Chapter 35: Master, You Wouldn’t Want…

That night, Luo Xing lay in his bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep for a long time...

Although he didn't technically need to sleep anymore, this habit he'd brought with him from before his transmigration was impossible to break. Besides, a good night's rest could provide him with a clear mind...

But right now, he couldn't sleep because he was replaying events in his head.

It seemed like ever since that day Ye Li had caught him talking bad about her, the entire storyline had deviated from the Han Li Jie he remembered.

Ye Li hadn't taken Luo Han as her disciple like in the original plot. Luo Xing thought that was a good thing—after all, it was something he'd tried his hardest to change. But now...

He himself had become Ye Li's disciple instead. And...

The current Ye Li seemed somewhat... broken as a character. She didn't resemble the stubborn, twisted, mentally unhinged, cruel female protagonist from the original novel at all.

No—at least when it came to tormenting him, Ye Li was still the same as in the original. Need I say more? Just taking him to the Sword Tomb to get struck by lightning last time wasn't something a normal master would do to their disciple...

But aside from those factors, Ye Li's behavior had deviated too much from the original. Especially...

Letting him, a man, massage her feet. Not minding him holding her waist. And today, she'd even eaten the mortal food he'd cooked...

Ye Li's various actions made Luo Xing can't help but wonder if he'd transmigrated into the wrong book...

And besides her, Bai Li Qin Mo's behavior was also different from the original. As a sword cultivator with a "Righteous Sword" Sword Heart, when facing Ye Li's tyranny, he didn't think about resisting. Instead...

He sold Luo Xing out without hesitation!

Was that something a "Righteous Sword" Sword Heart cultivator would do?!

Luo Xing could only file this away as a doubt for now. In the original novel, Bai Li Qin Mo only discovered Ye Li's true nature at the end of the early arc or beginning of the middle arc...

Perhaps in Bai Li Qin Mo's eyes, the current Ye Li was still just a willful, domineering, unreasonable junior sister...

Setting all that aside for now—he could think until his head split open and still not find answers. As for Ye Li eating mortal food...

You have to understand, Ye Li's character was that of an aloof, ethereal immortal who didn't touch worldly affairs. There was a scene in the original where she attended a banquet with Luo Han, and when faced with rare,顶级 spiritual delicacies, she wouldn't even glance at them...

"Could it be... this is the reason?"

Luo Xing turned his gaze toward the skill in his mind: [Cooking Lv.1] .

Hmm...

Very possible.

After all, having read some system (trash) novels, Luo Xing speculated that the things he made might have been significantly enhanced by the system's blessing, enough to even attract Ye Li.

But...

What use was that?

Was he supposed to become a chef now?

And when Ye Li bullied him, say something like: "Hehehe~ Master, you wouldn't want... to miss out on my cooking, right?"

Luo Xing could be certain that if he dared to do that, Ye Li would shove his head into the pot...

Forget it.

If she wanted to eat, let her eat. It was like feeding... ahem... honoring his master. Maybe it would even change Ye Li's temperament and prevent her from becoming that cruel, stubborn, twisted female protagonist later on.

Luo Xing remembered that in the original novel, Ye Li was fairly normal in the early stages. But then, for some unknown reason, she twisted...

Hmm...

"Corrupted" was a better word. "Twisted" wasn't precise enough.

"What was it that caused her to turn evil?" Luo Xing muttered, tilting his head with his arms crossed. "Why can't I remember?"

Or did that lazy author never write it?

Hmm...

That wasn't impossible...

Luo Xing pondered for a long time before finally deciding to observe further. Whether Ye Li was the same Ye Li from the original or not, caution was the parent of safety. He had witnessed that woman's terror and cruelty, so he wouldn't let his guard down just because Ye Li seemed normal temporarily.

Anyway, until everything was confirmed, he would find outside help when needed. If Ye Li didn't turn evil in the later stages, they could still be a good master and disciple. But if it ended up like the original...

Then only heaven could help.

Having sorted out his thoughts, Luo Xing stopped his wild conjectures. Instead, he took out the pills and Spirit Stones Luo Han had left him and entered a cultivation state.

Although he was a sword cultivator, his cultivation base still needed to keep up. Otherwise, a Level 1 mana pool couldn't support Level 15 skills. Besides, if he could break through to late Foundation Establishment earlier, he could freely enter and leave Duan Tian Peak sooner and find outside help more easily.

---

The next day, morning.

Today, as usual, Luo Xing began practicing basic sword techniques under Ye Li's supervision. But before they started, she spoke up for the first time, asking Luo Xing to brew her a pot of tea.

Luo Xing: "..."

'Another day of witnessing her break character... Didn't she only like drinking alcohol?'

Complaints aside, he obediently did as he was told and brewed Ye Li... a pot of tea.

The tea cup touched her lips. The bitter fragrance entered her nostrils. The slightly astringent tea soup slid down her throat, warmth spreading through her limbs and bones. The restlessness in her heart seemed to dissolve in the tea, sinking deep into her chest...

One sip of tea soup down, Ye Li felt her mind calm, distracting thoughts vanishing. Even she didn't notice the hint of contentment spreading across her face...

'So it really is a matter of the brewer...'

Ye Li took a light sip of tea, her eyes fixed on the young man practicing his sword. 'Even Bai Li Qin Mo's five-hundred-year Southern Sea Snow Tea wasn't this good...'

【Tea Art: 8/10】

But...

She couldn't help recalling the inexplicable thought that had popped into her head last night...

The difference between a disciple and a servant was that a servant would stay by her side for life, their life and death in her hands. But a disciple...

A disciple would grow, become stronger, and eventually leave.

He might always be her disciple, but he wouldn't stay by her side forever...

When that time came, there would be no one left to massage her feet, brew her tea, or cook delicious food for her...

Thinking of this, the restlessness Ye Li had just suppressed inexplicably resurfaced. She subconsciously took another sip of tea...

'Why am I thinking about this?'

Luo Xing was merely her plaything. Whatever achievements he made in cultivation, whether he lived or died, stayed or left—what did it have to do with her?

Yes...

What did it have to do with her?

He was her disciple. He would always be her disciple, Ye Li's disciple. As long as she wanted, even if Luo Xing fled to the ends of the earth, she could find him and bring him back to massage her feet, brew her tea, and cook for her.

Yes...

That was it.

He...

Couldn't escape.

---

On the other side, Luo Xing, who was practicing his sword techniques, suddenly felt a bone-chilling cold...

It was as if...

Some terrifying monster was staring at him...

Staring until his spine went cold, his hair stood on end, and goosebumps covered his body...

But besides him, the only one on Duan Tian Peak was...

Luo Xing stiffly turned his head, only to see Ye Li lying on her rattan chair, eyes closed as if dozing, not even glancing at him...

Was it just his imagination?

Or...

Had he been practicing wrong?

Hmm...

That wasn't impossible. After all, Ye Li was always calling him useless...

Thinking this, Luo Xing practiced even more seriously and attentively.

After all, last time he'd been taken to the Sword Tomb to get struck by lightning precisely because he was too useless. If she ever thought he was lacking again, heaven knows what kind of "devil training" she'd come up with...