The 024th Poor Sap

Qiu Jinyou had only just arrived, brushing past Lin Chunhe as he hurried away, when she heard that remark. She nearly lost control of her expression.

What nonsense was Wen Que marveling at now? What on earth had Lin Chunhe heard to make him flee in such a panic?

Unfortunately, she had arrived a step too late and missed the most important part.

"Jiujiu?"

"Oh, Senior Sister!"

Qiu Jinyou did not know when it had started, but Wen Que's delighted greeting, so affectionate it carried a hint of wheedling, made her feel especially close to her.

"What happened to Chunhe? I heard he came looking for you the moment he got back. Why did he run off so fast just now?"

"I don't know either!" Wen Que spread her hands helplessly. "He did come running back all happy, and he was going to share the pastries he'd brought from home with me. Then something happened—I don't know what—and he ran off with the pastries again. He didn't even explain, just said he still had something to take care of. I didn't get to ask him anything!"

Wen Que pouted, her little face full of grievance, but the voice in her heart was making quite a racket.

[Heh, that little junior brother of mine! I was planning to check whether those pastries really had expired, then warn him to his face. Otherwise, that silly boy will keep letting his childhood sweetheart play him for a fool. She's kept him on a string as her backup for years, and even though she's about to get married, she still won't let him go. She wants to squeeze the last bit of value out of him.]

[After all, he's an outstanding Medicine Cultivator with a gift for the Alchemy Dao. His future is limitless. With a backup so utterly devoted to her, won't his childhood sweetheart rise straight to the clouds?]

Qiu Jinyou: Hm???

What childhood sweetheart? What marriage? What backup?

What strange things had she just heard?

Wen Que had spilled so much outrageous information at once that Qiu Jinyou was caught off guard. Once she calmed down and thought it through, though, she understood what Wen Que meant. All she could do was sigh inwardly. What curse had their sect run into? What sort of people did they keep meeting?

No wonder Wen Que was always calling their sect a gathering of poor saps. From top to bottom, they really were!

Remembering all she had been through, Qiu Jinyou felt a stir in her heart. She lowered her gaze to her fingers, pale and clean now, though not long ago they had been stained with someone's blood. She could not help smiling.

So much for a heart without feeling. His blood had been just as hot and rank as anyone else's.

"Oh, Senior Sister, let's not worry about that silly boy. He's grown up. Surely he knows what he's doing?"

Wen Que clasped her hands and gazed at Qiu Jinyou, instantly tossing Lin Chunhe to the back of her mind. "Senior Sister, you're amazing! You've already reached Golden Core! Now that you're back, shouldn't we throw a celebration?"

[Not just for her successful breakthrough, but for Senior Sister finally getting rid of that scumbag!]

[Hmm... She did get rid of him, right?]

[She really did drive that sword into him. Unless the scumbag comes back for revenge, it won't be him killing his wife to attain the Dao. If he does, we can go straight after him!]

[Ugh! Has Junior Martial Uncle rubbed off on me? All this murderous talk doesn't suit me at all!]

Qiu Jinyou: Pfft.

"What do you think, Senior Sister? Shouldn't you treat me to something good?"

Wen Que clung to Qiu Jinyou as if she wished she could turn herself into an ornament hanging off her. Qiu Jinyou finally burst out laughing.

"I should! Of course I should!"

If Wen Que's thoughts had not come out of nowhere, Qiu Jinyou might never have escaped. Before that, she truly had never doubted Lan Yezhou—that scumbag. She had earnestly tried to protect their relationship. Well, it turned out she was the only one who had put her heart into it. He had simply taken her for a fool.

As if using her life to attain the Dao were not enough, he had wanted to use her blood to consecrate his sword. He had planned to make use of every last drop.

Thinking back on it now, Qiu Jinyou felt she had driven that sword in far too gently.

At that thought, Qiu Jinyou changed the subject. "I've been away for a while. How have your studies been?" As she spoke, she placed her fingers on Wen Que's wrist.

Wen Que: !!!

[Why is everyone suddenly so concerned about my studies and cultivation?]

[They weren't like this before!]

[Why does everyone suddenly want to flip a salted fish over?]

[Did anyone ask the salted fish what it wants?]

"Senior Sister! My dearest Senior Sister! There's really no need!" Wen Que protested again and again. "My talent and spiritual roots are what they are. My Spirit Platform isn't exactly falling apart, but it's plain and bare. There's no great promise there. Honestly, at my level, reaching the ninth level of Qi Refinement after more than ten years already feels like I've struck it rich. If I can reach Foundation Establishment by thirty, that'll be the peak of my life! Senior Sister, really, there's no need. Trust me, I don't want this!"

Wen Que was a hair's breadth from raising her hand and swearing that every word was true.

Qiu Jinyou heard this heartfelt confession and almost believed her. She remained unmoved.

Having taken the precautions she needed, Qiu Jinyou ignored Wen Que's wishes for once. When it came to cultivation, she was gentle but firm and refused to let Wen Que slack off in the slightest.

Wen Que began to wonder how her living conditions had turned into this. Her carefree days were gone. Qiu Jinyou came over every day to watch her cultivate in person.

Just as Wen Que was considering running away from home, Junior Martial Uncle Yan Qi finally returned, bringing a treatment method he had found in the Library Pavilion.

Lin Chunhe was not around. If he had been, he would have been beside himself with curiosity.

[Who knows how much little junior brother will regret missing this when he gets back!]

Hearing Wen Que's thoughts, Qiu Jinyou suspected that Lin Chunhe, who had fled in such a panic, had no attention to spare for this. Things at home were probably in chaos too.

The method Yan Qi had found was simple enough. No one knew which corner of the Library Pavilion he had dug the cultivation method out of, but he intended to have Wen Que refine the power of the Tribulation Lightning left inside her body.

Wen Que did not know whether to laugh or cry. "Junior Martial Uncle, you think far too highly of me!"

[I can barely digest ordinary spiritual energy, and now I'm supposed to digest Tribulation Lightning? If I wanted to ascend to the heavens, I wouldn't have waited until now!]

Yan Qi did not believe her. He picked Wen Que up and set her to one side. "Don't be afraid. With your martial uncle helping you, nothing's impossible!"

He even gave her a smile he apparently considered kindly. "It's simple. Just follow my guidance."

Wen Que looked despairing. "Follow it where?"

Into a pit?

Wen Que did not understand, but Qiu Jinyou did. Junior Martial Uncle Yan Qi intended to use the power of a Spirit Transformation cultivator to guide Wen Que's cultivation. How many people in the entire Heavenly Sun Sect could receive such a blessing?

It was like the heavens—no, Junior Martial Uncle—feeding her with his own hands!

The cultivation method was not just for Wen Que to practice. It would also let Yan Qi take control. Most of the remaining Tribulation Lightning was in Wen Que's Sea of Consciousness, and it could not be disturbed lightly. Otherwise, Lin Chunhe would not have racked his brains over it with so little progress.