**12. A Cheap Dao Companion**
In the early morning, the mountains were enveloped in cloud and mist swirling around.
For breakfast today, Jiang Huai prepared rice noodles, adding freshly cooked rice into a pot of clear lamb soup. He garnished it with some chopped green onions and cilantro, and topped it off with a portion of braised meat.
Chu Xianning was, of course, punctual as she pushed open her room door and appeared in the courtyard. Today, her Master wore a white spring dress, draped in a light purple gauze, with a long skirt that completely concealed her slender and long legs, only subtly revealing a pair of delicate ankles. Her white and tender little feet were clad in white socks and adorned with embroidered shoes.
Her jet-black hair was left loose, falling lazily behind her head.
Jiang Huai looked forward to waking up five minutes earlier than his Master each day, sitting in the courtyard to watch her expression as she woke. During that time, the cold and aloof demeanor of his Master softened slightly, with a hint of little grogginess in her eyes, making her seem unexpectedly cute.
Seeing his Master rise, Jiang Huai turned and went to Luo Qingyu’s room. He gently knocked on the door. After a softly spoken “Come in,” from Luo Qingyu, he opened the door. She was sitting bedside, her fingers lightly gripping a pair of white underpants, just pulling them up to her soft, white thighs.
Their gazes met, and for an instant, their eyes connected in the air.
Luo Qingyu seemed unaware of what she was doing as she jumped off the bed, her white and tender little feet landing on the ground. Her fingers continued to tug on her underpants’ edges while Jiang Huai quietly closed the door, pretending he saw nothing.
He couldn’t give her any opportunity to change the scene! Hmph!
Luo Qingyu took her time before coming out because she needed to comb her hair, apply some light makeup, and style her hair beautifully. After a good while, when she finally pushed the door open, she found Jiang Huai stealing a piece of braised meat from her bowl with his chopsticks.
“That’s Qingyu’s!” Luo Qingyu quickly dashed over and hugged her bowl to her chest, while Jiang Huai mumbled, “Who told you to get up so late?”
“Jiang Huai Gege, give it back to me.” Luo Qingyu looked at him with a pitiful expression.
Jiang Huai pointed to his mouth, where he was happily chewing her braised meat, but unexpectedly, Luo Qingyu leaned in, her hand resting on his shoulder, as if she intended to reclaim it from his mouth. The next moment, Jiang Huai swallowed everything down and pointed to his stomach, saying, “Now it’s in here.”
Luo Qingyu gazed at him, resigned, and then picked up her bowl, slowly using her chopsticks to pick at her rice noodles. She ate very slowly but had a good appetite, mainly because she enjoyed the meals Jiang Huai prepared.
Chu Xianning soon finished eating and left to stroll around the sect. Jiang Huai sat at the side of the table, watching Luo Qingyu diligently slurp her rice noodles.
This girl indeed seemed to have changed quite a bit compared to two years ago.
………………………………
Jiang Huai first met her when she was fifteen years old.
That year, Jiang Huai was sixteen, and Chu Xianning took him to Qingxuan Sect to propose.
The proposal wasn’t just a casual meeting to settle on a marriage; Luo Yueguan had always favored elaborate gatherings, so they specially arranged a competition for Jiang Huai. She wanted him to stand on the Qingxuan Sect’s Sword Discussion Platform, facing challenges from all the disciples. If anyone could defeat Jiang Huai, she would withdraw her offer and not marry her daughter to him.
On that day, Jiang Huai single-handedly defeated one hundred and thirty challengers, gaining the respect of all the Qingxuan Sect disciples. Only then did Luo Yueguan announce that Jiang Huai would become her daughter Luo Qingyu’s Dao Companion. It was also that night that Jiang Huai finally saw Luo Qingyu.
At that time, the young girl had already grown tall and alluring, yet she was shy and silly. During their first meeting, Jiang Huai felt her eyes were enveloped in a hazy mist. Luo Yueguan had given them time alone, so Jiang Huai walked into Luo Qingyu’s room, closed the door, and sat across from her.
Neither spoke, but their gazes met in silence.
In that instant, Jiang Huai suddenly felt as if he were in a standoff, as if speaking first would mean defeat. He gazed at Luo Qingyu for an hour, until he couldn’t help himself anymore and finally broke the silence, saying, “Being still like that is just a turtle.”
“What’s a turtle?”
“It’s something that tastes great when braised.”
“I’ve never had that.”
“No problem, I’ll make it for you tomorrow.”
“Your mother has betrothed you to me, saying you would be my Dao Companion in the future.”
“What’s a Dao Companion?”
“You don’t know?”
“I don’t.”
“It means someone who will be by my side after we officially marry, practicing sword techniques with me and sleeping together at night.”
“Mm.”
“What does ‘Mm’ mean?”
“‘Mm’ means ‘Mm.’”
“Do you want to be my Dao Companion?”
“I’ll listen to mother.”
“Don’t worry about her. If you don’t want to, you can choose not to listen to her.”
“Mother’s arrangements are always right.”
“Not necessarily.”
“What’s wrong with your hand?”
“It hurts.”
“I know it hurts. What I mean is… who hurt you?”
“I did it myself.”
“Why?”
“When my hand hurts… my heart doesn’t hurt anymore.”
“Does your heart hurt?”
“Mm.”
“What kind of pain?”
“I can’t describe it; it’s painful and cold.”
“Then come here.”
“Come here?”
“Mm, stand up.”
Luo Qingyu stood up, her gaze dazed as she looked at the boy who was half a head taller than her. Jiang Huai reached out and gently embraced her. Her body was cold, and her jet-black hair felt smooth and soft. He could sense her sudden stiffness; she remained still and silent. After a while, her body gradually softened against him.
“Does it still hurt?” he asked softly.
“Seems a bit… better.”
He held her until warmth returned to her body before letting go. Luo Qingyu stood there, her dazed eyes reflecting a trace of reluctance as Jiang Huai pulled out two orange-flavored lollipops from his pocket, unwrapped one, and placed it in her mouth.
“It’s sweet,” Luo Qingyu murmured, looking dazed.
“Do you like this flavor?”
“I do.”
“Once you become my Dao Companion, there will be candy every day.”
“Okay.”
Thus, Jiang Huai successfully won her over with a piece of candy, making her a cheap Dao Companion.
When Jiang Huai first got to know her, Luo Qingyu was just a well-behaved doll or a cute little frog; poke her, and she would move, though she had a reclusive personality. He vaguely sensed the loneliness deep within her, stirring a bit of pity in his heart. Therefore, he always invited her to play and practice sword techniques with him, cooking delicious meals, occasionally giving her small snacks and trinkets, and teaching her how to interact with strangers, along with sharing some oddball theories. Gradually, Luo Qingyu became more cheerful.
Jiang Huai even set rules for her: she was not allowed to do anything silly again. If she did, he would stop playing with her. After that, Luo Qingyu became very obedient and never harmed herself again. Her only flaw was that she liked to cling to him; aside from when she was in seclusion to cultivate, she always wanted to come find him to play.
Jiang Huai often felt a sense of guilt about it. At the age of fifteen, where could the young girl’s thoughts stray? She was innocent and easily swayed, and he felt that he had unconsciously become the tree she relied upon.
However, Jiang Huai still hoped she could rely more on herself. Placing hope in others equated to giving up on oneself.
………………………………
“Jiang Huai Gege.”
“Hmm?”
“I’m not full yet.” Luo Qingyu rubbed her little belly, putting down her bowl and looking at him with a pitiful expression.
“What if you turn into a little pig?”
“If I turn into a little pig, will you still like me, Jiang Huai Gege?”
“Of course not,” Jiang Huai replied, pulling out some pastries from his Storage Ring and pushing them toward her. However, Luo Qingyu turned her face away, looking wronged. “Then I don’t want to eat.”
“Then I’ll eat it myself.” Jiang Huai began stuffing the pastries into his own mouth. Watching him eat made Luo Qingyu’s eyes gleam with desire, and she stared at him longingly until Jiang Huai picked up a piece of mung bean cake and brought it to her tender lips. Only then did she obediently open her mouth to take a bite. After finishing that piece, she continued to watch him intently, prompting Jiang Huai to feed her another.
They continued until all the mung bean cakes were gone. Luo Qingyu’s eyes revealed a hint of satisfaction as she obediently tidied up her bowl and chopsticks to wash them while Jiang Huai remained seated, lost in thought in the courtyard.
There were six days left until the Inner Sect Competition.
Jiang Huai began to recall the rules of the Inner Sect Competition. If he remembered correctly, cultivators of the same realm would be paired up for a drawing, with each participant required to fight at least five matches. Importantly, if they lost two matches in a row at the start, they would need to win five consecutive matches to retain their position.
These rules seemed quite troublesome. In previous years, when Jiang Huai participated, his opponents often surrendered automatically, and he hardly had to draw his sword, securing first place almost without effort. Sometimes there were challengers who wanted to test their skills against him or sought his guidance when they hit a plateau in their sword techniques, and he was happy to help.
For many years, Jiang Huai had maintained a good reputation in the Tian Xuan Sect. Besides being helpful and generous, he had garnered the admiration of numerous junior sisters without ever getting entangled in any gossip or rumors.
The last point was crucial; had he behaved carelessly with any female disciple, he likely would have returned to the courtyard to find his Master waiting to punish him severely.
Additionally, having grown up beside his Master, his standards of beauty had been raised significantly; unless a girl was as pretty as Luo Qingyu, he would inevitably feel a bit disappointed.
With nothing much to do daily, engaging in good deeds that were within his capabilities brought him a sense of tranquility, and he occasionally felt pleased, satisfying his sense of moral superiority. Over the years, when disciples couldn’t afford to refine medicine on Medicine Refining Mountain, they would seek his help, and if he had the time, he would occasionally assist them. He would also stand up for outer sect disciples abused by inner sect disciples since he had his Master and the Sect Master backing him. Once, he was the most prominent figure in the Tian Xuan Sect; no one could compare to his connections.
Unfortunately, his cultivation level was practically wasted now.
Despite this, Jiang Huai harbored no worries about it.
Even if his spiritual veins had dried up, he had quietly made preparations because he feared pain.
