The First Senior Sister Is Weak and Helpless - Chapter 12
Ah Jiu held Mu Yao for a moment, then shifted her gaze to Mu Yao’s eyes. “Senior Sister, Ah Jiu is hungry.”
Mu Yao let go of her and said softly, “Senior Sister has no way to find food for you.”
“But the inedible Qi-abstinence pills are so difficult to eat.” Ah Jiu pouted her small mouth, looking somewhat aggrieved.
Mu Yao chuckled softly. “Then what did Ah Jiu eat while Senior Sister was in secluded cultivation previously?”
She simply did not believe that the little one was well-behaved enough to honestly eat Qi-abstinence pills every single day.
True to expectation, the little one fell silent, but still raised her head to look pitifully at Mu Yao.
Feng Yang watched the drama unfold from the side, then could not help saying, “Just look at your Senior Sister. She cannot see right now either. If you are naughty again and someone comes knocking at your door to complain, your Senior Sister will be powerless to help, as she is currently even inferior to an ordinary mortal.”
Mu Yao stood up and patted her head. “If Ah Jiu figures out what she wants to eat, she can perhaps find some for Senior Sister as well.”
The little one raised her head once more to look into Mu Yao’s eyes, and then answered very earnestly, “Mn!”
“Senior Sister, wait for me.” Finished speaking, the little one bolted off to run outside.
However, Feng Yang hooked her finger and pulled her right back. “Go clean up. You are all filthy. It is only because your Senior Sister does not mind you; if you stepped outside Xiaoyao Peak, people would probably avoid walking anywhere near you.”
Ah Jiu looked down at her own clothes and then scratched her head. “I am sorry, Senior Sister.”
Mu Yao was startled for a moment. She could not see and had no idea that Ah Jiu was very dirty, especially since she could not smell any odors.
Seeing Mu Yao’s stiff expression, Feng Yang cast a cleansing spell upon the child. “She is not all that dirty. After all, she used a marrow-cleansing pill, so expelling some impurities from her body is hardly strange.”
Even so, Mu Yao’s expression remained somewhat stiff. “Why did Master not remind me?”
“The little one came over to act spoiled with you. If I had disallowed it, this master would have ended up playing the bad guy again,” Feng Yang teased.
Mu Yao sighed softly, and ultimately walked out resignedly.
Ah Jiu went off by herself to change into new clothes, making sure she was neat and clean before walking back out to find Mu Yao.
Yet she was still a child after all, meaning no matter how clever she was, she still could not dress herself very neatly.
Feng Yang and Mu Yao were drinking tea and discussing sword techniques. Seeing her little disciple emerge, Feng Yang truly could not hold back a couple of chuckles, and then beckoned to Ah Jiu: “Come here.”
Ah Jiu walked over obediently, and Feng Yang squatted down to straighten out her clothes for her. “Who has been dressing you in the past?”
“The senior sisters did, and they combed my hair too,” Ah Jiu answered honestly.
Feng Yang then retrieved a small hairpin from her storage ring and pinned it onto Ah Jiu’s head.
“Consider this item a greeting gift from Master. Do you like it?” Feng Yang asked.
Ah Jiu reached up to touch it. “I like it! Thank you, Master?”
Feng Yang then pulled out a pile of all sorts of weapons, laying them all out right in front of Ah Jiu. “Which one do you like?”
Upon seeing those items, Ah Jiu let out an exclamation of amazement.
“What are these?” She squatted down on the ground, looking curiously and cautiously at the items before her.
“Things to play with, pick whatever you like,” Feng Yang said, squatting down in front of her as well.
“Can I only pick one?” Ah Jiu felt that all the things in front of her looked exceptionally pretty, and she wanted a little bit of each one.
Feng Yang chuckled softly. “You can only pick one. As for the rest, once you begin your cultivation, Master will naturally give you other things.”
Ah Jiu poked around and picked among them, finally choosing a small bell. When she shook it gently, all the spiritual spirits within the Chengfeng Pavilion began dancing along, seeming exceptionally joyful.
“A wind-listening bell. You certainly know how to pick,” Feng Yang smiled and said.
“This sound is so pleasant, Senior Sister.” Ah Jiu ran over to Mu Yao’s side and shook it gently for her to hear.
Sensing the little one approaching, Mu Yao reached out to gently cradle her shoulder. Although she could not see, she was extremely sensitive to sound.
“Mn, I heard it.” The corners of Mu Yao’s mouth curved slightly upward.
Noticing the wind spirits dancing in the air, Ah Jiu seemed to sense something. She tilted her head slightly, closed her eyes, and shook the bell once more, causing those wind spirits to surround Mu Yao.
The soft sound of the wind blended into the ringing of the bell at Mu Yao’s side, resembling a unique melody.
Listening to that sound, Mu Yao felt as though she could experience what a spring breeze brushing against her face felt like, and even unconsciously envisioned a scene of blooming spring flowers within her mind.
Then, the sound of the wind gradually subsided, and the ringing of the bell slowly faded away.
Ah Jiu opened her eyes accordingly. “Senior Sister! Does it sound nice?”
She seemed exceptionally pleased with this sound, asking Mu Yao with the air of someone presenting a precious treasure.
Mu Yao gently stroked her head. “It sounds nice. Thank you, Ah Jiu.”
This was the first time she had so vividly felt the presence of spring, all thanks to this little Junior Sister who did not even know how to cultivate yet.
A trace of warmth spread through the bottom of Mu Yao’s heart. Although her Junior Sister was somewhat mischievous, she was ultimately adorable.
Ah Jiu turned around to look happily at Feng Yang. “Master, Ah Jiu wants this one.”
Feng Yang nodded. “Then take it away.”
Lifting her hand slightly, the bell landed in the child’s hand. Ah Jiu shook it with a sense of wonder. “Once I can cultivate, will I be able to be as amazing as Master?”
“With your talent, you will naturally be even more amazing than Master.” Feng Yang was not joking when she said this; it was the absolute truth. The fact that Ah Jiu could spontaneously shake the bell and resonate with the wind spirits just now demonstrated her natural affinity for spiritual spirits. For someone with a five-element spiritual root like hers, this was a talent ordinary people could never attain no matter how hard they tried.
Ah Jiu’s eyes instantly lit up. “Then, then…”
Before she could figure out how to express what she wanted to say, her little belly rumbled first.
The little one’s face flushed red. “Master, Ah Jiu is hungry.”
“Eat a Qi-abstinence pill,” Feng Yang smiled and told her.
Ah Jiu shook her head frantically. “No, it is not tasty. Ah Jiu is going to find food by herself.”
Having said that, this time she truly bolted off.
Mu Yao’s mouth curved upward unconsciously, while Feng Yang shook her head. “A little monkey.”
Mu Yao did not refute her Master’s evaluation; the little one was indeed quite mischievous.
“I never imagined your Junior Sister’s talent would be so high. At such a tender age, she is already able to comprehend resonance with spiritual spirits so quickly,” Feng Yang said with a trace of pride in her tone.
“Ah Jiu has been playing with these spiritual spirits since she was little, so naturally she has been close to them from childhood,” Mu Yao thought for a moment and said.
Feng Yang nodded. “That is true. However, with her temperament, if she cultivates too fast, it might actually prove disadvantageous to her because her state of mind is not settled.”
“Ah Jiu is young and inexperienced, so it is fine for her to be a bit playful,” Mu Yao felt that this was quite normal; although she was a bit mischievous, her disposition was innocent and her heart was pure.
“You just spoil her,” Feng Yang said, giving Mu Yao a look of exasperation.
“Not really. I still punish her when she makes too much noise on ordinary days,” Mu Yao did not feel that she pampered Ah Jiu excessively.
Feng Yang poured herself another cup of tea. “You only punish her because she disturbs your quiet, not because you truly think she did anything wrong.”
How could she not understand her own disciple? Although they did not spend a vast amount of time together, Feng Yang was not a particularly incompetent master and understood each of her disciples to some degree.
Her eldest disciple before her, although appearing cold and aloof on ordinary days as if she had no worldly desires, possessed her own points of stubborn persistence. Once those matters were touched upon, she would become exceptionally fixated.
Therefore, the reason little Ah Jiu got punished was probably because the little one was making too much noise while Mu Yao was studying her techniques or sword forms, disturbing Mu Yao’s peace and quiet.
Mu Yao did not refute this, nor did she feel any need to, as her Master had indeed hit the mark.
“In the future, you still need to keep a tighter rein on her.”
“Shouldn’t that be Master’s job?” Mu Yao did not wish to take on this chore, and deep down she did not really want her Master to go courting danger again either.
To Mu Yao, Feng Yang was both a master and a figure akin to a mother, even though she spent most of the year away and rarely stayed within the sect.
Ever since Feng Yang pulled Mu Yao from that sea of fire, brought her to the Tianqing Sect, and taught her how to read, write, and cultivate, she had been the person Mu Yao respected most.
“Didn’t this master raise you up just so you could help out later?” Feng Yang said half-jokingly.
“Rest assured, at least until your Junior Sister successfully completes body-tempering, this master will not leave.” Feng Yang took another sip of tea. “A five-element spiritual root is a rarity in this world. Generally, cultivators with five spiritual roots rarely cultivate every single one of them; they usually choose the spiritual root they have the most talent in to pursue. However, from what I observe of your Junior Sister, all of her spiritual roots turn out to be top-tier spiritual roots.”
“Junior Sister’s talent is actually this high? Doesn’t that mean she surpasses even Daoist Lord Yujing from a thousand years ago?” Mu Yao was indeed somewhat astonished.
“Indeed. However, if she cultivates all five elements simultaneously, her early-stage cultivation progression will inevitably be extremely slow, and awakening the potential of all five spiritual roots will also cost her far more time than an ordinary person. If her state of mind remains unsettled, I fear she will find it even harder to break through than others.” Feng Yang also felt somewhat concerned.
“That is true. Then what does Master plan to do?” Mu Yao asked softly, feeling a silent wave of worry for little Ah Jiu in her heart.
“This master will not make choices for you all. Let her successfully condense her pulses first, and by then it will not be too late to decide how she wishes to choose.” Although Feng Yang hoped her disciples would inherit her sword dao, if a disciple’s true ambitions lay elsewhere, she naturally would not force the issue.
“The path of cultivation requires one to defy the heavens on one hand and follow one’s true heart on the other. Without a settled mind, one cannot advance against the current, and with an unsettled mind, one easily strays onto a devious path.”
“This disciple has been instructed,” Mu Yao nodded gently.
“Very well, your Junior Sister is back again, and it seems she has brought… roasted pigeon.”
Mu Yao: ……
“Master, why do I feel like this is not a good sign?”
Not to mention Mu Yao feeling that something was amiss, Feng Yang also felt that things were quite problematic.
Everyone up and down the Tianqing Sect knew that all the pigeons in the sect were raised by Elder Wuyou, who was Feng Yang’s only martial sister.
Although they were neither spiritual beasts nor rare breeds, Elder Wuyou treasured them immensely, specifically of the variety that whoever touched them would get beaten up.
“Senior Sister, I discovered today that there are many pigeons in the Emerald Bamboo Forest, and they are so plump!”
Upon hearing the three words “Emerald Bamboo Forest,” Feng Yang’s scalp was already beginning to tingle.
“Is your Martial Uncle Wuyou still within the sect?” Feng Yang asked in a low voice.
“Mn, she is,” Mu Yao replied flatly.
At that moment, Feng Yang dearly wished she could toss this little disciple out. In just this short span of time, how on earth did she manage to get a pigeon roasted?
“How did you roast it? Did you order other senior sisters or senior brothers around again?” Feng Yang was genuinely curious.
Ah Jiu shook her head, then grabbed a fire spirit over. “They can roast them themselves, why would I need to teach the senior sisters and senior brothers?”
The little one’s tone was quite bewildered.
Feng Yang grew even more bewildered. This little creature could not even cultivate yet; could she truly command these spiritual spirits?
“They listen to you?”
“Just say the word, and it is done. If you do not believe me, Master, watch.”
She patted the fire spirit’s head. “Breathe some fire.”
Right before Feng Yang’s eyes, the fire spirit spat out a string of flames, even knowing to avoid facing Feng Yang directly.
A moment ago, Feng Yang had still assumed that Ah Jiu’s resonance with the wind spirits was merely a coincidence, but seeing this now, it was clear it was no accident at all.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
