Haven't Been a Senior Sister for Many Years - Chapter 37

Chapter 37: This Is What You Owe Me

Leng Junzhu woke up to the scent of bl00d.

Before her was a natural rock cave. Turning her neck slightly, she saw Chu Zhiqin sitting with her back facing her, covered in bl00d. Her clothes were torn and tattered, and a grotesque sword wound stretched from her right shoulder to her left waist. Her right shoulder bore another piercing injury.

Chu Zhiqin, expressionless, was tending to the wound on her left arm. Cold sweat soaked her temples, but she made no sound, as if she no longer felt pain.

It had only been a few days since they last saw each other, and yet she had become so wretched.

Suppressing the unease in her heart, Leng Junzhu asked, “Where did you get these injuries?”

“You’re awake?” Chu Zhiqin paused in her bandaging and turned to face her. A flicker of grievance surged in her otherwise calm eyes. Pouting, she said, “Liú Rushuang hit me…”

Liu Rushuang. Leng Junzhu chewed over the name. Then she remembered—this was the woman who had fought fiercely with Chu Zhiqin back when she had first been captured and locked in the Sword Pavilion. She was also the junior martial sister of the woman from her dreams.

“Why did she hit you?” Leng Junzhu couldn’t stand her clumsy first aid anymore and snatched the bandage from her, helping her wrap the wound. As she did, she chided, “And you call yourself the Sword Immortal of the Nine Provinces, yet you got beaten up like this.”

Her scolding and concern were too familiar—it reminded Chu Zhiqin of her senior sister from a hundred years ago, who would grab her arm, both angry and heartbroken at her recklessness.

Chu Zhiqin couldn’t help but whimper, “She ambushed me…”

Back in their youth, she and Liu Rushuang had never gotten along. She didn’t want to recount the grudges formed during sword practice—after all, she had been the less skilled one.

Even off the training field, Liu Rushuang never let her off easily.

Chu Zhiqin had relied on her youth, and whenever she got bullied, she would run to her senior sister, playing the pitiful act to win her sympathy.

Her senior sister would comfort her and then scold Liu Rushuang on her behalf. Hiding behind her sister’s back, her voice would be full of grievance, but her eyes gleamed with mocking delight.

Liu Rushuang had been furious with Chu Zhiqin’s two-faced act, but having been the one in the wrong, she could only grit her teeth and apologize.

Now, a hundred years later, Chu Zhiqin felt like that little girl again—bullied, but still with her senior sister to rely on and act spoiled with.

Overwhelmed by nostalgia, Chu Zhiqin’s eyes grew hot with tears. She wished she could collapse into Leng Junzhu’s arms and cry out all the grievances she had endured over the century.

“It was an ambush, and you didn’t think to strike back? We’re out of healing salve. Hand over your spatial ring,” Leng Junzhu said.

“I was wrong…”

The mighty Sword Immortal of the Nine Provinces didn’t argue at all after being scolded, obediently handing over her ring and watching pitifully as Leng Junzhu helped her apply the medicine.

Leng Junzhu sent a trace of spiritual energy into the ring.

The contents inside were chaotically categorized—piles of items stacked randomly. The section for pills was particularly messy.

“…,” Leng Junzhu frowned.

Thankfully, Chu Zhiqin had stocked a good number of the pill she needed. Still, she seemed to have no idea how to keep quality medicines on hand—almost everything was basic healing pills.

Forget it. They’d have to do.

“Turn around,” Leng Junzhu ordered, taking out one of the pills.

Chu Zhiqin obediently turned.

Leng Junzhu’s favorite place to leave marks during their nights together—Chu Zhiqin’s back—was now covered in wounds of varying sizes. One gaping injury even revealed glimpses of white bone beneath the flesh. The bl00d-soaked fabric had adhered to the wound, and applying medicine would require tearing it away first.

Leng Junzhu fetched forceps and slowly began peeling it off.

It was sheer agony.

Chu Zhiqin’s back tensed, and cold sweat once again drenched her temples, trickling down her jaw.

By the time Leng Junzhu had finished separating cloth from flesh, she was drenched in sweat herself, her hand aching from gripping the forceps.

She poured a full bottle of cleansing solution over the wounds, washing away the remaining bl00d and grime. The cold liquid and searing pain made Chu Zhiqin let out a muffled groan, her body trembling.

Leng Junzhu gently comforted her before crushing the healing pill and applying it. She then carefully bandaged the wounds, trying not to disturb the worst ones.

One wound down, another to go.

The shoulder wound hadn’t reached bone, at least—small mercies.

“You knew how ruthless she was, yet still insisted on protecting me. Why didn’t you just stall her, find a chance to escape? You got hurt for nothing.”

Chu Zhiqin frowned subtly when she heard Leng Junzhu call Liu Rushuang “ruthless,” but she didn’t respond directly. Instead, she said, “I didn’t want to show weakness in front of her.”

Leng Junzhu, unaware of her change in expression, replied, “In dire situations, better to avoid conflict when you can. You think I didn’t know about the grudge between you two from when you were young?”

“I just didn’t want to expose it, that’s all.”

“You… did you remember something?”

Chu Zhiqin’s eyes widened in disbelief. Her senior sister—was she coming back?

“I suppose,” Leng Junzhu admitted freely this time. The last two times Chu Zhiqin had asked, she had dodged the question with sarcasm, unwilling to admit the emergence of fragmented memories.

“But don’t get your hopes up too soon. It doesn’t mean I’ll return to the Sword Pavilion and play the part of ‘Senior Sister.’”

“I know.”

Chu Zhiqin understood her words, but her heart still refused to accept them.

After finally finding her long-lost sister, she wouldn’t let her leave again.

Last time she had forcibly abducted her—an act of desperation. This time, if she truly wanted her sister to return to the Sword Pavilion, it had to be properly planned.

But… there was still her master to consider.

Chu Zhiqin had made a three-month pact with Xuanqing: if, within three months, she could prove that the woman she brought back was indeed the missing Leng Junzhu, Xuanqing would protect her from all repercussions.

If not, Chu Zhiqin would be confined to the Sword Pavilion for life, never to leave.

Now, only a few days remained. Would she be able to convince Leng Junzhu to return?

If not, she’d have to think of something else. Worst case, she’d break her promise and run away with her.

But she didn’t want her sister to live a life on the run. That thought tore her apart.

While these thoughts flickered in Chu Zhiqin’s mind, Leng Junzhu retrieved the Qing Shuang sword from her ring and said, “I’m taking this sword. You’re injured. Let me handle things from here.”

Just like in the memories, she fastened the sword to her waist.

Chu Zhiqin didn’t suspect a thing. “It’s your sword. Naturally, it suits you best.”

“You’re seriously wounded. Rest. I’m going to scout the area.”

“Okay. I’ll wait for you.”

“Mm.”

The dizziness from bl00d loss was overwhelming. Hearing her sister promise to return, Chu Zhiqin didn’t hesitate anymore. She sat cross-legged and began to meditate, focusing on healing.

Once outside, Leng Junzhu walked aimlessly until the cave was out of sight. Then, she pulled a white jade vial from her robes.

If Hua Ling were here, she would instantly recognize it—this was the same vial she had once given to Chu Zhiqin.

Inside were seven memory droplets belonging to Leng Junzhu. Chu Zhiqin had used three; four remained, round and luminous like pearls.

Earlier, when Leng Junzhu offered to dress her wounds, it was all a ruse to retrieve this vial from Chu Zhiqin’s spatial ring.

She had been suspicious—she remembered seeing Chu Zhiqin standing by her bedside with the bottle while she was unconscious.

Leng Junzhu suspected that the dreams she’d had after taking the spirit herb were connected to this vial. She had no proof—but now she did.

She hadn’t expected to succeed in stealing it right under Chu Zhiqin’s nose. But fate loved irony.

“This will prove it, one way or another…”

She uncorked the vial and sent a thread of divine sense into it.

Sensing the familiar energy, the droplets drew near and merged with her.

In an instant, the memories surged forth like a spinning reel. At last, her confusion was resolved.

Her eyes snapped open, face pale with fury. Gold serpent pupils glinted with red. She nearly crushed the vial in her hand.

“Chu. Zhi. Qin!”

Leng Junzhu’s voice dripped with murderous rage. She wanted nothing more than to tear Chu Zhiqin apart and devour her alive.

Before, she had imagined revenge—imprisoning Chu Zhiqin, degrading her, breaking her pride until she became hers alone, never able to leave.

But now that she knew the truth, only death would quench her fury.

“This is what you owe me…” she whispered, staring at the jade bottle.

The Qing Shuang sword at her waist cried softly, as if mourning the bloodshed to come.

After a while, Leng Junzhu composed herself, wiping the tears from her eyes. She returned as if nothing had happened.

Back at the cave, Chu Zhiqin looked much better. Her wounds, aided by the healing pill, had stopped bleeding and begun to scab.

Leng Junzhu stood over her coldly, asking no questions, making no move to kill her.

Instead, over the next two days, she acted the perfect elder sister—so convincingly that Chu Zhiqin truly believed Leng Junzhu had remembered everything. She was delighted, pulling her sister into long conversations and moments of joy.

“Your wounds have started scabbing. A little water won’t hurt. When I was scouting the other day, I found a river. Want to go wash up together?” Leng Junzhu asked after lunch.

For the past two days, Chu Zhiqin had only used damp cloths to clean herself. The suggestion thrilled her. “Sure! When should we go?”

Leng Junzhu smiled. “Now. The sun’s out, and the water should be just right.”

Chu Zhiqin, ever obedient, replied, “Okay. I’ll follow your lead, sister.”

Leng Junzhu smiled as she took her hand and led her out of the cave.

The serpent had begun its hunt.