Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
After answering no, Lingzhou Yue thought about it and felt like there was.
She held another pot of wine in her embrace and squinted her bright eyes.
“Do you like pretty girls?”
So direct!
Xiao Ran answered assertively, “I do.”
Lingzhou Yu gave him a curt nod of approval.
“What a coincidence. Me too.”
Ah, uh…
Xiao Ran was stunned for a long moment, left speechless by her answer.
‘Is my Master a lesbian?’
Xiao Ran finally understood why she seemed so practiced in carrying people bride-style.
‘Women are steel blades that carve bones and poison that burns through intestines. You should hold back!’
Speaking of that, his master exuded an extraordinary aura with a brimming sense of heroism. She was probably a popular presence in the gay world.
Perhaps, he would have to ask his master for help with his marriage in the future…
“Do you have any plans, Master?”
“It’s still early. I’ll take you to a legendary beauty before the Elder meeting.”
A legendary beauty?
Xiao Ran was skeptical.
“Is there a woman more beautiful than you in the cultivation world, Master?”
Lingzhou Yue took a sip of wine.
“An artist won’t be happy even if a painting he spent lifelong effort on is praised to the moon and back by a steaming bao vendor… You have no understanding of beauty. It’s no use even if you sing my praises and compare me to a flower.”
Xiao Ran thought, ‘No, Master, you’re prettier than all the flowers in this world to me.’
The issue, however, was something else. Had the bao vendor offended her? Selling bao was a chore, but those who sold them were rich people who drove BMW and Mercedes-Benz cars.
Nonetheless, Xiao Ran was still piqued by the woman his master had said was more beautiful. Who could the person his master had made such a comment about be?
As he mulled over it, Lingzhou Yue’s hand clasped Xiao Ran’s left shoulder.
“Let’s go. I’ll take you to meet the woman that can beat all women.”
Grabbing his shoulder, Lingzhou Yue vanished with the man in a flash.
After a moment, the two of them appeared several kilometers away on a mountain that faced the Sword-Wielding Mountain. On the peak of the mountain was a maple forest with purple cherry blossoms.
The path was winding and quiet in the jungle, and the maple forest acted like a screen that hid the scenery inside from outsiders.
In comparison, the Sword-Wielding Mountain some kilometers away was bare, without even a hiding spot where one could pee.
The difference between peaks was sometimes bigger than the difference between a man and a pig.
“Where are we?”
“On Hundred Herb Hill.”
Trailing after his master, Xiao Ran entered the maple forest quietly by following the path.
Yin-loving plants were planted on both sides of the narrow path. It felt like spring, as insects and butterflies were flying and buzzing around, creating quite the merry scene.
About 100 steps down the path, the view cleared and made way for a spacious herb garden filled with various rare plants and spiritual herbs.
The spring sunlight peeked through the maple forest while a soft breeze caressed the flowers. A concoction of herbal aromas and flowery fragrances perfumed the mountain, while precious beasts and insects were moving around.
Xiao Ran had even spotted two small children in the bushes. Upon taking a closer look, he noticed that they were a pair of twin girls around six or seven years old.
Both of them had a Qi Refining cultivation base. Thanks to the buns on either side of their heads, their blue robes with the yellow square pattern that were tucked in around their waists, their squishy cheeks, and doe eyes, they looked adorable.
Their faces and physique, as well as their dressing style, were similar, as though they had been copied and pasted. It was difficult to distinguish them. The only difference that could be noted were the wooden hair clips on top of their heads—one had a frog hair clip on the left side of her head, while the other had a yellow cicada hair clip on the right side of her head.
Xiao Ran could see that the two girls did not have a very high cultivation base, but they were incredibly sensitive to plants and spiritual beasts, as if they could communicate with these lifeforms.
They looked committed and serious about getting rid of weeds and pests, but every nine bugs they caught, they reluctantly removed weeds once, and even that was after pushing the chore on each other.
It was only when they saw Lingzhou Yue that they dropped what they were doing and ran over to greet her.
One of them shouted from afar, “Junior Uncle Lingzhou, you’re here? You’re so clean today, Junior Uncle! You look pretty!”
The other twin said, “Junior Uncle Lingzhou, will you help me pull out the weeds?”
They chorused together with ease and familiarity.
“Next time for sure.”
There was no way Lingzhou Yue would get tricked.
“I brought you guys a senior brother. This is my Direct Disciple, Xiao Ran. How is he? He’s beautiful, huh?”
One of the girls answered, “He’s very pretty.”
The other one asked, “Does he know how to pull weeds?”
Xiao Ran was speechless.
Lingzhou Yue waved at them in dismissal and introduced them to Xiao Ran. “Chunwa, Qiuchan, Direct Disciples of our sect’s Medicinal Elder, Yinyue Literally, Zhenren 真人 means ‘true person’, and is roughly translatable as ‘Perfected Person’. It is associated with ‘transcendent’ and ‘immortal’, occupying the upper rank in celestial bureaucracy.
Details here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZhenrenZhenren1. Cute, aren’t they?”
They were truly adorable, but Xiao Ran did not have a Lolita complex.
“They are very cute.”
Liar.
Lingzhou Yue said, “If you like, you can pick one of them as your cultivation partner when they grow up.”
Nurturing a child as a cultivation partner? As if!
Before Xiao Ran could respond, the girl with the cicada hairclip commented faintly in her twinkling baby voice, “He’s too young. I don’t like that. I like more mature men.”
“?”
Xiao Ran thought that his ears were playing a trick on him.
Imagine that! A man was being called young by a small child. What did it feel like?
Lingzhou Yue explained, “Ha ha, don’t judge them by their looks. They’re both over 100 years old. You’re a young brother to them.”
The girl with the frog hair clip quipped, “Can Junior Brother help us weed? If you’re good at weeding, I could consider marrying you when I grow up.”
Xiao Ran was speechless.
She was a young child, yet she was already nurturing an errand boy… Who had she learned this from?
Xiao Ran kept a straight face and half-jokingly said, “I don’t know how to weed. I only know how to destroy flowers.”
Qiuchan jolted and shuddered in fear before she hid behind Lingzhou Yue and stared at Xiao Ran impassively as though she was looking at a pervert.
Still, Chunwa asked, “When we harvest Bailing Flowers, can you come and help us wreck them?”
Xiao Ran was speechless again.
Lingzhou Yue chugged wine with a laugh, the clear liquid flowing down her neck and into her soft mounds.
“The Elder meeting’s starting soon. Where did Master go?”
Master?
Xiao Ran, who was puzzled, double-checked that the question had come from his master.
His master’s master?
A stern yet gentle female voice came from the maple forest.
“How many times do I have to repeat myself? It’s Senior Sister.”
Chunwa and Qiuchan looked in unison at a bamboo house in the deeper part of the maple jungle that a middle-aged woman walked out of with light steps.
Her white hair, most of which was in a high updo, fluttered, and her figure was as soft and shapely as a willow. Her lines were graceful, while her aura was alluring, exuding a charm unique to her.
Her sparkling light blue eyes reflected the sky and water as though they were compassionate toward the vast universe and endlessly tender.
Her flowy azure dress blended with the tone of the sky and sea, holy despite its plainness and infinitely dreamy as it rippled.
Upon closer inspection, the features of the woman were not the prettiest when scrutinized individually, but their combination painted a breathtakingly beautiful portrait.
The perfecting touch was probably the dark red succulent flower pattern between her brows. It was an embellishment but it did not ruin the overall picture, giving off a naturally pleasant vibe without being too overbearing.
As he looked from afar at who his master had mentioned was a legendary beauty, the woman that could beat all women, Xiao Ran thought that his master’s stunning face, which looked like it was drawn, was more beautiful and her figure, which was hidden in her dark loose robe, was more tempting…
Nonetheless, his master’s master had the best aura!
A fair lady was every gentleman’s dream, but a dreamy beauty was far from reach. The allure in her features and the holiness and purity of her grace prevented one from having any tainted thoughts. They commanded reverence.
This was not the woman that could beat all women. This was the goddess that could beat all goddesses!
However, the flower between her brows was a little indescribable. Of course, this could be Xiao Ran’s illusion that stemmed from the bias of his past life.
Lingzhou Yue went over quickly when the woman walked out of the forest.
There was no way she was calling her Senior Sister. She would never address her that way in this lifetime. Calling her Senior Sister was not as fun as calling her Master.
She, an elite of the Cultivation Alliance, had given up on all the favorable conditions and followed Yinyue Zhenren to Zongzhi Mountain, becoming her Direct Disciple for three years.
Ultimately, she was not gifted in herbs but was adept at swordsmanship. After the last Sword-Wielding Elder had passed away, she had defeated Bo Yunzi and taken over the position, managing to stay on Zongzhi Mountain as the new Sword-Wielding Elder.
“Since you’ve been my Master once, you’re my Master for life. This disciple has only swapped places. How could I forgo seniority and address you as Senior Sister?”
Yinyue Zhenren shook her head with a sigh.
“I surrender.”
Lingzhou Yue grabbed Yinyue Zhenren’s hand and forcefully acted cute, which was unlike her usual idle and dominant self. “This disciple just met a rare humanoid Wraith. Aren’t you concerned, Master?”
Yinyue Zhenren looked nonchalant.
“I’m more concerned about the Wraith.”
Lingzhou Yue, who was speechless, waved at Xiao Ran.
“Xiao Ran, come over and greet your Senior Uncle.”
Xiao Ran was taken aback.
‘You call her Master and you’re asking me to call her Senior Uncle?’
‘Wow!’
If he did address her as a grandmaster, however, it would really make Yinyue Zhenren sound old, as though she had one foot in the coffin already.
He hurried over and cupped a palm over his fist. “Disciple Xiao Ran meets Senior Uncle Yinyue.”
Yinyue Zhenren did not look at him. Or rather, she had been looking at him until then.
“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking!”
With a frown, Yinyue Zhenren put her arms behind her back as she told Lingzhou Yue, “You allowed a mortal who’s destined to be a mortal for life into a cultivation sect and took him in as your Direct Disciple. Have you considered your innocence? Have you considered the criticism he’ll have to go through in the sect and how much pressure he’ll have to withstand in this life?”
Lingzhou Yue was not ashamed. She instead felt proud as she rested her arm on Yinyue’s shoulder, saying with a grin, “Aren’t I here to ask Master for help?”
Yinyue Zhenren’s gaze was tender, but her expression was cold.
“How can I help you?”
Before Lingzhou Yue could speak, Chunwa sprang over and took the liberty to answer, “Junior Uncle said she’d let us become Junior Brother Xiao Ran’s cultivation partners when we grow up.”
Splat!
Lingzhou Yue spat out the fake wine in her mouth before picking up the brat and tossing her into the herb garden. She then schooled her expression into a serious one and said, “This disciple needs a medicine that can give a mortal 1,000 years of longevity.”