Qingzhu Peak.
"Knock, knock!"
Xiao Hongyu knocked on her master's door, but there was no movement inside.
Turning to Lu Qingning, Xiao Hongyu said, "Master is still away traveling. Let's postpone the apprenticeship ceremony for now. As for your instruction, I'll have to teach you in Master's stead."
Lu Qingning was a whole head shorter than Xiao Hongyu. Looking up slightly at her, Lu Qingning nodded obediently and said, "Mm, okay."
To have a pretty senior sister teach her—who needed some old codger anyway!
Lu Qingning followed Xiao Hongyu all the way up Qingzhu Peak. The mountain was completely pristine, with only two wooden cabins perched at the very top: one belonged to Xiao Hongyu, and the other to the Ninth Elder.
Lu Qingning followed Xiao Hongyu into her cabin and pushed the door open. The interior was immaculately clean, furnished with nothing more than a bed and a table.
The room's arrangement was extremely minimalist, matching the plain white robe Xiao Hongyu wore.
Immaculate, without a speck of dust.
"You'll sleep here tonight. Without further ado, let me teach you the cultivation mental technique first." Xiao Hongyu pointed to the pristine bed, then gently led Lu Qingning over to sit at the table.
Once Lu Qingning was seated, Xiao Hongyu took a book from her storage bag, upon the cover of which four striking characters were written: *Return to One Mental Technique*.
Placing the book in front of Lu Qingning, Xiao Hongyu said, "If there's anything you don't understand in this manual, you can ask me."
Lu Qingning took the book: "???"
And then?
That's it?!
I was waiting for you to lead by personal example!
Watching Xiao Hongyu hand her the book and then pull out a meditation mat from her storage bag to sit cross-legged upon it, Lu Qingning's mouth twitched. So senior sister didn't actually know how to teach people?
After admiring her senior sister's beauty for a moment, Lu Qingning had no choice but to silently open the *Return to One Mental Technique* and begin memorizing it.
Perhaps due to her Heavenly Spiritual Root, or perhaps because of her own innate intelligence, there didn't seem to be anything in the manual she couldn't understand—so much so that she felt too embarrassed to feign ignorance just to interrupt senior sister's cultivation.
After finishing the manual, Lu Qingning turned her head to glance at Xiao Hongyu, who was still maintaining her previous posture. Her long sword rested beside her, and her plain white robes appeared even brighter in the sunlight, making Lu Qingning feel for a moment that Xiao Hongyu was practically glowing.
Resting her chin in her right hand, Lu Qingning properly admired Xiao Hongyu. *Mm, senior sister's hands are very pretty—slender and bony. Her face is gorgeous too; she really is like a fairy descending to the mortal realm.*
Perhaps Lu Qingning had stared for too long, because Xiao Hongyu suddenly opened her eyes and asked in a steady tone, "What is it?"
Flustered like a petty thief caught in the act, Lu Qingning hastily snatched up the book beside her, pretended to read it, and replied, "N-nothing at all."
"Oh." Hearing this, Xiao Hongyu closed her eyes and resumed her cultivation.
She hadn't expected to fool her so easily.
Lu Qingning let out a long breath.
Good thing senior sister didn't seem all that bright.
Her experience from living two lives told her that cultivators who only knew how to cultivate were generally blockheads, completely inept at everything except cultivation itself. Therefore, Lu Qingning had already figured out in her heart how to hoodwink her senior sister.
Just as Lu Qingning was still pondering how to practice this mental technique, a sudden wave of hunger washed over her, accompanied by a loud "Gurgle~~!"
Xiao Hongyu opened her eyes and locked gazes for two seconds with the little one holding the book, only to watch as the person before her suddenly used the manual to shield her face.
Only then did it dawn on Xiao Hongyu. "My oversight," she said. "I forgot that Junior Sister hasn't reached Inedia yet. Wait here for a moment."
With that, Xiao Hongyu stood up, put away her meditation mat, pushed open the wooden door, and left Lu Qingning all alone in the room.
So embarrassing!
The flush on Lu Qingning's face had yet to fade as she slumped limply across the table.
"Why are you so useless..." She rubbed her boneless stomach and sighed.
"I never thought I'd make a fool of myself on the first day. Ah, how am I going to survive the days ahead?"
"Wait, come to think of it, haven't I gone twenty days without eating? The fact that I'm still alive is nothing short of a miracle."
While Lu Qingning was slumped over the table lamenting her life, Xiao Hongyu walked back in not long after, carrying a bowl of fish soup.
"Eat," Xiao Hongyu said, setting the large bowl down.
Lu Qingning wolfed down a few mouthfuls first. Only after regaining a slight sense of fullness did she ask Xiao Hongyu, "Did Senior Sister catch this fish?"
Sitting cross-legged to the side with her eyes closed, Xiao Hongyu replied without opening them, "Yes. There is a small river in the mountains with fish in it. The kitchen is behind Master's cabin."
"Oh."
Lu Qingning resumed slurping her fish soup. Neither of them spoke; the only sound in the room was Lu Qingning drinking her soup.
After finishing a whole fish, Lu Qingning finally regained her strength.
She picked up the Spirit Sword that had been left aside the entire time and communicated with the Sword Spirit using her mental intent.
"Calling Old Qian, calling Old Qian!"
"What is it, little one?"
"What do you make of this *Return to One Mental Technique*?"
Since this old geezer clearly possessed vast knowledge and experience, Lu Qingning decided to ask him.
"Not bad. It suits you well."
After giving this simple reply, Qiancang fell silent once more.
Finding herself somewhat bored, Lu Qingning decided to follow Xiao Hongyu's example and begin meditating.
However, sitting on the cold ground, it wasn't until she warmed up the surface with her own body heat that she finally felt like she was actually cultivating.
This meditation session lasted a full day, and night fell swiftly.
What interrupted Lu Qingning's rest once again was her stomach.
This time, she spoke up before her stomach could: "Senior Sister! Senior Sister!"
Xiao Hongyu opened her eyes.
She hadn't expected that a single meditation session would last until nightfall, and she wondered how her junior sister was progressing with her cultivation.
"What is it?" Xiao Hongyu asked calmly.
"You know, people will starve to death if they don't eat. I feel like I'm one step closer to starving to death."
"…Wait here."
"Okay~ Take your time, Senior Sister!"
Before long, Xiao Hongyu brought in a bowl of fish soup very similar to the last one.
Looking at the fish soup, Lu Qingning felt a sense of ominous foreboding.
Surely senior sister didn't *only* know how to make fish soup?
Even so, she still ate it with great relish—for no other reason than that she was simply too starving.
As night fell and Lu Qingning began to grow drowsy, Xiao Hongyu said, "The quilt and pillow on the bed are free to use. If you're tired, you can go sleep there."
Rubbing her sleepy eyes, Lu Qingning replied, "Okay~" She climbed onto the bed.
Only after getting into bed did she realize something was amiss.
Were this quilt and pillow senior sister's?
No wonder there was a faint fragrance of orchids.
Instantly, Lu Qingning was wide awake.
Tossing and turning in bed, she worried: *Is senior sister going to come sleep in the bed later too? It's only our first day meeting, and we're going to share a bed—isn't that a bit inappropriate? In a moment... how am I supposed to refuse senior sister's invitation?*
And so, Lu Qingning tossed and turned in bed, waiting for senior sister to come to bed. But she waited and waited, and no one came. By the dead of night, Lu Qingning grew so overwhelmingly tired that she stretched out her legs and fell fast asleep.
Meanwhile, Xiao Hongyu remained seated on her meditation mat, occasionally hearing the sound of Lu Qingning tossing and turning, which left her unable to focus on her own cultivation. When the room finally fell completely silent, Xiao Hongyu opened her eyes and cast a distant glance at her little junior sister. Letting out a sigh, she thought that taking care of a junior sister was truly difficult...
She took out the Transmission Talisman from her storage bag and sent a message to her master, who was out "traveling."
"Master, Qingzhu Peak recently took in a new junior sister. She has a Sword Spiritual Root among the Heavenly Spiritual Roots, and is even a natural sword seed. If she is carefully nurtured, she is bound to shine brilliantly in the future. We hope Master will return to the mountain soon."
After sending the message, Xiao Hongyu waited for a bit, but received no reply. Only then did she re-enter deep meditation.
Meanwhile, a certain someone far away.
With his long hair cascading loosely over his shoulders, several women surrounded him, taking turns waiting on him. His striking features appeared somewhat bewitching in the dim lighting. As he touched the Transmission Talisman in his lap, a cold voice echoed in his mind: *"Master, Qingzhu Peak recently took in a new junior sister. She has a Sword Spiritual Root among the Heavenly Spiritual Roots, and is even a natural sword seed. If she is carefully nurtured, she is bound to shine brilliantly in the future. We hope Master will return to the mountain soon."*
He paused for a moment, then offhandedly replied in his sea of consciousness: *"Oh, then take good care of her."*
With that, he put down the Transmission Talisman in his hand, embraced the women on either side of him, and announced to everyone around, "Come, bottoms up! Tonight's entire bill is on me, Young Master Zhao!"
Instantly, the entire venue erupted in cheers.