How to Be the Perfect Junior Sister to a Reborn Villain - Chapter 4.1

Chapter 4

 The moment Xiao Cui finished unpacking, Li Xi immediately crossed her legs and sat down to meditate, determined to sense the spiritual energy in the air.

An hour later, the only thing she managed to sense was two legs that no longer felt like her own.

Even dinner had to be brought in by Xiao Cui.
As the maid gently massaged her mistress’s stiff limbs, she began chatting as usual.
Miss, the Master’s planning to send the Young Master and Second Young Master to seek apprenticeship at one of the immortal sects. He’s already asking around for which ones are good.

Ha! Just as she thought.
But whatever Li Xi had more pressing concerns. The biggest challenge right now was keeping her mind from running wild like an untamed horse.

Keeping calm and focused was so hard. The moment she tried to still her mind, her thoughts would scatter everywhere again.

That night, Li Xi didn’t dare sit cross-legged anymore. Instead, she lay flat on her bed, trying to sense spiritual energy that way.

Empty your mind, she told herself.
Empty… empty…

She kept dragging her thoughts back from wandering off into the clouds, again and again.
And then…

She blinked once.
And morning had come.

“Ahhhhhh!”

This wasn’t her comprehension problem. It was her overactive mind, and maybe also the fact that she was just too sleepy at night.

Fine. Maybe she just needed to find a good “feng shui” spot to meditate.

Her gaze swept around the courtyard and finally landed on the osmanthus tree.

It stood tall and strong, its golden blossoms like a thousand tiny stars scattered among the branches. The air was filled with a sweet fragrance that lingered around her, serene and dreamlike.

Perfect.
The scenery, the atmosphere, it was made for cultivation.

In the courtyard, her Second Senior Brother, Tao Wen, was sitting on a small stool, whittling away at a piece of wood. His hands moved skillfully, wood shavings fluttering down around him. He looked like quite the craftsman.

Looks like Second Senior Brother’s woodworking skills weren’t bad at all.

Second Senior Brother, can you make me a reclining chair? I want to cultivate under the tree.

Tao Wen, who was currently making a wooden sword, froze mid-motion.
“…A recliner?”

Cultivate… while lying down?

That didn’t sound right. But it was his new little junior sister’s first request, so how could he say no?

What kind of chair do you want?

Li Xi enthusiastically described and gestured. Within moments, Tao Wen understood, and after a few swift strokes brush, brush, a sturdy reclining chair was done.

Li Xi tested it and found it steady and comfortable. She gave him a big thumbs-up.
“Second Senior Brother, you’re amazing!”

Tao Wen chuckled modestly. “It’s nothing. Just simple work.”

Li Xi asked Xiao Cui to lie down a cushion and drape a blanket over her lap. Once everything was ready, she reclined under the tree, breathing in the delicate floral scent. She slowly cleared her mind, relaxed her thoughts, and drifted.

“Junior Sister, time for lunch!” Tao Wen’s gentle voice called out.

Lunch?
What lunch?

Li Xi blinked her eyes open in confusion.

She wasn’t cultivating?
How did she fall asleep again?!

She absentmindedly stirred her food while thinking. Maybe cultivation wasn’t supposed to be done sitting cross-legged?
Or perhaps she needed to absorb moonlight at night or something?

Honestly, how did people even sit cross-legged for so long without their legs going numb?

The answer she got from her seniors:
They didn’t know. Their legs didn’t go numb.

Li Xi:  Was she the only one with bad circulation here?

Thankfully, Elder Gao, the sect’s wizened healer, finally offered something that sounded remotely helpful.
“Your posture is wrong. That’s why your legs go numb.”

Li Xi wasn’t entirely sure why a sect with fewer than a dozen people even needed an elder, but since he was a healer, he probably had some credibility.

Elder Gao patiently explained the proper posture and breathing technique for meditation.

This time, Li Xi was confident she finally understood it!
If it still didn’t work, she’d just try again at night; maybe moonlight cultivation would do the trick.

That afternoon, when she meditated again, she really did seem to sense something faint.
Wisps of multicolored energy, like lively little sprites, were dancing around her, swirling and fluttering through the air.

“Miss, it’s time for dinner,” Xiao Cui said softly, glancing at her young mistress sitting cross-legged like a statue. She was already preparing to massage her again.

“Aaah—ahhhh—ahhhhhhh!”

Li Xi’s screams echoed through the courtyard.
Xiao Cui’s massage was thorough, to put it mildly. The poor girl’s legs felt like they were being gnawed on by a thousand tiny ants, half numb, half burning.

Nope. Meditation was not her thing.

So… had that “spiritual energy” she saw earlier just been a dream?

Too embarrassed to go out again, Li Xi told Xiao Cui to bring her dinner inside. She didn’t need everyone to see her fail twice in one day.

Outside, Senior Sister Lin Ruo quietly asked Tao Wen,
“How long did it take you to draw spiritual energy into your body for the first time?”

“A month,” he replied.

Ah, right, Tao Wen had a four spirit root constitution. Slow progress was expected.

Lin Ruo herself was a three spirit root, and it had taken her about fifteen days.
Only their Third Senior Brother had managed it in one day, despite being a five spirit root. His comprehension was simply extraordinary.

Speaking of which, Lin Ruo frowned. Third Brother’s been gone on training for quite a while now, hasn’t he? Why hasn’t he come back yet?

“Yeah,” Tao Wen said with a sigh. “It’s been over half a year. He should’ve returned by now. I hope nothing’s happened.”

Just then, their Master Lin Shanlai walked over, having come to check on his new disciple’s progress. Hearing their conversation, he spoke up,
“A few days ago, I heard that the Mulberry Forest Secret Realm outside Xuancheng has been open for nearly half a year now. Jiuzhi probably entered it. If he hasn’t come out two months after the realm closes, we’ll go search for him.”

That made sense, so Lin Ruo and Tao Wen reluctantly put their worries aside.
The Mulberry Forest Secret Realm was small and not particularly dangerous. With their Third Brother’s talent, he should be fine.

Right now, what mattered most was helping their new little junior sister get started with cultivation. Tomorrow, they’d make sure to remind her.
Drawing spiritual energy into one’s body takes time. It can’t be rushed.

After all, the spiritual energy in this region was thin, nothing like the abundant aura surrounding the great sects. Slow progress was to be expected.

Unfortunately, Li Xi didn’t see it that way.

Chapter 4 – Don’t Your Legs Go Numb When You Meditate?

 The moment Xiao Cui finished unpacking, Li Xi immediately crossed her legs and sat down to meditate, determined to sense the spiritual energy in the air.

An hour later, the only thing she managed to sense was two legs that no longer felt like her own.

Even dinner had to be brought in by Xiao Cui.
As the maid gently massaged her mistress’s stiff limbs, she began chatting as usual.
Miss, the Master’s planning to send the Young Master and Second Young Master to seek apprenticeship at one of the immortal sects. He’s already asking around for which ones are good.

Ha! Just as she thought.
But whatever Li Xi had more pressing concerns. The biggest challenge right now was keeping her mind from running wild like an untamed horse.

Keeping calm and focused was so hard. The moment she tried to still her mind, her thoughts would scatter everywhere again.

That night, Li Xi didn’t dare sit cross-legged anymore. Instead, she lay flat on her bed, trying to sense spiritual energy that way.

Empty your mind, she told herself.
Empty… empty…

She kept dragging her thoughts back from wandering off into the clouds, again and again.
And then…

She blinked once.
And morning had come.

“Ahhhhhh!”

This wasn’t her comprehension problem. It was her overactive mind, and maybe also the fact that she was just too sleepy at night.

Fine. Maybe she just needed to find a good “feng shui” spot to meditate.

Her gaze swept around the courtyard and finally landed on the osmanthus tree.

It stood tall and strong, its golden blossoms like a thousand tiny stars scattered among the branches. The air was filled with a sweet fragrance that lingered around her, serene and dreamlike.

Perfect.
The scenery, the atmosphere, it was made for cultivation.

In the courtyard, her Second Senior Brother, Tao Wen, was sitting on a small stool, whittling away at a piece of wood. His hands moved skillfully, wood shavings fluttering down around him. He looked like quite the craftsman.

Looks like Second Senior Brother’s woodworking skills weren’t bad at all.

Second Senior Brother, can you make me a reclining chair? I want to cultivate under the tree.

Tao Wen, who was currently making a wooden sword, froze mid-motion.
“…A recliner?”

Cultivate… while lying down?

That didn’t sound right. But it was his new little junior sister’s first request, so how could he say no?

What kind of chair do you want?

Li Xi enthusiastically described and gestured. Within moments, Tao Wen understood, and after a few swift strokes brush, brush, a sturdy reclining chair was done.

Li Xi tested it and found it steady and comfortable. She gave him a big thumbs-up.
“Second Senior Brother, you’re amazing!”

Tao Wen chuckled modestly. “It’s nothing. Just simple work.”

Li Xi asked Xiao Cui to lie down a cushion and drape a blanket over her lap. Once everything was ready, she reclined under the tree, breathing in the delicate floral scent. She slowly cleared her mind, relaxed her thoughts, and drifted.

“Junior Sister, time for lunch!” Tao Wen’s gentle voice called out.

Lunch?
What lunch?

Li Xi blinked her eyes open in confusion.

She wasn’t cultivating?
How did she fall asleep again?!

She absentmindedly stirred her food while thinking. Maybe cultivation wasn’t supposed to be done sitting cross-legged?
Or perhaps she needed to absorb moonlight at night or something?

Honestly, how did people even sit cross-legged for so long without their legs going numb?

The answer she got from her seniors:
They didn’t know. Their legs didn’t go numb.

Li Xi:  Was she the only one with bad circulation here?

Thankfully, Elder Gao, the sect’s wizened healer, finally offered something that sounded remotely helpful.
“Your posture is wrong. That’s why your legs go numb.”

Li Xi wasn’t entirely sure why a sect with fewer than a dozen people even needed an elder, but since he was a healer, he probably had some credibility.

Elder Gao patiently explained the proper posture and breathing technique for meditation.

This time, Li Xi was confident she finally understood it!
If it still didn’t work, she’d just try again at night; maybe moonlight cultivation would do the trick.

That afternoon, when she meditated again, she really did seem to sense something faint.
Wisps of multicolored energy, like lively little sprites, were dancing around her, swirling and fluttering through the air.

“Miss, it’s time for dinner,” Xiao Cui said softly, glancing at her young mistress sitting cross-legged like a statue. She was already preparing to massage her again.

“Aaah—ahhhh—ahhhhhhh!”

Li Xi’s screams echoed through the courtyard.
Xiao Cui’s massage was thorough, to put it mildly. The poor girl’s legs felt like they were being gnawed on by a thousand tiny ants, half numb, half burning.

Nope. Meditation was not her thing.

So… had that “spiritual energy” she saw earlier just been a dream?

Too embarrassed to go out again, Li Xi told Xiao Cui to bring her dinner inside. She didn’t need everyone to see her fail twice in one day.

Outside, Senior Sister Lin Ruo quietly asked Tao Wen,
“How long did it take you to draw spiritual energy into your body for the first time?”

“A month,” he replied.

Ah, right, Tao Wen had a four spirit root constitution. Slow progress was expected.

Lin Ruo herself was a three spirit root, and it had taken her about fifteen days.
Only their Third Senior Brother had managed it in one day, despite being a five spirit root. His comprehension was simply extraordinary.

Speaking of which, Lin Ruo frowned. Third Brother’s been gone on training for quite a while now, hasn’t he? Why hasn’t he come back yet?

“Yeah,” Tao Wen said with a sigh. “It’s been over half a year. He should’ve returned by now. I hope nothing’s happened.”

Just then, their Master Lin Shanlai walked over, having come to check on his new disciple’s progress. Hearing their conversation, he spoke up,
“A few days ago, I heard that the Mulberry Forest Secret Realm outside Xuancheng has been open for nearly half a year now. Jiuzhi probably entered it. If he hasn’t come out two months after the realm closes, we’ll go search for him.”

That made sense, so Lin Ruo and Tao Wen reluctantly put their worries aside.
The Mulberry Forest Secret Realm was small and not particularly dangerous. With their Third Brother’s talent, he should be fine.

Right now, what mattered most was helping their new little junior sister get started with cultivation. Tomorrow, they’d make sure to remind her.
Drawing spiritual energy into one’s body takes time. It can’t be rushed.

After all, the spiritual energy in this region was thin, nothing like the abundant aura surrounding the great sects. Slow progress was to be expected.

Unfortunately, Li Xi didn’t see it that way.