Chapter 17: Not Allowed to Do Weird Things

“Little Sister Wenxin, who on earth taught you these ridiculous things?” Her voice was still gentle, as though Ye Wenxin’s actions did not upset her at all.

“Ah, I saw my dad always doing this to my mom, so…” Ye Wenxin gave an innocent smile, elated that she was currently a kid, or else she might lose her rationality under Ling Jue’s beauty and do some slightly weird things.

“Don’t do anymore strange things like this in the future.” Ling Jue felt even more uncomfortable, but reminded that Ye Wenxin was still a child, she only gave her a light pat on the head and counted that as her admonishment to play in moderation.

Yet after careful consideration, accompanying Ye Wenxin’s tomfoolery made her no better at all, and she blushed even more. Thankfully, the candles had already gone out, and Ling Jue’s flushed face was not visible.

Wish fulfilled, Ye Wenxin lay down beside her. Ling Jue subconsciously turned to face her, and caught a faint whiff of fragrance coming off that petite figure.

“I’ve always wanted a little sister that I could dote on, I didn’t expect one day I would be able to do so.” Ling Jue was still awake, voicing out the excitement in her heart. Ye Wenxin could not take it anymore, she was already in the Qi Refining stage now, she needed to eat and sleep, only then would she reach her body’s equilibrium.

Ling Jue’s voice began to fade away, and Ye Wenxin still closed her eyes under Zhou Gong’s¹ urging. In her sleep, she could sense the faint scent of herbs, and warmth very close by.

“Churan, can you stop fidgeting so much?” Ye Wenxin remembered the Saintess who had accompanied her for many years, wondering while she was enjoying her second life, whether everyone in the Wind and Moon Palace, like her, was also enjoying a carefree daily life without Demon Lord Gu QIngcheng.

Nevertheless, Demon Lord Gu Qingcheng’s disappearance was already foregone; in this world, there would only be one more commoner called Ye Wenxin…

The next morning, Ye Wenxin was called to wakefulness by Ling Jue.

“Wenxin, hurry and get up, we still have class today.”

“Class?” Still somewhat dazed, Ye Wenxin felt Ling Jue’s hand touching her face. It was quite warm, and being stroked by it was rather comfortable.

“Yes, alchemy class, did you forget? You’re my assistant, but now that you’re at the Azure Wings Sect, you’ve never once practiced any alchemy.” Ling Jue sounded a little helpless, but more so affectionately indulging.

As if finally remembering this matter, Ye Wenxin rather arduously opened her eyes, intending to use Ling Jue as support to stand up, but faced with that handsome visage, her hand shrank away; good-looking was good-looking, yet it still made her uncomfortable all over.

“I told you you liked women more.” Ling Jue laughed, but she understood Ye Wenxin’s apprehension.

In situations involving different genders, many people might feel a sense of restraint.

“There’s nothing to be done, I’ll feel like slapping that face if I look at it too long. I get goose bumps just thinking about some peerless gentleman again.” Ye Wenxin recalled those women who went crazy for the Peerless Gentleman, and if she remembered right, apparently her Saintess was also the Peerless Gentleman’s fan girl.

However, due to the demon faction’s antagonism towards the immortal sects, the Saintess’s adoration was always very deeply concealed.  If it were not for Ye Wenxin accidentally discovering the portraits in her room, she reckoned she would have never known about the Saintess’s peculiar hobby.

“But who’s this Churan you called out to last night?”

Ling Jue had no interest in the evaluation of her appearance whatsoever, and instead posed a single question that completely blew Ye Wenxin’s lingering sleepiness out the window.

“Oh, just a sister from back home.”

Ling Jue swept her gaze over Ye Wenxin’s face, smiling somewhat profoundly.

“Forget it. I won’t pressure you if you don’t want to talk, Wenxin, but when you want to, Big Sister will definitely be your first listener.” Ling Jue remained compassionate, and was exceptionally wise as well.

Ye Wenxin was very grateful. She could not admit to Ling Jue that she was the great Demon Lord Gu Qingcheng, and in order to kill that idiot Fairy Fengya she ended up running over here to become a disciple, but before could even become one, she got her cultivation ousted by a certain Qi-Deviated woman.

How could she say it, how could she dare voice it.

“That sister of yours, she hasn’t taught you any strange things, right?” Ling Jue felt a bit uneasy, and could not help asking one more question. Being pounced on by Ye Wenxin last night, something called trauma had already formed in her heart.

Although it was a joke, to a pure-hearted woman like Ling Jue, the level of shame was truly too much.

“Oh no, I’m not that brave.” Ye Wenxin really did not dare, if she did that, the Saintess might pour oil on the fire and cook her into fried rice while she was at it.

Thinking of the negligence in those years, Ye Wenxin suddenly felt that Ling Jue seemed cuter the more she looked at her.

“I always feel like you’re thinking about something odd, but never mind, we have to go now, a teacher must not be late after all.” Ling Jue opened the gate, and Ye Wenxin surreptitiously followed behind her, very worried someone might see them coming out of the same room.

Ling Jue’s response to Ye Wenxin was quite discontented, “Why, embarrassed to be mistaken as a Dao couple with Big Sister?”

“No, I’m scared of being murdered by your fan club.”

“Fan? Club? What are those?”

Ling Jue inquired with a puzzled expression, not quite grasping the meaning behind Ye Wenxin’s way of speech.

“Your admirers of course. I’m only at the Qi Refining stage.” Ye Wenxin changed to a simpler way of speaking. Ling Jue suddenly realized, but did not care at all, “It’s not a problem, I can’t get married anyway, and you also have Iceborn Constitution, how about becoming a Dao couple with me and dual cultivate together?”

Ling Jue made a joke, her daughterly demeanor showing again.

“You’re being girlish again. Quick, someone’s coming. Put on your Peerless Gentleman façade.” Ye Wenxin turned a blind eye, and came face to face with two young women in their late twenties, quite attractive, flaunting their charms to Ling Jue.

Ling Jue began to behave like a graceful gentleman again, causing the two women to be infatuated with her, and they swiftly handed a boxed meal to Ling Jue.

Ling Jue opened it for a look, then handed it over to Ye Wenxin.

“Eat it quick.”

“Huh?” Ye Wenxin could not quite give a response; even if she was hungry, she would never eat something Ling Jue’s fan had given to Ling Jue.

“I requested them to buy it from the dining hall. I’m already at the Golden Core stage, it’s not a bother even if I don’t eat.” Ling Jue explained the reason for this breakfast, making Ye Wenxin feel that Ling Jue was truly a kind woman.

Unfortunately, Ling Jue had a really bad fate.

“Big Brother Ling, you’ll make a good wife someday.” Because they were in public, Ye Wenxin’s address also became more restrained.

“Then will you become my husband?” Ling Jue returned Ye Wenxin’s joke, and Ye Wenxin smiled along. In this particular year and month, both parties had never taken this joke seriously.

Ye Wenxin could not tell whether she had given an answer, the breakfast held her complete attention, she ate it quickly so as not to delay the class.

Many students had already gathered below the platform, no one said much, they each stood before their own pill furnace, looking very much in pain.

Alchemist and artificer were careers ten times more difficult than cultivation, unless one had talent, it was usually hard to get anywhere.

Take, for example, the first-grade Qi Refining Pill Ye Wenxin had concocted previously. Normally, people without talent would need at least several weeks of refining to barely complete it. However, Ye Wenxin was different. Not only was she skilled with handling materials and heat control, she also created her own way of alchemy, which impressed Ling Jue greatly.

Due to Ye Wenxin’s return, Ling Jue’s lecture this time was more extensive, and the topics discussed were all aimed at filling in the gaps in what Ye Wenxin had not heard before.

After talking for about half an hour, the people began to enter the alchemy process, creating pills according to their own understanding.

Except for Ye Wenxin, this first batch of selected disciples had already been attending classes for two months. However, apart from a few talented and intelligent disciples, no one had made any unexpected progress, let alone meeting Ling Jue’s requirement of refining all the first-grade pills.

Because of Ye Wenxin’s identity as the assistant, her seat was arranged at the very front, adding her free fall from the sky yesterday, after finding out about Ye Wenxin being the assistant, everyone was quite focused on her.

At this moment, Ye Wenxin was immersed under the pressure of attention. Long Qing’er had a mind to help her, but afraid of getting too close and causing unnecessary trouble for Ye Wenxin. Thus, she could only watch Ye Wenxin from among the crowd.

But unexpectedly, Ye Wenxin showed no hint of nervousness whatsoever, unhurriedly starting to work on alchemy. The others waited a little while to see whether there would be results, and then resumed with their own work.

Only a quarter of an hour had passed before a pill furnace blew up.

Alchemy required high control over qi and a strong mental focus. If one were to lose concentration even for a moment, explosions could occur. This warning triggered a chain reaction among the nearby disciples. In less than an hour, one-third of the disciples had to abandon alchemy.

The amount of medicinal herbs was very limited, if one wanted to do multiple attempts, one would have to purchase them down the mountain or go to pick them in the mountains and wilds. Most of the disciples had weak cultivation and lacked a massive backer. They hated allowing themselves to be influenced by others or relying on herbs borrowed from their better-connected peers.

Although Ling Jue had stocked up on many herbs, she had not anticipated that the Azure Wings Sect would assign her so many disciples, resulting in a high failure rate.

Consequently, Ling Jue decided to let the sect find their own solution. Their solution was to spare no expense in alchemy; those with good fortune risked their lives, and those with talent had already refined their first Qi Refining Pills. Some even exchanged their Qi Refining Pills for spirit stones to earn money.

And now, what was once nearly a hundred-person alchemy brigade had dwindled to just over thirty.

Ling Jue was not entirely pleased with this group of disciples; most of them were either the sect leader’s favorites or wealthy disciples with no talent in alchemy. Ling Jue’s teaching period was only one year, and she hoped that none of them would learn her alchemy techniques. As she watched those around her struggle to succeed in alchemy for the time being, she picked up her teacup and took a sip.

“That’s enough.”

A familiar female voice suddenly sounded, so familiar that Ling Jue immediately thought of Ye Wenxin.

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TL note:

1. Zhou Gong/Duke of Zhou is a prominent figure in Chinese history and mythology. In history, he’s one of the founders of the Zhou dynasty that overthrew the Shang dynasty. In Chinese legends, if something important is going to happen to someone, the Duke of Zhou will let them know through dreams, so he’s considered the “God of Dreams”. ↩︎

Firstly, I was fighting sleepiness as I was TL’ing and editing this, and I powered through with sheer will, coffee, and Hiroyuki Sawano playlist, so if there’re any inconsistencies I’m really sorry. I’ll try to fix them next time.

Other than that, thanks for reading.