By the time Su Zhan returned to Casual Peak carrying the white cat, the rain had grown even heavier.
In her memory, on rainy days like this, Lin Wan’er most enjoyed brewing a pot of tea and sitting in the main hall on the chaise lounge.
She would spend half the day eating pastries from Zhenwei Pavilion while watching the rain.
Su Zhan had been asked to accompany her several times, but she could never understand why Lin Wan’er could watch rain with such keen interest.
She remembered asking that question once.
Lin Wan’er had answered calmly that she was using the rain scene to comprehend the great array of heaven and earth and to cultivate a free and unfettered heart.
After that rain, Lin Wan’er asked her if she had gained any insight.
Su Zhan could not answer and could only say that the pastries from Zhenwei Pavilion tasted quite good.
Lin Wan’er had laughed helplessly and patted her head, commenting that she was just like Martial Aunt Cheng Shuang — a block of wood — and therefore could not appreciate such things.
From then on, however, Lin Wan’er had noted down exactly what Su Zhan liked to eat.
Every rainy day after that, Lin Wan’er would order extra portions of Su Zhan’s favorite pastries, even when Su Zhan was in closed-door cultivation.
Because of this, Su Zhan did not return to her room. Instead, she peeked into the main hall, wanting to see if her master was still there enjoying tea as usual.
After all, if she wanted to keep a cat on the peak, she still needed to ask for Lin Wan’er’s opinion.
Xia Liu had mentioned that if Lin Wan’er did not like her keeping a cat, she could send the little one over to her place to be fostered.
There were many medicinal herbs there, so the white cat would probably be more comfortable in that environment.
Su Zhan stepped inside. As expected, Lin Wan’er was still sitting in the hall.
However, beside her sat two other people — one large and one small.
The larger one sat in a relaxed posture, grabbing pastries and tea and swallowing them whole.
The smaller one was copying her exactly, her movements looking as though they had been carved from the same mold.
“Master, Martial Aunt, Ning Junior Sister.”
Su Zhan placed the paper umbrella by the door and walked closer while holding the white cat in her arms.
Once she saw who the guests were, she showed no surprise and greeted them. “I’m back.”
“It’s good that you’re back, it’s good that you’re back. Your master knew you were returning today, so she went to Zhenwei Pavilion early this morning and bought all the limited-edition pastries. She didn’t leave a single one for anyone else and has been waiting just to give them to you.”
Cheng Shuang took a sip of tea, swallowed the pastry in her mouth, and spoke before Lin Wan’er could.
She acted completely like the host of the house.
“Sit, sit, sit. Oh my, where did this little cat come from? It’s actually quite cute. You even knew to buy yourself a new set of clothes to wear after going out. Not bad, not bad. After just a few days apart, Zhan’er has become even prettier.”
She gave Su Zhan a big thumbs-up with absolutely no sense of shame or elder-like demeanor.
Lin Wan’er shook her head helplessly.
There was nothing she could do about this person.
She reached out and gestured for her precious disciple to sit beside her.
She had noticed the white cat in Su Zhan’s arms but did not comment on it.
She simply poured a cup of tea and picked up a pastry to hand over.
Ning Yao was still busy stuffing the pastry in her cheeks.
She tried to say something but ended up choking.
She patted her chest hard twice before she finally felt better.
“Phew, I’m alive again… Su Wood! Duel! I’ve had new insights after a week in seclusion. This time I definitely won’t lose to you!”
Listening to the sound of Ning Yao slapping her own chest without any mercy, Su Zhan thought that perhaps there was a reason this girl was so flat-chested.
Just as she was about to refuse, she saw Martial Aunt Cheng Shuang frowning and gently patting Ning Yao on the head with a hand that still had pastry crumbs on it.
The girl let out a pained “Ow!”
“Always talking about dueling, dueling. This is someone else’s territory. You’re here as a guest, not to fight!”
As she spoke, perhaps feeling that the pat just now had been too hard, Cheng Shuang reached out again and rubbed Ning Yao’s hair.
“Besides, did you forget what you were brought here to do today? Hurry up and take it out.”
“Master! You…”
“You what? You’ve eaten so many pastries, it’s time to pay it back. Be obedient and stop dawdling.”
“Guh…”
“What is it?”
Su Zhan looked puzzled and turned toward Ning Yao.
The girl’s face suddenly turned red.
She twisted her body awkwardly.
Under Cheng Shuang’s urging, she stood up with great reluctance and slowly walked over to Su Zhan.
Then, under Su Zhan’s surprised gaze, Ning Yao pressed her lips together and took out a bamboo strip from her storage ring.
She held it up with both hands and offered it to Su Zhan.
What the… Looking at how red her face was, Su Zhan had thought she was about to hand over a love letter.
That had given her quite a fright.
“Junior Sister, is this… a gift for me?”
Su Zhan did not know whether to laugh or cry, but she still reached out and accepted it.
She examined it carefully.
This was the first time she had seen someone give a bamboo strip as a gift. It was quite unique.
The bamboo strip felt slightly cool and smooth in her hand.
It had a nice texture and reminded her of the straight branches she used to break off by the roadside when she was young.
She casually played with it, drawing the white cat’s curious gaze.
Hmm, with a little modification it could probably be turned into a cat teaser.
“Since it’s a gift… I’ll accept it. Thank you, Junior Sister.”
Although she still had no idea why anyone would give this kind of thing as a present.
“You… you hit me… Just this once… Hit my butt… Or anywhere else is fine… I, Ning Yao, will not resist. Do as you please!”
Su Zhan had just accepted the gift and thanked her when Ning Yao began to stammer.
Her voice kept catching.
In the end she simply closed her eyes, her face completely red, and shouted out the real purpose of giving Su Zhan the bamboo strip in a tone of self-abandonment.
“…Ah?”
Su Zhan’s hand, which had been playing with the bamboo strip, paused.
She could hardly believe what she had just heard.
When Ning Yao heard her hesitant response, her face grew even redder.
It seemed that making such a request had already made Ning Yao feel deeply ashamed.
When Su Zhan looked toward Cheng Shuang, she saw the woman actually nodding with an expression that said “the child is teachable.”
Her own master, on the other hand, looked as though she could not bear to watch.
She turned her head away and continued drinking tea, pretending she had heard nothing.
“Zhan’er, just hit her without worry. Don’t have any misgivings. If you don’t want to do it yourself, then Martial Aunt will do it for you.”
Cheng Shuang waved her large hand and even rolled up her sleeves.
She seemed so impatient that she had already stood up, ready to take over the moment Su Zhan gave the word.
“No way! I protest! This matter may be my fault, but Master, you’re not completely innocent either!”
Ning Yao immediately grew anxious. She quickly took two steps closer to Su Zhan and hid behind her.
Poking her head out from Su Zhan’s waist, she protested toward Cheng Shuang.
“You can’t be hit by Aunt Wan’er, so now you’re looking for an excuse to vent your anger on me!”
“This…”
Su Zhan was completely confused. What on earth was going on?
“Alright, you two behave yourselves and stop making a fuss.”
In the end, Lin Wan’er could no longer stand to watch. She let out a helpless sigh and laugh before explaining to Su Zhan.
“Actually, before you led the trial, your master divined a reading for you and calculated that you might encounter danger during this trip. So I asked your Martial Aunt Cheng Shuang to entrust a protective artifact to you. I didn’t expect that she would forget to give it to you.”
“This wasn’t originally a big deal, but your Martial Aunt Cheng Shuang felt too guilty about it and insisted on punishing herself before she could feel at ease.”
If the master punishes herself, then the disciple must also be punished… It seemed Ning Yao was quite unlucky.
Su Zhan silently complained in her heart.
“Zhan’er, are you thinking that Ning’er has suffered an undeserved calamity this time?”
As if she had heard Su Zhan’s inner thoughts, Cheng Shuang crossed her arms and chuckled.
“I gave that artifact to Ning’er and specifically told her to deliver it to you. But she forgot about it completely. Therefore, the beating she’s about to receive is not unjust.”
“Junior Sister made an unintentional mistake. Since it’s not a big deal, let’s just forget about it.”
Now that she understood the reason, Su Zhan gently shook her head. Just as her master had said, it really wasn’t a serious matter.
“No way!” Ning Yao refused.
“This young lady does things properly. If I was wrong, then I was wrong. What do you mean ‘let it go’? I don’t need your sympathy. Just hit me already!”
Su Zhan raised an eyebrow.
This silly girl still didn’t understand when people were speaking kindly to her.
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