The flower demon remained motionless, only turning its head to stare at Wen Qianshu.
Wen Qianshu said, “I’m ready for your instruction.”
Before her words had faded, a cold glint flashed past, and two vines shot out one after the other.
Yet Wen Qianshu did not retreat. She clenched her hand into a fist, then opened it. With two muffled thuds, the flower demon gasped and took two steps back.
The vines on the ground had exploded, oozing sap and writhing uncontrollably.
2333 was so scared it forgot to crack its melon seeds. “What was that—”
Wen Qianshu said, “I suddenly realized this is a good opportunity.”
2333: “What opportunity?”
Wen Qianshu: “An opportunity to change Yan Chengshuang’s fighting style.”
2333 was stunned. Then it heard Wen Qianshu say, “It looks like we’ll be here for a long time. Instead of constantly imitating Yan Chengshuang, I might as well take this opportunity to gradually change her methods into my own.”
“As it happens, she can even help me make corrections.”
“What?” 2333 asked. “Didn’t you want to leave as soon as possible?”
“But we can’t leave, can we?” Wen Qianshu said. “If we can’t leave, we might as well stay.”
“If the plan can’t proceed as normal, then we’ll just change the plan.”
2333: “?”
What, was it supposed to praise her for being so optimistic?
The flower demon sneered, and more vines surged from the ground. Wen Qianshu raised a finger and swiped, drawing a line of water—
“No matter how rare a flower the Fire Iris is, it’s still a plant. How could it be lacking water in its cell walls?” Wen Qianshu mused. “I’d like to see if I can directly control the blood in her body—”
Time flew by.
Yun Cai and Wen Qianshu’s routine was simple: meditate, attack the flower demon, meditate again, attack the flower demon again.
They lost track of rain or shine, of day and night.
They had no idea how much time had passed.
Yun Cai lunged, her whip sweeping low. But the flower demon grabbed her fire whip and yanked it forward. Unexpectedly, Yun Cai used the momentum to close the distance, arching her back and bringing her leg down in a powerful kick. The flower demon dodged to the side, and a vine wrapped around Yun Cai, flinging her outward.
Wen Qianshu flew forward, caught Yun Cai, and set her down gently.
Just as the two were about to continue, the flower demon suddenly said, “Stop.”
She frowned. “Will you two ever stop?”
These two were unbelievable. One was exceptionally aware of her own weaknesses and would grind away at them day after day, switching to a new one once she’d mastered the last. The other came up with an endless stream of new tactics and never seemed to run out of ideas.
Wen Qianshu asked, “What is it? Is Senior planning to let us go?”
“Can you just talk less,” the flower demon glared at her. “I get annoyed just hearing your voice.”
Yun Cai’s fingertips twitched, but Wen Qianshu’s expression remained unchanged. “Yes.”
The flower demon muttered to herself, “I was minding my own business at Myriad Marshes Cliff, but you people came looking for me first. You cut my leaves, damaged my petals, and even sent people to hunt me down—”
She glanced down at the wound on her arm—one left by Wen Qianshu in the last round—and said resentfully, “I’ve corrected a few of your moves. Go back and tell your sect to stay away from me. If anyone dares to come again, I’ll burn you all to the ground.”
Wen Qianshu simply replied, “Alright.”
The flower demon added, “And no more investigating me.”
Wen Qianshu wanted to laugh. “Alright.”
The flower demon said, “Alright, alright, hurry up and leave.”
Wen Qianshu bowed. “Thank you for your guidance, Senior.”
The flower demon stepped aside, crossing her arms, refusing to accept the gesture. When she saw Wen Qianshu wasn’t leaving, she assumed she was going to ask about their weapons. “They’re all outside. You’ll see them as soon as you leave.”
Wen Qianshu acknowledged this, then suddenly asked, “I wonder, Senior—is there any message you would like us to convey?”
The flower demon narrowed her eyes. “What message could there be? Every single one of you from Five Spirits Mountain wishes they could devour me.”
Wen Qianshu said, “Alright. This junior will convey that message.”
2333: “?”
The flower demon exclaimed, “What? Hey, you—”
She immediately realized what was happening and fell silent, her gaze deep as she stared at Wen Qianshu.
Wen Qianshu bowed. “Thank you, Senior.”
Before 2333 could even react to her words, Yun Cai had already darted out of the cave, with Wen Qianshu close behind. Yun Cai bent down to grab her long spear, while Wen Qianshu simply flicked her hand, and Endless Moon flew to her side.
Fortunately, the flower demon did not give chase. The two of them reached a pool of water and stopped.
Wen Qianshu let out a sigh of relief and sat right down on the ground.
2333 was tired of nagging, and said weakly, “Your image—”
“Oh, come on,” Wen Qianshu said. “What image do I have left to maintain in front of the Young Miss?”
Yun Cai was far more graceful. She used her long spear for support and slowly sat down.
She turned to look at Wen Qianshu. “What is it?” Wen Qianshu asked.
Yun Cai smiled. “I just realized, you’re really sly.”
Wen Qianshu replied, “How so?”
Yun Cai shook her head with a smile. Her eyes were a light color, and when she smiled, they seemed to shimmer, making the crescent shape of her eyes dance and leaving one’s heart unsettled.
“You just are,” Yun Cai insisted. “You pretend to be so proper.”
“Shh.” Wen Qianshu looked back at her. “If you don’t tell my Martial Uncle, I won’t tell Senior Yun.”
Yun Cai retorted, “Then I’ll tell Head Yan.”
Wen Qianshu didn’t answer. She simply leaned back slightly and stared at Yun Cai until the other girl turned her head away.
Yun Cai stood up and tore a transportation talisman. “Alright, alright, I won’t tell.”
Wen Qianshu said, “I just realized, you’re really well-behaved.”
Yun Cai froze for a moment, then realized what she meant. “You—”
The Young Miss had clearly never insulted anyone in her life. After struggling for a moment, she managed to say, “You’re mean.”
A faint smile played on Wen Qianshu’s lips. She stood up and brushed the dirt from her robes. Even though the long battle had left several tears in her clothing, as soon as Wen Qianshu composed her expression, she was once again the ethereal and fairy-like Yan Chengshuang.
The communication talisman was already active. Both of them could feel familiar spiritual energy fluctuations approaching from nearby—it was the energy of their fellow sect members, the search party from their sect.
Wen Qianshu took a step to the side. The Moon Chaser flower hung beside her hair, and a strand of her dark hair brushed against Yun Cai’s cheek. She lowered her voice, speaking right next to her ear, “Yes.”
“I’m mean.”
Wen Qianshu could talk a big game, but she couldn’t act so “mean” once she returned.
The moment Yan Chengquan received the news, she rushed to see her, wiping away tears as she asked, “How did this happen? Where are you hurt? Does it hurt—”
Even Yan Qingxi wore a rare frown. He fed Wen Qianshu a pile of spiritual medicines and asked if she was alright and if she felt any discomfort with the same frequency he would assign punishment transcriptions.
If Wen Qianshu’s reception was like that, Yun Cai’s was even more dramatic. Mrs. Yun hugged her and cried nonstop, declaring she would never let her go out again. Head Yun was furious, vowing to eradicate the vile demon. Her senior sisters and brothers came one after another to deliver spiritual pills and elixirs, forcing her to request an extra Qiankun cabinet just to store them all.
Wen Qianshu finally managed to persuade Yan Chengquan and Yan Qingxi, telling them she was returning to her room for quiet cultivation and didn’t need them to stand guard for the time being. But as soon as she entered her room, she didn’t start cultivating. Instead, she had 2333 replay the recording of recent events.
She watched the recording through a pair of transparent smart glasses perched on her nose, but her hands were not idle; she began to search through the room.
After watching the recording two or three times, she had also searched the entire room.
2333 asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Wen Qianshu said. “Just looking around.”
Previously, Wen Qianshu had been considerate, since this was Yan Chengshuang’s room, and hadn’t disturbed much. But now, wanting to understand Yan Chengshuang’s inner demon, she had no choice but to search for clues. Finding a diary would be ideal, but if not, she hoped to at least find some trace of the original owner.
But Yan Chengshuang’s room was sparse to begin with. Besides a bed, there were only writing supplies and a few chests of cultivation books and bamboo slips. She had already checked the Qiankun cabinet used for storage; it contained nothing more than a few sets of clothes, some medicinal pills, and talismans.
2333 asked, “Did you find anything?”
“No—wait.” Wen Qianshu suddenly paused and bent down. In front of her was a book chest, and on its edge was a carved character: “Shuang.”
2333 asked, “What’s wrong?”
Wen Qianshu said, “None of the other chests, cabinets, or the desk and bed have any carvings. Only this one does.”
Wen Qianshu said, “Scan it for me. See if this is Yan Chengshuang’s handwriting.”
2333 replied, “It’s not, but it’s very similar.”
“It is very similar.” Wen Qianshu had practiced imitating Yan Chengshuang’s handwriting before arriving, so she knew what it should look like. “I can’t tell the difference, which is why I had you check.”
But this wasn’t written by Yan Chengshuang.
Then who could have carved this character? And why did it look so much like Yan Chengshuang’s handwriting?
Wen Qianshu asked, “Do you guys have sleep insurance?”
2333: “What?”
Wen Qianshu said, “For the next world, please get me some sleep insurance.”
With that, she took out all the books from the chest and flipped through them one by one: Canglan Courtyard Disciple Rules, Detailed Explanation of Water Arts, The Five Elements…
Wen Qianshu suddenly stopped, letting out a small gasp of amazement. 2333 moved closer to see—Guishui Art.
Wen Qianshu exclaimed, “If I learn this, I won’t have to get my period!”
2333: “So?”
Wen Qianshu said, “This must be the beauty of cultivation.”
2333: “?”
Hey, wake up! Other people cultivate to become immortals, not to skip their periods!
2333 said, “Stop looking at that and get back to work.”
Wen Qianshu reluctantly put down the copy of Guishui Art. After finishing her search of the books, she stored the chest in her Qiankun bag, then stood up and pushed open the door. “Keep an eye out for me. Don’t let anyone see me.”
2333 asked, “Where are you going?”
Wen Qianshu replied, “To find Yan Yan.”
Five Spirits Mountain had existed for many years, so naturally, many disciples were born and raised there. Most of these disciples studied at the Five Spirits Mountain academy. Since Yan Yan had been illiterate, Wen Qianshu had arranged for her to be sent to the academy.
Given Yan Chengshuang’s status, the child she sent would naturally study in the inner hall, alongside the children of some of the Five Spirits Mountain elders.
This way, Yan Yan not only lived with Yan Han but could also overhear things about the other branches of Five Spirits Mountain.
“Even if I can’t come back,” Wen Qianshu said, “she can keep an eye on things within Five Spirits Mountain.”
2333 asked, “So that’s why you dared to stay there and weren’t in a hurry to escape?”
“You’re overthinking it,” Wen Qianshu said. “I simply couldn’t get away.”
2333: “…”
Wen Qianshu added, “Who would be happy to stay there and get beaten up?”
2333 wanted to hit her.
2333 wanted to beat her senseless.
Author’s Notes:
Wen Qianshu bluffed the flower demon again, using the exact same trick she used on Yun Cai, which Yun Cai naturally recognized. That’s why Wen Qianshu said her image was ruined.
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