“Stinky Master, rotten Master…”
High in the sky, the bright moon hung. In the courtyard of Su Xuan’s house, Lu Zhiyi sat on a stone table, staring at the entrance. Her cheeks were puffed out in anger, and her small mouth was pouted like the spout of a teapot.
‘It’s so late, and he’s still not back. Maybe he won’t come home tonight?’
The courtyard was pitch black, with no light other than the small lamp on the stone table, making her feel even more lonely. Her hands moved rhythmically as she folded paper flowers, but her mind was elsewhere.
‘Did he go to see another woman again?’
‘Master is so handsome, maybe he really…’
‘If that’s the case, then I’ll have to call her Mistress…’
Images raced through Lu Zhiyi’s mind, and various thoughts flashed by, all featuring Su Xuan with someone else. A few scenes even depicted him looking at her with disdain, seeing her as a nuisance and wanting to throw her away.
Gradually, her breathing became more rapid. A few strands of hair fell over her face, obscuring her eyes. Her originally tranquil aura turned menacing in an instant.
“No one else is allowed…”
“If anyone dares to get close to Master, I’ll…”
Low words escaped through her gritted teeth. As she spoke, she viciously tore at the paper flower in her hand as if it were the person seducing her Master.
Under her violent shredding, the bright red paper flower was soon reduced to nail-sized scraps, which she gripped tightly in her hand.
Suddenly, her Spiritual Power surged, and the scraps were instantly incinerated into gray ash.
Lu Zhiyi looked at the falling ash and revealed a smile of pure satisfaction.
*Boom!*
A sudden clap of thunder echoed from the horizon, making her jolt and snap out of her state.
‘What happened to me?’
She looked at the scraps in front of her in disbelief, her eyes filled with confusion, as if the person who had just done that wasn’t her.
She only remembered feeling a strange ache in her heart because Master hadn’t come home. How did she end up doing something like this?
Could it be…
Lu Zhiyi recalled the contact she had with Su Xuan during the Medicinal Bath he provided earlier. She could almost feel Master’s hands brushing against her body, and her small face began to burn.
‘It’s… it’s just because of the cultivation requirements. Master hasn’t helped me, so I’m unhappy. Yes, that’s it!’
She shook her head vigorously, barely managing to convince herself. Then, with a guilty expression, she gathered the powder on the table and secretly washed it away in the water basin.
***
“Today is a good day…”
Su Xuan was unaware of his young disciple’s complex psychological journey. He was humming a little tune and swinging a small bag in his hand, walking leisurely toward home.
Over the past two days, not only had his cultivation climbed directly to Level 5 of Qi Refining, but even the Alchemy that had caused him the most anxiety was progressing rapidly under Su Yunjin’s hands-on teaching.
More importantly, after the disruption caused by Shangguan Jing and his son tonight, his relationship with Su Yunjin had grown closer. It even caused Shangguan Yu to suffer a major loss, nearly resulting in a falling out between the two best friends.
Thinking about how Shangguan Yu was practically driven away by Su Yunjin, while he was personally and politely seen off with an agreement to meet again two days later, he couldn’t help but smile. Before he left, Huan’er had even gratefully stuffed a large pile of Spiritual Stones into his hand, refusing to take no for an answer.
He opened the bag and took a quick peek. Inside, besides twenty or so Spiritual Stones, there were also two or three High-grade Spirit Stones and a few small bottles of Elixirs.
The Elixirs were high-grade Healing Pills. As long as one didn’t have a severed limb, a single pill could greatly alleviate both external and internal injuries.
To summarize the trip, it was like Qin Shi Huang eating peppercorns — he was winning big.
“I’m back.”
Seeing the small lamp still lit in the courtyard, a wave of warmth washed over his heart as he called out.
He had told her she didn’t need to wait, yet his young disciple was still waiting for him. She was truly… too well-behaved.
He would have to buy her some more delicious treats later to make it up to her.
Su Xuan made a silent vow, feeling a trace of guilt.
“What’s that smell?”
As soon as he pushed open the door, he wrinkled his nose and sniffed. It smelled like something had been scorched.
“Master, you’re back!”
Upon seeing him, Lu Zhiyi’s eyes lit up. She stood up from the table and trotted over to him.
“I… I just tried out my cultivation and accidentally burned the paper flower…”
Faced with her Master’s question, she felt a wave of guilt and lowered her head, speaking in a soft voice.
“Oh, is that all? I thought it was something else. Burn them as you like.”
Su Xuan realized what had happened and patted his young disciple’s head, his tone gentle.
“How is it? Do you understand the Cultivation Method? Do you need Master to explain it to you again?”
Speaking of cultivation, he instinctively felt concerned.
He had been so busy saving his Eldest Disciple and dealing with his own affairs over the last two days that he had forgotten to check on her progress.
“I understand some of it, but… but I need Master’s help.”
Lu Zhiyi narrowed her eyes slightly as he patted her head, feeling very comfortable. Her face heated up as she spoke.
She had been studying the Cultivation Method Master gave her these past few days and discovered that it seemed to require two people to work together to complete the cycle. It looked a lot like the legendary Dual Cultivation…
Of course, the actual meaning of the Heaven-Mending Art was to exchange Spiritual Qi with the world, but her “top-tier” understanding had completely misinterpreted it.
However, she couldn’t be blamed. As an ancient text, it was written in an extremely cryptic manner, which was a common issue.
For example, a classic line read: “On a moonlit night, exchange the Yellow Grandmother; let the Jade Mouth swallow the Toad.”
In reality, it spoke of absorbing the essence of the moon at night, but if interpreted literally, the meaning would be quite scandalous…
“Alright, go boil some water. Master will help you guide your energy one more time before we go to sleep, okay?”
It was late, and Su Xuan let out a yawn. He decided to finish helping his young disciple before taking a good rest.
“By the way, where is your Senior Sister? Is she asleep again?”
Mentioning the water made him realize he had overlooked Lin Zhiwei. He wondered if she had gone out again.
“Senior Sister went to practice her sword. She said she wouldn’t be disturbed at night.”
When mentioning her Senior Sister, Lu Zhiyi paused awkwardly.
The two of them hadn’t spoken much today. It felt like her Senior Sister was hiding something from her, which left her feeling both disappointed and worried.
“Oh, then go ahead. It’s perfect; we’ll just be waiting for her then.”
Su Xuan nodded.
“Master is the best!”
Seeing that he didn’t suspect a thing, Lu Zhiyi thought she had successfully deceived him and cheered sweetly.
Master had come home so late and was still staying up to give her a Medicinal Bath; he really did care about her.
Her heart felt warm, and she instinctively gave Su Xuan a bear hug, resolving that she would definitely repay him well once her cultivation improved.
But before her happiness could last, a scent of roses suddenly drifted into her nose.
Unlike the faint fragrance from yesterday, this one was much stronger. One would only be stained with such a scent if they were practically skin-to-skin!
For some reason, her heart ached, as if something belonging to her had been snatched away by someone else.
“Master, I haven’t asked yet. Where were you just now? Why did it take you so long to come back?”
She let go of him without changing her expression and asked.
“I… I went to find someone to learn Alchemy.”
Being asked this, Su Xuan also felt a bit guilty and only told half the truth.
After all, who learns Alchemy by staying skin-to-skin in a woman’s bedroom?
If his disciples found out, where would he hide his old face?
“Oh… I’m going to boil the water.”
Lu Zhiyi’s expression dimmed. She turned and went into the kitchen, absentmindedly boiling water and preparing the herbs.
‘Liar!’
Learn Alchemy while being skin-to-skin with another woman?
Did he really think she was an ignorant child?
She bit her lip, her eyes turning red.
She couldn’t tell if her feelings toward that mysterious woman were jealousy or envy; she just instinctively feared that Master would actually run away with her.
‘She’s just a vixen! I’m not bad-looking either!’
Possessed by a sudden whim, she touched her own waist as an absurd thought rose in her mind.