Chapter 21 : Chapter 21
Chapter 21 – Quite Popular
When Xiao Hansheng saw Ye Liuyun’s awkward silence, he suddenly remembered that the situation in the sect yesterday had indeed been rather indecent. How could he ask such a strange question to a young woman?
“Ahem… my apologies. I spoke too abruptly. I should not have asked such a question,” Xiao Hansheng said awkwardly.
Meanwhile, Ye Liuyun had already mocked him mercilessly in her mind. If she admitted she had seen everything, her image would be completely destroyed.
But saying she had seen nothing did not seem very believable either.
So the best response was simply to laugh awkwardly and remain silent, allowing the other party to interpret it however they wished.
“Well… hehe, Brother Xiao, it is good that you understand what I mean. I still need to continue my punishment, so I will not waste any more time. The sooner I finish sweeping the stairs, the sooner I can return to cultivate,” Ye Liuyun said, giving Xiao Hansheng a meaningful look that said, You understand what I mean.
After saying that, she turned and left.
“Eh? What a strange girl. She feels different from most girls… but I cannot quite say how,” Xiao Hansheng muttered while watching her departing figure.
Why did he feel that Ye Liuyun was unusual?
He could clearly sense that she was different. That was actually quite normal.
Girls native to this world were generally raised under strict social teachings, so their personalities tended to be reserved and restrained.
Ye Liuyun, however, gave off a very open and straightforward impression. She appeared shy on the surface, yet it was not the same kind of timidity common among other girls.
This sort of personality made her seem easy to approach and friendly.
But in reality, most girls in this world were not easy to get along with—especially toward the opposite sex.
As for Ye Liuyun, she soon arrived at the Mountain Gate.
It seemed rather quiet today, with very few disciples moving around. Not long after she arrived, Song Shuwen flew over on his flying sword.
“Junior Sister Ye, you came quite early,” Song Shuwen greeted her as soon as he landed.
“Yes. The sooner I complete the punishment, the sooner I can return to cultivate,” Ye Liuyun replied with a smile.
However, Song Shuwen looked around carefully. After confirming that no one else was nearby, he leaned closer to Ye Liuyun and whispered a few words into her ear.
“Eh? Senior Brother Song, really?” Ye Liuyun immediately brightened after hearing what he said.
What had Song Shuwen told her?
He said that the Senior Sister Liu from yesterday had been drenched by the strange rain containing the power of ice and fire. She had not yet fully recovered, and it seemed she was on the verge of breaking through to a higher realm.
Therefore, she had requested leave from the Law Enforcement Hall to enter closed-door cultivation.
In other words, only Song Shuwen was now responsible for supervising Ye Liuyun.
His meaning was simple: until Senior Sister Liu emerged from seclusion, Ye Liuyun did not need to come sweep the stairs at all. The sect’s upper leadership would never bother to monitor such trivial matters anyway.
He could simply turn a blind eye.
“Of course it is true. Do not worry—I will not lie to you. But we should exchange communication marks. If Junior Sister Liu finishes her seclusion, I will notify you immediately,” Song Shuwen said.
Ye Liuyun nodded and quickly exchanged communication marks with him.
A communication mark was a special contact method linked to their identity tokens—similar to mobile phones on Earth, although they had a limited range. If the distance became too great, they could no longer contact each other.
“Thank you so much, Senior Brother Song. You are truly a good person,” Ye Liuyun said gratefully, practically handing him a “good person” card.
Song Shuwen was definitely someone worth befriending. After all, he had helped her avoid the punishment.
Of course, Ye Liuyun also wondered if he might be interested in her. Otherwise, why would he take such a risk to help her?
But in reality, Song Shuwen had simply been captivated by Ye Liuyun’s personality and beauty.
For most men, if a beautiful girl with an easygoing and cheerful personality asked them for help, they would rarely refuse—even if she were a stranger.
As the saying went, men were visual creatures, while women were auditory creatures.
Of course, nothing was absolute.
Many girls could indeed be deceived by sweet words, while men are often judged mainly by appearance and personality. If someone was beautiful and had a good temperament, they might willingly offer help even without hearing flattering words.
“There is no need to thank me. I also felt that the sect’s punishment for you was somewhat excessive. It wastes an entire month. That time would be much better spent cultivating,” Song Shuwen said seriously.
After speaking, he prepared to leave. But just before he took off, Ye Liuyun suddenly called out to him.
“Senior Brother Song, please wait.”
Song Shuwen, who had been about to fly away, paused and looked at her in confusion.
“Junior Sister Ye, what is it? Is there something else?”
Ye Liuyun lowered her head in thought for a moment. Then she took out a somewhat larger medicine bottle from her belongings.
Since she frequently refined pills, she always carried bottles of various sizes.
“Senior Brother, you may not know this, but my cultivation talent is rather average. So I have studied the Path of Alchemy since childhood and can be considered an alchemist. Here—please take this. It is a type of cultivation pill that I refined myself. I am not sure whether it will be effective in your realm, but please accept it as a token of thanks for helping me avoid the punishment,” Ye Liuyun said with a cheerful smile as she handed him the bottle.
Song Shuwen was slightly surprised and accepted it with curiosity. However, he did not examine it immediately.
In his view, it was simply Ye Liuyun’s gesture of gratitude.
A newly admitted disciple would at most be in the Spirit Stream Realm. How could she possess anything that would interest someone like him, who had reached the Spirit Sea Realm?
“Thank you for your kindness, Junior Sister Ye. Then I will accept it,” he said before putting the pills away and flying off once more.
Only after he left did Ye Liuyun smile in relief.
“Hehe… time to go back. I might as well do something else instead,” Ye Liuyun said happily.
After putting away the broom, she returned to the sect.
However, she did not go straight back to her residence. Instead, she headed toward the Yunxia Sect’s Alchemy Pavilion.
The Yunxia Sect had a special place where disciples could learn alchemy. As cultivators, they were generally expected to possess at least some basic knowledge of alchemy.
The Alchemy Pavilion was considered an important facility within the sect. Currently, it was overseen by Yun Xiao, the Second Elder of the inner sect.
As soon as Ye Liuyun arrived at the Alchemy Pavilion, she smelled a rich medicinal fragrance and felt waves of heat in the air.
With curiosity in her eyes, she walked inside.
Perhaps because of yesterday’s incident, the Alchemy Pavilion was unusually quiet today, with very few people around.
After entering, Ye Liuyun looked around and soon noticed a counter near the entrance. Behind it sat a young disciple wearing a white robe embroidered with green patterns.
“Excuse me, Senior Brother? Senior Brother?” Ye Liuyun called out several times as she approached.
Only after repeated calls did the young man slowly open his eyes, looking half-asleep.
The first thing he saw was a beautiful junior sister with a pure appearance and innocent eyes standing before him.
“Eh?”
After clearly seeing her face, he quickly straightened himself and abandoned his lazy posture.
“Oh, my apologies. The Alchemy Pavilion is rather quiet today, so I dozed off for a moment. Junior Sister, what do you need?” the young man said with an embarrassed smile.
Ye Liuyun quickly explained why she had come.
The young man immediately recognized from her clothing that she was a newly admitted disciple, so he handed her a booklet.
“Junior Sister, this is the Alchemy Pavilion’s procedure manual. It records all the rules of the pavilion. Please take a look first,” the young man said with a smile.