“That’s it? You don’t have any thoughts on that?” Wen Zhuo asked Shen Jinge, a hint of coaxing in his voice.
“Like resentment? Dissatisfaction?”
“Not really.” Shen Jinge said bluntly.
She had never gone with the intention of becoming Luo Xing’s dao partner from the very beginning. Her only goal was to repay a favor and settle this karmic debt. Otherwise, constantly thinking about it would inevitably affect her cultivation mindset.
Wen Zhuo pouted and sighed.
“Other than that?”
Shen Jinge lowered her eyes and thought for a long while. Finally, she spoke.
“I want to cultivate.”
“Cultivate?”
“That’s right.”
Shen Jinge nodded. “I want to quickly gain enough strength so that when Luo Xing faces a life-or-death crisis in the future, I can step in and save him in time, repaying today’s karma.”
Wen Zhuo was completely speechless now…
Really, rather than hoping Shen Jinge would have a sudden epiphany, it would be easier to expect a sow to climb a tree.
“Forget it. Since your mind is made up, your master won’t say any more.” Wen Zhuo waved his hand helplessly. “Arrange it yourself.”
As she spoke, she raised a willow-like eyebrow and then asked, “Hey, Jinge, your master wants to ask you something. You must answer honestly.”
“Master, please ask.” Shen Jinge said seriously. “Your disciple will tell everything I know.”
Wen Zhuo: “…”
She almost forgot – her disciple’s only flaw was being too honest, but that was also one of her strengths…
“Hmm, then what if… Master is saying ‘if,’ after you repay the favor, one day by chance you are saved by someone else, how would you plan to repay that favor?”
Wen Zhuo asked tentatively, “Because Luo Xing saved your life, you want to use your most precious virginity to repay the favor. Then what if… Master is saying ‘if’…”
It couldn’t possibly be the same method again, could it?
What would her disciple become then?
“Offer my body.”
Shen Jinge answered without any hesitation.
“Aside from my virginity, the most precious thing this disciple has left is my own life.”
If such a situation really occurred, then she would have to give her life to that person. Face danger for them, protect them from strong enemies, buy what they want, snatch what they need—in short, use everything she had to repay that life-saving grace.
Wen Zhuo helplessly covered her face. “You… can’t you choose a different way to repay favors?”
Even though she had guessed something like this earlier, hearing Shen Jinge say it so calmly still made her feel a bit devastated.
When exactly had this disciple’s worldview gone askew?
Who repays favors like this?
And twice…
Can’t you learn from Luo Xing and just use a valuable item to offset the debt?
Wen Zhuo had clearly misunderstood Shen Jinge’s meaning…
What she meant by “offer my body” was actually to become the other’s protector until the favor was repaid. But what Wen Zhuo understood was… This rebellious disciple was planning to sell herself again…
She couldn’t understand – her sect was Chilian Pavilion, not Hehuan Sect. Why did this rebellious disciple keep thinking about such strange things?
“Just as Fellow Cultivator Luo said, since it’s a life-saving grace, it should be repaid with a method of equal value.” Shen Jinge felt she was speaking quite reasonably. “Since that person saved me, I must save them in return, no matter what. Master, a life-saving grace – can it be repaid with mere external possessions?”
As for becoming dao partners… That was not within her consideration.
“Then what if… it’s a woman?” Wen Zhuo, still unaware she had misunderstood Shen Jinge’s meaning, continued with a pained expression. “If it’s a female cultivator, what would you do?”
“The same.” Shen Jinge answered without a hint of hesitation. “Whether it’s a male or female cultivator, since it’s a life-saving grace, it should be repaid in the same way. There is no difference between the two.”
She meant that regardless of gender, if there was a debt of gratitude, she should repay it.
Wen Zhuo: “…”
No difference?
The difference is huge, alright!
If the other party were a male cultivator, that would be one thing – offering one’s body was not uncommon in the cultivation world, and it was everywhere in the mortal realm. But the problem was, if it were a female cultivator… Tsk… Unthinkable, unthinkable!
Meanwhile, after Luo Xing arrived at Cloud Mist Peak, he didn’t find his sister Luo Han. Chen Anqi and Pei Qingshuang were also absent. Only Dai Zifu was here.
“Senior Sister Dai.”
“You’re looking for your sister?”
Dai Zifu led Luo Xing into the house and poured him a cup of tea.
“She went out with the master to search for medicinal herbs. Come back later.”
Luo Han had been taken by Pei Qingshuang to gather medicinal herbs, and also to learn to recognize some rare treasures, so that in the future when she went out, she wouldn’t come across treasures without knowing them. Because Pei Qingshuang had heard that during this sect’s training, a few disciples had found a rare divine artifact, but since they didn’t recognize what it was, they gave it away for nothing.
Luo Xing: “Oh, I see. What about Senior Sister Chen?”
Dai Zifu: “I don’t know. I haven’t seen her around recently at all.”
But she had heard from a few inner disciples that they had seen her a few times in the inner sect…
Luo Xing: “Oh, I see.”
Dai Zifu: “Mm…”
Luo Xing: “…”
Dai Zifu: “…”
The two sat facing each other, silent for a long time, and the scene fell into an awkward stillness…
Luo Xing: “…”
‘How should I find an excuse to say I want to try alchemy?’
His purpose for coming to Cloud Mist Peak today, besides visiting his sister, was also to try if he could do alchemy. It wasn’t that he no longer wanted to be a sword cultivator; it was mainly because of the skills he had…
[Cooking Lv.2: 118/300]
[Fire Making Lv.2: 17/300]
[Fire Control Lv.2: 117/300]
Last time when he competed with Feng Jun, he had used [Knife Skill] to prove that the limit of this skill was extremely high—meaning as long as he had a knife in hand, he could use the [Knife Skill]. So recently he had been thinking, could the [Cooking] skill also be applied to alchemy?
After all, from a rough perspective, alchemy and cooking seemed to have no real difference… Either way, it was about choosing the right medicinal herbs (selecting ingredients), using a suitable cauldron (good cookware), strictly controlling the size and intensity of the spiritual fire (controlling the heat), and then condensing the extracted essence into a pill (reducing the sauce over high heat).
Therefore, Luo Xing wanted to test how great the limit of this skill was, whether it would also be a conceptual skill like [Knife Skill]… But the current situation was that he didn’t know how to bring it up. After all, he wasn’t an alchemist. If he suddenly told Dai Zifu that he wanted to try making pills, she would probably think it was absurd…
On the other side, Dai Zifu was hoping Luo Xing would leave soon…
Dai Zifu: “…”
‘Why isn’t Luo Xing leaving yet?’
‘My manuscript just reached an important part…’
Manuscripts, i.e., ancient novels, were one of Dai Zifu’s few hobbies. She usually liked to write things she wanted, then throw them around the inner or outer sect for disciples to read and pass around. But she didn’t want to reveal her identity; she didn’t want others to know that she wrote those manuscripts. In fact, when someone discussed her manuscripts in front of her, she would feel very excited.
“Mm… um… Junior Brother Luo…”
“Senior Sister Dai!”
Just as Dai Zifu was about to speak, Luo Xing spoke first: “I suddenly remembered something I want to ask you. What’s the deal with those two new pills my sister recently refined—the Qi Gathering Pill and the Spirit Nourishing Pill?”
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