CHAPTER 15 | Thoughts of Each Other
At this moment, Ye Anping leaned against an acacia tree, his face flushed and his breathing heavy as an ox. His t-shirt was so soaked in sweat that it felt like he could wring out several large bowls of water from it.
In contrast to his exhaustion, Pei Lianxue, who had been sparring with him, only had a few drops of sweat on her forehead and a faint flush on her cheeks. She still seemed to have at least seventy to eighty percent of her energy left.
Ye Anping had long suspected that he would soon be unable to serve as Pei Lianxue’s sparring partner. However, he hadn’t expected this day to arrive so quickly. When a genius and a cannon fodder charge down the same path, the gap between them only widens.
Yet, he didn’t feel discouraged. Instead, he felt a sense of achievement, like a father watching his daughter grow up, thinking, “Look, this is who I trained; how amazing she is!”
Alas, pride comes before a fall. Everyone knows the story of Wang Anshi’s “Child Prodigy” (伤仲永). Now, both the Hundred Lotus Sect and Ye Anping lacked the resources to continue supporting Pei Lianxue. Her rare “Single Water Extreme Spiritual Root” demanded extremely strict cultivation methods and environments. Furthermore, she was now at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining and on the verge of Foundation Establishment. After Foundation Establishment, her demand for Spirit Stones and frigid spiritual energy would double. At that point, unless Ye Anping could convince his father to allocate all of the Hundred Lotus Sect’s cultivation resources to Pei Lianxue, her cultivation journey would become arduous.
Thinking of this, Ye Anping felt a bit troubled and was reminded of the mobile games he used to play. The rarer the character, the more expensive the cultivation materials. If the protagonist, Feng Yu Die, was an SSR character, Pei Lianxue was likely a UR.
“Sigh… I can’t afford to raise her anymore, can’t afford it…”
“Can’t afford what?” Pei Lianxue sheathed her sword and knelt beside him, gently massaging his shoulder muscles. “Senior Brother, do you want to raise a small demonic beast as a pet? How about we go shopping in the marketplace? Last time I saw some small birds for sale, they looked so cute.”
“Heh, I’m not interested in those little things,” Ye Anping shook his head. “I’m saying I can barely afford to keep you.”
Pei Lianxue puffed out her cheeks, thinking her Senior Brother saw her as a pet. But she also thought being his pet wasn’t so bad, so she playfully replied, “How can you not afford me? I’m easy to raise. All I need is a place to sleep, three meals a day, and occasional pats and hugs. I’m much easier to care for than those little demonic beasts and potted plants.”
Hearing this, Ye Anping sighed again, his lips pouting. “I’ve spent quite a lot of Spirit Stones on you over the years.”
“How much has Senior Brother spent on me? I’ll pay you back. I’ve saved quite a lot of Spirit Stones.”
“Come on, how much could be in that little piggy bank of yours?” Ye Anping shrugged and thought for a moment. “If we were to calculate it, I’ve probably spent over fifty thousand Spirit Stones on you.”
“Ah? Fifty… fifty thousand?”
“One of the medicines you drink daily is ‘Mysterious Ice Lotus,’ which costs five to six hundred Spirit Stones per plant in the marketplace. You’ve been taking this medicine since you were seven, consuming twelve plants a year. Plus other miscellaneous expenses, fifty thousand might not even be enough.”
Pei Lianxue was a little surprised. She knew her Senior Brother often gave her pills, but she thought they only cost a few thousand Spirit Stones at most. She never imagined it would be so much.
Seeing her expression, Ye Anping smiled and teased, “Junior Sister, you’ve spent so many Spirit Stones from Senior Brother. What do you think you should do?”
“Ah…” Pei Lianxue pursed her lips uneasily. After thinking for a moment, her eyes lit up, and she asked with a smile, “Senior Brother, how much am I worth? How about I write a deed of sale to you as collateral?”
Ye Anping rolled his eyes and waved his hand. “Who wants your deed of sale?”
“Senior Brother doesn’t want it?” Pei Lianxue lowered her eyes, her face filled with disappointment.
“…” Ye Anping was slightly taken aback, knitted his brows, and asked, “What? Are you happy to sell yourself to me?”
If I could marry Senior Brother, that would be best, but selling myself isn’t impossible…
Pei Lianxue pouted and raised her index finger. “It’s… paying back debt is only right. I can’t afford to pay back so many Spirit Stones, so I have no choice but to sell myself to Senior Brother, right?”
“How much do you weigh now?”
“Around eighty-five jin?”
“Spirit pig meat is two Spirit Stones per jin at market price. You’re worth a hundred…”
“Senior Brother!!” Pei Lianxue’s eyebrows shot up, and she grabbed Ye Anping’s face, stretching it into a flat pancake. “You’re the pig!!”
Ye Anping laughed, grabbed her hand, and chuckled, “Alright, alright, I’m just kidding.”
“Hmph!”
“I’m serious. If you stay at the Hundred Lotus Sect from now on, your cultivation won’t progress further. I was thinking yesterday whether I should send you to the Xuan Xing Sect.”
“Xuan Xing Sect?”
“Yes, the Xuan Xing Sect is one of the five great sects, and its resources are incomparably more abundant than the Hundred Lotus Sect’s.”
“Okay, let’s go together then!” Pei Lianxue quickly nodded. “Didn’t Senior Brother say there’s a disciple assembly at the Xuan Xing Sect in two months? Senior Brother will definitely be among the top.”
“Sigh—” Ye Anping tapped her forehead. “I can’t participate.”
“What’s wrong?”
“The Xuan Xing Sect has extremely strict requirements for disciples’ aptitude. I, your Senior Brother, only have a Double Spirit Root, so I don’t even qualify to participate in the disciple assembly.”
“I see… then if Senior Brother doesn’t go, I won’t be able to go either. It’s fine if my cultivation is slower in the future. I’ll just stay with Senior Brother at the Hundred Lotus Sect. It’s quite good too.”
Ye Anping hadn’t formally explained the matter of her spiritual root to Pei Lianxue yet; she still thought she only had a Three Spirit Root. However, having Pei Lianxue stay at the Hundred Lotus Sect wasn’t a bad idea. Now that Wu You was dead, and once Feng Yu Die entered the Xuan Xing Sect, the main storyline would begin to accelerate. Not only Pei Lianxue but he himself would also need a large amount of resources in the future. Going to the Xuan Xing Sect to “farm” resources was undoubtedly the most hassle-free way to obtain them.
But the problem was, neither he nor Pei Lianxue could enter the Xuan Xing Sect. Pei Lianxue’s Single Water Extreme Spiritual Root was too unique, and the elders of the Xuan Xing Sect likely wouldn’t recognize her true aptitude. As for himself, with only a Double Spirit Root, he didn’t meet the requirements either.
However, he remembered that entry disciples at the Xuan Xing Sect could bring one companion reader. So, having himself or Pei Lianxue enter as Feng Yu Die’s companion reader was also a possibility.
But—
He truly didn’t want to get too close to Feng Yu Die. A cannon fodder approaching the protagonist was no different than asking for death. And if he let Pei Lianxue go with her, he feared Feng Yu Die would lead his Junior Sister, whom he had raised with immense care, astray. Pei Lianxue was his Junior Sister, whom he had spent over ten years cultivating! How could he let this philandering pig Feng Yu Die corrupt her? In the game, Feng Yu Die, in the later stages, first deceived the Xuan Xing Sect Master’s daughter out of her virginity, and then flirted with a princess and five or six other beautiful and talented girls.
Just as Ye Anping was thinking about Feng Yu Die, her voice suddenly came from the side. “Miss Pei… and Young Master Ye.”
“…” Ye Anping turned his head to look, while Pei Lianxue instinctively tightened her grip on her sword.
Feng Yu Die, supported by Xiao Die, hobbled over to them from the edge of the training ground. Reaching them, she nodded to Ye Anping. “Thank you, Young Master Ye, for the medicinal porridge you prepared for me. After drinking it, I feel much more relaxed.”
Hearing this, Pei Lianxue’s eyes widened, and she gripped her sword tighter. Ye Anping was also slightly confused. He hadn’t prepared any medicinal porridge for Feng Yu Die, and why was she wearing his mother’s old clothes? Glancing at Xiao Die, he suddenly understood. The medicinal porridge was likely prepared by his mother, and his act of picking up Feng Yu Die must have led Kong Yulan to misunderstand.
“You’re welcome. By the way, why is Miss Feng not resting in her room? Why did you come to the training ground?”
“I heard Young Master Ye and Miss Pei were practicing swordsmanship here, so…” Feng Yu Die glanced at Pei Lianxue beside her and smiled charmingly. “May I watch from the side?”
“My Junior Sister and I have just finished practicing. However, I was planning to find you later anyway; I have something to discuss with you.”
“Discuss with me?” Feng Yu Die awkwardly lowered her head, thinking, could this person really have feelings for her?
“Yes, I have something to ask of you.” Ye Anping paused and looked at Xiao Die. “Xiao Die, could you help us fetch some tea?”
Xiao Die nodded, but her eyes darted around, and she quickly added, “Young Master, Miss Feng can’t walk well by herself right now. Perhaps Young Master could help support Miss Feng?”
“No need, no need.” Feng Yu Die politely declined, but then paused and shyly glanced at Pei Lianxue. “There are distinctions between men and women… it would be troubling Young Master Ye. Perhaps… could Miss Pei help me?”
Seeing her glance at Pei Lianxue, Ye Anping instantly understood her intentions. This woman likely already had her sights set on his Junior Sister. Without further ado, he ignored Feng Yu Die’s refusal and directly grabbed her arm, pulling her towards a nearby pavilion.
“Miss Feng, let me support you.”
“Ah?!” Feng Yu Die instinctively tried to break free, but Ye Anping tightened his grip. “Young Master Ye, this…”
Ye Anping leaned close to her ear and said with a cold smile, “Miss Feng, please rest assured, I have absolutely no feelings for you. But I can see…”
Feng Yu Die’s eyes slowly turned to his face, and she suddenly saw a hint of a villainous smile on Ye Anping’s usually peaceful face, which was quite unsettling. She swallowed and asked, “See what?”
“Gender distinction is for others. For you, it should be female-female distinction.” Ye Anping shot her a cold glance, gritting his teeth. “If you dare to make a move on my Junior Sister, you will regret it.”
Feng Yu Die didn’t expect him to see through her and was suddenly embarrassed, so she gave a silly laugh. “Ahaha…”
However, hearing her silly laughter, Ye Anping’s gaze became even more serious. In the game, whenever Feng Yu Die felt guilty, she would always laugh foolishly like this. “Miss Feng, don’t think your silly laughter will work on me. I’m serious.”
Feng Yu Die paused and quickly defended herself, “Young Master Ye, this… I just admire Miss Pei greatly. You’ve truly misunderstood.”
“If I have misunderstood, then that’s good,” Ye Anping replied with a smile. “I saved your life, so don’t repay kindness with enmity.”
“(Gulp)…” Feng Yu Die swallowed, her smile filled with apprehension. “No… no, that won’t happen.”
At this moment, she felt this person was terrifying. He was merely a cultivator at the Qi Refining Stage, and a mediocre Double Spirit Root at that, seemingly just a background character. Yet, he exuded an aura similar to her Master, Grand Void True Person.
Xiao Tian, floating above her head, watched her show fear and immediately looked at Ye Anping with renewed admiration. In its memory, Feng Yu Die had never shown such apprehension towards anyone except her Master, Grand Void True Person.
*He actually saw through Yu Die’s preference for women at a glance? And could even scare her? This Young Master of the Hundred Lotus Sect is truly remarkable, a person worth befriending!*
However, no one noticed that Pei Lianxue, standing frozen in place, now had eyes filled with bloodshot veins. She stared intently at Feng Yu Die’s retreating back. The sword in her hand made a cracking sound as she gripped it tightly.
“Tsk, this vixen…”
