After Faking Her Death and Escaping, the Junior Sister Fell to the Demonic Path - Chapter 30

Participate in the inner disciple assessment?

Qin Qingyi was startled at first, then her expression softened.

She pinched the handkerchief to wipe the face of the little girl, who was full of fighting spirit, wiping away the beads of sweat seeping from her forehead.

“Why did you suddenly think of participating in this?”

Although she asked, Qin Qingyi had a rough guess as to the reason.

“Do you feel that if you don’t participate, you’ll be looked down upon by others?”

She crouched down and asked softly.

But Zhou Zhixue shook her head, “No.”

The little girl’s eyes were firm, “I don’t care what others think. When Mother was around, she told me not to worry about the opinions of others.”

“But I am Master’s disciple, I cannot bring shame to Master. Senior Sister and the two Senior Brothers have all passed the disciple assessment, I have no reason not to participate.”

The little girl explained earnestly.

But Qin Qingyi knew this was just the surface reason.

She put away the handkerchief and readjusted the outer robe that was about to slip off.

“The inner disciple assessment takes place every five years. Your Senior Brothers also waited a round before going. You can wait longer. Why insist on participating in the one 2 years from now?”

But Zhou Zhixue shook her head, countering:

“But Senior Sister was only 8 years old when she first participated in the inner disciple assessment.”

This statement…

Qin Qingyi raised an eyebrow slightly.

“Your Senior Brother told you?”

Zhou Zhixue nodded sweetly.

Qin Qingyi gently shook her head, “Honestly.”

Why tell her these things?

When she first entered the sect, many people were unconvinced by her. To gain respect, she had to participate in the inner disciple assessment and win first place. Only then did the voices of dissent gradually disappear.

Later, when Xie Su and Hu Yu entered the sect, they were still quite young, so they waited a few years before taking the assessment.

These events were long in the past.

“You are still young, and your situation is different from mine back then. Why force yourself?”

She intended to persuade her, but her lips were covered by a small hand.

Soft, warm, and slightly sweaty.

It wasn’t unpleasant, as she was still a child, and everything eaten on Hidden Snow Peak was spiritual plants, so there were no unbearable odors.

But Qin Qingyi still leaned back slightly, avoiding Zhou Zhixue’s touch.

Zhou Zhixue was unaware of her thoughts and said with a serious expression, “Senior Sister, you don’t need to say more. As a Hidden Snow Peak disciple, I naturally cannot tarnish Master’s reputation.”

“In the inner disciple assessment two years from now, I, your Junior Sister, will surely take the top spot!”

She spoke with determination, her voice resonating clearly.

It was clearly an attitude of being bound to win.

This made it difficult for Qin Qingyi to continue persuading her.

“Since you’ve made up your mind, then Senior Sister will await your good news. You must practice diligently.”

Zhou Zhixue nodded repeatedly.

Qin Qingyi rubbed the little girl’s head, and just as she was about to stand up and return to her room to wash up, she suddenly remembered something else and turned around to say:

“However, cultivation is not a matter of a single day’s rush.”

She winked at the little girl, and as the other looked at her in confusion, she drew out her tone:

“Senior Sister heard that there is a lively fair down the mountain today, with lots and lots of fun things and delicious food.”

“But since Junior Sister wants to practice her sword, I suppose you won’t want to accompany Senior Sister. So, Senior Sister will just have to go by herself then?”

Hearing her mention the fair, Zhou Zhixue’s eyes gradually lit up.

When she heard that Qin Qingyi was going to take her along, she immediately stopped practicing her sword, tossed it aside, and started pulling on Qin Qingyi’s sleeve, acting spoiled.

“Senior Sister, Senior Sister, take me with you! I’ve never been to a fair before.”

After a few months, she had adapted well to Hidden Snow Peak, and with Qin Qingyi’s indulgence, she had long since let go of her restrained nature.

Children are naturally fond of excitement, and even if precocious, she was still a child. How could she not be interested when she heard about a temple fair?

Qin Qingyi let her pull at her sleeve and act cute, and only after a long time did she repeatedly agree, “Alright, alright, I’ll take you. Just let Senior Sister go change first, okay?”

Come to think of it, since arriving at Hidden Snow Peak, aside from a few times going down the mountain to eat, the child had spent every day either practicing the sword or listening to lessons, and hadn’t been to any other places.

With nothing to do today, Qin Qingyi had already planned to take Zhou Zhixue down the mountain to play later.

There was a fixed fair down the mountain every two months, and it was taking place these few days. The Sword Sect was influential, and many people came attracted by its reputation. Many rogue cultivators would use this opportunity to set up stalls and sell things they had acquired elsewhere.

Going down the mountain to stay for a few days now should allow them to find many useful items.

Seeing her agree, Zhou Zhixue was satisfied. Just as she was about to turn to pick up her sword, she suddenly grabbed Qin Qingyi’s clothes again and nervously whispered, “Then, are the Senior Brothers going too?”

“Why? Don’t you want to go with them?” Qin Qingyi asked back.

Zhou Zhixue lowered her head, mumbled, and twisted the hand holding her clothes several times, refusing to answer.

Seeing her expression was so adorable, Qin Qingyi was tempted to tease her: “Did your Senior Brothers make some grave mistake that displeased our Little Junior Sister?”

Zhou Zhixue blushed and shook her head slightly.

“No…”

She just, just didn’t want to be with them, with no particular reason.

If she had to say…

Zhou Zhixue looked up, secretly glanced at Qin Qingyi, and then subtly moved closer to Qin Qingyi, satisfied only when she rested her head against Qin Qingyi’s waist, her arms naturally wrapping around it.

“I just don’t want to be with the Senior Brothers.”

She mumbled softly.

She didn’t want anyone to take Senior Sister away.

Not even the Senior Brothers.

Qin Qingyi smiled, allowing the little girl’s willfulness: “Then we won’t bring them.”

“We’ll go play by ourselves.”

No sooner said than done. Qin Qingyi quickly tidied herself up and took Zhou Zhixue down the mountain.

By the evening, the two had already arrived at the fair.

“Senior Sister, is it really alright for us to go down the mountain without telling Master?”

Only after being down the mountain and wandering the fair for most of the day did Zhou Zhixue belatedly realize—

When the two of them came down the mountain, they neither informed Master nor took a mountain pass token.

She had been attending classes at the Sword Sect for some time and was familiar with the sect rules that Sword Sect disciples had to follow.

For example, a Sword Sect disciple needed a legitimate reason to go down the mountain, such as having a sect mission to complete down below, and they also needed to register at the Sword Sect Disciple Affairs Office, recording the time of departure and return, and only then could they take a mountain pass token and leave.

Senior Sister had done none of these things yet brought her down the mountain.

Was this right?

In response to Zhou Zhixue’s question, Qin Qingyi smiled. She playfully flicked the child’s nose and teased, “Junior Sister, have you forgotten? Your Senior Sister has a Temporary Elder’s Token.”

With that, she unhooked the pale blue token hanging from her sword tassel and shook it at Zhou Zhixue.

“With this thing, there’s naturally no need to get a mountain pass token.”

Zhou Zhixue suddenly understood.

But there was still one problem.

The little girl looked eagerly at Qin Qingyi: “What about Master…”

Qin Qingyi pinched her cheek, reassuring her, “No need to worry, Master had already permitted me to take you down the mountain, but…”

She leaned close to the little girl’s ear and whispered, breathing lightly: “Master has a special treasure that allows her to see what we are doing, so you must be obedient, otherwise, if you are too unrestrained and Master sees…”

Qin Qingyi left the rest unsaid, but it was enough for Zhou Zhixue to understand the implication.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, the little girl’s back immediately straightened, and the relaxed expression on her face instantly tightened.

Her gaze was proper, her face expressionless, showing the mature demeanor of an upright disciple.

This made Qin Qingyi burst into laughter beside her.

This little girl was too amusing.

Zhou Zhixue clearly didn’t realize that Qin Qingyi might be exaggerating to tease her. She maintained the pretense of an upright sect member and walked forward with a serious face.

In this manner, Zhou Zhixue ignored the many temptations at the fair. Even though she was so tempted she kept swallowing, she bravely turned her head away.

The fair was not only for cultivators but also for many ordinary people who had no spiritual roots, or whose mixed roots prevented them from cultivating or whose cultivation was low.

Most of them were people who had lived at the foot of the Sword Sect mountain for generations, relying on the Sword Sect’s protection to make a small living.

The bi-monthly fair was a great opportunity for them to earn some spirit stones. As a result, many people set up stalls on these days, selling newly researched foods, a novelty for the immortals who had long since achieved Bigu (abstinence from earthly food).

Zhou Zhixue, to maintain her identity as an upright immortal disciple, completely ignored the enthusiastic calls of the surrounding vendors.

Qin Qingyi, on the other hand, would buy a delicious item at every stall she passed and then loudly praise the fragrant food right in front of Zhou Zhixue:

“This meat pie is truly delicious. I don’t know how it’s made, the meat is so tender, and the crust is fragrant and crispy. Things from down the mountain are just different, much better than what’s cooked in the small kitchen up the mountain.”

“Oh my, the taste is savory and fresh, the flavor lingers in the mouth. As expected of a hunter from down the mountain, this wild rabbit meat, after several cooking processes, is truly fragrant when roasted. And the seasoning, spicy and numbing, makes one’s appetite soar with just one bite.”

“Tsk tsk tsk, it’s truly dazzling, too much to eat, too much to eat.”

Qin Qingyi was having a great time, with a meat skewer in her left hand and a meat pie in her right.

She praised loudly, walking back and forth in front of Zhou Zhixue with the food, making sure she saw every bite she took.

These praises surrounded Zhou Zhixue, going in one ear and out the other. She didn’t want to listen, but the sound seemed to have a magic power, making her unable to resist imagining what the rabbit meat tasted like.

While thinking, she couldn’t help but gulp.

“Little Junior Sister, do you want to try a bite?”

Qin Qingyi wickedly held a few skewers of rabbit meat to tempt Zhou Zhixue.

The aroma of the meat skewers then drifted into Zhou Zhixue’s nose.

The fragrance of the roasted meat mixed with the spices became incredibly enticing, constantly stimulating Zhou Zhixue’s taste buds.

So fragrant…

I want to eat it so badly…

But,

As soon as she thought that Master might be watching her right now, Zhou Zhixue’s eyes hardened, and she resolutely turned her head away, rejecting the temptation of the rabbit meat.

No!

Absolutely cannot eat it.

If Master saw it, she would certainly think that her will was weak and easily tempted by external things.

So, she pretended not to be interested, turned her head away, and refused: “Senior Sister, you eat. Junior Sister is not hungry.”

Qin Qingyi naturally knew why she was acting this way and laughed for a good while.

She laughed until Zhou Zhixue couldn’t help but get angry and embarrassed: “Senior Sister! Stop laughing!”

She was so angry she tried to cover Qin Qingyi’s mouth, but she was too short. Even jumping, she couldn’t reach, so she could only dangle from Qin Qingyi’s arm, looking incredibly cute.

Qin Qingyi’s stomach hurt from laughing. After finally controlling the urge to keep laughing, she wiped away the tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes and then found the time to comfort Zhou Zhixue.

“Alright, alright, I won’t laugh at you anymore.”

“Why do you believe everything Senior Sister says?”

Seeing Zhou Zhixue still looking at her suspiciously, Qin Qingyi then offered a further explanation: “Don’t worry, Master doesn’t have the leisure to watch us. She’s been very busy lately.”

She smiled, pursed her lips, and handed the rabbit meat to Zhou Zhixue:

“Eat it. It won’t taste good when it gets cold.”