The Cold, Aloof Senior Sister Deserves To Be Paired With A Peerless Beauty - Chapter 19

Today, there are no philanthropists either.

The spacious room had grown stiflingly oppressive, as if an invisible hand were tightly squeezing Yun Xi’s heart, making it difficult for her to breathe.

In a daze, Yun Xi’s feet moved, not in the retreat she desired, but in an uncontrollable step forward. A fragment of text appeared hazily in her mind, like a script she was forced to perform on stage.

A line that sacrificed herself, a line that benefited another.

Yun Xi’s lips trembled as if the words were about to spill out. Looking at that ordinary, frail face, she saw a glimmer of realization and smugness in the depths of his eyes. Though the emotion vanished in an instant, leaving Yun Xi with no evidence to expose him, it was there.

The words about to exit her mouth suddenly took a sharp turn. The name she called out was someone else’s entirely.

“Mo… Chi Li!”

Between the forced affection controlled by the unknown power and the name she finally shouted, the surroundings seemed to fall into a heavy, awkward silence. Yet, that cry was like sunlight breaking through clouds, causing the mysterious force to pause and granting her a moment of relief.

Taking advantage of that breath of air, Yun Xi tried to scramble backward the moment her footsteps faltered. However, she tripped over her own feet, stumbling and falling to the ground.

Hearing Yun Xi’s cry of pain, the others finally snapped out of their trance.

“Senior Sister Yun!”

The disciples of the Alchemy Peak rushed forward to help her up, but they hesitated, restrained by some unspoken fear.

Seeing their indecision, Yun Xi’s anger flared. She forcibly suppressed the strange emotions in her heart. Before she could stand up, a shadow fell over her.

“Yun Xi.”

Chi Li spoke. Her voice was cold and devoid of emotion, seemingly unbothered by Yun Xi’s sudden “affectionate” outburst.

Looking at the hand extended toward her, Yun Xi felt a strange wave of gratitude. Once pulled up, she brushed off non-existent dust from her clothes with a resentment that suggested she was trying to scrub away something filthy. She muttered under her breath:

“Good thing Junior Sister Mu isn’t here. I’m terrified she’d get angry and stop giving me things.”

Chi Li, standing close, heard her clearly. She frowned, wondering why Mu Zhi would be angry.

On the other side, Mo Fan watched the two of them standing close together. His eyes flashed with surprise, followed by an uncontrolled look of disgust, as if he had already forgotten he was currently begging Yun Xi for medicine.

“Senior Sister Yun…”

Mo Fan retracted his expression, but the fleeting look of loathing had already been caught by them. No matter how pitiful he acted now, he appeared utterly fake in their eyes.

Yun Xi was now thoroughly annoyed by the sound of his voice. But with Immortal Yilin present, she could only glare at him. However, his subsequent “well-intentioned advice” nearly made her grind her teeth to dust.

“This isn’t right… both Senior Sisters should find someone who truly loves them…”

His tone and expression carried a heavy implication suggesting that he was the one they truly needed.

The fire Yun Xi had just suppressed roared back to life. Had Chi Li not held her back, she would have certainly shoved Mo Fan into an alchemy furnace and roasted him alive.

Yun Xi looked at Chi Li in confusion, only to hear Chi Li say calmly:

“My Master is here.”

The subtext was clear: stay calm. As long as Immortal Yilin was still under the influence, they could not bypass him to harm Mo Fan.

Yun Xi wasn’t stupid. She understood and tightened her brow, glancing at Immortal Yilin. His usually gentle expression had turned cold and sharp, as if he were constantly on guard against them.

This abnormal behavior mirrored what had just happened to her.

At this thought, Yun Xi gasped inwardly.

Can’t hit him, can’t scold him…

After a moment of deliberation, a glint of hidden intent flashed in her eyes. She looked at Mo Fan, suppressed her mockery, and changed the subject.

“I heard you brought a sword out of the Sword Pavilion?”

Yun Xi pretended she hadn’t quite slept off the wine. Coupled with her “dissatisfaction” over the earlier strangeness, she feigned ignorance about the fact that Mo Fan had pulled out a piece of junk.

The other disciples crowded around, their faces lit with gossip.

“Yes,” Mo Fan answered softly under the collective gaze. His voice was barely audible, feigning shame. Only he knew the deep resentment he felt toward Yun Xi for “accidentally” making things difficult for him.

“What rank is it?” Yun Xi asked, as if out of casual curiosity.

Mo Fan stopped worrying about whether Yun Xi cared for his injuries. His face turned pale, and his hands gripped the bedsheets tightly. He turned to Immortal Yilin in a panic.

“I’m sorry, Master. It is my uselessness that has brought shame to you.”

Immortal Yilin frowned slightly before offering comfort.

“It is nothing. We do not care for such things.”

Cultivation depended on talent, this was a truth accepted for millennia. Without talent, one had no destiny with the immortal path. Yet here was Immortal Yilin, discarding his lifelong philosophy just to soothe Mo Fan.

Chi Li remained silent, but Yun Xi wasn’t about to let it slide.

“One can choose not to care, but whatever one obtains is their own destiny. What is there to be ashamed of?”

Her words were skillfully crafted sounding like concern, but actually mocking his failure.

Mo Fan’s brow furrowed, clearly unwilling to show the sword. He spoke awkwardly:

“Senior Sister Yun is right, but it is truly not a good sword. I believe Master will find a way to get me a better one.”

Yun Xi’s expression smoothed out, but her sneer deepened. She sighed and said:

“It seems you only heard the last part of my words. I’ll be merciful and repeat it: what you obtain is your destiny. As for what others give you…”

Yun Xi paused, her gaze looking down on him with scrutiny. Stifling her mockery, she asked:

“Mo Fan, do you think you are worth it?”

It was a simple question, not crossing the line into physical or verbal abuse. Yet, every word pushed Mo Fan further into an embarrassing corner.

A high-grade sword was a simple matter for Immortal Yilin, but as Yun Xi implied, Mo Fan didn’t deserve one. With his meager spiritual power, he couldn’t even wield a high-grade weapon.

“Thank you for your concern, Senior Sister Yun. I can manage.”

Hearing his delusional confidence, Yun Xi nearly choked.

Mo Fan glanced at the silent Immortal Yilin, appearing dissatisfied with something. Immortal Yilin suddenly felt a splitting headache. He rubbed his temples, his expression growing colder.

Seeing that the Immortal was about to speak, Chi Li stepped in first.

“Master, Mo Fan cannot use a sword for the time being. His spiritual power is too low, he still needs to cultivate.”

Chi Li’s words were flawless. Aside from her icy tone, she played the part of a concerned senior sister perfectly.

Immortal Yilin nodded thoughtfully. For a brief second, his eyes seemed to clear when they met Chi Li’s, but the fog soon returned. He simply agreed:

“That is true.”

Turning to Mo Fan, he added: “There is no rush for your sword.”

Mo Fan, convinced that Immortal Yilin would find him a sword even better than Mu Zhi’s, looked delighted. “This disciple thanks Master.”

A cold smirk played on the corner of Chi Li’s mouth. She spoke cryptically:

“Mo Fan, the person you should thank isn’t Master.”

Because in her previous life, the person who had obtained that sword was not Immortal Yilin at all.

Hearing this, and recalling the “intimacy” between Chi Li and Yun Xi earlier or perhaps due to a guilty conscience regarding earlier events. Mo Fan looked at Chi Li with apprehension. He spoke with a touch of stubbornness:

“Eldest Senior Sister, I don’t know why you are targeting me. I suppose I simply haven’t done well enough and have disappointed you.”

As Chi Li’s frown deepened, Mo Fan continued to drone on.

“Though I was born a beggar, I know better than to beg others for things.”

His words sounded incredibly principled, completely contradicting everything he had said before. Yun Xi almost laughed out loud.

He didn’t “beg” he just wanted them to “give” it to him directly.

Noticing the crowd of onlookers, Yun Xi turned her gaze toward them. Seeing their looks of inexplicable admiration for Mo Fan, she felt a wave of disgust. Her eyes swept over them one by one, sending chills down their spines.

The Alchemy Peak disciples remembered the sight of a drunk Yun Xi wielding an alchemy cauldron as a weapon. Overwhelmed by an instinctive fear that bypassed their “heavenly” compulsions, they hurriedly bowed.

“Senior Sister Yun, we shall take our leave.”

Yun Xi didn’t want them loitering anyway. She waved them off.

“Scram. Why are you cluttering the place? Have you no cultivation to do today?”

Had Immortal Yilin not been there, her words would have been far harsher. The disciples fled the room as if escaping a disaster.

Immortal Yilin only spared Yun Xi a glance; knowing her temperament, he said nothing.

Yun Xi thought back to Mo Fan’s self-righteous speech. Sharing a sense of mutual disgust, she shot Chi Li a schadenfreude-filled grin, though she felt a twinge of pity that Chi Li had to maintain her “icy” facade.

Chi Li’s face was like frost. Her stomach churned. She wanted to speak, but feared any words would only worsen the misunderstanding. She had underestimated Mo Fan and his sheer arrogance.

Suddenly, Mo Fan’s face turned deathly pale. He coughed up a mouthful of blood and slumped weakly against the headboard.

Yun Xi whispered to Chi Li, her voice low:

“God knows how he woke up. He’s supposed to be unconscious right now. Let’s just hang in there until he passes out again.”

However, before Mo Fan lost consciousness, his gaze landed on Yun Xi. Such an overt, naked stare coming from a scrawny, shriveled child made Yun Xi feel an immediate sense of dread.

She wanted to run, but she couldn’t. She was forced to endure his gaze and listen to his raspy, “grateful” words.

“Master said Senior Sister Yun would save me.”

Yun Xi, who had been enjoying the show, suddenly found herself center stage. Her smirk vanished instantly. She took a step back, making her disgust plain.

“Junior Brother Mo, let me ask: are there many disciples at the Alchemy Peak?”

Confused, Mo Fan shook his head. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen many, only Senior Sister Yun.”

Yun Xi’s skin crawled. He spoke as if the disciples who just left weren’t even human, implying she was his only salvation.

“There are over a hundred disciples at the Alchemy Peak,” Chi Li answered coldly.

Having anyone answer was better than listening to Mo Fan’s grease. Yun Xi nodded thoughtfully, showing no sign of being moved by Mo Fan’s words.

“And do all Alchemy Peak disciples know how to refine pills?”

She looked at Immortal Yilin. He felt the question was strange but answered warmly:

“The requirements for the Alchemy Peak are high. Naturally, everyone knows how to refine.”

Seeing them ignore him like a choreographed play, a dark look flashed across Mo Fan’s face. Before he could appeal to the Immortal again, Yun Xi spoke:

“Since everyone can refine pills, why did Junior Brother Mo specifically name me for medicine?”

Mo Fan looked disappointed but didn’t give up.

“Though Senior Sister Yun’s appearance is… plain, I heard your pills are the best.”

Yun Xi froze for a second, then remembered she was wearing the Veil of Disguise. She crossed her arms and said coldly:

“Yes, yes. My appearance is plain, and my alchemy skills are equally plain.”

Mo Fan bit his lip and looked at her earnestly. “Senior Sister Yun, I am speaking from the heart. Please do not belittle yourself so.”

Yun Xi was suddenly glad Chi Li had given her the veil. She was relieved this nuisance couldn’t see her true face, preventing him from clinging to her like a piece of gum in the future.

“Junior Brother Mo, I should correct you on one thing: appearance has nothing to do with cultivation.”

Mo Fan’s mention of her face felt like a calculated insult followed by a “compliment” about her pills, a classic “stick and carrot” routine. Unfortunately for him, Yun Xi didn’t want the carrot.

Ignoring her displeasure, Mo Fan looked at her expectantly. “So, will Senior Sister Yun give me the pills?”

Chi Li glanced at Yun Xi, fearing she would agree just as she had in the previous life.

Yun Xi sneered, her posture haughty. The joking tone from before was gone.

“The entire sect knows that my pills are of the highest grade and the most expensive. People break their necks trying to buy them. As it happens, they’ve all been snatched up.”

Yun Xi hated freeloaders most of all. Mo Fan had stepped on her nerves repeatedly.

“But am I not your Junior Brother?” Mo Fan argued.

“Even biological sisters keep clear accounts. You and I share no blood and have no history. I am no philanthropist. Why use ’emotion’ for something that can be solved with money?”

Yun Xi’s rejection was absolute. She couldn’t fathom how anyone could be this thick-skinned. She would rather brand herself as greedy than give him a single pill.

As the Alchemy Peak head said, pills were everywhere. Yet this boy, meeting her for the first time, shamelessly tried to snatch her best work.

Chi Li noticed Immortal Yilin was about to speak likely to offer spirit stones in exchange for the pills. She thought for a moment, walked to his side, and whispered something. The Immortal frowned at her, then finally turned and walked out.

Seeing Chi Li about to leave as well, leaving her alone with Mo Fan, Yun Xi grabbed Chi Li’s arm and shook her head slightly. She couldn’t guarantee her mind wouldn’t suddenly “glitch” again and was desperate to leave.

Chi Li patted Yun Xi’s hand. She couldn’t speak plainly, so she whispered a cryptic hint:

“You have something that can keep you conscious.”