After Rebirth, the Love-Struck Cannon Fodder Woke Up - Chapter 19
Chapter 19: Predicament
â—Ž Senior Sister’s Jealousy, A Double Bind â—Ž
Hearing the extremely familiar voice reaching her ears, a sense of panic spontaneously arose in Du Lianxin’s heart. She tried to push away the woman in her arms, but the grip on her waist suddenly tightened.
Gu Xianzi hadn’t expected Shen Anlan to appear here, but for her, this was an excellent opportunity.
Senior Sister Shen had no romantic interest in her, but her attitude towards Junior Sister Du was unpredictable.
Seizing this moment was the perfect way to nip any potential thoughts Senior Sister Shen might have in the bud.
Thinking of this, Gu Xianzi slightly lifted her head from the girl’s embrace and looked at Shen Anlan with eyes full of smiles.
“Everything is as Senior Sister Shen sees. I like Junior Sister Du and am trying to win her favor. I don’t know why Senior Sister would appear here, as you haven’t attended the past auctions.”
At this moment, the coldness around Shen Anlan intensified to the extreme.
She pursed her lips, suppressing the displeasure and bitterness in her heart. She did not answer Gu Xianzi’s words, but only looked at the stunned girl and asked in a low voice: “Junior Sister Du, is this true?”
“No, it’s not like that.”
Du Lianxin recovered from her shock, her scalp tingling. She never expected things to escalate to this point.
“Senior Sister Shen, I just met Senior Sister Gu outside the Treasury Pavilion. Senior Sister Gu didn’t want me to stand in the long queue and brought me into the pavilion with her. That’s all.”
Gu Xianzi was greatly dissatisfied upon hearing this.
“What do you mean, ‘that’s all’? Doesn’t Junior Sister Du know my personality? If it were an unrelated person, even a fellow disciple, I wouldn’t bother. Didn’t Junior Sister feel my intentions even slightly just now?”
Du Lianxin was momentarily speechless.
She was never good with words, while Senior Sister Gu was fluent in them. There was no way she could argue with this Senior Sister.
Seeing her silence, Gu Xianzi’s gaze fell on the girl’s flawless neck. She secretly gritted her teeth, leaned forward, and was about to bite her to leave a mark.
Just then, a strong gust of wind struck from not far away.
Gu Xianzi was forced to release the girl she was hugging, retreat several steps, and use a spell to block the attack.
When the attack dissipated, she looked at the purple-clad woman who had struck, a hint of disbelief in her eyes.
“Senior Sister Shen, you actually attacked me?”
Shen Anlan’s eyes were icy cold. “Junior Sister Gu should be able to see that Junior Sister Du is not willing. What you are doing is forcing her.”
Gu Xianzi gritted her teeth. “So, Senior Sister Shen truly cares about Junior Sister Du?”
Shen Anlan frowned and replied: “This has nothing to do with caring or not caring.”
Gu Xianzi smoothed her hair with her hand and sneered: “I didn’t expect Senior Sister Shen, who is always known for being cold and heartless, to also be someone who says one thing but means another. Let me ask Senior Sister, if the person here today was not Junior Sister Du, but someone else, would Senior Sister have interfered?”
Seeing the atmosphere between the two becoming increasingly tense, Du Lianxin forced herself to speak: “Two Senior Sisters, the auction is about to begin.”
Hearing this, Gu Xianzi stopped her sneer, immediately ran up to her, lifted her skirt, and skillfully looped her arm through the girl’s right arm.
“Junior Sister Du is so much better. Unlike some people, who have a cold face all day, never give me a kind look, and even attack me!”
After this incident, Shen Anlan’s image in Gu Xianzi’s mind was greatly diminished.
Du Lianxin knew that if she stayed here, unpredictable things might happen again. She was about to politely excuse herself and go to the first floor of the pavilion. Unexpectedly, Shen Anlan’s cold gaze looked directly at her.
“If Junior Sister doesn’t want to stay here anymore, I can take you away directly.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she heard Gu Xianzi complain in dissatisfaction: “Junior Sister Du came to the Treasury Pavilion to participate in the auction, of course she wants to stay here. Senior Sister Shen’s words sound like a baseless accusation?”
Shen Anlan glanced at Gu Xianzi and said faintly: “The auction venue is huge. When I said ‘leave,’ I only meant not staying in the private room reserved by Junior Sister Gu.”
This statement was exactly what Du Lianxin wanted. She quickly spoke: “Thank you for bringing me into the Treasury Pavilion early, Senior Sister Gu, saving me the time of waiting in line…”
She was interrupted halfway by Gu Xianzi.
“Is Junior Sister Du leaving with Senior Sister Shen?”
Du Lianxin keenly noticed that the grip on her right arm suddenly tightened significantly. She quickly shook her head.
“Senior Sister Gu misunderstood. I only want to go to the first floor of the pavilion, not with Senior Sister Shen.”
In her opinion, with Shen Anlan’s status, she certainly wouldn’t go there. She would most likely choose another private room on the ninth floor.
Gu Xianzi pouted. “Why go to the first floor? There are so many people there, all crowded together, and it smells bad. How can it compare to the ninth-floor private room?”
This was an exaggeration. Cultivators, regardless of their cultivation level, could perform the most basic Cleansing Art and would not be too slovenly.
Du Lianxin was in a predicament at the moment. The gazes of both Senior Sister Shen and Senior Sister Gu were on her, seemingly waiting for her to continue answering.
She didn’t want to provoke either of them.
If she had known this, it would have been better not to come to this auction. Wouldn’t it be much better to stay in her cave dwelling on Talisman Peak and cultivate peacefully?
Shen Anlan saw the girl remain silent, and a rare feeling of apprehension arose in her heart.
She had originally stayed in the sect and had no intention of attending the Treasury Pavilion auction.
She rushed over only because she heard a returning cultivator mention that Gu Xianzi had met Junior Sister Du in the market and invited her into the pavilion, fearing that Junior Sister Du would be troubled.
She never expected that Gu Xianzi would have other intentions toward Junior Sister Du.
If she hadn’t come over, what would have happened?
And what was Junior Sister thinking?
From the current situation, Junior Sister should be unwilling, but Gu Xianzi was not lacking in status, appearance, or strength. If she was truly determined to pursue Junior Sister, the outcome was genuinely hard to predict.
Shen Anlan imagined the scenario of Junior Sister falling in love with Gu Xianzi and leaning into her embrace. The bitterness in her heart was even greater than before.
No matter what, she wouldn’t let such a thing happen!
At this moment, Du Lianxin was still contemplating how to respond, but she saw Shen Anlan slowly approach her, naturally taking her left hand.
“The auction is about to begin. Since Junior Sister wants to go to the first floor, we should hurry.”
Du Lianxin nodded in assent and turned to look at the pouting woman on her right side, saying apologetically: “Thank you for your help in letting me enter the Treasury Pavilion early this time, Senior Sister Gu. I don’t wish to continue disturbing you, so I will take my leave now.”
Gu Xianzi stomped her foot and completely pressed against her. “I forbid it! You are to stay here. You are not allowed to leave with her!”
She truly felt somewhat wronged in her heart.
In the past, she had been solely focused on Senior Sister Shen and never received any kind look from her. Now, she had finally taken a liking to a Junior Sister, but the hateful Shen Anlan had to interfere again.
Her strength was inferior to the other party’s. She was quickly separated by force, compelled to move away from Junior Sister Du, and her eyes, uncharacteristically, reddened.
Meeting Du Lianxin’s apologetic gaze, Gu Xianzi secretly held back her tears.
I can’t cry. It’s too embarrassing!
There will be a tomorrow. Seeing Shen Anlan’s demeanor, she was truly interested in Junior Sister Du.
Hmph, sooner or later, she would make this usually cold and heartless Senior Sister Shen taste the bitterness of unrequited love!
The first floor of the Treasury Pavilion.
Shen Anlan brought Du Lianxin here and was quickly invited by the pavilion manager to a seat with an excellent view.
As a cultivation genius rarely seen in the Clear River Sect in a thousand years, no one in the surrounding area did not recognize Shen Anlan.
For a moment, countless eyes focused on her.
Most held respect and admiration, while a few were filled with curiosity.
Because Du Lianxin was seated beside her, she also received considerable attention.
More than one person recognized her identity.
As one of the leading major sects in the Grand Profound Realm, the movements of the Elders on its various peaks were always monitored by the outside world.
A while ago, the news that Elder Liu Shuangdai of Talisman Peak had taken in a Four Spiritual Root disciple had been heard by most of the cultivators participating in this auction.
The sect identity token Du Lianxin carried bore her name. Even if very few people had seen her true appearance before, they could still guess her origin.
Unlike the attitude toward Shen Anlan, the gazes falling on her were mostly astonished and curious, with a few subtly meaningful ones.
This was because the news these people had heard before was that Du Lianxin had the seventh level of Qi Condensation cultivation, but now, in their sensing, she was at the Qi Condensation Completion realm.
It had only been about a month since Elder Liu accepted her as a disciple. Such rapid progress in cultivation in such a short time inevitably led to suspicion.
Shen Anlan keenly noticed the unusual nature of the glances falling on her Junior Sister. Being inherently intelligent, she quickly understood the reason. She immediately swept her gaze across the surroundings with eyes devoid of emotion.
All who met her gaze were intimidated by the implied warning and subconsciously lowered their heads, shifting their attention away from Du Lianxin.
The manager of the Treasury Pavilion, responsible for maintaining order, saw this scene and secretly praised her inwardly.
As expected of a long-renowned Immortal Sect genius. If it were someone else here, it would be difficult to be so composed, protecting a fellow disciple invisibly.
After about ten breaths, a dark door opened on the stone platform directly ahead, and a Golden Toad, about ten chi (approx. 3.3 meters) tall, slowly rose from the ground.
The Golden Toad symbolized good fortune. Since the establishment of the Treasury Pavilion, every auction had been conducted in the manner of the Golden Toad spitting out treasures.
Whenever a treasure was spit out, the pavilion manager would provide a detailed introduction beside it and set the starting price.
This Golden Toad was not a living creature but was made of pure gold, with multiple restrictions set up inside, controlled by the Treasury Pavilion.
Before long, the toad’s mouth opened, spitting out a conical treasure shimmering with blue light.
The voice of the pavilion manager followed.
“One high-grade magical artifact, the Azure Spirit Dowel. A wood-attributed offensive treasure that can be instantly activated. The spiritual energy consumption is relatively small compared to magical artifacts of the same grade. If used properly against an enemy, it can achieve a surprising victory. The starting price is six thousand spirit stones. Each bid must not be less than one hundred spirit stones!”
As soon as the words fell, a chorus of bids immediately rang out.
In just a short moment, the price soared from six thousand to eight thousand nine hundred.
Shen Anlan had already formed her Core, so such a treasure was naturally useless to her. However, she thought that the girl beside her had not yet reached Foundation Establishment, and this treasure was perfectly suitable. She was about to participate in the bidding when a price of ten thousand was reported from the ninth floor of the pavilion.
Hearing the familiar voice, Shen Anlan frowned slightly.
With Gu Xianzi’s cultivation, the aid provided by a magical artifact was already extremely small. Her participation in this bid likely had the same intention as her own.
Thinking of this, Shen Anlan immediately bid, offering a round two thousand.
Gu Xianzi did not back down, continuing to follow up, bidding thirty-one thousand.
As the two were determined to compete, the price jump in the bidding was excessive, far exceeding the actual value of the treasure…