Even If You're My Senior, It's Still Forbidden - Chapter 12

Before Ji Weining could fully process her thoughts, the county magistrate’s voice reached her ears.

“Who is it?” Su Jin’an asked as she pushed the door open.

The magistrate replied in a hushed tone, “It’s, Immortal Zheng’s younger brother.”

Hearing this, Ji Weining vaguely recalled such a person Zheng Jutian, five or six years younger than Zheng Juhe, likely a half-brother from the same father. He had been sent to Qingheng Mountain by the Zheng family after Zheng Juhe’s entry. Zheng Jutian had participated in the New Selection Assembly the year he formed his Golden Core, ranking third and being accepted under the sect leader’s personal tutelage.

Considering this, did the sect leader take him in out of some regard for the Zheng family?

Ji Weining couldn’t quite grasp the sect leader’s reasoning.

Noting the magistrate’s hesitant tone, she pressed, “What else?”

“He was killed by sword techniques. The murder weapon was likely Immortal Zheng’s own sword, and it seems spiritual arts were used in the attack.”

Did Zheng Juhe kill his own brother? Or was there a third party involved? And where did the demonic energy come from?

“Understood. I’ll go take a look later.” Ji Weining decided to finish handling the corpse in front of her first; it would likely be easier to deal with than those that had been dead for several days.

Su Jin’an had nothing to do here, and the remaining tasks weren’t her forte. She suggested, “Senior Sister, maybe I should go take a look first.”

“Stay by my side. I wouldn’t feel at ease if you went.” Ji Weining didn’t want her to go, there was no telling if residual demonic energy lingered around the corpse, like a timed explosive that could detonate unpredictably.

Hearing this, Su Jin’an couldn’t argue. She truly was still too weak, at least in Ji Weining’s eyes.

“Alright,” Su Jin’an replied dejectedly.

Seeing her despondent expression, Ji Weining regretted her words. “Actually, it might not be entirely impossible.”

“Since Senior Sister is worried about me, I’ll stay by your side to put your mind at ease.” With that, Su Jin’an found a chair nearby and sat down to wait for Ji Weining to finish dissecting the remaining corpse.

In the ordinary mortal world, there would be taboos around handling corpses certainly not dismembering them as Ji Weining did. This town’s customs also differed greatly from where Su Jin’an had lived before. But she was never one to bother with such taboos; she had always been unruly and defiant of rules.

She had also observed that this town relied entirely on Qingheng Mountain, as did all the towns within a fifty-li radius, all under Qingheng Mountain’s jurisdiction. It surprised her that there were still places beyond the control of major families. Having lived in such confined spaces before, she hadn’t realized how vast the world truly was.

Though the great families grew increasingly powerful, it seemed none could rival Qingheng Mountain now. She had come to the right place.

Ji Weining kept busy, dismantling the several corpses and examining them. Each skeleton bore patterns, all distinct, yet when she focused her spiritual energy for a closer look, she found a few similarities.

“Judging by their bone structure, they were all robust individuals and didn’t suffer when they died,” Su Jin’an remarked casually from a distance, noting that their body proportions were nearly identical balanced in facial features. “Also, they might be from the same family.”

The same family?

“Senior Sister, do you think it could be the family from the clothing shop?”

In this town, for the past thirty-five years, that one clothing shop had monopolized the market. Their prices were low, and the quality was decent. Qingheng Mountain had never intervened. Now, it seemed there might be deeper implications.

Ji Weining had a faint worry that the clothes produced by their family might also have issues.

However, it had been a long time since she had gotten new clothes herself. A large batch of garments had been sent to her a century ago, and she still hadn’t finished wearing them. Even her junior sister’s attire was from that same batch a hundred years ago.

Ji Weining wasn’t skilled in certain matters. She still remembered being asked to sketch the likeness of a criminal several people had studied her drawing but couldn’t figure out what it was, though she herself felt it wasn’t too far off from the original.

Ji Weining said, “What you say makes sense, junior sister. We’ll have the constables investigate it shortly.”

“If that’s the case, I’m afraid you’ll have your hands full from now on, senior sister,” Su Jin’an joked.

Ji Weining replied, “It’s not that serious. The sect has more than just me. I’ll still make time to teach you, junior sister.”

For now, she was only here to examine the corpses. She wasn’t a professional coroner, and the rest wasn’t her responsibility. Her task was solely to deal with the demonic energy, which she had indeed handled.

Ji Weining channeled her spiritual power to reassemble the corpses, skillfully controlling needles to stitch them back together. After tidying everything up, she walked over to Su Jin’an and extended her left hand. “Let’s go see what’s going on with Zheng Ju and his brother.”

Su Jin’an, who had been sitting in the chair, felt somewhat fatigued perhaps due to her spiritual cultivation the previous day. She took Ji Weining’s hand and stood up, but as she rose, she lost her balance and nearly leaned into her senior sister.

Ji Weining steadied her, leaving barely an inch between them. “Are you too tired, junior sister? Should I take you back to rest first?”

“It’s nothing. My legs went a bit numb from sitting too long. It’s just that this body of mine isn’t holding up well yet,” Su Jin’an said self-deprecatingly, then gestured, “Let’s go check it out first.”

Still concerned, Ji Weining added, “Alright, but if you can’t hold on, just let me know, understood? Your health is what matters most. Everything else can be learned gradually. You’ll have plenty of time, junior sister, there’s no need to rush.”

“Understood, senior sister,” Su Jin’an replied with a smile. In all these years, her senior sister was the first person to say such things to her.

Ji Weining released the hand that had been supporting her but kept hold of the one she had taken earlier. Unconsciously, Su Jin’an’s eyes began to sting, and she reached up to rub them.

“Why are you still holding my hand, senior sister?” Su Jin’an asked, her hand clasped in Ji Weining’s, yet she felt no urge to pull away.

Ji Weining said gently, “I’m worried you might stumble again, junior sister.”

Su Jin’an suddenly remarked with emotion, “Senior sister, you truly dote on me.”

Hearing this, Ji Weining’s eyes curved into a smile, and she chuckled. “You’re my only junior sister, who else would I dote on? In these two hundred years, you’re the second disciple our master has taken and my one and only junior sister.”

Her words weren’t wrong, yet they left Su Jin’an momentarily stunned, unable to formulate a response. She had only known her senior sister for two days could she really be that important?

This question left her feeling uncertain.

But at least for now, her senior sister treated her exceptionally well, and she found herself growing increasingly attached to that feeling.

“Immortal Master, you’ve finally arrived.” The county magistrate looked at Ji Weining as if she were his savior, his eyes filled with desperate hope that she would rid him of this great trouble. Matters concerning immortals were beyond his involvement, he was only responsible for this small patch of land.

Even without approaching the corpse of the man in his twenties, Ji Weining knew he had been killed using spiritual energy, and moreover, with the Hengshan Sword Technique that Zheng Juhe had studied.

It was either Zheng Juhe who had killed him, or someone from the Sword Peak. Although Zheng Juhe was nominally under the sect leader, the sect leader had taught him very little. If she remembered correctly, the sect leader had only given him this one sword.

Now the sword was here, intact, stained with what was clearly Zheng Jutian’s blood, while Zheng Juhe himself was tainted by demonic energy. His younger brother had been killed by his sword technique and his sword.

Ji Weining stepped closer to examine the body. Every mark on it was unmistakably left by the Hengshan Sword Technique. Though she did not practice it herself, she had sparred with disciples of that school countless times and remembered the traces all too clearly.

The situation seemed to be growing much more interesting. It appeared she would have to offer a few more pointers.

“Leave it here for now. I’ll have a Qingheng Sect disciple come later to handle the arrangements,” Ji Weining instructed, telling them to keep a close watch. What was the demonic energy’s goal? She hadn’t figured it out yet, but in any case, she would leave it for the sect leader to deal with.

The magistrate attempted to be hospitable. “You’ve troubled yourself, Immortal Master. It’s already noon would you care to have a meal before returning to the sect?”

Of course, the magistrate didn’t actually want her to stay. He wouldn’t feel at ease until the corpse was taken away, and who knew how long that would take.

Ji Weining indifferently turned her gaze to Su Jin’an, waiting to hear her opinion.

“Let’s head back first. I’d like to eat what you make, Senior Sister,” Su Jin’an said, feeling somewhat tired. Seeing the magistrate’s demeanor, she thought it better to return and rest properly. The food here didn’t look as good as what her senior sister could prepare.

“Alright, we’ll take our leave then,” Ji Weining bid farewell, summoning a flute from her sleeve and departing with Su Jin’an.

The magistrate’s back was drenched in sweat. This was the first time in his life he had spoken with such an unattainable immortal. As she left, he bowed deeply, and the constables behind him chorused, “We bid you farewell, Immortal Master.”

As soon as Ji Weining reached the sect gates, she formed a hand seal, and a colorful butterfly instantly flew out from her palm. The butterfly moved swiftly, vanishing in the direction of the main peak in an instant.

“Senior Sister, what was that?” Su Jin’an leaned against her back, curious. She had never seen such a thing before. Although many people in her family used spiritual power, many techniques were not demonstrated in front of her.

“That’s a Sound-Transmitting Butterfly, but it has a limited range. I could only use it once we reached the sect gates,” Ji Weining explained patiently. That was why she hadn’t been able to use it earlier.

“Let’s return to Qianling Residence,” she said, riding on the bamboo flute, her words brushing past Su Jin’an’s ear as she clung to her.

Su Jin’an acknowledged softly, but after a moment, she couldn’t resist asking, “Senior Sister, don’t you need to handle the other matters?”

Ji Weining replied, “Hmm, the person who will handle it should be returning soon.”

A white streak shot across the sky likely someone riding a sword.

“That must be them,” Ji Weining said. The sword rider quickly headed toward the main peak, not noticing Ji Weining and Su Jin’an on their way to Qianling Residence.

“That is Su Jia, the fifth disciple of the sect master, and the illegitimate daughter of the Shen family, who took her mother’s surname.” Ji Weining introduced her, then shared what she knew: “Originally, the selection assembly was her responsibility, but something unexpected must have happened outside, which is why Zheng Juhe was assigned to handle it instead.”

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