Sect Master Jiang’s words were a bit biased.
The lazy one in the Shasheng Sect was clearly herself.
Senior Sister Wen could be described as “handling a myriad of affairs every day,” and she didn’t have much time to teach Yan Huirou.
But given the Sect Master’s attitude towards Yan Huirou, Senior Sister Wen had put this matter on her urgent agenda.
Jiang Xidai had finally returned to—
—the days where she didn’t see that little girl much.
It was just like the first month when Yan Huirou had just arrived at the Shasheng Sect.
There were still three years until the mission node. She could take the time to recuperate, especially the damage to her heart meridian that she hadn’t paid much attention to before.
Jiang Xidai had rarely taken care of herself like this, but ever since she had met the “system” and Yan Huirou, she had found that her disasters were like a series of mountains and rivers, endlessly stretching into the distance, with no end in sight for the time being.
It was better to recuperate well.
Who knew what else would happen with Yan Huirou.
She sat in the main hall of the Shasheng Sect and began to meditate, feeling a long-lost peace.
But after a day of floating life and leisure, she hadn’t even had half a day of peace—
Wen Xianyin came again.
“Sect Master.” Wen Xianyin reported in a timely manner, “Miss Yan has almost achieved Qi Induction.”
“Mm.”
Jiang Xidai sat quietly with her eyes closed. “Continue to supervise her. Don’t let her rest. I’ve said, she needs to strive for perfection. It’s fine to torment her to death.”
“But… Sect Master.”
Wen Xianyin was a little hesitant. “Miss Yan’s foundation in martial arts is not very good, and I can’t teach her swordsmanship hand in hand. The progress in this area is too slow, almost non-existent.”
Jiang Xidai: “Why can’t you teach her swordsmanship hand in hand?”
Is there even a need to ask?
That was naturally because Miss Yan was the woman the Sect Master had taken a fancy to. Even if Wen Xianyin had a hundred more guts, she didn’t want to cause any misunderstandings.
She still had to make a living in the Shasheng Sect for the rest of her life.
Wen Xianyin knelt down with a thud and said respectfully, “Women should not be intimate with each other.”
“…”
Jiang Xidai opened her eyes in suspicion. “Since when did I hear that you had this particularity?”
“Sect Master,” Wen Xianyin said with a straight face, “it’s a habit I’ve recently acquired.”
The woman on the throne changed her meditation posture, her toes landing in front of her as she stood up, her red dress trailing on the ground.
She slowly approached Wen Xianyin, walked a small circle around her, and stood with her hands behind her back, stopping there.
“Recently?” Jiang Xidai said, “What a strange habit.”
She looked at her disciple thoughtfully for a while, then suddenly raised Wen Xianyin’s chin with great interest. “What? Have you fallen in love with some woman?”
Wen Xianyin forced a stiff smile.
She knew that her Sect Master—had not yet gotten over the shadow left by Pavilion Lord Zhan, and her mind was full of love and affection.
As the saying goes, the word “love” is the most misleading. Fortunately, Miss Yan was like a timely rain, saving their unusually devoted Sect Master.
Wen Xianyin’s rebellious words, she definitely wouldn’t dare to say them in front of Jiang Xidai. She only said vaguely, “I am dedicated to serving the Sect Master, and I don’t have too many thoughts in that regard.”
This appearance, in the end, made Jiang Xidai’s interest wane.
Jiang Xidai let go of her, and her red sleeve fell. She continued to stand with her hands behind her back, pondered for a moment, and said in a faint voice with her eyes downcast:
“You useless thing.”
Wen Xianyin listened obediently. When the Sect Master said things that seemed to be persuading herself, she always let them go in one ear and out the other, and would chime in at the right time. “Yes, I am after all untalented and unlearned, naturally not as wise as the Sect Master.”
“Could it be that I, the master of a sect, have to personally teach that little girl swordsmanship?”
“Miss Yan’s identity is special, after all,” Wen Xianyin hinted.
Jiang Xidai thought for a moment but didn’t quite grasp the deeper meaning of her disciple’s words. She just felt that what Wen Xianyin said also made some sense.
That girl was, after all, a daughter of fortune. It seemed normal for her to be a little more special than others.
Wen Xianyin struck while the iron was hot. “Doesn’t the Sect Master want to torment Miss Yan? When I do it, because of my limited perspective, I always feel that it’s a bit too light, and I’m afraid I can’t satisfy the Sect Master.”
These words were like a balm to the liver and lungs, catering to a certain woman’s—heart.
“She’s getting off easy.”
Jiang Xidai finally came to this conclusion.
She picked up the Soft Red Ten-foot sword and walked gracefully towards the maple forest.
Regardless of the season, with spiritual energy to nurture them, the three thousand red maples on the Shasheng Sect were still so vibrant, like a roll of red silk, almost illuminating half of the pavilion in the distance.
Yan Huirou held a light wooden sword in her hand and was waving it a little uncoordinatedly. Her movements weren’t ugly, but they were stiff and lacked any strength. Between a few moves, it was very obvious—she really hadn’t exercised much for a long time.
Jiang Xidai stood quietly in the pavilion, watching her stumble through a set of sword techniques.
When the girl’s hands followed, her feet wouldn’t; when her feet followed, her hand gestures would be in a mess.
Yan Huirou was as clumsy as a stiff string puppet. Once she moved, the only thing worth looking at on her entire body was her exquisite skin.
Jiang Xidai’s eyes showed a hint of mockery.
Is this the result of this little girl’s one day of practice?
The female lead’s talent is nothing special.
Yan Huirou had not yet sensed Jiang Xidai’s approach. She didn’t know if it was because she wasn’t using her strength correctly, but her raised wrist trembled like a maple leaf in the autumn wind, unable to produce any sense of elegance.
Just as she was concentrating, a soft fragrance brushed past her ear, and a low gloomy voice blew past. “You’ve practiced in vain. Not a single sword strike has hit the mark.”
In the next moment, her wrist was grabbed and held steady.
Yan Huirou’s whole body stiffened. She turned her head and saw the woman’s profile.
But at this moment, Jiang Xidai was not smiling. Her eyes were half-closed, which made her look even more stunningly beautiful and deadly, giving Yan Huirou a shock.
“You should understand the internal energy by now?”
Her trembling was steadily held by her.
Jiang Xidai guided her hand, and with a flick of her sleeve, she performed a starting move, swift and sharp.
“Like this. Understand?”
Yan Huirou: “I… what should I understand?”
The female lead looked at her with a clear gaze, softly staring at her.
“…”
Jiang Xidai wanted to strangle this useless little face again.
Yan Huirou was also a little embarrassed. She lowered her head slightly and said in a gentle and obedient voice, “Of course, I can’t compare to your natural talent. Sect Master Jiang, actually, I remember every move, but I just can’t execute them properly. Can you teach me more?”
She handed out her wooden sword, but Jiang Xidai didn’t even look at it.
The soft sword in Jiang Xidai’s hand flew over and slapped the back of Yan Huirou’s hand. With just that light tap, Yan Huirou’s hand was completely unsteady, and the sword in her hand actually fell.
Jiang Xidai gently kicked it, and the wooden sword rolled away, disappearing into the grass.
She said with disgust, “What a childish thing to use.”
Jiang Xidai took out an iron sword from her storage ring and, without another word, threw it to Yan Huirou. “Use this one.”
But the delicate and weak female lead hurriedly caught the iron sword. Before she could even use much strength in her hands, she was pulled down by the heavy sword, her waist collapsing.
The tip of the sword was stuck in the ground.
Yan Huirou tried to pull it out for a long time but it didn’t budge. She even worked up a sweat. Her face showed more embarrassment. She let out a light breath, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and looked up at Jiang Xidai for help. “Sect Master?”
“…Forget it.”
Jiang Xidai glanced at her. She no longer had any expectations for Yan Huirou. She reached out her hand and summoned it, and the iron sword was in her palm.
The thing that Yan Huirou couldn’t pull out with both hands was more than nimble in Jiang Xidai’s hand.
“Watch. I don’t have the patience to teach you a third time.”
Yan Huirou nodded and held her breath, watching the woman perform the sword dance seriously.
Jiang Xidai’s swordsmanship was less of a “dance” and more straightforward.
Her every move was decisive and without any unnecessary frills. The moves were also very simple, every sword strike a killing technique aimed at the vitals.
The swordsmanship was clean and neat, yet not without elegance. The sharp sword wind she stirred up was like a wave.
One wave after another, one wave pushing the other, gradually growing in momentum, like a howling wind, making the entire maple forest rustle in response, as if it were wailing.
Whoosh—
The wind was howling.
One wave pushed forward, and another came back. A gentle breeze brushed past her face, scattering countless maple leaves that should have fallen in late spring, brushing past the tips of her hair.
Jiang Xidai’s crimson robes were wide open, entangled with her raven-black hair and the orange-red maple leaves.
She finished the last move and said sideways, “Do you remember it clearly?”
It was very quiet around, with no other sound besides the wind.
Yan Huirou was stunned for a long time.
“Hmm?” Jiang Xidai saw that she didn’t answer, just stood there silently, and found it rather strange.
“…So beautiful. Like a startled swan’s reflection.”
After a long time, Yan Huirou recited a line of poetry in a literary tone. The line, held in her mouth, seemed to have floated out like a dream.
The young girl’s temperament was gentle and elegant. Even if she said such a thing for no reason, it didn’t seem out of place, as if it were completely natural.
“You only remembered that line of poetry?”
The woman slowly walked over and snorted, but this time she didn’t seem to be angry.
That pair of peach blossom-shaped eyes curved up, and her gaze swept over Yan Huirou’s face. “Useless. Yan Huirou, you are the dumbest one I’ve ever taught.”
She smiled again.
Her heart pounded in her chest, like an egg in the primordial chaos, the crack on its shell spreading a little more.
Yan Huirou unknowingly curved her eyebrows and eyes. “It’s good to be a little dumb. Then I can always see you.”
“You’re saying those pretty words to coax people again.” Jiang Xidai said, “You’re a little girl of this age, how did you learn such a bad habit? I’m much older than you. You say such things to everyone, aren’t you ashamed?”
“I thought,” Yan Huirou’s expression didn’t change, “learning to express one’s affection is a good thing. Besides, Sect Master Jiang herself is worthy of being liked.”
Jiang Xidai wanted to turn her expression three parts colder, but these words were really comforting to hear. Her brow unknowingly raised, and she looked at Yan Huirou from bottom to top, saying, “With your little bit of strength, let alone learning the sword, you can’t learn anything. That’s enough for today. Tomorrow—”
The woman turned her back. “Little girl, you’ll have a hard time tomorrow.”
