How to Be the Perfect Junior Sister to a Reborn Villain - Chapter 19

Do you know why alchemists always use pill furnaces?  Yan Jiuzhi asked, looking at his little junior sister with the patience of a saint.  You think they’re stupid? That they’d rather waste spirit stones on expensive furnaces when they could just use a pot?

He had finally decided to give his clueless little sister a serious lesson in alchemy fundamentals.

A proper pill furnace doesn’t just refine spiritual herbs,  he explained. It removes impurities, stabilizes the spiritual energy so it doesn’t disperse, and greatly increases the success rate and quality of the pills.”

Li Xi’s eyes instantly lit up.  Then, if I use a real pill furnace, I’ll be able to make even higher-quality pills?

That’s right, Yan Jiuzhi said approvingly.  Besides ordinary furnaces, there are also special ones designed for elemental alchemists, like spirit jade furnaces for water-type alchemists. There are many kinds. When Master and the others come out of seclusion, I’ll take you to Xuancheng to buy one.

He had to get her a proper furnace. There was no way he could let her keep refining medicine with cookware.

Li Xi propped her chin on her hands, her eyes glowing with excitement. She wanted a pill furnace so badly!

Just then, a faint metallic tang filled the courtyard with bl00d.

Xiaocui came trudging in, dragging a low-grade spirit beast behind her. The grass deer was taller than she was.

The main gate of Yunxiao Sect might be old and battered, but thankfully, it was wide enough; otherwise, the deer’s body would’ve gotten stuck.

Li Xi stared fixedly at the deep dent on the deer’s head, its crushed skull, and twisted neck.

Don’t tell me Xiaocui did this… with her fists?

If not for the antlers, she wouldn’t have even recognized what it was supposed to be.

She looked at Xiaocui’s slender frame, then back at the mangled deer, and blurted out the only thing that came to mind:

Cui’er… you killed this yourself?.

So this is the power of a body cultivator?

She could actually kill a spirit beast with her bare hands?

Miss, Young Master Yan,  Xiaocui greeted them awkwardly, still holding the deer.

Yan Jiuzhi waved a hand.  No need for formalities.

Yes, Miss, Xiaocui replied honestly.  This kind of low-grade spirit beast isn’t that strong just fast. I jumped down from a tree and hit it twice, and it died.”

Her smile was pure and honest. The truth was, it had only taken one punch, but she’d thrown a second just to make sure.

Li Xi looked from the pitiful, flattened deer head to Xiaocui’s delicate, white hands.

Her mind went blank.

Then she turned to Yan Jiuzhi, half in awe. “Third Senior Brother, what do you think of Cui’er’s progress? She’s been training so hard! She runs up and down the back mountain every day for body tempering. She even gathered most of the herbs I used for pill refining without her, I wouldn’t have made this many pills. 

As she spoke, pride filled her voice. Her Xiaocui was amazing!

 Not bad at all, Yan Jiuzhi said approvingly. “To reach the third level of Qi Refinement in just a few months means she’s worked hard. Body cultivators rely far less on spiritual energy than technique cultivators, but the path is much harsher. You must be mentally prepared.

He truly admired those who persevered through pain and hardship.

“I’m not afraid of suffering,” Xiaocui said confidently, standing tall.

At first, she had only wanted to train so she could stay by her mistress’s side longer. But now, she was hooked on the feeling of growing stronger. A bit of pain was nothing her young lady was a fragile alchemist; it was her duty to become strong enough to protect her.

Then let’s roast the deer tonight!  Li Xi clapped her hands decisively.  Right here in the courtyard! 

As the summer sun dipped below the horizon, the sky blazed with scarlet clouds, and a cool mountain breeze drifted through Yunxiao Sect.

Soon, the air was thick with the mouthwatering aroma of roasting meat.

The venison sizzled over the fire, fat dripping and crackling as it hit the flames.

The few mortal disciples who still lived in the sect couldn’t handle too much spiritual meat, so after tasting two small pieces, they retreated to the back courtyard to dine with Granny Wu.

Xiaocui, acting as the chief griller, focused intently on turning the spit and sprinkling her secret blend of spices over the meat.

Though it was midsummer, cultivators barely felt the heat, and tonight, the mountain wind was particularly pleasant.

The rich scent of roasted meat mingled with herbs and sauce was heavenly.

The aroma was so intoxicating that it even lured several people out of closed-door cultivation.

Are we celebrating my breakthrough?

Lin Ruo had just advanced to the tenth level of Qi Refinement. She smiled as she carried out a stool and joined the feast.

Tao Wen soon followed, his robe pristine and his demeanor graceful. His cultivation was solid at the sixth level.

He smiled gently.  Or perhaps we’re celebrating my advancement instead? 

Yan Jiuzhi passed each of them a small bowl of dipping sauce. No one knew what Li Xi had added, but the mixture was rich and fragrant; paired with chopped scallions and tender venison, it was divine.

Third Brother, you’ve reached Foundation Establishment? Lin Ruo and Tao Wen both looked pleasantly surprised.

Yan Jiuzhi nodded slightly and sliced them each a generous portion of meat.

Senior Sister, Second Brother I advanced too.

Lin Zewu jumped to his feet proudly, chest puffed out, showing off his newly stabilized third level of Qi Refinement.

“Well done, all of you!”

Master Lin Shanlai’s booming laughter filled the courtyard as he strode over. His face glowed with warmth and satisfaction, and he looked younger than usual under the firelight.

Finding a stool, he sat down and accepted the bowl of sauce Li Xi handed him. He grabbed a piece of venison and popped it straight into his mouth.

His eyes narrowed in pure enjoyment as he chewed.

But then.

What stunned everyone most that night wasn’t the breakthroughs…

It was Elder Gao.

Directly before their eyes, Elder Gao transformed from a scrawny, wrinkled old man into a refined and elegant middle-aged gentleman. Even his once-gray hair had turned a sleek, healthy black.

His back straightened, his bearing upright and poised, and the weary aura that had once clung to him was gone. He now radiated a vibrant, vigorous spirit like a proud pine standing tall amid wind and frost.

Li Xi’s jaw nearly hit the ground. Her mouth hung open in a perfect O-shape.
This wasn’t rejuvenation this was a complete rebirth.

By the time the moon had climbed high into the sky, Li Xi was already half-asleep. She rubbed her round belly, smiled in her dreams, and drifted into a deep, satisfied slumber completely unaware that she’d soon be facing her third senior brother’s special training.

At dawn, as always, the Yunxiao Sect disciples began their morning sword practice.

Li Xi had just stretched when Yan Jiuzhi suddenly appeared beside her, cool and composed, and dragged her aside.

He wanted to test her swordsmanship and physical cultivation results.

Li Xi immediately panicked. Her mind went blank, her heart raced, and she nearly tripped over her own feet.

Her flimsy, decorative moves and soft, powerless sword strikes were no match for Yan Jiuzhi. The result was, as one might expect utterly tragic.

Seeing her third senior brother’s furrowed brow and stormy expression, Li Xi shrank back, her whole body tense. She was doomed, wasn’t she?

Heaven could testify she really hadn’t been slacking off! She’d just been maybe a tiny bit more focused on alchemy lately.

Couldn’t she fix that now? Please?

Yan Jiuzhi sighed and gave her a full set of revised training plans. But barely two days into this new regimen, Li Xi’s greatest secret was exposed her lying-down cultivation method.

Ever since she’d learned to channel spiritual energy, her legs no longer went numb during meditation. But  lying down was just so comfortable.

And if she fell asleep, it didn’t matter her cultivation technique would keep running automatically anyway, right?

But seeing her senior brother’s dark, thunderous face, Li Xi didn’t dare say a word. She stood there like a frightened quail, head lowered, wishing she could vanish.

Yan Jiuzhi’s sharp gaze swept over everyone his master and his senior brothers and sisters.

“This,” he said coldly, “is how you’ve all been teaching her?”

His tone dripped with disbelief. Who on earth had spoiled her into thinking this was acceptable?

And not a single one of them had corrected her!

If he hadn’t accidentally stumbled upon her that afternoon, lying beneath the osmanthus tree, a little blanket draped over her stomach, peacefully snoring he might never have known!

And then he’d heard his second brother’s voice saying, ‘Don’t bother her, you’ll disturb her cultivation. She’ll wake up on her own soon.’

The vein in Yan Jiuzhi’s temple twitched. Cultivation?

She wasn’t cultivating she was napping!

And apparently, even her reclining chair and the soft couch in her room had been custom-made by that very same second brother.

Even their master hadn’t stopped it.

As Yan Jiuzhi’s glare swept past, everyone instinctively drew their necks in, pretending to be invisible.

Not a single person dared to speak. They simply cast Li Xi a silent, sympathetic look may the heavens protect you and fled the scene as fast as they could.

Master Lin Shanlai ran the fastest, calling over his shoulder, Ah, yes! I just remembered I haven’t done my body training today.

Little Lin Zewu’s short legs blurred into motion as he bolted, muttering in his heart, Let Third Brother keep liking Junior Sister, I won’t compete!

Li Xi: Sometimes silence speaks louder than words. She thought keeping quiet was the safest. 

Except it wasn’t.

Her third senior brother had completely lost his patience. That very night, he refused to let her sleep and hauled her out into the courtyard to sit cross-legged under the moonlight, forcing her to absorb moon essence and meditate properly.

Poor Li Xi could only sit there, half asleep, half-frozen, thinking pitifully.

So this is what special training means.