Chapter 8

Feng Ning said nothing for a long while, so Xie Wenyin thought she did not want to go. Just as she was about to say that not going was fine too, she saw the other woman draw her outer robe up a little, then stand from the bamboo reclining chair.

“Where to?”

Xie Wenyin immediately perked up. “Let’s go to the mountaintop to admire the moon!”

“Are you perhaps planning to push this Venerable off the cliff?” Feng Ning said carelessly.

“I’m wronged, Senior Sister! I wouldn’t dare!!” Xie Wenyin was truly afraid Senior Sister would think that, and for a moment, she even stammered.

The next moment, however, she saw Feng Ning curl her lips. A hint of teasing rose in her eyes, and then she walked toward the courtyard gate, indicating for Xie Wenyin to follow.

So she was teasing me. Xie Wenyin’s heart leaped with delight. Senior Sister actually had this side to her too.

She trotted after her the whole way, and the person in front silently slowed her steps.

In the darkness, Huaiyu watched as Xie Wenyin and Feng Ning left the small courtyard together and headed toward the mountaintop.

A Ning actually let Xie Wenyin keep her company? She’s clearly stupid and wicked.

…What right does she have?

He bit his lower lip tightly without saying a word, a cold shadow flashing through his eyes.

—

Standing at a high place, the silver disc hung in the sky, as if it were within reach. Moonlight poured down like white silk, illuminating the mountaintop until it was almost as bright as day.

A sea of clouds surged beneath their feet, while distant peaks stretched endlessly. The beautiful scenery stirred the heart.

This kind of scenery could only be found on Yuechu Peak.

But what truly rendered Xie Wenyin speechless was the person standing in the moonlight.

Feng Ning stood sideways to her, facing the bright moon. Every strand of her hair seemed coated in silver frost. The night wind lifted her robes and loose strands of hair, and Xie Wenyin felt that Senior Sister must be a deity who had just walked out of the moon palace.

She could not move her eyes away.

“Have you looked enough?”

Feng Ning’s voice cut through the sound of the wind and landed clearly in Xie Wenyin’s ears.

She unconsciously pressed her somewhat dry lips together and answered honestly, “Not enough.”

“…”

[System notification: Senior Sister’s favorability +5.]

Feng Ning turned her head away, avoiding Xie Wenyin’s gaze. She leaned against the huge rock at the side and lifted her eyes, staring at the full moon in a daze.

Xie Wenyin lifted her skirt with both hands and gently came to her side, afraid that making too much noise would disturb the deity.

“Senior Sister, I won’t look for free. Why don’t… your junior sister sing you a song? Consider it repayment?”

Feng Ning’s beautiful eyes shifted, and her gaze stopped on Xie Wenyin.

The corners of her eyes were slightly upturned, as if she were born with a trace of charm and languor. This was the first time she had looked at Xie Wenyin so seriously, and Xie Wenyin inexplicably grew a little nervous.

In Senior Sister’s eyes, she saw her own slightly awkward reflection.

“Sing, then. I’m listening.”

After saying that, Feng Ning moved her gaze back toward the full moon.

Xie Wenyin cleared her throat, thinking about what she should sing.

Many modern songs surfaced in her mind, but she was afraid that if she really sang them, Senior Sister would think she had gone mad.

And so Xie Wenyin had no choice but to recite all the poetry she had learned throughout her life, then pair it with a tune that sounded somewhat strange, singing it awkwardly.

Although the song was a little odd, Xie Wenyin was singing very seriously. She only hoped Senior Sister would not dislike it.

As she sang “yi-yi-ya-ya,” she quietly observed Feng Ning’s reaction.

When the song ended, the mountaintop fell silent again. Xie Wenyin rubbed her hands together, looking forward to Feng Ning’s evaluation.

A trace of expression finally appeared on Feng Ning’s face, which was usually calm all year round. She frowned, looking as if she disliked Xie Wenyin’s singing.

“Truly unpleasant.”

Xie Wenyin pursed her lips and gave an “oh.”

[System notification: Senior Sister’s favorability +8. Current favorability: -200.]

The system notification that sounded in her mind immediately made Xie Wenyin beam.

“Senior Sister, stop being so stubborn. You clearly thought it sounded very good, hehe.”

Xie Wenyin’s laughter was bright and carefree, her eyes curving into crescent moons. It was as if even the surrounding air had been dyed with her cheerful energy.

Feng Ning could not help curling her lips.

“The lyrics were decent. You were the one who sang them dry and stiff, like scraping the old dead calluses peeling off an old woman’s heels. It grates on the ears.”

…Huh???

Before Xie Wenyin could react, Feng Ning walked to the edge of the cliff, waved at her with her back turned, and then rode her sword away.

This was the first time Xie Wenyin had heard Feng Ning say such a long sentence. She simply had not expected Senior Sister’s attack power to be this strong!

Wasn’t Senior Sister supposed to be a cold, aloof immortal lord?? Why was her mouth so poisonous?

An old woman’s foot skin… Hahaha.

—

After that night, Xie Wenyin began cultivating even harder.

She knew Senior Sister’s inner demon was extremely unstable. If she wanted to help Senior Sister eliminate her inner demon, she had to rely on her own strength to enter the inner sect. Only then would she have the opportunity to look through the secret collections in the library pavilion.

Perhaps she could even obtain a chance to go to another sect as an exchange student. At that time, she would definitely gain a great deal.

With a clear goal, Xie Wenyin felt that the path of cultivation was not all that arduous.

The outer sect recruited many new cultivators. Most of them did not know Xie Wenyin, so they naturally did not know the original host’s annoying past.

They often exchanged cultivation experiences with Xie Wenyin, and their relationships actually became quite good.

That day, Xie Wenyin arrived at the arena early and practiced swordsmanship together with a small puppet figure enchanted with immortal arts, continuing until noon.

“Senior Sister Xie, you’re really amazing. In just a few months, you’re actually about to break through to the Golden Core stage.”

The two junior sisters nearby watched Xie Wenyin’s diligent appearance and felt ashamed of their own inferiority.

Xie Wenyin sheathed her sword and smiled a little sheepishly.

She had worked quite hard, yes, but this was mostly thanks to the double-cultivation ability the system had given her, which had gradually allowed her to shake off her identity as “trash Xie Wenyin.”

Seeing that Xie Wenyin was about to rest, the junior sisters beside her leaned in with mysterious expressions.

“Senior Sister Xie, Xiao Ying and I heard something.”

Seeing how cautious the two of them looked, Xie Wenyin could not help finding it funny.

She could not help thinking: In front of Senior Sister, she did not act this silly too, right?

“What is it? Tell me.”

The two of them had been waiting for Xie Wenyin to say this, and they immediately asked,

“We heard that Senior Sister Xie used to be Moon Goddess Immortal Venerable’s junior sister. Is that true?”

Xie Wenyin nodded without hesitation. “Yes. What about it?”

“Then… how did you… how did you end up in the outer sect?”

“Xiao Ying, don’t ask it like that…”

The two girls tugged at each other, seeming to feel that asking so directly about Xie Wenyin’s private affairs was not very good.

But Xie Wenyin herself did not mind much. In any case, those things from the past had all been done by the original host, not her.

“It’s fine. In the past, I was ignorant, incompetent, arrogant, and tyrannical. Later, I figured things out and voluntarily asked to begin again as an outer sect disciple.”

The two of them listened in a daze. They truly could not imagine that this Senior Sister Xie before them, who worked so hard at cultivation, had once been such a debauched and unruly person.

But what the two cared about even more was Xie Wenyin’s relationship with Lord Moon Goddess.

“Senior Sister Xie, I’m so envious of you. You were able to become Moon Goddess Immortal [stolen content]Venerable’s only junior sister!”

“Yes, yes. The rumors about the Moon Goddess are simply my must-read material before bed… So strong and so beautiful…”

Xie Wenyin thought that she was quite envious of the original host too. Someone that awful had actually become Feng Ning’s junior sister.

The female cultivator named Xiao Ying continued, “Especially Moon Goddess Immortal Venerable and Divine Lord Huaiyu’s stunning love story…”

Before she could finish speaking, the junior sister beside her excitedly cut in. “Ahhh, you read that illustrated storybook that’s been exploding in popularity at the bookshop too?”

The moment this was said, the two of them completely opened the floodgates and began discussing the plot of the storybook.

Xie Wenyin finally understood. Recently, at a bookshop outside Moyu Sect, an illustrated storybook about Senior Sister and Divine Lord Huaiyu had become extremely popular among cultivators.

…Hmph. It’s just a storybook. It’s not even real. Xie Wenyin stood with her arms crossed, somewhat unconvinced.

The two of them chatted for quite a while before remembering that Xie Wenyin was still present. They scratched their heads in embarrassment, then turned toward Xie Wenyin again.

“Senior Sister Xie, the two of us heard that Moon Goddess Immortal Venerable is about to become Dao companions with Divine Lord Huaiyu. Is that true?” The two of them widened their eyes, looking at Xie Wenyin expectantly.

Xie Wenyin suddenly lifted her head. “Who did you hear that from?”

“Senior Sister Xie, you’ve been cultivating so hard, so it’s normal that you haven’t heard. But right now, everyone in the sect is spreading the news that those two immortal lords are about to become Dao companions…”

Xie Wenyin felt her body stiffen, her head buzzing.

Senior Sister was getting married? How was that possible…

All right, it really was possible. Huaiyu’s relationship with Senior Sister was already very good. He could even call Senior Sister A Ning… It would not be strange for them to become Dao companions.

Thinking of this, Xie Wenyin suddenly felt unable to summon any energy.

She said she was tired from cultivating and said goodbye to the two of them first.

All the way back to her room, Xie Wenyin kept thinking about Senior Sister and Huaiyu.

She felt Senior Sister deserved someone better, not to hastily marry Huaiyu. Then she thought about the scene of herself mentioning Huaiyu in front of Feng Ning. Senior Sister had not seemed happy at all. On the contrary, her inner demon had increased.

Xie Wenyin kept feeling that something about this was wrong.

She stopped walking, turned around, and headed toward Yuechu Peak.

After cultivating for half the day, Xie Wenyin’s waist ached and her back hurt. As a result, when she rode her sword, she nearly lost her footing and fell several times.

In the end, she made it up Yuechu Peak without danger.

But before Xie Wenyin could knock on the courtyard gate, the servant sweeping outside informed her that Senior Sister had left Yuechu Peak before dawn and gone with Elder Wen to reinforce the Demon-Locking Seal.

A wasted trip.

Xie Wenyin could not help feeling a little discouraged. She squatted foolishly alone at the entrance of the small courtyard, like a puppy abandoned by its owner.

After sitting there blankly for a while, she sniffed and stood up.

A thought suddenly flashed through her mind. Without delaying for even a moment, Xie Wenyin rushed down the mountain.

By the time she arrived at the bookshop outside the sect, the sky was nearly dusk.

Xie Wenyin strode inside, and the first thing that entered her eyes was the best-selling illustrated storybook of recent days—The Cold Moon Goddess and Her Handsome Husband.

…What kind of nonsense title is this! Vulgar! Ugly!

The woman behind the counter, who was tidying the bookshelves, heard the sound and put down her work, then came forward with a smiling face.

“This immortal master, are you looking to buy anything?”

Xie Wenyin glanced at her, then slammed her hand on the counter.

“Boss, wrap up this book… The Cold Moon Goddess and Her Handsome Husband for me. I mean wrap up all of them. Don’t leave a single copy behind!”

The boss was startled by her stance. Seeing that she was not here to cause trouble, but was instead a big customer, the corners of her mouth almost stretched to the back of her ears.

“You… you’re sure you want to buy all the stock?”

Without hesitation, Xie Wenyin directly untied the pouch at her waist. This bulging money pouch contained several months of disciple allowance she had saved up.

The boss took the money pouch and happily went to pack the books for her.

Although spending so many spirit stones made her heart ache, Xie Wenyin felt extremely pleased.

Hmph. With not a single copy left in stock, let’s see how you cultivators who neglect your proper duties buy it, and how you read it!