The First Senior Sister Is Weak and Helpless - Chapter 5

Mu Yao helplessly walked over and picked up the little one: “What are you running around for?”

She sat down holding little Ah Jiu, and as soon as she sat down, the restless little one started playing with her hair again.

Mu Yao began to think seriously about whether her little junior sister was also getting bored.

“The second and third junior sisters used to play with some little toys when they were small. Do you need them too?” Mu Yao poked the little one’s cheek and asked with a mix of entanglement and curiosity.

Naturally, such a tiny person did not understand what she was asking; she only knew to reach out and pull at the light gauze over Mu Yao’s eyes.

Though small, the little one grabbed things with quite a bit of force, pulling the light gauze right off Mu Yao’s face and then starting to play with it herself.

Mu Yao felt a slight sense of discomfort now that the cover on her face was gone, but she did not forcibly snatch it back from the little one’s hands. She simply kept her eyes closed all the while.

“What kind of small toy should I get you?” Mu Yao fell into deep thought. She felt it was very necessary to get her little junior sister something so she could play by herself; otherwise, having to accompany her to play all day long was simply too exhausting for her.

When Nan You came to look for Mu Yao after a month, she saw that Xiaoyao Peak had acquired many bizarre and eccentric things.

The moment she landed on Xiaoyao Peak, she saw Mu Yao practicing her sword techniques, as well as little Wen Jiu crawling up and down by herself.

Originally, the entire Xiaoyao Peak including Feng Yang only had four people. Feng Yang was frequently absent from the sect, and although Mu Yao’s second junior sister, Sang Zhi, and third junior sister, Jiang Si, each had courtyards on the peak, neither of them was currently on Xiaoyao Peak. Only Mu Yao, the resident child left behind, guarded the place.

On ordinary days, it was so desolate that even ghosts would not want to come.

The master and three disciples occupied a massive mountain peak, and no matter how large the dwelling caves were, they still felt empty.

Yet now, Xiaoyao Peak looked much more lively.

In another open, flat area, Mu Yao had constructed a place specifically for little Wen Jiu to play. This location was previously where she and her junior sisters practiced martial arts.

She had relocated the martial arts training ground elsewhere and brought out the residence that Feng Yang had previously given her to refine, setting it up right here. This residence was completely different from Jixue Pavilion, where Mu Yao currently lived, where the only touch of bright color was the patch of peach blossom forest that Mu Yao tended to like a treasure.

As for the Chengfeng Pavilion she created for little Wen Jiu, it was a scene of vibrant spring vitality. Mu Yao had even brought in those little spiritual beasts and spiritual grasses that had birthed a wisp of spiritual soul. She had no other intention than to let them accompany her little junior sister in play so that she could gain some free time for herself.

There was also a recreational place specially provided for the little one to crawl around everywhere, filled with all sorts of small trinkets.

When Nan You arrived, she happened to see little Wen Jiu crawling to the top of a small slope, with half her body poking out.

No matter how inexperienced Nan You was with raising children, she knew this height was quite dangerous for the little one. Yet Mu Yao seemed completely unfazed, letting the little one play there on her own.

Sure enough, little Wen Jiu accidentally fell off. Just as Nan You wanted to step in and help, she saw a breeze sweep by and catch little Wen Jiu. Nan You watched as several wind spirits supported her, and one even jumped onto her body, instantly amusing the little one into a fit of giggles.

Nan You had never imagined that these grass spirits could have such a use.

“You are bullying these spiritual souls.” Seeing that Mu Yao was fully prepared, Nan You put down her worried heart. Since Mu Yao, the actual senior sister, was not in a rush, what was she worrying about?

“These spiritual souls usually have no one to keep them company on Xiaoyao Peak and are bored all day long. Letting them accompany the little junior sister is killing two birds with one stone. Why not?” Mu Yao said without turning her head, continuing to practice her sword stances.

“Stop looking at that. You hug that broken sword of yours every day. What is so interesting about something so cold?” Nan You said with disdain when she saw her looking at the sword manual again.

Upon hearing this, Han Shuang on the table let out a dissatisfied sword hum.

“You are just a spiritual sword, yet you have quite a temper, the exact same virtue as your master.” Nan You reached out and tapped Han Shuang’s scabbard.

Han Shuang instantly grew even more dissatisfied, its blade sliding out of the scabbard with a disgruntled tremor.

Nan You reached out, grabbed the hilt, and pushed it back into the scabbard: “Alright, I know you take after your master.”

Mu Yao put down the sword manual and pressed her hand against Han Shuang: “What is the matter?”

“Nothing much, just wanted to ask if you have any interest in going hunting together.” Tianqing Sect was located on the edge of the cultivation world, surrounded by rolling mountains. Unlike other sects that had cities offering tribute, everyone in Tianqing Sect was extremely poor and could only go hunting themselves to acquire some spiritual stones or demonic beast cores.

Who asked Tianqing Sect to be a sect exiled by the cultivation world?

“The little junior sister has no one to care for her.” Mu Yao thought about it and still refused.

“Do you not have these spiritual souls here? If worst comes to worst, you can just have Yue Yue come over and keep an eye on her.” Nan You offered her an idea.

Mu Yao thought about it, and it was indeed feasible.

“Alright, I will tell Yue Yue and give her ten percent of my earnings.” Mu Yao and Nan You frequently collaborated like this. The two would go hunting together, and Nan You would refine the obtained materials into pills, then find some disciples who occasionally left the sect to sell those pills.

The disciples who helped sell the items took twenty percent, and the remaining was split fifty-fifty between Nan You and Mu Yao. Although Mu Yao was a sword cultivator, she could not say she had zero need for spiritual stones. After all, her master was away from home year-round, and Mu Yao had been afraid since childhood that one day she would have no spiritual stones to support her cultivation. Later on, with two extra little junior sisters, she grew afraid that her junior sisters would starve to death.

Even though she had no worldly desires of her own, she still had to raise her junior sisters. Coincidentally, Nan You approached her. Mu Yao had high cultivation as a sword cultivator, and Nan You possessed exceptionally high talent as an alchemist, while Mu Yao could also take the opportunity to train herself in actual combat. Thus, ever since Mu Yao was ten years old, the two had reached a consensus.

“Then it is settled. We will set off tonight. This time we need to hunt a Crimson Flame Monkey. This creature only comes out at night.”

“Mm.” Mu Yao nodded faintly. Seeing that chatting with this person was truly uninteresting, Nan You ran off to tease little Wen Jiu.

As a result, not long after, the little one who had been playing very nicely on her own began to cry. Hearing the little one’s cries, Mu Yao immediately put down her book, walked over with a massive headache, and rescued the little one from Nan You’s hands.

As soon as Mu Yao held her, little Wen Jiu rested her little head on Mu Yao’s shoulder, sobbing hiccupily as if still crying.

“If you have nothing to do, go tend to the spiritual grasses for the martial uncle. Do not bully Ah Jiu here.” Mu Yao’s tone carried a rare hint of displeasure.

Nan You did not mind her tone at all, and merely looked curiously at the green silk ribbon tied around little Wen Jiu’s arm: “Is this not the blindfold the martial uncle gave you? How could you bear to give it to the little junior sister? Weren’t you usually holding onto it like a treasure?”

“She insisted.” Mu Yao currently had no temper left for the little one. As long as she did not cry, it was fine.

Earlier, everyone in the sect and Mu Yao’s other junior sisters heard that martial uncle Feng Yang had brought back a little junior sister who was still an infant, and all of them were curious to come and take a look.

However, they were all afraid of Mu Yao, this eldest senior sister. The unfamiliar junior sisters only knew that the eldest senior sister had a cold temperament, disliked being disturbed, and was an ice-type sword cultivator with a peculiar personality.

Yet they were truly curious about what the little junior sister looked like, so some of them peeked over the fence to tease little Wen Jiu. Being children, it was inevitable that they did not know their boundaries, and after startling the little one into crying a few times, Mu Yao forbade anyone else from coming.

From then on, the eldest senior sister’s cold and fierce image became even more deeply rooted in the hearts of her peers within the sect.

Of course, the population of Tianqing Sect was never prosperous to begin with, consisting only of the few disciples personally taken in by the peaks’ respective masters.

Adding them all up, there were not even fifty people, and even this small number were all picked up from outside the sect, just as Feng Yang had picked up Mu Yao and her junior sisters.

After all, an exiled sect was not permitted to recruit disciples within the cultivation world. The disciples of this generation only knew this rule, and every disciple who went out on travels was strictly forbidden from mentioning the sect’s name, because Tianqing Sect was a sinner of the cultivation world. As for what kind of sin, Mu Yao did not know.

Moreover, the entire sect only spanned two generations, and neither Master nor Martial Uncle was willing to speak of it, leaving no one else in the dark who knew.

Yet the sect as Mu Yao understood it was entirely full of kind people. She likewise did not understand why Tianqing Sect became a sinner of the cultivation world, and it looked as though Master held no resentment regarding this matter either.

Since Master did not speak of it, Mu Yao did not investigate further. This matter was not very important to her. Even if Master truly stood as an enemy to the entire cultivation world, she was still the master who rescued her from the hands of the demon race, taught her cultivation, and raised her, and Tianqing Sect remained the home that offered her shelter.

Nan You watched as Mu Yao coaxed little Wen Jiu, seeing the little one cling exceptionally dependently in her arms: “You are certainly lenient toward this little one.”

Mu Yao kept a straight little face and said very seriously to Nan You: “I only ask that she does not cry.”

Little did she know that present-day little Wen Jiu might be at her most well-behaved state. Only in the future would Mu Yao come to understand what true noise and a demolition expert looked like.

At night, after coaxing the little one to sleep, Mu Yao had Yue Yue come over to keep an eye on her, and then she went out together with Nan You.

This trip lasted for three days. When she returned, before she had even stepped into the courtyard, she heard little Wen Jiu’s crying, along with Yue Yue’s helpless voice.

After releasing her divine sense, Mu Yao vaguely saw that all those spiritual souls were gathered around the little one, along with those spiritual beasts, and Yue Yue was also trying hard to coax her.

Yet the spoiled little one simply was not satisfied and insisted on crying.

When Yue Yue saw Mu Yao walk in, she looked as if she had seen a savior: “Eldest Senior Sister, you are finally back! Junior sister keeps crying and cannot be coaxed no matter what, unless she cries herself to sleep out of exhaustion or gets hungry and wants food.”

Mu Yao rubbed the space between her eyebrows and let out a soft sigh. What was this supposed to be?

Able to eat, sleep, and cry?

Mu Yao bent down to pick her up, and then softly hummed a little tune.

Hearing her voice, little Wen Jiu indeed gradually stopped crying and even began to smile.

She reached out her little hands to grab Mu Yao’s fingers, and Mu Yao let her grab them. As a result, the little thing went straight to biting the moment she caught hold.

Mu Yao felt that the force with which she was biting her finger seemed to have grown stronger, and it even felt a bit hard against her hand: “She is teething?”

While speaking, she probed inside the little one’s mouth with her finger, and sure enough, she had grown teeth.

“Eldest Senior Sister, why does the little junior sister only want you to hold her?” Yue Yue asked with a puzzled expression.

Mu Yao shook her head slightly: “I do not know.”

How could she possibly know why?

Yue Yue could not understand either. The Eldest Senior Sister clearly always kept a straight face, looking cold and approachable, yet the little junior sister stubbornly clung only to the Eldest Senior Sister.

The Eldest Senior Sister hummed songs to her, and she had hummed to her too!

After coaxing her for a while and seeing that she had stopped crying, Mu Yao dropped her back onto the ground and paid her no more mind.

She turned around and walked back into her courtyard on her own.

Yue Yue squatted down to watch little Wen Jiu, who had started playing by herself again, and then watched as she crawled into the water, got dragged up by a water spirit, and almost choked.

She tilted her head and poked the little junior sister’s head: “Eldest Senior Sister does not really manage her much either.”

She even felt that with the Eldest Senior Sister’s way of raising people, it was quite a miracle that the little junior sister could grow up safely at all.