Ji Zhixing’s heart churned with tumultuous waves, and she could not help but look at Lu Qing’an.
She immediately collided with a pair of crystal-clear eyes.
It felt as though a basin of cold water had been poured over her heart, thoroughly chilling her through in an instant.
The thoughts in Lu Qing’an’s eyes were far too innocent; not a single trace of any other motive could be seen.
This instead made Ji Zhixing look like she was overthinking things.
“This is your quarters, I will head back first.”
Ji Zhixing let out a shallow breath, finished speaking at a flying speed, and hurried away from the spot like the wind.
The hems of her robes fluttered in the air, and the tassels hanging from her hair ornament swayed back and forth.
It was as if some terrifying beast were right behind her.
Lu Qing’an picked up a white jade earring, raised her voice toward the still-visible retreating figure, and shouted, “Senior Sister!”
That figure merely paused for a fraction of a second before accelerating her pace even further.
Seeing her reaction, Lu Qing’an had no choice but to put the earring away.
The moment she turned around, she found herself face-to-face with the unlit, dark room.
Having focused entirely on Ji Zhixing’s unusual behavior earlier, she had completely forgotten about this courtyard that she did not want to stay in for even a single second.
Her body grew rigid once more as she stared in the direction Ji Zhixing had just left.
After a long moment of hesitation, her feet shifted slightly, and she followed along the path Ji Zhixing had taken.
There were many small courtyards on Lingluo Peak.
After returning to her quarters, Ji Zhixing put down her sword and let out a long breath to calm her racing mind.
Too many events today had exceeded her expectations.
Especially Lu Qing’an.
Ji Zhixing placed her hand over her heart and could feel it beating rapidly right through her clothing.
And all of this was because of the person who had just arrived.
She crossed her legs on the bed and began reciting the Clearing Heart Incantation at a breakneck pace, as if doing so could mask that fluttering pulse.
The night passed quietly in this manner.
The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Ji Zhixing opened her eyes, her gaze clear and bright.
After finishing her morning wash, pinning up her hair, and picking up her sword, she prepared to head out on patrol once more.
At this moment, she was once again the gentle yet strict Ji Zhixing.
When she opened her door, a figure suddenly toppled forward along with the movement of the door.
Alarm flared in Ji Zhixing’s heart, as she initially thought it was another disciple who had snuck up the peak.
To think someone could stay right outside her door for so long without being noticed.
Subconsciously, her first instinct was to detain the person.
The moment her hand touched the figure, Ji Zhixing could not help widening her eyes slightly. “Lu Qing’an?”
Lu Qing’an had just woken up and clumsily scrambled to her feet from the ground.
She rubbed her eyes, squeezed out a few stray tears from the corners, half-closed her eyes, lazily stretched her arms, and greeted Ji Zhixing.
“Good morning, Senior Sister.”
Her robes were damp with morning mist. Even without direct contact, Ji Zhixing could feel the chill radiating from her.
“You slept outside the door the entire night?”
Ji Zhixing asked in disbelief, the clarity in her eyes completely vanishing.
Lu Qing’an nodded. Because her sleep had been disturbed, drowsiness continued to wash over her in waves.
Leaning lazily against the doorframe, she kept her eyelids half-drooped and fought hard against the soreness in her eyes. “I was too scared to sleep alone, so I came to sleep by Senior Sister’s place.”
“With Senior Sister here, I feel at ease.”
With that, she broke into a smile, bright, cheerful, and entirely pure.
Ji Zhixing did not know what to say, pity intertwined with an indescribable emotion.
She sidestepped to open up enough space for someone to pass through and said softly, “Come inside to sleep, do not stay out here.”
Lu Qing’an remained rooted to the spot, not moving at all as if she had not heard a word.
She shifted her gaze to the sword in Ji Zhixing’s hand and spoke slowly.
“I will go on patrol with Senior Sister.”
Her voice grew softer and softer, as if she might fall asleep at any second.
The drowsiness still had not faded from her face, and her eyes were only half-open. Uttering such words made her sound completely insincere, like she was just talking nonsense.
At least Ji Zhixing did not believe her.
Lu Qing’an glanced at her, then hurried off to splash some water on her face.
With water droplets clinging to her forehead, cheeks, and the tip of her nose, she returned to Ji Zhixing’s field of vision as if seeking praise.
The mountain spring water outside in the pre-dawn cold was exceptionally biting, a sensation Ji Zhixing knew all too well.
Yet Lu Qing’an acted as though she could not feel it at all. If not for the fine, delicate goosebumps rising across her neck, Ji Zhixing really would have thought the person before her had lost all sense of feeling.
Lu Qing’an merely wiped the water droplets off her face casually with her sleeve, rubbing her fair skin until it flushed red.
“Senior Sister, let us go.”
Lu Qing’an said full of energy, the drowsiness in her eyes washing away like the tide driven back by the cold water.
She had recovered her energetic state.
With two or three quick strides, she put a good distance between herself and Ji Zhixing, walking briskly toward the exit of the small courtyard.
Ji Zhixing gripped the sword in her hand, forcefully suppressed a certain thought, and walked alongside Lu Qing’an.
After a full round of patrols, Lu Qing’an was practically hanging off of Ji Zhixing.
With one hand looped around Ji Zhixing’s arm, she slumped most of her weight against her, slurring her words with a dazed look in her eyes.
“Senior Sister, I cannot do it anymore. I am going to die.”
Her head tilted back, her eyelids nearly closed, leaving only the tiniest sliver of a gap to look at the world below her lashes.
Such self-deception allowed her body to pretend it was simply closing its eyes to sleep.
Once the patrol ended and she followed Ji Zhixing back to her courtyard, Lu Qing’an felt as though every ounce of her strength had been exhausted.
Upon spotting the doorway of Ji Zhixing’s room, she rushed toward it like a puppy that had just found a bone, collapsed right onto the ground, and sat with her back against the wall beside the door.
The next second, her head drooped forward, ready to visit the God of Dreams.
Just as Lu Qing’an was about to completely lose control of her heavy-as-lead head, a pair of soft hands caught her chin.
“Go inside to sleep.”
“I will keep watch right beside you.”
Forcing away the waves of sleepiness, Lu Qing’an did not move; instead, she shook her head.
“No, Senior Sister. I could tell yesterday, you probably do not like other people entering your room. Sleeping right here is just fine.”
She had even deliberately parked herself against the wall beside the door to avoid a repeat of the morning where Ji Zhixing opened the door and got startled.
Before she finished speaking, that wave of exhaustion crashed down on her again. Her eyelids flickered, everything in her vision doubled, and she prepared to close her eyes for good.
“Yesterday was yesterday, today is today.”
Seeing her like this, Ji Zhixing lost her usual composure, her voice carrying a hint of anger as she spoke.
Sensitively catching the change in emotion, Lu Qing’an braced her hands against the floor and sprang right up from the ground, lightly patting the dust off her backside.
“Senior Sister, do not be angry. I will listen to you.”
The moment she stepped inside, a familiar warm fragrance washed over her like sun-warmed summer lilies, radiating a soothing heat straight to the heart.
Lu Qing’an narrowed her eyes comfortably. A quick glance around the room revealed that the furnishings were much nicer than her own quarters.
Sunlight streamed through the lattice window, casting golden rays that made it hard to keep her eyes open.
The drowsiness that had just been suppressed rushed back up.
Walking over to Ji Zhixing’s bed, Lu Qing’an did not climb up; instead, she dropped forward and collapsed straight onto the rug beside the bed.
Whatever material the rug was made of, Lu Qing’an found it exceptionally soft. The moment she stretched out flat, she plunged fast asleep the very next second.
Her movements were fluid, smooth, and executed in one continuous motion.
Ji Zhixing, who had entered right behind her, could only stand there blankly, feeling as though saying a single word would shatter the flow of those actions.
Ji Zhixing fixed her gaze on Lu Qing’an’s sleeping face, her expression shifting through a complex mix of emotions.
That nap left Lu Qing’an feeling utterly refreshed.
It felt so good that she was somewhat reluctant to open her eyes.
Keeping her eyes shut, she luxuriated in the warm bedding of the moment she had just woken up, tugged at the blanket, and wrapped herself tighter.
What?
She remembered falling asleep on the rug, where on earth had the blanket come from?
Her eyes snapped open. Sitting right before her was Ji Zhixing in a meditative posture, positioned on a straw meditation mat about a foot away.
Faint, transparent mist drifted around her.
Lu Qing’an reached out an arm and poked at the wisp of vapor, only to feel as though she were pressing against a mass of incomparably soft cotton.
Ji Zhixing slowly opened her eyes as the wisps of energy rushed eagerly back into her body.
Leaving her hand hanging awkwardly in mid-air, Lu Qing’an showed no embarrassment and calmly pulled it back.
“Senior Sister, what was that just now?”
Having just finished cultivating, Ji Zhixing exuded an aura of ethereal divinity, looking less like a mortal and more like a celestial immortal undergoing trials.
Lowering her gaze toward Lu Qing’an, she parted her delicately curved lips to explain to the eager learner, “This is spiritual energy.”
As she spoke, she conjured a wisp of it from her palm, the transparent mist obediently settling into her hand.
Lu Qing’an reached out again to poke it, the soft, cotton-like texture making her eyes widen with excitement.
“That is amazing.”
She looked at Ji Zhixing with shining, star-struck eyes filled with admiration. “Can I have that too?”
Recalling the spiritual energy, Ji Zhixing shifted her gaze back to Lu Qing’an’s face.
Perhaps because she had just woken up, bangs were scattered messily across her forehead, yet her eyes were sparkling and crystal-clear. Her nose was delicately refined, and her thin lips curved up slightly at the corner into a pretty arc.
Because of her youth, her skin was so tender it looked like it could squeeze out water, fair, smooth, and flawless.
Ji Zhixing could not help rubbing her palms together lightly.
“As long as you have a spiritual root, you can cultivate spiritual energy.”
Hearing this, Lu Qing’an immediately perked up. After inquiring and learning that the Flowing Cloud Sect possessed a place to test for spiritual roots, she pestered her usually gentle senior sister with endless pleading until she agreed to let her find out what her spiritual root was.
Ji Zhixing had not intended to stop her anyway.
Once they arrived at the testing hall and she pricked her finger to drip blood onto the spiritual root stone, they waited a moment before the characters on the stone flashed rapidly and settled into five bold words.
Top-grade Lightning Spiritual Root.
Lu Qing’an could not wait to share the news with Ji Zhixing.
“Senior Sister, am I amazing? I am a top-grade Lightning Spiritual Root, you know.”
Stepping out through the doors of the testing pavilion, Ji Zhixing broke into a bright, uninhibited smile.
Golden sunlight spilled across her face, warmly echoing the curve of her lips.
She tugged at her senior sister’s sleeve. “Senior Sister, does that mean I can have that spiritual energy now too?”
Under her expectant gaze, Ji Zhixing curved her lips into a smile tinged with a touch of mischief.
“You still need to learn how to guide the spiritual energy into your body, find a suitable cultivation manual, and practice diligently.”
At Ji Zhixing’s words, the light in Lu Qing’an’s eyes dimmed.
Her once lively and energetic legs suddenly felt heavy.
There were still this many steps to go?
Lu Qing’an disappointmentedly clenched and unclenched her hands in the air, as if trying to recapture the texture of that spiritual energy from earlier.
Tossing a gentle pat onto Lu Qing’an’s head, Ji Zhixing spoke up again. “Summoning spiritual energy relies on talent.”
“Some people with good talent can manipulate spiritual energy freely in about seven days, while clumsier ones take seven years.”
She looked at Lu Qing’an. “So, Senior Junior Sister, which kind of person do you think you are?”
As Ji Zhixing spoke, an endless stream of gentle radiance flowed in her eyes, her lips curved into a perfectly measured, gentle smile.
Much like the spiritual energy she had just touched.
Lu Qing’an thought silently to herself.
“I am definitely the seven-day kind.”
The young girl was brimming with fighting spirit, her eyes bursting with immense energy. “Senior Sister, just tell me what I need to do next.”
Ji Zhixing smiled gently. “Then you had better hold on tight.”
What?
Before the confusion could even fully form in Lu Qing’an’s mind and before she could voice her question, her body reacted on instinct, her hands wrapping tightly around Ji Zhixing’s wrist.
She only felt a flash of blinding white light before her eyes, so piercing she could not keep them open, while her feet no longer felt like they were treading on solid ground.
The next moment, the light vanished, and Lu Qing’an was pulled out of the sensation of weightlessness.
The instant she planted her feet, the world spun wildly around Lu Qing’an, and she desperately sought something to steady herself.
Catching hold of Ji Zhixing’s arm, she instinctively pressed her forehead against her shoulder.
“Senior Sister, I am so dizzy.”
With her eyes tightly shut, her eyelashes fluttering, and her lips pressed into a thin line, Lu Qing’an’s face was completely pale.