After Faking Her Death and Escaping, the Junior Sister Fell to the Demonic Path - Chapter 16

“…a look of affection, even what could be called concern…”

“Surname Wei, it’s been a while, why have you set your sights on my disciple again?”

Perhaps her words were truly heard and answered by the Heavenly Dao, for not long after, a laugh arrived from far away.

Everyone present turned their heads to look.

A figure approached from a distance, their robes fluttering elegantly just before landing, the subtle dark patterns on the hemline shimmering in the sunlight.

After Venerable Wenqing landed, she walked towards the group. A clear smile played on her lips, but she spoke first to Qin Qingyi and the others: “No wonder you few haven’t returned even though classes were dismissed long ago. I waited and waited at Hidden Snow Peak, and the food got cold. I thought I’d come and look for you, and it turns out you were detained.”

Then, without waiting for anyone to explain, she immediately turned her attention to the already awkward Elder Wei: “I say, what you’re doing is a little unprincipled, isn’t it? It was one thing before, but now you want to steal my little disciple again?”

Venerable Wenqing took two more steps forward, put her hands on her hips, and began loudly criticizing: “Tell me, if you want a disciple, can’t you go find one yourself? Why do you keep targeting the people from my Hidden Snow Peak? Every time I take one, you try to steal one. Every time I take one, you try to steal one.”

“Is it easy for me to take a disciple? All you know how to do is snatch them away. If I hadn’t arrived in time, were you planning to package all my disciples and take them with you?”

Elder Wei, knowing she was in the wrong, awkwardly looked up at the sky, unable to utter a word in her defense for a long time.

“Where did Shizun (Master) pop out from?”

Hu Yu, watching the farce unfold from the side, quietly asked.

Xie Su merely shook his head: “I don’t know.”

Their master was elusive; how could they possibly know her whereabouts?

Never mind the two of them, even Qin Qingyi didn’t know where Venerable Wenqing had been the past couple of days.

To arrive so timely, the “closed-door cultivation” she mentioned two days ago was probably just a trick again.

Facing the puzzled looks from her two junior brothers, Qin Qingyi just spread her hands helplessly.

Don’t ask me, I don’t know either.

After a while longer, Venerable Wenqing and Elder Wei finally calmed down—of course, at the cost of Elder Wei’s empty Cosmic Bag (Qiankun Bag).

Who told her to keep trying to steal my disciples? Serves her right!

That was the reason Venerable Wenqing gave.

She unscrupulously lectured Elder Wei, a fellow Peak Master, giving her no face whatsoever.

Elder Wei, clutching her meager Cosmic Bag, quietly distanced herself from her occasionally crazy colleague.

Seeing the numerous disciples not practicing their swords but just eagerly watching the spectacle, Elder Wei felt embarrassed and subsequently announced the class’s dismissal.

The disciples, regretting that they couldn’t see the end of the show, rose one after another. Most stretched, summoned their swords, stepped onto them, and left.

Watching the surrounding senior disciples stand up and walk out, Zhou Zhixue also got up, staying close to Qin Qingyi.

Finally, Venerable Wenqing, full of vigor, led her disciples, along with a large pile of good things extorted from Elder Wei, back to Hidden Snow Peak.

Once back at Hidden Snow Peak, Venerable Wenqing dismissed the other disciples, leaving only Qin Qingyi and Zhou Zhixue.

“Did you learn anything in Elder Wei’s class today?”

Her tone was gentle as she looked at Zhou Zhixue.

She hadn’t been in the sect for the past two days. Her eldest disciple was worry-free, but she still needed to check on her newly accepted little disciple.

Zhou Zhixue looked up blankly, realized the question was directed at her, thought for a moment, then took out the notes she had recorded from her pocket and presented them with both hands: “Your disciple is dull and only managed to write down these.”

She stood somewhat nervously beneath the platform, blushing a little at the act of presenting her schoolwork, fearing she was too foolish and would be disliked.

Venerable Wenqing gestured, taking the notes from her hands. After flipping through them carefully, page by page, she nodded with satisfaction: “Not bad, teachable child. What you’ve written down are all your own insights. It seems for this first lesson, your master doesn’t need to teach you; you’ve already learned quite a bit.”

She raised her hand, returned the notes, and then frowned in thought. She selected a crystal-clear bracelet from her storage bracelet, looked at it a few times, and tossed it to Qin Qingyi: “Give this to your junior sister.”

Qin Qingyi looked closely; it was a high-quality storage bracelet (Chuwu Zhuo), warm and smooth to the touch, with extraordinary texture. The carved bird and flower patterns were lifelike, and the sparrows’ eyes even had a hint of red, with subtle light flowing over them, highlighting the ingenious craftsmanship.

It was clearly a valuable item.

“I got this in a secret realm some time ago. It’s top-grade Ice-attribute and also has a storage function. It’s just right for your junior sister. Right now, she’s the only one of you who doesn’t have a storage item.”

Venerable Wenqing slightly raised her hand: “Consider it my entry gift to my disciple.”

Qin Qingyi accepted it with a smile. After bidding farewell to Venerable Wenqing, she was about to leave with Zhou Zhixue.

However, just before stepping out the door, Venerable Wenqing called her back. Walking closer, she whispered something to Qin Qingyi. Both their expressions became more solemn.

Zhou Zhixue couldn’t hear what they were saying but could feel their eyes on her, filled with affection, and even what could be called concern.

Perhaps the topic was too serious, for Qin Qingyi’s brow didn’t unfurl until she left the room.

It wasn’t until they were outside, breathing the cold air of Hidden Snow Peak, still mixed with scattered snowflakes, that she let out a long sigh of relief.

Qin Qingyi looked down at her side, meeting Zhou Zhixue’s bright, shining eyes. Qin Qingyi couldn’t help but smile again, her frown relaxing a bit. She reached out and lightly tapped Zhou Zhixue’s nose, asking, “How was it? Was today fun?”

Zhou Zhixue nodded heavily, her voice joyful: “Fun.”

Her voice was light and airy, carrying more of a child’s innocence and liveliness compared to a few days ago.

For Zhou Zhixue, not only did she learn a lot in class today, but even the show between Shizun and Elder Wei after class was thoroughly entertaining for her.

Knowing what she meant by “fun,” Qin Qingyi struggled to suppress a laugh.

“When you have more classes to attend in the future, you might not think it’s fun anymore,” Qin Qingyi mumbled softly, smoothing her lips.

It was just because she was young now and the curriculum of the Sword Sect still felt new, but once she attended more classes in the future, she probably wouldn’t find it so fun.

Of course, she didn’t forget the task at hand. She took Zhou Zhixue’s cold little hand and squeezed it. Perhaps related to her innate Ice Spirit Root constitution, Zhou Zhixue’s hands were always cold.

This can’t continue. I must make her a hand-warmer when I have time. She’s still a child, looking even smaller than those fox kits of the Fox Clan. How can I let her be treated like a snowman?

Back in the room, after Zhou Zhixue was sitting by the bed in her underclothes, Qin Qingyi took out the storage bracelet Venerable Wenqing had given her earlier.

“It might hurt a little, but this item has to be recognized by a drop of blood. Can you bear it, okay?”

Zhou Zhixue nodded lightly: “Shijie (Senior Sister), I’m not afraid of pain.”

Seeing that she was indeed ready, Qin Qingyi exhaled gently, raised her hand, and conjured a silver needle. She lightly pricked Zhou Zhixue’s outstretched finger, and a round bead of blood immediately seeped out of her index finger, about to roll off.

Qin Qingyi was quick. She picked up the storage bracelet and pressed it against the bead of blood, which was about to drop.

Instantly, the round blood bead was completely absorbed by the bracelet. The originally pale green, pure bracelet was momentarily stained with blood. The trace of blood swam around inside the bracelet, gradually becoming a fine thread of blood, and finally completely disappeared.

Qin Qingyi reached out and smoothed the tiny wound on Zhou Zhixue’s hand. Under the effect of the spiritual power, the small wound instantly healed and stopped bleeding.

“That means the recognition is successful.”

“From now on, this is your storage bracelet. It’s used for storage. You can put anything you want to carry with you inside. With just a thought, you can take it out of the storage bracelet.”

Qin Qingyi patiently explained to Zhou Zhixue, even using her own storage bracelet as a demonstration. An item appeared and vanished in her hand several times, making Zhou Zhixue’s eyes shine as if watching a magic show.

“Some people also call it the Cosmos Bracelet (Qiankun Zhuo) or the Myriad Treasure Bag (Wanbao Dai). Although the names are different, their purpose is the same: to store things that cannot be carried easily.”

She instructed Zhou Zhixue: “If you acquire any important treasures in the future, you can recognize them with a drop of blood like this, so others won’t be able to steal them.”

Zhou Zhixue nodded obediently.

“But now that you are a disciple of the Sword Sect, I doubt anyone would be foolish enough to try and steal from you,” Qin Qingyi chuckled, stuffing all the good things Venerable Wenqing had given to Zhou Zhixue today into the bracelet, and even adding some of her own good things before gently putting the bracelet onto Zhou Zhixue’s wrist.

However, since Zhou Zhixue was still too young, the bracelet hung loosely on her delicate wrist, making it look rather awkward.

Qin Qingyi watched for a moment, then reached out and ruffled the broken strands of hair on Zhou Zhixue’s head, murmuring, “We’ll leave it like this for today. Tomorrow, after the Talisman Class is dismissed, Shijie will weave a prettier cord for you.”

Zhou Zhixue agreed obediently, her appearance utterly endearing.