Even Shen Qingchen herself was a bit at a loss as to what exactly was going on. If she said she was guarding against Jiang Qianxun, the other girl hadn’t actually done anything out of line. If she said she was grooming her as a disciple, all sorts of doubts lingered in her heart, preventing her from setting her mind at ease.
Ultimately, it still came down to those storybooks.
If she hadn’t flipped open that storybook that evening, she wouldn’t have suffered from insomnia. If she hadn’t suffered from insomnia, she wouldn’t have gone to the front of the mountain protecting array. If she hadn’t gone to the front of the mountain protecting array, she wouldn’t have run into Jiang Qianxun by chance, and none of this subsequent chain of events would have happened.
Returning to her quarters, she walked over to the bookshelf and stared blankly at the stack of storybooks at the bottom. After a long silence, she finally pulled one out and began to read.
This time, it wasn’t out of curiosity, much less because she wanted to read it. She simply wanted to search for any useful information inside. If there were even a tiny shred of evidence that could eliminate the possibility of Jiang Qianxun being the author, she wouldn’t be this conflicted.
After searching for half the night, she found absolutely nothing.
Rubbing her aching, weary eyes, she told herself there was really no need to get so caught up in such a dead end. If things were truly as her Senior Sister had said that the author was unwilling to have their real world identity recognized, they would naturally use plenty of concealment in this regard.
Trying to unearth something from this would likely be very difficult.
She spread the book open to the side, intending to go back to sleep. As she stood up, however, her peripheral vision caught sight of something beneath the bookshelf. Bending down to look, she discovered it was a storybook, likely knocked down there when Jiang Qianxun stumbled during the day.
It was thinner than the other storybooks, and its date was also the earliest. Looking at the signature, it was indeed “Cai You.” It was probably this person’s debut work.
She flipped through the table of contents and found it was yet another master disciple romance novel. However, the writing style was much more green and immature compared to the one about the overbearing disciple. The characters weren’t as vivid either, and it lacked those abundant erotic descriptions; reading it as a whole felt more like a running account close to daily life.
However.
It contained a great deal of useful information.
Shen Qingchen’s slender finger tapped on the pages, and the words she touched all floated up, imprinting themselves in mid-air. Bright Moon, Sparse Shadows, Blossoming Flowers, Alighting Magpies. These four terms were precisely the names of the four major residential quarters of the Lingxiu Sect’s Disciple Peak, and the protagonist inside lived exactly in the Alighting Magpies quarters.
Was the author a disciple living in the Alighting Magpies quarters?
The probability of this was very high. Because the structure of each residential quarter differed slightly, it would be difficult to notice these details without long periods of comparison. The author had likely set the environment based on where they lived, because many detailed places would be hard to imagine without a real world prototype.
Through the timeline and the orientation of the sunlight mentioned in the text, she could determine the general direction where this person resided, it was in the east facing residential quarters. There were ten rooms facing east in total, with two people per room, which narrowed the scope down to twenty people.
Among these twenty people, a few newly enrolled disciples had to be accounted for. The exact number was unclear and required further verification, but she was already very close to the truth.
Shen Qingchen suddenly grew a bit tense.
The other day, while she was waiting outside for Jiang Qianxun to pack her things, she had seen her walking out from the residential quarters. The place Jiang Qianxun lived in was indeed an east-facing quarter. This meant that Jiang Qianxun’s suspicion had grown even greater.
With a wave of her hand, she wiped away the deductions in the air, her mind thrown into a tangled mess. She didn’t know whether she should continue investigating. If it really turned out to be Jiang Qianxun, what should she do then?
Was she going to confront her face to face?
She didn’t know what the author’s original intention was in writing these storybooks. If it was just for fun, it wouldn’t matter much. But if there were other malicious intentions, wouldn’t exposing it force the girl into a dead end?
Besides, how could she be certain of the other’s true thoughts?
Thinking of the severe consequences that could follow, Shen Qingchen hesitated. She didn’t want to push Jiang Qianxun to that extent. The girl possessed outstanding natural talent and sufficient diligence, she was a sprout worthy of cultivation. Even if she had strayed temporarily, it didn’t mean she couldn’t pull back from the brink.
As her master, what she ought to do was not to impatiently puncture the other’s secret and judge a delusion she temporarily couldn’t suppress. Taking ten thousand steps back, perhaps the girl truly just liked this genre, and the master in the text was merely a fantasy with no basis in reality. Why should she make such a grand fuss and make arbitrary assumptions?
Moreover, it couldn’t be confirmed yet whether it was Jiang Qianxun.
Shen Qingchen suppressed the waves in her heart, admonishing herself that she must absolutely not leap to conclusions. Regardless of whether these storybooks came from Jiang Qianxun’s hand or not, she could no longer investigate. Even if she found out, she couldn’t tell anyone.
Just consider it… as giving the other party a chance.
Intentionally or otherwise, she assumed the air of a master and distanced herself from Jiang Qianxun. Although there wasn’t much change on the surface, she felt that the other girl should be able to perceive her hints.
Jiang Qianxun did indeed perceive them.
Though she was very dense when it came to feelings, it didn’t mean her emotional intelligence was lacking. On the contrary, when it came to reading people’s expressions, she was already quite a bit more adept than ordinary people due to countless lessons taught by reality.
She keenly perceived her master’s change, yet she didn’t understand the reason. When her master was with her last night, she was still so gentle and candid, even saying she wanted to take her as a disciple. Yet overnight, her master seemed to have changed into a different person.
Her master no longer smiled at her, no longer asked if there was anything she hadn’t explained clearly, and no longer accepted the tea from her hands personally when she served it. Instead, she had her place it directly on the table, saying she would drink it in a moment.
Yet until that cup of tea grew ice-cold, she was never seen drinking it.
She stared at that cup of tea as if staring at her own future that was about to be discarded, was her master angry with her? But why?
Before this, her master had also become inexplicably angry a few times. She hadn’t found the reason back then either. Based on her understanding of her master, she felt that this time, the problem still lay with herself.
After thinking for a long time, she still couldn’t figure out why.
Therefore, she became even more respectful, cautious in her words and deeds, thinking that as long as her master’s anger dissipated in a little while, she would be able to return to her usual gentle appearance.
But until today ended, her master’s anger had not dissipated.
She didn’t even show her a single smiling face.
Jiang Qianxun was a little close to breaking down.
Watching her master’s fluttering figure walk away, she wanted to say something but didn’t know what she could say. She couldn’t very well denounce her master, much less force her master to correct her attitude toward her. She didn’t even know if her perception was correct, perhaps it was just an illusion.
So, breaking all precedents, she sent a sound transmission to You Caiwei.
You Caiwei’s reaction was even greater than hers. “Heavens, there is absolutely a problem here! Think about it carefully again, did you offend her somewhere to make her unhappy?”
Jiang Qianxun had already pondered this question over a hundred times, and she was certain she really hadn’t done anything out of line. If she absolutely had to say something, the topic of apprenticeship last night was a bit sensitive, but her master’s reaction wasn’t resistant either, she merely said that there would be plenty of time in the future.
Furthermore, when saying those words, the other’s expression was exceptionally gentle. It really didn’t look like there was any displeasure.
“Can gentleness count as evidence?” You Caiwei shouted. “Back when you stole my spicy strips to eat, I also gave you a slap very gently, but can you say that wasn’t a form of rejection?”
“When did I ever steal your spicy strips?” Jiang Qianxun countered, but suddenly felt that the other party had a point. Perhaps it was precisely because her master was too gentle that the rejection wasn’t so obvious.
“…Then what on earth should I do from now on?”
“What else can you do, of course…” You Caiwei said halfway, then suddenly felt that this conclusion was a bit cruel to her study-holic friend. Not to mention, this master and disciple still had to spend so much time together afterward. Rather than getting along so awkwardly, it would be better to concoct a lie that was easier to accept.
Thus, she cleared her throat and said, “Actually, that might not be entirely the case. There’s another possibility that neither of us thought of just now.”
“What?”
“Maybe… your master wants to test you, deliberately using the method of cold shouldering you to see if your determination to become her disciple is firm…?”
By the time she reached the end, You Caiwei herself felt lacking in confidence.
This sounded entirely unscientific, only a fool would believe it.
But there just happened to be such a fool, the moment her voice fell, Jiang Qianxun struck her own palm. “So that’s how it is! No wonder Master suddenly changed into a different person. Thank you, my dearest friend!”