My Junior Sister Is the Cutest

After soaking in the hot spring, Xu Yinglian changed into her Daoist robes and came out just as she received a message from her senior brother.

After meeting up with Qiu Changtian and hearing about the mission, she frowned and asked,

"It's only a Tu Lou. Do we really need to team up with other disciples? Seems unnecessary."

"We're all fellow disciples, and it's rare to run into each other. There's no harm in lending them a hand," Qiu Changtian explained with a smile.

If I don't team up with anyone, how am I supposed to show off and raise my synchronization value? Am I meant to raise it only with you?

Isn't it because your senior brother cares about you, Junior Sister Yinglian!

Xu Yinglian looked at him doubtfully. Clearly, she hadn't understood his good intentions. After a long pause, she finally nodded.

"Whatever. I came along to keep you company, anyway."

When the two reached the tavern, they saw the five outer sect disciples waiting outside.

Liu Daoran had been looking impatient and disdainful, but the moment his gaze fell on Xu Yinglian, his eyes went wide and fixed on her. So the Eldest Young Lady really is here!

It should be noted that in this world, there was no such expression as "long, straight, black hair," but the mainstream aesthetic still heavily favored it.

Hair should be "dark as ink, needing no pearls to adorn it," and skin should be "white without powder." In short, natural beauty was prized.

Xu Yinglian's appearance and bearing stood at the very pinnacle of that ideal.

She wore a plain white robe, without a single ornament. Her face was pure, untouched by cosmetics. Her dark hair fell like a waterfall, unadorned by hairpins and tied loosely with nothing more than a ribbon. Every detail struck right at the heart of the mainstream aesthetic.

The three Kunlun male disciples stared at her for a moment, slightly dazed. Then they quickly came to their senses, straightened their backs, and put on an air of modest elegance.

The two Kunlun female disciples, on the other hand, had been quite happy to see Qiu Changtian return. But when they caught sight of Xu Yinglian, they felt an instinctive aversion and a hint of jealousy.

Everyone introduced themselves again. When it came to her turn, she simply said, "Xu Yinglian," then stood beside Qiu Changtian and fell silent.

"Did she happen to have the same name as Xu Yinglian, or did she deliberately choose a fake name?" Wen Qin said with a curl of her lip. Beside her, Liu Yiyi hurriedly tugged at her arm. "Keep your voice down."

As for Liu Daoran, who had questioned whether she was really the Eldest Young Lady, he was now enthusiastically explaining the mission to Xu Yinglian alongside Lu Zheng.

Hu Haozhi considered himself a year senior to everyone else, so he didn't think it appropriate to lower himself to explain things. Instead, he just kept nodding to show that "they're right, and I agree."

"I'll just listen to Senior Brother Qiu." Only after the male disciples had finished talking over one another did Xu Yinglian speak indifferently.

Seeing the three men rebuffed, the two female disciples couldn't help covering their mouths and giggling again.

With their own thoughts on their minds, everyone mounted their sword lights and flew toward Old Dragon Ridge.

The route was all high-altitude grassland, dotted with herds of cattle and sheep and the occasional herdsman's tent. In the distance stretched green fields and blue skies, with one snow-capped peak after another. It filled them with the refreshing sense that "the world was vast."

Since there were exactly seven people in the group, Qiu Changtian had wanted to say, "Seven Swordsmen of Heaven Mountain," but realized no one would get the reference and let it go.

It was rather absurd. Along the way, while testing Mirror Flower Water Moon's synchronization mechanism, he chatted with several of the female disciples in the group and casually told them some local lore about Old Dragon Ridge.

Wen Qin and Liu Yiyi praised him in a flattering manner for being "widely learned," but his synchronization value didn't budge.

Xu Yinglian gave a cold snort and said, "Did Senior Brother think I didn't know any of this?" His synchronization value went up by one.

It was obvious. Though both outer sect female disciples had praised him to his face, they didn't genuinely think he was impressive. They were only pretending to admire him to curry favor.

Junior Sister Xu, on the other hand, hadn't known the story behind Old Dragon Ridge. She cared a great deal about having lost to her senior brother in breadth of knowledge, and so she'd contributed a point of synchronization value.

That's why my junior sister is the only one who's truly adorable. What kind of precious creatures are you outer sect disciples?

Garbage!

Good thing I brought my junior sister along!

Back to the matter at hand. North of Old Dragon Ridge's main peak lay a long, narrow valley called Da Zhigou.

A river ran through Da Zhigou, known to the locals as the Camel River.

The spirit stone mine was located at the river's source. Several stewards and a large crowd of miners stood outside the mine, their faces filled with worry.

After Qiu Changtian and the others landed, the stewards hurried forward, as if they'd found a lifeline. Overjoyed, they exclaimed,

"Immortals, you've finally arrived!"

"Don't worry," Qiu Changtian said gently. "Our time is limited, so tell us what happened with the demonic beast, from beginning to end."

Lu Zheng felt a little displeased. He'd wanted to ask about it himself, but Qiu Changtian had beaten him to it, making it seem as if he were the one leading the group.

However, if he got into an argument with Qiu Changtian, the other female teammates would surely tear into him. Liu Daoran's fate was right there for all to see, so he kept silent and listened as the stewards explained.

As it turned out, several days earlier, miners had suddenly started disappearing from the mine, and a faint blood-red light had appeared deep within the tunnels.

The stewards had assumed it was some sort of wild beast, perhaps a cave bear, and organized a team of miners to investigate.

Instead, they found a man-eating Tu Lou inside.

Demonic beasts were different from wild beasts. The latter could be dealt with using bows and arrows, but the former required flying swords.

So the stewards had hurriedly reported the matter to the sect, and the Deacon Hall had posted a mission for Qi Refining Stage disciples.

After hearing the report, everyone walked off to one side to discuss the matter.

"What do you think?" Lu Zheng asked, having learned from his earlier mistake. Before Qiu Changtian could speak, he seized the chance to start the discussion, hoping to take charge and make a good impression on Xu Yinglian.

"What else is there to think? It's just a Tu Lou. We go in and kill it," Hu Haozhi said impatiently.

"What does Senior Brother Qiu think?" Wen Qin asked with a smile.

"If it were only a Tu Lou, that would be fine," Qiu Changtian said seriously. "But do you remember? The steward said there had been a faint blood-red light in the tunnel on the day of the incident."

He called the stewards over again and asked them about it. They confirmed that there had indeed been a blood-red light in the tunnel at the time.

"So here's the question." After sending the stewards away, Qiu Changtian continued calmly, "Tu Lou don't know Five Spirit Arts, so where did that blood-red light come from?"

"'Blood-red light' might just be a figure of speech," Lu Zheng objected. "Maybe it was light reflecting off blood that splashed onto the walls after the Tu Lou attacked its prey."

Qiu Changtian was utterly speechless.

How big a hole did you have in your head to think blood-red light was light reflecting off blood?

I asked the stewards about the 'blood-red light' several times. Were you not there to hear it, or is something wrong with your ears?

"No need to worry." Liu Daoran stole a sideways glance at Xu Yinglian's expression, then smiled at Qiu Changtian. "If you're scared, you can stay at the back of the group."

Hearing him openly mock her senior brother, Xu Yinglian raised her brows in surprise, turned to Qiu Changtian, and asked in a low voice,

"What's wrong with him?"

"Jealousy, probably," Qiu Changtian whispered back. "After all, my junior sister is beautiful."

"How boring." Xu Yinglian looked baffled. "Why can't they put their minds to something proper?"

"Exactly," Qiu Changtian said.

Seeing the two whisper to each other with all the intimacy of a couple, the five outer sect disciples around them couldn't help darkening their faces.

We're all fellow disciples. How could they be so inconsiderate?

They're just shoving dog food into our mouths, aren't they?!