I’ve Reloaded the Save File! [Transmigration] 4

4. Parting

Mo Xiao observed Zuo Wuyi for a total of three days. After confirming that she could keep up with the pace of the morning classes, she directly handed over all the things she had prepared in the preceding days.

“Inside are some elixirs suitable for the Qi Refinement stage and some simple sword moves. Practice them on your own when you have time.” Mo Xiao directly took out a small storage pouch and tossed it over.

Zuo Wuyi held the storage pouch, feeling a little lost. “Senior Sister, what do you mean by this? Are you not going to teach me anymore?”

“I plan to leave the sect for a period of experiential training. During this time, if you have any questions, you can find Yun He,” Mo Xiao said. The mission the Heavenly Dao gave her was neither simple nor difficult. All she had to do was ensure that both Xuan Min and Zuo Wuyi stayed alive.

Considering that the two had ended up perishing together in the previous life, Mo Xiao’s initial plan was to help them maintain a stable master-disciple relationship. But unexpectedly, after changing her name, the female lead no longer followed the plot and directly became her junior sister.

This made Mo Xiao feel that she had less to do. The female lead was now her own Little Junior Sister. She was confident she could raise her to be upright and righteous, ensuring she would never fall to the demonic path, nor would she let her and Xuan Min become enemies.

Since there was no need to worry about the female lead for the time being, Mo Xiao planned to go out for some experiential training, which would also serve as a suitable reason to raise her cultivation level.

“Where is Senior Sister going for training? How long will you be back?” Zuo Wuyi asked, unconsciously grabbing the corner of Mo Xiao’s robe. In her heart, she didn’t want Mo Xiao to leave at all. She was afraid that if Mo Xiao left this time, she would be just like in her past life—completely impossible to find.

Mo Xiao thought about it seriously, then answered truthfully, “Three months at the shortest, a year at the longest.”

Hearing Mo Xiao’s words, the expression on Zuo Wuyi’s face fell. Her lips trembled, and it looked as if she was about to cry at any moment. “Senior Sister, can you please not go? I want Senior Sister to teach me the sword…”

Mo Xiao frowned slightly upon hearing this, but her expression quickly relaxed. She said patiently, “Little Junior Sister, the sword moves I can teach you, Yun He can teach you as well, not to mention that Master is here. Besides, it’s a very common thing for me to go out and travel. Even if I don’t go this time, I will still go out after a while.”

“But… but I don’t want to be separated from Senior Sister.” Zuo Wuyi’s eyes reddened slightly, and tears slowly welled up, threatening to fall.

“Separation is a very common thing, Little Junior Sister. You must learn to accept it.” Although Mo Xiao’s heart ached a little for Zuo Wuyi, she was not moved. She simply patted her head. “I will come back as soon as possible. Is there anything you want? I can bring it back for you then.”

Zuo Wuyi sniffled, looking as if she was trying hard to hold back her tears, a pitiful sight to behold. “There’s nothing I want. I just want Senior Sister to come back soon.”

Mo Xiao removed her hand and squatted down to meet Zuo Wuyi’s gaze. “Alright. Then you must also promise me to cultivate well during this time. Strive to break through to the mid-stage of Qi Refinement by the time I return, how about it?”

“Mhm.” Zuo Wuyi nodded while sniffling. Seeing the opportunity, she lunged forward and wrapped her arms around Mo Xiao’s neck. “Senior Sister, when you come back, can you personally teach me swordsmanship?”

Mo Xiao hesitated for a moment, then gave a soft “mhm.”

After a while, Mo Xiao intended to let go of Zuo Wuyi and stand up, but just as she was about to rise, she found that Zuo Wuyi was hugging her far too tightly. Even if she let go, it would be useless.

Turning her head, she saw Zuo Wuyi’s still-reddened eyes. A trace of pity flashed through Mo Xiao’s heart. She picked the girl up with one arm and offered a somewhat stiff word of concern, “I’ll take you back. Remember to rest early today.”

Zuo Wuyi didn’t speak, simply taking the opportunity to nestle in Mo Xiao’s arms, even burying her head in the crook of Mo Xiao’s neck. Since I can’t stop her from leaving, I’ll just cling to her for as long as I can.

Although Mo Xiao knew that Zuo Wuyi was the female lead and would become powerful in the future, seeing Zuo Wuyi’s pitiful gaze, Mo Xiao only saw her as a little girl who was overly dependent on her older sister, and thus indulged her in certain aspects.

By the time Mo Xiao carried Zuo Wuyi back to her residence, she discovered that her Little Junior Sister’s breathing was steady. She was sleeping soundly in her arms.

Since it was already getting late, Mo Xiao didn’t wake Zuo Wuyi up. She simply took off Zuo Wuyi’s shoes and socks, placed her on the bed, and cast a cleansing spell on her before leaving to ensure she wouldn’t sleep uncomfortably.

“Has Mo Xiao left?” After the room fell silent again, Zuo Wuyi let out a breath. She kept her eyes closed, replaying the feeling of leaning against Mo Xiao in her mind, and her entire being became much more peaceful.

[Yes, Mo Xiao is already far away.] The system popped up, its voice tinged with confusion. [Host, last time you couldn’t find her, so you had no choice. This time you’ve already met Mo Xiao, so why are you pretending not to know her? You even deliberately changed your appearance.]

“You want to know the answer to that question?” Zuo Wuyi was still immersed in the intimate contact she’d had with Mo Xiao earlier, and her tone was much gentler than usual.

[I do.] The system gave a firm reply.

“Then you can just keep wondering. Maybe if you think about it long enough, you’ll understand.” Zuo Wuyi didn’t know what memory she had recalled, but she let out a soft chuckle after speaking. Then she rolled herself up in her quilt and began to court sleep.

I was carried back by Mo Xiao today. I should be able to have a nice dream.

[…] The system really wanted to wake Zuo Wuyi up and ask for a clear answer, but it had the will without the courage. It could only retreat back into Zuo Wuyi’s sea of consciousness and ponder the answer to this question.

In fact, when the system first made contact with Zuo Wuyi, their dynamic was not like this. Back then, the system held the dominant position, and Zuo Wuyi listened to its commands without a word.

[Hello, human. I am an intelligent system from planet MW3. Do you require my assistance at this time?] When the system had just arrived on Blue Star, the first thing it saw was an expressionless Zuo Wuyi. She was holding a bouquet of flowers, standing all alone in front of a cemetery, letting the fine raindrops fall upon her.

[Human, are you willing to do things for me?] At that time, the system was still a small, translucent ball of light. It stopped in front of Zuo Wuyi and continued to communicate with her. [As long as you agree, I can help you realize one wish, be it beauty, wealth, power, or…]

The system chattered on, but Zuo Wuyi seemed to hear nothing, standing motionless. If it weren’t for the raindrops sliding down the strands of her hair, the system would have thought it had paused time.

[Human, I can really grant you any wish.] The system’s voice became a little anxious. It was rare to encounter a suitable host right from the start, and the system didn’t want to miss the opportunity.

“Any wish?” Zuo Wuyi blinked, twisted her neck slightly, and looked directly at the translucent ball of light before her. “Can you let me see Mo Xiao?”

The system hesitated for a moment. Although it could break through time and space, it was still incapable of bringing the dead back to life. Not to mention, all that was left of Mo Xiao now were her ashes. Even if it could retrieve Mo Xiao’s soul, there was no suitable body for it.

Zuo Wuyi’s lips twitched, and she paid the system no more mind. Instead, she squatted down and slowly placed the flowers in her hands in front of the tombstone, murmuring, “If I had known earlier that you would die for such a ridiculous reason, I would never have let you participate in any experiment, nor would I have invested money in the research institute.”

“If the research institute had gone bankrupt, maybe… you would have obediently stayed by my side…”

[Wait! Although I can’t bring Mo Xiao back to life, I’ve found out where Mo Xiao is! I can let you two meet again.] The system’s voice revealed a hint of joy. It never expected someone else could transmigrate, and to its mission location no less!

“Meet again?” Zuo Wuyi’s departing footsteps halted. Logic told her that seeing Mo Xiao again was impossible, but when a person is in despair, they always want to grasp at something, even if it’s just an absurd lie.

[That’s right. Mo Xiao didn’t actually die. Her soul…]

Recalling their first encounter, the system sighed in a human-like manner, then set itself to sleep mode, selectively choosing to play dead. It was now irrevocably bound to Zuo Wuyi. Since it couldn’t change its host, it could only try its best to adapt.

Mo Xiao was a person of swift action. Having said yesterday that she was going out for experiential training, she had her things packed and was bidding farewell to her master early this morning.

“I heard from Yun He that my little disciple is very attached to you?” As an elder of the Sword Pavilion, Xuan Shuang held a position with many duties, so she had been busy these past few days and hadn’t had much contact with Zuo Wuyi.

Mo Xiao nodded. “It’s probably because I look a lot like Little Junior Sister’s older sister, so she’s closer to me.”

Xuan Shuang nodded, not dwelling on the issue. “With your cultivation level, Master is not worried about you going out to train. But I hope you don’t just travel for the sake of traveling. You should try to integrate into their lives. Don’t just go out, find a place to cultivate for half a year, and then come back and call it experiential training.”

Hearing Xuan Shuang’s words, Mo Xiao lowered her head, a little embarrassed. If her master hadn’t said these things, she really had been planning to wander around for a bit and then find a place for secluded cultivation.

“Yes, Master. I will cultivate by entering the world.” Seeing Xuan Shuang’s gaze fixed on her, Mo Xiao could only make a promise.

Hearing her disciple’s reply, Xuan Shuang nodded in satisfaction. “Go on, then. I hope you will have a different kind of harvest.”

Zuo Wuyi’s mood had been relatively peaceful while she was asleep, but upon waking and discovering that Mo Xiao had left without even a farewell, she couldn’t help but feel dejected. She had no energy for anything.

With Mo Xiao gone, the person responsible for supervising Zuo Wuyi’s cultivation became Yun He. Yun He had a more lively personality. Seeing Zuo Wuyi cultivating with her head down, she tried to find ways to cheer her up, lest her Little Junior Sister turn into a carbon copy of her Senior Sister.

“Little Junior Sister, they say time flies when you’re cultivating. If you cultivate diligently, maybe you’ll look up and Senior Sister will be back,” Yun He said. She considered herself quite good at coaxing people, but she still hit a wall when it came to Zuo Wuyi.

It wasn’t that Zuo Wuyi ignored Yun He. On the contrary, Zuo Wuyi could be said to be interacting with Yun He very well. When Yun He asked a question, she answered. When Yun He pointed out a mistake, she corrected it. When Yun He told her to rest, she rested. She seemed very obedient.

“Mhm.” Zuo Wuyi nodded, then continued to practice her sword moves, beginning the one thousand sword swings Yun He had instructed.

Yun He rubbed her nose, somewhat dissatisfied with the current situation. It was less that Little Junior Sister was obedient and more that she had become a person who simply executed her commands. Whatever she said, Little Junior Sister did, which gave her an inexplicably strange feeling, as if the person before her was not a human but a puppet.

This can’t go on! Yun He quickly thought of a good idea. “Little Junior Sister, do you want to see Senior Sister sooner?”

Hearing this, Zuo Wuyi stopped the swinging motion of her sword and looked at Yun He questioningly.

“As long as you break through to the mid-stage of Qi Refinement, Little Junior Sister, I’ll take you out to see the world.” As she spoke, Yun He gave Zuo Wuyi a knowing look and added, “Maybe we can even run into Senior Sister.”