Chapter 19: You Smell Like Someone Else
Mu Jixue showed off her fang-like teeth and pounced on Lin Zhongyu, growling and looking absolutely furious as she crashed onto the bed. If this were a video game scene, you’d definitely get an amazing CG here.
Mu Jixue pinched Lin Zhongyu’s waist, causing her to squirm and plead for mercy, asking Mu Jixue to stop.
“Xue’er, stop stop stop! It’s all for your own good so you can adapt to life in the Xuantian Sect. You have to wake up early over there!”
“That doesn’t mean you should scare me like that; little Yu is bad!”
Although Mu Jixue was slightly miffed, she was just pretending to be angry, secretly adoring Lin Zhongyu too much to ever really lash out at her. This was more like playful banter between sisters.
Only occasionally did their tangled legs reveal something rather suggestive.
Lin Zhongyu sighed and said, “Alright, Xue’er, stop picking on me. Once we go to the Xuantian Sect, you’ll have to wake up all by yourself.”
Mu Jixue pouted. “No way! As long as little Yu is there, everything will be fine. If not, I’ll ask Father to let you join the sect with me.”
Mu Jixue joined the sect as a direct disciple, and she could bring someone along if she asked nicely. But Lin Zhongyu remained silent after hearing this, and the smile on her face slowly faded away.
It then dawned on Mu Jixue that she had said something wrong.
“Oh no, why am I so stupid? Trying to help little Yu just makes her feel humiliated,” Mu Jixue thought to herself, close to tears. At first, her brain hadn’t been quick enough to keep up.
After realizing her mistake, Mu Jixue’s voice softened considerably — quite different from the playfulness earlier.
But Lin Zhongyu just smiled softly and said, “Xue’er, don’t blame yourself. I know you meant well, and I won’t be mad at you.”
With her worries unknotted, Lin Zhongyu squeezed Mu Jixue’s hand gently and said, “I will get into the sect by my own strength and meet you there. Just watch.”
Suddenly, a strong flow of spiritual energy coursed through their hands and into Mu Jixue.
“Little Yu, have you already reached the seventh stage of Qi Refinement?!” Mu Jixue exclaimed in surprise. She had heard about Lin Zhongyu’s recovery, but her progress was impressive.
Mu Jixue had assumed that Lin Zhongyu wouldn’t make it to the disciples’ selection ritual, but now…!
A seventh-stage Qi Refinement is pretty decent in Cangzhou City. With enough effort, there might be a chance to enter the Xuantian Sect.
Mu Jixue cheered, embracing Lin Zhongyu tightly.
“Wonderful! Wonderful! Little Yu, we can still be together! Right?”
Lin Zhongyu blushed too, nodding. “We’ll try our best. To be safe, I need to practice more these days. And since there will be a tournament at the selection ritual, I need to get used to a suitable weapon ahead of time.”
“Shall we go to the market today?”
“Mm-hmm, that sounds great.”
“Fantastic! I’ll go change clothes right away.”
Mu Jixue, the eternal kid at heart, became ecstatic at the idea of shopping. She went back to her room to get dressed.
Her smile slowly faded once she returned alone to the room and muttered to herself.
“There’s a strange scent on little Yu.”
She felt something odd when hugging Lin Zhongyu just now; yesterday they slept together, yet somehow, little Yu now has another person’s scent on her?
Lin Zhongyu’s sudden advancement in cultivation seemed suspicious. Although she wasn’t jealous or doubting her abilities, Mu Jixue was worried that Lin Zhongyu might have been deceived.
Since Lin Zhongyu was so kind and trusting, it was easy for others to take advantage of her. Only Mu Jixue could protect her.
“Could it be him…”
Mu Jixue’s mind conjured up the image of Yun Zhonghe. For some reason, a strange unease overtook her.
Even more unnerving was the prophecy in the Book of Prophecy…
Mu Jixue felt like a helpless little animal facing a predator.
“What happened to little Yu? If only the Book of Prophecy were intact…”
Thinking of this, Mu Jixue felt disheartened. The lost book hadn’t been found yet.
If the book still existed, she would know what had happened to little Yu…
“No, how can I think like that? I should trust little Yu.”
She shook her head, trying to dispel those thoughts.
As the only one who supported her, how could she not believe in little Yu?
Just a different scent, maybe little Yu picked it up while practicing out in the morning.
Convinced by her own reasoning, Mu Jixue felt better and started changing clothes cheerfully.
—
In contrast to the troubled Mu Jixue, Yun Zhonghe was full of energy.
After meeting with Lin Zhongyu last night, he couldn’t sleep thinking about his smooth progress. So he continued practising sword techniques.
In just one day, he mastered The Nine Heavens Sword completely, a feat even the Xuantian Sect’s elders would marvel at.
Normal, considering his gaming expertise from the previous life. He was proficient with swords anyway, knowing all their nuances inside and out. A bit of real-world practice put him on track quickly.
That’s why he was so confident before undertaking the town mission. Two complete skill sets under his belt.
“I’ve trained enough; it’s time to catch a breather. Good thing it’s morning and the market is open, perfect for a quick look around.”
Preparation for the town mission took priority, and he hoped to find a key item early on.
In the original game, Cangzhou City, being a starter area, only produces items rated up to Class Two (yellow-grade). However, in the market, there’s a chance to trigger hidden plots leading to Class Three (black-grade) items.
Class Three items are rare and valuable, even wealthy families like Yuns might not have them.
Yun Zhonghe remembered that the hidden item in Cangzhou was Ice Heart Grass, growing near a lightning-struck field. It required a Lightning Tribulation above the Yuan Ying stage to cultivate such a rare herb.
For average cultivators, Ice Heart Grass is of little use and often ignored, but for Mu Jixue, with her Ice affinity, it’s priceless.
Ice Heart Grass permanently boosts cultivation speed for Ice Affinity cultitors by one percent and increases their chances of achieving the coveted Nine-Ringed Golden Core.
Clouds and Wind were bound together through cultivation, so if he got the Ice Heart Grass for Huáng Àotiān to consume, it could mean significant potential growth for him.
Even without the intention to please Huáng Àotiān, Yun Zhonghe had no choice but to find a way to obtain it.
