Even If You're My Senior, It's Still Forbidden - Chapter 38

“Immortals?” Ji Weining was hearing about this local custom for the first time.

The maidservant explained, “Yes, it’s a legend in our town. If you come to see in ten days, Immortal Ji, you’ll understand. It’s at the temple southeast of town everyone in the town will be there that day.”

Everyone would be there? Then would Xu Huan go too?

“Are you sure?”

“Of course.” The maidservant spoke of it as a matter of course, even finding Ji Weining’s question somewhat strange.

Su Jin’an didn’t seem to have much more she wanted to take. “Wrap all of these up.”

Just as Su Jin’an was about to take out some silver, the maidservant waved her hand hurriedly and explained, “The owner has instructed that neither of you esteemed immortals need to pay for anything here.”

Right, this was Hua Rong’s place.

“Mmm.” Naturally, she should be the one paying! The thought of having to go to the Qiu family later made her angry.

“Let’s go, we’re heading to the Qiu family.” Ji Weining tossed the received items into her Qiankun bag, naturally took Su Jin’an’s hand, wrapped an arm around her waist, and rode the wind straight to the Qiu residence. Someone was already waiting for them there.

A maidservant dressed in black robes and wearing a mask likely an assassin from the Hehuan Pavilion greeted them with utmost respect upon their arrival. “Immortals.”

“Please lead the way.” Ji Weining had no choice but to return the courtesy and urged her to guide them quickly.

The assassin produced a small box and handed it to Ji Weining. “The Pavilion Master instructed me to give this to you, Immortal. You may proceed into the formation on your own.”

“Everything you need is inside,” she added as a reminder, saying nothing more beyond that truly devoid of any vitality.

The moment Ji Weining touched the door, she immediately sensed something unusual. This was no ordinary formation but a refined secret realm. “It’s a secret realm?”

“Whose secret realm is this?” she quickly asked as the assassin turned to leave.

The assassin only replied, “You’ll know once you enter, Immortal.”

“Xu Huan?” That was the only name Ji Weining could think of. Only she might still possess spiritual power at this point so had she not fully fallen into demon hood yet?

The assassin remained silent and turned to leave.

Entering would indeed take ten days. If they tried to leave before then, the secret realm would be destroyed, and its owner would die. It seemed Xu Huan was still alive.

Su Jin’an, standing beside her, realized this as well. They exchanged a look, and Ji Weining said, “The sooner we go in, the sooner we come out.”

“Mmm.” Su Jin’an had no objections; they needed to go in and see for themselves.

Ji Weining reached out, opened the box, and found the key to the secret realm inside. Inserting the key into the mansion’s door, the surroundings transformed instantly they were in.

The secret realm depicted the scenery of Taoyuan Town, or rather, the original Taoyuan Town. It was filled with peach blossom trees and a small flowing stream, though Ji Weining had never seen such a stream in the actual Taoyuan Town. Had it existed in the past?

Despite it being the seventh month, here it felt like the fifth or sixth month, with peach blossoms in full bloom. In the distance, a few thatched cottages were visible.

“Do we have to find the Spirit Pearl ourselves?” Su Jin’an was stunned by the scenery inside, momentarily at a loss for words.

Ji Weining nodded. “Mmm.”

Su Jin’an scanned the area but saw no trace of the Spirit Pearl. The message that was supposed to be relayed to her was also nowhere to be found.

“She’s gone to great lengths to trap us here,” Ji Weining remarked with a sigh.

“If Xu Huan had succumbed to demonic cultivation, would this secret realm still look like this?” Su Jin’an suddenly realized a problem, the spiritual energy here was even denser than in Taoyuan Town.

“In principle, it shouldn’t, but it’s highly likely that something is controlling the demonic energy within her,” Ji Weining explained to her.

“Can demonic energy be controlled?” Su Jin’an immediately recalled the scene she had witnessed earlier on Qingheng Mountain.

“Of course it can. Succumbing to demonic cultivation is a gradual process. To elaborate, every person carries a demon within their heart. One might even fall into demonic cultivation without being invaded by demonic energy.”

Su Jin’an: “Huh?”

Ji Weining patted Su Jin’an’s head, trying to soothe her astonishment.

“Why?” Su Jin’an asked again.

“Demonic energy is born from those wicked thoughts. It gradually gathers from the human heart, disperses, and converges into demonic energy.”

Su Jin’an asked, “Does everyone know this?”

Ji Weining shook her head. “This was discovered by those who achieved ascension. Later, their fellow disciples also learned of it, and this theory has persisted ever since. However, most cases of falling into demonic cultivation are due to infection by demonic energy.”

“So this is just one of the theories?” Su Jin’an pondered for a long time but had never heard of such a notion.

“You could say that. Most people still believe it’s caused by the invasion of demonic energy.”

“I see.”

After just a few words of conversation, they noticed the sky here had changed.

“There’s a time difference here,” Ji Weining remarked as she scanned the surroundings, keenly aware of the change. Although there was no sun, there was still light. “It must be moving much faster than outside. We can’t stay here for long.”

Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to catch up with the outside world once they left.

“But, we’re still going to be trapped here for at least ten more days.” Given Hua Rong’s intentions, she wouldn’t let the two of them leave easily.

“Then let’s absorb the spiritual energy here,” Ji Weining said casually.

Su Jin’an also thought her suggestion made sense. Since they couldn’t leave, it was the perfect opportunity to absorb the abundant spiritual energy here.

“Alright.”

“Junior Sister, sit here for a while. I’ll go scout ahead,” Ji Weining said, taking a soft cushion from her Qiankun Bag for Su Jin’an to sit on.

Su Jin’an still wore the red string on her wrist, which allowed Ji Weining to keep track of her position.

But Ji Weining still couldn’t rest easy and set up a protective barrier around Su Jin’an, marking the area. If anything approached her, she would be able to detect it immediately.

Without hesitation, Su Jin’an quickly began absorbing spiritual energy. The more she absorbed now, the more she could use later.

Seeing that she had started, Ji Weining headed toward the thatched cottage.

It was unclear whether this was an illusion or reality. The structure of secret realms varied from place to place, but the only certainty was that the spiritual energy here was real.

With that thought, Ji Weining closed her eyes to search for the center of the secret realm, where the spiritual energy was most concentrated.

With her eyes closed, her spiritual awareness became even more powerful, allowing her to sense everything. The flow of spiritual energy here unfolded before her eyes. The master of this place must have been on the verge of ascension. If they hadn’t fallen into demonic cultivation, they would surely have ascended by now.

The spiritual energy was all converging into the thatched cottage.

Ji Weining opened her eyes and approached the cottage. A young girl in a red robe emerged from inside, her face identical to the Hua Rong they had seen at the Hehuan Pavilion.

“Xu Huan?”

The girl didn’t seem to hear her and continued with her task as usual.

Was she brewing wine?

“Rou, you’ve come.” She set down the wine she was brewing and stood up.

Ji Weining heard her speaking but couldn’t see who she was talking to, this was an illusion created by someone’s memory.

“Xiao Yan, don’t move around recklessly.”

A cat demon leaped onto Xu Huan’s shoulder. “Always so mischievous.”

Xu Huan looked helplessly at the cat and smiled.

Tan Yan?

How had she not realized Tan Yan was a cat demon!

For a cat demon to take human form, it required nourishing rare treasures and profound spiritual power, allowing the cat demon to occasionally transform.

Ji Weining thought about how Xu Huan truly possessed many rare treasures, enough to enable Tan Yan’s transformation, no wonder she had spirit pearls; they were all her things.

“Has Arou decided to go to the Zhuang family?” Only then did Arou’s figure appear, and even then, it was just a blurry silhouette. Ji Weining recognized her at a glance, never expecting to see her here.

Looking at the indistinct Arou, Ji Weining realized this was from Tan Yan’s perspective. So, was this secret realm under Tan Yan’s control? Didn’t that mean Tan Yan held Xu Huan’s lifeline in her hands?

Arou replied, “Yes.”

“Is this wine really that good?” she asked, watching Xu Huan brew jar after jar of wine.

Xu Huan walked over to another spot and crouched down, preparing to dig something up. “Of course it’s good. Want some?”

“Bury it. If I come again, I’ll drink it then.”

“Right, you practice that so-called dog path abstaining from emotions and desires.”

“And you? You have the nerve to talk about me.” Arou rolled her eyes upon hearing this, scanning the surroundings before adding, “Are you really planning to stay in this place? It may be rich in spiritual energy, but it’s truly desolate and uninhabited.”

“Soon, people will come.”

“True, your predictions have always been accurate.” Arou shook her head helplessly at her words.

“Of course, just look at who I am.”

As Xu Huan was speaking, Tan Yan on her shoulder licked her neck.

“Xiao Yan, stop fooling around.” Only then did Xu Huan grab her and pull her into her arms.

“If you don’t lock her up properly, she’ll definitely act like this.”

“It’s fine, she’s still quite obedient.” Xu Huan held her in her arms, stroking her gently.

The next second, the illusion vanished, leaving only that thatched cottage behind.

What had happened here in the past? How had Tan Yan ended up in that state? There were so many questions swirling in her mind. She didn’t even know if Tan Yan was willing to tell them or if she was just trying to delay them.

The sky had brightened again.

How much time had passed outside?

The red string tied around her wrist grew warm her junior sister had left that place. Sensing it immediately, Ji Weining hurried toward Su Jin’an’s direction.

Su Jin’an had strayed slightly from the boundary she had drawn earlier and turned to look at her. “Senior sister, this place has changed.”

The peach blossoms had withered, the peach trees were beginning to disappear, it was as if everything had been a dream.

“Xiao Yan, someone’s coming.”

They heard a noise and looked in the direction it came from, vaguely making out a group of people in tattered clothes arriving.

Houses began to gradually appear around them, and the river drew closer to the two of them.

The next moment, Xu Huan appeared again. Ji Weining recognized her by the Tan Yan in her arms. Her face had changed; she flew down from the sky, and Tan Yan leaped out of her embrace.

Then, they saw Xu Huan holding a girl who had fallen into the river. The girl looked at her in panic, shivering from the cold. “Are you an immortal?”

“Thank you, Immortal.” A woman hurried over, took the child from Xu Huan’s arms, removed her own outer garment to wrap around the girl, and pressed her close to her chest.

The girl suddenly emerged from her mother’s embrace and asked, “Were these peach trees planted by you, Immortal?”

Xu Huan did not deny it. “Yes.”

“We have intruded upon your sanctuary,” the mother realized, understanding that this entire grove of peach trees belonged to the immortal, while her people had been cutting them down.

Xu Huan wasn’t particularly concerned and asked instead, “It’s no trouble. Are you refugees fleeing the war?”

The mother nodded. “We came from the capital, where the fighting is severe.”

“Thank you, Immortal, for giving us shelter.” As the mother began to kneel*, Xu Huan gently held her arm to stop her.

“Is this an illusion?” After witnessing the scene before her, Su Jin’an turned to Ji Weining and asked.

Ji Weining nodded. “It’s Tan Yan’s illusion.”

“She’s a cat?” Su Jin’an’s suspicion was confirmed as her gaze fell upon the cat.

Apart from Xu Huan, who was clearly visible, everyone else appeared blurred, making it unmistakable where Tan Yan’s focus lay.

“Yes, she is a cat,” Ji Weining affirmed.

“She’s rather adorable,” Su Jin’an murmured softly, looking at the calico cat in Tan Yan’s arms.

Ji Weining turned to her. “Do you like cats, Junior Sister?”

“Well, they’re quite cute.” Su Jin’an didn’t know how else to respond.

If she likes them, then she should keep one? Ji Weining began pondering where to find a cat that wouldn’t shapeshift.

“Immortal, I have built a temple for you.” A voice echoed around them, though no image appeared. A temple silently rose in Peach Spring Village, and the village gradually grew more populous. The peach trees dwindled in number, and the stream vanished.

If not mistaken, Xu Huan had intervened, diverting the stream’s course. The little girl she had saved years ago had grown up and become the village chief.

Peach Spring Village had transformed into Peach Spring Town.

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