Chapter Four: The Thoughts of My Senior Brothers
As dawn broke, Fang Li had already finished practicing a set of basic sword techniques in the courtyard.
The sword wind swept up the locust leaves that had fallen on the blue bricks, swirled them around, and then gently fell back down.
She sheathed her sword and stood there, a thin layer of sweat beading on her forehead, her fingertips glowing faintly from the flow of spiritual energy.
For the past two weeks, she has almost fallen asleep with the sword manual under her pillow, cultivated with the morning dew, and even visited the mission hall three times more often than others.
"Have you heard? Fang Li, who used to fawn over Senior Brother Shen all the time, seems like a completely different person lately."
"That's right. These past few days when I went to the mission hall, I always saw her accepting missions or practicing her sword in the back mountain. There's not a trace of her former self."
Whispers of passing disciples drifted from outside the wall; the voices were soft, yet clearly carried into the courtyard.
Fang Li paused for a moment while wiping her sweat, then casually sheathed her sword.
She didn't care what others said. As long as she could get further away from the mire of her past life and closer to freedom, what did these idle gossips matter?
Just as he was about to return to his room to regulate his breathing, steady footsteps suddenly came from outside the courtyard, accompanied by a disciple's respectful greeting: "Greetings, Elder Qin."
Fang Li's heart stirred slightly. Elder Qin Meng was in charge of the Punishment Hall and was extremely rigid and strict.
In her past life, she often scolded Shen Yunzhou for "bothering" her. Why would she suddenly come here? She quickly straightened her clothes and went out to greet her at the courtyard gate.
In the morning light, Qin Meng, dressed in a gray-black uniform of the Punishment Hall, stood with his hands behind his back. His resolute face was expressionless. His gaze swept over Fang Li's sleeve, which was covered with grass clippings, and his brows furrowed slightly: "Fang Li."
"Disciple is here." Fang Li bowed respectfully with her eyes lowered.
"You've been behaving yourself lately," Qin Meng said with his usual seriousness.
"It's good to practice diligently and take on more missions. The sect raises disciples not so that you can spend your days indulging in romance and causing trouble."
These words were ostensibly a warning, but in reality, they were a veiled reference to her past obsession with Shen Yunzhou.
Fang Li's fingertips curled slightly, but her face remained calm: "Disciple understands. Thank you for your guidance, Elder. I will definitely keep to my duty and focus on cultivation from now on."
"Good that you understand." Qin Meng snorted and glanced at her. "Disciples of the Tianyan Sword Sect should prioritize the sword path and refrain from doing anything that would disgrace the sect or tarnish its reputation. Otherwise, don't blame the Punishment Hall for being ruthless."
After saying that, he turned and left without waiting for Fang Li's reply. His dark robe swept across the moss by the door, leaving behind a faint sense of aura.
Fang Li rolled her eyes as she watched his retreating figure.
This is ancient history, why are you still clinging to the past?
She took a deep breath, suppressed her displeasure, turned around and went back into the house to retrieve her storage bag. She still had to hand in the task of clearing out the monsters from yesterday.
At this moment, on the sword-training field, Shen Yunzhou was slashing at the falling leaves in the air.
The sharp blade sliced through the air, which should have shattered the fallen leaves into dust, but for some reason it deviated by half an inch, only shaving off a corner.
He sheathed his sword and stood there, his white robes gleaming coldly in the morning light, his brows furrowed.
These past few days, he has been absent-minded while practicing swordsmanship. Although he knows the sword moves by heart, he keeps making mistakes, and he also feels a strange tightness in his chest.
"Senior brother, what's wrong?" A clean handkerchief was handed over. "You seemed a little irritable while practicing your sword today?"
Shen Yunzhou didn't take the handkerchief; his gaze unconsciously drifted towards the direction of Jingchen Courtyard.
The place was shrouded in morning mist, and nothing could be seen.
His Adam's apple bobbed, and he said in a low voice, "It's nothing."
Outside the medicine room on the other side, Xie Chen was fanning himself with a folding fan while listening to his disciple's report.
"Junior Sister Fang took on the task of cleaning up the black-scaled snakes yesterday. She did it all by herself and even cleaned the snake galls very thoroughly, selling them for a good price at the market."
Xie Chen lightly tapped his palm with the tip of his fan, a smile playing in his eyes, but not reaching his gaze: "Oh? She knows these things too?"
"I heard that she sets prices very accurately and even drove away Wang Laosan who wanted to lower the price. Now everyone in the market knows that she has a knowledgeable junior sister."
“Interesting.” Xie Chen closed his folding fan and tapped his palm. “This unbridled nature is much more pleasing to the eye than his clingy self before.”
He turned and walked towards the pharmacy, his steps light and quick, as if he had discovered something new and interesting.
On the roof of the Talisman Hall, Ji Qianqiu was munching on a spirit fruit with his legs crossed, listening to the disciples below discussing Fang Li's improved swordsmanship.
"It is said that she practiced swordsmanship on the back mountain yesterday. Her basic swordsmanship was smooth and flowing, and her use of spiritual power was much more stable than before."
Ji Qianqiu clicked his tongue and threw the fruit pit down, which hit a passing disciple on the head.
"She's gotten stronger?" He scratched his head, his peach blossom eyes lighting up. "Then I'll have to find her and fight her next time. It's more fun than practicing with those wooden stakes!" With that, he flipped over and jumped off the roof, walking briskly towards the back mountain, muttering to himself, "I need to find a good sword."
Inside the Jade Palace of the Nine Heavens, Ye Wuyang stood by the window, her silver hair cascading down like a waterfall.
The water mirror reflected Fang Li's figure as she practiced swordsmanship in the courtyard.
Her movements weren't top-notch, but she was exceptionally focused. Beads of sweat from her forehead fell onto the blue bricks, leaving small damp patches.
Ye Wuyang lightly flicked her fingertips, and the image in the water mirror quietly faded away. Her eyes remained expressionless as she uttered only two words: "Acceptable." Then she turned and walked towards the desk, as if that glance just now was merely a coincidence.
Compared to the undercurrents of attention, Su Wanqing's reaction was much more direct.
She stood in front of her cave dwelling, listening to her follower say that Fang Li had earned spirit stones by selling materials and had also bought Qi Gathering Pills. Her face darkened.
"He just got lucky!" she gritted her teeth and said, "What kind of trouble can a mediocre good-for-nothing cause without Senior Brother Shen's protection?"
The follower quickly chimed in, "Senior sister is right. She's definitely faking it. She might not be able to hold on for more than a few days."
Su Wanqing wasn't so optimistic. She recalled how Fang Li had confronted her in the mission hall that day, and her eyes turned cold: "No, we can't let her get away with this. Go and find out what missions she's going to take next. I want to see how long she can be so smug."
Fang Li had just finished turning in her mission at the mission hall and was in a good mood, clutching the five spirit stones she had just acquired.
She hummed an off-key tune as she walked toward the pill shop, intending to buy some more Qi Gathering Pills.
Although the busy two weeks were tiring, she felt very grounded.
Every bit of cultivation I gained was through my own efforts, and every spirit stone I acquired was earned by myself. This feeling of being in control of my own life is a hundred times better than when I depended on others in my previous life.
She stopped in her tracks as she passed the bulletin board.
A new notice was posted on the bulletin board, which read: "The outer secret realm of Meteor Valley is about to open. Low-level disciples can apply to enter for a limited time of twenty days. There are companion spirit herbs and first-level demon beast cores inside."
Meteorite Gorge? Fang Li's eyes flickered. In her previous life, she had heard Shen Yunzhou mention that there was a kind of spiritual herb called "Dew Condensation Grass" hidden on the outskirts of this low-level secret realm. It was inconspicuous, but it could help stabilize spiritual power before Foundation Establishment. However, its location was hidden and few people had discovered it.
She took a closer look at the application requirements; all she needed to do was complete three or more low-level tasks, which was exactly what she needed.
If she could harvest this Dew-Gathering Grass, she could not only use it herself, but also sell any extras for spirit stones. It was an opportunity tailor-made for her.
"I'll go here for my next mission." Fang Li made up her mind and turned to walk towards the secret realm registration office.
Unbeknownst to her, Xie Chen was watching her retreating figure from a teahouse not far away, fanning himself with a folding fan and a faint smile playing on his lips.
Unbeknownst to her, Shen Yunzhou's gaze, passing over the rows of buildings, landed on the street corner where she had disappeared, his fingertips unconsciously tightening around the sword hilt.
Fang Li walked back with the registered secret realm token in her hand, thinking about the talismans and pills she needed to bring, her steps light and quick.
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