Chapter 12: Feelings of the Heart

“That’s right. That’s the Ancient Battlefield. Going there is as good as being dead.”

Su Xuan had never seen her like this before, so he spoke intentionally.

‘You can panic too?’

Looking at Lin Zhiwei’s panicked expression, he found it somewhat amusing.

“Then, Master… is it mandatory to go? Is there any other way?” Lin Zhiwei asked, her face full of hope.

Lu Zhiyi also crowded around, looking at him nervously.

“Sigh… anyone below Qi Refining Level 3 has to go. As your master, I am currently only at Qi Refining Level 2.”

Su Xuan intentionally left his sentence unfinished.

As expected, the light in Lin Zhiwei’s eyes dimmed.

She lowered her head, her chest heaving slightly as she struggled with her thoughts.

“Does that mean we’ll never see Master again?

What should we do?” Lu Zhiyi finally realized the gravity of the situation and spoke with a face full of anxiety.

“Don’t be afraid, Zhiyi. Sister has a way.”

Lin Zhiwei seemed to have decided on something.

She patted Lu Zhiyi’s head and comforted her softly.

“Sister, what way do you have?” Lu Zhiyi breathed a sigh of relief, asking with a hint of doubt in her voice.

“I have a secret to tell Master. I’ll tell you the plan once I come back out.” Lin Zhiwei tugged at Su Xuan, gesturing for him to go inside, looking quite mysterious.

‘An unexpected gain!’

Su Xuan was stunned.

He had originally only wanted to tease his eldest disciple, but he hadn’t expected this turn of events.

“Wait for us obediently. I’ll tell you later,” Lin Zhiwei gave another instruction before pulling Su Xuan toward the room.

Closing the door sharply, only the two of them remained in the small room.

Lin Zhiwei remained silent, stepping closer to him one pace at a time.

Su Xuan felt the atmosphere turn heavy instantly.

Recalling her heroic display of stabbing someone yesterday, an indescribable sense of danger surged in his heart.

‘What is she doing? Is this some yandere plot where she kills everyone because she can’t escape?’

“What… what’s wrong? Actually…”

He backed up all the way to the bedside.

Seeing he had nowhere left to retreat, he was about to tell the truth.

Thud!

The expected stabbing didn’t happen.

Instead, Lin Zhiwei’s legs buckled, and she knelt directly on the floor.

“Master, I… I have a favor to ask of you.”

She continued.

It seemed she had never begged anyone before, as she felt a strange sense of shame using that word.

She paused before speaking again.

“Zhiyi is a slow-witted girl. She can’t manage without someone looking after her. I hope Master can treat her well in the future and teach her cultivation so she won’t be bullied…”

As Lin Zhiwei spoke, her eyes gradually grew red.

She had always thought she could protect her younger sister.

But when she was captured before, she had no power to resist without cultivation.

‘How could a Dagger possibly defeat a Cultivator?’

‘If Master hadn’t saved her, what could her desperation have achieved?’

‘Wouldn’t she have just died?’

But just now, the Master who saved her was being forced to his death because his cultivation was too low!

‘Could she still protect him like she did when they were young?’

Lin Zhiwei had always been clever.

She knew it was impossible.

She knew that if Master died, that man wouldn’t let the two of them go either.

She had even thought of the best solution.

Thus, she suddenly drew her Dagger and pressed it against her own heart.

Wiping away her tears, she said with a smile, “Master, let’s make a deal.”

Su Xuan’s eyes widened instantly, and he hurriedly said, “Don’t do anything reckless!

“Talk to me!”

“Don’t hurt yourself!”

Lin Zhiwei tilted her head slightly, appearing to enjoy the way he cared about her.

“I’ll go find him in a few days. I’ll trade myself for Master’s spot.”

Her voice trembled slightly as she spoke of her decision.

She took a deep breath before continuing.

“As part of the deal, Master must help me put on an act to fool that dummy. Don’t let her figure it out. If Master intends to give her away…”

She stared at Su Xuan and smiled, pressing the Dagger even tighter until it created a small indentation in her chest.

“I guarantee she’ll go crazy the moment she walks in. Without us, Master won’t be able to survive either! Isn’t that right?”

Looking at her, Su Xuan gulped hard.

He never imagined his eldest disciple could go this crazy for Lu Zhiyi!

‘You can’t just carve patterns near your heart!’

He hurriedly said, “Don’t do this, please don’t. I’m about to reach Qi Refining Level 3. When that happens, we’ll go to the Inner Market. Put the knife down.”

Lin Zhiwei held the Dagger and looked at him.

***

After a long while, she flashed a smile.

“Yes, Master will soon break through to Qi Refining Level 3.

We’ll say that.”

‘Master is so good at lying; he should be able to keep that dummy fooled in the future.

No wonder she’s already starting to defend him now.’

As she thought this, she grinned slightly, but tears began to fall drop by drop.

‘I won’t be able to protect her anymore.

I hope Master has truly changed and will treat her well.’

Lin Zhiwei was full of reluctance.

Seeing Su Xuan watching her, she wiped her eyes, hiding the redness.

She rubbed them hard and regained her usual pride.

“It’s a deal. Master, play your part well these next two days, and you’ll be safe the day after tomorrow.”

‘What on earth is going on?’

Su Xuan shook his head.

He didn’t expect his eldest disciple not to believe him when he was telling the truth, so he emphasized it again.

“I really am about to break through to Qi Refining Level 3! Within the next two days!”

“Mm-hmm, right! Master’s cultivation has progressed by leaps and bounds these past few days, so he can protect us now!” Lin Zhiwei nodded and agreed.

Knowing her Master hadn’t made any progress in years, she assumed he was just acting and wanted to make it more convincing.

‘Wait? I’m telling the truth! What are you making up in your head?’

Looking at Lin Zhiwei, who kept nodding, he felt a bit driven to madness.

“Let’s go and tell Zhiyi the good news!”

Lin Zhiwei carefully patted her clothes and composed her face.

Tugging Su Xuan along, she opened the door.

Outside, Lu Zhiyi was pacing back and forth, clutching the Spiritual Stone in both hands.

“Master, Sister! What did you talk about? What secret was it?” Seeing them open the door, she rushed over with an anxious face.

“The secret is that we don’t need my secret anymore!” Lin Zhiwei said with a relaxed smile.

“I was just about to say it. Master told me just now that he’ll reach Qi Refining Level 3 within two days! He won’t have to go!”

Having said that, she looked at Su Xuan, her eyes full of threats.

It was as if that previous scene would truly play out if he didn’t cooperate.

Seeing Lu Zhiyi look at him with a face full of pleasant surprise, Su Xuan could only nod helplessly.

“That’s wonderful! Master is the best!” Lu Zhiyi cheered with excitement, raising her hands.

“Oh, right. Master, here, take this back. Master needs to work hard on his cultivation. Use this to buy pills instead. I heard that taking pills makes cultivation much faster!”

Suddenly remembering something, she reluctantly handed the Spiritual Stone in her hand to Su Xuan.

Su Xuan looked at the Spiritual Stone in his hand.

It was warm, and it even had two small bite marks on it.

She had been clutching it the whole time, clearly adoring it.

“Yes, I will enter Qi Refining Level 3 as soon as possible. Then we’ll go to the Inner Market!” he said, nodding while holding the Spiritual Stone.

“Alright! It’s already dark! It’s late, so Master must be hungry. Zhiyi, come make something to eat with me!” Lin Zhiwei sniffed her nose and headed toward the kitchen.

“Okay! Keep it up, Master!” Hearing about food, Lu Zhiyi shouted and followed her, jumping with joy.

One was obviously dim-witted, while the other was pretending to be smart.

Su Xuan watched their retreating backs and laughed silently.

These two little disciples were quite interesting.