Chapter 37

The inner sect coursework wasn't too demanding, leaving Qing Zhouxue with plenty of free time. It was only during her master's lectures that her thoughts would wander endlessly—after being teased by Ruan Mingzhu more times than she could count, Qing Zhouxue decided to let it go and stop fighting it.

Every night when the lamps burned late, she would study the material in advance, so that during the day she could openly gaze at her master... and let her mind drift.

Before she knew it, the days passed in the rhythm of daily cultivation, and the day of the examination arrived.

Qing Zhouxue lowered her eyes to write, her handwriting clear and elegant. She had no other model to imitate; as a child, she had secretly copied Yun Shuchen's calligraphy, and what she had learned bore seven parts of her master's flowing grace, mixed with a few touches of her own neatness.

Everything else went smoothly, until the written exam for the alchemy class. Junior Ruan looked solemn, her whole demeanor bleak. She had talent in cultivation and martial arts, but she had never liked alchemy or pill refinement since she was young, let alone this pill manual with its dense text packed together. Just looking at it gave her a headache.

Exams of this kind were usually proctored by senior disciples from previous cohorts, and they were mostly not too strict.

Before she knew it, nearly half a stick of incense had burned down.

Qing Zhouxue had just finished writing her last character and was waiting for the ink to dry. She set down her brush, and a small paper ball, carrying all of Ruan Mingzhu's hopes, smacked onto the back of her hand.

She frowned and glanced at Ruan Mingzhu. That girl was propping her chin on one hand and gesturing with her lips toward the paper ball in Qing Zhouxue's hand.

Qing Zhouxue paused, looked up at the proctor senior who was nodding off like a chick pecking rice, and quietly unfolded the paper ball.

It was Junior Ruan's scrawling handwriting.

【How do you mix the Nourishing Origin Pill?】

She was about to toss the paper ball back exactly as it was, when her gaze dropped and she saw another line—

【Please, please, senior sister, if you succeed, I will definitely reward you handsomely.】

One line wasn't enough. Next to "reward you handsomely" there was an arrow pointing to another sentence.

【It's about a certain someone! You'll be interested.】

A certain someone.

Qing Zhouxue thought it over carefully, met Ruan Mingzhu's guileless expression, and suddenly understood—she was specifically referring to Yun Shuchen.

For some reason, during this period, Ruan Mingzhu seemed particularly attentive to matters between her and her master.

Qing Zhouxue crumpled the paper ball and her thoughts together, setting it aside. After a moment, she finally sighed, spread out a new sheet of paper, and resignedly transcribed her understanding onto it.

A hidden arc flew through the air.

Ruan Mingzhu caught it steadily, sneaked a glance, and in the remaining half stick of incense, wrote with divine inspiration, completing the whole thing in one go.

She was so focused that she completely ignored Qing Zhouxue, who, after several failed attempts to get her attention, had already helplessly covered her forehead—and also ignored the woman standing behind her.

A hand reached out, picked up the paper ball, and read it over leisurely. Ruan Mingzhu started in fright and tried to grab it, but then she heard a female voice, half-smiling, "Who wrote this to you?"

She froze, looking at Elder Yun, who had appeared at some point.

"..."

At the back mountain confinement room.

Qing Zhouxue once again sat neatly side by side with Ruan Mingzhu, facing Yun Shuchen, who was calmly sipping tea across from them.

"Elder Yun," Ruan Mingzhu said with a mournful face, "has the scope of enforcement by the elders, as decreed by the Sect Leader, really become so detailed as to extend from the brothel at the foot of Taichu Sect to such minute matters?"

"This seat is not that bored. I just happened to pass by and saw paper balls flying around. And then I suddenly recalled some old memories from my youth..." Yun Shuchen's folding fan lightly touched her chin, as if she was reminiscing.

Ruan Mingzhu, sensing a possible turn of fortune, brightened. "Right, Elder? You must have done the same in such exams back in the day—"

Yun Shuchen curled her lips and said, word by word, "Then copy the scriptures a hundred times and be confined to the back mountain. That was the rule your grand-master set back then."

Ruan Mingzhu instantly wilted.

Those beautiful eyes then moved to Qing Zhouxue, examining her inch by inch. Qing Zhouxue's face was calm, but she couldn't help straightening her back, ready for her master's verdict.

"Quite capable now, aren't you?" The woman's voice was flat.

Qing Zhouxue lowered her eyes and shook her head.

Just now, when Yun Shuchen spoke to Ruan Mingzhu, her voice was still soft and teasing. But when it fell on Qing Zhouxue, a layer of thin ice seemed to condense in her tone, turning cold.

Junior Ruan remained loyal. "Elder, I swear I coerced Senior Sister."

The chair opposite was pulled out, and Yun Shuchen stood up, holding the armrest, and walked toward the door. She did not pay any attention to Ruan Mingzhu's words.

"Qing Zhouxue."

The sunlight slanted in from outside the house. She stopped at the edge of the doorframe, her profile half lit, like a deity, her mood unreadable.

"Come with me."

Hearing her full name called out of the blue, Qing Zhouxue tightened her grip on the hem of her clothes. She stood up, pushed the chair back in, and hurried a few steps to catch up with her master's shadow.

Ruan Mingzhu looked outside, opened her mouth, but said nothing. Elder Yun seemed so gentle, yet when angry, her pressure was no less than Liu Xunqin's.

Now she had led the sect's model disciple astray. If the Sect Leader found out, it wouldn't just cost her a few years of life—he would probably make her suffer too.

She frowned, propping her cheek on her hand in frustration.

But then she thought to herself, would Qing Zhouxue be able to coax Yun Shuchen into a good mood?

As she thought about it, a bunch of plots from women's romance novels drifted through her mind, and the more she thought, the more spirited she became. Her frustration vanished, and a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

Yun Shuchen walked outside. It was early spring, and everything was reviving; the landscape was full of fresh green. But her mood was far from good, and the warm spring sunshine felt irritatingly hot on her skin.

Her disciple seemed to have once again become the quiet little shadow she had been in childhood. Her habits were also the same—she liked to lightly grasp a corner of her master's sleeve with her hand, staying close but not too close. Even after all these years, this habit had not been worn away by time.

Her usually well-behaved disciple, who kept to herself and never overstepped, would only break the rules for others every time—Qing Zhouxue really was good to her junior sister.

One helped her junior sister cheat, the other was afraid that her good senior sister would be punished.

The two of them sitting across from each other in the confinement room looked just like two mandarin ducks facing death, loyal and unyielding.

Yun Shuchen hadn't felt anything at first, but after this realization, a trace of displeasure crept into her heart.

She had once said that girl Ruan Mingzhu was cheerful and open-minded, and that Qing'er would benefit from associating with her.

Now it seemed, the drawbacks were numerous. She hadn't learned the good things, but spent all her days taking her disciple to brothels, slacking off in class, and cheating on exams—what kind of bad company was this?

"Master, I was wrong."

The girl she had raised gently tugged at her sleeve, then, little by little, tugged a bit more. Finally, she reached out and grasped her master's wrist, her voice very soft.

Those eyes, black as ink jade, looked at her without dodging. Yun Shuchen looked away, refusing to meet them.

"A mere 'I was wrong' won't settle this."

"Please don't be angry, Master," she said in a low voice. "It would be bad for your health. I will accept whatever punishment you give."

"Punishment?" Yun Shuchen said. "Of course, I will punish you. Since Ruan Mingzhu is already confined, you will stay in your room for the next few days and reflect properly."

Qing Zhouxue stopped in her tracks. "Hmm. Then this disciple will go to the back mountain confinement room."

And let the two of you get tangled up together? Don't even think about it.

Yun Shuchen's brows turned cold. "Stop right there."

Qing Zhouxue looked at her uncomprehendingly, a slight frown between her brows. Beneath her crow-black lashes, her eyes were so clear they seemed to look straight into one's heart.

In that moment of eye contact, Yun Shuchen came to her senses, realizing she didn't even know what she was doing.

"Just stay on Heyi Peak."

Finally, after a long pause, her voice softened again. "Qing'er, from now on you should have your own ideas about things. Don't just follow others blindly."

Qing Zhouxue stiffened, unsure whether she should nod. The truth was, her own idea had been to be curious about Ruan Mingzhu's "reward."

In the end, she said, "I understand. Master."

Evening.

Yun Shuchen looked at the stack of books and a stool that had been moved into her room, falling into endless silence.

"What are you doing?"

Qing Zhouxue was in the middle of carrying a pile of cultivation manuals back and forth between her own room and Yun Shuchen's. Hearing her master's question, she asked with complete honesty, "Didn't you tell me to stay in my room as a punishment?"

"Then why are you moving your books into my room?"

Qing Zhouxue looked even more surprised. "If I have to stay in my own room and can't go out, how am I supposed to warm your bed at night?"

Yun Shuchen found the phrase "warm your bed" particularly jarring to her ears, but the girl said it with such clarity and righteousness. For a moment, she was at a loss for words. After a pause, she lowered her gaze and sighed softly. "That can't be called 'warming the bed'... Just say you're keeping me warm."

No, that's not right either. "Warming the blanket" was also wrong. No matter how she said it, it sounded strange.

The bookish Elder Yun was momentarily stumped, racking her brain for the right words, trying to prevent her disciple from making such bold statements again.

Qing Zhouxue considered the difference between "warming the bed" and "keeping warm" for a long time, but to her they were like two bowls of clear water—no difference in flavor.

Once again, she secretly felt inferior about her lack of literary flair, so she said sincerely, "If you say 'keeping warm,' then it's keeping warm."

Actually, Yun Shuchen wasn't strict enough to demand that Qing Zhouxue never set foot outside her door.

But it seemed her disciple always excelled in comprehension—she was so rigorously literal. Since her master told her to stay confined, she really did take up residence in Yun Shuchen's room and stopped going out.

Yun Shuchen watched the upright, graceful figure sitting at her desk, holding a brush, writing. The candlelight cast a soft shadow around her, like a celestial maiden.

Qing Zhouxue finished her homework for the day, blew out the candle, then went to bathe, and as usual climbed into bed, buried herself under the covers, waiting for Yun Shuchen to come hold her.

Her soft white profile was cool and clear, yet by nature she was very gentle, with an innate honesty that carried a touch of cuteness. Yun Shuchen didn't know if it was because she had seen this sight for so many years, but the more she looked at her now, the more pleasing she found her.

Like the snowflakes that fluttered over Heyi Peak—cold, pure white, and flawless.

So clean.

Qing Zhouxue closed her eyes, her breathing long and even. She slept amid the sparse fragrance that enveloped Yun Shuchen, her body completely relaxed, defenseless.

Yun Shuchen quietly lifted her hand, gently tracing the girl's ethereal features with a light touch of her fingertip.

This was the kind of appearance that made one fond of her.