Mu Yao withdrew her spiritual sense and slowly walked toward the library pavilion. When she arrived outside, Ah Jiu still had not noticed her arrival.
With Mu Yao’s current level of cultivation, if she did not want Ah Jiu to notice her, it was naturally a breeze.
Just as Mu Yao was about to enter the room where Ah Jiu practiced her handwriting, she heard the sound of a brush being set down inside, followed by the little one’s sigh.
“I wonder when Senior Sister will be able to come out, and Uncle-Master Fu Yan and Senior Sister Nan You will not come out either. Senior Sister must be in a lot of pain.” The little one muttered to herself inside.
Then Mu Yao seemed to hear the sound of paper being changed inside, followed by the sound of a brush being picked up again.
Mu Yao stopped at the doorway, suddenly curious about what the little one was doing.
She released her spiritual sense without entering directly. With her enhanced cultivation and the unintended practice of her spiritual sense over the years, the things Mu Yao could perceive had become much clearer, no longer just the vague images of the past.
Now, as long as the distance was close enough, what her spiritual sense detected was just like what her eyes could see firsthand.
Mu Yao saw Ah Jiu starting to draw on a blank sheet of paper. Curious about what Ah Jiu wanted to draw, she did not rush inside.
The person inside was drawing earnestly, while the person outside waited quietly for her to finish.
As time passed, Mu Yao saw that upon the white paper was a striking image of a young maiden concentrating on playing the guqin. Although uncolored and with rather naive artistic skills, it was still possible to tell that the person Ah Jiu had drawn was herself.
When she finished drawing, Ah Jiu looked at it herself and still felt it did not look good.
“It doesn’t look good at all.” Ah Jiu pouted, extremely dissatisfied with the drawing she had made.
Mu Yao chuckled softly. Thinking carefully, the little one was seemingly only nine years old after all. Mu Yao suddenly realized that it seemed Ah Jiu had never celebrated a birthday since she grew up.
Yet she did not seem to know which day Ah Jiu’s birthday was either, though counting the days, it was getting close to the anniversary of Master first bringing the little one back to Xiaoyao Peak.
Should she still celebrate it for the little one this year? Mu Yao pondered this matter very seriously.
Then she heard another heavy sigh come from inside the room, along with Ah Jiu’s self-deprecating mutter: “I cannot draw well. I am so clumsy.”
The corners of Mu Yao’s mouth curved up slightly as she raised her hand and tapped on the door. “Is Ah Jiu inside?”
Hearing Mu Yao’s voice from within the study, Ah Jiu sprang to her feet. “Senior Sister?”
She ran over to open the door and, seeing Mu Yao standing outside, thought for a moment that she might be seeing things.
“What is the matter? Do you not recognize me?” Mu Yao reached out and ruffled her hair.
Ah Jiu caught her by surprise and wrapped her arms around her waist. “No, Ah Jiu naturally recognizes Senior Sister.”
Mu Yao patted her head gently. “Studying so diligently?”
Ah Jiu rubbed against her embrace. “Ah Jiu has been very good and has not slacked off.”
Mu Yao’s fingertips lightly stroked her hair. “Good. Senior Sister knows.”
“I have not caused Senior Sister any trouble either,” Ah Jiu said softly.
Mu Yao chuckled softly. “Then shouldn’t Senior Sister give Ah Jiu some reward?”
Ah Jiu shook her head vigorously. “No.”
As soon as she finished speaking, for reasons unknown, she suddenly burst into tears, pressing her head against Mu Yao’s chest and sobbing quietly.
This sudden outburst of tears from the little one caught Mu Yao somewhat off guard. “What is the matter? Why are you crying?”
Mu Yao stepped back slightly, then bent down, cupped her cheeks, and gently wiped away her tears.
“Ah Jiu is all alone and very scared.” She answered Mu Yao’s question obediently while shedding tears.
Mu Yao smiled, took out a handkerchief, and gently wiped her little face. “Senior Sister has not left. If you are scared, you can go find Senior Sister Yue Yue.”
“When Senior Sister was in seclusion before, wasn’t Ah Jiu able to manage just fine by herself?” Releasing her spiritual sense to see Ah Jiu’s reddened eyes, Mu Yao still felt a pang of heartache.
“That is different.” Ah Jiu shook her head very hard. Back then, she didn’t know Senior Sister was sick, nor did she understand what seclusion meant. Now, Ah Jiu was terrified that something might happen to Senior Sister, terribly terrified.
Mu Yao seemed to understand the little one’s thoughts and reached out to pull her into an embrace. “Alright, Senior Sister is fine. You do not need to worry.”
Ah Jiu gave a soft acknowledgment. “Mm.”
“Then has Ah Jiu finished her lessons for today?” Mu Yao asked with a soft smile.
“I ran my laps in the morning. Ah Jiu can run thirty laps a day now! Today’s tracing practice is already done. Does Senior Sister want to inspect it? I have not memorized all of the Taixuan Scripture yet, but it is almost done!” Her tone was somewhat hurried, as if she were afraid Mu Yao might think she had been lazy.
Hearing her hurried words, Mu Yao’s fingertips lightly brushed against her lips. “Mm, Senior Sister believes Ah Jiu. We will not inspect it today. How about Senior Sister makes you something delicious today?”
“Yay!” Ah Jiu’s tone instantly became much more upbeat.
“Is there anything Ah Jiu wants to eat?” Mu Yao asked warmly.
“I want steamed fish, roasted pigeon, and extra food.” She rattled off a long list without any hesitation at all.
Mu Yao pinched the tip of her nose. “Can you finish eating so much? And if you haven’t finished practicing the lessons Uncle-Master Wu You left you, yet you eat all her pigeons, watch out or Uncle-Master will punish you.”
“I did not finish them all! Ah Jiu helps Uncle-Master feed the pigeons, and there are still many little pigeons now!” Ah Jiu hurried to explain, proving that she hadn’t eaten many.
Mu Yao laughed. Ah Jiu looked up at Senior Sister, feeling that Senior Sister’s mood seemed exceptionally good today.
“If Ah Jiu calls Senior Sister Nan You, Senior Sister Yue Yue, Uncle-Master Fu Yan, and Junior Uncle over as well, wouldn’t we be able to finish it all?” Ah Jiu thought for a moment, tilted her head, and asked.
Mu Yao paused slightly. Her first thought unexpectedly was: with so many people, wouldn’t it be terribly noisy?
She truly disliked excessive liveliness, but looking at the little one’s expectant expression, she still couldn’t bring herself to refuse.
“Alright.” Mu Yao softly agreed to her in the end.
Ah Jiu raised both hands above her head and jumped up with joy.
Yet soon afterward, another thought crossed her mind, and her expression turned much more serious.
“Is Senior Sister’s illness better? Would there be too many people? Maybe we should forget it. Ah Jiu will be happy just eating steamed fish and roasted pigeon.” Thinking of Mu Yao’s illness, the little one became much more cautious again.
Mu Yao chuckled lightly, reached out, condensed an ice flower, and handed it to her. “Senior Sister is fine. You do not need to worry.”
Seeing the ice flower Mu Yao handed over, Ah Jiu’s eyes lit up instantly. “So pretty!”
“Has Senior Sister recovered her cultivation?” Ah Jiu took the ice flower, treating it with exceptional care.
Mu Yao lightly tapped the tip of her nose with her finger. “It is recovered. Now go call the others, and Senior Sister will go make preparations.”
Holding the ice flower in one hand, Ah Jiu hooked her other arm around Mu Yao’s neck, leaned in, and kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you, Senior Sister.”
As soon as she finished kissing, Ah Jiu pulled away from Mu Yao’s embrace, let out a whistle, and summoned the spiritual crane.
Watching her leap directly from the library pavilion onto the back of the spiritual crane, Mu Yao thought that the little junior sister had certainly made a lot of progress.
Seeing Ah Jiu depart, Mu Yao also walked slowly out of the library pavilion. Contemplating the dishes Ah Jiu had requested, she pondered what she needed to prepare, then summoned Frost, stepped onto her sword, and left Xiaoyao Peak.
When Mu Yao returned, Ah Jiu had not yet come back, so Mu Yao went straight to the kitchen. This time, the cooking process was much faster. After all, being able to use spiritual power was vastly superior to the previous state of being completely blind and entirely like an ordinary mortal.
With the ability to use spiritual power, many things became far more convenient.
Just like handling those fish, she no longer needed to slice and debone them knife by knife by hand.
Ah Jiu had made a round through the various peaks, and the moment she announced that the Eldest Senior Sister was personally doing the cooking, no one could refuse.
In the end, Ah Jiu brought back such a large group of people to Xiaoyao Peak. Feeling the number of people coming over for a free meal, Mu Yao was stunned for a moment.
She re-counted the dishes she had prepared and felt they might not be quite enough, so she helplessly went to add a few more dishes.
Ah Jiu enthusiastically ran into the kitchen under the guise of wanting to help.
Mu Yao did not refuse her either, directly letting her do whatever tasks she was capable of.
After all, since it was this little one who wanted to eat, she had to make herself useful.
In the end, Mu Yao prepared a table full of dishes, and the people Ah Jiu had called over filled the entire table.
Nan You even thoughtfully brought two jars of wine. Fu Yan had already returned earlier, but upon hearing from Ah Jiu that Mu Yao was going to cook, she came over to join in the fun.
After all, her niece-disciple usually looked like she had no worldly desires and pursued no culinary delights; the fact that she was actually going to cook still struck Fu Yan as quite surprising.
Nan You explained it to her: “Master, Eldest Senior Sister does not care for gourmet food, but little Ah Jiu wants to eat, so of course she has to indulge her.”
Fu Yan chuckled softly. “I wouldn’t have thought Yaoyao would be so indulgent toward your little junior sister.”
“Well, she has watched Ah Jiu grow up bit by bit since she was this tiny. Doesn’t Master often compromise when the little one acts cute?” Nan You didn’t think Mu Yao’s indulgence toward Ah Jiu was anything strange. The little one had a sweet mouth.
And she cared so much about Mu Yao. Although Mu Yao looked cold and aloof, based on Nan You’s interactions with her, she actually cared quite a bit about the people around her.
Naturally, she would also cherish this cute little junior sister.
Mu Yao had Ah Jiu carry all the dishes out before she came out herself. Before even stepping into the main hall of the Fengsheng Pavilion, she heard the sound of bright laughter and various praises for Mu Yao’s culinary skills from inside.
“That’s right! Eldest Senior Sister cooks so well. Ah Jiu was not lying.” Hearing Ah Jiu’s somewhat proud tone, Mu Yao smiled helplessly, though the curve of her lips still revealed that her mood was actually quite good.
Although she didn’t particularly care for overly lively occasions, perhaps because everyone present was an acquaintance, Mu Yao didn’t feel constrained after walking in.
Although the Tianqing Sect had distinctions of seniority, it was not nearly as rigid as other sects. Coupled with the already dwindling number of members, the people sitting here accounted for half of the sect, and the older uncles and aunt-masters possessed exceptionally easygoing personalities. Thus, even with Fu Yan sitting there, the atmosphere remained just as harmonious.
Seeing Mu Yao, Ah Jiu hurriedly came over to pull her down to a seat, and Nan You timely poured her a cup of wine.
“Senior Sister, does this taste good?” Seeing the adults drinking wine, Ah Jiu looked on with wide, eager eyes.
Mu Yao merely poured her a different beverage instead. “You are a child, you cannot drink.”
Ah Jiu said with some disappointment, “Alright.”
Although she obediently asked no further, her little gaze still lingered on Mu Yao’s cup, filled with a mixture of longing and curiosity.