Chapter 34: Loquat Fruit (Part 8)

Xu Qianyu opened her eyes to find it was already the afternoon of the second day. She noticed a cluster of vibrant purple hydrangeas blooming by her bedside, surrounded by buzzing bees and butterflies.
Realizing this was not the small bed she had slept in, she suddenly sat up.
Getting up too quickly sent pain through her entire body. She carefully adjusted herself and found a jade box in her arms, containing three brown elixirs.
“Are these elixir?”
Did her senior brother misunderstand? She only wanted to borrow one, not three!
The box had no inscriptions on either side. Lifting the cushion, she found several small, translucent white stones beneath it. This was typical of Shen Suwei’s character.
He had always been busy, leaving behind only objects, not words.
Xu Qianyu tucked the box into her sleeve and struggled to go outside to find something to eat.
Sadly, even the brightly dressed outer disciples of Penglai, who looked as elegant as white cranes, could only gather some potatoes and corn when she asked for alms.
Xu Qianyu was left speechless.
The poverty here far exceeded her understanding.
She accepted two ears of corn from some female disciples, feeling quite embarrassed. She decided to pluck a gold hairpin from her bun and give it to them. However, the disciples refused: “In the sect, we have no use for this… We use spirit stones.”
“Spirit stones?”
“Spirit stones can replenish a cultivator’s spiritual energy, feed spirit cranes, and serve as fuel for giant eagles. They are somewhat equivalent to currency in the mortal world.”
Noticing her confused expression, someone gave her two small spirit stones. As she looked at the two glossy, pebble-like stones, she suddenly realized and declined the disciples’ generosity.
Turning away, she opened the box that Shen Suwei had given her, lifted the cushion, and saw that the stones underneath were indeed spirit stones.
So she had spirit stones after all—fifteen of them!
Xu Qianyu instantly felt more confident; her back straightened.
The system said, “Look ahead; isn’t there a market?”
Xu Qianyu quickly walked forward and found several disciples in white robes squatting or standing together. A few disciples were setting up stalls on the ground.
One person picked up a jar of wine and said, “Homemade immortal wine, come, everyone, have a taste.”
Penglai was rich in flora, and during spring and summer, the flowers bloomed like a sea. Many disciples brewed wine using morning dew and flower petals.
Food was mundane, but wine was divine. Though there was nothing to eat, there could be wine.
Xu Qianyu immediately squatted down and, after a long selection, spent nine spirit stones to buy two jars of green plum wine and one jar of osmanthus wine, returning laden with goods. If it weren’t for the system urging her to stop, she might have bought more; she used to spend all her money whenever she went out.
Xu Qianyu really wanted to share a jar of wine with her contemptuous mother-in-law to celebrate her escape from suffering. She also wanted to vent about the inhumane torment she had endured over the past three days.
contemptuous mother-in-law only asked for one elixir: “Elixirs are rare. Asking for one is already a great favor from you, sister. Shen Xianjun gave it to you, not to me; you should keep it.”
Xu Qianyu had no choice but to accept the other two.
Today was a holiday, and as she lay in bed, every part of her ached. Unable to sleep, she couldn’t help but complain.
contemptuous mother-in-law only found it amusing. “You think cracking a whip is the same as having pain in your shoulder? How could that possibly hurt your stomach?”
Xu Qianyu gritted her teeth and recounted how Shen Suwei had frozen her upper and lower arms, making it impossible for her to swing her wrist.
Contemptuous mother-in-law looked puzzled. She had never heard of such a practice method. “Just moving the wrist—what kind of whip is that?”
After pondering for a moment, she became increasingly curious. “Sister, can you demonstrate for me how Shen Xianjun taught you?”
Xu Qianyu was initially unwilling but couldn’t resist contemptuous mother-in-law’s pitiful pleading. With some impatience, she climbed up, asked contemptuous mother-in-law to sit behind her, held her hand, and then demonstrated the three techniques of swinging with the upper arm, swinging with the lower arm, and only moving the wrist.
contemptuous mother-in-law said nothing.
She felt that this method of whipping was laborious and ungrateful. By rights, Shen Xianjun was a disciple of the inner sect, practicing profound techniques that someone like her, a mere servant, could not compare to.
But from her observation, just cracking a whip didn’t seem to require such practice, did it?
“You, do it again.” She must not have grasped the essence of it.
Xu Qianyu went through the motions once more.
contemptuous mother-in-law remained silent, suddenly realizing something. Her eyes widened, and she exclaimed, “I understand now!”
“This is not swinging a whip,” she said, “this is clearly swinging a sword. This is sword intent!”
Those words struck Xu Qianyu like thunder, waking her up.
Suddenly, she recalled that the chopping motion was short and fierce, just like drawing a knife to cut a mountain.
Freezing the upper arm and the chopping motion was akin to sweeping a sword to cut through the wind.
With a flick of the wrist, the sword hummed, resonating endlessly, filling the world with its sound.
In the execution chamber, if she held a sword instead of a whip, everything made sense: in an instant, a fierce wind swept in from all directions, the aura of the weapon surrounding her.
With one whip—one sword strike—she shattered the fog of confusion, dispelling the mist, revealing the path ahead.
In that moment, everything clicked, as if she had understood the world.
* 
“Why did you lie to me?” Xu Qianyu burst through the door, saying, “You said you would teach me to crack a whip, but how is this teaching me to use a sword?”
Shen Suwei looked up from his book, slightly surprised. His fingers pinched the spine of the book, his expression still calm.
He remembered not telling her where he lived. How she found him with such precision was still unknown.
He simply asked, “Do you want to learn the whip or the sword?”
Shen Suwei privately thought Xu Qianyu was more suited to practicing the sword. Firstly, she was decisive in nature but lacked patience; if she only learned to crack a whip, she would inevitably become impatient and harsh. A cool and hard weapon suited her better, and the mysteries of the sword path were boundless, allowing her to temper her temperament and deepen her understanding.
Secondly, the sword she brought from home was quite pleasing to him.
Although it was just a wooden sword, from the perspective of a sword lord, he believed it could become a fine sword in the future. It would be a pity if it gathered dust.
Xu Qianyu indeed had a talent for using swords.
She built a sword foundation in three days, which was about what he managed in his own time.
However, everything depended on her desires.
He never made decisions for others.
Xu Qianyu was momentarily overwhelmed by the thought that “the senior brother actually deceives people.” After regaining her composure, she asked, “Since you can’t crack a whip, how did you manage to entangle people that day?”
Shen Suwei closed the book with a blank expression. “First tell me if you want to learn the whip or the sword, then I will tell you.”
Xu Qianyu pondered for a moment, then confidently replied, “I want to learn the sword.”
The difference between a whip and a sword is that once you learn to crack a whip, there is almost no room for improvement. However, sword intent is infinite, and understanding it is a never-ending journey. She was always fascinated by things she couldn’t grasp.
Even in her past life, where she fell short and lost her life to a sword, she still believed deep down that she was a sword cultivator.
“Alright, come here,” Shen Suwei called her over, taking the whip from her hand.
Xu Qianyu watched in astonishment as the whip in Shen Suwei’s hands lifted section by section, finally standing upright like a sharp spike.
“Did you infuse spiritual power to control it that day?”
No matter what it was, even a rope or a ribbon, it could be controlled by his spiritual power, changing its form at will.
Shen Suwei held the whip, which had transformed into a spike, and looked at her sideways. “How about it?”
Xu Qianyu thought, Isn’t this cheating? She was tricked into believing it was just a whip.
But she also felt deeply shocked: her spiritual power merely burst forth in an instant when she swung the whip, creating great force as it rolled along the whip tip.
Yet Shen Suwei could keep the whip suspended in mid-air, which meant his spiritual power was continuously infused, giving the whip no chance to weaken, thus maintaining its form.
What kind of immense spiritual power could waste itself so freely?
She couldn’t help but ask, “When will I be able to do that?”
Shen Suwei relaxed his grip, and the whip flopped down on the table. He casually replied, “Once you form your golden core, you will.”
They reached an understanding, leaving little else to say. Shen Suwei picked up his book and continued reading. “If you want to learn the sword, then from now on, switch the whip for the sword, and practice according to the method from the past three days. Five hundred swings every day.”
Xu Qianyu thought to herself, Luckily, her contemptuous mother-in-law needed to recuperate and couldn’t whip for the next few years. Otherwise, with five hundred swings every day, she would have little time to practice spinning tops.
“What about the left hand?”
“Left hand?” Shen Suwei looked up.
Then he saw the girl holding the whip in her left hand, deftly performing a whip flourish that wasn’t very complete but was still quick and beautiful.
She turned to look at him, her eyes shining with a hint of pride.
“If you have extra energy,” Shen Suwei said without looking at her, “practice the sword with your right hand and whip with your left.”
Xu Qianyu received an answer that satisfied her and felt quite pleased. She knew she should leave but couldn’t help turning back to ask, “Can I come out again tomorrow?”
She noticed that today she could return after leaving the restrictions, and a glimmer of hope lingered in her heart.
Shen Suwei said, “No.”
Xu Qianyu nodded; though disappointed, it was as expected. Senior brother answered to the sect leader; the most he could give was a short reprieve; there could be no more than that. Just like when he took her back to Penglai.
She turned and left. Shen Suwei watched her silhouette disappear, remaining silent.
Xu Qianyu poured wine for her contemptuous mother-in-law, who was taken aback but accepted it with surprise, tilting her head back to drink it all. The wine, brewed by her disciple, was sweet and fragrant, making it hard to resist.
However, after just a couple of sips, Xu Qianyu set down her chopsticks, feeling a burning sensation in her stomach.
When had she ever drunk on an empty stomach? At home, a tiny cup of alcohol required a dozen cold dishes to accompany it, like sesame oil chicken shreds, soy sauce duck, and fried yellow fish…
Xu Qianyu stopped daydreaming, feeling increasingly irritable from hunger.
contemptuous mother-in-law, her cheeks flushed, rambled about her old stories from the human world. Noticing Xu Qianyu’s silence, she asked, “Girl, I don’t think I’ve asked about your family situation. Where are you from?”
Xu Qianyu pinched a piece of steamed bun and briefly recounted her background: her father abandoning his wife and child, her mother going mad, and her being raised by her grandfather. However, she didn’t mention that her family was wealthy or that her grandfather was the richest man in Nanling City.
Guan Niang had told her that wealth should not be flaunted.
So when Xu Qianyu saw tears welling up in contemptuous mother-in-law’s eyes, she was quite surprised.
contemptuous mother-in-law looked at her with pity, astonished that this seemingly indifferent girl had such a tragic background. In a moment of anger, she slammed her chopsticks down and cursed, “That son of a dog, you bastard! You heartless scoundrel of a man!”
The target of her ire was naturally Xu Qianyu’s irresponsible father.
Seeing Xu Qianyu’s eyes widen, the contemptuous mother-in-law realized she had misspoken and quickly covered her mouth.
Xu Qianyu held back for a moment but then burst out laughing.
Her memory was quite sharp, and she mentally repeated the curse in a mocking tone, finding it quite amusing, causing her to laugh uncontrollably.
System: Ah, little girl, don’t learn to curse!
After drinking for a while, her contemptuous mother-in-law slumped over the table, her breathing even and steady.
At home, Guan Niang prevented her from overindulging, but with no one watching now and the wine so sweet, Xu Qianyu took the opportunity to lift the wine pot and pour the remainder into her mouth, finishing it all.
Feeling a bit dizzy, she suddenly remembered that she hadn’t practiced her swordsmanship for the day, and without caring for day or night, she stood up unsteadily and began to swing her sword in the yard.
Not knowing how many strikes she made, she felt hungry again, craving smoked fish and pig trotters.
But when she returned to the table, it was completely empty. The wine had gone to her head, making her extremely irritable, and she thought she had been locked outside by the servants. She drew her sword and struck the barrier several times, shouting, “Open the door, let me in!”
However, this time, the strikes didn’t clash with a golden sound as usual; instead, they cleaved through the barrier like a knife through ice, “crack,” and a hole was gouged out. Suddenly, spiritual energy burst forth, causing the barrier to tremble and light points to scatter chaotically.
“?” Xu Qianyu, feeling dizzy, noticed a small window open on the mansion’s main door and grew angrier. “What? You dare to make me crawl through a dog hole?”
She leaned closer to the hole, cupped her hands like a trumpet, and began to angrily curse.
Xu Binglai was sitting on a couch, his heart racing and brow furrowed.
Tonight, Xu Qianyu struck the barrier again. He had been mentally prepared for this, but he didn’t expect that one strike to gain such overwhelming power that it shattered the barrier, causing his consciousness to tremble with battle intent, and he stood up suddenly.
How could she, after being confined in the yard for a month, have improved so much on her own? She must be either a genius or a monster.
Xu Binglai had always valued talent, and today he looked at this wild girl from the mortal realm with new eyes. Hearing her muttering something indistinctly, he focused his mind and for the first time used his spiritual sense to listen to her words.
Then he heard a string of clear curses: “Son of a dog, bastard! Heartless, scoundrel of a man!”
“…!”
A scoundrel? Is that even human language?
Before Xu Qianyu could finish, she felt the world change, and in an instant, she found herself in a bright and beautiful environment.
The incense burner wafted fragrant smoke, and white veils floated by.
The white-haired immortal in a golden crown descended the steps with a cold expression, pushing aside the curtain. Before he approached, he caught a whiff of the alcohol and realized she was drunk and crazy.
Xu Binglai, being of the Water Spirit Root, flicked his sleeve, and Xu Qianyu was drenched in warm water, the droplets cascading down her head and face, immediately waking her up.
But she was still quite confused.
She remembered drinking with a contemptuous mother-in-law in the yard. Why was she suddenly facing the furious Xu Binglai, who shouted at her, “What did you just say?”
Xu Qianyu had no recollection at all, only feeling irritated that he had splashed her with water for no reason. She shouted back, “What did I say that made you splash me?”
Xu Binglai certainly wouldn’t repeat himself. Angered, he stepped back to calm himself, maintaining a distance of three feet from her, and asked, “Why did you break the barrier?”
Mentioning this made Xu Qianyu furious: “Then why don’t you keep your word? You promised to let me out, yet you’ve kept me locked up!”
This struck a nerve with Xu Binglai.
He naturally wanted Xu Qianyu to stay safely in the courtyard like Xu Qianqian, believing it would be no problem to protect her for a lifetime. But she insisted on jumping around and causing trouble, which was annoying.
As the sect leader, he inevitably got caught up in a sea of affairs. Whoever cried the loudest, he would deal with first. This one crying was making his head spin, so he impatiently asked, “What do you want?”
Xu Qianyu thought for a moment and blurted out, “I want you to lift the barrier. I want to cultivate; I want to enter the inner sect! I want you to be my master, and I want Shen Suwei to be my senior brother!”
Xu Binglai couldn’t help but scoff.
Her words were utterly unrealistic, comparable to saying, “I want to ascend to heaven; I want the Jade Emperor to be my father and the Queen Mother of the West to be my mother.”
She didn’t even consider her own capabilities.
“Do you know what level of cultivation is required to enter the inner sect?” He swept his gaze over her with sharp eyes. “Don’t think that just because you’re my daughter, I will treat you differently. Here, only strength speaks. Right now, in the Penglai Immortal Sect, you can’t even enter the outer sect, yet you think about the inner sect?”
Xu Qianyu felt a throbbing pain in her temples, but she didn’t care anymore and cursed, “If you don’t teach me, am I just supposed to know how? You only give birth, but don’t raise me. You brought me here, but let me waste away. Back in the mortal realm, I had great scholars teaching me every day, and yet here in the immortal sect, you won’t even give me a book, just a single sheet of paper! If you want to grind me down, just send me back and let me die! Don’t waste my youth here!”
Xu Binglai almost fainted from anger.
He had never seen such a madwoman; this monster was actually his own kin. According to her, he had gone through so much trouble to find her, yet he received no credit at all. He had even given her the inner door’s secret techniques, and instead of helping her, it had only delayed her progress. He pointed at her and said, “I provide for your food, clothing, and shelter, yet you show not a shred of gratitude!”
Xu Qianyu could no longer be bothered to argue with him and coldly replied, “This courtyard of yours is smaller than my family’s outhouse. Forget it; I won’t say more. Here, I’m either starving or sitting in confinement. I might as well die in the mortal realm.”
Xu Binglai was greatly astonished. All the disciples here admired the Immortal Sect. How could she speak of the Penglai Immortal Sect as if it were worse than pigs and dogs? To sit in confinement was one thing, but starving? What was going on?
Xu Binglai took a moment to calm down, thinking there might be some misunderstanding, and decided to investigate further later. He closed his eyes for a moment to clear his mind and forced himself to calm down. He had originally considered whether to release Xu Qianyu, but with her causing such a ruckus, it was clear she could not be as obedient as Xu Qianqian. He made a firm decision: “Do you want to cultivate?”
“Yes.”
“In that case, it wouldn’t be a waste of your spiritual roots,” Xu Binglai said. “But to enter the outer sect, one must at least be an energy-refining disciple. Below the energy-refining stage, you can only go to the disciple hall for practice, where you’ll be surrounded by seven-year-old beginners. Can you stand that? If you can reach the energy-refining stage before September, I will allow you to enter the outer sect directly.”
However, he would never show favoritism.
Considering that she could grow like wild grass in the courtyard and still manage to cultivate a sword, she must have some abilities; thus, she should rely on her own capabilities to break through.
Xu Qianyu readily agreed, “Good.”
Xu Binglai lifted the restrictions.
That night, Xu Qianyu had vented her frustrations by cursing but unexpectedly received the result she had been dreaming of. Her head was spinning as she wondered what was happening when she ran into Shen Suwei, who had come in response to a summons, and forgot to greet him.
Shen Suwei looked down and saw that Xu Qianyu was drenched, her clothes clinging to her body, dripping water. “Stop.”
He approached, grasped her collar, and shook it, drying her clothes before gently pushing her shoulder, “Go on.”
Xu Qianyu slipped away quickly, fearing that if she delayed even a moment, Xu Binglai would change his mind.
Shen Suwei walked up to Xu Binglai and said, “Master, you shouldn’t let her walk alone when she’s soaked.”
Xu Binglai was so angry that he almost forgot about this matter, but seeing Shen Suwei using his meticulousness to criticize his own shortcomings, he barked, “Do you think I don’t know this basic reasoning?”
He climbed the steps and sat back down in his esteemed position, pressing his temples before raising his eyes to coldly look at Shen Suwei: “Do you think I’m not fit to be her father? Would you like to take on that role instead?”