Chapter 19: Cultivation (3)

◎Senior Sister, take off your clothes, quick!◎

Yun Jinxue heard exactly what she said and burst out laughing, slender fingers rising to cover her lips, shoulders trembling.

Yan Guixing quietly looked up at her. Though her whole appearance was a mess, her face smeared with several streaks of dirt, her eyes were still bright, like two black grapes.

Once the laughter subsided, Yan Guixing said honestly, “I’m not lying to you, Immortal Lord. It’s true.”

Yun Jinxue smiled, hummed softly in agreement, and sat on the round stool beside her, bending down to grasp the girl’s ankle.

The girl was ticklish and flinched. Yun Jinxue patted her knee. “It’s fine. I’m just helping you loosen up, or your legs will hurt tomorrow.”

Yan Guixing lowered her gaze and first saw the woman’s silver-white robe, which seemed to flow with moonlight. Then she noticed her own wrinkled, tattered pants and instinctively tried to pull her feet back.

“No need, Immortal Lord. I’m dirty.”

Her personality was a bit peculiar. When wearing dirty, torn clothes and facing someone’s disdain, she wouldn’t feel dejected—she would straighten her back even more. Filth on the outside didn’t mean filth in the heart. She didn’t care about sideways glances from others.

But if someone truly accepted her without reservation and was willing to get close, that was when she’d feel inadequate by comparison.

“It’s fine.” Yun Jinxue exerted some strength, lifting the girl’s two legs to rest on her own knees. Her fingertips pressed on several acupoints, kneading gently.

Spiritual power flowed through her fingertips, soothing the stiff muscles.

Yan Guixing’s fingers gripped the edge of the stone stool. Her eyes dared only to fall on the woman’s wrist, where her wide sleeves were cinched tight. Her voice was as faint as a mosquito’s hum. “Thank you, Immortal Lord.”

Yun Jinxue liked well-behaved children. She smiled softly and said gently, “That friend of your mother’s I mentioned before—she’s recently run into some trouble and can’t get away. So from now on, I’ll be the one guiding you. Is that alright?”

Yan Guixing nodded. “I’ll follow your instructions, Immortal Lord.”

The little girl’s eyes were perfectly round, her whole body tense. Yun Jinxue couldn’t resist teasing her. “You’re not angry that I made you climb stone steps all day, are you?”

Yan Guixing shook her head vigorously. “No, I know you wanted to train me.”

Yun Jinxue asked, “So you see this as a favor?”

“It is a favor.”

“Hmm…” Yun Jinxue leaned closer with mischievous intent. “You won’t be writing this down in your little notebook, will you?”

The feminine fragrance hitting her face made Yan Guixing’s head spin. She could only reply on instinct. “The little notebook is beside my pillow. I’ll remember it in my heart first and write it down before bed tonight.”

Yun Jinxue laughed openly, patted the girl’s knee, and put her legs down. “Alright, isn’t it much less sore than before?”

Hearing this, Yan Guixing stood up to try. It truly was much more comfortable. “Thank you, Immortal Lord.”

Yun Jinxue helped her pick blades of grass out of her hair. “You and Windy can just call me Senior Sister. No need to always use Immortal Lord. You must be hungry.”

Yan Guixing said, “Alright, Senior Sister. I am a bit hungry.”

“Then go back to your room and rest for a while. I’ll see where Windy got to and bring you both some food.”

Yan Guixing nodded obediently. “Please be careful.”

When Yun Jinxue stepped onto Bright Star and descended the mountain, the last sliver of dusk was devoured by the night.

Her descent speed wasn’t fast. Her gaze carefully swept the stone steps, afraid she might miss the little villain’s figure.

Yet she didn’t find her all the way to the foot of the mountain.

Yun Jinxue looked upward, a sense of unease creeping in. Had she exhausted her strength and fallen somewhere? Honestly, she’d thought the little villain would arrive first.

She had a very deep impression of the crazy, beautiful Deviant Cultivator described in the book. After finishing the story, she always seemed to see in the little villain that air of undeniable arrogance, that mastery over the world she’d one day possess.

So she trusted the current her immensely, thinking everything came easily to her, that she could accomplish anything with a flick of her wrist.

This feeling was even stronger than it was for the female lead, at least in terms of talent and strength.

After all, at the book’s end, the Evil Cultivator Hall Master didn’t die by the female lead’s sword, but rather grew weary of the world, losing all will to fight, and transformed into a great snow that fell for a thousand years.

Otherwise, the outcome wouldn’t have been decided so quickly.

But the little villain was still just a child in her early teens who hadn’t even started cultivating. It was entirely possible for her to be injured in an accident from some small incident.

Yun Jinxue couldn’t continue down that line of thought. Just as she was about to shoot upward and search inch by inch again, she saw someone approaching from the end of the forest path.

Looking closely, it was Jiang Yanyu. Her left hand tossed a paper package up and caught it; her right hand held two chickens. She was sauntering over, utterly relaxed.

Yun Jinxue let out a breath of relief, sheathed Bright Star, and slung it across her back.

Jiang Yanyu came closer before noticing the person standing at the mountain’s foot. “Senior Sister, why did you come down?”

Yun Jinxue flicked her on the forehead. “To catch a certain child who doesn’t listen.”

Meeting elsewhere might have left room for excuses, but caught in the act, there wasn’t much to argue.

However, Jiang Yanyu had always enjoyed rising to challenges and spouting nonsense. She said, “I actually went up the mountain, but I didn’t run into any wild chickens, so I had to look elsewhere. See, Senior Sister? I caught them.”

The two chickens in her hands were already bled, plucked, and cleaned. They were clearly ingredients taken directly from the kitchen’s back pantry. Yet she could lie without a flicker of change in her expression.

Yun Jinxue asked, “What’s in the paper package?”

“Steamed buns.”

“Did you catch the steamed buns too?”

Jiang Yanyu’s face didn’t change. “Yep. Wild steamed buns. Catching them was a real pain.”

Yun Jinxue felt a headache coming on.

Not because of the chickens, nor the buns, nor even the fact that she hadn’t climbed the mountain—but a far more serious problem.

She could see it. Jiang Yanyu didn’t have a strong desire to cultivate. She didn’t even have the anxious panic of being chased away. It seemed she didn’t care where she went or whether she stayed in the Divine Zenith Sect.

That wasn’t bad in itself, but it didn’t match the original work.

And Yun Jinxue could more or less guess why the little villain differed so much from the book’s description.

The crucial character of the Senior Sister had changed. And she simply couldn’t treat her coldly like the original, couldn’t even utter words about sending her away.

No pressure, her enemy dead—life was essentially carefree. It was all too natural for the little villain to have no desire to cultivate right now.

If she could, Yun Jinxue would let her keep living like this.

But she couldn’t. The tasks and plot points were a sharp sword hanging over her head, keeping her in constant fear and alarm. She’d already been forced to do things she didn’t want to, with no other path. This situation would continue.

This concerned whether she could go home, see her friends and family again. It was too important.

She admitted this world was beautiful enough, but treating it as passing scenery and experience was fine—staying permanently was unacceptable. Not to mention the inevitable death awaiting her.

She had to force the little villain to move forward.

Having steeled her resolve, Yun Jinxue put away her smile, furrowed her brows slightly, and said with weight, “Yanyu, are you brushing me off?”

Jiang Yanyu sensed the shift in atmosphere. She stopped tossing the bun and asked, “Why does Senior Sister say that?”

Yun Jinxue’s voice was naturally cool and regal. Without emotion, it came across as upright and stern. “Why didn’t you do as I said? Why did you run off to play instead?”

Jiang Yanyu blinked, her smile lingering at her lips, looking a bit at a loss.

Yun Jinxue pinched her own fingers, hardening her heart, and continued, “If, back in the Jiang family, you’d had the strength to escape that environment, why would you have suffered so many years of hardship? Living a life worse than pigs and dogs?”

Bringing up the Jiang family was deliberately tearing at her scars. Jiang Yanyu’s eyes went cold.

Yun Jinxue apologized inwardly but still went on. “You’re still so young. You can’t stay by my side your whole life. You’ll inevitably have to venture into the martial world alone someday. If you’re bullied then because of insufficient strength, what will you do? I’m telling you to cultivate—is that meant to harm you?”

The smile on Jiang Yanyu’s face had completely vanished. In fact, when she mentioned the words “insufficient strength,” anger visibly flared up.

But it was quickly suppressed. The young girl tilted her chin up slightly, narrowed her eyes, and after a moment, spoke slowly.

“Senior Sister is right. If your strength isn’t enough, you’re at others’ mercy—treated however they please. If you run into someone with a black heart, getting duped to death is just what you deserve.”

This was far harsher and more severe than what she’d said. Yun Jinxue said, “That’s not what I—”

“I was wrong. I’ll do it right now.” Jiang Yanyu cut her off, tossed away the bun and chickens, and turned to head up the mountain.

“Hey—” Yun Jinxue wanted to stop her, but the little one’s speed was astonishingly fast. She crossed two or three steps in one stride and quickly gained a large lead.

Letting out a sigh, Yun Jinxue felt helpless. She’d made the little one angry.

She reached out, parted the grass, and found the chickens and bun among a pile of dead leaves. The fresh, clean food had rolled into the dirt, its surface covered in grass clippings and ash.

Yun Jinxue picked them up, dusting them off as she chased the little villain’s retreating figure upward. “Wait for me, Windy.”

She sped up to catch up, keeping a distance of two or three steps behind her. Yun Jinxue asked softly, “Is Windy angry?”

Jiang Yanyu walked ahead, not answering when she heard the question.

Yun Jinxue cleaned the food thoroughly, holding it in her hands. “Was Senior Sister being too stern just now?”

Actually, it wasn’t unreasonable for the little villain to be angry. After all, if she didn’t want to cultivate, she didn’t want to cultivate. Essentially, it was none of her business. That lecture must have seemed completely baffling to her.

Yun Jinxue sighed inwardly. This was so hard.

They walked upward in silence for a while longer. The wind grew colder. The incessant chirping of insects rose from the shrubs. The familiar blue fireflies clustered around, circling Jiang Yanyu.

Looking at the little girl’s thin back, Yun Jinxue felt even more that she’d been too impatient earlier. Just as she was about to say a few more softening words, the little girl suddenly stopped.

Yun Jinxue’s heart leaped with joy, thinking she was willing to talk.

But Jiang Yanyu turned her head, staring at a spot in the underbrush. She tensed her body, approached with light steps, held her breath as she drew near, then suddenly dove into the shrubs.

At the same time, a resonant chicken squawk rang out, desperate and shrill. Two wings burst out of the bush, flapping wildly, dust rising everywhere.

Before long, Jiang Yanyu emerged from the shrubs, clutching a brilliantly colored wild chicken in her hand.

The chicken was half-dead, most of its feathers gone, comb and tongue yanked out. It kept dripping blood onto the white jade steps.

Jiang Yanyu smiled. “One task done. Keep climbing.”

With those words, she turned and continued upward.

The white jade steps glowed faintly even in the night. The mountain forest on both sides closed in, making this ascending path long and pale. Add the trail of blood, and it only grew more eerie.

Yun Jinxue inexplicably thought of all she’d experienced in Spring Crossing Town. Even her wounds seemed to ache again.

The stone steps were still long. If they kept walking like this, who knew when they’d reach the top.

Feeling out of options, Yun Jinxue had to sidle up again. “Windy, Senior Sister was wrong. Will you let me apologize?”

Jiang Yanyu said, “No. I think Senior Sister was completely right. I’ll cultivate properly.”

This was clearly a child throwing a tantrum. In another place, at another time, Yun Jinxue could slowly coax her.

But now, with the cold wind blowing and chicken blood dripping, the atmosphere was far too chilling. She just wanted to leave quickly.

So she decided to abandon her old face, softening her voice. “You know Senior Sister still has injuries and isn’t feeling well right now. I can’t walk with you like this. Can we go up first?”

Jiang Yanyu paused, silent for a moment. “Right, I almost forgot. Then, as compensation for scolding me, how about you let me change your medicine?”

Yun Jinxue didn’t understand. Why would changing her medicine count as compensation for her?

But at least the little villain’s attitude had softened. Yun Jinxue readily agreed. “Alright, then I’ll trouble Windy to help me change my medicine tonight.”

Hearing this, the smile returned to Jiang Yanyu’s young face. If not for the chicken still clutched dead in her hand, she seemed just the same as before.

“Then I’ll trouble Senior Sister to carry me up.”

When they arrived at the mountain top on Bright Star, Yan Guixing was still sitting in the courtyard. Seeing the arrivals, she stood. “You’re back.”

Yun Jinxue stepped off Bright Star. “Didn’t I tell you to rest inside? Why are you waiting here?”

Yan Guixing said, “I need to see Senior Sister return with my own eyes to feel at ease.”

Jiang Yanyu paused for a moment when she heard that form of address, the tip of her tongue pressing against the side of her teeth. She seemed to want to say something but stopped. She lifted her foot and walked to a corner of the courtyard, found a flat stone, and pressed the chicken onto it.

Seeing she was about to butcher the chicken, Yun Jinxue was about to offer to help when she saw her pull a dagger from her waist and, with practiced ease, chop off the chicken’s head, blood splashing crimson.

“…” Don’t tell me you grabbed that from the kitchen too.

But then again, in the original book, the little villain had displayed her culinary talents to stay by the Senior Sister’s side. Being able to move the Senior Sister meant she must be a good cook. She just never expected the first attempt would be under these circumstances.

Ah, if that time roasting fish in the cave counted, this would be the second.

Jiang Yanyu’s knife work was very skilled and meticulous. It didn’t take long to dress a whole chicken. Just then, the firewood caught, and along with the two she’d taken from the kitchen, they were all set over the fire to roast.

The three sat around the fire. While waiting for the chicken to cook, Yun Jinxue decided to refine her words, using objects to illustrate people.

“When we catch chickens, there are so many on the mountain. The fast runners escape; the slow ones get killed and eaten. So you see, even a chicken needs to exercise regularly to survive.”

Yan Guixing sat before the fire, hugging her knees, seriously staring at the change in the chicken skin’s color. Hearing this speech, she nodded as if she’d heard some supreme wisdom.

Yun Jinxue thought to herself: Little female lead, your filter for me might be a bit too rose-tinted.

Jiang Yanyu held a wooden stick, poking at the firewood, and said casually, “Senior Sister is truly impressive, comparing people to chickens. It shows that all things in creation have their own principles.”

Yun Jinxue: “…”

So the little one still hasn’t cooled off.

They added more firewood a few times. The flames kept licking the chicken until the skin turned golden brown, aroma overflowing, juices sizzling, whetting the appetite.

Three chickens—one for each. Along with hot, soft steamed buns warmed by the fire. Delicious food soothed the heart. Even fatigue seemed to vanish.

The charcoal still hadn’t died, perfect for heating water for baths. Being in the cultivation world felt a bit like an idyllic farm stay.

Carrying a basin of hot water into the room, Yun Jinxue quickly wiped down her whole body, dressed, and was wringing out a cloth in the basin when she heard a bang—the door was shoved open with force.

Looking up, she saw the little villain, fresh from a bath, hair still dripping, standing in the doorway with a jar of ointment.

The girl seemed impatient, her eyes bright like starfire. “Senior Sister, take off your clothes, quick. I’ll help you change your medicine.”