"Pop—"
A crisp crack exploded in the bamboo forest.
The spiritual liquid bubble in Xiao Yan's palm suddenly burst. Emerald juice slid down the bridge of his nose, hanging from his chin like a precarious droplet. He blinked his green-stained eyelashes, his expression frozen in a comical moment.
"My disciple..." He wiped his face, his voice suddenly turning abnormally gentle. "This question... who told you to ask it?"
Li Nanzhu's heart raced—this reaction from her master was a clear sign something was wrong!
"No one made me ask." She looked Xiao Yan directly in the eye. "It's just that you said earlier the Five Elements Array could block void refinement stage cultivators..."
Xiao Yan once again used his fan to hide his face. "Did I say that?" He gave a dry laugh. "You must have misheard. Your master said soul transformation stage..."
Meanwhile, his mind was spinning like a top.
What do I do, what do I do, what do I do? I think I accidentally let it slip! She's so smart, will she figure something out? Why can't I keep my big mouth shut?!!
Li Nanzhu stared at Xiao Yan for a long while before suddenly sighing. "Master, do you know that when you lie, you always like to hide your face with your fan?"
"What?!" Xiao Yan hastily snapped his fan shut and tucked it away. "Impossible! A face as handsome and dashing as your master's must be displayed at all times."
Suisui clattered its bone claws, its soul fire dancing cheerfully, clearly agreeing with Li Nanzhu.
"See, even Suisui noticed." Li Nanzhu gazed at Xiao Yan, seemingly waiting for an answer.
Xiao Yan's eyes dimmed, and he followed with a bitter smile. "Disciple, sometimes being too smart isn't a good thing..."
A long silence fell over the bamboo forest. A firefly landed on Suisui's skull, its ghostly green light flickering in tandem with the soul fire.
"I cannot say," Xiao Yan finally spoke, his voice hoarse. "At least not now."
Li Nanzhu keenly caught the keyword. "Now?"
He looked up at Li Nanzhu, his eyes filled with a clarity she had never seen before. "Your current cultivation is too low." He paused, then added, "Disciple, promise me one thing."
"Please speak, Master."
"Before you reach the soul transformation stage, do not look deeper into these matters." Xiao Yan's voice carried an unprecedented gravity. "And do not tell Feng Yi... do not tell anyone that you met me, not even those closest to you."
Li Nanzhu wanted to argue, but she froze when she saw her master's eyes—there was a deep sorrow hidden within them, not for himself, but for her.
Li Nanzhu opened her mouth, but her rebuttal died on her tongue as she met Xiao Yan's gaze.
The sorrow in his eyes was too heavy. She suddenly realized this grief wasn't for him—his gaze pierced through her pupils, landing on a distant future related to her.
Her knuckles unconsciously dug into her palm. How was she supposed to tell him that for her, the soul transformation stage was nothing more than a mirage? Not just because of the shackles of her triple spiritual roots, but because her goal had never been longevity.
She strove to grow stronger only to save others, to successfully kill Cang Dongqing, to ensure that the others wouldn't repeat the endings in the original story, and to change everything.
That... had always been her goal. Once it was all over, she didn't even plan on living for very long.
The two-thousand-year lifespan of the soul transformation stage was far too long, and far too bitter. She had already suffered for over twenty years; the prospect of such a vast, impenetrable stretch of time terrified her. She was truly afraid of undergoing a struggle that was hundreds of times more painful and prolonged.
Suisui suddenly squeezed between the two of them, grabbing their hands with its bone claws. Inside its skull, the Life-Giving Creation Pearl emitted a warm green glow. This suddenly reminded her of the day she drew qi into her body, and the surging vitality that had washed over her.
Li Nanzhu blinked... Suisui...
"Fine." Li Nanzhu closed her eyes, eventually nodding. "But I have one condition."
Xiao Yan arched an eyebrow.
"You must stay alive," she said, emphasizing every word. "Wait until I reach the soul transformation stage and tell me everything. I don't want to be kept in the dark like a fool."
The bamboo forest suddenly went still.
A bamboo leaf spiraled down onto the stone table between them, making a faint rustling sound.
Xiao Yan blinked, then suddenly burst out laughing. "What kind of condition is that?" He ruffled Li Nanzhu's hair. "Your master is still waiting for the day you bring the name 'Qingming Pill Venerable' back to glory!"
Suisui spun around happily, its bones clacking together crisply.
She let out a long breath, her tense shoulders finally relaxing.
"So now..." she drawled purposefully, "can Master tell me what the next lesson is?"
Xiao Yan was instantly revitalized, his fan snapping open. "Naturally, we first learn how to deal with your master's pranks!" He leaned in mysteriously. "Like this—"
Pop!
Li Nanzhu was quick, using her teacup lid to block the pink powder flying toward her face.
"Nice reflexes!" Xiao Yan's eyes widened in surprise. "It seems that even if the Five Elements Dao Sect only has you few, you haven't become rigid!"
Suisui curiously poked the powder on the table, and its bone claw immediately turned bright pink, causing it to clatter in fright.
Li Nanzhu shook her head helplessly and gently placed the lid back on the cup. The tea inside rippled in a circle.
Xiao Yan thought she was going to say more, but instead, Li Nanzhu suddenly stood up, smoothed her robes, and under his bewildered gaze, knelt down with a flick of her skirt.
"The first bow, to the legacy of the master's Dao!"
Thud—
When Li Nanzhu's forehead first touched the cool stone, Suisui finally realized what was happening and stopped playing. Its claws trembled, spilling half a cup of tea onto its own pelvis. Li Nanzhu vaguely recalled the cultivation novels she had read before transmigrating; those protagonists never sounded like they were actually hitting their heads that hard during their apprenticeship ceremonies.
"Disciple, you..."
"The second bow, to the master's teachings!"
Thud—
After the second bow, Xiao Yan's fan clattered onto the stone table. He instinctively reached out to stop her, but froze mid-air—the girl's lowered neck was pulled into a stubborn arc, her hair still holding bits of grass from their earlier antics.
"The third bow..." Li Nanzhu paused, looking at her master's wavering reflection in the tea, and suddenly changed the words.
"To the master's grace in saving my life."
A debt of life. It wasn't just for hiding Suisui's presence, but for giving her a reason to live a little longer.
Thud—
After this final kowtow, Suisui finally reacted, scrambling to kneel beside her. In the process, its claw caught on its own toe bone, and it collapsed into a pile of bones on the ground.
After the third thud, Li Nanzhu straightened her back, holding the teacup high with both hands above her brow. "Disciple Li Nanzhu requests Master to take tea."
The tea rippled in the cup, reflecting Xiao Yan's trembling fingertips. They shook even more than the kneeling girl's. When he reached out to take it, he realized his nails had unknowingly dug deep into his palms.
"This gesture... is too heavy." His voice sounded as if it came from a great distance.
He had never thought he would one day receive a formal apprenticeship tea. He had originally planned only to pass on the inheritance so his mission would be complete. Calling her his disciple was just... a way to ensure the legacy continued better. But now...
On the other side, Suisui finally reassembled itself and tilted its head to look at Li Nanzhu's solemn profile.
The morning light filtered through the bamboo leaves, casting fine shadows over her eyelashes, which were still dusted with dirt from the ground.
Li Nanzhu suddenly thought of Feng Yi's hurried figure back at the Five Elements Dao Sect; she had never performed an apprenticeship ceremony for him.
On the day he brought her to the sect, he had simply handed her over to her eldest senior brother. Feng Yi always seemed busy, never even giving her a chance to offer him tea. During their few meetings, she hadn't known how to bring it up.
Pushing aside her messy thoughts, Li Nanzhu spoke again.
"In my hometown, we call this the formal tea offering," Li Nanzhu said, maintaining her posture. "By drinking this cup, you truly become my master."
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