Wancui wanted to rub her eyes, wondering if she had gone mad from cultivation lately and was experiencing hallucinations.
But on second thought, how could someone in the Qi Refining stage have inner demons?
Was she resentful that the food in the Miscellaneous Chores Yard tasted bad, or was the private treatment Senior Sister Shen gave her not good enough?
As a miscellaneous disciple with a four-element spiritual root, being able to cling to Senior Sister's thigh was already a stroke of extreme luck; she lived better than ordinary inner sect disciples, so what else could she be dissatisfied with?
【Yes, Senior Sister Shen's choice must be right. If the outcome is too far-fetched, someone must be causing trouble behind the scenes.】
【Isn't it just that fellow senior and junior sisters have an age difference of over a hundred years, and Senior Sister Shen looks like she's only just reached the hair-pinning age!】
What was there to be shocked about? It was just a small matter.
After finishing her mental preparation, Wancui carried the sword box into the side room with an unchanged expression, tucked it securely into the third shelf of the cabinet, and then stepped out quietly.
Qinghe finished moving the potted plants and waited in the anteroom with Wancui.
Shen Qingci looked around, clapped her hands, and turned to ask Chi Yuan, “Senior Sister, look, is there anything missing? I can have someone prepare it.”
Chi Yuan stood up from the side, walked up behind her, and said softly, “A-Ci, take a break. Nothing is missing, you decorated it very well.” Saying so, she reached out and wrapped her arms around Shen Qingci's waist from behind.
Shen Qingci's back pressed against her senior sister's chest, and her entire body was enclosed in a slightly cool embrace.
She was slightly stunned.
【Senior Sister actively hugged me! ₊⁺♡₊⁺~】
At Blood Thorn Ridge, she had shamelessly burrowed into her embrace, and at Lingquan Annex, she was dizzy from the medicine's effects. Returning to the sect, this was the third time her senior sister had taken the initiative to draw close.
Was it because she had been busy decorating the main room just now, and her senior sister was satisfied?
Shen Qingci curled her lips, placing her hand over Chi Yuan's clasped hands in front of her stomach, wanting to enjoy this sweet moment for a bit.
Suddenly, she felt the arm behind her waist tighten a bit, the force clearly pulling her back.
She followed her senior sister's gaze and looked forward.
Directly opposite was the empty wall where the Snow Peak Landscape Painting had not yet been hung, next to it was a pile of seven or eight gold-woven cushions, and the display shelf was packed with spiritual porcelain teaware...
Shen Qingci blinked.
Oh, not satisfaction.
Her senior sister was afraid that if she kept decorating, there wouldn't even be room to stand in the main room.
“Senior Sister~” she let out a couple of dry laughs. “Your junior sister just wanted to make this place a bit more comfortable, since we'll be living here for a long time in the future.”
“It's already very comfortable.” Chi Yuan's voice came from right behind her ear, her breath brushing against her earlobe, making her shrink her neck from the tickle. “If we add more things, we'll have to sleep on the stone benches outside.”
Guiltily, Shen Qingci squeezed her senior sister's hand. Chi Yuan let go of her and led her to sit on the couch.
Shen Qingci leaned over naturally, resting on her shoulder.
The room quieted down, and Shen Qingci lightly raised her voice. “Senior Sister, when you joined the sect, did you receive meeting gifts from the various Martial Uncles?”
Chi Yuan lowered her eyes to look at her. “Yes.”
“The items from Sect Master Martial Uncle and Martial Aunt Liu were the most valuable. Frostchill was obtained by Martial Aunt Liu spending a lot of effort to ask a high-rank artifact refiner to forge it personally.”
Shen Qingci sat up straight and listened intently.
Chi Yuan's gaze fell on the mind-calming wind chimes as she continued to recount the past.
“As time went on, Martial Aunt Liu gradually grew distant from me. When I was young and ignorant, I used to secretly wonder if it was because my aptitude was shallow and I was unworthy of Master's personal disciple status, and thus disliked by Martial Uncle.”
“It wasn't until Master personally gave me a hint that I knew where the problem lay. ‘Master said she owed Martial Uncle’...”
“So I didn't look into the underlying reasons any further.”
Shen Qingci detected some old secrets.
Now it seemed that this involved the grievances of the previous generation, a hidden thread that was not expanded upon in the original plot.
She pulled back her thoughts, intentionally showing a trace of grievance, speaking in a sour tone. “Wow, Senior Sister had a meeting gift, but I've been in the sect for several months and haven't even seen a hair of the Martial Uncles.”
Chi Yuan heard that she was trying to liven up the atmosphere.
Her little junior sister was like this; whenever the atmosphere turned somber, she would always find ways to pull it back, like a piece of honeyed candy, quietly stuffing one into your mouth.
“It's fine, you have me, Eldest Senior Sister, and Master's...” Chi Yuan followed along with her words. “Besides, A-Ci's family background is extraordinary; perhaps the Martial Uncles were afraid of losing face.”
“That's different!” Shen Qingci shook her head. “Meeting gifts from elders are a gesture of goodwill. Only when some things are mixed with self-interest can one see the warmth and coldness of human relations.”
Hearing this, Chi Yuan's eyelashes trembled slightly.
Her junior sister wouldn't bring this up for no reason; she was using different ways to warn her.
The loophole in the Mission Hall's intelligence, Lu Beichen disguising himself to sneak into the Dao Discussion Conference, Sect Master Martial Uncle counter-accusing... these events strung together all pointed to the undercurrents at the upper levels of the sect.
Her junior sister was afraid that her sword heart was too pure, that she wasn't good at reading people's minds, and would suffer a loss without even realizing it.
Chi Yuan raised her eyes, meeting Shen Qingci's worried gaze. “My sword heart is pure. If one day my sword heart is clouded, Frostchill will also leave me.”
This frank statement actually made Shen Qingci feel even more uneasy.
Her senior sister's sword dao was incomparably upright, breaking all techniques with her original heart, never touching devious or underhanded ways. But this purity was a glaring target in sect infighting.
“I know Senior Sister's purity.” She drew closer into Chi Yuan's embrace, burying her cheek in her senior sister's shoulder, her voice muffled. “But my sword dao is not pure!”
Chi Yuan looked down at her.
Her little junior sister's crown rubbed against her chin, fluffy and soft.
“It matters not. Senior Sister will wait for A-Ci to slowly grow up.”
Shen Qingci buried her cheek even deeper.
Her senior sister only thought she was sighing about the polishing and tempering of her cultivation realm.
Only she knew.
What she was talking about was scheming and calculations.
Her sword dao was not restricted to the righteous path; she was well-versed in planning, layout, and manipulating human hearts.
In the future, she would continue to make moves in the sect.
Such a scheming nature, compared to her senior sister's pristine and flawless sword heart, was exceptionally glaring.
But her senior sister said she would wait for her.
Then she would take it slow.
Wait until she cleared out all the people who needed to be cleared, until her senior sister no longer had to guard against the hidden arrows of fellow disciples.
At that time, whether her sword dao was pure or not, what would it matter?
Shen Qingci raised her head from Chi Yuan's embrace and asked, “Senior Sister, what kind of temperament does Martial Aunt Liu actually have?”
Chi Yuan pondered for a moment, choosing her words carefully. “Martial Aunt Liu cared deeply about Master. When I was small, I often saw her coming to Wanjian Peak to seek Master to discuss the Dao and contemplate mysteries.”
“Martial Uncle specialized in illusion arts, and her temperament was usually more straightforward and upright than ordinary sword cultivators. In the past, when Master was in seclusion, she waited outside the cave dwelling for a full three months just to hand over a thousand-year phantom-heart grass in person, saying it would be beneficial for tempering Master's sword intent.”
“Only, later...” Chi Yuan paused. “One day, Martial Aunt Liu smashed Master's cave dwelling. After that, I never saw her come to Wanjian Peak again.”
After listening, Shen Qingci raised her eyebrows, slapping her palm on the edge of the couch. “Senior Sister! Martial Aunt Liu likes Master!!!”
Chi Yuan opened her mouth, wanting to argue, but found herself with nothing to refute.
Shen Qingci followed up. “She liked her so much that she resented everything associated with her, even holding a grudge against you by extension.”
Rate on N.U.
