The woman did not move. Even though Lu Qing’an wanted to run away deep down, she did not quite dare, so she just stood there stiffly, rooted to the spot.
With the woman’s movement, the heavy cloak slipped off and fell to the ground.
Glancing down, she seemed to just then notice that she was wearing someone else’s garment. She turned her head, shot a sideways look at Lu Qing’an, and let her gaze drift.
“What a considerate little child.”
A seductive smile hovered at the corners of her lips as she slowly moved closer to Lu Qing’an, extending a red-painted nail to gently tap against the fabric over Lu Qing’an’s chest.
“You will have to walk the rest of the road by yourself.”
She was far too close, and the tip of Lu Qing’an’s nose was once again wrapped in the scent of lily of the valley.
“Do you see the stone steps ahead?” The woman seemed to think of something amusing and could not help laughing out loud. “You are going to have to climb up all by yourself.”
Lu Qing’an looked up. The mountain, which already looked massive from a high vantage point, now seemed to stretch on endlessly from the foot of the slope, with only winding stone steps twisting and turning their way up the mountain.
The peak reached straight up into the firmament, merging with the horizon in a single line.
Shocked to her core, Lu Qing’an swallowed hard and instinctively began to bargain, “All by myself?”
“Please take me with us. The two of us can ride your sword and fly right up in an instant.”
Her black pupils reflected the master before her, bright like obsidian and brimming with anticipation. Her knuckle-defined hands rose, and as she spoke, she unconsciously grabbed the sleeve of the person in front of her.
The woman, however, stepped back. The hem of her robe fluttered, a smile lingering at the corners of her mouth as she raised her hand and flicked her sleeve. In a flash, both the sword and the woman vanished completely.
Still standing on the sword, Lu Qing’an suddenly felt the ground beneath her feet vanish. Caught completely off guard, she took a solid fall right onto her backside.
Getting back to her feet, she rubbed her sore backside, sighed, and started up the steps with a grimace.
These steps looked long from the foot of the mountain, but climbing them made them feel even longer.
Battling the scorching sun, Lu Qing’an could manage three steps at a time at first, but soon she was down to one step at a time, and later on, she had to sit down and rest for a bit every two or three steps.
She had no idea how long she had been climbing. Lu Qing’an felt like all sensation in the soles of her feet had completely vanished.
That sun hanging in the sky seemed as if it had not moved at all, relentlessly and dutifully radiating its blistering heat.
Utterly exhausted, Lu Qing’an practically crawled the final stretch. With a single roll, she awkwardly tumbled onto the very last step.
“Hello, you must be the new disciple Master just took in.”
Ji Zhixing had received word beforehand and had been keeping watch at the summit. Seeing someone pull themselves up, she stepped forward to greet them.
“That’s right, that’s right.”
Lu Qing’an blinked and nodded, seeing a gently smiling person walking toward her.
Right now, she felt as though the ground beneath her wasn’t made of hard, unyielding stone, but rather felt like soft, fluffy clouds in the sky. She used this fleeting moment to let her utterly exhausted body relax.
Seeing her like this, Ji Zhixing simply crouched down, sat right beside her, and patiently waited for her to rest.
For a moment, there was a profound sense of peace and quiet.
Lu Qing’an had a heavy sense of curiosity. The person before her could not possibly be very old, and she had just heard her mention the word master in her words earlier.
“Are you my senior sister?” she guessed aloud.
She rolled over onto her side, facing the woman sitting beside her. “You really are so pretty.”
As Lu Qing’an gazed at her, the words slipped out before she could stop them.
Ji Zhixing had just been about to nod when she heard this immediately following sentence. She could not help letting out a soft laugh and politely said, “Thank you.”
Lu Qing’an’s ears twitched. Hearing that light chuckle, she thought the other person did not believe her words. “I am telling the truth.”
Hearing herself described this way, Ji Zhixing lowered her gaze and saw that the person who had just climbed the mountain still had her eyes closed.
The sunlight fell unreservedly across her face, making her skin look even fairer and smoother, like a piece of jade that had been fondled and polished for a long time, radiating a soft glow.
Beads of sweat clung to her face, following the curve of her skin to leave trails of watery tracks before disappearing into the collar of her back neckline.
She took out a handkerchief and gently wiped away the beads of sweat that still had not faded from Lu Qing’an’s face.
Lu Qing’an was resting with her eyes closed when she suddenly caught a whiff of fragrance. Next, she felt the sticky sweat on her forehead and temples being wiped away.
Opening her eyes, she was only just in time to see a thin, delicate piece of fabric being pulled away.
“Give me this handkerchief. I will wash it and return it to you when I am done.”
Lu Qing’an spoke up, lifting her sore arms as she prepared to reach for the handkerchief.
The person in front of her simply flipped her hand, and the handkerchief vanished into thin air. Lu Qing’an’s fingers merely brushed against the fabric, catching nothing at all.
Ji Zhixing explained to her with a warm smile, “Disciples of the sect have dedicated personnel responsible for washing garments.”
“How is your body feeling now? Do you feel much better?” she asked, her voice gentle and her lips curved into the exact same arc she had worn since first meeting Lu Qing’an.
Lu Qing’an moved her hands and found that the soreness and stiffness had indeed vanished.
“No way, how did you do that? Was it that handkerchief from just now?”
Lu Qing’an asked in astonishment, her eyes filled with curiosity like a newborn puppy as she leaned toward the hand Ji Zhixing had just been holding the handkerchief with.
Based on her past experiences of being punished for mischief back home, this level of all-over body ache usually took at least a week to fade.
Because it had been so hot climbing the mountain, Lu Qing’an had craved the cool air and stripped down until she was left in just a single thin tunic.
With her sudden movement of sitting up, the neckline, which had not been properly fastened to begin with, now exposed a large expanse of delicate skin.
The moment Ji Zhixing turned her head to speak, she was practically blinded by a flash of white.
“Fasten your clothes properly.” Ji Zhixing smoothly masked that brief moment of distraction and said softly.
Prompted by those words, Lu Qing’an looked down, noticed the state of her attire, and frantically tied her belt in a rush.
“There, all good.” She gave the belt a firm pull, tied it into a tight knot, checked her clothes down below, stood up in front of Ji Zhixing, spread her arms wide, and slowly spun around in a circle right in front of her.
Perhaps due to her panic, the belt was tied very tightly, cinching securely around her waist and outlining a slender, toned figure that emphasized her wide shoulders and narrow waist.
Ji Zhixing took in this brief view, lowered her eyelids, maintained a gentle expression, and let out a soft “Mn.”
She then steered the conversation back to the topic from earlier. “This is Flowing Cloud Sect. The spiritual energy in the air is not just for cultivation; it also has tremendous benefits for all the meridians throughout the body.”
Lu Qing’an nodded, patted the dust off her clothes, and grabbed the wrist of the person still sitting on the ground.
“Let us go, let us go find Master.”
Startled by the sudden movement, Ji Zhixing did not even manage to pull away in time.
Noticing how slender the wrist felt in her grip, Lu Qing’an looked a bit surprised. “Does Flowing Cloud Sect have bad food?”
She looked questioningly at the person who had already stood up.
Realizing she was standing lower than Ji Zhixing had been, Lu Qing’an took a step up to the same step, only to find that Ji Zhixing was actually a little shorter than her.
Ji Zhixing noticed this as well and let out a small smile. “Not at all. Flowing Cloud Sect has a communal dining hall with decent food, but that is just where the outer sect disciples eat. I have already reached the stage of penance and no longer require food.”
Lu Qing’an nodded, shifting the topic to her own background. “I was sickly as a child. My family dragged me everywhere seeking medical treatment, and I drank medicine every single day, which actually ended up building up my health in the end.”
Otherwise, between running and climbing mountains, anyone with a weak constitution would have passed out halfway up.
Chatting as they walked, the journey did not feel dull at all.
Having just arrived at the mountain, Lu Qing’an was filled with curiosity about everything. She pointed here and there, asking endless questions, but Ji Zhixing did not find her annoying at all and answered every single one.
“We are here.”
Seeing the companion beside her completely captivated by the grand hall ahead, Ji Zhixing finally pulled her wrist, which had been held the entire way, out of Lu Qing’an’s grip.
Before them stood a grand hall. The plaque above the entrance was inscribed with bold, unrestrained calligraphy bearing three characters: Lingluo Hall.
Ji Zhixing stepped forward, knocked on the door, and upon hearing permission from within, pushed it open respectfully.
“Greetings, Sect Master,” she said, standing in the center of the hall and bowing. “Master, I have brought her back.”
Ji Zhixing gave Lu Qing’an a subtle nudge with her elbow to snap her out of her daze.
“Master.”
Mimicking Ji Zhixing, she prepared to bow. Just as she started to bend over, she felt an invisible force holding her in place, rendering her completely unable to move.
Two people sat at the very top center of the main hall. The familiar woman sat on a side seat, her lily-white fingers still forming a hand seal. It was her who had frozen Lu Qing’an’s movements mid-motion.
“Let me ask you: are you truly willing to take me as your master and revere me as your teacher?”
The woman’s tone was not stern at all; if anything, it sounded rather flirtatious, causing half of Lu Qing’an’s body to tingle with numbness.
She slightly bent the fingers she had just used for the spell, hooked a strand of hair from her chest, and slowly wound it around her fingertips. Compared to the upright and proper Sect Master sitting beside her, she looked as boneless and fluid as water draped over the armrest of her chair.