Chapter 18 018 This isn't enough to win you over?
Even in the darkness, she could still clearly feel where the other person's gaze was directed. Lu Yuanyuan's cheeks flushed, and she immediately brought her knees together, her lower abdomen tightening.
Unfortunately, like a cough, menstruation isn't something you can suppress with willpower. The more you try not to lose your composure in front of others, the more likely things are to escalate in that direction.
The itchy sensation of the fluid flowing down her thighs made her legs tremble. She felt her pants were wet and warm.
"..."
Fortunately, Yin Xiaozhu seemed to understand her predicament, and the hand that was around her neck stiffened slightly. After a moment of silence, he rubbed his thumb, which was pressing on the vein on the side of her neck, and then withdrew it.
Only then did she realize that the other person's hands were very cold. Although it was still August, there was no warmth at all; they were colder than jade immersed in ice water.
But soon, she had no time to pay attention to these things, because she discovered an even more ominous situation—there was a piece of clothing that didn't belong to her pressing under her buttocks.
Lu Yuanyuan: "..."
As Yin Xiaozhu leaned closer, she managed to sit on her robe, but not firmly, and when he moved, it was pulled off. In the dim light, she only saw him leave briefly, and when he returned, he was not only wearing an outer robe but also carrying a lantern.
It was a beautiful gauze lantern, its bamboo frame wrapped in a thin gauze painted with lotus flower patterns. Inside the lantern was not a candle, but a bright, luminous pearl.
For cultivators, this light is sufficient for illumination. But for mortals, it is rather dim.
Yin Xiaozhu lowered her head, her gaze lingering on the person with disheveled hair and a slightly open collar. Following the other person's gaze, she looked at herself and indeed saw a small patch of bright red blood on the hem of her clothes. Her eyebrows furrowed even more tightly.
Lu Yuanyuan had already seen her handiwork, her toes curling up in embarrassment, her voice barely audible: "Yuanjun...do you have any menstrual pads here?"
"……have."
Yin Xiaozhu left again, this time for a long time. She returned with a box and handed it to Lu Yuanyuan. Lu Yuanyuan took it, but didn't dare to open it on the spot. She hugged the box, squeezed her legs together, and stood up: "Yuanjun, give me your clothes, I'll wash them for you."
"No need." Yin Xiaozhu turned to the side, straightened her clothes, and said, "Go back and rest."
Lu Yuanyuan didn't move. She looked up, hesitated for a moment, and said with some worry, "Yuanjun, are you alright? I was going to knock on the door, but it wasn't locked. I just happened to see you land, so I didn't think much of it and barged in..."
The system did not use any force to open the door. Now that she has explained, Yin Xiaozhu will only think that she herself did not close the door properly when she checks the door lock afterwards, and she should not suspect anything.
"I'm fine. I just felt a little dizzy while meditating on the stage." Yin Xiaozhu interrupted her, her tone no longer as cold as before, as if she had returned to the good-tempered senior sister she was during the day: "It's late, you should go back. It was my oversight. I'll take you to buy some daily necessities tomorrow."
Lu Yuanyuan quickly nodded and slipped away.
Running back to the side hall, she went to the bathhouse to wash her legs and soiled clothes. Opening the wooden box, she was somewhat surprised. Having lived in this world for so long in her previous life, she knew what sanitary napkins looked like, and that they were usually made of woven fabric. The ones Yin Xiaozhu had given her… although clean, were made of expensive ice silk, rarely used for menstrual pads. They were smooth and delicate to the touch, perfectly suited for making clothes, not for menstrual pads.
But the other person is also a woman, so it's impossible that she didn't know how to handle things and just gave her some random things.
Perhaps Yin Xiaozhu's lifestyle is just quite particular?
With a clean cloth placed between her legs, Lu Yuanyuan felt more comfortable and breathed a slight sigh of relief. She sat back on the bed and heard the system notification: "Ding! The phase reward for the hidden main storyline [Bitter Night] has been issued: three mid-grade spirit stones."
Lu Yuanyuan asked with some confusion, "Why is it a phased reward?"
System: "Because this hidden storyline has only just begun; it's not over yet."
That makes sense; hidden plot points always need to have something different. She just went into Yin Xiaozhu's room, only to borrow things from him, without doing anything else. How could she possibly pass that test so easily?
Looking back, Yin Xiaozhu was clearly acting strangely just now. Not only did she collapse and lose consciousness, but her body temperature was also abnormal, as if she had just been pulled out of an ice cave.
She said she was meditating and lost her balance. But the truth is definitely not that simple, after all, this is a hidden part of the story.
What is the meaning of the title "[Bitter Night]"? Could it be that Yin Xiaozhu has some hidden illness that flares up at night and is inconvenient to talk about with others?
What is its connection to the main storyline?
I have no clue.
Fine, since she can't figure it out for now, she won't guess. Since she's already on this mess, she'll have to know the future whether she wants to or not.
Lu Yuanyuan pulled the blanket over herself, closed her eyes, and went to sleep.
.
The next day, Yin Xiaozhu kept her promise and took Lu Yuanyuan to register her name. However, she didn't personally bring the daily necessities; instead, she had them delivered—several boxes of them.
The cultivation world also has cities, roads, and markets. All daily necessities can be bought directly at the foot of the mountain; presumably, they are delivered up from there.
Yesterday, Lu Yuanyuan had just earned three mid-grade spirit stones and was about to pay them when she was told that the accounts were settled monthly and were all recorded with her senior sister. After everyone left, Lu Yuanyuan checked the contents of the box and found menstrual belts, and they were indeed made of the kind of fabric she was familiar with.
A strange feeling swept through her mind. But at the moment, Lu Yuanyuan didn't think much of it and carefully put the box away.
.
In the Shushan Sword Sect, the outer disciples live in a place called Jiqiu Pool. To put it simply, it's a student dormitory. The environment is decent; each disciple has their own room, complete with a bed, wardrobe, desk, and chair. But it certainly can't compare to the living quarters of the direct disciples.
To attend class, one must go to a designated location at one of the seven peaks.
Students from other families do not have fixed masters. They attend basic courses by chance, and the lecturers are sent by the Seven Great Peaks. It is similar to contemporary college students rushing between teaching buildings to attend elective courses.
After three to five years, when the golden elixir is formed, everyone will choose which development direction to specialize in.
In this respect, Mount Shu still gives everyone a great deal of freedom of choice, without any domineering rules such as "You are someone I brought back by the Water Bee, so you must raise spirit beasts with me." Most of the disciples from other clans will become sword cultivators.
However, the intensity of competition among sword cultivators is directly proportional to its popularity. As mentioned earlier, Mount Shu implements a points-based ranking system. Each year, the Sword Sect only recruits a few disciples from the top-tier disciples as personal disciples. These positions are fixed, with far more monks than porridge, making it extremely difficult for anyone to stand out.
Therefore, some disciples will deliberately avoid popular directions.
Of the remaining six directions, alchemy is the most popular because it is often used as a supplementary method to complete tasks and earn rewards, and it is not very dangerous.
After careful consideration, Lu Yuanyuan decided to make alchemy her first choice. Firstly, she was confident in her abilities, and secondly, alchemy practitioners did not require the formation of a golden core before accepting missions.
In her past life, before she formed her golden core, she lacked confidence in her abilities and couldn't accept many tasks. In this life, she can no longer be a slacker; she must take the initiative.
On the first day of class, the lecturing cultivators had not yet arrived, and everyone was chatting in twos and threes, with topics revolving around recent rumors in the cultivation world and their experiences in refining rare and precious materials.
When Lu Yuanyuan walked in, everyone looked at her with different expressions. They had all heard that a mortal girl had recently been exceptionally taken in by Yin Xiaozhu, and they must have had incredible luck to have such good fortune. But from beginning to end, not a single person came over to speak to her.
Lu Yuanyuan seemed oblivious, calmly choosing a table to sit down and setting out paper, pens, and other utensils on it.
Most of the disciples of Mount Shu who are not from the same clan have backgrounds in cultivating immortality; ordinary people are a minority. Even though they are all disciples of the same clan at the same level, this invisible hierarchy of contempt between immortals and mortals will not disappear.
Years later, Lu Yuanyuan had hardly remembered what her first lesson was about. Now, returning to the beginner village, she suddenly realized that the various novel theories that she had thought were like gibberish back then were actually quite simple and easy to understand.
Now that she knew the material, Lu Yuanyuan didn't want to waste any more time on these courses. She needed money, spirit stones and magic weapons, and she needed to improve her rating and become a direct disciple, so she wanted to take on missions as soon as possible.
Moreover, she had inquired about the system the day before and learned that her [Martial Power] and [Spiritual Power] would increase with each completed task.
However, as an ordinary, unsophisticated person in the eyes of outsiders, it would be quite frightening if she knew everything without ever having attended a single day of class. This matter requires a gradual approach. Therefore, Lu Yuanyuan diligently attended classes for a month first.
A month later, after the groundwork for the "class" was almost done, Lu Yuanyuan took some time to visit the Shushan Mission Hall.
The Shushan Sect will allocate the number of sword cultivators and alchemy cultivators in each team based on the difficulty of each mission.
Some low-risk missions don't require fellow alchemists to have a Golden Core, but they do require thorough theoretical knowledge. This way, even poor outer disciples who haven't yet cultivated a Golden Core can find a way to earn money if they master the alchemy curriculum.
Of course, for safety reasons, these disciples must take an exam before accepting a mission. Only those who pass the exam, proving they possess the necessary knowledge, are allowed to officially accept missions.
With the experience from her previous life, Lu Yuanyuan felt as relaxed as a high school student solving a linear equation in two variables. She passed the exam effortlessly and qualified for the mission. Of course, to be on the safe side, she deliberately got a few questions wrong, barely passing the test.
Actually, if she had been even more cautious, she should have remained in seclusion for a longer period. Because generally speaking, people who can accept missions so quickly usually have a foundation in cultivation.
However, it's their business if others have doubts, but why can't she be a genius at memorization? If you're so capable, dissect her and examine her.
Getting back to the main point, the reason she had to get the qualification to do the mission in September was because, in her previous life, Duan Lansheng had left Mount Shu in September of that year to carry out a multi-person mission in a certain place in the cultivation world.
At that time, Lu Yuanyuan lived in the dormitory of the outer disciples. The disciple in the room next to her, who also did not have a golden core but had arrived at Mount Shu half a year earlier than her, signed up for this mission.
But on the eve of his departure, the man suddenly fell ill and was unable to go. A spot for a pill refiner was left vacant in the group.
Several days later, the team returned unharmed. This clearly showed that the mission was not difficult at all. Even the loss of a single alchemist wouldn't have affected the outcome.
She was determined to complete the mission that was short, offered a chance to win easily, rack up rewards and earn ratings, and allowed her to interact with Duan Lansheng.
.
Time flies, and it's already late September. After the Autumn Equinox, several days of continuous autumn rain fell near Mount Shu. Although kept out by the barrier, the temperature grew colder day by day.
Early that morning, a group of more than ten disciples, both men and women, all in their prime, carrying long swords, were packing their bags, feeding the horses, and chatting enthusiastically in front of the mountain gate.
This time, they couldn't openly reveal their identity as cultivators, so they had to travel by horse.
Just then, a figure descended the stone steps. The crowd noticed him, and the lively atmosphere instantly cooled, becoming somewhat awkward. Low murmurs lingered around: "Oh, what's he doing here..."
"I haven't seen him lately."
"Sigh, Xing Shitai has been punished. He won't be able to run around for at least ten days or half a month. He should stay in the house to recover from his injuries."
A young, delicate-looking female cultivator looked at Duan Lansheng's cold profile, her cheeks slightly flushed, and hesitated, "Is he really that bad? He doesn't look like a bad person."
An older male cultivator curled his lip and said something to her. The young female cultivator turned pale, swallowed hard, and noticed that Duan Lansheng's expression had changed instantly. Urged by her companions, she hurriedly climbed into the carriage.
When Duan Lansheng was still a few steps away from them, the curtain of one of the carriages in the middle suddenly opened, and a man's head peeked out with a hint of disdain: "Junior Brother Duan, we have arranged four carriages for the trip. The positions have already been assigned. I would like to trouble you to go to the last carriage and help keep an eye on the magic weapon."
There seemed to be other people in the carriage, and a few laughs came from inside, which felt like small thorns pricking my heart.
The last carriage came to a quiet stop under the shade of a tree.
Having long been accustomed to being isolated in such situations, Duan Lansheng ignored the carriages passing by him and, like a mute, arrived at the last carriage.
Just then, the low-hanging curtain suddenly swayed and was parted by a small, fair hand: "Good morning, Duan Lansheng!"
Duan Lansheng suddenly paused, and for the first time, a look of astonishment was clearly visible on his face.
Lu Yuanyuan sat cross-legged in the car, holding a piece of glutinous sweet cake in her hand, looking at him with smiling eyes.
A friendship that offered help in times of need—isn't that enough to win you over?
She thought to herself.
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