“Shiqi is seventeen now. She’s not a little girl who can’t go anywhere without her mother’s care.” Hua Jian reached out her “evil” little hand and pinched Linglong’s cheeks, pulling hard.
Does the Saintess not understand people? Why did Linglong feel less like a person than she did?
“Besides, going to Ascension City doesn’t mean they’ll never meet again. If Shiqi misses this chance to join the Saint Sect, what will she do?”
Although there was no age limit to participate in the Ascension Gathering, whether someone was accepted as a disciple depended on each Saint Sect’s own preferences.
Most of the time, older cultivators had little chance of being chosen.
The golden age for entering the Ascension Gathering was sixteen to eighteen—at that age, cultivators were energetic, had formed personalities, and their talent was clear. It was easy for the sects to choose.
But after eighteen, the chances decreased each year. Wait too long, and it was basically impossible.
Shiqi was right at that line. If she didn’t go this year, she’d be too old next year.
“That’s true… I almost forgot Shiqi’s not that young.”
“You joined the sect as a child, of course you wouldn’t know.” Hua Jian snarked, a little sour.
Some people really were just born with everything.
“Hua Jian, you’re no worse than me. If we switched places, perhaps you’d be the Saintess of Yaochi now.” Linglong caught that note of envy, and responded with her own honest feelings.
“Who wants to be Saintess? You can have it.” Hua Jian snorted again, letting go of Linglong’s cheeks. “I’m going to rest. Good night.”
“Do you have a place to sleep?” Linglong grabbed her, asking a crucial question.
Hua Jian had only just arrived, then gone with the Venerable to handle the Dragonblood Vine, and after that, got pulled into this heart-to-heart.
She hadn’t had a free moment; the Protectorate Supervisor certainly hadn’t arranged a room for her.
It was already late. In Linglong’s view, Hua Jian might as well stay here tonight and find another place tomorrow.
“What, you want to take advantage of me while I’m sleeping?” Hua Jian stared at Linglong, arms crossed defensively.
Linglong was long immune to such jokes. Now, when Hua Jian acted like this, it was like watching a mischievous kitten.
She grabbed Hua Jian’s cheeks in revenge for earlier.
“Is that really how you see me?”
“A girl traveling alone has to be careful, right?”
Linglong pushed Hua Jian into the room. “That may be true, but I don’t think we need to be so distant. We’ve known each other so long—even strangers would be friends by now. I’m already used to your fragrance—if you left, I’d feel uneasy.”
“If I wanted to take advantage of you, I’d have done it already—no need to wait until now.”
Last time, when Hua Jian fainted in the bath, it was Linglong who dressed her—if she’d wanted to do something, why not then?
Would eating someone unconscious be less satisfying?
“True.” Hua Jian agreed. Linglong had had plenty of chances. She’d even read Linglong’s mind before—the dragon girl’s heart was spotless.
She really did see her only as a shimei, with not a single improper thought.
Hua Jian began to doubt her own charm.
“But with a super-beauty like me in front of you, you’re not even a little moved… Wait, do you like men?”
It was a strange thing for a girl to ask another girl if she liked men.
Even in this fairly open world, most people were still heterosexual.
Usually, it was men asking women if they liked women.
Hua Jian’s question was a bit backwards.
Linglong, already sitting cross-legged on a cushion, glared helplessly at Hua Jian, not even bothering to answer.
“I’ll only like someone who’s truly worthy of my affection.”
Gender didn’t matter; Linglong cared about compatibility—if she met the right person, that was enough.
“Oh, got it.” Hua Jian smacked her palm. So Linglong wasn’t shallow, but had more refined tastes—impressive.
A girl as sophisticated as Linglong would never fancy someone as simple as herself. That was reassuring.
“Go cultivate on the bed.” Linglong pointed at the empty bed.
“Fine. Say, have you been sleeping here these days?” Hua Jian kicked off her shoes and climbed onto the bed, sniffing at the bundled quilt.
The scent wasn’t strong—had Linglong never slept here?
Seeing Hua Jian’s questionable behavior, Linglong was at a loss for words.
She’d just been afraid of Linglong making a move, yet now was doing things easily misunderstood. What was Hua Jian thinking?
Didn’t she realize this might give people the wrong idea?
And if she did, and Linglong really took action, Hua Jian would reject her again—just like a little fox teasing without wanting to be caught.
If this happened too often, Hua Jian’s luck might run out.
If Linglong ever really fell for her, Hua Jian would have to learn that teasing people could have consequences.
Linglong closed her eyes and began to meditate. Perhaps it was the familiar floral scent, but her cultivation felt especially smooth tonight.
The next morning, she stretched and found herself in a better state than she’d been in days.
Turning to look at Hua Jian, Linglong noticed her cultivation phenomenon had become more intense—brighter and more colorful.
Where before the petals around her had only been multicolored, now there were three new shades: white, red, and one ever-changing, dreamlike hue.
Perhaps feeling Linglong’s gaze, Hua Jian opened her eyes and the phenomenon vanished.
“What? Why are you staring?”
“Just admiring your cultivation phenomenon. It’s beautiful,” Linglong replied easily.
So she was watching the phenomenon, not my peerless beauty, Hua Jian thought, snorting and jumping off the bed, stretching her slightly sore body.
Was it her imagination, or was her body getting more flexible with time?
She could do splits and high kicks she’d never dreamed of before—even a backbend that let her stick her head between her legs.
“Linglong, does getting stronger improve flexibility?”
“Of course. Spiritual power gradually improves the body. Even cultivators who ignore body refinement see huge gains at higher levels.” Linglong demonstrated with a pose requiring great flexibility.
That reassured Hua Jian. If Linglong could do it, then nothing was wrong.
“By the way, do you have anything to do here? Can I tag along?”
“I actually don’t have much to do. My task is to keep that little dragon we rescued company, cheer her up.” Linglong explained, making Hua Jian pull a “that’s it?” face.
She’d thought Linglong had something important—turns out she was just babysitting a little dragon.
“What about Hei Long Gang? Did you get anything out of them?”
“Not much. We only know they were cultivating Dragonblood Vines to provide ingredients for their Elder’s pill refining. But that’s easy to guess.” Linglong sighed.
Everything Tianmomen was doing was to prepare for their Elder’s ascension to Saint. This had been going on a long time.
No one knew how many schemes that Black Dragon Elder had laid for a smooth breakthrough—maybe Tianmomen was even more ruthless in other Sacred Domains, especially Xiyu, their stronghold.
“Leave the bigwigs’ worries to them. Why trouble yourself?” Hua Jian wasn’t worried at all.
If the sky fell, the tall ones would hold it up. With so many Saints and Venerables on the Right Path, they were surely contending with that Dragon Venerable.
Wasn’t the last secret realm just like that? Tianmomen tried to seize the treasures, only to fall into the Right Path’s trap and get a Venerable injured.
Who knew if the loot they took was even the real treasure?
They were just little Spirit Masters. In front of a Saint-level Venerable, they weren’t even grains of sand.
“True. I just feel like we keep running into Tianmomen—this is the third time.”
First the secret realm, then Huiyue City’s Medicinal Clan, now here.
They were exposing Tianmomen’s plots almost monthly. Did they have some special connection?
“That’s just the trouble magnet trait of protagonists,” Hua Jian spread her hands. “Call it fate.”
As a transmigrator with a still-growing luck pool, it was only natural to encounter such things.
By now, Hua Jian was unflappable. Once you realized you were the protagonist, nothing was surprising anymore.
A protagonist had to deal with odd events—otherwise, what kind of protagonist were they?
“Well… okay.” Linglong wanted to object, but anything she said might dampen Hua Jian’s current healthy mindset, so she let it go.
Better a little delusional than bitterly complaining about fate.
“What do you mean, ‘well, okay?’ Look at my last few months! If I’m not the protagonist, why have I been through so much?” Hua Jian said, pushing open the door and stepping out of Linglong’s room.
The Protectorate Supervisor’s cultivators were already up and about, working on all sorts of aftermath.
By the look of things, they seemed ready to head home.
Linglong came out as well, surprised. She stopped a cultivator and found out they were indeed preparing to withdraw.
They’d stayed only because the Dragonblood Vine hadn’t been dealt with. Now that the Venerable had taken care of it, there was no reason to remain.
All the criminals had been caught, all the problems resolved—why stay in the mountains to be eyesores for the Spirit Beasts?
They’d better hurry and take the captives back for further questioning.
“When will the shixiong leave?”
“Some have already left early this morning, escorting the Magic Path prisoners. The rest will withdraw over the next couple of days.”
“Thank you, shixiong.” Linglong thanked him politely, then whispered to Hua Jian, “You show up, and everyone else leaves.”
Hua Jian didn’t protest—it really was her fault this time.
If she hadn’t brought the Venerable, the Protectorate Supervisor would have had to wait ten days for Wanling Sect to deal with the Dragonblood Vine.
After all, the Venerable herself had struggled to deal with the Dragonblood Vine, so expecting the Ling Emperor to do it in a few days was unrealistic.
“Linglong! Hua Jian! I finally found you!”
A lively voice interrupted Hua Jian’s thoughts.
Looking up, she saw Shiqi in martial attire waving at them.
Strangely, the Venerable wasn’t with her.
“She was with me last night, but at dawn, she said she had to leave for a bit and told me to stay here and not wander,” Shiqi explained.
Hua Jian had gone to Linglong’s room and never came out, so Shiqi stayed with the Venerable.
Being watched with such loving eyes all night had been a little terrifying—Shiqi didn’t want to experience it again.
Sometimes, too much parental care wasn’t a good thing.
“Perfect, we were just about to check on the little dragon we rescued. Shiqi, want to come?”
“Yes! Yes!”
……
“I didn’t expect you to act on your own. What, are you tired of these humans making a racket?”
A patch of shadow seeped from deep in the forest, taking the shape of a clawed hand reaching for the white-clad girl in the clearing.
Before it could touch her, a layer of white light blocked its way.
Sizzle, sizzle… faint sounds of burning echoed. The claw, thwarted, had to withdraw.
“Are you trying to expand your territory?” A cold gaze came from the shadows, watching the clusters of tiny white flowers at the girl’s feet.
It knew the Venerable’s identity and what the White Flowers signified.
The sea of white flowers blanketing the mountains seemed poised to expand.
“If you’re content to let this land be ruined, why shouldn’t I take over?” The Venerable didn’t deny the accusation.
Such was the way of Spirit Beast communication—straightforward as could be. I’m taking territory; if you object, fight me.
Besides, the Venerable was still fuming about the Dragonblood Vine and itching to take it out on the culprit—who’d just shown up.
The atmosphere grew tense, ready to explode into a battle at any moment.
“But this is the ‘Safe Zone’ marked out for those humans. Are you two really going to fight here?” Just then, a charming voice drifted out of the woods, interrupting the standoff.
The Water Serpent Spirit Lord, clad in blue, stepped from the forest and gently pressed her hand downward. “For my sake, can’t you two pretend nothing happened?”