Chapter 209: So I’m the Protagonist After All (5)
…What?
Sui Yihuan was stunned for a moment. Her upward-curving eyes widened in surprise, resembling the startled pupils of a cat, or ripe apricots on an autumn branch, making one want to reach out and trace the outline of these beautiful eyes.
For instance, at this moment, after confirming that she wasn’t hallucinating, Sui Yihuan recalled the first time she saw this person, casually picking up a hairpin from a nearby stall and giving it to another young girl. Then she remembered what she had learned about the Hundred Flower Sect.
Because there were many sentient plants and flowers in this region, the sect had specifically taught her about some of the characteristics of plants and flowers, including their tendency to “like good-looking people, wantonly seek pleasure, and be frivolous.”
Thinking of this, Sui Yihuan pursed her lips. Her already beautiful, rose-colored lips became even more pronounced because of this action, making her lip bead more obvious.
But what was more attractive were her suddenly cold eyes. The previously ambiguous curve now turned sharp, instantly transforming into a piercing gaze.
—Su Mingxiu loved this aura of hers, pure one second and enchanting the next. It was like an extremely luxurious embroidery, where different words could be written on it, transforming it from a beautiful landscape to a scene of stern slaughter.
“What do you mean by that, Daoist friend?”
After all, she was in the prime of her youth and couldn’t tolerate a single grain of sand in her eyes. Sensing the change in the aura around her, the sleeping lotus supporting Su Mingxiu trembled, and its petals inadvertently leaned towards her again. Su Mingxiu gently pinched the light purple petals and unhurriedly pushed them aside.
Then, she leaped down from the lotus stamen, as light as a gust of wind. When she stepped on the flowing river, it only created a thin ripple, like a dragonfly touching the water.
“I was joking.”
Su Mingxiu stared at the person not far away, her gaze falling on the weak, pitifully fallen roses at her feet. She downplayed the situation before the other person could get angry:
“There’s no need for compensation… Just replant as many as you knocked down.”
While the Heavenly Dao was on tenterhooks, wondering whether to issue a heavier threat, Su Mingxiu walked up to Sui Yihuan. Although they were about the same height, Sui Yihuan inexplicably felt that she was enveloped in the other person’s aura.
She had felt this way several times before when she was in the Qiangshan Sect—
When facing elders who were stronger than her.
But, how could a flower spirit…? It must be an illusion.
Now, her lips moved slightly, thinking that this lotus spirit was about to say something. But the other person walked past her, leaving behind a very light, almost bewitching fragrance of lotus.
When she reached the edge of the barrier, Su Mingxiu suddenly remembered something. She casually drew a talisman in the air and gently pushed it towards the girl who was still standing among the roses, not knowing what to do:
“This is an identity talisman for entering and exiting the spiritual garden. The books for identifying these spiritual plants are in the Winter Depository. Don’t be too reckless when you start. If you kill more than you trample, and my fellow disciples come to me asking about it, I won’t be able to help you.”
“But the flowers in my garden are all mortal flowers, so you don’t have to be too careful.”
While Sui Yihuan was still a little dazed, Su Mingxiu, having been awakened by her, calculated that the people from the Sword Sect would arrive soon. She simply let her avatar return from a secluded place and walked around the sect as herself.
“Senior Sister,” Just as she walked out of the spiritual garden, she ran into Yan Miaomiao. The young girl, who in recent years had been wearing a sky-blue gradient robe, from white to blue, looked like a blue hydrangea rushing towards Su Mingxiu, her face full of excitement. “I heard that the Sword Sect’s ark will arrive in a quarter of an hour. I want to see!”
As the most transcendent and powerful sect in the nine continents, and because the sword cultivators were more arrogant and stubborn, resulting in their strength surpassing others by a large margin, the disciples of the Sword Sect were also the most curious among the other sects.
Yan Miaomiao had never left the sect since she was a child. The grand event of the Cultivation Conference was enough to occupy all her thoughts. Now she was pestering Su Mingxiu to take her to see the world.
“There’s nothing new about the Sword Sect’s ark…”
Su Mingxiu let her hold her arm as they walked towards the sect gate, lazily speaking. Disciples who had never participated in any grand events might always be yearning for such pomp and circumstance. As someone who had seen a lot of the world, she only felt indifferent when she thought of the Sword Sect.
“That’s the number one sect in the nine continents!” Yan Miaomiao gestured with her hands in disbelief. She had seen the Hundred Flower Sect’s ark, which was no less than a small, bird-and-flower-filled secret realm flying in the sky. The people of the Joyful Union Sect liked all kinds of musical instruments, as elegant as they could be. She had heard that when they traveled, they would create auspicious signs of cranes and clouds from afar…
Let alone the Sword Sect.
“You’ll know when you see it,” Su Mingxiu said simply.
Even though the Cultivation Conference was about to be held, the Hundred Flower Sect’s protective formation was not fully opened. This was the arrogance of a major sect.
The participating disciples and the sects’ flying boats could only stay outside the protective formation. Then they had to hand over their conference name tags and be led into the sect by the Hundred Flower disciples.
Soon, a huge object emerged from the clouds in the sky, slowly approaching. Standing outside the formation, Su Mingxiu didn’t even look up at the sky. Instead, she was lost in thought, wondering if Sui Yihuan had found her way to the vegetable garden.
It would have been better if she had given her a ride earlier.
Unfortunately, with the damn Heavenly Dao watching, and she hadn’t found some key information yet… She could only suppress herself for now.
Compared to her absent-mindedness, Yan Miaomiao was straining her neck to look. When she saw the full appearance of the dark shadow in the clouds, she couldn’t help but be a little speechless.
This flying boat was spectacular… but the edges were slightly green with moss, and it looked like it had been patched up in some places, somewhat dilapidated…
She opened her mouth but couldn’t say a word.
Her face was full of: Just this?
When Su Mingxiu came back to her senses, she saw her little junior sister’s expression and her eyes curved. The next moment, her divine sense captured several approaching spiritual powers. Her gaze suddenly turned, and she saw several spiritual swords beside the dark flying boat in the sky, like guiding birds, neatly and sharply diving down—
Like a rainbow piercing the sun.
The sound of sword energy cutting through the sky was still in her ears, but a gentle voice sounded politely in front of her, “I am Xiao Xingwei, the leader of the 1351st generation of disciples of the Sword Sect, along with thirteen junior brothers. We are here to participate in this Cultivation Conference.”
Yan Miaomiao’s expression was completely stunned.
Precisely because she had seen too many flamboyant things from the Joyful Union Sect, she had no resistance to this sharp, undisguised display of power. When she met Xiao Xingwei’s gaze, she didn’t even react.
It was Su Mingxiu’s voice that brought her attention back, “Hundred Flower Sect, Su Mingxiu.”
After they had only spoken a few words, the flying swords landed and hovered behind Xiao Xingwei. The spiritual power of the flying swords was red and blue, looking like a rainbow in the sky.
The black flying boat slowly landed, letting off the younger disciples who had not yet mastered sword techniques. Then it shrank to the size of a walnut and was put away in the sleeve of a middle-aged man in a black robe.
Su Mingxiu’s gaze went over Xiao Xingwei’s shoulder and respectfully bowed to the middle-aged man, whose clothes were not even standard:
“Greetings, Elder Xuanling.”
The person she bowed to had already taken out his wine from his pocket, preparing to leave after dropping off these young ones. He didn’t expect to be recognized by a junior he had never seen before. For a moment, he didn’t know whether to put away the wine jug or hide it again.
The middle-aged man with a beard, looking a bit unkempt but still exuding a wild aura, nodded blankly. After a while, he seemed to regain his original nature and casually replied, “I didn’t expect the juniors of the Hundred Flower Sect to be so discerning.”
But he didn’t say much more. He waved to Xiao Xingwei, who had turned around and was preparing to stay with him, “Someone from the sect will come to pick you up when the time comes. I won’t stay here any longer. I’m allergic to pollen.”
Xiao Xingwei was stunned, and only saw a stream of light shoot towards the bottom of the mountain.
He could only turn around and try to explain to Su Mingxiu that Elder Xuanling of his sect had always been unruly. But the female cultivator, who had been particularly cold since they met, was now instructing the disciple beside her:
“You will lead the Daoist friends from the Sword Sect into the sect, guide them, and answer their questions.”
Actually, before coming to the Hundred Flower Sect, Xiao Xingwei had met Su Mingxiu once. In a remote village in the Southern Continent, he happened to encounter a spirit using evil techniques. While chasing it, he met Su Mingxiu and several disciples of the Hundred Flower Sect.
“Daoist friend Su, it’s been a long time—”
Xiao Xingwei subconsciously stood in front of Su Mingxiu and showed his signature smile. The Sword Sect was full of sword fanatics who didn’t care about human relationships and only recognized strength. Fortunately, he was not bad in strength, had an excellent appearance, and a gentle personality. There was no one in the sect who didn’t like him, and even outside, he was often treated favorably because of his appearance.
But this Su Mingxiu of the Hundred Flower Sect… was only polite when they first met, and now she was even more indifferent, which puzzled Xiao Xingwei.
Had he offended her somewhere?
As for Yan Miaomiao, she tugged at Su Mingxiu’s sleeve and whispered, “Senior Sister, I want to go too…”
Su Mingxiu originally wanted to say that other disciples could handle this kind of thing. But seeing Yan Miaomiao’s curious gaze constantly glancing at the people from the Sword Sect, she rubbed her head, “As you wish.”
After a pause, she said, “But remember to come back early. After noon, I’ll be waiting for you in the dining hall.”
Yan Miaomiao: “Huh?!”
Because the food in the Hundred Flower Sect’s dining hall was notoriously bad, disciples were used to cooking their own meals on their own peaks, or sneaking into the dining hall to use it after the outer disciples had finished their work.
Therefore, when disciples made appointments to meet in the dining hall outside of meal times, it meant they were going to have a feast.
But…
It was unexpected for this invitation to come from Su Mingxiu.
After all, Yan Miaomiao had never seen Su Mingxiu in the dining hall, let alone seen her cook. For a moment, she was both excited and a little nervous. Her fluctuating emotions completely overshadowed her previous curiosity about the Sword Sect.
“Little Martial Uncle.”
After Yan Miaomiao arranged for them to settle in a beautiful small building on the mountain, and the young girl had skipped away, a disciple of the Sword Sect spoke up, somewhat displeased, “The people of the Hundred Flower Sect are too arrogant, especially that Su Mingxiu…”
Xiao Xingwei’s good temper was well-known throughout the Sword Sect. Moreover, he was the rare closed-door disciple of an old ancestor of the Sword Sect who had come out of seclusion. In terms of seniority, he could be considered a martial brother to the elders. In addition, he was talented and intelligent, and in just one year since joining the Sword Sect, he was already at the Great Perfection stage of Foundation Establishment—
The most talented person in the nine continents took a full five years to go from Foundation Establishment to Core Formation.
But Xiao Xingwei was born with a Daoist constitution and was about to break this record. It was already giving the Hundred Flower Sect a lot of face for him to participate in their Cultivation Conference, yet he was repeatedly ignored by an unknown female cultivator.
Even if she was good-looking, the disciples of the Sword Sect were often chased by those of the Joyful Union Sect. Even if this one was particularly beautiful, they still felt it was just a difference between eighty and one hundred points. They felt indignant for Xiao Xingwei first.
Xiao Xingwei thought of Su Mingxiu’s face, and of those frivolous tabloids and interesting rankings in the nine continents, which ranked Su Mingxiu’s face as the number one beauty in the nine continents. The corners of his lips couldn’t help but curl up.
“It’s fine. Daoist friend Su has a cold personality, she has always been like this.”
Thinking of this, he felt the sword in his sea of consciousness spin around, exuding an arrogant aura, and his smile deepened.
In his sea of consciousness was the number one sword in the nine continents, the Tai’e Sword.
The number one sword should belong to him, and so should the number one beauty.
Everything that happened in this courtyard was unknown to Su Mingxiu. At this moment, she was in the dining hall, closing her eyes. She found that the location of the talisman she had sent out earlier was in the Winter Depository…
She was really a stickler for rules, it seemed she was really studying how to replant those trampled spiritual plants and flowers.
Thinking of this, her speed in kneading the dough became even more decisive. Because she hadn’t handled many ingredients from the cultivation world, the food Su Mingxiu made at first was very simple, just buns.
The wheat used for kneading was a specially cultivated variety of the Hundred Flower Sect. The flour it produced also carried spiritual energy, making one reluctant to waste it. After it had fermented, she sprinkled a thin layer on the table, rolled out the bun wrappers, chopped three kinds of spiritual beast meat, and added spiritual plants that were more tender than mortal vegetables. She only needed to sprinkle a little salt, but the fragrance emitted from the steamer was even more fragrant than the big meat buns from those bun shops.
In the clay pot, she simmered a bowl of white fungus and lotus seed soup. The white fungus, grown on the trunk of a thousand-year-old rotten tree, was already translucent. After being boiled by the spiritual fire of the dining hall, it almost melted into the water, becoming delicate and smooth, setting off the plump lotus seeds.
She only needed to sprinkle some brightly colored goji berries at the end, and at the moment she scooped it out, she placed it on an ice-patterned array. The cold air instantly froze along the porcelain bowl, turning the emitted heat into a leisurely coolness, transforming it into the most refreshing drink under the sunlight.
When Yan Miaomiao arrived, she almost stuck her nose into the pot.
“It smells so good! So fragrant!” She was so moved that she wanted to throw herself into Su Mingxiu’s arms and rub against her to express her gratitude. “Wuwuwu, Senior Sister, how can you be so good? Are these all for me?”
“Of course not.”
Hearing her almost crying voice, Su Mingxiu gently stroked her head, but the answer she gave was so ruthless.
Yan Miaomiao: ?
The tears hanging at the corners of her eyes and mouth paused for a moment. Then she was stunned for a while, before raising her hand to wipe them away, “That’s right, Senior Sister, you made so much, you must be hungry too. After all, the food in the dining hall is usually not something humans eat… When it’s ready, you eat first. I promise I’ll only eat a little.”
That wasn’t for herself either.
Su Mingxiu just smiled but didn’t explain. Instead, she stared at the talisman she had given out earlier, smelling the increasingly fragrant and tempting aroma from the two pots, slowly waiting.
However, the fragrance didn’t attract the person she wanted to attract, but instead attracted some stray dogs.
“I thought the dining hall had changed its ways today, and that elder was willing to make some normal food… But it turns out it’s our unsmiling Senior Sister cooking. What kind of miracle is this?”
It wasn’t mealtime, and the tables and chairs outside the dining hall were empty. But at the entrance stood a person dressed extremely flamboyantly. On closer inspection, every seam of his collar was inlaid with gold. When he stepped inside, he was even brighter than the sunlight falling at the entrance.
Su Mingxiu heard the voice but couldn’t remember who it was. She didn’t look in that direction. Instead, Yan Miaomiao, who was beside her, changed her expression, “Second… Second Senior Sister, why are you back?”
“Tch, our sect is hosting the Cultivation Conference, of course I have to come back. Otherwise, who would these matters be entrusted to? After all, some people have the title of Senior Sister, but they are actually disliked by their master and can only do chores every day.”
Hearing her say this, Yan Miaomiao immediately took a step towards Su Mingxiu. Her expression changed again and again, and finally she mustered up the courage to say crisply, “Senior Sister Huaxuan, you can’t talk to Senior Sister like that.”
The woman named Huaxuan narrowed her eyes. The next moment, a green plant emerged from the ground beside her feet. It grew from a sprout at an extremely fast speed, quickly growing vines and leaves. Then it produced whip-like branches, heading straight for the dining hall—
“Yan Miaomiao, and who allowed you to lecture me?”
Before the long branches could grab Yan Miaomiao, they were cut off in mid-air. Before Yan Miaomiao could react, Su Mingxiu grabbed her wrist and whispered in her ear, “Don’t listen to dogs barking.”
The woman’s eyes were curved, as if she were coaxing a child at home.
She didn’t take what had just happened to heart at all.
Yan Miaomiao stared at her blankly.
But Huaxuan, whose vines had been cut, was stunned for a moment, then became furious, and scolded her, “Su Mingxiu!”
The fire under the pot had long been extinguished, and only the steamer was still shaking uneasily. The woman who had been waiting by the side suddenly stood up straight, glanced outside the dining hall, and then hooked her finger, causing the lid of the steamer to rise. Cleaned lotus leaves flew over, and the white, plump buns in the steamer lined up and sat on the lotus leaves. After the leaves were wrapped around them, they obediently flew into the exquisite food box.
Even the white fungus and lotus seed soup in the nearby clay pot scooped itself out a bowl and sat on the ice-patterned array.
Just as all this was done, another figure walked into the dining hall, still dressed in fiery red. Her voice was dry because she was unfamiliar with the place:
“Excuse me… is there still any food at this time?”
After finally getting out of that area full of spiritual plants, which also triggered strange plant attacks, Sui Yihuan had a hard time asking for directions to the vegetable garden. When she handed in her task, she found that it was not yet the dining hall’s mealtime. She was too embarrassed to keep waiting, so she could only ask for directions to the Winter Depository first.
Who knew that the books on planting in the Hundred Flower Sect were too obscure and boring for her. She accidentally fell asleep, and when she woke up, she was still starving. On the way to the dining hall, Sui Yihuan noticed that there were few disciples around and realized that she had missed the mealtime. She originally wanted to leave, but she smelled a very fragrant aroma, so she came over with a last glimmer of hope.
But as soon as she took a step in, she saw a person surrounded by attacking vines, with thorns growing on them, rushing towards a figure behind the dining hall:
“Go to hell!”
At that time, Su Mingxiu was carrying the food box and was about to walk out. Seeing the sharp green thorns rushing towards her, she paused, thinking:
It doesn’t seem appropriate to use sword energy again.
After all, the people from the Sword Sect were here. If she accidentally bumped into them, it might seem like she was trying to steal another sect’s techniques. Her original spiritual power seemed to be of the thunder attribute. It would be better to release her spiritual power to form a thunder shield…
She looked blank.
Even when the attack was so close that she could see the black shadow in her pupils, she seemed completely defenseless. When Sui Yihuan saw this, she subconsciously threw out what she was holding—
The silver arc seemed to bring the coolness of the night here.
Yan Miaomiao only felt a stream of light cut through her vision, and then the vines that were approaching her Senior Sister, so fast that she didn’t even have time to warn her, fell to the ground.
Su Mingxiu tilted her head.
Huaxuan’s face was already twisted with anger. She glared at the person beside her, only to find that it was a completely unfamiliar face, “Who are you? How dare you interfere in our sect’s internal affairs?”
“Qiangshan Sect, Sui Yihuan.”
After the silver fan engraved with the shimmering lake returned to her palm, Sui Yihuan roughly knew this person’s strength. Her attention was all on the food box in Su Mingxiu’s hand.
The fragrance was coming from inside.
She had forgotten that in addition to saying that these little demons were frivolous, the books also mentioned that they were very good at cooking and handling household chores, as was often written in novels.
The fragrance she smelled told her that this lotus demon’s cooking was very delicious.
“What obscure small sect? I’ve never heard of it.”
But Sui Yihuan reluctantly withdrew her attention, thinking of what Huaxuan had just warned her about. She pursed her lips, and although she was displeased, she still said, “I have no intention of interfering in your sect’s affairs. I just can’t stand seeing someone bullying the weak.”
After a pause, she added, “I came here just to ask if there is any food left.”
Huaxuan was inexplicably silent for a moment.
She was a little unsure who this guy was referring to as “weak”…
Yan Miaomiao also stood quietly beside Su Mingxiu. The “Senior Sister” she was about to call out was suppressed by an extremely stagnant atmosphere. She looked left and right, and found that as long as they didn’t fight, it was fine. Besides… there was still half of the delicious food left in the pot.
Only Su Mingxiu easily followed her train of thought. She smiled at her, the tear mole at the corner of her eye having a kind of indescribable abruptness in the somewhat dim light of the room.
As she smiled, it kept swaying in Sui Yihuan’s eyes: “Thank you, Daoist friend. If you don’t mind, please enjoy this meal.”
She handed the food box over.
Sui Yihuan wanted to take it, and her fingertips unconsciously touched the back of Su Mingxiu’s hand—
The smooth, creamy touch captured her. She suddenly curled her fingers, moved to the side, and then almost snatched the food box away.
Even though she hadn’t eaten it yet, she couldn’t help but swallow.
She also swallowed the faint, lingering fragrance of flowers in the air.
This flower demon…
Sui Yihuan thought, was indeed a troublemaker.
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