The Young Lady Only Wants to Cultivate Immortality Chapter 14

The next morning, the faint sunlight filtered through the window lattice and fell upon the tall mercury mirror at the foot of the bed. The person in the mirror yawned deeply.
A’Ling forced her eyelids open, looked at herself in the mirror, rubbed away the dark circles under her eyes, and slapped her face a few times to properly wake up.
It felt like she had just closed her eyes and dawn had already broken. A’Ling put on her outer robes and glanced at the three-foot square empty space behind the mirror.
The corner, which had previously been empty, was now densely piled with misty feathers all over the floor.
A’Ling was truly amused. Waking up from this sleep, the misty feathers on the ground were so numerous it looked as if a chicken had been plucked bald.
Last night, she had stubbornly kept listening, always thinking that the next Phoenix Feather message might contain important information. So she listened until past midnight, listening to Gu Jingyang’s two pet turtles fighting.
Starting from when a turtle named ‘Wryneck’ stretched its neck and bit another named ‘Short Leg’, until ‘Short Leg’ beat ‘Wryneck’ to the point where it no longer dared to stretch its neck.
A’Ling stubbornly listened to message after message, until finally, seeing the misty feathers made her furious. She simply slapped them away. Before one feather’s message was finished, the sound from the next scattered feather would begin.
With one message following another so quickly, her listening speed couldn’t even keep up with Gu Jingyang’s message sending speed.
Finally, upon hearing that ‘Short Leg’ had won, she was utterly enraged. She threw away the Phoenix Feather Gu Jingyang had given her, punched the quilt fiercely twice, and ignoring Gu Jingyang, she immediately fell asleep.
Waking up this morning and seeing it, she was so angry she laughed. Looking at the misty feathers covering the floor, A’Ling’s mind wandered. If she were to sleep for a month, Gu Jingyang’s Phoenix Feather messages would surely bury her.
“Too terrifying.” A’Ling got goosebumps all over, and, out of sight, out of mind, swept all the misty feathers into a corner.
She quietly calculated in her mind: She had to buy a sound-eating bird. She really didn’t want to hear about how turtles wrestled by swinging their necks anymore, otherwise, she feared she wouldn’t be able to resist wringing Gu Jingyang’s neck.
A’Ling took a deep breath, her fingers deftly tied her sash. She left her room and headed to the dining hall.
Seeing the dining table empty and hearing that Shi Qingqian had already finished her meal and left, A’Ling’s mood finally brightened.
Her appetite even improved slightly, and much of her morning’s gloom lifted.
Sun Juhao saw A’Ling was up. She went to get her a bowl of mung bean, lily, and lotus seed porridge. As she handed it over, she began talking about the wall in the courtyard.
“‘A’Ling, stop fooling around. If the Master sees this, you’ll surely get a beating. Think of a way to quickly wipe them off.'” Sun Juhao felt anxious just looking at it. It had given her quite a fright yesterday.
A’Ling took a sip of the porridge, warming her stomach. She said indifferently, “‘Don’t worry, Aunt Sun, it’ll naturally disappear in three days.'” Counting from yesterday, it’ll be gone by tomorrow.
Sun Juhao wasn’t comforted and remained worried: “‘What if the Master comes today?'” Given Huo Zhen’s temperament, Sun Juhao couldn’t even imagine how angry he would be seeing those words calling him ‘dog poop’.
Last time, she had been scared unconscious by the enraged Huo Zhen. She still felt lingering fear.
A’Ling snorted coldly: “‘If he comes today, he’ll definitely be here to cause trouble. Why bother wiping it off?'” Either way, it’ll be a beating, so it might as well be like this, making Huo Zhen unhappy too.
Sun Juhao couldn’t refute that. Master Huo indeed rarely came over; usually, if there was something, he’d summon people. Especially after Qingqian changed her name, he came even less.
She sighed. That child Qingqian was also pitiful. A’Ling suffered when she was little, but where had Qingqian enjoyed any fortune? Alas.
As a servant, it wasn’t her place to say much about the Master’s affairs. She remembered the item Qingqian had given her that morning, quickly took it out, and handed it to A’Ling.
“‘This is what Qingqian asked me to give you this morning.'”
The moment A’Ling heard it was Shi Qingqian’s item, she didn’t want to take it. But glancing at what Aunt Sun held, she found it familiar.
Wasn’t that her money pouch? It even had juice from Jujube fruit on it, which she had accidentally stained it with before leaving yesterday.
But she had clearly given this money pouch to Jin Siliu.
A’Ling took the money pouch and glanced at it. It truly was one she had given away. Not a single spiritual stone inside was missing or added.
“‘Shi Qingqian gave this to you, and told you to give it to me?'” A’Ling asked.
Sun Juhao nodded.
“‘She didn’t say anything?'” A’Ling asked again.
Sun Juhao nodded again: “‘She just said it was yours and asked me to give it to you.'”
A’Ling clutched the money pouch in her hand, her heart feeling suffocated. These were the spiritual stones she had given to Jin Siliu. Had Jin Siliu just passed them on to Shi Qingqian?
She thought of the tattered shoes on Jin Siliu’s feet. She coldly snorted to herself, ‘How shameless! She’s fallen into such despair, yet she still eagerly gives these few spiritual stones to Shi Qingqian?’
A’Ling’s lips curled into a sneer, a cold laugh escaping her. Shi Qingqian, who had grown up in luxury with no worries about food or clothing, would never care for such meager things.
No wonder she had Aunt Sun return it. It was clearly a sign of disdain, and a way to mock her at the same time.
A’Ling gave a bitter laugh. Indeed, she was also quite ‘shameless.’ She eagerly gave these few spiritual stones to Jin Siliu, too. But that person only had Shi Qingqian in her heart!
A’Ling’s heart felt heavy. She picked up a corn cake from the table and bit into it fiercely.
She vowed to herself that she would never act so ‘shamelessly’ again. Fine, with this money back, she could buy a higher-grade sound-eating bird.
A’Ling quickly finished her meal and stood up to head to Hongjian Academy.
As soon as she exited the main gate, she saw a carriage parked at the entrance, and Shi Qingqian inside it.
A’Ling’s already suffocated heart was further inflamed. She didn’t spare a second glance, turning and walking straight ahead.
After only two steps, under the coachman’s startled gaze, she abruptly turned and got onto the carriage.
As soon as she entered the carriage, A’Ling used the money pouch to tap the carriage wall, gesturing for Shi Qingqian to look at what she held.
“‘Did she give this to you?'”
A’Ling still wanted to know why Jin Siliu would give what she had given her to Shi Qingqian.
When Shi Qingqian’s gaze turned to A’Ling, she caught a fleeting glimpse of sadness in her eyes. A’Ling seemed to be trying to hide that hint of sorrow with anger, her face tightly strained.
“‘No.'”
She paused, then added: “‘I… took it back.'”
A’Ling raised her eyebrows in bewilderment: “‘?'”
Seeing Shi Qingqian’s face, as if she didn’t find anything wrong with it, A’Ling felt for the first time that her desire to pry open Shi Qingqian’s skull and take a look was perfectly reasonable.
“‘What’s wrong with you?! No, my things, why would you go demand them back?!'”
A’Ling was so angry she laughed. She had almost wrongly accused Jin Siliu of using her things to curry favor.
Shi Qingqian met A’Ling’s gaze without flinching, her tone utterly calm: “‘You don’t need to pity her.'”
A’Ling: “‘?’ This person really is sick.”
“‘My things, what right do you have to demand them back?! Can you not be so shameless?! And when did I ever pity her?! My spiritual stones, I can give them to whomever I want, what business is it of yours?!'”
Shi Qingqian maintained her indifferent expression, not saying a word. She recalled yesterday, when Jin Siliu came to find her after A’Ling left.
For the past two years, every time she saw her, Jin Siliu would only say one thing: demanding she avenge her master.
Shi Qingqian lowered her gaze, hiding the hostility in her eyes. When she looked up again, her expression had returned to calm.
“‘Stay away from her in the future.'” Shi Qingqian said, and remembering the hurt in A’Ling’s eyes just now, she added: “‘She’s not a good person. She’s not worth your pity.'”
A’Ling threw a punch, but Shi Qingqian easily caught it. Furious, A’Ling raised her leg to kick, but was again easily subdued by Shi Qingqian.
With her hands restrained and her feet pinned, unable to move, A’Ling burst into a torrent of curses: “‘You ungrateful wretch! You cold-blooded devil! What kind of person could give birth to something as inhuman as you?!'”
“‘Listen to yourself, is that even a human thing to say?! Anyone can say that about her, I can say it, those she harmed can say it, who can, but you cannot. Where has she ever wronged you?'”
“‘All those bad things she did, weren’t they all for you?!'”
The moment A’Ling’s words fell, Shi Qingqian’s cool, indifferent face was like a calm lake into which a giant boulder had been thrown, or a mercury mirror shattered by a punch, cracking apart.
Emotions normally unseen on her face, as if the barrier holding them back had been lost, surged out from all directions. Her grip on A’Ling’s hands suddenly tightened.
Shi Qingqian’s voice trembled as she abruptly raised her volume, questioning A’Ling: “‘Did I ask her to do it?!'”
“‘Did I have a choice in any of this?!'”
“‘That person surnamed Xing said he was disciplining me for your sake, are you grateful for that?!'”
“‘Pah, what am I grateful to him for—'” A’Ling didn’t want Shi Qingqian to drag her into the topic, so she retorted without thinking.
But as soon as the words left her mouth, she instantly fell silent.
The carriage suddenly fell silent, only Shi Qingqian’s ragged breathing could be heard, as if suppressing a myriad of pains.
A’Ling’s eyes flickered, and she remained silent for a long moment. Shi Qingqian suddenly released A’Ling’s hands and returned to her previous indifferent expression, as if she hadn’t been the one angrily questioning just now.
A’Ling wanted to say how it was different, but how exactly it was different, she was at a loss for words. After a long moment of internal struggle, she cursed bitterly: “‘Why am I wasting my breath on you!'”
With that, she angrily kicked the carriage wall, stopped bothering with Shi Qingqian, and quietly looked out the window, calming the frustration in her heart.
Throughout the journey, Shi Qingqian did not speak again. The carriage remained silent in a peculiar atmosphere.
As soon as they arrived at the academy gates, A’Ling didn’t wait for the carriage to stop completely, immediately jumping out and rushing inside.
From a distance, she also saw Gu Jingyang surrounded by a group of people, her face still wearing its usual gentle smile.
A’Ling drew closer, just in time to hear the grey-robed boy closest to Gu Jingyang ask a question.
“‘Gu Jingyang, for this competition against Shi Qingqian, are you confident you can win?'”
A’Ling furrowed her brow. Gu Jingyang was going to compete with Shi Qingqian?
Gu Jingyang smiled but hadn’t yet spoken, when another black-robed boy next to him slapped him: “‘What are you thinking? They’ve been competing for almost a year now, and Shi Qingqian has won every single time.'”
The grey-robed boy seemed to know this too, looking a little dispirited: “‘The odds offered by the Xing family’s betting house are really high this time. I’m short on spiritual stones lately, so I wanted to place a bet.'”
He said, looking expectantly at Gu Jingyang: “‘I heard the Gu family recently melted down quite a few magic artifacts to re-refine a new sword for you. Will you be using it in this competition?'”
Before Gu Jingyang could reply, he eagerly added: “‘If you use it, could you possibly beat Shi Qingqian?'”
The black-robed boy next to him laughed and rapped him on the head: “‘Look at you! You didn’t bet your entire fortune, did you? If so, you’re finished. Shi Qingqian has never lost.'”
The grey-robed boy ignored him, just gazing eagerly at Gu Jingyang, as if hoping she could offer some hope.
Gu Jingyang’s smile remained unchanged after listening to them: “‘Cultivators must cultivate their minds. A gambling mentality is the most undesirable.'”
Upon her words, those around who had placed bets felt a little embarrassed, but then they were all relieved. Judging by Gu Jingyang’s demeanor, she clearly knew she was destined to lose, and wouldn’t dare offer any guarantees.
Gu Jingyang spotted A’Ling outside the crowd and smiling, excused herself from them.
“‘A’Ling, I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.'”
A’Ling watched the grey-robed boy leave dejectedly. She raised an eyebrow in confusion: “‘You’re going to compete with Shi Qingqian?'”
When she finished speaking, it was Gu Jingyang’s turn to be confused.
“‘Isn’t this the monthly custom? Doesn’t A’Ling know?'” Gu Jingyang looked at A’Ling with a doubtful gaze. Every student in Hongjian Academy’s Class C has a monthly competition; which student in Hongjian Academy wouldn’t know?
Once Gu Jingyang mentioned it, A’Ling naturally remembered. Studying at Hongjian Academy was something from her previous life. In this life, she had only attended school for a few days; how could she remember all this?
She casually fabricated a reason: “‘I was recovering from injuries for a month and forgot the dates.'”
Gu Jingyang found the reason quite plausible: “‘Then you certainly didn’t place a bet, what a shame. Let me tell you quietly, I bet a thousand spiritual stones on Shi Qingqian to win. The odds aren’t high, but I can still make a little profit.'”
A’Ling’s mouth twitched. This person just told others that a gambling mentality was undesirable, yet she secretly placed a bet herself.
“‘Are you going to intentionally lose the competition?'”
Gu Jingyang’s face sobered: “‘How could that be? I always go all out in every competition; I’m just not as skilled as her.'”
A’Ling remembered being subdued by Shi Qingqian in one move back in the carriage. She felt truly vexed inside; that was true lack of skill.
“‘Is she going to win forever?! I bet on you to win, staking my entire fortune!'” A’Ling said, shaking the money pouch in her hand. The spiritual stones inside clinked and clanked, as if echoing her words.
Anyway, she had already given this pouch of spiritual stones away; if she lost, she lost.
Gu Jingyang’s eyes flickered slightly. She was a little shocked by A’Ling’s ‘entire fortune.’ This was a bit too poor.
But being supported in such a way, she was still slightly touched.
Unfortunately, just as A’Ling said this, Shi Qingqian happened to pass by. She even stopped to look at A’Ling, then at Gu Jingyang.
The look in those eyes was truly something. Gu Jingyang had a bad feeling about it.
A’Ling was oblivious, still cheering Gu Jingyang on.
“‘Let’s not talk about this for now, come with me.'” Gu Jingyang interrupted A’Ling’s encouragement, and quickly pulled A’Ling inside, looking for an empty common room.
A’Ling didn’t know what Gu Jingyang wanted to tell her, acting so mysteriously. Seeing her go to such lengths to set up a barrier to prevent eavesdropping and intrusion, A’Ling felt even more bewildered.
But due to past precedents, A’Ling couldn’t be certain if there was truly anything important.
She always felt that Gu Jingyang was the kind of person who could go to such ridiculous lengths just to tell her that her turtles had laid eggs.