s face slowly started turning red, both from frustration and shame as he opened and closed his mouth while Wu Long still simply stood there while looking at the Palace Master, who was visibly enjoying this scene.

“J… just wait- uh!”

Finally, the middle aged man could only squeeze out these ‘grand words’ and he prepared to turn and leave, thus preserving at least a semblance of his dignity, but then, Wu Long’s hand started to come up and the man stumbled back as did his subordinates, who backed away. Wu Long’s hand came up to his neck and lightly massaged it as he moved his head from side to side.

The members of the Cloud Piercing Sect almost choked when they saw that as they turned completely red from shame and hurriedly left the hall.

“Psst, puhahahaha…!”

As the door closed behind them, a suppressed laughter of a green-eyed beauty leaked, followed by uncontrollable burst of her tinkling laughter. A few seconds after Gong Cui broke the silence a resounding laughter broke out in the room, all elders of the Profound Music Palace laughing out loud with delighted faces, as Fan Shuei chuckled and looked at Wu Long with appreciation. The members of the Cloud Piercing Continent stopped in front of the doors, their faces dark, their shoulders slightly shaking in anger.

“Let’s go!”

Grand Elder Fu spat out with gritted teeth and resumed walking with a quick, angry stride.

“Did you see his face? I thought he is going to explode! Ahahaha!”

“How great to see someone wipe that self-important smug off his face! Hahaha!”

“That face slap was so resounding it probably reached his sect! Haahaha!”

The elders began exclaiming as they could not hold in their emotions. It could be seen just how much frustration they held in over the days of their visit, and possibly years of interacting with them.

The previously unpleasant Wu Long now was a welcome guest of the sect in one short moment.

“I appreciate you giving me the honors”

Fan Shuei said with a tone of gratitude, and Wu Long smiled in response.

“A small token of my appreciation for the hospitality and the trouble, no need to mention it”

Wu Long’s words made a lot of elders in the hall instantly even more amicable toward him.

“Ah, yes, I have yet to introduce her, this is our Sect’s most talented prodigy…”

Fan Shuei then saw Wu Long’s eyes shift to her side and as she started speaking, the green-eyed beauty proudly puffed her chest out while her fists were on her sides with a wide smile.

‘Fufufu, this nice guy has not yet experienced my brilliance, so he may think of me as a simple girl, now is finally the time for him to see the real me’

Was her thought at the words ‘most talented prodigy’ of her Master and Sect Leader.

“…in centuries as well as the most air-headed person to ever succeed in Music Dao, truly a miracle, Prime Disciple Gong Cui”

“M-master!!!”

Gong Cui nearly stumbled while standing as her pose crumbled and she looked at her master with a look of betrayal while the hall was filled with another burst of laughter from the elders.

“Hahah, it is my pleasure knowing such a beautiful lady, Prime Disciple Gong Cui”

“Hehe, oh~ no need for such flattery, though I suppose a little more will not be too much”

Wu Long chuckled while Gong Cui’s cheeks reddened and she put both hands on them, her eyes looking down as her leg started drawing a small circle on the floor.

“Of course not, since flattery is something exaggerated, while I simply stated the truth”

“Hehe~he~”

Gong Cui’s cheeks reddened even more as her lips curled into a pleased smile.

‘Hm? What if this nice guy likes me and not Sister? Oh no! My poor sister! And I actually told her that he liked her, getting her hopes up! How cruel of me!’

Her thoughts suddenly paused and then flew away into another world. A romance drama between sisters played out in intricate details in there as she sighed with a rueful smile.

‘Haa~ it is not so easy to be an otherworldly beauty with overflowing talents~ I guess I am what is called a Femme Fatale…’

Wu Long looked at the rapidly changing expressions of the green-eyed beauty with an amused glint in his eyes, wondering what this ‘miracle creature’ was thinking this time around, unaware that he was already a leading character in a maiden’s drama story.

“I am sorry, Mister Wu, I cannot answer your feelings”

She said with a melancholic look of a tragically beautiful woman, and the laughter in the hall gradually died down, replaced by confusion.

Wu Long’s eyebrow went up as he was as confused as everyone in the hall, and then smiled.

“I see, it truly is a pity, I must give up then”

He made a “rueful smile of begrudging acceptance” and nodded…

“Heh?”

…prompting Gong Cui to look up at him with a slight shock as there was no tearful tirade about undying love and never giving up. The scenario that was already written, and partially lived out, went out of the window just like that as all of the subsequent events spanning thousands of chapters dissipated.

Wu Long inwardly chuckled as he looked at the somewhat lost expression of the maiden.

Fan Shuei was looking at them with raised eyebrows and after realization started hitting her had a strong urge to facepalm. Her guest had to play along with the fantasy of her student, making the Palace Master almost cry out with embarrassment, both second-hand embarrassment for her student and her own as a Sect Leader.

“Uh… Cui’er, you asked about another seclusion right? You may go”

“Eh?”

Gong Cui, who has yet to recover from the suddenly ended romantic drama was subsequently hit with another shocking event as just not long ago it was apparent that Fan Shuei was not going to agree to the seclusion so easily.

“But Master… the meeting of the Five-…”

“Don’t worry about it, it is mostly for us old folk anyway, for your younger generation it is much more important to improve. Yes, this time you can take even longer, take as much time as you need”

Fan Shuei turned her around and started pushing her to go.

“Eeeeh? But… but what about…”

Gong Cui turned her head as she was being pushed forward with puzzlement all over her face.

“It’s alright, leave everything to your Master and go with a peace of mind”

The Palace Master spoke with a soothing tone as a few female attendants came to help her and led the still confused Prime Disciple away.

“Whew~… My apologies for that, Mister Wu. She is a special one”

Fan Shuei first took a moment to take a breath and wipe her forehead with a napkin, and then, after a second of collecting herself turned to Wu Long with a smile. He almost laughed out loud as he watched the whole spectacle, expecting to see the confused maiden emerging from the caves in the mansion soon enough.