When the Immortal Venerable Picked-Up the Demon Cub - Chapter 24

“Honored Master?” Su Mi, the female protagonist, called out to Zhu Ning as soon as she entered the room. The concern on her face seemed genuine until she saw Zhu Ning’s bloodstained inner robes, at which point her eyes turned completely red.

Zhu Ning didn’t know how to comfort people, and besides, it was inconvenient to say anything while lying in bed. She decided to continue feigning unconsciousness, leaning against the bedpost and breathing shallowly, a few strands of hair falling quietly like she had just stepped out of an ancient painting.

Lin Xiayan watched Su Mi enter with tear-filled eyes, a mocking smile playing on her lips. But since she was currently in the form of a child, she couldn’t openly sneer at Su Mi.

Su Mi knelt beside the bed, her green silk robes pooling on the floor, and began to pray softly, her sincerity evident in every murmured word. Lin Xiayan watched coldly, finding the display even more nauseating than a staged performance. She desperately wanted to yank Su Mi up and kick her out.

Before Lin Xiayan could finish her thoughts, Su Mi stood up and turned to her. “Honored Master is currently unconscious, but the three trials of the Grand Discipleship Ceremony will not be postponed. Only if you pass all three trials will a new date for the ceremony be set. How are your preparations going?”

Su Mi felt it wasn’t right to burden such a young child with these concerns. She chuckled self-deprecatingly, not expecting Lin Xiayan to reply. But Lin Xiayan spoke, her demeanor as the Young Lord of the Fox Clan unchanged, though her voice was now tinged with a childlike sweetness. “Senior Sister, don’t worry! I’ll definitely pass these little tests. But how many days until the Grand Discipleship Ceremony?”

Su Mi calculated the time, and both were shocked.

“That’s… tomorrow?”

Su Mi looked at Lin Xiayan with genuine concern. “Do you think you have enough time?” This time, her worry was sincere. After Yue Qing’s recent lesson, he wouldn’t be so harsh again, but the tests couldn’t be too easy if he wanted to maintain his authority.

Su Mi felt this was deeply unfair, but her voice carried little weight. She couldn’t say anything. She had come to check on Zhu Ning’s condition and mention this matter, only to learn this.

Zhu Ning remained unconscious, her mind already calculating furiously. She counted the days and realized Yue Qing’s deadline was indeed imminent. After her outburst, he probably wouldn’t make things too difficult. But she had never taught Lin Xiayan anything. Would the girl resort to cheating?

Su Mi had wanted to chat longer, but Lin Xiayan wasn’t very enthusiastic, seeming lost in thought. After Su Mi left, Lin Xiayan dropped her serious facade, leaned back in her chair, and drawled, “Honored Master, you can wake up now, right?”

Zhu Ning coughed awkwardly, her long lashes fluttering slightly. Her peach blossom eyes bloomed like the flowers themselves, the tears she’d shed earlier clinging to her delicate lashes like morning dew on tender branches.

“What are your thoughts on those trials designed to win everyone’s approval?” Zhu Ning asked, forcing herself to forget the embarrassing moment and change the subject.

Lin Xiayan propped her hand on the table, her gaze drifting downward as she replied nonchalantly, “What else? Just use some magic, right?”

Everything the child-like Lin Xiayan did was endearing. Zhu Ning felt a sudden urge to tease her, beckoning her closer with a flick of her finger. Lin Xiayan hesitated, glancing at Zhu Ning’s injuries before reluctantly shuffling over.

“What are you…” Lin Xiayan began, but before she could finish, she felt her head being vigorously tousled, her neatly arranged little buns falling into disarray.

Lin Xiayan sprang back ten meters like a startled kitten, her hair standing on end, glaring at Zhu Ning as if she had just been wronged.

Zhu Ning leaned against the bed, struggling to suppress her laughter at Lin Xiayan’s disheveled appearance. She was about to offer an explanation when her vision blurred. When it cleared, Lin Xiayan was lying on the bed in her red dress, casually watching the terrified Zhu Ning beside her. Suddenly, she burst into laughter.

“So this is how you react when you’re scared?”

“React how?” Zhu Ning tilted her head.

“It’s kind of cute,” Lin Xiayan mumbled awkwardly, her heart pounding for reasons she couldn’t explain.

The medicine Lin Xiayan had brought worked wonders. Zhu Ning felt a warm sensation slowly spreading from the wound, and her voice regained its strength.

As the moon hung high in the night sky, the weather grew colder despite the lack of snow. The room fell silent whenever they stopped talking, broken only by the howling wind and the clashing of the bare bamboo stalks outside. Zhu Ning stared nervously at the shadows cast by the bamboo, convinced that a night like this was anything but safe.

Fortunately, the soft sound of Lin Xiayan’s breathing beside her pulled Zhu Ning back to reality. I’m still useful to this big villain, she thought. She definitely won’t let anything happen to me! With this reassurance, Zhu Ning finally relaxed, closed her eyes, and focused her Divine consciousness on exploring the treasures within her Personal Pocket Dimension.

The Little Red Cat seemed to recognize Zhu Ning’s Divine consciousness as familiar. It had been curled up asleep, but when it sensed her presence, it immediately stood up and rubbed against her feet.

Zhu Ning was delighted. She knelt down, scooped up the cat, and cuddled it affectionately. The cat’s fur was soft and silky, and its warmth felt comforting against her skin. As she gently stroked the cat, she felt a sense of peace she hadn’t experienced in ages. Inside the Pocket Dimension, her injuries had vanished, and she felt no pain, only exhaustion.

Despite her weariness, Zhu Ning couldn’t suppress her smile. This secluded place, where she could be completely herself, was truly blissful. She didn’t have to restrain her expressions or movements, nor did she need to speak or interact with anyone. If her physical body weren’t still outside, Zhu Ning would have gladly stayed here forever.

After petting the cat for a while, Zhu Ning stood up and looked around. The Personal Pocket Dimension was neatly arranged like a small study, but instead of the usual brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, it held rare treasures and artifacts that might only appear once every few decades or even centuries.

Twelve swords of different styles lay neatly arranged on a reddish-brown wooden table. Their only common feature was their length.

As Zhu Ning examined them from end to end, she thought they might be related to the twelve zodiac animals. Remembering that Lin Xiayan’s trial was coming up soon and she still didn’t have a suitable Dharma Artifact, Zhu Ning recalled that Lin Xiayan hadn’t possessed any Dharma Artifacts in the original novel either.

“No, a major villain can’t go without a Dharma Artifact!” Zhu Ning’s sense of justice surged. She picked up the sword associated with the snake zodiac. As soon as she lifted it, she discovered that when not in use, the blade would become as soft as a rope, coiling around the user’s arm. Moreover…

“Other hands get cut just by getting close to the sword’s aura?” Zhu Ning stared at the cut on her hand, which healed almost instantly. Her Divine consciousness couldn’t detect the wound, but she feared…

“What happened to your hand?!”

As expected, before Zhu Ning could even react, Lin Xiayan cried out in alarm.

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