"Senior Sister! I've been wronged! I've been wronged! I only came to play with Senior Sister Shen Ye after I finished my training!"
"Senior Sister! Look, this map! It even lets me understand the human geography of this world, learn all kinds of knowledge, and become a well-rounded talent!"
"Senior Sister! Senior Sister! I can already recite the Tianjian Heart Formula by heart. Can't you please choose a less agonizing method for me, Senior Sister?"
"Senior Sister! Cultivation requires a balance of work and rest! I've been practicing for so long, I only played for a little while!"
...
Xiao Hongyu dragged Lu Qingning back to their house as if she were carrying a little chick.
Lu Qingning had been chattering the entire way, giving Xiao Hongyu a headache.
Finally, Lu Qingning was tossed onto the bed by Xiao Hongyu, and the mouth she had been keeping open finally snapped shut.
"Eep! Senior Sister, what are you doing?!"
Tossed onto the bed, Lu Qingning hurriedly grabbed the blanket and looked at Xiao Hongyu with a guarded expression.
Clutching the blanket to cover her body while shrinking back against the wall, Lu Qingning stammered, "Senior Sister, I'm only sixteen, I'm not ready..."
Xiao Hongyu wore a speechless expression.
"..."
Xiao Hongyu looked at Lu Qingning speechlessly.
Lu Qingning stared right back at Xiao Hongyu.
I have to admit, our senior sister is gorgeous. Even after half a year, I still find her just as stunning.
After a moment of silence, Xiao Hongyu took out the gaming map she had just confiscated from Shen Ye and Lu Qingning from her storage bag.
"How do you play this game?"
The game map floated right in front of Lu Qingning. Clearly, Xiao Hongyu was asking her.
Lu Qingning was puzzled at first, but then the corners of her mouth curled up slightly as she said, "Hehe, Senior Sister, the gameplay here has a profound background. To start from before Pangu cleaved the heavens and earth—"
...
One hour later,
Lu Qingning stared in a daze at her own empty "wallet," Xiao Hongyu's bulging "wallet," and a pile of property deeds in front of them.
"Senior Sister, did you really not peek while me and Senior Sister Shen Ye were playing this game?"
Lu Qingning asked gloomily.
She refused to believe that a game she had played for two lifetimes could be utterly crushed by a beginner.
Xiao Hongyu raised an eyebrow. "Why would I need to peek when you were playing this?"
It's not like she couldn't just watch openly.
Lu Qingning pursed her lips. "Um... fine. It seems Senior Sister is indeed extraordinarily clever! Another round, I refuse to accept this!"
Xiao Hongyu nodded slightly. "Alright."
Another hour later,
Lu Qingning sighed and leaned back against the wall. "Fine, fine. You're really amazing, Senior Sister."
The two sat facing each other on the bed, with Lu Qingning and Xiao Hongyu on opposite sides of the game map. Xiao Hongyu had acquired nearly all the property deeds, while Lu Qingning had been charged rent until she didn't have a single coin left.
Lu Qingning finally understood: Xiao Hongyu simply wasn't someone she could beat.
Shen Ye was on the same level as her; even if the two of them teamed up, they probably still couldn't beat Xiao Hongyu.
Xiao Hongyu tilted her head to look at her little junior sister leaning against the wall and smiled. "Since you're tired, you can start copying the Tianjian Heart Formula now."
Lu Qingning had just been immersed in the Eldest Senior Sister's smile when Xiao Hongyu's chilling words in the next second brought her crashing back to reality.
"Huh? Do I still have to copy it..."
Lu Qingning looked at Xiao Hongyu with a aggrieved expression.
Xiao Hongyu didn't fall for this trick at all. She rolled the map into a stick and tapped Lu Qingning lightly on the head. "You were the one who talked about balancing work and rest."
Lu Qingning paused, looking up at Xiao Hongyu.
Xiao Hongyu was already standing by the side of the bed. As Lu Qingning looked up, the movement of her hands also stopped.
The two stared at each other for a second. Suddenly, Lu Qingning hopped off the bed with a cheeky grin and said, "It looks like Senior Sister did listen to me properly after all! I'm going to go copy the Tianjian Heart Formula right now."
Watching Lu Qingning's retreating figure, Xiao Hongyu's gaze flickered with obscure emotions.
Lu Qingning ran over to the bookshelf, took out a brush and paper, and began copying.
Two hundred repetitions of the Tianjian Heart Formula took her a full three days to finish. Naturally, her body-tempering training wasn't neglected for a single day.
"Sigh... finally finished..."
Lu Qingning put down her brush and sighed at the paper, where the characters were utterly unrecognizable as words.
She stood up and stretched her sore wrists. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Xiao Hongyu appeared beside her, picked up her caterpillar-like Tianjian Heart Formula, looked it over, and said, "Done copying? Then follow me."
Lu Qingning blinked in surprise and obediently followed Xiao Hongyu out of the house.
Xiao Hongyu returned the spirit sword to Lu Qingning and said, "Now that you've memorized the Tianjian Heart Formula, you can perform Qi Induction and step onto the path of cultivation."
Taking the spirit sword, Lu Qingning suddenly remembered that she still had an accompanying master living in her sword.
The moment she received the sword, Lu Qingning communicated with the old man: "Master, I'm sorry. I forgot about you for the past half year."
Qiancang let out a cold snort. "I've been in the Spirit Sword Pool for a thousand years; couldn't I wait another half year? Body tempering training has its benefits anyway; practicing it more builds a solid foundation for the future."
Lu Qingning smiled faintly. It seemed Senior Sister had given Senior Qiancang a heads-up in advance.
Following behind Xiao Hongyu, Lu Qingning walked to an open clearing.
The moon was bright and the stars were sparse. Xiao Hongyu had Lu Qingning sit on the grass, the two of them sitting one behind the other.
"Recite the incantation silently in your heart and sense the changes in the spiritual qi around you."
"Okay."
Lu Qingning set the spirit sword aside and earnestly began to meditate.
In just a few breaths, Lu Qingning felt an unusual warm current rushing toward her from all directions. She absorbed the surrounding spiritual qi like a whirlpool. As more and more spiritual qi gathered inside her body, Xiao Hongyu suddenly pressed both palms against her back, and the spiritual qi became active, flowing slowly through Lu Qingning's meridians.
Feeling the spiritual qi circulating within her body, Lu Qingning immediately recited the Tianjian Heart Formula silently and tried to guide the flow of spiritual qi. She cautiously controlled the spiritual qi inside her to follow the route of the Tianjian Heart Formula and complete a cycle. As the spiritual qi continued to pour in, Lu Qingning felt her body growing lighter and lighter, as if she were about to float away, and her consciousness grew increasingly hazy. Suddenly, a powerful force struck from behind, instantly waking Lu Qingning up, and she hurriedly restrained the spiritual qi that was about to disperse.
With Xiao Hongyu's assistance, Lu Qingning controlled the spiritual qi to wander through the meridians in her body. The meridians emitted slight sounds under the impact of the spiritual qi. After running one full cycle of the Tianjian Heart Formula, a stable whirlpool formed in Lu Qingning's lower abdomen. Not daring to let her guard down, Lu Qingning maintained the circulation for dozens of full cycles before letting out a long breath.
"Hoo—"
Lu Qingning opened her eyes, feeling completely refreshed. Her previously tense nerves instantly relaxed, and her body softened as she leaned backward.
An unprecedented softness came from the back of her head.
Only then did Lu Qingning come to her senses in a daze.
"Whoa!"
Her consciousness had still been somewhat hazy, and leaning back against Xiao Hongyu's chest startled her awake instantly.
Lu Qingning hurriedly sat up straight, turned around, and said, "I'm sorry, Senior Sister, I forgot you were still here."
Xiao Hongyu shook her head. "If Junior Sister is tired, you are free to rest against me."
When she used to mentor Shen Ye, Shen Ye had been just as "impolite," so Xiao Hongyu wouldn't mind if it was Lu Qingning.
Lu Qingning's talent had also opened Xiao Hongyu's eyes; she had managed Qi Induction in just half an hour. Back then, it had taken Xiao Hongyu nearly half an hour to achieve Qi Induction herself. She hadn't expected her little junior sister's talent to be so high.
Hearing Xiao Hongyu's words, Lu Qingning was slightly stunned. "Eh? Then I won't stand on ceremony!"
Tentatively, Lu Qingning lay down on Xiao Hongyu's lap.
Lifting her head, all she saw were the stars and the bright moon filling the sky.
As for the senior sister she wanted to look at, she was also tilting her head to gaze at the sky, seemingly lost in thought.
Lu Qingning stared at Xiao Hongyu for a while. Xiao Hongyu maintained her posture of gazing at the sky without moving at all, and from Lu Qingning's angle, she could only see her chin.
Puffing out her cheeks in slight annoyance, Lu Qingning got up and said, "I've rested enough, Senior Sister. It's getting late, so I'm going back to my room to sleep."
"Mm, alright."
Lu Qingning stomped her feet as she walked away. What kind of "mm, alright" is that?!
Shouldn't something happen in a plot like this?!
Honestly.
Puffing with annoyance, Lu Qingning returned to her room to sleep.
Yet the more she thought about it lying in bed, the angrier she got, and she simply couldn't fall asleep.
Fumbling in the dark, she got up, intending to sneak off to the back mountains to play with the small animals.
As soon as Lu Qingning opened the door and looked up, she saw the most familiar figure right in front of her.
"Eh?"
Lu Qingning's mouth twitched slightly.