Yun Ranyi agreed to this condition.
Ultimately, like Jiang Jinyue, she did not think she had any romantic feelings for Qi Yan... though she did have a favorable impression of him.
A favorable impression and that sort of feeling were a hundred and eight thousand miles apart.
How could a deity possibly develop feelings for a mortal?
Even Xiao Yuan, who had been making a fuss and scolding her for not knowing how to raise a cat a few days ago, had been stroked smooth these past few days. That meant the cat food Qi Yan had fed her had already lost its effect.
Sure enough, it was all a fleeting illusion.
Besides, who could a condition like this restrain...? It would crumble at a touch.
Yun Ranyi leisurely took her leave with Xiao Yuan. Jiang Jinyue, feeling she had won a small battle, returned only to see the earring Qi Yan was riding at first glance. Every little bit of joy from her victory vanished.
One earring each-what use was that second restriction now? No wonder Yun Ranyi had agreed so readily.
That rotten scumbag.
After hearing Jiang Jinyue give a rough account of events, Qi Yan pondered for a moment. "Yun Ranyi hadn't shown any intention of attaching herself to the Heavenly Evolution Sect before. It looks like she learned of some new developments these past few days that prompted her to make a new decision."
Jiang Jinyue shot him a sidelong glance. "You understand Yun Ranyi so well, huh?"
Qi Yan could only say, "There's really nothing between her and me."
"One earring each, and you're telling me there's nothing? Do I look like some silly girl to you?"
"But I don't have a flying artifact to use. How about giving me one, Senior Sister? I'll replace it right away."
Jiang Jinyue froze, her gaze wandering a little. "My flying artifact requires Foundation Establishment. You can't use it yet."
Qi Yan looked at her innocently, his meaning clear: if she would not give him a replacement, she could not blame him for using someone else's.
Unable to save face, Jiang Jinyue stamped her foot. "I'm going to see Master first and report everything. You, go stir-fry a couple of dishes for me!"
With that, Jiang Jinyue dashed off. Her cheeks were still a little red as she left the cave residence.
Because her flying artifact was an earring too... a crescent-shaped earring that, when deployed, became a curved moon floating in the sky. Jiang Jinyue particularly liked it.
If it were just a flying artifact, she could give it to her junior brother no matter how much she liked it. But this was an earring.
Why did it feel like she was fighting over a man's affections? How could she give him that...? Worse still, for that instant, she really had wanted to.
Jiang Jinyue almost wanted to slap herself. Her mind a tangled mess, she went to her master's seclusion chamber and announced herself outside.
A moment later, the stone door opened, and Mu Xunzhen's voice sounded calmly. "Come in."
Jiang Jinyue entered, and her first glimpse gave her a small fright.
A bloody light flickered in the aura surrounding her master, and even her eyes seemed somewhat blood-colored... Had she not known this was her master, she might have thought she had encountered some demonic cultivator.
Fortunately, that aura quickly receded. Instead, Mu Xunzhen asked Jiang Jinyue, "Your mind is unsettled. What has happened now?"
Jiang Jinyue did not dare mention the true reason her mind was unsettled. She merely recounted everything about Yun Ranyi from beginning to end.
Mu Xunzhen fell silent for a moment. "That will suffice."
"Qi Yan found something too." Jiang Jinyue also recounted Qi Yan's trip to the Wang Family, then asked, "Jingkong wouldn't be thinking of taking action personally, would she?"
"Hard to say. The underlying purpose of sending people to investigate was that, if everything really was as she suspected, she would act. But now the investigation has turned out like this..." Mu Xunzhen suddenly smiled. "Qi Yan really is a lucky general."
"He is," Jiang Jinyue said. "This clearly involves some people within our ranks. Master, do you think...?"
"No matter." Mu Xunzhen said calmly, "After several thousand years of calm winds and still waters, they may have forgotten how much I loathe fellow disciples slaughtering one another. It is about time I refreshed their memories."
Jiang Jinyue asked curiously, "Do you know who it is, Master?"
Rather than answering, Mu Xunzhen asked, "You seem quite happy to hear me praise Qi Yan?"
"Huh? Why wouldn't I be?"
Mu Xunzhen was silent for a moment, then said slowly, "Jinyue, do you know why I sent you away for this stretch of time?"
"Wasn't it to investigate Yun Ranyi?"
"...It was to investigate the Yun Clan. I now strongly suspect that, apart from Yun Ranyi, you might not even know the names of anyone else in the Yun Clan."
Jiang Jinyue: "..."
Oh no. She found out.
Mu Xunzhen said, "Jinyue, do you have a favorable impression of Qi Yan?"
"Ah... huh?" Jiang Jinyue hastily said, "He, well, I watched him join the sect all along the way. I see him as a little brother."
"I know this little contact would not be enough for you to develop genuine feelings. You have simply been lonely since childhood, and he has filled that gap of a playmate. But Jinyue, I have been through this. I know very well that romantic feelings all begin with closeness and affection." Mu Xunzhen spoke softly. "Perhaps you only see him as an older brother, someone to rely on... but as that goes on, you will discover that nothing else can replace his place in your heart."
Jiang Jinyue really wanted to repeat that she saw him as a younger brother.
Who was it who once saw someone else as an older brother? At your age, have some shame.
Mu Xunzhen said, "Actually, if a senior sister and junior brother came together out of mutual affection, I would be happy to see it."
Jiang Jinyue: "?"
"But first, this fellow Qi Yan is fine in other respects, but there is one thing about him that isn't so good. His peach-blossom luck is far too strong." Mu Xunzhen sighed a little. "I would not want the disciple I raised to become just one blossom among them. That would be too unfair to you."
Jiang Jinyue had no idea that Mu Xunzhen was speaking somewhat as though making her final arrangements. She protested, "Master, what are you talking about! One blossom among them? I'll beat a whole bunch of blossoms onto his head! Uh, no, why should I be with him in the first place?"
Mu Xunzhen ignored her disciple and smiled. "Second, his cultivation is too low right now for him to be someone you can rely on. I have deliberately tempered him during this time, hoping he could grow quickly, and it has produced some results... When he first joined, he had barely broken through to the Fourth Layer of Qi Refinement. Now, in a mere dozen or so days, he has reached the seventh layer. That speed dazzles past and present alike. Even I was not that fast back then. He may not have realized it himself."
Jiang Jinyue truly had no idea what her master was trying to say, so she simply shut her mouth and listened.
"But there are also some problems... For instance, given the current circumstances, it is difficult for me to guide him step by step as I did you back then. As a result, I have yet to truly teach him anything. He is somewhat lost now, and the missions he has become involved in are all very difficult for his own abilities to handle. It isn't that he doesn't know the danger. He is simply forcing himself to face it. That is his struggle to forge ahead, but my failure in my duties."
Jiang Jinyue finally said, "He's always had courage. Not everyone would dare cross the sea alone."
"But remaining blind is no good either. He already has enough courage. What he truly lacks is someone who can lead him forward." Mu Xunzhen sighed. "Perhaps sending you away before to guard against feelings developing between you was my mistake. Having you guide him would have been the right thing to do. As for whether that might lead to... let fate take its course."
Jiang Jinyue finally confirmed that her master really was trying to match her with Qi Yan, and she was dumbstruck.
"In any case, now that you know his peach-blossom luck is strong, just keep an eye out. The decision ultimately rests with you. However, I still advise you not to become engrossed in such things before his cultivation reaches a certain level." Mu Xunzhen waved a hand. "All right, go. You will guide him for the time being."
Jiang Jinyue pointed at her own nose, desperately wanting to complain.
What do you mean, don't become engrossed before his cultivation reaches a certain level? So you're worried he'll be bewitched by a demoness and his cultivation will suffer, right? I'm the nation-ruining demoness in your eyes, right?
Infuriating!
Jiang Jinyue stormed back, cheeks puffed with anger, intending to give Qi Yan a beating to vent her frustration.
When she reached the cave residence, Qi Yan was not there. Jiang Jinyue paused, then turned toward her own garden.
The fragrance of food drifted from the kitchen.
Jiang Jinyue instinctively softened her footsteps as she approached the kitchen and peered inside.
Qi Yan was diligently stir-frying, filling the air with delicious aromas.
Without her noticing, all the anger filling Jiang Jinyue's belly disappeared. Folding her arms, she leaned against the doorframe and watched Qi Yan's back.
So this was coming home... After rushing about outside, returning to a scene like this really made one feel languid.
Being angry took energy too. Too lazy. Didn't want to exert herself.
Perhaps her master was right. She lacked a companion too much, which was why, the first time she heard him say he admired the Heavenly Evolution Sect, she had gained a little brother in her heart.
If she ignored that bratty little brother's hints about his "secret crush," there had been nothing much to it... only for her master to start matchmaking out of nowhere.
It would be nice for a senior sister and junior brother to share mutual affection?
Pah! That rotten scumbag was so weak, too. In his dreams!
Qi Yan finished stir-frying a dish and plated it. Turning to bring it to the table, he saw Jiang Jinyue leaning in the doorway and asked in surprise, "Why didn't you say anything when you got here? Come, try this. I made a special trip to the outer sect plaza to buy this exotic beast meat just now."
Jiang Jinyue sat down, propping her cheek on one hand and poking the meat with her chopsticks in the other. "Master told me to guide you from now on."
Qi Yan said happily, "That's how it should have been ages ago! I've practically had no idea what I've been doing all this time!"
Jiang Jinyue shot him a sidelong glance. "You've broken through to the seventh layer in no time, and you still don't know what you're doing? What, how soon are you planning to reach Foundation Establishment?"
"Hey..." Qi Yan moved his stool a little closer. "Do you think there's any chance I could reach Foundation Establishment before the grand competition?"
Jiang Jinyue was stupefied. "Hey, there's only a little over half a month until the grand competition! Do you think reaching Foundation Establishment is like going from the Qi Refining First Layer to the second, breaking through whenever you say so?"
"Just asking..."
"What, you want to enter the grand competition?"
"It's not that I want to enter..." Qi Yan leisurely ate the meat. "I'm practically certain that ambusher is a fellow disciple competing in the Foundation Establishment division... First, he damaged the tombs and earth veins of his own sect's affiliated clan. Second, he ambushed his own fellow disciples. Third, he splashed dirty water on his own sect and drew in outside enemies. You know what I've been through. I hate trash that only acts tough against its own people most of all."
Master hates that too, so you really do have something in common, huh? And I'm the demoness.
Jiang Jinyue puffed her cheeks and picked up a piece of meat. "So?"
The ruthlessness he had shown when blowing up the ancestral graves made a rare appearance in Qi Yan's eyes. "I don't have to enter any grand competition, but when the need arises, I have to be able to knock out one of his teeth."
Jiang Jinyue ate the meat, watching him with her cheeks moving. Only after a long while did she say, "I'll put you through special training. Whether you can reach Foundation Establishment is up to you."
Qi Yan felt that something was a little odd.
When his senior sister had been sent away before, he had more or less guessed that their master did not want the two of them becoming too close and had deliberately separated them. He could understand that precaution.
But now she was not guarding against it? What was she thinking?