You could walk by the river every day, but sooner or later, your shoes would get wet.
I knew that better than anyone. I sat perfectly still at the window of my workstation, chin propped on my little hands, eyes sparkling as I watched Zhuge Yun at my leisure.
"Sorry, no refunds once you leave the counter."
Zhuge Yun had never hated a sentence so much.
That soft, adorable voice usually made her sound like a pushover, but right now, it had a particularly smug, irritating edge.
I'd never even considered that Zhuge Yun could cause me trouble.
Did he even understand the value of an editor?
The members of the Law Enforcement Hall cared more about the rules. "Greetings, Senior Sister Ye Xiaoyao."
Their strictly businesslike attitude made the smile in my eyes grow.
Everyone waited to see what Zhuge Yun would do next.
He declared with absolute confidence, "Ye Xiaoyao, you've kept me from making a breakthrough for over a year. It's time we settled the score."
He had no proof, but he could still guess that Ye Xiaoyao had done something.
Only that little brat could have had the chance to tamper with things.
Just you wait—
And then.
With a look of certainty, he tipped out a small black pill.
The moment the pill appeared in the air, the Spiritual Energy in the vicinity grew several times denser.
That was clearly the real deal.
"H-how... could this be?" Zhuge Yun's expression stiffened.
There was obviously nothing wrong with the Spirit Nurturing Pill.
The Spiritual Energy was plentiful.
He gritted his teeth, as if he'd thought of something, and suddenly looked enlightened. "Oh, I know. She must have tampered with the pill itself. There's no way to see the problem from the outside."
The Law Enforcement Hall members had already grown somewhat impatient, but when they heard this, they settled down and listened again.
I pursed my lips, still resting my chin on my hands.
I wasn't stupid.
Everyone knew a crafty rabbit had three burrows.
This time, I hadn't messed with his Spirit Nurturing Pills at all. I'd only added a little of my own exclusive secret recipe to his Spirit Water. It was guaranteed to taste the best in the world—everyone who drank it said they couldn't get enough.
If you kept adulterating someone's pills, anyone would get suspicious. Do it repeatedly, and they'd definitely figure out where the problem was coming from. But switch to a different thing every month, and the odds dropped dramatically. Even if they caught on, you could blame it on something else.
Zhuge Yun's eyes blazed with fury. He looked like he wanted to devour me on the spot as he crushed the pill in his hand. A huge cloud of Spiritual Energy burst out.
Zhuge Yun froze.
There wasn't a trace of impurity.
The Law Enforcement Hall members' expressions changed completely.
"Would you like us to check anything else?" I asked, like a very helpful employee, repeating the standard phrase that made Zhuge Yun's teeth ache. "Don't forget, no refunds once you leave the counter."
Damn it! Zhuge Yun cursed inwardly, then crushed two more Spirit Nurturing Pills. Another huge cloud of Spiritual Energy burst into the air.
"There's nothing wrong with them."
"There's nothing wrong with any of them."
He muttered in a daze, "I don't believe it. I don't believe that little brat didn't tamper with them. With my talent, how could I go a whole year without making a breakthrough?"
"That's right. It was her. She did this to me."
"She definitely did this to me."
He kept going until he'd crushed every last pill.
Zhuge Yun stared in disbelief, then gradually collapsed to the ground.
His earlier boastful certainty now seemed like a joke.
"Any other problems?" I asked with a grin.
Zhuge Yun's heart was dead. He could only answer honestly. "No."
I giggled and clapped my hands. "Then what are we waiting for? Take this disciple away. He addressed a Direct Disciple by name and repeatedly insulted her and made false accusations against her. According to the rules of Heavenly Sword Peak, what's the punishment again?"
The enforcement officer answered dutifully, "Half a month in solitary confinement and a hundred lashes."
I smiled with satisfaction.
Two people took Zhuge Yun by the arms and lifted him up.
The man who'd constantly slandered me was now being dragged away in disgrace by the Law Enforcement Hall members, like a dead dog.
I was more than satisfied.
Suddenly, he seemed to figure it all out.
His gaze was like that of a cold, venomous snake as he stared at me from afar.
His lips moved silently, sending his words my way.
"Hahaha."
"I finally get it. You didn't tamper with anything this time, did you?"
"This isn't over. Just you wait, little brat. You dared to mess with me. Zhuge Yun will never let you off."
Amid a soft rustling, a tall figure in a blue Immortal Skirt appeared up ahead.
"Greetings, Senior Sister Ye Qingxian."
"We pay our respects to Senior Sister."
The two members of the Law Enforcement Hall were under Ye Qingxian's command. They immediately bowed respectfully.
"Make the lashing harsher." Ye Qingxian's red lips moved slightly, her gaze cold and her bearing as proud as a snow lotus on the Tianshan Mountains. "And inform everyone, as a warning to all."
"Understood."
I slowly turned my gaze toward her.
It seemed that ever since I'd fallen out with the Female Protagonist last time, she'd grown less and less gentle with everyone else.
She couldn't let her character change.
As the young woman drew closer, a faint, fragrant breeze wafted over.
Ye Qingxian and I met each other's gaze.
Leaves swirled in the sky as a breeze swept across the ground.
The young woman's beauty was as captivating as ever.
Neither of us spoke.
Silence reigned.
I suddenly slumped forward, feeling a little dejected.
I didn't want to talk to the Female Protagonist. Would she hold a grudge against me?
"Has Zhuge Yun ever bullied you?"
Ye Qingxian's voice was lovely, as clear and tinkling as a spring, making people feel as if they were basking in a gentle breeze.
Her words didn't sound like a question. They sounded more like a statement she was making to herself.
"Hmm? What is it?" I looked up and saw Ye Qingxian's calm gaze. To me, it seemed cold. I knew she was just being businesslike, so I put on a serious little face too and tensed my legs where they dangled below the counter.
Ye Qingxian looked at her Junior Sister, who was pretending to be serious. No matter how solemn the little girl tried to look, she was still adorable. She found it all incredibly amusing and suddenly felt like teasing her. "What do you mean, 'what is it'? You don't listen to my reasoning, so I won't listen to yours."
"Where in Heavenly Sword Peak can I not go?"
I was left speechless.
That sentence was like a boomerang, hitting me square between the eyes.
You never realized how infuriating some words were until you said them to yourself.
I simply slumped forward again and ignored her.
Let her get mad. Maybe she'd be so angry she'd stop talking to me.
Ye Qingxian had gone out today specifically to come and see me.
When I fell silent again, Ye Qingxian's bearing was otherworldly. She walked barefoot through the world, drawing a little closer to me, a fragrant breeze wafting over her. Not a speck of dust stained her from head to toe.
"You—what are you doing?" I asked as she got closer and closer, beginning to bristle.
What on earth did this woman want?
My life was at stake, so I got jumpy easily. I sprang to my feet, only to step on the rat below and nearly land on my butt.
Ye Qingxian stood outside the window and grabbed my arm.
I managed to regain my balance, but I'd already been grumbling inwardly for ages.
Little one.
You, you, you—
Couldn't you stop giving your mother so much trouble?
You'd turned the world upside down. You needed a good scolding!!!
Ye Qingxian's gaze settled on something. There was a teasing note in her voice. "This big black rat that died young must also be part of the resources distributed by the sect. It'll be divided equally among everyone in the sect."
I pressed my teeth together and turned my head away awkwardly.
I knew I shouldn't spend too much time around the Female Protagonist.
Why was her brain so sharp?
I gritted my teeth and refused to admit anything. "You have no proof. I could sue you for slander."
Ye Qingxian didn't dwell on the matter. Or perhaps she simply didn't care what anyone else had been fed; they'd brought it on themselves.
She changed the subject so quickly that I had trouble keeping up.
"Junior Sister, how long has it been since you last called me Senior Sister?"
She gazed steadily at me, and I glared right back, unwilling to back down.
What are you staring at? Just because your eyes are big?
I bet yours aren't as big as mine.
A moment later, I gradually lost ground. I might have been losing the staring contest, but I wouldn't lose face. I stubbornly spat out, "You're so nosy. I'm not calling you that."
"I've already fallen out with you. If I still called you Senior Sister, wouldn't I have no shame?"
Ye Qingxian nodded thoughtfully. "So... this is what falling out means."
"I, Ye Qingxian, haven't done a single thing wrong, yet somehow I've lost a Junior Sister. I suppose the world is full of twists and turns. For no reason at all, I've ended up shouldering the blame for what happened in the future."
I knew I was in the wrong,
but what kind of person was I, Ye Xiaoyao? A Great Devil King.
I'd already stopped being reasonable, so I might as well keep spouting nonsense.
"What's it got to do with me if you don't have a Junior Sister? I've never had a Junior Sister either."
"Move aside. I'm getting off work."
I hurriedly shut down the formation around my workstation. I didn't want to admit that the pressure from the Female Protagonist was so overwhelming that I couldn't take it and was fleeing in disarray.
No, no. This woman was too uncanny. I had no idea what she was trying to do. From now on, I'd have to stay far away from her and never give her a chance to talk to me.
I really didn't want her figuring out the color of my panties.
In this Cultivation World, I considered myself reasonably clever.
But Ye Qingxian was the only person who could nearly overload my brain. So many of her actions made no sense. You'd think there was no harm in saying something, then you'd casually add a word or two, and somehow she'd get exactly what she wanted.
She was downright uncanny.
Could a Female Protagonist who hadn't gone crazy really be this difficult to deal with?
For some reason, I suddenly found myself looking forward to seeing the Female Protagonist go crazy in the future. A lovesick fool who didn't reason with anyone and wasn't particularly clever might actually be easier to handle.
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