My Green Tea Junior Sister Smells So Good - Chapter 5

Shen Qingyi sighed softly and leaned down to sit on the edge of the bed. This small couch was originally only large enough for one person, even though Du Yuanluo had tried her best to shrink into the corner, she was still within arm’s reach.

Shen Qingyi reached out and grasped Du Yuanluo’s hand. Du Yuanluo instinctively flinched but did not dare to struggle with any force.

She could feel the girl’s icy hand trembling slightly, so thin and fragile it felt as though it might snap with a gentle twist.

A sudden flicker of pity rose within Shen Qingyi. She lifted Du Yuanluo’s sleeve, which was stained with spots of blood, revealing rows of bloody gashes on her arm.

Du Yuanluo quickly pulled her sleeve back down to cover the wounds, trying uncomfortably to withdraw her hand.

“Does it hurt?” Shen Qingyi asked.

“It doesn’t hurt.”

Shen Qingyi vaguely remembered that in her past life, Du Yuanluo never cried out in pain. Shen Qingyi herself had lived a smooth life and had never suffered physical agony, until the moment of her death, when she finally learned that the sensation of blood gushing out was a pain that pierced the very marrow of one’s bones.

How could it not hurt? Shen Qingyi sighed softly, “In the future, you don’t have to do this.”

The hand resting in her palm shuddered. “Is Immortal Shen going to drive me away?”

Shen Qingyi didn’t understand how Du Yuanluo had connected those two statements, but she heard the girl’s voice suddenly grow frantic: “Immortal Shen, I won’t go. You can beat me or scold me as you wish, just please don’t drive me away.”

As soon as Du Yuanluo spoke, it was just like before: first framing Shen Qingyi with a grievance, then showing weakness to beg for mercy.

However, Shen Qingyi didn’t plan to hold a grudge over this, nor did she intend to continue bearing a false reputation.

Speaking plainly, she said, “When have I ever beaten or scolded you? And when did I say I wanted you to leave?”

Hearing this, Du Yuanluo was visibly stunned. Shen Qingyi took out a small medicine bottle and used her fingertip to gently dab the ointment onto the wounds.

“I just wanted to tell you: don’t hurt yourself anymore in the future.”

Du Yuanluo stared blankly at Shen Qingyi. As she realized the other woman was applying medicine to her, a complex emotion flashed through her eyes.

Shen Qingyi noticed the marks were lash wounds from a whip. She asked with some confusion, “How did these happen?”

Du Yuanluo snapped back to reality, her eyes filled with uncontrollable panic. “It… I accidentally did it to myself.”

These words sounded hauntingly familiar to Shen Qingyi. In her past life, Du Yuanluo had answered others the same way. The more she claimed it was an accident, the more everyone suspected Shen Qingyi had done it.

Now, with only the two of them here, who was she saying this for?

Shen Qingyi couldn’t fathom the convoluted thoughts of a mortal woman’s mind, so she decided not to delve deeper. Regardless, she simply needed to protect her.

But the more she applied the medicine, the more Shen Qingyi felt something was wrong. The scars didn’t just stay on the forearm, they trailed all the way up and behind her collar.

When she tried to lift Du Yuanluo’s collar further, the girl gripped her neckline tightly, refusing to let go. “It’s fine, Immortal Shen. I can do it myself.”

“How are you going to apply medicine to the wounds on your back yourself?”

As the words left her mouth, the doubt in Shen Qingyi’s heart suddenly cleared. If the girl couldn’t reach her own back to apply medicine, how could she have possibly inflicted a back full of lash marks on herself?

So, someone had truly beaten her?

Shen Qingyi stopped fussing over the medicine for a moment. “Who hurt you?”

Du Yuanluo shook her head in terror. “No one, I was just careless…”

“You’re lying,” Shen Qingyi’s tone suddenly became stern.

It turned out she had been deceived for so many years. Du Yuanluo had truly suffered grievances and harm; she wasn’t just “playing” the victim.

But the sudden drop in her voice clearly frightened Du Yuanluo. “I’m fine, I can handle anything.”

Shen Qingyi knew Du Yuanluo didn’t trust her, and pressing further would be useless. She would have to find out later.

She gently pried away the hand guarding the collar. “I’m just applying medicine. I won’t do anything else. Be good.”

This was a rare moment of gentleness from Shen Qingyi. Du Yuanluo obediently let go and began to untie her belt.

As the clothes were pulled back, Shen Qingyi saw the dense, crisscrossing whip marks across her back. She couldn’t imagine how such a weak woman in her past life had endured a body full of these wounds, yet forced herself to make a plate of pastries before the end of morning lessons just to try and please the disciples of the Yunyin Sect.

Shen Qingyi’s heart felt a sour ache she couldn’t quite describe.

While applying the medicine, she used a bit of magic. Although it would sting a little, the wounds would heal much faster.

Once the medicine was on, Shen Qingyi wanted to change her into clean clothes, but there was nothing else in the room besides the bed. The couch only had a simple straw mat, no blanket, no mattress.

How many cold winters and nights had Du Yuanluo, a mortal body filled with pain, endured here?

Shen Qingyi had always thought of her as a fragile and useless person; only now did she realize how resilient she was.

Shen Qingyi had assumed Jiang Linchuan would at least take care of her material needs. Thinking about it now, a selfish man like him would only care about his own interests, coveting Du Yuanluo’s gentleness and tolerance without ever bothering to spend an ounce of effort on her.

Finding no clean clothes, Shen Qingyi took off her own outer robe and draped it over the girl. She saw a layer of mist form in Du Yuanluo’s eyes.

“Does it hurt a lot? Bear with it; it will be better tomorrow.”

Du Yuanluo shook her head. “It doesn’t hurt. Immortal Shen, thank you.”

Shen Qingyi reached out wanting to hug her, but mindful of the wounds on her back, she leaned down instead. “Come, don’t stay here anymore.”

“Immortal Shen, I’m not leaving, I beg you,” Du Yuanluo said with a sob.

Hearing Du Yuanluo cry, for the first time, Shen Qingyi didn’t feel annoyed. Instead, she felt a pang of heartache. She turned and wiped away the girl’s tears. “I’m not driving you away. I’m moving you to another place to stay. Can you trust me?”

“I… it’s fine for me to stay here, no need for trouble.”

“Be obedient.” Without another word, Shen Qingyi hoisted the girl onto her back.

Du Yuanluo lay quietly on her back, her mind a whirlwind of emotions.

Not long ago, she had been offered as a sacrifice to be the “bride” of an evil spirit. They called it a bride, but in reality, she was to be used for the spirits’ pleasure before being eaten as food.

In her despair, Jiang Linchuan had descended from the sky to save her, pulling her out of that bone-strewn demon den.

From then on, she decided her life belonged to Jiang Linchuan. Even when he told her he already had a fiancée, she stubbornly insisted on following him.

She felt her life was cheap anyway, she would be a servant or a concubine anywhere. As long as she worked hard and served carefully, perhaps the “Mistress” would one day accept her.

Being scolded or beaten was within her expectations. She would endure it; there would eventually be a day when she could pull through.

But to suddenly receive kindness from the “Mistress” made her feel utterly lost.

It was not yet dawn, and because it was a sudden decision, the guest rooms hadn’t been prepared. Shen Qingyi had no choice but to settle her in her own room.

Shen Qingyi’s room was extremely simple. Cultivators, caught between celestial and mortal states, lacked the mundane items of the human world.

Shen Qingyi performed a hand seal to summon a cloud, spreading it across her bed, and then found a thick cloak. Although it was simple, it was much warmer than the bare bed Jiang Linchuan had provided.

Du Yuanluo was clearly unaccustomed to watching someone else busy themselves while she stood idle, but every time she tried to help, she found herself in the way.

“It’s not dawn yet. Sleep a bit longer.”

“What about Immortal Shen?”

“I have to go to morning lessons.”

Actually, it wasn’t time for lessons yet, but she couldn’t exactly watch Du Yuanluo sleep, nor could she sleep with her. Despite accepting her for the “greater good,” the years of rivalry made it impossible not to feel awkward.

During the morning lesson, Shen Qingyi couldn’t focus on her meditation as she usually did. Her mind was occupied with how to settle Du Yuanluo.

In her past life, Du Yuanluo had wanted so badly to join the Yunyin Sect. That shouldn’t be hard, in the previous life, if Shen Qingyi hadn’t interfered, Du Yuanluo would have managed it on her own strength.

But she absolutely could not let her stay with Jiang Linchuan. How could she obstruct that?

The girl had come specifically for Jiang Linchuan. Should she tell her he was an evil man? But Jiang Linchuan hadn’t committed his evils yet, not even the gods can punish a crime that hasn’t happened.

Or perhaps she should play the “villain” herself, and explicitly tell her that if she wants to stay, she isn’t allowed to have contact with him.

In her past life, Shen Qingyi had been haunted by baseless accusations her entire life. She hadn’t expected that in this new life, she would still have to bear a bad reputation. Perhaps this was an inescapable lesson for her.

Because she was distracted, Shen Qingyi was naturally singled out and reprimanded.

The Yunyin Sect had strict rules. Shen Qingyi and Jiang Linchuan had always been the models for the younger generation, so a sudden mistake was used as an example to warn others.

Once the morning lesson ended, she was taken by the Sect Leader to have her palms struck with a ruler.

This was a minor punishment for juniors. With Shen Qingyi’s level of cultivation, it wouldn’t truly injure her, but the blow to her pride was significant. She had only ever been praised, she had never been publicly punished.

What was worse was her sharp hearing. Even as the disciples walked far away after class, she could hear their whispers.

“It’s the first time I’ve seen Second Senior Sister space out in class. Truly a rare sight.”

“Ever since Eldest Senior Brother brought that Miss Yuanluo back to the mountain, Second Senior Sister hasn’t been herself.”

“I saw it coming long ago. I always thought Eldest Senior Brother was the one deeply in love and Second Senior Sister was indifferent, but who knew they were both hiding such deep feelings?”

Du Yuanluo stood by a pillar in the corridor of the Great Hall, clutching a soup jar and watching the Yunyin disciples file out. She never saw Shen Qingyi.

She didn’t dare ask anyone randomly, until she saw Jiang Linchuan walk out.

“Brother Jiang, is Immortal Shen still inside?”

Jiang Linchuan naturally reached out to take the soup jar from her hands, but Du Yuanluo took a step back, making him miss.

“You still dare to mention Second Senior Sister? It’s your fault she’s distracted and being punished. You’re a jinx!”

The one speaking was the Third Junior Sister. As she spoke, she gave Du Yuanluo a heavy shove. Fortunately, Jiang Linchuan caught her before she hit the ground.

Hearing this, Du Yuanluo ignored everything else. She shoved the soup jar into Jiang Linchuan’s hands and ran toward the Great Hall without looking back.

“Yuanluo, come back! You can’t go in there!” Jiang Linchuan tried to stop her but gave up after a few steps.

Third Junior Sister certainly wasn’t going to chase her. If she didn’t know the rules, someone would eventually teach her a lesson.

Inside, the bamboo ruler struck her palm rhythmically. While it wouldn’t break bone, it was painful and numbing enough to leave a lasting impression.

Shen Qingyi remembered that in her past life, after she became Sect Leader, she had often hit Du Yuanluo like this. When she was truly angry, she had even used staff floggings. Back then, she really hadn’t been afraid of beating Du Yuanluo to death.

“Sect Leader, please don’t hit her!”

Suddenly, her palm felt a warmth. Du Yuanluo’s skeletal hands had covered her own.

“Who allowed you in here?” Shen Qingyi shouted sternly.

the Great Hall of the Yunyin Sect was a place for cultivation; outsiders were strictly forbidden from entering.

Du Yuanluo froze, as if suddenly realizing what she had done.

The protector beside the Sect Leader barked, “Anyone who intrudes into the Yunyin Great Hall without permission shall be put to death!”

Du Yuanluo nearly collapsed in terror. Shen Qingyi supported her trembling frame. “Sect Leader, I was the one who brought her into the inner sect. If there is to be punishment, punish me.”

“It was I who didn’t know the rules, it has nothing to do with Immortal Shen! Any mistakes she made were because of me. Whether it’s a beating or death, let the Sect Leader punish me alone!”

Shen Qingyi looked at that frail body, wondering just how many “crimes” she thought she could actually carry.