Chapter 180: The Great Female Protagonist Wants to be a Phoenix!
The next day, at Chen Shi—
Dong—Dongdong—
The morning bell of Xuan Xing Sect rang before dawn, notifying the disciples that it was time to wake up for morning class.
Xiao Yunluo, still in her warm embrace, stretched and opened her eyes. She hid the erotic book she had been reading the night before, and then jumped out of bed. She washed her face, changed her clothes, and prepared to welcome the happiest part of her day – saying good morning to Ye Anping.
Creak—
“Ye Anping, good mor—”
However, upon opening the door, she didn’t see Ye Anping in the courtyard. The door opposite her room was still tightly shut.
Xiao Yunluo was a little puzzled. In her memory, Ye Anping had a very regular schedule. After the first chime of the morning bell, he would have already combed his hair, put on his clothes, and come out of his bedroom.
But why today…
“Huh? He overslept too?”
Xiao Yunluo muttered, walked to Ye Anping’s bedroom door, and knocked. After waiting for a while with no response, she pondered for a moment and then ran to the kitchen.
She put on an apron and moved a stool.
Xiao Yunluo stood in front of the stove, lit the firewood with a fire stone, and boiled water to cook noodles. Finally, she fried two eggs into two “sun” shapes and placed them on top of the noodles, sprinkling some chopped scallions…
In less than fifteen minutes, Xiao Yunluo returned with two bowls of simple noodles filled with her well wishes. She knocked on Ye Anping’s bedroom door again.
Bang bang—
“Ye Anping, are you still not up? I was a bit hungry, so I made some noodles for you. Come out and eat, class starts soon.”
“… …”
“Are you not feeling well? Then I’m coming in.”
“… …”
After hesitating for a moment, she gently pushed open the door and peeked inside.
The room was so tidy, it didn’t look like a male disciple’s room at all. The documents and textbooks on the desk were neatly stacked, and there were no carelessly discarded clothes. It seemed Ye Anping cleaned up every day.
Xiao Yunluo rarely came in. After looking around for a while, she tiptoed to the side of the single bed inside.
On the bed, the quilt covered the pillow completely, so Ye Anping was nowhere to be seen. All that was visible was a human-shaped lump under the quilt.
It looked like Ye Anping was lying on his side, facing her.
“Ye Anping, wake up… Are you really not feeling well? Should I ask for leave for you?”
“… …”
Seeing that Ye Anping still didn’t respond, Xiao Yunluo became a little worried. She quickly placed the noodles on the table, walked back, grabbed a corner of the quilt, and lifted it slightly.
“Ye Anping, you…”
However, the person under the quilt was not Ye Anping.
It was a girl.
She was shorter than Xiao Yunluo by a head, with black and white hair, and a pair of peculiar, yin-yang colored eyes that looked ethereal.
In an instant, Xiao Yunluo felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck the stray hair on her forehead. Her heart, at that moment, stopped instantly, just like the words she was about to say.
For a moment, she wanted to cover the quilt again, but her hands were no longer her own.
She was too shocked to control herself.
She hadn’t seen her mother in several years, but she never expected to see her mother on the bed in the bedroom of the person she liked.
“… …”
Si Xuanji blinked and sat up, leaning to the side.
“Yunluo.”
Called by name, Xiao Yunluo finally snapped back to reality. As if she had returned to the babbling stage of infancy, she struggled for a long time and finally managed to form a word:
“L-le…Le’iang… Mother…”
“What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Am I that scary in your eyes, old woman?”
“Ah… No…” Xiao Yunluo’s lips parted and closed for a while before she finally managed to ask, “Mother, why are you here…”
“Came to see your companion reader.”
“Ah…”
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yunluo remembered the two bowls of noodles on the table. She quickly moved her body, blocking Si Xuanji’s view.
However, this was merely like covering one’s ears while stealing a bell. It only made Si Xuanji narrow her eyes and ask in a monotone voice:
“You even cooked noodles for him?”
Although her tone was flat, Xiao Yunluo immediately understood.
Her mother seemed very displeased with what she had done.
According to the rules, she was the Young Mistress of Xuan Xing Sect, and Ye Anping was her companion reader, not even an outer disciple. How could she cook for Ye Anping?
“Mother, I thought he was sick, so…”
Si Xuanji shook her head enigmatically. She jumped off the bed, walked in front of Xiao Yunluo, and looked up at her daughter’s face. She said, “Your cultivation has shown no progress this year. Elder Qin said your sword art and heart technique are both stagnant. The arrangement for the Ye family’s Young Master to be your companion reader was proposed to me by Mr. Qi back then. It seems Mr. Qi misjudged.”
“Ah…”
What did this mean? Was Ye Anping not in the room now because…
Si Xuanji pretended to ponder for a moment and asked, “How about I replace Ye Anping with Chen Chen, the chief disciple of Tianyun Peak, as your companion reader?”
Xiao Yunluo’s lips trembled. She stammered for a long time. She had never dared to object to her mother’s words before.
But this time, seeing her mother’s expression, she understood that if she didn’t say something, Ye Anping would most likely be sent back to Hundred Lotus Sect, and she wouldn’t be able to see him for a long time.
Ye Anping’s absence today was probably because her mother had already made arrangements.
Xiao Yunluo took a deep breath and gathered her courage. “Mother, can we not change the companion reader? Young Master Ye and I get along well. Although Senior Brother Chen is also very good, but…”
“… …”
Si Xuanji did not reply.
The room was silent, and Xiao Yunluo’s heart began to race. This was the first time she had ever asked her mother for anything. If her mother refused…
Xiao Yunluo bit her lower lip tightly. “Mother, please…”
“Six months.”
“Hm?”
“Six months. Reach late Foundation Establishment, and master both sword art and heart technique to the seventh level.” Si Xuanji walked past her, glanced at the two bowls of noodles on the table, and saw the two “sun” shaped fried eggs on top. She paused and said, “Otherwise, I will replace him.”
Late Foundation Establishment in six months?
Even though she had a heavenly spiritual root, she had only been in Foundation Establishment for a year. She was still a little short of reaching mid-Foundation Establishment.
To reach late Foundation Establishment in just six months.
Xiao Yunluo was uncertain. She pursed her lips and hesitated for a moment, then said, “Mother, can you let Ye Anping come back first.”
Si Xuanji shook her head.
Seeing this, Xiao Yunluo asked urgently, “Mother, I promise, but can you let Ye Anping come back? Pei Lianxue grew up with him, and Elder Qin likes them very much. If he leaves, Junior Sister Pei might also…”
“I didn’t tell him to leave. He asked Elder Qin for a long leave a few days ago and went to the Southern Domain.”
“…Ah?”
Si Xuanji chuckled and walked to the door. She said with a smile, “I never said I drove him away. You’ve been thinking that yourself.”
“……”
“But you agreed. Reach late Foundation Establishment in six months, otherwise I will replace him. Also…” Si Xuanji waved her cloud sleeve, and a letter flew out from it, landing on the table in the room. “This is a letter from Ye Anping to you.”
Xiao Yunluo walked forward somewhat puzzled, picked up the letter, and read it.
—Senior Sister Xiao, please forgive my abrupt departure. I am taking Junior Sister and Senior Sister Feng to Moon Shadow Sword Sect to handle some matters. I will return after the New Year. Please continue to cultivate diligently, Senior Sister Xiao. Below are some rare pills beneficial for Senior Sister Xiao, along with their cultivation methods. Senior Sister Xiao may have Heaven Cloud Sect’s Pill Room refine them herself.
… …
As she was reading the letter, two cawing voices suddenly came from outside the house:
— “Your father is gone!! Your father is gone!!”
Xiao Yunluo didn’t understand what they meant. She was only confused as to why her mother’s Golden Crown Parrot would say such a thing. She remembered that the Golden Crown Parrot was a very rare breed with considerable intelligence. It could even beat Elder Wang at Go.
“Mother, why is A’ying suddenly saying that?”
Si Xuanji hesitated for a moment upon hearing this, then looked up at A’ying, who was standing on the roof, before replying, “It’s nothing.”
As she spoke, she formed a hand seal with her right hand.
A’ying on the roof immediately narrowed its eyes, twisted its body, and raised its left claw, performing a “Golden Parrot Stands Alone” move to dodge the golden light that shot out from Si Xuanji’s sleeve. It even taunted:
— “Your eyesight is failing!! Your eyesight is failing!!”
However, it didn’t expect that a beam of golden light it dodged would turn 180 degrees and shoot back, hitting the back of its head.
“Ga…”
A’ying rolled twice on the roof. Finally, Si Xuanji grabbed the feathers on its head and hung it on her belt. Then, Si Xuanji turned to Xiao Yunluo and smiled slightly:
“Yunluo, six months. Mother will not go back on her word, and I hope you won’t either.”
With that, she left, her bare little feet making tinkling sounds.
Jingle… Jingle…
As the bells on her anklets gradually faded away and became inaudible, Xiao Yunluo looked at the letter in her hand. She nodded to herself as if to cheer herself up, then put the letter back into her Storage Bag.
Afterward, Xiao Yunluo ran back into the room, picked up her Spirit Sword, and flew towards Central Peak. She was ready to start cultivating according to the instructions in Ye Anping’s letter.
In terms of aptitude, she was no worse than Feng Yu Die, and even more formidable than Liang Xue. When Ye Anping returned, she wanted to make him look at her with new eyes!
She was not a vase!
She was also a phoenix!
… …
