Fu Yu hastily said, “I wouldn’t dare.”
Qing Yao nodded slightly before turning to leave.
After closing the door, Fu Yu returned to the room and sat on the luohan bed. She uncorked the medicine bottle and took a whiff, a faint herbal scent filled her nostrils.
She thought, since this medicine was given by Qing Yao to treat her cat scratches, it should work well for the sparrow too.
So, after tending to the sparrow’s wounds first, she finally applied the medicine to her own injuries.
Once finished, she went out to find someone who could provide a birdcage.
Recently, they had moved into the Little Jialuo Residence, and the abbot had left a few practitioners on the mountain to attend to the guests’ needs.
She found Wu Se, who quickly brought her a birdcage.
“This cage was once used by the abbot to keep a parrot,” Wu Se explained. “After the parrot passed away, it was left unused. Since you need it, please take it.”
Carrying the birdcage back to her room, Fu Yu spotted Qing Yao leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed. Noticing Fu Yu’s return, Qing Yao glanced at the cage and remarked, “It seems the toy from my childhood was quite accurate, you really are suited for the Path of Animal Nurturing.”
Ignoring her comment, Fu Yu simply called out a greeting and stepped inside.
Qing Yao stopped her, asking, “Have you treated your wounds?”
Fu Yu smiled. “Thank you for your concern, Senior Sister. I’ve already applied the medicine you gave me.”
Qing Yao nodded and turned back to her room.
Back in her own quarters, Fu Yu placed the sparrow inside the cage and set a teacup filled with fresh water beside it. With that, her rescue mission was complete.
Watching the feeble sparrow lying still in the cage, Fu Yu said, “Little sparrow, let me give you a name.” Every cat or dog she had picked up off the streets in the past, though she could never keep them for long, had received a name.
“Your feathers are such a speckled gray… how about…” Inspiration struck her. “What about Little Mochi?”
The sparrow fluttered its uninjured left wing.
Pleased with the name, Fu Yu chuckled. “I’ve always loved eating Mochi. Even if it doesn’t really match your feathers, just saying it a few times makes my mouth feel sweet, hehe.”
Leaning on the table as she gazed at Little Mochi, she suddenly recalled Qing Yao waiting by the door earlier.
Wait, why had Senior Sister been standing there? Surely it wasn’t just to ask if she’d applied the medicine, right?
Though she knew it was unlikely, Fu Yu’s heart skipped a beat regardless.
Still, it was undeniable, Senior Sister was concerned about her!
Overjoyed, Fu Yu giggled and stared dreamily at Little Mochi.
Night soon fell. Fu Yu placed the birdcage on the cabinet by her bed and lay down.
“See you in the morning, Little Mochi.”
She closed her eyes and drifted into sleep.
The room grew quiet, bathed only in moonlight streaming through the window, casting a silvery glow across the floor.
Inside the cage, Little Mochi, who had been resting with eyes shut, suddenly opened them under the cool, moist moonlight. Its amber eyes flashed a fiery gold for an instant before returning to normal, as if nothing had happened.
Thank you, human woman.
Fu Yu had been dreaming of her previous life, sitting in a pastry shop enjoying matcha-flavored Mochi, when a bird’s chirp startled her awake. She opened her eyes to find herself back in the temple’s guest room, with Little Mochi fast asleep in the cage by her bed.
It must be an illusion, Fu Yu closed her eyes again.
Xiao Mei suddenly became noisy: [Fu Yu, Fu Yu, Little Mochi’s eyes actually glow with golden light!]
Fu Yu turned over: How is that possible?
Xiao Mei: [I definitely saw it just now!]
Disturbed by Xiao Mei, Fu Yu sat up and reached out to bring the birdcage onto the bed. At that moment, Little Mochi was lying motionless inside, its bird eyes tightly shut.
She looked around, intending to wake Little Mochi, but upon seeing the white cloth tied around its wing, she decided against it.
Fu Yu: Forget it, we’ll talk about it tomorrow.
The next day, Fu Yu and Qing Yao went to the Wisdom Hall again to find their master. This time, Master Qing Cheng was finally there.
Now there were only the three of them, and since the other two were her beloved disciples, the place was relatively quiet, and the morning light was particularly beautiful, Master Qing Cheng’s fear of people had slightly improved.
She sat in the armchair of the meditation room, still wearing her veil hat. “Today, I will teach you a dual sword technique called, ahem…” She thought for a moment about what to name it. “It’s called the ‘Twin Beauties Sword Technique.'” After saying this, her old face flushed red, but fortunately, it was hidden beneath the veil hat.
This sword technique was actually the secret technique of the Hehuan Sect, known as the “Entwined Passion Sword.” It was generally used as a warm-up between cultivation partners before dual cultivation and had no practical combat use. It was merely practiced for the sake of romance.
Fu Yu, of course, had no idea what was going on in Master Qing Cheng’s mind. She pondered the name, “Twin Beauties.” “Shu” meant beauty, so “Twin Beauties” referred to a pair of beauties.
Fu Yu turned her head to look at Qing Yao. Her senior sister was truly breathtakingly beautiful, and of course, she herself was quite lovely too. Thinking this, she grew fond of the sword technique’s name and even looked forward to practicing it with her senior sister.
The master and disciples went out to the courtyard. Master Qing Cheng picked up a sword and said, “I will first demonstrate Qing Yao’s moves.”
With that, she slowly performed a set of sword techniques. Fu Yu watched intently as the veiled “Purple Sweet Potato” master moved with deliberate slowness, light and agile, each move and stance carrying a soothing rhythm reminiscent of Tai Chi.
When Master Qing Cheng practiced martial arts or sword techniques, her movements flowed smoothly, completely free from the tension of her fear of people.
At first glance, this sword technique didn’t seem particularly special compared to ordinary ones.
After finishing the set, Master Qing Cheng sheathed her sword and asked Qing Yao, “Did you remember it?”
Qing Yao nodded, then picked up her sword and flawlessly performed the entire set in one go.
Master Qing Cheng nodded with satisfaction. This disciple of hers learned everything quickly. No matter what martial arts or cultivation techniques, she only needed to see them once to remember them perfectly.
Fu Yu, however, was different. Even after Master Qing Cheng demonstrated several times, she could only barely memorize the moves.
Once both had learned their respective techniques, Master Qing Cheng had them practice together in a duel.
At first, when they practiced separately, it didn’t seem like much. But now, dancing together, Fu Yu marveled at how wonderful dual sword techniques were. Why didn’t the Guiyu Sect have something like this?
How to describe it? The combat effectiveness of this sword technique was unclear, it was too graceful, like a sword dance, reminiscent of “Butterfly Lovers.” As they sparred, it felt as if two butterflies were fluttering intimately among flowers.
Joining hands with swords, leaning on each other to strike, flying together with swords… every move and stance was elegant and brought them close together.
As they practiced, Fu Yu reached a move called “Jade Butterfly Flies Backward”, Qing Yao stood on the ground while Fu Yu’s body inverted mid-air. Their gazes, one looking up and the other down, met in the air, their noses and lips nearly touching.
Fu Yu’s face flushed instantly, but Qing Yao remained as solemn as the Buddha statue enshrined in the temple, focused solely on practicing the sword without a single stray thought.
Fu Yu’s heart raced wildly. In her nervousness, she lost her footing as she descended and stumbled forward, crashing into Qing Yao and wrapping her arms tightly around her.
For a moment, Fu Yu felt as if she had fallen into a sea of fragrant snow blossoms, the floral scent overwhelming her senses. She was on the verge of drowning in it.
After a moment, Qing Yao’s calm voice broke the silence: “Have you held on long enough?”
Only then did Fu Yu release her, stepping back and stammering, “S-sorry, I haven’t mastered this move yet.” But what a delightful mistake it had been.
Qing Yao turned her expressionless gaze toward Master Qing Cheng and asked, “Master, how did you come to comprehend this sword technique?”
The question struck a deeply personal chord with Master Qing Cheng. Anxious and socially awkward, she bit her lip, her mind racing like a storm. After considering countless excuses, she finally blurted out, “Going to the restroom? Want to come along?”
Fu Yu: ?
Qing Yao: ?
In unison, they replied, “No need.”