Both of them had prepared themselves as if facing a formidable enemy, only to see Beili return with a tiny toddler.
The little girl, looking only about five years old, was soft and adorable. Her hair was tied into neat double buns, and her face still carried a touch of baby fat.
Although she wore a solemn expression, her childish appearance made it impossible for anyone to take her too seriously.
Yun Xiange was dazed, wondering why Wen Jingshu was five years old instead of eight.
Fu Sinian felt a pang of guilt for his preconceived notions of an overbearing junior sister.
With such a well-behaved and sweet appearance, she certainly didn't look like a bad person.
“Sinian, Xiange, this is the closed-door disciple I have taken in, Wen Jingshu. Her nickname is Shushu. Shushu, this is your Second Senior Brother Fu Sinian, and your Third Senior Sister Yun Xiange.”
Wen Jingshu bowed to the two of them. “Greetings, Second Senior Brother. Greetings, Third Senior Sister.”
The two snapped back to reality and responded stiffly, “Greetings, Junior Sister.”
“Alright, Shushu must be tired after a long day of traveling. I will take her to rest now.”
Knowing that Wen Jingshu was coming, Beili had long since found a prime spot with excellent feng shui and built a house for her.
Whether it was her sister who was an Eighth-Grade Alchemist, her heavenly lightning spiritual root, or the fact that Wen Jingshu herself was incredibly endearing, Beili was extremely fond of this young disciple.
Fu Sinian and Yun Xiange watched Beili lead Wen Jingshu away, their feelings highly complex.
They had never seen their master show such care and affection toward anyone.
Even their Eldest Senior Brother, who had grown up by his side, and Fu Sinian himself had never enjoyed such pampering.
“Junior Sister is too young, and she's a girl. It's only natural for Master to look after her more,” Fu Sinian muttered.
Yun Xiange heard Fu Sinian's unconvincing explanation but didn't expose him. After bidding him farewell, she returned to her residence in a daze.
Wen Jingshu? It must be that Wen Jingshu!
Even if she had changed her name, she could still recognize her—she was the female lead of this world!
Perhaps because she was an outsider, she could clearly sense that Wen Jingshu was completely different from them!
If asked to describe it, she couldn't, but if she had to explain, it was simply an intuition.
It was just... Wen Jingshu's sudden appearance had caught her completely off guard. She needed to think carefully about what to do next.
Wen Jingshu had no idea that her arrival would disrupt the dynamics among the master and disciples of Hidden Star Peak. She looked at her small courtyard with excitement, highly satisfied.
“This is the chore disciple I found for you. You can assign any miscellaneous tasks to her in the future.”
Hearing her name, Xu Zhizhi bowed to Wen Jingshu and said, “Disciple Xu Zhizhi greets Little Senior Sister.”
“My good disciple, rest well. Tomorrow, I will teach you your mental mantra.”
Wen Jingshu nodded and said, “Master, could you give me a few outer sect disciple tokens? When I go out, I will need some identities as a disguise.”
In addition to the outer sect disciple tokens of the Qingyun Sect, Wen Jingshu also held several Pill Sect disciple tokens in her hand—some for the outer sect, some for the inner sect, and even one for a personal disciple.
These would all serve as her alter egos in the future!
Hearing Wen Jingshu's request, Beili was taken aback for a moment before understanding her intentions. He gave a nod of assent and flew away on his sword.
Wen Jingshu watched her master leave, then turned to Xu Zhizhi.
“Give me a brief introduction to the rules here.”
Hearing the soft, sweet voice, Xu Zhizhi looked up in surprise and saw a five-year-old toddler.
Such a young Little Senior Sister?
Perhaps because the child's appearance was completely non-threatening, Xu Zhizhi's voice softened slightly as she said:
“Although there are many disciples in the Qingyun Sect, there aren't actually that many rules. However, there are some people you need to pay extra attention to. They are...”
Xu Zhizhi was an outer sect disciple with a five-element spiritual root.
Although outer sect disciples had no contact with the inner sect, they were the most well-informed when it came to gossip. She immediately listed a series of troublemakers for Wen Jingshu.
Unsurprisingly, these troublemakers were all young masters and young ladies from major clans, or second-generation cultivators like her.
Compared to these troublemakers, she was practically a model child.
As the younger sister of an Eighth-Grade Alchemist, had she bragged about it?
With a dual top-grade spiritual root and an Innate Immaculate Spirit Body, had she become complacent?
Wen Jingshu listened with great interest, treating it purely as a way to gather information.
After all, she was also a second-generation cultivator; there was no need for her to tread carefully around them.
If they came looking for trouble, she would definitely hit back.
“This is your reward.”
Before Xu Zhizhi left, Wen Jingshu tossed a storage bag to her.
Xu Zhizhi froze upon catching the storage bag. Before she could react, Wen Jingshu had already returned to her room and shut the door.
In the cultivation world, high-level cultivators or those of noble status often had the habit of tipping low-level cultivators when they went out.
The Wen family, whose philosophy was to prioritize peace and keep a low profile—resolving issues with money whenever they could to get rid of petty people—also had a habit of giving rewards.
Wen Shuyi had even prepared an entire storage ring of "tips" specifically for Wen Jingshu.
Items they looked down upon might very well be a massive stroke of fortune for low-level cultivators.
The storage bag Wen Jingshu gave to Xu Zhizhi was of the lowest grade. Its space wasn't large, and it didn't require blood ownership, but it was still much better than the one Xu Zhizhi currently used.
Opening the storage bag, she saw a bottle of Rejuvenation Pills, a bottle of Qi-Gathering Pills, and a Second-Grade spirit sword inside.
Generally speaking, a bottle of pills corresponded to a single batch. For grades below the Fourth-Grade, a bottle contained ten pills. A Fourth-Grade bottle contained five, a Fifth-Grade bottle contained three, and anything above Fifth-Grade contained only one.
Wen Jingshu had casually given her twenty pills!
With Xu Zhizhi's modest net worth, she couldn't afford pills at all and could only buy herbal powders and medicinal decoctions, let alone a Second-Grade spirit sword.
Whether she kept these three items for herself or sold them, they represented an extra fortune.
As expected of the younger sister of a Second-Grade Alchemist! She was incredibly generous!
Xu Zhizhi was overjoyed, her respect for Wen Jingshu deepening even further.
It had certainly been worth all the effort she put in to snatch the opportunity to serve a personal disciple!
Xu Zhizhi happily returned to the outer sect with her storage bag. Su Yun, unable to bear the sight of her gloating, mocked her:
“What is there to be proud of in kissing the boots of a personal disciple?”
Knowing exactly what kind of person Su Yun was, Xu Zhizhi sneered. “Still better than you trying to fawn over an inner sect senior brother and failing miserably.”
She hadn't stolen or robbed. Bowing down for spirit stones was nothing to be ashamed of.
Besides, what she had received was far more valuable than spirit stones.
Exposed, Su Yun flew into a rage and pointed a finger at her. “You...”
Xu Zhizhi was in too good a mood to bother with her. After retorting, she turned and walked back to her own room.
A wonderful item like a Qi-Gathering Pill was something she had only received once when she first joined the sect. Now, Wen Jingshu had given her ten of them! And they were all high-grade!
With these ten Qi-Gathering Pills, she would definitely be able to break through to the second layer of Qi Refining!
The next day, as soon as Wen Jingshu woke up, she received a voice transmission from Beili, telling her to go to the main hall.
“Shushu, today I will impart to you the Heaven-grade lightning-attribute mental mantra, the Abyssal Lightning Decree.”
Hearing Beili's words, Wen Jingshu's eyes sparkled even brighter.
It was here! The Heaven-grade lightning-attribute mental mantra she had been looking forward to had finally arrived!
The Intelligence Awakening Pill, combined with her thousand years of experience, allowed Wen Jingshu to easily comprehend the mental scripture Beili was teaching her.
Seeing how easily Wen Jingshu handled it, Beili couldn't help but delve into more profound concepts, yet Wen Jingshu was still able to digest them perfectly.
She was even able to offer insights that caught him completely off guard.
Just as the master and disciple were enjoying their exchange, a female voice drifted in from outside:
“Master, your disciple has some questions she would like to ask.”
The expression on Beili's face dimmed slightly.
It was quite a buzzkill.
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