The Master Always Thinks I Have Improper Intentions Toward Her - Chapter 3

The moment the thought arose, Shen Qingchen dismissed it.

Setting aside whether other worlds actually existed, even if they did, they wouldn’t necessarily be like those described in storybooks. To suspect someone’s origins based on such a small detail was too arbitrary and too rude.

Perhaps Jiang Qianxun had simply read that same storybook.

If she had read it, what would she think of it?

A slight ripple stirred in Shen Qingchen’s heart. This was her first time reading such a book, and she wondered if others felt the same desire to discuss their thoughts with fellow readers. If Jiang Qianxun really had read it, how did she view the two protagonists? Had she also been deeply immersed in it, unable to extricate herself?

She felt a faint surge of excitement, wanting to talk to her.

However, she soon realized this line of thinking was dangerous.

It wasn’t that discussing one’s thoughts was dangerous, it was that discussing them with this person was dangerous.

Setting aside the uncertainty of whether the other was a reader, their relationship made the topic inappropriate. She was the Master, and the other was the disciple. If she, as the Master, spoke to her disciple about a book themed around a forbidden Master disciple romance, no matter how innocent her intentions, it would inevitably be misconstrued as an intentional hint.

If Jiang Qianxun thought she was using the plot as a pretext to harass her own disciple…

Shen Qingchen broke into a cold sweat.

She had almost committed a grave error.

Jiang Qianxun leaned against the wall and rested for a while, finally regaining her strength. Just as she was about to say she was fine, she saw her Master’s face looking pale and her spirit unsettled, as if she had suffered some sort of shock.

She hurriedly stepped forward to support her. “Master, what’s wrong?”

To her surprise, before her hand could even touch her, the Master immediately avoided her with a subtle movement. Shen Qingchen flicked her sleeves and cleared her throat, saying, “It is nothing.”

“But you look…” Concern lingered on Jiang Qianxun’s lips, but her heart felt a faint sting of hurt. Her Master’s movement was clearly one of repulsion. Was it because she had just vomited?

But she had already cleaned everything up…

She didn’t know that Shen Qingchen was merely terrified by her own thoughts and didn’t dare have any contact with her for the time being. After all, the boundaries between Master and disciple were no small matter, unless necessary, it was better to minimize physical contact.

The two walked forward, each preoccupied with their own thoughts, separated by a distance.

The Mountain Protection Array was not at the bottom of the Dragon Trapping Abyss, rather, it was suspended in mid-air, level with the sect gate. Because there was still a significant distance to the valley floor, walking on it felt like treading upon a massive, unframed glass walkway.

Even for someone without a fear of heights, it was an unnerving experience.

Jiang Qianxun clung to the rock wall, feeling her way forward bit by bit, focusing her attention on the junction between the rock and the barrier to look for any damage.

She didn’t see any damage yet, but the thought of having to walk so far filled her with despair. The Dragon-Trapping Abyss was located behind the Lingxiu Sect’s mountains, a massive chasm that cut through the Immortal Realm. It was said that the portion belonging to the Lingxiu Sect spanned more than a dozen miles. On flat ground, a dozen miles was nothing, but walking that far on a transparent barrier was pure psychological torture.

Am I the only one whose legs feel like jelly?

She glanced toward the other side and saw Shen Qingchen walking gracefully, her steps light as if she weren’t even paying attention to the ground beneath her feet.

This, perhaps, was the confidence of the strong.

Jiang Qianxun felt that such a person must have no worries.

But she was different, her worries were as numerous as ox hairs. First, her cultivation had hit a bottleneck. Last night, she finally got the chance to ask for guidance but failed to seize the opportunity. On top of that, she was caught by You Caiwei, who demanded to know what she was doing after skipping class.

“What?”

“Everyone saw you riding a white qilin toward the Main Peak. Stop pretending. Out with it, since when did you become so close with the Sect Master?” You Caiwei was a gossip by nature and loved to get to the bottom of everything.

The two had been friends for years and had transmigrated into this book together, they shared almost no secrets. Jiang Qianxun recounted her experiences during the day, only omitting the fact that Shen Qingchen had given her a jade pass.

“Then didn’t you almost die?” You Caiwei showed a rare moment of concern but quickly smirked. “But you could say it’s a blessing in disguise. You’ve already made it into the Sect Master’s bedroom! Quick, tell me, what does it look like inside?”

“What could it look like? It’s just… a room,” Jiang Qianxun said. “Why do you care?”

“Provide me with some material!” You Caiwei said. “You have no idea how much I hate coming up with environmental descriptions. I have to rack my brain every time just to squeeze out a few dry sentences. Someone at the Sect Master’s level is even harder to imagine. I’ve never even seen it, it’s all based on my imagination.”

“Your novel again?” Jiang Qianxun asked.

“Yeah, it’s my only hobby. Back in reality, there were so many restrictions. Now that there’s no censorship, of course I’m going to write to my heart’s content.”

Jiang Qianxun gave a brief response and shared a few details but didn’t delve deeper. Despite their years of friendship, she had never actually read her friend’s novels and didn’t even know what genre they were.

Seeing how You Caiwei’s face lit up as she talked incessantly about her writing, Jiang Qianxun felt a sudden, inexplicable surge of envy. It had been the same back in reality, the people around her all had their own hobbies. Hobbies didn’t always create value, but they certainly provided happiness.

Only she seemed to know nothing but studying and working.

She suddenly recalled the moment before her brush with death earlier that day. She couldn’t think of a single reason to keep living. Her only regret was not ascending, but could “ascending” be considered a hobby? How could it be? No one takes a civil service exam as a hobby; such things don’t bring joy.

In this world, she had nothing she was attached to and no interests to pass the time. She was like a machine built only for learning, hollow, bland, and utterly devoid of interest.

She didn’t want to be like that.

She wanted to be like You Caiwei, to have a dream she could immerse herself in. This hadn’t been obvious before she faced death, but now it seemed so brilliant it was hard to look at directly.

But where should she even start?

As You Caiwei continued to chatter, a sudden inspiration struck Jiang Qianxun. Why not start with novels? What if she actually found them interesting?

“What kind of novels do you write? Can I read one?”

“What do you want to do?”

“Just read it.”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Just… no.”

You Caiwei’s expression became very strange, even defensive. Jiang Qianxun asked several more times but was never given permission.

“Why? Is it really that bad if I just take a look?”

“It’s not that… how do I put this? The closer the friend, the less you want them to see what you write. It feels incredibly awkward. My novels have… erotic descriptions. Letting you read them would be like stripping naked and letting you watch. It’s uncomfortable.”

Jiang Qianxun understood a bit.

It was like watching a kissing scene with your parents, your whole body would feel restless, and the awkwardness would be excruciating.

Fine.

Jiang Qianxun had no choice but to give up. She borrowed a book from someone else. The book was clearly self-made, with very crude binding. The title felt very old-school and smelled of melodrama: “The Overbearing Disciple Falls in Love with Me.”

After just one page, she suspected You Caiwei had written it.

Simply put, the concept of “transmigration into a book” couldn’t exist in ancient times, not to mention the vocabulary was peppered with modern terms.

Regrettably, she couldn’t get into it at all. After only two or three pages, she was so sleepy she drifted off. The next day, she groggily brought the book to the classroom, and while reaching for something else, it fell to the floor. She was caught red-handed by the Elder. In the end, unable to defend herself, she was kicked out by the furious Elder.

She ran to her secret base intending to cultivate, only to encounter Shen Qingchen as soon as she arrived. Naturally, she couldn’t let the other know why she had been kicked out, so she had to remain vague.

In her mind, her Master was a person of high integrity, untainted by the mortal world. Her eyes surely couldn’t tolerate anything “dirty,” let alone a smutty book.

She stared at the other, and the other turned back to look at her.

“What is it?” Shen Qingchen asked.

“Nothing.” Jiang Qianxun quickly withdrew her gaze.

Shen Qingchen watched her for a moment and noticed her movements were somewhat stiff, as if she were uncomfortable walking on the barrier.

Combining this with her performance while sword-flying, Shen Qingchen suspected she had a fear of heights. There was no solution for a fear of heights, she only blamed herself for not asking in advance and putting her in such a difficult position.

“Are you alright? Should I send you back?” Shen Qingchen asked.

She meant well, but to Jiang Qianxun’s ears, it sounded like a test.

“It’s fine, Master. I will work hard,” Jiang Qianxun said through gritted teeth. Even if it cost her life, she couldn’t give up halfway. Besides, it didn’t really require her life, it was just a glass walkway.

But how could her bravado hide anything? Seeing that she was unwilling to go back, Shen Qingchen had to change her approach. “Then I will come over. We shall walk on the same side, that way, you can feel more at ease.”

Jiang Qianxun was about to say it wasn’t necessary when she saw the other already stepping toward her. After spending the last two days together, she had discovered that Shen Qingchen was actually a very gentle person who was considerate of others’ feelings, it was only her cold, ethereal appearance that made people mistakenly think she was difficult to talk to.

What had she done to deserve such a Master?

If only she could become her Master’s personal disciple in the future.

Just as she was thinking this, she suddenly saw a sinister cloud of red smoke rising from a corner behind her Master. This was definitely no natural phenomenon, as it clung to the ground, rushing toward them silently and extremely fast.

“Watch out!” She suddenly lunged forward, pulling her Master aside to dodge the sneak attack, and quickly cast a Binding Spell.

But the smoke was not hindered by the spell. It arrogantly split into several streams, emerging from gaps above, below, left, and right, before merging back together to pounce on them.

That’s right, the Binding Spell only works on solids.

Jiang Qianxun’s mind raced, searching for a way to combat a smoke shaped demon. Generally, dealing with such things relied on Purification Beads or Anti-Poison Pills. The problem was, she couldn’t possibly have such high-level treasures or pills on her.

She had to find another way.

According to her limited knowledge of chemistry, smoke was a combination of solids and gases. Using methods meant for solids alone wouldn’t work. Against gas, the most effective method was water, only water could seal off air.

But water alone wasn’t enough. The Water Drawing Incantation could only draw a small amount of water, not enough to protect both of them. Even if it could, they wouldn’t survive without air.

Wait!

She couldn’t protect both of them, but she had enough to seal that poisonous smoke!

Jiang Qianxun stopped her dodging maneuvers and used the Water Drawing Incantation to wrap the poisonous smoke within a sphere of water. Then, she used a Freezing Technique to turn it into ice, blocking its path. After that, using a Demon Suppressing Curse made things much simpler.

There was almost no room for a pause between the use of these three techniques. If Jiang Qianxun hadn’t practiced them countless times in private until they became subconscious reactions, she certainly wouldn’t have been able to execute them so perfectly in actual combat.

After finishing, she turned back calmly. “Master, are you alright?”

Shen Qingchen shook her head, and only after a long pause did she speak. “…In which year did you enter the sect?”

“Three years ago,” Jiang Qianxun said. “There were three Heavenly Spirit Roots that year.”

“I recall. So you were one of them?”

“Yes. The other two are named You Caiwei and Ling Xuan.”

“Oh…” Shen Qingchen paused. “To be honest, I didn’t strike just now because I wanted to see how much you could do. I didn’t expect you to be even more composed than I imagined. In three years’ time, there are not many in this world who can fight so beautifully.”

Jiang Qianxun didn’t expect to receive such direct praise. She said in surprise, “Master, is that true?”

“I have no reason to lie to you.”

“But the other Elders don’t like me. They often kick me out of the classroom. I always thought…”

“There is no need to care about the opinions of others. If an Elder truly holds a prejudice against you and is intentionally retaliating, you can tell me, and I will resolve it for you.”

“No, no, Master. It is I who did not follow the rules and made the Elders angry. Please don’t cause conflict with the Elders for my sake; they are doing it for my own good.”

Shen Qingchen nodded. Seeing how sensible and tactful she was, her appreciation grew.

Seeing her Master was pleased, Jiang Qianxun quickly said, “Master, since everything I’m doing is correct, why has my cultivation speed slowed down?”

Shen Qingchen pondered for a moment. “How many hours do you cultivate each day? What is the intensity? Did it progress smoothly in the beginning?”

Jiang Qianxun said, “In the beginning, the progress was average. But after I became more diligent, my growth speed became faster and faster. I spend about eighteen hours a day cultivating. Sometimes I stay up a bit longer, reaching twenty hours.”

“Twenty hours…” Shen Qingchen was astonished. “Then do you only sleep for four hours?”

“Roughly. I haven’t reached the Inedia stage yet, so I have to set aside time for meals. Roughly… sleeping for three hours is enough.”

“No wonder it has become like this.” Shen Qingchen thought for a while. “May I feel your pulse?”

“Yes.”

Shen Qingchen used spiritual energy to form a thread, probing into her sleeve. After a while, she sighed. “A normal person’s cultivation speed should be consistent, without major fluctuations, unless there are treasures or techniques that can temporarily increase speed, but those shouldn’t become the norm. Otherwise, the world would be full of people who ‘drugged’ their way to ascension.”

Jiang Qianxun nodded but didn’t quite understand what the other meant.

“Your initial speed was your normal speed. Later, you relied on increasing intensity, even forgetting to eat and sleep, to trade for an increase in cultivation speed. It seemed like you were growing. Little did you know, it was at the cost of damaging your spiritual meridians. Your meridians are already damaged. Because of this, only a small portion of the vast spiritual energy you absorb can be used by you. The rest leaks out from the meridians and accumulates in various places around your pulse points.”

After a pause, Shen Qingchen said in a low voice, “If this is not treated, one day you will end up with ‘Stone Meridians,’ unable to cultivate at all.”

Jiang Qianxun fell silent.

She never expected such a thing.

She just wanted to be a bit more diligent and become an immortal sooner. How could she have burst her spiritual meridians and ended up full of “tumors”? If her Master hadn’t seen it, would she have really turned into a mortal, never able to become an immortal again?

Shen Qingchen also knew this was no small matter. “The inspection of the barrier can wait. I will take you to see a Medical Cultivator first.”

Jiang Qianxun’s mental state had already crumbled. She just nodded and followed her woodenly.

After a while, the two arrived at Qianyu Peak. Qianyu Peak was the residence of Nangong Jiang. She excelled in medicine and was very experienced in dealing with such difficult cases.

After explaining the situation, Nangong Jiang led Jiang Qianxun into the inner hall and probed her entire body with spiritual energy. “It’s much as you thought. Fortunately, it was discovered in time, there is still room for recovery.”

Only then did Jiang Qianxun feel her body warm up a bit. She hurriedly said, “Elder Nangong, is… is this easy to treat? Is there anything I need to do to cooperate?”

“You don’t need to worry about it. Leave this to us adults.” Nangong Jiang patted her head affectionately, then said to Shen Qingchen, “Come out. I have something to ask you.”

Shen Qingchen naturally obeyed. Before leaving the room, she nodded to Jiang Qianxun, telling her not to worry and that she would find out everything.

For some reason, seeing her nod made Jiang Qianxun feel inexplicably at ease. Actually, she was just a nominal inner disciple, not officially Shen Qingchen’s disciple. Yet, despite that relationship, the other was willing to run around for her sake and carefully soothe her emotions so she wouldn’t worry.

If she could overcome this hurdle, she would surely repay her with everything she had.

On the other side, after Shen Qingchen sat down outside, she saw Nangong Jiang lighting her tobacco pipe. The other was beautiful, and her movements while lighting the pipe were captivating, but every time she lit it, it meant she had encountered a difficult problem to solve.

Shen Qingchen’s heart sank. Could the truth be even worse than I thought, and she just didn’t want to say it in front of the patient?

“Senior Sister, just say what you have to say.” She took a deep breath and said solemnly, “No matter how serious the problem is, it must be spoken of before it can be resolved.”

“It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have done that back then. I shouldn’t have forced my preferences onto you.” Nangong Jiang exhaled a cloud of smoke. Amidst the swirling mist, her face carried a look of boundless desolation.

After a long time, she finally sighed. “I didn’t expect that you would actually… lay a hand on your own little disciple.”