Spirit Cultivation

How could she fight back when Xuefeng behaved like that? 

"Why…?" Jiao asked, her mind needing answers to stay sane. 

"Why what? I don't understand," Xuefeng replied confused. 

"Why did you take the blame for my actions? Why are you so nice to me? Why did you come? Why do you care about me? Why…?" She asked repeatedly, hitting her head against his chest with each question. 

It seemed Xuefeng had already an answer prepared as he didn't take a break to think. 

"Aren't you one of us? I care cause you are my friend. It's only natural for me to do so. Even though you are a bit of silly at times, I won't give up on you," Xuefeng replied honestly, patting her head as he continued to fly in the direction of their territory. 

Sob...

Jiao tried to stop herself from crying but another wave of emotions hit her out of nowhere. She blamed it on alcohol and on Xuefeng. Who asked him to be so sweet to her once again. 

"Oi, oi, why are you crying again? Didn't you finish already? How much liquid do you have in your body to cry so much?" Xuefeng asked as he stopped, hovering in the night sky. 

Jiao hit him with her forehead again. "It's all your fault…" She muttered. "You don't need to be nice to me. I know I'm just an useless log on your way. Right now I'm just wasting your time. You don't need me at all." 

She didn't know what she expected Xuefeng to say but he definitely surpassed her expectations. "You are right. I don't," Xuefeng confirmed with a shrug. 

"Cough, cough." Jiao choked, wanting to get mad but she couldn't. It was the truth she already understood. 

"Jiao, let me ask you something," Xuefeng muttered, resumming his flight. "Can you tell me where did you find the confidence that I would like you? I'm really curious." 

Jiao's body shuddered at the question, her body momentarily weakening. Didn't he say a moment ago that she was his friend? Why did he turn into a bad Xuefeng so fast?

"Do you really think I would like you the way you are now? Tell me what did you do when everyone was working hard either cultivating or helping the clan? Did you just wait for my orders thinking you are actually a servant?" Xuefeng asked seriously. "You are really silly. You did nothing for two days and then went drinking to forget about your problems. Did you think I will find it attractive?" 

The tears that kept coming stopped under the barrage of Xuefeng's questions, freezing on her cheeks. She pushed herself away from Xuefeng and this time he didn't hold her back. 

Jiao didn't know the answer to those questions and instinctively tried to run away. Too bad she couldn't fly away far as she ended up falling into Xuefeng's arms once again. 

"I'm not scolding you. I'm telling you facts. We can be friends, I don't mind, but with your attitude and behavior, It will never become anything more than this. I don't really know what do you expect," Xuefeng continued, holding her hands so she doesn't fly away. "Is that how you wanted me to see you? Drunk while arguing and fighting with strangers in the bar?" 

"No! I didn't want any of this!" Jiao finally responded, shouting with all her feelings behind her voice. 

"Then why?" Xuefeng questioned, not giving her time to breathe. 

"I don't know… I don't know..." Jiao muttered out of strength, finding it hard to even think. She really didn't know what she thought. Everything was new for her since she met him. 

She thought he will question her yet again but he hugged her instead, no longer talking about the issue. 

"I will give you time to think about it. You still don't know what you want. I hope when I come back, you will have your answer," Xuefeng said calmly. 

"Come back…?" Jiao didn't understand, her thoughts already mushy.

They were already nearing Liu Clan's Palace and Xuefeng stopped before they entered. He lifted her up, leveling up their gazes and pinched her cheek with a soft smile.

"I will be away for a few days. It will give you some time to rethink your behavior," Xuefeng explained, releasing her cheek. 

She wanted to question him but a sudden force engulfed her, making her eyelids heavy. She couldn't fight back against it and her surroundings slowly darkened, the face of Xuefeng getting blurry. 

She struggled to open her eyes, wanting to see him a bit more but when she finally regained her vision, she felt a huge headache and pain in the eyes. 

Sunrays stung her as she tried to keep them open. 

"What happened…?" Jiao muttered, thinking Xuefeng was still next to her but she realized she was now back in her room, laying on her bed. It was already morning. 

"Xuefeng…?" She asked weakly, looking around but he was nowhere to be found. Rubbing her eyes she slowly realized what happened. 

Xuefeng knocked her out and brought back to her room. 

She drank a bit of water to fight the hangover and rubbed her eyes. The sheets fell from her fair shoulders and she realized she was in her blue, see through nightgown. 

Jiao immediately blushed, thinking it was Xuefeng who changed her clothes. Her blue dress was laying at the edge of the bed, folded nicely. 

"Did you leave already…?" Jiao asked herself out loud, rubbing her temples. She wanted to check if she remembers any details but there was nothing. 

Knock, knock!

A sudden knock to the doors disturbed her, forcing her to go back under the sheets. 

"Yes?" She asked, her Spirit Awareness not yet deployed. 

"Miss Jiao! Do you wish to eat breakfast?" a female servant called out from behind the doors, making her sigh in relief. If it was Xuefeng, she would be probably forced to escape through the balcony. 

"Yes," Jiao replied, covering herself as if she forgot she once was a respected Sect Master. The whole dominance she had was gone, her self back to being a young miss from years ago. 

"Good Morning Miss! I'm here to take care of you." The servant called out as she walked inside with the tray full of food and placed it like a table on Jiao's bed. 

"Please enjoy your breakfast while it's hot. If there is anything I can help with, please call me. I will be standing right outside the room," the female servant announced happily, bowed and walked back to the exit. 

"Wait," Jiao stopped her, finding the situation weird. "Since when I have a personal servant?" 

The girl smiled warmly and explained, "Miss Jiao is an important friend of Young Master Xuefeng. It's only natural Miss has your own servant."

"Since when…?" Jiao asked confused.

"I was personally chosen by Young Master yesterday night. He assigned me to take care of any of your needs," the female servant replied right away. 

"Mhmm…" Jiao nodded, slowly connecting the dots. "Were you the one who helped me changed yesterday then?" 

"Yes, according to Young Master's orders. It would be uncomfortable to sleep in Miss' dress," the female servant agreed, not finding it embarrassing at all. 

A bit of disappointment hit Jiao for some reason, realizing she preferred to think it was Xuefeng's job instead. 

"Did Xuefeng leave already?" Jiao asked one last question and hearing another confirmation, she fell onto the bed, not knowing what to think. 

The female servant excused herself and left her alone with her thoughts. Jiao recalled Xuefeng's words of how she didn't do anything for last two days and sighed. 

This was the least important question she wanted answers to. 

"What do I want…?