The Cold And Aloof Senior Sister Keeps Flirting With Me - Chapter 49

Qi Xianqing patted her shoulder: “Enough, time to sleep.”

She was acting the part very well, not breaking the persona of Fang Hu at all, her tone doting and gentle.

It seemed to bring her back to the days when she was a little fox cub interacting with Qi Xianqing on Mount Wulong.

Yan Jue’s eyelids inexplicably twitched, and she mumbled: “We must explain things clearly, right, brother.”

“After all, what others see isn’t always the truth.”

Yan Jue only said this casually before closing her eyes to rest, but it gave Qi Xianqing new thoughts.

Over the years on the mountain, there had been many rumors about her, and the description in the Wulong Encyclopedia was even more exaggerated. Yet, she had let them be, never explaining once. If not explaining meant people would take it as truth, then were the rumors about Yan Jue false?

However, this was hard to explain, as Yan Jue had indeed made provocative moves towards her before.

Qi Xianqing frowned slightly, her fingertips gently stroking the mosquito repelling jade tube Yan Jue had given her. When did the snake like aggressiveness on Yan Jue disappear?

Qi Xianqing turned her head, looking at the girl dozing against her shoulder. Perhaps Yan Jue was simply too tired, or perhaps the fact that Qi Xianqing was beside her made her feel safe. She squinted slightly, her breathing even, and had actually fallen asleep, her eyelids open just a crack, vaguely revealing her amber pupils.

This was not good, because the divine abilities stored in the talisman made them both look like the Fang siblings. But this was just a deceptive trick a transformation made by the Myriad Transformations Immortal Art could never be exactly the same as the original person. When sleeping, she was very likely to expose the flaw.

Qi Xianqing stared at the faint amber pupils for a while, a trace of confusion flashing in her eyes.

She really looked like… the little fox baby.

Qi Xianqing then reached out, palm facing down, gently covering the girl’s eyes.

The fair skinned girl in the corner with deep blue pupils watched coldly and suddenly asked, “Why?”

Qi Xianqing did not remove the hand placed over Yan Jue’s eyes: “So the light isn’t too glaring.”

The girl sat cross legged, her hands forming a mudra, and she lightly closed her eyes: “You siblings have such good affection.”

Qi Xianqing stared at her hands for a long time, then casually glanced at the soft top of the girl’s head resting on her shoulder and smiled lightly: “Yes, I love my little sister the most.”

Days in the cave dwelling truly blurred night and day. Yan Jue could only vaguely distinguish the time based on the two meals a day.

About ten days and nights passed. Yan Jue walked around the cave every day, striking up conversations with all sorts of boys and girls. There were only about twenty people in this cave, and many children, despite suffering in this place, were still willing to talk.

By the twelfth day, Yan Jue had become mostly familiar with the children in the dispensary. Except for… the blue eyed little girl in the corner.

That blue-eyed little girl was unusually cold. Usually, she was either sitting against the wall meditating or resting with her eyes closed. She even ate very little. Perhaps because fox demons inherently had keener senses, Yan Jue always felt an oppressive feeling from her that did not belong to a child. She vaguely felt this girl was not simple. Perhaps because she had been too comfortable, this Master Suyang was not highly vigilant towards the outside world.

Most of the children locked in the dispensary carried some mementos from their families. Some were small books, some were toys. This was convenient for Yan Jue her Qiankun Bag was like a very ordinary cloth pouch hanging by her side, and no one was suspicious.

Besides Qi Xianqing, the person Yan Jue spent the most time with was the little girl, Jiani.

Yan Jue sat next to Jiani and said, “I’ll tell you a story.”

Jiani hugged her arm: “I want to hear it! I want to hear it!”

Telling stories to Jiani seemed to be Yan Jue’s only form of entertainment in this cave. She told stories not only to Jiani but also to Qi Xianqing.

“Once upon a time, a man met a female ghost outside…”

Yan Jue had read many books in modern times, and of course, she had read books about ghosts and monsters. These past few days, she had told Jiani many stories about fox spirits and ghosts, the hidden agenda not being the story itself, but desperately trying to instill a concept into Qi Xianqing demons can be good demons too. Fox demons don’t only have to sustain themselves by absorbing human yang energy! Considering that in four months, Qi Xianqing was going to stab her with a sword, it was all because Qi Xianqing had such a bad impression of demons. If Qi Xianqing thought fox demons were cute, maybe she wouldn’t attack her!

Today, the story Yan Jue told Jiani was a very classic tale of a human-fox romance. The main content was about a man who met a very virtuous fox demon, and after some twists and turns, they finally lived happily ever after. Yan Jue told it vividly, listening as the little girl Jiani’s eyes widened.

The boy Fang Hu, transformed from Qi Xianqing, leaned against the wall, eyes closed as if resting, and Yan Jue didn’t know if he was listening.

When the story finished, Yan Jue asked, “Okay, the story is over. Do you have any questions?”

Jiani moved her lips and shook her head. The story the older sister told was too good; she didn’t have any questions.

Yan Jue swallowed, just about to start the next story, when the silent blue eyed girl meditating in the corner suddenly spoke: “What virtue did Sang Sheng possess to be worthy of marrying Lian Xiang as his wife?”

“…”

This question left Yan Jue speechless. In fact, when reading fox demon stories in modern times, she often had the same doubts: the men in the stories clearly had no shining qualities, so why would so many fox demons willingly go after him?

Yan Jue seized the opportunity to steer the conversation in a positive direction: “So, most humans are hard to describe, but the little fox demon is devoted and gives selflessly!”

The unusually calm girl asked, “According to you, all fox demons are good. Then how do you explain fox demons absorbing human yang energy, seducing men, and causing countless families to break apart?”

Yan Jue: “…”

Yan Jue: “Those are bad fox demons. Fox demons have more than one way to cultivate. Rumor has it that some fox demons cultivate by absorbing human yang energy, which is a crooked path. Some fox demons cultivate by absorbing the essence of the sun and moon. There is no basis for comparison.”

As soon as she said this, Qi Xianqing suddenly opened her eyes.

Suddenly, the door to the dispensary was pushed open. A young Daoist with a ferocious face painted with rouge, holding a horsetail whisk, walked in: “Master returns to the cave dwelling tomorrow. Go cleanse yourselves now!”

Yan Jue froze. In the dim light, she could see that the young Daoist’s eye sockets were dark. For some reason, as he walked in, a nauseating stench of decay began to permeate the surroundings. Yan Jue lowered her head after just one look. The request to bathe now indicated it was already evening. The mysterious Master Suyang was coming back tomorrow?

The group of children walked out of the dispensary. Yan Jue stared ahead, her gaze drifting around, taking the opportunity to memorize the path through the cave dwelling. The entire dwelling was winding, dimly lit. After walking down a long, steep slope, six circular cave entrances came into view. Yan Jue inexplicably felt it looked a bit like the Spider Silk Cave (Pan Si Dong).

It was a cave dwelling with interconnected paths. Every ten steps or so, they passed a cave entrance. Each entrance had a gold inlaid plaque above it, covered with flourishing calligraphy:

Xiaoyao Palace Weiyang Palace Taibai Tower Zui Qingfeng (Drunken Clarity Wind)…

Yan Jue walked very slowly, remaining at the back of the line. She was accompanied by a young Daoist with rouge smeared on both cheeks. Yan Jue took the chance to ask: “Daoist brother, what is Zui Qingfeng for? Is it where Master and you drink?”

She was already pretty and cute, and her manner was submissive. The young Daoist stared into her eyes, and for some reason, his heart trembled violently. He then replied good naturedly: “Zui Qingfeng is where Master lectures the disciples.”

Yan Jue paused, her eyes bright: “Lectures? Does that include us?”

Daoist: “Of course it includes you. Don’t let the entrance to Zui Qingfeng fool you; the cave inside has carved beams and painted rafters and can hold hundreds of people. If you behave well, perhaps Master will be happy and accept you as probationary disciples.”

Yan Jue: “Oh. What’s the difference between a probationary disciple and the ‘Good Fortune Child’ mentioned before?”

“Uh… this…” The Daoist began to stammer.

Yan Jue finally managed to extract a lot of information from the Daoist, so she quickly slipped back to Qi Xianqing’s side. After all, she was here on a mission with Qi Xianqing, so she couldn’t just take the credit without contributing.

Yan Jue used telepathic transmission: “Zui Qingfeng is where Master Suyang lectures. Strangely, the place where this Daoist holds meetings is the same as the alchemy place.”

Qi Xianqing: “Mhm.”

Yan Jue’s peripheral vision suddenly caught the silent, blue-eyed girl at the very back of the crowd.

“…”

The girl’s eyes were vacant. She walked slowly at the back of the line and seemed to pause, turning to look at a rock cave beside her.

The Daoist nudged her: “Hurry up! Don’t fall behind.”

The blue eyed girl then lowered her gaze and moved forward.

The group arrived at the entrance to the Cleansing Room. It was a dark mountain cave. On the plaque above the entrance, the distorted, crooked words “Cleansing Room” were carved on decaying peach wood. A damp smell could faintly be detected from inside. The cave was pitch black; nothing could be seen.

Yan Jue, being a neat little fox, traced the scent to find the water source and turned back to tell Qi Xianqing: “The water is here.”

Hearing the approaching footsteps behind her, Yan Jue turned back, quickly wiped her face with a handkerchief, and even washed the dirty sleeves of her Daoist robe.

After she finished tidying up, she suddenly heard a very light voice near her ear: “Remembered?”

Yan Jue was startled, realizing what Qi Xianqing meant, and nodded: “I remembered most of the path. If we need to escape, it’s no problem.”

Qi Xianqing did not transmit again.

It was pitch black all around nothing could be seen. Yan Jue stood in the darkness, the uneven rock underfoot made her unsteady.

Qi Xianqing: “If you can’t stand steady, you can hold onto me.”

Yan Jue: “I won’t hold onto you!”

She reached out to touch the wall nearby and suddenly touched something slippery, moist, and slightly deformable under pressure. The thing seemed startled and slipped away. Yan Jue was so scared she broke out in a cold sweat instantly: “Heavens! This” and grabbed Qi Xianqing’s shoulder.

Qi Xianqing, standing behind her, subtly curled her lips: “Didn’t you say you wouldn’t just a moment ago?”

Yan Jue huffed: “I have no choice.”

She reached out again to steady herself against the wall. Again, she felt something soft and warm.

?

The thing, startled, let out a squeaking sound and darted away. Using the dim light, Yan Jue quickly turned her head to look. It was a group of round insects. One insect turned back, opened its tiny mouth, revealing small, saw like teeth: “?!” Yan Jue’s face turned pale, and she immediately retreated two steps, grabbing Qi Xianqing’s sleeve again.

Qi Xianqing caught her in return: “Be careful.”

After enduring the torment of snakes and insects, Yan Jue was truly too exhausted to push Qi Xianqing away. Yan Jue’s hand slowly moved, gently resting on Qi Xianqing’s arm as she smoothed down her robe. Qi Xianqing shifted slightly, the hem of her robe lifted.

As Yan Jue rested her hand there, she suddenly felt a patch of red, swollen marks. She paused slightly. She remembered that a few days ago, Qi Xianqing’s hand did not have such marks! Could it be mosquito demons?

Yan Jue had previously looked up similar books in the library. For ordinary people bitten by mosquito demons, the feeling was the same as being bitten by a regular mosquito, and the wound would heal in a few days. But for an immortal spirit body bitten by a mosquito demon, it was completely different. The swelling would take half a month to subside, it would be intensely itchy, and very painful.

Yan Jue frowned, her fingers subconsciously tracing along Qi Xianqing’s arm to sense it. The icy cold arm grew deeper with swelling the further in she went. That made sense no matter how powerful the mosquito repelling jade tube was, it couldn’t cover every single spot. Qi Xianqing was truly too stubbornly proud; she wouldn’t say anything even when bitten this badly by mosquito demons.

Yan Jue was lost in thought when the silent one on the side chuckled after a long pause: “Junior Sister, are you this familiar with everyone?” Her tone carried a hint of probing. Yan Jue broke out in a cold sweat and immediately withdrew her hand.

The reason she was so familiar with Qi Xianqing was entirely because she had spent so long with her while transformed into a little fox. When she was the little fox, she slept in Qi Xianqing’s arms every day, using Qi Xianqing’s arm as a pillow.

Yan Jue: “Because Senior Sister gives off a feeling of closeness, I couldn’t help but… rely on Senior Sister.”

Both were speaking via telepathic transmission so no one else could hear. Yan Jue then handed a clean handkerchief to Qi Xianqing: “Wipe your face.”

Qi Xianqing took her handkerchief: “Thank you.”

After bathing, everyone returned to the dispensary. The young Daoist firmly closed the door behind them.

“Thump.” The dispensary fell silent again. The children seemed long accustomed to the routine and were falling asleep one by one. A little boy pouted, bouncing a rubber ball in his hand. The ball flew up, hit the rock wall hard, and bounced back. It happened to fly over Yan Jue’s head. Yan Jue instinctively reached out, and with a “snap,” she steadily caught the ball.

Qi Xianqing turned back, looking at her with surprise. Yan Jue threw the ball back to the little boy.

Boy: “Thank you, Sister.”

He pouted, playing alone, then suddenly jumped up and lightly kicked the ball again. The ball flew up and disappeared into the darkness. Because the surroundings were too dark, anything a short distance away was invisible.

The boy froze, instantly becoming flustered, his big eyes instantly welling up with tears. He walked a few steps forward, searching for his ball. But after circling the cave once, he couldn’t find it. The boy panicked this ball was the only thing his mother gave him before he came here… Waaah…

He was about to cry when something was suddenly held out in front of his eyes.

A rubber ball.

The boy froze, then quickly looked up, only to see Yan Jue handing the ball to him: “Be careful. It’s so dark here, just kick it close to you.”

The boy pursed his lips: “Thank you, Sister!”

“Sister seems… especially good at catching balls.”

Yan Jue’s expression stiffened for a moment, and she slowly turned back, meeting Qi Xianqing’s searching gaze.