Shen Lixia felt like crying inside.

Having been learning from Li Shiyun for the past few days, she has already mastered the art of guiding qi into her body. Because of Li Shiyun's strength, she can no longer treat Li Shiyun as a twelve-year-old little sister, and instead feels a bit dependent on her.

"Waaaaah, Senior Sister, does the Sect Leader really dislike me? Will he choose this new junior sister as my fifth sister-in-law?"

With a single water elemental root, it's obvious to anyone that she would definitely join the Heavenly One Sect and become a fellow disciple.

Li Shiyun's small face scrunched up tightly.

"Actually, it doesn't matter if you don't get married. You can still achieve results by cultivating diligently. Dual cultivation is just one method. You can learn other methods as well. I'm doing very well now. Besides, after finding you, Sister Jin stopped giving out youth-preserving pills. Testing spiritual roots is for recruiting disciples."

Li Shiyun had already heard the Imperial Preceptor talk about the advantages and disadvantages of water spirit roots, so she didn't feel panicked at the time.

She has become powerful; who will take advantage of her? Who will use her as a vessel for cultivation?

If she is weak, even if she doesn't have a water elemental root, she will still become a plaything. It doesn't really matter whether she has a water elemental root or not; it mainly depends on her own abilities.

"But I think it would be better to be the Grand Preceptor's fifth sister-in-law. Isn't a single spiritual root extremely rare? Even in the cultivation world, they would be geniuses. How come they've become like radishes and cabbages in our world?"

"I don't know either."

"Oh dear, the Imperial Advisor arrived so quickly. It seems she really has other ideas. Waaah, why is Young Master Fang here too? Is he here to see his new wife?"

Shen Lixia was like a chatterbox, constantly babbling on and on.

Li Shiyun tilted her head and stared at her intently, but couldn't detect a trace of sadness in her eyes; all she did was move her mouth around happily.

As the sect leader approached, her face changed, and she ran over with a bright smile, cheerfully calling out, "Grand Preceptor, you've arrived!"

"Well, I had nothing to do, so I came over to see if anyone else has been diagnosed with a water elemental root?"

"Yes, it's her."

Shen Lixia pointed with her small hand.

Fang Ruotang followed the gaze and saw a pitiful-looking woman looking at them timidly.

She had a delicate, swaying appearance, speaking softly and gently, just like water.

"She... you can tell at a glance that she has a water elemental root."

Fang Ruotang found it amazing.

There is such a woman in the world, completely different from the girls who come to the capital.

"This girl is from Jiangnan, and is a cousin living in the capital," Jin Wuyou explained after hearing Fang Ruotang's words.

Fang Ruotang tilted her head back in surprise, looked at Jin Wuyou and then at the woman.

Jin Wuyou was both amused and exasperated. "My father only has one daughter, and I've been disguised as a boy and followed him into the shop since I was little. If I had developed a personality like that, would my family have any chance of survival?"

Even someone like her, after entering the Third Prince's residence in the original timeline, was completely devoured, leaving not a trace.

If it were the woman on the other side, the Jin family's entire fortune would probably have changed hands in less than three days.

"Can she endure the hardships of cultivation?"

Fang Ruotang herself couldn't stand it; seeing Li Shiyun studying diligently, she felt it was too hard for her.

"This is her personal matter. If she can't seize the opportunity, then she deserves to be looked down upon and bullied," Jin Wuyou replied rationally.

Not everyone is Fang Ruotang.

While the two were talking, Shen Lixia had already moved closer to Fang Zhixing, looking sneaky and hesitant.

Fang Zhixing couldn't take it anymore and asked helplessly, "Just say what you want to say! Don't give me that 'um...' look."

Fang Zhixing found it rude; her expression was hard to describe.

"You're the one who told me to say this! So I'll just say it directly. You haven't fallen for her again, have you? I admit she's gentler and more considerate than me, but I can learn from her. You're not allowed to be fickle."

Fang Zhixing frowned, his expression serious. "What exactly is marriage to you? Can it be changed at any time?"

Shen Lixia's expression turned pale instantly, her lips trembled, and she looked at the other person helplessly.

Upon seeing this, Fang Zhixing's face flashed with annoyance.

“I’m not talking about you. I just don’t like it when you question me like this. I’ve already agreed to your request, and I won’t change my mind. I was just with Xiao Liu, and she wanted to come over, so I went with her. I didn’t have any other intentions, so don’t overthink it.”

Shen Lixia pursed her lips, not daring to cause any more trouble, feeling uneasy.

Fang Zhixing remained silent, unsure of what to say.

The two had only just met and didn't know each other very well.

On the other side, where the atmosphere was different, Fang Ruotang had already started chatting with the girl, and had clearly asked about her name, identity, and background.

“Miss Chu, you can move to Tianyi Sect. That way, it will be more convenient for you to study with Shishi.”

In the original timeline, her life was rather tragic. She inherited a huge fortune from the Chu family, was raised by her maternal grandparents, and was ultimately wiped out of the family fortune, dying before she was even eighteen.

[Her story sounds familiar...]

[Her background is similar to the one in the short video you watched last time, which explained the main characters in Dream of the Red Chamber. Miss Chu is even weaker than Lin Daiyu. At least Lin Daiyu can talk, but Miss Chu is just too calculating. If someone says anything to her, she won't dare to utter a sound.]

Fang Ruotang looked at Chu Yangyang with a little sympathy, but not much. She always felt that people should be able to stand on their own two feet and not rely on others for everything.

“You… learn more from Shishi in the future. Don’t underestimate her just because she’s young; she’s excellent in every way.”

"……good."

Chu Yangyang answered in a voice as soft as a mosquito's bite.

The little mirror's words filled her with shame and indignation, and she was on the verge of tears. She knew she was useless, but every time she got angry or agitated, tears would involuntarily fall.

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