Chapter 6
“Master! Why did you get here so quickly today?” Yin Wu complained under her breath.
“Greetings, Elder Ming.” Qin Zhiyue hid her surprise and bowed respectfully. “Thank you for helping me before. I will repay the debt I owe you.”
She meant every word. Ming Xueshi had saved her life. If Ming Xueshi ever needed her, Qin Zhiyue would gladly repay her.
Ming Xueshi looked at Qin Zhiyue and smiled gently. “It’s all right. It was no great trouble.”
Knowing Qin Zhiyue had been wrongly accused, how could she have stood by and done nothing? Still, Qin Zhiyue’s earnest thanks made her like the young woman a little more.
She looked at the polite, composed Qin Zhiyue, then at her own disciple with her hair like a bird’s nest. The difference was so great that she closed her eyes in despair.
“Master.” Yin Wu twisted her hands together and fixed Ming Xueshi with an innocent look.
“Nothing you say will help today. I told you to copy out the cultivation manual, and you sneaked out again?” Ming Xueshi was so angry that her temple throbbed. Even her voice grew stern.
Seeing the girl being scolded, Qin Zhiyue felt awkward but could not help trying to soothe things. “Please don’t be angry, Elder Ming. Junior Sister is only acting like a child.”
An odd silence followed. Then Ming Xueshi said grimly, “Yin Wu is over three hundred years old.”
Qin Zhiyue: …
She looked again at the petite girl before her. There was truly no sign of age in her face. Qin Zhiyue did not want to believe she had misjudged someone so badly.
“Senior Sister!” Yin Wu warmly linked arms with Qin Zhiyue. “Let’s add each other as contacts. Come and visit me whenever you have time!”
Ming Xueshi’s face darkened. Almost warily, she stopped Yin Wu from reaching into her storage pouch. “Come back with me.”
Qin Zhiyue paused with her communication talisman in hand, suddenly unsure what to do. She looked at Ming Xueshi. Even angry, the woman’s gentle nature was plain to see.
Ming Xueshi was a good person, Qin Zhiyue thought. It was almost too obvious how good she was.
She had cared for countless outer disciples. She had once been a prodigy herself, but rumor held that she had been gravely injured during an excursion several hundred years ago. Her spiritual root had been damaged, leaving her cultivation stalled at the early Nascent Soul stage.
“Elder Ming, and Junior Sister Yin Wu… I’ll take my leave. I’ll visit another day.” Qin Zhiyue sensed she should not linger and tactfully excused herself.
A few steps away, she could still hear Ming Xueshi scolding Yin Wu in a low voice. “Was tormenting the inner disciples not enough? Must you ask everyone you meet to taste your cooking? You’ll copy everything you studied last month another hundred times.”
“Noooo, Master!” Yin Wu wailed.
Qin Zhiyue slowed. Taste her cooking? This master and disciple pair had remarkably ordinary concerns.
After that little interruption, Qin Zhiyue left the inner grounds without trouble. When she returned to her drafty little cabin, even it felt warm.
Had Xiao Weimian really spent all these years in such a quiet, chilly cave dwelling?
Qin Zhiyue suddenly felt guilty. Had she made Xiao Weimian too poor when she created her? But perhaps that was normal for a sword cultivator. The annual cost of maintaining Frostfall alone was equal to three years of Qin Zhiyue’s disciple allowance.
Unlike Qin Zhiyue’s sword, which was so rusty it could barely cut vegetables.
At that thought, Qin Zhiyue summoned her rusty sword with spiritual energy. She could feel the bottleneck at the late Qi Refining stage loosen slightly, but she was still far from Foundation Establishment.
Advancing even a small stage was immensely difficult, let alone crossing a major threshold like the one between Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment. And she had only three months.
Qin Zhiyue’s frown deepened, then abruptly disappeared. Forget it. She would leave that worry to Xiao Weimian. What could an ordinary person like her do?
The next day, Qin Zhiyue finished her evening lessons, collected the pills she needed to turn in for an outer sect assignment, and was stopped just as she neared Xiao Weimian’s cave dwelling.
“Stop.” An arrogant male voice came from behind her. “Which inner peak are you from?”
Wen Yixi.
Qin Zhiyue raised an eyebrow. She turned slowly, her face showing surprise and uncertainty. “Senior Brother Wen, I-I’m here to see Senior Sister.”
There was little goodwill in Wen Yixi’s gaze. After a moment, he seemed to recognize her. His voice turned cold. “You?”
The sight of Xiao Weimian and Qin Zhiyue together in the cave was still vivid in his mind. Suddenly, this ordinary outer disciple irritated him. He considered himself Xiao Weimian’s childhood friend, and she treated him reasonably well. His association with her had gained him plenty of resources.
Yet she kept him at a distance all the same. What was so special about this outer disciple that Xiao Weimian had even sworn an inner demon oath before Sect Leader Zifei to protect her?
Watching his expression shift, Qin Zhiyue could not help taking half a step back. She had greeted him already. Perhaps she could quietly slip away?
She gripped the pendant hanging at her waist, gave a quick bow, and prepared to run. This time, he stopped her even more sharply.
“Wait! What are you holding?!”
Qin Zhiyue looked bewildered. “It’s… a jade pendant?”
Wen Yixi strode forward, his face so grim that he looked ready to kill her. He snatched the pendant from her waist. “Who gave you permission to parade around wearing this?”
Spiritual energy from the late Foundation Establishment stage began to spread from him. His face twisted, and he made no attempt to conceal his jealousy or displeasure.
“You stole Senior Sister’s pendant!”
Qin Zhiyue rolled her eyes inwardly. Even if he disliked her, could he at least think before accusing her? How could she possibly steal something from Xiao Weimian?
“I didn’t steal it. Senior Sister gave it to me,” Qin Zhiyue protested with her head lowered.
“Impossible. Senior Sister has had this pendant since she was a child…” Wen Yixi cut himself off. He withdrew his hand, his expression hostile. “I’ll return it to her. Get lost.”
Qin Zhiyue did not move. She kept her eyes lowered. “Give it back. It’s mine.”
Wen Yixi looked her up and down impatiently. He gave a contemptuous smile and leaned close. “Who do you think you are? Senior Sister was merciful enough not to kill you. That doesn’t mean you’re safe.”
Was this what she got for becoming involved with Xiao Weimian? Qin Zhiyue frowned and took half a step back. Her voice was quiet and languid, with the faintest trace of disdain beneath it. “If you don’t believe me, Senior Brother Wen, you’re welcome to ask Senior Sister yourself.”
A flicker of alarm crossed Wen Yixi’s eyes. In truth, he feared Xiao Weimian somewhat. He certainly did not dare disturb her cultivation, and at this hour she ought to be…
As his expression shifted, Qin Zhiyue slipped past him and ran forward, shouting, “Senior Sister, help!”
“What are you doing? Stop shouting!” Her actions startled Wen Yixi into a cold sweat. He sent a burst of spiritual energy after her to stop her.
But it was too late.
A familiar surge of spiritual energy scattered his attack effortlessly. Xiao Weimian stood before Qin Zhiyue, her face cold. With a slight lift of her hand, the pendant rose from Wen Yixi’s grasp and floated in the air. Xiao Weimian did not take it.
“Why are you here?” she asked calmly.
Qin Zhiyue took back the purple pendant and sighed. Xiao Weimian really knew how to make people resent her. Qin Zhiyue strongly suspected she had declined to touch the pendant because of her aversion to contact.
“Senior Sister, why would you…” Wen Yixi cried in disbelief. But when he saw the indifference in Xiao Weimian’s eyes, he shivered and could say no more.
His gaze caught on the distance between Xiao Weimian and Qin Zhiyue, and he went still. None of Xiao Weimian’s usual rules seemed to apply to Qin Zhiyue.
“Senior Sister.” Qin Zhiyue bit her lip and tugged gently at Xiao Weimian’s sleeve. “I didn’t mean to be late. Senior Brother Wen stopped me without warning. No, he didn’t mean any harm. He was only doing his duty. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have worn your pendant so openly.”
Wen Yixi’s head snapped up. He could hardly believe this outer disciple had the nerve. Was she complaining about him to Xiao Weimian right in front of him?!
What stuck in his throat even more was that Xiao Weimian really did look at him with clear disapproval. Once, her indifferent gaze, which seemed to hold no one at all, had thrilled him and stirred his desire to win her over.
Now he could only grit his teeth and fight his body’s instinct to tremble.
“Junior Brother Wen, she is under my care.” Xiao Weimian’s voice flowed like a cold spring, beautiful and calm as she spoke words that could sound so intimate.
Qin Zhiyue blushed. The sound sent a pleasant tingle all the way to her ears, though she knew Xiao Weimian meant nothing unusual by it. Until the gu was removed, Qin Zhiyue was naturally her responsibility. Having failed to kill her, Xiao Weimian had chosen another course to avoid exposing her cultivation of the Heartless Dao.
Ignoring Wen Yixi, who looked ready to faint with rage, Qin Zhiyue gave him a simple smile. Then she cautiously caught the edge of Xiao Weimian’s robe and hurried after her, paying no mind to his tangled resentment and hatred.
Today, Xiao Weimian did not take Qin Zhiyue back to her dwelling. Instead, she led her to a cliff. The place was difficult to find, with so many twists and turns that Qin Zhiyue nearly lost her footing trying to keep up, even while flying on her sword.
The terrain was steep and dangerous. It was no place to practice swordsmanship. Qin Zhiyue had no idea why Xiao Weimian had brought her here.
“Your meridians have been repaired. Now practice your swordsmanship,” Xiao Weimian said as though it were obvious.
Qin Zhiyue said nothing. After a while, she summoned her embarrassingly shabby rusty sword.
Xiao Weimian’s puzzled gaze made Qin Zhiyue want to hide it behind her back.
“Senior Sister?” Qin Zhiyue laughed awkwardly. “Should I begin now?”
After a long silence, Xiao Weimian said, “…Start with the outer sect sword forms.”
Among the outer disciples, Qin Zhiyue’s swordsmanship was somewhere in the middle. But as Xiao Weimian watched her swing her sword, even her breathing faltered. Her brows drew closer and closer together. Frostfall almost seemed ready to leave its sheath and stab Qin Zhiyue itself.
After finishing the full sequence of outer sect forms, Qin Zhiyue gripped her sword hilt and hardly dared to breathe.
“Watch me.” Xiao Weimian had meant to correct her, but there were so many flaws that she did not know where to begin. She decided to demonstrate the forms first.
A fine, mistlike layer of frost gathered on Frostfall. Xiao Weimian lightly touched her toes to the ground and sprang into the air. Her white-clad figure moved with effortless agility, each sword stroke crisp and precise, edged with fierce killing intent.
Qin Zhiyue stared. She could look at nothing but Xiao Weimian and her sword. Graceful as a startled swan, agile as a dragon—no beautiful phrase seemed excessive for her at that moment. There was nothing superfluous in her sword intent. It was clean and direct, bearing an unstoppable, solitary pride.
Xiao Weimian was beautiful like this.
People were naturally drawn to strength and beauty. The sudden stirring in Qin Zhiyue’s heart came from Xiao Weimian’s sword intent, which awakened something restless in her blood. Her eyes stung as she watched, but she could not bear to close them.
While Qin Zhiyue stood entranced, Xiao Weimian’s final stroke suddenly swept toward her. Qin Zhiyue instinctively leaned back and only just managed to bring her sword across her chest.
She had no doubt that if she had not leaned back that half step, Xiao Weimian’s sword intent would have struck her.
The two swords met with a clear ringing sound. Surprise flashed through Xiao Weimian’s eyes, though she swiftly completed the movement. She looked at Frostfall’s smooth, gleaming blade, then took several more glances at the oddly shaped sword in Qin Zhiyue’s hand.
Well done. Her sword had actually withstood Xiao Weimian’s. If it broke, she could not afford a new one. Qin Zhiyue rubbed her trembling wrist, relieved.
“Your turn,” Xiao Weimian said.
Qin Zhiyue instinctively shook her head. “Better not. My swordsmanship is only average. I don’t want to subject you to it, Senior Sister.”
“Is that so?” Xiao Weimian’s pale lips moved, her voice almost inaudible.
Her cool eyes rested on Qin Zhiyue. Then, unexpectedly, she smiled. With a flick of her wrist, she sent Frostfall straight toward her. Cold sword energy still clung to it. Qin Zhiyue instinctively dropped her rusty sword and caught Xiao Weimian’s in both hands.
The rusty sword lay on the ground and gave two angry hums.
It was not that she looked down on her own sword. Xiao Weimian’s was plainly more expensive—and, well, prettier.
Even holding Frostfall, Qin Zhiyue remained suspicious. Xiao Weimian had simply handed over her sword? Sword cultivators were usually fiercely possessive of their swords.
A moment later, Qin Zhiyue had her answer. Her hands stuck fast to the hilt, and the sword began to move. It pulled her through Xiao Weimian’s demonstration with rigid precision, matching every angle and every measure of force.
Qin Zhiyue: …
Hey, you couldn’t expect every program to run just because you followed the code! You had to check whether the hardware could handle it!
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