When the Immortal Venerable Picked-Up the Demon Cub - Chapter 37

Zhu Ning had always held firm to her preconceived notions about villains, but after spending the past few days with Lin Xiayan, she realized that Lin Xiayan wasn’t the irredeemable evil she’d imagined. Becoming a villain likely stemmed from her own reasons.

As the saying goes, even the most hateful person has a pitiable side.

Back at Mùdōng Courtyard, the junior disciples had already lit the lamps, welcoming their mistress’s return.

Lin Xiayan wore a charmingly sweet expression as she entered the courtyard, but the moment she stepped inside, her face clouded with worry, her mood shifting faster than flipping a page.

Zhu Ning was even more focused. The moment she entered Mùdōng Courtyard, she began searching for the ancient texts. Now she understood the advantage of being a bookworm: when you needed to research something, you’d never lack resources.

The books were categorized into various types: manuals on martial techniques and swordplay, records of demonic ghosts and evil spirits, and detailed local gazetteers. Zhu Ning pulled them all out, arranging them neatly on the desk. Lin Xiayan, clutching a pillow, walked over, her face registering shock.

“What’s this? Are you planning to stay up all night?” Lin Xiayan tossed the pillow back onto the bed, strode over to Zhu Ning with her long legs, and leaned down to whisper in her ear.

Zhu Ning had been deep in thought, worrying about the upcoming journey down the mountain, when Lin Xiayan’s sudden shout startled her back to reality.

“I don’t even know if I’ll get any sleep,” Zhu Ning said, frowning as she flipped through the book. The densely packed characters, lacking modern typesetting, were cramped and hard to read. “But I feel like we need to be fully prepared, especially since my cultivation hasn’t completely recovered yet.”

Thankfully, the candlelight was bright enough to prevent Zhu Ning from straining her eyes. She held the book close to the flame, studying it for hours, occasionally discussing passages with Lin Xiayan.

Realizing how late it had gotten, Zhu Ning looked up. “Aren’t you going to sleep?”

Lin Xiayan shrugged, turning up the candle flame and leaning closer to the book. “Demons never need sleep, you know that, right? I was just passing the time earlier.”

Not wanting to seem ignorant, Zhu Ning buried herself back in the books, feeling like she was cramming for a test the night before school started after winter break.

Though the books were difficult to read, they contained authentic accounts of folk tales and detailed descriptions of demonic ghosts and evil spirits. As Zhu Ning read deeper into the night, a chill ran down her spine, and she ended up holding Zhōng Yuè close in her arms.

Zhu Ning didn’t miss a single word. She even found a cloth bag and packed in the books she thought would be most useful, then returned to the towering stack.

She didn’t just skim through them; she categorized everything in her mind. Though she couldn’t memorize every detail, she now had a decent grasp of the various demonic ghosts and evil spirits.

When she glanced at the horizon, she saw the sky was already beginning to lighten. This all-night cram session had been remarkably productive. At least now, she felt confident that if she saw a vengeful ghost or monster, she could likely guess its name and what it feared most.

“Get some sleep. We’ll leave in the afternoon. I’ll wake you later, and we can keep studying,” Lin Xiayan said firmly, taking the books from Zhu Ning’s hands. Her expression remained unchanged as she gently but firmly guided Zhu Ning to lie down on the bed, while she continued organizing the books.

Watching Lin Xiayan, Zhu Ning felt a warmth spread through her heart. Xiayan wasn’t a bad person after all. The Xiayan in the original novel seemed so different.

Zhu Ning resolved not to let preconceived notions cloud her judgment. She trusted her own eyes to discern the truth.

With these thoughts, Zhu Ning slowly drifted off to sleep, her eyelids heavy with exhaustion. It was clearly the aftermath of staying up all night. Lin Xiayan watched the sleeping Zhu Ning, her expression gradually shifting. With a wave of her hand, she neatly arranged the scattered scrolls into a stack and began reviewing them one by one, using a magical technique to force herself to memorize the contents. During this trip down the mountain, she couldn’t openly display her true cultivation level and would have to rely on other methods to create a diversion. The Yun Cang Mountain records were remarkably detailed, even more comprehensive than Lin Xiayan herself had ever realized.

After a long stretch of silence, a knock echoed at the door of Mùdōng Courtyard. Lin Xiayan, immediately alert, transformed back into her child form and rushed to open the door. Before she could even see who it was, she hissed, “Keep your voice down. Honored Master is sleeping.”

When she finally looked up, Lin Xiayan recognized the visitor as Su Mi, who had been injured just yesterday. Su Mi’s eyes flickered noticeably when she heard Zhu Ning was hurt, and she unconsciously glanced inside.

“What do you want?” Lin Xiayan snapped, dropping all pretense of politeness. Her tone and gaze turned icy in an instant.

Su Mi wished she could grow taller to block Lin Xiayan’s path. Realizing something was wrong, she quickly stopped. “I… I came to see Honored Master off. Isn’t she leaving this afternoon?”

Lin Xiayan found Su Mi’s timid demeanor irritating. She grabbed Su Mi and pulled her inside, then quietly closed the wooden door, her chubby cheeks puffed out in an angry pout.

Su Mi didn’t bother explaining herself to a child. She stood awkwardly in the room, avoiding even glancing toward Zhu Ning’s bed.

As if Zhu Ning were some bewitching demon, Lin Xiayan thought disdainfully. She shot Su Mi a scornful look before asking, “Honored Master didn’t sleep at all last night. You wouldn’t want to wake her now, would you?” The pointed tone irked Su Mi, but she kept her voice down, found a seat, and waited earnestly for Zhu Ning to wake up.

“I’m Honored Master’s first disciple,” Su Mi finally said with a hint of defiance. “I have more right to be here than anyone else.” She poured herself a cup of tea, as if Lin Xiayan had stolen everything from her.

Lin Xiayan disdained arguing with Su Mi. Zhu Ning had been incredibly sensitive to noise the previous night, and Xiayan had no desire to quarrel with Su Mi now. She simply hoped Su Mi wouldn’t be ungrateful, especially considering the Immortal Bone within her…

As Lin Xiayan thought this, a contemptuous smile curled her lips. Any lingering annoyance vanished. After all, why take a joke seriously?

Seeing Xiayan’s silence, Su Mi also kept quiet, still avoiding looking at Zhu Ning. They sat awkwardly for a long time. By the time Lin Xiayan had finished reading five scrolls and noon was approaching, Zhu Ning finally woke up.

“Female Protagonist?” Zhu Ning mumbled, still half-asleep, rubbing her eyes as she sat up. The words slipped out before she could think. Hearing Lin Xiayan and Su Mi’s puzzled questions, she instantly snapped awake!

Zhu Ning forced an awkward smile. She hadn’t expected to wake up with an extra person in the room. The exhaustion from staying up all night still weighed heavily on her body, and she didn’t want to move, so she remained huddled under the covers.

“Honored Master, were you dreaming just now?” Lin Xiayan broke the awkward silence first, rushing to sit beside Zhu Ning’s bed, her actions clearly staking her claim.

Su Mi wanted to chime in, but she couldn’t find an opening. She never could be sharp or witty around Zhu Ning, so she sat quietly, waiting for Zhu Ning to ask her something.

Zhu Ning, ever the master of balance, soon turned to Su Mi. “Is your injury feeling better? Feel free to use any of the herbs from Yun Cang Mountain. They’ll help you heal.”

Su Mi met Zhu Ning’s gentle gaze, her heart skipped a beat, and she found herself momentarily speechless. She nodded, then realized Zhu Ning was still looking at her. “It feels much better after a night’s rest, Honored Master. Please don’t worry about me. You’re the one who needs to be careful on this trip. Even with your profound cultivation, we don’t know what dangers lie beyond the mountain. You must be cautious, cautious, and cautious again.”

The words had barely left her lips when Su Mi realized she might have overstepped her bounds. Did her Honored Master really need a junior disciple to remind her of such things?

To her surprise, Zhu Ning didn’t scold her. Instead, she smiled and nodded, then pointed to a stack of books on the table, her tone almost childlike as she showed off. “Look, I stayed up all night cramming. I still remember so much! You just focus on resting and healing here on Yun Cang Mountain. Wait until you’re fully recovered before coming down to find us.”

Su Mi smiled and nodded, the awkwardness and unease in her heart melting away like mist. Lin Xiayan sat quietly beside them, seemingly indifferent to the conversation, but the way she gripped her sleeve betrayed her true feelings.

Zhu Ning wasn’t kidding. She got up, draped her cloak over her shoulders, and sat at the table, carefully flipping through the dusty books buried at the bottom of the pile. The more she read, the more engrossed she became. She even wondered if she’d studied this hard for the college entrance exams, could she have picked Tsinghua or Peking University without a second thought?

After lunch, Su Mi went back to take her medicine and rest. Lin Xiayan and Zhu Ning sat across from each other at the table in silence, the only sign of life being Lin Xiayan’s dangling legs.

By now, their competition had entered its second day. Yun Cang Mountain was eerily quiet, almost everyone having gone to watch the matches. Zhu Ning saw this as the perfect opportunity to slip down the mountain, avoiding the inevitable stream of people who would try to stop her.

As the sun dipped below the western peaks, it had been two days since the last snowfall. Zhu Ning stretched her limbs, packed her yellow cloth bag, and stood ready to leave, a small, round figure standing beside her.

Lin Xiayan had changed into a Yun Cang Mountain disciple’s white robe. Though it didn’t flatter her complexion as much as the red dress, she still looked stunning. Zhu Ning couldn’t help but steal a few extra glances.

The junior disciples of Mùdōng Courtyard knew Zhu Ning was leaving that afternoon. They skipped the competition and rushed back to help, but when they arrived, they found only a note on the table.

“Thank you for coming. We’ve already left. Remember to tell Su Mi to rest well.” The handwriting on the note was neat and elegant, conveying a great deal in just a few concise words.

The junior disciple ran to the path leading down Yun Cang Mountain and saw two white-robed women, one tall and one small, walking down the mountain. Against the vast, misty mountain scenery, they seemed utterly detached from the world.

“Where should we go first after we get down the mountain? It’s almost evening,” Zhu Ning asked, her steps labored. Despite being the Honored Master, she turned to Lin Xiayan for guidance, a gesture that, while out of character, perfectly reflected their dynamic over the past few days.

Lin Xiayan gazed down at Yun Cang Town below. Though called a town, it was quite large. All the residents around Yun Cang Mountain were considered part of Yun Cang Town, and with abundant land and resources, the population had grown accordingly.

An inn was essential, of course.

“Then let’s find an inn for the night,” Lin Xiayan said matter-of-factly. “We can figure out the rest tomorrow.”

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