Haven't Been a Senior Sister for Many Years - Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Discovered

Three days later, on a dim afternoon, Leng Junzhu slowly opened her eyes.

This dream lasted even longer than the last, so long that Leng Junzhu wondered if she had already merged into the dream, becoming a part of it. Fortunately, she still woke up.

She rubbed her forehead, which was swollen and uncomfortable from sleeping too long. This dream was actually related to the temple fair.

The Flood Dragon had said that her soul was damaged, and taking the spiritual herbs could nourish her damaged soul, allowing her stagnant cultivation to break through.

As early as when she took the first spiritual herb, Leng Junzhu was surprised to find that the barrier, which had remained unmoving no matter how hard she tried to break through it, now had a tiny, almost imperceptible crack.

Though the crack was small, it was real.

Leng Junzhu could barely contain her joy. Her cultivation hadn’t advanced for many years, and seeing the strength of other Demon Gods steadily approaching, it was false to say she wasn’t panicking.

In the Demon Realm, strength reigned supreme. She had been able to step on countless corpses to sit on the throne back then, and others could do the same now.

She had desperately sought various methods for this, but the effects were minimal. Several times, she even almost suffered a cultivation deviation, causing her cultivation to regress.

Unexpectedly, life was hidden in the Dingmi City secret realm. If Chu Zhiqin hadn’t brought her into the Flood Dragon’s territory, the Flood Dragon would certainly not have voluntarily told her that her soul was damaged.

Feeling the increasingly loosened seal within her body, Leng Junzhu curled her lips into a smile. Before long, Chu Zhiqin’s seal would no longer be able to restrain her, and she would regain her freedom.

By then, she was determined to make Chu Zhiqin also taste the humiliation she had endured for the past month.

It was just not a good time to completely fall out with Chu Zhiqin yet, Leng Junzhu comforted herself. There was still one last spiritual herb left; it wouldn’t be too late to decide then.

But it was strange, why did she dream of Chu Zhiqin’s past repeatedly, when spiritual herbs were meant to mend the soul?

When she obtained the sword named Qingshuang Sword, it was not difficult for Leng Junzhu to understand dreaming about things related to Qingshuang Sword. High-grade spiritual swords had spirits, and it was normal for them to retain the fragmented memories of their previous owners. But the question was, what was the situation with these two subsequent dreams?

Leng Junzhu was surprised that she hadn’t deeply considered this question before.

Dreaming once could be an accident, but dreaming two or three times must mean someone was manipulating it.

Both spiritual herbs were consumed by Leng Junzhu only after she had thoroughly inspected them, so it was unlikely that the spiritual herbs themselves had issues. Then—

Leng Junzhu’s eyes darkened. She thought of another possibility.

Chu Zhiqin.

Only Chu Zhiqin could manipulate her dreams while she was asleep, and only Chu Zhiqin would have a reason to manipulate her dreams.

Chu Zhiqin wanted her to replace the deceased senior sister. The best method would be to infuse the deceased senior sister’s memories into the mind of someone who shared the same face and name as the senior sister.

But Chu Zhiqin was wrong. Leng Junzhu was never a mediocre person who would be trapped by vague and ethereal memories. She was born to be a king destined to stand at the peak and look down on all others.

The Leng Junzhu in the dream had nothing in common with her except for appearance and name.

After clarifying this point, Leng Junzhu decided to treat the memories conveyed by the dreams as a secret weapon against Chu Zhiqin. She believed that by then, Chu Zhiqin’s expression would surely be fascinating.

Speaking of which, she hadn’t seen Chu Zhiqin since she woke up. The person who usually clung to her like a conjoined twin was, for once, not guarding the inn and was instead nowhere to be found.

Had something happened? She got out of bed. On the table lay a note and a storage ring.

[Something came up. Return quickly. Do not leave the inn. There is hot water in the tub, ready for use at any time.]

Leng Junzhu raised an eyebrow. She probably guessed what Chu Zhiqin meant by “something came up.” From the looks of it, Mo Qianxue had already spread the news of her and Chu Zhiqin being in Anning Town. However, she had said “three days later,” and she didn’t know which day it was now.

She walked barefoot to the window and pushed it open. The streets that were once filled with joy and liveliness during the temple fair had become oppressive. Tea houses and taverns on both sides were filled with people whose gazes darted about or who had fierce expressions.

The local residents of Anning Town mostly avoided these fierce-looking outsiders, fearing that they might inadvertently provoke a deadly conflict. They had heard that these people were all here seeking revenge! Only a fool would provoke them!

For a time, Anning Town was filled with cries of alarm, and everyone felt vulnerable.

Based on the number of people Leng Junzhu observed, she guessed that today should be the first or second day since the news was released. This batch of cultivators should have rushed over from nearby areas, gathering on the bustling streets in an attempt to find the whereabouts of Chu Zhiqin and Leng Junzhu.

After a few glances, Leng Junzhu closed the window and returned to bed. She knew that this room had been enchanted by Chu Zhiqin. The note said “Do not leave the inn,” but in reality, she couldn’t leave even if she wanted to, and others couldn’t enter either.

She wondered who she was being protected from, Leng Junzhu chuckled self-mockingly and sat cross-legged on the bed, taking out the storage ring Chu Zhiqin had left behind.

The storage ring contained rations, various elixirs, and spiritual artifacts. As if concerned Leng Junzhu might be bored, she thoughtfully prepared storybooks and some small trinkets for passing the time. While not exquisite, they were quite novel. Several items were things Leng Junzhu had never seen in the Demon Realm, making them perfect for whiling away the time.

The sun set, and dark clouds pressed against the sunset, forming a broken orange-red line against the horizon. The sky had completely darkened, and the taverns by the road lit up large red lanterns. The pleasure houses of the wealthy were brightly lit, filled with the scent of cosmetics, perfume, and alcohol.

The Yingri Lake, used for boating during the day, now had several large pleasure boats, with people milling about. Dancers performed on drums, and sweet-voiced, gentle singing girls played the pipa behind shimmering screens, narrating tales of poignant love.

See, how easy it was to destroy a peaceful and honest small town. In just one day, Anning Town underwent earth-shattering changes, merely because of the unfounded news Mo Qianxue spread on the street. An ordinary, unremarkable small town became a lone boat caught in a stormy sea.

The moon hung high in the sky. In this sleepless night, Chu Zhiqin returned to the inn in the hazy late night, carrying the scent of water vapor and a faint hint of bl00d.

The moment she pushed open the door, a strong scent of wine wafted towards her. Chu Zhiqin recognized it as the peach blossom wine they had specially bought when they came to Anning Town. Leng Junzhu particularly liked its sweet taste and elegant aroma.

Given the strong scent in the room, it seemed Leng Junzhu had quite a bit to drink.

The candle on the table had burned out, a few drops of wax leaving round marks on the tabletop. A little snake, who never stayed up waiting for anyone, was sprawled on the table, sound asleep.

In the darkness, Chu Zhiqin could clearly see two pink flushes on the little snake’s cheeks, and her thin lips were slightly swollen.

“Not afraid of catching a cold…” She sighed helplessly and gently cupped the little snake’s face. The cool cheek rubbed against Chu Zhiqin’s warm palm, and the curled eyelashes brushed against her fingertips, causing a tingling sensation.

“Junior Sister…” The unconscious murmur of the drunken person stirred up a turbulent storm in Chu Zhiqin’s heart.

Did she just hear Leng Junzhu call her “Junior Sister”?

Chu Zhiqin held her breath. That “Junior Sister” was too soft, so soft that she thought it was her own eager desire for her senior sister to recover her memories, causing a hallucination.

“Junior Sister…”

The long-awaited voice sounded again. Faced with this sudden joy, Chu Zhiqin bit her lower lip, the muscles on both sides of her cheeks twitching slightly. The grievances accumulated for over a hundred years reached their peak at this moment, and the constant surge of sourness in her nose caused tears to well up in her eyes.

She squatted on the ground, hugging Leng Junzhu’s knees, her face pressed against Leng Junzhu’s leg. Hot tears soaked Leng Junzhu’s clothes, leaving a mottled stain.

Senior Sister, I miss you so much.

Chu Zhiqin wanted so badly to loudly tell Leng Junzhu how much she had missed her these past hundred years, and how she had searched for her traces across the Nine Provinces. But she had lost her Senior Sister. She searched all over the Nine Provinces and still couldn’t find her Senior Sister.

She recalled when she had just woken up back then, what awaited her was not her senior sister’s smiling face, but Hualing expressionlessly telling her that Leng Junzhu was dead.

Dead in an unknown secret realm, her body completely destroyed, leaving only a shattered 본명靈劍 (Lifesworn Spiritual Sword). Leng Junzhu’s three souls and seven spirits were nowhere to be found between heaven and earth. She had simply vanished without a trace, as if she had never existed.

How could that be? How could a person disappear without a trace for no reason?

Chu Zhiqin didn’t believe it. She forcibly dragged her recently healed body towards the exit of Yinxia Valley, only to be slapped by Hualing, who furiously chastised her for not cherishing the body Leng Junzhu had exchanged her life for.

“What good is it for you to go out and search now? With your cultivation that’s barely reached the Golden Core stage, or with the fragile body Junzhu just gave her life to save you? What you need to do now is to heal your body and cultivate well, find the person who killed Junzhu and avenge her, instead of seeking death with me!”

The cheek slapped by Hualing was red and painful, but Chu Zhiqin couldn’t feel the swelling and pain in her cheek at all. She stared blankly at her hands; she couldn’t grasp anything, couldn’t save anyone.

Senior Sister, please come back quickly, she can’t hold on much longer.

Chu Zhiqin hugged her for a while longer before reluctantly letting go of Leng Junzhu’s knees. Looking at the skirt soaked with tears, Chu Zhiqin blushed as she wiped away the tears from her eyes. After confirming that the sleeping person had not yet woken up, she carried the utterly soft Leng Junzhu back to bed.

As for the damp skirt, Chu Zhiqin gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, quickly changed Leng Junzhu’s clothes, then hurried away. She quickly took a shower, put on her inner clothes, and lay down beside Leng Junzhu.

She was truly exhausted.

The time her Master had bought for her was already running out. Yesterday, someone, she didn’t know who, spread the news that she and Leng Junzhu were hiding in Anning Town, causing the once peaceful Anning Town to be in chaos and panic.

Fortunately, after leaving the desert, Chu Zhiqin had subtly altered her and Leng Junzhu’s faces, making it impossible for others to discern their original appearance.

Her late return tonight, even missing Leng Junzhu’s waking time, was also because she discovered demonic cultivators in town. To deal with them without attracting attention, it took Chu Zhiqin a lot of effort. By the time she finished everything and returned, it was already late at night.

But it didn’t matter. Although she and Leng Junzhu missed each other, by a strange twist of fate, Chu Zhiqin heard the “Junior Sister” she had longed for for a hundred years. It was still a fortunate thing.

Chu Zhiqin closed her eyes. The scent of peach blossoms soothed her agitated emotions of the day. “Good night, Senior Sister.”

She fell into a deep sleep.

Was Leng Junzhu really asleep? Not quite.

As soon as Chu Zhiqin pushed open the door, she had already woken up. However, she feigned sleep, wanting to see what Chu Zhiqin would do next.

All she got was Chu Zhiqin gently cupping her face.

If she hadn’t wanted to avoid being discovered too quickly, Leng Junzhu would have almost laughed out loud. She had even prepared herself for a sneaky kiss, but all she got was a caress and an inaudible murmur of concern.

So, she had a mischievous idea. Imitating the person in her dream, she called Chu Zhiqin “Junior Sister,” wanting to see Chu Zhiqin’s reaction.

The tears were something she hadn’t expected.

A damp sensation spread on her knee, and the hands that usually held a sword so steadily now clutched her skirt, trembling slightly.

Chu Zhiqin cried on her knees like an overgrown child, her tears scorching hot, so hot that Leng Junzhu felt an irresistible urge to pull away from that unequal embrace.

After a while longer, Chu Zhiqin finally stopped crying.

She was picked up horizontally, then placed on a soft bed. A pair of trembling hands gently untied her clothes.

It was probably Chu Zhiqin’s first time attending to her while she was asleep. Chu Zhiqin’s movements were clumsy, often pulling on her hair that was scattered across her chest or back. Leng Junzhu thought, if she were truly asleep, she would probably be woken up by the commotion.

After taking off her outer clothes and pulling up the quilt, Leng Junzhu soon heard the sound of Chu Zhiqin quickly bathing. Not long after, a warm body snuggled into the covers and hugged her from behind.

Chu Zhiqin’s embrace was too warm. She had just woken from a deep sleep, but drowsiness was already creeping into her mind again, making her feel groggy and sleepy.

“Good night, Senior Sister.”

Her sleepiness instantly vanished.

The hand hidden in her sleeve suddenly clenched, sharp nails piercing her skin. The pain swept away Leng Junzhu’s drowsiness, and hatred bloomed in her eyes, dissolving into boundless gold.

“Senior Sister” again.

Leng Junzhu hated that this person treated her as a substitute for her senior sister. All the pain she was experiencing now stemmed from Chu Zhiqin. She hated Chu Zhiqin’s unreasonable and cowardly love.

At the same time, she resented herself for allowing someone to affect her emotions so easily.

No wonder Mo Qianxue couldn’t help but remind her not to forget her identity shortly after they met. It seemed she had been too lax recently and had forgotten how ruthless she used to be.

Leng Junzhu slowly loosened her clenched fist. She had been too negligent lately. If she returned to the Demon Realm in her current state, it wouldn’t be long before the Demon Realm’s king would be replaced.

It was time to adjust her mindset.

She emptied her mind, allowing sleepiness to return.

…

The next morning.

Chu Zhiqin woke up first. After washing up, she called out to the little snake who seemed to be going into hibernation again.

“Wake up, we need to leave Anning Town.”

The little snake struggled, unwilling to wake up, pulling the quilt over its head, leaving only a section of its pale arm exposed.

Chu Zhiqin helplessly pulled down the quilt, revealing the head of the person trying to be an ostrich: “Something unexpected happened. We have to leave today.”

Leng Junzhu was very annoyed at having her pleasant dream disturbed: “What unexpected thing happened now?”

Chu Zhiqin soothed her: “Our whereabouts have been discovered. There are cultivators looking for us everywhere outside. We have to go. If you’re sleepy, you can turn into a little snake and coil around my wrist, okay?”

Leng Junzhu asked her: “How were we discovered?”

Chu Zhiqin shook her head: “I don’t know. Logically, we shouldn’t have been discovered in Anning Town, but it’s already happened. We should leave here first and then make other plans.”

“Alright then.” Leng Junzhu tucked the hair on both sides of her face behind her ears. She noticed a faint lingering scent of wine on her, and her willow-like eyebrows couldn’t help but furrow. “I need to take a bath first. I stink. Why did you only help me take off my outer clothes last night and not help me bathe?”

Chu Zhiqin’s face turned red, and she stammered: “I… I only helped you take off your outer clothes because I was afraid you wouldn’t sleep comfortably. I didn’t touch anything else.”

Leng Junzhu lifted Chu Zhiqin’s chin: “What’s there to be afraid of? What part of me haven’t you touched? Does a little bit more matter?”

The person who had just woken up had a captivating flush at the corners of her eyes. Her loose inner garment was disheveled, and her pale, slender collarbone was enticingly exposed to Chu Zhiqin’s gaze, dazzlingly white.

“That’s different…” Chu Zhiqin’s fingertips were flushed with shyness.

She claimed to have touched everything, but it was Leng Junzhu who had whispered temptations into her ear, then guided her hand-in-hand on how to touch that body which, in Chu Zhiqin’s eyes, was inviolable, making it tremble to the peak of pleasure.

Before meeting the Demon Lord Leng Junzhu, Chu Zhiqin was pure and desires-free, fully focused on cultivation and searching for her Senior Sister. She had never ventured into matters of love and personal desires, leaving her as blank as a piece of white paper in this regard, tempting others to color her.

Leng Junzhu tried to dye her, but this paper was not only blank but also a stubborn blockhead, completely clueless, occasionally even making her sore and aching without finding any pleasure.

“How is it different? Never mind. Since you’re in a hurry to leave, I’ll let you off the hook this time. Next time, I’ll definitely make you explain properly what makes it different.”

“I’m going to take a bath. Is there still hot water?”

“Yes, there is.”

“Mm.”

Leng Junzhu used her old trick, reaching out and hooking Chu Zhiqin’s neck. Chu Zhiqin wrapped her arms around Leng Junzhu’s waist and carried her to the bathtub.

They said they’d finish bathing quickly, but the result of both of them approaching the bathtub was that they frolicked in the tub for quite a while. Finally, Chu Zhiqin, completely limp, pushed her away, ending the mischief.

The green snake tail slapped the water. Just moments ago, it was this snake tail that had twice brought Chu Zhiqin to the peak of ecstasy, leaving her clinging to Leng Junzhu, softly sobbing.

Chu Zhiqin carried Leng Junzhu into the bathtub; when they emerged, Leng Junzhu was carrying the utterly limp Chu Zhiqin.

By the time they were ready to leave, it was already getting late.

The little green snake was obediently coiled around Chu Zhiqin’s wrist. With a wide sleeve covering it, it was impossible to tell there was a snake hidden on her wrist.

After normally checking out of the room, Chu Zhiqin casually walked down the street.

After a night’s rest, more cultivators had arrived in Anning Town. A few demonic cultivators were secretly hiding in corners, and Chu Zhiqin, constrained by the situation, reluctantly let them go.

“Hey, hey, you two wouldn’t happen to be Chu Zhiqin and the Demon Lord in disguise, would you?” In front of a rouge shop, a woman in a red, waist-length ruqun with wide sleeves stopped two girls walking together.

The woman was exceptionally beautiful, with slightly upturned phoenix eyes and a high nose bridge that gave her beauty a strong, aggressive quality. A leather whip hung at her waist. Seeing that the girls she stopped not only didn’t reply but glared at her, the red-clad woman drew her whip and lashed it at them.

Several screams rang out around them. Both girls were mortals and had never cultivated. How could they block such a fierce whip?

Just as the whip was about to land on their faces, a hand suddenly grabbed it.

The imagined pain didn’t arrive. The girls, who had closed their eyes, waiting for the whipping, opened them to find themselves saved, and thanked their rescuer profusely.

“Thank you so much! If it weren’t for you, my friend and I would definitely have been disfigured.”

“No need for thanks. I simply can’t stand this lady’s actions.”

“Hey, how long are you going to hold my whip and ignore me?” The woman in the ruqun pulled hard on the whip, but it remained motionless. “Do you know who I am? Let go quickly!”

“I’m not ignoring you.” The yellow-clad woman who held the whip said innocently, “Who cares who you are? If you want your whip back, you’ll have to see if you have the ability.”

“You!” The ruqun-clad woman stomped her foot. She tugged the whip with her right hand, and her left hand turned into a palm strike aimed directly at the yellow-clad woman.

The yellow-clad woman sidestepped her attack. The whip, which the ruqun-clad woman couldn’t pull no matter how hard she tried, was easily pulled towards the yellow-clad woman. “Didn’t eat? Is that all the strength you have?”

“You’re asking for death!” The ruqun-clad woman was pulled into the yellow-clad woman’s embrace by this enormous force. The other person pulled her whip with her right hand and twisted her free hand behind her waist, preventing her from moving.

This strength was simply monstrous! The ruqun-clad woman thought indignantly.

“If you let go now, I can still spare your life. Any later, I can’t guarantee anything.” She spoke harshly, attempting to distract the yellow-clad woman.

“But right now, you look worse off than I do, so how can you talk about sparing my life?” The yellow-clad woman laughed, “It can’t be that your mouth is the one that can’t spare me, can it?”

The people around them laughed, and the ruqun-clad woman’s pretty face flushed with anger. She stomped her right foot back forcefully, and the yellow-clad woman retreated repeatedly, but neither of her hands loosened, instead pulling the other person along as she retreated.

The two chased each other on the street, one mischievously trying her best to provoke the ruqun-clad woman, while the other, though unable to win, continued to curse and fight.

Taking advantage of the commotion they caused, Chu Zhiqin hid in the crowd and quietly headed towards the city gate.

After squeezing out of the crowd, the city gate appeared before her eyes.

The city gate, which had only been guarded by a handful of people a few days ago, inexplicably had several more cultivators who clearly looked formidable.

Chu Zhiqin clucked her tongue and stopped.

Although she was confident that others couldn’t see through her disguise, she couldn’t guarantee that these people wouldn’t use other insidious methods to find someone. It was best for her to leave the city with others.

Chu Zhiqin hid in a corner, looking for an opportunity. After almost a quarter of an hour, she finally found a suitable partner.

A mule cart driven by a grandfather and granddaughter.