My Green Tea Junior Sister Smells So Good - Chapter 15

Shen Qingyi slightly extended her arms, intending to give her a brief, light embrace. To her surprise, having received permission, Du Yuanluo pulled Shen Qingyi into a firm hug, clinging to her tightly and refusing to let go.

Shen Qingyi’s breath hitched. Though Du Yuanluo held on stubbornly, she did not struggle to break free, it seemed that being close to another person wasn’t such a difficult thing to accept after all.

Du Yuanluo buried her head in Shen Qingyi’s bosom. One hand gripped her shoulder while the other moved to pat her back. Remembering the cane injuries on her back, Du Yuanluo’s hand slid down slowly to avoid the wounds, gently patting the small of Shen Qingyi’s back instead.

“Is that enough?” Shen Qingyi’s entire body was stiff as she tentatively tried to push Du Yuanluo away.

Du Yuanluo, however, showed no intention of letting go, coaxing her softly, “Immortal Shen, if I hold you, I’ll fall asleep in a moment.”

Falling asleep like this would be a miracle, Shen Qingyi thought. She found it hard to endure, but then Du Yuanluo said, “When you’re sick or hurt, having someone hold you makes the pain easier to bear. When I was little, I was beaten along with another servant girl. I could only curl up in my blanket alone, but she had her mother to comfort her. I was so envious.”

Having spent several hundred years in solitary cultivation, Shen Qingyi couldn’t fully empathize with such feelings. However, she had two goals in this rebirth: one was to protect the Yunyin Sect, and the other was to compensate Du Yuanluo.

In truth, this wasn’t the first time Du Yuanluo had slept while holding her. While awake, Du Yuanluo was very mindful of boundaries, but once asleep, she would unconsciously cling to whoever was beside her. Having suffered in loneliness for so many years, she likely craved intimacy in her very bones.

Since she had asked…

Shen Qingyi gently eased out of the embrace, then mirrored the younger girl’s actions by pulling her into her own arms. “In the future, you won’t need to envy others.”

Before leaving the temple the next morning, Shen Qingyi originally intended to move the statue of Jiang Linchuan elsewhere. On second thought, knowing someone would eventually move it back, she simply shattered it with a single palm strike.

Du Yuanluo was low-maintenance and never asked for anything, so Shen Qingyi took the initiative to buy a mountain of supplies, both necessary and unnecessary, until they finally began the journey back to Yunyin Peak at midday.

Shen Qingyi was naturally a woman of few words, and Du Yuanluo didn’t dare be too chatty. She only looked forward to reaching the mountain gate’s barrier.

Because she could not break through the barrier herself, she had to hold Shen Qingyi’s hand to truly enter Yunyin Peak.

Shen Qingyi’s skin was so delicate, carrying a faint scent of herbs and wood. Close up, she feared it was a desecration, far away, she found it hard to let go.

All along the way, Du Yuanluo scolded herself for such illicit thoughts while simultaneously replaying the memory of Shen Qingyi’s soft, fragrant embrace.

It wasn’t until Shen Qingyi stopped that Du Yuanluo realized they had reached the mountain gate barrier.

She excitedly wiped the sweat from her palms onto her clothes and, forcing a calm expression, held out her hand to be led.

But this time, Shen Qingyi didn’t take her hand. Instead, she pulled a translucent, polished jade tablet from her sleeve and placed it in Du Yuanluo’s palm.

What does this mean? A gift? A token? Du Yuanluo was confused. “Immortal Shen…”

“From now on, you should call me Second Senior Sister,” Shen Qingyi said. “With this jade tablet, you are a disciple of the Yunyin Sect. You can enter and leave the barrier freely, and no one can drive you away at will. Of course, you must also follow the rules of the sect.”

“Ah? I…” Du Yuanluo looked at the jade tablet in her hand, feeling a sense of unreality.

Many esteemed monks and priests in the mortal world could never even reach the threshold of the Yunyin Sect in their entire lives. She had originally stumbled into the sect by a stroke of luck and only hoped to shamelessly stay by her beloved’s side, she never dared dream of becoming an official disciple.

Thinking of her “beloved” Jiang Linchuan, Du Yuanluo felt a pang of guilt toward Shen Qingyi. “Immortal Shen, then what will I do in the future?”

“Call me Second Senior Sister,” Shen Qingyi corrected her.

Thinking of how many people on Yunyin Peak called Shen Qingyi “Second Senior Sister,” Du Yuanluo felt a trace of dissatisfaction.

“Can I just call you ‘Sister’ (Jie)?” After saying it, Du Yuanluo felt she was being too greedy. In the past, she only asked for the world to be a bit fairer to her.

Shen Qingyi had given her fairness, yet she wanted more.

“No. This is a sect, not a household. I just told you to follow the rules,” Shen Qingyi refused coldly.

“Oh. Senior Sister, what will I do on Yunyin Peak then?”

Senior Sister it is, she thought. At least it wasn’t as distant as “Immortal Shen.”

“Outer disciples only have morning lessons. For the rest of the time, you can do whatever you wish.”

As the saying goes: The master leads you through the door, but cultivation depends on the individual. Outer disciples only received basic teachings, only those who showed extraordinary wisdom and cultivation would be personally taught by the Sect Leader or Elders.

Shen Qingyi had always been an indiscriminate teacher, pushing both outer disciples and her direct fellow disciples to focus on their cultivation.

But Du Yuanluo was different. In the hundreds of years of her previous life, even with Jiang Linchuan, the second greatest disciple of Yunyin Peak, personally teaching her, she hadn’t managed to learn a shred of the basics. It was clear she was not cut out for this path.

Sure enough, Du Yuanluo showed no interest in cultivation. She asked tentatively, “Can I be a maid for… Senior Sister?”

“There are no maids on Yunyin Peak. Find something else to do.”

“But I only know how to be a maid. Washing, cooking, making beds. I can do it all. I don’t know anything else.”

“If you don’t know, you can learn slowly. Go do something you want to do first; once you do it enough, you’ll learn.”

“I only want to take good care of Senior Sister, but what if Senior Sister is unwilling?”

Shen Qingyi was speechless and couldn’t bring herself to scold her. This girl’s entire life was built on depending on others, first the masters of the Li family, then Jiang Linchuan.

Even though Shen Qingyi was planning a path of freedom for her, Du Yuanluo only saw it as transferring her dependency to Shen Qingyi.

Yuanluo (Ivy) is a vine, Shen Qingyi thought. It cannot stand on its own, it can only live by clinging to something else.

Shen Qingyi wanted to change her name, but she felt she should ask for her opinion first. She knew a direct question wouldn’t work, if she suggested it, Du Yuanluo would agree simply to please her.

So she asked indirectly, “Who gave you your name? Do you like it?”

“My mother gave it to me. I like it very much,” Du Yuanluo said with a hint of pride. “Mother said a common name is easier to raise. She wanted me to be like the ivy, taking root wherever I land, enduring cold and heat, surviving no matter what.”

It was true. Ivy cannot stand tall, but it can survive anywhere. Perhaps the behaviors Shen Qingyi found unappealing were exactly the survival tactics that suited her best.

Yuanluo. It’s fine.

Shen Qingyi finally abandoned the idea of changing her name.

Outer disciples did not have individual rooms, they lived in a communal hall divided by rank. Though called a “communal bed,” there were no sheets or quilts, only meditation cushions.

Shen Qingyi couldn’t grant her a special exception. She didn’t dare let her take the entire pile of purchased goods to the hall, so she let her pick a few small trinkets she could hide, warning her to keep them safe so they wouldn’t be confiscated.

Du Yuanluo hugged her small bundle sorrowfully. She wanted to ask: Can I still cook for you? What if I miss you? Can I sleep in your cloud quilts again?

But she didn’t dare speak. Shen Qingyi had already given her so much, being too greedy would surely bring divine punishment.

Seeing her look as if they were parting forever, Shen Qingyi felt helpless. She pinched Du Yuanluo’s cheek. “That’s enough. We’re both on Yunyin Peak, we’ll see each other all the time. If something happens, come find me whenever you need.”

This promise instantly revitalized Du Yuanluo. “Then can I come find Senior Sister every day? I won’t disturb you. I’ll just bring food. Just once a day, okay?”

“Fine.”

At least it gives her something to do, Shen Qingyi thought.

Du Yuanluo knew Shen Qingyi was an elite among the younger generation. Besides morning lessons, she had to practice swordplay, meditate, and do many other things.

Not wanting to be a nuisance, Du Yuanluo kept her word and only delivered one meal a day. Sometimes she ran into Shen Qingyi, sometimes she didn’t.

On days they met, Du Yuanluo would be incredibly happy, watching her finish the food she had prepared. On days they didn’t, she felt profoundly dejected.

Her emotions had never fluctuated so wildly before, so much so that her roommate, Senior Sister Luying, said solemnly, “Little Junior Sister, are you sick?”

“Ah? Probably not. I rarely get sick.” Du Yuanluo thought about it seriously. “It’s okay. Even if I’m sick, I’ll get better on my own in a few days.”

“I don’t think you’ll get better. How many days has it been now?”

Seeing how serious Luying was, Du Yuanluo got scared. “Really? What kind of illness?”

Luying smiled meaningfully. “I think you’ve caught a case of lovesickness.”

Because of her face, Du Yuanluo was prone to being slandered as “seductive” in the mortal world, so her face went pale upon hearing this.

However, she quickly remembered Shen Qingyi telling her that if she were accused, she must not just take it or apologize. If she could reason with them, she should, if not, her Second Senior Sister would handle the justice.

She immediately retorted righteously, “Don’t you go framing me! Aside from morning lessons, I haven’t even seen the Eldest Senior Brother. How could I have lovesickness?”

“I never said it was the Eldest Senior Brother. Why are you so anxious?”

“Then who else could it be?”

Coming from a common background, Du Yuanluo was bound by many traditional etiquettes. Aside from Shen Qingyi’s explicit ban on her interacting with Jiang Linchuan, Du Yuanluo strictly observed the rules of propriety between men and women, almost never having private contact with other male disciples.

Luying gave a mysterious smile. “Still pretending? Everyone knows.”

“I’m not pretending! Explain yourself.”

Luying didn’t explain, only wearing a knowing smirk.

Du Yuanluo naturally wouldn’t go to Shen Qingyi to complain about such a small matter. She reflected on her behavior and felt she hadn’t done anything out of line, so she stood her ground.

Shen Qingyi had repeatedly told her to speak up if anyone bullied her, and Du Yuanluo had promised she would.

But Shen Qingyi couldn’t rest easy. After observing her secretly for a few days and seeing she got along well with other disciples, she felt relieved.

Yunyin disciples were generally well-educated. Even if there were some bad apples, they were far better than the treacherous people in the mortal world. In her previous life, Du Yuanluo had relied on her own charms to win over the disciples, it seemed she could get along with everyone except Shen Qingyi.

Shen Qingyi originally thought Du Yuanluo would be easy to manage, allowing her to live a quiet life while considering the “compensation” part of her plan complete. She could then focus her energy on dealing with Jiang Linchuan.

Little did she know that in just a few days, Du Yuanluo would cause trouble for her.