By the time she finished her three thousand repetitions, the sky had turned completely dark. A faint luminescence lit up from the stone pillars surrounding the sword-practice platform.
Shen Qingci sheathed her sword. Her entire body was so sore and weak she could barely stand, and she instinctively wanted to turn and collapse into her Senior Sister's arms. But just as she took a step, she caught sight of an extra figure standing at the edge of the sword-practice platform out of the corner of her eye.
Shen Hanzhou was standing in the darkness of the night, though it was unclear when she had arrived.
Seeing the Eldest Young Lady finish her practice, Shen Hanzhou stepped forward to report, “Eldest Young Lady, Ancestor Tinglan sent word. The Great Yan Dynasty has agreed to cooperate.”
Shen Qingci was slightly startled, her eyes lighting up. “So fast? I thought we'd have to drag it out for a few more days.”
Shen Hanzhou glanced at Fairy Chi nearby, swallowing back the words that were at the tip of her tongue.
Great Yan wanted to force an imperial princess onto the Eldest Young Lady as a personal maid. If she said this in front of Fairy Chi, the Eldest Young Lady would probably have to sleep in the inner chamber tonight.
She simply switched to voice transmission, planning to explain everything in just a few sentences.
The matter had actually gone quite smoothly.
Once Ancestor Tinglan sat at the negotiating table, letting her early stage Void Refining cultivation pressure wash over them, the Great Yan Dynasty's Soul Transformation ancestor didn't even dare to breathe heavily.
Spirit stones, mineral veins, stationed troops, jurisdiction—they went through them item by item, and the other party agreed to everything without a single word of nonsense.
Yet, right after the contract was signed, that ancestor must have had a screw loose. He approached with a flattering smile, saying he wanted to send the dynasty's imperial princess to the Eldest Young Lady as a maid.
He subtly hinted that the imperial princess was exceptionally beautiful, gentle-natured, and had been trained in court etiquette since childhood, making her the perfect choice to serve by her side.
Ancestor Tinglan didn't lose her temper on the spot.
She set down her teacup and merely asked, “Is sending the imperial princess the Great Yan Emperor's idea, or is it your own?”
Not catching the underlying tone, the ancestor chuckled and said it was the Emperor's idea, adding that the imperial princess herself admired the Shen family's Eldest Young Lady and was willing to serve her.
And then, Ancestor Tinglan made her move.
Her first punch shattered the negotiating table, her second punch blasted that ancestor into the wall, and her third punch thrashed the Great Yan Emperor, who had rushed over upon hearing the commotion...
After the beating, she packed them up and threw them to Great Yan's border defense line, where the beast tide happened to be short on hands. An early stage Soul Transformation and an early stage Nascent Soul—free labor was too good to pass up.
From beginning to end, Ancestor Tinglan only said two things.
“Does this seat's niece lack an imperial princess from your Great Yan Dynasty to serve her?”
“You want to curry favor with the Northern Region Shen Family so badly? Fine. Go work at the border for five thousand years, and this seat might consider sparing your lives.”
Shen Hanzhou added, “With the Great Yan Emperor thrown to the border, Ancestor Tinglan placed the imperial princess on the throne on the spot, saying that having a female emperor in power would make it more convenient to deal with the Shen family.”
“If the Eldest Young Lady sets off now, you might still make it in time for the Empress's coronation ceremony.”
Shen Qingci fell silent for two breaths.
Truly, there was no escaping idiots anywhere!
“Send a reply to my Aunt for me. The matters of Qinghe County are fully entrusted to her and my clan uncle. I won't be attending the coronation ceremony. Have Aunt send a congratulatory gift on behalf of the Shen family, and prepare the gift list according to the standards of a third-rate subordinate family.”
As she finished speaking, Chi Yuan rose from the stone bench, closed the sword manual, and tucked it into her sleeve. She walked over to Shen Qingci's side and nodded slightly to Shen Hanzhou.
“Senior Sister?” Shen Qingci turned her head to look at her.
“I will head back first,” Chi Yuan said. “You and Enshrined Guardian Shen still have official business to discuss. It is inconvenient with me here.”
Shen Qingci was stunned for a moment.
Hanzhou had used voice transmission just now. With her Senior Sister's Golden Core cultivation, it was impossible for her to intercept a divine sense transmission.
Her Senior Sister had likely noticed Hanzhou's hesitant demeanor and her sudden switch to voice transmission. She must have deduced some clues on her own and chose not to expose them to avoid making things difficult for her.
She reached out to take her Senior Sister's hand, but Chi Yuan took half a step back, avoiding her touch.
“There's no need for Senior Sister to avoid us,” Shen Qingci frowned. “We're family, you can listen to everything.”
Chi Yuan shook her head. “I know your feelings, A-Ci.”
“But some things can wait until we have met the Shen Family Head and your mother, and our official status is settled.”
The string in Shen Qingci's mind snapped with a loud buzz.
Official status???
Senior Sister had mentioned their official status.
Senior Sister had taken the initiative to bring up their official status.
These words were more intoxicating than all their fooling around on the crane's back combined. She stood frozen on the spot, her mind filled with nothing but the words “official status” rolling over and over.
She didn't even notice when her Senior Sister turned and returned to the cave dwelling.
Standing to the side, Shen Hanzhou found it incredibly novel to see the Eldest Young Lady in such a rare state of daze.
The Eldest Young Lady had always been calm, reliable, and sophisticated in front of them. Yet at this moment, her face was filled with the bewilderment of someone newly in love, making her seem much more vibrant and alive.
Shen Hanzhou was genuinely happy for her Eldest Young Lady. She cupped her hands in a salute and tactfully teleported back to her own cave dwelling. Before leaving, she did not forget to notify the hidden sentries on the perimeter of the sword-practice platform to withdraw three miles outward.
“Shadow One, the Eldest Young Lady needs to be alone.”
“Understood.”
Shen Qingci stood on the sword-practice platform for a long time.
The night wind blew her hair wildly, and she raised her hand to smooth it down, her heart pounding like a drum.
Senior Sister had just said, “once our official status is settled.”
What comes after that?
She didn't dare think any further.
That night at the Lingquan Annex, her Senior Sister had said she would see how she performed once she reached Foundation Establishment... and today she said they had to meet her parents and settle their official status first.
Her Senior Sister had probably already planned everything out in her heart: first reach Foundation Establishment, then propose, meet her parents, and settle their official status.
Once their official status was settled, it would be the Dao companion ceremony, and after the Dao companion ceremony, it would be...
Shen Qingci buried her face in her palms.
She had never realized before that she had the potential to be a lovesick fool.
No, it should be called being “Chi-obsessed.”
Ever since the day they first met, her soul had been constantly thinking of her Senior Sister.
A single glance, spanning ten thousand years.
She covered her face, her cheeks burning hot. She squatted down and held the sheath of Jinglei, drawing circles on the stone slab.
【Finished, completely finished.】
【Senior Sister is the true master of flirting with “Ci”, striking a fatal blow without making a sound.】
After squatting for a good while, she finally stood up, the restlessness in her heart not fading in the slightest. There was no way she could meditate in this state; her mind repeatedly replayed the image of her Senior Sister looking down as she spoke of “official status.”
She had to find something to do to cool herself down.
Gacha!
Gacha was the most effective!!!
Let a screen full of gray “Thank you for playing” wake her up.
But her thoughts remained in disarray.
Shen Qingci calmed her mind, put away her scabbard, and turned to walk toward the inner chamber.
She wouldn't go to the main room tonight.
The flutter in her chest stirred up by her Senior Sister's words was still blocking her throat. If she went over now, she was afraid she would cause a commotion that she wouldn't be able to clean up.
There was no rush to get close to her Senior Sister tonight; she should sort out the matters at hand first.
Stepping into the inner chamber, she fished an incense burner out of her storage ring, placed it on the low table by the bed, and inserted three sticks of Mind-Focusing Incense.
Flicking her finger to release an ignition talisman, curls of blue smoke slowly rose. She intended to use this incense-burning to make her first request to the system.
Shen Qingci sat cross-legged, raised both hands to her forehead, and called out in a pinched voice, “System Mama!”
There was no response.
She cleared her throat twice, switched back to her original voice, and made a wish: “System Mama, your host daughter wants a suitable territory for the Shen family to take root.”
“A pocket dimension fragment or a spatial immortal artifact would do. If we have to settle for less, a large-scale secret realm is also acceptable.”
“It needs to have abundant spiritual energy, and inside, there must be demon beasts, spirit beasts, spiritual plants, and spiritual mineral veins... the kind that's enough for a group of top-tier hidden families to cultivate in for a long time.”
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