Lu Qian’an secretly glanced sideways at the woman.
Back at home, her mother had deliberately instructed her to stick close to this woman.
Recalling this, Lu Qian’an suddenly realized that in her conversation with her mother, it was never explicitly stated whether the woman was actually willing to take her as a disciple.
This left Lu Qian’an, who had been calling her Master all the way here, feeling unusually awkward.
Self-inflicted delusion.
Yet along the way, the woman had never once refuted that she wasn’t her master.
Thinking of this, Lu Qian’an fixed her gaze straight upon the woman seated on the high throne. “No matter what, I must take you as my master.”
Her expression was resolute, her eyes flashing with a stubborn brilliance, refusing to back down.
The sect master, who had been keeping an eye on her, gave a light cough to draw everyone’s attention.
“Junior Sister has already spoken to me about this matter.”
His eyes landed on Lu Qian’an. “When the elders of our Liuyun Sect take in disciples, it is not solely based on the disciple’s wishes.”
With that said, without paying any more mind to Lu Qian’an, he flicked his sleeve and strode away.
After he left, the woman shifted her steps lightly and approached Lu Qian’an. She had not yet lifted the restriction placed on Lu Qian’an’s physical body.
“Tell her about the conditions for me taking in disciples,” she said, her red lips curving upward as her affectionate eyes glanced at Ji Zhixing.
Then, stretching out a snow-white finger, she hooked Lu Qian’an’s chin and leaned in close. “Cheer up, I have high hopes for you.”
The distance between Lu Qian’an and the woman gradually closed, and she could only feel her heart beating abnormally fast within her chest.
Her nose was once again greeted by a faint fragrance of lily of the valley that lingered for a long time.
“You will temporarily live here.”
Ji Zhixing led Lu Qian’an to a small wooden cottage. Just by looking at the dilapidated and disrepair-ridden wooden door from the outside, one could tell that no one had lived here for a long time.
Lu Qian’an nodded. She had never lived in such poor quarters, but being away from home, she could not be too picky.
Before coming here, her mother had indeed given her plenty of silver coins, but they were of no use here.
Accustomed to being a pampered young miss of wealth and privilege, she pushed open the door, intending to copy the maids from her memories and properly clean up her new dwelling.
What met her eyes was an absurdly large spiderweb. Goosebumps instantly broke out all over Lu Qian’an’s body, her legs went weak, and she tightly hugged the person beside her, Ji Zhixing.
“A spider!”
A piercing scream shattered the clouds.
So frightened was Lu Qian’an that her entire body trembled uncontrollably, and she kept her eyes tightly shut, not daring to recall what she had just seen.
Ji Zhixing had not expected things to be like this inside either.
She glanced at the fine silk web that covered almost half the room, searched her memory for a moment, and finally remembered what was going on.
She reached out and soothingly patted Lu Qian’an’s head. “It is alright. Wait outside and rest for a moment. I will clean up this web, and then you can go back inside, alright?”
Ever since she was young, Lu Qian’an was capable of turning the entire city of Lin’an upside down and throwing it into chaos, acting as a living, hyperactive little tyrant.
Yet, she was utterly terrified of creatures with eight legs.
She remembered one time when Lu Qian’an got out of bed and intended to put on her shoes, only to discover a spider no bigger than a pinky nail crawling right next to them. She was so startled that she hid under the covers for a full two hours.
Had the maid not noticed that her usually bouncing young miss hadn’t shown up, Lu Qian’an might have genuinely suffocated herself inside the quilt.
With a web that large, one could only imagine how massive the spider must be.
Facing Ji Zhixing’s suggestion, Lu Qian’an tightened her grip around the other’s neck even further, her voice trembling and her teeth clenched.
“No.”
She refused to say another single word, terrified that the spider might be able to change its size and crawl into her mouth.
Feeling the strength behind Lu Qian’an’s hold and understanding just how terrified she was, Ji Zhixing gently patted Lu Qian’an’s back to help calm her down.
Thus, the two of them maintained their embracing posture and stood frozen in place for quite a while.
Until Lu Qian’an could no longer stand on her feet.
Having climbed stone steps for so long, Lu Qian’an’s feet were already aching terribly. Even though the spiritual energy of the Liuyun Sect was dense, she had yet to begin cultivation, and her stamina quickly gave out.
“Then I will stay right by your side.”
Lu Qian’an slowly let go of her and whispered softly.
Reluctantly releasing Ji Zhixing, Lu Qian’an still kept hold of one of Ji Zhixing’s hands. Seeing Ji Zhixing look at her with a puzzled expression, Lu Qian’an offered a justified explanation.
“Just treat me as your other hand. With me right beside you, who knows, maybe I can even help you out with something.”
Ji Zhixing gave Lu Qian’an an amused look. The hand being held by her was trembling continuously.
Lu Qian’an only dared to narrow her eyes into a tiny slit as she followed Ji Zhixing closer and closer to that spiderweb, her slit growing narrower by the second.
Steeling her heart, Lu Qian’an closed her eyes entirely. “Senior Sister, please temporarily act as my eyes.”
Lu Qian’an had no doubt that if the owner of that web returned, she might literally be frightened to death on the spot.
That would be far too unsightly.
Right in the middle of Lu Qian’an’s wild imagination, she heard a voice like celestial music. “It is all cleaned up.”
Lu Qian’an cautiously opened one eye, and sure enough, the giant web was gone.
“Wow, you are amazing!”
With puppy-dog eyes, Lu Qian’an looked at Ji Zhixing in absolute adoration. At this moment, Ji Zhixing seemed bathed in a layer of light in her eyes.
The afternoon sunlight filtered through the window gauze, refracting into the air, and a few threads of gold brushed against Lu Qian’an’s cheek, reflecting in the depths of her eyes like golden, translucent amber.
Noticing her gaze, Ji Zhixing turned her eyes toward her, only to plunge straight into those crystal-clear and transparent pupils, momentarily losing her wits.
Lu Qian’an, however, did not notice her trance. She held onto Ji Zhixing’s hand, unwilling to let go.
Although the web inside the room had been cleared away, what if that big spider decided to come back?
At the mere thought of that scenario, lingering fear clutched at Lu Qian’an’s heart.
She silently gripped Ji Zhixing’s hand even tighter.
Sensing this, Ji Zhixing lowered her eyelids to glance at their intertwined hands and did not pull away.
Consider it taking care of a child, Ji Zhixing thought to herself.
Normally, cleaning a room together should have gone very quickly, but because Lu Qian’an refused to let go of Ji Zhixing, wherever Ji Zhixing walked, Lu Qian’an followed.
It took Ji Zhixing a great deal of effort to finally clear away all the dust in the room.
Standing before the only table in the room and looking at the completely renewed environment, Lu Qian’an heaped lavish praise upon Ji Zhixing once more.
Ji Zhixing shot her a helpless look and teased, “If it weren’t for you holding me back, I could have finished much faster.”
Knowing that she had been a burden to Ji Zhixing, Lu Qian’an flashed a smile carrying a hint of ingratiation. “Senior Sister, I see there seems to be a small kitchen here. How about I cook a meal for you?”
From Lu Qian’an’s clumsy actions while cleaning earlier, Ji Zhixing could distinctly tell that this was a young lady raised in pampered luxury.
Now that she claimed she could cook, Ji Zhixing found it rather hard to believe.
Perhaps showing it too clearly on her face, Lu Qian’an caught onto it. “Really! My mother told me that I am bound to become famous throughout the world one day, so she specially hired a culinary tutor to teach me cooking skills.”
She explained defensively, her innocent puppy-dog eyes even tinged with a hint of grievance.
Seeing her grow this anxious, Ji Zhixing laughed aloud. With bright eyes and gleaming teeth, her expression suddenly bloomed with a touch of worldly warmth, accentuating her naturally gentle temperament and making her look even more tender and graceful.
“Don’t worry.” She lowered her head in a soft smile, a few stray locks of hair falling beside her face, making her appear all the more tender.
“I believe you.”
Raising her head, she looked at her with glistening eyes, as if endless tenderness flowed within them.
Lu Qian’an’s fingertips twitched, and she reached out to tuck Ji Zhixing’s fallen strand of hair behind her ear.
Right after doing so, Lu Qian’an suddenly felt it was a bit strange and hastily retracted her hand with a guilty, overcompensating gesture.
“Then,” Lu Qian’an stammered, “I’ll go look around for some ingredients.”
Ji Zhixing tidied up Lu Qian’an’s ruffled collar and instructed, “Be careful, don’t run around blindly, and call me if anything happens.”
“Okay.”
Lu Qian’an lifted her feet and walked away, skipping and bouncing as if she had encountered something immensely joyful.
Ji Zhixing watched her back the whole time, until that figure gradually shrank and disappeared from view.
Only then did she realize she had drifted off into a daze once again.
Touching the earlobe that Lu Qian’an had just brushed against, Ji Zhixing’s cheeks felt a little warm.
Perhaps it has been a long time since I’ve seen someone so lively, she thought.
The twilight of the setting sun, carrying the faint warmth of daylight, spilled into the small courtyard, lending this long-uninhabited place a touch of human warmth.
In the courtyard stood a square stone table, with a stool corresponding to each of its four sides.
Lu Qian’an placed three dishes and one soup onto the table and proudly raised her chin at Ji Zhixing, awaiting praise.
Ji Zhixing did not disappoint her either, lavishing her with praise and commending the color, aroma, and taste across the board.
She wasn’t exaggerating; Lu Qian’an’s culinary skills were genuinely impressive. Having not eaten proper home-cooked meals for a long time, Ji Zhixing ate until her stomach was slightly full before stopping.
Lu Qian’an was so blissfully happy she didn’t even know which way was north; if she had a tail behind her, she could have spun it into a propeller.
After finishing their meal, dusk was already falling, and the evening breeze neutralized the heat of the day.
Thus, the two of them stayed in the courtyard to catch the breeze for a while.
“Senior Sister, what are the requirements to become Master’s disciple?”
The stray locks of hair on Lu Qian’an’s forehead were blown by the wind, and she carelessly pressed them back down.
Ji Zhixing walked over to the chair beside her, reached out to tidy Lu Qian’an’s hair for her, but then couldn’t resist giving Lu Qian’an’s head a playful rub, messing up the hair she had just smoothed out.
“Senior Sister?”
Lu Qian’an, who had no idea what her good senior sister had just done to her hair, let out a puzzled sound.
“Master has many rules, but to become her disciple, there is only one condition.” Ji Zhixing said leisurely while meticulously fixing Lu Qian’an’s bangs.
Lu Qian’an waited expectantly for her to continue, but after waiting for a long time, no further sound came.
Earlier, to make it easier for Ji Zhixing to fix her hair, Lu Qian’an had kept her head lowered the entire time.
At this moment, she raised her head, only to find her good senior sister looking at her with a smiling expression.
“I’ll tell you, but what benefit will you give me in return?”
Ji Zhixing sat with her posture straight and proper, yet mischief danced in her eyes, making her look like a bad person teasing a little puppy.
Lu Qian’an originally wanted to say that back in the grand hall, she had heard it loud and clear, as Master had told Ji Zhixing to inform her.
Yet Lu Qian’an pressed her lips together; her intuition told her this wasn’t the answer Ji Zhixing wanted to hear.
Frowning as she thought about it for a long time, Lu Qian’an still couldn’t figure out how to reply.
Tugging at the sleeve of Ji Zhixing’s robe, Lu Qian’an coaxed playfully, “Good Senior Sister, I beg you, just tell me! Whatever you want, I will promise you anything.”