In reality, Jiang Qianxun hadn’t even given a single thought to anyone else.
She genuinely believed it was entirely her own problem. When she finished changing her clothes and stepped out, she still felt a lingering sense of awkward embarrassment in her heart. Although she knew it was a perfectly normal physiological response, experiencing something like that in broad daylight was still incredibly mortifying.
She dragged her feet hesitantly toward the kitchen, only to find her Master already there, diligently chopping vegetables. If this had been any ordinary day, she would have certainly gravitated toward her to cozy up and chat. Today, however, was different. She stood rooted at the doorway, feeling too self-conscious to even open her mouth. She felt as though her current self was somehow tainted, and that speaking would somehow defile her pristine Master.
Meanwhile, Shen Qingchen was enduring an ordeal that was several degrees more agonizing.
Ever since she realized what she had done, her mind had been trapped in a relentless loop of anxiety. Would Jiang Qianxun discover the truth? Would she secretly deduce her hidden motives? Would she look at her with eyes full of contempt and scrutiny?
What she feared above all else was Jiang Qianxun finding her disgusting.
On the surface, she appeared focused on chopping vegetables, but her peripheral vision never left Jiang Qianxun for a second. Yet, she didn’t dare to make direct eye contact. She could only steal glances down toward her disciple’s feet. Seeing that Jiang Qianxun had indeed changed her trousers, she knew her hypothesis was correct, which only plunged her heart into an even deeper abyss of misery.
Furthermore, Jiang Qianxun was not walking over to her.
This highly unusual behavior only served to ground her suspicions in terrifying reality. She began to think that perhaps her disciple was currently judging her with a gaze filled with utmost loathing, perhaps she would never treat her as a revered Master again, perhaps she was stepping closer right now just to say. You are too depraved, you are unworthy of being my Master, goodbye!
Shen Qingchen was on the absolute brink of a total psychological collapse.
Right at that critical juncture, Jiang Qianxun suddenly broke the silence: “Mas”
Whether it was from being startled or out of sheer terror of hearing the second half of that sentence, Shen Qingchen’s hand slipped slightly at the sound of her voice. The knife sliced right into her finger, and fresh blood immediately began to well up.
In her state of panic, she completely forgot to use her spiritual energy to heal the wound. She just stared at it blankly until Jiang Qianxun rushed forward at lightning speed, using her mouth to gently press against the wound to staunch the bleeding.
With this sudden movement, her disciple’s face was brought directly into her line of sight.
The expected disgust, coldness, and judgment were completely absent. Instead, her disciple’s eyes were as bright and shimmering as a loyal puppy’s, filled with pure, unadulterated worry and an apologetic look, as if blaming herself for causing the injury by speaking up so abruptly.
Looking down at Jiang Qianxun, who was obediently squatting on the floor with her head tilted up to stop the bleeding, Shen Qingchen finally realized that her previous anxieties were nothing more than wild, paranoid delusions. The inside of her disciple’s mouth was incredibly warm, and the tip of her tongue gently swirled against her fingertip. It was a sensation that felt simultaneously erotically charged and bizarrely wondrous. Suddenly realizing how improper this was, she hurriedly withdrew her finger.
Jiang Qianxun looked a bit hurt, gazing up at her with a look of silent accusation.
“…Don’t put it in your mouth,” Shen Qingchen managed to say, her voice soft. “It’s dirty.”
Jiang Qianxun shook her head vigorously. “How could it be? I don’t think it’s dirty at all. Just like that time Master saved me, you didn’t think I was dirty either.”
Shen Qingchen knew exactly what she was referring to. During their very first meeting, when she had fed medicine to Jiang Qianxun, the girl had similarly been terrified of dirtying her fingers.
Her drifting heart finally settled back into place, and her tense posture gradually relaxed. Reclaiming her composure, Shen Qingchen inquired softly, “Are you hungry?”
Seeing that her gentle Master had returned, Jiang Qianxun immediately threw her previous embarrassment to the back of her mind and offered a cheerful, enthusiastic response.
The two of them didn’t experiment with any new recipes that evening. They simply shared a quiet, peaceful meal together. Once they finished eating, Jiang Qianxun asked, “Master, do you have a place around here where I can take a bath?”
For the past few days, she had merely been carrying water back to her room to wipe herself down with a towel. Today, however, that wouldn’t suffice. She felt a lingering stickiness all over her body and desperately needed a proper soak to wash it all away.
Shen Qingchen’s eyes darkened slightly as she replied, “There is a hot spring in the backyard.”
Naturally, she knew exactly why Jiang Qianxun needed a bath, yet she was in a position where she could say absolutely nothing. She merely reached into her spatial pouch and retrieved a small sack of fragrant seeds, offering it as a silent token of apology. “Scatter these into the water. It will give off a floral fragrance.”
Jiang Qianxun took the sack and inspected it, noting that they looked like a cluster of little plant seeds. It was her first time seeing a bath bomb of this particular design, so she voiced her gratitude and headed straight for the hot spring in the backyard.
The so-called hot spring was nestled discreetly behind a rockery, enclosed by walls on three sides, which explained why she hadn’t noticed it before. The moment she stepped into the area, the heat-generating talismans instantly activated, and before long, the space was enveloped in billowing shrouds of warm steam.
Because the water temperature rose gradually rather than all at once, the heat wasn’t overwhelming. She waded over to the innermost corner, finding a comfortable position to sit down.
The temperature indicator on the wall read forty degrees Celsius, the absolute perfect sweet spot for a relaxing soak. She kicked her legs lightly, enjoying the buoyant sensation of the water, and soon felt completely relaxed from head to toe.
But the sensation was so exquisite that she wasn’t quite ready to leave just yet.
She suddenly remembered the bag of bath seeds. Wading over through the water, she retrieved them from her clothes and poured the entire contents into the spring with a loud splash.
For a long while, nothing happened.
Unsure of what was wrong, she figured they must have expired or lost their efficacy. Deciding not to waste any more time waiting, she lifted her foot to head toward the stone steps to get out. However, just as she moved, she caught the faint sound of a ‘pop’, resembling the sound of a cork being unplugged.
Turning her head to look back, she saw a flower suddenly blossom right in the center of the water’s surface.
It was a massive lotus flower, trembling delicately on the water.
How intriguing. Just as she was about to wade over to pluck it, her foot suddenly slipped as a chrysanthemum rose from the water right against her back. Chrysanthemums weren’t aquatic plants, so this was definitely not a natural occurrence.
Before she could fully process what was happening, a succession of endless ‘pop’ sounds erupted throughout the spring. Countless flowers blossomed simultaneously, and the sheer volume of the floral tide lifted her up by half a foot. The water’s surface was instantly transformed into a plush cushion woven entirely out of petals. A barrage of various floral scents assaulted her senses, threatening to marinate her completely in their fragrance.
And in a corner she hadn’t noticed, a massive, blood-red, strikingly gorgeous flower was stealthily blooming.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the courtyard, Shen Qingchen had cleared the dining table and was walking back to her room with a heavy heart. She knew that today’s incident was merely the beginning. Jiang Qianxun still had fourteen spiritual beads remaining in her body, two on her chest and twelve near her dantian. Even if her lower abdomen was flat enough that they could focus solely on exposing the areas requiring treatment, what about her chest?
No matter how flat a chest might be, it still possessed natural contours. It was impossible to hide it with a simple cover, which meant they would have no choice but to continue utilizing their current method.
Two days. It would take at least two more days.
How was she supposed to endure these next two days?
As she was lost in thought, a voice transmission suddenly arrived. Shen Qingchen pulled out her communication device and saw that it was from her Senior Martial Sister. Her sister rarely contacted her at such an hour, so she quickly composed her emotions and accepted the call.
“Qingchen, I have something to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“Weren’t you trying to investigate the author of those web novels? I’ll be direct with you. I originally confiscated those books from Lianyu. Lianyu herself was incredibly curious about the author’s true identity and put a massive amount of effort into digging around in secret. As of today, she finally has a solid lead.”
Shen Qingchen hadn’t expected her sister to still be dwelling on this matter. To be entirely frank, the author’s identity no longer mattered to her, and she had no desire to pursue the investigation any further.
She voiced her lack of interest, but her sister merely lowered her voice and said, “Do you really not want to know? What if I told you this person might be right by your side?”
“By my side?” Hearing the heavy implication in her tone, Shen Qingchen pressed, “What do you mean by that?”
Naturally, she understood exactly what those words insinuated, and her heart instantly leaped into her throat. Although she had previously harbored suspicions about whether this was Jiang Qianxun’s doing, their recent interactions had completely dispelled those doubts. If it turned out to be her now, the entire nature of the situation would shift drastically.
“Don’t get anxious, let me explain it to you slowly. Remember how I mentioned before that this person was likely a disciple who entered within the last three years? That conclusion still holds true. Lianyu’s method of investigation was a bit more old-fashioned, she tracked the physical circulation of the storybooks.”
Nangong Jiang continued, “Doesn’t she have connections within the Discipline Committee? They have plenty of disciples acting as dormitory monitors across various residential quarters. With so many people helping her investigate, they slowly managed to trace the source of the books back to the Qucluo Dormitories.”
This aligned perfectly with Shen Qingchen’s own deduction. She silently braced herself, fearing that her sister would name the Eastern Wing of the Qucluo Dormitories, which was precisely where Jiang Qianxun resided.
As fate would have it, whatever one feared most was exactly what would manifest. Nangong Jiang went on, “It’s the Eastern Wing’s dorms, and they’ve managed to pinpoint the exact room number!”
Shen Qingchen was frozen, barely able to breathe. When she spoke, her voice trembled noticeably: “…Which room?”
“Grade A, Number One.”
‘Grade A’ referred to the first floor, and ‘Number One’ designated the very first room. That was precisely the room Jiang Qianxun lived in. The final ember of hope in Shen Qingchen’s heart died out. Since only two people shared a single room, this meant the circle of suspicion surrounding Jiang Qianxun had officially been slashed down to a fifty-fifty certainty.
“Furthermore, there’s something else I forgot to mention to you earlier. Now that it comes to mind, I’m almost debating whether I should even tell you,” Nangong Jiang spoke with a hint of hesitation.
“Fu Xin asked me to pass a message to you a while back. She mentioned that she once caught Jiang Qianxun slacking off during class to read a web novel. Do you know what the title of that book was?”
The relentless succession of psychological blows left Shen Qingchen lacking the courage to even press further. Sure enough, Nangong Jiang uttered a starkly familiar title.
“The Domineering Disciple Falls for Me.”
Shen Qingchen felt her vision go completely dark.
She was utterly at a loss for what to do, feeling as though her worst nightmare had materialized into reality. If Jiang Qianxun truly was the author of those books, then every single action she had taken thus far was entirely calculated to get closer to her. Her innocent, naive facade was nothing but an act,her ignorance of worldly affairs was entirely staged and today’s usage of the Sensation Sharing Talisman was likely an expertly orchestrated move.
How could a person be so sinisterly calculating and profound at such a young age?
What would come next? Would she continue to take advantage of her under the guise of medical treatment, gradually forcing her to psychologically accept this flagrant violation of the master disciple hierarchy?
Despair flooded Shen Qingchen’s eyes. She felt a profound sense of heartbreak both for Jiang Qianxun and for herself. Her disciple possessed such magnificent natural talent, yet instead of applying it to the righteous path, she chose to squander her intellect on such devious, unorthodox schemes, going so far as to sacrifice her own health in the process.
Meanwhile, she herself had been completely blinded by her own goodwill, failing to recognize the girl’s lupine ambitions. For so many days, she had poured her heart and soul into treating her injuries and conducting her lessons, ignoring so many glaring warning signs, such as that painting she was intentionally meant to discover, the way the girl tailored her cooking to perfectly match her preferences, and her deliberate suggestion to use the Sensation Sharing Talisman. To put it bluntly, wasn’t it all just an elaborate ploy to exploit her compassion and achieve her own unspeakable, hidden desires?
What did any of this even mean?
The young disciple and kindred spirit she had finally found, the one person she felt truly understood her, had transformed overnight into an insidious presence harboring dark, covetous designs toward her.
If she didn’t take immediate action to intervene, would she eventually be swallowed whole, becoming nothing more than a piece of meat in her disciple’s mouth?
Shen Qingchen slowly rose to her feet and walked out the door. She decided that regardless of the outcome, she had to confront Jiang Qianxun face to face. She wanted to see exactly how her disciple would attempt to justify herself once her mask was ripped away.
Arriving before the door of the side chamber, she took a deep, stabilizing breath and knocked.
Receiving no response, she pushed the door open, only to find the room completely vacant.
Just as she turned around to leave, she spotted a figure walking down the corridor toward her. The girl’s hair was still thoroughly soaked, loosely pinned up at the crown of her head. A subtle, exotic fragrance wafted from her body, and her collar hung slightly agape, revealing the sharp, distinct contours of her collarbones.
“Master,” Jiang Qianxun greeted.
For reasons she couldn’t quite define, Shen Qingchen found her disciple looking somewhat unfamiliar. Perhaps it was due to the weight of the truth she had just uncovered, but she felt as though a ferocious, blazing fire of raw desire was swirling within Jiang Qianxun’s eyes, looking as if she might leap forward and consume her alive at any second.
Shaking off these unsettling premonitions, she asked, “What took you so long in the bath?”
“Is there something you need?” Jiang Qianxun countered, her voice icy cold.
Shen Qingchen had fully intended to sit down and have a proper, civilized discussion with her. She hadn’t anticipated that her disciple’s demeanor would be so radically hostile. Frowning, she asked, “I do have a matter to discuss. Do you reside in Room Number One, Grade A of the Qucluo Dormitories?”
“Yes, I do. What about it?”
“What about it…” Jiang Qianxun’s utterly freezing and abrasive attitude made it impossible for Shen Qingchen to simply let it slide. After a brief pause, she decided to address the immediate anomaly first: “What is wrong with you? Why have you suddenly turned into a completely different person?”
Jiang Qianxun offered no reply. Instead, she strode forward abruptly, grabbed her by the arm, and began dragging her toward the door. “Master, I’m sorry, but tonight is not a good time.”
Shen Qingchen was utterly baffled by her aggressive behavior. Combined with the fact that she had come fully prepared for a confrontation, there was no way she would allow herself to be dismissed so easily. She forcefully wrenched her hand free from the girl’s grip and declared, “What is wrong with you? I have something important to say to you! Jiang Qianxun, you…”
Before she could finish her sentence, the girl suddenly spun around, scooped her up into her arms, and carried her over to the bed, tossing her onto the mattress. Under the silver moonlight, Jiang Qianxun’s eyes gleamed with a terrifying intensity, burning with an unsuppressable, raging tide of raw desire.
“If Master refuses to leave, then we can only do it this way.”
Jiang Qianxun yanked hard on the binding ropes in her hands, producing a sharp, resounding snap that ripped through the air as she pressed her weight down toward Shen Qingchen, who was curling into a panicked, terrified ball upon the bed.