The First Senior Sister Is Weak and Helpless - Chapter 11

Feng Yang took a sip of tea. “You are surprisingly not surprised at all.”

“After all, Master left right after bringing the little junior sister back,” Mu Yao said leisurely, leaving Feng Yang completely unable to refute her words.

“Didn’t I do this for her own good?” Feng Yang said with an awkward, light cough.

Mu Yao nodded. “Disciple understands. It is just that the little junior sister’s temperament is truly something only Master can keep in check.”

Anyway, she did not really want to deal with this mischievous little monkey. Back when she was just learning how to walk, she could lead those spiritual souls to turn the Chengfeng Pavilion upside down, and now that she had grown older, she would only become even more unruly.

“Has Master already brought back the inner core and the cicada shell of the ten-thousand-year empty cicada?” Mu Yao changed the subject to business.

Feng Yang nodded. “Naturally, I brought them back. When your master makes a move, there is no such thing as returning empty-handed.”

“Then when will Master begin teaching Junior Sister cultivation?” Mu Yao asked gently.

“Once your martial uncle finishes refining the pills in a few days and I completely conceal her constitution for her, I can start teaching her cultivation. However, she wants to practice alchemy, and this master probably cannot teach her that,” Feng Yang shook her head.

“Disciple has seen in books that Junior Sister’s constitution is indeed that of an alchemy prodigy.”

“Nowadays, the demon race is stirring restlessly. Knowing only alchemy will make it impossible for her to even protect her own life,” Feng Yang shook her head.

“It is not necessary to solely study alchemy. Focus well on mastering spell techniques, and once your cultivation level rises in the future, learning alchemy will not be a difficult task.” Feng Yang rubbed her chin. “With a constitution like this, her future achievements will not be below yours. Just now, when I was assisting you, this little one even began absorbing the spiritual qi of heaven and earth by herself in her anxiety.”

Hearing this, Mu Yao could not help but reveal a trace of surprise. “Self-taught?”

“Such natural talent is truly rare. I happen to have a cultivation manual that suits her very well, but this little one’s temperament is unsteady, so you will need to supervise her closely.”

Mu Yao tilted her head toward her. “Why me?”

“Recently, there are frequent movements from the demon race, with demons occasionally appearing in various mortal realms. We cannot afford not to guard against this, and the time I can spend within the sect is very limited,” Feng Yang said with a soft sigh.

After hearing this, she did not say anything else, merely giving a gentle nod. “Disciple understands.”

An hour later, the little one finally finished running and came panting to find Feng Yang and Mu Yao.

“Master, disciple has finished running,” Ah Jiu said obediently as she stood at the doorway.

Although she was mischievous, she still knew that Feng Yang was not as soft-hearted and easily fooled as Mu Yao, so she honestly finished running all thirty laps.

In the past, whenever Mu Yao told her to run laps, she would invariably rely somewhat on the power of the wind spirits. Mu Yao had no idea where she picked up those tricks, as she had never taught them to her.

“Mm. Remember to get up at the mao hour tomorrow,” Feng Yang said indifferently, then stood up and handed a pill to Ah Jiu.

“Take one every day for the next three days,” Feng Yang instructed after giving it to her, telling her to take one pill daily.

Ah Jiu took it and casually opened the wooden stopper of the pill bottle. The moment she opened it, she caught a refreshing fragrance, which she found exceptionally pleasant.

“Master, what is this?” Ah Jiu asked.

“A spiritual elixir for cleansing the marrow and opening the meridians.” Feng Yang’s temper softened a bit at this moment.

“Cleansing the marrow and opening the meridians, what is that?” Ah Jiu tilted her head up, a pair of clear eyes sparkling with curiosity.

Meeting her gaze, Feng Yang felt a softness stir within her heart. After all, her little disciple was still young, and she had never really taught her anything before.

“You still cannot read characters?” Feng Yang asked.

“I know some. Eldest Senior Sister taught me a few, and after Senior Sister went into seclusion, Ah Jiu learned some more on her own,” Ah Jiu answered truthfully. Mu Yao had taught her some basic characters, and after Mu Yao entered seclusion, Ah Jiu recognized more characters through her own guesswork combined with sporadic things taught by others.

“Oh, write some for Master to see.”

Hearing Feng Yang ask Ah Jiu to write characters, Mu Yao quietly pressed her lips together. Little Junior Sister’s handwriting was notoriously difficult to decipher.

Sure enough, after taking a look, Feng Yang shook her head repeatedly, realizing that her little disciple truly knew next to nothing.

After having Ah Jiu write a few characters, Feng Yang gave up and did not rush to teach her right then and there. Instead, she simply took down her wine gourd and took a sip of wine, silently admonishing herself that her little disciple was still young and she should not demand too much.

In truth, Ah Jiu was indeed not old, merely four years of age. Achieving this much knowledge at such an age was already quite remarkable, but Feng Yang had never interacted with other four-year-old children and did not know what standard a four-year-old should be at, so by her own standards, Ah Jiu was definitely unqualified.

The moment Feng Yang uncorked the wine gourd, Ah Jiu caught the aroma of the wine. Her little nose twitched as she looked at Feng Yang with eager anticipation. “Master, what are you drinking? Is it good? It smells so nice.”

Hearing her inquiry, Feng Yang let out a soft laugh. “Smells nice? You have good taste.”

Feng Yang loved wine, and this wine was brewed by herself. Many people were not used to drinking it, but Ah Jiu saying it smelled nice naturally made her quite happy.

“This is Fushan wine. Want a sip?” Feng Yang asked with a smile.

The curious little one nodded without even thinking. “Yes please, thank you Master.”

Feng Yang handed the wine gourd over, and Ah Jiu hugged it, preparing to drink. Mu Yao could not help reaching out to block her. “Master, Ah Jiu is only four years old. Is it appropriate for her to drink alcohol?”

“What is wrong with that? She even drank it when she was still in swaddling clothes. What could possibly be inappropriate?” Feng Yang motioned for Ah Jiu to drink directly.

Ah Jiu hugged it and took a huge gulp, nearly choking herself.

After finishing, she obediently handed the gourd back to Feng Yang. “It is so good.”

Mu Yao: “Fine, another heavy drinker was added to the sect from now on.”

“As expected of my disciple. Look how sensible your junior sister is.” Having found a kindred spirit who understood wine, Feng Yang was in high spirits, even though this kindred spirit was her little disciple who had nearly driven her half to mad just moments before.

Feng Yang poured out a marrow-cleansing pill for Ah Jiu and fed it to her. “It looks like this sleep is going to last for quite a while.”

As she spoke, the little one’s face began to flush red, and her gaze started to grow hazy.

Feng Yang tossed the person into Mu Yao’s arms. “Take your little junior sister to get some sleep. I am going to find Senior Martial Sister Wenxiu.”

With that, she scurried off again. Mu Yao held the little one in her arms. This was Fushan wine after all; even Feng Yang would get drunk if she drank too much. With Ah Jiu taking such a large gulp, Mu Yao strongly suspected that the little one might have to sleep for a whole month.

Ah Jiu’s cheeks were burning hot, and her body was scorching as well.

Mu Yao’s icy hands landed on her face, and the little one immediately hugged her hand, pressing it against her cheek.

Perhaps finding her sleeping posture uncomfortable, Mu Yao only heard her murmur and whine a few times, and she seemed to hear the sound of her tossing and turning as well.

Groping around, she managed to pick her up, though for Mu Yao at this moment, it was still somewhat strenuous.

With much difficulty, she placed her onto the bed in the room, tucked her in with the blanket, and prepared to go rest in another room.

Yet she heard the sound of turning over from behind once more. She could not see, but her ears were exceptionally acute.

Mu Yao paused for a moment upon hearing the sound, but when no further movement came, she figured the little one was merely shifting positions.

Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly heard the little one call out for Senior Sister.

Her voice was soft and sweet, and Mu Yao heard the rustling of the blanket. “Senior Sister is not cold. Ah Jiu will hug Senior Sister to keep her warm.”

Hearing her words, the corners of Mu Yao’s mouth lifted gently. She then blew out the lamp for her, closed the door, and headed to the adjacent room.

It had been a long time since she had slept so purely. Mu Yao summoned a fire spirit to heat up some water and soaked for a little while. She had not experienced such warmth in a long time, and taking a soak every once in a while felt quite nice.

After finishing her bath, Mu Yao lay down on bed. Right now, she could neither project her divine sense outward nor read books. In her early years, Feng Yang used to carve texts onto wooden boards for her so she could touch and recognize them, but those books had long since been committed to memory by her, leaving no need to read them again.

The cold wind blowing from outside the window caused Mu Yao, who was wearing only a thin inner garment, to let out a cough.

This instantly gave her the sensation that she truly was exceptionally frail.

Closing the window and lying down in bed, perhaps due to being overly weak, Mu Yao fell into a deep sleep not long after lying down.

When she woke up the next day, the sun was already high in the sky. Mu Yao got up feeling refreshed, cleaned herself up, and prepared to head to the neighboring room to see how Ah Jiu was doing.

Perhaps because she could currently neither use her divine sense nor her cultivation, her sensory perception had also weakened considerably, leading to a few bumps and stumbles along the way.

Pushing open the door to Ah Jiu’s room, she found the little one indeed still fast asleep, her body still somewhat feverish. Mu Yao let out a soft sigh, thinking that she had told Master not to give wine to the little junior sister, but her master simply refused to listen.

Following Feng Yang’s instructions, Mu Yao fed Ah Jiu another marrow-cleansing pill.

The little one was quite cooperative this time, swallowing it down and even mumbling a few whimpers afterwards, murmuring a few words in her sleep that Mu Yao could not quite catch. Still, Mu Yao could not help slightly raising the corners of her lips; a little person who was not making a ruckus was actually rather cute.

Three days later, Fanyan finished refining the pills, yet Ah Jiu still had not woken up.

Feng Yang said it was of no consequence, and that not waking up yet was actually just as well. She fed the pill to Ah Jiu and then began channeling spiritual qi into her body, helping Ah Jiu integrate those medicinal properties into her meridians.

Combined with the Fushan wine she had drunk that day, this achieved twice the result with half the effort, which could be considered a blessing in disguise.

However, fusing pills refined from the inner core of a ten-thousand-year empty cicada into the body of a four-year-old child was still an extremely painful process.

Although little Ah Jiu remained unconscious, she would occasionally cry out in pain from time to time. Listening from the side, Mu Yao could not help feeling a pang of heartache.

She thought that the little one’s life was truly not easy; losing both parents at such a tender age and possessing this kind of constitution.

Heaven always seemed to enjoy toying with people, bestowing a supreme cultivation constitution and talent while simultaneously handing down a congenital calamity.

Feng Yang expended nearly all her spiritual qi before finally managing to completely fuse Ah Jiu’s bloodline with the inner core of the ten-thousand-year empty cicada.

This ordeal lasted for half a month, and Mu Yao guarded the two of them for the entire half month.

Ah Jiu, who originally should have slept for a full month after drinking the Fushan wine, woke up right as the process was about to succeed. The agony radiating from her meridians caused the little one to burst into tears.

Listening to her cries, Mu Yao thought to herself that she was as noisy as ever, yet she simultaneously could not stop her heart from aching for her.

When it was finally over, Ah Jiu sobbed while looking at Mu Yao, instinctively seeking comfort.

“Senior Sister, it hurts so much. Master is a bad person, wuwuwu.” While crying, she did not forget to lodge a complaint against Feng Yang.

Feng Yang raised an eyebrow slightly. “Master did this for your own good. If you cannot even endure this little bit of hardship, how will you help your senior sister in the future?”

Hearing Feng Yang’s words, Ah Jiu stopped talking, though she still looked at Mu Yao with a grievance-laden expression. “Senior Sister, hug me.”

Unable to refuse, Mu Yao walked over to gently hold her, feeling both helpless and doting.