I’ve Reloaded the Save File! [Transmigration] 8

8. Realization

After dealing with the matter at her neighbor’s house, Mo Xiao did not immediately go to find Zuo Wuyi. Instead, she returned to her own room and began to sort through her memories.

The next day, Yun He received a communication talisman from her master, saying that she had found a sword manual suitable for her spiritual root attribute and that she was to return to study it.

“Little Junior Sister, Master has sent a letter. Do you want to go back with me?” Yun He’s face was a picture of misery. Although her master hadn’t said anything in the letter, she was definitely going to get a scolding when she returned.

“I…” Zuo Wuyi hesitated. “Did Master say I have to go back with you, Senior Sister?”

Yun He scratched her head. “Master didn’t say. She just asked me to tell you not to forget to cultivate, no matter where you are.”

“Then can I stay here?” Zuo Wuyi asked. “I want to be with Senior Sister.”

“This…” It wasn’t that Yun He disagreed, but the moment she left, the spirit-gathering formation in the room would disappear. Moreover, Yun He was a little worried about Zuo Wuyi getting along with her senior sister. It wouldn’t be good if the conflict between the two escalated.

“If Little Junior Sister wants to stay, then she can stay.” Mo Xiao appeared outside the door at some point. “The spirit-gathering formation will be taken care of.”

“Senior Sister, you agree to let Little Junior Sister stay?” Yun He’s face lit up with joy. “Then I’ll entrust Little Junior Sister to you. I’ll go back to the sect right away.”

Yun He moved quickly, as if she feared Mo Xiao would go back on her word in the next moment. In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, she had packed her things, stuffed some spirit stones into Zuo Wuyi’s hands, and then flew away on her sword.

“Senior Sister, you really agree to let me stay?” Zuo Wuyi had a bad feeling. The change in Mo Xiao’s attitude seemed a bit too drastic.

Mo Xiao nodded. “Cultivating in a spirit-gathering formation is not much different from cultivating in the sect. And as you said, you can temper your character here, which is very good.”

“Senior Sister, it’s too wasteful for me to use the spirit-gathering formation alone. Why don’t you cultivate with me?” Zuo Wuyi suggested. The reason Mo Xiao gave seemed very reasonable. She probably doesn’t suspect me, right?

“No need. I have to go out during the day. I won’t be staying in the room,” Mo Xiao politely refused.

Hearing Mo Xiao’s reply, Zuo Wuyi was completely relieved. It seemed she had been overthinking things. If she had revealed a flaw, Mo Xiao would definitely have tried to spend time with her to find evidence, instead of refusing the opportunity to cultivate together like this.

After simply stabilizing the spirit-gathering formation, Mo Xiao turned and left. From an angle Zuo Wuyi couldn’t see, her gaze softened.

Zuo Wuyi, what is it that you want to do?

Yun He’s departure had no effect on Mo Xiao or Zuo Wuyi. Mo Xiao still went out during the day to observe the various aspects of ordinary people’s lives and returned to her room to cultivate at night. Zuo Wuyi, on the other hand, cultivated during the day and rested at night, having the system broadcast Mo Xiao’s situation for her.

Apart from meeting at mealtimes, the two of them seemed to be on completely different schedules, so much so that they rarely even saw each other.

This situation lasted for less than ten days before Zuo Wuyi couldn’t stand it anymore. She dressed neatly at sunrise and practiced basic sword moves in the small courtyard.

After about half an hour of practice, the door to the main house was pushed open, and Mo Xiao walked out.

“Senior Sister, are you going out again?” Zuo Wuyi stopped her sword swings and stood in the courtyard, looking at Mo Xiao.

“Mhm.” Mo Xiao nodded calmly. After these few days of observation, her understanding of human nature had deepened. If things went smoothly, she might be able to correct her old habits.

“Senior Sister, there are some moves I don’t quite understand. Can you teach me?” Zuo Wuyi asked obediently. Ten days was enough time for her to adjust her state of mind.

Mo Xiao nodded. “I can. Demonstrate the moves you don’t understand.”

“Yes, Senior Sister.” Zuo Wuyi drew her sword again and deliberately demonstrated three sword moves with minor errors. “Senior Sister, I’m not very smooth with these moves, but I can’t find the problem.”

“Draw your sword,” Mo Xiao said, standing behind Zuo Wuyi. “Thrust.”

Zuo Wuyi did as she was told, thrusting her sword forward.

“Again,” Mo Xiao said, then pressed down on Zuo Wuyi’s shoulder the moment she moved, helping her adjust her angle. “Hold this posture. Continue.”

Zuo Wuyi hummed in agreement, trying her best to suppress her inner reaction and repeating the previous sword move meticulously.

Mo Xiao did not say stop, but her hand remained on Zuo Wuyi’s shoulder. She only let go after Zuo Wuyi had repeated the sword move twenty times. “Next move.”

It took a full half-hour for Mo Xiao to correct the three sword moves Zuo Wuyi had made mistakes on. Just as she was about to leave, she found her robe being tugged again.

“Are there any other sword moves you don’t understand?” Mo Xiao asked with a normal expression.

Zuo Wuyi shook her head and looked up at Mo Xiao. “Senior Sister, I’m hungry. Can we go eat now?”

A tiny curve appeared at the corner of Mo Xiao’s mouth, so small that Zuo Wuyi thought she had seen it wrong. “We can. Let’s go.”

With that, Mo Xiao started walking forward. Zuo Wuyi had not yet let go, and she was pulled off balance by the force, nearly falling to the ground.

With Zuo Wuyi’s ability, balancing her body would not have been a problem at all. But she wanted to see Mo Xiao’s attitude towards her, so she made no move, letting herself fall.

Sure enough, just as she was about to hit the ground, Zuo Wuyi was pulled up by Mo Xiao. Although it was by grabbing her collar, it still counted as protecting her.

“Be careful.” Mo Xiao let go after Zuo Wuyi had steadied herself.

Zuo Wuyi gave a soft “mhm” and then proactively took Mo Xiao’s hand. “Senior Sister, can I hold your hand?”

Mo Xiao glanced at the two fingers that were being held, said nothing, and walked forward. However, compared to her usual pace, her steps were now noticeably smaller.

Some things, once started, are hard to stop. Discovering that using the excuse of guiding her sword moves was a perfect way to get close to Mo Xiao, Zuo Wuyi began to wake up early every day, racking her brains to come up with sword moves that had “flaws” for Mo Xiao to correct.

Her hard work paid off. With Zuo Wuyi’s persistence, Mo Xiao also got used to waking up every day to guide Zuo Wuyi, and then being led by the hand to eat.

Unconsciously, three months passed. In order to get Mo Xiao’s guidance every day, Zuo Wuyi had basically learned all the sword moves she knew in these three months. Her cultivation also rose bit by bit, nearing the peak of the mid-stage of Qi Refinement.

“Little Junior Sister, let’s rest for a day. We’ll set off to return to the sect tomorrow.” One morning, after guiding Zuo Wuyi, Mo Xiao uncharacteristically patted her head.

“Rest for a day?” Zuo Wuyi sheathed her sword. “Does Senior Sister mean I can go out and play today without having to cultivate?”

Mo Xiao nodded. “You’ve been very diligent these past three months. I’ll accompany you wherever you want to go and play today.”

“Really?” A brilliant smile appeared on Zuo Wuyi’s face. Just for that sentence from Mo Xiao, her efforts of the past three months had not been in vain.

“Really. Let’s go.” Mo Xiao extended her hand. This time, she proactively took Zuo Wuyi’s hand and led her forward.

With Mo Xiao’s promise, Zuo Wuyi began to wander around the town freely. She wasn’t interested in the scenery, only indulging in eating, drinking, and having fun in the town. She ended the day by rubbing her slightly full belly, her storage space filled with a pile of small trinkets.

Because Zuo Wuyi was so happy, she didn’t notice that Mo Xiao had been observing her every move, especially when she showed a particular fondness for a certain item or food. Mo Xiao’s gaze changed several times in secret before finally becoming calm and composed.

“Master, this disciple has returned with Little Junior Sister.” After returning to the Wen Dao Sect, the first thing Mo Xiao did was to see her master and briefly summarize her recent gains.

“Let me ask you, do you think it is more valuable to save an ordinary person, or to save a Foundation Establishment cultivator?” Xuan Shuang did not express her own opinion, but directly posed a question.

“They are all people. It’s impossible to say who is more valuable,” Mo Xiao answered almost without thinking.

“Then let me ask another question. Both are your junior brothers. One has a single spiritual root, and the other has a triple spiritual root. You can only save one of them. How would you choose?” Xuan Shuang continued to ask.

“I would save the one in more danger first,” Mo Xiao’s reply was still swift.

Xuan Shuang closed her eyes. “And what if Master told you to save the other one?”

Mo Xiao frowned slightly. “I would listen to Master.”

Xuan Shuang sighed softly. “Yunmu, if Master told you to kill a stranger, what would you do?”

Mo Xiao thought for a moment. “I would do as I’m told.”

Xuan Shuang shook her head gently. “Master understands. You have indeed gained something this time, but you still need more training.”

“Yes, this disciple will remember Master’s teachings.” Mo Xiao bowed and then retreated to the side.

Mo Xiao had unconditional trust in Xuan Shuang. In her previous life, Xuan Shuang had protected Mo Xiao for a full three hundred years. Even after ascending, she had unreservedly shared her cultivation insights with Mo Xiao.

“Wuyi, what have you gained in the three months you were away?” Xuan Shuang looked at Zuo Wuyi, her expression softening.

Zuo Wuyi bowed. “Reporting to Master, this disciple has learned many sword moves and has also improved in cultivation.”

Xuan Shuang nodded. “Wuyi, Master hopes that when you face ordinary people, you can give them one more chance. Ordinary people are too fragile compared to us, which is why our predecessors set rules for us, restraining us from actively harming them.”

“But Master, should we give bad people another chance too?” Zuo Wuyi asked.

Xuan Shuang nodded. “When no lives are involved, Master hopes you can give them a chance to repent.”

Zuo Wuyi pressed her lips together. She knew her actions at that time were a bit excessive, but she didn’t regret it at all. A person like Scholar Liu deserved to be killed by his own greed.

“Wuyi, a cultivator cannot only cultivate the body and not the mind,” Xuan Shuang said, simultaneously sending out a stream of spiritual energy that slowly merged into Zuo Wuyi’s body.

“Master, this is…” Zuo Wuyi’s heart tightened, and she subconsciously wanted to resist.

“This is a stream of Master’s spiritual energy,” Xuan Shuang explained. “Master hopes you can view the world with a more peaceful perspective. Sometimes, things are not as bad as you think.”

“Yes, this disciple has been taught.” Zuo Wuyi found nothing unusual in the spiritual energy, so she obediently bowed, intending to stand by Mo Xiao’s side.

“By the way,” Xuan Shuang said, “Junior Brother Xuan Min asked Master to tell you that he has recently compiled some magical arts suitable for an Ice spiritual root. You can go to his place to get them now that you’re back. I can’t help you much in terms of magical arts, so you can go for a trip when you have time.”