After My Paranoid Act to Woo My Cold Master Failed - Chapter 5

Shen Shuheng stared blankly at her Master. A softness pressed against her lips, bringing with it a clear, cold fragrance. Her Master had kissed her.

The snowy field was deathly silent—so quiet that she could hear both her Master’s breath and her own. Their breathing, mingled with the faint sound of the wind, intertwined until they were indistinguishable from one another.

The surging internal energy within Fu Xueke’s body gradually calmed, and her scattered sanity slowly returned to its place. Her Master released her, moving away from her lips.

Shen Shuheng tilted her head slightly, her gaze colliding with her Master’s eyes. They were misty and deep, possessing the enchanting allure of spring mountains.

Fu Xueke saw the girl’s eyelashes tremble like a butterfly about to take flight, a sliver of moonlight reflected in her pupils. Now that her reason had returned, she found herself harboring other impulses. She wanted to kiss the girl’s eyes. Her hand caught the girl’s slender wrist, and she shifted her body upward to reach them.

Shen Shuheng watched as her Master’s crimson lips drew closer and closer to her eyes.

Suddenly, her Master stood up and turned her back to her, bits of broken snow still clinging to her clothes.

“Go back and rest,” her Master’s voice sounded somewhat strange compared to usual, though Shen Shuheng couldn’t quite put her finger on why.

“Master kissed me today, so you belong to me now,” Shen Shuheng giggled as she lay on the snow, the moonlight shifting around her. A pale blue lunar glow printed itself onto the white hem of Fu Xueke’s robes.

Fu Xueke did not respond. Instead, she walked toward the house step by step. She moved quickly, yet she left no footprints on the snow.

Shen Shuheng noticed that after she spoke those words, her Master’s footsteps faltered for a moment before she resumed her pace.

Could it be that my words weren’t ‘paranoiac’ enough? she wondered. Next time, she would have to work harder to stick to the persona assigned by the System.

Shen Shuheng stood up from the snow, intending to catch up and walk with her Master, but when she looked again, her Master had already vanished from the snowy field. She, too, hurried back to her room to sleep, planning to discuss the matter with her Master the next day.

The next morning.

“Host, you’re almost late! The sect has classes today!” The System urgently woke Shen Shuheng.

Shen Shuheng got out of bed helplessly. “Even in the world of cultivation, I still have to wake up early for school!”

The Yuheng Sect integrated swordsmanship, alchemy, talismans, and arrays into its mandatory curriculum for all disciples; regardless of their specific path, everyone had to attend.

After a quick wash, she summoned her long sword and cast a spell. Once the blade enlarged, she stepped onto it.

Seeing Shen Shuheng’s leisurely pace, the System grew anxious as a responsible entity. “Fly faster! You’re about to be late!”

Only then did Shen Shuheng exert a bit more spiritual power to make her sword fly faster. Suddenly, another woman flying on a sword appeared beside her.

“Fellow Daoist, you’re almost late too. What a coincidence!” The cultivator in green robes finally saw someone in the same situation as herself.

“Quite a coincidence,” Shen Shuheng replied, forcing her tired eyes to stay open. She didn’t understand why the green-robed cultivator was so high-spirited so early in the morning.

The green-robed cultivator drew closer. “Fellow Daoist, my name is Chu Qingshui. Your sword strike yesterday was truly impressive. If there’s a chance, let’s have a sparring match.”

“I mean a real spar, not like what happened with Xiao Xiaoxiao. After watching your strike yesterday, I’ve been itching for a battle.”

Shen Shuheng smiled faintly. “Sure.” She could sense no malice from her; Chu Qingshui seemed like someone who was purely obsessed with swordsmanship.

The two of them rushed into the classroom just as the bell finished tolling—the timing was perfect.

This morning’s session was an Alchemy class, teaching disciples how to refine pills and identify materials. There were only two seats left. After Shen Shuheng sat down, Chu Qingshui sat beside her.

“Martial Niece Shen is late; you shouldn’t be sitting here,” a voice that Shen Shuheng loathed rang out.

The Elder teaching alchemy today was Feng Ya. Feng Ya looked toward Shen Shuheng with a somber face. Since the events of yesterday, he had harbored a grudge against her and was constantly looking for a chance to teach her a lesson.

“Not so. The sect rules state that one is only considered late if they enter after the bell has finished tolling. Shen Shuheng and I entered while the bell was ringing, and it continued for a while after we arrived.”

Feng Ya’s gaze darkened as he glared at Chu Qingshui, blaming this disciple for meddling.

Beneath the desk, Shen Shuheng gave Chu Qingshui a thumbs-up. “I entered before the bell ended, so I am not late. Why should I leave? Unless, Martial Uncle, you have an issue with the rules established by the Ancestors?”

“Or perhaps Martial Uncle harbors a personal prejudice against this disciple?” she replied neither humbly nor arrogantly.

The disciples in the classroom quickly began to whisper, their eyes focusing on Feng Ya. Feeling like he was sitting on pins and needles, Feng Ya had no choice but to swallow his anger. Anything more he said would only make the disciples think he was being petty.

Shen Shuheng frowned slightly while watching Feng Ya. His gloomy face quickly returned to a state of indifference, giving her an ominous feeling.

Feng Ya walked to the alchemy furnace and began instructing the disciples on how to refine a Rejuvenation Pill.

“A Rejuvenation Pill can be taken when injured. Refining it is relatively easy; even disciples with poor talent can succeed in one try.”

“You all have the medicinal ingredients on your desks. Follow my steps in a moment.”

Although Shen Shuheng disliked Feng Ya, she would still learn what needed to be learned. She didn’t believe Feng Ya would demonstrate an incorrect method in front of all the disciples just to sabotage her alone.

She placed her hand on the furnace lid, which still held a trace of warmth, and removed it. She watched the podium to see what Feng Ya would do.

“The order of placing the ingredients must not be wrong. You must not put in too many, nor too few.”

Feng Ya picked up a medicinal plant with long yellow leaves and red berries. He held it up so everyone could see it clearly.

“This is the primary ingredient for the Rejuvenation Pill, known as the Springtime Fruit. It must be placed in the furnace and melted with a high flame. Once it becomes a red liquid, only then can other ingredients be added.”

Shen Shuheng also picked up a Springtime Fruit. The berry looked extremely smooth but felt exceptionally rough to the touch, though its spiritual energy was incredibly abundant.

She tossed the fruit into the furnace and used her spiritual power to manipulate the spirit-fire at the base.

PHOOM!

A vivid tongue of fire shot up faster than a person’s height, carrying a scorching wave as it lunged toward Shen Shuheng—like a frog swiftly extending its tongue to snatch prey.

Shen Shuheng retreated, dodging the flame that had nearly licked her face, but she still smelled a burnt scent; a strand of her hair had failed to escape. The hair singed by the fire turned a yellowish hue. Shen Shuheng used her spiritual power to cut off the strand, mourning for her hair in her heart. During her battle with the female lead last time, a lock of her hair had also been severed.

“Fellow Daoist Shen, are you alright? Use a little less spiritual power when guiding the spirit-fire,” Chu Qingshui said worriedly.

Shen Shuheng manipulated her spiritual power again to suppress the flames back to a normal size.

“Some disciples have poor talent and are unwilling to wake up early and work hard. The path of cultivation relies entirely on oneself; what does it matter how powerful one’s Master is?” Feng Ya spoke loudly, casting a contemptuous glance at Shen Shuheng as he talked.

Unbelievable. All you know how to do is be passive-aggressive, Shen Shuheng rolled her eyes internally.

“You might just not be suited for alchemy, but your talent for swordsmanship is amazing. Anyway, you’re a sword cultivator—ignore Feng Ya,” Chu Qingshui glared at Feng Ya indignantly. She hated people who talked like that; these alchemists were useless in a fight but loved to wag their tongues.

After arriving in this world and undergoing repeated cultivation sessions, Shen Shuheng had long since accepted the nature of her talent. However, she remembered that alchemy relied on one’s affinity with the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth. Her five spiritual roots meant slow cultivation progress, but they were all Heaven-grade, meaning her affinity with spiritual energy was extremely high.

Under the roasting of the spirit-fire, the Springtime Fruit quickly melted into a dark red liquid. A cloyingly sweet medicinal fragrance wafted into Shen Shuheng’s nose. The boiling liquid began to bubble, making a gurgling sound.

Feng Ya tossed another herb into his furnace, and Shen Shuheng followed suit with the herb on her desk. After throwing in five types of ingredients this way, Feng Ya brought out the final medicinal material: an amber-colored orb emitting a faint brown glow.

“This is the Sky-Piercing Fruit. It is an essential ingredient for many pills. One batch only requires half.”

Shen Shuheng held the fruit between her fingers. A bone-chilling cold came from her fingertips; despite its warm-colored appearance, it felt freezing. With a light pinch, the Sky-Piercing Fruit split perfectly into two halves. Shen Shuheng dropped one half into the furnace and closed the lid.

Once all the ingredients were inside, the medicinal fragrance actually vanished. Even the cloying sweetness of the Springtime Fruit was gone.

Shen Shuheng asked Chu Qingshui in confusion, “Why is there no fragrance coming from my furnace, while yours has a faint scent?”

“I’ve heard that if an alchemist is powerful enough, they can keep the fragrance from escaping while refining, completely sealing the medicinal properties inside. I told you your talent was incredible—if your swordsmanship is that good, your other talents won’t be lacking!” Chu Qingshui’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Shen Shuheng with excitement.

Hearing this, Shen Shuheng figured that if that was the case, her alchemy talent must be decent, given her high affinity with the five elements.

She tried to lower the spirit-fire, but the fire acted like an untamable beast, baring its claws and fangs. The tongues of fire would suddenly lunge out and then quickly retract into a small ball. This repeated cycle seemed to be more than the furnace could handle, and the lid began to emit a constant humming sound.

Seeing this, Chu Qingshui said, “You’ll get used to the techniques for controlling spirit-fire with more practice. Let me help you stabilize it for now.”

The moment Chu Qingshui’s spiritual power touched the fire, the flame that had been nearly their height suddenly shot up to ten feet tall. “Oh no, there’s something wrong with this fire!” Fellow Daoist Shen’s talent is truly powerful to remain so calm in the face of malfunctioning fire, she thought.

“If you can’t even refine such a simple pill, then don’t do it. Don’t let the fire burn the other disciples!” Feng Ya squinted his eyes at the ten-foot-tall flames, a smirk unconsciously curling at the corner of his lips.

Suddenly, Shen Shuheng transformed her spiritual power into a sword and slashed down at the arrogant spirit-fire. The fire seemed to possess a shred of intelligence; after suffering a strike imbued with sword-intent, it became submissive.

Manipulating the spirit-fire became much easier for Shen Shuheng after that—she could make the intensity whatever she wished.

Feng Ya’s smirk quickly collapsed upon seeing Shen Shuheng control the spirit-fire with such ease. A cloud of gloom seemed to drape over his face. Suddenly, his eyes shifted slightly as if he had thought of something, and he cast another malicious glance toward Shen Shuheng.