The First Senior Sister Is Weak and Helpless - Chapter 8

After sending little Ah Jiu away, Mu Yao immersed herself in the cold spring, utilizing its extreme chill to suppress the rampaging fire spiritual qi raging within her body.

It was not until the first light of dawn that Mu Yao emerged from the cold spring. The fire spiritual qi within her was still not fully suppressed, and her eyes still throbbed slightly with pain, but she was nonetheless much better off than before.

She could no longer remain inside the cold spring either, because the chill of the cold spring was still too fierce, and given Mu Yao’s current cultivation level, she could not stay there for long.

As the sunlight fell upon her, Mu Yao reached out and happened to catch a ray of sunshine, while a gentle breeze blew a peach blossom petal down into the cold spring.

Mu Yao could hear the sounds of all this happening, but she could not see it.

Stepping ashore from the cold spring, Mu Yao raised a hand to grab Han Shuang, and then, with a pinch of her fingertips to form a hand seal, the moisture on her garments instantly dissipated into the heaven and earth.

A cyan blindfold covered those eyes, making it impossible to glimpse their full appearance.

Mu Yao walked slowly toward the Chengfeng Pavilion, and the moment she stepped inside, she sensed Ah Jiu’s presence.

Ah Jiu was sitting on the swing at the entrance of the Chengfeng Pavilion, surrounded by a brocade of blooming flowers that embraced her in their midst. The little one had an exquisite face, outshining all the flowers of the world, yet at this moment the little one’s expression was low and somewhat sorrowful.

“Why are you sitting here?”

Hearing that familiar and gentle voice, Ah Jiu immediately lifted her head, looking toward the entrance in surprise.

“Senior Sister, you are back!” Mu Yao walked over to her, reaching out to ruffle her hair. “Mm, Senior Sister never left, I only returned to my own dwelling.”

“Senior Sister’s own dwelling, is it that place from yesterday?” Ah Jiu tilted her head upward to ask her.

Mu Yao gave a gentle nod. “Yes.”

Ah Jiu hopped down from the swing, extending her two small hands to grip Mu Yao’s hands tightly. “Senior Sister’s hands are so cold. Ah Jiu will warm them up for Senior Sister.”

Upon hearing this, Mu Yao was slightly stunned at first, then squatted down and broke into a bright smile.

Ah Jiu rarely saw Senior Sister smiling like this. Usually, Mu Yao always wore an expression devoid of joy, sorrow, or worldly desires, to which Ah Jiu had grown accustomed. Now, suddenly seeing Senior Sister smile so brilliantly, the little one was momentarily dazed.

“Hmm?” Seeing that she remained silent and unmoving for a long time, Mu Yao tilted her head slightly.

“Senior Sister looks the most beautiful when she smiles!” Ah Jiu said with some excitement.

Mu Yao withdrew her hand from the child’s grasp. “Senior Sister is not cold. Ah Jiu does not need to warm Senior Sister up.”

“But,” Ah Jiu instinctively felt that something was amiss, and a pair of bright, sparkling eyes looked earnestly at Mu Yao, “Senior Sister’s hands are always so icy.”

“This is the cultivation technique Senior Sister practices,” Mu Yao said softly.

“What is that?” Ah Jiu felt curious for the first time.

“When Master returns, Master will teach Ah Jiu cultivation, and by then Ah Jiu will understand.” Mu Yao stood up and moved slightly further away from her, fearing that the chill radiating from her body might freeze the little one.

“Senior Sister will be in seclusion for the next few days. Shall Senior Sister take Ah Jiu to Dan Peak to play with Senior Sister Yue Yue?” Mu Yao asked softly.

“Where is that?” Little Ah Jiu truly had not yet been to Dan Peak, because Mu Yao herself did not like running around everywhere, let alone dragging little Ah Jiu along with her.

“It is where your Senior Sister Yue Yue lives,” Mu Yao simply explained to her.

“Alright then.” Children were easily swayed after all, and as soon as Mu Yao mentioned it, Ah Jiu forgot what she had originally wanted to ask.

Mu Yao beckoned to a fire spirit, and the sensible little creature darted straight into Ah Jiu’s arms.

Then, Mu Yao summoned the spiritual crane. Ah Jiu looked at the spiritual crane with extraordinary wonder. “Senior Sister, is this a spiritual crane? Is it the same spiritual crane that flew past from the sky earlier?”

“Yes. From now on, whenever Ah Jiu wants to go to other places in the sect, she can sit on its back to get there.”

“Then can I give it a name?” Ah Jiu asked excitedly.

“What name do you want to give it?” Mu Yao asked with good-natured patience.

“Let’s call it Maomao.”

“Why call it Maomao?” Mu Yao asked Ah Jiu with confusion.

“Because it has so much fur on its body.”

Mu Yao: “…”

Ah Jiu stated it with such matter-of-fact confidence that for a moment Mu Yao found herself unable to refute it.

“Call it whatever you like since you enjoy it.” Mu Yao did not argue with her either.

Ah Jiu turned her head and tilted it at Mu Yao. “What Ah Jiu likes the most is Senior Sister, you know.”

Hearing such a straightforward declaration from the little one, Mu Yao actually felt a bit embarrassed. Neither Master nor her other two junior sisters would ever speak in such a manner.

“Mm, Senior Sister knows. Will Ah Jiu try climbing up by herself now?” Mu Yao coaxed her.

“No, Senior Sister, hold me.” Ah Jiu said coquettishly.

Mu Yao sighed. She walked a few steps closer, but before she even reached out her hand, she saw the little fire spirit shivering.

Ultimately, she took two steps back instead. “Senior Sister is feeling a bit unwell and cannot hold Ah Jiu. Be a good girl, Ah Jiu, and climb up by yourself.”

Ah Jiu blinked her eyes twice, then obediently nodded. “Alright.”

Mu Yao watched her climb up by herself, and then she herself drove Han Shuang toward the direction of Dan Peak.

However, the moment she channeled her spiritual qi, a trail of ice sculptures was left behind wherever Han Shuang had just swept past.

Ah Jiu sat atop the spiritual crane. The crane’s speed was much slower than Mu Yao’s, and the little one simply watched as Senior Sister coughed ahead of her, looking exceptionally frail.

The little child did not yet understand what frailty meant, but she immediately became much more well-behaved, knowing that Senior Sister must surely be sick.

Mu Yao brought Ah Jiu to Dan Peak. The Dan Peak elder was in seclusion, and recently Nan You was bustling about with goodness knows what inside her dwelling cave, not showing her face at all. There were only a few ordinary disciples cultivating on Dan Peak, making a total of just six or seven people including Yue Yue.

The grounds of the Tianqing Sect were quite vast, and the scenery was exceptionally beautiful. It was Ah Jiu’s first time going to Dan Peak, and all along the way she was captivated by the various sights, gasping in amazement at every turn.

“Senior Sister, there is a rainbow bridge over there! It is so pretty!” The moment Ah Jiu grew excited, she began calling out to Mu Yao.

Hearing her words, Mu Yao did not have much of a reaction. She had never seen the panoramic view of the sect because her divine sense could not cover such a vast area; even now, it could only barely cover the entire Chengfeng Pavilion, let alone see the full appearance of Xiaoyao Peak.

Seeing that Mu Yao did not reply, Ah Jiu belatedly realized that Senior Sister could not see.

“There is a rainbow, a waterfall, and trees.” Ah Jiu described it earnestly to Mu Yao. Although the little one’s description was very simple, Mu Yao still involuntarily conjured a magnificent scroll of scenery in her mind.

“It is truly lovely,” Mu Yao said softly.

Ah Jiu opened her arms and nodded happily toward Mu Yao. “Mm-hmm, it is very lovely!”

Traveling from Xiaoyao Peak to Dan Peak did not take long. When Mu Yao brought Ah Jiu over, Yue Yue, who was currently grinding medicinal powder, looked rather surprised.

“Eldest Senior Sister, why are you here?” Yue Yue put down her work and ran right over.

“I will be entering seclusion recently, and Ah Jiu has no one to care for her, so I can only trouble you all for a few days,” Mu Yao stated truthfully.

Yue Yue looked Mu Yao up and down. “Eldest Senior Sister, has your condition worsened again?”

“It is not an illness,” Mu Yao said with a hint of stubbornness.

Yue Yue looked at her with puzzlement. “Senior Sister Nan You said that whenever the body feels uncomfortable, it counts as being sick.”

Mu Yao was momentarily unable to refute this. “Then I suppose it is.”

“In any case, sorry to trouble you with caring for Ah Jiu for a few days. Here are ten superior-grade spiritual stones.”

Yue Yue hurriedly waved her hands. “There is no need, Senior Sister. Ah Jiu is very well-behaved; she is no trouble at all.”

“I do not know how long this seclusion will take, so let these serve as Ah Jiu’s provisions.”

Hearing her say this, Ah Jiu reached out to grab a spiritual stone, and the moment she grabbed one, she popped it straight into her mouth to bite it.

At first she could not bite through it, and Yue Yue chuckled at her from the side. “Little Ah Jiu, this is not something to be bitten; you cannot bite through it.”

As soon as those words fell, a crisp snap was heard as a tiny baby tooth along with a small piece of a superior-grade spiritual stone popped out together.

Yue Yue stared at her in sheer disbelief. “You actually bit a piece off? What kind of teeth do you have?”

Hearing this, Mu Yao felt a mix of astonishment and a headache coming on.

She moved slightly closer to Ah Jiu and tapped her head lightly with a tree branch. “Did I not teach you that you cannot casually mess with Senior Sister’s things?”

As a result, Ah Jiu refused to listen and burst into tears right then and there, while blood even began to ooze from her mouth as she cried.

“Eldest Senior Sister, Ah Jiu’s tooth fell out.”

Mu Yao truly could not help letting out a sigh. In the end, she still had to squat down to soothe Ah Jiu.

Once Ah Jiu stopped crying and Yue Yue helped her clean up the wound slightly, Mu Yao gently pinched her little hand. “Have you learned your lesson?”

“I learned it.” While nodding, she kept hiccuping with sobs, but Mu Yao could not summon the slightest shred of pity. This little thing always claimed to have learned her lesson right then and there, only to turn around and forget everything.

“Alright, Senior Sister will be going into seclusion these days. Be a good girl.”

“What is seclusion?” Ah Jiu asked with curiosity.

Before Mu Yao could figure out how to answer, Yue Yue answered for her first. “Eldest Senior Sister is going to recuperate from her illness.”

Hearing that, Ah Jiu behaved obediently again. “Then Ah Jiu will not cry anymore. Will Senior Sister get better then?”

Hearing her words, Mu Yao let out a soft laugh. “Senior Sister’s seclusion has nothing to do with Ah Jiu.”

“Then Senior Sister, come back quickly.” Ah Jiu let go of Mu Yao, thought about it for a moment, and then turned back to plant a kiss right on Mu Yao’s face.

Feeling the little one’s warm, soft lips against her cheek, Mu Yao froze completely. She seemed to still be able to feel the warmth of that soft little mouth even as she stepped onto her sword to leave.

She reached out and touched her own cheek, letting out a soft laugh. The little one was actually quite cute when she was not acting mischievous.

Before leaving, Yue Yue handed Mu Yao a bottle of pills. “Senior Sister Nan You said this might help Eldest Senior Sister, and asked you to give it a try.”

“Alright, many thanks.” Although Nan You always had all sorts of bizarre ideas, she would never joke with the lives of those close to her, and she truly was an exceptionally talented alchemist.

Returning to the Jixue Pavilion, Mu Yao set up a barrier outside the cold spring, swallowed a pill, and stepped into the cold spring once more.

This time, Mu Yao’s seclusion lasted for an entire year. Throughout this year in the cold spring, she was frequently caught in the dual torment of ice and fire. Not only did her symptoms fail to improve, but the fire spiritual qi within her body seemed even more active than before.

Yet perhaps misfortune and fortune relied upon each other. Although the fire spiritual qi had grown more active, Mu Yao was also on the verge of breaking through to the Earth Soul Realm.

She simply always felt that she was still falling just a fraction short.

Meanwhile, this span of a year was more than enough for little Ah Jiu to wander all across the entire Tianqing Sect and become thoroughly familiar with everyone within it.

Now, everyone knew that Xiaoyao Peak had an eccentric and clever little junior sister who was smart, adorable, full of wild ideas despite her tender age, and of course, perfectly capable of bullying others despite her tender age as well.

What Mu Yao least expected was that when she finally came out of seclusion, not only had Master returned, but the little junior sister who was previously only slightly mischievous had directly turned into a havoc-wreaking demon.