The Cub I Raised Turned Out to Be a Reborn Boss (GL) - Chapter 23.4

To use such a heavy hand against a fellow disciple meant that person must have a vicious mind, and their cultivation was not low. It was even possible that they were an elder on Wanxue Peak.

Whenever Jiang Yixue thought of this, she grew worried.

But Song Xi had always refused to tell her the truth. It had to be because the person behind it had power and status. So Song Xi feared that Jiang Yixue would come into conflict with that person and make things unpleasant.

Song Xi was sensible, so after Jiang Yixue failed to find the truth, she stopped pressing. But she still had to take measures.

Flowing Silver Chainmail could weaken many attacks. If Song Xi wore it, she would at least have another layer of protection, and Jiang Yixue would feel a little more secure.

Song Xi had seen plenty of good things and did not find this Flowing Silver Chainmail rare. In her previous life, something like this would not even have been worthy of appearing before her. It would only have been thrown into a corner of the storehouse to collect dust.

“This is very expensive…”

Song Xi’s fingers brushed across the surface of the Flowing Silver Chainmail. Her voice was soft, and her lowered eyes also shone brightly.

With the knowledge from her previous life, she recognized its value at a glance. This should have almost spent all of Jiang Yixue’s savings.

The obedient and well-behaved Song Xi was so soft that Jiang Yixue’s heart nearly melted. “You don’t need to worry about that. Do you like it?”

“I like it.”

Jiang Yixue leaned over to look at the table, slightly puzzled. “Where are the red bean paste pastries from earlier?”

Song Xi, who had been in a daze, immediately came back to herself. Afraid Jiang Yixue would discover that she had thrown them away, she blurted out in a panic, “I ate them all…”

Song Xi’s mouth moved far too quickly. By the time she realized what she had said, it was already too late, and she immediately wanted to cry.

Jiang Yixue’s addiction to cooking had all been spoiled into existence by her own cheap mouth.

Jiang Yixue’s eyes instantly lit up, and she smiled. “You little greedy cat. Fortunately, I saved a few. Since you already tried them for me, I can safely take them to Master to taste. And I also need to talk to Master about Lin Chen…”

“Senior Sister!”

Song Xi instantly became alert and wanted to stop Jiang Yixue’s strange idea of giving Xue Qiancheng red bean paste pastries. “Martial Aunt has already reached fasting. She definitely doesn’t like these ordinary foods…”

Jiang Yixue completely disagreed. “When Master heard before that I had made food, she said that once I made it well, I absolutely had to bring some for her to taste.”

Jiang Yixue’s mind was full of the need to quickly resolve the problem of Lin Chen being too close to Song Xi. Song Xi could not stop her at all. In the end, completely out of options, she gave up on herself and followed Jiang Yixue to Wanxue Hall, trying to salvage things before Xue Qiancheng spoke…

Everyone had different tastes. She would just insist that it tasted good. No one could say she had been lying to Jiang Yixue all along.

Jiang Yixue arrived at just the right time. Xue Qiancheng had just returned from Cold Moon Valley. Rare anger showed on her dignified and graceful face. The vermilion hairpins were gone from her hair, and the hem of her clothes looked slightly messy.

Only when she saw Jiang Yixue did the anger slowly fade. The corners of her lips lifted, and she said gently, “Xue’er, why have you come now?”

Jiang Yixue rarely saw Xue Qiancheng so disheveled. “Master, did something happen at Cold Moon Valley?”

“Han Ruliu guessed that I would go find him and demand an explanation. Before I reached Cold Moon Valley, he led people to ambush me halfway…”

Cold Moon Valley Master Han Ruliu was also an Immortal-rank expert who had been famous for many years. Jiang Yixue’s heart tightened. “Then was Master injured?”

Xue Qiancheng casually tidied her slightly messy temple hair and snorted coldly. “How could that be possible? He wanted to scheme against me and brought more than half of Cold Moon Valley’s elites. I beat them all back. Without those elites, Cold Moon Valley can forget about ranking among first-rate sects again. The only regret is that Han Ruliu ran away. I failed to catch him. I was still careless.”

Jiang Yixue: “…”

She had thought that seeing Xue Qiancheng look slightly disheveled meant Xue Qiancheng had suffered a loss.

She had forgotten. When had her master ever been someone who suffered losses?

She could almost guess that if Xue Qiancheng had not been mindful of Yuqing Sect behind her, she would have chased Han Ruliu to the ends of heaven and earth and dragged him out.

Since the matter of Cold Moon Valley had been resolved by Xue Qiancheng with thunderous force, there was no need to keep worrying about it.

Jiang Yixue smiled brightly and took out the red bean paste pastries. “Master, some time ago, you said you wanted to taste the food I made. Since Cold Moon Valley has already been dealt with, don’t be angry over these small matters anymore.”

Jiang Yixue’s smile was like a spring breeze brushing one’s face, but Song Xi’s entire body suddenly went tense.

Although Xue Qiancheng doted on Jiang Yixue, she might also treat this plate of red bean pastries as attempted murder…

Watching Xue Qiancheng lightly taste a small bite, with some red bean crumbs sticking to her lips, Song Xi saw her elegant brows seem to furrow slightly.

Song Xi hurriedly explained, “Martial Aunt, this red bean paste pastry…”

“It’s very delicious.”

Song Xi rubbed her ears, seriously suspecting that she had misheard. Xue Qiancheng had actually said this thing was delicious? Was something wrong with Xue Qiancheng’s sense of taste?

Xue Qiancheng only tasted a little before gently putting down the red bean paste pastry in her hand. “Tell me. What else is the matter?”

Nothing could be hidden from Xue Qiancheng. Jiang Yixue said carefully, “Master, I heard that Hall Master Xiao of the Weapon Hall recently wants to take a personal disciple. I happen to have a very good candidate to recommend. Not only is he talented and intelligent, he also performed excellently in this assessment.”

“Oh? Who is it?”

Jiang Yixue paused, then hardened her heart and blurted out, “What does Master think of Junior Brother Lin Chen?”

Suddenly, the hall was quiet for a moment.

Xue Qiancheng paused, then sighed softly. “I knew you were going to mention him. In truth, I have also been thinking these past few days. If I protect him so well, how is that any different from keeping him caged? The bloodline in his body has already destined his life to be anything but ordinary. If he wants to go, then let him go.”

Since Xue Qiancheng agreed, the matter would be easy.

In a few days, it would be the unified master-bowing ceremony for this batch of trial disciples. At that time, with Lin Chen’s results as trial champion, he would definitely be able to move Xiao Yuheng.

Xiao Yuheng was now the third strongest person in Yuqing Sect, second only to Xue Qiancheng and Han Yansu. Although this broke apart Lin Chen’s romantic fate, it could also count as finding him a good destination.

The guilt Jiang Yixue felt over stealing Lin Chen’s scenes faded considerably.

Jiang Yixue immediately took Xue Qiancheng’s handwritten order and went to find Lin Chen, telling him the good news.

Song Xi had originally planned to leave with Jiang Yixue, but Xue Qiancheng stopped her.

“Martial Aunt.”

Song Xi was somewhat confused. “Did Martial Aunt personally keep me behind for something?”

Her heart felt a little uneasy. Before coming to Wanxue Peak, Song Xi had originally been absolutely certain that Xue Qiancheng could not possibly discover the Netherworld power seed inside her body. But after hearing that Xue Qiancheng had broken Cold Moon Valley’s ambush single-handedly, she was no longer so certain.

Xue Qiancheng truly deserved to be one of the most awe-inspiring figures of the righteous path. Han Ruliu must have made thorough preparations, yet in the end, he had still suffered a major loss before Xue Qiancheng. Within a hundred years, Cold Moon Valley would no longer have a chance to rank among first-rate sects, showing just how many elites they had lost… Han Ruliu himself had probably fled in panic.

Her strength was unfathomable. It even vaguely surpassed Immortal rank and touched Divine rank. Song Xi found it difficult to guarantee that experts above Immortal rank could not discover the Netherworld power seed.

“It’s about Xue’er.”

Xue Qiancheng sighed and said softly, “I can guess what you wanted to say just now.”

Song Xi froze. Xue Qiancheng knew that the red bean paste pastries did not taste good at all.

“Have you heard of Han Jixing from Cold Moon Valley?”

Song Xi nodded.

Not only had she heard of her, she had met her face-to-face and had even dispersed her Cold Moon incarnation with one sword strike…

“She was once praised as the number one genius of the righteous path. When Xue’er entered my tutelage, she also had talent, but she could never rival the dazzling Han Jixing. Xue’er was proud and competitive. After losing to Han Jixing several times in sect competitions, she rushed for quick results and cultivated the secret technique in Yuqing Sect’s forbidden ground.”

Several thousand years ago, Yuqing Sect had been a top sect that could stand shoulder to shoulder with the Endless Divine Domain.

But now, even with Xue Qiancheng holding command, Yuqing Sect was still slightly below the Endless Divine Domain overall. The problem lay with the secret technique in Yuqing Sect’s forbidden ground.

This secret technique had no offensive power, but it could assist cultivation, increasing cultivation speed by a full two times.

Aside from the Endless Divine Domain, which was blessed by the Endless Divine Light, disciples elsewhere could not achieve such cultivation speed.

But later, for some unknown reason, something went wrong with the secret technique.

All disciples who cultivated the secret technique suffered backlash. The originally harmless secret technique developed a side effect—the increase in cultivation speed consumed life force at the same time.

No matter how fast one cultivated, if one’s lifespan was not long, then this method of draining the pond to catch fish was quickly forbidden.

Yuqing Sect’s strength also gradually fell to that of an ordinary first-rate sect, leaving only the Endless Divine Domain dominant among the righteous path.

Xue Qiancheng continued, “Although I discovered it early, I still failed to stop her in time. Once the secret technique is started, it cannot be stopped. Along with the loss of life force, the five senses fade as well. The first is taste… So when I learned that she had taken the initiative to let you live in Qinglian Residence, I was very surprised. She should not have been wasting time on these irrelevant matters. Because to us, every little bit of time she spends is spending her life.”

Song Xi’s mind went blank with a boom.

In her previous life… she had not known there were so many hidden circumstances…

And Jiang Yixue truly was as Xue Qiancheng said. She had always desperately worked hard at cultivation, and even Song Xi had not known what it was for.

If Jiang Yixue were here, she would definitely explain her helplessness clearly.

If she continued cultivating, it only meant dying early. If she did not cultivate and her strength never improved, perhaps in a few years, those men would kill her.

Between two harms, choose the lesser. If she died early, then she died early.

In any case, lifespans in the cultivation world were measured in hundreds of years. Even dying early would still mean living to a hundred. Jiang Yixue was satisfied.

When Lin Chen received the news from Jiang Yixue that Xue Qiancheng had agreed for him to transfer from the Medicine Hall to the Weapon Hall, he was so excited he directly jumped up.

“Senior Sister Jiang, I… I can really go cultivate in the Weapon Hall?”

“Of course. Not only the Weapon Hall, you can also take Hall Master Xiao as your master.”

Jiang Yixue paused, then continued, “It’s just that the Weapon Hall is far from Wanxue Peak. Junior Brother will no longer find it convenient to come and go from Qinglian Residence in the future…”

If he no longer came and went, that meant he would be far from Song Xi. The childhood-sweetheart bond would be gone, and the red-string-cutting plan had temporarily succeeded in part.

Lin Chen quickly shook his head. His gaze burned, and his attitude was firm. “No matter how far it is, I won’t find it troublesome. I will definitely visit Qinglian Residence even more diligently!”

Senior Sister Jiang had gone through so much trouble for him. If he stopped interacting with Senior Sister Jiang after becoming Hall Master Xiao’s disciple, wouldn’t that make him an ungrateful wolf who burned the bridge after crossing it? Moreover… Senior Sister Jiang was so good. How could he possibly stop coming to Qinglian Residence from now on…

Jiang Yixue did not know what Lin Chen had imagined this time, but she froze.

The plan had clearly only been missing the final step. How had the final step gone crooked? Fate truly was unpredictable. But now it seemed too late to take back Xue Qiancheng’s order. It really felt like trying to steal a chicken only to lose the rice instead.

Night fell. Jiang Yixue looked somewhat helplessly at Song Xi, who was already lying on her bed.

“Xixi, why aren’t you going back to your own room to sleep?”

Song Xi rolled around under the quilt, poking a fluffy head out from inside. “I want to sleep with Senior Sister.”

Previously, Jiang Yixue had been worried about Song Xi’s safety. Even after giving her the Flowing Silver Chainmail, she still could not feel at ease and had even suggested that Song Xi move over and share a room with her.

Unexpectedly, Song Xi had frozen for a moment and refused immediately. “Senior Sister… I think things are fine now…”

Jiang Yixue had not forced her. Although Song Xi was still a child, she was not that young anymore. It was normal for her to have her own sense of privacy.

Yet less than two days after refusing, she had taken the initiative to burrow over. Children really did change their minds constantly, and their moods shifted unpredictably.

Jiang Yixue smiled helplessly. “Didn’t you insist on sleeping by yourself before?”

“That was before. Tonight, I just want to sleep here.”

Song Xi shifted toward the inner side of the bed. “Senior Sister’s bed is very big. It’s enough for both of us to lie down.”

Jiang Yixue had rarely entered seclusion lately, which meant Song Xi had no time to cultivate the Netherworld Secret Manual and could only secretly cultivate alone in her room at night. That was why Song Xi had refused Jiang Yixue’s invitation.

But tonight, there was something more important to do.

It was rare for Song Xi to take the initiative to ask for something, and the way her fluffy little head poked out from the quilt really was very cute.

Jiang Yixue could only say helplessly, “All right. If you want to stay, then stay.”

Moonlight entered the room, and spring colors bloomed.

Song Xi, who was leaning beside Jiang Yixue, gradually transformed into a graceful woman with a slender figure.

The moment she turned slightly to the side, the brocade quilt slipped from her neck, revealing a section of fair shoulder. Their long hair tangled together, drawing a gentle and lingering curve across the bedding.

Song Xi lightly grasped Jiang Yixue’s wrist. As she bent down, dark Netherworld power spread out and wrapped around both their bodies.

Since she needed to fully use Netherworld power, the body from her previous life gave her stronger control over it.

Although there was now a Netherworld power seed inside Jiang Yixue’s body, Jiang Yixue’s cultivation was higher than Song Xi’s.

When Jiang Yixue was fully awake, Song Xi could not control her consciousness. Even while she was asleep, Song Xi could only briefly make her fall into a deeper sleep so she would not wake for the time being.

After hesitation and struggle lingered in her eyes for a long while, Song Xi bent down and gently kissed Jiang Yixue’s lips, the tips of her ears faintly red.

Jiang Yixue’s cultivation was too high. Only this method could allow Song Xi to more perfectly control the Netherworld power entering Jiang Yixue’s body.

Jiang Yixue’s lips were soft and carried a gentle warmth. That warm, soft touch made Song Xi’s thoughts scatter for an instant.

Fortunately, the Netherworld King’s self-control was strong enough. She quickly gathered her thoughts again and controlled the Netherworld power to travel through all of Jiang Yixue’s meridians, carefully investigating the traces of the secret technique Xue Qiancheng had mentioned.

Any cultivation would definitely leave traces in the meridians. A miraculous secret technique like this was usually achieved by changing part of the meridians.

Netherworld power was a force on a higher level than spiritual power, so it could investigate things even more clearly.

There was nothing wrong with this secret technique. It was only that it seemed incomplete…

Cold light gathered faintly in Song Xi’s eyes.

Someone had infiltrated Yuqing Sect’s forbidden ground and altered the secret technique.

This secret technique had been altered for a thousand years. As for who that person was, there was no longer any way to investigate.

However, the worry in Song Xi’s heart eased slightly.

If the secret technique was incomplete, that meant as long as it was completed, there was a chance to make up for the life force Jiang Yixue had lost. As long as there was a method, that was good.

Suddenly, a soft murmur sounded beside her ear. Jiang Yixue seemed about to wake.

With a whoosh, Song Xi withdrew the power inside her body and changed back into her previous form. She leaned beside Jiang Yixue and pretended to be sound asleep.

Her face buried in the brocade quilt was red as a cloud at sunset. Song Xi’s heart beat rapidly, thump, thump.

Just a little more, and Jiang Yixue would have discovered that she had been secretly kissed.

Thinking of this, Song Xi’s face turned even redder.

Secretly kissing Senior Sister every night…

Although it was for proper business, it was completely the behavior of a rogue…