Chapter 28: Loquat Fruit (Part 2)

Xu Qianyu stood outside the barrier, watching helplessly as the crack she had just managed to create disappeared.

Then, the barrier seemed to be reinforced by someone, leaving no trace behind.

System: “Don’t be angry, don’t be angry! At least we know that a significant figure is silently watching us.”

Xu Qianyu ignored it and went straight to the backyard to try again, but the result was the same.

Noises came from the front yard: “Is the young lady here?”

Xu Qianyu picked up her sword and returned to the pavilion with a solemn expression.

It was the food delivery again.

This time, someone actually dared to come; she was just lamenting the lack of someone to vent her anger on!

However, this time it was not the two female cultivators but two elderly attendants. Surprisingly, this time the food tray contained— a plate of stir-fried cabbage.

Xu Qianyu stared at the cabbage, her anger caught in her throat, turning to smoke. She couldn’t help but glance at the two attendants.

One was a smaller, hunched figure, looking at her with a pleasing smile; the other was stocky, with white hair neatly tied into a bun on top of his head, his complexion steady, and a pair of spirited eyes, with more sclera than iris, giving him a fierce look— a familiar face.

“Contemptuous Mother-in-law?”

It was the woman from the disciplinary hall who had punished her with a whip in her previous life, Xu Binglai.

The grip was strong and relentless.

However, Xu Qianyu remembered her not out of resentment, but because she once chased after her and helped drape a cloak over her shoulders from behind.

She was indeed a rare person—cold on the outside but warm on the inside.

After the woman finished delivering the food, she originally intended to remain silent and stood to one side, never expecting that this seemingly formidable girl would call out to her.

She looked at her in confusion, “Do you know me?”

Xu Qianyu smiled at her coldly, her beautiful features shining, “I’ve heard you have a great skill with the whip in the Discipline Hall.”

She still remembered how her shoulder hurt from that whipping.

To her surprise, the strict old woman’s serious face suddenly broke into a smile. Her eyes lit up, her mouth curving upwards, her expression a mix of surprise and mutual appreciation, tempered by a struggle to maintain composure.

The old woman had spent about thirty years training horses and hunting in the mortal realm, mastering the whip to perfection. By chance, she gained entry to the celestial realm. However, there were too many talented individuals here, and without spiritual roots, she could only serve as a laborer.

As a laborer, she fetched water, cooked meals, and did manual work. She preferred to wield the whip and would practice in the yard when she had free time. After about ten years, she finally earned the chance to help with whip punishments in the Discipline Hall.

But even if she held an official position, her fame would be limited, since the better one executed punishments, the more likely they were to be resented.

The laborers around her had no appreciation for her skill; whenever she whipped, they scattered, seeking a quieter spot to chat. They found her too dangerous, like a man.

Yet unexpectedly, this girl knew her name and even complimented her whip skills.

Seeing her flustered expression, Xu Qianyu relaxed her crossed arms.

What was wrong? Had the hint of resentment in her earlier words been noticed? Was the old woman going to beat her now?

But the old woman merely nodded at her and gently said, “You should eat first, young lady.”

Her voice trembled at the end.

Another laborer, who had been smiling at the exchange, realized she was trying to ingratiate herself and remarked sharply, “Oh, so you two are old acquaintances. You chat; I’ll take my leave.”

With that, she stormed off angrily.

The old woman looked down, and Xu Qianyu was already quietly eating.

She had been chopping all afternoon without even nibbling on a piece of corn. When she got hungry, she couldn’t even care about the greasy and tasteless stir-fried cabbage.

As she ate, she noticed the old woman staring at her with bright, shiny eyes, clearly eager to talk.

But Xu Qianyu couldn’t focus on that; she lowered her gaze and ignored her.

The old woman didn’t rush her, just continued to watch and said, “Eat slowly.”

“I still have work to do,” the old woman told her as she walked closer. “But I’ll be back tomorrow.”

Sure enough, she returned the next day.

One laborer had decided not to come back, leaving only the old woman this time. She strode in confidently, bringing two large plates of stir-fried cabbage.

However, Xu Qianyu did not display the joy she had imagined.

The twinkling light in her jewel-like eyes dimmed as soon as she saw the contents of the plate.

“What’s wrong?” the old woman asked anxiously. She clearly remembered that the girl loved cabbage.

Xu Qianyu pushed the plate away and said, “I don’t want to eat.”

“This…”

Xu Qianyu continued, “It’s unpalatable.”

The old woman noticed her luxurious attire, which suggested she was accustomed to a pampered life, probably raised in a wealthy family, and understood.

“Within the celestial realm, most cultivators abstain from grains. The food of the mortal world is indeed of little use and only adds to one’s impurities. So the meals are quite simple.”

Xu Qianyu asked her, “When can one abstain from grains?”

The old woman replied, “At least when you establish your foundation.”

Xu Qianyu asked again, “What level is it if one can only draw energy into the body?”

The old woman said, “Drawing energy into the body isn’t cultivation; it’s merely the name of a technique. From what I know, many disciples can do it even before entering. They should also practice mental cultivation and internal skills; at a certain level, it can be considered refining energy.”

Xu Qianyu asked, “Can you do it too?”

“Yes. But I have no spiritual roots, so drawing energy into the body doesn’t accumulate any spiritual energy; it’s just a means to strengthen the body and prevent illness.”

Xu Qianyu set down her chopsticks, feeling quite uncomfortable.

She was currently at the level of an outer realm laborer.

Seeing her glum demeanor, the old woman said, “By the way, I have good news for you. The sect leader will summon you in two days!”

Xu Qianyu nodded but didn’t seem very happy. She picked up a bit of white rice and forcefully shoved it into her mouth.

She had to tell Xu Bing that she wanted to enter the outer realm.

The old woman thought she was feeling down because she was unaccustomed to the food and said, “Aren’t you just wanting something fresh? That’s easy to solve. There’s a loquat tree in your courtyard. I can pick some fruit for you; would you like to eat?”

“How will you pick them?” Xu Qianyu immediately set down her chopsticks.

That tree was nurtured with spiritual soil, growing tall and sturdy, with abundant branches and leaves, towering at least two people high.

Xu Qianyu followed her into the courtyard, both looking up at the tree. It appeared to be adorned with star-like fruits, but human hands could not reach them.

The old woman had been waiting for her to say that. She lifted the hem of her outer garment, untied a black, flexible whip wrapped around her waist, and with a flick of her wrist, the whip tip hooked onto the tree, causing a golden fruit to drop into her hand.

She wiped it with her sleeve and handed it to Xu Qianyu.

Xu Qianyu held the fruit but didn’t even look at it; instead, she stared at the old woman, “So impressive.”

As those three words reached her ears, the old woman felt a rush of warmth to her cheeks, nearly unable to stand, feeling a hint of bashfulness. What was this? Just the most basic technique; she had many more tricks up her sleeve.

Xu Qianyu extended her hand, “Let me see your whip.”

“This won’t do, miss. Stand back; getting hit by this whip is unbearable.” Even as she said this, her hand uncontrollably extended the whip towards Xu Qianyu. Her eyes darted towards him, and she couldn’t help but explain:

“The whip has twenty-five sections, made of jade bamboo inside and wrapped in water buffalo leather on the outside. It’s not ordinary soft fabric. The leather isn’t too thick or too thin; it’s soaked in oil and then dried. That’s how it doesn’t break easily and makes a cracking sound when it strikes the ground.”

This was the result of her thirty years of whip training, all self-taught—no one understood it better than her.

However, this whip was feared by everyone, likened to a snake. In the delicate hands of the miss, it looked ugly like a snake, clearly mismatched. She was afraid Xu Qianyu would throw it away as well.

Yet, Xu Qianyu listened quietly, then tightly gripped the whip, looking quite interested. “Let me try it.”

With that, he directly swung the whip up into a tree.

Xu Qianyu had also used a riding whip before, but that whip was short and stout, unlike Contemptous mother-in-law’s whip, which, once unfurled, was extremely long. Although he swung his arm with force, the power dissipated midway and became limp.

The whip’s tail, like a soft rope, flew up to the tree without touching a single branch or leaf, but instead got stuck between the branches.

She frowned and pulled at it.

Contemptous mother-in-law saw at a glance that she was using the whip incorrectly and helped her pull it down, gripping her wrist from behind. “That’s not how to practice. If you want to train with the whip, first draw a figure-eight in the air.”

In Contemptous mother-in-law’s hands, the whip was as obedient as a small snake. Seeing Xu Qianyu struggle to pull the whip, looking quite clumsy, she felt anxious for him.

Contemptous mother-in-law had tremendous wrist strength, and Xu Qianyu could feel it clearly when she held the whip. Each time she flicked her wrist, it was almost as powerful as a punch through the air. After drawing for a while, Contemptous mother-in-law slowly released him.

Xu Qianyu continued to draw the figure-eight, and the whip’s tip just softened a little before tightening again in the air, swooshing and swirling.

After all, she possessed spiritual power. Even though she hadn’t learned any techniques yet, when she exerted herself and flicked her wrist, her mind focused like a thread, causing blue electric sparks to burst forth with the strength, rolling along the whip and crackling in the air.

Contemptous mother-in-law was also in awe.

In just one hour, Xu Qianyu mastered the basic skills that took a typical child from a regular family two to three years of training.

But this was better; she was inherently impatient. If it took two or three years for Xu Qianyu to grasp the basics, she would probably have been too anxious to wait.

Now that she could handle the whip, Contemptous mother-in-law eagerly took a wooden top from her pocket and set it down on the ground. “Come play with this.”

With that, she took the whip and with a “crack,” the top began to spin rapidly.

The top spun around the yard, and whenever it slowed down, it would receive another whip strike, never stopping. This was also her favorite game.

Contemptous mother-in-law switched hands and struck the top again, freezing it in place, then handed the whip back to Xu Qianyu. “Do you want to try?”

Xu Qianyu swung her arm again, but it felt soft and feeble, and she muttered in frustration, “It’s gone.”

She referred to the electric sparks and spiritual energy.

Her spiritual reservoir was quite small. After thirty days of drawing it into her body, she could use it for this short time.

Xu Qianyu was unhappy, but Contemptous mother-in-law still had a solution. Taking the whip from her, she said, “This whip is too long for you. I can control five large horses with it; it took me thirty years to use it skillfully. You’re just starting, so let me shorten it a bit.” Saying this, she carefully snapped it.

Xu Qianyu hurriedly said, “Don’t break it!”

What would such a good whip become if it was cut in half?

“It’s fine, just look.” Contemptous mother-in-law, seeing her worried expression, had a hint of sympathy. She peeled back the buffalo leather surface, revealing hooks made of twisted iron wire underneath. “Each section can be taken off and reattached. I’ll remove half now, and when you master it, we can add a section back. Once you’re skilled, we’ll add another section until it’s back to its original length.”

With half the whip in her hand, it was indeed much lighter.

Xu Qianyu flicked her wrist and could easily wield the entire whip.

The whip’s tip broke the air and struck the top, causing it to shatter with a loud “bang,” scattering everywhere.

Xu Qianyu was stunned. “I…”

She felt she had used only normal strength and hadn’t intended to break it.

“It’s nothing, nothing at all.” Contemptous mother-in-law laughed heartily when she saw her flustered expression. “It’s just a top; I make them all the time. I have plenty in my room.”

She then explained that since Xu Qianyu was used to wielding a long whip, the force was greater than with a short whip, which caused this effect when she suddenly switched.

Xu Qianyu was still nervous. “Then I’ll be gentler.”

“No, no need.” Contemptous mother-in-law said, pulling a handful of chestnuts from a bamboo basket in the yard and squatting down to arrange them on the ground. “Just use that amount of force, but try not to break them.”

This was the first time Xu Qianyu saw unpeeled, cooked chestnuts; their outer shells were covered in spikes and looked quite hard, so they shouldn’t break easily.

However, when she struck with the whip, the chestnut went “bang,” exploding into pieces, leaving no trace.

After she burst several in a row, she panicked. “How is this even possible?”

She had to apply force but couldn’t break them—wasn’t that contradictory?

Contemptous mother-in-law simply smiled and lined up more for her.

Xu Qianyu smashed them all again, frustrated, and put down the whip, rubbing her wrist. “Where did these chestnuts come from? There aren’t any in my yard.”

Contemptous mother-in-law’s expression suddenly stiffened. “Oh no.”

She had originally been bringing chestnuts to the kitchen. Passing by Xu Qianyu’s place and stopping to deliver a meal, she had completely forgotten about her task.

“Take the whip and play with it slowly. I’ll come back tomorrow!” She tossed two handfuls of wild chestnuts on the ground, shouldered her basket, and hurried off.

Xu Qianyu counted—there were only about a dozen chestnuts. Afraid of running out, she didn’t dare to strike the whip carelessly anymore. She only dared to continue holding the whip and draw figure-eights in the air.

She exerted force in her wrist, and once she released the energy, she quickly steadied it with another force, preventing the whip from making the “whoosh” sound of cutting through the air.

After practicing for a while, she felt a sense of understanding, noticing that the whip was gradually becoming lighter, as if it were not a whip at all but a colorful ribbon that could be tossed into the air like a singer’s flowing sleeves, fluttering and freezing in midair.

Like ink splashed in water, it danced gracefully and flexibly.

She immediately focused her mind, lowered the whip, and aimed at a chestnut. Although the whip felt light and flexible, the moment the tip touched the chestnut, despite her careful aim—“bang”—it exploded.

She tried another one, and it shattered again.

“Ugh, so annoying.” She paced back and forth, contemplating throwing the whip away.

After feeling agitated for a while, she started to weave again. She had no idea how many times she practiced; her arms felt numb, and Xu Qianyu thought she could no longer continue. She considered just smashing the remaining ones completely.

Maybe tomorrow.

So she squatted down and arranged the chestnuts into a square formation.

Then, starting with the first one, she coldly struck them one by one.

Pop. Pop. Pop.

The more she struck, the lighter the whip felt.

When she struck the last one in the final row, the whip danced like a swimming dragon’s tail, bending and bowing, as soft as a spring breeze kissing.

The chestnut rolled away from the tip of the whip with a gentle thud.

Xu Qianyu was stunned.

“Did you see that?” She jumped up and down for a moment, only then remembering that there was no one in the courtyard. She lifted her skirt, bent down to pick up the chestnut, and placed it back in position, then struck again.

The chestnut, unable to withstand the spring breeze’s kiss, rolled away again, seemingly ticklish.

Perfectly intact.

Xu Qianyu pulled the chestnut back and forth, suddenly feeling that the whip was not a whip at all, but a finger of her own, a part of her body, gently toying with the chestnut.

With thirteen segments of whip bone, she could make any part bulge if she wanted it to, and any part could relax and soften, becoming incredibly flexible.

She savored this feeling until she could no longer see the sharp point of the chestnut in front of her. Looking up, she saw the courtyard had darkened, with twilight enveloping everything.

“It’s dark.”

So hungry.

As she came back to her senses, she realized she was almost faint from hunger, nearly unable to stand.

Xu Qianyu grabbed the whip and leaned against her waist as she entered the pavilion, feeling dizzy and short of breath. She casually ate a couple of bites of cold rice, cast a cleaning spell, and collapsed onto her bed.

---

The next day, when the contemptous mother-in-law came to deliver food, she was very surprised to find a whole chestnut among the debris on the floor.

Xu Qianyu slept in until well past noon. When she got up, her whole body felt as if it had been run over by a cart, and her arms ached so much she could barely lift them.

Contemptuous Mother-in-law helped her massage her arms and asked if she wanted to rest, but she insisted on continuing.

“It’s hard-earned practice; I haven’t shown you yet,” Xu Qianyu said. “If I don’t practice for a day, my hands will get rusty.”

“Well said.” The Contemptuous Mother-in-law couldn’t help but praise her, “You really know your stuff.”

Today, they even had meat buns.

The Contemptuous mother-in-law had bought them specially from the mortal realm, and as Xu Qianyu walked towards the door, she bit into the bun and swallowed it in just a few bites.

She was truly starving.

She demonstrated whipping the chestnuts to the Contemptuous mother-in-law, who was very excited, and brought out the top spinning toy from yesterday.

Seeing Xu Qianyu hesitate, the Contemptuous mother–in-law said, “Haha, I know you’re afraid to hit it, so I brought two. Go ahead, don’t worry, if you break one, there’s still another.”

Xu Qianyu raised the whip and struck; the tip whipped through the air but softly tapped the top of the spinning toy.

It didn’t break.

But she didn’t hit it accurately either. Instead of striking the side, she hit the top, so the spinning toy just wobbled a couple of times in place.

The Contemptuous mother-in-law had brought another long whip today, and with a light strike, the spinning toy began to twirl all over the courtyard.

Xu Qianyu watched her complete the whole process, then struck her own whip. This time, the tip hit the bottom, and the spinning toy didn’t stand at all.

After practicing for a while, Xu Qianyu couldn’t help but ask herself: Am I seeing things correctly?

She was clearly watching the side as she struck; why was it that either the whip hit the top or the bottom, yet she just couldn’t hit it right?

Seeing her unable to hit it accurately, the Contemptuous mother-in-law paused the spinning toy on the ground and held her hand, saying, “If you want to hit accurately, you can’t rely on your eyes. What you see can be misleading; a slight error can lead to a big mistake; you have to rely on your sense of touch.”

“Sensory touch?”

“Practice more, practice more.” The Contemptuous mother-in-law laughed, “You can’t rush this. You have to know that the position of your eyes and the position of your hands are different; what your eyes see and what your hands hit might not be the same spot. Even if you aim well, the wind from your strike can affect the spinning toy, and it will change position. Not to mention that when the toy is moving, by the time the whip tip reaches it, it may have already moved elsewhere; this requires ‘anticipation.’”

Xu Qianyu was taken aback, grabbing her arm, “Teach me.”

“Okay, okay.” The Contemptuous mother-in-law held her wrist in return.

She was already parched from talking, yet her spirits were high, showing no signs of fatigue.

Before she could say much, two disciples came knocking at the door from the front yard: “Miss Qianyu, the master requests your presence.”

Xu Qianyu ignored them.

She was enjoying herself too much and finished the whip strike she had been practicing.

Suddenly, the Contemptuous mother-in-law’s expression changed, pushing her, “Hey, the master called for you, hurry up.”

That was the master!

Xu Qianyu felt very disappointed, frowned, and turned to leave.

“Hey, aren’t you going to change your clothes?” The Contemptuous mother-in-law grabbed her arm, extremely surprised.

This girl really was calm; she didn’t even change for the master, keeping her composure without flinching, not knowing where such a talent had come from.

“No need to change.” Xu Qianyu casually brushed her hair, used a cleaning spell, and went on, her mind filled with thoughts of quickly returning to spin the top.

Thinking of this, she turned and grabbed the Contemptuous mother-in-law’s sleeve: “You wait for me here. You’re not allowed to leave!”

The Contemptuous mother-in-law replied, “Alright!”