Chi Yuan's brow twitched slightly, but in the end, she didn't speak.
Shen Qingci leaned back onto her senior sister's shoulder and sighed, “Sigh, Master's ill-fated relationship!”
Chi Yuan raised her hand to pinch the skin on the back of a certain someone's neck. “A-Ci, don't make up stories about Master.”
“How am I making up stories?” Shen Qingci shrunk her neck and laughed. “Your junior sister is just stating facts.”
“Think about it, Senior Sister. If she didn't like Master, why would Martial Aunt Liu go to such lengths to trade for the Frostchill sword, and why would she wait outside the cave dwelling for three full months just for a single phantom-heart grass?”
“Later, when she smashed the cave dwelling, it seemed like a clean break, but in truth, it was more like a heartbreaking fallout because she couldn't get what she wanted.”
Chi Yuan pondered it carefully, and surprisingly, everything aligned perfectly!
A rare trace of helplessness appeared on her face.
She had an extremely high comprehension of the sword dao, but she was still quite ignorant when it came to matters of the heart.
In the past, she had only thought of Martial Aunt Liu's actions as a deep bond between fellow sisters, never thinking of it any other way.
Now, after her junior sister's analysis, she realized just how dense she had been back then.
“A-Ci, Master's fallout with Martial Aunt Liu might have been because of me.” Chi Yuan closed her eyes. As a witness to those events back then, she could actually sense a thing or two.
Martial Uncle's favoritism toward her when they first met was definitely genuine.
Seeing her senior sister's expression suddenly dim, Shen Qingci wished she could chew up and swallow the words she had just said.
She cursed inwardly.
【Curse my gossiping competitiveness! Why did I have to open my big mouth!】
“Senior Sister, how could that be possible? Master and Martial Aunt Liu have been fellow disciples for nearly a thousand years. How could their bond be so fragile that it would break at a single touch?”
Chi Yuan opened her eyes. “I am fine. Master has her own considerations. I was... just overthinking things.”
Shen Qingci carefully scrutinized her expression, and only after confirming that her senior sister wasn't just forcing herself to act tough did she let out a sigh of relief.
“Then, Senior Sister, let's rest.”
However, Chi Yuan collected her thoughts and said solemnly, “We cannot.”
“Our trip to Blood Thorn Ridge has already neglected your cultivation. Tonight, I will watch over you as you meditate, and tomorrow morning, you will wake up in the middle of the Yin hour to practice your sword. In the middle of the Mao hour, I will send you to the Dharma Academy...”
Shen Qingci's lips parted slightly, her expression instantly freezing.
【Why is this different from the cohabitation life she had imagined?】
She had originally planned that after moving in, she would steal an extra half-hour of sleep next to her senior sister every day, and upon waking up, she could snuggle in her embrace and laze around in bed for a while.
Occasionally, she would ask for a morning kiss and act spoiled to get her senior sister to comb her hair.
Instead, she was slapped with a “study schedule” on the very first night!!!
Chi Yuan saw that A-Ci wasn't moving and raised her hand to give her forehead a light flick. “Why are you dazed? Meditate.”
“Oh~ ಠ╭╮ಠ”
Shen Qingci clutched her forehead, obediently sat cross-legged, and closed her eyes to circulate her cultivation technique. Chi Yuan sat opposite her and also entered meditation.
The night passed in silence.
The next morning, in the middle of the Yin hour, while the sky was still dark, Shen Qingci was scooped out of the blankets by Chi Yuan.
With her eyes closed, she threw on her robe; with her eyes closed, she tied her sash; and with her eyes closed, she was led to the sword-practice platform by her senior sister.
It wasn't until the clear ring of the Frostchill sword leaving its sheath sounded that she abruptly opened her eyes...
In the middle of the Mao hour, on the mountain path of Wanjian Peak, Shen Qingci hopped down from the Frostchill sword, a thin layer of frost clinging to the hem of her robes.
Chi Yuan sheathed her sword and said, “A-Ci, I will come pick you up after class.”
Just as Shen Qingci was about to reply, she heard a few disciples who had arrived just in the nick of time gathering and chattering at the entrance of the Dharma Academy.
“Hey, have you guys heard? Senior Sister Shen returned to the sect yesterday.”
“Ah! Senior Sister Shen is back? That's wonderful! Being able to see her every day will give me so much motivation to cultivate.”
“That's not the point. The point is that she came back together with Senior Sister Chi of Wanjian Peak, and they were holding hands, fingers intertwined. Senior Sister Qin saw it with her own eyes and said that the way Senior Sister Chi looked at Senior Sister Shen was completely different from usual.”
Several disciples gasped in unison.
One of them hurriedly waved their hands. “Hey, hey, hey, don't spread wild rumors. What's wrong with fellow senior and junior sisters being close? They're both female cultivators; walking arm-in-arm is perfectly normal.”
“Stay away from me. Aren't you afraid of being beaten to death by Gu Qingyi and the other four if you dare spread rumors about Senior Sister Shen?”
“I've been wronged! How is this a rumor? This matter was already spread all over Wanjian Peak yesterday, and Senior Sister Qin saw it with her own eyes.”
The disciple at the very front tugged at their sleeve and muttered, “How is that possible? Senior Sister Shen just turned sixteen. Don't make Senior Sister Chi sound like such a... beast. No matter how poor sword cultivators are, they still have some sword bone. She wouldn't make a move on her own junior sister, would she?”
The moment the word “beast” landed, Shen Qingci's eyelids twitched violently.
She turned her head to look at her senior sister behind her.
Chi Yuan's right hand rested on the hilt of her sword. Frostchill remained sheathed, but her knuckles had already tightened.
Before her senior sister could speak, Shen Qingci took a few steps forward.
Hearing the movement, the disciples turned around together. Upon seeing the newcomer's face and Chi Yuan standing behind her, everyone's expressions instantly froze.
The disciple who had said “beast” had a mouth open wide enough to fit an entire spiritual fruit. The two next to them instinctively took half a step back, and the person at the very back had already swallowed their apology back down their throat.
“Se-Senior Sister Shen...”
Shen Qingci's gaze swept over their faces one by one, finally landing on the disciple who had said “beast.”
The disciple's legs turned to jelly under her stare, and they stammered, “Senior Sister Shen, I... just now, I...”
“What did you say?” Shen Qingci asked.
“I said... said...” The disciple swallowed hard, desperately darting their eyes toward their companions on both sides, hoping someone would help them out.
The companions all lowered their heads in unison, staring at their tiptoes, playing deaf and dumb.
Chi Yuan withdrew her hand from her sword and stepped forward two paces to stand side-by-side with Shen Qingci. She said, “Fellow disciples, please continue.”
The disciple's eyes nearly turned red with tears.
The original intention was to defend Senior Sister Chi, but with a slip of the tongue, such harsh words had come out.
Now, with the actual subjects right in front of them, any explanation would only add fuel to the fire.
Looking at her “the sky is falling” expression, Shen Qingci could no longer maintain the stern face she had kept all morning and burst out laughing.
The disciples were all stunned.
Shen Qingci stopped laughing, leaned in close, and lowered her voice. “What you said isn't entirely wrong. However...”
Her eyes curved slightly as her gaze swept over Chi Yuan beside her. A sly smile, visible only to the few in front of her, curled the corners of her lips.
“You guessed backward. The beast isn't Senior Sister—it's me!”
The group: “...(*ﾟﾛﾟ)!!”
The disciple at the very front had their pupils contract sharply, their jaw nearly dislocating. The others next to them jerked their heads up, the shock and blankness on their faces not yet fully faded.
Shen Qingci straightened up and reminded them in her usual tone, “The bell for class is about to ring. Aren't you junior sisters going in?”
As if granted a grand amnesty, the group slipped away as fast as their feet could carry them, scurrying through the gates of the Dharma Academy.
Chi Yuan stood in place, her deep gaze fixed on the back of her little junior sister's head.
Shen Qingci turned around and met her gaze directly, her eyes full of innocence. “After all, I was the one who pestered you first, Senior Sister.”
“A-Ci, I did so willingly as well.”
“Dong~ Dong~ Dong...”
The bell signaling the start of classes at the Dharma Academy echoed through the mountains.
Chi Yuan put aside the rest of her words, only raising her hand to smooth out her little junior sister's collar.
Shen Qingci stood obediently, letting her senior sister tidy her up.
Chi Yuan withdrew her hand and gently instructed, “Go on in. I will come find you once your classes are over.”
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