With Shui Lianyue's consent, Ye Xiangli quickly began to devour the food. Previously, the meals she had to endure were, to put it mildly, worse than those given to the estate servants.
Now, she was able to enjoy food so delicious that she wouldn't stop even if someone slapped her across the face to make her let go.
Before long, a large portion of the lavish spread had vanished into Ye Xiangli's stomach. Soon enough, she was sitting in her chair, gently rubbing her full belly with a look of pure bliss. She never imagined she could eat something so heavenly on her very first day here.
Enticed by the culinary delights, Ye Xiangli found herself growing increasingly natural and at ease around Shui Lianyue.
As for Shui Lianyue, she only took a bite or two of each dish before setting her chopsticks down, only eating a little more of whatever happened to suit her palate.
Once they finished eating and cleaned up, Shui Lianyue somehow managed to haul out a large wooden barrel and, amidst Ye Xiangli's puzzled gaze, filled it to the brim with hot water.
Gazing at the steam rising from the barrel, a sudden thought began to form in Ye Xiangli's mind.
"Senior Sister, what is this for?"
Ye Xiangli asked in a soft, gentle voice, standing on tiptoe and stretching her neck forward to look.
This caused Shui Lianyue, who was holding a giant wooden spatula, to halt her movements and slowly turn her head toward Ye Xiangli.
"Obviously, I'm preparing to cook. Let's see, add some chopped scallions and cooking wine..."
With that, Shui Lianyue turned back around and continued stirring the contents of the barrel.
At this sight, the corner of Ye Xiangli's eye twitched as she took an imperceptible step backward. It turned out her Senior Sister was capable of joking around after all...
"Senior Sister, didn't we just finish eating?"
"Of course, this is a midnight snack!"
Before the words had even faded and before Ye Xiangli could react, her entire body was suddenly lifted into the air. The clothes vanished from her body in an instant, and a divine radiance lit up the room.
At the same time, a crisp splash echoed as Ye Xiangli found herself unceremoniously tossed straight into the wooden barrel by Shui Lianyue.
At that moment, only a single thought occupied Shui Lianyue's mind: Who said this junior sister was useless? This junior sister is simply amazing.
Although Shui Lianyue fully embodied her pristine virtues as a Saint and firmly resolved not to peek at her own junior sister, an accidental glance slipped through, leaving her with no other choice.
With just that single look, leveraging the observational prowess of a Golden Core stage cultivator, she took in everything. It was the sort of view that would make a person combust if they dared to look a second time.
Startled by the sudden immersion, Ye Xiangli broke the surface of the water, gasping as she crossed her hands over her chest and cast a panicked look at Shui Lianyue.
Water droplets clung to her cascading dark hair, tracing down her delicate collarbones and slender neck. Her fair skin radiated a tender, pinkish glow, likely brought on by overwhelming shyness.
Soaked from head to toe, Ye Xiangli looked up at Shui Lianyue. The corners of her eyes were tinged with a faint crimson from the sudden plunge, and her eyes were watery and innocent.
Ye Xiangli let out a soft, bewildered call: "Senior Sister?"
She didn't question why Shui Lianyue had suddenly thrown her into the barrel; instead, she simply looked at her with clean, bewildered eyes filled entirely with trust and yearning.
Could this child possibly view her as...
Doubt flickered in Shui Lianyue's heart, but as she looked at Ye Xiangli before her, her emotions began to churn uncontrollably.
"Is the water temperature alright?"
Faced with Ye Xiangli's confusion, Shui Lianyue simply walked up to the edge of the barrel and gazed down at her with tender eyes. Under that intense scrutiny, Ye Xiangli shyly lowered her gaze.
"Mm-hmm, it's just right."
Nodding, Ye Xiangli slowly sank lower into the water under Shui Lianyue's approach, leaving only the top half of her head exposed.
The water temperature was perfect. It had only felt a bit hot the moment she went in, but she had quickly adjusted—it was a deeply comforting warmth.
Shui Lianyue said in a flat tone, "Good. Now it's time to add the side dishes."
Without sparing a glance for Ye Xiangli's complicated expression, Shui Lianyue pulled the wooden spatula out of the barrel and tossed it casually aside.
From her storage bag, Shui Lianyue produced numerous spiritual herbs and fruits, along with a flask of glowing red liquid.
"Let's see... Thunder Heart Grass, Shiying Glazed Bead, Guiyuan Herb... yep, throw them all in. And the Flame Emperor Fruit goes in too. Finally, pour in the Rock Core Magma."
Shui Lianyue muttered to herself as she dumped everything in her hands straight into the wooden barrel. Ye Xiangli trembled all over, too terrified to utter a single word.
Seeing that everything was complete, Shui Lianyue nodded in satisfaction. By now, the water in the barrel had turned a vibrant, vivid red, and tiny arcs of lightning flickered across the surface every so often.
Ye Xiangli bit her lower lip hard to keep herself from crying out. For some inexplicable reason, she didn't want to scream in agony in front of Shui Lianyue.
Right now, she felt a scorching, fiery pain all over her body, accompanied by electric currents slithering across her skin. The tingling, numbing agony made her body shake uncontrollably.
Seeing this, Shui Lianyue knew the medicinal effects were kicking in. Observing Ye Xiangli's pale face and the way she bit her lip to endure it, Shui Lianyue's eyes lit up slightly.
"It's okay to cry out if it hurts. No one else will hear."
Hearing Shui Lianyue's words, Ye Xiangli merely shook her head. She curled up inside the barrel like an abandoned kitten shivering in the snow during winter.
Stepping forward, Shui Lianyue reached both hands into the wooden barrel and began gently massaging Ye Xiangli's body, feeling the girl's frame instantly tense up under her touch.
Shui Lianyue whispered softly into Ye Xiangli's ear, "I'll give Junior Sister a massage to help ease the pain."
At these words, a flush of red bloomed across Ye Xiangli's pale cheeks as she gave a slight, hesitant nod.
Shui Lianyue wasn't bullying Ye Xiangli; she was doing this entirely for her own good. Without a sturdy physical foundation, how could she possibly survive being struck by lightning in the future, let alone elevate her cultivation?
Truly, she was an exceptionally good Senior Sister.
With that, Shui Lianyue began her massage—an entirely clinical massage devoid of any extraneous emotions.
Her hands brushed against Ye Xiangli's skin. Perhaps due to the water, it was smooth and delicate to an addictive degree.
Ye Xiangli, already burning with feverish heat, felt a pair of cooling hands glide across her back. But before she could properly appreciate the chill, it was swallowed up by the rising tide of warmth.
She could only feel hot, fervent hands roaming back and forth across her back and waist, applying firm pressure at intervals.
Remarkably, the scorching pain really did subside quite a bit, allowing Ye Xiangli's tense muscles to finally relax completely.
Light clouds drifted past the sparse moonlight, and slanted silver rays pierced into the wooden cabin.
Under the cold moonlight, the only sound echoing across Huanxian Peak was the soft, melodious voice of a young maiden. Let there be no misunderstanding—it was simply a massage.
Inside the wooden cabin, Ye Xiangli had already fallen into a deep sleep. Since her dantian was not yet repaired, she was still unable to sit cross-legged and cultivate.
Standing with her back to the moonlight, Shui Lianyue gazed down at the sleeping girl on the bed. She used her finger to pull down the corners of her own mouth, which had been curving upward, leaving only a soft sigh in the quiet room.
The night passed without incident.
The morning sun emerged, piercing through the lingering mist and residual dew. The lush, verdant trees looked as though they had just washed and freshly oiled themselves, and the first rays of dawn broke through the sky.
Shui Lianyue emerged from her meditative state. Following a night of cultivation, her Golden Core had grown even more solid and condensed. A Ten-Patterned Golden Core—truly, she lived up to her reputation.
In ordinary combat, only nine patterns manifested; achieving ten patterns required her to deliberately activate it.
Meanwhile, Ye Xiangli was still fast asleep in bed, breathing softly. Shui Lianyue stood up and began pondering the best way to wake her.
Luochen had gone off to gather the medicinal ingredients required to repair the dantian along with the Thunder-Attracting Bead. Only the Thunder-Attracting Bead presented a slight hassle, while everything else was readily available within the sect.
How should she train her today?
Right at that moment, Ye Xiangli woke up with drowsy, heavy eyes. She sat up on the edge of the bed and rubbed her eyes, only waking up fully when she noticed another person present in the room.
To her astonishment, she discovered that her body felt exactly as Shui Lianyue had described.
There was no pain whatsoever, and instead, she felt brimming with strength.
Yet, the memory of last night's massage rushed back to her, and Ye Xiangli's cheeks flushed red—not a single inch of her body had escaped Shui Lianyue's hands.
Still, she had to admit that after the massage, her body felt completely free of any discomfort. She never expected her Senior Sister to know how to give massages.
In truth, Shui Lianyue hadn't known how to do it at all. It had been a sudden whim; she simply recalled massage techniques she had read about in her mind, reviewed them briefly, and mastered them on the spot.
"Awake? Did you sleep well last night?"
Shui Lianyue's tone remained gentle, causing Ye Xiangli to instinctively squint her eyes and nod obediently.
"Mm-hmm, I slept well. Thank you for the... massage, Senior Sister."
Watching Ye Xiangli's docile appearance, a flash of dark amusement crossed Shui Lianyue's eyes.
At that moment, a beep sounded in Ye Xiangli's mind, followed by the voice of the System.
[Task One: Demand a morning kiss. (Completion reward: Transformation of the Lightning Spirit Root into the Heavenly Lightning Root.) System Recommended!!!]
[Task Two: Take back what you just said and tell Senior Sister with utter disdain: "Senior Sister, you're not all that great either." (Completion reward: Hard Body Skill +10) Become a maiden as tough as a lump of iron!]
Ye Xiangli blinked. Were there only two tasks this time?
Yet neither of them was something she could possibly bring herself to do.
Besides, the reward for Task One sounded somewhat familiar, and it came with the System's recommendation...
The Heavenly Lightning Root sounded terrifyingly powerful.
『Host, 03 strongly recommends choosing Task One. The Heavenly Lightning Root can immensely boost the host's cultivation speed and absorption of heavenly lightning. It is the absolute most suitable Spirit Root for the host.』
『But... a morning kiss and all that...』
『So what? Isn't a morning kiss between Senior and Junior Sisters completely normal? Don't tell me the host has some weird thoughts about it?』
『N-No way! Is this... even normal?』
『Guaranteed!』
Shui Lianyue rubbed her chin as she looked at the two tasks hanging in the void. This System had some tricks up its sleeve.
Seeing Ye Xiangli hesitating and unable to decide, Shui Lianyue decided to help her make up her mind.
"Junior Sister performed wonderfully yesterday. Today, you can ask Senior Sister for any reward you like—anything at all."
Just like the System, Shui Lianyue subtly guided Ye Xiangli toward choosing Task One.
The Heavenly Lightning Root—a legendary Spirit Root. With it, Ye Xiangli would be able to absorb heavenly lightning much more safely in the future.
Ah, she truly was an exceptional Senior Sister, exhausting herself to look after her junior sister.
Hearing this, Ye Xiangli, who had been lost in thought, raised her head in surprise to look at Shui Lianyue. In those eyes, astonishment was mingled with a hidden trace of delight.
"Really? Anything at all?"
"Of course. Senior Sister never lies."
Shui Lianyue was gradually revealing her true colors right in front of Ye Xiangli.
Of course, one had to take things step by step.
Blushing furiously, Ye Xiangli stammered, "I-I wouldn't ask for such a weird reward!"
Watching Ye Xiangli lower her head and wave her hands in refusal, the corners of Shui Lianyue's lips curved upward. She discovered that teasing Ye Xiangli by saying outrageous things was quite effective at lifting her own mood.
『Hurry, Host, choose Task One! This is a golden opportunity!』
And so, Ye Xiangli chose Task One: to demand a morning kiss.