Chapter 417
Whispers Abound (I)
Xing Yahui's smile felt strained, yet she had to put it on--her Master had ordered it.
She'd been annoyed with Yahui ever since the latter failed to make a meaningful connection with the man in front of her when they first met. In reality, she simply didn't value the connection as much as her Master did.
Her Master, though brilliant in more ways than Yahui herself could imagine, also was extremely in love with prophecies and vague Dao inclinations and things that had little to no actual substance in the world itself. She had her chasing ghosts and spirits since Yahui had entered the world of cultivation, and far more often than not, she only got hurt from it.
She thought it no different in the grove; though her Master was a bit more insistent and direct, it wasn't that different than before.
After a while, the woes subsided, and life moved on. And yet, while she was perusing the selection of pills for the breakthrough, her Master's voice rang out inside her head like thunder.
He's back!!, she screamed so loudly that Yahui's defensive Qi array activated to prevent her from attacking something out of pure reflex. Yahui, if you don't grab the opportunity now, I will never utter another word to you!
The moment she spun to the side and saw the somewhat awkward-seeming man who clearly did not fit in this place, with a slightly unkempt appearance, she invisibly sighed. She thought she put it to bed, but, alas...
As such, she walked up and greeted him--but the dull look in the man's eyes told her he didn't actually recognize her. It hurt her pride a bit that she had to introduce herself to the same person twice. Though she didn't consider herself a world-shattering beauty, she thought herself charming enough to be remembered, at least.
"Ah, of course, of course," he said, appearing slightly embarrassed. "Forgive me; I don't do well with faces. How are you, Young Miss Xing?"
"I'm fine, Senior Lu." Regardless, with her Master screaming into her mind, she wasn't going to point it out. "Did you, too, arrive for the Secret Realm?"
"Ah, yes," he chuckled. "The kids said they wanted to see it, so what is a Master to do?" say no? Yahui thought to herself. If only her Master were as subservient as this one seemed to be to his disciples... "I'm surprised you didn't head straight for the mountain."
"We have quite a few disciples who'd never left the sect before, so this is their opportunity to see a bit of the world," she said. "Not unlike yours, it seems."
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"Ha ha, indeed. Kids ought to see the world," he said. "Uhm..." he stuttered awkwardly for a moment before continuing. "Do not read into what I'm about to say: you need Distilling Moon Jade. At least of heaven grade. Anyway, it was nice to see you again; good luck in the Secret Realm!"
He hurried off like a bolt of thunder, leaving her a bit confused. Why did she need that? No, rather--what was that? Just as she thought he'd lost his mind completely, she sensed deep restlessness within her, but it wasn't coming from her.
"Master, what is wrong?" she asked inwardly.
"... there is a reason that little monster calls him Master," her Master said.
"Is it about the jade? What is it?"
"I... don't know." her Master's words startled Yahui a bit.
"Y-you... don't know?"
"Hm. What I do know, however, is that it's the answer to our plight. I can't keep inhabiting you much longer like this, Yahui; if I do, I will damage your fundamentals far too much, and your future will be cut short."
"Master--"
"--hush. We both know this. But... he gave us a lifeline."
"How do you know it's for that if you don't even know what it is?"
"Because, when he mentioned it... I felt his eyes on me."
"E-eh?"
"Nobody else--not even your Sect Master, or even that phantom guest from the Upper Realm--was able to discern me. But he knows about me. Someone like that, he wouldn't give you advice on any random thing. And his saying, Do not read into this. He's telling us there is no intent behind his words; he merely saw it fit to help us, and nothing else."
"Huh." Yahui suddenly had that strange feeling she got whenever her Master was about to espouse--
"Oh how grand a man he is!" and there it was. "To so indifferently give us a way out of the ailment that has been plaguing us for so long! Ah, Yahui, Yahui; if only you had listened to your Master back then and ran off with him, would we not have solved it all by now? Would we not?"
Yahui sighed and chose to ignore the voice in her head, turning back toward the showcase of pills. She'd broken through into the Spirit Manifestation Realm not eight months ago and was already about to break into the peak of it. While both her Master and her fellow Disciples firmly believed she'd only broken through into the Foundation Establishment, another feat worthy of praise, she felt herself slow, still.
She could have gone faster--but her Master never allowed her. In fact, Yahui had a feeling that, had it been entirely up to her Master, she would still be at the peak of Qi Condensation, 'consolidating'.
"Did you see anything you like, Junior Sister?" a voice that grated the back of her head caused her to nearly snarl, but she held back and put on a smile as she turned toward the source.
"Senior Brother Bao," she greeted. "No, I'm afraid not. These are all slightly beyond my realm and my capacity to buy them."
"That's no cause for concern," he said. "I will happily buy them for you, Junior Sister!" She felt her facade almost crack but managed to maintain her smile.
"No, no, how would I dare, Senior Brother? You've already done so much for me," she said. "I merely came to gain some experience. If, if I'm still short by the time I need them... I, I will shamelessly ask for your help."
"Of course, Junior Sister; please, never hesitate. We fellow Disciples need to take care of each other!" He grabbed her shoulder rather casually as he passed by, calling out to some of the other fellow Sisters.
He'd done that rather frequently recently, and it was evident he was growing less patient. Though she wanted to firmly reject him, she saw what happened to the last girl who did that: not a day later, she was supposedly discovered to have colluded with Demons, and was sentenced to death.
She'd endure, at least for a little while longer.
But once she had everything ready... her lips curled up into a rather vile grin as she thought about all the things she'd do to him and that bastard he called his older brother.
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