Chapter 14 First Release on Jinjiang: Returning the Sword to the Ruler (Part Two)...
"I don't know what the young master wants with me, he actually said he'd wait for me at his private residence."
Yao Sisi gave up on the idea of going elsewhere, and helplessly touched her pockets, which were even emptier than her face.
"Hopefully I can still make it in time for dinner at the manor!"
She was so poor that she didn't even have money to buy food.
Since coming into this world, she has experienced the urgency of being poor, and the important thing is that she didn't feel uncomfortable at all!
Perhaps it's true that love makes even water taste sweet; cultivating immortality was her passion, and coupled with the means to make a living and the sense of struggle to obtain resources, it filled her heart even more.
After all, strength is the foundation for fearlessness!
Yao Sisi returned to the house travel-worn and was immediately led to the main hall by Liu Yuan, where Qi Mu was already waiting.
She looked at the table in front of her, on which were several hot dishes, which seemed to have just come out of the pot.
Qi Mu: "Miss Sisi, have you eaten anything yet? I wonder if these things suit your taste."
Looking at the carefully prepared dishes, all of which were spiritual foods, Yao Sisi admired the kindness of others, but for some reason, she suddenly had a feeling of being caught in a trap.
She glanced casually at the young master sitting upright. He had a quiet and harmless demeanor. Hmm, maybe she was overthinking it.
"Young master, what brings you to wait for me? It's almost dark outside."
Qi Mu said, "You've been away for so many days, it's nothing to welcome you back. Miss Sisi, please don't mind."
Yao Sisi thought to herself: I don't mind, but I'll overthink it. Come to think of it... they're not that close, are they?
"You've really gone to so much trouble, young master. Oh, right!" She took out a sword box from her storage bag, placed it on the table, and pushed it toward him. "Young master, open it and take a look."
Qi Mu was taken aback, a feeling of indescribable emotion welling up inside him, "Miss Sisi, what is this...?"
Yao Sisi: "Why don't you open it and take a look? I think it suits you very well."
Qi Mu's hand, hidden beneath his wide sleeves, trembled slightly. He stared uncontrollably at the sword box before him, even his breathing became cautious. After a moment of this tense standoff, he slowly opened it.
Inside lay a precious sword, its elegant form reminiscent of a clear, bright moon. The cold blade reflected the flickering candlelight. He fell in love with the sword at first sight, but…
The Yunxi family has a rule that when cultivating talent, there are two directions: one is to focus on martial arts, and the other is to focus on literature.
Those who are abandoned are the ones who go into the literary field. To say they go into the literary field is just to temporarily take charge of the household and act as the nominal head of the family. To put it bluntly, they are just bookkeepers who do a lot of hard work and worry...
He said, "This is a near-top-grade Xuan artifact, and it is quite valuable."
Yao Sisi: "Even the best things need an owner to use them to realize their value. This is a return gift from me to you, young master. The dagger you gave me has helped me a lot, so please don't refuse it."
Qi Mu thought to himself: That dagger is only a mid-grade Xuan weapon, not as good as this sword...
But he couldn't say that, or he would seem petty.
Qi Mu: "No one has ever given me such a gift before." Regardless of its value, giving him a sword is like giving him his heart.
The moment he was abandoned, he had no choice but to accept the best weapons available in the family. Even if he could afford them himself, wouldn't he still be using the family's money?
He was unwilling to accept it, but he could not speak out.
But since she gave him this sword, it has a different meaning. As for the dagger she mentioned, it was just an excuse to prevent him from accepting it.
So thoughtful, so incredibly thoughtful... It feels like being cherished and pampered...
Yao Sisi: "I have never seen you wield a sword before, young master. I look forward to that day not being too far away."
Qi Mu sniffed and said softly, "I... I haven't said I'd accept it yet..."
Yao Sisi chuckled lightly: "In ancient times, Bo Ya broke his zither to thank his soulmate. If you, young master, don't want it, then destroy it!"
Her earnestness made Qi Mu's heart tighten. Although she didn't understand the allusion she was referring to, she could understand its meaning from the words themselves.
"Miss Sisi...no..."
"I'll accept it."
Yao Sisi picked up her chopsticks, thinking to herself: "Wouldn't it have been better if we had done this earlier? The young master is just too thin-skinned. He always hesitates over trivial matters and ignores his truest thoughts."
"Young master, I'm hungry. Can we eat first and stop fiddling with this sword?"
Qi Mu's ears turned slightly red from what was said, but she couldn't hide the starlight-like joy in her eyes.
"Miss Sisi, please have your meal! There are no outsiders here, so there's no need to be so careful."
Having received permission to invite the guests, Yao Sisi buried herself in her food and, in that brief moment of looking down, missed the complex expression that flashed across their faces.
Qi Mu: There were some things I wanted to say, but now that I've received their things, I just can't bring myself to say them.
"Oh... eat slowly, look, you're choking! Xiaoyuan, go get the girl some water!"
Yao Sisi's face flushed slightly after what the young master said. It was all her fault for leaving all the food behind because she was worried that Ri Jiu was not feeling well and would go hungry. She thought she would leave soon and that she could get back to the city in half a day if she traveled quickly. Once she got back, she would have plenty to eat.
But things didn't go as planned; she... ran out of money...
Qi Mu, seemingly lost in thought, ate his food politely while saying, "Miss Sisi is busy cultivating and may not have time to eat. I'll have someone prepare some spiritual food for you tomorrow. You can put it in your storage bag so you can take it out to eat whenever you want."
Yao Sisi was taken aback. Was the little guy being this thoughtful? Or had he realized something?
Yao Sisi is not the type to put on a brave face; sometimes, her inexplicable obsession with saving face is actually a sign of insecurity.
Seeing his arrangement, she nodded and said, "Then thank you very much, young master."
The two ate quietly, and there was a strange sense of warmth in the air.
However, Yao Sisi was not focused at the moment. She had many things on her mind, and she needed to find an opportunity to ask Gong Yichen for the remaining payment of the four thousand Xuanzhu tomorrow.
With this sum of money to cover it, her stress was greatly reduced.
Her absent-mindedness was clearly seen by Qi Mu across from her, but he didn't know why she was thinking about something even while eating.
Yao Sisi finished her dinner in no time. Before leaving, she said to him, "I've heard that even if a sword cultivator doesn't absorb Xuan Qi well, if they can develop sword intent through their swordsmanship, they can still be very powerful."
Qi Mu was taken aback. Was this what she had just been thinking about?
"Thank you for informing me, young lady."
Yao Sisi said, "It's nothing. I'll find you a sword technique another day. The one you saw before was a secular martial art, which is different from sword cultivation. Practicing it would be a waste of time."
Qi Mu's hand tightened. Her family didn't even have any decent sword cultivation techniques; how could she possibly obtain one...?
She... was far too good to him...
When Yao Sisi was learning magic in the space before, she saw the part about sword cultivators. Anyway, there are all kinds of strange books in the space, so throwing one to him is nothing. She doesn't believe that after spending so much money, this person would not regard her as a confidante.
Hmm, the best one would be unique. That would bring us closer to finding the spiritual spring. To be honest, she was getting a little anxious.
After returning to her room, Yao Sisi did not rush to draw talismans to make up for the lack of money, but instead opened the Refining Spirit Technique.
The Refining Spirit Technique is divided into nine levels, but the one she has only has three levels, which will allow her to cultivate to the Golden Core stage.
The Qi Refining stage corresponds to only one level of cultivation technique, and each level of technique is further divided into three stages.
She's currently at the third level of Qi Refining, barely able to reach the middle stage, but to her shame, she hasn't even finished the initial stage...
Yao Sisi sat cross-legged on the bed, the cultivation technique open in front of her. The initial cultivation of divine sense is to cultivate spiritual perception. For example, low-level ghost cultivators cannot condense a physical body, so ordinary people cannot see them, and even low-level cultivators cannot see them.
However, if one's mental strength reaches a certain level, one can perceive them. Once one's mental strength is cultivated to a higher level, reaching the level of divine sense, a mere sweep will reveal the ghost cultivators.
If one does not cultivate divine sense, one's divine sense will automatically increase after foundation building, reaching a point where it can be slightly projected outwards.
However, if one practices the Refining Spirit Technique, one can project one's divine sense outward during the Qi Refining stage.
In the world of cultivation, there are two major differences between Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment: one is whether one's divine sense can be projected outwards, and the other is the difference in the form of spiritual energy in the dantian.
This shows how powerful the Refining Spirit Technique is; it can even blur realms and challenge them.
Yao Sisi sat there for an entire night, and she clearly felt that her mental state was very full. That mysterious feeling was indescribable. If she had to put it more concretely, it would be that she could stay up and draw talismans for a longer period of time.
Despite being forced to stay up all night for cultivation, her eyes showed little sign of fatigue. This was the wonder of the Refining Spirit Technique. She got up, closed the book, and went to the table to begin drawing talismans.
"Draw a few more pictures before going out, and also get a feel for the results of my cultivation."
Yao Sisi drew several spirit-gathering talismans before feeling somewhat exhausted. She stopped writing, put away the talismans, and prepared to go out.
She went to the nearest courtyard wall, gathered her strength, climbed up, and nimbly flipped down. Her movements were as graceful as a flying sparrow. However, she didn't expect that this time her climb over the wall would not go smoothly, and she bumped into Qi Mu who had come to the private residence.
The young master's mouth gaped slightly, seemingly surprised by their unexpected meeting. Yao Sisi touched her nose, approached, and apologized, "I'm sorry, I startled you. This courtyard wall is close to my house, so I..."
Qi Mu quickly composed himself, rubbing his forehead as he said, "Miss Sisi, it's best not to climb over the wall. After all, this is my residence. Your constant climbing over the wall might... cause misunderstandings..." about our relationship...
Yao Sisi said awkwardly, "I won't flip through it anymore."
Qi Mu's ears turned slightly red. Even though she was the one who made the mistake, she didn't know why she felt embarrassed as well: "Why don't you ask the housekeeper for the key to the side door? That way, you won't need to climb over the wall anymore."
For some reason, he suddenly remembered the day of the banquet, when Gong Yichen aggressively accused him of keeping a mistress. Perhaps... he saw her climbing over the wall...
If that's really the case... no wonder people misunderstand, thinking she's acting like she's having an affair...
Yao Sisi saw the young master in front of her blush slowly. She was secretly amazed. Could it be that embarrassment could be transferred?
How come he's even more embarrassed than she is?
"Then... young master, shall I take my leave?"
A note from the author:
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The young master really has the demeanor of an empress.
but……
Female lead, wake up! With your looks, why would you need to resort to a defection strategy without using your beauty to seduce someone?
(Scratching head)
This... is probably the difference between a strong, independent female protagonist and a delicate, sweet little girl...
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