Instinctive Nature

At the words "yesterday," Qin Yi immediately took off the clothes he had only half put on. Ruan Su watched his actions with a strange expression and asked curiously:

"What are you... doing?"

Qin Yi turned over and climbed back onto the bed, asking in return:

"It wasn't easy getting people to believe I have a brain ailment. If I don't make use of it, wouldn't I have let them believe it for nothing?"

"Mm... oh, oh."

Ruan Su suddenly understood. Xiao Yi was so clever.

Seeing that she had genuinely believed him, Qin Yi shook his head and said:

"I was joking. I'd originally planned to go into town to collect the clothes and silver from Meng Peijiu, but since only one day has passed, there's no need to rush."

Ruan Su pursed her lips, her gaze carrying a hint of resentment. But she soon tossed the matter aside, lifted the half-spilled bucket of water to the earthen bed, bent down to soak and wring out the towel, then turned toward Qin Yi. Covering half her burned face, she blinked, her eyes brimming with tentative expectation.

Qin Yi gave her an odd glance. After thinking briefly, he raised his face.

Ruan Su's eyes curved into crescents. She hurriedly leaned closer and gently began wiping the boy's cheeks.

As the towel passed over his face, Qin Yi closed his eyes, thought for a moment, and said softly:

"Starting yesterday, the proprietor should have already given you time off, right? But today, take that paper slip I gave you yesterday and go see him. Just don't trade it for a cultivation method anymore..."

"Eh... why?"

Ruan Su's body trembled slightly. For once, she unexpectedly interrupted Qin Yi.

She was asking not only why he was stopping her from trading for a cultivation method, but also whether she no longer needed to cultivate inner strength.

Qin Yi immediately opened his eyes, his gaze calm.

Their eyes met for an instant.

The hand holding Ruan Su's towel froze in midair, and she looked somewhat nervous.

The air fell silent.

Ever since picking up this older sister of his, Qin Yi had been subtly training her obedience.

And the most basic rule—

Was that whenever he was discussing serious matters, she had to keep quiet and listen.

She did not need to ask why. She did not need to know the reason. She only needed to do as he said, and he would lead her onward along the right path.

All the way south from Great Qin, after traversing who knew how many roads, Qin Yi had kept his promise. Naturally, Ruan Su had to do the same.

But this time, Qin Yi did not follow his old pattern and suppress the girl. Instead, he smiled and explained along with her question:

"Because our family has a better cultivation method now. We can trade that paper slip for something else, like silver."

"Oh..."

Ruan Su responded, letting out a long breath. She had thought Xiao Yi was going to "scold" her again, but he had not.

Qin Yi reached out and rubbed her head to comfort her.

Ruan Su's beautiful eyes widened, and she immediately rubbed his head back.

Qin Yi resisted.

Ruan Su declared that his resistance was invalid.

After a bout of horseplay between sister and brother, it ended with Ruan Su pinning Qin Yi to the bed with one hand and rubbing his hair into a bird's nest.

Qin Yi sat at the bedside, breathing lightly as he watched Ruan Su carry the wooden bucket away to pour out the water, looking utterly satisfied. Thoughtfulness gleamed in his dark eyes.

Suppressing Ruan Su and locking down her initiative had not actually been his personal desire. It had merely been the best solution under the circumstances.

Playing with people's hearts was like being off by the slightest fraction and missing by a thousand miles.

Especially mental control born from suppression through all manner of methods—one small misstep, and it could backfire.

Qin Yi had treated Ruan Su that way before only because he had run out of options.

Just as physiques differed, there were gaps between people's talents.

Ruan Su's innate instincts were as frighteningly high as her utterly unreasonable physical constitution.

Qin Yi did not know how long ago her family had abandoned her, but when he found her, judging by the dust and grime all over her, this older sister of his had survived alone in the mountains for at least a year.

And once he began systematically training her, her rate of growth gave Qin Yi the feeling that things could spiral out of control at any moment.

Take yesterday, for instance.

When he had secretly slipped out of Immortal Guest House, Qin Yi had not left behind a single trace, much less told anyone where he was going.

Yet this older sister had still managed to find him almost back-to-back.

Thinking of this, Qin Yi called outside:

"Sis, how did you know yesterday that I'd gone to Meng's Cloth Workshop?"

Amid the sound of pouring water, Ruan Su's response paused, as though she were seriously considering it. Then her hoarse voice drifted in from the small courtyard:

"...I felt... you would be there."

A feeling...

Two very interesting words.

If it truly was a feeling, then this older sister's instincts were far too accurate. After all these years together, the decisions she made based on feeling had almost never been wrong.

And to get to the bottom of it, Qin Yi had conducted several variable experiments on Ruan Su.

He fed her information intermittently—some true, some false, some that seemed true but were false, and some that seemed false but were true—then suddenly made her choose at a certain point.

The results spoke for themselves.

Every time, Ruan Su could eliminate every distracting option and directly give the most correct choice for the moment.

When asked why she had chosen that way, she said she felt it was right.

After verifying this time and again, Qin Yi came to understand Ruan Su's ability.

Once she had absorbed enough information, she did not need to go through a long chain of deductions like he did. Her brain would instinctively produce the optimal answer directly.

And—

Rational and cold-blooded.

Two Calamity Seeds they had picked up had been discarded by Ruan Su as expendable pawns in exactly this way.

Of course, Qin Yi had tacitly approved of it as well.

But from that point onward, Qin Yi stopped training Ruan Su. Instead, he began gradually suppressing her in turn, trying to strangle that monstrous instinctive nature of hers.

If he could remain clearheaded around the clock, Qin Yi would not have minded continuing to train Ruan Su. But the brain ailment left him with no choice.

The fine mountain breeze carried autumn's chill.

Ruan Su returned to the little house and sat beside Qin Yi. Then she quietly scooted a little closer, pressing against him as she cautiously asked:

"Xiao Yi... your brain ailment... is better?"

The room was silent. Qin Yi gathered his thoughts, then turned back and saw the trace of fear in the girl's eyes. A hint of confusion rose in his heart.

Because of her nature, Ruan Su rarely showed this kind of emotion.

During the life-and-death moments of their journey south, after Qin Yi disciplined the other Calamity Seeds a few times, aside from one or two thorns who were convinced in heart but not in words, the rest would automatically regard him as their backbone, even developing something akin to religious worship.

But Ruan Su was different.

Even after several years of Qin Yi's targeted discipline, her instinctive nature had merely been suppressed.

She was never meek and submissive before him.

She showed no respect whatsoever.

Sometimes, she would even directly beat him up.

The dignity of an older sister.

What did this reaction mean now...?

"Yes, it should be better." Qin Yi nodded lightly and said slowly, "Though I may need to confirm it first."

"Oh..."

Ruan Su instinctively looked away. Qin Yi could tell that she did not feel particularly happy.

Qin Yi tried to understand this change in her emotions.

In truth, the moment the bucket hit the ground, he had noticed that Ruan Su was acting strangely.

She had become overly cautious.

Even when he deliberately played around and acted close to her, she carried a restrained distance, as though afraid of angering him.

Because of the silence, an unusually awkward atmosphere appeared in the little house.

Smack!

Ruan Su suddenly clapped both hands to her cheeks and stood up. Looking back with a smile, she said:

"I... go to town... buy a lamb leg, cel... celebrate!"

Still absorbed in thought, Qin Yi casually replied:

"No need. Isn't there still meat at home we haven't finished?"

At those words—

Ruan Su's body abruptly froze, and she even appeared somewhat at a loss.

Qin Yi caught it from the corner of his eye, but did not move.

After a long pause—

Pinch.

Ruan Su reached out and pinched Qin Yi's cheek, forcibly raising his chin. There was none of her former older-sister authority in her eyes. Instead, she seemed utterly lacking in confidence, as though afraid he would refuse:

"We... celebrate. I... am big sister!"

They looked at each other for several breaths, and Qin Yi smiled.

Oh... he understood.

Finally understanding, Qin Yi's eyes curved as he smiled.

"Alright, then we'll celebrate. I'll cook at noon."

Ruan Su looked pleasantly surprised. She immediately nodded, released him, put on her clothes, and hurried toward the door in a whirlwind:

"Heh... heh... I'll go right now."

Qin Yi called after her:

"Remember to take that paper slip and trade it with the proprietor for silver. He probably won't cheat you."

Ruan Su ran to the doorway and opened the courtyard gate.

"...Alright."

Before she had stepped beyond the gate—

"Sis."

Qin Yi suddenly called to the girl again.

"Mm?"

Ruan Su looked back.

The boy's gentle voice echoed through the green mountains, only to be scattered by the wind in an instant:

"Whether my brain ailment is cured or not, you are still the most important person to me."

"..."

Ruan Su's body shuddered fiercely. Her eyes blinked rapidly as she bit her lip and sniffed, seemingly wanting to say something. But in the end, she turned away with a soft huff, the corners of her lips lifting as she waved behind her. Then, with small bouncing steps, she vanished down the shaded forest path beyond the gate...