Chapter 9: Little Junior Sister, Fair and Soft, Truly Adorable

After half a month of intense training, Chu Sang and Tantai Ming were both exhausted and sore. They collapsed onto their beds, instantly falling asleep.

Late at night, in her drowsy state, Chu Sang felt something brushing against her face… back and forth…

At first, she thought it was her Seventh Senior Brother playing a prank, seeking revenge for the past two weeks of grueling training. Mumbling a few words, she gradually became more alert and sensed something was amiss.

It felt like… something was crawling on her face?

Chu Sang jolted awake, her eyes flying open.

“Ah! Spiders!”

And centipedes too! They were crawling all over her face, staring right back at her.

Chu Sang was so terrified she couldn’t even move, nearly passing out on the spot.

Outside, Tantai Ming heard her blood-curdling scream and rushed in. “Little Junior Sister, what’s wrong?”

He saw a green-robed youth sitting by the bed, who swiftly collected the crawling venomous insects into a clay pot. Using one hand to press down the lid, he leaned forward slightly and pinched the girl’s still slightly chubby cheek with his other slender hand, murmuring, “So soft…”

“!!!”

Tantai Ming was furious. He shoved the youth aside, “Mu Chihuai, you black-hearted scoundrel, what are you trying to do to my junior sister?”

Mu Chihuai calmly released his hand a second earlier, skillfully dodging the attack. He spoke coldly, “Don’t go biting people like a mad dog.”

“Say that again?”

Tantai Ming immediately rolled up his sleeves, ready to fight.

Chu Sang, still in shock, vividly remembered the scene of those venomous insects crawling all over her face, making her shudder all over again.

Because of the little junior sister’s presence, the two didn’t end up fighting. Tantai Ming crossed his arms and said irritably, “This is your Sixth Senior Brother, Mu Chihuai.”

“Hello, new little junior sister.” Mu Chihuai leaned against the door, waving at her with a gentle, harmless smile, having already scrutinized her several times.

So white and soft, truly adorable.

His precious pets would love her.

Chu Sang stammered, “H-hello, Senior Brother.”

The youth before her had a face like polished jade, with smiling phoenix eyes and slightly upturned corners, exuding a natural air of arrogance. He wore a golden jade crown, with two wisps of curly hair falling on his smooth forehead. Dressed in an exquisitely tailored, smooth silk green robe embroidered with intricate dark gold patterns, he exuded an air of nobility. He was clearly the type of young master raised in a great family.

Despite his gentle appearance, his eyes held a mischievous, teasing glint, looking like someone who hid daggers behind his smile.

So this was the infamous poison master from the original story!

No wonder he was so creepy earlier! What kind of handsome guy would keep a jar of spiders and centipedes to scare people when he had nothing better to do?!

“Such a lovely little junior sister.”

Mu Chihuai couldn’t resist wanting to pinch her cheek again but was slapped away by Tantai Ming, who shouted angrily, “Show some respect! Stop touching my junior sister!”

“Your junior sister?”

Mu Chihuai raised an eyebrow, his smile fading slightly as he corrected, “She’s my junior sister too.”

“Hmph, who knows if you have poison hidden under your nails? After all, you always like to use these underhanded tricks.” Tantai Ming seemed to recall some unpleasant memories, shuddering as he stepped back, eyeing the youth warily.

Mu Chihuai feigned innocence. “I’ve explained so many times, you’re really wronging me. That was my first time refining pills, and I hadn’t had time to clean my hands when you, this blockhead, happened to bump into me.”

Tantai Ming wasn’t convinced. “Regardless, if you really cared about Little Junior Sister, why did you come so late? I sent you a notice half a month ago!”

“I’m not like a certain blockhead who has nothing to do all day but run around aimlessly. Do you know how mentally and physically exhausting it was to compress three months of tasks given by those old fogies in my family into half a month?” Mu Chihuai yawned lazily, pointing to the faint dark circles under his eyes. “I haven’t closed my eyes for three days and nights.”

Taking advantage of their diverted attention, he reached out again and pinched Chu Sang’s hand. “So soft, so fun to play with.”

Are all girls’ hands this soft?

Just before Tantai Ming could explode, Mu Chihuai’s smile suddenly vanished. He frowned, looking Chu Sang up and down, and lifted her wrist to check her pulse. “Half a month ago, this guy told me your spirit root was damaged, but from what I see, it’s more than just damaged.”

Chu Sang’s heart skipped a beat. Could he really have noticed something?

“What do you mean by that?” Tantai Ming’s impatient nature kicked in. “Spit it out in one breath, don’t leave half your words unsaid. What’s wrong with Little Junior Sister?”

Mu Chihuai ignored him and slowly walked to the window.

By the window was a pot of golden magnolia that Chu Sang had placed there two days ago, just a finger-length sprout.

He casually uprooted it, holding it in his palm, and gestured for Chu Sang to look at the broken root. “Rather than saying your spirit root is damaged, it’s more accurate to say that your spirit root is like this orchid, uprooted from top to bottom, leaving only a stub that couldn’t be pulled out.”

The playfulness disappeared completely from his face, his expression becoming particularly solemn and his voice deepening, “Little Junior Sister, allow me to say one more thing. Your condition looks more like someone intentionally dug out your spirit root…”

Someone dug out her spirit root?

Chu Sang’s heart was pounding. In fact, she had considered this possibility, but never imagined such a dramatic scenario would actually happen to her… But who dug out her spirit root? Why did she have no memory of it?

Mu Chihuai shook his head and sat on the bed. “Your condition is much more serious than I imagined. If it were just repairing a damaged spirit root, that would be easy to treat. But your spirit root has been almost completely hollowed out, leaving only some minor remnants. Restoring it to its original state won’t be simple.”

He clicked his tongue, stroking his chin, his gaze sweeping over her face as if puzzled. “But there’s another strange thing. With your spirit root dug out to this extent, it should have withered away by now. But when I just used my divine sense to probe your spirit root, although it can’t compare to a healthy one, it could be considered full of vitality. It’s truly bizarre.”

“Although I don’t know the reason, it can be considered a blessing in disguise. It shows that your spirit root’s current condition isn’t too bad, and there’s still a glimmer of hope for recovery.”

Seeing her hanging her head with slightly puffed cheeks, which looked quite adorable, Mu Chihuai’s fingertips twitched. He forced himself to resist the urge to pinch her cheeks or pat her head. “Don’t worry, there are ways to repair it. I could refine a type of pill that might help your spirit root…”

“Really?” Chu Sang asked eagerly. Although enhancing her aptitude could help inject new vitality into the spirit root, it was treating the symptoms rather than the cause. Without fully repairing the spirit root, it was like a balloon that was constantly leaking air. Who knew when her spirit root would revert to its previous state?

Only by thoroughly healing the spirit root could the problem be solved once and for all.

“It’s possible, but it will take some time, and I’m not entirely confident.” Mu Chihuai’s voice paused. “I’m still missing one spirit herb, the Heart of Spiritual Dawn Grass (Danxin Lingxiao Cao). This herb is rarely seen in the market and can usually only be found in secret realms.”

Tantai Ming said, “I heard that in three days, a small secret realm will open near Gaohuan City. We could go there. Maybe we can find the Heart of Spiritual Dawn Grass.”

Mu Chihuai nodded and smiled. “Then I’ll go with you. I’m actually short on a few spirit herbs too. Usually, secret realms are either the spiritual mansions of fallen great cultivators or spatial fragments from other continents that have fallen onto the Spirit Abyss Continent. They often contain many rare and extinct spirit herbs.”

Although it was just an unknown small secret realm, these were often the safest. Entering was already a gain, and the competition among Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment level cultivators was quite intense.

Early the next morning, the three of them hurriedly set off on their flying swords to Gaohuan City. As expected, this small border city was crowded with cultivators, and all the inns in the city were already full.

To Chu Sang’s surprise, she ran into an acquaintance.