Give Them an Inch

Chi Yuan suddenly realized something: Shen Qingci had not left herself any room for retreat from the very beginning.

The concerns she harbored in her heart and the excuses she had carefully prepared had all been thoroughly dismantled by the young girl beforehand. She was as transparent as a thin sheet of paper before her, easily seen through with a single touch.

She looked down, staring at Shen Qingci's bare feet. The cold, hard bluestone tiles were steeped in the morning chill, yet the girl had been standing like this for quite some time.

Chi Yuan finally relented and let out a soft sigh. “Be good. Put your shoes on first.”

Shen Qingci obediently retreated and sat on the edge of the bed. She lifted her legs and swung her bare feet in front of Chi Yuan, her intentions glaringly obvious.

Chi Yuan gave her a look.

There was no helplessness in that look. She simply walked over calmly, knelt on one knee, and picked up the silk socks and short boots placed at the foot of the bed.

Shen Qingci looked down from above as her senior sister knelt before her, meticulously slipping on the silk socks.

When Chi Yuan's hand brushed against her ankle, the light calluses unique to a sword cultivator felt slightly rough, tickling her so much that her toes curled involuntarily.

Chi Yuan's movements paused for a fraction of a second before she proceeded to slip the short boots on and tie the laces.

The laces were tied neither too loose nor too tight, fitting perfectly.

Shen Qingci frantically pounded on the system panel in her mind. Unfortunately, her system was a silent block of wood, incapable of even producing sound effects.

If it could make a sound, it would definitely be playing “Wow, Senior Sister is totally in love!” on loop right now.

Chi Yuan finished tying the laces and stood up. “Don't go barefoot next time. Your feet will easily get cold.”

Shen Qingci blinked.

A cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining could warm up the soles of her feet with just a single circulation of spiritual energy. How could her feet possibly get cold?

Her senior sister was clearly so flustered by concern that her brain hadn't caught up with her mouth.

She tilted her head to look at her, the corners of her lips curling up bit by bit. “Then from now on, will I have to trouble Senior Sister to help me put on my shoes every time?”

“Alright.”

Chi Yuan answered extremely quickly—so quickly that all of Shen Qingci's teasing words got stuck in her throat.

She had thought her senior sister would turn her head away with red ears, or remain silent for a long time before squeezing out a “just this once.” She hadn't expected her to agree so readily.

【Tsk, I miscalculated.】

“Why did Senior Sister agree so quickly?” She leaned in, the tip of her nose almost touching the other's chin.

“Aren't you afraid I'll take a mile if you give me an inch?”

“You always push your luck anyway. One more instance won't make a difference.”

Shen Qingci's heart swelled with warmth. She sprang up from the edge of the bed and threw herself into Chi Yuan's arms. Failing to rein in her strength, the impact forced Chi Yuan to take half a step back before stabilizing herself.

She buried her face in her senior sister's chest, rubbing against it several times.

【Woohoo, so soft!】

【I want to cuddle her, I want to kiss her...】

Chi Yuan's body temperature was slightly lower than average; even through the fabric of her clothes, a crisp coolness could be felt.

However, as the fabric at her chest wrinkled from Shen Qingci's rubbing, a layer of warmth seeped through the coolness. Shen Qingci buried her face even deeper, her nose filled with the scent of frost, snow, pine, and wind that clung to her senior sister.

Chi Yuan instinctively raised her hand upon the impact. Her palm hovered in midair for a moment before finally resting on the girl's back.

“A'Ci, don't bite my collarbone next time,” Chi Yuan's voice drifted down from above.

“It's bruised.”

Shen Qingci looked up from her embrace, her smile guilty.

She naturally knew she couldn't bite a Golden Core cultivator. With her teeth at the Qi Refining stage, she couldn't even break through Chi Yuan's protective spiritual energy.

Yet the bruise on her senior sister's collarbone was real, which could only mean one thing: when drunk, Chi Yuan's subconscious mind was completely defenseless against her.

Her spiritual energy had been restrained and her protective barrier dispersed, which was why a little Qi Refining weakling like her could leave a mark.

“I just couldn't help myself last night,” Shen Qingci mumbled, burying her face back into her chest. “Your eyelashes are so pretty, your nose is so straight, and your lips are so soft. You look beautiful when you're angry, even more beautiful when you're drunk, and still beautiful in the morning when your hair is messy.”

“It would be strange if I could help myself.”

“Nonsense.”

“According to Junior Sister, is being beautiful a crime then?”

“How could it be a crime? It's Senior Sister's blessing,” Shen Qingci giggled. “Otherwise, why would I ignore everyone else and only cling to you, Senior Sister?”

Though her junior sister's mumblings were soft, Chi Yuan was a Golden Core sword cultivator. Her hearing was sharp enough to detect the sound of a falling leaf a thousand paces away, so every single word registered clearly.

She looked down at the fluffy head in her arms, her expression turning slightly complicated.

【Junior Sister is so sure she likes me... Could she have just fallen for my face?】

Chi Yuan reflected on this seriously.

Having lived for over a hundred years, she had never paid any attention to her appearance. Every day had been spent practicing her swordplay. Through wind and rain, as long as she had Frostchill in hand, she never spared a thought for what to apply to her face.

In the past at Wanjian Peak, she didn't even use moisturizing spiritual salves. When her lips chapped during battle, she would simply seal them with spiritual energy and keep fighting.

If her junior sister really liked her because of this face, had she been living a bit too roughly all these years?

She quietly made up her mind. Once they returned to the Azure Cloud Sect, she would have to ask Elder Sun of the Pill Chamber for a few bottles of youth-retaining spiritual salve.

Last time, Elder Sun had nagged her, saying she was “wasting such a beautiful face, going bare-faced all day like an ascetic.” She hadn't taken it to heart then, but thinking about it now, Elder Sun had a point.

Shen Qingci had absolutely no idea that her senior sister's train of thought had traveled all the way from “What on earth does my junior sister like about me?” to “I need to get some good skincare from the Pill Chamber elder when we get back.”

She simply lay in her arms, happily listening to the steady, powerful heartbeat against her chest.

Even if her senior sister hadn't explicitly agreed, she hadn't refused either. Therefore, she could safely assume her senior sister was just thin-skinned and shy.

Shen Qingci stamped this Dao companion relationship in her heart, unilaterally declaring it as “established, pending public announcement.”

As for the timing of the announcement...

There was no rush. She would wear her down slowly. After all, her senior sister couldn't run away.

And if she did try to run...

Hehe, ever heard of confinement play?

The two of them held each other for a full half-hour. Just as Shen Qingci was snuggling comfortably in her embrace, her eyes darted around as a mischievous idea popped into her head. “Senior Sister, want to take a bath together?”

“This room has an active spiritual spring drawn into it. Soaking in it relieves fatigue and crushes spiritual energy. It's incredibly comfortable.”

Just as she finished speaking, Chi Yuan curled her index finger.

A crisp sound rang out—it was the very “Forehead Flick” her little junior sister had babbled about.

“Hiss...”

Shen Qingci clutched her forehead, tears welling up in her eyes. It wasn't because it was particularly painful, but because it was too sudden. Her mind had still been lingering on those indescribable scenes, only to be flicked right in the forehead the next second.

The various yuri scenarios she had read about—“the water is too cold,” “bathing together in the spiritual spring,” “Senior Sister scrubbing your back”—were all instantly shattered and scattered by this single flick.

Chi Yuan withdrew her hand, staring at her expressionlessly. “Does it hurt?”

“It hurts!” Shen Qingci clutched her forehead and looked up with teary eyes, accusing her.

“Waaa, Senior Sister, you're so cruel.”

“I didn't even use spiritual energy,” Chi Yuan remained unmoved.

“That is even worse! The fact that you didn't even bother to use spiritual energy proves you purely wanted to hit me.”

“Yes,” Chi Yuan admitted readily.

She had never experienced romance, but she was no fool.

Back when she was in the Law Enforcement Hall, she had confiscated no fewer than twenty of those dual cultivation manuals that disciples secretly circulated. She could guess about eighty to ninety percent of what was running through A'Ci's mind.