The Cold And Aloof Senior Sister Keeps Flirting With Me - Chapter 48

“…”

Yan Jue: “Daoist brother, why isn’t Master here today?”

Before even entering the cave dwelling, Yan Jue couldn’t wait and called that Celestial Master Suyang “Master.” This was her way of declaring her stance early on. As a girl who had lived in a village her whole life and hadn’t seen much of the world, she greatly longed to become an immortal attendant.

The Daoist boy raised his chin: “Master has gone out to handle matters. My abilities are sufficient to slay demons, so he told me to come here to manage things in his stead.”

So the big monster was not home.

Yan Jue: “So amazing.”

Mount Luoyun was indeed an immortal mountain full of spiritual energy, teeming with many monsters. The donkey cart swayed, encountering many shanwang (mountain goblins/demons) in the thick fog. After turning a mountain path corner, they finally arrived at their destination.

The mist gradually dispersed, revealing a circular cave entrance. The plaque above the cave entrance read four large characters: “Suyang Immortal Abode.”

Yan Jue slightly twitched her nose, faintly smelling the scent of smoke and fire in the air, along with an indescribable… smell of blood.

As soon as Yan Jue entered the cave dwelling, someone came to greet them. Two Daoist boys wearing purple robes, with exaggerated blush painted on their cheeks, walked over expressionlessly. Yan Jue stared at their faces, feeling a chill run down her spine. The slightly older of the two Daoist boys threw them two tattered Daoist robes.

“Number twenty-seven, Number twenty-eight, go stay in the pharmacy.”

Yan Jue was startled, vaguely sensing something was wrong. The robes seemed to have been worn by others; they were old, too big, and smelled of sweat, making them very uncomfortable to wear.

After putting on the clothes, the elder Daoist boy expressionlessly pressed against her back and roughly shoved her inside. The cave dwelling twisted and turned, quickly leading to another small cave with a plaque: “Herb Storage Room.”

Daoist boy: “Number twenty-seven, Number twenty-eight, go in!”

Before the words even faded, Yan Jue was pushed inside. The large door slammed shut behind them with a “bang.”

The surroundings were dim, filled with the stuffy smell of medicinal herbs. Yan Jue saw many children sleeping on the ground. The weather was cold, and quite a few children had bluish faces, huddled on the ground shivering.

Yan Jue turned back to look at Qi Xianqing and slowly raised an eyebrow: “Brother, is this what it means to be a ‘Good Fortune Attendant’?”

Qi Xianqing pursed her lips and said lightly: “Little sister, don’t panic. I believe when Master returns, he will definitely let us be Good Fortune Attendants.”

Yan Jue: “…”

Immediately after, a voice echoed in Yan Jue’s mind: “These people are medicinal materials.”

Yan Jue frowned slightly and walked forward a couple of steps. At the end of the cave were rows upon rows of medicine cabinets, resembling modern Chinese herbal shops, about two hundred of them. Every cabinet was sealed with a restriction.

Yan Jue went through the cabinets one by one, recognizing the herbs:

• Azure Sky Grass.
• Yin Condensing Grass.
• Dragon Scale Fruit.
• Soul Nurturing Wood.

Yan Jue’s pupils contracted slightly. They were all top grade or supreme grade herbs. Yan Jue then thought of her poverty, if she could make a fortune by taking advantage of this mission after it ended, wouldn’t she become rich?

Suddenly, a burst of crying erupted from behind her. Yan Jue turned around to see a girl sitting in the corner of the cave, wearing a wrinkled blue Daoist robe, crying intensely.

Yan Jue approached her and squatted down to ask: “Little sister, how long have you been here?”

The girl instantly clamped her mouth shut in fright upon seeing Yan Jue. Yan Jue felt helpless; the girl was crying so hard that she probably wouldn’t be able to get any useful information.

Yan Jue suddenly said: “I’ll show you a magic trick.”

The child instantly stopped crying, her eyelashes wet with tears, staring blankly at her. Yan Jue brought her hands together, sat beside the little girl, silently recited a heart mantra, and a faint frost gathered in her palm, gradually solidifying into a pure white ice flower. Of course, Yan Jue was careful, turning her palm inward so no one could see.

Qi Xianqing looked over. The fair-skinned girl with red lips and white teeth was squatting next to the other girl, smiling with her eyes curved she seemed very patient and skilled at coaxing children. She was leaning over, saying something to the girl, who then broke into a smile.

Yan Jue took a lot of effort to finally dispel the girl’s vigilance.

The girl said: “My name is Jia Ni…”

“I don’t know how long I’ve been here. I only know… I’ve already lost five teeth.”

Yan Jue fell into thought. She noticed the little girl was still staring at her with the corner of her eye, so she asked, “Are you hungry?”

The girl was skinny and sallow, clearly having been hungry for a long time. She nodded.

Yan Jue took out a paper packet from her sleeve and carefully opened it. This was honey candy she had made herself a few days ago, using nectar from the Hundred Flower Valley.

The little girl pursed her lips, her dirty hand reached out, and she accepted the candy.

Qi Xianqing vaguely saw a flash of light yellow in the paper packet and guessed it might be honey candy. Watching the little girl happily suck on the candy, she suddenly remembered something, narrowed her eyes slightly, and a hint of confusion flashed in her eyes.

Yan Jue stood up while the little girl was eating, intending to look around for anything useful.

Yan Jue suddenly spotted someone. Curled up against the wall was a small girl with an expressionless face. She had fair skin, wore a dark blue Daoist robe, sat cross legged in the corner, and appeared to be meditating with her eyes closed.

Sensing Yan Jue’s gaze, the girl suddenly opened her eyes. Yan Jue was stunned and felt an unprompted jolt. The girl’s eyes were blue, and her pupils carried a strong killing intent.

Yan Jue looked at that little girl, feeling inexplicably strange. There were many children here; each one was either cowering fearfully in the corner, sleeping, or crying. Why was this little girl so calm? And the way she looked at her it was as if she wanted to kill her.

“…”

Perhaps she had been here too long and had developed some resentment.

Yan Jue wanted to gather more information when she suddenly heard the boy’s voice from over there: “Little sister, come here, it’s time to sleep.”

Qi Xianqing was calling her back. Qi Xianqing often went on missions and must have more experience than her, knowing when to gather information and when to sleep. Yan Jue had no objection.

Yan Jue turned back and saw Qi Xianqing sitting on a clean, large rock, her expression serene. She raised her clear peach blossom eyes towards her, lightly patted the space beside her with her palm, signaling her to come over.

Yan Jue walked over distractedly and sat on Qi Xianqing’s lap.

“…”

?

Yan Jue immediately sprang up: “What are you doing?”

Qi Xianqing looked at her strangely: “I was about to ask you the same thing. What are you doing?”

Their communication was done telepathically, so others couldn’t hear.

Ah, ah, ah, ah! Yan Jue glared fiercely at Qi Xianqing, wishing she could die… When she was a little fox, Qi Xianqing loved to pat the space beside her to signal her over, and she would always happily run and sit on Qi Xianqing’s lap. It had become an ingrained reaction. Why was Qi Xianqing making this gesture now for no apparent reason?

An awkward silence fell over the surroundings. Yan Jue moved two steps away from Qi Xianqing and sat on another large rock, turning her head away, hugging her arms tightly. Just as she closed her eyes, she suddenly heard a very strange sound of flapping wings in the air.

Yan Jue opened her eyes, looked up, and unexpectedly saw several mosquitoes. They were slowly flying out from a crack in the rock wall over there.

“…”

These mosquitoes were as large as a fist, with clearly visible patterns on their bodies, and the sound of their wings beating was enough to make one’s scalp tingle. Mosquitoes of this size… Mosquito Demons!

Yan Jue’s gaze instinctively flicked towards Qi Xianqing’s direction. The latter was sitting cross-legged, frowning slightly, clearly having also heard the exceptionally distinct sound of flapping wings. Perhaps drawn by the sweet scent of the Immortal Spirit Body, many Mosquito Demons soon appeared above the cave.

The giant mosquitoes hovered above, and several couldn’t resist the temptation and began to descend! The dense swarm of mosquitoes gradually approached, surrounded by the sound of flapping wings everywhere. Yan Jue subconsciously glanced at Qi Xianqing.

Qi Xianqing kept her eyes closed, making no other move. In this place, she couldn’t deploy a protective shield; any fluctuation in spiritual energy could potentially trigger the restrictions set here! These Mosquito Demons in the mountain cave had probably been held back for too long and became exceptionally frenzied upon smelling the Immortal Spirit Body.

But Qi Xianqing didn’t seem afraid; she could endure it. If she were bitten all over, it would even help to dispel the doubts of the people in this cave. However, she instinctively clenched her sleeve tightly.

The sound of flapping wings grew closer…

But the expected pain did not arrive. A very soft “poof poof” sound suddenly sounded next to her ear. Qi Xianqing opened her eyes and was slightly stunned. Yan Jue was, at some unknown time, leaning next to her, tilting slightly forward, bracing one hand against the wall, her body forming an arc to shield Qi Xianqing completely in front of her.

Seeing the dense swarm of mosquitoes about to arrive, Yan Jue closed her eyes and injected a trace of true energy into Duan Luxi’s Mosquito Repellent Jade Tube. The light yellow jade tube lit up with a faint halo, and fine, dust-like repellent powder gradually overflowed. This simple device emitted no spiritual energy fluctuations. Circles of powder emerged from the tube, gradually enveloping Qi Xianqing.

Qi Xianqing was startled: “This is…”

Yan Jue: “This is a mosquito repellent… jade tube. This way, we can drive the Mosquito Demons away!”

Even so, this was only a rudimentary device and couldn’t deal with this entire swarm of Mosquito Demons. The Mosquito Demons had probably never smelled the scent of an Immortal Spirit Body in their lives and became frenzied again.

But with Yan Jue blocking the way, the Mosquito Demons couldn’t break through, so they clung to Yan Jue one by one. According to the logic of Mosquito Demons, if they sucked this person dry, they could then drink the blood of the person behind her. This suited Yan Jue just fine; as soon as a Mosquito Demon latched onto her skin, she slapped it dead.

“Slap” It sounded exceptionally harsh in the silent cave, but thankfully, the surrounding children were lost in their own worlds, and the clamor within the cave meant no one noticed them.

Yan Jue felt an itchy, tingling sensation on her arm, feeling the Mosquito Demons brushing past her arm. But it was too dark to see, so she quickly reached out to grab, and suddenly felt something soft. Yan Jue froze, and her mind went “buzz.” Her wrist was lightly blocked, followed by another crisp “slap.”

Qi Xianqing reached out and killed the approaching Mosquito Demon. The corpse of the Mosquito Demon fell to the ground, motionless. The Mosquito Repellent Jade Tube continued to work, the light green powder permeating the surroundings, causing many Mosquito Demons to be unable to sustain themselves and fly back into the rock walls.

Yan Jue: “…”

Yan Jue’s ears were buzzing. That gentle touch just now… Immortal techniques that could change forms to look like an eight year old boy were just illusions. It was too dark here she hadn’t seen clearly. Could that have been… just now?

Yan Jue quickly banished that thought from her mind and handed the jade tube to Qi Xianqing: “I’ve wanted to give this to you for a while, but I got busy with so many things that I forgot. There are a lot of mosquitoes here, you can use it slowly.” She had made quite a bit of mosquito repellent for Duan Luxi. Yan Jue estimated this jade tube could last for half a month if nothing unexpected happened.

Qi Xianqing looked at her for a while, then said softly: “Thank you.”

In the darkness, their fingertips briefly brushed against each other. Yan Jue felt the girl’s fingers were slightly cool, and the moment they touched, it felt like an electric shock. If the light were brighter, Yan Jue would have noticed Qi Xianqing frowning slightly, her earlobes already bright red, and her expression very unnatural.

Qi Xianqing said lightly: “A mere mosquito bite is nothing to worry about.”

Well! Qi Xianqing meant that she regarded her as a delicate flower needing protection. In reality, she didn’t need protection.

Not far away, the expressionless little girl sitting cross legged silently observed these two newcomers who were neither subservient nor arrogant. She frowned and suddenly asked: “Childhood sweethearts?”

Yan Jue’s face flushed, and she quickly said: “We are siblings! Brother and sister!”