She turned her head to look at Wen Ai, “Senior Sister, what’s wrong with them?”

Wen Ai didn’t seem surprised, gazing at Cong Yue with a gentle smile, “It must be that Junior Uncle has let his spirit pet out. That spirit pet doesn’t like being close to people, yet it’s very intelligent. The younger disciples are very curious but too afraid to approach it.”

“Spirit pet?” Junior Uncle actually kept a spirit pet? Cong Yue’s curiosity stirred, her expectant gaze fixed on her senior sister.

Wen Ai put down the clothes in her hands and led Cong Yue outside.

“Is it a cat?” Cong Yue blurted out.

The noisy courtyard instantly fell silent. The senior brothers and sisters, who had been scared by the spirit pet into a flurry of activity, fell silent, shrinking back to look at Cong Yue. Some even looked at her with what could be described as sympathetic eyes.

Cong Yue didn’t understand. As she looked up, she met Junior Uncle’s cold eyes.

“Who told you it’s a cat? Have you ever seen such a spirited cat?” At least, he never imagined that the spirit pet he had carefully raised would be a cat.

Si Fanqing’s voice was like a basin of ice water, drenching Cong Yue, so cold it froze her thoughts.

When she was five, Cong Yue had once picked up a dirty little kitten, with a lame leg, its fur matted with dirt, as messy as she was today. It certainly wasn’t as spirited as Junior Uncle’s spirit pet.

“Never seen one,” Cong Yue answered truthfully, but… she hesitated slightly, Junior Uncle’s spirit pet really looked like a cat.

“Can I touch it?”  She said, then walked straight forward and crouched down beside the spirit pet.

Her speed was so fast that Wen Ai beside her couldn’t stop her in time, “Cong Yue…”

The moment her palm touched the spirit pet, Junior Uncle’s icy voice came: “Take your hand away, a wild child doesn’t deserve to touch my spirit pet.”

Cong Yue was startled and instinctively retracted her hand. The senior brothers and sisters, still shaken, felt a pang of anxiety, thinking that this new junior sister was quite bold.

But something unexpected happened.

The spirit pet, abandoning its usual ferocity, followed Cong Yue’s movements, poking its head towards her. The furry spirit pet quickly chased after Cong Yue’s retreating hand, rubbing its head against her warm palm, and let out a comfortable “meow.”

“Junior Uncle, it really is a cat,” Cong Yue exclaimed excitedly, holding the spirit pet and standing up, her joyful eyes sparkling like stars.

The entire courtyard was in an uproar.

Junior Uncle’s lily-white complexion instantly turned ashen. His carefully raised spirit pet was so uncooperative, unprovokedly approaching a dirty wild child, even meowing at her and affectionately rubbing against her hand.

Si Fanqing quickly walked to Cong Yue, unceremoniously taking back the spirit pet, his gaze cold as he glared at Cong Yue, “I’ll say it one last time, my spirit pet is not a cat.”

“Meow… meow… meow…” The furry creature, forcibly taken away by its owner, reluctantly looked at Cong Yue, repeatedly meowing in dissatisfaction.

Si Fanqing’s eyes went black, and he almost tripped while walking.

The younger disciples in the courtyard held back their laughter. Seeing Junior Uncle walk away, they immediately relaxed, laughing uproariously.

“Why is Junior Uncle angry?” Looking at Junior Uncle’s hurried departure, Cong Yue looked puzzled and turned to her senior sister.

Wen Ai patted Cong Yue’s head, before she could speak, she suddenly heard a friendly voice behind her: “In Jingyue Sect, Junior Uncle is as troublesome as the demons.”

“Little Cong Yue, what are you thinking about?”

Junior Uncle was not easy to deal with, Cong Yue had seen that for herself. As for the demons…

“Second Senior Brother, why are the demons so troublesome?”

“Well…” Second Senior Brother deliberately played coy, but Third Senior Brother blurted out the truth, “Demons will kidnap cultivators to…” Third Senior Brother suddenly lowered his voice, his tone heavy, “Drain their essence.”

“Cong Yue, don’t be afraid, just stay in the sect, don’t go down the mountain privately, and you won’t be in danger.” Senior Sister whispered comfortingly.

The next morning, after washing up, Cong Yue went to greet her master with great enthusiasm. As soon as she stepped into the courtyard where her master lived, she heard an impatient voice coming from inside her master’s room.

“I’m moving to the back mountain.”

Cong Yue found the voice familiar; it was the beautiful Junior Uncle’s voice. She stopped where she was, neither leaving nor staying. Eavesdropping was extremely impolite, but she was really curious.

The back mountain was remote, with a canyon nearby, where corpse qi lingered all year round, but it was an excellent place for cultivation, a place where spiritual energy gathered, occasionally visited by unruly demons.

Why did Junior Uncle want to move to the back mountain?

After a moment’s hesitation, the voice spoke again.

“Why do you insist on moving to the back mountain?” This time it was Master speaking, “You’ve lived in this courtyard for more than ten years, why do you want to move?”

Si Fanqing pressed his lips tightly together, without answering immediately. After a long time, Cong Yue heard him say, “That child you picked up, her staring eyes are creepy, living in the same courtyard with her makes me very uncomfortable.”

Because she moved into that courtyard, Junior Uncle, regardless of his own safety, insisted on moving to the back mountain? Cong Yue was shocked, the anxiety that had just dissipated surged again, spreading further.

“Fanqing, what are you saying? Cong Yue is an eight-year-old child, how creepy can she be?” Ji Yunqing was quite helpless, not taking Si Fanqing’s words seriously, treating them as an excuse he made up.

Si Fanqing insisted, “I’m not lying. Her eyes are round and black…” like a deep, bottomless pool, “extremely creepy.”

Hearing this, Cong Yue subconsciously took a few steps forward, squatting under a sweet osmanthus tree outside her master’s room, and began to ponder what Junior Uncle said.

Her eyes were big and round, black and bright, her mother said they were as lively as a deer’s. Why, in Junior Uncle’s eyes, were they creepy?

Cong Yue was very dejected.

Junior Uncle disliked her, she had felt it on her first day at Jingyue Sect, and therefore found excuses to avoid her, unwilling to live in the same courtyard with her. Even though the rooms in that courtyard were numerous enough to accommodate ten or more senior brothers and sisters.

Her little heart ached, her eyes were hot and wet, and her vision began to blur, she could hardly see the wooden door of her master’s room.

Why did Junior Uncle dislike and hate her? Was it because she was too dirty when he first saw her? Or was it because of her background?

But Master had said that except for Master, no one knew where she came from. Perhaps, as Junior Uncle said, her eyes were black and round, and when she stared at people, they were exceptionally creepy?

She thought over all the possibilities in her mind, but couldn’t come to a definite answer.

Master was still patiently persuading Junior Uncle, “Fanqing, don’t be silly, go back.”

Si Fanqing wouldn’t give up until he achieved his goal, and he began to speak without thinking, “Is that child your illegitimate daughter you raised outside? That’s why you brought her back to the sect without saying a word.”

Hearing this, Ji Yunqing’s face darkened, “Si Fanqing, watch your words. Don’t mention this again.”

Cong Yue was terrified, feeling all sorts of emotions. Her legs were numb from squatting, but she didn’t dare to move an inch. In the blink of an eye, in Junior Uncle’s eyes, she had changed from a unwanted wild child to Master’s… illegitimate daughter?

Suddenly, something “meow”ed, suddenly pouncing into Cong Yue’s arms, startling her, causing her to fall back and sit on the ground.

“Little kitty, it’s you!” Cong Yue saw a fluffy white ball of fur in her arms, as white as snow, without any blemishes, very cute, and the distress of being disliked by Junior Uncle immediately dissipated.

She held the kitten and stood up, brushing off the dust from her clothes. As she looked up, she saw Junior Uncle walking out of Master’s room, followed by Master, whose expression was ever-changing.

“Master…” Cong Yue felt guilty, instinctively hiding the kitten behind her, suddenly remembering that the kitten had run out on its own, she put her hands in front of her, ran a few steps, wanting to return the kitten to Junior Uncle.

“I’ve said,” Si Fanqing didn’t reach out to take it, his tone somewhat impatient, “my spirit pet is not a kitten.”

He had just told the Sect Master that Cong Yue’s eyes were dark and bright, and when she widened her eyes to look at people, it was creepy. He never expected that the person he had accused was hiding outside the door, and must have heard everything he said.

His face was a little embarrassed, Si Fanqing could only use Cong Yue calling his spirit pet a kitten to reprimand her, thereby relieving his own guilt.

“Junior Uncle…” Cong Yue looked at Master, then shifted her gaze to Si Fanqing, her expression quite serious, “It really is a kitten, its meows are like a kitten’s, its fur feels like the cat I raised, it…”

“Enough.” Si Fanqing rudely interrupted Cong Yue’s enumeration of the kitten’s characteristics, “I said it’s not, it’s not.”

Cong Yue blinked, her gaze fixed on Si Fanqing’s face, suddenly remembering Junior Uncle mentioning her eyes, saying that when she stared at people, it was creepy, and she felt a little wronged.

“My mother said…” she mustered her courage to speak, her voice getting smaller and smaller, until only a little breath remained, “Mother said my eyes are big and round, black and bright, like a deer’s, not creepy.”

He really heard it.

Si Fanqing’s face turned pale, he turned his head away from her, and forgot to take the spirit pet from Cong Yue’s hands.

Ji Yunqing’s expression wasn’t good either. He walked to Cong Yue in a few steps, took her hand, and turned to leave.

“Cong Yue, Junior Uncle just said it casually, don’t take it to heart.” Master touched her messy hair that she had ruffled under the sweet osmanthus tree, and whispered comfortingly, “Cong Yue’s eyes are like a clear spring, as lively as a deer’s.”

After walking a few steps out of the courtyard, Cong Yue suddenly remembered the kitten in her arms. She let go of Master’s hand, raised her head to look at him, “Master, I’ll return the kitten to Junior Uncle, otherwise, he won’t be happy.”