Chapter 5
Ning Chuyu knew nothing about any of this and was still happily rubbing sticks together to start a fire.
She did not find the process troublesome at all. Instead, she found it rather interesting. Perhaps this was simply the optimism of someone who adapted in order to survive.
The sparks gradually grew into a flame. At first, Ning Chuyu worried that the fire might melt the ice, but the facts proved that ice condensed from Zhuo Chen’s spiritual energy was completely impervious to ordinary flames.
Pork belly released its own oil after being lightly fried, and merely hearing the sizzling sound was enough to lift one’s spirits. Ning Chuyu hummed tunelessly and simply used the ice blade as a spatula.
Perhaps because Zhuo Chen had erected a barrier around Qiongding Peak, even the wild boar might have grown into a spirit beast. Despite the lack of seasoning, the meat was delicious, with none of the usual gamey odor—only the natural tenderness and freshness of the meat itself.
Ning Chuyu’s eyes lit up after tasting a piece. She picked up the plate and headed off to find Zhuo Chen. Whether her master would eat it was one matter; showing the proper consideration was another.
However, just as Ning Chuyu reached the first floor, she called out, “Master, would you like to…” Try some of my cooking?
Before she could finish, a fierce gust of wind swept toward her. A door materialized over the entrance to the study, and Zhuo Chen’s voice rang out, cold and indifferent, its tone plainly driving her away. “Get out.”
Ning Chuyu stumbled several steps backward and only steadied herself after colliding with the ice wall. She stared blankly at the door, which had clearly appeared to block her view, feeling both confused and aggrieved.
Had she done something wrong?
Why did Zhuo Chen sound so angry?
Yet an instant later, the door disappeared again. The study looked exactly the same as it had before Ning Chuyu left. Zhuo Chen emerged with an aloof expression and glanced lightly at her. “I was healing my injuries. Why were you looking for me?”
Indeed, although Zhuo Chen’s skin was naturally as white as fresh snow, she now appeared excessively pale, giving her a sickly appearance.
At a loss, Ning Chuyu gestured toward the plate in her hands and hurriedly asked, “Master, are you all right? Were you injured because of me?”
…Noisy.
As expected of a Golden Crow. Even merely possessing its bloodline made her chirp incessantly like a little bird, disturbing Zhuo Chen to no end.
A single silencing look from Zhuo Chen made Ning Chuyu stop speaking. Zhuo Chen refused concisely, “I ceased needing food long ago. There is no need for me to eat.”
She had not intended to say anything more. Yet when she saw Ning Chuyu’s pitiful, expectant gaze, she fell silent for several seconds before adding, “My condition is manageable. Meditating and regulating my spiritual energy will be sufficient.”
“That’s good.”
Ning Chuyu carefully studied Zhuo Chen’s unhealthy complexion. “Then you should hurry and treat your injuries, Master. I promise I won’t disturb you again.”
“There is no need to rush.”
Zhuo Chen crooked a finger, and the storage pouch at Ning Chuyu’s waist flew into her hand. “Before entering seclusion, I must first make a trip to the mortal realm.”
“Hmm? What for?”
Like a dog without the slightest instinct to guard its food, Ning Chuyu did not even glance at the storage pouch. Her concerned gaze remained fixed entirely upon Zhuo Chen. “Would you like me to accompany you, Master? Spiritual energy cannot be used in the mortal realm, and you’re injured. I’m worried about you.”
Zhuo Chen studied Ning Chuyu in surprise, her tone haughty. “This venerable one is the foremost sword cultivator under heaven. Who could possibly injure me?”
“Someone could use poison. Poison doesn’t require spiritual energy to be released, so you should still be careful, Master.”
Ning Chuyu continued chattering until she suddenly remembered something, and her voice rose slightly. “Master, do you remember that fox? She said I possess the Golden Crow’s bloodline and am impervious to all poisons. If you bring me along, I won’t be completely useless!”
She was delighted that she could finally be of some use.
Over the past three hundred years, Zhuo Chen had encountered all kinds of people, yet she had never met anyone as guileless as Ning Chuyu. Even after Zhuo Chen treated her harshly, Ning Chuyu showed no resentment and instead remained entirely preoccupied with her well-being. Perhaps she truly did not know the specific terms of the divine contract.
Even so, Zhuo Chen carefully put away the Complete Compendium of Talismans and Contracts, refusing to give Ning Chuyu any opportunity to see it.
She could not believe anyone would remain unmoved when presented with the temptation of controlling a Spirit Transformation cultivator.
Besides, poison?
Why had Ning Chuyu happened to mention that exact possibility?
And what about that cry of “Sister Zhou Li”? Could she truly know about Zhuo Chen’s past?
Countless thoughts crossed Zhuo Chen’s mind in an instant. She pressed her lips together but still chose to refuse. “I am merely going to the mortal realm to purchase some everyday necessities. There will be no danger. You, on the other hand, are forbidden from leaving Qiongding Peak while I am in seclusion.”
The mountain range was protected by the barrier she had established. As long as Ning Chuyu remained here, she would encounter no danger. Yet that protection also meant confining her within an invisible prison, and Zhuo Chen was unsure whether this lively young woman would outwardly agree only to secretly disobey her.
Ning Chuyu nodded, looking exceptionally obedient. “All right. I’ll wait here for you to return, Master.”
Zhuo Chen had only made this demand because she was concerned for her safety. Zhuo Chen truly was the best master in the entire world!
Seeing this, Zhuo Chen stopped hesitating. She summoned her life-bound sword and departed, her tall, slender silhouette graceful enough that even the hem of her robes looked beautiful as the wind lifted it.
Ning Chuyu finished the pork belly, which had already grown somewhat cold. She discovered that she might only have found it delicious earlier because she had been too hungry. Without any seasoning, it was truly rather bland. Eating it once was tolerable, but if she had to eat it at every meal, she might genuinely lose the will to live.
Besides, without rice or flour, was she supposed to survive on nothing but pork for the next three months?
She had better hurry and learn how to abstain from food.
Ning Chuyu sat down miserably in the open space and began studying the Introductory Mental Cultivation Method for Fire Spiritual Roots. After circulating her spiritual energy through her body once according to the basic method, she was astonished to discover that a considerable amount had truly accumulated within her dantian!
Moreover, it felt icy cold, and its source was clearly…Zhuo Chen.
Although she was completely alone in the ice palace, Ning Chuyu still blushed from her face all the way down to her neck. She struggled to concentrate and tried to refine the spiritual energy.
Transforming ice spiritual energy into fire spiritual energy required reversing the flow through her meridians. Ning Chuyu did not dare attempt it recklessly, afraid that she might cause herself to suffer qi deviation.
Instead, she tried using fire within her body to melt the ice. Once the ice melted into liquid, it gradually vaporized—and she actually succeeded in refining it into her own spiritual energy!
“I’m practically a genius!”
Ning Chuyu beamed as she meditated and regulated her breathing, converting all the spiritual energy she had obtained from Zhuo Chen into the fire element. She even tentatively ignited a tiny flame at the tip of her finger.
The flame was not large, but it was enough to delight Ning Chuyu, a complete beginner in cultivation, for quite some time. Better yet, she would no longer need to rub sticks together whenever she wanted to start a fire!
There was no time like the present. The sky outside was already approaching dusk, and it was time for dinner.
Only after Ning Chuyu went upstairs to the kitchen did she remember that Zhuo Chen had taken the storage pouch. However, some pigskin remained on the counter from lunch. Still caught up in her excitement, she decided to try cooking it.
Ning Chuyu lit the firewood and tossed it beneath the stove, then sliced the pigskin and placed it in the pot. Vaguely hearing a noise downstairs, she raised her voice and called out joyfully, “Master, I learned how to control fire!”
Zhuo Chen appeared beside her in a flash. Without saying anything, she stared at the solid ice, which was already showing signs of melting. Reacting swiftly, she seized Ning Chuyu by the back of her collar and carried her away.
Everything happened so quickly that they had only just landed in the open area when a deafening crash rang out.
The kitchen…collapsed.
Ning Chuyu stared dumbly at the wreckage, then instinctively looked toward Zhuo Chen’s frigid expression. Her voice began trembling. “W-what happened?”
Zhuo Chen could only feel grateful that she had returned in time. How could Ning Chuyu manufacture danger for herself even on such a peaceful mountain?
With this thought, her tone became rather harsh. “Fire melts ice. Do you not understand such basic common sense?”
Ning Chuyu shrank into herself, her fingers helplessly clutching the hem of her clothes. “When I lit a fire at noon, I checked. The ice you created with your spiritual energy couldn’t be melted, Master.”
“Can ordinary fire possibly be the same as fire infused with spiritual energy?”
Zhuo Chen did not mention Ning Chuyu’s Golden Crow bloodline. As a Spirit Transformation cultivator, the ice she created could never have been melted by someone who had not even reached Foundation Establishment, even if their elements countered each other—unless it was due to the divine-bird race’s crushing, almost unfair superiority over humans.
However, Zhuo Chen could not allow Ning Chuyu to learn this, so she merely claimed it was because their spiritual roots opposed one another.
Ning Chuyu lowered her head even farther, almost wishing she could bury it in the ground. “I’m sorry, Master. I failed to think it through.”
“That’s enough. I’m not blaming you.”
Zhuo Chen waved her hand, dispersing the collapsed ice rubble. She then handed over the storage pouch at her waist. “Take it. See for yourself whether there is anything else you still need.”
“Hmm?”
Ning Chuyu raised her head in surprise, once again revising her impression of Zhuo Chen. Was her master truly this magnanimous? She was not even going to punish her?
Ning Chuyu had already mentally prepared herself to be sentenced to three months at Siguo Cliff. Yet when she examined the storage pouch, she discovered that it was now filled to the brim, with many new items neatly divided into separate sections.
There were several changes of clothing, an incomparably sharp sword, all kinds of seasonings, rice and flour suitable for long-term storage, and many butchered spirit beasts placed beside the pork. The block of ice had nearly doubled in size, while another section was filled with edible medicinal herbs.
At the very back was a small pouch filled with nails of various sizes.
Ning Chuyu asked in confusion, “What are these nails for?”
Zhuo Chen was using spiritual energy to sculpt the kitchen anew from ice. Her wrist trembled faintly, yet her voice remained entirely even. “Didn’t you prepare timber? I assumed a mortal would not be accustomed to living here. While I am in seclusion, you may build a house for yourself nearby.”
Everything on Qiongding Peak fell within Zhuo Chen’s perception. She had noticed the excessive amount of timber, as well as Ning Chuyu’s muttering to herself.
Thus, before entering seclusion, Zhuo Chen had visited the nearest town. While complaining inwardly that “mortals were truly troublesome,” she had clumsily prepared all these everyday necessities. She hoped to give Ning Chuyu something to occupy her time and also hoped that Ning Chuyu would keep her word and refrain from causing trouble during her absence.
However, Zhuo Chen did not realize that these actions alone were enough to move Ning Chuyu beyond words. Even her eyes had reddened.
Ning Chuyu bit her lower lip and looked at Zhuo Chen through a blurred veil of tears. She choked out, “Master, it feels like I’m always causing trouble for you.”
After rebuilding the kitchen, Zhuo Chen’s face grew even paler. She waved a hand, unwilling to say more. “Ensuring your own safety would be the greatest help you could give me.”
The hatred born from her family’s massacre was carved into Zhuo Chen’s very bones. She absolutely could not die at this critical moment because Ning Chuyu had dragged her down with her.
“I am going into seclusion to heal my injuries. Remember, you must not leave Qiongding Peak. If something urgent happens, come find me at the place where we first met.”
After leaving this final instruction, Zhuo Chen stepped onto her life-bound sword and instantly receded into nothing more than a speck of light. From this alone, it was clear that she had already slowed down considerably whenever she traveled with Ning Chuyu.
Ning Chuyu chased her as far as the entrance of the ice palace and watched her departing figure. Tears filled her glistening eyes as they trembled, as though her emotion had taken visible form.
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