Zhiwei accepted the warm and smooth jade pendant, and the slight bitterness in her heart resurfaced.
But she didn’t ask much, just softly said "hmm", and kept the jade pendant close to her chest.
"Did you eat Aunt Mao’s pastries yesterday?" Chen Ye, noticing the somber mood, tried to make conversation.
"Not good..."
The little girl with dark hair pouted and whispered,
"Zhiwei, if I have something to say, I say it straight, never hiding anything. I only ate one piece, and only that piece was a little bit tasty..."
Looking at his disciple joking around, Chen Ye didn’t have much to say.
Since she only ate one piece and said that one was good, how come now she says Sister Qingzhu’s pastries aren’t good?
Isn’t this just left brain attacking the right brain?
Sigh...
Your Aunt Mao, at least, is the only female cultivator around Master worth befriending. You can’t really expect Master to hang around you little girls all day, can you?
Another two days passed.
In these two days, Qing Jun was in Calm Hall, diligently restoring balance to his body and mind, because in the Heart Slaughter Cave, the Sword Qi was omnipresent, hurting not just the body but even more so the Divine Sense.
Once, a disciple of the Mao Family, greedy and rash, hurried into the Heart Slaughter Cave and had their Divine Sense cut by Sword Qi, becoming dull-witted; hence, the Mao Family decreed that whoever entered the Heart Slaughter Cave must engage in vegetarian practice to cultivate their temperament beforehand.
"However, the Heart Slaughter Inheritance is tailored for Zhiwei. Qing Jun is naturally active, by nature... capricious and bloodthirsty, liking fights, hence, this inheritance does not suit his nature."
Chen Ye was conflicted, as he had long decided to give this inheritance to Zhiwei.
Greediness for more than one can chew leads to choking.
Qing Jun was learning Magic from the Lingyin system and also the Xu Family True Seal. Even with Qing Jun’s abundant energy, learning too many spells at once was difficult.
But the question was,
Originally, it should have been Qing Jun entering the Heart Slaughter Cave, but he gave the inheritance to Zhiwei; would this cause any discontentment in the little girl’s heart?
As a master, he had to consider the feelings of both disciples.
On Zhiwei’s side, she once again found an opportunity to meet Xiaoli with the bamboo basket.
This time, instead of immediately following Xiaoli to see Mao Qingzhu, she used the excuse of picking Spirit Dew to chat with Xiaoli in the mist for a few moments, seizing the chance to discreetly hand over the jade pendant and whisper a few instructions.
Xiaoli immediately understood the intricacies within, winked at Zhiwei, and hurriedly left.
That evening, using the cover of dusk, a slender figure in green avoided the patrolling disciples in the valley and quietly arrived outside Chen Ye’s bamboo lodge.
"Master, Aunt Mao is here."
Zhiwei had been waiting at the door, and upon seeing the visitor, she softly reminded before quietly retreating to the side, her eyes complicated as she watched Mao Qingzhu stride into the house.
Soon, the house was filled with the low voices of two people conversing, yet Zhiwei acted as if she hadn’t heard, quietly waiting outside the bamboo lodge.
Xiaoli, following the plan, stayed at Mao Qingzhu’s wooden house, pretending her lady was still in seclusion to ward off sudden visitors.
The evening breeze, carrying a cold mist, brushed against Zhiwei’s thin clothing. She hugged herself tightly, quietly watching the closed door.
Master and Aunt Mao are inside... What are they talking about?
Will they talk for a long time?
The sensible Zhiwei bit her lip hard, suppressing those emotions that shouldn’t exist.
Master needs Aunt Mao, so she should guard this door for him, not letting anyone discover.
Yet those pitch-black eyes, under the moonlight, seemed tainted by Divine Mist Valley’s mist, growing darker.
...
"Zhiwei, unless there’s something urgent, don’t disturb me and Aunt Mao. We have matters to discuss."
Chen Ye first transmitted his message to Zhiwei.
His obedient eldest disciple replied promptly: "Hmm! Zhiwei understands!"
After experiencing that eavesdropping incident, Zhiwei would surely not peek at her master anymore.
Chen Ye was at ease, turning to look at the graceful and lovely woman before him.
Mao Qingzhu seemed a bit thinner, her watery autumn eyes carrying hidden worry.
But when she saw him, genuine joy still welled up.
"Sister Qingzhu, you’ve worked hard these past six months."
Chen Ye’s voice carried an apologetic tone.
He knew, if not for himself and Lisong Valley, she wouldn’t have suffered this confinement.
It was thanks to her help that Lisong Valley hadn’t fallen under the Wei Family’s influence this past half-year.
Additionally, this time he entered the Grotto Heaven, it was all due to Mao Qingzhu’s gift of the Second Tier Spiritual Object Foundation Establishment.
Mao Qingzhu shook her head gently, walking to the table to sit down:
"Compared to the dangers you’ve faced, my days of peace are nothing. Only... that I haven’t been able to help you more leaves me feeling guilty. If it hadn’t been for you taking care of Qing Jun..."
She paused, raising her eyes toward Chen Ye with concern,
"After establishing your Foundation, is your cultivation still stable? In the early stage of Foundation Establishment, spiritual power is tumultuous, and it’s easy to become irritable. If not properly guided, it could damage the foundation."
There’s still time.
Instead of directly discussing serious matters with Chen Ye, she chose to express concern for him.
It’s just,
Although her words were indeed reasonable concerns, Chen Ye couldn’t help but remember that day.
It seemed... Sister Qingzhu had said previously that he had excess Primordial Yang and helped to guide it then.
After not seeing her for a long time, Chen Ye didn’t want to dive directly into those headache-inducing matters.
Moreover,
Last time, he was enticed by Sister Qingzhu, who assumed he was naive and did guidance under the pretext of managing Yang energy, ultimately...
In short, it was too passive.
This time, he was determined to get back at her!
Chen Ye’s face showed concern: "Sister Qingzhu is sharp-eyed, frankly, these past few days I’ve felt my spiritual power somewhat stagnant, and a faint swelling sensation in my Dantian, uncertain if my cultivation has gone awry."
He deliberately furrowed his brows, looking quite troubled.
Mao Qingzhu’s expression turned serious upon hearing this.
She hadn’t anticipated Chen Ye being crafty; in her eyes, her Brother Ye was the most honest and kind-hearted person in the world!
Otherwise,
Why else would Brother Ye have taken in two helpless young girls, going so far as to spare no resources to train them!
At this moment,
Mao Qingzhu assumed that Chen Ye, in a hurry to establish his Foundation, had left underlying scars due to survival imperatives.
"This... could impact Brother Ye’s future prospects..."
The gentle woman laid down the teacup, rose, and approached Chen Ye, softly saying,
"Do not worry, let me examine you. Relax your mind and circulate your Cultivation Technique, and I’ll help investigate."
She placed her hand, with fingers slender and slightly cool, lightly on Chen Ye’s back.
Chen Ye was not satisfied with this: "Sister Qingzhu, last time when guiding me, wasn’t it... wasn’t it in a different place?"
"Ah..."
Mao Qingzhu’s fingertip trembled; seeing Brother Ye’s naive demeanor, she finally sighed with relief, gently saying,
"This time is different."
Her face was slightly warm, a hint of blush appeared on her fair cheeks.
Regretful of the previous impulsiveness, what she couldn’t hold back... When Brother Ye eventually came to his senses, she wouldn’t know how to face it.
For now, she had to maintain her composure and continued her assessment, her finger’s spiritual power somewhat erratic.
Upon examination, Brother Ye’s body did indeed have some peculiarities.
This... what’s going on!?
Firstly, Brother Ye’s Dantian was bustling with unusually active spiritual power.
Secondly, there was a noticeable imbalance between Yin and Yang.
But why so severe?
Previously, Brother Ye had just a regular youthful vigor, but now, there was something peculiar...
Mao Qingzhu, no matter how she pondered, couldn’t connect this to Qing Jun.
She thought to herself, "Could it be because... Brother Ye still retains his Primordial Yang? With the rapid progress post-foundation, it led to this anomaly? Now... now what should I do..."
Back then, she was just temporarily bewitching herself.
Now, being at the Mao Family, with Zhiwei watching the door outside, where could she muster the courage, where could her mind be to play the same trick again?
Mao Qingzhu’s eyelashes trembled slightly, maintaining a facade of calmness as she spoke: "The spiritual power is indeed... quite abundant."
Chen Ye replied with a "hmm," still with closed eyes, his voice carrying innocent naivety:
"Sister Qingzhu, your hand seems warm too? Is your spiritual power unstable too? Since my foundation establishment, I’ve noticed Divine Mist Valley is abundant in Yin yet sparse in Yang, Sister Qingzhu, shouldn’t you guide your spiritual power too?"
Such words of a tiger and wolf made Mao Qingzhu’s heart skip a beat. She hurriedly intended to withdraw her hand, but Chen Ye, seemingly casually, lightly held onto her wrist with a backward motion.
"Don’t move."
"Let me also feel Sister Qingzhu’s spiritual flow... perhaps this way, I’ll better understand your guidance methods?"