The Sickly Beauty and Her Guide Leopard - Chapter 14

“Little Shuang, I can dry my tail myself from now on.”

Yan Qingshuang noticed Jian Li’s withdrawal and nodded. “If it’s uncomfortable, you can use a Talisman to dry it in the future.”

“Oh, how much would that cost?”

They were already on the verge of bankruptcy.

Yan Qingshuang assured her not to worry, but Jian Li had become unusually sensitive about Spirit Stones, gripped by a growing fear of going hungry.

She worried anxiously about tomorrow’s breakfast.

The Spirit Mirror buzzed, and Yan Qingshuang picked it up, dusted it off, and handed it to Jian Li.

Jian Li perked up. The message on the mirror was a goodnight from Big Orange, who relayed that Zhao Yu’s letter had been delivered to Yan Qingshuang’s Master.

They slept on the floor again that night. Yan Qingshuang urged her to sleep in the bed, but Jian Li politely declined, citing the impropriety of humans and beasts sharing such intimacy.

Yan Qingshuang tucked Jian Li’s blanket around her and drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Jian Li hadn’t yet opened her eyes when her sense of smell awakened first.

Her stomach growling with hunger, she snapped her eyes open. The aroma wafted from the kitchen. She kicked off the blanket and bolted toward the source.

Yan Qingshuang carried a bowl and plate, her slender figure moving with graceful slowness.

Ten large steamed buns were piled high like a small mountain, the rising steam veiling her beautiful face in a hazy, ethereal glow.

Jian Li swallowed hard, unsure if her hunger stemmed from an empty stomach or a craving for Yan Qingshuang’s body.

“Little Shuang, you’re such a good cook!”

“Of course I am.”

“Where did you get the ingredients?”

“I bought them early this morning.”

Despite the early hour, Jian Li’s appetite was in full swing. She devoured the buns in no time.

Yan Qingshuang smiled and handed her a bowl of water to aid digestion. “Are you full now?”

Jian Li gulped down the water, her voice brimming with delight. “I said they were delicious last time! So these buns were your creation? You could apply to be a head chef!”

Yan Qingshuang finished the water Jian Li had left behind. “As long as you enjoyed them.”

First the bathwater, now she’s drinking my water… Does Yan Qingshuang have no sense of hygiene, or is she just being frugal? Jian Li tilted her head in thought, then suddenly exclaimed, “Oh no! I ate all the buns! Will you go hungry?”

Having lost the support of Spiritual Power, Yan Qingshuang was no longer in Grain Abstinence and felt hunger. But years of habit had taught her to endure it.

“I won’t,” Yan Qingshuang said, bending down to gather the kitchen scraps. Her unbound hair slid softly across her chest, loose strands framing her forehead.

She bit her lip, her complexion regaining some color as her injuries began to heal, adding a touch of allure to her usually cool features.

Jian Li couldn’t resist reaching out to pat her head.

It was strange. Jian Li was weak, so being disliked was understandable. But Yan Qingshuang was perfect in every way—stunningly beautiful, a skilled cook—so why did everyone hate her so much?

Jian Li’s paw easily ruffled Yan Qingshuang’s hair.

“Little Shuang, are you being so kind to me just to repay me for saving your life?”

“Probably.”

“What do you mean ‘probably’? That’s so vague. Are there other reasons?”

“Yes. You’re very cute.” Yan Qingshuang turned back to the kitchen to wash the dishes.

Such a flimsy reason, Jian Li thought. I’m obviously cute.

Last night, Jian Li had accepted Chang Chi’s quest to search for the Jade Spirit Orchid. Using the Spirit Mirror, she discovered it wasn’t a white-tier quest, but a blue-tier one—just one level higher.

Yan Qingshuang advised Jian Li against undertaking missions alone, citing the high risk factor.

Jian Li secretly thought Yan Qingshuang didn’t understand her true intentions—she was only doing the missions to obtain the Great Tonic Pill for her.

As the morning bell rang from the Main Peak, they rode Celestial Cranes to Spirit Taming Peak.

The liveliest place on Spirit Taming Peak wasn’t the people, but the diverse array of Spiritual Beasts—those that flew in the sky, roamed the earth, and swam in the water—along with domesticated fowl raised specifically for food.

At Jian Li’s insistence, Yan Qingshuang agreed to treat her as a living map. Jian Li would point the way, and Yan Qingshuang would follow, her calls drawing curious glances from the smaller animals.

Intimidated by Jian Li’s arrogant, overbearing gaze, the animals’ affection for her plummeted.

Arriving at the Demon Detector, they found Hua Feiyi fishing by the nearby pond. A massive carp leaped from the water, its scales shimmering with iridescent light under the sunlight.

Jian Li: “There’s a stunning beauty fishing for a giant carp. I want to go watch.”

Yan Qingshuang leaned down and gently rubbed her ear. “Are you looking at the person or the fish?”

Sensing the change in Yan Qingshuang’s tone, Jian Li wisely fell silent.

Hua Qianyi noticed their arrival, reeled in her fishing rod, and stretched her arms.

“Senior Sister Yan is here to have her spiritual beast tested?”

Yan Qingshuang nodded, bent down, and Jian Li expertly leaped into her arms.

The Demon Detector here revealed that Jian Li possessed Aptitude—the worst kind, so poor that even Qi Induction seemed a distant prospect.

Hua Feiyi handed Yan Qingshuang a wooden identity token for Jian Li, a pass for Beast Clan members to enter and exit the Sect.

Yan Qingshuang ruffled Jian Li’s disappointed little head. “It’s alright. I’ll buy you a Foundation Establishment Pill.”

Jian Li gasped, pressing her nose against Yan Qingshuang’s palm to stop her. “Don’t buy it! Foundation Establishment Pills are so expensive! As for spiritual power, I have plenty of ways to get it.”

These two seemed quite well-matched. Hua Feiyi, right in front of them, pulled out her Spirit Mirror and contacted Long Qianmeng.

Without hesitation, she said, “Yan Qingshuang brought her spiritual pet today. She’s a genuine Beast Clan member.”

Long Qianmeng replied, “Is that so? I checked the Scripture Repository yesterday. Her markings closely resemble those of an Ancient Great Demon. We need to keep an eye on her.”

Hua Feiyi shrugged, passing the buck. “Fine, then you tell her yourself.”

Hearing Jian Li’s sharp cry, Long Qianmeng froze for a moment before gritting her teeth. “Who told you to blurt that out?!”

Hua Feiyi feigned innocence. “You never said I couldn’t speak my mind, did you?”

Long Qianmeng hung up abruptly.

Jian Li turned to Yan Qingshuang. “Long Qianmeng’s attitude is truly insufferable. Why would you ever patronize her shop?”

Yan Qingshuang leaned closer, whispering in Jian Li’s ear, “When I was young, I participated in a Sect competition and accidentally sliced off most of her Dragon Horn.”

“Oh, she’s a dragon,” Jian Li murmured, her ear tickling. She shrank her neck, expressing her disapproval of Long Qianmeng’s grudge. “You should have shaved off the other horn too, to make them even.”

Yan Qingshuang pinched Jian Li’s ear, suppressing a laugh. “That’s the first time anyone’s ever suggested that.”

Hua Feiyi stood frozen in shock. As a Beast Tamer, she naturally understood their conversation.

Throughout the Sect, everyone had heard the story of Yan Qingshuang’s Heavenly Dao Curse: how she was born blind, her eyes seared by lightning, and how both her parents perished in the same violet-arc thunder calamity.

Yan Qingshuang’s pair of amethyst-hued eyes served as the most compelling evidence.

The former Palace Master of the Grand Profound Dao Palace, who claimed to divine heavenly secrets through divination, had prophesied that Yan Qingshuang would inevitably plunge the Three Realms into chaos. At that time, ten thousand demons would rise, and the people would suffer beyond measure.

Even approaching Yan Qingshuang would bring misfortune.

Initially, some believed this prophecy. However, the former Palace Master’s subsequent divinations grew increasingly bizarre, nearly turning her into a charlatan in the cultivation world.

Moreover, her deep-seated hatred for Yan Qingshuang’s mother made her animosity toward Yan Qingshuang obvious and traceable.

Yan Qingshuang’s mother had been the former Demon Venerable, born with demonic bl00d. Yet her Sword Bone was undeniably righteous, and she never slaughtered the innocent.

Thus, the rumor of her bringing chaos to the Three Realms crumbled under its own weight.

Despite this, the belief that approaching Yan Qingshuang would bring misfortune persisted. Most people remained fearful and repulsed by her.

No one wanted to befriend the descendant of a Demon Venerable who had slaughtered countless innocent cultivators.

When Hua Feiyi saw Yan Qingshuang smile for the first time, her heart was filled with a complex mix of emotions.