The First Senior Sister Is Weak and Helpless - Chapter 14

Wu You gained Ah Jiu’s consent and began treating her just like her own biological disciple. That pigeon she usually treasured so dearly instantly fell out of favor.

As soon as Ah Jiu finished eating, Wu You took her into the study pavilion to practice.

Feng Yang shook her head as she watched. This martial sister of hers was unwilling to leave the sect, yet she had latched onto her disciple to start teaching her.

However, Wu You seemed unable to truly tame Ah Jiu either. On the first day of teaching, she appeared to have been angered. While the little one was undeniably smart, she lacked focus.

Nor was she willing to follow Wu You’s instructions step-by-step, having far too many ideas of her own.

Even so, Wu You was still satisfied, after all, the natural talent was right there.

After teaching for barely an hour, Ah Jiu could no longer sit still and began clamoring that she refused to write anymore.

As soon as she came out, she ran straight to Mu Yao’s side and held out her arms demanding a hug.

Mu Yao had no choice. With her little junior sister pleading for a hug in a soft, milky voice, she simply could not refuse.

However, Mu Yao’s spiritual qi was currently sealed, leaving her with the physical body of a mortal, so she could not hold Ah Jiu for too long.

Wu You mentioned that she would come again tomorrow, and upon hearing this, Ah Jiu cheerfully waved goodbye to her. “Goodbye, Martial Uncle.”

That tone sounded as bright and cheerful as could be, as if she could hardly wait to send Wu You off immediately.

In the days that followed, Wu You would come every day to teach Ah Jiu how to read, write, and draw.

She did not teach her talisman arts right away, after all, things could not be rushed.

Feng Yang was in no rush to let her absorb spiritual qi into her body either, only having Ah Jiu soak in medicinal baths every day and mapping out a comprehensive body-tempering plan for her daily routine.

The little one felt that ever since Master returned, her days of happiness had vanished for good. While she felt awe toward Feng Yang, she did not feel particularly close to her, being far more attached to Wu You than to Feng Yang.

Since Mu Yao could not see, Feng Yang had carved some text excerpts onto wooden boards for her so she could touch and recognize them with her fingers, ensuring she would not grow too bored.

Just like every other day, Ah Jiu was called up at the mao hour to exercise, and Mu Yao had also grown accustomed to waking up at this time.

Fanyan required her to go to the highest point of Xiaoyao Peak every day to bathe slightly in the sunlight and dispel the chill on her body.

Although Mu Yao needed the cold qi within her to suppress the demonic fire, an excess of cold qi was also a burden on her body. Her cultivation realm was still insufficient, and her physical body could not bear too much cold qi either.

She needed to absorb a tiny bit of natural fire spiritual qi every day precisely when the spiritual qi of heaven and earth was at its most abundant, though naturally the duration could not be too long; half an hour was quite enough.

Just as Mu Yao finished her daily sunlight bath and prepared to head down the mountain, she suddenly heard a crisp cry of “Senior Sister” coming from another path.

She paused amidst the mountain paths, and listening to those hurried footsteps, she instantly pictured a little person running straight toward her.

Sure enough, a moment later, the little one flung herself into her arms, nearly knocking Mu Yao off balance.

“How many times have I told you? Your senior sister is currently frail. With you crashing into her like this, how is she supposed to steady you?” Fortunately, Feng Yang promptly released a wisp of spiritual qi to support Mu Yao, allowing her to stand firm.

Ah Jiu still clung tightly to Mu Yao’s waist. “I am sorry, Senior Sister. I will remember next time.”

Mu Yao placed a hand on her head. “Finished so early today?”

“Master said she will start teaching Ah Jiu something else tomorrow, so today ends here,” Ah Jiu obediently answered Mu Yao’s question.

“Having gone through body-tempering for nearly three months now, this level of intensity no longer holds much challenge for her, nor can it consume the spiritual qi she absorbs inside her body,” Feng Yang explained.

“So that is how it is.” Mu Yao gave a gentle nod.

Then she took Ah Jiu’s small hand and asked softly, “Are you hungry?”

“Hungry.” Ah Jiu replied to Mu Yao in a soft voice.

Likely because she could neither see nor cultivate, Mu Yao’s days seemed to have grown much longer. With nothing much to do each day, she decided to try stepping into the kitchen. Ah Jiu did not care for inedible cultivation pills, and as Feng Yang’s body-tempering regimen for her intensified, the little one’s appetite grew quite fast.

Naturally, she was growing taller quite quickly as well, and now she had reached just a little below Mu Yao’s waist.

“What would you like to eat today?” At first, it was merely a way to pass the time and train her hearing, but gradually Mu Yao found that cooking also held a unique charm of its own, and every day she began researching new recipes.

From her initial clumsy fumbling to her current mastery of the kitchen, she felt no inconvenience whatsoever despite being unable to see.

Yet she did not know that right from the very beginning of her cooking endeavors, Ah Jiu had been secretly following her.

In the beginning, Mu Yao was unfamiliar with the kitchen and would accidentally hurt or burn herself.

The little one watched all of this earnestly and remembered it, but since Master said Senior Sister did not want anyone to know when she got hurt, Ah Jiu kept it to heart and never mentioned to Mu Yao that she knew everything.

By now, Mu Yao had completely mastered her state of blindness. Even though she could not use her divine sense in her youth, she never felt there was any truly difficult moment.

Memories from before the age of five were far too hazy for Mu Yao; she only remembered a blinding fire and her parents and clan members being burned to death.

After coming to the sect with her master past the age of five, although she could not see, she never needed to do anything herself. The hardest part was back when Master taught her characters, but that experience was completely different from what she felt now.

Back then, she was young and ignorant; whatever Master said went. Nowadays, however, Mu Yao had gained a peaceful sense of stillness, quietly listening to and perceiving the various nuances around her.

Mu Yao, who was simmering soup in the kitchen, placed the other two dishes onto plates and soon heard the noisy commotion coming from outside.

She did not even need to listen closely to recognize the plaintive cries of spiritual beasts. Although Xiaoyao Peak only housed the three of them as master and disciples, every single day was extraordinarily lively.

It was either spiritual beasts wailing or spiritual souls aggrievedly crying out in grievances to Feng Yang.

Occasionally, other peers from the sect would also come looking for Ah Jiu. In short, Mu Yao had lived on Xiaoyao Peak for over a decade, yet she had never imagined that the peak could ever be this bustling.

Mu Yao let out a soft sigh. Her little junior sister was wonderful in every way, except for being truly too boisterous.

A boisterousness that sometimes gave Mu Yao a headache, as it was genuinely noisy.

Catching the aroma of the soup simmering in the kitchen, Mu Yao picked up a spoon to taste a little, deciding it was just about ready.

Before she could even go out to call for anyone, she heard the crisp voice of the little one coming from above her head. “Senior Sister, is it ready?”

Instinctively turning to face the direction of Ah Jiu, Mu Yao asked with a helpless tone, “Where did you sneak in from this time?”

“The window, hehe! Walking through the front door is too far.” Ah Jiu’s eyes curved into crescent moons, seeing absolutely nothing wrong with what she did.

She remembered the layout of the kitchen; coming in through here would not disturb any of her senior sister’s things.

With that, she planted her two little hands on the windowsill and vaulted straight into the kitchen.

Hearing the sound of her landing, Mu Yao said, “If Master finds out, you are going to get a beating again.”

“Master went to find Martial Uncle and is not here.” Ah Jiu stood on tiptoe to peek at the dishes above, inhaling the rich aroma. “Senior Sister is amazing, it smells so good.”

As she spoke, her stomach chimed in cooperatively with a loud rumble.

Mu Yao ladled out the soup. “Wash your hands and carry it out yourself.”

Ah Jiu obediently nodded. “Alrighty.”

She went to wash her hands clean, then carried the food out to the table.

With Feng Yang putting her through medicinal baths and body-tempering every day, over the span of three months the little one had undergone quite a transformation, gaining a significant boost in physical strength at the very least.

Ah Jiu arranged the bowls and chopsticks, waiting for Mu Yao to come out. The moment Mu Yao sat down, Ah Jiu picked up her chopsticks, grabbed a piece of meat, and knelt halfway on her chair to feed it directly to Mu Yao.

“Senior Sister, eat first.”

Catching the appetizing fragrance right under her nose, Mu Yao knew right away that the little one was feeding her again.

At first she felt somewhat unaccustomed to it, but to Ah Jiu, this seemed to be the most natural thing in the world. After it happened many times, Mu Yao simply gave up trying to object and yielded directly to her.

Ah Jiu fed Mu Yao a bit of every single dish before finally starting to eat herself.

Since Mu Yao could not see, Ah Jiu would tell her precisely which dish was placed in which spot, and once told, Mu Yao could accurately pinpoint the corresponding location once again.

In the past, she never felt any major difference between these foods and cultivation pills, as both merely served to fill the stomach, and cultivation pills were even more convenient for Mu Yao.

Yet ever since her little junior sister developed a sweet tooth and grew fond of these foods, Mu Yao gradually began to sense something different.

Feng Yang had a carefree personality and tended to overlook many details, but her little junior sister did not. Despite her young age, she always seemed eager to take care of Mu Yao.

Ah Jiu quite liked the dishes Mu Yao cooked and always gave her face by eating everything clean every single time.

Today was no exception. When Feng Yang returned, she saw that only a single piece of chicken meat remained on the plate upon the table.

Just as Ah Jiu reached out with her chopsticks, preparing to snatch it up, Feng Yang showed zero consideration for protecting her disciple, reaching out directly to grab that piece of chicken and eating it herself.

Ah Jiu spun around, glaring discontentedly at Feng Yang. “Master is snatching food again!”

“The two of you started eating without waiting for me to come back, you are not cute at all,” Feng Yang ungratefully retorted.

In the past, not knowing her eldest disciple had such culinary skills, she hadn’t craved it. But now, watching her eldest disciple whip up all sorts of creative dishes for her little disciple every single day, how could she not drool?

“It was Master who insisted on going out!” Ah Jiu pouted in dissatisfaction.

That aggrieved little expression made it look as though she had been robbed of something immensely precious.

“Alright, alright, it is just a piece of chicken. Next time I will catch a few red-feathered chickens for you and keep them raised in the back mountains.” Though Feng Yang was strict with Ah Jiu on ordinary days, she still spoiled her disciples quite a bit when all was said and done.

“Master said it herself, no taking it back. Ah Jiu is remembering every word.” Though the little one was small, she certainly had a steel trap for a memory when it came to things like this.

Aside from reading and studying characters where she could never seem to remember anything, she remembered everything else just fine.

“Remembered, remembered, I won’t go back on my word,” Feng Yang hurriedly promised, and only then was Ah Jiu coaxed back into a good mood.

Mu Yao let out a soft laugh. “The tricks Master used to coax me, my second junior sister, and my third junior sister in the past simply will not work on our little junior sister,” Mu Yao chimed in playfully.

Feng Yang felt a headache coming on; none of these disciples of hers were easy to deal with.

After the meal, Feng Yang headed off to the study pavilion on business.

With Wu You not coming today, Ah Jiu was granted a rare holiday. Mu Yao sat beneath the shade of the trees, listening to the whispering wind and the gentle sound of falling leaves.

Noticing the guqin nearby, Ah Jiu walked over to Mu Yao’s side and nudged against her affectionately.

“Senior Sister, shall I tell you a story?” Ah Jiu cooed coaxingly.

“What are you trying to trade for this time?” Having spent so much time with her, how could Mu Yao not see right through her little schemes?

“Can Senior Sister play the qin for me?” She had heard it once before and thought it sounded wonderful, but afterwards her senior sister never played again.

Seeing it today, Ah Jiu wanted to hear her senior sister play the qin once more, which was why she wanted to use a story as currency.

Mu Yao smiled and softly agreed. “Alright.”