IVYSCP - Chapter 9
Chapter 9
A wooden sword?
Ling Qingyue said offhandedly, "Just picked it up on the way here. No idea who threw it away, but it works perfectly to lean on. Ah, I'm exhausted."
She planted the wooden sword into the ground to prop herself up, breathing hard.
A senior must have thrown it, Lu Yao thought.
Seeing how worn out she was, Lin Zhao said apologetically, "Ah Xi, are you okay? My mother must have sent you to find me, didn't she? I'm really sorry."
Ling Qingyue waved it off and glanced at her herb basket. "Out here gathering herbs alone, how did you end up so deep in the mountains?"
Lin Zhao said ruefully, "I got greedy. I wanted to pick that blood ginseng to exchange for a few more doses of medicine. I didn't expect to fall down the slope and hurt my leg."
Ling Qingyue looked at her left leg, which she had been keeping bent. A small piece of the trouser leg was torn, and blood had dyed a patch of the fabric red.
"Can you still make it down the mountain like this?"
Ling Qingyue turned around and half-crouched in front of her. "Get on, I'll carry you."
"No, no need..."
Just the fact that Ah Xi had come this deep into the mountains to find her already moved her deeply. How could she possibly make her carry her down the mountain too?
"Let me." Lu Yao, who had been standing to the side, suddenly spoke up and, without allowing any argument, lifted Lin Zhao onto her back. "I'm a cultivator, I have plenty of strength. Ah Xi, you just got here, you probably can't carry her either."
Ling Qingyue didn't stand on ceremony with her. "Fine then, you carry her."
Lu Yao paused. "..."
So unceremonious.
Lin Zhao lay on Lu Yao's back feeling extremely out of place.
Lu Yao was an immortal from the Piaomiao Sect, yet now she was carrying her, covered in mud and in such a pathetic state.
On the way down the mountain, Ling Qingyue and Lu Yao chatted intermittently.
Lin Zhao had originally been very nervous, but listening to them talk, she realized that Lu Yao was only seventeen or eighteen years old, about the same age as them, and even a bit younger than her and Ah Xi.
"So you don't need to treat me as some kind of immortal. I don't even count as one. I'm just an ordinary immortal sect cultivator. I experience birth, aging, sickness, and death just the same."
Lin Zhao asked hesitantly, "Immortals... no, cultivators get sick too?"
Lu Yao smiled. "Of course we do. It's just not things like colds and fevers. Illnesses for cultivators are much more serious compared to those, and can very likely be fatal."
Lin Zhao made an "oh" sound and then asked a few more things about the Immortal Realm, things she had also learned from strange tales of the Immortal Realm, wanting confirmation from Lu Yao.
"Do cultivators in the Immortal Realm really not need to eat?"
"Not necessary after Core Formation."
"I heard you all also have Lightning Tribulations and Fated Tribulations. Is that true?"
"With each step forward in cultivation, you must endure a round of Heavenly Lightning. Tempering the body and refining the bones is a matter of nine deaths and one life. As for Fated Tribulations, I'm afraid one needs the Heavenly Divination Art to know those."
"Then is it also true that the plants and animals of the Immortal Realm can all turn into people?"
"Once they cultivate to a certain level, they indeed can. But usually they still prefer to maintain their original forms."
Lu Yao answered every question, patient and not at all finding Lin Zhao's questions boring.
Listening, Ling Qingyue turned over the idea of Fated Tribulations in her mind.
Her Fated Tribulation must have been that Immortal-Demon War in the Cangshan Northern Region. She should have known to have Yue Shouming calculate it for her back then.
After descending the mountain, Ling Qingyue and Lu Yao saw Lin Zhao to the medicine shop.
The sky had darkened. Having gone hungry all day, Ling Qingyue missed Pei Si's cooking terribly.
She headed home full of anticipation, impatient to see Pei Si.
After walking a few steps, she realized Lu Yao was still following her.
Ling Qingyue's heart skipped a beat. Could she have discovered the disguise from today?
"It's this late. Why are you following me?"
Lu Yao looked a bit embarrassed. "I'm a little hungry. Could I come to your house to share a meal?"
Ling Qingyue: "..."
Right, Lu Yao was only at Foundation Establishment right now. She still needed to eat.
She stretched a hand out in front of her and cleared her throat.
Meals weren't free.
Lu Yao understood and placed a Spirit Stone into her palm.
Ling Qingyue gave her a satisfied look.
With Lu Yao here, who needed Spirit Jade Marrow? She could just fleece her for more Spirit Stones instead.
There was still a stretch before they reached home. Ling Qingyue chatted with her as they walked. "Were you also in the mountains today to look for Lin Zhao?"
"No," Lu Yao said. "My senior sister said there was something strange over there and asked me to go take a look."
Ling Qingyue nodded. She had been hearing Lu Yao mention her senior sister but hadn't met her yet.
Clearly, the one in charge on this Piaomiao Sect trip was Lu Yao's senior sister. Lu Yao was likely just along for the ride.
Lu Yao suddenly grew excited. "Today I encountered a senior! She seemed to be teaching a disciple. At first, I didn't dare to approach and only watched from afar. Her use of the Flowing Cloud Sword Art was truly exquisite. It's just a pity I couldn't consult the senior for a pointer or two. I wonder if there will ever be another chance to meet her."
Teaching a disciple!?
Ling Qingyue sucked in a breath and choked, coughing once.
She had beaten that person to a pulp, and in Lu Yao's eyes, that was teaching a disciple!?
For a moment, the look Ling Qingyue directed at Lu Yao held a trace of pity. Could it be that the teaching methods in Piaomiao Sect involved learning while being beaten?
Lu Yao didn't understand what that glance meant. "What is it?"
Ling Qingyue shook her head. "Nothing."
"Perhaps we'll meet again," Ling Qingyue said, a sly smile hidden in her eyes.
She now knew how to get Spirit Stones.
Lu Yao was still delighted. "I hope so. The next time we meet, I absolutely must seek the senior's guidance properly!"
When they got home, Ling Qingyue saw Pei Si sitting under the covered veranda, a scroll in her hand, reading seriously. Half of her black hair fell gently over her shoulder.
"Pei Si!" Ling Qingyue called out and hurried over.
Pei Si raised her head to look at her, her brow and eyes softening. "You're back."
The person who was so cool and aloof now looked at her with such lingering tenderness that Ling Qingyue felt her heartbeat miss a beat before suddenly speeding up.
This scene was inexplicably familiar, like a dream she had once had.
Ling Qingyue raised her hand to touch her ear. It was hot.
"I kept you waiting long."
Pei Si shook her head and looked towards Lu Yao behind her. "You've brought a guest back?"
Lu Yao bowed politely. "Miss Pei."
Having already collected the Spirit Stones, Ling Qingyue had Lu Yao stay under the veranda to read for a while while she went to the kitchen to help wash vegetables and light the fire.
Watching Pei Si roll up her sleeves to cook, Ling Qingyue didn't feel the smoke and fire of the kitchen diminished her temperament at all. On the contrary, a quiet, beautiful feeling rose in her heart.
Immortals and mortals were different, yet each had their own flavor.
"More fire."
Pei Si lifted her eyes to look at her.
Ling Qingyue snapped back to attention and quickly added more firewood. Her face flushed from the heat of the flames.
Pei Si gave a soft laugh, used her chopsticks to pick up a piece of beef, blew on it, and brought it to Ling Qingyue's lips. "Taste."
Ling Qingyue looked into her eyes and the next moment, as if burned by the tenderness within them, quickly lowered her gaze. She hesitated briefly, then carefully opened her lips and took the bite.
The beef had been marinated in advance. It was smooth, tender, fresh, and fragrant, soft and falling apart, rich in flavor with a thick, mellow sauce.
Ling Qingyue's eyes lit up. She raised her face and smiled at Pei Si. "Delicious!"
Pei Si curved her lips.
Dinner was four dishes and a soup. Ling Qingyue and Lu Yao ate happily, praising the food as they ate. Pei Si didn't eat much and kept piling food into Ling Qingyue's bowl.
"You eat too. Eat more."
Ling Qingyue also put food into her bowl. The two of them exchanged smiles as they did so.
Lu Yao shoveled a mouthful of rice and her gaze swept over the two across the table. She inexplicably felt a bit full.
After dinner, Lu Yao pressed two more Spirit Stones into Ling Qingyue's hand, thanking them for the evening's hospitality.
Three Spirit Stones for one meal. What a huge profit.
After tidying up and bathing, Ling Qingyue again found an excuse to go to the woodworking shed. Pei Si said nothing, merely raising a hand to smooth the hair by Ling Qingyue's ear, touching her face, and reminding her not to stay too late.
Only after returning to the woodworking shed did Ling Qingyue exhale sharply in relief. The side of her neck seemed to still hold the lingering warmth of the woman's fingers. She couldn't help raising her own hand and tracing the path from behind her ear to her cheek, just as Pei Si had touched her moments ago.
When she realized what she was doing, Ling Qingyue's eyes widened.
Ling Qingyue, what are you doing!?
She covered her face with both hands and bent over, shaking her head. It had to be because she ate too much tonight.
She walked to the wooden table and sat down, picking up her carving knife and a block of wood.
She hadn't yet made the wood carving for Pei Si that she intended to give today.
Soon, a lifelike little bird spread its wings in Ling Qingyue's hands.
After carefully polishing and buffing it, Ling Qingyue left the woodworking shed to find Pei Si in the bedroom.
"Pei Si." Ling Qingyue knocked on the door.
When no one opened it after a long while, Ling Qingyue thought to herself, Could she already be asleep?
The next moment, the door opened. Pei Si was dressed in her undergarment, a fine sheen of sweat on her face and neck, a few strands of hair clinging to her skin.
"What is it?"
"What's wrong with you?"
The two spoke at the same time.
Ling Qingyue held the small wooden bird out. "Here, today's wood carving."
Pei Si accepted it. The carving had been warmed by the palm of the person before her. "You went to the woodworking shed to do this?"
Ling Qingyue nodded, her eyes fixed on her. "Are you sick?"
Pei Si pressed her lips together.
She had withdrawn her Spiritual Energy too hastily and forgotten to use a cleansing art.
"No, I had a nightmare."
A nightmare meant dreaming of some unpleasant things.
Under normal circumstances, cultivators did not dream. Dreams were very likely to be night terrors, and if one sank into them, it could very easily give rise to a Heart Demon.
But Ling Qingyue knew that at times like this, having someone by your side helped a great deal.
She slowly lifted her eyes to meet that clear gaze and asked softly, "Would you like me to stay with you for a while?"
Comments
Post a Comment