Cultivating Immortality by Raising a Cat (GL) Chapter 80

The sudden thought that rose in her heart should have brought heat with it, but the reason that followed right after smashed it into coldness.
Yuan Zhaoyang moved her gaze away like a thief and no longer looked at Lin Mianmian’s lips, which today seemed to have a strange extra pull.
“Senior Sister? What is wrong? Did Senior Sister forget that yesterday, the fruit from that deer demon senior brother was already all taken away by Senior Sister?” Seeing Yuan Zhaoyang’s expression turn from pride to coldness, Lin Mianmian could not help reminding her. But she did not know that what Yuan Zhaoyang minded right now was not those few fruits from the deer demon at all.
“I did not forget…” Yuan Zhaoyang turned her face away and did not look at Lin Mianmian, answering at random.
What was going on? Why would she suddenly want to taste Lin Mianmian’s lips?
Could it be…
Yuan Zhaoyang’s face was a little pale. She ignored whatever Lin Mianmian was still softly coaxing her with and took out a large bowl of water from her storage bag. She condensed some crushed ice into it, raised her head, and drank.
The Clear Heart Mantra turned smoothly. In an instant, both body and mind cooled.
“Let me see.” Yuan Zhaoyang turned back and lightly pointed at the wrist where Lin Mianmian wore the jade bracelet.
Lin Mianmian’s voice, which had been changing methods to praise the wontons and fruit, stopped at once. But without the slightest hesitation, she stretched out her hand toward Yuan Zhaoyang.
Slender, fair, soft, and tender. Under the sunlight, it had a few more traces of gentle beauty… Yuan Zhaoyang could not help pinching the space between her brows hard, then focused her attention on the jade bracelet on Lin Mianmian’s wrist.
That was right. There was no unusual fragrance in the air, and the restrictions on the jade ring were all fine.
Everything was normal, just as Yuan Zhaoyang had expected.
And it was precisely this normality that most frightened the cat’s heart.
Since the restrictions were all fine, and she could not smell even a trace of that fragrance, where had her appetite for Lin Mianmian’s body come from?
Yuan Zhaoyang’s gaze drifted from Lin Mianmian’s wrist upward and once again landed on those glossy lips.
Indeed. They still looked very tasty.
Yuan Zhaoyang’s heart beat extremely loudly, but on her face, she worked hard not to let Lin Mianmian see anything strange.
Whether this thought of wanting to taste was something that had suddenly appeared today, or whether it had been quietly building over time and only now revealed itself, Yuan Zhaoyang could not tell. For the moment, she also could not think through where such a terrible thought had come from.
Something had appeared on Lin Mianmian that the jade ring could not suppress. That was truly awful. The only thing that still let the cat breathe a little was that although this thought existed, it was at least more controllable than the unusual fragrance that had once made the cat lose control.
She wanted to taste, but it had not reached the point where she had to taste, where not tasting would scratch at her heart and liver.
Could it be… that Lin Mianmian was truly the incarnation of cat food…
Yuan Zhaoyang thought of A-Bai’s joking words from long ago and felt both like crying and laughing in her heart.
“A-Bai gave me this jade bracelet. But after I put it on, I could not take it off.” Lin Mianmian carefully watched Yuan Zhaoyang, whose brows were furrowed one moment and eyes lowered the next. She hesitated and asked, “Is there something wrong with it?”
“There is no problem. Just keep wearing it.” Yuan Zhaoyang took a deep breath and signaled that Lin Mianmian could lower her hand.
Finding her tasty was fine. Having the thought of wanting to taste was also fine. As long as her self-control was strong enough, eating a person would absolutely never happen.
After the first shock, Yuan Zhaoyang seriously and solemnly completed her self-comfort.
“A-Bai said wearing this jade bracelet would help cultivation…” Lin Mianmian had asked A-Bai about it before too, but this answer had always felt a little wrong somewhere.
Yuan Zhaoyang nodded. “Wear it. There are benefits.” At the very least, it blocked that unusual fragrance and added to Yuan Zhaoyang’s self-control.
Lin Mianmian: “…” It still did not feel right.
“Earlier, I heard Feng Liang talk a little about what happened to you inside the array. The Iron-Inlaid Embroidered Stone Array has very few records in the textbooks. My personal note jade slips should have more about it. Why? Did you not find them?” Yuan Zhaoyang did not want the topic to stay on the jade bracelet for too long, so she casually found something else and turned the conversation away.
“We only started looking through those jade slips shortly before Senior Sister broke the array. Senior Sister has many personal note jade slips. Before I had time to find the ones about that array, the array was already broken.” Lin Mianmian did not keep tangling over the jade bracelet either. She followed Yuan Zhaoyang’s words and answered.
There was nothing wrong with the words, but Yuan Zhaoyang heard another layer in them. “You all, you… Why did you not let them search with you?”
“I did. I gave them the course jade slips. But for Senior Sister’s personal note jade slips, before getting Senior Sister’s permission, I did not dare take them out for others to read.” Lin Mianmian’s expression was normal and sincere.
It was indeed what Yuan Zhaoyang had heard. Yuan Zhaoyang’s heart moved slightly. Looking again at Lin Mianmian’s little face raised so earnestly, she could not help wanting to curse herself.
Look, what a good child. Yet she had actually wanted to eat her.
Her gaze drifted across those lips that still looked very tasty, and Yuan Zhaoyang could not help silently scolding herself a few more times.
“In the future, if you meet this kind of difficulty again…” Yuan Zhaoyang paused. Halfway through, she shook her head and changed her words. “No matter what situation you meet, the things I gave you are naturally things I hope you can use and that can protect you. Never mind lending those personal note jade slips to others. Even if they were all destroyed, as long as they could protect you for a moment, it would be worth it. You must remember this. Everything else is an external object. Only your life is most important.”
Yuan Zhaoyang’s expression was serious, her tone solemn, and her gaze fixed firmly on Lin Mianmian’s face.
Other than nodding, Lin Mianmian could only keep nodding.
“Do not answer me emptily. You must take my words into your heart.” When Yuan Zhaoyang thought that she was about to enter seclusion and might not come out for several months, she could not help making her tone heavier and repeating the instruction.
“I took them in.” Yuan Zhaoyang’s solemn manner made Lin Mianmian a little nervous too. Her body could not help tensing, and she sat a little straighter, nodding seriously.
“Let’s go. We will go to class first. As for Wang Minger and Wang Chuanying, I will handle it properly.” Yuan Zhaoyang stood and lightly waved her sleeve, signaling Lin Mianmian to come along.
Lin Mianmian obediently stood and followed. Her gaze circled Yuan Zhaoyang’s hanging hand, and her heart sighed a little. Except for Senior Sister’s moods being a little hard to read, sometimes happy and sometimes angry, she was truly one hundred percent good to her. Still, even this hard-to-read part was not completely impossible to understand… For example, before, when Senior Sister was in a happy mood, she often held Lin Mianmian’s hand and walked side by side with her. When she was not in a good mood, she would hold Lin Mianmian’s wrist instead, carrying a hint of guiding and restraining. If the two walked together with a slight distance between them, like now, that meant there was a little distance, like the half-teacher, half-student mode from when they had first met and now after Lin Mianmian had just been taught a lesson.
Even the most changeable and proud cat could have its mood and likes found from small details, let alone Senior Sister Yuan, who was only a slightly proud person. Senior Sister Yuan treated her so well. She also had to work hard from the small details and become a good junior sister who would not worry Senior Sister and whom Senior Sister would like! Lin Mianmian, who was working hard to sort out the connection between details and emotions, thought this.
Then, in the next second.
Senior Sister Yuan suddenly turned around. As if somewhat impatient, she grabbed Lin Mianmian’s hand and pulled her to her side. “Stay close. Class started a while ago. We need to hurry.”
Hm… So holding hands did not mean she was in a happy mood?
Lin Mianmian, whose hand was once again held by Yuan Zhaoyang, was a little dazed. So… Senior Sister really was a person even more changeable and proud than a cat…
On the way, perhaps because the soft little hand felt nice, Yuan Zhaoyang remembered something from the past two days and said, “When I took you around Great Lecture Hall Mountain earlier, at the sealed trial teleportation arrays, I gave you a few teleportation talismans. Those count as high-grade teleportation talismans. In the trial, you can use them to teleport directly out. In the Iron-Inlaid Embroidered Stone Array from before, they could also have teleported you out. But if you meet an even higher-grade array in the future, unless there is no other choice, waiting for rescue is more suitable. Still, if things truly cannot continue, like Meng Tianhe’s situation earlier, then you cannot worry about the chance of success. To save your life, you can only use them. But I think before I condense my golden core and leave seclusion, you will not meet any array they cannot handle. As for afterward, I will naturally find you higher-grade ones.”
“Meng Tianhe… Senior Sister, when you said cultivate the heart earlier, did you mean his suffocation was caused by his mind? But can a mental effect alone really make someone suffocate? At that time, we were all telling him he was fine, and that all of us could breathe…” Lin Mianmian could not help asking.
I am telling you a life-saving method, yet you are thinking about…
Hmph.
Yuan Zhaoyang gave Lin Mianmian a slanted glare. “The influence of the human heart is greater than you can imagine. For example, every time one advances to a major realm, there is more or less a chance that one must face one’s heart demon. I do not understand why Meng Tianhe is so fragile. But he was indeed not unable to breathe because of outside interference. As for what obstacle is in his heart, that is not something we can know. As for passing breath…”
Lin Mianmian blinked and listened seriously.
“Hmph…” Yuan Zhaoyang was not willing to blame her much over saving someone. All her many layers of displeasure condensed into one not-too-heavy snort. Holding Lin Mianmian’s hand, she could not help tightening her grip by two points.
Oh, the snort was very clear, and the grip was quite strong. This was a sign of unhappiness. Lin Mianmian added a note to the little Senior Sister observation book in her heart.
As for why she was unhappy…
Lin Mianmian said she was only a baby and did not understand.
When the two returned to the classroom, they saw the little green turtle lying in the very front row at once. Not far behind him, Feng Liang sat cross-legged. But Xiong Lanlan was not seen at a glance, and Wang Minger and Meng Tianhe were also absent.
The open-air classroom was so quiet that there was only the sound of the breeze brushing grass blades. Lin Mianmian did not feel it was suitable to ask more. Following the guidance of Yuan Zhaoyang’s gaze, she found a small empty space near Gui Changshou and squeezed herself in.
It had to be said that Yuan Zhaoyang’s class truly was, as her little friends had said inside the array earlier, very popular. There were about three times as many disciples sitting in this open-air classroom as there had been the previous day. Lin Mianmian could only be thankful that her current body was only fourteen or fifteen years old, allowing her to squeeze into a small gap in the front row.
As for why she did not go sit in the back where there was more open space, hehe, was she supposed to pretend not to see Senior Sister Yuan’s serious hint?
The disciples in the classroom had each been practicing spiritual energy circulation for a long time. Many had already entered a cultivation state. Only when Yuan Zhaoyang spoke did they slowly draw the spiritual energy back to their dantian and gradually stop.
Senior Sister Yuan’s class was still as clear and fascinating as before. Lin Mianmian had originally remembered that if she got the chance later, she should ask Gui Changshou about the others. But as she listened, she was drawn into the lesson by Yuan Zhaoyang and naturally set other matters aside.
If teaching could also have a state of exceeding one’s usual level, then this was likely Yuan Zhaoyang’s current state.
Since settling in the Five Elements Sect, over the past ten years and more, Yuan Zhaoyang had taught countless classes. She asked herself that she taught everything she could, and she could be considered very attentive. In class, she had received plenty of focus, gratitude, and praise from the disciples.
Only today, when her gaze roughly swept over the disciples in the classroom, there was always one figure. Every time she saw it, her heart felt warm, and even her teaching gained a few more points of passion and spirit.
Many disciples below had heard this class of Yuan Zhaoyang’s more than once. They had come with the purpose of hearing more, using more, and gaining more. Now, what they gained exceeded expectations, and their hearts grew even more excited. They secretly sighed at Yuan Zhaoyang’s deep foundation and made up their minds that for these few days of classes, they had to go early to take seats and not miss even one class.
Lin Mianmian was not like those who had come many times and had something to compare with, but this basic class on spiritual energy circulation was very useful to her.
In her previous life, during the apocalypse, the early awakening and use of abilities were all explored by each person alone. Even someone like Lin Mianmian, who worked for the base, had never received any useful guidance. Once there was that power in the body, use it. Once it was gone, wait. Once it recovered, keep using it. Simple, rough, direct… As for how to better control the ability inside the body, and how to make the ability better improve the body, those were things Lin Mianmian, as someone who farmed for the base, basically had not considered. After all, farming had already used up all her energy. How could she care about herself? Thinking now, if a person did not plan ahead, trouble would soon come. She herself had not been strong, yet she had worried about the world. She had truly been too simple.
The more Lin Mianmian listened to this spiritual energy circulation class, the more powerful she felt it was. After the many basics, all kinds of small tricks made her heart excited, making her wish she could immediately try them a few times. Especially later, Lin Mianmian vaguely felt that spiritual energy and ability circulation must have some shared and mutually supporting points. If she could restore the ability in her core, perhaps it could give her thirty-three percent spiritual root some extra help.
Lin Mianmian was naturally not the only one who could hardly wait to practice the knowledge Yuan Zhaoyang taught in class a few rounds.
Only, Yuan Zhaoyang had already used up a lot of class time earlier searching for Lin Mianmian. Now she wanted to teach more things, so she could only make the eager disciples hold it in. Once they held it in, they held it in until it was nearly night.
During class, they wanted to hurry and practice those small tricks. But when class ended, their hearts felt empty, as if they had not heard enough.
The disciples left slowly and sparsely. Yuan Zhaoyang had originally still been patient, wanting to wait until most people had left before speaking to Lin Mianmian. But after waiting a long time, not even half the disciples had left.
A cat’s patience… Oh, cats did not have such a thing as patience.
Yuan Zhaoyang used voice transmission to tell Lin Mianmian to follow, teleport to the Great Lecture Hall square, and then teleport to Clear Heart Hall. Then Yuan Zhaoyang left first.
Beside the teleportation array near Clear Heart Hall, Yuan Zhaoyang had waited only a few breaths before she became a little anxious. By reason, two simple teleports should have no problem, but Yuan Zhaoyang still felt uneasy.
If she had known, she would not have separated from Lin Mianmian just to keep her from receiving more attention.
Right now, the matter on Array Peak had not been settled yet. Yuan Zhaoyang felt some regret, and her heart grew more anxious.
Only when she saw the familiar person appear in the teleportation array did Yuan Zhaoyang’s heart slowly calm again.
Yuan Zhaoyang was busy telling Lin Mianmian to eat dinner at Clear Heart Hall, wait for Yuan Zhaoyang to come pick her up, and then leave. She did not notice at all how many times her hundred years of calm and self-control had been broken over this past half year. Nor did she notice when it had started, but she now almost wished she could tie that person to her belt for safety.
After being sent into Clear Heart Hall by Yuan Zhaoyang with repeated instructions and urging, Lin Mianmian turned back. Yuan Zhaoyang’s figure was already gone from outside the door.
Standing at the entrance of Clear Heart Hall, Lin Mianmian could not help turning her gaze, which could not find the person on the ground, toward the sky.
Among those streaks fading through the air, those moving points of light, which one belonged to Senior Sister Yuan?
Even though Yuan Zhaoyang had not said it clearly, Lin Mianmian guessed that if she did not come in, it was because she was going to handle Wang Chuanying’s matter. Only, when Lin Mianmian tried to persuade Yuan Zhaoyang that perhaps telling the Array Peak master would be enough, and that she should not directly confront Wang Chuanying’s side, Yuan Zhaoyang had glared at her with great displeasure and stopped her words.
So Lin Mianmian had no other way besides repeatedly telling Yuan Zhaoyang to be careful.
Blame it on her cultivation not being enough… Senior Sister Yuan had to take risks to protect her.
Although Yuan Zhaoyang was full of confidence and only said it would be fine, Wang Chuanying herself was not worth mentioning, but behind her stood a local Core Formation granduncle of the Five Elements Sect…
Lin Mianmian stood at the door for a long time, and her fists gradually clenched.
Unlike Lin Mianmian’s tangled worry, Yuan Zhaoyang truly did not feel that facing Wang Baiguang would bring any trouble.
Only, Lin Mianmian was involved, and Yuan Zhaoyang was about to enter seclusion. It was unavoidable that she had to consider more for Lin Mianmian’s next stretch of time in the Five Elements Sect. A-Bai’s playful nature was hard to restrain. Who knew when she would leave the sect to play or hunt for food… Oh, and write jade slips… If the trouble was not handled well, relying only on A-Bai was probably unreliable.
On Hengshui Peak, A-Bai, who was tidying all kinds of jade slips from her golden bell in the small courtyard, suddenly felt a chill on her back. It was as if a patch of fur on her back had suddenly gone bald, cold and bare. She could not help shrinking alertly into a ball. Even her two ears lay flat against her back, and the two black little eyes on the white soup dumpling stared tightly at the courtyard gate. Only after a long while passed and the courtyard gate did not move at all did the little rabbit gradually relax…
Thinking that she had to consider more for Lin Mianmian and leave some paths for later, Yuan Zhaoyang, who was stepping on a jade leaf and flying toward Array Peak, turned her foot and flew toward the main peak instead.
The main peak of the Five Elements Sect was where the sect master lived. It also served as the place for sect meetings, ceremonies, and receiving honored guests. As for other uses, naturally not everyone in the sect could know them.
In the inner valley, besides Hengshui Peak, where the loose cultivators stayed, the other peaks each had their own rules. The main peak naturally was not a place where anyone could go whenever they wished, and the sect master was not someone anyone could meet just because they wanted to.
Sending word was basic. What happened after that depended on the decision above.
But Yuan Zhaoyang had not come to request a meeting with the sect master.
At the foot of the main peak, after the message was passed up, Yuan Zhaoyang waited a short while. Then she saw the person she wanted to meet appear in a nearby teleportation array.
The little hamster was half the size of a palm, with a beige back and snow-white face and belly. Round, fluffy, and plump, with a tail so short it was almost invisible, she slowly waddled over from the teleportation array.
“Greetings, True Person Han.” Yuan Zhaoyang cupped her hands in salute. She had not formed her golden core yet and was still at Foundation Establishment. Also, she had not come to become enemies with True Person Han, so naturally she would not miss the surface courtesies.
“Mm.” The little hamster sat properly on the ground and waved her tiny paw. “No need to be so polite. You came to find me. What is it?”
Since Yuan Zhaoyang had come, she did not decorate the matter. She told True Person Han, from beginning to end, about the “good things” Wang Minger had done over the past half year. She also told her about the Iron-Inlaid Embroidered Stone Array this time and the involvement with Wang Chuanying.
That little hamster sat obediently on the ground. Her two eyes, not even as large as sesame seeds, also looked at Yuan Zhaoyang. But from somewhere, she took out a tiny comb about the size of one finger joint. As she listened, she held the comb with her small paws and combed the white fur on her belly.
That careless look made the cat want to stretch out a paw.
But as soon as she thought of Lin Mianmian, Yuan Zhaoyang could continue speaking calmly.
As expected, one’s attitude hinted at what would follow.
After the little hamster finished listening to Yuan Zhaoyang, she did put away the comb. But the moment she opened her mouth, she shifted all blame away cleanly. “I have heard a little about Minger’s matter. Of course, among those most basic arrays from before, I gave her a few myself. The child is young and took the things in storybooks as real. But in the end, it was also for a friend’s good. Originally, I thought the process was not important as long as the result was good, so I indulged her. Now it seems she was used by someone else. This was my oversight. These are my apology gifts for those little disciples, to calm their fright.” As the little hamster spoke, her small paw moved, and several boxes appeared on the ground.
Yuan Zhaoyang frowned slightly and did not move.
The little hamster did not mind Yuan Zhaoyang’s expression and continued, “But Wang Chuanying is Wang Baiguang’s grandniece. She did something wrong. Wang Baiguang and I are both Core Formation elders on Array Peak. As for Wang Chuanying using Wang Minger, I will naturally ask them for an explanation. But regarding Wang Chuanying almost harming those children, first, you can go find Wang Baiguang. Second, you can complain to the Array Peak master. What use is there in looking for me?”
Yuan Zhaoyang pressed her lips tight, and her brows slowly furrowed.
The little hamster tilted her head and looked at Yuan Zhaoyang. She could not tell whether Yuan Zhaoyang had listened to her advice. But she had already said what needed to be said, so she reached out a paw, patted the edge of the boxes in front of her, and turned to leave.
“True Person Han.” Yuan Zhaoyang spoke faintly.
“Aiya, I knew from your expression that you would not let me go after hearing advice.” The furball twisted and turned back. Her claws brushed over her ears several times. She lifted her head. “Say it. What do you want?”
“Will True Person Han truly not handle it?” Yuan Zhaoyang took out a peanut and bent down to offer it.
The little hamster reflexively took the peanut from Yuan Zhaoyang’s hand and skillfully stuffed the peanut, which was half as large as herself, completely into her mouth. Her already round cheek bulged out at once.
The entire series of food-storing movements ended as smoothly as flowing clouds and water. The little hamster froze as if struck by lightning, then spat the peanut from her cheek pouch back into her hand with a pfft. At that critical moment, the little hamster twisted her small paw. When she stood before Yuan Zhaoyang again, she had become a female cultivator in her early twenties, dressed in a light beige robe, hair combed into a skyward bun, and looking extremely gorgeous.
“What do you mean by this!” The female cultivator’s face flushed red. The hand holding the peanut used great force, and with a crack, the peanut split.
Yuan Zhaoyang: “…”
The female cultivator: “…”
“True Person Han need not be angry. I only wanted to invite True Person to eat some peanuts.” As Yuan Zhaoyang spoke, she took out another handful of peanuts from her storage bag and offered them.
True Person Han’s face turned even redder. It was unclear whether from anger or anger…
Originally, True Person Han could already be called beautiful as flowers and moonlight. Now, with a few more traces of color on her face, she gained even more charm.
Only, there was no one else here now. There was only Yuan Zhaoyang. It was like showing beauty to a blind person.
Yuan Zhaoyang did not care that True Person Han did not reach out to take them. She placed the peanuts in her hand on top of the boxes on the ground in front of True Person Han.
“Yuan Zhaoyang!” True Person Han said angrily.
“What?” Yuan Zhaoyang discovered that her cold self-control had returned at some point.
True Person Han looked at the peanuts on the boxes and was so angry she almost laughed. “What? I should be the one asking what you want, right? Must you make me stand up for you?”
“Otherwise, I can ask the sect master to stand up for me too.” Yuan Zhaoyang looked toward the main peak.
“You are not unaware of the Five Elements Sect’s current situation. The sect master is so busy, yet you want to use these matters to trouble her?” True Person Han’s face gradually cooled.
“These matters? Xiong Lanlan and the others are Five Elements Sect disciples. They ran into a life-and-death matter, and no one can make decisions or seek justice for them. Since no one on Array Peak handles matters, naturally we can only rely on the sect master.” Yuan Zhaoyang spoke lightly, but each word struck True Person Han.
True Person Han glared angrily at Yuan Zhaoyang. Yuan Zhaoyang’s gaze was clear and unmoved.
After a moment, True Person Han lowered her head like a leaking balloon. “Fine. I will go speak to Wang Baiguang and have him properly discipline his grandniece.”
Yuan Zhaoyang shook her head. “Not only discipline. This time, Wang Chuanying deliberately framed fellow disciples. If they had not been found later, the Iron-Inlaid Embroidered Stone Array would have been enough to take their lives after three days.”
True Person Han took a deep breath. “You mean you want Wang Chuanying expelled from the Five Elements Sect?”
“Are the sect rules fake?” Yuan Zhaoyang looked toward the main peak again.
“If Wang Chuanying had personally acted and harmed the lives of fellow disciples, then naturally she could smoothly be expelled from the sect. But she only used Wang Minger. She can even say that after seeing other fellow disciples give Wang Minger arrays, she gave one too to show friendliness, an array that even she herself did not know was not actually a basic array.” True Person Han’s anger also scattered, and she seriously analyzed it with Yuan Zhaoyang. “This matter involves many people. Even I am among them. I am not afraid of being involved, but by then, I also will not have the standing to pressure Wang Baiguang.”
“Then lock Wang Chuanying on Array Peak. Until Foundation Establishment, she is not allowed to leave Array Peak. If she has any crooked thoughts again, then even if the matter passes through thousands and tens of thousands of hands, she must still be expelled from the sect.” Yuan Zhaoyang seemed to take a very large step back.
True Person Han looked at Yuan Zhaoyang and frowned, not speaking for a moment.
Yuan Zhaoyang was not anxious either. She only slowly looked toward the main peak again.
“If it is only this, I can agree to you now.” True Person Han knew Yuan Zhaoyang’s later demand was not too excessive. Even Wang Baiguang would not have too much objection to this handling.
“As for Wang Minger, True Person Han should let her read fewer storybooks.” Yuan Zhaoyang took out another handful of peanuts and placed them on the boxes. She bent in a salute and prepared to leave.
“Wait.” This time, True Person Han could not help calling her back.
“These peanuts truly are for you to eat.” Yuan Zhaoyang stopped and looked sincere. “Although they are food A-Bai got from the mortal world, the taste is still decent. If True Person likes them, after I leave seclusion, I will bring you more.”
“When one eats someone’s food, one’s mouth goes soft. Your peanuts are not so easy to eat.” True Person Han muttered softly, but in the end, she still could not help asking, “Actually, with the demand you brought up, even if you went directly to Wang Baiguang, he might not refuse. Why did you come to me?”
“The Array Peak master has been in seclusion for many years and only holds the name of peak master. Though matters on Array Peak seem on the surface to be managed by several elders together, the one who can truly do things is only you, True Person Han. After all, the great array protecting the Five Elements Sect now relies on True Person Han alone to keep running. The other elders naturally have to give you some respect. If I went to speak, they might push me around a few times. Although the matter should be settled in the end, why would I not take a shortcut if there is one? Besides, if I speak, it can only solve the matter for the moment. If True Person Han speaks, then for Wang Baiguang’s side, it will always be a restraint. Whether Wang Baiguang wants to go back on his word later, or Wang Chuanying wants to come up with some bad idea again, they will both have to remember that True Person Han is above them.” Clearly she was borrowing someone else’s strength, yet Yuan Zhaoyang said it with full confidence.
This time, True Person Han truly laughed from anger. “You even know about the sect-protecting array. Since you know, you should also understand how important the things I am busy with every day are to the safety of the Five Elements Sect, yet you still want me to handle this matter.”
Without the influence of the tasty-looking Lin Mianmian in front of her, Yuan Zhaoyang was much calmer. Being challenged by True Person Han this way, and seeing that the matter had already been mostly settled, she could endure enough to explain a few words. “The sect-protecting array is naturally a major matter connected to the safety of everyone in the Five Elements Sect. But the safety of other disciples is safety. Is the safety of the few disciples inside the Iron-Inlaid Embroidered Stone Array not safety too?”
“Enough. I cannot argue with you. Go.” True Person Han held her forehead and admitted defeat. She tapped the boxes on the ground. “Here, take these. In the end, I failed to teach my disciple properly and dragged them into trouble. Let these be my apology gifts.”
“Would these apology gifts not show more sincerity if Wang Minger delivered them?” This time, Yuan Zhaoyang truly thought for True Person Han’s sake. After all, Wang Chuanying was punished. If nothing happened to Wang Minger, that would not be reasonable either. If True Person Han offered some things here, together with the excuse that a five- or six-year-old child was young and ignorant, it would be more reasonable.
Once Yuan Zhaoyang brought this up, True Person Han also heard some meaning in it. For a moment, she did not know whether she should keep being angry at this person. Say Yuan Zhaoyang made no sense, yet she made quite a bit of sense. Say Yuan Zhaoyang did not consider True Person Han’s side, yet she had considered it rather well. Truly, even being angry was hard to do properly.
“Then later, after Wang Chuanying is handled, I will have Minger deliver them.” True Person Han did not argue back and forth with Yuan Zhaoyang anymore. With a wave of her hand, she took the boxes and the peanuts into her storage bag. Only, at the end of the matter, True Person Han was still unwilling to have spent the whole conversation losing. “Speaking of which, you have always only taught in Great Lecture Hall. You have always been fair and never mixed into sect matters. Why do you care so much about this matter this time? Not only did you stand up, you also forced me to act and press Wang Baiguang into standing up.”
“They are all disciples I led into the sect. Naturally, I should look after them a little.” Yuan Zhaoyang’s heart tightened, but nothing showed on her face. Her answer was very ordinary.
“Is that so? Only because you led them into the sect?” True Person Han smiled. Once her anger scattered, her face carried a few traces of delicate softness, and her smile was especially charming. “I heard Minger say that you are especially good to a few of this batch of disciples.”
Sure enough, was it still too obvious?
Yuan Zhaoyang naturally would not admit it. She only turned the topic and said, “This is my first time leading new disciples into the sect, so I care a little. Back then, when the sect master led you, True Person Han, into the sect, though you did not become master and disciple, were you not also very good to the sect master?”
The smile on True Person Han’s face stiffened, and her eyes sank at once. “You have only been in the Five Elements Sect for a little over ten years, yet you know quite a bit about those old matters.”
Yuan Zhaoyang seemed not to hear the displeasure in True Person Han’s tone. Instead, like a cat teasing a mouse, she curved her lips slightly. “Did I say something wrong? Is True Person not good to the sect master at all? True Person sacrificed almost all of her cultivation time, doing with Core Formation strength what should be done by Nascent Soul, only to help the sect master support the sect-protecting array. Is that not good enough?”
“You…” True Person Han’s expression changed. She unconsciously glanced at the main peak, then quickly brought her gaze back to Yuan Zhaoyang. “What nonsense are you saying? I accepted the great array for the safety of all the disciples of the Five Elements Sect.”
“From what happened just now, I did not feel True Person cares that much about the safety of all the disciples of the Five Elements Sect.” Yuan Zhaoyang looked honest in a way that made True Person Han’s heart tremble.
True Person Han was choked speechless by Yuan Zhaoyang’s words.
“So, back then, True Person was led into the Five Elements Sect by the sect master and was able to glimpse the great path of cultivation. Naturally, you care more about the sect master. And I, for the first time, had the chance to bring people and demons from the mortal world into the Five Elements Sect and guide them onto the path of cultivation. Compared with other people, of course I pay more attention to them.” Yuan Zhaoyang had only wanted to prove this point and did not want to explore a hamster’s past, so she stopped at the right time.
But True Person Han, whose expression changed again and again several times before her, clearly did not think so.
Just as Yuan Zhaoyang was still waiting for True Person Han to discuss a few more lines, True Person Han formed a hand seal and changed back into her hamster body.
“The matter you asked me to handle, wait for my news today. As for your other matters, I do not want to think too much or manage too much. I only hope you still remember that these disciples who entered the sect more than half a year ago are all still young. For immortal cultivators, age and appearance are not especially sensitive, but no matter what you think, the other person is still small.” The plump hamster’s gaze was deep. She tapped the ground, and several white jade porcelain bottles stood steadily there. “These are for you. As for my matters, I also hope you do not think too much or manage too much.”
After saying this, without waiting for Yuan Zhaoyang to speak, the plump hamster turned and ran. With a speed more than a hundred times faster than when she had come, she darted into the teleportation array and vanished.
What was that…
Yuan Zhaoyang frowned and picked up the white jade bottles on the ground. She opened one and saw two or three drops of tender green liquid inside each bottle. Then she smelled it… Breath-Wind Rock Liquid, an excellent artifact-refining material. Altogether, there were more than ten drops here. Added together, they were worth one high-grade spirit stone. That was almost one-third of a Core Formation elder’s official yearly salary…
What, had she been paid to keep quiet? But she clearly had not said anything.
Yuan Zhaoyang did not quite understand the things True Person Han had said at the end, about her matters and Yuan Zhaoyang’s matters, about being young and still small. But she thought it was probably nothing major. These Breath-Wind Rock Liquids could be returned to True Person Han the next time they met. In any case, this trip could be considered to have settled Wang Chuanying’s matter, and Yuan Zhaoyang’s heart dropped by more than half.
In the end, her cultivation was not enough. Right now, if she wanted to protect Lin Mianmian, she still had to think of every possible method and even bribe that plump hamster… Once she condensed her golden core and also became a Core Formation True Person, even without True Person Han’s restraint, Wang Baiguang would still have to worry three points.
But speaking of which, it was strange. Did cats in the mortal world not eat mice… Mice were also a kind of cat food, right? But when she looked at True Person Han, she did not feel the slightest desire to eat. Just thinking of that fluff… getting close to the mouth… Ugh… terrifying…
As for Han the hamster, she returned all the way to the main peak and happened to meet the sect master checking spiritual plants in the courtyard.
Seeing the little hamster scurry past, the sect master reached out, and the whole little hamster landed in her hand.
“Yaoyao, why are you running so fast? Did you not see me?” After saying this, the sect master leaned close and sniffed the plump hamster, her face puzzled. “Why do you smell like mortal-world five-spice?”
“Probably because I ate a five-spice peanut just now…” The little hamster twisted in the sect master’s hand. “Put me down. What kind of propriety is this?”
“Five-spice peanut…” The sect master seemed not to hear the little hamster’s prim words and smiled. “No wonder you smell very tasty.”
Han the hamster: “…”