Senior Sister, Please Act Human! - Chapter 3

Wei Zisu had always been a woman of her word. The moment the Hour of the Tiger arrived, she appeared at the training grounds.

Her gaze was icy as she occasionally glanced around, waiting for Xiao Yuanzhi to arrive. Yet no matter how long she waited, aside from the night breeze that blew past her again and again, the only thing that came was a fallen leaf drifting down from above her head.

The anger in Wei Zisu’s heart continued to build. Her expression grew darker and darker, and she seemed increasingly close to losing her temper.

She drew the long sword in her hand. Before the leaf could reach the ground, she gave the blade a light slash, slicing it cleanly in two.

Shing—

Wei Zisu swiftly returned the sword to its sheath, gripping it tightly before setting off to find Xiao Yuanzhi.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yuanzhi was sleeping incredibly soundly, seemingly entirely untroubled by the fact that she had transmigrated.

More importantly, she had also completely tossed Wei Zisu’s words to the back of her mind.

As she slept, however, she gradually began to feel cold.

Without opening her eyes, Xiao Yuanzhi tugged the blanket higher and wrapped it more tightly around herself. Once she no longer felt as chilled, she peacefully went back to sleep.

Wei Zisu arrived with a dark expression.

Although she had already guessed this would be the case, the sight of Xiao Yuanzhi sleeping away so peacefully still made rage surge through her.

Xiao Yuanzhi truly had not taken her words seriously at all!

“Xiao Yuanzhi.”

Her voice was cold, but the anger she was desperately suppressing could still faintly be heard.

Wei Zisu did not waste words.

Since Xiao Yuanzhi refused to listen, then she could not blame her for what happened next.

She grabbed the corner of the blanket, yanked it hard, and flung it aside. It landed perfectly on the long bench beside the bed.

Without the blanket, Xiao Yuanzhi shuddered from the cold and woke with a start.

Xiao Yuanzhi was furious as well.

Someone was disturbing her even while she was sleeping. Were they asking to be cursed out?!

She began snapping, “Are you fucking—”

Before she could say the word sick, Xiao Yuanzhi finally saw the person standing in front of her.

It was the heroine who had sliced several strands of hair from her head with a sword.

Xiao Yuanzhi immediately changed her attitude. Her expression transformed at once, and her voice softened.

“Is something the matter?”

Seeing Wei Zisu’s dark face and the anger smoldering in her eyes, Xiao Yuanzhi put on a fawning smile.

“Heroine, what instructions might you have for visiting my humble dwelling so late at night? I’ll carry them out immediately!”

After saying that, she even struck a pose suggesting she would climb mountains of blades and plunge into seas of fire for her.

As the saying went, one should never strike a smiling face.

Yet Xiao Yuanzhi’s ingratiating attitude did nothing to extinguish Wei Zisu’s anger. Instead, it left Wei Zisu unsure how to vent it, which only irritated her even more.

“Stop wasting my time with nonsense. Since you are awake, follow me to the training grounds.”

Once they arrived there, Wei Zisu would settle accounts with her properly.

Xiao Yuanzhi froze.

“The training grounds?”

The instant the words left her mouth, Wei Zisu’s expression grew even colder.

Xiao Yuanzhi realized she had said the wrong thing and hurriedly explained, “Heroine, don’t misunderstand. Just look at me—I was still half asleep. I originally wanted to go to the training grounds early and look for you, but I was afraid I might disturb your rest. That’s why I didn’t dare go so soon.”

Xiao Yuanzhi lied without blushing or skipping a beat, making it sound entirely believable.

Wei Zisu hated Xiao Yuanzhi.

She had hated her since childhood.

She hated her weakness, hated how Eldest Senior Brother constantly revolved around her, and hated her sweet-talking even more—especially when she acted like this.

Wei Zisu said coldly, “Xiao Yuanzhi, you may be able to deceive those senior and junior brothers with such nonsense, but I will not believe a single word.”

Xiao Yuanzhi’s nostrils twitched.

Waves of floral fragrance drifted toward her, followed by an unbearable itch inside her nose.

She desperately wanted to scratch it, but with Wei Zisu still standing there, she could not afford to lose face. She could only endure it.

However, suppressing it was unbearably uncomfortable.

Before long, a thin mist had even gathered in her eyes.

Wei Zisu’s delicate brows furrowed.

She was highly displeased by Xiao Yuanzhi’s attitude and called her name again. But when she raised her head, she saw Xiao Yuanzhi’s eyes shimmering with tears.

Wei Zisu paused.

She had not even said anything particularly harsh. Why was Xiao Yuanzhi crying?

Very quickly, however, Wei Zisu understood.

This truly was Xiao Yuanzhi.

Ever since childhood, she had known how to use tears to win sympathy.

“Xiao—”

“Achoo—!”

The sneeze landed directly on Wei Zisu’s face.

Xiao Yuanzhi!!!

Xiao Yuanzhi rubbed her nose.

She felt much better after sneezing, but when she looked at Wei Zisu again, the woman’s expression and gaze made it seem as though she wanted to kill Xiao Yuanzhi just to vent her fury.

The next moment, Wei Zisu grabbed Xiao Yuanzhi by the collar and lifted her like a baby chick, preparing to drag her to the training grounds.

Throughout the journey, Xiao Yuanzhi did not dare resist.

She was afraid Wei Zisu might slit her throat, so she could only keep begging for mercy. She was practically one step away from kneeling before her.

Xiao Yuanzhi truly had not lied. She really had not done it intentionally.

However, before she could finish pleading, she sneezed several more times in succession.

Wei Zisu was using internal energy and moving quickly, and the cold wind kept blowing. Inevitably, some of it struck Xiao Yuanzhi’s face.

Once they reached the training grounds, Wei Zisu transformed her fist into a palm and gave Xiao Yuanzhi a powerful shove between the shoulder blades.

At that moment, Xiao Yuanzhi finally understood what it meant to encounter a woman who moved like a raging gale.

The force sent her running forward more than ten steps in succession. She nearly stumbled and fell, but fortunately, she managed to tense her waist in time and steady herself.

Xiao Yuanzhi had barely breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Wei Zisu call her from behind.

She hurriedly turned around, immediately putting another smile on her face.

“Heroine, what are your instructions?”

Wei Zisu’s upbringing had taught her from childhood that no matter what happened, she must never reveal joy or anger on her face.

Even though she was currently so furious that she wanted to tear apart Xiao Yuanzhi’s hypocritical expression, not the slightest emotion appeared on her own face.

Wei Zisu glanced toward the right and signaled Xiao Yuanzhi with her eyes.

“Bring those things over here.”

“Right away!”

Xiao Yuanzhi agreed with extraordinary enthusiasm and scampered over.

She understood perfectly well that whatever the heroine told her to do, she ought to do it. Otherwise, there was no telling what the heroine might do to her.

When Xiao Yuanzhi drew closer, she discovered that there were two buckets of water.

Why did the heroine want her to move them?

Could she want to wash her face?

Then Xiao Yuanzhi remembered what had happened earlier…

If she asked directly, would that not mean she was tired of living?!

Still, the heroine did not exactly look as though she intended to wash her face.

Xiao Yuanzhi shook her head.

Whatever. She would just carry them.

She rolled up her sleeves and began carrying the buckets toward Wei Zisu.

The heavy buckets made her stagger from side to side. By the time she brought both of them over, more than half the water had spilled out.

To avoid repeating her earlier mistake and enraging Wei Zisu again, Xiao Yuanzhi kept a distance that was neither too close nor too far.

She shook the water from her hands, pulled out a handkerchief, dipped it into one of the buckets, wrung it dry, and handed it to Wei Zisu.

“Heroine, what happened earlier was my fault. Please wipe your face.”

Wei Zisu did not accept the handkerchief. Instead, she turned her gaze elsewhere.

“Lift both buckets.”

Seeing that Wei Zisu did not appreciate the gesture, Xiao Yuanzhi felt no embarrassment. She casually used the handkerchief to wipe her own hands instead.

“What other instructions do you have, Heroine?”

Wei Zisu turned her back on her without even sparing her a glance.

“Squat down. Hold a horse stance.”

Xiao Yuanzhi lowered her eyes toward the two buckets.

Wei Zisu’s intentions were now perfectly obvious.

She said solemnly, “Heroine, if you’re still unhappy, how about cutting off a few more strands of my hair instead?”

Two mere buckets of water should not have been difficult for a martial artist at all.

Yet Xiao Yuanzhi would rather sacrifice even her hair?

One’s body, hair, and skin were gifts from one’s parents. It seemed that during all her years at Cangfeng Manor, Xiao Yuanzhi truly had not slacked off only a little.

“Horse stance.”

Fine.

There was no room for negotiation.

Fortunately, Xiao Yuanzhi had possessed enough foresight to guess that Wei Zisu would torment her like this.

That was precisely why she had worked so hard to slosh away more than half the water while carrying the buckets over.

She should barely be able to lift them now.

When she actually raised them, she found them unexpectedly light.

It was not exactly effortless, but neither was it particularly strenuous.

Xiao Yuanzhi lowered herself into a horse stance, holding half a bucket of water straight out in each hand.

She deliberately put on an expression as though the buckets were unbearably heavy.

Wei Zisu turned around and walked past her.

Xiao Yuanzhi secretly rejoiced, thinking she had left.

Just as she was about to slack off, several noises sounded beside her.

Thud—

Thud—

Thud—

Wei Zisu dropped several large stones into the buckets one after another.

The stones struck the water and sent splashes flying, some of which landed directly on Xiao Yuanzhi.

If the buckets had only been pretend-heavy before, they were genuinely heavy now.

The weight of the stones intensified the aching weakness in her arms.

Xiao Yuanzhi’s hands sank, and the buckets nearly fell to the ground. However, Wei Zisu pressed her sword sheath beneath Xiao Yuanzhi’s arms, forcing her to raise them again.

“Hold them steady. Since you ‘accidentally’ spilled the water, I added several stones to make up for it.”

Xiao Yuanzhi’s face turned bright red.

The aching weakness in both her legs and arms left her unable to say a single word. Beads of sweat as large as beans rolled down her forehead.

Watching Xiao Yuanzhi’s trembling legs, Wei Zisu’s mood inexplicably improved.

A rare trace of a smile appeared at the corner of her lips.

“There are only five months left until the masters’ assessment. Since Martial Uncle Jiuji entrusted Little Junior Sister to Master, then as your eldest senior sister, I naturally ought to take good care of you. Of course I cannot allow Little Junior Sister to fall behind the other disciples of your generation.”

Hearing this, Xiao Yuanzhi wanted to spit in disgust.

What beautifully phrased nonsense.

Why was Wei Zisu pretending to be a good person? She clearly only wanted to torment her!

Yet Xiao Yuanzhi said aloud, “I’m truly so moved. I never realized the heroine treated me so well. To tell you the truth, just now I judged a gentleman’s heart with the petty mind of a villain. I thought that because I accidentally sneezed on you, you had taken it personally and were using public duty to settle a private grudge. It seems I misunderstood you. Someone as upright and kind as you would surely never commit such a shameless and despicable act.”

“…”

The smile on Wei Zisu’s face froze.

Her good mood was destroyed in an instant.

She had not expected Xiao Yuanzhi to possess such a sharp tongue. She had even insulted Wei Zisu indirectly.

It seemed Wei Zisu truly understood far too little about this little junior sister.

Wei Zisu gave a cold snort.

“If Little Junior Sister’s martial arts were as formidable as her tongue, I fear there would be few people beneath the heavens capable of defeating her.”

As she spoke, she pressed the sword sheath against Xiao Yuanzhi’s legs.

“Squat lower.”

As Xiao Yuanzhi lowered herself, her hand trembled and a single drop of water spilled out.

The next moment, Wei Zisu added several more stones to the bucket.

Xiao Yuanzhi stared at her in disbelief.

It had only been one drop of water. Was this really necessary?

Wei Zisu dusted the dirt from her hands.

“Little Junior Sister’s martial arts ought to match her sharp tongue. Adding a few more stones will ensure her skills improve.”

Then she added calmly, “Calm your heart and steady your breathing. Do not panic. The night is long. Once you finish this exercise, we will move on to the next.”

Xiao Yuanzhi nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

This woman held grudges far too fiercely!