Shen Qingci said unhurriedly, “Then I can build it myself. There's no need for the sect to spend any spirit stones.”
“Hmm? Unless A-Ci wants to get beaten by Master again. The Sword Tomb is the resting place of the heroic spirits of sword cultivators from past generations, heavily guarded by restrictions. Altering the arrays without authorization would disturb the ancestral swords.”
“If Master finds out you're plotting something with the Sword Tomb, I'm afraid it won't be as simple as her chasing you down with a bamboo switch.”
Shen Qingci immediately behaved.
“I know I was wrong; I was just thinking out loud. Master's beatings really hurt, and A-Ci cares about her dignity...” Her voice grew softer and softer toward the end.
Chi Yuan stared at the fluffy head in her arms, suddenly feeling a bit worried.
A-Ci was clearly a mischievous child at heart. With herself entering the Sword Tomb for a five-year seclusion, if this little troublemaker caused any mischief outside and got dragged to the Sword-Falling Terrace by Master to be whipped with a bamboo switch, there wouldn't even be anyone to stop it.
Feeling a slight pang of guilt, she whispered, “A-Ci, if you make Master angry in the future, just go to Biluo Peak and find Martial Aunt Liu!”
Shen Qingci: “[・_・!]”
“Find Martial Aunt Liu???”
“Yes. Martial Aunt Liu can stop Master's bamboo switch.”
Shen Qingci opened her mouth but hesitated.
Her mind spun for several rotations before she fully digested the weight of those words. Her senior sister was actually teaching her how to seek outside help to deal with their own master.
She couldn't help but feel emotional. Fortunately, these words were spoken under the blankets of the master bedroom. If their master, that King of Closet Romantics, were to hear this, her maternal heart would probably shatter into pieces.
Yet, she loved her senior sister even more for this.
Shen Qingci really wanted to laugh out loud. “Senior Sister! Don't worry. I promise I won't cause trouble, and I won't give Master the chance to whip me a second time.”
Chi Yuan still felt uneasy, so she could only tighten her embrace around her junior sister.
Over the next few days, Shen Qingci meditated, practiced her swordplay, and attended classes at the Dharma Academy as usual.
Those familiar with her at the Dharma Academy noticed that Senior Sister Shen had been in a poor mood lately. She was much more taciturn than usual, with a heavy expression on her brow and a lack of enthusiasm.
Yin Ruozhuo secretly sent a transmission to Zhao Yu: “What's wrong with Senior Sister?”
Zhao Yu replied: “Don't ask. Even if you ask, you won't be able to solve it. It's better to let Senior Sister Gu go. Since they are both female cultivators, it's more appropriate for them to communicate.”
“Fair enough!”
When classes dismissed in the afternoon, the disciples left in pairs and groups.
Shen Qingci packed up her jade slips, intending to head back to Yunqi Cave to spend more time with her senior sister, when someone slowly approached from behind.
“Senior Sister Shen.”
Gu Qingyi caught up from behind.
By the time Shen Qingci turned around, a proper and dignified expression was already on her face. “Junior Sister Gu.”
“Senior Sister has been in a bad mood lately. Why don't I tell you some good news to cheer you up?”
Shen Qingci raised an eyebrow slightly, waiting for her to continue.
“Recently, the sect caught a thief who has been stealing male cultivators' underpants.”
Shen Qingci almost choked.
Underpants???
She quickly glanced at Gu Qingyi.
This junior sister's expression was perfectly normal as she spoke, her tone still gentle and soft, as if she were reporting some official business.
Shen Qingci's originally gloomy mood cracked open a sliver of amusement from this absurd topic.
She was indeed intrigued, so she took half a step closer to Gu Qingyi. “Let's go to a private room on the second floor of the Dining Hall. You can take your time telling me.”
The two of them went up to the second floor of the Dining Hall and chose the innermost private room. Shen Qingci casually set up a sound-insulating restriction. Gu Qingyi sat opposite her and poured herself a cup of spiritual tea.
“It all started half a month ago,” Gu Qingyi said, holding her teacup to moisten her throat. “There's a Foundation Establishment senior brother in the inner sect named Wang Yan. Every few days, he would lose a pair of underpants.”
“At first, he thought the laundry room had lost them. Feeling too embarrassed to make a fuss, he went to the market himself to buy a few new ones to replace them.”
“Later, he started losing more and more. It went from losing one every three to five days to losing two in a single day.”
“Even though they only cost a Yellow-grade Low-rank price per pair, the sheer quantity added up. When his monthly allowance could no longer sustain the loss, he finally ran to the Law Enforcement Hall to report it.”
Shen Qingci raised her teacup to hide the curve of her lips.
【Junior Sister Gu wouldn't bring this up for no reason. Most likely, it's a scheme they set up together behind the scenes.】
“At first, the senior brothers of the Law Enforcement Hall didn't take it seriously, thinking it was just some inner sect disciple causing trouble out of boredom. But after investigating for a few days, they realized something was wrong. Wang Yan wasn't the only one losing underpants.”
“Seven or eight male cultivators in the inner sect had fallen victim one after another. Some lost four or five, while others lost over a dozen.”
“The key is, they only steal underpants.” Gu Qingyi raised a single finger, her expression solemn.
“Not a single other item was missing. Spirit stones, medicinal pills, and magical artifacts were all left completely untouched in their rooms.”
Shen Qingci put down her teacup. “Only underpants? This thief certainly has a unique taste.”
“The Law Enforcement Hall also found it strange, so they set up three layers of restrictions to stake out the locations. The first layer was at Cave Dwelling C, the second at Cave Dwelling D, and the third in Wang Yan's room. As a result...”
“The next morning, the three layers of restrictions were completely intact, not a single warning talisman had lit up, yet the underpants in all three cave dwellings were completely gone.”
“The restrictions weren't triggered?”
“Not a single trace was left behind.”
A look of genuine interest appeared in Shen Qingci's eyes.
Although the Azure Cloud Sect's Law Enforcement Hall was not top-tier, the restrictions they laid down shouldn't have been treated as mere decorations by an underpants thief.
This “thief” was either extremely powerful or knew the sect's restrictions inside out.
“How was it caught later?”
“It wasn't caught; it walked right into the trap. The night before last, Senior Brother Qian, the second disciple of Peak Master Lu of Tianshu Peak, was meditating in his room when he heard a sound at the window lattice.”
“He pretended to be in meditation while keeping watch with his peripheral vision. He saw a tiny creature squeeze through the crack in the window.”
“What kind of creature?”
“A spirit beast. It was pitch-black all over, shaped like a kitten, with a tuft of blue fur at the tip of its tail. Its movement was as fast as a ghostly shadow.”
“It went straight for Senior Brother Qian's underpants resting by the couch, snatched them in its mouth, and tried to squeeze back out the window. When Senior Brother Qian reached out to grab it, its claw scratched his arm.”
A Golden Core talisman cultivator was actually scratched to the point of bleeding by a spirit beast that wasn't even the size of his palm. He was stunned on the spot. Taking advantage of his daze, the spirit beast escaped.
Hearing this, Shen Qingci's eyes narrowed slightly.
“Shaped like a kitten, with blue fur on its tail, able to bypass three layers of restrictions without being detected...” She looked up and stared at Gu Qingyi. “I'm afraid this creature has a fated connection with you, Junior Sister.”
Gu Qingyi was taken aback for a moment, then the corners of her lips curved up. “Senior Sister really is as sharp as they come.”
“Aside from Senior Brother Qian, the other victims have all bullied their fellow disciples in the outer sect. This whole thing can be considered a way to disgust them.”
Shen Qingci understood.
No wonder. Losing underpants was neither a massive deal nor a trivial matter. Even if it was brought to the Law Enforcement Hall, it wouldn't be deemed a major crime. Yet, it could make those male cultivators constantly anxious every day, having to feel how many layers they were wearing before stepping out.
This idea was quite wicked.
It certainly felt like Yin Ruozhuo's style.
“Senior Brother Qian is Zhao Yu's brother-in-law,” Gu Qingyi continued. “That spirit beast is a Void-Crevice Sable.”
“Its cultivation is at the early Foundation Establishment stage, and it naturally possesses a trace of spatial bloodline, allowing it to briefly traverse between the virtual and the real.”
“That's precisely why the sect's three layers of restrictions couldn't trap it.” Gu Qingyi leaned back. “This creature is extremely rare. In the entire Southern Region, you won't find even ten of them.”
“This time, the Furong Merchant Alliance acted as the middleman to lend it to us for two months. Consider it earning some extra pocket money on the side.”
Rate on N.U.
