“From today on, you’re my disciple.”
Having such a beautiful shizun, just looking at her every day is enough to please the eyes.
Normally, this would be a good thing—if only her shizun’s dao name wasn’t Xinyun!
“Alright, alright, congratulations to Shimei Xinyun on accepting a beloved disciple!” No one expected the usually quiet Xinyun to suddenly step in and snatch her up.
The first to react was the sect leader, who was also the first to offer his congratulations.
The other peak masters followed suit, offering their congratulations one after another, though how sincere they were was something only they themselves knew.
After all, everyone had promised beforehand that they absolutely wouldn’t compete for the first disciple Xinyun had her eye on.
Now, even if they regretted it, they were too embarrassed to say anything.
Wen Jiayin first lost her ability to think for a moment because of the sudden beauty overload, then her soul was practically hooked away by the female lead’s smile.
If it weren’t for the shock of hearing the name “Xinyun,” she probably wouldn’t have snapped out of it for a while.
Now, snapped back to reality by the sect leader’s “Shimei Xinyun,” Wen Jiayin’s aftereffect was that her legs suddenly went weak, and she almost fell right on her butt.
“Does your leg hurt?” Xinyun, whose attention was entirely on Wen Jiayin, reacted instantly.
The moment she saw Wen Jiayin sway, she quickly scooped her up, as if she’d expected it.
Familiar spiritual energy, laced with a chill, swept over Wen Jiayin’s broken leg.
Wen Jiayin, who had tried to struggle a bit, immediately froze.
It’s her?
“Shixiong, I’m taking her back to treat her leg.
I’ll go ahead.” There was an urgency in Xinyun’s movements that had never been there before, leaving the sect leader completely baffled.
She’s just taken in a disciple, and her personality’s already changed? But that explanation didn’t even convince the sect leader himself.
He thought that when he had time, he’d have to sit down and talk with his shimei.
With her personality, sure, she could teach the kid a lot about cultivation, but in other areas, there might be problems. The kid was still so young—he definitely needed to talk to his shimei about how to raise a child.
Leaving behind the other peak masters’ envious and slightly regretful gazes, Xinyun carefully held the child in her arms, afraid of touching her injured leg.
Lingjian Peak was far, but for a cultivator of her level, it only took a blink to get there.
Wen Jiayin, protected so well by Xinyun that not even a strand of her hair was out of place, felt as if her heart was in utter chaos, like it had just been hit by a category 12 typhoon.
Why? Wen Jiayin still couldn’t figure out why she’d lost her mind and agreed to be her disciple without even knowing who she was! She’d never been such a sucker for looks before! Was it because no one she’d seen before could compare to this level of beauty, so her “looks-obsessed” side had never even had a chance to show itself? Other than wanting to go back in time and smack herself from a few minutes ago, Wen Jiayin had no other thoughts.
Although she didn’t know much about her cannon fodder role in the book, just from a few details of the original’s life, it was clear how cold and distant the female lead, who cultivated the emotionless path, usually was.
The original “Wen Jiayin” had dragged her injured leg, knelt in front of the female lead, and begged to be taken as a disciple.
The female lead hadn’t even looked at her, just said she had no intention of taking a disciple.
“Wen Jiayin” stubbornly played the pity card, to the point that even the sect leader, who was always soft on kids, couldn’t stand it.
After much persuasion, the female lead finally accepted “Wen Jiayin.”
When “Wen Jiayin” stood up again, her injured leg was swollen to twice its size, basically a secondary injury.
The sect leader, afraid his shimei’s rough treatment would traumatize the child, personally healed “Wen Jiayin’s” leg before sending her to Lingjian Peak.
And Lingjian Peak wasn’t exactly a comfortable place.
Thanks to Xinyun, it was covered in snow all year round.
The cold was caused by spiritual energy, so even average cultivators would feel it, let alone a regular person.
Having barely survived an environment that nearly froze her to death twice, Wen Jiayin shivered all over at the thought of having to live on a snowy mountain again.
She was shaking…
Noticing this, Xinyun grew even more anxious.
Without stopping, she returned to her own residence.
She needed to heal Ayin’s leg as soon as possible.
Wen Jiayin only felt the world flash before her eyes—she didn’t see anything clearly before she was carried into a simple room.
It wasn’t cold at all like she’d expected; instead, it was warm, just the way she liked it.
On the small table nearby was an elegant incense burner.
She didn’t know what kind of incense was burning, but the scent was light and sweet, like fruit—also something Wen Jiayin liked.
The whole setup was exactly to her taste.
Wen Jiayin blinked her innocent eyes.
Something was off—this wasn’t how it was described in the book.
The female lead never cared about material things, let alone put effort into decorating her room.
The original “Wen Jiayin” had described it as “cold, bare, and lifeless.”
But now, even though the place was simple, it had everything it needed.
There was even a pot of flowers on the windowsill, white buds still dewy, clearly just tended to.
Wen Jiayin almost wanted to defend the female lead—how was this cold, bare, and lifeless? Was the original just too picky?
“Let me… take a look at your leg, okay?” The little child hung her head and didn’t speak.
Xinyun, for once, seemed at a loss, not even daring to raise her voice for fear of scaring her or leaving a bad impression.
That gentle, cautious tone startled Wen Jiayin, who quickly nodded.
She almost forgot about her new shizun!
“Shizun, can you be gentle?” Even the female lead’s shixiong knew how unreliable she was, so Wen Jiayin could only imagine how rough her treatment might be.
Just thinking about it was enough to give her a psychological shadow, so she made her small request in advance, hoping her shizun would go easy on her.
The child’s voice was soft and weak, like a frightened fledgling.
Xinyun’s heart twisted at the sound.
“I promise, it won’t hurt much.”
As she spoke, she rolled up Wen Jiayin’s pant leg.
Years of malnutrition had left her leg as thin as her arm, covered in all kinds of scars, the worst being the broken spot, which was a scary shade of purple.
Xinyun took a quiet breath, a shadow flickering in her eyes, but she quickly suppressed it.
She was even gentler as she poured something from a bottle onto Wen Jiayin’s leg.
The pale green liquid was instantly absorbed by her skin.
Then Xinyun felt for the bone, found the right spot, and with a “click,” the bone was set!
It really didn’t hurt much—just a brief flash of pain, gone before Wen Jiayin could even frown, replaced by a cool, ticklish sensation.
With skills like this, she could open a clinic and be swamped with business!
“Whew…” Xinyun gently blew on Wen Jiayin’s injury.
“Does it hurt?”
“N-no, it doesn’t!” Wen Jiayin’s face suddenly felt like it was on fire, and she could barely get the words out.
Was the female lead—her shizun—really like this?
She swallowed, sneaking a look at the person half-kneeling in front of her.
The book had described the female lead as peerless, but seeing her in person, Wen Jiayin realized how bland those words were.
“Light clouds veiling the moon, wind swirling the snow”—none of it did her justice.
Maybe it was the path she cultivated, but the indifference in her eyes made people instinctively wary.
The only hint of color on her was a faint red tear mole at the corner of her right eye.
But her colder-than-the-underworld aura completely overshadowed even that little bit of color.
Wen Jiayin had every reason to believe that the only reason her shizun wasn’t called the most beautiful woman in the cultivation world was because the person writing the rankings didn’t dare look her in the face! If she ever got the chance, she definitely wanted to see just how “earth-shatteringly” beautiful that so-called number one beauty really was!
Ayin was still as obedient and pitiful as ever.
Xinyun, half-kneeling in front of Wen Jiayin, stood up and patted her head, giving her the gentlest smile.
“Jiayin is the best.”
“Bang!” Wen Jiayin felt like it wasn’t just her face—her whole brain exploded.
Could someone please tell her why the female lead, who was supposed to be an ice queen, smiled so much? This smile was seriously bad for her heart!
No, no, this can’t be right! This is the female lead who cultivates the emotionless path! It hasn’t even been an hour, and she’s already seen her smile twice! Wen Jiayin’s brain spun in confusion until it just gave up.
Little Ayin was easily embarrassed.
Xinyun’s eyes brightened, her fingers brushing over Wen Jiayin’s soft cheek, making her want to pinch it—except she accidentally touched a wound on Wen Jiayin’s face.
Not to mention before, just in the short time since Wen Jiayin transmigrated, she’d already been through a lot.
Aside from the broken leg, there weren’t any major injuries, but there were plenty of small cuts and scrapes all over.
There was a small cut on her face, already scabbed over and not painful, but Xinyun jerked her hand back as if burned.
Once the joy of reunion faded, Xinyun noticed that Wen Jiayin was much thinner and weaker than other kids her age.
Not just thin—she was covered in so many injuries it was scary.
She rolled up Wen Jiayin’s sleeve, and the arm, which looked like it would snap with a little force, was covered in bruises, showing just what kind of life this child had before coming here.
She hadn’t even known… Why hadn’t she looked more closely?
She blamed herself, falling into a kind of trance, a voice in her heart growing louder.
“It’s your fault.
You never should have appeared in front of her.
She didn’t want to be your disciple, but you forced her.
Are you going to repeat the same mistakes? You should have let her go to another peak master—anyone else.
Then she could have quietly died in some corner where no one would know.
That would be the best protection for her…”
It taunted Xinyun sharply, as if it had finally found the perfect moment, tearing at the bleeding wound in her heart.
“Shizun?”
The child’s weak voice pulled Xinyun back from the edge.
She looked up to see Wen Jiayin’s confused gaze.
“I… just went to prepare a medicinal bath for tonight.
If Jiayin soaks in it overnight, all her injuries will heal.” Xinyun instantly collected herself, not letting any of her emotions show in front of Wen Jiayin.
“Thank you, shizun!” So weird.
Wen Jiayin felt like her shizun was acting really strange.
She wasn’t really a little kid, so she didn’t believe Xinyun’s words.
Because… just now, in that split second when their eyes met, there was both confusion and fragility in her gaze, making Wen Jiayin want to hug her.
“Does Jiayin want to rest now, or come with me to look around Lingjian Peak?”
Wen Jiayin wasn’t very tired, so she said, “I want to look around Lingjian Peak with shizun.”
Even though the mountain was so white it could give someone snow blindness, it was still where she’d be living in the future.
It’d be embarrassing to get lost as soon as she stepped out! Wen Jiayin was muttering to herself when she suddenly realized she was airborne again!
Unable to refuse, she was once again carried in Xinyun’s arms. This time, Wen Jiayin really felt embarrassed.
It was one thing when her leg was broken, but now she could walk.
She was, after all, an adult on the inside—being carried around like this was just too awkward!
“Shizun, I can walk by myself.” Wen Jiayin protested in a small voice.
“Lingjian Peak is big, and it’s steep going down.
Jiayin would get tired walking by herself.
For now, shizun will carry you.
Once you have cultivation, you can walk on your own.” Xinyun patted Wen Jiayin’s malnourished, yellowish hair, already planning to add two more herbs to the medicinal bath tonight.
Wen Jiayin could hear the pampering in Xinyun’s words and seriously doubted her own memory.
She clearly remembered that when the original followed Xinyun around Lingjian Peak, no matter how many times she fell or got too tired to stand, the female lead never offered a hand, let alone carried her the whole way!
But what made her doubt her memory even more happened next.
When Xinyun opened the door, Wen Jiayin was bracing herself to shiver from the cold, but what she saw instead were tender green branches, gray-white birds hopping on the twigs, and spirit butterflies flitting through the grass! Where was the year-round snow? She didn’t even see a single snowflake!
Wen Jiayin mentally threw the book in her head to the ground and stomped on it twice.
Pah! Fake book, ruining people’s lives!
“Are you cold?” Xinyun pulled Wen Jiayin’s clothes tighter.
Although she’d already melted all the snow on the mountain, it was still colder than normal.
Cultivators with tough bodies wouldn’t notice, but for an ordinary person, it should be pretty obvious.
“I’m not cold, it’s actually pretty warm.” This was way warmer than Wen Jiayin had expected—at least it looked warm.
A barely noticeable hint of relief appeared on Xinyun’s face.
“This will be our home from now on.
I live right next door.”
“Mm.” Wen Jiayin knew that.
Since it was right next door, the original would get caught every time she tried to slack off.
The female lead hadn’t wanted to take her as a disciple, but once she did, she was a strict teacher when it came to cultivation.
Kind of hopeless, really—she couldn’t even slack off… The slacker queen Wen Jiayin shed a tear of sorrow.
“Shizun, are we the only two people on the whole mountain?”
“That’s right.
Why? Do you… find it lonely?”
“Not really.” No need to guess—Xinyun didn’t like crowds or need servants, so of course there weren’t any on Lingjian Peak.
Wen Jiayin wasn’t the kind of kid who needed company, either.
Xin Yun thought she could take care of Wen Jiayin by herself, there was no need to get anyone else involved, so she didn’t hire anyone.
Of course, if Wen Jiayin wanted company, she could always bring the two kids up to play with her.
But Wen Jiayin definitely didn’t want that.
She wasn’t really a little kid, after all, and there was no way she could play with those brats.
Xin Yun then took her to the training grounds.
The so-called training grounds were just a clearing in the middle of the bamboo forest behind the house.
The original owner used to practice swordsmanship here, crying the whole time… After that, they went to the medicinal spring on the back mountain, which was a bit farther away.
Soaking in it could heal wounds and refine cultivation, but it wasn’t a hot spring—the water was icy cold, totally unsuitable for people with low cultivation unless they had an ice spiritual root.
After all, this spring was specially made by the previous sect leader, Xin Yun’s master, for her little disciple.
“Before you reach Foundation Establishment, you absolutely can’t soak in the medicinal spring, got it? Even though it can heal injuries, for someone with a fire spiritual root like you, soaking in it before Foundation Establishment is basically poison.
If you’re not careful, it’ll shake your foundation!” Xin Yun seemed worried that Wen Jiayin might sneak over here out of mischief, so she repeated this warning several times.
“I got it, Shizun, don’t worry.
I won’t come here before Foundation Establishment.” Wen Jiayin wasn’t a troublemaker—if she was told not to do something, she wouldn’t do it.
She trusted that Xin Yun wouldn’t hurt her, at least.
“Good girl.”
As expected, Wen Jiayin got another head pat.
Next, Xin Yun took Wen Jiayin to where the spirit cranes were kept.
Normally, Lingjian Peak didn’t keep spirit cranes, but since Wen Jiayin came, she needed a way to get around before she learned sword flight.
So Xin Yun had specially picked out two especially spiritual cranes from the beast garden.
“Cranes! Can I pet them?” Wen Jiayin was obsessed with anything fluffy—round fluff or flat fluff, she couldn’t resist!
“Of course you can, they’re very gentle.” Xin Yun watched Wen Jiayin happily playing with the cranes, and couldn’t help but smile.
Maybe because she’d suffered so much as a child, A Yin was a bit more mature than other kids, more restrained, and only at times like this did she show a bit of childishness.
The cranes really were unusually intelligent.
When Wen Jiayin reached out, they obediently stretched out their necks for her to pet.
“Do you like them?” Xin Yun asked.
“I love them! Thank you, Shizun!” Wen Jiayin got so excited that she slipped into the way she used to talk in her previous life.
Xin Yun didn’t seem to mind at all, as if she was used to it.
Nothing made Xin Yun feel more satisfied than hearing Wen Jiayin say she liked something.
Spending half a day in the beast garden picking out these two cranes was totally worth it.
Once Wen Jiayin had played enough, Xin Yun took her to see the rest of the important places.
Lingjian Peak was big, but there weren’t that many places she needed to remember.
With Xin Yun’s pace, they finished the tour pretty quickly.
Wen Jiayin held a feather the crane had given her, hesitating over a thought she’d had for a long time.
The Wine Immortal had never told her what organization the red crow symbol represented.
She’d planned to ask her future master, but after finding out her master was the female lead, she’d given up on the idea—after all, the female lead didn’t seem like the helpful type.
But now… she could eat her words! If she asked now, would the female lead tell her?
Wen Jiayin thought about it, then just went for it.
“Shizun, Shizun, do you know of any sects with a red crow symbol?”
“A red crow?” Xin Yun froze for a second, then pressed Wen Jiayin’s little head into her arms so she couldn’t see the bloodlust gathering in her eyes.
How could she not know…
