Although the damn System had given her a meager 0.5 affection score, Luoyun Huan didn't care too much, seeing as she had at least escaped the danger of having her lifespan shortened.
Without even needing to experience it firsthand, she knew from the brutal Heartless Dao practitioners in novels just how difficult it was to conquer the Heartless Dao.
A single moment of carelessness, and those stubborn blocks of wood would run her through with a sword.
Therefore, for the sake of safety, Luoyun Huan still decided to chip away at Eldest Senior Sister's heart bit by bit. Just as she finished speaking, she acted as though she had only just noticed her clothes scattered all over the ground.
With the utmost modesty, she lifted the hem of her skirt and squatted down, every movement exuding the delicate frailty of a young maiden. Yes, that's right—every single gesture of hers had been meticulously calculated.
Obviously, as the stronger party, Qin Yiqiu would naturally look after the weak within her field of vision.
Yet if she wanted Senior Sister's undivided, one-hundred-percent attention, she needed to project the image of someone who would still suffer bullying even when out of sight.
"Just come along after you finish delivering the clothes. This is the token for the Main Peak."
Qin Yiqiu had no reservations; she didn't even carry the airs of an Eldest Senior Sister. She squatted down as well to help pick up the garments.
Retrieving the token from her Storage Ring, Qin Yiqiu handed it over. Her gaze was filled with worry, though she had no idea how someone like this had even managed to scrape by in the outer sect.
"Thank you, Senior Sister."
Luoyun Huan said sweetly, her voice squeezed to an absolute extreme. Although many people looked down upon such flirtatious behavior, she had to admit that it was undeniably effective.
Warm fingertips brushed lightly against the back of her cold hand, touching for just a brief second before pulling away.
Qin Yiqiu's stray locks of hair fell forward, veering over her eyes to conceal her inner thoughts and feelings. She didn't understand why a heart that had never raced before was today feeling as gentle as a passing spring breeze.
The ripples had never stopped.
How strange—why would she have such thoughts?
Qin Yiqiu neither understood nor cared to delve into them deeply. She simply stood up, the slight, hurried rustle of her skirt betraying her flustered state of mind.
Qin Yiqiu immediately cast her gaze upon the men kneeling on the steps.
"Sweeping the steps is your duty, yet you dared to daydream of slacking off and dumping the task onto a fellow disciple. It seems the path of immortal cultivation is not suited for you all."
The gravity of these words made the men panic. They began to plead one after another, pressing their palms together with earnest expressions in their eyes.
"Eldest Senior Sister, we were wrong!"
"We beg you, please don't cast us out of the mountain gates! Both my parents died long ago; if I leave the sect, where on earth would I have a place to stand?"
The man wept tears of snot and sorrow, having heard that although Qin Yiqiu was completely impartial and unyielding, she still possessed a shred of tenderness deep down—as long as one put effort into playing the pity card.
Just like that cheap slut Luoyun Huan.
"When you did it, did you not think this day would come?"
A faint trace of disgust and disdain laced Qin Yiqiu's tone.
"According to the rules of the Yunjian Mountain Sect, bullying fellow disciples incurs a demotion of official rank by one level, and you shall perform unpaid labor for five years."
Though Qin Yiqiu desperately wanted to banish these few from the sect gates, the sect rules did not permit it; only committing an unforgivable offense warranted expulsion.
Bullying peers did not reach the threshold for expulsion, so Qin Yiqiu simply judged the case strictly in accordance with the sect's code.
"Ah, doesn't that make us labor disciples then?"
One of them muttered under his breath, panic staining his expression as he clearly wanted to bargain with Qin Yiqiu. Another man quickly yanked on his sleeve.
"Hurry up and thank Eldest Senior Sister! Not being expelled from the sect is already Eldest Senior Sister showing us mercy."
***
When Luoyun Huan had finished returning the clothes and was walking back, she heard the System's voice ring in her ear.
[Congratulations, Host! Affection score increased by another 0.1!]
[To make so much progress in a single day, you are truly amazing!]
The System's praise didn't sound fake, yet Luoyun Huan still couldn't help rolling her eyes.
"Why don't you take a page out of Pinduoduo's bargain-hunting playbook and just hand out gold coins directly? It takes ten gold coins just to synthesize 0.01!"
[This trick is truly cunning! I never imagined humans possessed such wisdom. Perhaps I can submit this to headquarters.]
The System sounded suddenly enlightened.
Luoyun Huan bit the tip of her tongue. Oh no, how had she accidentally leaked human secrets? The days for future system-bound travelers were only going to get harder.
After dropping off the clothes, Luoyun Huan pulled up the map and slowly made her way toward the Main Peak. Sure enough, as soon as she reached the halfway point of the mountain, she was blocked by someone.
The guards of the Main Peak all possessed the cultivation level of the Mid Foundation Establishment. What an impressive display of prestige.
"What are you here for?"
The two guards wore stern expressions. Practically no one ever came to the Eldest Senior Sister's Main Peak; aside from the occasional elder discussing matters with the Sect Master, it was usually a place of utmost tranquility where no one dared to set foot.
"I... I was sent by Eldest Senior Sister to clean the courtyard."
Luoyun Huan handed over the token. The two guards carefully inspected it and confirmed it was genuine. Though they harbored inner doubts—since when did Eldest Senior Sister ever need anyone to wait on her?—they still obediently stepped aside to let her pass.
Luoyun Huan strolled up the stone steps, greeted by cascading waterfalls and dense maple trees. The tips of the maple leaves were tinged with a hint of red; it seemed autumn was fast approaching.
Continuing forward, pavilions and towers came into view. The place Qin Yiqiu had taken her to last time was merely her place of cultivation; her true residence was a courtyard located at the very peak of the Main Peak.
Right beside that courtyard was another one—the dwelling of Qin Yiqiu's Second Junior Brother, who was also the male lead of this book. Calling him a male lead was giving him too much credit, though.
After all, in this novel, the female lead's harem had countless members.
Better for her to stay far away from these male chauvinist pigs. Luoyun Huan tightened her waistband; not everyone was obsessed with men.
Take her, for instance—she only had a thing for Eldest Senior Sister.
Especially those slender fingers of hers. Luoyun Huan closed her eyes, recalling the moment Qin Yiqiu picked up her clothes, when she had dared to bravely brush against them.
The feeling was just like summoning the courage to touch the school's reigning bully-cat that had scratched countless students before.
Yet that bully-cat hadn't gotten angry. Instead, when she reached out while the cat wasn't paying attention, the feline had even neatly gathered her fallen clothes and handed them back to her.
Eldest Senior Sister really was a good person.
Such a supporting character was truly worth saving.
Luoyun Huan couldn't help thinking to herself, though what she was unwilling to admit was that her heart had already been somewhat stirred.
The courtyard contained numerous rooms, but many of them were empty and devoid of furnishings. Luoyun Huan found a small room, cleaned it up, and decided to move in.
Pulling out everything she had packed earlier from her Storage Bag, Luoyun Huan threw herself onto the new quilt she had purchased with Spirit Stones.
Sure enough... the Immortal Cultivation World wasn't entirely without its perks. At the very least, this silkworm-demon silk quilt cost only ten Spirit Stones, and the sensation of lying on it was no different from resting on a bed of clouds.
No recycled cotton, no formaldehyde—this was fantastic!
Yet she couldn't just latch onto Senior Sister's coattails and stop trying. Luoyun Huan sat up, retrieved her brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, and began drafting her next strategy plan.
And she genuinely needed to strengthen her abilities just a little bit.