Fu Yu thought to herself, this master has social anxiety so severe she’s become incoherent, how exactly does she teach her disciples?
She was quite curious about what lay beneath the socially anxious master’s veil. She wondered if the princess and Qing Yao had ever been fortunate enough to see her face.
Of course, Fu Yu believed that for someone with severe social anxiety, one must show full respect and not set expectations too high, even if their speech was bizarre and illogical.
To ease the anxiety of the socially anxious individual, she asked as if nothing had happened, “How have you been lately, Master?”
Qing Cheng Jushi hid beneath her wide-brimmed hat, nervously twisting her fingers, trying her best to appear dignified and teacher-like in front of her disciple. This was, of course, incredibly difficult for her. She bit her lip, then bit it again, but still couldn’t manage to utter a single word. In the end, she simply nodded vaguely, indicating that she had answered Fu Yu’s question.
In her heart, however, she felt terribly guilty. First, her slip of the tongue, and now her silence, it must seem incredibly rude, utterly lacking a master’s dignity. Her disciples must surely think she was far too introverted…
After imagining all sorts of reasons others might dislike her, she grew even more nervous. Cold sweat poured from her as freely as water wrung from a cloth.
But in reality, Fu Yu hadn’t thought that much about it. She understood socially anxious people well, they meant no harm to the world; they simply didn’t know how to interact with others. The more people there were, the more clueless they became. Perhaps they even blamed themselves for it, why couldn’t they be more outgoing? More lively? More likable?
Ah, in this life, why overthink things? Especially when it comes to molding yourself into someone else’s idea of you.
At first, Fu Yu had genuinely believed the Empress had simply called them to meet their master. It wasn’t until later in the conversation that she realized the Empress had another motive, to further push her and Qing Yao together.
The Empress said, “Your master will be staying in the capital for a while. Since she prefers quiet, she’ll be lodging outside the palace at the Mandala Temple on West Mountain. The two of you have little to do anyway, so move there and keep your master company for a time. As for Qing Yao, I’ll send someone to inform her parents. Earlier, your master mentioned she recently comprehended a new sword technique, one perfectly suited for two people to practice together. Since you’ll both be there, she can teach you.”
What could she say? Everything had already been arranged for them.
After leaving Fengyi Palace, Fu Yu and Qing Yao walked side by side along the palace path.
The surroundings were open and expansive, with grand, towering halls in the distance. The sky was vast and boundless, occasionally dotted with formations of wild geese. When Fu Yu had left home early that morning, she had noticed how exceptionally beautiful the clouds were that day.
Stretching from the eastern mountain peaks all the way to the west, vast swathes of mackerel clouds spread across the sky. Fu Yu had seen such clouds in her previous life, but they had always been white. The ones she saw now, however, were peach-red.
Though she had never seen mackerel clouds like these, Fu Yu didn’t find it particularly strange. She simply took them as mackerel-shaped morning clouds.
Now, walking under such a sky with her senior sister, she exclaimed excitedly, “Senior Sister, look! The sky is so beautiful today, filled with red clouds in the shape of fish scales. It’s like a crimson ocean.”
Just as Fu Yu was admiring the view, Qing Yao poured cold water on her enthusiasm: “An ill omen.”
Fu Yu was taken aback. “Huh? What ill omen?”
Qing Yao glanced at her. “What were you doing when Fifth Senior Sister was teaching celestial phenomena?”
Fu Yu gave an awkward smile: “Of course I was listening to the lecture…”
Qing Yao said: “It seems you were listening particularly attentively.”
Fu Yu could clearly tell this was sarcasm: “Hehe, of course I was.”
“If you were listening so attentively, then why don’t you know what this celestial phenomenon portends?”
Fu Yu could only maintain her smile while rapidly searching for excuses in her mind.
But before she could find a suitable excuse, Qing Yao seemed to have deduced the reason why she couldn’t remember despite listening attentively: “As the saying goes, the slow need to start early. From now on, you need to put in more effort, understand?”
Fu Yu was momentarily speechless. She felt that while she might not be a genius in her studies, she certainly couldn’t be called stupid, at most, she was just average.
“So please enlighten me, Senior Sister. What does this celestial phenomenon signify?”
Qing Yao looked up at the sky. The peach-colored clouds reflected in her deep, pool-like eyes, creating a strange glow that hovered between cool elegance and bewitching charm: “A great demon is about to emerge.”
A great demon? To be honest, since arriving in this book world, Fu Yu knew it was a mystical cultivation world filled with demons and monsters everywhere. However, having always stayed within the Guiyu Sect, she hadn’t had the chance to go on missions with her fellow disciples, so she had never actually encountered any great demon.
“What kind of great demon?”
“I don’t know.” Qing Yao didn’t seem to be in high spirits. After answering those two words, she appeared unwilling to continue the conversation, quickening her pace as she headed out of the palace.
Fu Yu hurried after her: “Senior Sister, why are you suddenly walking so fast? Wait for me!”
Then Qing Yao actually stopped abruptly. But her sudden halt caught Fu Yu off guard, and due to momentum, she almost crashed into Qing Yao’s back.
Being so close, she could smell that faint snowflake fragrance again. Fu Yu quickly took two steps back.
Qing Yao turned around and said to her quite seriously: “You are an outsider in this Fusheng Realm. I’m warning you again, do not use magic.”
Fu Yu was startled by the sudden aura her senior sister emitted and nodded numbly: “Oh, okay.”
Then Qing Yao continued walking forward, with Fu Yu following closely behind.
Outside the palace gates, the two got into carriages, one heading east, the other west, returning to their respective residences.
As soon as she returned to the princess’ manor, Fu Yu began packing. According to the Empress’s instructions, she and Qing Yao would head to the Mandala Temple in the western mountains tomorrow.
Night fell quickly. When everything quieted down, the scene from earlier in the palace path resurfaced in her mind, Qing Yao turning around to warn her not to use magic.
What did it mean that she was an outsider in this Fusheng Realm? If she truly was an outsider, then why did the entire story’s direction change as soon as she arrived?
And today’s celestial phenomenon, a great demon about to emerge. What kind of great demon was it?
Recalling Qing Yao’s serious tone, Fu Yu felt this matter wasn’t so simple.
Since this Fusheng Jade contained Qing Yao’s past, then Qing Yao must know what that great demon was.
Now that Qing Yao couldn’t use magic, wouldn’t it be quite dangerous if they encountered the great demon?
It seemed she would have to stay with her senior sister at all times from now on. If any danger arose, she could at least use a little magic appropriately to ensure Qing Yao’s safety. Although her senior sister repeatedly emphasized not to recklessly use magic, otherwise she would suffer backlash from the Fusheng Realm. But so what? When it truly came to a critical moment, she would use magic if she had to, and face the backlash if it came. Who was afraid of whom? After all, she had already died once, she wasn’t afraid of dying a few more times.
Lost in thought, Fu Yu gradually drifted off to sleep.
The next day, before dawn had fully broken, she rose from bed, washed and dressed herself, ate breakfast, and by the time she stepped out, only a faint sliver of pale light tinged the horizon.
Today, the sky was devoid of the peach-colored mackerel clouds.
In the carriage, her maid Qing Li asked in confusion, “Why has Your Highness left the residence so early?”
Fu Yu replied, “I forgot to arrange to go with Qing Yao yesterday. I want to accompany her.”
When they arrived at Xiangxue Garden, Qing Yao was leisurely eating her breakfast. Qing Wei had already left for the morning court session.
Qing Yao asked her, “Why are you here so early?”
Fu Yu beamed, “I wanted to go with you, Senior Sister.”
Qing Yao had finished her porridge and was dabbing the corners of her mouth with a smoke-gray silk handkerchief. She spoke slowly, “There was no need. We would have met at the temple anyway.”
Fu Yu shook her head, “Yesterday, you mentioned that a great demon is about to emerge, so I want to stay by your side.”
Understanding dawned on Qing Yao, “There’s no need to fear. As I said before, you are an outsider in this matter. The great demon cannot harm you.”
Fu Yu blinked, her expression full of sincerity, “I’m afraid the great demon might hurt you. I want to protect you, Senior Sister.”
Protect her?
Qing Yao was both surprised and amused, though she couldn’t actually laugh. As a martial arts prodigy since childhood, she had begun training at the age of five, and few could easily take advantage of her. Even her parents had full confidence in her, adopting a hands-off approach to her upbringing. From a very young age, she could venture out alone, and her parents never worried about her encountering any mishaps.
As it turned out, she had indeed grown up safely.
Later, when she ascended the immortal mountain to cultivate her spiritual arts, her progress was astonishingly rapid. In just a few decades, she had become virtually unmatched in the Guiyuan Realm.
As the senior disciple, her primary concern had always been how to protect her sect and her junior disciples. It had never occurred to her that one day, someone would turn around and say they wanted to protect her.
How novel.