Even If You're My Senior, It's Still Forbidden - Chapter 13

The more she pondered, the more terrifying it became. If all these events were connected, then the mastermind behind them must be an extremely meticulous person.

At first glance, it seemed as though Zheng Juhe had killed his own younger brother, that he had fallen into demonic ways and slain his own flesh and blood. But upon deeper reflection, was such a scenario truly possible?

Leaving aside the question of how someone who had turned to demonic practices could still wield spiritual power, there were suspicious details at every turn, making it impossible not to harbor doubts.

Ji Weining didn’t say much and brought Su Jin’an straight back to Qianling Residence. “Junior Sister, wait a moment. Senior Sister will prepare a meal for you.”

“Alright,” Su Jin’an replied, releasing her hand from Ji Weining’s waist.

“Is there anything in particular you’d like to eat?” Ji Weining asked.

Su Jin’an shook her head again, leaving the decision to her.

By the time Ji Weining finished cooking and brought the food over, Su Jin’an had already fallen asleep with her head resting on the table.

It seemed these past few days had been too exhausting for Su Jin’an. Ji Weining contemplated how to help her adjust, recalling her own early days of learning to control spiritual power. She, too, had felt inexplicably weary, allowing the spiritual energy to surge through her body day after day, sometimes even sensing a swelling sensation in her blood.

How had she managed back then? It seemed she had simply endured, step by step.

Her junior sister’s constitution was truly too delicate. Upon closer thought, perhaps she had been too harsh, not taking Su Jin’an’s physical condition into consideration.

Ji Weining reflected on what she had asked her junior sister to do these past few days. Had the fire spell been too strenuous for her?

She remembered starting with the fire spell herself and not finding it particularly difficult, but now she began to reconsider. Her junior sister was different from her.

Ji Weining conjured a protective barrier to cover the food she had brought over, embedding a warmth-gathering array within it to prevent the meal from cooling. She then turned and attempted to lift Su Jin’an, whose eyelashes fluttered slightly. With a calm expression, Ji Weining carried her to the bed.

Pulling the nearby quilt over her, she noted Su Jin’an’s even breathing, she was still asleep.

With a casual wave of her hand, a letter with a few lines of writing appeared on the table.

She stepped out of the room and headed toward the main peak. Just as she reached the entrance of the main hall, she ran into Liu Xiling.

“Senior Sister Weining, what brings you here? Didn’t you just send a message butterfly? Is there something important you need to discuss?” Liu Xiling was surprised to see her, worried that the demonic aura they had encountered in town might have hidden implications.

Ji Weining stated her purpose: “I came to ask what spell you first learned when you started practicing magic. If you have any related books, please lend them to me as well.”

“Is this related to the case?” Liu Xiling was puzzled. Why would her senior sister ask such a question? By the time Liu Xiling was born, Ji Weining was already a standout talent in the sect. How could she still be interested in such beginner-level materials?

Ji Weining had no desire to explain further. “Just give them to me.”

Concerned that this might indeed be connected to the demonic energy incident and not wanting to hinder any important matters, Liu Xiling complied. “Alright.”

She went to her room and rummaged around before finding the books from her early studies, all covered in a thick layer of dust. It had been nearly forty years since she last touched these texts, and many still bore notes her mother had made for her.

Liu Xiling’s techniques were all personally taught by the sect leader and the grand elder, a privilege even Ji Weining did not enjoy. Those who envied her could only sigh helplessly, for who could argue with the fact that she was the sect leader’s daughter?

Yet, her constitution remained frail, and her progress in cultivation was always much slower than others. Most people around her were skeptical some looked down on her, some scorned her, while others still harbored envy.

“Weining, what brings you here?” The sect leader happened to pass by and saw Ji Weining standing at the door, waiting for Liu Xiling’s books.

Ji Weining replied, “I came to find some books, hoping to learn how ordinary people usually begin cultivating spiritual power.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to ask me about such things? Didn’t I teach you when you were young?”

“Are you referring to sending me those technique scrolls? Or perhaps sending me directly to the Spirit Formation Tower?”

“Ahem.” Liu Hongyu recalled how absurd her and Mu Chanjuan’s teaching methods had been back then.

Ji Weining added, “If it weren’t for Junior Sister Murong accompanying me back then, I might have lost my life in the Spirit Formation Tower…”

“An accident, just an accident.” Liu Hongyu felt awkward thinking of her eldest disciple, Murong Xuan, and wanted to change the subject. She and Mu Chanjuan truly owed her an apology…

For her, this was not a glorious memory. She had only been an outer sect disciple back then, and it was only due to that incident that she became the sect leader. Teaching disciples was something she had never been good at.

In her earlier years, she had done plenty of reckless things, and Murong Xuan had suffered the most. Thinking back, it had been twenty or thirty years since Murong Xuan last returned.

“You should be more composed…” Ji Weining advised earnestly.

Liu Hongyu cut her off, not wanting to dwell on the past: “Weining, what’s done is done. Aren’t all your junior sisters doing fine now?”

“Of course, otherwise Master’s medical skills would have been wasted.” Ji Weining fell silent.

The only thing her master had truly taught her was medical arts. As for the rest, it had little to do with her. Upon reflection, she had essentially grown up learning techniques from various masters.

“Mother, why are you here?” Liu Xiling opened the door and saw the two of them standing outside, looking at her with curiosity.

“Your Senior Sister Su is looking for you. She wants you to go help her.”

Though puzzled, Liu Xiling didn’t ask further and brought out the neatly organized books: “Senior Sister Weining, these are the books I used when I first started learning. The ones on top are what I studied at the very beginning.”

“By the way, I wanted to ask you, do you think it’s difficult for a beginner to learn the Spirit Fire Technique?” Ji Weining hesitated for a moment before asking.

“Spirit Fire Technique? For a beginner?” Liu Xiling felt as though she were hearing a nightmare and shook her head. “I still can’t master that technique even now.”

“When she practiced the Spirit Fire Technique, she burned a part of her hand. Your master was the one who healed it for her,” Liu Hongyu added from the side.

“Is it that difficult?” Ji Weining pursed her lips in thought.

Liu Xiling nodded emphatically. “Extremely difficult.”

But Su Jin’an had already learned it, and she was doing quite well. In comparison, her junior sister truly had talent, no one was more remarkable than her. A faint sense of pride swelled in Ji Weining’s heart.

“I understand.”

Ji Weining took the books and, having no further business, immediately left the main peak.

By the time she returned to the Thousand Spirit Residence, Su Jin’an had already woken up and finished the meal on the table.

“Senior Sister, I don’t know how to wash these. I’ll need your help.” Ji Weining understood the meaning when she saw the bowls and chopsticks on the table.

“No problem. I’ll teach you a cleaning spell later, so you can avoid a lot of trouble.”

Su Jin’an noticed the book in her hand and asked curiously, “Is that book for me, Senior Sister?”

“Yes. I thought the Spirit Fire technique might be too difficult for you, so I asked Xi Ling for some simpler ones.”

When Su Jin’an raised her eyes to look at Ji Weining again, they were slightly red and moist, like a rabbit’s. “Am I learning too poorly, Senior Sister?”

That single “Senior Sister” made Ji Weining hesitate, not daring to suggest anything else. Perhaps she really liked the Spirit Fire technique?

“Does Senior Sister think I’m incapable?” Su Jin’an continued dejectedly.

Hearing this, Ji Weining took her hand, leaned in to take out a handkerchief, and wiped away the tears at the corner of her eyes, hurriedly explaining, “That’s not what I meant. I’m just worried you might be too tired.”

“Senior Sister doesn’t think I’m learning poorly?” Su Jin’an turned her head away, accepting the handkerchief and clutching it in her hand.

Ji Weining added, “Not at all. You’re very talented.”

Seeing that Su Jin’an didn’t dwell on it further, Ji Weining felt a wave of relief.

Su Jin’an looked at the books. “Senior Sister, tell me about these books.”

“So you agree to study these?” Ji Weining was a bit worried her junior sister might not accept them.

“Since Senior Sister went through the trouble to find them, I’ll study them. I won’t let your efforts go to waste.”

Ji Weining explained, “The ones on top are suitable to start with, they’re simpler. I’ve glanced through them. The further down you go, the more difficult they become.”

“I’ll look at them myself.” Su Jin’an took the books, picked up the top one, and flipped through a few pages. Noticing her senior sister still standing nearby, she asked, “Senior Sister, are you really not going to deal with the demonic energy?”

Ji Weining shook her head. “Let’s leave more opportunities for others.”

She didn’t need it anymore.

“However, Su Jia might come by later.” Ji Weining cleared the bowls and chopsticks from the table and left, planning to prepare some afternoon tea for her junior sister.

Su Jin’an began reading the newly acquired book. With just a glance, she could tell it was quite old even older than she was. It was densely covered with annotations, with explanations of formations popping up here and there. It was clear how much care the annotator had put into helping the reader learn.

Could it have been Senior Sister?

Su Jin’an remembered the handwriting she had left on the table for her, she hadn’t thrown it away yet.

She got up from the desk, fetched it, and compared it. It looked somewhat similar, generally the same style of script, but the details were different. However, it wasn’t impossible for the details to have changed over time.

The more she thought about it, the more her heart ached.

If she had been born earlier, could she have come here sooner? Could she have been a fellow disciple with Ji Weining?

“Junior Sister, I made some afternoon tea. Would you like to try it?” Ji Weining brought over a box of small pastries and some tea.

She poured a cup and brought it to Su Jin’an’s lips. Su Jin’an glanced at it, took a small sip from the edge of the cup, and then continued reading.

“Weining, Senior Sister, could you trouble you to come out and help smell these flowers to see if any match what you encountered this morning?” A voice called from outside the door, which Su Jin’an guessed must be Su Jia.

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