Charge Up Your Senior Sister!

The morning in northeastern Qiongzhou was bitterly cold.

Among these barren mountains and harsh waters, even the wind blowing straight at you was like a knife scraping bone... Wu Ming sat upright on the Cloud Carpet, feeling the gale howl past his ears. He couldn't help tightening his clothes and hugging the Dharma Sword even closer.

The journey home was far harsher and colder than the trip out.

A mere night spent camping outdoors had done little to help a Nascent Soul True Person who was injured, disabled, and exhausted. Gu Bai had barely recovered his ability to soar through the sky, and had no time to spare for his apprentice beside him.

Fortunately, after swaying and rocking all the way, the Cloud Carpet finally reached Yan Mountain. They had been gone for just one day, yet as Wu Ming looked down from above at the Daoist temple, its lacquer peeling away, he was unexpectedly moved by the feeling of a wanderer returning home.

At the temple gate, the sect's senior disciple, Zhu Ying, had long been waiting respectfully. She stood ramrod straight as a pine, and even from high above, one could feel her imposing aura.

When the Cloud Carpet touched down, that aura doubled in an instant, turning fiercer than the cold wind high in the sky.

Even Gu Bai couldn't help shrinking back. He forced a kindly elder's smile onto his face, but looked distinctly guilty.

"Ying'er..."

Before he could finish, Zhu Ying said loudly, "Welcome back to the mountain, Master!"

Her words were a welcome, but her tone was fierce as a storm surge, sweeping Gu Bai's greeting right back at him. The old man hunched his shoulders and sighed helplessly.

"This master was wrong."

Zhu Ying's brows rose sharply. "Oh? Then tell me, what did you do wrong?"

"Um..." Gu Bai paused, then answered haltingly, "This master shouldn't have spent the night away from home without a thought."

Zhu Ying snorted. "The Prefecture City is bustling with the Immortal Path, with plenty of fellow cultivators around. You took your junior apprentice to the Prefecture City, Master; you should have broadened his horizons. Staying overnight was only right."

Gu Bai continued, "Then... this master made a rare trip to the Prefecture City and came back empty-handed. I truly let you and Ling Xi down, having left you to watch over the mountain gate."

Zhu Ying cut him off coldly. "Our Gujian Sect can barely afford next month's Cinnabar Talisman Paper. If you'd dared to waste money in the Prefecture City buying useless, flashy trinkets, then I really would be angry!"

Gu Bai sighed. "This master is slow-witted. What exactly did I do wrong? Please spell it out for me, Ying'er."

Zhu Ying didn't mince words. She asked outright, "Did you take Hongxiao Powder again?!"

Gu Bai quickly laughed it off. "How could I? That stuff harms both body and mind. For a cripple like me, it's deadly. You always warn me over and over, so how would I dare break the rules? If you don't believe me, you can use a spell to check. There's not a trace of Hongxiao Powder left on me!"

Zhu Ying snorted. She didn't bother checking, but simply turned to look at Wu Ming.

Wu Ming understood at once. "Senior Sister, Master kept himself pure the whole way. He definitely didn't sneak a taste of any Little Red Sticks."

The next moment, Gu Bai's face changed dramatically, while Zhu Ying's brows shot up. "Well, well, Little Red Sticks... And you've even been smoking top-grade Smoke Powder!"

Gu Bai hastily protested, "It's a misunderstanding! That boy Wu Ming is ignorant and blurted out nonsense. You mustn't take him seriously!"

"He blurted it out, and somehow described the shape so accurately?"

"Just a coincidence. You have to believe me, this master..."

"Gu Bai, if you keep making excuses, I'll really get angry!"

The old man stammered for a while, then had no choice but to lower his head. "This master was wrong."

"I knew it! Whenever you go away and no one's watching you, you sneak that harmful powder. And when you get back, you still dare lie to me and say you didn't! You won't even buy medicine because you want to save money, yet you can afford Little Red Sticks!"

Gu Bai hurriedly explained, "I didn't buy them! The Smoke Powder peddler brought me some gifts for free to celebrate my new apprentice, just before I left the city. They were free, every last one!"

Zhu Ying snapped, "That peddler gives out top-grade Smoke Powder just because someone takes on an apprentice? How much have you spent with him to get that kind of VIP treatment?!"

Gu Bai had no choice but to keep digging himself out. "It wasn't because of me, but because of Wu Ming... I was just about to tell you, too. Wu Ming made quite a splash in front of Dinghuang Prefecture this time!"

Then Gu Bai poured out the whole story of what had happened before Dinghuang Prefecture. He even summoned the Taiyi Dharma Sword, and the golden glow shining from its blade left Zhu Ying momentarily dazed.

"...In short, it really was all just a coincidence. Wu Ming showed extraordinary talent in front of Dinghuang Prefecture. Though he came from humble roots and wasn't in the sightline of the famous and influential, people of humble means still came to curry favor with him. That Smoke Powder peddler was stingy, actually. He talked a big game, but only gave me one Red Stick..."

At that, Zhu Ying raised her lovely eyes. "How many? Tell the truth."

"...Five."

Zhu Ying held out her hand. "All right. Give me the rest."

Gu Bai painfully fished two Little Red Sticks out of his robes and handed them over with trembling hands.

But Zhu Ying wasn't satisfied. "There's more!"

After struggling for a long while, as if being skinned and having his bones pulled out, Gu Bai handed over the last Little Red Stick he'd been hoarding.

Zhu Ying didn't destroy the contraband on the spot. Instead, she carefully put it away, intending to sell it later and help make up for the Gujian Sect's household expenses.

Only after dealing with Gu Bai did the senior disciple of the Gujian Sect turn to Wu Ming and offer him a gentle smile.

"Junior Brother, congratulations! I never expected you to have such great talent and Immortal Fate. I truly underestimated you before!"

Having witnessed Zhu Ying's entire process of scolding a dog, Wu Ming couldn't help but say from the bottom of his heart, "I underestimated you, Senior Sister..."

"?" Zhu Ying paused, but didn't take it to heart. "I tidied up your room yesterday. I'll take you there in a bit. Ling Xi also prepared some Fruit Cake and herbal tea for you."

Hearing that, Gu Bai smiled. "Ling Xi's Fruit Cake has such a rich, distinctive flavor. But spirit fruits are hard to come by, so I haven't tasted any in ages."

Zhu Ying rolled her eyes. Her icy gaze made Gu Bai quickly duck his head.

Wu Ming's home had been arranged at the foot of Yan Mountain.

Starting from the Daoist temple halfway up the mountain, they followed a rugged mountain path until the scenery opened up before them. Green filled the valley, where a small thatched cottage called [Xianyun Abode] stood within a bamboo-fenced courtyard. When he pushed open the door, the fragrance of flowers and grass wafted over him. In the main hall stood an offering table and a kneeling cushion. Two paintings hung above the table: one was a landscape from the Sect Leader Temple, and the other was a portrait of Gu Bai, the Gujian Sect Leader.

On the left side of the main hall was a bedroom separated by bamboo walls. It had a bed, cabinets, a table, and chairs, all spotless. A plate of Fruit Cake and a pot of herbal tea sat on the table. On the right side of the hall was a study. Two bookshelves were filled with all sorts of classics and histories, while a stack of talisman paper, several blocks of cinnabar ink, and a set of Talisman Brushes sat on the desk.

Outside the cottage were a kitchen, woodshed, and latrine. Small as a sparrow, it still had all its organs.

After Zhu Ying showed Wu Ming around, she didn't say much else, only instructing him, "Settle in and get some rest. If you need anything, ring the bell by your bed and I'll know. Once you've rested, I'll come take you through your cultivation tomorrow morning."

"Senior Sister, wait a moment."

"Hm? Is there something wrong? The Gujian Sect isn't wealthy, so our conditions are inevitably a little basic. You..."

Wu Ming wasn't complaining about the conditions, of course. He simply asked, "Senior Sister, this is your room, isn't it?"

Zhu Ying paused, not answering for a moment.

It wasn't hard to figure out. When Gu Bai had taken Wu Ming away from the mountain yesterday, Zhu Ying had clearly complained that there were no rooms left on the mountain. Yet in just one day, a quiet, elegant little courtyard had been made ready. Clearly, Zhu Ying had given up her own room.

After a moment, Zhu Ying said, "Twenty years ago, when Master took me in, Xianyun Abode was his home... His Dao foundation had been damaged, and he couldn't control the turbid qi when he breathed. So it wasn't suitable for him to stay too close to his disciples day and night. Once he confirmed I could manage on my own, he gave me his home and built the Sect Leader Temple for himself. Now that I'm giving Xianyun Abode to you, it's simply the Gujian Sect's tradition."

When she'd finished, Zhu Ying looked Wu Ming deeply in the eyes, her gaze carrying both scrutiny and expectation. Then she turned her head and glanced around from the corner of her eye, a trace of reluctance rising in her heart.

After all, Xianyun Abode had been her home for twenty years. She wasn't attached to its comforts, but she couldn't help feeling reluctant to leave a place so familiar.

Of course, she wouldn't show it. Keeping her tone light, she said, "Don't worry about me. I'll move in with your Senior Sister Ling Xi and help her get those birds and beasts of hers under control."

But Wu Ming asked, "Why move out? Wouldn't it be fine to keep living here?"

Zhu Ying froze. Only after a moment did her eyes slowly widen, her pupils narrowing as she asked incredulously, "You... want to live with me?!"

Wu Ming nodded. "This cottage isn't as spacious as the Sect Leader Temple, but it's more than big enough for the two of us. So I think you don't need to go looking somewhere else..."

Before he could finish, Zhu Ying's face turned slightly red. "Nonsense! You may be young, but you're no longer a little child... What sort of propriety would there be in an unmarried man and woman sharing a room?"

Wu Ming couldn't help pausing. "An unmarried man and woman... Senior Sister, you've gotten way ahead of yourself."

"You're the one who hasn't thought far enough! The boundary between men and women is a basic matter of human ethics. If you want to achieve anything with the Human Emperor Scroll in the future, you must be especially careful about these principles!"

Wu Ming was even more surprised. "The Human Emperor Scroll has this kind of dross in it?"

"Don't talk nonsense!" Zhu Ying sternly corrected him. "You grasped the Human Emperor Scroll for the first time and gained six Human Dao Seals. That shows you have extraordinary talent for this path... Don't squander your talent over such wild thoughts!"

Wu Ming was utterly bewildered. "Why is this talent like something out of a succubus ninja game? One wrong move and it'll get squandered!"

"What strange nonsense are you talking about now?!"

Wu Ming said, "I mean, if cultivating the Human Emperor Scroll requires all these ridiculous rules about propriety, I'd be better off not cultivating it."

"You!?" At that moment, Zhu Ying was genuinely angry. "Better off not cultivating it?! Do you think the path of cultivation is a market stall where you can pick and choose whatever you like? Besides, you were born in Qiongzhou and are one of the Desolate People. If you don't cultivate the Human Emperor Scroll, you won't even qualify to begin your Immortal Path! And there are plenty of hardships still waiting further along. Dinghuang Prefecture keeps the Desolate People under constant scrutiny. Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation... Every realm has strict requirements for Human Dao Seals. If you break through on your own without meeting the standard, Dinghuang Prefecture will immediately send people to punish you, or even arrest you!"

Wu Ming wasn't bothered by any of that. "Those are just minimum requirements for the general public. For me, they'll be easy as pie. So when the time comes, I can just go through the motions. There's no need to take them too seriously. As a professional first-clear player, I don't read every game's user manual from beginning to end."

"..." Zhu Ying fell silent for a moment, but fury was clearly rising in her chest. As her chest heaved, even the ponytail behind the young woman's head began to move without a breeze, lifting slightly into the air.

"...I expected a slippery, opportunistic child like you to have a stubborn, incorrigible side. But you've still managed to open my eyes."

As Zhu Ying spoke coldly, a cold surge seemed to howl through Xianyun Abode. Even the Fruit Cake on the tea table in the bedroom began to frost over.

"Master was right to hand you over to me. He's too mild-tempered, and he tends to spoil and indulge his juniors. You'll have him wrapped around your little finger in no time. But that won't work on me! The more unruly you are, the stricter I'll be with you! I won't let you take the wrong path or do the wrong thing!"

Wu Ming nodded. "In that case, Senior Sister should stay here all the more, living and eating with me, and spending every day together. Otherwise, if I act up here from time to time, you won't know, and you'll have no way to stop me."

"...?"

Wu Ming continued to persuade her. "For example, until yesterday, Xianyun Abode was the home of a youthful beauty. Though the bedding and other things have all been replaced, her lingering fragrance still remains on the furniture, walls, and floor. And I, a rebellious young man who has no respect for human ethics, might take advantage of that lingering fragrance and do something that squanders my talent."

"!!??"

Zhu Ying was stunned, then understood, then horrified... Finally, shame and fury surged over her like a wildfire, turning her whole face the color of the evening sky.

"You, you... you lascivious, shameless... shameless wretch?!"

Wu Ming said earnestly, "Senior Sister, Master handed me over to you because he was afraid I'd lack discipline and end up a truly lascivious, shameless wretch. As the sect's senior disciple, please remember why you started and never forget your mission. Keep a close watch on me, keep me under your nose, keep an eye on me at all times. Only then will you live up to Master's good intentions!"

"I, I..." Zhu Ying was so furious she couldn't even form a complete sentence. Her chest heaved violently for a long while. At last, she glared and turned her head toward the distant view outside the window, in the direction of the Sect Leader Temple.

"Gu Bai, you dared take on an apprentice like this and leave me to deal with him. Just you wait!"