Chapter 73

The group set down their mechanisms and sparred with the illusory warriors in the training ground.

Yue Changge watched from the sidelines with little interest for a while, then waved her sleeve. "Enough, enough."

"You've practiced to this level, so you're familiar with each other, and your coordination is about right—though last time in that so-called secret realm, your teamwork was decent, but your reactions were a bit slow."

"Ice comes from water but is colder than water. Both water and earth can nourish wood, and wood can aid fire. The wonders of the Five Elements all lie in this. When you use techniques, always think of benefiting others."

Having imparted such wisdom, Yue Changge thought she had done her good deed for the day, so she spun lightly, ready to flee back to writing her storybook.

"Senior Uncle Yue, a bag of gold is too much." Ruan Mingzhu raised an eyebrow. "You can't just run off like that!"

"Tsk," Yue Changge halted, glancing back with disdain. "As if you'd be the one paying."

"I don't have much money, but Senior Uncle Yun paid, so it's the same as our Senior Sister Qing paying."

Qing Zhouxue remained expressionless, her eyes fixed on Yue Changge coldly, brows slightly furrowed, as if she might at any moment go tattle to her dear master.

Yue Changge was momentarily taken aback, sighed internally, and weighed her options. In the end, caution won out—she felt Qing Zhouxue was capable of it, and that woman Yung Shuchen held grudges and wasn't easy to cross.

The woman reluctantly turned around, phoenix eyes slightly raised. "Little ancestors, what do you want then? Want me to teach you cultivation?"

Yue Changge's gaze swept from left to right, as if pondering. After a moment, she curled her lips into a smile. "Cultivation is so boring. It's rare to have someone to play with, so we might as well have a good time."

Bai Su's eyes widened as she watched Yue Changge take a few steps closer, the rich floral fragrance enveloping her and making her want to sneeze—

Bai Su couldn't help but take a step back.

Her fellow disciples also stepped aside, clearing a path for Elder Yue, leaving Bai Su isolated.

Yue Changge bent down slightly, smiling like a fox spirit that had cultivated for a thousand years. "Little healer, you're as fresh and tender as a spring onion ready to be pinched. Not bad at all."

"S-Senior Uncle, you, you..." Bai Su glanced down, catching a glimpse of the plump cleavage at her chest, and flushed red.

Yue Changge laughed again, straightened up, and looked toward a distant peak. "Speaking of which, that old healer is even more interesting—let's go to her peak to exchange pointers. Consider it helping you little ones improve your cultivation."

With that, she summoned a gust of wind, swept up the juniors as if kidnapping them, and headed toward Lingsu Peak.

Qing Zhouxue remained silent, watching her feet dangle thousands of feet above the ground. She sighed softly—it seemed she wouldn't be able to return home on time again today.

As the saying goes, one hand can't clap alone. Ruan Mingzhu and Senior Uncle Yue, both talkative, chatted animatedly—one forgetting her dignity in old age, the other showing no respect for her elder, like long-lost hometown folks.

"I heard you called her senior sister last time and got beaten? And you were grounded for a month?"

Yue Changge smiled. "How pathetic. I call her senior sister every day, and I'm still living well, carefree."

Ruan Mingzhu felt a surge of respect and was about to ask for advice when her brain finally caught up. Her eyes widened. "Aren't you her junior sister in the first place?!"

Bai Su muttered tremblingly from the side, "Senior Uncle, my master doesn't like being disturbed. We're coming in such a big group all at once, this..."

"Oh?" Yue Changge said dismissively. "I said we're here to exchange cultivation methods and broaden your horizons. Besides, I'm here to protect you. What could they possibly do to you?"

Lin Xunzhen withdrew her gaze uneasily and exchanged a glance with Qing Zhouxue. She had little interaction with Senior Uncle Yue, and hearing such talk, though it sounded fine, still carried an air of unreliability.

Qing Zhouxue lowered her eyelashes and said softly, "...Since Master invited her, perhaps she has her own reasons."

Lin Xunzhen, bound atop the white clouds, was feeling put out by the cold wind, but at the thought of Senior Uncle Yun, she found it quite reasonable and nodded.

*

Liu Xunqin was sitting in the medicine pavilion flipping through medical texts. When she wasn't facing living people, her expression was more focused, as if in meditation, her hair loosely tied behind her back with a ribbon.

Suddenly, she heard a strange wind outside. She looked up to see the beautiful Yue leaning against the doorframe, blinking at her with a charming smile.

"Senior Sister~"

"Pay me back my money first, then talk." Liu Xunqin glanced at her indifferently.

Yue Changge's smile stiffened slightly, and she said with a hint of grievance, "It's just that I've been a bit tight on funds recently."

"When are you not tight?"

Liu Xunqin caught a whiff of rich floral fragrance and couldn't help but frown. She truly couldn't understand why her two junior sisters always insisted on marinating themselves in scents—Yun Shuchen was a bit better, with her Nine Harmonies incense being faint and gentle, only subtly alluring, fitting her temperament.

Yue Changge, however, was quite flashy, as if she wished every bee in the world would buzz around her.

Outside, the line of juniors exchanged glances, at a loss.

Ruan Mingzhu covered her mouth, letting out a few muffled sounds. "Senior Uncle Yue won't get thrown out, will she?"

Bai Su wore a worried expression and sighed softly, "What on earth is Senior Uncle trying to do?"

The door was open, so everyone could hear the conversation clearly.

"If there's nothing else, leave."

Liu Xunqin closed the medical book spread open, placing one hand on the cover, stroking it with slight impatience.

"Don't rush me away. I'm not here to amuse you this time. I'm actually in some pain."

"Where does it hurt?"

"Here." Yue Changge blinked, pressing a hand to her chest. As she applied slight pressure, it seemed ready to burst forth.

Liu Xunqin glanced at it briefly. "No need to wear your undergarments so tight; it's not good for blood flow."

Yue Changge suddenly grew shy. "How annoying. Where are you looking?! I'm here because my heart aches from missing you—"

At that, Bai Su, forced to eavesdrop outside, choked on herself and stifled a cough. Qing Zhouxue stared ahead, lost in thought. Lin Xunzhen was still stunned, unable to believe what she had heard. She turned to look at Ruan Mingzhu—

That girl was listening with great interest, and couldn't help but praise, "Senior Uncle Yue truly is a divine being!"

In an instant, the heavens and earth changed color.

Bai Su seemed to see the same scene as before and let out a startled cry as something indescribable flew out from the open doors of the pavilion—but at least she was more graceful than Ruan Mingzhu, not ending up dirtied and slammed into a tree. Yue Changge flicked her sleeve mid-air and quickly steadied herself, floating on the clouds.

She still wore a smile, holding Liu Xunqin's hair ribbon in her hand, stroking it carefully, then turned and winked at her junior nieces. "How's that? Better than Ruan Ruan, right?"

Ruan Mingzhu clicked her tongue. "Of course, you're an elder, after all."

A figure appeared within the pavilion, loose hair lifted by the breeze, half flowing in the air, half draped over her. She stood with hands behind her back, expressionless, gazing at Yue Changge from afar.

Qing Zhouxue felt it hard to breathe; she could vaguely sense the pressure around her intensifying—Senior Uncle Liu was clearly quite displeased.

Liu Xunqin raised her hand, a faint glimmer of spiritual light showing at her fingertips. It was daytime, so it wasn't very visible.

But countless strands of pure white spiritual power, like silk threads, burrowed into Yue Changge's body, manipulating her bones, forcing her to release the hair ribbon.

The medical immortal, having lived to this age and treated countless injuries, knew every muscle and bone beneath the skin like the back of her hand.

With just a slight force, she could move a thousand pounds and make her comply.

Yue Changge naturally noticed. She struggled to wrap the ribbon around her wrist, then raised her hand in a gesture, and a long flute appeared horizontally in her palm.

She closed her eyes and blew softly.

The sound was first like a crane's cry, pleasing to the ear, then like a yellow oriole's chirp. But as she blew faster and faster, the juniors below found it hard to bear. One by one, they covered their ears, feeling as if their souls were shaken and they might explode at any moment.

The clear, crisp flute sound rose, plaintive and longing, breaking the countless silver threads floating in the air.

Just then, Yue Changge released the flute and called out to Liu Xunqin, "There are still a few brats over here. Don't chase me relentlessly and hurt the innocent."

Liu Xunqin's expression remained unchanged. "Just stop blowing. It's grating."

She continued to exert pressure, showing no mercy. Yue Changge could only frown and continue her contest of wills. When she closed her eyes, she felt her meridians swelling in pain, as if Liu Xunqin had gripped her in her hand.

In the end, she was still a few years younger in cultivation than her senior sister. A trace of red seeped from the corner of her mouth, and the hair ribbon on her hand was forced off, fluttering down.

A light breeze rose, and Liu Xunqin caught the ribbon in her hand. She gave Yue Changge a cold glance. "Childish."

The juniors, exhausted by the clash between the two elders, sat cross-legged in a neat row on the ground, like cloves of garlic planted obediently.

Liu Xunqin was about to turn and enter, but paused to look back at them, her gaze landing on Bai Su's face. "Aren't you supposed to be training? How did you end up with her—"

Before she could finish, everyone's vision blurred. Then they saw a head resting on Liu Xunqin's shoulder, and as Yue Changge coughed on her light-colored robes, spots of plum-red bloomed.

The woman said mournfully, "You hurt me... and you look down on me."

Seeing the pressure intensify again, Lin Xunzhen quickly spoke up to smooth things over. "...It's like this. We disciples haven't made progress for a while. We originally wanted to seek guidance from Senior Uncle Yun, but she had other matters, so she entrusted us to Senior Uncle Yue."

Liu Xunqin suddenly produced a jade talisman, wrote a few strokes in the air, and crushed it completely. Yue Changge watched, her expression stiffening slightly. "Hey, you don't have to go out of your way to inform Yun Shuchen!"

"It's no trouble."

She pushed Yue Changge away, casually rewound the ribbon, and tied it. Then, without pausing, she walked into the herb hut and half-closed the door and window, revealing only a cold profile.

"Come here," she said thinly. "Let me check your injuries."