Testing the Waters

Zhu He really did have the temperament of a child.

This time, she wasn’t wearing an outer robe, only a pale green bellyband.

Yan Jue, being a modern person, didn’t think much of it.

But in Qi Xianqing’s eyes, a bare-bodied little wild boar suddenly appearing in Yan Jue’s room was a very serious matter.

Even knowing that the little boar was Yan Jue’s spiritual pet, and that there could be no other thoughts between them, Qi Xianqing still couldn’t feel pleased.

When Zhu He saw Qi Xianqing, her brows and eyes curved; she made a couple of happy snorts and ran over.

Qi Xianqing took the robe from her hands. “Come, I’ll teach you how to put it on.”

Zhu He nodded.

Qi Xianqing took the outer robe and draped it over her, then slowly threaded the ties through her fingers as she fastened them. “Tie the lower one first, then the upper one. Understand?”

Qi Xianqing herself didn’t know what was in her heart; when teaching Zhu He to dress, she was especially patient.

Anyway, she would rather be the one to teach than let Yan Jue do it.

Yan Jue watched quietly as Qi Xianqing and Zhu He stood together.

The way Qi Xianqing spoke to Zhu He seemed especially gentle.

Yan Jue didn’t know why, but her heart gave a sudden thud, as though the sky had collapsed and the earth had split apart.

She was actually teaching her how to get dressed.

Wasn’t she supposed to be thin-skinned?

Could Qi Xianqing possibly like little wild boars?

Yan Jue’s face turned red. Her hand hanging at her side clenched tightly; her heart was beating all over the place. She turned away.

For some reason, she was very angry.

After Zhu He had dressed herself, she said happily, “Then I’ll go to sleep first.”

Qi Xianqing: “Go on. We’re going out in a bit.”

Zhu He nodded and padded away with quick, tiny steps.

Only then did Qi Xianqing turn around, but she saw Yan Jue standing alone by the window, silently staring at the night outside. The Qiankun pouch in her hand had been clenched into a wrinkled mess, and a tuft of hair on top of her head stood up stubbornly, practically radiating indignation.

Qi Xianqing paused slightly; then, as if she suddenly realized something, a glint flashed through her eyes.

Yan Jue was still staring blankly at the calm river below when she suddenly heard footsteps behind her.

Qi Xianqing walked over and smiled. “Let’s go. We’ll go take a look around.”

Yan Jue gave an “oh,” tied the Qiankun pouch back at her waist, and walked out.

Qi Xianqing followed behind her and gently closed the door.

As expected of an immortal revered in Five Dragons Mountain, even in such a lavish inn, she remained spotless and immaculate.

Yan Jue took a couple of steps forward, then suddenly looked back and asked, “What do you think... what do you think of Zhu He?”

She wasn’t very sure; her tone was a little hesitant.

Qi Xianqing lifted a hand to her lips and considered for a moment. “Zhu He is very well-behaved. Her bloodline is so good; her potential for growth should be limitless.”

Yan Jue: “……”

Even angrier!

Qi Xianqing glanced sideways at Yan Jue’s ears, which had gone red, and the corner of her lips lifted almost imperceptibly.

-

Wanwu Fortress gathered beings from all over the world; the marketplace sold all kinds of goods. Unlike the crude stalls of Myriad Demons Pavilion, almost every stall here had a fixed shop.

As Yan Jue wandered through the market, she couldn’t help but be dazzled.

She paid special attention to certain unusual materials.

Because she was already at the Demon Core Realm, her body had fully met the conditions for refining a demon core.

In this world, demonic races refined their demon cores one major realm earlier than humans.

Humans only reached the Golden Core Realm after the fifth realm, the Heart Stirring Realm.

But demons, after finishing the fourth realm, Bone Refining, moved directly into the fifth realm, the Demon Core Realm.

And just like humans refining Golden Cores, demons also had to search beforehand for natural treasures.

They used those treasures to forge an external core; after taking it, the pill fused with their own sea of qi and gradually condensed into a demon core.

Because of this, demon cores also had grades.

Some demons reached the Demon Core Realm only to break through, gathered a random assortment of natural treasures in a hurry, and called it done; the demon core refined that way naturally wasn’t of high quality.

For example, the demon core of that Feiyi snake monster she had seen last time in Merfolk Sea Valley had been refined by eating many merfolk. It hadn’t gone through a proper demon-core refinement process, so its quality was poor; its benefit to Qi Xianqing’s cultivation was actually nowhere near as good as the Red Lotus Karmic Fire she had seen in Suyang Immortal Mansion.

But the natural treasures needed for a high-grade demon core were often the most precious of all.

……

Yan Jue felt that shopping in Wanwu Fortress was a little like wandering through Myriad Demons Pavilion.

Only this time, Qi Xianqing was beside her.

The two of them stopped in front of a shop.

The owner eagerly introduced his wares. “Everything I sell here is an extremely rare and niche natural treasure; they’re all very useful for refining Golden Cores and demon cores.”

Yan Jue looked twice more, then turned and unexpectedly met Qi Xianqing’s gaze. “……”

Yan Jue immediately looked away. “Senior Sister is already at the fifth realm and will soon reach the sixth, the Golden Core Realm. These natural treasures should be pretty useful for Senior Sister... right?”

With so many natural treasures in front of her, Yan Jue actually didn’t know how to choose.

Qi Xianqing glanced at her, then slowly crouched down and picked up a stone from the stall. “This is sea-blue stone; the quality is very good. Out of roughly a hundred sea-blue stones, only one like this can be found.”

The owner immediately laughed. “Madam knows her goods.”

Yan Jue blinked, standing behind Qi Xianqing, silently committing everything she said to memory.

Qi Xianqing then picked up a stalk of ice-blue grass.

Though there was no snow, a faint layer of frost had actually condensed on it.

Qi Xianqing: “This is Snow Jade Grass. It’s extremely rare; if used to refine pills, it would be excellent.”

Yan Jue silently remembered it.

The wares on these stalls varied greatly in quality; if someone without a keen eye came to this market, they could easily be cheated.

But Qi Xianqing was knowledgeable and broad-minded, so naturally she wasn’t the sort to be fooled.

She then picked up a chunk of ice crystal. “This piece looks ordinary, but it’s actually a rare black ice crystal stone; it comes from the frigid region at the foot of Kunlun Mountain in the Northern Frontier. If used in pill refinement, it helps with comprehending the Great Dao of Ice.”

Qi Xianqing had a habit of muttering to herself, and Yan Jue was long used to it.

But after standing there and listening for a while, Yan Jue suddenly frowned.

Something felt off.

Qi Xianqing had a thunder spiritual root; her five elements leaned toward fire. She was a person of utmost purity and utmost yang. So why were the natural treasures she favored all these ice- and water-attributed, yin-leaning things…?

Yan Jue instantly went on guard. “I... don’t want them! I’m broke! Senior Sister can just pick things for herself.”

Qi Xianqing: “……”

-

After leaving the market, the two continued forward and, before they realized it, arrived at the city gate.

A yellowed notice was posted there; from far away, Yan Jue could already see several bold words glaring from it.

Reward for Capturing a Demon.

Yan Jue was fairly sensitive to this sort of roadside information, so she glanced down to read the contents.

It turned out there were many towns around Wanwu Fortress; one of the smaller ones was called Qinglian Town.

In a wealthy merchant’s household there, many valuable items had recently gone missing.

The master of that large household suspected that something evil was at work, so he hired cultivators to help catch it.

When Qi Xianqing saw the words “evil being,” she frowned slightly and instinctively glanced at Yan Jue.

Yan Jue’s attention, however, was fixed on the bounty below.

Reward: 1,000 high-grade Spirit Stones.

As expected of a wealthy household; they really were generous.

Anyway, they had nothing to do. They might as well go deal with this.

“Since we still have to wait for Master, we’d have to wait a long time anyway,” Yan Jue said, raising a hand to tear the notice down. Looking up, her eyes were bright. “Let’s go.”

……

It was still early.

Qi Xianqing and Yan Jue left the city directly. In less than an hour, they arrived in Qinglian Town.

The farther they went, the closer they came to Jiangnan. Qinglian Town was full of small bridges and flowing water; countless little boats drifted through the river. It truly had a distinct Jiangnan charm.

At the town gate, Qi Xianqing suddenly stopped and turned to look in that direction.

Yan Jue blinked in mild surprise and followed her gaze; she saw a carriage in front of them slowly rolling into the city gate.

A gust of wind blew, and the carriage curtain was gradually lifted.

Yan Jue’s gaze sharpened; almost instantly, she saw a person seated inside.

That person had a handsome face, but wore extremely ordinary blue clothes; he held a folding fan in his hand and idly fanned himself now and then.

Wasn’t that Young Master Li, whom they had just seen at Springfull Pavilion…?

He lived in Qinglian Town?

Earlier at Springfull Pavilion, this Young Master Li had been dressed especially extravagantly. Yan Jue frowned slightly, recalling the person she had just seen in the carriage; why had Young Master Li changed into such shabby clothes once he got home?

……

Qi Xianqing held the notice and found the home of a wealthy merchant in Qinglian Town.

The merchant’s surname was Chen. He usually believed in Buddhism and looked kind and benevolent.

When he learned why they had come, he respectfully invited the two inside.

“My surname is Chen. I moved to Qinglian Town only a few years ago, and I’ve always made my living from small-scale trade,” Master Chen said bitterly. “But for some reason, starting from half a year ago, valuables in my household began to be stolen repeatedly.”

“Originally, our storeroom held several thousand taels of silver. But a few days ago, I personally went to check, and found only a few hundred left.”

Yan Jue sat in a chair and listened carefully for a while. She realized this man really cared more about money than anything else; he had so much silver at home, yet he hadn’t even hired a steward.

Yan Jue looked around again.

There were quite a few guards in the house.

Master Chen went on, “At first I suspected ordinary thieves, so I hired many household soldiers to guard the house. But the silver in my storeroom still decreases every month... and not once have my men seen who entered my storeroom.”

“So I suspect our family has run into a demon...”

After listening to Master Chen, Yan Jue nodded.

After all, Qinglian Town was close to Wanwu Fortress.

Wanwu Fortress was a city with a very broad-minded spirit, so it wasn’t surprising at all that there might be demons or monsters in the surrounding towns.

What had happened in the Chen residence was somewhat baffling.

It really could be the work of an evil being; and since this demon could only secretly steal silver, it probably wasn’t very powerful.

Yan Jue had now become a cultivator who had seen the world; driving out evil beings for ordinary people was something she was fairly adept at.

After listening, Qi Xianqing sat upright where she was and asked, “May I ask whether Master Chen can take us to the storeroom to have a look?”

As soon as she finished speaking, Yan Jue caught a clearly unwilling emotion flash across Master Chen’s face.

From the moment they arrived, Yan Jue had already noticed that Master Chen was a miser. His own property was something no one else could even touch; no one could even get close to the storeroom.

Qi Xianqing’s face was as calm as still water; her tone gave away no fluctuation at all. “If you’re unwilling to risk the loss of your property, how can we catch the evil being?”

Master Chen’s face darkened for a long while before he reluctantly stood up. “Please follow me, two female heroes.”

The two followed Master Chen to the storeroom where the silver was kept.

When the door was opened, they found the floor inside immaculate, and the clean surroundings carried only a faint scent of copper coins.

Qi Xianqing came to the large chest that held the money, crouched down slightly, and reached out to cover the floor with her hand, feeling it carefully.

A monster’s demonic aura was difficult to conceal. If the one stealing the silver truly was a demon, then even the place it had stepped on should retain traces of that aura.

So in this world, demons could be said to be very easy to identify.

Whenever Qi Xianqing saw Yan Jue, she always found it strange. Why was it that Yan Jue was clearly also a demon, yet she could never smell the slightest trace of demon aura on her in daily life?

Yan Jue stood beside her and watched carefully as Qi Xianqing closed her eyes, concentrating on the fluctuations of spiritual power around them.

Sure enough, she sensed a faint demonic aura carrying a slight fishy stench from the floorboards.

Master Chen asked worriedly, “Immortal, how is it?”

Qi Xianqing stood up and smiled faintly. “Master Chen, don’t worry. Tonight, my junior sister and I will simply guard here.”

-

Night soon fell.

Qi Xianqing and Yan Jue had already been sitting in the storeroom for a long time, waiting.

The night was quiet, and all around them there was only the faint scent of silver.

Qi Xianqing wore a frosty white pleated dress, and atop her head was a wide Concealing Canopy. A veil hung down from the top, making her look just like the fisherwoman Yan Jue had seen in a picture book at the bookshop in Wanwu Fortress earlier that day; only, her figure was slimmer than the woman in the painting, and her bearing and temperament were far better.

The two waited for a long while; Yan Jue had already yawned several times in a row, but still no demon appeared.

Yan Jue: “The matter with Master, it must already be discussed? What if she goes back and can’t find us?”

Qi Xianqing shook her head. “Master’s friend is extremely troublesome. If it takes a whole day and night of fussing, she absolutely won’t be able to get what she wants.”

“So this time, Master booked five days’ worth of rooms when she came to Wanwu Fortress.”

Hearing this, Yan Jue couldn’t help feeling curious; just who could make Yun Zhen, an eighth-realm expert, spend so much patience entangling with them?

Yan Jue asked, “Does Senior Sister know who it is?”

Qi Xianqing pressed her lips together. She wasn’t one for gossip, so she didn’t know any of Yun Zhen’s hangers-on.

Qi Xianqing asked, “You really want to know?”

Yan Jue was silent for a while, then her tone turned a little uncertain. “...Mm?” She was quite fond of gossip.

Suddenly, something weighed down on the top of her head; Yan Jue’s shoulders jolted, and her whole body tensed reflexively.

Qi Xianqing reached out and gently rubbed the soft crown of the girl’s head, smiling as she said, “Since you want to know that much, I’ll keep an eye out next time and help you ask around.”

Yan Jue abruptly swatted away Qi Xianqing’s hand and instinctively took a step back. Her cheeks were faintly warm. “I don’t want to know!”

Qi Xianqing said nothing further.

The two of them waited for a long while longer, but the demon still didn’t come.

Just as Yan Jue was finding it strange and thinking that maybe the demon wouldn’t come tonight, she suddenly heard Qi Xianqing murmur, “This silver-stealing demon’s cultivation may not be high, but it should already have Divine Sense.”

Yan Jue glared at her irritably. “So what?”

Qi Xianqing rested her chin in her hand. “Though the Concealing Canopy can hide our aura, if the other side is vigilant and deliberately spreads its Divine Sense to search, it still won’t be hidden.”

Yan Jue froze. “Then what do we do?”

Qi Xianqing pointed at Yan Jue’s Qiankun pouch. “Junior Sister Yan, don’t you have an umbrella? That umbrella can completely conceal aura.”

“How about you open that umbrella, and we hide inside together?”

Yan Jue gave an “oh” and hurriedly took Cloudvoid Umbrella out of her Qiankun pouch. She opened the green oil-paper umbrella; the canopy slowly began to rotate, and the intricate patterns on it shimmered faintly in the moonlight.

Qi Xianqing gathered up her skirt and stepped inside.

The two of them hid together beneath the umbrella.

……

Only after Yan Jue and Qi Xianqing had hidden inside the umbrella did she realize something was wrong.

The space under Cloudvoid Umbrella was only so big.

Qi Xianqing was too close; the sweet fragrance of the Immortal Spirit Physique drifted straight into her nose like tiny hooks brushing past.

Yan Jue’s hands unconsciously clenched; she suddenly felt dry-throated and couldn’t help swallowing.

Qi Xianqing’s allure to her was undeniable.

And the pure sword intent on her body made Yan Jue tremble even more.

Qi Xianqing looked at her in silence for a long while, then slowly reached out and wrapped an arm around the girl’s slender waist, lightly brushing her wrist as if to draw her even closer.

Qi Xianqing lifted her eyelids and glanced toward the window over there. “The space is a little small; Junior Sister, come closer.”

Yan Jue thought to herself, So you know it’s small, then.

Qi Xianqing’s soft breath fanned against her ear; intentionally or not, Yan Jue only felt that her ear had gone wet and itchy.

After a long while, Yan Jue slowly lifted a hand and pressed it against Qi Xianqing’s shoulder. Her fair face was already flushed bright red.

Yan Jue had long known she wasn’t straight, but she had never felt anything for a straight woman.

But Qi Xianqing like this...

Could it be that Qi Xianqing wasn’t straight either, and was deliberately teasing her?

How could that be possible?

Two women leaning against each other was clearly perfectly normal.

Qi Xianqing lowered her gaze to Yan Jue’s face and suddenly noticed something. With interest, she asked, “Junior Sister, why are you blushing?”!