Chen Ye: "..."
Zhiwei: "..."
So, you really did eat it!
This is a treasure that can withstand a full-strength attack from a Golden Core True Man!
"How do you feel?"
Chen Ye asked nervously, afraid that she might have upset her stomach.
"I feel like I have strength all over! And... it seems there’s a warm layer protecting me, and no one can break it!"
As she thought about it, a faint silver glow appeared on her skin, indestructible.
"Protective Spiritual Shield?"
Chen Ye concentrated and observed that it resembled the Protective Spiritual Qi of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, but was obviously more advanced.
Perhaps it’s some innate divine ability of Qing Jun, activated by this scale.
With this, her survival capacity greatly increases, even in the chaos of battle, she can gain more Vitality.
"Since you’re full, quickly pack up your things."
Chen Ye relaxed and patted her on the backside,
"We’ll set off in three days, steady yourself well during these days."
"Got it!"
Having gained a benefit, Qing Jun was in high spirits and didn’t mind her master patting her backside, hopping off to pack her little bundle.
Zhiwei watched her junior sister’s joyful figure, a slight smile curling her lips.
She stood side by side with her master, looking at him:
"Master, don’t you think Qing Jun is more like your daughter than your disciple?"
Chen Ye sighed: "Master’s so young, how could I have a daughter?"
He touched his now young and handsome face.
With the breakthrough in cultivation, he now looked as youthful as a twenty-year-old.
"She seems like a daughter..."
Zhiwei rarely acted coquettishly, pulling at her master’s robe, speaking softly,
"Being able to watch Qing Jun grow alongside Master, Zhiwei is already very content. So Master, don’t be too hard on yourself."
Hearing his eldest disciple being coquettish, Chen Ye’s heart melted, naturally going along with her:
"Alright, alright, whatever Zhiwei says. Like a daughter, then like a daughter."
"Hehe..." The eldest disciple couldn’t help but laugh softly again, tiptoeing to stand beside her master, trying to be not so short.
Chen Ye glanced at Zhiwei, feeling he couldn’t favor one over the other:
"If Qing Jun is the little daughter, then isn’t Zhiwei the big daughter?"
The eldest disciple stopped laughing, putting on a stern little face:
"Master, don’t tease Zhiwei! Zhiwei’s grown up, I don’t want to be a daughter pretending at home!"
Fine.
So this eldest disciple has double standards too!
Willing to let Qing Jun be the daughter, but not herself?
Chen Ye watched as his eldest disciple left with a cold little face, feeling that it was increasingly difficult to understand his disciple’s thoughts.
...
In the confinement room.
Would Zhang Chuxi admit defeat?
Absolutely not.
But...
For the next three days, she was really left alone here.
It was as if everyone had forgotten her?!
The only one who remembered her happened to be Chen Ye!
If Chen Ye hadn’t instructed his disciple to deliver her meals daily, Zhang Chuxi would have suspected she’d starve to death in here.
As if the endless silence was gradually eroding this noble lady’s pride.
She curled up in the corner, sometimes even hallucinating, feeling as if the walls were closing in on her.
"Damn... damn it..."
Her cherry lips moved slightly, silently cursing.
But whenever there was the slightest disturbance in the restrictions, she would immediately stop cursing and quickly pose as weak and repentant.
But no one ever entered.
Even when Lu Zhiwei came to deliver food, they would only pass the meal through the restrictions, without coming in or speaking to her.
Finally, at dusk on the third day.
The door that had been tightly shut for three days was pushed open without any warning.
"Creak—"
As the gap of the door widened, the long-lost light flooded in, causing Zhang Chuxi to squint her eyes involuntarily.
In the backlight, a tall figure stood at the door.
He was dressed in a pristine blue Taoist robe of the Guardian, with a jade pendant hanging from his waist, his expression indifferent, and he casually tossed a spirit fruit in his hand.
It was none other than Chen Ye.
He looked at the girl huddled in the corner, gaunt and wan, and was initially taken aback. Then, as if suddenly recalling something, he slapped his forehead:
"Ah, I’ve been so busy these days I forgot about you."
Forgot?
Those two words exploded in Zhang Chuxi’s mind like thunder.
She had endured torment here, counting each two-hour period to pass the days, thinking all the while of how to exact revenge, how to act, and yet this person... simply forgot her?!
Humiliation! Ignorance!
This was even more unbearable than being beaten!
Zhang Chuxi’s hand hidden in her sleeve clenched tightly into her palm, her nails nearly breaking.
But the next moment, she looked up, and her slightly pale face showed no resentment, but rather a kind of joy and timidity as if she had seen a savior.
"Chen... Guardian Chen..."
Her voice was hoarse, tinged with a sob, and she struggled to stand, but her legs were numb and weak, and she fell heavily back to the floor.
"Chuxi... Chuxi thought the Guardian wouldn’t forgive me, and would leave me to starve here..."
She lay on the ground, her shoulders trembled, and her tears fell like broken strings of pearls.
She looked even more pitiful than an abandoned kitten by the roadside.
Zhang Chuxi understood better than anyone that she was imprisoned by Sister Bai not because of the guard’s death, but because she had angered Chen Ye!
After all... Sister Bai never cared about others’ lives.
If only she could obtain Chen Ye’s forgiveness, she could escape this confinement!
Chen Ye looked at her behavior and found it amusing in his heart.
This devious one, her acting skills are becoming more and more refined.
If he didn’t know her nature, he might really be deceived by her pitiful appearance.
"Alright, stop the act."
Chen Ye stepped into the room, casually tossing the spirit fruit into her lap,
"Starving to death is not the intention, just a wake-up call. So, in these three days, have you figured it out?"
Zhang Chuxi hurriedly reached out to catch the spirit fruit, ignoring her appearance, and took a big bite.
The sweet juice flowed down her throat, nearly bringing tears to her eyes.
This was the much-missed spiritual qi!
The confinement room had a spirit-locking array, and the food delivered daily was just ordinary meals.
Otherwise, if there were spiritual power, what kind of confinement would it be? Just cultivating directly would do, a blink of an eye and a few days passed.
As she nibbled on the fruit, she nodded vaguely, her gaze evasive, not daring to look at Chen Ye:
"I... I’ve figured it out. Before, Chuxi was immature, acting recklessly due to my status... Thank you, Guardian Chen, for the lesson. Chuxi will surely behave in the future."
As she spoke, she used her sleeve to wipe the juice from the corner of her mouth, putting on an obedient and compliant look.
Chen Ye looked down at her.
By now, Zhang Chuxi had shed the arrogance she had when they first met.
Her hair was disheveled, and though her robes were clean ones given by Zhiwei, they had become wrinkled after these days of ordeal.
The once imperious eyes now held only cautious appeasement.
But beneath this appeasement, Chen Ye was well aware of what lay.
"Being obedient is good."
Chen Ye smiled faintly, not exposing her,
"Since you’ve figured it out, pack up and get out. We’re setting off to return to the sect."
Now,
Chen Ye was not worried about Zhang Chuxi complaining upon returning to the sect.
Bai Susu had informed him that battles had been intense lately, and the Fourth Elder was injured, temporarily in seclusion for recuperation.
Moreover, all the Fourth Elder’s attention was on restraining the Demon Lord of the Emotion Crossing Sect, where would he find time to mind a girl’s thoughts? As long as there were no major issues, he basically wouldn’t care.
And most importantly, the Fourth Elder had entrusted Bai Susu to take care of Zhang Chuxi.
Even if complaints were made, it would be Bai Susu’s responsibility to handle them...
He thought to himself: "There are still a few months left anyway. If I don’t teach this devious one well, then I, Chen Ye, might as well not be considered the first expert on little girls in the Cultivation Realm!"
"Return... return to the sect?"
Zhang Chuxi’s eyes suddenly brightened.
Finally... I can finally leave this dreadful place!
As long as she returns to the sect, as long as she sees her mother...
Her heart was overjoyed, but she dared not show it on her face, only becoming more respectful:
"Yes, many thanks to Guardian Chen for your mercy! Chuxi will come out right away!"
Chen Ye turned to leave but suddenly remembered something, stopped, and looked back at her.
He spoke meaningfully:
"By the way... have you really learned to behave?"