"Young master, are you in there? Hurry back, or the master will start worrying."
Ji Qingzhu's voice had just faded when she heard a young woman's voice, full of coquettish petulance and discontent. Hearing this, she turned her head sideways and saw a familiar figure.
When the young maid caught sight of her, she froze for a moment, then burst into boundless joy, crying out involuntarily:
"Eldest Miss! Is it really you back?!"
"Wuwu, Xiaoyu has missed you so, so much, my-ah!!"
Ji Qingzhu's phoenix eyes softened into a tender gaze as she opened her slender arms and caught the stumbling green-robed girl who came running toward her.
This was her personal maid, Chi Mengli, daughter of the Ji Family steward, whom she had affectionately called "Little Yuer" since childhood.
"Three years unseen, and our Little Yuer has blossomed into quite the beauty. I wonder which rascal will end up taking advantage of you in the future." Ji Qingzhu's eyes held a smile as she released her grip and looked the girl over carefully.
Chi Mengli had a petite frame, but her figure hidden beneath the loose clothing was by no means lacking. She stood a head shorter than Ji Qingzhu, with a dainty, adorable face and cheeks that still retained a hint of baby fat. She wondered if her cheeks still felt as nice to pinch as before.
Thinking this, Ji Qingzhu's jade-white hand had already instinctively pinched the girl's little face, causing the little lass to blush fiercely, yet she was powerless to resist the pinching and kneading of her Eldest Miss.
"Wu~ I don't want to get married at all. I want to stay by the Eldest Miss's side forever~" Chi Mengli mumbled incoherently, her pretty face flushed bright red, looking utterly adorable.
"Mmm, it seems they feel even better than before," Ji Qingzhu stroked the girl's hair and praised with a soft laugh.
She glanced at Ji Yuan, who was still standing in the same spot, and scolded with a smile:
"Why are you still standing there like a fool? Scram back and get a good rest. In a couple of days, you'll know what true suffering is."
"Alright, alright, I'll scram right now!" Ji Yuan's expression turned bitter, but his eyes gained a hint of spirit. He no longer looked utterly dejected, but instead carried a bit of anticipation for the future.
He still believed his older sister's words.
Having dismissed her little brother, Ji Qingzhu took her little maid by the hand and returned to her own pavilion, sitting cross-legged by the low table on the balcony.
The little maid bustled about diligently, pouring tea and fetching water without a moment's rest.
"Hehehe, Miss, during the days you were away, I made sure to clean properly every single day!" Chi Mengli's little face practically screamed: *Hurry up and praise me!*
"Not bad. It looks like I won't have to squeeze into a bed with you tonight," Ji Qingzhu said with a smile.
"Ah?" Chi Mengli's face flushed red as she blinked her large eyes, lowering her head to mutter, "The quilt hasn't been aired out yet... If the Eldest Miss doesn't mind, Xiaoyu can give her bed to you..."
Ji Qingzhu chuckled inwardly. She hadn't expected this lass to have such little tricks up her sleeve; clearly she had missed her terribly, yet she put on an act of a "maid ceding her bed."
"Mmh-hmh, aren't you just my bed-warming little maid?" Ji Qingzhu asked with a smile in her eyes, teasing her.
Chi Mengli blushed even more furiously, not daring to meet the Eldest Miss's gaze, and instead ran behind her to hide.
"Miss, let me massage your shoulders!"
The little maid knelt behind her, her small hands soft and imbued with a moderate, steady pressure.
This lass was quite the little genius herself, practically on the verge of breaking through to the Blood Marrow stage!
"While I've been away from home, has anyone been bullying you?" Ji Qingzhu poured herself another cup of tea, moistened her throat, and asked.
"No, no, the family head takes very good care of me. Every day I just tag along with Young Master Yuan and prepare some food for him," Chi Mengli replied.
"I asked whether *he* has been bullying you," Ji Qingzhu said.
Hmph, she certainly wasn't going to let her own prized cabbage get rooted up by someone else. Xiaoyu was *her* person; as for her little brother, he could go entangle himself with his destined woman!
"Young Master Yuan is a very good person... But speaking of which, Miss, do you really have a way to solve the problem with Young Master Yuan's condition?" Chi Mengli asked, tilting her head.
"Naturally, I have a way."
Ji Qingzhu gazed at the boundless river of stars in the night sky. This was a great contending era, and the geniuses of the world were like these stars filling the sky; she knew her little brother would be the most dazzling one among them.
Yet how could the radiance of mere stars compare to the bright brilliance of the full moon?
She, Ji Qingzhu, would be that bright moon in the heavens, casting all the stars into dimness and illuminating the entire night sky!
The night passed without incident.
"Eldest Miss, did you only bring the single outfit you're wearing? I'll go to the clothing shop and get you a few ready-made garments. While this plain robe matches your temperament very well, how can just one outfit be enough?" Early in the morning, Ji Qingzhu heard her little maid chattering away by her ear like a little yellow oriole.
"This Plain Moon Dharma Robe is a protective spiritual garment bestowed upon me by my teachers at Liwu Mountain Academy for my outstanding performance. It is woven from silver silkworm silk and cold silkworm silk blended with spiritual materials, making it difficult for ordinary blades to pierce, and it can also keep my entire body pristine," Ji Qingzhu explained.
"That still won't do. The Eldest Miss is naturally beautiful; she should always have more clothes," Chi Mengli grumbled discontentedly, akimbo with round, puffed-up cheeks.
"Very well, have it your way, go draw some silver from the accounts... You should know my measurements from last night, so I don't need to tell you, right?" A trace of a smile flashed in Ji Qingzhu's eyes as she pinched the little maid's face, speaking with a pointed meaning.
"I know~" Chi Mengli's face flushed red; she shook off the warm jade hand and turned tail to run.
Ji Qingzhu gave a light chuckle, strolled around her private chamber, and then stepped out onto the third-floor terrace to overlook the entire Ji Family estate.
At her realm, it was best to abstain from the mortal grains of the five foods, maintaining the purity of body and spirit so as to have a better chance of stepping into the Divine Ability Realm.
Elixirs were the essence of Qi and the source of strength; generally, one could choose to consume various primal elixirs to sustain bodily functions while also advancing one's power.
Yet Ji Qingzhu was different!
How could a transmigrator lack something special?
When she was reincarnated, her soul had covertly merged with the heavenly dao of the universe, acquiring a wisp of heaven's will that followed her. As she grew and her cultivation deepened, it had now evolved into an Innate Divine Ability uniquely her own!
In this world, human cultivators could possess natal divine abilities, and demon beasts could awaken bloodline divine abilities, but innate divine abilities bestowed by heaven and earth were exceedingly rare through the ages—let alone a divine ability that directly communicated with the universe's heavenly dao. It was simply unheard of, something that fundamentally shouldn't exist in this world!
With the aid of this Innate Divine Ability, which she had arbitrarily named "Heaven's Will is My Will," Ji Qingzhu could directly draw in the pure spiritual Qi of her surroundings for her own use.
"Eldest Miss, the family head invites you to the martial arts arena to watch the clan sparring tournament!" Chi Mengli raised her little chin and called up toward the pavilion.
Hearing this, Ji Qingzhu leaped gracefully, floating down effortlessly from the third floor.
"Waah, the Eldest Miss is so immortal-like. When will I ever be able to be like you..." Chi Mengli's eyes were filled with yearning.
"In the Second Realm of Mortal Shedding, after Refining Essence into Qi, wielding True Qi allows you to do as I just did. Of course, if you possess a Spirit Artifact, you can experience the sensation of flight beforehand. Once you reach the Divine Ability Realm, you can shake off all restraints and fly freely!" Ji Qingzhu patted her hair and said.
Before her voice had even died away, she saw a streak of sword light fly in from the Qinglan River. Standing atop the flying sword was a figure dressed as a woman, her robes fluttering as she drifted down like an immortal.
"A spirit sword! That must be the Jiang Family young miss who was once betrothed to Young Master Yuan. I heard a wandering high master has taken a fancy to her and wants to take her back to his sect to accept her as a disciple!" Chi Mengli cried out, her eyes wide with shock.
"It seems the good show is about to begin. Let's go take a look too."
Wishing all book friends health and longevity!
Love you guys, little treasures!!
Thank you for your support, thank you!!!
There will be another chapter in the evening.
(PS: Ahaha, can everyone guess who Xiaoyu is? That's right, she is our dazed and adorable Purple Treasure~ The first book-friend supporting role has made an appearance; who will be next?)