Leisurely Life (2)
Qi Xianqing did not speak for a long time after that.
She slowly gathered the little fox into her arms, half-lidding her eyes as she absentmindedly stroked its soft fur.
Feeling the fox’s weight, Qi Xianqing smiled. “You seem a little heavier. It’s only been a short while, and you’ve grown so much.”
Yan Jue secretly rolled her eyes where Qi Xianqing couldn’t see.
Qi Xianqing checked its back. “The wound from last time has healed quite well.”
Yan Jue knew she was referring to the injury she’d suffered when she had been flung out by the python beside the lakeshore last time.
Demon clans had strong self-healing abilities to begin with; after all this time, it really had almost healed completely.
Being stroked by Qi Xianqing felt very comfortable. Yan Jue’s body relaxed on its own, and a low rumble rose from her throat.
Qi Xianqing suddenly seemed to notice something and paused slightly.
Under the little fox’s belly, something seemed to be stuck.
Was that... a tail?
It already had a fluffy big tail, and now it had actually grown another thin little tail, slender as a scallion.
Yan Jue had been dozing with her eyes half-closed when someone suddenly grabbed her weak spot. Qi Xianqing was quietly studying her tail, and Yan Jue’s whole body stiffened on instinct; she shrank into a ball, uncomfortable.
Anyway, everything in this world could be explained with spiritual energy.
Qi Xianqing gently rubbed that rather cute little tail.
Two tails?
Could it be...
-
Yan Jue returned from the Cold Pool, went to bed early, and fell asleep.
The next morning, Yan Jue woke up in the dormitory bed.
Birds were chirping in the trees, and the air carried a pleasant earthy fragrance.
Life on Five Dragons Mountain was always so picturesque.
Yan Jue was wearing her inner robe and sitting on the bed with her knees drawn up. First, she studied the light-body technique she had read about last night.
Martial manuals in the cultivation world really weren’t the sort of thing you could learn just because you wanted to.
Yan Jue took the light-body manual out of the drawer. After reading it for a while, she frowned.
This was way too difficult.
She read it again, made a few notes, put the book back in the drawer, and then couldn’t help thinking about what had happened the night before.
It was almost like a dream.
Moonlight like water; Qi Xianqing standing under a big tree by the Cold Pool, speaking to her in a lazy, leisurely tone, saying so many things.
Yan Jue had never imagined that Qi Xianqing could be this adorable when she spoke properly.
And then Qi Xianqing had seen her tail.
Still, that finally let the stone in Yan Jue’s heart fall away.
She had originally thought that the original host growing two tails was some kind of freak mutation.
But if even Qi Xianqing didn’t think anything of it, then a fox growing two tails must be a very normal thing in this world.
“...”
But... who exactly was the “intelligent person” Qi Xianqing had mentioned last night?
Yan Jue thought about it and felt it had to be Duan Luxi.
Duan Luxi had performed quite well on this mission.
As Yan Jue was thinking, she suddenly heard the sound of wings flapping at the window.
A snow-white Immortal Crane had no idea when it had landed on the windowsill.
Something was placed in the flower basket hanging from its neck.
Yan Jue froze, then got up and walked to the window to take it.
The Immortal Crane flapped its wings and flew away.
Yan Jue watched it go before slowly unfolding the item in her hand.
Speak of the devil.
It was a short note, with a few bold, glaring characters beneath it: Qi Xianqing.
The contents of the note were also very simple: midmorning, Qiwu Peak.
The style of this letter was exactly like Qi Xianqing herself.
Few words; concise and to the point.
Yan Jue stared at the simple one-line message, but thunder cracked like an explosion in her mind.
The thousand-year Cold Pool where she had transformed into a fox and gone on two dates with Qi Xianqing was located on Qiwu Peak!
What did Qi Xianqing mean by this...
Qiwu Peak was on the border between Watercloud Sect and Thunderflame Sect.
But because disciples usually took the main road, Qiwu Peak was generally sparsely populated.
Could it be that Qi Xianqing had already discovered her true identity and was luring her to that deserted peak to kill her...
No, that wasn’t right. According to the original plot, the reason Qi Xianqing discovered her demonic aura was because... on the eve of the Five-Dragon Summit, when she was in bed with the male lead, her yin essence was depleted and she inadvertently revealed her fox tail, causing a massive leak of demonic aura.
By rights, Qi Xianqing shouldn’t be recognizing her in advance.
Yan Jue sat on the bed, anxious for a long time. Only after ruling out the possibility that Qi Xianqing wanted to take her into some deep mountain and remote forest to kill her did she slowly get up, pack her things, and head out.
From her understanding of Qi Xianqing, Qi Xianqing never did anything without reason; if she wanted to see her, there had to be a purpose.
Five Dragons Mountain had many peaks, but Yan Jue was very familiar with them and soon arrived at Qiwu Peak.
The thousand-year Cold Pool was located halfway up Qiwu Peak, where the rivers of Thunderflame Sect and Watercloud Sect converged.
Although Qi Xianqing had not made it explicit in her note, Yan Jue thought it over and felt that when people arranged to meet, they usually chose some landmark.
Qi Xianqing should be waiting here.
For caution’s sake, Yan Jue still circled through the mountains for quite a while, pretending she wasn’t familiar with the area.
After wandering around for who knew how long, she finally reached the side of the Cold Pool.
Qi Xianqing was standing beside that familiar pool. “Qiwu Peak is right next to Watercloud Peak, and you’re an incense stick late.”
Yan Jue had seen how gentle and talkative Qi Xianqing had been last night, so she could no longer bear to look at this cold, frosty version of her. She stepped back and deliberately kept her distance. “Sorry, sorry. I... have no sense of direction! I really couldn’t find the way.”
Qi Xianqing narrowed her eyes and looked at her, silent.
Yan Jue’s scalp prickled under that gaze. She hurriedly changed the subject. “Senior Sister, what did you call me here for?”
Don’t find out... don’t find out... Yan Jue repeated silently in her heart, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw Qi Xianqing take out a gold-trimmed scroll painting.
Yan Jue immediately recognized it as the magic item left behind by that Daoist the other day.
Qi Xianqing : “Master says that Qingyu Taoist Temple is a small Taoist temple in the northwest. It never caused any major trouble before.”
“The temple master of Qingyu Taoist Temple is refining a Yin-Scarlet Replenishing Yang Pill. This pill is extremely sinister, made from women’s yin essence. It is said that after consuming it, one can remain forever young and live on.”
Yan Jue frowned.
When she had overheard the Daoists talking, she had heard that the pill was made from women’s yin essence, with the heart of an Immortal Spirit Physique as the medicinal catalyst.
From Qi Xianqing’s description, it was almost exactly as she had guessed.
Qi Xianqing : “As for why the temple master of Qingyu Taoist Temple is cultivating such sinister arts, Master has already reported it to the Five Dragons Sect Master, who will send people to investigate.”
Yan Jue thought this was very serious. “Then I’ll just call Duan Luxi out...”
She really didn’t understand why Qi Xianqing had called her out for something so important without bringing Duan Luxi along.
Yan Jue turned around and was just about to leave.
Qi Xianqing : “Junior Sister Duan is in class.”
Yan Jue: “...”
“Oh.” So she withdrew her foot again.
Standing next to Qi Xianqing, the atmosphere somehow felt awkward...
Qi Xianqing, however, didn’t seem awkward at all. She unhurriedly spread the painting open. “As for this painting, Master told me to decide what to do with it myself.”
By Five Dragons Sect’s rules, any magical items and opportunities disciples found down the mountain belonged to them; as a master, one generally would not seize a disciple’s fortune.
And this painting was no low-level item; among Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow grades, it was already a second-tier earth-grade magic item, and it required a certain level of cultivation to use. Among the four of them, only Qi Xianqing could control it.
So it naturally remained with Qi Xianqing for the time being.
As Qi Xianqing unfurled the painting, Yan Jue could clearly see what was inside.
The woman who had been trapped in the illusion that day after having her yin essence sucked dry was still inside.
In that inn deep in the mountains and forests, the woman sat dazedly on the windowsill, like a wooden carving.
Without yin essence, without consciousness, she naturally could not leave the painting.
According to Qi Xianqing, rescuing the woman in the painting required a special talisman plaque.
A talisman plaque was a wooden tablet with storage effects; it had tremendous use in the cultivation world.
Cultivators could store certain techniques and spiritual energy inside a talisman plaque for use at critical moments.
The higher the grade of the talisman plaque, the better the storage effect.
This was different from talismans.
The talisman plaque Qi Xianqing needed was called a Returning Yin Plaque.
It was a fine Yellow-grade talisman plaque specifically used to store yin essence.
Yin essence was a very important part of the human body. It was said that those with especially abundant yin essence—in other words, powerful experts with a Pure Yin Physique—could each month separate out a large amount of yin essence and store it inside a talisman plaque for cultivators who had lost their own yin essence.
This kind of talisman plaque was called a Returning Yin Plaque.
And the person in this painting just happened to be mentally damaged because she had lost her yin essence.
So she needed the yin essence inside a Returning Yin Plaque to replenish herself.
But because people also needed yin essence for replenishment when nothing was wrong, this kind of talisman was extremely rare. Even Yun Zhenzi, Qi Xianqing’s master, couldn’t provide such resources, so they could only go to the Five Dragons Market to buy one.
...
When Qi Xianqing and Yan Jue arrived at the talisman shop in the Five Dragons Market, it caused a small commotion.
The famed Dream-Charm Monarch, Immortal Lady Qi, had graced the Five Dragons Market; that was a once-in-a-lifetime event.
And yesterday’s Encyclopedia had just published gossip about Qi Xianqing; how could everyone not come and watch?
As Qi Xianqing appeared, someone cried, “Lord Meng Heng is here!” and the disciples passing by quickly gathered around.
In an instant, the little talisman shop was packed solid.
“My heavens, being able to see Immortal Lady Qi up close in my lifetime—this is really a blessing earned over eight lifetimes.”
“Then look more! Who knows how long it’ll be before we get to see her again!”
“My heavens, no wonder she’s Immortal Lady Qi; she really is as beautiful as a flower... huh? Wait, who’s the person beside her?! ”
After a round of heated discussion, everyone quickly noticed something was off.
Standing next to Qi Xianqing was someone else.
That person had red lips and white teeth, bright and lovely features, and wore a lotus-green pleated dress. A jade tassel at her waist swayed in the wind, and a lock of her raven-black hair was tied up with a blue ribbon, while the rest hung casually over her shoulders.
Who else could it be but Yan Jue, the Watercloud Sect beauty who was completely at odds with Qi Xianqing?!
“Oh, I heard that Yan Jue, in order to make Lord Meng Heng lose face in public, even dug a huge pit on the road during Lord Meng Heng’s morning training, almost burying her alive under weeds.”
“Don’t mention it; I heard Yan Jue even stole the talismans Immortal Lady Qi was supposed to hand in to her master on the first day, causing her to fail to complete the mission on time and making her kneel under the cold waterfall for two hours.”
“And when Immortal Lady Qi was bathing, Yan Jue secretly took her clothes and even declared that if Qi Xianqing would kneel to her, she would return them...”
Yan Jue listened to the surrounding disciples’ chatter in silence and couldn’t help twitching her lips.
Were these people just too idle or what!
Her Lord Meng Heng was magnanimous; maybe she had already forgotten all about it. Weren’t they just rubbing salt in the wound by bringing it up now?
Yan Jue glanced quickly at Qi Xianqing again.
Qi Xianqing’s expression was still flat, as if she hadn’t heard the surrounding gossip at all. She only spoke in a low voice to the shopkeeper.
“Alright, alright, stop talking. Let’s first see what Immortal Lady Qi wants to buy,” someone said.
At that, everyone’s attention instantly fell on the item Qi Xianqing wanted to buy.
The shopkeeper took a talisman plaque from the counter.
Very quickly, someone recognized the mark on it.
“What is this? I’ve never seen it before.”
“Look at our Senior Sister; even the things she buys are so rare. So unsophisticated. This is called a Returning Yin Plaque, a talisman plaque specifically used to store yin essence.”
“It must be for a mission... what kind of mission would need something like this? It has to be expensive, right? Will Yun Zhenzi provide the funds? But it seems like masters don’t cover the expenses disciples need for missions, do they?”
“Wait, this seems to indirectly show that Senior Sister is rich. Wuwu, the Thunderflame Sect’s first disciple never lacks money.”
The shopkeeper smiled and handed the Returning Yin Plaque to Qi Xianqing. “Our shop only has this one Returning Yin Plaque. The price is beautiful—just 1,000 top-grade Spirit Stones.”
When the crowd heard that price, they almost dropped their jaws.
One had to know that while things in the Five Dragons Market were a bit expensive, prices were generally still reasonable.
If you were buying something normally, 100 top-grade Spirit Stones would already be enough to buy a rare Yellow-grade magical treasure.
This Returning Yin Plaque was too expensive!!!
Qi Xianqing opened her Qiankun pouch to check, then suddenly seemed to notice something and paused slightly.
Not enough money.
Her Spirit Stones had already been used up quite a bit; she only had a little over 900 top-grade Spirit Stones left.
The Five Dragons Market had its own rules; there was no credit, and unless there was a promotion, discounts were hard to come by.
With so many people watching her now, there were inevitably some from Kongqing Prefecture among them.
If they found out she didn’t have enough money, who knew how tomorrow’s Encyclopedia would write about it.
Qi Xianqing frowned slightly and wet her lips, just about to speak.
A hand suddenly reached out beside her.
Yan Jue said softly, “I have 100 middle-grade Spirit Stones here; converted into top-grade Spirit Stones, it should be enough.”
Qi Xianqing paused slightly. “Thank you.”
Yan Jue: “No need.”
By rights, this woman in the painting had become mentally damaged because she had lost her yin essence and was already part of the painting itself.
If Qi Xianqing took over that magic item, she could have simply used the woman inside as her own subordinate.
But she didn’t do that; instead, she chose to rescue her.
Qi Xianqing had a heart that cared for others. The woman in the painting had lost too much yin essence and was basically a walking corpse.
And a Returning Yin Plaque was just too expensive; Thunderflame Sect likely didn’t have such resources.
With a personality as reserved as hers, she probably wasn’t even good at asking her master for money, so she could only come buy it herself.
Qi Xianqing really was rich. A disciple like her probably wouldn’t lack money, but even after emptying her entire fortune, she didn’t have 1,000 middle-grade Spirit Stones. It was easy to imagine where all that money had gone.
When Qi Xianqing traveled outside and saw poor commoners, she probably couldn’t help but give alms.
That was also why Yan Jue had taken out her own savings.
When Qi Xianqing and Yan Jue returned to Qiwu Peak, they came to the deserted Cold Pool. Qi Xianqing slowly unfolded the painting and sat down cross-legged with her eyes closed.
Yan Jue watched from the side.
Today Qi Xianqing wore a dark, ink-splashed dress, still with practical narrow sleeves. Her long hair was pinned up with a hairpin, the rest naturally falling over her shoulders. The lakeside breeze brushed over her, lifting the girl’s black hair.
In the sunlight, her skin was snow-white, and her features had a kind of indescribable purity.
Qi Xianqing suddenly said, “I’ll pay you back the 100 middle-grade Spirit Stones later.”
Yan Jue : “I know you don’t lack that kind of money, but I offered it willingly. You don’t need to pay me back; I also want to save her.”
Qi Xianqing looked at her for a long moment, then said nothing more and closed her eyes to circulate her true method.
Yan Jue’s gaze stayed fixed on the painting. She saw the person inside slowly disappear.
Within the Returning Yin Plaque’s circulation of energy, something could be faintly seen being continuously sent into the woman’s body.
Qi Xianqing was casting the spell, and Yan Jue stood nearby silently learning a little.
This method was like reciting a cultivation formula, then gradually infusing the yin essence from the Returning Yin Plaque into the woman’s body.
Then Qi Xianqing drew the long sword at her waist and cut her own finger!
Blood flowed out.
Magic items all recognized their masters; for a magic item of such a high level, the owner had to communicate with it once every month. If it went unused for too long, the bond between owner and item would be lost.
Qi Xianqing was using this to make the painting recognize her as its master again.
Sure enough, the bright red blood slowly dripped onto the painting, and a faint golden light gradually lit up across its surface.
Qi Xianqing closed her eyes, and her divine sense sank down.
A woman’s body slowly appeared over there on the grass. She was lying on the ground, her brows faintly furrowed, her expression pained, breathing weak, but it was clear she was already out of danger.
Only then did Yan Jue withdraw her gaze and come back to herself.
Not far away was a huge mountain lake, and two waterbirds were chasing and playing, one after the other.
Now and then, the birds’ slender claws lightly tapped the surface, leaving tiny ripples behind.
Yan Jue couldn’t help thinking of the light-body technique she had tried and failed to study in her room last night.
In this world, qinggong really was too important.
It could save your life; it could also help you chase people.
She remembered that her first mission after going down the mountain had ended with the murderer escaping simply because she wasn’t fast enough.
But how was her body supposed to become light and agile?
Yan Jue couldn’t help getting lost in thought.
She didn’t know how long had passed before she came back to herself; it was already sunset.
The woman was still lying on the rock and hadn’t awakened. Qi Xianqing was sitting on the lush grass, no longer in the cross-legged meditative posture from earlier, seated rather casually now. When Yan Jue looked up, she unexpectedly met Qi Xianqing’s thoughtful gaze.
Qi Xianqing : “What are you thinking about?”
Perhaps because the two had gone down the mountain together, their distance had grown a little closer. Yan Jue had never imagined that one day she would be able to speak so peacefully with Qi Xianqing in such a tranquil setting.
Yan Jue : “A few days ago I saw a technique, but I couldn’t make sense of it.”
Qi Xianqing’s voice was a little hoarse, perhaps from exhaustion. “What technique?”
Yan Jue bit her lip. “Because when I saw Senior Sister’s light-body technique down the mountain, it was really amazing, so... so I went to the Library Pavilion to buy a light-body manual to look at, but I don’t really understand it.”
Qi Xianqing was silent for a moment. “What exactly don’t you understand?”
There were usually junior brothers and sisters who came to Qi Xianqing with questions, and she would answer them too.
Only after speaking did Qi Xianqing realize her old habit had kicked in again.
What did she not understand about the saying, “If you wish to cultivate externally, you must first cultivate the body” ?
Qi Xianqing : “To practice light-body techniques, you first need to train your inner strength; to make inner strength profound, you must first temper the body.”
Yan Jue froze. “That’s... all?”
Qi Xianqing gave a quiet hmm and said nothing.
So the meaning was actually... if she wanted to learn light-body techniques, she had to cultivate inner strength first?
Yan Jue wanted to cry without tears. Just thinking about having to go to the Library Pavilion and fetch a few books on inner strength made her head ache.
Cultivation techniques, after all, were not like Chinese, math, and English; you couldn’t just skim a few books and grind through a few problems and be done with them.
One technique inevitably involved many other things, and those things were often not something books would tell you.
Yan Jue felt that in cultivation, having someone to guide you was truly too important.
For example, something she had flipped through books for a long time yesterday and still failed to realize; Qi Xianqing had pointed it out in one sentence.
Or the ice-summoning art she had practiced for so long without finding the right path; with Qi Xianqing’s slight guidance, its power increased greatly.
Wait.
Qi Xianqing.
Yan Jue’s eyes widened slightly as she subconsciously looked over at Qi Xianqing.
Standing right in front of her was a great expert with superb qinggong, wasn’t there?
When Qi Xianqing had been in Nanxing Town, she had once promised her a request...
Yan Jue : “Senior Sister.”
Qi Xianqing lifted her brows slightly. “What is it?”
Yan Jue : “Senior Sister promised me a request when we were in Nanxing Town. I wonder if you still remember.”
Qi Xianqing : “Mm. Since it was a request from Junior Sister Yan, of course I remember.”
People on the righteous path cultivated immortality with uprightness and integrity; since it was something she had promised, Qi Xianqing naturally wouldn’t go back on it.
Yan Jue : “Senior Sister’s qinggong is excellent. I want Senior Sister to teach me qinggong.”
The moment those words fell, silence descended around them like death.
Yan Jue looked up timidly at Qi Xianqing. Qi Xianqing raised a hand to smooth her hair, then instinctively tried to refuse. “Different sects study slightly different things. I am under Thunderflame Sect; according to the rules, I cannot teach a Watercloud Sect disciple martial arts.”
In normal circumstances, inner disciples from different sects would also teach large classes to outer disciples, but that was different. Those classes usually covered only theoretical knowledge; once martial arts were involved, it became a much more complicated matter of stealing techniques.
Yan Jue frowned. “So that means no?”
Qi Xianqing: “No. Pick something else.”
Yan Jue didn’t know what else she could ask Qi Xianqing for besides this.
Qi Xianqing was an excellent Senior Sister; how could Yan Jue give up such a wonderful opportunity?
Yan Jue gritted her teeth and simply threw caution to the wind. “But Senior Sister said that no matter what it was, you could satisfy my request.”
The hands hanging at the sides of Qi Xianqing’s robe tightened unconsciously as she glanced sideways.
The girl’s hair had been blown a little messy by the wind; her snow-white cheeks carried a faint flush, and her face was full of a spoiled, coquettish expression, a little unreasonable.
Qi Xianqing pressed the tip of her tongue against her teeth and hinted, “Can’t you change the request?”
Yan Jue : “I only want this.”
Clearly Yan Jue could have asked for something else.
For example, she could have used this request to cut off her entanglement with Chu Fu, whom she was madly in love with.
Or something even more excessive.
In fact, when Qi Xianqing had given Yan Jue this request that day, she had felt a little regretful.
But Qi Xianqing really hadn’t expected Yan Jue to use such a rare request for this kind of thing.
A flicker of barely perceptible amusement passed through Qi Xianqing’s eyes. She stood up. “Come here at mao tomorrow morning. If you satisfy one condition of mine, I’ll teach you.”