Upon hearing this, Jinglei let out two reluctant hums, feeling even more sour inside.
Favoritism!
It was blatant favoritism toward the younger one!
It wanted to complain to Senior Sister and Frostchill.
Bad master, a fickle, bad master who loved the new and discarded the old.
Seeing that it was still stubborn, Shen Qingci put on a serious face. “Let me ask you, how many good things has Aunt fed you over these past four years? Speak up.”
Jinglei's blade stiffened, and its hums grew quiet.
“You're almost at Earth-grade Low-rank, aren't you?” Shen Qingci tapped the back of the blade with her knuckles. “Your sword spirit is almost fully formed, yet you're still acting all jealous.”
“Think about it. Once Shiyi also reaches Earth-grade Low-rank and gets its own sword spirit, I'll pair it with an Earth-grade scabbard. The four of you—you, your scabbard, Shiyi, and its new scabbard—will all have intelligence. Wouldn't it be great to get together at one table?”
The tip of Jinglei spun half a circle, as if weighing her words.
Shen Qingci continued to coax, “At that time, I'll give you all a monthly allowance. You can buy whatever spiritual ores you want without having to answer to anyone.”
“Occasionally, you can even gather to play a few rounds of mahjong. Living your own cozy little lives would be much better than staying cooped up in the sword chamber all day.”
“I'll even have Qinghe clear out a sunlit sword chamber, lay down soft carpets, and give each sword its own spot so no one has to squeeze.”
Jinglei was swayed.
The trembling on its blade instantly quieted down, and its tip tilted toward Shiyi.
“It accompanied me through life and death on the Soul-Severing Cliff for four years. It killed Purple-Necked Lightning Vultures, severed lightning pythons, and even blocked rogue cultivators trying to rob and kill me...”
“Without it, I would have died several times over.”
Shen Qingci's tone softened. “As the big sister, surely you won't actually squabble with a little sister who hasn't even gained sentience yet?”
Jinglei let out a couple of squeaks, the end of its tone curving upward, seemingly pleased by the double meaning of “length.”
It flew over slowly, using its pommel to gently scrape against Shiyi's blade. The meaning was as clear as day: Sister Shi, Sister Lei is covering you, but I'm the boss.
Just as Shen Qingci drew Shiyi and Jinglei into her dantian, her aunt's voice transmission came from outside: “A-Ci, are you packed up? It's time to head back to the Azure Cloud Sect.”
She pushed open the door and stepped out.
Shen Tinglan sized her up from head to toe, nodding in satisfaction. “Not bad. You finally look like a proper human being.”
Ji Linlang smiled gently from the side. “Now that Qingci has formed her core, she will have few rivals among those of the same realm. I only hope your path of cultivation is smooth, your lightning techniques progress, and you exercise more caution when facing trouble, rather than risking your life on sheer courage alone.”
Shen Qingci said respectfully, “Thank you for your kind words, Aunt Ji.”
Ji Linlang's gaze fell upon her wrist, her voice gentle and soft. “After forming your core, your meridians are much wider than they were during the Foundation Establishment stage. However, having just undergone the cleansing and reshaping of your spiritual root, it is not advisable to engage in full-strength combat for the first three months.”
“Nourishing your dantian with lightning spiritual force for half an hour every day is more effective than taking several Mystic-grade High-rank Origin-Consolidating Pills.”
“This junior will keep that in mind.”
Watching the polite and distant atmosphere between the two, Shen Tinglan felt something was slightly off.
She dismissed the thought; anyway, it wasn't as if the two of them would start fighting.
So, she ordered the guards to adjust their heading, and the flying vessel sailed toward the Southern Region.
Twelve days passed in the blink of an eye, and the outline of the sect was already visible in the distance.
Shen Qingci stood before the porthole, her heart pounding furiously.
She looked down at her hands—fair, with all her old scars completely gone, and her fingers about six millimeters longer than they had been four years ago.
Her newly grown hair was dark and thick, tied up high. She checked her reflection in the glass of the porthole.
She was taller, her face was slimmer, and her jawline was more defined than before.
When her senior sister saw her like this, would she fail to recognize her?
As soon as the thought surfaced, she shook her head.
How could Senior Sister possibly not recognize her?!
Even if she were reduced to ashes, Senior Sister would still recognize her at a single glance.
The flying vessel passed over Yuanling Street, and the mountain gate drew closer and closer. Shen Qingci stared unblinkingly in the direction of Wanjian Peak.
“Aunt, I'll have Shadow One take me to the Sword Tomb first. You should head back to Qinghe County to oversee things. Uncle and Aunt Shuyan are looking forward to your return every single day.”
Shen Tinglan let out a snort. “They're looking forward to my return? I think they're just looking forward to me returning to work like a horse for them.”
Shen Qingci didn't dare to chime in, only staring at her with a pair of pitiful eyes.
Utterly defeated by her little niece's gaze, Shen Tinglan sighed. “Fine, fine, fine, I'll go back. I'll amass more family assets for your future.”
“You've been training outside for four years. Jinglian will keep an eye on things within the Azure Cloud Sect, so nothing major will go wrong.”
“Since I won't be around, be smart. If you run into any real trouble, send a message back to Qinghe County. The family will be at your beck and call.”
As she spoke, she drew two storage bags from her sleeve, handing the first to Shen Qingci. “All of your storage artifacts are in here, and I've had someone restock your pills and talismans.”
Shen Qingci took it and swept her divine sense inside; it was indeed packed to the brim.
She reached out to take the second one.
“This is a Nascent Soul celebration gift for A-Yuan,” Shen Tinglan said. “Dozens of matching Mystic-grade array plates, plus two defensive-oriented Earth-grade Low-rank array plates.”
“She's just coming out of the Sword Tomb, and she'll be traveling all over the world with you in the future. How can she do that without a few decent self-defense items? Hand this over for me.”
Shen Qingci gripped the storage bag tightly. “Qingci thanks Aunt on behalf of Senior Sister.”
Shen Tinglan waved her hand. “Alright, your senior sister will have to call me Aunt in the future anyway. What's a little seclusion-exit gift for her? Go on!”
Shen Qingci delayed no longer and called out, “Shadow One.”
Shadow One emerged from the shadows and placed her hand on the Eldest Young Lady's shoulder.
After a brief spatial tremor, the two vanished from the flying vessel, landing in a desolate mountain hollow northwest of Wanjian Peak.
The entrance to the Sword Tomb was barely a hundred zhang ahead.
As soon as the Eldest Young Lady found her footing, Shadow One headed back to Yunqi Cave first.
She figured that once Fairy Chi emerged from the Sword Tomb, the Eldest Young Lady and Fairy Chi would undoubtedly return to their cave dwelling to get all sweet and intimate... It would be best to have Hanzhou and the others decorate the place in advance.
Shen Qingci didn't notice Shadow One's departure; her divine sense was already focused on the Sword Tomb.
The hollow was excessively quiet. The wind scraped against the stone walls, carrying with it a few faint hums of swords.
She followed the sound and took a few steps forward. Looking up, she saw a blue-gray stone wall with a smooth, flat cut—clearly cleaved directly from the mountain itself.
Embedded in the very center of the stone wall was a teleportation array. On either side stood a five-zhang-tall stone sword golem, their blades resting against the ground, completely motionless.
Suddenly, two more presences appeared behind her.
Shen Qingci turned her head.
The two elders turned the corner of the mountain path, one after the other.
Jinglian carried no sword today. She wore a newly made Sect Master robe, the logo of Yunshang Pavilion still visible on the folded cuffs. She waved her wrist toward her young disciple.
Liu Ruyin walked to her right, half a step behind, with a jade hairpin tucked into her hair.
“Disciple greets Master, Shiniang.” Understanding her master's hint at a glance, Shen Qingci bowed in greeting.
Liu Ruyin was the first to smile. “A-Ci, you returned quite quickly.”
“I thought you wouldn't arrive until tomorrow, but your master insisted that you'd be worried about A-Yuan and fear there might be danger if she emerged from the Sword Tomb early, so you would definitely return today.”
“And so, your Shiniang didn't even have time to brew the spiritual tea in the side hall.”
Rate on N.U.
