Moonlight pouring down, all sounds silent.
Yet, inside Lu Qiancha’s tent, the peaceful sleep was completely different from this tranquil silence…
In Xuanya’s tent.
She sat cross-legged, attempting to sink into cultivation, but her breath kept fluctuating like the rippled surface of a lake stirred by the wind.
Several times she forced the circulation of the Heavenly Cycle, but the dense discomfort twisting inside her heart, like a dull blade slicing flesh, disrupted her every attempt.
Finally, she helplessly opened her eyes.
Her cold gaze swept over Gantang, who was sprawled out beside her, sleeping without any dignity.
Then, as if piercing through the thin tent fabric, her eyes landed precisely on the neighboring camp bathed in moonlight.
The faint noises coming from inside were like tiny hooks, constantly teasing her tense nerves.
“Sigh.”
A soft sigh, heavy with unresolved frustration and melancholy, quietly echoed within the silent tent.
Xuanya rubbed her brow, filled with regret. Why hadn’t she thought to bring along a tent equipped with a Sound-Isolation Array before setting out?!
Yes, that was it.
This tent’s soundproofing was far from perfect.
Though Xuanya tried her best to calm her mind and listen with closed eyes, those faint, incessant fragmented sounds, mixed with indistinct syllables she couldn’t quite place, still poked at her ears like annoying mosquitoes.
Such indulgence was definitely no good…
A thicker shadow of worry settled over Xuanya’s heart.
Her steady and dependable Da Shidi… surely she wouldn’t have really been mistaken by that wanton demon immortal as some kind of furnace for gathering Yang to supplement Yin, right?
That thought sent a chill mixed with vexation winding like vines around her chest.
That night, tossed between restless unease and ominous speculation, dragged on unusually long.
At dawn’s first light, everyone packed up to return.
Passing through the secret exit of the lake’s mystical domain, mist curled among the forested mountains.
On the way back, Lu Qiancha’s steps were light, her mind busily planning the route to find materials for the Transformation Pill.
Suddenly, Xuanya’s cold and clear divine sense voice transmitted directly into her mind: “Do not blame me for speaking plainly: Qiancha, your path as an immortal is just beginning; your foundation is not yet stable. Do not waste these youthful years. Prioritize your cultivation; all else can wait.”
Xuanya’s tone carried an unshakable thread of worry and exhaustion.
“?” Lu Qiancha’s footsteps nearly halted, confusion swirling in her heart. What was Master rambling about? She didn’t understand a word! She had been cultivating diligently, hadn’t she?
Grimacing, she replied with her usual respectful tone: “Disciple will obey Master’s teaching.”
Back at Tianquan Peak, Lu Qiancha immediately buried herself in the busy search for materials for the Transformation Pill.
Aside from necessary cultivation and nurturing the peach trees, almost all her energy went into gathering materials.
Spirit stones flowed from her storage pouch like a river, thankfully supported firmly by her exclusive brew, the Peerless Brew, highly favored by the Kuanglan Sect.
The crisp and mellow wine exchanged for a steady stream of spirit stones. With a full pouch, she naturally had the confidence to buy materials.
A month passed in the blink of an eye.
Lu Qiancha’s footsteps traced every corner of the Fang Market, the Steward Hall, and the Secular Merchant House’s warehouse…
Through the dusty travels, her storage pouch gradually filled.
Most of the auxiliary materials, rare herbs, and minerals marked on her list were already crossed off.
She even stockpiled an extra large bundle of dried Dendrobium Bulbophyllum, emitting a peculiar fresh fragrance.
However, Lu Qiancha stored this bundle separately in a special storage pouch because every time her blue eyes glanced at it, a sudden impulse to try it stirred in her heart.
The only regret remained the core main ingredient on the pill formula—the Illusory Transformation Stone.
Like a stone sinking into the sea, there was no news at all.
But it made sense. For the demon race, this was a holy treasure for shape transformation, but to ordinary Human Cultivators, it was no different from an ordinary rock by the roadside.
Who would bother seeking it out or treasuring it?
Just as she finished packing, ready to set off for a more distant country in search of it—
“Xiao Qiancha~” Xun Xue’s voice came from behind, full of warmth and laughter. “Don’t rush off yet, the Water Moon Festival is just a few days away. Stay and celebrate the reunion festival with Mom?”
Xun Xue leaned against the doorframe, the sunset’s molten gold light casting a warm outline around her.
The Water Moon Festival, when the sky is round and the moon full, is a time shared by all under heaven.
Though its customs differ somewhat from the Mid-Autumn Festival of past lives, the core theme of “reunion” was much the same.
Lu Qiancha hesitated a moment, thinking, indeed, a few more days wouldn’t hurt.
She then lightly nodded: “……”
“Good~” Xun Xue’s eyes sparkled with deeper amusement and a hint of mischievous mystery. “Remember… the ‘fun toy’ I mentioned to you before?”
She blinked, lowering her voice: “When the moon is full at the Water Moon Festival, that’s when it will show its true power!”
Lu Qiancha’s eyes instantly filled with alertness and a deep sense of foreboding.
Excitement? Not even a bit.
She silently prayed that her unreliable mother wouldn’t have come up with some new scheme, like grinding the Dendrobium Bulbophyllum into powder to use as mooncake filling!
On the day of the Water Moon Festival, the sun had not yet begun to set.
“Senior Brother!!”
Gantang was dragged abruptly from her midday nap by Lu Qiancha.
She rubbed her sleepy eyes, clutching a heavy wooden basin, her pout so pronounced it could hold an oil bottle. “It’s not time yet! Fetching water now… isn’t it too early?”
Gantang’s tone was full of resentment at having her peaceful dream disturbed.
“Better to finish early and be free early.” Lu Qiancha shot her a glance full of unquestionable seniority and experience.
“Do you want a repeat of last year’s Water Moon Festival? The moon was already high for half a day before anyone realized the courtyard’s vat was empty?”
Gantang pouted, muttering softly, “Hmph… if there really isn’t any water, we can just scoop it from Clear Lotus Lake! The lake is so big, the water so—”
“Nonsense!” Lu Qiancha didn’t hesitate to raise a paw, as if to tap Gantang on the forehead.
“The lake water is mixed with fish and insects, impure and unclean. How could it be used to reflect the moon and receive the Moonlight Water?”
“Bleh bleh bleh!”
Gantang was ready for the attack, nimble as a rabbit, dodging away and turning back to make a triumphant face.
“Heh.”
Lu Qiancha chuckled helplessly and quickened her pace, arriving swiftly at the Great Stone Vat specially used to collect the Moonlight Water.
When Gantang huffed and puffed back with the first basin of water to pour into the vat, Lu Qiancha naturally passed over her own water-filled basin, signaling Gantang to continue.
“?”
Gantang’s apricot-shaped eyes widened, pointing at her nose in complaint: “Senior Brother! You’re making me do all the hard work again?!”
“Hard work?” Lu Qiancha raised an eyebrow. “That’s called reasonable division of labor. Besides, where does the ‘again’ come from? How many times have you done chores around here anyway?”
“I don’t care!” Gantang stomped her foot, pouting in grievance. “Senior Brother just wants to exploit your lively, adorable, and clever little junior sister!”
“Then tell me, how exactly am I exploiting you?”
Hearing this, Lu Qiancha felt a tickle in her paw, itching to claw at something…
“See? Even fetching water, you have to make your clever and brave little junior sister help out.”
Gantang pouted, speaking with some dissatisfaction.
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