Two Sisters' Secret Talk

"Waaah, Master Luo, you scared me to death."

Ling Moxue sobbed so hard she could barely speak. Her lips were bloodless, and her whole body trembled with lingering fear.

Overwhelmed, she no longer cared if she dirtied Luo Fanchen's Daoist robe. She pressed her little head against his back and kept sniffling, her small fists flying in a blur as she pounded him.

"Silly girl. It's all right now."

His back grew damp and warm. Luo Fanchen felt helpless, yet a gentle smile tugged at his lips.

She valued loyalty, had people she cared about, and was resilient without losing her softness. She was an excellent seedling for immortal cultivation. If not for her connection to Ling Leng, she would likely have entered a Dao Sect long ago and become a dragon and phoenix among men.

Come to think of it, had he picked up a treasure everyone else had missed?

"All right. A wager's a wager. I won't lay a hand on Ling Qiuyun."

Luo Fanchen stroked Ling Moxue's back as though petting a cat. At the same time, he carefully wiped away her tears and snot with his sleeve, his expression full of patience and not a trace of disgust.

The girl had lived under the shadow of death for so long that her nerves had been stretched taut. This had merely been the spark. Once her emotions broke loose, tears fell like rain on pear blossoms, and she could not calm down for a long while.

"M-Master Luo?"

Before him, Ling Qiuyun stood frozen, her pretty face blank. Her grip on the dagger tightened, then loosened.

"It's a long story."

Most of Luo Fanchen's arm was soaked with Ling Moxue's tears. Unable to soothe her just yet, he looked rather awkward.

Ling Qiuyun pressed her lips together, afraid her elder sister would anger this Demonic Cultivator.

At the right moment, she took Ling Moxue by the arm and drew her into an embrace. As she comforted her sister softly, she gave Luo Fanchen an apologetic curtsy.

"Sorry for the trouble of looking after my elder sister all this time, Uncle Luo."

Ling Qiuyun's pretty face looked docile, but her eyes were cold. She stroked Ling Moxue's neck, her gaze lingering on the frail body beneath her elder sister's coarse clothes.

Below Ling Moxue's bony collarbones, a dark-red ghost-face mark stood out sharply. It looked like a Master-Servant Blood Contract, but with Luo Fanchen present, Ling Qiuyun dared not examine it closely.

"You sisters have been apart for so long. You must have plenty to talk about. Qiu Yun, sorry for the trouble, but please help Mo Xue bathe and wash up for me. Come see me this evening."

"Taking care of my elder sister is my duty."

Ling Qiuyun lowered her head respectfully, hiding her expression. For a moment, she wondered why the Demonic Cultivator surnamed Luo would trust her alone with her sister.

Even if it was a test, she might still learn something about him from her elder sister.

As they parted, Ling Moxue wiped at her tears between sniffles. She turned her dirty little face toward Luo Fanchen, and a hint of dependence showed in her lingering gaze.

Behind the carved sandalwood screen, spring water burbled.

Mist rose in hazy veils, revealing and concealing a graceful figure. Ling Qiuyun's black hair cascaded to her waist, barely covering her buttocks.

Compared with the underdeveloped Ling Moxue, she was tall and shapely, with rose-petal lips. Slim as a branch and already full in bloom, she had begun to show the bearing of an immortal beauty.

She smiled serenely as she listened to Ling Moxue chatter. Her slender hands gently washed her elder sister's long hair, while warm spring water flowed over their skin. Ling Moxue's eyes curved with pleasure, her little face full of contentment.

It had been two years since the sisters had last seen each other, and both treasured their time together.

"Don't worry, Qiu Yun. Master Luo keeps his word. He's a very good person."

"A good person?"

Ling Qiuyun's lips moved faintly, and confusion entered her eyes.

She had thought Luo Fanchen was testing her, or perhaps using some means to watch them. Yet he had remained in the main hall, breathing and cultivating, seemingly letting her sense his location on purpose.

He really trusts me alone with my elder sister...

"Elder Sister, will you tell me about Master Luo?"

"Hmph! That awful man is fierce all day long. He's cold and timid, and he only knows how to scare me by barking orders. I can't stand him."

"But... Master Luo gives me tasty things, teaches me to cultivate, and feeds me expensive pills..."

Ling Moxue tipped up her chin and pursed her lips. She lay unguardedly in Ling Qiuyun's arms, sounding disdainful at first, only to shower Luo Fanchen with praise as she went on.

Ling Qiuyun narrowed her eyes, keenly hearing how much her elder sister had come to depend on Luo Fanchen.

She listened quietly, but her gaze settled on Ling Moxue's bony body. Her lips curved into a faint, strained smile.

There were glaring scabbed-over lash marks everywhere: on her ankles, wrists, and back. Her skin was sallow, and her swollen belly protruded slightly, though the ribs on either side were clearly visible. They were signs of depleted vitality.

At last, Ling Qiuyun's gaze fixed on the ghost-face blood mark beneath her sister's arm. She clenched her hand until it turned white, then let it fall helplessly open.

A Master-Servant Blood Contract.

"These injuries... Master Luo didn't cause them."

Only then did Ling Moxue realize what her sister was looking at. She awkwardly tried to cover her scars with both hands.

Her eyes flicked toward Qiu Yun's smooth, pale skin. Her little face dimmed, and she lowered her gaze in shame, forcing a smile. "Master Luo gave me a spiritual medicine. They'll heal soon."

Ling Qiuyun took out some ointment and gently gathered her elder sister into her arms. As she carefully applied it to the wounds, her shoulders trembled uncontrollably.

"Elder Sister, I'm sorry..."

Ling Qiuyun's eyes reddened. She listened quietly as her elder sister recounted the past few days. By the time she came to herself, she had bitten clear tooth marks into her lips.

Her elder sister knew too little of the world and had likely been deceived by Luo Fanchen. Ling Qiuyun knew her father's methods and the Soul Banner's powers. Only the most cunning and ruthless Demonic Cultivator could have defeated and killed him while at a disadvantage.

It was all her fault. If not for her frail, sickly body, her father would never have fallen to the demonic path, and her elder sister would not have ended up like this.

Now that the Master-Servant Blood Contract had been formed, the consequences would be unthinkable if Luo Fanchen truly was a Demonic Cultivator.

"Oh, right! I can cultivate now. Master Luo will keep teaching me, too. From now on, I'll protect Qiu Yun."

Ling Moxue had also noticed the Master-Servant Blood Contract. The eyes beneath her bangs dimmed.

Ling Qiuyun said nothing. She reached out with a trembling hand, as though to touch the blood mark beneath Ling Moxue's arm, but her fingertips froze in midair.

"It's all right. If not for Master Luo, I'd already have died in that cell."

"Master Luo told me that once I enter a Dao Sect, he'll undo the Blood Contract and give me my freedom..."

Ling Moxue forced a smile, her voice growing fainter.

She understood what a Master-Servant Blood Contract meant. Master Luo might not be a Demonic Cultivator, but he was no kindhearted soul, either.

When they had faced Ling Youdao's Blood Puppet, Master Luo had shoved her forward to take the blow without hesitation.

Ling Qiuyun shook her head almost imperceptibly. The Eight Great Daoist Sects were colossal powers that had stood across the Eight Wastes for nearly ten thousand years, each with Nascent Soul True Lords at their helm.

Their disciples were all young geniuses. She had even heard of some reaching Foundation Establishment at eighteen.

Her elder sister might have a Superior-Grade Spiritual Root, but she had lost over a decade. Without resources or a powerful background, she had no chance of entering a Dao Sect.

"Elder Sister, the cultivation world is a hundred times more treacherous than the mortal world. Rogue Cultivators lack resources and stop at nothing in pursuit of the Dao. A single Spirit Stone can turn fellow cultivators against each other, even make enemies of husband and wife."

Ling Qiuyun placed both hands firmly on her sister's shoulders, her pretty face solemn. "Do you know what a Spirit Puppet like you is worth in the cultivation world?"

"One... Spirit Stone?"

Ling Moxue timidly held up one finger. Master Luo had taught her some basic facts about the cultivation world while teaching her to cultivate.

One grain of Spirit Dust was enough to help her reach Seated Illumination. How much more valuable must a Spirit Stone be, worth ten times as much?

Ling Qiuyun slowly shook her head, her face grave. "A Heavenly Demon Spirit Puppet with dual Superior-Grade Spiritual Roots is worth at least a hundred Spirit Stones. More often, someone must pay twice or even three times that to be lucky enough to obtain one for use in medicine."

"A Heavenly Demon Spirit Puppet can be used to refine Baleful Pills and pursue the demonic path to Foundation Establishment. Even if Master Luo isn't a Demonic Cultivator, he would never undo your Blood Contract."

Ling Moxue hugged her knees and nodded silently. Ling Qiuyun softened her tone and combed her elder sister's long hair, her lowered face concealing her expression.

"Master Luo is meticulous and decisive when it comes to killing, yet he takes special care of you. I can't help worrying that he has ulterior motives..."

"Hehe~ All right. You're the only one I trust, Qiu Yun."

Sensing her younger sister's unhappiness, Ling Moxue put on a carefree air and splashed the water with a grin.

Ling Qiuyun rested her chin on Ling Moxue's forehead, affection in her face. She tightened the arm around her elder sister's waist, holding her a little closer.

"Perhaps I'm worrying too much. If Master Luo wanted something from you, he could simply take it by force."

"Bear with it for now, Elder Sister. Once your wings have grown strong, you can decide what to do. I'll find a way to deal with the Master-Servant Blood Contract."

She had little time left. She was destined to be unable to accompany her elder sister on the road ahead.

Meanwhile, in the main hall of the County Office.

A straw paper figure wrapped in yellow paper sat in the center, holding a Spirit Stone in its hands. A few simple formation lines beneath it slowly turned, drawing in a pitiful trickle of spiritual energy.

As for the Gu Puppet's master, he was standing amid the hazy water vapor, watching the two women through the mist with a complicated expression.

Ling Qiuyun was clever and quick-witted. Luo Fanchen had indeed left the sisters alone to test her. Unfortunately for her, he had been one step ahead. After using the Gu Puppet as a decoy, he swallowed his last Breath Concealment Pill and slipped into the mist to watch them.

He had only wanted to see what sort of person Ling Qiuyun was. He had not expected her to nearly decide he was a Demonic Cultivator, and he could not help smiling.

"What a wary girl. But she truly has Mo Xue's interests at heart. I suppose she passes."

Luo Fanchen muttered to himself. Before the two women finished dressing, he formed a hand seal and circulated his True Essence, turning it into a few wisps of thin mist as his figure vanished into the vapor.

If he could teach Ling Moxue, how much easier would it be to teach this kindhearted young woman?

With her looking after Mo Xue from now on, he could spare himself quite a bit of worry.