Right after, Xuan Ya lowered her head to look at Lu Qiancha, who was finally settling down in her arms.
Her tone softened ever so slightly, “When you were in the Northern Territory, did you slack off in your cultivation?”
“Mmm….”
Lu Qiancha tilted her little head, subconsciously put her index finger in her mouth as she pondered. After a moment, her eyes lit up, and she raised her tiny hand, answering seriously, “I practiced diligently!”
“Good.”
Xuan Ya’s expression eased a little, showing her approval.
Then she gently tapped Lu Qiancha’s finger out of her mouth, her tone filled with undeniable authority as she instructed, “From now on, no more chewing on your fingers. If I ever catch you again—”
She paused, her gaze sharpening, “I won’t let it slide. Remember that?”
“Oh….” Lu Qiancha nodded her little head as if she understood, her big eyes blinking. It was anyone’s guess how much she actually took in.
Seeing Lu Qiancha agree, Xuan Ya decided not to press the matter further. Her gaze shifted to Ling Wanbai, the equally quiet, gray-furred little wolf beside Xun Xue.
Her brow furrowed ever so slightly as she muttered under her breath, “Why’d you bring back another one?”
She felt as though Tianquan Peak was turning into a wolf clan sanctuary—one shows up today, another tomorrow. At this rate, in a few years, Tianquan Peak would have to be renamed Sirius Peak.
Afterward, Xuan Ya lifted a hand and pointed at Ling Wanbai from afar. She looked down at Lu Qiancha in her arms, “Who is this little fellow?”
Lu Qiancha followed her master’s pointing finger and, without hesitation, replied, “That’s Mother!”
She thought Xuan Ya was referring to Xun Xue.
Xuan Ya: “”
She was silent for a while, utterly speechless. Then, with patience, she corrected her, “I’m asking about the smaller one.”
As she spoke, Xuan Ya’s finger remained pointed at Ling Wanbai, who was beside Xun Xue.
“Oh….” Lu Qiancha realized, then pouted and offered a comment, “That’s the small-fry Ritualist.”
“…Don’t insult others.” Xuan Ya pinched Lu Qiancha’s soft lips with two fingers, not too hard nor too soft, as a light reprimand. Then she asked seriously, “Speak properly. What’s her name and status?”
“Mmm…” With her mouth pinched, Lu Qiancha’s voice was a little muffled, but she still replied decently, “She’s called Ling Wanbai… she’s a Ritualist from the Northern Territory’s Wolf Clan.”
“Ritualist…”
Xuan Ya repeated in a low voice, pausing as if in thought, then gently shook her head. So be it—just another mouth to feed, after all. Since her eldest disciple brought her back, all guests are welcome.
Afterward, Xun Xue led the new Ritualist Ling Wanbai to settle in her own room.
Xuan Ya, meanwhile, held Lu Qiancha and stood in the courtyard, overseeing Gantang as she finished the remaining two thousand sword strikes.
“Hoo—ha—”
Gantang finally finished her practice, a light sweat beading on her forehead as she gasped for breath, steadying her energy.
Her gaze shifted, landing on the adorable and well-behaved little wolf cub in Xuan Ya’s arms. Her eyes lit up instantly.
“Master!” she called out with hopeful excitement, “Senior Brother is back! Can I hold her? I haven’t seen Senior Brother in months—I missed her so much!”
Before Xuan Ya could respond—
“Hmph!” Lu Qiancha put on a look of disdain, lifted her little foot, and with a “smack” kicked the hem of Gantang’s robe at the knee, leaving a small gray footprint.
Immediately, she turned away, burying her whole head into Xuan Ya’s embrace, a muffled voice emerging, “Not letting you hold me!”
Gantang: “?”
She looked at Lu Qiancha in utter confusion, completely baffled. At this moment, her little Senior Brother seemed inexplicably hostile towards her.
“Senior Brother…” Gantang edged closer cautiously, a little aggrieved, and asked softly, “Did I upset you somehow?”
“No.” Lu Qiancha replied crisply and decisively, not even lifting her head.
“Eh? Then… why won’t you let me hold you?” Gantang, unwilling to give up, gazed at Lu Qiancha with big, pitiful eyes, trying to melt her resolve with sympathy.
The result—
Lu Qiancha suddenly slid out of Xuan Ya’s arms. Without a word, she landed on the ground and stamped a perfectly symmetrical footprint on Gantang’s other clean shoe.
Then, with a “whoosh,” she darted behind Xuan Ya, poking out just half her little head and one blue eye, glaring at Gantang with intense wariness as if the latter were some terrifying beast.
“???”
Gantang’s face froze completely. Now she was a hundred percent sure Senior Brother was unhappy. Yet no matter how she racked her brain, she couldn’t figure out what she’d done wrong.
A huge wave of grievance and confusion welled up inside her.
In the end, Gantang could only silently brush off the two glaring little footprints from her robe and shoes, bow to Xuan Ya, and leave the courtyard in dejection, her entire figure shrouded in gray loneliness.
Xuan Ya watched the scene unfold, just as puzzled. She remembered the two disciples getting along fairly well in the past, the occasional bickering but nothing serious. How had things come to this…
She pondered for a while, and could only conclude that her mischievous little disciple had somehow managed to annoy her increasingly childish older disciple.
With that thought, Xuan Ya glanced thoughtfully in the direction Gantang had disappeared, then lowered her hand and gently patted the little wolf cub hiding behind her legs.
Her tone took on a protective air, “Qiancha, if Gantang bullies you, remember to tell me. I’ll teach her a lesson for you.”
“Okay~” Lu Qiancha answered dreamily, though inwardly a little confused. Wasn’t she the eldest disciple, and strong at that? How could Junior Sister bully her? Master sure worries too much.
“Oh, right,” Xuan Ya remembered the main matter, and led Lu Qiancha by the hand towards her own room in the northern wing, “The Dao Robe I had someone make for you has arrived. Come with me to fetch it.”
“Thank you, Master!”
Lu Qiancha’s spirits lifted instantly at the mention of the Dao Robe. She nodded happily and thanked her, then bounced along after Xuan Ya into the room.
Xuan Ya’s room was as plain and cool as her personality. Apart from the standard furnishings distributed by Tiangong Peak, it held only a simple tea set and a meditation cushion—no extra decorations.
Yet to the endlessly curious little wolf cub, this almost barren room seemed full of novelty.
Lu Qiancha’s bright blue eyes sparkled as she explored, poking at the table corners and tapping at the cabinets, eager to investigate everything.
“Qiancha,” Xuan Ya led her to a chair, her voice gentle but unmistakably commanding, “Sit here and don’t move about. I’ll fetch your things from the back—won’t be long.”
Lu Qiancha replied obediently, pushing herself onto the chair. Her little legs, clad in white stockings, dangled in midair as she swung them idly back and forth.
The tips of her tiny shoes traced carefree arcs in the air as she waited for her master’s return.
“Okay!”
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