Fourth Junior Brother's courtyard was neat and tidy, without a speck of dust on the stone table or the ground.
The moment she stepped inside, the surrounding sounds seemed to be blocked out, and everything became much quieter.
Song Yao followed behind Xie Zhou. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted two faceless paper effigies standing in a corner of the courtyard, which gave her a sudden shiver.
What the...
Why was this so creepy?
It inexplicably reminded her of Fourth Junior Brother's parents, whom she had dug up.
She wondered how the two elders were doing now.
Noticing her reaction, Xie Zhou cast a calm glance in that direction. “They are in charge of sweeping the courtyard. There is no need to be afraid.”
Song Yao's eyes lit up.
Fully automated sweeping robots?
If she retired to the mountains in the future, wouldn't having these paper effigies around mean they could help her farm and raise chickens and ducks?
And when she ran out of money, she could even send the paper effigies out to work.
Fourth Junior Brother had never shown off such good things in her past life.
Clutching her bundle tightly, she followed closely behind Xie Zhou, poking her head forward to ask eagerly, “How do you make these?”
Xie Zhou pushed open the door to the side room and glanced at her. “Do you want to learn?”
Song Yao followed him inside, leaning in close and nodding. “Yes, I want to learn.”
Looking at him with those clear, bright eyes, she actually seemed quite sincere.
Xie Zhou averted his gaze and walked further inside. “You can, but you have to pay tuition.”
Song Yao: “?”
Xie Zhou: “One hundred and fifty thousand.”
Song Yao: “...”
Oh, great.
How did he pick up this bad habit?
She suppressed the urge to slap him on the back of the head, constantly reminding herself of the situation.
She wasn't the old Song Yao right now; she didn't have such a high cultivation level to fight people.
And Fourth Junior Brother was no longer that cute, gentle little sweet bean from before—he was currently in his blackened, corrupted state.
If she slapped him, he might actually kill her.
When Xie Zhou turned around, he saw Song Yao hanging her head, looking utterly aggrieved and conflicted.
His throat felt slightly dry. He pursed his lips, pulled two books from his spatial pouch, and placed them on the table, softening his tone. “Spiritual control is a high-level talisman technique. There are no shortcuts. If you want to learn, you must start with the basics.”
Song Yao grew even more despondent.
It would be a miracle if she could actually sit down and read a book.
Just looking at the cover already made her sleepy.
Her greatest virtue was her lack of persistence. She gave up cleanly and tossed her bundle onto the table. “Forget it, I'm not learning anymore.”
“...”
Xie Zhou paused, then added, “If you want an easier way, you can also use someone else's talismans to control these paper effigies.”
Song Yao's interest was piqued once more.
Did this mean she could use Fourth Junior Brother's talismans to control Fourth Junior Brother's paper effigies?
Once again, she looked at Xie Zhou with a face full of anticipation.
Unfortunately, he didn't seem to catch her drift and changed the subject. “I have already lifted your restriction. You can enter and leave the courtyard as you please.”
With that, he prepared to walk out.
Song Yao had no choice but to put the automated sweeping paper effigies aside for now. She called out to him and jingled the peace jade in her hand, reminding him, “Fourth Senior Brother, what about this?”
Xie Zhou seemed to just remember. “Three days from now, during the Hour of the Rooster, come find me at Wanchun Pavilion.”
Wanchun Pavilion again.
Fourth Junior Brother had really gone bad, staying in that kind of place all day long.
She put the peace jade away for now and paced around the room, wanting to see if there was anything she needed to tidy up.
To her surprise, however...
Everything in the room was fully prepared, and even the bed was already made.
A silk blanket was meticulously spread over a thick mattress, topped with a shark-silk quilt woven with subtle flowing cloud patterns.
She couldn't help but click her tongue in admiration.
Fourth Junior Brother was still too rich.
To think he even used such high-quality bedding in the side room.
If she had known, she would have become a talisman cultivator too.
Speaking of being a talisman cultivator, Fourth Junior Brother hadn't taken back the two books on the table yet.
With a studious heart, she walked over and picked up a book, flipping it open with a glimmer of hope.
What if?
What if books on talisman cultivation weren't so sleep-inducing?
Maybe she could even change careers.
But the moment she flipped to the first page and saw the chaotic mess of ghostly scribbles, Song Yao's head throbbed and her vision went dark.
This is bad.
This stuff was even more lethal than studying medicine.
...
With that, Song Yao fell asleep and slept for a whole day and night.
Perhaps because she was sleeping in Fourth Junior Brother's courtyard, scenes of her first meeting him years ago drifted into her dreams.
Back then, she had just transmigrated, and the plot happened to be her taking the Hall Master as her master and arriving at Nine Saints Hall.
Fourth Junior Brother had arrived a few days before her, so he should have been the third disciple.
But she felt that being “Fourth” sounded bad and didn't want to be the youngest, so she threw a tantrum, demanding to be the senior sister.
Their master had no choice but to ask for Xie Zhou's opinion.
Back then, Xie Zhou was quiet, small, and thin, too timid to speak to anyone. He merely lowered his head and said, “Okay.”
Song Yao had kept her mission firmly in mind, determined to play the villain to the very end.
As soon as their master left, she rushed forward, aggressively grabbing his collar to threaten him: “I am Third Senior Sister. From now on, you have to listen to me.”
“You do whatever I tell you to do. If I tell you to go east, you are not allowed to go west.”
“You have to be my little sidekick. Wherever I go, you go. If you don't behave, I'll throw you off the cliff.”
Little Xie Zhou stared at her, his dark eyes unblinking.
He didn't dare to utter a single word of protest, only nodding repeatedly and saying, “Okay.”
Song Yao had never seen such an obedient and timid child; he did whatever he was told.
The cultivation world had no lights at night, and she was somewhat afraid of the dark, so she forced Xie Zhou to sleep on the floor in her room. He didn't say a word and simply came over clutching his blanket.
Whenever the courtyard needed sweeping or schoolwork needed to be finished, she would put on a stern face and point her finger, and he would obediently do her share of the work too.
Later on, she heard that there was a kind of fruit on Caiyun Peak that was particularly delicious. She dragged Xie Zhou along to pick some, only to encounter a high-level demon guarding the fruit.
She was chased until she tumbled down the mountain, bleeding from her head, while Fourth Junior Brother was bitten on the calf. Fortunately, they ran into Third Elder, which saved their lives.
Although she was in pain, she found it fun and pulled Fourth Junior Brother along, grinning as she said they should go again next time. Perhaps out of fear, Fourth Junior Brother shed a few tears.
Third Elder seeing this gave her a harsh scolding and warned her that if she ever took Fourth Junior Brother on such a dangerous venture again, she would definitely be punished.
She had no choice but to behave herself a little. Once her wounds healed slightly, she practiced her swordplay for a few days, completely forgetting the pain, and ran off to pick the fruit alone.
Unsurprisingly, she ran into that high-level demon again.
Only this time, it ended in a draw, with both sides battered, bruised, and looking extremely wretched.
Feeling quite accomplished, she forced the demon to make peace with her, then headed back to the main peak, covered in blood while cradling the fruit.
Fourth Junior Brother was standing dejectedly outside her courtyard. When he saw her state, his face turned pale with fright. He rushed to Ward-Off-Illness Hall to beg for medicine and came back, pressing her down by the shoulders as he insisted on treating her wounds.
Once the wounds were tended to, he clutched her clothes as tears began to fall, looking incredibly aggrieved. “Third Senior Sister, why didn't you take me?”
“Didn't you say that wherever you go, I go?”
“Do you not want me anymore?”
By then, Fourth Junior Brother had already grown slightly taller than her, yet he hung his head like an abandoned puppy.
Eager to prove himself to her, he pulled out all of his talismans. “I will protect you. Master said I learn faster than anyone else. I am not inferior to sword cultivators or spiritual cultivators.”
“Wherever you go, whatever fruit you go to pick, take me with you, okay?”
“I already explained to Third Elder. It wasn't you bullying me and dragging me along; I wanted to go myself.”
Song Yao had never heard Fourth Junior Brother say so many words.
She blinked, not knowing how to respond for a moment.
In the end, her eyes simply curved into crescents as she stuffed a fruit into his mouth, then skipped into her courtyard. “No. I'm not playing with you.”
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