The Master Always Thinks I Have Improper Intentions Toward Her - Chapter 4

Shen Qingchen didn’t react for a moment: “What?”

Nangong Jiang flicked her cigarette ash and looked at her earnestly, speaking with a serious tone: “Don’t hide it from me anymore, Qingchen. She even has the access token to your residence. Just how far… how far have you two progressed?”

“I gave her the token last night. Is there something wrong with that?” Shen Qingchen still didn’t grasp her meaning, only asking: “Senior Sister, how is her condition? How exactly does she need to be treated?”

Seeing her acting like a stubborn block of wood that refused to understand, Nangong Jiang said anxiously: “Her illness isn’t the issue! The key right now is you!”

“Me?” Shen Qingchen asked. “What’s wrong with me?”

“What’s wrong? I should be asking you! What happened last night? Why did you give her the token?” Nangong Jiang said with a taut face. “With such a major development, I can’t just turn a blind eye. I must control every detail. Come, tell me everything that happened from last night until now in great detail. I want to properly appreciate, no, properly scrutinize it!”

Seeing her serious expression, Shen Qingchen realized she wasn’t joking. She truthfully explained everything that had happened. Afterward, she asked: “Does this have anything to do with her illness?”

Nangong Jiang remained silent.

“Senior Sister?”

“Wait, I’m thinking.” Nangong Jiang hadn’t expected the story to lack the “scenery” she had imagined, so she was forced to look for loopholes: “Qingchen, have you ever considered that if she wanted to ask for guidance, she wouldn’t need to go to your residence at all? You two could have met anywhere else.”

Shen Qingchen paused, then said: “That’s true.”

“Why did she happen to appear by the abyss at that exact time? Why did she happen to faint right then? Why did she almost touch that book just before you walked in? And why, the next day, did she happen to say the word ’tissue’?”

Nangong Jiang stood up and paced back and forth a few times, saying in a low voice: “All of this is too coincidental. It’s as if there’s an invisible hand pushing you two together. Don’t you think?”

Hearing this, Shen Qingchen indeed felt it was quite coincidental. She asked: “Is Senior Sister implying that Jiang Qianxun is a spy sent by the Demon Realm, deliberately using this method to get close to me so she can find an opportunity to strike?”

So, the ‘strike’ Senior Sister mentioned meant this?

That wasn’t what Nangong Jiang meant at all, and she had no idea how Shen Qingchen had interpreted it that way. However, she wasn’t surprised, she knew her friend had always been incredibly dense regarding emotions. Even after trying countless methods, she couldn’t help Shen Qingchen “exit her single status” it had almost become a personal obsession for her.

Her intention with that speech was to make her understand the concept of “destiny,” but somehow it had turned into “spy infiltration.” She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

She sighed: “If she really were a spy, would she not even know how to cultivate?”

Shen Qingchen hesitated: “Then what do you mean…”

“Alright, I’m too tired to argue with you.” Nangong Jiang sighed again. “Anyway, her illness requires clearing the congestion and rebuilding her spiritual veins. You’ll be responsible for the internal energy circulation part. As for the pills to repair the spiritual veins, leave those to me. Take note, she cannot cultivate at all during these few days. She can only use spiritual power once she is fully recovered.”

“Understood,” Shen Qingchen said.

“You’re responsible for looking after her. I’ll send word to the academy to request a leave of absence for her,” Nangong Jiang added. “You aren’t busy these days, are you?”

Shen Qingchen thought for a moment and said: “The area around the barrier needs to be investigated once more, but other than that, there’s nothing else.”

“That’s not difficult. I’ll have Lianyu and the others from the Disciplinary Committee go,” Nangong Jiang said. “Concentrate on treating your disciple, don’t worry about anything else for now.”

“Fine.” Knowing the illness wasn’t difficult to treat, Shen Qingchen felt her heart relax slightly. Thinking it inappropriate to just leave, she engaged in small talk: “I heard the Disciplinary Committee is returning from the Azure Secret Realm. I assume Lianyu’s cultivation has improved again.”

“Yes, the child is diligent and has good talent. In that regard, she takes after her second mother, so I’m not worried at all.” Nangong Jiang rubbed her forehead. “It’s just that eldest-miss temper of hers that’s a real headache. Causing trouble and offending people are minor things, but if she continues to be so spoiled and arrogant, who will want her in the future?”

“Lianyu is highly talented and has the affection of you and Sister Surao,” Shen Qingchen remarked. “She’s still young, why worry about such things so early, Senior Sister?”

“If I don’t worry, she’ll end up delayed just like you,” Nangong Jiang shot her a look. “I’m telling you, you should think about your own lifelong matters. Even though cultivators like to say they are ‘devoted to the Path,’ ascension is never certain. If you’re destined never to see that day, are you just going to grow old alone?”

The conversation had circled right back to this topic.

Shen Qingchen had a feeling of “I knew it.” Although she knew her Senior Sister meant well, hearing it so often truly made her ears feel calloused.

“Alright, alright, we were talking about Lianyu. Why did it turn back to me?”

“Lianyu is still young, but what about you?” Nangong Jiang said. “You’re not exactly young anymore. For cultivators your age, their children are already running all over the place. Only you have no family, so you end up as the Sect Master, busy with official business.”

“Senior Sister…”

While Nangong Jiang was nagging incessantly on one side, Jiang Qianxun was in a miserable state on the other. She waited and waited, but no one came. Her heart grew colder as time passed. Eventually, she stopped looking toward the door and simply lay on the bed, closing her eyes to await death.

When Nangong Lianyu returned, this was the scene she encountered. She had originally intended to go to the front hall to report good news to her mother, but when she passed the back hall, she saw someone lying on the sickbed. The person was sprawled out, sleeping like a log.

“Why are you here alone?” Nangong Lianyu walked closer to look. The person looked familiar, so she asked casually. Anyone qualified to seek medical treatment from her mother was no ordinary person, at the very least, they needed a high-ranking referral. This person was alone, which clearly didn’t fit the norm.

“What does it have to do with you?” Jiang Qianxun didn’t even open her eyes.

When a person thinks they are about to die, their words aren’t necessarily kind, they might just be reckless. That was Jiang Qianxun’s current state. Elder Nangong’s earlier head-pat had already surprised her, and the fact that the discussion was taking so long led her to one conclusion, she was definitely beyond saving.

Since she was doomed, why hold back?

She didn’t care, but Nangong Lianyu was fuming.

She was a “Cultivator Gen 2” with an impeccable pedigree. Her mother was the legitimate daughter of a medical cultivation family, born into wealth and favor, and held a transcendent status as a Supreme Elder in the Lingxiu Sect.

Her second mother was the only daughter of the demon-slaying hero Su Hongyun. As the orphan of a martyr, no one in the world dared say a word against her. It could be said that her mother had saved the entire cultivation world, she herself was principled and ambitious, spending years championing the weak.

Nangong Lianyu, born of their union, possessed both the noble lineage of Nangong Jiang and the peerless reputation of Su Ruo. In the cultivation world, no one had a higher status.

Moreover, since she became the head of the Disciplinary Committee, she had handled every task given to her beautifully. She was beautiful and highly cultivated, one could say she had no flaws, and if she was a bit arrogant, it was considered justified.

In the past, she rarely even took the initiative to speak to others.

Who dared to give her such an attitude?

“Hmph, this is my home. You tell me what it has to do with me? You’re just an ordinary disciple. How did you get in here, let alone enter the inner rooms? Is it wrong for me to ask?” Nangong Lianyu spoke with pointed sarcasm, calling Jiang Qianxun a thief without using a single vulgar word.

Jiang Qianxun caught her meaning and opened her eyes.

She saw the other girl looking down at her with a look of mockery.

Jiang Qianxun immediately recognized who she was. This was Elder Nangong’s only daughter, a completely different species from ordinary disciples. The two of them had never had any intersection, let alone any grievances, yet at their first meeting, the other was acting so overbearing.

She was tempted to fire back, but then she remembered she was here to ask a favor of Elder Nangong. If she got into a dispute with the daughter, it would be highly inappropriate. Suppressing her anger, she said: “I came with the Sect Master. They are speaking in the front.”

“Why should I believe you?” Nangong Lianyu wasn’t satisfied yet and continued to make things difficult for her on purpose: “The Sect Master is of such high status; is she someone you can just claim association with?”

“I…”

Before Jiang Qianxun could speak, she saw someone passing behind the moon gate two walls away, they would be entering shortly. Thus, she stopped talking to avoid being caught in a confrontation by the two elders.

But Nangong Lianyu didn’t have eyes in the back of her head. Not knowing anyone was coming and seeing Jiang Qianxun fall silent, she thought she had the upper hand. She said triumphantly: “Speechless, aren’t you? In my view, you’re a thief who came to steal. If I don’t search you for stolen goods today, I won’t let you leave this door.”

As she spoke, she hooked her finger, unzipping Jiang Qianxun’s spatial bag. The bag was yanked open, and its contents spilled across the floor.

Most of it didn’t matter, but among the items was the access jade token given by her Master. Jiang Qianxun treated it like a treasure and hurried off the bed to pick it up, but Nangong Lianyu noticed and snatched it into her hand first.

Jiang Qianxun said anxiously: “Give it back!”

Nangong Lianyu hadn’t seen clearly what it was, but she gripped it in her palm and refused to let go: “What’s your hurry? Once I’ve checked everything and confirmed it’s not stolen, I’ll return it to you.”

Jiang Qianxun was furious but couldn’t fight her. She could only lower her stance and plead: “Senior Sister Nangong, please give it back to me. That is the jade token my Master gave me, it’s more important than my life. I don’t have much time left, so why bother a dying person?”

When she said those words, Nangong Lianyu froze.

Right at that moment, Nangong Jiang and Shen Qingchen pushed the door open.

What they saw upon entering was Jiang Qianxun’s belongings scattered all over the floor, while she was looking down pitifully, begging Nangong Lianyu to return her things and what she wanted back wasn’t even her own property, but the access token given by her Master.

In truth, what was so precious about that object? There were as many as one could want.

But at a moment when she thought she was dying, what she said was “it’s more important than my life.” Let alone Shen Qingchen, who was her Master, even Nangong Jiang couldn’t help but wipe her eyes.

What a good child.

After wiping her tears, Nangong Jiang immediately took a deep breath and roared in fury: “Nangong Lianyu! You’re bullying other disciples again! If I don’t beat you to death today, I’ll take your last name!”

Amidst the chaotic scramble, Shen Qingchen looked at Jiang Qianxun.

The girl had already received the jade token and was clutching it tightly like a precious treasure. Sensing her gaze, she looked up and smiled at her, saying: “Master, I got the jade token back. Don’t worry.”

That smile was both sad and happy. Even while believing she was dying, she still held tight to the thing she had been given.

For some reason, Shen Qingchen’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.