Chapter 3: 003

Between the black mush and the Fasting Pill, Wei Mingyi unhesitatingly chose the latter.

It wasn’t that she looked down on her own cooking skills. She just wanted a sense of novelty.

After quickly swallowing the Fasting Pill, she recalled Wu Chongyun’s strange expression. So, she meticulously cleaned the small kitchen inside and out, ensuring not even a single spark remained.

By the time she finished, it was already dark.

The courtyard was empty and silent. Lanterns under the eaves lit up, and the moonlight was cool and clear as water. But without Wu Chongyun present, the refined elegance of a jade-like beauty and moonlight falling upon the pear blossoms was lost.

Since she had chosen to look after Wu Chongyun, her newly appointed Shizun, she had to do it to the best of her ability. Wei Mingyi lowered her lashes, mentally calculating Wu Chongyun’s needs. Her legs were crippled, unable to walk, confined to bed or wheelchair for long periods. Her leg muscles would surely atrophy, right? So she must need daily massages? Having figured this out, Wei Mingyi carried a basin of hot water to knock on the door.

The wheelchair was by the window.

The small window framed a single moon.

Wu Chongyun’s face held a world-weary lassitude, as if she were a sculpture. Even when Wei Mingyi came to push the wheelchair, she had no reaction at all.

Until Wei Mingyi very calmly grasped her hand.

Wu Chongyun’s brow furrowed slightly, puzzlement surfacing in her eyes.

Wei Mingyi didn’t notice the subtle shift in Wu Chongyun’s expression. She gently cupped Wu Chongyun’s hand, touching the water in a fleeting, dragonfly-skimming manner.

The hot water in the basin rippled with a tiny, spreading wave. Wu Chongyun’s fingertips curled inward abruptly.

“Shizun, is the water temperature right? If it’s not comfortable, just shake your head.” Wei Mingyi raised a smiling face, her brows and eyes filled with sincerity and warmth.

She quickly slipped into the role of disciple, busily attending to her Shizun for no apparent reason. But Wu Chongyun was somewhat unaccustomed to it. In her imagination, after the Chongyuan Sect disbanded, this new disciple of hers might finally be able to cast her, the burdensome person, aside. Yet the Chongyuan Sect hadn’t disbanded, and this disciple was very strange. As Wu Chongyun fell deep into thought, Wei Mingyi believed she had received her answer.

No head shake meant the water temperature was just right, didn’t it?

Her gaze fell on Wu Chongyun’s legs. She murmured “hmm” in slight difficulty.

Should she just go ahead and do it? How had the Chongyuan Sect members previously taken care of her beautiful Shizun? She had forgotten to ask.

While hesitating, she felt the hand she still held withdraw slightly. Wei Mingyi abruptly released Wu Chongyun, feeling the other’s fingertips slide silently away from her palm. She cleared her throat and asked directly, “Shizun, will you undress yourself?”

Silence fell over the room for a moment.

Then, a quiet “What” sounded.

After asking, Wei Mingyi’s expression flushed with slight embarrassment. Chaotic thoughts rushed into her brain, so much so that she didn’t immediately react when she heard Wu Chongyun speak.

“What did you say?” Long lashes trembled, casting a small shadow. Wu Chongyun spoke, pronouncing each word clearly and distinctly, like ice beads falling into a jade plate.

Wei Mingyi: “?”

A moment later, she stared at Wu Chongyun, shocked.

Her Shizun wasn’t mute?! She hadn’t spoken when she was forcibly stuffed onto her, hadn’t spoken even when the Chongyuan Sect was about to collapse… No, she just still knew too little about this world.

Wei Mingyi’s expression was extremely obvious. Wu Chongyun had originally not wanted to speak, but under Wei Mingyi’s intense scrutiny, she had no choice but to wearily offer an explanation: “I am not mute.”

“I’m sorry.” Wei Mingyi’s face flushed red, and she hurriedly apologized to Wu Chongyun. So the muteness was fake. What about her legs? If the lameness wasn’t real either, then no massage was needed, right? She struggled to suppress the spreading cloud of crimson on her cheeks and met Wu Chongyun’s eyes. “Shizun, then do you need your disciple to assist you with bathing? Your legs—”

Her polite inquiry was met with an even longer silence. A creaking sound was heard. No medical miracle of Wu Chongyun standing up from the wheelchair occurred. Instead, what happened was Wu Chongyun pushing her wheelchair, increasing the distance between herself and Wei Mingyi. Those eyes, ever still as dead ashes, finally showed ripples. Wei Mingyi couldn’t read them, but her intuition told her it meant nothing good.

“I do not need anyone to take care of me,” Wu Chongyun said.

After a pause, she pointed at the door: “Get out.”

Wei Mingyi’s eyes widened.

So cold, so fierce.

But she liked it.

“I’m sorry.” Yet Wu Chongyun’s attitude quickly softened. She touched her brow, saying, “It’s late. Go back and rest.”

If the person being cared for was unwilling, Wei Mingyi couldn’t just force it.

As she left, she still wanted one more look at her beautiful Shizun’s cold, aloof face. But the other seemed to sense something, only presenting a profile silhouette in the wheelchair.

After closing the door, Wei Mingyi yawned.

All that frantic busywork was quite tiring.

She still had to read the instruction manual for her cheat item.

But before that—

“System, what’s my Shizun’s file? What’s wrong with her?”

“What’s the future development of this world like? How far can the Chongyuan Sect go?”

“What about the distribution of factions? Just telling me it’s a wicked cultivation world is useless!”

…

Wei Mingyi’s silent questions received no answers.

Was her cheat item a dud? Did it only give her basic knowledge, like a mortal’s?

With a sour expression, Wei Mingyi returned to her new dwelling.

This cheat item of hers was originally a “Real Estate Tycoon Simulator” and largely revolved around construction. Wei Mingyi rummaged through it on her own, her brain nearly overwhelmed by the words ‘land.’ Overall, it was divided into three systems: the Land System, the Reputation System, and the Talent System. The Land System was the backbone. Acquiring land and expanding her influence was the foremost task.

As for the Reputation System, that was the source of Achievement Points. She could use Achievement Points to buy land, upgrade Spirit Vein quality—turning iron into gold. Probably to prevent her from slacking off, Achievement Points were tied to Talent Points. Talent Points were the actual cheat acting upon her being. If she had any ambition at all, she had to forge ahead and expand for the sake of Talent Points.

The invincible “Stronger When Faced With Strength” Mountain Protection Array was unbreakable. Someone without ambition could potentially just hide inside and play dead forever. But that wouldn’t work in the Chongyuan Sect. Firstly, the sect’s resources were far from self-sufficient. Secondly, the Founding Ancestor’s whereabouts were unknown; they couldn’t just ignore searching for her. Thirdly, her Shizun’s health couldn’t be neglected.

Cultivators didn’t gain immortality just by stepping onto the Dao path. After Meridian Opening, the maximum lifespan was two hundred years. Foundation Establishment added another hundred. Reaching Golden Core doubled it to six hundred, but that also meant reaching Golden Core was not easy. After Nascent Soul, lifespan was a thousand years. If one didn’t achieve Grotto-Heaven within those thousand years, everything was in vain. As for the limit of a Grotto-Heaven, since no one had lived to that age yet, cultivators weren’t very clear about it. They only knew that only by plucking the Dao Fruit could one truly live as long as the heavens.

When it came to matters of cultivation, sooner was better than later. A person couldn’t wait until the very limit of their lifespan to attempt breaking through realms. Generally, those who dragged it out to the deadline had no future to speak of.

Her thoughts straying to cultivation, Wei Mingyi couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. Who among all under heaven didn’t die? How many could achieve longevity? How many were trapped by their bottlenecks, unable to break free? With her natural talent, what could she possibly achieve? But then she saw the Talent Point value of “1,” and she felt better again.

Her current cultivation was at the First Layer of Meridian Opening, having opened one Qi Meridian—a benefit of transmigration. Talent Points had many uses. Besides adding points to raise her realm, they could also be used to learn techniques. Wei Mingyi had only two Earth-Tier and Heaven-Tier scriptures of inestimable value in her hands. The Earth-Tier needed 16 Talent Points to learn, the Heaven-Tier 32. But entry was entry, learning was learning. The demand for Talent Points would undoubtedly be massive. The cheat item was merely an aid; some things required her own hard work.

After thinking earnestly for a while, Wei Mingyi solemnly allocated her single Talent Point to opening another Qi Meridian.

A faint sensation like a gentle breeze brushed past. As for deeper feelings, there were none at all.

The next day, Wei Mingyi woke up naturally at the hour of Si (9-11 AM), feeling refreshed and invigorated.

Harboring a sliver of slight confusion, she knocked on Wu Chongyun’s door.

Last night, while reading the cheat item’s manual, she had seen the “Chivalrous Reputation” titles in the Reputation System: Minor Fame, Reputation (Badge), Fame Across the Four Seas, Awe-inspiring Across the Universe, and Eternal Glory. These were like permanent badges. Once she held a chivalrous title, she would receive Achievement Points corresponding to that title every month. But the instructions didn’t clearly state how to obtain these titles, only vaguely mentioning they corresponded to 4th-Rate Clans, 3rd-Rate Clans, and so on.

She knew the Lu Clan of Cangwu City was a 4th-Rate Clan, but there were no exact numerical values. It was all far too vague.

Wu Chongyun came out with her eyes closed.

If Wei Mingyi hadn’t seen her with her eyes open before, she would have thought she was blind too.

“Shizun.” Wei Mingyi’s voice was loud and clear.

“Not needed,” Wu Chongyun refused before Wei Mingyi could even start speaking.

Wei Mingyi: “…” The period of pretending to be mute was so short it made her a little unused to it. She choked slightly, then said with a serious expression, “Your disciple has a question.”

Only then did Wu Chongyun open her eyes to examine Wei Mingyi.

Her robes were white as snow, with a red collar. A red belt was tied at her waist, from which hung a piece of warm, smooth jade with red tassels that swayed gently in the mountain breeze. These were originally her own clothes, yet they fit Wei Mingyi quite well.

Wei Mingyi didn’t know Wu Chongyun’s mind was wandering. Although their time together had been brief, she was confident she had gotten a basic understanding of Wu Chongyun. At the very least, she knew very clearly that waiting for Wu Chongyun to voluntarily ask a question might take until the end of time.

“Shizun, what do the classifications of the Heavenly Dao Alliance and the Aristocratic Families mean?” Wei Mingyi proactively inquired.

“You have opened your second Qi Meridian,” Wu Chongyun replied, ignoring the actual question.

Wei Mingyi was startled, then nodded, “Yes.”

Wu Chongyun lowered her eyes, her voice languid and weary: “Do not establish your Foundation before reaching the utmost number.”

A person’s innate talent, disposition, and financial resources differed, thus the Dao Foundation they established also differed. A cultivator could open thirty-six Qi Meridians, but those who truly achieved it were exceedingly rare. But if one couldn’t, unless they encountered a heaven-defying fortune, ascending to Grotto-Heaven was impossible.

Wei Mingyi asked: “And what if I can’t achieve it?”

Wu Chongyun: “Hm.”

Wei Mingyi was speechless.

Whether she spoke or not, her Shizun remained incomprehensible.

She steered the topic back, persisting with her questions about the Heavenly Dao Alliance and the ranking of the Families. She caught the shift in Wu Chongyun’s mood and suspected she didn’t want to answer.

But she was willing to be filial twenty-four/seven. So it stood to reason that her Shizun should also answer her questions exhaustively, right?

With this thought, Wei Mingyi circled around to the front of Wu Chongyun’s wheelchair, bracing her hands on the armrests.

She leaned down sharply. Her inky black hair, along with the red hair tie, slid off her shoulders, brushing against Wu Chongyun’s face, which was as pale as white jade.

Wei Mingyi fixed her gaze intently upon Wu Chongyun and spoke assertively: “Please answer, Shizun.”

Wu Chongyun lowered her gaze.

A nominal master and disciple, indeed.

Sure enough, there was a lack of true respect.