My Cold Senior Sister Keeps Flirting with Me - Chapter 17

As night fell, Gu Ruohan had already returned to Dragon Return Peak.

An Ran lay alone in bed, her mind drifting involuntarily to thoughts of her sister.

The night seemed unusually long. She tossed and turned, unable to resist longing for her sister.

The room was silent except for the gentle rustling of wind outside the window, which carried a faint chill.

Suddenly, a rustling sound broke the stillness of the night near the window.

An Ran’s eyes widened as she recognized the visitor: Sister Cat, the one she had been yearning for!

Her face lit up with joy. “Sister!”

She tried to sit up, but Sister Cat stopped her with a gentle voice. “Don’t move, little sis! You’re injured. Just lie still and rest.”

Sister Cat carefully leaped onto the bed, padded softly over, and gently stroked An Ran’s head with her soft paw, her eyes filled with concern.

She lowered her head and asked tenderly, “Does your wound still hurt, little sis?”

An Ran shook her head, a faint smile appearing on her face. “It doesn’t hurt anymore, Sister. What about you?”

She countered, her eyes flickering with concern and inquiry for her sister.

“My injuries weren’t as severe as yours. I’ve already fully recovered. See? I’m perfectly fine now.”

Sister Cat spoke up, “I’m going to Qingqiu with Master. He told me there’s a mysterious Transformation Secret Art there. If I master it, I can transform into human form.”

An Ran was stunned by this sudden revelation, unable to suppress a hint of longing. “A Transformation Secret Art? Is that really true?”

Sister Cat nodded earnestly. “Absolutely! I asked Master about it, and he confirmed that only the Qingqiu Kingdom possesses this secret art. Moreover, if I truly master it, I can transform into human form at will. I’ll never be bound by this cat body again.”

An Ran nodded. “Since you’ve already decided, then go.”

Sister Cat said, “I’m leaving for Qingqiu with Master tomorrow. I came to see you and let you know.”

An Ran asked, surprised, “So soon?”

“Yes!” Sister Cat replied. “Master said my soul and cat form are unstable. I need to complete my transformation as soon as possible to focus on cultivation and suppress the imbalance.”

“But Sister, I don’t want you to leave,” An Ran said, her nose stinging as tears welled up in her eyes.

“Don’t cry, don’t cry!” Sister Cat comforted her. “I’ll be back soon.”

“I want to go with you,” An Ran insisted.

“Don’t be silly!” Sister Cat’s voice turned stern. “You’re still injured and need to rest properly. Once you’ve recovered, you must continue your cultivation at the Azure Mist Sect! Listen to me!”

An Ran lowered her head, silently weeping.

“Alright, alright, stop crying now.” Sister Cat chuckled, reaching out with her paw to pat her sister’s head. “It’s not like I’m never coming back. I’m just going on a short trip. I’ll be back soon, and by then I’ll have completed my transformation. Then we can cultivate together and become stronger together.”

An Ran looked up at Sister Cat, tears still glistening in her eyes. “Okay! Sister, I’ll wait for you to return!”

That night, the moonlight streamed through the window like water, illuminating the floor of the room.

In the tranquil night, Sister Cat nestled on An Ran’s bed. The two sisters slept together, savoring their last moments together.

For tomorrow, Sister Cat would embark on a long journey, following Great Grand Martial Uncle to the Qingqiu Kingdom in search of the Transformation Secret Art.

The next morning, Sister Cat woke up early. She gently said to An Ran, “Sister, I’m sorry, I have to leave first. Remember what I said—I’ll definitely be back within a year at most, half a year at the earliest!” With these words, Sister Cat departed.

Though Sister Cat was deeply reluctant to leave An Ran, she knew it was necessary for their future.

Time flew by. A week had passed, and An Ran’s injuries had mostly healed.

Thanks to the unique constitution of cultivators, her wounds healed far faster than those of ordinary people.

Of course, this was largely due to the meticulous care provided by her elder sister, Gu Ruohan.

Every morning, Gu Ruohan would come from Dragon Return Peak to An Ran’s residence, change her herbal dressings, and only then return to handle sect affairs and her own cultivation.

Under Gu Ruohan’s diligent care, An Ran’s wounds healed remarkably quickly, and she was now largely recovered.

Since her injury, An Ran had also become more diligent in her cultivation.

She knew life continued, and her sister would return someday.

Therefore, she needed to cultivate diligently, become stronger, and be ready to welcome her sister back.

During breaks from cultivation, An Ran often visited Dragon Return Peak.

Partly, this was to express her gratitude to Gu Ruohan for her care and concern over the past week.

But it was also because cultivating alongside Gu Ruohan allowed them to share insights and experiences.

Whether it was small details of daily life or cultivation-related questions, Gu Ruohan cared for An Ran with the same attentiveness as a biological sister.

An Ran’s dependence on her Eldest Senior Sister grew stronger each day, resembling the reliance she felt for her own sister.

One day, she deliberately took a detour to the foot of Dragon Return Peak, where she had long noticed an ancient ginkgo tree.

Its leaves had already turned golden yellow in this season, creating a breathtaking sight.

She climbed the tree and gathered a large handful of the vibrant yellow ginkgo leaves.

Back in her room, she crafted the leaves into a delicate, handmade ginkgo leaf bouquet.

Gazing at her creation, her heart swelled with satisfaction.

She decided to present the bouquet to Gu Ruohan.

When she saw Gu Ruohan place the ginkgo leaf bouquet in a porcelain vase in her room, An Ran felt a surge of joy.

Little did she know, the ginkgo tree was actually an Old Tree Spirit that had lived for over a thousand years.

A few days later, Sect Leader Yun Zhi passed by the Old Tree Spirit, who tearfully recounted how An Ran had plucked all its leaves bare.

The Sect Leader, his beard bristling with fury, immediately summoned An Ran and gave her a severe scolding. He then ordered True Person Yun Hua to personally escort his “good disciple” back to Yaoguang Peak.

As punishment, the Sect Leader also demanded a 3,000-character self-criticism essay.

For An Ran, a modern woman unaccustomed to writing in traditional Chinese characters, this was nothing short of torture.

She painstakingly wrote the essay, flipping through dictionaries and racking her brains to produce a barely passable piece of classical Chinese written in vernacular style.

Recalling her high school days, she remembered being fluent in astronomy, geography, and literature, capable of composing elegant prose on any topic.

But after four years of leisurely university life, An Ran’s classical Chinese skills had long since deteriorated.

When the Sect Leader received An Ran’s essay, it was riddled with errors, utterly incoherent, and the handwriting looked like a dog had scratched it.

His face turned ashen, his nose twisting in rage.

As punishment, he ordered An Ran to sweep fallen leaves under the ginkgo tree during the day and practice calligraphy at night.

As if deliberately antagonizing her, the Old Tree Spirit would shed a few more leaves immediately after she finished sweeping, leaving An Ran both exasperated and amused.

It’s also possible that Gu Ruohan felt responsible since An Ran had personally given her the ginkgo leaf bouquet. Perhaps that’s why she came to teach An Ran calligraphy at night.

“Your posture should be like this,” Gu Ruohan said, reaching around from behind to grasp An Ran’s hand and correct her posture. Then, still holding her hand, she demonstrated the strokes on the paper.

An Ran turned her head to gaze at Gu Ruohan’s beautiful profile, a faint, refreshing fragrance drifting into her nostrils. She felt a little dizzy.

Noticing her distraction, Gu Ruohan gently tapped her head with her other hand. “Focus.”

“Oh,” An Ran murmured, licking her lips and shifting her gaze back to the xuan paper.

There, on the paper, were the characters Gu Ruohan had written while holding her hand—delicate and elegant, like heaven compared to An Ran’s clumsy, earthbound script.

After practicing diligently for some time, An Ran finally managed to write those brushstrokes with passable neatness. The Sect Leader lifted her punishment, freeing her from sweeping leaves for the Old Tree Spirit.

After this ordeal, An Ran always took a detour whenever she passed the Old Tree Spirit’s grove.

She would occasionally sneak off to the Alchemy Pavilion to visit Senior Sister Lu Yunyan.

When An Ran was severely injured, Senior Sister Lu had always come to examine her and deliver medicine the very next day.

Even after she could run and jump again a week later, she still had to return to the Alchemy Pavilion for follow-up appointments.

Through these visits, An Ran grew close to the lively senior sister who never stopped chattering.

Since Sister Cat left, they hadn’t been completely out of touch. At first, Flying Sword Messages arrived every few days.

But as Sister Cat ventured farther from the Azure Mist Sect, sometimes a month or two would pass without a single letter.

Each time An Ran received a Flying Sword Message, she would eagerly open it. Because Great Grand Martial Uncle helped write the letters, the tone was completely different from Sister Cat’s usual style.

The messages were brief, simply stating where Sister Cat had traveled, what she had seen, and when she expected to reach Qingqiu, urging her younger sister not to worry.

At the end of each letter was always a cat paw print.

An Ran cherished these paw prints like precious treasures. She carefully folded each letter and stored them in her Storage Ring.

Afterward, I wrote a reply to Sister Cat, tied the letter to my Flying Sword, and sent it off.