After fooling around for a while longer, Shen Ci bid farewell and returned to the Sect. The moment she landed in the courtyard, Shi Zhouzhou and Bu Ranchen immediately crowded around her.
They spun her around, examining her from all angles. “Little junior sister, are you hurt?”
Shen Ci looked at their two pairs of concerned eyes and felt a warmth in her heart. “Senior brothers, don’t worry. A-Ci is fine. Brother Xiao isn’t a bad person.”
Bu Ranchen simply plopped down beside her and asked, “Did you just go to the Back Mountain?”
Shen Ci nodded, then asked curiously, “Senior brothers, didn’t you know? There are several powerful seniors in our Sect’s Back Mountain.”
Shi Zhouzhou looked blankly at Bu Ranchen, and then they both shook their heads in unison.
“Ever since we joined the Sect, we’ve been told that the Back Mountain is a forbidden area and not to enter without permission. This is the first time we’ve heard that there’s actually…”
“And there’s a wolf demon too.”
Shen Ci was even more confused. What a strange sect rule.
Bu Ranchen suddenly sat up straight, his tone serious. “A-Ci, are you very familiar with that wolf demon?”
Shen Ci nodded. “Brother Xiao has a pure heart. A-Ci likes him very much.”
“Pfft…” Shi Zhouzhou laughed. “You’re an eight-year-old girl calling a wolf demon with centuries of cultivation ‘pure-hearted’.”
Shen Ci muttered, “But it’s true.”
Bu Ranchen turned her small body to face him. “Little one, although the Cultivation World has plenty of large demon beasts and immortal beasts, not many can actually take human form, and… not everyone can accept demon tribes.”
Shen Ci was momentarily stunned, then reassured him, “Senior brother, I understand what you mean, but Brother Xiao is truly good. Don’t worry, senior brother.”
Shi Zhouzhou patted his shoulder. “I think you’re worrying over nothing. With his cultivation level, if he wanted to harm our little junior sister, no one could stop him.”
Bu Ranchen glared at him. “That’s not what I meant.”
“Then what did you mean?”
“I mean, well…”
Shen Ci blinked, then suddenly stuffed a honey-glazed chicken leg into Bu Ranchen’s mouth. “Try this, senior brother~”
Caught off guard, Bu Ranchen found his mouth full, shiny sauce smeared all over his face. He wanted to speak but could only chew chew chew as the aroma overwhelmed him.
“Mmm… little one, listen to your senior brother…”
Chew chew chew
“This chicken leg is really delicious, but mainly, senior brother is worried about people seeing you hanging out with a demon wolf… mmm… delicious.”
Chew chew chew
“But it’s not a big deal anyway. That wolf is so powerful, who would dare say anything about you…”
Chew chew chew
Shi Zhouzhou: “…”
Shen Ci burst out laughing and took out an oil-paper package from her Naring. “Here, one for each of you.”
The aroma of honey-roasted chicken instantly made Shi Zhouzhou’s mouth water. He eagerly tore off a chicken leg, then suddenly frowned. “Why is this chicken lame like me???”
Shen Ci: “…”
She had forgotten about that!
She quickly explained with a red face, “Senior brother, I’m sorry, A-Ci was too greedy…”
Shi Zhouzhou took in her expression, then pinched her cheek. “I think it was a certain big white wolf who was greedy.”
Shen Ci’s eyes widened as she looked at Shi Zhouzhou, her face clearly showing “how did you know?”
Shi Zhouzhou chuckled while chewing on the chicken leg. “Silly girl.”
Bu Ranchen, with his cheeks bulging, mumbled indistinctly, “Little one, you’re only eight years old. How come you cook so well!”
“Because A-Ci is really afraid of being hungry. Especially, especially afraid.”
His chewing suddenly paused as the image of when he first found this little girl resurfaced: faded clothes patched up, garments old and bleached white, a sword worn down from overuse, hair messy like a bird’s nest—clearly someone who had been drifting for a long time.
Bu Ranchen suddenly pulled out a handful of Spirit Stones from his robe, causing the latter to widen her eyes in confusion.
Bu Ranchen grinned, “As promised, your senior brother will earn money to raise you, little one.”
“But this time, your senior brother didn’t manage to earn any Spirit Crystals.”
Shi Zhouzhou also fished out a handful of Spirit Stones from his robe, “Here, little junior sister, some pocket money.”
Shen Ci looked down at the pile of sparkling stones, her eyelashes fluttering, then firmly shook her head, “In the mortal world, there’s a saying: one shouldn’t accept rewards without merit.”
“Oh, my dear little ancestor…”
Shi Zhouzhou slapped his thigh exaggeratedly, “Just look at how well you’ve managed our Sect! How can that be called no merit? If your senior sister finds out you not only revitalized the Clear Stream but also successfully cultivated several large Moon Glow Flowers, she’d probably make us all serve you like oxen and horses.”
Shen Ci burst out laughing.
Bu Ranchen ruffled her hair, his eyes brimming with tenderness, “From now on, all the Spirit Stones your senior brother earns will belong to A-Ci.”
Shen Ci: “…Senior brother, you haven’t washed your hands after eating roast chicken.”
“HAHAHAHAHA!” Shi Zhouzhou laughed uproariously, rocking back and forth.
“Hey, you ungrateful little thing, are you already looking down on your senior brother?””
Bu Ranchen pretended to be angry but couldn’t hide the laughter in his eyes. He grabbed the Spirit Stones and forcefully stuffed them into Shen Ci’s palm, “Your senior brother and sister are often away traveling. A-Ci, be our little steward and manage our money for us, alright?”
Shen Ci pressed her lips together, but this time she didn’t refuse. She accepted the Spirit Stones.
Her fingertips lightly brushed over her Naring. With a faint spiritual glow, the Spirit Stones disappeared into it with a “ding” sound. After all, she had long planned to open a Spirit Food shop in Red Cloud City—this money could be considered her senior brothers’ investment.
Shi Zhouzhou suddenly grabbed Shen Ci’s wrist, examining the Naring on her finger under the moonlight. The ring surface emitted a cool halo in the moonlight, with subtle Spiritual Qi swirling inside.
“Good heavens, little junior sister, this Naring must be at least a low-grade Spirit Tool, right?”
In the Cultivation World where Spiritual Qi is sparse, aside from disciples of major sects, there aren’t many Qi Refinement or alchemy practitioners. Not to mention the various rare treasures consumed in the early stages, just finding a suitable furnace is extremely difficult. If it explodes, it would be downright disastrous.
Instead, sword cultivation prevails—after all, with just an iron sword and a few basic sword techniques, a novice cultivator can gain self-defense capabilities.
Therefore, whether it’s Spirit Tools or healing pills, they are all extremely precious. For ordinary cultivators like them, a regular storage bag is sufficient.
Shen Ci raised her hand, the jade ring shimmering with soft radiance under the moonlight, “Senior brother, are you talking about this?”
Shi Zhouzhou nodded.
She seemed to recall that cold-faced but warm-hearted youth in white robes, her eyes curving into smiles, “It was a gift from a senior.”
After a pause, she added, “The space inside is vast. A-Ci can store many things in it.”
Hearing this, Bu Ranchen silently poked his own storage bag and sighed mournfully, “Little one, maybe you should return the Spirit Stones to your senior brother after all. Suddenly I feel like you’re much wealthier than I am.”
Shi Zhouzhou rolled his eyes, “How pathetic.”
Shen Ci suddenly leaned closer to both of them and said solemnly, “Little Bu Senior Brother, Zhouzhou Senior Brother, A-Ci has something she’d like to discuss with you.”
Seeing her so serious, both of them straightened up simultaneously, “What is it?”
Shen Ci recalled his lover’s words once more, “I want to open a Spirit Food shop to earn Spirit Stones.”
The two spoke in unison: “Open a shop?”