Di Siyu stood quietly for a long time before he finally figured out his current situation.
It turned out that he and that heartless girl had both been picked up by an old man. As newly admitted disciples, the differential treatment was glaringly obvious.
He, this junior brother, possessed zero presence; if he hadn't spoken up, they probably would have forgotten he even existed.
Hearing this, the old man slapped his forehead with a loud smack. "Oh, right, right! We picked up a junior brother for you too. Look at my memory. Changkong, Junze, hurry up and help your junior brother down from the Flying Eagle. His injuries are quite severe, so be gentle."
Feng Ning also reacted belatedly, only now remembering that such a person existed.
She frowned slightly. In the original book, the Wanshou Sect only had four personal disciples, and there was no fifth senior brother at all.
Her entering the Wanshou Sect was purely an accident, but what about him? What role did he play in the original book?
She wasn't sure, but she would test him in a moment!
Helian Changkong and Bai Junze looked visibly and unmistakably reluctant.
"Having a junior sister is enough already. Why did you pick up a junior brother? Do we look like we're short on junior brothers?"
"Exactly, that's just another mouth to feed. You know very well what kind of state our sect's finances are in."
"..."
The two of them grumbled incessantly as they unceremoniously helped Di Siyu down from the Flying Eagle.
Seeing this, the old man hurriedly stepped forward to steady him. "Gentle, gentle, don't make his injuries worse. We'd have to spend money to hire an alchemist to treat him."
Di Siyu: "..."
"There's no need to spend money to hire anyone," he said, steadying his stance. "I'm an alchemist myself. I can heal my own wounds."
An alchemist? The old man's face lit up with undisguised joy. This was an alchemist! They were the ones best at making money.
At that moment, bathed in the sunlight, Di Siyu looked like a heavenly deity descending to the mortal world.
His air of pampered nobility successfully caught Feng Ning's attention.
With a beaming smile, she sidled up to him. "Handsome, what's your surname? Where did you hang out before joining the sect?"
She had a sneaking suspicion that this man was far from simple.
"My surname is Di, given name Siyu. I used to run with the unorthodox sects," Di Siyu replied with a straight face. "My spiritual meridians were shattered not long ago, so right now, I'm just good for nothing."
Di Siyu?!
The name alone sounded like a male protagonist, yet there was no such person in the original book!
Feng Ning doubted her life for a second. And that useless persona of his—why did it feel like it came from the exact same playbook as hers?
"Junior Brother is an alchemist? Pardon my ignorance, pardon my ignorance," Mo Xuan greeted him with a wide grin, baring his teeth. "Just in time—Junior Sister has lost her spiritual root. We're all family here, so you might as well cure her while you're at it."
Di Siyu gave Feng Ning a deep look and replied, "That will depend on Junior Sister's sincerity."
Hearing this, Feng Ning narrowed her eyes slightly. Did that mean... he really could cure her?
"What kind of sincerity does Fifth Senior Brother want? Would offering myself in marriage do?"
Di Siyu had already witnessed her shamelessness, but he was still choked up by her words. Looking somewhat exasperated, he retorted, "I have no interest in you."
"If you have no interest, what kind of sincerity do you want? What can a good-for-nothing like me possibly offer? Offering myself in marriage is the greatest sincerity I can show," Feng Ning said with a take-it-or-leave-it attitude. "Since you have no interest, you still have to treat me regardless, otherwise that means you're incompetent!"
Men... hated nothing more than being called incompetent.
"Junior Brother, us men can't afford to be called incompetent, you know," Mo Xuan chimed in like an innocent fool, pouring oil on the fire. Junior Sister sure knew how to talk.
Di Siyu: "..."
Splendid. This heartless girl had once again left him completely speechless.
"Alright, that's enough! Whatever you have to say, wait until we're settled back at the sect," the old man stepped in to smooth things over. "Once you've entered my Wanshou Sect, you're all family. Incompetent is incompetent; I never expected you lot to amount to great talents or gods anyway."
Feng Ning smiled sweetly. "Incompetent means... incompetent, oh. Don't worry, Senior Brother, I won't laugh at you."
She dragged out the end of her sentence, dripping with sarcasm, frantically testing the limits of courting death.
Di Siyu: "............"
To be honest, Feng Ning didn't actually care whether her spiritual root could be healed; she only wanted to know if this wretched little body was capable of Netherworld cultivation.
As a mischievous little princess of the Netherworld, Netherworld cultivation was her true domain.
Standing in the pink-themed junior sister's room arranged by her senior brothers, Feng Ning had black lines running down her forehead, almost breaking character.
Only after chasing away the solicitous senior brothers could she have some peace and quiet.
The thought was well-intentioned, but this entire room drenched in princess pink... was thoroughly unnecessary.
With such bizarre and flamboyant moves, no wonder the female protagonist felt insulted; which normal, strong female lead could possibly withstand this kind of psychological attack?
Feng Ning forcibly compelled herself to accept this pink decor.
With absolute inner calm, she sat cross-legged on the pink bed and tried to channel spiritual qi to test just how useless this wretched body really was.
Wonderful. Even the most basic step of drawing spiritual qi into her body was exceedingly difficult.
"Master～ Master～ Can you hear silver-girl speaking? Master～～ Master~~ Answer silver-girl."
A cheeky, squeaky baby voice suddenly exploded in Feng Ning's head, startling her so much she almost spat out a mouthful of blood. She asked uncertainly, "Xiao... Xiaowu?"
"It's young master me, Master～～, sob sob sob, you finally answered me, it's been so hard."
"Cut the melodrama, sob your grand-uncle! Why did you follow me and transmigrate into this crappy book too?" Feng Ning felt like her head was about to explode. "And what's with this squeaky baby voice of yours? What's going on?"
That simultaneously infantile and obnoxious vibe felt both discordant and bizarre.
"Young master turning into this is all Master's fault," the squeaky baby voice whined with grievance. "You only have yourself to blame for being too weak; it's a struggle just for young master to manifest."
Feng Ning couldn't make sense of it. "You're my bound beast, following my soul here. What does my being weak in this wretched little body have to do with whether you can manifest?"
"No, no, no... Master, this is your actual body, it's just that there are numerous cultivation restrictions in this book world. Didn't Lord Netherworld Sovereign tell you about this?"
Feng Ning began to doubt reality. "Tell me what? The moment I opened my eyes, I ended up in this wretched place. If I hadn't read this crappy little book, I wouldn't even know who I am or where I am."
Is this something a human would actually do?
Feng Ning even began to wonder if she was truly his biological daughter. What kind of father throws his own flesh and blood into a pit?
"But... Lord Netherworld Sovereign also said, *cough cough*—" Xiaowu cleared its throat and began to mimic in its squeaky baby voice: "'Tell that little brat, this is her tribulation. If she can't get out, she dies!'"
Feng Ning: "..."
What kind of empty nonsense was that? It spoke! Yet it felt like nothing was said.
"Didn't the old man say how I'm supposed to get out of this wretched place?"
Xiaowu pondered for a moment. "No."
Hearing this, Feng Ning closed her eyes tightly. Splendid, she shouldn't have had any expectations in the first place.
"What about the original body?" If she transmigrated with her physical body intact, where did the original owner go?
"The original owner sacrificed herself before her spiritual root was dug out, which is why she summoned you, Master, in."
So in the end, she was the ultimate sucker whose spiritual root had been ripped out?
"Tell me, did the original owner have any unfulfilled wishes? If I help her fulfill them, can I go back to the Netherworld?" Feng Ning let out a deep sigh, guiding the hard-gathered spiritual qi into her body.
She still refused to believe that this body, which found cultivation so arduous, was actually her own.
She was a Netherworld cultivation saintly body blessed with divine power; she had never tasted the hardships of cultivation, nor had she ever suffered the grievance of having her spiritual root dug out.
"This..." The squeaky baby voice sounded somewhat hesitant. "The original owner didn't say! Lord Netherworld Sovereign didn't give silver-girl any instructions either. This... Master, you'll just have to figure it out yourself."
Figure out your grand-uncle!
Feng Ning abruptly got up and paced back and forth in front of the pink bronze mirror, occasionally leaning in to examine her own face. It was her face alright, only a little excessively pale, and the body had no abnormalities other than various large and small scars.
Why was her Netherworld cultivation speed so agonizingly slow?
"Junior Sister, Fourth Junior Brother brought back a roast chicken! Hurry out and eat, or it'll all be gone before you know it."
Just as she was doubting her life choices, Mo Xuan's voice rang out from outside the door.
Feng Ning took a deep breath, composed her mood, and followed him toward the main hall. Before she even stepped inside, she heard an impassioned voice echoing from within.
"Let me tell you guys, something huge has happened in the Cultivation World! That fake young lady from the Feng family, Feng Ning, has been put on wanted lists by quite a few sects. As long as someone catches her, there's a reward of a hundred mid-grade spiritual stones!"
"Not only did that Feng Ning blow up the Feng family's centuried ancestral altar, but she also injured disciples from quite a few sects. That's not even the main point; the point is, she's a good-for-nothing who hasn't even stepped into the Qi Condensation Stage. Should we go catch her and cash in on this bounty?"
"..."
Listening to his impassioned words, the expressions of everyone present turned complex in unison. Only Di Siyu wore a look of gloating amusement.
Feng Ning? Wasn't that their junior sister's name?
Mo Xuan couldn't help but steal a glance at Feng Ning, probing cautiously, "Junior Sister, he couldn't possibly be talking about you, could he?"