Chapter 31: The Destined-to-be-Abandoned Good-for-Nothing (11) p1
“Get out.”
Su Mingxiu’s palm moved slightly under her long sleeve, and a gust of spiritual energy-infused wind swept Gui Mian up, tossing her out of the cave.
At the same time, the Floating Duckweed sword appeared again, slicing through a falling rock outside the cave. In the blink of an eye, it replaced the original entrance.
Gui Mian stood unharmed outside the cave, hearing her master’s voice coming from inside: “From now on, without my permission, you are not allowed to step foot in here.”
She opened her mouth, her gaze blankly fixed on the jagged rocks. For a moment, she seemed to want to ask something, but in the end, she only replied with a dazed “Oh.”
The little disciple, who had wanted to fix the door for her master, stood still in the wind and snow for a while, feeling a little lost. Su Mingxiu’s voice came again: “You have reached Foundation Establishment and won the secret realm expedition. From now on, you should focus on cultivating in the Untainted Abode. When you reach the peak of Foundation Establishment, you can go out into the world and seek the opportunity to form your Golden Core.”
“Yes, Master.”
Gui Mian looked at the closed entrance of the cave abode and turned to walk towards the small green bamboo hut. But for some reason, she kept looking back after every few steps.
The voice of the senior she had met in the secret realm still echoed in her mind: “Since you have consumed the Redflame Serpent demon core, you have already experienced the six desires of the mortal world. But the seven emotions are more difficult… For you, it’s better not to have them. In any case, stay away from those cunning human cultivators. Humans and demons are ultimately different paths. Humans are the most fickle and two-faced. Even if you dig out their sea of consciousness and their hearts, you still wouldn’t understand their minds.”
“Now, with a sliver of my soul to help you, you can control the chaotic energy within you. Just focus on cultivating. When you reach two hundred years old and become an adult, the life and death of all things in this world will be within your grasp.”
The little girl’s fingertips, hanging by her side, twitched. In the end, she only grasped the sleeve of her robe.
She lowered her head and saw her fingers rubbing against the fabric. After a while, she let go with a disappointed sigh and murmured: “It’s not the same…” It felt completely different from holding onto Master’s sleeve.
Was it because the clothes were different?
Gui Mian looked at her repeatedly clenching and unclenching hand, unsure what she wanted to grasp. She left a trail of footprints in the snow as she walked towards the Untainted Abode. As she passed by the spiritual spring, the two green lotus leaves quickly retreated to the farthest corner, as if avoiding a plague.
Inside the cave abode.
The system’s voice rang in Su Mingxiu’s mind: “I thought you would tell her the truth. What, can’t bear to hurt her?”
Su Mingxiu stood in front of the block of ten-thousand-year-old black ice, looking at the sleeping face inside. She stood there quietly for a long time before replying calmly: “Because there’s no need.”
The face inside the black ice was just a meaningless shell. Su Mingxiu had no feelings for this “beloved” from the character setting. If it weren’t for the familiar appearance, this person would be a complete stranger to her.
Since it was a stranger, why bother introducing them to her disciple?
The main reason she forbade Gui Mian from entering was because of her little disciple’s lack of guard. If someone tricked her into revealing information or bringing something she shouldn’t back, it would only complicate Su Mingxiu’s final mission.
Hearing her thoughts, the system replied calmly: “I hope your final actions will be as decisive as your thoughts today.”
Su Mingxiu didn’t respond. Instead, she sat down on the ground in the cave and started cultivating.
The original owner’s hidden injuries from the celestial lightning had a huge impact on her. In order to smoothly accomplish what she wanted to do, she had to cultivate diligently and increase her cultivation level.
Untainted Abode.
Gui Mian, out of habit, wanted to lie down on the warm bed and sleep. Because she had been stuck at the Qi Refining stage for so long, she had maintained the habits of a mortal, eating three meals a day and sleeping through the night.
When she reached Foundation Establishment, she also tried to emulate her senior sisters and stop eating, but she was quickly defeated by the terrible hunger. Since Su Mingxiu had never asked her to change these habits, she had maintained them until now. Tonight, however, Gui Mian lay in bed for a long time, but she couldn’t fall asleep.
…She felt like something was missing.
The little girl instinctively wrapped herself in the quilt, tucking the silk blanket between her legs. But after tossing and turning for a long time, she still couldn’t sleep. She sat up, frowning with frustration.
For the next hour, she tossed and turned on the bed, trying countless sleeping positions. She went to the window, then the table, dragging the quilt around the Untainted Abode. Despite all this, she didn’t feel sleepy but even more awake.
Gui Mian looked at the grey sky outside the window.
The sun hadn’t risen yet, it was still the middle of the night.
Night was for sleeping, but she couldn’t sleep.
The little disciple, unable to solve the problem, sat by the bed with the quilt in her arms for a long time. Finally, she decided to go outside with the quilt.
Mount Lingyu was perpetually covered in snow, and even the sky above seemed to snow regardless of the season. Sometimes, blizzards raged during the day, sometimes howling winds swept through the night. Tonight, however, the sky was clear, and the moon hung high, just like above the other peaks.
Gui Mian stood outside Su Mingxiu’s cave abode with the quilt in her arms and said dejectedly: “Master… I can’t sleep…”
Her voice was filled with anxiety, and she even let out a heavy sigh. “I think I’m sick.”
Su Mingxiu inside the cave: “…”
She was speechless, but also a little surprised. She had to stop cultivating and use her avatar to exit the cave. Her materialized form under the moonlight was bathed in a silver glow, radiant and ethereal.
Su Mingxiu reached out and grabbed Gui Mian’s wrist, quickly checking her pulse. She didn’t find anything wrong with her physically. Besides…
Even if there was something wrong, with Gui Mian’s current constitution, wouldn’t being sick be different from how humans experienced it?
“You’re not sick.”
After a while, Su Mingxiu withdrew her hand and said to her little disciple: “If you can’t sleep, get up and cultivate.”
She was about to turn and return to the cave when her sleeve was grabbed. Gui Mian held onto a corner of her robe, feeling a sense of comfort in her palm. The feeling of not knowing what to grasp disappeared. The little disciple looked up at Su Mingxiu and pleaded: “Can Master sleep with me?”
Su Mingxiu instinctively wanted to refuse, but looking at Gui Mian’s eyes, she remained silent for a long time, then let herself be pulled into the Untainted Abode.
As soon as she sat down on the edge of the bed, Gui Mian’s arms wrapped around her waist. The soft and boneless touch made Su Mingxiu think of her beautiful snake tail.
She looked down and saw the little girl hugging her waist, her head pressed against her, a look of contentment on her face.
After a moment of silence, Su Mingxiu asked: “Is this how you sleep?”
Gui Mian hugged her waist, her chest feeling full and warm, like the feeling after a satisfying meal. She yawned slightly, trying to get even closer to Su Mingxiu, and whispered: “Hugging Master… feels good.”
Just like when she had rubbed her tail against Su Mingxiu before.
At this point, Su Mingxiu still didn’t realize anything. She thought she was just humoring her little disciple, so she indulged her for a few days.
Until the day when she realized that the little disciple’s desires were increasing day by day. When Gui Mian stubbornly pulled her into the quilt, she had to push the clinging figure away. Her cold, black eyes looked down at the little disciple, who didn’t seem to realize what she had done wrong. As Gui Mian looked up in confusion, Su Mingxiu said indifferently: “Do you know what you’re doing?”
Gui Mian’s hair was loose, the red string tied loosely around her wrist. She sat up on the bed, looking at her master’s jade-like fingertip resting on her shoulder, and asked: “Aren’t you sleepy, Master?”
After so many nights, just sitting by the bed and accompanying her, wasn’t she sleepy? Didn’t she want to sleep?
“Not sleepy.”
The little disciple saw her master’s thin lips move, uttering only these two words.
She tilted her head slightly, as if wanting to say something. But after racking her brains, none of the words she had learned could express her emotions. She could only pout and whisper to Su Mingxiu: “But I want to sleep with Master.”
“Sleeping in the same bed is not allowed,” Su Mingxiu refused concisely.
Gui Mian instinctively asked, “Why?”
Realizing that she was becoming more and more clingy every day, as if the Redflame Serpent’s influence still lingered in her body, Su Mingxiu lowered her eyes. “We are master and disciple, this is not allowed.”
…Master and disciple weren’t allowed?
Gui Mian nodded as if she understood, then naturally reached out and grabbed Su Mingxiu’s fingertip, preventing her from pushing her away again.
The warmth of her soft palm reached Su Mingxiu. She lowered her gaze, watching Gui Mian’s actions, and heard the little disciple whisper: “Then… can pets?”
The little girl, always with that innocent look, said those shocking words: “Master, that senior said I’m not human. Can I be your pet now? Can pets sleep with you?”
“Uh…!” Su Mingxiu’s throat tightened.
She closed her eyes. Perhaps it was because it was snowing outside tonight, the world was silent and still, making the sounds of their breathing in the room particularly noticeable.
Now, feeling Gui Mian leaning closer, hearing the little girl ask that unsettling question with her hot breath, she concealed the turbulent emotions in her eyes and covered Gui Mian’s lips with her other hand, not wanting to hear those soft lips utter any more dangerous words.
“Be quiet.”
“You are human, remember that.”
But…
Humans couldn’t sleep with Master.
Gui Mian frowned, wanting to argue further. But in the next moment, she heard Su Mingxiu say coldly, “If you really can’t sleep, then don’t sleep at night. Just focus on cultivating.” Then, her master turned into a ball of light and flew out the window.
The little disciple reached out to try and stop the light, but she couldn’t touch it.
She withdrew her hand and unconsciously touched her chest, murmuring: “Less.”
The feeling that used to fill her chest was less now.
Was she hungry?
She moved her hand down, touching her stomach, thinking in confusion.
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