My Green Tea Junior Sister Smells So Good - Chapter 8

Jiang Linchuan cornered Du Yuanluo in the kitchen while she was preparing a meal.

Du Yuanluo had initially wanted him to taste a new dish she had created, but she remembered Shen Qingyi’s instructions that she was not allowed to associate with Jiang Linchuan.

Turning her back to him, she said, “Immortal Jiang, men and women should maintain a proper distance. Please do not come looking for me anymore.”

“When you were chasing me back to the sect, why didn’t you think about ‘proper distance’ then?” Jiang Linchuan had originally come to sever ties with her, but hearing Du Yuanluo speak first made him feel an uncomfortable prick of resentment.

“It was all my fault. I am sorry. I beg Immortal Jiang to treat Immortal Shen well from now on, just pretend I don’t exist.”

Du Yuanluo’s face flushed hot. She was not shameless, it was simply that she had once believed Jiang Linchuan was her husband, meaning they would stay together in life or death. Now that their fate was severed, she knew she had to avoid suspicion.

“So, it was my Junior Sister who told you not to see me?”

Du Yuanluo did not want Shen Qingyi to bear the reputation of being a jealous woman, but she was also incapable of lying.

“Immortal Shen is a good person. Immortal Jiang, please do not fail her.”

Jiang Linchuan knew perfectly well that Shen Qingyi was irreplaceable, yet her personality was too cold and competitive. Du Yuanluo perfectly made up for those traits. Unfortunately, one cannot have both the fish and the bear’s paw.

“I know. Do you really see me as such a heartless man, Yuanluo?”

“No, it has always been my own improper conduct that troubled you and hurt Immortal Shen. I will change.”

“Yuanluo, you are a good girl. It’s a pity I already have my Junior Sister. I’ve come to say goodbye, but I want to eat one last meal cooked by you.”

The food on the table was originally meant for Shen Qingyi, but since Jiang Linchuan had asked, she felt it would be improper to refuse.

Jiang Linchuan sat down naturally and picked up his chopsticks. Seeing Du Yuanluo standing on the other side of the table with her back turned, he said, “Yuanluo, why won’t you even look at me? Sit down and eat with me.”

In the mortal world, Du Yuanluo had been a servant and was forbidden from sitting at the table. She was so accustomed to her low status that Jiang Linchuan viewed letting her sit at the table as a form of “grace.”

Clearly, Du Yuanluo did not intend to accept this “reward.”

“Please eat, Immortal Jiang. There is no need for me.”

“Look at you, you’re always so stiff when you’re not by my side. Come here. Let’s have one meal together as a proper parting.”

As he spoke, he reached across the table to grab her hand.

BOOM.

A massive crash echoed as a sharp blade pierced through the roof, splitting the table and everything on it, clean in half.

Porcelain shattered into flying shards.

Jiang Linchuan quickly circulated his qi to protect himself. Once the dust settled, he realized Du Yuanluo couldn’t have withstood the impact. He lowered his sleeve and saw Shen Qingyi standing there, sword in hand, eyes blazing with fury. Du Yuanluo was shielded behind her.

“Jiang Linchuan, do you no longer want that hand?”

Jiang Linchuan cursed his luck. He had clearly seen Shen Qingyi go to the Cloud Peak to practice and had seized the opening to find Du Yuanluo. Normally, her practice lasted no less than six hours, why did she have to return so early today?

“Junior Sister, it’s not… I came to say goodbye to Miss Du. I won’t see her again.”

Du Yuanluo knew she had crossed Shen Qingyi’s line. She opened her mouth to apologize incoherently, but Shen Qingyi cut her off: “Go back.”

Du Yuanluo didn’t dare say another word. With her head bowed, she walked back, Shen Qingyi following closely with a dark expression.

Jiang Linchuan chased after them: “Junior Sister, let me explain…”

Shen Qingyi flicked her wrist, leveling her sword between them. “Get lost!”

Jiang Linchuan naturally did not want to fight her, so he could only watch them leave.

“Immortal Shen, I was wrong. I won’t do it again,” Du Yuanluo whispered.

Shen Qingyi saw through everything. From the Cloud Peak, she had seen Jiang Linchuan sneak away and had a bad feeling. Everything she saw was exactly what she had anticipated.

As long as Du Yuanluo didn’t betray her or do anything malicious, she wouldn’t blame her for small things, but she still felt an inexplicable tightness in her chest.

“You aren’t at fault. Go to my room.”

Shen Qingyi wasn’t just throwing a tantrum, but her mood was foul and her tone was naturally harsh. Du Yuanluo was skilled at reading people.

“Immortal Shen, please just punish me. Don’t suppress your anger, it’s bad for your health.”

Shen Qingyi felt that her past life friction with Du Yuanluo wasn’t without reason, the girl always knew exactly what to say to irritate her.

“Why would I punish you just because I’m angry? Did I keep you by my side just to have someone to hit?”

She repeatedly warned herself not to take her anger out on Du Yuanluo, though she couldn’t guarantee she wouldn’t do something rash if the girl said anything else frustrating. For hundreds of years, she had been used to “settling” Du Yuanluo whenever she felt annoyed, mostly because Du Yuanluo was the source of her annoyance.

In the past, she never thought Du Yuanluo was innocent, now, she knew she couldn’t think that way.

Shen Qingyi decided she needed to calm down. She left Du Yuanluo in the courtyard and returned to the Cloud Peak.

However, when she finally calmed her heart and returned to the room, Du Yuanluo was gone.

Back when she didn’t care about Du Yuanluo, she thought the girl was thick-skinned and immune to verbal insults. Now, she regretted speaking so harshly.

Shen Qingyi wasn’t the type to be submissive or apologize easily, and she didn’t feel the situation warranted a full apology. Instead, she silently repaired the trashed kitchen, remodeling it to suit Du Yuanluo’s height and build.

Yet, mealtime passed, and Du Yuanluo still didn’t return. Usually, Du Yuanluo was like clockwork, even if Shen Qingyi didn’t eat a single grain of rice, she would always serve her first.

Is her temper really that big? Shen Qingyi pretended to patrol the mountain, searching every corner of Yunyin Peak, but there was no sign of her.

Alarm bells rang in her head. She charged into Jiang Linchuan’s courtyard without a second thought.

“Where did you hide Du Yuanluo?”

“Junior Sister, when have I ever hidden her? I knew you didn’t like her, so I kicked her off the mountain. Why do you accuse me without knowing the facts?”

“When did I ever say I didn’t like her or wanted her gone? Are you not the one falsely accusing me?”

Shen Qingyi turned to leave, but Jiang Linchuan grabbed her. “Fine, fine, I’ll take the blame. Junior Sister, do you really not understand my feelings for you? Or are you simply choosing to trample on my heart?”

“I don’t want to see your ‘feelings,’ and I don’t need them.”

Shen Qingyi threw him off. The time flow between Yunyin Peak and the mortal world was different, in the few hours that had passed here, days had gone by in the human realm. The longer she waited, the more likely something would go wrong.

She realized how easy it was for Jiang Linchuan to cast her out, yet in her past life, he had always maintained an act of “I can’t do anything if she refuses to leave.” He had enjoyed Du Yuanluo’s tenderness while simultaneously plotting to marry Shen Qingyi.

As soon as Shen Qingyi left the mountain gate, she found Du Yuanluo collapsed by a stream. She cursed Jiang Linchuan in her heart that beast had kicked her out without even taking her to a populated area. He had basically left her to die.

Du Yuanluo wasn’t seriously injured, she had simply fainted from hunger. Shen Qingyi fed her a medicinal pill, and she soon woke up.

Seeing Shen Qingyi, Du Yuanluo’s eyes filled with joy. she reached out both hands but, whether from weakness or fear, she let them drop halfway.

Shen Qingyi caught her hands and pulled her into her arms, feeling both pity and helplessness. “It’s been days. Did you really not find the path down the mountain?”

“Immortal Jiang originally left me in the town below. I found my own way up.”

“There is a barrier between Yunyin Peak and the mortal world. Finding your own way and being brought in by a cultivator are two different dimensions.”

Du Yuanluo clearly didn’t understand the logic. “Even if I couldn’t find it, I wanted to die somewhere closer to Immortal Shen.”

Then, as if suddenly remembering, she asked, “Immortal Jiang said you wanted me to leave. Is that true?”

“You believed him just because he said it?”

In her past life, Shen Qingyi would have assumed Du Yuanluo was lying, because Jiang Linchuan was famous for his integrity. He had never been caught in a lie.

Du Yuanluo shook her head. “I didn’t believe it. Even if you really wanted me to go, I would have kowtowed to thank you for your kindness before leaving. But Immortal Jiang wouldn’t let me say goodbye, he sent me straight out of the gate.”

“Come back with me.”

Shen Qingyi picked her up horizontally. A blush crept onto Du Yuanluo’s face.

“Immortal Shen, I can walk myself.”

Shen Qingyi didn’t argue and set her down.

But after days without food, Du Yuanluo’s legs turned to jelly and she nearly toppled over. Shen Qingyi caught her and swept her back up.

This time, Du Yuanluo didn’t protest. She silently wrapped her arms around Shen Qingyi’s neck.

Back at the room, Shen Qingyi brought two burnt dishes and a bowl of undercooked rice from the kitchen.

Du Yuanluo was starving; she wolfed down two large bowls, though she struggled with the very last bit.

“If you can’t eat more, don’t force it,” Shen Qingyi said.

“It was made by Immortal Shen. I can’t waste it.”

“It’s poorly made. You’ll have to make do.”

Du Yuanluo didn’t have the heart to lie and say it was great. “Immortal Shen’s hands are for swords and seals. Using them to cook is a waste of a heavenly treasure.”

Shen Qingyi gave no reply and pressed her back onto the bed. “Rest well. The spiritual energy here will heal you by tomorrow.”

Du Yuanluo stubbornly climbed back up. “I can’t keep taking the bed while you sit on the meditation cushion. I won’t be able to sleep. You sleep, Immortal Shen. I will watch by the bedside. I used to do this for the young miss in my master’s house.”

“I am not a ‘miss,’ and you are not a maid. If you don’t rest when your body is weak, how will you recover?”

But the concept of status was rooted deep in Du Yuanluo’s mind. She refused to sleep while Shen Qingyi spent the night on a cushion.

Shen Qingyi was at her wit’s end. Looking at Du Yuanluo’s bloodshot eyes from days of no sleep, she sighed. “Then I’ll sleep on the bed with you. Will that work?”

Du Yuanluo’s eyes widened. She didn’t know whether to agree, but eventually, she scooted inward, leaving more than half the bed for Shen Qingyi.

Once asleep, Du Yuanluo was far less “well-behaved” than when she was awake. Before long, she had drifted over, clinging to Shen Qingyi with both arms and legs.

Shen Qingyi could barely breathe. Watching the moonlight through the window, she wondered what she was doing. She had only wanted to make up for the mistakes of her past life, how had it turned into her being at the girl’s beck and call?

The next day, Shen Qingyi filed a formal complaint against Jiang Linchuan during the morning lessons.

The complaint didn’t technically “stick,” as Du Yuanluo wasn’t a disciple of the sect and casting her out wasn’t a crime.

However, Jiang Linchuan suffered a massive blow to his reputation.

After all, Du Yuanluo had saved his life, which was a debt of gratitude (En), and had followed him to the sect at the risk of her life, which was a debt of affection (Qing). Jiang Linchuan’s actions appeared profoundly ungrateful.

The once perfect First Senior Brother of Yunyin Peak was now whispered about as someone who, to please his Junior Sister, ignored a life-saving debt and forced his mortal lover into the wilderness, nearly starving her to death.

Conversely, Shen Qingyi was praised for her sense of justice and righteousness, showing she wasn’t blinded by personal jealousy.

But Shen Qingyi remained worried. Du Yuanluo had no official status or title. Anyone could kick her out at any time, and Shen couldn’t keep her by her side 24/7.

She had to find a way to give her an official status.