Perhaps because she had stared blankly for a bit too long, Zhu Zhao turned her head.
Those pitch-black eyes landed on her, unhurriedly scanning her from head to toe.
It was a scrutinizing gaze, devoid of any warmth.
Song Yao froze on the spot, her heart skipping a beat.
But it was only for an instant. She quickly recovered, her eyelashes fluttering as she forced a perfectly measured look of confusion and unease onto her face.
The Seventh Elder happened to see this. Holding a soup bowl, he walked over to the wooden table, tucked his sleeves in, and said, “Ah, I forgot to introduce you. This is Zhu Zhao, a personal disciple from the main peak. You should call her Second Senior Sister. And this is my disciple, He Yu. You can just call him Eldest Senior Brother.”
Seniority in the inner sect was somewhat messy, with each peak having its own ranking. Only personal disciples held the highest seniority, and disciples of the same generation had to address them as Senior Brother or Senior Sister.
After saying this, the Seventh Elder added, “And this is the disciple I newly took in yesterday, Lin Mu.”
Song Yao lowered her eyelashes and called out obediently, “Senior Brother, Second Senior Sister.”
“Come and eat.”
The Seventh Elder spoke, then cast a glance at Zhu Zhao, his tone carrying a hint of awkwardness. “This chicken was actually raised by your Second Senior Sister. I accidentally caught the wrong one. But since it's already been stewed, you should both eat more. Don't let it go to waste.”
Song Yao: “...”
No wonder Zhu Zhao was here. It turned out her chicken had been stolen.
But she had always been obsessed with cultivation, completely indifferent to outside matters. Why did she suddenly have the leisure to raise chickens now?
After being away for over half a year, the people in the Nine Saints Hall seemed to have changed quite a bit.
Song Yao walked over to the table and sat down right next to He Yu.
Her bowl was the largest.
Both chicken drumsticks were piled into her bowl, which was filled to the brim and wafted a mouthwatering aroma.
The other two only had a bowl of clear broth and a few pieces of meat.
It seemed her master had caught this chicken specifically for her.
But when she caught sight of the carrots in the chicken soup, her brow instantly furrowed, and she used her spoon to nudge the carrots to the side.
Halfway through nudging them, Zhu Zhao's cold, clear voice rang out unexpectedly: “You don't eat carrots?”
Song Yao's movements froze once again.
She indeed hated carrots, but Zhu Zhao shouldn't have known that.
After all, back then, if the two of them stayed in the same room for more than half an incense stick's worth of time, they would start fighting, let alone eating at the same table.
But...
Zhu Zhao was not the type of person to casually care about whether someone was a picky eater.
Could she have found out from somewhere that she didn't eat carrots, and was planning to kill anyone who didn't eat them?
The more she thought about it, the more terrifying it became. Song Yao immediately stuffed a piece of carrot into her mouth, her cheeks bulging as she replied, “No, they're delicious.”
Ugh.
It tasted awful.
If she ever got the chance to regain her strength, she would pluck every single carrot in the world.
Zhu Zhao paused for half a second, swept her gaze over her again, and then picked up her spoon—
—and transferred all the carrots from her own bowl into Song Yao's.
Under Song Yao's shocked gaze, she explained in a flat voice, “Perfect. I don't like them. You should eat more.”
Song Yao: “?”
What kind of torture is this?
Why don't you just kill me instead?
Seeing her hesitate for a moment, Zhu Zhao's gaze swept over, sharp as a blade. “Is there a problem?”
“No.”
What a fierce Second Senior Sister.
Just as fierce as in her past life.
Song Yao muttered a dejected thank you and buried her face in her bowl, focusing on drinking the soup.
He Yu suddenly recalled something and asked, “Junior Sister, didn't I hear that you all are supposed to learn the sect rules today? I saw many junior brothers and sisters rushing over this morning. Do you not need to go?”
Song Yao: “...”
Talk about when it rains, it pours.
In the past, to establish her villain persona, she had skipped class every day and had never attended a single lecture.
This morning, she had carried on this fine tradition perfectly; she hadn't even thought about it.
Clinging to a final shred of hope, Song Yao asked, “Will I be kicked out of the sect if I don't go?”
“No.”
He Yu thought for a moment and said, “I think you'll just be punished with copying the sect rules.”
Song Yao grew even more hopeful. “Then if I don't copy them, will I be kicked out of the sect?”
“No.”
The Seventh Elder's voice drifted over faintly. “For inner sect disciples, the master's monthly allowance will be docked, and the disciple will be handed over to the master to be dealt with.”
Meeting Song Yao's gaze, he warily clutched his spatial pouch. “My monthly allowance has to go toward paying off my debts. Not a single spirit stone can be docked!”
Song Yao gave up.
Fine.
He still has to pay off his loans.
Seeing that she still had the heart to keep gnawing on her chicken drumstick, He Yu chuckled. “Junior Sister, are you still not in a hurry to go?”
Song Yao glanced at the rugged mountain paths, feeling rather melancholy. “Fuguang Platform is too far. If I don't eat my fill, I won't make it there on foot.”
This body was malnourished; she would very likely pass out from exhaustion halfway.
Seeing her like this, the Seventh Elder felt another pang of pity.
The little girl was skin and bones, meaning she probably hadn't eaten much good food in the past. Now that she had finally entered the Nine Saints Hall, she still had to suffer alongside him.
Besides, crossing several mountains just to learn the sect rules was indeed asking too much of her.
He sighed inwardly, then suddenly turned to look at the dark-robed figure who had not yet departed from the table. “Zhu Zhao.”
Zhu Zhao paused in her tracks.
The Seventh Elder spoke with a beaming smile, “Aren't you headed to Fuguang Platform to run some errands in a bit? Why don't you take my little disciple along with you? She doesn't know how to fly on a sword yet, and she doesn't really know the way.”
Song Yao's hand holding the bowl trembled.
She would rather crawl there herself than have Second Senior Sister take her.
However, Zhu Zhao had never been one to meddle in other people's business, so she would probably refuse—
Yet, Zhu Zhao cast a glance at her. “Let's go.”
The moment the words left her mouth, a loud, sharp screech suddenly echoed from the distant mountains.
The sound pierced through the clouds, startling a flock of mountain birds into flight.
Glowing light surged from the horizon, wrapping around a massive figure that approached from afar at an astonishing speed.
Song Yao's smile completely vanished.
It was a very ugly giant bird.
Its wingspan was a full thirty feet. It should have had an extremely majestic appearance, but its feathers were sparse and patchy, and its skin was covered with a layer of newly grown down.
It was very obvious.
This was the Black Bird, the spirit beast of her Second Senior Sister, whose feathers she had plucked clean back then.
The Black Bird landed, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Song Yao shielded her bowl and coughed twice. Looking up, she saw the Black Bird's dark gold eyes staring intently at her.
Song Yao immediately looked away. “...”
It doesn't recognize me, it doesn't recognize me, it doesn't recognize me...
Yet in the next moment, the Black Bird let out an angry screech, sharper than before, making everyone's eardrums ache.
Fortunately, Zhu Zhao glared at it.
The Black Bird's screech cut off instantly, leaving only a few aggrieved rumbles in its throat.
It shrank its neck, its dark gold eyes still staring resentfully at Song Yao, but at least it didn't dare to screech anymore.
Zhu Zhao withdrew her gaze and looked at Song Yao again.
“Get on.”
Her tone brooked no argument.
An invisible force wrapped around her and tossed her onto the bird's back.
The Black Bird's back was broad. Although its feathers were sparse, it was still a relatively stable ride.
It was just clearly unwilling; the moment she landed, its body gave a shudder.
In the next moment, Zhu Zhao landed beside her.
Her robe fluttered, lightly brushing against Song Yao's arm, carrying a faint, cool fragrance.
“Let's go.”
The Black Bird spread its wings and soared into the sky.
The fierce wind whipped against their faces as the mountains retreated rapidly beneath them.
Rate on N.U.
