Cultivate With Me

Hearing Su Qing's words, Bai Yuhe was clearly stunned for a moment.

After a short while, she finally understood what Su Qing was talking about.

She smiled slightly and said, "Are you talking about that Bodhisattva? I didn't feel like there was much worth mentioning, mostly because I couldn't even be sure if she really was a Bodhisattva. However, everything she said has come true so far. Oh, right, she did claim to be Guanyin Bodhisattva! I don't know if it was true. By the way, Sister, why are you so curious about this?"

Su Qing shook her head slightly and replied, "Nothing special. I just simply wanted to know which sacred being told you those things. Tell me how it all happened."

Bai Yuhe looked at Su Qing with a puzzled expression, then smiled and nodded. "Of course I can. But, Sister, could you let me finish getting dressed first? I'm a little cold..."

Su Qing nodded awkwardly and sat down on a nearby chair.

She stopped getting in the way of Bai Yuhe's dressing.

As Bai Yuhe changed, she recounted the events of that day to Su Qing...

Su Qing listened intently, without a hint of distraction.

Unfortunately, Su Qing didn't get the answers she wanted from Bai Yuhe's perspective, nor did she clarify what she had hoped to understand.

"As expected, the one who tied the knot must be the one to untie it. I'll have to ask Senior Guanyin in person when the time comes," Su Qing thought helplessly.

"That's pretty much how it went... Did you notice anything of interest, Sister?" Bai Yuhe, now dressed in a beautiful indigo gown, sat beside Su Qing and watched her lost in thought.

Su Qing shook her head slightly.

Seeing this, Bai Yuhe smiled helplessly. "That's a pity."

"By the way, you seem to enjoy staring at my face quite a bit?" Su Qing asked curiously, noticing her constant gaze.

"I couldn't see your face in my past life, but I can in this one. Why shouldn't I look? Besides, you are so beautiful, Sister—like gentle spring water. Who could easily look away?"

Bai Yuhe said with a beaming smile, "So, did you come for anything else today? If not, I have a few things I'd like to discuss with you."

Su Qing asked, "Oh? Tell me your matters first."

"The wedding, of course! How do you want to handle it? And when do you want it to take place?"

"I'll leave all of that entirely to you."

"Is that so? Good! Since you've said that, I'll take full responsibility," Bai Yuhe said. "So, what was it you wanted to say?"

"Well, you should know... I am an immortal, right?"

"Of course I know! After all, what mortal could live for so many years? Although I don't remember exactly how many years have passed since then, there's no doubt that you must be several hundred years old by now, Sister."

Bai Yuhe tilted her head and asked, "But Sister... why bring this up suddenly? Are you trying to use this as an excuse to break our agreement? I'm not worried about you being an immortal!"

"I'm not trying to break the agreement..." Su Qing looked at her and said, "I'm telling you this because I intend to bring you onto the path of immortality as well."

Bai Yuhe froze, looking at Su Qing. "Are you serious, Sister? I am but a mere mortal. How could I practice the Dao of Immortals?"

Su Qing chuckled, reaching out to lift the girl's chin. "Then do you know where those immortals come from?"

"They are born that way, naturally."

"No. Many immortals were once mortals who cultivated, and many were even animals. It's just that some became immortals, while others became demons," Su Qing explained, shaking her head.

"So that's how it is? But... can I really cultivate?"

Su Qing stood up and walked to the window, watching the falling leaves and the traces of the wind.

"Cultivation is certainly possible. Reaching the Divine Immortal Realm within a hundred years shouldn't be an issue."

But after those hundred years pass...

It's hard to say how much of that Divine Immortal power will remain.

Su Qing added silently in her heart.

After all, in a hundred years—or perhaps even less—the Great Heavenly Tribulation would arrive.

When that time came, how many cultivators would be left in this world?

Even among the top powerhouses, how many would survive?

Would she herself be among the survivors?

Su Qing didn't know...

This was actually one of the reasons why she had suddenly changed her mind last night and agreed to Bai Yuhe's proposal.

With the Great Heavenly Tribulation looming ahead, the difference in lifespan between her and a mortal didn't seem quite so vast anymore.

At the very least, the remaining time they had seemed roughly the same.

As for why Su Qing still chose to teach Bai Yuhe cultivation...

On one hand, it was because she still held onto a glimmer of hope. Perhaps in a few decades, the cultivators would find a way to survive the Great Heavenly Tribulation together? Or perhaps she would find a way herself?

In any case, one could not give up hope.

On the other hand... she wanted Bai Yuhe to retain her current appearance.

This was actually her primary consideration.

If Bai Yuhe remained a mortal, she would still grow old. Even with Face-Preserving Pills, her bodily functions would continue to decline. External aids were just that—external. Only having one's own cultivation truly mattered.

Furthermore, Su Qing didn't want to watch Bai Yuhe slowly wither away. Having experienced such things before—more than once—Su Qing understood the pain of it better than anyone.

Besides, even if she didn't mind, wouldn't Bai Yuhe?

What woman would want to watch her own face slowly age while the person beside her remained unchanged?

Su Qing didn't believe Bai Yuhe's claims from the other night for a second. She was the person who understood these matters best, simply because she had lived so long.

After considering everything, Su Qing chose to let Bai Yuhe cultivate.

Even if she couldn't reach the Divine Immortal Realm, attaining the Human Immortal Realm would make her far from an ordinary mortal. Even a Human Immortal had a lifespan of three hundred years and possessed some ability to maintain their youth.

Bai Yuhe didn't know the extent of Su Qing's deliberations. She was simply overjoyed that Su Qing wanted to teach her and that she could actually cultivate.

"Will you be the one teaching me, Sister?"

Bai Yuhe looked at Su Qing by the window with a beaming smile.

She was happy—so happy that the gap between her and her sister was narrowing once again.

She wasn't just happy about the prospect of becoming an immortal; she was happy that, in addition to being physically close to her sister, their souls could draw even closer.

Su Qing nodded slightly. "Before I leave the Women's Kingdom to continue the journey to the Western Heaven, I will teach you diligently. However, I can't say for sure how much you'll be able to learn in this time!"

"But even if you don't learn much, don't worry. Once I finish retrieving the scriptures, I will come back to continue your training."

Bai Yuhe nodded vigorously. "That is wonderful! This King is very happy~"

Su Qing smiled and returned to Bai Yuhe's side. She produced several secret manuals and placed them before her. "Since you have no objections, let's not waste any time. We start now!"

Bai Yuhe: "...???"

"Start now?"

"Naturally! My days in this kingdom are limited, so we must begin as soon as possible!"

"Actually, there's no need to be in such a rush!"

"No, you can't be lazy. Cultivation is no simple matter; we must seize every moment." Su Qing shook her head and pointed at the manuals on the table. "Alright, let's begin!"

"Ah?!"

Hearing this, the previously joyful Bai Yuhe's face turned slightly bitter.

She had only just gotten out of bed, and she already had to start studying without a moment's rest?

However, her helplessness lasted only a moment before she began to study seriously with Su Qing.

After all, the prospect of immortality held considerable allure for her. Besides, no matter how difficult cultivation was, it couldn't possibly be that hard starting from the written theory, right?

However... Bai Yuhe was wrong.

Cultivation was indeed extremely difficult, starting right from the written theory. The level of complexity was not low at all.

After all, cultivation had never been an easy task, especially for someone being introduced to it for the first time.

Time passed quickly.

After an entire afternoon of study, it was finally time for dinner.

Seeing that the hours had slipped away, Su Qing finally let the girl off the hook.

Cultivation required a balance of work and rest. Pushing her too hard wouldn't necessarily yield good results.

So, when the time was right, she left Bai Yuhe's bedchamber and returned to the side of Chaoyan and the others. This would also give Bai Yuhe time to digest everything she had learned today.

Besides, Su Qing had other business to attend to tonight! She couldn't forget about that.

After Su Qing left, Bai Yuhe—who had been put through the wringer all afternoon—slumped onto the table, looking utterly drained.

She felt as if her head was stuffed with obscure, difficult concepts and incomprehensible knowledge. It gave her an immense headache.

Was she stupid?

She could govern a country so well; naturally, she wasn't stupid. A fool couldn't be a good king. However, this cultivation knowledge was completely beyond her.

These things were far too advanced, entirely new, and incredibly dense. For Bai Yuhe, it was undeniably hard to learn.

She could clearly recognize every single character on the page, but when they were put together, she didn't understand them at all.

Fortunately, the day hadn't been entirely without gain. Although there was still very little she fully understood, she had managed to grasp a few things. It was a good start.

After dinner, Bai Yuhe sighed with relief, thinking she could finally rest. She turned to head toward her bed, intending to collapse and sleep until dawn.

However, just as she stood up, a nearby maid said, "Your Majesty, it is not yet time for rest."

Bai Yuhe: "Huh?"

"Your Majesty has been preoccupied with other matters these past two days. The memorials and official documents have not been reviewed! If you want to rest, you must first finish these documents; otherwise, the backlog will become a problem."

The maid continued, "Furthermore, if the Retired Emperor finds out, he will surely summon Your Majesty for a scolding."

Bai Yuhe let out a long sigh...

Who said being a king was easy?

"Sigh, I know... bring the documents here. I'll handle half of them today and do the rest tomorrow," Bai Yuhe said helplessly.

Though she was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to ignore it all, as a king, she didn't have the luxury of being willful. Especially in these matters, she had no right to be reckless. No matter how tired she was, the documents had to be signed. At the very least, she couldn't let them pile up indefinitely.

On the other side, after Chaoyan, Jingyue, and the others had fallen asleep, Su Qing mounted her Somersault Cloud and headed toward the South Sea.

Just before leaving, she noticed the lights were still burning in Bai Yuhe's chamber and couldn't help but be a bit surprised.

"That girl seems to really enjoy cultivation. It's this late, and she's still reading by lamplight."

Su Qing smiled. After a moment of surprise, she sped away on her cloud. She didn't stop or disturb her. After all, she had to go to the South Sea Purple Bamboo Grove to see Guanyin Bodhisattva!

The Somersault Cloud was incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, Su Qing had arrived outside the South Sea Purple Bamboo Grove.

Outside the grove, a youth in green robes was waiting. Seeing Su Qing descend from her cloud, he hurried forward to greet her.

"Greetings, Sovereign!" the youth said.

Su Qing found this a bit strange and asked, "And you are?"

"Oh, I am a disciple of Guanyin Bodhisattva, known as Hui'an Xingzhe. My lay name is Muzha... I am Nezha's second brother," Muzha reported his titles as if reciting family treasures.

Su Qing's lip twitched slightly. "There's no need for such a detailed introduction. But since you're waiting here, did Senior Guanyin tell you to wait for me?"

Muzha nodded slightly. "Master told me to wait here for you, Sovereign."

"Oh~ why didn't she send the Dragon Girl to wait for me?" Su Qing couldn't help but ask.

After all, it was usually the Dragon Girl waiting for her. There had to be a reason for the change today, right?

Muzha looked a bit embarrassed, but since he couldn't refuse to answer a senior, he replied, "Because Master was worried that you would kidnap the Dragon Girl, so she sent me to wait instead."

"..." Su Qing was speechless for a moment.

When did Senior Guanyin become so stingy? Besides, she had never tried to kidnap the Dragon Girl! Her interactions with the girl had only amounted to a few dozen sentences at most.

Su Qing sighed helplessly. "Fine, it doesn't matter who waits for me. Take me to see your master. But while we're walking, you might as well tell me more about the Dragon Girl."

"Is the Sovereign interested in Sister Dragon Girl?" Muzha asked.

"I'm just curious why Senior Guanyin always thinks I want to kidnap her! I clearly haven't done anything!"

Muzha: "..."