After Marking The Cold and Aloof Omega Senior - Chapter 5

Fu Yu thought Qing Yao hadn’t heard her clearly and was about to repeat herself when she noticed someone standing on the other side of the desk.

It seemed to be either the sixtieth or seventieth senior sister, she had so many senior sisters and brothers that aside from the few she interacted with regularly, she couldn’t possibly recognize them all.

Perhaps this senior sister had been hidden behind the wall earlier, which was why Fu Yu hadn’t spotted her from outside.

In an instant, Fu Yu was so embarrassed she could feel her toes curling.

Yet Qing Yao pressed on, “Fu Yu, what did you say?”

The senior sister of unknown rank beside them watched Fu Yu with evident excitement, as if waiting for her response.

Fu Yu stammered, “I… I said…”

Seeing her hesitate for so long without getting a word out, the senior sister kindly spoke up for her, “Sect Leader, little junior sister just said she wants to form a cultivation partnership with you.” Then, as if unable to hold back any longer, she burst into laughter, “Hahahaha, little junior sister, what kind of wild dream are you having! Have you gone mad from cultivation again? The Sect Leader belongs to all of us, you can’t keep her all to yourself.”

Qing Yao: ?

Fu Yu had no idea how to explain herself. All she could think was that if she stayed any longer, she would dig a hole right there on the spot and use magic to bury herself deep underground.

In the end, Fu Yu fled with a flushed face.

After Fu Yu left, the outspoken senior sister shook her head and remarked, “It seems little junior sister’s mind hasn’t fully recovered since she went mad from cultivation a month ago. Her words and actions are like those of a different person, and she often does strange things.”

Qing Yao offered no comment, picking up her brush and resuming her calligraphy.

Fu Yu dashed out of Xiangxue Garden and arrived at the Tranquil Heart Lake within the sect grounds.

The emerald waters were calm and mirror-like, a stark contrast to the turmoil raging in Fu Yu’s heart.

What a huge embarrassment. She could only hope that the outspoken senior sister wouldn’t spread today’s glorious incident.

Fu Yu asked Xiao Mei: Check which senior sister that was and whether she’s usually a gossip.

Xiao Mei accessed the character database and replied, [Found her. That’s the sixty-second senior sister, named Ru Ping, as in ‘tight-lipped’ Ru Ping. Don’t worry, she’s the type who pays no attention to worldly affairs and focuses solely on cultivation. She’s the complete opposite of her twin sister, your sixty-third senior sister, Hu Ba.]

Fu Yu: Hu Ba? What a strange name.

Xiao Mei: [Yeah, Hu Ba as in ‘speaking nonsense’ Hu Ba. She loves gossip more than anything, can’t fight worth a darn, but is always first in line to stir up drama.]

Fu Yu: Thank goodness it was Tight-lipped Senior Sister who heard and not Nonsense Senior Sister.

Xiao Mei: [Thank goodness indeed. But Fu Yu, wasn’t Qing Yao’s reaction a bit odd just now?]

Fu Yu nodded: It was a little strange. I think I can understand, she probably pretended nothing happened last night so we could go back to how things were before.

Xiao Mei still felt something was off: [Let’s hope so. What will you do next?]

Fu Yu sighed: Take it one step at a time.

Over the next two days, a rumor spread like wildfire to every corner of the Guiyu Sect.

“Did you hear? Little junior sister went to confess to the Sect Leader.”

“I heard, I heard! She even wanted to form a cultivation partnership with the Sect Leader. Isn’t that hilarious?”

“Little Junior Sister is really overestimating herself. Has she even looked at what kind of person our Sect Leader is? Is she someone just anyone can aspire to?”

“Forget about forming a cultivation partnership with the Sect Leader, who would even dare to touch the hem of her Celestial Feathered Radiance Gown? That would be nothing short of blasphemy against her.”

“In my opinion, Little Junior Sister is probably still suffering from the qi deviation she had during her last training session. She must still be out of her mind.”

Just then, the very Little Junior Sister they were gossiping about happened to pass by the group of nosy senior sisters. Her face was dark, and she didn’t greet any of them.

The gossip circle fell silent abruptly, and all eyes turned toward her.

One of the gossiping senior sisters caught up to her and patted her shoulder. “Little Junior Sister, have you had breakfast yet? Do you want to go find Senior Sister Yun Tai together?”

Fu Yu turned her head and saw that it was the same senior sister she had encountered in Qing Yao’s study that day.

“Good morning, Senior Sister Ru Ping.”

The senior sister laughed. “Look at your expression, I’m your Senior Sister Hu Ba. Your Senior Sister Ru Ping is over there.” Hu Ba pointed behind her.

Fu Yu turned to look and saw a woman who looked exactly like Hu Ba, completely absorbed in practicing some martial arts moves as she walked, clearly lost in thought.

Fu Yu was stunned. They looked identical! Identical twins?

Fu Yu said to Xiao Mei: What’s going on? How could you, an intelligent system, mess up facial recognition?

Xiao Mei: [Apologies, there was a slight error in the program. No wonder the incident from that day has been spreading like wildfire throughout the sect.]

Fu Yu: If you could manifest as a real person, I would’ve beaten you up seven or eight times by now.

Xiao Mei: [I didn’t do it on purpose! Don’t worry about what others think of you. What matters is how Qing Yao sees it. Someone as transcendent as her would never treat you like you’re crazy, unlike others.]

Fu Yu: You’re the one who’s crazy.

Fu Yu walked back to her room and was about to close the door when suddenly, a voice called out from behind, “Little Junior Sister, wait!”

Fu Yu looked up and saw that it was Senior Sister Zi Su from the Qihuang Hall.

Zi Su approached Fu Yu, carrying a medicine box.

Curious, Fu Yu asked, “Senior Sister Zi Su, do you need something from me?”

Zi Su smiled. “The Sect Leader sent me to check your pulse and see how your recovery is progressing.”

Fu Yu’s lips twitched. “Sect Leader Senior Sister sent you?”

Xiao Mei: [Sorry, I misjudged Qing Yao.]

The two entered the room, and Zi Su began taking Fu Yu’s pulse.

Zi Su’s fingers rested on Fu Yu’s wrist. After a moment of contemplation, her brows gradually furrowed.

Fu Yu asked, “What’s wrong? Is there something off with my body?”

Zi Su pondered for a moment and said, “Did you… do something that drained your leaf energy a couple of days ago?”

Fu Yu was puzzled. “No, why do you ask?”

Zi Su withdrew her hand. “Your leaf energy has been severely depleted.”

Fu Yu choked. She could tell that just from checking my pulse?

Zi Su rummaged through her treasure pouch for a while and pulled out a small lavender medicine bottle. “Your cultivation level is low, so recovering depleted leaf energy is extremely slow. But don’t worry, Senior Sister has restorative medicine here. Take it for two days, and you’ll be back to normal.”

Fu Yu took the medicine bottle.

Zi Su packed up her medicine box and stood to leave. Before going, she leaned close to Fu Yu’s ear and whispered, “Don’t worry, Little Junior Sister. I won’t reveal that you went to the Joyful Grove.”

Joyful Grove?

Fu Yu wanted to pull Zi Su back and explain, but Zi Su gave her a meaningful look and left directly.

What kind of place was Joyful Grove? It was a venue where cultivators sought pleasure and entertainment. The Guiyu Sect had many disciples, and not every one of them, like Qing Yao, practiced the Path of Emotionlessness. Not everyone restrained or abandoned the seven emotions and six desires, so in private, some senior brothers and sisters would go there to unwind.

Perhaps because quite a few people had overindulged and ended up visiting Zi Su for medicine, when Zi Su noticed Fu Yu’s weakened vitality, she immediately suspected that this junior sister had likely sneaked off to Joyful Grove as well.

After Zi Su left, Fu Yu casually tossed the medicine bottle into a corner of her treasure pouch and flopped back onto the bed like a salted fish.

She closed her eyes to meditate for a while before opening them again. Something felt off, Qing Yao seemed, as if, truly not to remember that day’s events.

Otherwise, why would she send Zi Su to check on her, assuming like everyone else that Fu Yu’s confession was due to her body not having fully recovered and her mind still being muddled?

In truth, there was nothing wrong with her body. It was entirely because, after transmigrating, her personality and behavior differed from the original owner’s, making her appear abnormal to others, as if she had lost her mind.

Had Qing Yao recalled even the slightest detail of that day in the cave, she wouldn’t have thought Fu Yu was talking nonsense.

To test her suspicion, Fu Yu decided to seek out Qing Yao once more.

She randomly picked up a cultivation manual and went to “seek guidance” from Qing Yao.

Returning to the Fragrant Snow Pavilion, Fu Yu didn’t charge in recklessly this time. Instead, she announced herself at the door: “Senior Sister Sect Leader, are you free at the moment?”

Qing Yao’s voice came from inside: “What is it?”

“There are a few techniques I’ve been unable to grasp, and I’d like to ask for your guidance.”

“Come in.”

Fu Yu entered to find Qing Yao reading at her desk. Seeing her, Qing Yao asked, “Which parts are unclear?”

Fu Yu took out the book, flipped it open, and randomly pointed to a few sections.

Qing Yao began explaining each one, her voice clear and soothing, like the sound of falling snow.

As Qing Yao spoke, Fu Yu took the opportunity to turn the pages, deliberately exposing the index finger of her right hand within Qing Yao’s line of sight.

On that finger was a bite mark, not deep, but enough to show the skin had broken when it was bitten. It had since scabbed over. Qing Yao herself had bitten it, and even now, Fu Yu vividly remembered the sensation: damp and painful.

Fu Yu secretly observed Qing Yao’s expression. Well, Qing Yao’s face never betrayed any emotion, so she shifted her gaze to her eyes.

Amber-colored, clear and bright, like two pristine springs, not a single ripple of abnormality.

Throughout the entire “guidance” session, Qing Yao was genuinely and earnestly explaining techniques to her junior sister.

Fu Yu was now completely certain: unless Qing Yao was an exceptional actress, she truly had no memory of that night’s events.

Noticing Fu Yu’s distraction, Qing Yao lightly tapped her head with the book in her hand. “What are you thinking about?”

Her voice was cool yet gentle, like a ray of winter sunlight.

Fu Yu snapped back to reality and looked up, meeting Qing Yao’s gaze.

The wind rustled the pages, and the surroundings grew utterly silent, save for the soft sound of turning paper and a sudden, thumping heartbeat.

Her own.

She quickly averted her eyes. “Thank you, Senior Sister Sect Leader. If I encounter more difficulties in the future, I’ll come to seek your guidance again.”

With that, she took two steps back, bowed, and said, “This junior sister takes her leave.”

Fu Yu stepped out of Xiangxue Garden and asked Xiao Mei, “What’s going on? Qing Yao seems to have genuinely forgotten everything. Can you find out the reason?”

Xiao Mei: [Uh, then I’ll have to investigate thoroughly. This is completely unexpected based on the original plot.]

It took three full days to barely uncover some clues.

Late one night three days later, just as Fu Yu was sleeping soundly, Xiao Mei suddenly screamed: [Ah!]

The shock made Fu Yu’s head buzz, and she jolted upright: “What are you doing?!”

[I’ve figured it out! I know why Qing Yao forgot everything about that day!]

Fu Yu: “What’s the reason? Tell me quickly!”