The Senior Brother, Are You Really Helping Me Circulate Qi?

The setting sun was about to sink. The last smear of light on the horizon gradually faded, replaced by the deep indigo glow of night.

Dusk met the rosy clouds—the perfect time of day for cultivation.

You Su finished meditating. After exhaling a long breath of turbid qi, he lifted his teacup and took two small sips.

A cool sweetness and delicate fragrance spread through his mouth, calming his mind and focusing his spirit. It was the White Jade Orchid Tea True Man Ling had served him that day, though it had since become one of You Su's prized possessions.

He recalled everything that had happened today, from initially wishing he could grind Wu Cheng and his ilk to dust, to gradually calming down now.

He would certainly take this revenge, but now was not the time. At the end of the day, the fewer people who paid attention to his junior sister and Mistress, the safer they would be.

His momentary hotheadedness might well stir up even greater waves. Only by swallowing his anger for the time being could he give his junior sister and Mistress a peaceful environment.

When he had sworn to rescue his junior sister and Mistress, You Su had thought the road ahead would be difficult but would eventually end. Yet now that he thought carefully about the path before him, he was actually clueless.

In terms of strength, he was merely a young man at the Spirit Platform Realm. Though he had luckily killed True Man Ling of the Condensing Water Realm, until he became thoroughly familiar with that bizarre state, he probably still could not reveal it lightly before others.

In terms of connections, because of his master, there were few cultivators in Chuyun City who were friendly with him, let alone anyone outside the city—or even in the Divine Mountain—whom he could rely on. His only support had already left eight years ago.

And could that kindly-looking City Lord Liu really be trusted? You Su shook his head inwardly.

The old City Lord had seemed biased toward You Su in his actions today, but who knew what he would say to Wu Cheng after leaving the Sword Sect? Wu Cheng's identity and future were things You Su could not compare with. A man like the old City Lord naturally had a clear set of scales in his heart. Today he had let Wu Cheng suffer a setback; tomorrow, he would let him show his might elsewhere. City Lord Liu saw profit and loss more clearly than anyone. Otherwise, he could never have held this position for sixty years.

Besides, if he truly wanted to look after You Su, he only needed to move a few informants and he would know about the harassment You Su often suffered. His inaction did not mean he was genuinely unaware. Rather, he was concerned about the feelings of the people behind those young cultivators. After all, they were the true figures in Chuyun City who could speak with City Lord Liu as equals. City Lord Liu's righteous intervention today had merely been because Wu Cheng had come to cause trouble and crossed his bottom line. In his eyes, You Su's master was merely traveling. If those people made matters worse and his master returned to learn of it, they would likely suffer far more than a mere loss of face.

And to think his junior sister had called that old grandpa a good person during the day. You Su could only smile and silently agree.

"Traveling the road is hard! Traveling the road is hard! So many forks—where can I go now?"

You Su could not help sighing inwardly. He had yet to find the most broad and upright road, but he had already planned his next few steps:

First, he would restore himself to peak condition, seize every moment to grow stronger, and search True Man Ling's legacy for any clues concerning the expulsion of evil. The Evil Warding Department seemed the organization most likely to help him at present, so he had to find a way to establish contact with it. If necessary, he would leave Chuyun City and seek an opportunity in a larger place.

The moon climbed above the branches, and stars drooped across the wilderness.

The youth raised his cup and closed his eyes to rest amid the unceasing cicadas. His profile was carved like a knife and ax, resembling a lofty mountain. In truth, he was reading through those books of utmost evil in his Sea of Consciousness.

The wooden door was old. When it was gently pushed open, it gave a creaking sound. Ji Lingruo slipped in furtively, causing the youth to withdraw his consciousness.

The newcomer wore a pale jade-green Liu Xian Skirt. Beneath it were long, fair, slender legs with delicate curves. She seemed to have just bathed; her half-wet blue-black hair was casually tied up, spreading a faint fragrance. Her collar was somewhat loose, exposing half of a snowy shoulder and a fair collarbone, with a glimpse of the snowy hills beneath.

Unfortunately, You Su could not see. Otherwise, he would also have seen the girl's arched brows, lightly powdered cheeks, and cherry-red earlobes.

After entering, Ji Lingruo carefully closed the door behind her. As it shut, she still glanced outside like a guilty thief. Only after seeing no one did she close it completely.

Such behavior was unprecedented. Most of the time, Ji Lingruo was like a rough-and-tumble heroine: either she did not close the door at all or she slammed it open and strode out.

Today, however, she resembled a righteous female thief fresh from the jianghu, foolishly dreaming of robbing the rich to aid the poor. She was flustered and uneasy, walking on thin ice, as though the villain in the room might restrain her the next second and turn her into a cream puff with a molten center.

"Junior Sister, you're here."

You Su's tone was calm, but the girl was like gunpowder set alight. She snapped, "Is this place a dragon's pool or a tiger's lair? Why can't I come?"

"..."

Several black lines seemed to rise over You Su's head. He had no idea when his room had become such a perilous place. In the past, his junior sister had come and gone as she pleased, even more freely than she moved in and out of her own room.

Ji Lingruo had of course come to this room countless times. It was just that she had always kicked the door open and barged in of her own accord. Today was the first time You Su had invited her.

Before coming, she had even specially bathed, applied makeup, and changed into a favorite dress. Its style was rather bold, with a short hem, a low neckline, and thin fabric. Its patterns were simple and elegant, with an elusive radiance hidden within. For Ji Lingruo, who blushed easily, such a dress was too embarrassing to wear outside. She only dared to keep it hidden and admire herself in the mirror.

Although she knew You Su was a great blind man who could not see a thing, she had still worn it here. She did not know what she was looking forward to, nor what she was afraid of.

In fact, she had seen the old plaque hidden beneath the main gate long ago. It had belonged to the Mandarin Sword Sect before, and it clearly still bore the six large characters "Heaven and Earth, Yin and Yang, Union in Bliss." Rather than being a prefix to Mandarin Sword Sect, those six characters seemed more like Mandarin Sword Sect was their suffix!

What respectable Sword Sect would write "Mandarin Sword Sect" so small and "Heaven and Earth, Yin and Yang, Union in Bliss" so large? Hey!

When she had first seen it, she had assumed she had been mistaken and accidentally gone astray. She had planned to gather her things, slip back, and confess to her elder sister. But seeing the blind man's upright expression and the way he cared for her without the slightest reservation, imparting everything he knew, she had been unable to harden her heart. Somehow, three years had passed. She had even decided that she had merely frightened herself back then, and that the Sword Sect had long since turned over a new leaf and become respectable again.

Until this morning, when You Su had lowered his voice beside her ear and said, "If you want to learn how to control Mystic Qi, come to my room yourself tonight." Only then did she understand: this sanctimonious blind man wanted to wait until the grapes were fully ripe before picking them!

Seeing You Su's silent expression, Ji Lingruo grew even more embarrassed and annoyed. He had been the one to invite her that morning, so why had he fallen silent now that she had summoned the courage to come?

"Hey, weren't... weren't you going to teach me how to control Mystic Qi?"

"Mhm. Junior Sister, are you ready?"

You Su straightened with a calm heart and tranquil mind. In Ji Lingruo's eyes, however, he looked like a famished wolf, ravenous and impatient.

"What... what else do I need to prepare? Wasn't coming alone enough?" the girl asked, twisting her tangled fingers.

"A sword. You didn't bring your sword?"

"Huh? Do... do we need a sword too?" The girl widened her beautiful eyes, not knowing what had entered her mind. Her cheeks flushed crimson. Assuming this wicked senior brother was deliberately humiliating her, she bit her pearly teeth and stamped her foot. "You! Don't you have a sword?"

As she spoke, she cast a sidelong glance at a certain someone's certain place.

"That works too. Then use my sword." You Su took the Ink Pine Sword from beside the bed and held it out before Ji Lingruo.

The girl accepted the Ink Pine Sword in disbelief, her peach-colored lips so red they seemed ready to drip blood. She wished she could cover both cheeks at once and crawl into a hole, refusing to admit that her wild imaginings had thrown her thoughts into disarray. She was even more annoyed that You Su had not made himself clearer from the start.

Then she sensed that something was wrong. Feeling she could win back a round, she asked, "Hey, who practices swordsmanship in a room?"

What kind of swordsmanship are you practicing in a room like this?

Unexpectedly, once she asked, it was You Su's turn to feel embarrassed and awkward. The youth's skin was not especially fair, but a visible flush spread across it. You Su put a fist to his mouth and coughed several times, then shifted unnaturally twice. He was clearly nervous.

Watching his helpless appearance, Ji Lingruo felt as if she had won a great battle and revealed a smug smile. She thought she had not been imagining things after all. This fake prude really did want to do that! She completely forgot that if matters truly developed as she imagined, she would be the one to suffer...

"Why have you stopped talking?" Ji Lingruo asked arrogantly.

"Ahem, ahem. If Junior Sister wants to learn how to control Mystic Qi, naturally we must begin with a familiar sword technique." You Su was unusually red-faced. "It's just that this method is indeed inconvenient to learn outside. If you want to learn it, don't let that bother you. Everything is for the sake of your Dao Path."

His words left Ji Lingruo flustered as well. She stammered, "Then tell me... how exactly are you going to teach me?"

Since this was such an important matter for her Dao Path, what was there for her to be embarrassed about?

You Su straightened his expression and cast away all those amorous thoughts. In an even tone, he said:

"I've observed you, Junior Sister. Your talent for learning the sword truly isn't poor. You grasp the techniques extremely quickly. Your greatest problem is that you cannot control your Mystic Qi. The reason it cannot flow into your sword is that it leaks away just as it leaves your body. I once hoped you would comprehend it on your own, but you may indeed be unsuited to this path. In my view, you may need some external assistance."

"How?"

"I found a workable method in some surviving fragments of our sect's cultivation arts. I will circulate qi from outside your body and guide the Mystic Qi within you into motion. Every time you perform a sword form, I will lead it through the complete route it should take. As time passes, both you and the Mystic Qi within you will remember the feeling of that circulation, and you will be able to control it freely."

This method, no different from teaching an infant to walk, had naturally been inspired by the human chapter You Su had not yet taught his junior sister. Dual cultivation was called dual cultivation, but it did not necessarily require the union of yin and yang.

"It's just that... there will inevitably be some bodily contact. I hope you won't blame me. If you're unwilling, I'll think of another method."

Ji Lingruo froze. Her inability to control Mystic Qi indeed had its own painful reasons. Now, however, a chance to be reborn lay before her. How could she give it up? Besides, if it was You Su, she did not really mind...

"It won't hurt too much, will it?"

"?"

"I'll control my strength. It won't hurt at all; it'll even feel quite comfortable."

"It... It had better be useful! Otherwise, I'll hold you responsible, Young Miss or not!"

"Rest assured, Junior Sister. I'm ninety percent certain."

"Then why aren't you coming over?"

Ji Lingruo held the Ink Pine Sword, which was somewhat too heavy for her, and watched You Su draw closer. Her heart sank to the bottom. She felt danger approaching, and her body began to tremble faintly. She could not help regretting inwardly:

How could there be a girl as foolish as me in this world? The hungry wolf told me that boiling water wasn't to cook me and eat me, only to bathe me. And I actually believed him like an innocent fool!

You Su, however, wore a solemn expression, like a god or Buddha surrounded by holy light. His junior sister trusted him so deeply. He absolutely could not disappoint her.

He walked up close. After a moment's consideration, he stopped holding back. Reaching out, he gripped the girl's slender shoulder and unfolded her curled-up body. In a solemn voice, he said:

"Raise the sword and gather your momentum. First sword: Fluttering Wings in Flight."

Ji Lingruo blinked her beautiful eyes. Stirred by You Su's imposing voice, she hurriedly puffed out her chest, drew in her abdomen, sank into a half-horse stance, and set up the sword form.

You Su circled her, studying her stance, then nodded solemnly. "Prepare to circulate qi."

The girl worked hard to draw the Mystic Qi within her up from her lower abdomen. You Su sensed it silently for a moment before decisively reaching out.

Ji Lingruo jolted in fright and nearly dropped the Ink Pine Sword. She had wanted to scold him, but knowing they were handling serious business, she forcibly held it back.

The youth's hand was broad and rough. Through the thin fabric, Ji Lingruo could even directly feel its warmth and texture. She wept bitterly inside, regretting everything. She should have worn a thick, impenetrable padded jacket when coming to this hypocrite's room!

You Su was not distracted by the soft, yielding sensation transmitted from the girl's abdomen. Guiding someone else's qi was no simple matter. It required extreme concentration and an exceptionally high degree of control over qi.

This lesson was difficult for Ji Lingruo, but painful for You Su.

You Su did not gain nothing, however. The benefit naturally had nothing to do with intimate contact with his junior sister. Rather, it was an opportunity to temper his control over Mystic Qi in the finest details.

"Relax the body and quiet the mind. Let qi enter the chest courtyard."

The chest courtyard? He isn't going to...

"You Su..."

Ji Lingruo's face was flushed like a peach, and she finally could not stop herself from interrupting. You Su paid her no heed, focused on controlling the qi. His hand moved slowly upward across the girl's flat abdomen, heading straight toward two sacred peaks...

Seeing this, Ji Lingruo could only accept her fate. She tightly shut her eyes, bit her lower lip, and stood rigidly in place without moving at all, like a humiliated female cultivator bound from head to toe.

Fortunately, what she had imagined did not happen. You Su still possessed the most basic boundary between men and women. He followed her ribs around to her back, then gently pushed upward along the girl's delicate shoulder blades.

How strange... this is even worse than that other thing...

Beneath springlike hills and willow brows, Ji Lingruo's eyes were as watery as spring. Her obedient appearance, head lowered and brows demure, reflected in the warm candlelight like a peerless painting.

"Senior Brother, are you really helping me circulate qi...?" the girl murmured.

The youth's Mystic Qi was warm and gentle. Wherever it passed, all fatigue truly vanished, leaving her exceptionally comfortable.

"Don't speak. Carefully feel the flow of qi."

What a rigid prude... He pretends not to hear when I call him You Su, but he hears me when I call him Senior Brother...

Gradually, Ji Lingruo discovered that her Mystic Qi finally no longer merely darted about chaotically. It had acquired a faint path and slowly followed the movement of You Su's palm. She gradually suppressed the distracting thoughts in her heart, her gaze becoming firm as she immersed herself in the stream of Mystic Qi.

"You Su, I really felt Mystic Qi flowing out from my fingertips just now!"

"Good. It really works. Your upper body seems to be improving. Next, we'll learn the lower body."

"The legs too?"

"Of course. If your lower stance isn't stable, how can your sword be stable?"

"Then let's do it... Mm-ah~"

"Shh... Quiet down, Junior Sister. Be careful not to let Mistress hear you."

"You Su, your sword is so big. It makes me so tired..."

"The Ink Pine Sword is indeed somewhat unwieldy for you. Tomorrow, use the Wood Sword instead."

"There's a tomorrow too?! When will I get a sword of my own?"

"Didn't I tell you? A Sword Cultivator's sword is very important and cannot be chosen casually. Don't worry. On the day Junior Sister leaves the sect, I'll definitely give you the finest sword."

"Mhm... Ah!!"

"My hand slipped! It really slipped! Don't be afraid, Junior Sister. I'm blind!"