Chapter 40 : Little Belly
Since she had promised Senior Sister to behave these days, Jiang Mo naturally had no intention of going back on her word. So by the next day, she dutifully stayed in the small courtyard and didn't run off to the back mountain with System—though even if she had wanted to, she couldn't have. Yun Qingyue was determined to teach her a lesson; after neutralizing the Poison Spike Rat's venom yesterday, she had done nothing about the lingering pain, deliberately letting the little tiger cub suffer for an entire day.
The Poison Spike Rat's venom was particularly tricky. Even after the poison was neutralized, the affected areas would seem fine at first with no pain, but as soon as the puncture sites were touched, the pain would flare up again. This painful aftereffect would gradually fade away over a period ranging from three days to half a month.
Of course, since this lingering pain caused no actual harm to the body, even System had no good way to repair it.
Jiang Mo had suffered considerably last night. With so many puncture wounds all over her body, she couldn't even lie down to sleep. She could only stand or sit while dozing, and if she accidentally fell asleep and collapsed, the pain would immediately make her howl in agony.
So by the next day, despite her newfound cultivation abilities, the entire tiger appeared dejected. Apart from taking the opportunity to slap System twice to vent her frustrations, she had also given up on the idea of scampering about on the back mountain today. What she hadn't expected, however, was that while Yun Qingyue had kept her behind, she had no intention of letting her idle in the small courtyard—instead, she planned to take her out.
Perhaps having fully digested the teachings she had received from her master in recent days, Yun Qingyue didn't go into seclusion in the side room today. Instead, she resumed her morning sword practice... Bathed in the rosy glow of dawn, the beautiful woman dancing with her sword was truly a feast for the eyes.
Except for not being able to lie down and properly appreciate the view, Jiang Mo found nothing wrong with this daily routine; in fact, it brought her a sense of peace.
Yun Qingyue paid no attention to the gaze that constantly followed her. With the Frost-Blue Sword in hand, she practiced sword techniques she had already mastered, repeating each move meticulously. Whether chopping, thrusting, wiping, or slicing, every movement flowed naturally from her hands. Gradually, though, her originally perfect swordsmanship began to change. She still chopped, thrust, wiped, and sliced, but now an ineffable essence was being infused into each movement.
Under the morning sun, a single swing of her sword—without any spiritual energy—froze half a cliff, revealing the embryonic form of her ice sword intent. Sword intent was something that even Nascent Soul cultivators couldn't all comprehend; to grasp it at this early stage was enough to prove her extraordinary talent.
Despite Yun Qingyue's naturally cold demeanor and her habit of not showing emotions, at this moment, a hint of joy colored her crystalline eyes.
Jiang Mo naturally couldn't understand any of this. Without the Jianbing's inherited memories, everything about the cultivation world was foreign to her. Whether this sword move used spiritual energy or sword intent, she couldn't tell, nor did she understand what it meant for a Golden Core cultivator to comprehend sword intent. However, she was sharp-eyed and noticed the rare emotion exposed in those clear eyes, which somehow made her happy too.
Perhaps out of human habit, the little white tiger suddenly stood upright on her hind legs, freeing her front paws to clap "pap pap" while letting out several "awooo" calls, as if cheering for Yun Qingyue's previous sword move.
When Yun Qingyue heard the sound and looked over, seeing the little white tiger applauding for her, she was momentarily stunned—for thirty years she had practiced the Dao of the sword, and breakthroughs were not uncommon, but due to her cold personality and an unreliable master, she often had no one to share her joy with when she made a breakthrough. This was the first time someone... or some tiger had applauded at the very moment of her breakthrough, celebrating with her.
Those clear, cold eyes warmed at that moment, showing rare tenderness: "Thank you."
Jiang Mo paused in her applause, then tilted her head slightly, not quite understanding why Yun Qingyue was thanking her. But meeting those eyes, she suddenly forgot her confusion, feeling only her heart skipping a few beats.
The corners of Yun Qingyue's pressed lips curved slightly, as if she smiled a little, but these emotions didn't last long. She quickly regained her composure, sheathed her sword, and beckoned to the little white tiger: "Today I need to visit Hall of Inquiry. Would you like to come along?"
Jiang Mo had been immersed in the rare sight of Senior Sister's smile, but upon hearing the words "Hall of Inquiry," she was jolted back to reality.
System, always accompanying its host, had also been admiring Senior Sister's beauty, but upon hearing this, it immediately panicked: "Host, host, why does Senior Sister suddenly want to go to Hall of Inquiry? Does she know something? Or after all these days, has she finally found time to settle accounts?" Without waiting for Jiang Mo to respond, it grew even more anxious, continuing to mutter: "We're done for, what do we do, what do we do?"
Jiang Mo was already nervous, and seeing System's panic only made her more anxious—killing a few Splendid Chickens wasn't a major offense, but the little tiger cub felt like a child caught doing wrong, naturally apprehensive when facing an adult.
In the end, not only did she not approach Yun Qingyue, she even took two steps back.
Yun Qingyue couldn't guess her thoughts, but after a moment's consideration, she took out a bottle of medicine from her storage ring: "Come now, I have pain medicine here. After taking it, the poison from the Poison Spike Rat won't hurt anymore, so don't be afraid."
Evidently, Yun Qingyue misunderstood, thinking Jiang Mo was keeping her distance out of fear of pain, and felt that yesterday's day-long lesson had been enough for the little tiger.
When Jiang Mo heard this, she was first stunned, then her gaze toward Yun Qingyue immediately turned resentful—What happened to having to endure the aftereffects on my own? I trusted you so much, but you had medicine all along and wouldn't give it to me, just letting me suffer. That's so mean!
Little white tiger is angry. Little white tiger won't acknowledge Senior Sister. Little white tiger turns around, showing only her fluffy back to Senior Sister.
This reaction was so obvious that Yun Qingyue immediately guessed what she was upset about. But even though the white tiger was a divine beast, she was still too young, and cubs never listen to advice unless they've first suffered enough... This was the experience Yun Qingyue had gained from dealing with junior disciples on Mount Mingxia, and she believed it would apply equally well to a little white tiger whose intelligence was no less than a human's.
Therefore, Yun Qingyue felt no regret at the little tiger's resentful, accusing gaze. She stepped forward, crouched down, and poked her slender index finger at a spot on the little tiger's back where no poison spine had pierced: "What's this, are you angry?"
The little white tiger gave a "hmph," though without much conviction.
Yun Qingyue offered no explanation, but softened her cool tone slightly: "Don't be angry anymore, take the medicine first, alright?"
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The little white tiger's anger didn't last long, because in a sense, she was quite easy to appease—as a tiger who valued beauty, when the beautiful ice queen she admired spoke to her gently, asking her not to be angry, any rage she felt was naturally extinguished.
Of course, with the precedent of a certain tiger running to Hall of Inquiry's kitchen to commit slaughter, her conviction wasn't very strong to begin with.
Fortunately, Yun Qingyue didn't mention that incident. Instead, after feeding the little tiger the pain medicine and holding the cub in her arms, she explained her reason for visiting Hall of Inquiry today: "Although Hall of Inquiry is where novice disciples receive their initial teachings, besides enlightenment, every ten days a Golden Core cultivator goes there to lecture for Inner and Outer Sect disciples at the Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment stages. It was almost my turn, and since disciples from Tiandao Sect and Buddha Sect are also in our sect, by custom, the Sect Leader won't prevent them from attending lectures. So I've simply moved my lecture date forward."
Xuanqing Sect was a large sect, ranging from Grand Achievement stage elders to novice disciples who hadn't even drawn in qi, with tens of thousands of members in total. Among them were over a thousand Golden Core cultivators who, while not particularly high in cultivation, formed the backbone of the sect.
But not all Golden Core cultivators were the same. The sect had cultivators stuck in the early stage with their lifespan almost exhausted, as well as geniuses like Yun Qingyue who had reached peak perfection at a young age. The difference in talent between these two was naturally immense, and even more frightening was the difference in their current realms—when it came to lectures, the content delivered by an early-stage Golden Core cultivator with a depleted lifespan would be vastly different from that of a young peak Golden Core cultivator.
Normally, to avoid interfering with Yun Qingyue's cultivation, she was rarely scheduled to give lectures. But now that the sect had guests, it was natural for this young genius to step up. Otherwise, sending an aging Golden Core cultivator to lecture, only to have disciples from other sects listen in, would be embarrassing.
Jiang Mo understood and felt relieved—as long as she wasn't being taken to Hall of Inquiry for a reckoning.
Yun Qingyue flew on her sword, and the woman and tiger soon arrived outside the Hall of Inquiry. From a distance, Jiang Mo could already hear the noisy chatter. As Yun Qingyue landed with her in her arms, the bustling scene inside the Hall of Inquiry came into full view. Today, all the attendees were adult disciples, many appearing much older than Yun Qingyue, while the little children who usually attended classes were nowhere to be seen.
The little white tiger straightened up, placing her front paws on Yun Qingyue's shoulders to look around, and indeed spotted several people from Tiandao Sect and Buddha Sect.
Seeing Yun Qingyue arrive, the previously noisy disciples immediately quieted down. Many who had been sitting cross-legged on meditation cushions stood up, bowing to her in greeting: "Disciples pay respects to Senior Sister."
Yun Qingyue nodded slightly, walking through the path the disciples had cleared toward the elevated platform.
The people from Tiandao Sect and Buddha Sect occupied the front row positions below the platform. Before Yun Qingyue ascended, she came face to face with them, and naturally both sides had to exchange courteous greetings. However, given Yun Qingyue's reputation as the Cold Immortal Maiden, the visitors kept their pleasantries brief. Soon after the mutual greetings were completed, she carried the white tiger up to the lecture platform.
There were also meditation cushions on the platform. Yun Qingyue sat down first, and then everyone below the platform followed suit—this was protocol, showing respect from the audience to the lecturer, regardless of their relative status or cultivation levels.
Once everyone was seated, the previously noisy hall fell silent, with all eyes fixed on Yun Qingyue. At that moment, a breeze passed through, and apart from the rustling leaves and chirping birds, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Yun Qingyue rested one hand lightly on the white tiger's back, her calm gaze sweeping over those below, without giving the disciples from Tiandao Sect and Buddha Sect any extra attention.
Her gaze was calm yet cold; those who inadvertently met her eyes almost shivered from the coldness within them. But with that glance, everyone's minds calmed, and no one was distracted by her status or appearance. Then she began her lecture, speaking about drawing qi into the body, tempering one's foundation, the Dao's natural way, and comprehending mental states...
Disciples who frequently attend lectures at Hall of Inquiry knew that in Senior Sister's infrequent teachings, she seemed to always cover these topics, yet each time they listened, they gained completely different insights.
Unfortunately, Jiang Mo couldn't understand any of it; everything sounded like gibberish to her.
But the weather today was pleasant—clear skies, gentle breezes... Having been tormented by pain all night with no rest, the little white tiger, curled up in Senior Sister's arms listening to what might as well have been a foreign language, was soon lulled to sleep by that beautiful voice.
Jiang Mo's eyelids drooped, giving her a sense of being back in a classroom. Except this time she was luckier—the teacher for this class was not only beautiful but had a lovely voice. Not only was the voice lovely, but she could also curl up in the teacher's arms. Not only could she curl up in the arms, but when she dozed off during the lecture, she wouldn't be called on to answer questions!
Gradually, the carefree little white tiger finally succumbed to sleepiness and fell into a deep slumber. Some time later, she even rolled over in Senior Sister's arms, exposing her belly upward, allowing Senior Sister to rub her soft little tummy.
A gentle breeze wafted by as everyone sat attentively below the platform, while above, the lecturer stroked the white tiger and spoke eloquently—a scene of exquisite beauty.