IVYSCP - Chapter 13
Chapter 13
Lu Yao stood atop the tree canopy and watched. Even after waiting a long while, she never caught sight of that white figure.
She looked down at Meng Qi, who was meditating and circulating her energy by the pool below, and spoke up. "Could it be that the senior already left?"
Meng Qi was not as calm as she appeared on the surface either. She bit her lip and lowered her gaze to the wooden sword beside her.
Ever since the day she had been taught the cultivation method and a set of sword arts, her master had never come again.
Had she really left?
It made sense. After all, her master was from Shangtianqiong Sect and would naturally not linger long in a place with such thin spiritual qi.
"If in the future you can enter the Immortal Realm and pass the Shangtianqiong entry exam, I will consider taking you as my disciple."
Her master's words echoed in her mind, and Meng Qi abruptly stood up.
Lu Yao watched her start down the mountain. "You're not going to wait anymore?"
Meng Qi turned back to look at her. Thinking about how they had cultivated in the same place these past few days and had both received guidance from that senior, she said, "I have to go."
With that, she raised her hand to Lu Yao in a formal salute, the greeting of one cultivator to another.
Lu Yao descended lightly to the ground and asked seriously, "Where are you going?"
Meng Qi gripped the wooden sword in her hand. "To the Immortal Realm. To become her disciple."
The persistence and resolve in her eyes stirred Lu Yao's heart. If Meng Qi were not so fixated on becoming that senior's disciple, Lu Yao thought she might have been able to put in a word and invite her to join Piaomiao Sect. Meng Qi's aptitude was passable; the sect leader and elders would not likely refuse.
Lu Yao raised her hand and pointed out a direction. "Follow the road south all the way. Where the clouds meet the edge of the sky, there is the Heavenly Gate. Pass through it and you will reach the Immortal Realm. The Immortal Realm is perilous at every turn, and Shangtianqiong is millions of li from the Heavenly Gate. I hope your journey is a smooth one."
Meng Qi managed a rare smile. "Thank you."
Lu Yao smiled as well. "The next Heavenly Ranking Tournament will be held at Shangtianqiong. I will be going then. I hope you will be there too."
"And, take this."
Lu Yao held out her Qiankun Pouch.
Meng Qi looked puzzled. "What is this?"
Lu Yao removed the restriction on the pouch and then taught Meng Qi how to use it.
Seeing the Spirit Stones inside, Meng Qi's eyes widened slightly. "You're giving all of this to me?"
Lu Yao nodded. "The senior originally left this with me. The senior's cultivation is so profound that she has no use for the spiritual qi within these Spirit Stones. You are currently in dire need of spiritual qi to nourish your body. Take them."
Meng Qi felt a slight heat behind her eyes. Her master had indeed given her Spirit Stones to absorb their spiritual qi over the last few days, but only one at a time, with instruction to be cautious in her cultivation, not to be greedy for more, and to advance step by step.
Her master had taught her a cultivation method and swordsmanship, and before leaving, had even left her this wooden sword and Spirit Stones. She absolutely could not let her master down or make her wait too long.
The resolve in Meng Qi's eyes deepened.
The two exchanged a salute, and Meng Qi turned and started down the mountain.
Back in town, Meng Qi gathered two sets of spare clothes from her cramped little room, then took all the silver she had saved over the years and went to the back gate of the Xue Estate.
She waited a while before she saw Xue Zizai, dressed in a dark red riding outfit, her cheeks flushed, her forehead and the tip of her nose beaded with sweat. Wiping her face with a handkerchief, Xue Zizai spotted Meng Qi, and the corner of her mouth curled into a mocking smile. "What do you want with me? Come to pay me back?"
Meng Qi nodded earnestly and held out an exquisite pouch, completely out of place against her own tattered clothes. The pouch was bulging, looking quite full.
Xue Zizai was taken aback. She pursed her lips, and suddenly she was rather displeased.
Meng Qi couldn't carve. Where would she have gotten so much silver to pay her back? Xue Zizai narrowed her eyes, her tone suspicious. "Where did you get this money? You didn't steal it, did you?"
Meng Qi felt a sudden prick in her heart. She lifted her eyes to meet Xue Zizai's gaze and refuted, "No! I saved it."
The only time she had ever stolen was that one time she went to Ah Xi's house and took a wood carving and a Spirit Stone. But she had already returned them all a few days ago.
Xue Zizai noticed the bundle on her back and the wooden sword in her hand, and her brow furrowed. "You're going on a long journey?"
Meng Qi nodded, but did not say where she was going. She thrust the pouch a little closer to Xue Zizai's face. "We're square now."
Her status was low. Even having enough to eat was a struggle. The only contact she'd ever had with this young lady clad in silks and satins was on a rainy day years ago. The young lady had been at the temple offering incense and praying for blessings, and Meng Qi had gone because the Xue family was distributing porridge. She had accidentally dirtied the young lady's garment. The fabric was fine and precious, woven with gold and silver thread—beautiful, but also extremely costly. Meng Qi had seen the deep disgust and loathing in Madam Xue's eyes. She had hung her head low, shaking with fear.
Madam Xue was charitable, but she was no kind person. When she distributed porridge, she liked to watch those people wolf it down in desperation. She liked the ridiculous sight of them gushing with gratitude for her meager charity. She made no effort to hide her air of superiority or the contempt in her eyes.
If anyone displeased Madam Xue, if anyone was an eyesore, a severe beating was the lightest punishment. Being crippled or maimed was a common occurrence.
Madam Xue doted on her daughter. That time, Meng Qi truly thought she would be beaten to death on the spot. But just as Madam Xue was about to declare her punishment, the young lady had suddenly thrown a tantrum, clamoring to go back and bathe and change clothes. Madam Xue had no choice but to take her home, and that was how Meng Qi escaped.
Then one day, much later, Meng Qi ran into the young lady at the temple again. This time Madam Xue was not with her. The young lady wore many exquisite, beautiful ornaments, and there were little silver bells in her hair that chimed with every step.
"Last time, you dirtied my clothes."
Meng Qi's face instantly drained of all color, and she dropped straight to her knees.
The person before her crouched down and handed over a pouch. "You have to compensate me."
"Compensate... how much?"
"Just fill this pouch up."
"What did you say?" Xue Zizai's brow furrowed deeply.
She was always the one drawing lines with others. Meng Qi, a little beggar, what right did she have to say such a thing to her?
Meng Qi came back to herself and heard Xue Zizai let out a cold scoff and turn to leave. Her high ponytail swung, the ends of her hair brushing across Meng Qi's face.
It tickled a little, but Meng Qi paid it no mind. Anxiously, she reached out a hand to stop her, but the moment her hand was about to touch Xue Zizai, she pulled it back again.
"The Xue family has no shortage of those copper coins of yours." Xue Zizai took a couple of steps, then came back and eyed the wooden sword in Meng Qi's hand, her tone disdainful. "You're not carrying that wooden sword for self-defense, are you?"
Meng Qi did not speak.
A spark of temper flared up inside Xue Zizai. She raised a hand and tossed her own sword over.
Meng Qi froze. "Xue..."
The back gate slammed shut before her eyes. She had come to return the pouch, but had failed, and now she had a weighty sword in her arms as well.
On the scabbard, the warmth from another person's palm still lingered. Meng Qi laid her own hand over it, took one last look at the back gate of the Xue Estate, and headed in the direction Lu Yao had pointed.
Xue Zizai was going to join Piaomiao Sect. They would both be in the Immortal Realm from now on. They would meet again.
At the end of the street, Ling Qingyue, who had come to the medicine shop to get medicine, watched Meng Qi's retreating back from a distance. Only then did she remember that she had been so busy taking care of Pei Si these past few days that she had forgotten about the two on the mountain entirely.
The next day...
"You mean to tell me you gave her all the Spirit Stones?!?!" Ling Qingyue's voice cracked with aggravation.
Her huge bag of Spirit Stones!
Lu Yao was very happy to see her. "I thought you had already left Linshui Town, Senior."
Ling Qingyue clutched her chest, heart aching.
"I thought that since Senior had no use for the Spirit Stones, but those Spirit Stones were what I had promised to give you, and since Senior had earlier shown interest in taking Meng Qi as a disciple, I gave the Spirit Stones and the Qiankun Pouch to Meng Qi together." Lu Yao thought she had been thorough and considerate and was waiting to be praised.
After a long moment with no response, Lu Yao noticed the other person's breathing growing heavier and heavier, and her own voice involuntarily grew quieter. "Shall we practice swordsmanship today?"
Ling Qingyue glared at her. "Practice my ass!"
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