Nangong Jiang was astonished. “Wait, this is completely… aren’t you afraid she’s deceiving you? If she had merely read the storybook, that would be one thing, but she is currently living right next door to you. No matter how you look at it, it feels like she has designs on you, doesn’t it?”
Shen Qingchen spoke deliberately, “Senior Sister, Qianxun is not that kind of person. I trust her; she would never deceive me.”
Nangong Jiang: …
This picture of absolute compliance made it clear that she had been thoroughly brainwashed by her disciple. She didn’t know how to convince her otherwise. Thinking it over, persuasion was useless, she would just have to remain vigilant in the future.
Fortunately, she knew her martial sister possessed formidable cultivation, so she wouldn’t be easily caught off guard by a sneak attack. Furthermore, Jiang Qianxun couldn’t utilize spiritual energy right now, so even if she wanted to plot something, she lacked the means to execute it.
Thus, she shifted the topic to idle gossip.
Outside the door, Jiang Qianxun had no idea she had already been branded a dangerous element. She stood in silence with the new girl for a while. Not a single word passed between them, leaving the air heavy with an awkward stillness. Unable to bear it any longer, Jiang Qianxun asked, “What’s your name?”
The girl seemed startled by the question, responding in a tiny, trembling voice, “Shan, Shan Tongtong…”
Her voice was so quiet it was barely audible, forcing Jiang Qianxun to lower her own voice to match: “Hello, my name is Jiang Qianxun.”
As she spoke, she reached out to shake hands, but the girl didn’t comprehend the gesture. Instead, she retreated a few steps in panic, dropping into a standard defensive stance.
Amused and bewildered, Jiang Qianxun said, “Don’t worry, I’m not trying to hurt you. Shaking hands is a gesture of goodwill, understand?”
Shan Tongtong remained silent, keeping her body tensed like a young leopard ready to strike at any moment. No matter what Jiang Qianxun said next, she remained entirely unresponsive, leaving Jiang Qianxun at a loss.
To be honest, she had been the classic, universally liked star student since childhood, getting along effortlessly with both teachers and peers. Though she could be a bit overly meticulous at times, she was generally very reliable, which meant she had plenty of friends.
This was the first time she had ever encountered someone so incredibly difficult to interact with.
This difficulty wasn’t a matter of a bad personality, but rather an absolute, impenetrable wall. No matter what she said or did, she couldn’t elicit the slightest reaction from the girl. Based on her experience, people like this were usually intensely reclusive, highly difficult to please, and would never easily form friendships.
Fortunately, she didn’t need to become friends with her.
They likely wouldn’t have many opportunities to interact in the future anyway.
Thus, Jiang Qianxun stopped making a fool of herself and simply kept her eyes fixed on her master’s door, hoping they would finish their chat quickly. Otherwise, she would have to continue staring blankly at this person out here. She couldn’t very well just abandon her and return to her own room, leaving the girl standing alone in the courtyard.
After a short while, the door creaked open.
Nangong Jiang stepped out first, followed by Su Ruo, and finally her master. Jiang Qianxun immediately glided over to her master’s side, preparing to see the guests off, yet after exchanging a few pleasantries, the two elders boarded the celestial carriage without calling the young girl to join them.
She quickly reminded them, “You forgot someone…”
“She will be staying here for now,” Shen Qingchen stated. “Go tidy up the side chamber over there for this martial sister to live in.”
“Huh?” Jiang Qianxun couldn’t process it. “Which martial sister?”
“Her name is Shan Tongtong,” Shen Qingchen explained, assuming she hadn’t caught the name. “She is temporarily registered under my name. From now on, you shall address each other as martial sisters. Qianxun, you are the senior sister, so you must look after her and help her familiarize herself with the environment.”
Jiang Qianxun never anticipated this turn of events. Wait a minute, why did I have to suffer a massive illness just to gain entry to this mountain, while this person only needed a word from someone? Is this the sheer power of a nepotism hire?
She had transmigrated into a cultivation world; why did she still have to deal with nepotism hires?
Back when Jiang Qianxun worked within the government system in her past life, her absolute biggest pet peeve was those well-connected nepotism hires. They never did an ounce of actual work, yet they walked around with their noses in the air every single day, showing up late and leaving early. When the year end performance bonuses were distributed, theirs were always higher than anyone else’s.
She had assumed that transmigrating into a book would liberate her from such frustrations. Even with a second generation immortal like Nangong Lianyu around, the girl hadn’t truly threatened her position.
The girl could cultivate to immortality, and so could she.
That was what true fairness looked like.
But this current situation felt entirely unfair.
She already found the girl difficult to get along with, and now they were going to have to see each other constantly. To make matters worse, the girl was a blatant nepotism hire. All these reasons combined sent the girl’s impression score plummeting to a new low in her mind.
Thus, she pouted slightly and called out to Shan Tongtong, “Let’s go. Come with me to clean the room. You’ll be my martial sister from now on. If you need anything, you can ask me. If it’s within my power, I’ll help you resolve it.”
Shan Tongtong followed her silently.
Entering the kitchen, Jiang Qianxun fetched a bucket from the corner and drew some water, saying, “You wipe the windows, I’ll grab the broom.”
Shan Tongtong didn’t move. After a long pause, she uttered, “Cleansing Spell.”
Only then did Jiang Qianxun remember that because she had been unable to use spiritual energy lately, she had grown accustomed to cleaning through mundane methods. However, the other party was fully capable of utilizing spells, making manual labor entirely unnecessary.
Unwilling to admit her oversight, she simply doubled down. “Don’t cut corners for your very first cleaning session. This is the room you’ll be living in after all, it’s better to be thorough.”
Without another word, Shan Tongtong took the bucket from her.
Jiang Qianxun went to fetch the broom. The two busied themselves for half the day before the side chamber was finally cleared out. By the time everything was fully arranged, lunchtime had already passed.
Jiang Qianxun asked, “What do you want to eat?”
Shan Tongtong replied, “I do not require food.”
“Oh,” Jiang Qianxun muttered. “Then take a rest. Master and I need to perform healing sessions this afternoon, so you can cultivate on your own for now. There will be dinner served here tonight. I’ll come call you then.”
Shan Tongtong nodded, then inquired, “The cultivation here… what sort of intensity are we looking at?”
Jiang Qianxun answered, “I don’t know about others, but for me personally, I cultivate for twenty hours a day and that doesn’t even include class time.”