“But you still haven't told me what exactly happened.”
“Oh, you're just a little girl. Why do you have so many questions?” Shen Tinglan waved her hand, already unconsciously taking a half-step toward the exit of the teleportation hall.
Shen Qingci stared at her aunt, her eyes filled with suspicion.
Her aunt was someone who wouldn't even bat an eye if the sky fell, yet right now she didn't even dare to look her in the eye. She clearly had a guilty conscience.
“Could it be that Aunt is in debt?”
“In debt? What a joke!” Shen Tinglan's voice rose half an octave. “The Shen family has more than enough wealth to buy the entire Southern Region. How could I possibly be in debt?”
Shen Qingci took two steps back, then another two, not stopping until she was a full ten meters away from her aunt. Only then did she stand firm and say, “Your niece is referring to a romantic debt.”
Shen Tinglan's eyelids twitched violently.
“For example, Ji Lingshu's master has caught up to you.”
As soon as those words left her mouth, Shen Tinglan's face turned so dark it looked like it was about to rain.
Why does this little niece of mine have to be so quick-witted???
Before she could even think of a way to fool her, her secrets had been completely laid bare.
“You brat, do you have to be so sharp!” Shen Tinglan ground her teeth.
Forget it, she couldn't care about that much anymore.
Taking a step forward, her figure blurred into a mere afterimage as she chopped the back of Shen Qingci's neck with her palm.
Shen Qingci's vision went black. She only had time to curse internally, Aunt, you're playing dirty! before she lost consciousness.
Beside them, Gu Qingyi froze completely, her mouth hanging wide open...
Shen Tinglan waved her hand at her. “Little girl of the Gu family, please convey my apologies to Patriarch Gu for the disruption. We couldn't make it to the main banquet, but I will make it up to her next time.” With that, she pulled a storage bag from her sleeve and tossed it over. “Take this. Consider it a greeting gift.”
Gu Qingyi caught it instinctively. Before she could even bow and express her gratitude, Ancestor Tinglan had already vanished from her sight.
Carrying her niece on her shoulder, Shen Tinglan's figure streaked through the clouds like a brilliant rainbow. A Void Refining cultivator traveling at full speed was so fast that even the clouds were sliced in half.
As she flew, she calculated. That person was likely already waiting in Qinghe County; going back openly would be walking straight into a trap. She couldn't return to Qinghe County, she couldn't go back to the Gu family, and the Northern Region was out of the question.
Right, near the Azure Cloud Sect.
She had previously purchased several private residences for Hanzhou in the market town. They were in remote locations and equipped with complete restrictions, making them the perfect place to crash for a while.
She would hide for a few years first and make further plans once the dust settled.
As for what her niece thought—well, she was already knocked out, so she couldn't have any thoughts anyway.
A streak of green light pierced the sky, descending straight toward the Azure Cloud Sect market town.
Clutching the storage bag, Gu Qingyi stood at the entrance of the teleportation hall for a long while before finally snapping out of it.
She had only managed to catch a brief glimpse of Ancestor Tinglan's expression earlier, but she recognized it clear as day.
Several elders in her own clan who were chased all over the mountains by their Dao companions wore that exact same guilty look on their faces before slipping away to enjoy some peace.
She looked down at the storage bag in her hand and swept her divine sense inside, nearly getting blinded by the dazzling array of treasures within.
At this, even most of her worries for Senior Sister Shen instantly vanished.
It was better for her not to meddle in the private affairs of this aunt and niece. Gu Qingyi tucked the storage bag away, turned around, and walked back, her mind filled with the urge to return to the main hall and tell her cousin about the bizarre encounter she had just experienced.
High above the clouds, Shen Tinglan flew for nearly fifteen minutes.
The little niece on her shoulder was breathing steadily, sleeping soundly without even a single red mark left on her neck. Shen Tinglan looked down and felt quite pleased with her own strike.
Seeing the outline of the Azure Cloud Sect market town in the distance, she suddenly shifted her trajectory and swept toward the private residential area in the northwest corner.
Hanzhou had several private residences purchased for her, and Shen Tinglan chose the most inconspicuous one—a three-entry courtyard.
The courtyard walls were relatively high, protected by three layers of restrictions. Even if a Nascent Soul cultivator walked past the gate, they wouldn't be able to detect any spiritual energy fluctuations inside.
Hovering above the courtyard, she raised her hand and pressed it lightly against the restriction. Her spiritual energy seeped through, splitting open a gap in the barrier.
Shen Tinglan carried her little niece inside, and the array closed shut behind them.
The courtyard was small in layout, but its saving grace was its tranquility.
The main hall was furnished with a few simple pieces of furniture, the eastern wing served as the bedroom, and the western wing was empty.
Shen Tinglan placed Shen Qingci on the soft couch in the eastern wing, retrieved a soft pillow from her storage ring to prop her head up, then stood up and clapped her hands. Looking around, she was highly satisfied with this temporary lodging.
When Shen Qingci woke up, the back of her neck still throbbed with a dull ache.
Lying on the soft couch, she stared at the green gauze canopy overhead, piecing together everything that had happened before she passed out.
Her aunt's guilty expression, the way her face had darkened after her romantic debt was exposed, and finally, that swift and precise hand chop.
She sat up.
Very well!
Knocking out her own niece and running off with her.
“Aunt,” Shen Qingci called out.
A rustling sound echoed from the outer room.
After a long while, Shen Tinglan finally strolled in with a face full of maternal affection, her expression dignified and upright, as if knocking out her niece had absolutely nothing to do with her.
“A-Ci, are you thirsty? Your aunt brewed some tea for you.”
Shen Qingci refused to be swayed by soft or hard tactics, her sharp gaze piercing right through her aunt.
“Aunt, who exactly is Ji Lingshu's master?”
Shen Tinglan's hand holding the teacup nearly slipped.
“Why is a little kid like you asking about these things?”
“Your niece is already seventeen. I'm not a kid anymore.”
“Seventeen? What about seventeen? Your aunt has lived for over a thousand years. To you, I'm practically an old monster, and looking at a seventeen-year-old child is no different from looking at a baby.”
“Aunt,” Shen Qingci said, her tone growing heavier.
Shen Tinglan leaned back into her armchair and let out a sigh of resignation. “Fine, fine, fine! I'll tell you now.”
“Her name is Ji Linlang. She is the former sect master of the Wangchuan Sect in the Eastern Region, and currently the sect's Grand Elder. She's at the peak of Soul Transformation, a half-step into Void Refining.”
Shen Qingci raised an eyebrow. “Her cultivation is higher than yours used to be?”
“Higher? She's only one minor realm higher,” Shen Tinglan snorted dryly. “Back then in the Eastern Region, I owed her a favor of modest significance. But this favor accumulated interest, growing larger and larger, and she used it as an excuse to chase after me to collect the debt.”
“What kind of debt?”
Shen Tinglan fell silent for a moment. When she spoke again, her expression was rare in its seriousness. “To become her Dao companion.”
Shen Qingci: “???”
She recalled how back at the Sword-Falling Terrace, when she had mentioned Yunshang Pavilion, her master's face had instantly darkened.
Her senior sister had shielded her and sent a transmission explaining that Yunshang Pavilion was Martial Aunt Liu's private property.
Her master and Martial Aunt Liu were separated by the chasm of a damaged Dao foundation, yet Martial Aunt Liu had yearned for her master for so many years.
No wonder her aunt got nervous upon seeing Ji Lingshu.
Ji Lingshu was Ji Linlang's personal disciple, which was practically equivalent to Ji Linlang's informant on the outside.
Looking at her aunt's forced composure, she suddenly felt like bursting into song.
Ah, so even my aunt has days like this.
“Aunt, do you like Senior Ji?”
Shen Tinglan was choked up by the question. She turned her face away, a faint blush rising at the tips of her ears. “What do you mean 'like or not'? Stop prying into your elders' private affairs.”
Shen Qingci had her answer.
If she truly didn't like her, with her aunt's temperament, she would have long since slapped her into the Eastern Sea to feed the fish. Why would she bother hiding?
“How long do you plan to hide, Aunt?”
“What do you mean 'hide'? This seat is merely temporarily avoiding her sharp edge,” Shen Tinglan corrected righteously. “Once you finish handling your matters in the Azure Cloud Sect, this seat will naturally head back.”
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