Chapter 123

In the end, Qing Zhouxue didn't move out, and Yu Ying settled down on Heyi Peak.

Yu Ying was an excellent cook and could prepare a great variety of dishes. When she arranged pastries she'd made into a box, they looked like offerings fit for the imperial palace.

Qing Zhouxue noticed that her master seemed quite fond of them.

After all, A Jin wasn't good at making such things. His dishes were limited, and he lacked the little girl's dexterity and skill when it came to carving beautiful decorations.

The years flowed by, and the seasons turned several more times. The little junior sister's cultivation steadily advanced. Qing Zhouxue also trained daily, studying the sword manual.

Most of the time, Yu Ying spent her days with Qing Zhouxue.

"Isn't Master coming back for lunch?"

Today, only two silhouettes sat at the dining table. A Jin sat in the little junior sister's lap, his ears being rubbed between her fingers.

But he clearly wasn't very happy about it, puffing up almost into a ball of fluff.

Qing Zhouxue quietly picked at her food and gave a brief "Mm" in response.

"The secret realm will be opening soon. The sect will probably send the latest batch of disciples, including the new ones, to participate."

"Master and the Sect Leader have many affairs to arrange."

"A secret realm?" Yu Ying asked, surprised. "Will Senior Sister go too?"

"I don't know."

The four chosen to participate in the Immortal Ascension Assembly were always somewhat special, and the sect tasks assigned to them on a daily basis were far more difficult.

If it was a lower-level secret realm, she might not be sent. Just as such thoughts crossed her mind, Qing Zhouxue heard a faint noise from atop the wall. She looked up and caught sight of a familiar silhouette.

Ruan Mingzhu had recently emerged from seclusion. Forced onto the roof beams by her master, she had spent several years in closed-door cultivation, raising her cultivation base to mid-Nascent Soul. Naturally, she came looking for Qing Zhouxue to spar.

She vaulted over the wall, and the first person she saw was Yu Ying. For a moment, she thought she had wandered into the wrong place.

After all, Heyi Peak was usually very quiet. If not for seeing Master Yun, the only person one would usually see was Qing Zhouxue.

Yu Ying, catching a glimpse of that vivid figure on the wall, was momentarily stunned as well. "Senior Sister, she... who is she? Why didn't she come through the gate?"

Qing Zhouxue replied, "She's my junior sister from the same year. It's just a habit."

Ruan Mingzhu landed lightly, her flowing garment spreading out like a camellia in full bloom before folding shut again. She arched an eyebrow at Yu Ying and said, "You must be the newly arrived junior sister."

Yu Ying nodded, looking at her with timidity. After all, the woman before her had an air of high spirits and didn't seem very approachable—though, fortunately, her brows and eyes curved in a smile.

"Junior sister, let me hear you call me 'senior sister.'"

Only after hearing a well-behaved "Senior Sister" did Ruan Mingzhu, with great satisfaction, ruffle the child's hair.

After all, there was no one else on the peak who could call her that, and she was unlikely to hear it again in the future. Her master was indeed infuriating—saying that having her on the peak was already enough to give him a headache, so he didn't need to take on any more little sprouts running wild. Thus, this inner sect competition hadn't included taking new disciples.

"Well behaved. In the future, Senior Sister will take you down the mountain to eat and drink well! I live on that mountain over there... yes, it's easy to spot." Ruan Mingzhu seemed to have already forgotten she had come for a spar.

"Cultivate properly," Qing Zhouxue sighed.

Yu Ying, meanwhile, gradually withdrew her gaze from the mountains.

Ruan Mingzhu laughed. "You're boring enough as it is. Add a new junior sister who's quiet too, and the two of you would just stare at each other like a pair of dumbstruck birds. What would you do then?"

Anyway, her master couldn't stand much noise either. Qing Zhouxue silently toyed with the white jade bracelet on her wrist, thinking that a bit of peace wasn't so bad.

In the end, Yu Ying couldn't resist Ruan Mingzhu's enthusiastic invitation. Before she knew it, she had been pulled along to Ruan Mingzhu's own peak to wander around.

Qing Zhouxue watched the two figures as they rose into flight, gradually shrinking until they looked like two ants in the sky.

Well, it was fine. Ruan Mingzhu rarely had the chance to be a senior sister to anyone. She was in high spirits, and it wouldn't be easy to persuade her.

Qing Zhouxue walked towards the pavilion and took out the remnants of a sword manual. She found a comfortable spot and leaned against it, letting her gaze drift. She noticed a plate of pastries on the table that hadn't been cleared away.

They seemed to be from yesterday.

After sitting out overnight, they probably weren't fresh anymore.

As she reached out and lifted the box, a piece accidentally dropped and landed right in a small potted plant beside the pavilion.

The pastry fell upon a patch of soft green grass. Qing Zhouxue immediately picked it up, careful not to crush the delicate Inch Grass seedlings.

When she glanced into the pot again, she froze.

The Inch Grass seedlings were visibly blackening at the roots, the decay spreading upward before withering in patches.

Inch Grass was naturally delicate—any trace of even the weakest poison could cause it to wither.

It could be said to be the most suitable herb for testing poison in the cultivation world, rare and precious.

Uncle Liu had planted a patch with great care, and she had used these herbs often in her medical research. Not long ago, she had given Qing Zhouxue some seeds as a reward.

Qing Zhouxue looked at the pastry in her hand, her brows furrowing. Hadn't Yu Ying made these?

She brought the plate of pastries to her nose and smelled it, to find nothing unusual. She then broke off a piece, crumbled it, and threw it into the pond.

The koi fish gathered around eagerly, gobbling up all the floating crumbs. The water's surface rippled and trembled, but Qing Zhouxue's heart was also unsettled.

After about the time it takes to burn one incense stick, the koi still swam about lively, scattering about without seeming affected.

Qing Zhouxue felt she might be overthinking things. On second thought, the pastries had been left out for a while, so perhaps they had just gone stale.

She gathered the remaining flowerpots scattered around and placed them together. Since this was the first time she had cared for such delicate flowers and plants, she didn't know whether Inch Grass preferred sunlight or shade—so she had split them across several pots and set them all around the courtyard, hoping some would survive.

But they didn't seem particularly sensitive to light, growing one after another. A few small pots even had thick growth now.

She stored the remaining pastries within her storage ring and sprinkled a few crumbs into the pot.

The same result appeared.

Qing Zhouxue pinched a slice of the withering grass and pulled it out.

The originally pale root had a dark line that stood out, then spread like ink in clear water, saturating and gradually staining the tender white.

From behind came the sound of footsteps.

"Senior Sister?"

Qing Zhouxue instantly hid the leaf in her palm and turned around. "Mm, you're back?"

Yu Ying looked at her curiously, as well as the array of flowerpots of various sizes on the ground. "What are you doing?"

"Moving them outside for some sun."

Qing Zhouxue observed Yu Ying's still-immature features, scrutinizing her without changing expression. But truly, she could discern nothing from the girl's eyes.

She was just an ordinary little girl.

Qing Zhouxue truly hoped she was overthinking things, or that the Inch Grass was overly sensitive—after all, the koi in the pond were still fine.

Yu Ying could be said to have grown up under her watch, though they had only met a few times.

She had been a beggar wandering the streets, and her master had spent money to save her life. At the time, her master must have seen some aptitude in the child, which was why she brought her back to Taichu Sect and had her raised among the outer disciples.

No matter how she looked at it, this background was clear and without fault.

*

Near midnight.

Qing Zhouxue once again set out quietly, heading towards Yun Shuchen's room. The lamplight inside was still dimly burning. She pushed the door open, and soon her silhouette fell upon the wall.

Yun Shuchen was sitting cross-legged in meditation, a faint spiritual light emanating from her as she circulated her energy, floating up and down around her.

She had indeed been very busy lately, having to coordinate matters of the secret realm with the other elders, and also considering breaking through to a new realm. Even the time to speak with Qing Zhouxue was scarce.

From her meditation, she heard the faint sound of footsteps.

Yun Shuchen slowly stopped her circulation.

A cool, gentle touch landed on her forehead.

Qing Zhouxue noticed her master's weary expression, so she moved round behind her, resting her fingers on the acupoints on her head, massaging them slowly, one by one.

"The Baihui point is here, which can help with sleep. Pressing it should bring a slight feeling of swelling," Qing Zhouxue said. "If Master has nothing to do, you can try it yourself."

Yun Shuchen leaned back, slowly relaxing. She gave a leisurely "Mm." "It's not like I have insomnia—it's just that not sleeping is a little uncomfortable. It's mostly a habit."

"How was that child today? It's the first time I've left her entirely to you."

Yun Shuchen casually asked. Qing Zhouxue's hand paused for a moment, then quickly resumed. "She was fine. Junior Ruan dropped by and took her out for a stroll."

It seemed the topic shifted after that. But whatever her master was saying, Qing Zhouxue wasn't really listening. Her mind was elsewhere, mulling over the day's events, uncertain whether to speak up or not.

The reaction of the Inch Grass wasn't necessarily only a sign of poison; there could be other reasons too.

And looking at it from other angles, it was indeed possible that she was overthinking.

Qing Zhouxue had never liked to jump to conclusions. Without ironclad facts, she never spoke.

But those pastries were things Yun Shuchen had eaten, and it concerned her master, who was often frail. Qing Zhouxue had to be careful. In recent years, it seemed the little junior sister had been continuously making them, and Yu Ying also liked to enjoy them herself.

"What's wrong?"

Yun Shuchen sensed her distraction. Besides, Qing Zhouxue seemed unusually silent today.

Qing Zhouxue snapped back to attention and met her master's eyes.

If she spoke now, even if nothing happened, given her master's nature, the rift between her and Yu Ying would only widen.

Qing Zhouxue still remembered the day Yun Shuchen smiled and said she had thought she'd never meet such a disciple.

But she didn't even have a single point of certainty. Merely harboring suspicion, she wanted to draw a line through that bond and tell Yun Shuchen—that the disciple she had chosen and newly taken in seemed to harbor ill intentions, that her pastries were poisoned.

Should she say it?

"I've only been gone a day, and something's weighing on your mind again?" Yun Shuchen lifted her sleeve and gently touched the back of Qing Zhouxue's hand.

After a long silence, weighing the two, she spoke.

"Master, don't eat the pastries little junior makes anymore."

She finally spoke up.

Having said that, Qing Zhouxue's hands resumed their slow, steady motion over her acupoints.

Yun Shuchen seemed curious, letting out a soft sigh. "That little one certainly makes them tasty. Eating a few won't hurt. What, feeling a little upset again?"

Before Qing Zhouxue could answer, Yun Shuchen curved her lips in a smile. "Fine, I won't eat hers."

She let out a silent breath of relief. As long as her master wasn't in danger anymore, that was enough. As for whether her master had mistaken her for being jealous... that wasn't a big deal.

Just as she was about to swallow the words that had reached her throat, she heard Yun Shuchen say in a gentle voice, "Starting tomorrow, I'll eat yours."