Even If You're My Senior, It's Still Forbidden - Chapter 14

“Come in,” Ji Weining called out, facing Su Jia’s back.

Su Jia turned at the sound and walked into Su Jin’an’s room. Her eyes immediately fell on the unfinished pastries and two teacups on the table. She looked surprised. “I’d only heard about it from Xiling, but I didn’t expect it to be true.”

“What’s true?” Ji Weining didn’t understand what she meant and simply introduced, “This is my junior sister, Jin’an.”

“Jin as in hibiscus, An as in peace?” Su Jia asked casually.

Su Jin’an replied, “Yes.”

Su Jia seemed to recall something and asked directly, “May I ask what your family name is, little junior sister?”

Su Jin’an smiled faintly and answered, “I have no family name. I’m just called Jin’an.”

“First, take out what you’ve found,” Ji Weining said coldly, staring at her.

Su Jia withdrew her scrutinizing gaze from Su Jin’an and pulled from her sleeve the dried flowers she had collected those with a scent similar to what Ji Weining had described. She had preserved them as dried blossoms so Ji Weining could identify the fragrance.

There weren’t many flowers on the market with a similar scent. Based on Ji Weining’s description, Su Jia had only found four types, all commonly grown near Qingheng Mountain. However, she felt these four didn’t quite match the description and couldn’t be sure if they were the right ones.

Ji Weining leaned in, wafted the scents toward her, and sniffed each one. “None of these.”

In truth, she had known the answer as soon as she saw the dried flowers, but she had wanted to confirm it. She had initially thought the scent might be a blend, but that now seemed unlikely.

“Then, Senior Sister, do you have any leads?” Su Jia wasn’t surprised. If the flowers were from near Qingheng Mountain, her senior sister would have deduced the whole story on the spot, leaving no need for her involvement.

Ji Weining shook her head.

The world was vast, and she couldn’t possibly know everything.

“Junior Sister, why don’t you give it a try?” Ji Weining’s gaze shifted to Su Jin’an. She wasn’t the only one who had smelled that scent her junior sister could also take a turn.

Su Jin’an nodded and stepped forward to take the dried flowers from Su Jia’s hand.

After bringing them slightly closer, she reached a conclusion.

“Indeed, these aren’t it. That cloyingly sweet scent should lie somewhere between these two.” Su Jin’an picked up the two in the middle and continued, “Actually, the fragrance reminds me a bit of flowers from some southern towns in the past.”

“Little Junior Sister, do you know the exact name of the flower?” Su Jia inquired. If she had a specific name, it would make the search easier. A direction was helpful, but searching within a broad range wasn’t simple.

Su Jin’an replied, “I haven’t studied these much, so I’m afraid I’ll disappoint you, Senior Sister.”

She only vaguely remembered encountering that scent before but knew nothing beyond that. Though she wished to help, her ability fell short.

“No matter, I’ll look into other avenues,” Su Jia said, her briefly hopeful heart sinking again. It was impossible for her to travel south now, so it would be better to find another breakthrough. She turned her gaze to Ji Weining, who had stayed out of such matters for decades unless they involved major events across the lands. “Senior Sister Weining, do you have time to check the books for flowers with this scent?”

“If I happen to see any, I’ll send them over.” Ji Weining had no objections. For the others, flowers, plants, and medicinal herbs were always a major challenge.

“Sorry to trouble you, Senior Sister.” Su Jia took out two identical qiankun pouches from her sleeve and handed them to Ji Weining. “These are some small trinkets I picked up during my travels these past few days. They’re for you and Junior Sister Jin’an.”

“Then I’ll take my leave now.” Su Jia tidied up the flowers she had brought and returned to the main peak to continue investigating the matter.

“Shall we continue?” Ji Weining glanced at Su Jin’an, handing her one of the qiankun pouches Su Jia had given, then picked up a piece of pastry and offered it to her. “Would you like to try this pastry again?”

Su Jin’an took the pouch, opened it, and glanced inside, it was filled with small magical artifacts. Leaning forward, she took a small bite of the pastry that had been brought to her lips. “Mmm.”

“I’ll fetch some books to read with you, Junior Sister. If there’s anything you don’t understand, just ask me.” Seeing that the pastry was finished, Ji Weining picked up the remaining plate and gestured.

“Alright.” Su Jin’an nodded, lazily waving her off.

Half-reclining by the couch, she resumed reading the book she had been studying earlier, her hands mimicking the formations described within.

Soon, the very thing described by the formation appeared in her hands. Though her body felt somewhat fatigued, it was not unbearable. The circulating spiritual energy continuously washed through her meridians, once, twice, flowing as smoothly as blood circulation or as naturally as drinking water.

Whatever she sought, she could obtain.

After tidying up the plate and bringing over some snacks, Ji Weining found the books she wanted to read and went to check on Su Jin’an.

“Senior Sister, come help me with this spell.”

Su Jin’an had already moved on to the second book. She leaned over and placed the book in front of Ji Weining, pointing to the simplest object-fixing spell described within.

“I’ve tried it a few times, but the distance doesn’t seem to match. I intended for it to rise five inches, but it only moves three inches.”

Su Jin’an picked up the book she had been practicing with and demonstrated for Ji Weining once more. Channeling her spiritual energy, she attempted to lift the book on the table. However, it hovered only three inches above the table for a few moments before dropping back down.

“Try slowing down, Junior Sister?”

Su Jin’an attempted it several more times, her movements gradually becoming more fluid so fast that an ordinary person would only see a blur. Following Ji Weining’s advice, she focused on the incantation, gathering spiritual energy at her fingertips and trying again.

The incantation took form, and an invisible force lifted the book from the table, holding it firmly in place.

“It worked?” Su Jin’an hadn’t expected it to succeed so quickly under Ji Weining’s guidance.

She observed the book suspended in mid-air utterly motionless. Reaching out to touch it, she found she couldn’t even flip its pages; it remained fixed in position.

The book also mentioned that this spell could keep an object immobilized in the desired position for the duration of an incense stick.

“How do I release it now?” Su Jin’an asked.

Ji Weining replied, “Use your spiritual energy to touch it.”

Su Jin’an coated her hand with a layer of her own spiritual energy. The moment it made contact with the book, the book fell back down.

Ji Weining explained to her, “Actually, it landed because it understood you wanted it to stop. Spiritual power is interconnected with divine consciousness, and when one reaches a certain level, they can even use spiritual power through divine consciousness.”

Su Jin’an didn’t fully grasp it, only understanding the surface, but she found it quite fascinating.

“Alright, Senior Sister, you can read your book now.”

Ji Weining also picked up the book she had brought along, flipping through it for a while before folding the corners of a few similar pages.

Searching for the scent of a flower with so little information was like looking for a needle in a haystack, difficult to find. After pondering for a long time without any leads, she reluctantly activated her spiritual sense to scan each page.

After jotting down the names of a few flowers, Ji Weining transmitted the names to Su Jia, asking her to search for them.

Before they knew it, night had deepened. Ji Weining went to prepare a bowl of noodles for Su Jin’an.

Watching her finish the meal, Ji Weining felt an inexplicable sense of satisfaction and a deep tranquility in her heart. No longer were they the wandering souls uncertain of danger at every turn; now, it felt as though they were living in a secluded cottage in the countryside, detached from the world.

“Senior Sister, could you transfer some spiritual power to me today?”

Having just used a considerable amount of spiritual power, Su Jin’an faintly sensed that the spiritual energy within her was stagnating. The intake was simply insufficient to sustain the output. If her senior sister could replenish her spiritual power, she might be able to advance further in a short time, perhaps even break through to the Golden Core stage.

Ji Weining was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, it was the first time her junior sister had made such a request. Usually, even meals were left to her discretion. Since her junior sister had asked, she had no objections. “Of course, if you’re sure, it’s fine.”

“Let’s do it in a bit. I’ll take a walk to digest the food.” Su Jin’an could still feel the fullness from the meal in her body.

Ji Weining quickly tidied up the book in her hands and, with a wave, stored everything into her Qiankun pouch. “Go ahead, Junior Sister. I’ll clean up here as well.”

Su Jin’an stepped outside without a clear destination in mind, simply wandering around the courtyard. As she walked, she noticed the still-unused swing and sat down on it. With a push of her feet, the swing began to sway with her momentum.

The moonlight was bright and clear, summer cicadas started their chorus, and a few fireflies drifted by, illuminating the dark night.

“Junior Sister, swinging on the swing here?” Ji Weining, having finished tidying up, came out to look for her and spotted her sitting on the swing beneath the peach tree. Her green robes stood out strikingly under the moonlight.

Su Jin’an saw her from afar and called out, “Senior Sister, would you like to join me?”

The swing had been made by Ji Weining for her to use. If she wanted to sit, accommodating another person wouldn’t be a problem.

“Didn’t you say you wanted to transfer spiritual power?” Ji Weining walked over to her, and Su Jin’an stopped the swing’s motion.

Su Jin’an replied, “We can do it while sitting here too.”

Most cultivators wouldn’t be so casual about it, but since her junior sister said so, Ji Weining didn’t comment further. She immediately set up a barrier to prevent disturbances and protect the surroundings.

She sat down on the other side of the swing. Fortunately, the swing was spacious enough to comfortably seat two people.

Ji Weining extended her hands and gestured, “Junior Sister, give me your hands.”

“This time, why are you using both hands?” Su Jin’an clearly remembered that last time, it was only one hand. Why was her senior sister using two hands this time?

“It’s more convenient,” Ji Weining explained. This way, it was also easier to transfer spiritual power more thoroughly and control it better, one hand to observe her junior sister’s physical condition, and the other to transfer spiritual power to her.

Support Even If You’re My Senior, It’s Still Forbidden