Chapter 9 Her Home is Where Her Heart Finds Peace
In the secluded courtyard, wisps of smoke rose gracefully from the chimney.
Amidst the sounds of clearing away the dishes, there was a person's incessant muttering.
"Senior sister, how did those people find this place? Can we call the police if we're being followed?"
"Wait, are there any police officers here? Or should I call the constables?"
Anyway...
Shen Lixia rubbed her bangs in frustration and raised her voice, "These bastards deserve to be put in sacks and beaten up!"
Qiao Yanshen had been quietly serving dishes and rice. He pushed the glistening spirit rice to the other side of the table and said softly, "Time to eat."
The boy, who was pacing back and forth in front of the stove, was speechless for a moment. He mumbled that the soup wasn't ready yet, then turned around, lifted the lid, stirred it with a ladle, and tasted it before serving it.
The warmth of the food gently soothed the anger that had been burning within Shen Lixia since she entered the room. Sitting in her chair, she watched her senior sister across from her, who was focused on picking up food with her eyes downcast. For a moment, she felt as if she were in an eighty-star hotel, rather than in a quaint courtyard in the mountains.
"Senior sister, I'm serious..." Shen Lixia said again as she picked up her chopsticks.
Qiao Yan sighed, put down his chopsticks, and made a shushing gesture: "Don't talk while eating."
What should we do with those people who were outside just now?
When her senior sister gave the order, Shen Lixia could only silently eat her rice. The food, which she had prepared herself with a spoonful of salt and a spoonful of vinegar, tasted bland in her mouth.
After the two finished eating, Qiao Yanshen got up, cleared away the dishes and took them to wash, showing no intention of continuing her previous conversation. Shen Lixia hurriedly followed, the words she wanted to say stuck in her throat, hesitating for a long time without knowing how to say them, her mind racing like a puppy chasing its own tail.
With the sound of rushing water, Qiao Yanshen used his spiritual power to create water and carefully cleaned the washed dishes and chopsticks again before saying helplessly, "Li Xia, you're too impatient. The most important thing in cultivation is to calm your mind, otherwise you can easily fall into danger."
After setting out the bowls and chopsticks, Shen Lixia was pulled by Qiao Yanshen to sit cross-legged opposite him. The sky outside the window gradually darkened, and the dim light added to the tranquility.
"Can you see through their cultivation levels?" Qiao Yanshen asked gently, looking at the disheveled young man opposite him, whose hair was disheveled from a long day's work.
"I can't see through it." Shen Lixia shrugged. "I haven't even started cultivating yet."
“Generally speaking, you can’t see through someone’s cultivation level because you are weaker than them. The same goes for me. Those people should be at least in the late stage of Qi Refining. Judging from their clothes, some of them are even inner disciples, so they have probably already established their foundation.”
They suffered from a lack of strength again.
"We're not in a position to confront them head-on yet, let's wait a bit." Qiao Yanshen's gentle voice made Shen Lixia unable to get angry at her, so she had to snap out of her agitated state and listen obediently.
Seeing that she had calmed down a bit, Qiao Yanshen continued, "Don't let these people affect you. I have infused the barrier with spiritual power, so no one else can get in. Besides, the sect has rules that if they go too far, they will naturally be punished."
As she spoke, she reached out and tapped Shen Lixia's forehead.
"Let's focus on our training for now. Once we've improved our strength, we'll challenge them to a duel and humiliate them on the stage. How about that?"
It's like coaxing a child.
Shen Lixia pursed her lips, remained silent for a while, then nodded, grabbed Qiao Yanshen's wrist as he withdrew, and hooked her little finger with his: "It's a deal."
However, things are uncertain on her end.
If she masters the spells Ji Yun taught her, the spiritual herbs she planted will mature within a week. Although these herbs are common, the sect buys them and can exchange them for some spirit stones. Furthermore, as a new recruit working as a menial laborer, harvesting the first batch of crops fulfills the sect's assigned task, and she can also receive some extra contribution points.
Such a large sect must have weapons or other things to exchange. Even if she can't cause those people heavy losses, she can at least play some "jokes", right?
Who told them to lose control of their legs and mouths, barking like mad dogs everywhere, almost drooling on the ground.
Shen Lixia quickly came up with a plan. She glanced at Qiao Yanshen, who seemed oblivious to her dangerous inner turmoil and maintained his gentle smile, already accustomed to her focused state when deep in thought.
After venting her frustrations, Shen Lixia went to her desk to practice drawing talismans, but Qiao Yanshen grabbed her again and tried the acupuncture again, even stuffing two crystal-clear pills into her mouth. After hurriedly swallowing them, a cool sensation flowed through her body, but no spiritual energy entered her body. This attempt ended in failure once again.
"I will definitely find a way."
Every time she failed, Qiao Yanshen would make the same promise to her. Shen Lixia found it amusing, yet a warm feeling welled up in her heart.
She knew her senior's promise was serious.
Therefore, such a kind-hearted senior sister should continue to be upright and honest, with clean hands and a white robe and long sword, untouched by worldly grudges.
Moonlight streamed into the room, and the night passed amidst the soft rustling of talismans being drawn.
When Shen Lixia opened her eyes again, she was back in the inner room, but this time Qiao Yanshen was not by her side. There was only a bag of steamed buns and a bowl of white porridge on the table, with a note underneath.
"I'm off to exercise now, see you tonight. Don't get into any arguments with those people."
The words written with spiritual power dissipated after she finished reading them, and Shen Lixia pursed her lips.
Unfortunately, she had already cursed them out before.
After drawing talismans for most of the night, she was finally able to produce a few usable ones, which was a small success. For some reason, Shen Lixia didn't feel the exhaustion from staying up all night and was still full of energy as she walked along the road.
After finishing tending to the spirit field in the morning and taking a few sample talismans, Shen Lixia went to the valley where spirit beasts were cared for to learn how to raise and train them.
She learned quickly, and even after finishing her own tasks, she was surrounded by a group of young girls asking for her advice. The person in charge of raising spirit beasts seemed fierce, so few people went to ask her questions. Shen Lixia could understand—after all, these were living spirit beasts that needed to be managed, unlike spirit herbs and plants that couldn't grow legs and run away.
Tomorrow I'll be going to the alchemy elders in various places to make arrangements for them to become my assistants. However, most of them already have their own students, so the menial tasks are just things like serving tea and water and organizing materials.
After finishing her work for the day, Shen Lixia saw that it was still early, so she didn't rush back and turned to walk into the small town.
A light drizzle began to fall.
A drop of water fell from a branch and landed lightly in Qiao Yanshen's palm. She had just left Wanjian Peak, where the weather was completely different from that in the small town, seemingly perpetually calm and rainless.
Therefore, it lacked vitality.
She had a paper umbrella in her storage bag, but she wasn't in a hurry to take it out. Instead, she strolled in the rain, feeling the cool raindrops fall gently and seep into her hair and clothes.
Qiao Yanshen used to like this too, the city rain carrying a bit of stale air, the sewage flowing across the streets during heavy rain.
The coolness was refreshing, but the cleanup afterwards was quite inconvenient, so she rarely did it.
However, the rain here seems to be nourished by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, as soft as silk, very clean, and makes people feel very comfortable.
There's nowhere to go.
Qiao Yanshen recalled what the person on the Heavenly Ladder had said and couldn't help but lower his head in deep thought.
What constitutes a place to go...? Could she find a place where she could find peace of mind simply by recalling what she had "forgotten"?
It sounds like she has some profound past experiences, but she has lived these past years on her own, and her memories are not wrong.
Perhaps there was once someone in the world who resembled her, so much so that she was considered to be the one to inherit that person's mantle.
But she will only ever be Qiao Yanshen, and will never become anyone else, nor belong to anyone else. Even if it is fate's will, she is unwilling to relinquish the right to choose.
Suddenly, the rain stopped, and Qiao Yanshen looked up to look ahead.
Has the rain stopped?
The next moment she realized that an umbrella had taken the initiative to shield her from the rain.
Qiao Yanshen didn't even want to look to the side, and was about to leave when the person holding the umbrella asked, "Junior Sister, are you going back alone?"
Her lifelong training in etiquette made her nod patiently.
Yesterday, it was this Lin Fenghua who led a group of friends to chase after her on Wanjian Peak.
"The rain shows no sign of stopping, and the weather is cold. Junior sister hasn't even reached the Foundation Establishment stage yet, and she's a girl, so please don't catch a cold." However, the other party seemed to have no eyes, showing no sign of letting up.
So annoying.
"I'll take my junior sister back."
—You should be sensible and commit suicide.
Qiao Yanshen raised his hand and rubbed his temples. He scanned his surroundings with his spiritual energy and sensed only one person's aura. Following the direction of the aura, he saw a female cultivator in black standing in an alley not far away, coldly observing them.
If Shen Lixia were here, she would recognize that this female cultivator was the same one who was in front of Qiao Yanshen's courtyard yesterday.
She made no move, and when she saw Qiao Yanshen coming over, she didn't move, but quietly looked at her from afar while holding up her paper umbrella.
Seeing that Qiao Yanshen had no intention of responding, Lin Fenghua fully utilized her ability to speak even when she had nothing to say, exuding an ordinary yet confident aura from head to toe.
"Junior sister, I heard you were born with a water spirit physique. Why did you join the sect so late? By the way, you didn't know, did you? A water spirit physique is a natural furnace for cultivation. It's very suitable for medical cultivation, and it's also very beneficial for fellow cultivators..."
Who asked you?
"I happen to have an earth elemental root, and water and earth are always compatible. If there's anything you don't understand, junior sister, feel free to ask me. There's no need to be reserved. It's what I should do as your senior brother..."
A good fit?
Yes, like fish and bicycles.
—Just kill yourself already.
Her eyes, partially obscured by stray hairs, were slightly turned to one side, as if even catching a glimpse of the other person out of the corner of her eye was disgusting.
As Lin Fenghua was speaking enthusiastically, Qiao Yanshen suddenly drew his long sword from his waist. The blade swept past the hem of his robe with a gust of wind, startling Lin Fenghua so much that he instinctively took two steps back.
"Senior brother, I suddenly remembered that the stove at home is still burning. If we stay any longer, the whole yard will burn down. So I'm not going to continue on this road."
The sword hung in the air. Qiao Yanshen leaped lightly, leaving the space under the umbrella and stepping onto the sword. Before Lin Fenghua could speak, he quickly left, leaving behind a chilling sword aura.
"Junior sister...!"
Lin Fenghua reached out and grabbed a handful of air, his call dissipating into the rain.
The black-clad female cultivator who had been observing earlier walked out of the alley, glanced in the direction Qiao Yanshen had left, then looked back at Lin Fenghua, her face suddenly filled with disdain.
Seeing her expression, Lin Fenghua's face changed instantly. He gritted his teeth and scolded, "Lin Yuxian, why didn't you help stop her? She has a natural water spirit body. If we could become Daoist partners, my cultivation would definitely advance by leaps and bounds, and I wouldn't treat you badly!"
"Please check your belt first."
Lin Fenghua only realized the chill on her legs after hearing her words, and looked down.
His belt and storage pouch straps were broken, and much of the hem of his clothes had been cut off, hanging loosely around his waist, which looked extremely unseemly.
Those who didn't recognize him looked over in astonishment, then quickly looked away, muttering curses without any restraint:
"rogue!"
The rain intensified.
When Qiao Yanshen returned to the courtyard on his sword, Shen Lixia had already prepared dinner.
They had a clear division of labor: one cooked and the other washed the dishes. Although the workload wasn't evenly distributed, Shen Lixia really didn't dare let Qiao Yanshen cook.
Qiao Yanshen knew his cooking skills were not good, so he always took extra care when washing dishes and didn't let Shen Lixia get involved.
The dishes were delicious, and the rice was plump and steaming hot, but Shen Lixia seemed unaware of her tastes, always cooking it blandly with no red color.
A fragrant aroma wafted over as Qiao Yanshen entered the room. Hearing Shen Lixia bustling about and seeing the stacks of talismans on the desk, his previously cold and aimless heart suddenly felt a heavy weight settle in his chest.
Then came a warm, misty warmth. Light and gentle.
The sound of rain pattered softly, echoing gently, weaving together with the rustling of the wind through the grass into a hidden ballad.
It's so warm.
It was as if this place and time were her final resting place.
"I'm back," Qiao Yanshen said with a smile.
Shen Lixia took a moment from her busy schedule to wipe the sweat from her brow and called out:
"Welcome back, Senior Sister!"
A note from the author:
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Leaving Summer: (Annoyed)
Senior student: (Unconsciously, she was also annoyed)
Together: (Sticking to each other) (Getting better) (Not bothered anymore)
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