Before her eyes stood a leopard of enormous stature.
It was at least two to three times larger than an ordinary leopard.
It glared with round, bulging eyes, staring fixedly at its prey before opening its mouth and letting out a roar.
To Lu Qing’an, it sounded as if thunder had exploded right inside her ears, immediately followed by a long, lingering ring of tinnitus.
Holding the wooden stick in a fist, she used her hands to cover her ears.
Enduring the discomfort, she sized up the leopard before her, trying to see if she could spot its weakness.
Looking up, she saw that the sunlight was completely blocked by the massive beast in front of her.
Lu Qing’an’s throat bobbed as she swallowed the saliva building up in her mouth, her slightly sweaty palm tightly gripping the wooden stick.
The next instant, she hurled the stick out, drawing a grayish-brown arc through the air.
One end of the stick sped toward the center of the leopard’s head.
Colliding with it, the stick instantly lost all momentum, halted for a brief second, and fell limply to the ground.
It was like a toothpick poking against a boulder.
Lu Qing’an made a split-second decision, turned on her heel, and ran. She shouted for her senior sister at the top of her lungs, her legs kicking at top speed.
The leopard pursued her relentlessly, roaring continuously. As its jaws opened and closed, its sharp teeth brushed past the hem of Lu Qing’an’s clothes several times.
Feeling a chilly sensation around her rear end multiple times, she gritted her teeth and sprinted so fast that her feet became a blur.
The dilapidated small hut finally appeared in her line of sight, and tears of excitement nearly welled up in Lu Qing’an’s eyes.
“Senior Sister!”
Just as Lu Qing’an’s voice fell, a swift streak of light shot out from the hut, brushing past her hair and heading straight behind her.
The constant roars behind her abruptly ceased.
Looking back, she saw the leopard frozen in place, its wide-open mouth displaying gleaming, cold-looking teeth.
Only then did Lu Qing’an let out a long sigh of relief, her tense body finally relaxing.
Ji Zhixing was sitting neatly inside the hut, looking at Lu Qing’an with a gentle smile in her eyes.
“Senior Sister, didn’t you say there were wild rabbits? How come as soon as I walked out the door, I ran right into a leopard that huge?”
Lu Qing’an spoke with a slight touch of resentment. Her legs were trembling at this moment, shaking like a sieve as she sat down on a stool beside Ji Zhixing.
Using her hand as a fan, she moved it up and down to cool her flushed cheeks. Having been focused solely on running for her life just now, Lu Qing’an only now realized she was drenched in sweat.
She pulled open her tightly wrapped collar, enjoying the cool air brushing against her skin, and narrowed her eyes comfortably.
Her clothes were usually worn loosely and casually. Now that a portion was pulled open, a large expanse of her skin was exposed.
Inside this dilapidated hut that looked as though no one had lived in it for ages, her skin seemed to glow with a faint, translucent luminescence, appearing particularly eye-catching.
Ji Zhixing’s gaze fixed on the spring scenery inadvertently exposed by Lu Qing’an, but she quickly averted her eyes in the very next instant.
Yet, like a small pebble casually dropped into a vast lake, it created a faint circle of ripples. A momentary slip of composure appeared on her usually calm and composed face.
In the room, only the sound of Lu Qing’an panting after her narrow escape broke the silence, sounding exceptionally distinct in the quiet space.
Lu Qing’an leaned against the back of the chair, tilting her head back to reveal her long, slender, fair neck.
She turned her head sideways to face Ji Zhixing, exuding a bit of relaxed ease. “Senior Sister, why aren’t you saying anything?”
Hearing her ask this, Ji Zhixing was slightly taken aback. After recalling her thoughts, she finally remembered Lu Qing’an’s question from earlier.
“I was just about to tell you that there were other ferocious animals in the mountain, but you had already run off.”
Ji Zhixing simply stated the facts, though her lowered eyelids betrayed a subtle hint of aggrieved innocence.
This left Lu Qing’an feeling at a loss for a moment.
She straightened her posture, pulled her stool, and moved it closer to Ji Zhixing.
She only stopped once the two stools were pressed tightly together.
“Blame me for not listening to you fully.”
Lu Qing’an leaned against Ji Zhixing, tugging at the corner of her clothes and swaying back and forth in a clingy, coquettish manner. “Forgive me, all right?”
Ji Zhixing kept her eyes lowered, deliberately avoiding looking at her.
Seeing this, Lu Qing’an shook her sleeve even more vigorously.
Even Ji Zhixing’s body was swayed slightly by her movements. Left with no choice, Ji Zhixing had to cast her gaze upon Lu Qing’an.
With this look, she noticed that the already open collar was now gaping even wider.
She could even catch a glimpse of scenery that was usually hidden from view.
Ji Zhixing rapidly looked away, but the heart inside her chest thudded like thunder.
“Put your clothes on properly.”
The tips of Ji Zhixing’s ears turned so red they looked ready to bleed, and her words rushed out so fast they were almost unintelligible.
Seeing that she was willing to pay attention to her, Lu Qing’an obediently lowered her head to smooth out her collar. “Senior Sister and I are both women, so what is there to care about?”
She tidied her messy clothing, speaking in quite a nonchalant tone.
Ji Zhixing was momentarily rendered speechless, not knowing how to respond.
Her mouth opened and closed, her throat feeling as though stuffed with cotton, choking her so that she could not utter a single word.
She glanced at Lu Qing’an, her eyes a mix of irritation and a subtle hint of shyness that even she herself was unaware of.
Unfortunately, Lu Qing’an, who was looking down tying her waistband, did not notice it at all.
When she looked up, she saw Ji Zhixing staring at her. She looked down at her clothes once more to confirm that they were worn neatly and properly.
She then looked back up, asking with her eyes what was wrong.
Looking into her clear, dark eyes, Ji Zhixing let out a soft sigh and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, her gaze was completely clear and composed.
She was once again that reliable eldest senior sister.
“That day, I saw you perform a set of fist techniques, and there were many imprecise areas in it.”
Ji Zhixing walked outside, where there was a large open space in front of the door.
In front of Lu Qing’an, Ji Zhixing demonstrated the basic fist techniques once through.
Her movements were like her persona, gentle and clean.
Lu Qing’an watched quietly from the side.
Ji Zhixing turned around, standing on one foot while the tip of her other foot tapped the ground, sweeping out a half-circle.
As she moved, the fallen leaves by her feet were swept up, floating into midair before slowly falling back to the ground.
Watching from the side, Lu Qing’an felt that the person before her possessed an incomparable grace, standing completely aloof from the world.
By the time the final move was completed, the light in Lu Qing’an’s eyes was as bright as the sun hanging in the sky.
“Senior Sister, your fist technique looks so amazing!”
Lu Qing’an circled around Ji Zhixing like a happy puppy, as if an invisible tail were wagging behind her.
Ji Zhixing collected her breath from practicing the technique, looked at Lu Qing’an with a smile, and said, “Perform it once, and I will watch.”
Lu Qing’an uttered an “Oh” and obediently ran five or six steps away from Ji Zhixing.
After performing the set of techniques, she jogged back to Ji Zhixing’s side, eagerly awaiting her review.
Ji Zhixing let out a soft sigh and asked Lu Qing’an to perform it again.
“This movement is incorrect.”
Just as Lu Qing’an threw her arm out, she was called to a halt by Ji Zhixing.
Her arm was raised higher by Ji Zhixing.
“Continue.”
Ji Zhixing spoke up. Even when correcting incorrect postures, her expression was not stern.
At the next movement, she was called to a halt again.
Her leg that kicked backward was guided to stretch out straight.
“Keep going.”
By the time the entire set of fist techniques was completed, Lu Qing’an had more than ten errors corrected.
Under Ji Zhixing’s strict supervision, Lu Qing’an felt sweat streaming down her cheeks like rain.
Having delivered the final strike, Lu Qing’an relaxed her whole body and instinctively collapsed onto the ground to rest.
Seeing her so exhausted, Ji Zhixing frowned slightly and swallowed the words she had yet to say.
She had originally intended to have Lu Qing’an perform it one more time.
“There is a hot spring nearby. If you are tired, you can go there to soak. It will help relieve physical and mental fatigue.”
Ji Zhixing said to Lu Qing’an with a gentle smile.
Lu Qing’an had casually found a large rock to sit on and rest. Hearing Ji Zhixing say this, she instantly grew interested.
“Senior Sister, come with me!”
Hearing her say this, Ji Zhixing shook her head, opening her mouth to decline.
Lu Qing’an beat her to the punch and spoke first, “Senior Sister, I don’t know what might be along the path around here.”
She abruptly stood up, bounded over to Ji Zhixing’s side, shaped her palms into eagle claws, and let out a playfully fierce roar.
“What if there is another leopard?”
She stood extremely close.
Ji Zhixing instinctively took two steps back.
Lu Qing’an imitated the leopard’s sound while taking two steps to follow her closely.
Letting out a faint sigh, Ji Zhixing yielded, “All right.”
Along the way, perhaps due to Ji Zhixing’s presence, they did not encounter a single animal.
Not even a single strand of fur was to be seen.
The hot spring pool was not far from the hut, and they arrived after walking for just a short while.
Reaching the edge of the pool, Lu Qing’an could not wait to take off her clothes.
She had long been unable to stand the smell of sweat on her body.
She shed her clothes extremely fast, and her speed entering the pool was so fast it left a blur, submerging her entire body into the water.
Narrowing her eyes comfortably in the warm water, Lu Qing’an felt all the soreness in her body wash away completely.
She rested her arms against the edge of the pool, droplets of water clinging to her long, fair arms.
Shining under the sunlight, her skin radiated a clear, dazzling glow.
Ji Zhixing closed her eyes and stopped looking.
She sat cross-legged by the edge of the pool, closed her eyes, and recited the mental cultivation method she knew by heart. The spiritual energy around her overflowed, floating and circling around her body.
Seeing this, Lu Qing’an refrained from bothering her further, quietly enjoying the clear pool on her own.
On the way back, Lu Qing’an caught a wild rabbit.
Holding the rabbit by its ears, Lu Qing’an set the lifeless rabbit over the fire to roast.
Sprinkling seasonings onto the sizzling, oily rabbit meat instantly released an alluring aroma.
A few wisps of blue smoke rose slowly from the fire beneath the rabbit.
Lu Qing’an tore off a piece of meat, put it into her mouth, and her eyes curved with delight at the delicious taste.
Ji Zhixing sat to the side. She had no need for food, nor did she have the habit of eating.
She simply sat by the side, watching Lu Qing’an eat the roasted rabbit.
Being stared at like this, Lu Qing’an found it a bit hard to swallow. Her lips twitched slightly.
“How about you have some too, Senior Sister?”
She tore off the most tender and delicious piece of meat from the rabbit and offered it before Ji Zhixing.
The rich aroma of roasted meat drifted into her nose, causing Ji Zhixing’s head-shaking motion to pause midway.
Catching this brief opening, Lu Qing’an stuffed the rabbit meat into Ji Zhixing’s mouth the very next second.
The tender, flavorful meat burst across her taste buds, and Ji Zhixing instinctively chewed.
After that, she and Lu Qing’an split the rabbit half and half.
“Since Senior Sister likes it, I will roast one for you again tomorrow.”
Lu Qing’an’s expression was bright and clear, her eyes curving happily into arches.
When night fell, Lu Qing’an grabbed a quilt and went to spread it on the ground, only to find that the floor felt terrifyingly icy to the touch.
After all, this was not Lingluo Peak, where it remained warm all day long.
With her head lowered, she knelt on both knees and resignedly arranged her bedding.
Lying on top of it, Lu Qing’an only felt as if her back were coming into contact with a block of ice radiating freezing cold.
“You sleep on the bed today.”