Chapter 29: The Birthday Gift, Suspecting I Was Wrong?

The system, being quite observant by nature, noticed the male sword cultivator’s aura, which spanned nearly two meters and was hard to ignore.

Sometimes, when one says a person looks like another, it might not be because of physical resemblance, but because of their posture, their aura, or their gaze.

Though the male sword cultivator didn’t look anything like Shen Xuanli in appearance, their cold, aloof, and unapproachable aura was exactly the same.

[Ning Ning, I suspect that the male sword cultivator next to your legitimate sister is Shen Xuanli. If that’s true, then among the people he came with, most of them are probably assessment disciples!]

Seeing that the system’s guess was the same as hers, Ye Qingning was even more certain that the male sword cultivator was Shen Xuanli.

After all, wearing the identity of a male sword cultivator, no matter where he went, he would be seen as investigating the whereabouts of the evil spirits, so no one would suspect anything.

If there were any suspicions, it would be about him being an assessment disciple.

No one would dare to check his identity unless they wanted to confirm it behind the identity tag. If they did, they might not get any response when they tested it.

The key was that his identity was legitimate, unlike the direct disciple she encountered last night.

The other members, with their identities as sect immortals, also had convenient access and were equally suspicious.

Especially her legitimate sister.

Don’t ask why, but women’s sixth sense is always frighteningly accurate, especially when it comes to finding out if a man is cheating. Cough, that’s off-topic.

As the group walked into the central courtyard, Old Master Yu, upon seeing his eldest daughter return, smiled broadly, his face wrinkling with joy. He hurried over to meet her.

“My dear daughter! You’ve finally returned! Your mother and I have been waiting for you!”

“Tang’er, you’ve finally come back! How have you been at the Immortal Sect these past few years? Let me see if you’ve lost weight,” Mrs. Yu asked with deep concern, her voice tinged with a hint of tears.

Ye Qingning wasn’t focusing on whether her legitimate sister had gained or lost weight but was instead analyzing her sister’s name.

Her legitimate sister’s name was Yu Zhizhi, so her legitimate sister must be Yu Tangtang. Now, at least she knew her sister’s name, which was a relief.

“Father, mother, I’ve been doing well at the sect. My senior brothers and sisters have been very kind to me. These are my senior brothers and sisters who came with me. We’re here to help eliminate the evil spirits in the city.”

When Old Master Yu heard this, he hurriedly bowed: “I thank all the immortal masters for taking care of my daughter. The evil spirits causing chaos in the city, please allow us to trouble the immortal masters. I thank all of you.”

“Exorcising evil spirits is a cultivator’s duty. There’s no need for such formalities, Old Master Yu.” The one who spoke was a woman, the only other female among the group besides the Yu family’s eldest daughter.

Ye Qingning’s gaze unintentionally fell on the woman’s jade pendant at her waist, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that it looked familiar.

[System, do you recognize the jade pendant she’s wearing? Doesn’t it look familiar?]

The system, transformed into a small green bird, flapped its wings and flew over, its eyes widening as it instantly recognized the design.

[Ning Ning, the hollow-carved pattern on her pink jade pendant is exactly the same as the hollow-carved pattern on Qin Zhanan’s blue jade pendant! They look like matching couple’s jade pendants!]

[Could she be your good roommate, Bai Wei?]

The system was overly excited but suddenly paused, realizing something.

No one understood the host better than it did.

If it weren’t for Bai Wei mentioning that talismans might be useful, the host would never have spent a month drawing talismans or gotten involved in the talisman path.

One could say, if the host managed to succeed in the assessment and enter the inner sect, Bai Wei would be a huge contributor.

It was like the founding emperor—after ascending to the throne, it didn’t make sense to execute the founding ministers. Even if it was Bai Wei, the host would never betray her.

Besides, the host wasn’t far from fifty points short. Whether she gained fifty more points or not didn’t matter much.

To secure a win, she needed to find the Great Treasure Bottle, as it not only added 600 points but also doubled her total score.

As for Bai Wei, if possible, the system thought it wasn’t impossible to cooperate.

Ye Qingning had only heard about Qin Zhanan wearing a blue jade hollow-carved pendant and didn’t know there was also a matching couple’s version.

Now, looking at the woman, she must be Bai Wei. She had hung the pink jade hollow-carved pendant at her waist probably to let Qin Zhanan see it.

Unfortunately, Qin Zhanan had already been sent out of the secret realm.

The question now was whether or not to acknowledge Bai Wei.

After all, Bai Wei had been the one to tell her about the talismans, which helped her prepare. She should be thanking Bai Wei.

But Bai Wei had a bit of a romantic mindset. If she found out that it was Ye Qingning who had eliminated Qin Changsheng and even beat him up…

Well, she was conflicted, worried that Bai Wei might be upset about the fate of her “beloved” Qin Zhanan.

If Bai Wei wasn’t still in love with Qin Zhanan, Ye Qingning would have revealed her identity and maybe even teamed up with her to score points and pass the assessment as a way of thanking her.

Now, she had to play it step by step.

After some pleasantries, Yu Tangtang took out a delicate red brocade box.

“Today is father’s birthday. I’ve prepared a gift for him, wishing father a long life, as blessed as the East Sea, with peace and happiness like the Southern Mountain.”

Old Master Yu, with trembling hands, eagerly received the brocade box from his eldest daughter.

The moment the box was opened, a faint fragrance wafted out, and inside lay a crystal-clear, dark green spiritual herb.

The guests present, not being members of the Immortal Sect, had never seen someone give a plant as a birthday gift before.

However, judging from the appearance of the herb, it was clearly no ordinary plant. Da Congming remarked, “I’ve heard that people from the Immortal Sect don’t eat grains. They only consume spiritual herbs and flowers to cultivate!”

“Don’t be fooled by its appearance! It’s definitely not just any herb! Maybe Old Master Yu will eat it and instantly look decades younger! We’ll have to call him Young Master Yu from now on!”

Cough, cough… Ye Qingning nearly choked on her own spit. “Old Master Yu” turning into “Young Master Yu”? Who wrote this NPC’s dialogue? They’re so good at writing; it’s like they have no shame!

If this person were an assessment disciple, with such impressive acting, she would have to give him a bow and perhaps even send him an Oscar statuette.

But then again, didn’t Qin Zhanan also act brilliantly, portraying the servant so convincingly? She quietly made a note of this person.

“Father, mother, this is a spiritual herb from the Immortal Sect called ‘Cuiyun Grass.’ It has the ability to strengthen the body, extend life, and improve health. I hope father will enjoy a long life.”

Old Master Yu felt warmth in his heart upon hearing this and nearly cried on the spot.

Two daughters—one sensible and the other a bit troublesome—now the sensible one had become even more thoughtful. His emotions were stirred, and tears almost welled up in his eyes.

Ye Qingning’s gaze narrowed as she studied the Cuiyun Grass.

Normally, mortals couldn’t cultivate and couldn’t absorb the spiritual power in herbs.

That’s why most immortal sect medicinal pills were useless to ordinary people.

But this Cuiyun Grass was different—it was one of the few spiritual herbs that could be consumed by mortals, strengthening their constitution, preventing sickness, and extending life.

When consumed by cultivators, it had even greater effects, not only improving their cultivation but also helping foundational cultivators break through bottlenecks in their cultivation.

Though foundation cultivators could live up to two hundred years, some still couldn’t break through to the Gold Core stage after spending their entire lifespan. The reason was that they encountered obstacles in their cultivation, which caused their progress to stagnate.

Only by breaking through the bottleneck could they attempt to reach the Gold Core stage, or use pills to assist with the breakthrough.

It was clear that this Cuiyun Grass was a valuable treasure, and Ye Qingning couldn’t afford it herself.

But something felt off.

Upon thinking carefully, she realized what bothered her.

The assessment disciples she encountered earlier had medicinal pills, and their weapons bore inscriptions—things that belonged to the Immortal Sect. This Cuiyun Grass was no different.

Though her legitimate sister was a disciple of the Immortal Sect, seeing this Cuiyun Grass made her increasingly suspicious that her sister was an assessment disciple.

But if she were an assessment disciple, where did this spiritual herb come from?

She was also a legitimate daughter of the Yu family. On her father’s birthday, she should have given a gift to him too. Why was it that when it came to her, there was no gift to give?

Or perhaps, was she wrong in her suspicions?