Chapter 8: Troublemakers, dogs, and idiots are not allowed inside, so get lost...
After settling down in a secluded courtyard in the mountains, Qiao Yanshen gave Shen Lixia a small room used for storing odds and ends. After all that fuss, it was already late, so Shen Lixia went to the closet and took out spare sheets and other items to make a makeshift bed on the floor.
Seeing that she adapted quickly, Qiao Yanshen said no more and sat down to meditate in the quiet room, slowly guiding his qi. The spiritual energy on the mountain was much denser than outside, and he could almost feel the pleasant flow of qi rushing in, flowing through his meridians, filling his body with a warm feeling.
On the table inside lay a booklet listing the sect's rules. Bored, Shen Lixia picked it up and slowly began to read. It was a full finger's thickness, its complexity astonishing. After reading for a short while, Shen Lixia began to feel sleepy, but reluctant to go back to her room to sleep, she slumped down on the table beside her.
It'll only be a little while... Senior sister will definitely wake her up when she's done.
Time slipped away quietly amidst the gradually evening and steady breathing. When Qiao Yanshen opened his eyes again, it was pitch black outside the window, with only the sparse chirping of cicadas drifting in from afar. Pale moonlight dappled down, cut by the openwork carvings on the window, giving the evening breeze a slightly cool feel.
She stood up and stretched, when she suddenly heard someone muttering on the other side of the table, and she couldn't help but look over.
The sleeping boy did not appear pale in the quiet moonlight. The light flowed into her hair, gently lifting her cheeks and smoothing the stray hairs that had been ruffled. Her eyes were slightly red, and she murmured to herself, occasionally turning her head to bury her face completely in her arms, only to turn away again because it was too suffocating.
Qiao Yanshen walked over and sat down beside her. He reached out and gently tried to touch her slightly trembling eyelashes, but stopped when they were only a fraction of an inch apart.
Unlike his lively self during the day, the sleeping boy's eyes were as soft as velvet. A faint red tinge, like a harbinger of tears, made Qiao Yanshen lean closer, almost holding his breath.
Shen Lixia mumbled incoherently, "Don't leave...don't leave."
Don't leave me.
What kind of separation did she experience?
It must have been excruciatingly painful, otherwise, why would it reappear in her dreams? Qiao Yanshen sighed softly, tenderly stroking Shen Lixia's eyes and wiping away the slight moisture. It was late now, and he was probably half asleep… Thinking of this, she carefully picked up Shen Lixia, moving extremely slowly, afraid of waking the boy in her arms. Qiao Yanshen was much shorter than Shen Lixia; it was only thanks to being a cultivator that she possessed such strength.
She glanced at the empty room; the bedding inside looked pale in the moonlight, so lonely.
After hesitating for a while, Qiao Yanshen carried Shen Lixia into the inner room.
The next morning.
Shen Lixia woke up to a soft, sweet fragrance.
The blanket is very soft, but can it smell this good?
Shen Lixia didn't know, nor did she want to think about it. She just hugged it tightly and then snuggled against it. In her hazy state, she felt the "pillow" in her arms tremble slightly.
The tip of my nose seemed to touch someone's cool and smooth hair.
Wait a moment.
She suddenly opened her eyes and realized that she was buried in familiar black hair, and what she was holding in her hands was not a pillow.
It was Qiao Yanshen's waist.
The other person had their back to her, and judging from their breathing, they seemed to have woken up.
Shen Lixia inwardly cried out that something terrible was about to happen, and desperately suppressed her surging emotions to prevent her heart from beating wildly like a frightened deer.
The pleasant, hazy weariness vanished, as if someone had slapped me hard across the face, and a wave of clarity washed over me.
My senior sister was already being kind by letting me live with her, how could she repay kindness with enmity? In my dream, I vaguely hugged her.
Now she says she's awake? That seems even stranger. Even if her senior sister is good-natured and won't kick her out, she should have left gracefully on her own.
After spending a few days together, Shen Lixia realized that her senior sister was not used to close contact with others, so she stopped her previous overstepping behavior of clinging to her arm and became much more restrained.
Today's events have rendered all her efforts futile.
Shen Lixia, Shen Lixia, how can you be so frivolous?
No, if I think about it any more, my senior sister will get worried.
Shen Lixia carefully and slowly released her hand, pretending to be as natural as if she were still dreaming. As soon as she let go, Qiao Yanshen felt as if he had been granted a pardon and carefully moved himself off the bed.
Midway through, she even tripped over the blanket because of her stiff movements.
After getting out of bed, she breathed a sigh of relief and tidied her long hair and clothes.
Shen Lixia turned over, closed her eyes, and the warmth and touch of her hands seemed to linger. She couldn't fall back asleep. Listening to Qiao Yanshen's rustling movements as he changed his clothes, she thought to herself that being roommates with her senior sister was quite blissful, since she was so quiet when she got up.
Why would they be so unusually trusting and intimate...?
Could she really be relying on her senior sister?
When Qiao Yanshen returned, Shen Lixia was already sitting at the table, her clothes impeccably neat. The morning light fell on the young man, who was propping himself up on the table with one hand, adding to his languid air.
"Senior sister's back? What are your plans for today? Where are you going?"
"Let's go to Ten Thousand Swords Peak first. I heard that you have to reach a certain number of contribution points in a year, otherwise you will be expelled from the sect."
"Then I'll have to study hard." Shen Lixia stood up to leave. "The handymen should be getting busy too. Shall we meet tonight?"
"Wait a moment."
Qiao Yanshen stuffed a paper bag into her arms. Shen Lixia looked down and saw several steaming buns, the soup soaking into the dough and emitting a fragrant aroma.
"Remember to eat," Qiao Yanshen instructed.
Shen Lixia replied with a smile, "Thank you, Senior Sister. You're so kind."
The warmth of the food comforted my chest, making me feel sweeter than if I had eaten candied fruit.
Back at the servants' quarters, Shen Lixia followed the foreman to the valley where spiritual herbs and plants were cultivated, followed by a group of girls. Several of the pretty little girls were very curious about Shen Lixia and boldly followed her around.
They were probably curious how someone her age could enter the sect without any cultivation. Shen Lixia didn't know why either, but the Heavenly Ladder didn't stop her, and she climbed to the top floor. Because she had no spiritual power, she was assigned to the menial tasks.
Like Qiao Yanshen, who should at least be an inner disciple, but was placed among the outer disciples because of his age.
This sect has many discriminatory rules, and who knows what might go wrong in a couple of days. She should learn some skills as soon as possible to build relationships with important figures, lest she become an insignificant ant under their feet. She probably doesn't need to worry about Qiao Yanshen, but if she can come up with something good, it might be able to help her senior sister.
Thinking of this, Shen Lixia suddenly felt motivated. The manager called over an old woman named Ji Yun, who had been in charge here for many years and was highly experienced.
Shen Lixia and the other children bowed to her. The steward gave some instructions and then left the valley. Ji Yun was happily surrounded by a group of children. She took out some candy from her sleeve and distributed it to them. Shen Lixia broke off a blade of grass and put it in her mouth. Looking at the heartwarming scene before her, she couldn't help but smile. Just as she was about to go check on the condition of the spirit field, Ji Yun called her back.
The old woman took her hand and placed a piece of maltose in her palm. Shen Lixia felt the warmth and dryness of her hand, along with the thick calluses left by years of hard work. She looked up and saw the smile that shone through the wrinkles etched on the old woman's face.
A lump suddenly formed in her throat. Shen Lixia held the malt candy in her hand, and after a moment of stunned silence, she managed to stammer, "Thank you."
Ji Yun waved her hand and said, "Work will be hard from now on... Eat more candy, and sooner or later life will become sweet. I thought you hated candy, and I didn't bring any other candy with me..."
"I don't dislike it." Shen Lixia thought to herself, peeling off the outer wrapping paper and popping the candy into her mouth. The sweet, pure malt flavor bloomed on her tongue. She held the candy in her mouth, moving it back and forth between her cheeks with her tongue, feeling satisfied like a child.
Ji Yun led them to the spirit field and explained some cultivation methods. Shen Lixia found it very simple—probably because there were many children, and Ji Yun explained it in a simple and vivid way, pausing from time to time to patiently listen to the girls' questions.
"Grandma, is watering and fertilizing enough?"
"It would be even better if you could learn a few simple formations; they're useful for pest control, keeping warm, and helping growth. I'll teach you later."
Shen Lixia clenched her fists. There was no movement in her meridians. She had tried to draw in spiritual energy again that morning while Qiao Yanshen was still out, but the energy disappeared as soon as it entered her body. Her body was a chaotic mess. Her cultivation was insufficient; her body was still that of a mortal, and she couldn't examine herself.
It's like a bottomless pit, it only eats and never vomits, and you don't even know if you've eaten anything or not.
These children should have already gained some cultivation, as a faint white light occasionally emanates from their bodies. I wonder how she, who has no spiritual power, will manage when she learns the techniques needed for farming.
Shen Lixia's brows gradually furrowed, her frustration building up inside. After listening to the first lesson of the day, she buried her head in her work, oblivious to the sounds around her, and didn't notice that Ji Yun had been intentionally observing her side several times.
"Ouch!"
A girl cried out in pain, drawing Shen Lixia's attention away from the weeds in front of her and making her look in her direction.
It turned out that he had cut himself due to improper use of tools. The newly initiated monks were not much different from ordinary people in terms of physiology. Blood seeped from the long wound, and the sharp pain instantly filled the child's eyes with tears.
She blankly put down her tools, looked at the wound, somewhat at a loss, and could only put her finger in her mouth for the time being. Shen Lixia found it amusing, and remembering that she had bought some medicine earlier, she leaned over and said, "Do you need any help?"
The girl blinked at Shen Lixia, somewhat hesitant—this older sister looked fierce, even though she was very pretty.
And why are they considered peers?
But he didn't seem like a bad person. Thinking this, she still reached out her hand. Shen Lixia squatted down, took her hand, took out ointment and gauze from her storage bag, and neatly bandaged the other person's hand, even tying a small bow.
"How inconvenient. It would have been so easy to just put it over there with a band-aid." Shen Lixia sighed inwardly, but her hands moved quickly. After checking to make sure it was secure, she stood up and, without even hearing the girl's thanks, returned to the field she was responsible for to continue working.
A day passed like flowing water. Ji Yun had specially reserved a large, abandoned spiritual field for the newly arrived handyman disciples so they could start learning from scratch. The weeds on it exhausted Shen Lixia; she spent the morning clearing them and the afternoon turning the soil, strictly following Ji Yun's planting methods to sow the different types of seeds: Frost Grass, Blood Spirit Flower, and Purple Sun Grass. The second one was the most difficult to grow; it was said to have the power to strengthen the body and repair vital energy, making it exceptionally delicate, with extremely deep yet fragile roots.
Of course, the best use is for refining elixirs.
As the sun set, Ji Yun summoned all the servants and told them they could go home. Shen Lixia gazed at the spirit field, still somewhat disheveled in the twilight, and fell into deep thought.
The child she had helped earlier paused when he reached her side, but quickly followed the others.
Seeing her lost in thought, Ji Yun beckoned to her: "Girl, come here."
Shen Lixia said helplessly, "Grandma, I'm a grown woman now, just call me Lixia."
"I've lived for over two hundred years!" Ji Yun said irritably. "Your age isn't even a fraction of mine."
Even so, she didn't treat Shen Lixia like a group of children, but rather more like an old woman treating her independent granddaughter.
"Alright, Grandma, what's the matter?"
“You don’t have any spiritual power, do you? Although I don’t know what happened, you can’t use those spells. Even if you work with your head down all day, you still can’t keep up with others for an hour.” Ji Yun pulled out two crumpled things from her storage bag. “Here, take it.”
Shen Lixia leaned closer to examine them closely; they appeared to be two pieces of yellow paper with drawings and characters on them.
“This is a talisman. Low-level spells like the Everlasting Spring Technique and the Water Flow Technique that I mentioned before can be used by drawing them on talisman paper without the need for spiritual power, just by making hand seals.”
As she spoke, Ji Yun took out another stack of blank yellow paper.
"Take these and practice copying them. Once you've finished this stack, you won't have to worry about using them in the future."
Shen Lixia nodded silently, took a deep breath, and said, "Thank you, Grandma."
Ji Yun smiled and made a listening gesture: "Someone's stomach is growling, hurry back. Don't forget to take the bag of spirit rice at the valley entrance, it's today's reward."
Shen Lixia bowed deeply to the old woman before picking up the spirit rice and leaving the valley. In the distance, other spirit fields were being tended by others, where children were still working, complaining of their exhaustion. Ji Yun glanced over, shook her head, sighed, and returned to her room.
Shen Lixia carried the spirit rice back to the mountain forest, her steps light and graceful, showing no signs of fatigue from a day's work. Although she couldn't cultivate after arriving here, she could feel her physical condition had improved.
I wonder what my senior sister did today.
Thinking of her senior sister, she couldn't help but let her thoughts wander, imagining what the other person's day would be like. Her senior sister went to Wanjian Peak for classes; she wondered what the people there were like, what the teachers were like. If they were as good-tempered as Ji Yun, that would be fine, but what if they were eccentric? Her senior sister was so honest; she wondered if she would be made things difficult for them.
How do those people treat Senior Sister? In the previous world, she could punch little kids and kick bad boys, but now she's restricted by her cultivation level, which is quite frustrating.
As she was thinking this, she arrived at the courtyard and saw several people leaning against the wall, chatting and laughing. She couldn't help but frown.
The group consisted of men, with only one boy standing a little further away. Shen Lixia glanced over and caught a hint of disgust in the boy's eyes.
She checked to make sure she hadn't gone to the wrong courtyard. Were these people the ones who came to the wrong place? No, they were clearly here to cause trouble.
She walked to the courtyard gate, about to go in, when she was noticed by the group of people who were chatting and laughing. The leader asked, "Are you a good friend of Junior Sister Qiao, young lady?"
A man standing nearby chuckled and added, "Would it be possible for Miss Yan Shen to open the barrier and invite us in for a chat?"
A fire suddenly ignited in Shen Lixia's heart.
Who told you to call your senior sister by her name?
The person who had just asked her the question laughed when he heard the person next to him ask it, saying, "Junior brother, don't call me that so intimately, girls will mind."
You're no good either.
Shen Lixia snorted coldly, left a sentence, and then flashed into the courtyard.
"Sorry, idiots and dogs are not allowed. Even those who look like humans are not permitted."
The boy's figure disappeared into the courtyard, leaving the group bewildered and looking at each other in confusion.
Only the boy standing far away couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Didn't you hear me? I said you're dogs."
A note from the author:
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Li Xia: You slapped him once, and that guy over there slapped him twice. Everyone come over here and use the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms.
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