The Cold, Aloof Senior Sister Deserves To Be Paired With A Peerless Beauty - Chapter 15

Is there something wrong with her today?

The distant peaks were shrouded in swirling mist, behind which a faint glimmer gradually emerged. The warm light of dawn forced the night curtain to retreat, though the air still carried the lingering chill of darkness. A gentle breeze brushed past, causing the dew-laden grass to sway, sending droplets sinking into the soil.

A fair hand brushed over a seedling of a spirit herb with careful movements. The figure then leaned down, staring at the seedling thoughtfully for a moment. Her eyes filled with wonder before she turned toward the figure sitting in the courtyard and spoke.

“You’ve raised these so well; you must have put in a lot of effort, right?”

Chi Li set down the celadon teacup in her hand. The fragrance of the tea drifted past her eyes along with the dense steam, making it impossible to discern the thoughts beneath her gaze.

After a long silence, Chi Li’s gaze finally swept toward the figure crouching by the spirit herbs and replied flatly.

“Yes, it took some work.”

Chi Li had never planted spirit herbs before; for years, she had focused solely on cultivation. To care for these herbs, she had stayed up through the night flipping through ancient texts to learn.

As a member of the Alchemy Peak, Yun Xi understood the hardships involved better than anyone. Spirit herbs were not like wild weeds, they were extremely delicate. The slightest discomfort would cause them to stop growing. Yet, as Yun Xi examined this patch of newly planted herbs, she saw that every single one was well-tended and nourished by spiritual energy.

Yun Xi clapped the dust off her hands and stood up. She walked over to sit beside Chi Li, saying with a smile, “These weren’t cheap, were they? And they must have been hard to find.”

As she spoke, Yun Xi reached out, not for the tea beside Chi Li, but to pull out a flask of wine from nowhere. She tilted her head back and drank, her bold and uninhibited movements contrasting sharply with her delicate face.

Chi Li seemed long accustomed to this. However, as she caught the movement out of the corner of her eye, memories intertwined with the present: a former friend’s indifference, looking down from a high place as Chi Li’s spiritual root was stripped and gifted to another.

Sensing a sudden, turbulent shift in the surrounding spiritual energy, Yun Xi lowered her wine flask in confusion and joked, “Do you not want these spirit herbs anymore?”

At those words, Chi Li’s thoughts were pulled back. Her cold, elegant face showed no significant change in expression. She merely lowered her eyes, looking indifferently at the steam rising from her tea, and answered the previous question.

“They were indeed hard to find.”

Chi Li’s response was brief, revealing nothing more.

Hearing this, Yun Xi’s brow furrowed slightly as she fell into thought. Her previously wild movements shifted; she began pouring the wine into a teacup, sipping it with such grace that no one would suspect it wasn’t tea.

Chi Li glanced at her. Seeing that the woman was about to finish the entire flask, she spoke coolly.

“This isn’t your Alchemy Peak. If you want to drink, go back there. Don’t go into a drunken frenzy here later; I’m not in the mood to watch you chase people while carrying a cauldron.”

Yun Xi paused, her eyes filled with confusion. “You never had such a big reaction to me drinking before. Besides, it’s not like you can’t beat a simple alchemist like me.”

Chi Li’s gaze shifted toward the tightly closed bedroom door. Her cold eyes softened slightly as she spoke.

“You’ll scare her.”

Following Chi Li’s gaze, Yun Xi finally realized what was happening. As if she had seen a ghost, she poured herself another cup of wine to steady her nerves and lamented with an intentionally heartbroken expression.

“Choosing romance over friendship so quickly…”

Before Yun Xi could finish, Chi Li interrupted her with a frown.

“She will be the pride of the Cangqing Sect, and my most cherished Junior Sister.”

Her words were blunt and devoid of any extra sentiment, yet they carried an unmasked pride.

Yun Xi looked at her meaningfully. Knowing she shouldn’t push the teasing too far and understanding Chi Li’s character, she changed the subject.

“Don’t worry. During the time you were away, my alcohol tolerance has improved.”

Upon hearing this, Chi Li’s icy expression remained skeptical. She exposed the lie without mercy.

“My training trip down the mountain lasted less than ten days in total.”

In short, it was impossible for Yun Xi to have increased her tolerance significantly in just ten days.

Undeterred by being called out, Yun Xi glanced at the courtyard full of spirit herbs again and spoke seemingly casually.

“By the way, you asked me earlier how to practice alchemy. You left in such a hurry that I didn’t get a chance to ask why you want to learn it.”

Just as Chi Li was about to make up a random excuse, Yun Xi continued.

“Don’t bother telling me you suddenly found alchemy fun or that it was a whim. Chi Li, I’ve known you long enough to know what you’re like. You don’t do things that have no purpose.”

Yun Xi’s eyes, fixed on Chi Li, held a hint of drunkenness, but in this state, she was at her most perceptive.

Chi Li sighed helplessly. After a moment of thought, her gaze turned heavy as she spoke a half-truth.

“I can’t keep coming to you for pills forever. Besides, having more skills never hurts. I happen to have some free time lately.”

Hearing the last sentence, Yun Xi laughed as if she had heard a joke. Her eyes grew more intoxicated, but her words were exceptionally clear.

“Chi Li, something is wrong with you.”

As the Eldest Senior Sister of the sect, Chi Li rarely concerned herself with trivial matters, but she was always busy. She was either in seclusion or on her way to seclusion. Hearing her say she had “free time” was utterly absurd.

As she spoke, Yun Xi leaned in close, squinting her eyes to scrutinize the person before her. Sensing something, she spoke in a low, contemplative voice.

“Chi Li, you’ve changed a lot after this trip.”

Yun Xi’s long, fair finger pointed toward Chi Li’s eye, stopping just millimeters away. She continued.

“Take your eyes, for example. Do you know what I see in them right now?”

Chi Li glanced at the finger but made no move to pull away, answering coldly, “Can you even see clearly from this close?”

Ignoring the retort, Yun Xi spoke with an air of profound mystery.

“A dead sea. A sea brimming with the aura of death. Chi Li, what exactly did you experience during those ten days?”

Chi Li’s body stiffened instinctively. She didn’t know how to answer. How could she explain that her change wasn’t because of a ten day trip, but because she had seen through the reality of her death in a previous life?

How could she say she had died once? How could she evade the Heavenly Dao to tell someone the truth?

A complex, unreadable emotion flashed in Chi Li’s eyes. She turned her head slightly to avoid the gaze and pushed Yun Xi’s hand away. Then, she heard Yun Xi speak again.

“We’ve been friends for years. If you need help with anything, just say the word. Within my power, I will do whatever it takes.”

Chi Li paused. Coming back to herself, she lowered her eyes. Recalling something, she let out a light laugh and spoke.

“There’s no need to sacrifice your life for me. I just need you to stay far away from that man, Mo Fan.”

Hearing this, Yun Xi didn’t assume Chi Li was warning her off due to romantic interest. On the contrary, she believed that if Chi Li personally warned her to stay away from someone, that person must be dangerous.

With this in mind, Yun Xi frowned in confusion. “The name sounds unfamiliar. What’s his background?”

Yun Xi spent all her time refining pills or drinking; she naturally knew nothing of the events that had occurred in the sect over the past few days.

“My Master’s newly recruited disciple.”

“A Junior Brother?”

Yun Xi thought for a moment, then seemed to remember something. She spoke with a sudden realization.

“You mean that useless disciple who pulled a piece of scrap metal out of the Sword Pavilion?”

Her expression became even more puzzled. “What makes him dangerous?”

Chi Li said no more, but the seriousness and coldness in her eyes were unmistakable. It made Yun Xi feel a bit uneasy. She quickly waved her hand and said, “Fine, fine. I’ll stay away from him.”

After speaking, Yun Xi pulled out another flask of wine. The aroma instantly filled the air. After taking a sip, she muttered softly, “Immortal Yi Lin is strange too. Why did he pick up a useless one? There are better ways to show pity.”

Chi Li ignored Yun Xi’s muttering. Her gaze shifted back to Mu Zhi’s door as she spoke with a frown.

“Why has she been asleep for so long?”

By now, the duration of Mu Zhi’s coma had far exceeded that of her previous life, yet there were still no signs of her waking. These changes indicated that what Mu Zhi encountered this time was slightly different.

At this thought, Chi Li felt a sudden, inexplicable sting in her heart. Thinking there might be an issue with her Golden Core, her expression darkened as she swept her consciousness through her spiritual sea, but she found nothing unusual.

Yun Xi glanced at the closed door. “How could it be that fast? Your precious little Junior Sister fell into that place. It’s a miracle she made it out alive.”

Chi Li’s hand tightened around her teacup. Under the pressure, the celadon surface began to crack. Tea seeped through the fissures and dripped onto the ground, returning to stillness, much like her own thoughts had calmed.

In the previous life, Mu Zhi had been heavily injured while saving Mo Fan. This time, she was only sleeping longer. The one who was heavily injured now was Mo Fan. Since Chi Li had personally carried Mu Zhi out of the Sword Pavilion, the scenario where Mo Fan saved her didn’t exist.

As for the scrap sword Mo Fan retrieved, it truly was just a piece of junk. The sword Mo Fan would truly wield in the future was the Ancestral Sword that Chi Li had retrieved after falling off the cliff.

While the two outside were chatting, the eyes of the person inside the room twitched. Her eyelashes trembled as if she were trapped in a nightmare she couldn’t escape.

After a long while, Mu Zhi finally opened her eyes. Her gaze held the daze of someone just waking; the voices outside were muffled, and she couldn’t hear them clearly. Suddenly, a memory flashed through her mind. She scrambled out of bed and ran to the door barefoot.

The door was pushed open with a loud thud, drawing the attention of the two in the courtyard.

“Senior Sister, I saw…”

Mu Zhi’s voice cut off abruptly when she saw the slightly tipsy Yun Xi standing beside Chi Li.

Yun Xi looked Mu Zhi over with interest. She nudged Chi Li’s shoulder with her wine-filled teacup and tilted her chin up.

“See? Didn’t your Junior Sister just wake up? I told you to trust me.”

Chi Li glanced at the clearly intoxicated Yun Xi, her hand ready to steady the woman if needed.

Seeing Chi Li’s movement, Mu Zhi pursed her lips. She walked straight to Chi Li’s side and grabbed her raised arm, speaking with a hint of coquettishness.

“Senior Sister, who is she? Why is she in our courtyard?”

Mu Zhi’s words subtly marked the space as her own territory. However, Chi Li didn’t catch the deeper meaning. She simply looked at her arm being held by Mu Zhi and then pulled Mu Zhi slightly behind her for protection.

Watching Chi Li’s protective gesture, a dark, dissatisfied emotion flashed deep within Mu Zhi’s eyes.