The bright moon hung high in the sky.
Su Xuan, dressed in night-traveling clothes, tightly gripped the Inner Core inside his Storage Bag as he rushed toward home.
The distance from the mountains to the Marketplace was simply too far. Even though he had pushed himself, even using his Spiritual Power to boost his speed, it had taken him more than 4 hours of hard travel.
The Spiritual Power of the Qi Refining Stage wasn’t enough to learn flight; otherwise, he could have saved at least half the time.
“I wonder if Lin Zhiwei is back yet. And Lu Zhiyi… she won’t be like last time, will she?”
Su Xuan changed back into the clothes he had been wearing before leaving and headed toward the house.
The Marketplace was already deep in the silence of the night. As he reached his front door, he found the lights inside were still on.
The warm yellow light felt cozy and inviting.
At least in this unfamiliar world of cultivation, someone was willing to wait for him, willing to keep a lamp lit.
Looking at the light, Su Xuan felt a strange wave of emotion.
“Master… you’re back!”
He pushed the door open softly, and Lu Zhiyi, who was in the courtyard, sat up alertly. Seeing it was him, she rubbed her eyes and spoke happily.
“It’s so late. What are you doing out in the courtyard?” Su Xuan asked instinctively. Autumn nights were already quite cold. Why was she slumped over the table so late?
“I was waiting for Master to return,” Lu Zhiyi replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “Oh… what a shame.”
As she spoke, she picked something up from the table with a hint of regret.
Su Xuan followed her gaze and saw several folded paper flowers on the table; the one in her hand had been flattened. She had likely crushed it while sleeping without realizing.
“What… are you doing?” he asked, pointing at the colorful paper flowers.
“Hehe, I’m folding paper flowers. The end of the year is coming soon. When the time comes, we can release river lanterns and make wishes.”
Lu Zhiyi looked expectant, her eyes curving into crescents as she carefully tucked the items away.
The warm yellow light, someone waiting for him late at night, the upcoming New Year temple fair, lanterns, and wishes… perhaps this was what home felt like.
Su Xuan stared at Lu Zhiyi, a warmth rising in his heart. It seemed like staying together this way wouldn’t be so bad. He picked up a paper flower and looked at it. Each one was exquisite; it must have taken a lot of effort and time.
“Where is your Senior Sister? Is she back?” Turning to look at the darkened house, he remembered Lin Zhiwei hadn’t left with him and asked instinctively.
“She’s back. She… she’s asleep,” Lu Zhiyi replied, smoothing out the flattened lantern in her hand. Her behavior seemed a bit unnatural.
“When did she get back?” Su Xuan felt relieved that his eldest disciple had returned safely.
“Just… she came back in the afternoon… See, look, everything on the table is what we folded together.” Lu Zhiyi looked flustered, not daring to look him in the eye as she pointed at the items on the table.
“Oh.”
Su Xuan nodded, his face expressionless.
The warm feeling from moments ago vanished instantly, replaced by disappointment. Lin Zhiwei couldn’t have returned until at least midnight; there was no way she beat him by much, let alone helped fold lanterns.
He had originally thought his younger disciple had fallen asleep waiting for him, but now it seemed like it was mostly an act. Perhaps these lanterns were just props they had bought.
He placed the lantern back on the table without a word and laughed self-deprecatingly. He hadn’t treated these sisters with sincerity himself; what right did he have to expect it from others?
“I lost track of time. You’ve worked hard. It’s late now, so hurry and get some rest.”
He pretended not to notice her lie. Appearing touched, he pulled several Spiritual Stones from his person and placed them in his younger disciple’s hand.
“You don’t have many Spiritual Stones on you. Take these and buy what you need. Don’t be stingy. I still have plenty of monster meat and materials. Once I sell them, we’ll have a wonderful New Year!”
Having said that, he patted his disciple’s head and headed inside.
Whether the sisters were sincere or not, he wanted the upcoming New Year to be warm. Since he didn’t have the time, he would let his disciples handle the preparations.
Lu Zhiyi watched his back, her mouth opening and closing in a struggle.
“I’m sorry, Master…”
She touched the Spiritual Stones, which still carried Su Xuan’s body heat, and felt as if they were burning her hand. So many Spiritual Stones… Master must have worked so hard for them, yet he gave them to her without hesitation.
Faced with such trust, she had chosen to cover for her Senior Sister and deceive him…
‘Lu Zhiyi, oh Lu Zhiyi, how could you do such a thing?’ she scolded herself, gritting her teeth in self-reproach.
“Hmm? What’s this…?”
A moment later, as she gripped the stones, she brought them to her nose and sniffed. There was a scent of roses and a faint hint of wine.
This was the scent of a woman!
Master had pulled these stones from his breast pocket. How could they have such a scent?
Could it be…?
‘Did Master go and do… that kind of thing?’
Lu Zhiyi shuddered, staring at her master’s room in disbelief. She had heard that there were many powerful female cultivators in the Marketplace. In just 1 night, a man could receive many Spiritual Stones from them!
Recalling Su Xuan’s appearance and how he had recently brought home so many Spiritual Stones, she felt as if she understood something. More importantly, Master seemed to be coming home later and later recently, and he always looked exhausted…
‘If it’s true…’
Lu Zhiyi shook her small head vigorously, forcing herself to stop thinking about it.
‘Master would never do such a thing. It’s just a coincidence. The next batch of stones definitely won’t have this smell!’
She barely managed to convince herself and returned to the kitchen.
—
“Well? Master didn’t suspect anything, did he?”
In the dark kitchen, Lin Zhiwei hadn’t even had time to change out of her clothes. She pulled her junior sister toward her and asked nervously.
In truth, she had returned less than 15 minutes ago. After returning to the Marketplace by spirit boat, she had politely declined Shangguan Jing’s hospitality and spent a long time settling the unconscious Lin Chengyun at home before rushing back. Having happened to see Master in the Marketplace, she had vaulted onto the rooftops and took a shortcut to get home before him.
The paper flowers were indeed handmade by Lu Zhiyi, but the crushed one and the excuse had been specifically coordinated by Lin Zhiwei.
“No,” Lu Zhiyi shook her head.
Lin Zhiwei breathed a sigh of relief. Su Xuan opposed her going out for experience, so it was best not to let him know.
“Senior Sister… why are you so determined to go out on your own? Isn’t Master teaching you as well?” Lu Zhiyi hesitated for a long while before asking in confusion.
“Because… because…”
Lin Zhiwei looked at her junior sister, unable to find the words for a moment. What could she say? ‘Master treats you better, and I feel slighted?’ That wasn’t something she could say aloud.
“Because I can earn Spiritual Stones! Way more than what Master gives us!” As she spoke, she carefully pulled five Spiritual Stones from her chest and said proudly.
This was her reward for the expedition. To thank her for saving his life, Shangguan Jing had intended to give her a massive reward, but she had refused everything except for the portion she had earned.
“Zhiyi, I’ve always told you that we need to be independent and strong. Do you think Master would be willing to give us this much? Last time, even giving us one stone made him feel the pinch, right?”
Lin Zhiwei finally felt a bit of the old bond from when they relied on each other. She spread out the five shimmering stones in her hand, waiting for the look of admiration from her junior sister.
“But…”
Lu Zhiyi hesitated for a moment, then pulled out a bulging handful of stones—more than triple what her sister held.
“Master just gave these to me.”