IVYSCP - Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Lying in bed, Ling Qingyue felt her body tense. A cold fragrance drifted continuously from beside her, a reminder that she was sharing a bed with Pei Si.
Fortunately, Pei Si was already asleep and wouldn't notice her rigid, unmoving nervousness.
During the day, she had carved Liu Qingtang's likeness three times. Without exception, all three had failed. Ling Qingyue didn't think it was her own problem. Her control over force was extremely precise; a mere wood carving shouldn't cause her three consecutive failures.
That evening, she had wanted to keep carving in the wood room and absorb the last Spirit Stone along the way, but because she had injured her hand during the first carving, Pei Si forbade her from handling knives at night.
Originally, Ling Qingyue had wanted to reason with her and argue her case, but when she met Pei Si's eyes, the words on the tip of her tongue suddenly died in her throat.
She remembered someone saying: to see a person, look at their eyes.
Pei Si's irises were pale. When she looked straight at you, the emotions in her eyes, though not intense, were completely unhidden. A gentle concern.
Looking into those eyes, a thought surfaced in Ling Qingyue's mind: If I truly were Ah Xi, I would agree to everything she asks.
It wasn't until she had undressed and was lying in the same bed that Ling Qingyue jolted back to her senses.
But I'm not Ah Xi!
And now she was sleeping on the inner side. Getting out would require climbing over Pei Si. What if she woke her…
Ling Qingyue turned slightly, pressing herself against the wall. Only when she saw there was enough space between them for another person did she rest a hand over her heart, reassured, and shut her eyes.
Ah Xi, don't worry. I won't do anything improper.
Her consciousness slowly sank, her breathing even.
The night was cool as water, the moon bright and stars sparse.
A faint glimmer flickered past the half-open window.
"Creak—"
The door opened and Pei Si stepped onto the long corridor. As she moved, tiny bright points began to flash one after another throughout the small courtyard. Faint gold Spiritual Energy flowed between each point, forming an array.
Something had entered and triggered the formation she had set up.
Pei Si walked all the way to the wood room. The door opened on its own, and the candlelight inside silently leaped to life, illuminating the entire space.
Her gaze swept past the wooden table and shelves, finally settling on the Liu Qingtang wood carvings Ah Xi had carved during the day. Three ruined carvings, now only two remained. The one stained with blood was gone.
"Huff— huff—"
The silence of deep night was disrupted by chaotic breathing and heavy footsteps.
A puddle by the roadside reflected a black figure wrapped tightly from head to toe.
The shadow darted to a street corner, turned into a small alley, and entered the innermost door.
The room beyond was crude and cramped, windowless. The floor and tables were covered with all kinds of books about the Immortal Realm, along with some introductory cultivation manuals.
Meng Qi raised her hand and tore the black cloth from her face, gasping for air. Only after a while did the violent pounding of nervousness in her chest begin to subside. She walked to the table, poured a cup of cold tea, tilted her head back, and drank it all in one go.
The icy water moistened her throat, but it still couldn't calm her state of mind.
The candle on the table lit her face, revealing a frenzied excitement in her eyes.
Meng Qi placed the things she had obtained onto the table. A wood carving, and a stone.
Originally she had only intended to sneak into Ah Xi's house to steal a wood carving; she hadn't expected such an unexpected bonus.
Meng Qi took the Spirit Stone in her hand and slowly closed her eyes.
She felt it. A rich Spiritual Qi, the likes of which had never existed in the Mortal Realm.
Her eyes snapped open. Meng Qi immediately sat cross-legged on the ground, her hands forming a practiced seal as she began circulating the Spiritual Qi through every meridian in her body.
Soon, a grayish-white Spiritual Energy appeared around her. A layer of turbid sweat broke out on her forehead and neck, emitting a pungent, foul stench.
A wisp of dense white Spiritual Qi seeped from the Spirit Stone, slowly mingling into the gray-white Spiritual Energy. The pained endurance on Meng Qi's face faded bit by bit.
The faint noise of the streets outside reached her ears. Meng Qi opened her eyes and withdrew her energy. It was dawn.
She hadn't been able to absorb all the Spiritual Energy from the Spirit Stone; even half had been a struggle.
But the pure Spiritual Qi within the Spirit Stone only fueled the heat in Meng Qi's heart. I have to go to the Immortal Realm!
She stood up, preparing to fetch water to wash away the sweat and filth on her body. Her gaze shifted and fell on the wood carving on the table. Meng Qi frowned.
Last night had been too dark to see clearly. She had actually taken a defective piece. This carving was incomplete, and still bore blood on its head.
Meng Qi didn't know how to carve. But this was an opportunity, a chance to ascend to the Immortal Realm. She absolutely could not miss it.
She had heard others say that an immortal from the Piaomiao Sect had once praised Ah Xi's wood carvings as good. Based on that, she had gotten the idea last night to steal one. If an immortal from the Piaomiao Sect really did take a liking to the wood carving, then she wouldn't have to struggle desperately in the Mortal Realm anymore, cultivating with thin, turbid Spiritual Qi.
When Ling Qingyue woke, she found Pei Si was gone, not even in the courtyard.
"Went out?"
Muttering quietly to herself, Ling Qingyue yawned and prepared clean water to wash up. Once she had tidied herself, she headed to the wood room.
A moment later…
"Where's my stone!?" Ling Qingyue searched from the top of the table to underneath it, but the last Spirit Stone was simply gone.
Her Spirit Stone, which was that big!!!???
Ling Qingyue wailed inside, on the verge of collapse.
"Ah Xi, come out for breakfast."
Pei Si had returned, calling out from the courtyard.
Ling Qingyue rushed out and saw Pei Si carrying a food box.
"Pei Si, a thief broke into the house last night!"
Pei Si held the food box with one hand, and with the other she reached out to lead her toward the pavilion corridor. She asked gently, "Is anything missing?"
Just thinking about it made Ling Qingyue's heart ache. "That pretty stone Lu Yao gave me! I left one in the wood room, and now it's gone."
Pei Si had assumed she would mention the wood carving, not the Spirit Stone.
"You liked it that much?"
Ling Qingyue nodded vigorously. Before, she had dismissed Spirit Stones with indifference, because Shangtianqiong never lacked such things. For cultivation there were far better heavenly treasures, and as a disciple of the Sect Leader, she had never wanted for any of it. But in her current circumstances, she could no longer afford to look down on Spirit Stones.
"Like it! I like it very much!"
Ling Qingyue glanced at the steamed buns on the table. They were the flavor she had said was good yesterday. So Pei Si had gone out early in the morning to buy buns.
Pei Si took out the buns and a steaming bowl of silken tofu, thoughtfully drizzled a ring of osmanthus honey over the tofu, and then placed it in front of Ling Qingyue. As she did so, she said, "Perhaps a wood-carving thief took it."
Ling Qingyue looked puzzled. "What wood-carving thief?"
Pei Si sat down beside her. "I heard about it when I went out earlier. Many wood-carving shops were hit last night. Quite a few carvings are missing."
Wood carvings…
Ling Qingyue thought back to the wood room, and then her eyes widened a bit.
"There's also a wood carving missing!"
That bloodstained Liu Qingtang carving!
"So there really is a wood-carving thief!" The more Ling Qingyue thought about it, the angrier she got. "Taking the wood carving is one thing! Why take my stone too!"
Pei Si took a sip of her tofu. Her other hand hung below the table as she asked, casually, "You like that kind of pretty stone?"
Ling Qingyue bit into her bun and nodded, saying something she didn't mean to: "Sparkly, very pretty."
Very useful.
"Here."
Pei Si placed a stone of pure, dense white onto the table. She extended two fingers and nudged it toward her.
Ling Qingyue stopped chewing, her eyes flying wide open, her cheeks still puffed out with food.
This was… Spirit Jade Marrow!
Her shock was not unwarranted; this thing was rare even in the Immortal Realm!
"You… where did you get this?" Ling Qingyue's words were a bit garbled. After speaking, she realized that seemed somewhat rude and quickly swallowed the food in her mouth before asking again properly.
Pei Si's expression was perfectly natural. "An heirloom from my ancestors. It seems it was left by an immortal. It has no real use."
This is incredibly useful!
Ling Qingyue stared at the Spirit Jade Marrow, her eyes shining.
The Spiritual Qi in ordinary spirit jade far surpassed that of Spirit Stones, let alone high-quality Spirit Jade Marrow like this. This single piece could likely help her cultivation recover directly to Foundation Establishment!
Before she could finish rejoicing, the smile on Ling Qingyue's lips fell away.
In Pei Si's eyes, she was still Ah Xi. It was Ah Xi who liked pretty stones, and she was giving this to Ah Xi. What's more, it was an ancestral heirloom. If she were to use it…
Pei Si looked at her. "You don't like it?"
The hand hanging below the table fished out another Spirit Stone.
"No, I like it very much!" Ling Qingyue snatched up the Spirit Jade Marrow and clutched it tightly.
Recovering my cultivation is the priority. Once I return to Shangtianqiong, I'll go to the Treasure Pavilion and find something even better to repay Ah Xi and Pei Si.
They had just finished breakfast, and Ling Qingyue was about to start carving Liu Qingtang's likeness again to see where the problem lay, when the front gate was pounded loudly.
"Ah Xi! I know you're home. Open up!"
Ling Qingyue opened the door. Seeing who stood outside, she quickly flashed a perfunctory smile. "What do you want, Eldest Miss Xue?"
Xue Zizai had braided her hair today, naturally accompanied by hair ornaments. Many little silver bells hung from her small braids, chiming with her every movement.
When she saw Ling Qingyue, she lifted her chin, looking extremely lively.
"A lot of wood carvings were stolen around town last night. I'm here to ask about the situation. You weren't at the shop, so I had no choice but to come find you at home."
Almost all the wood-carving shops in Linshui Town had dealings with the Xue Family. The theft of wood carvings also implicated the Xue Estate's interests.
Ling Qingyue leaned against the doorframe. "I haven't gone to the shop yet, so I don't know if any carvings are missing. But the house did lose one wood carving... though it was damaged, so its loss is no great matter."
Xue Zizai still wore her sword at her hip. She touched the patterns on the hilt with one hand and coughed. "Take me to see."
With that, she raised her foot, ready to walk into the courtyard.
Ling Qingyue blocked her with an outstretched hand. "See what? I've made the situation clear to you. What else is there to see?"
Xue Zizai's eyes darted away for a second, then she turned back and glared fiercely at her.
Ling Qingyue chuckled lightly. "Eldest Miss Xue couldn't be wanting to see Pei Si, could she?"
Having her thoughts exposed, Xue Zizai's face flushed with angry embarrassment. "Ah Xi! What nonsense are you spouting! I am here to investigate! Your evasive behavior makes me very suspicious of you right now!"
Ling Qingyue: "…"
You're the one spouting nonsense.
She let the person into the courtyard. Ling Qingyue saw that as soon as Xue Zizai entered, her eyes went straight to Pei Si, who was practicing calligraphy under the pavilion corridor.
She snorted inwardly and sidestepped, blocking her view.
An annoying face suddenly appeared before her. Xue Zizai's expression changed instantly. "Move!"
Ling Qingyue glanced at her. "You're going the wrong way. The wood room is over there."
Xue Zizai's expression froze. She turned and threw the blame back onto her. "Then lead the way!"
Ling Qingyue led the person to the wood room. The wood room wasn't large. Xue Zizai circled it once, then picked up the Liu Qingtang carving from the table. She snorted in mockery. "This is the standard? That thief must have been blind. What is there even worth stealing here?"
Taking advantage of her turned back, Ling Qingyue raised a fist and aimed two punches at the air behind Xue Zizai's head.
If Xue Zizai really does go to the Immortal Realm, I'll have to make a trip to the Piaomiao Sect someday and return this comment in full.
When the young miss practiced her swordsmanship, she would say: This is the standard? This? This?
Suddenly, a light chuckle sounded from behind her ear. Ling Qingyue turned her head and saw Pei Si at the doorway.
"…"
She saw the whole childish display just now.
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