The Sickly Beauty and Her Guide Leopard - Chapter 5

Jian Li: “Then… how about tomorrow?”

She was growing impatient. This was just a small town affiliated with the Sect, offering few opportunities to earn money. She needed to start her money-making venture as soon as possible.

Yan Qingshuang’s internal and external pain had subsided considerably. However, even the slightest movement of her shoulder blades tugged at the severely injured areas from the Mystic Realm. The wounds inflicted by the Mantis Demon, though hastily bandaged and treated with Spiritual Energy, would likely make walking difficult.

Not wanting to dampen Jian Li’s enthusiasm, Yan Qingshuang finished her tea and replied softly, “Very well.”

Jian Li spread out her pink, tender paw pads, intending to reward her.

Yan Qingshuang reached out, her fingertips almost touching Jian Li’s fur, then withdrew them. “Get some sleep.”

How can a villain resist this? Jian Li marveled inwardly. Yan Qingshuang must have endured countless temptations to suppress the urge to rua something so fluffy.

Stars twinkled through the treetops, their faint shadows dancing on the walls in the candlelight.

Jian Li yawned. Business was business. Yan Qingshuang wasn’t yet in her Demon God villain form.

Dressed only in a plain white inner robe, her dark hair cascaded over her shoulders, swaying like a willow in the breeze. Her features were exquisitely delicate, almost otherworldly.

Her serene face showed no trace of murderous intent.

It truly stirred both protective instincts and a desire to corrupt.

No wonder the Demon Venerable wanted to torment her so cruelly.

Feeling awkward for eavesdropping, Jian Li blurted out, “Are you asleep? I saw people from your sect today.”

Yan Qingshuang, her eyes closed in meditation, replied, “Not asleep. Speak.”

“They…” Jian Li hesitated, realizing all she had to say were accusations. She chose to focus on the trivial: “They said Yuheng Palace doesn’t want to support Tianyan Sect as the leader anymore.”

A long silence followed.

Jian Li’s eyelids grew heavy. She slumped against the edge of the bed and drifted into a deep sleep.

Yan Qingshuang shifted the blankets, covering Jian Li’s exposed pink belly.

The night passed without dreams.

The next morning, Jian Li woke to a warm sensation on her rear.

Her beast eyes blurred with sleepiness. Yan Qingshuang was gone, leaving the bed occupied by a small leopard.

Jian Li leaped off the bed, arched her back, and stretched her limbs.

Yan Qingshuang pushed open the door and entered, her figure silhouetted against the light. She carried a bamboo cane.

She wore a dark, white-lined cloak patterned with flowing clouds over a light, white gauze robe, radiating an otherworldly, ethereal grace.

Jian Li hurried over to her, her voice brimming with impatience. “Little Shuang, you’re up so early! Are we leaving now?”

Yan Qingshuang replied calmly, “No rush. Let’s eat first.”

Jian Li noticed the food bowl in her other hand.

The aroma of meat wafted through the air.

Shredded chicken, its bones tender and the meat falling apart at the touch.

“Looks delicious!” Jian Li’s tongue darted out eagerly.

Yan Qingshuang blocked her. “Let me.”

Leaning on her cane, she sat on a stool and used bamboo chopsticks to pick up a piece of chicken, gesturing for Jian Li to take it.

Jian Li meowed softly, opening her mouth wide, relishing Yan Qingshuang’s attentive service.

She hadn’t expected Yan Qingshuang to be so thoughtful. After all, Jian Li hated burying her face in the bowl to eat, ending up with grease all over her face.

Yan Qingshuang said, “Aunt Zhao told me you love meat.”

Jian Li replied, “She’s quite perceptive. Why do you call her ‘Aunt’?”

Yan Qingshuang explained, “My mother appeared in a dream and asked me to call her that.”

“What about your mother?”

“She’s gone.”

“…And your mother?”

“She’s gone too.”

Jian Li slowed her chewing and sighed. “My condolences…”

“It’s fine.”

Faced with Yan Qingshuang’s detached demeanor, Jian Li felt a pang of guilt.

A child without a mother is like a blade of grass, easily trampled.

No wonder Yan Qingshuang, starved for affection, yearned to reach the pinnacle of cultivation.

For five hundred years, not a single cultivator had reached the Tribulation Crossing Stage.

Success would bring her to the cusp of Ascension, earning her the reverence of all.

What a wonderfully ambitious mindset, Jian Li thought. I can’t let Yan Qingshuang stray down the wrong path.

Becoming a Demon God would forever bar her from Ascension.

I must save her, pull her from this mire of despair.

Jian Li set herself a small goal: to guide Yan Qingshuang more often.

The two headed to the Steward’s Office to find Zhao Yu.

Zhao Yu, snatching a moment from her busy schedule, scolded Yan Qingshuang for pushing herself before recovering. “I thought you were just being stubborn this morning, threatening to leave. You actually meant it?”

Yan Qingshuang lowered her head in a bow. “I haven’t reported to Master in days. I fear she’s worried. I hope Aunt can understand.”

Zhao Yu, who had a strained relationship with Yan Qingshuang’s Master, cut her off. “I won’t waste words. If I’d known, I would have prepared more supplies for you.”

She handed Yan Qingshuang a Storage Ring. “Inside are fresh food, three thousand Spirit Stones, and some pills and talismans. Eat well, spend freely—don’t hold back.”

Yan Qingshuang politely declined. “Auntie, I don’t need the money.”

Zhao Yu knew that Jianxing Peak provided each of its direct disciples with five hundred Spirit Stones monthly. Yan Qingshuang had always been frugal and managed her resources carefully. But with her cultivation completely lost, these resources would at least help her survive if she were demoted to the Outer Sect.

Zhao Yu frowned, adopting the tone of an elder. “Are you rejecting your aunt’s good intentions?”

Jian Li tugged at Yan Qingshuang’s sleeve. “Just take it. If you keep refusing, who knows how long this back-and-forth will drag on?”

Three Thousand Spirit Stones! That could buy three percent of a Great Tonic Pill. Even a mosquito’s leg had meat. Jian Li couldn’t suppress her inner glee.

Yan Qingshuang carefully placed the Spirit Stones into her sash. “Thank you for your generosity, Aunt.”

Zhao Yu: “Aren’t you going to wear it?”

“Wealth should not be flaunted.”

“You’re certainly cautious.”

Zhao Yu continued, “Though these pills only treat the symptoms, you must follow the prescription. I’ll find a way to rebuild your Golden Core as soon as possible. Remember to avoid Forbidden Arts. I’ll visit Tianyan Sect soon and check on you then.”

Worried about Yan Qingshuang, Zhao Yu cornered Jian Li, who had been avoiding her, and rattled off a string of instructions. “Remember to exercise those short legs! Without activating your Spiritual Bones, how will you protect your mistress?”

Jian Li purred, “I’m actually quite useful.”

Zhao Yu, like an overprotective nanny, cautioned Yan Qingshuang to avoid conflicts upon her return. With her strength greatly diminished, she needed to maintain a low profile.

Yan Qingshuang nodded in agreement to everything.

Zhao Yu escorted them to the Flying Elephant Beast. Before parting, she handed Yan Qingshuang a letter. “For your Master.”

Yan Qingshuang bowed slightly. “Take care, Aunt Zhao.”

“Go now, and look after yourself.”

This was Jian Li’s first time riding a Flying Elephant Beast, and she found it much steadier than a Flying Skiff.

Yan Qingshuang placed her Bamboo Cane beside her and closed her eyes to meditate.

Jian Li watched the clouds drift by, thoroughly enjoying the ride, and soon dozed off.

When she awoke, a blanket had been draped over her stomach. Jian Li turned her head. “Little Shuang, you even covered me with a blanket.”

Yan Qingshuang opened her eyes, her smoky eyes sparkling with amethyst-like stars.

“Spiritual Beasts have delicate bellies.”

Jian Li hugged the blanket tighter. “You’re actually quite nice.”

In the brief two days they’d spent together, she’d realized Yan Qingshuang treated her well.

This didn’t necessarily mean Yan Qingshuang was a good person. Some people are cruel to their own kind but show kindness only to animals.

“Can you stop calling me Spiritual Beast?” Jian Li asked. “I have a name.”

Yan Qingshuang pursed her lips in thought, then ventured, “Xiao Li?”

“Okay, you’re Little Shuang, and I’m Xiao Li. Sounds like we’re sisters!”

“I don’t have any sisters.”

Jian Li rolled her eyes. What a clueless villain!

Never mind, I won’t hold it against her.

She tapped Yan Qingshuang’s bamboo walking stick. “You can’t see right now, so you’re relying entirely on this to navigate?”

“Yes, it’s imbued with Spiritual Power that temporarily replaces my sight.”

“Temporarily… What happens when the Spiritual Power runs out?”

“I’ll just find an artificer to replenish it.”

Traveling from Jianxing Peak to Bailian Peak to find an artificer, crossing mountains and valleys… That’s such a hassle.

Jian Li crouched down, her tone earnest. “Little Shuang, why don’t I be your eyes?”

Yan Qingshuang’s long lashes trembled slightly. “There’s no need.”

“We’re friends, don’t be so formal with me.”

“Friends?”

Jian Li sprawled back contentedly, her voice carefree. “We’ve been through life-or-death situations together. Of course we’re friends!”

We might not become inseparable sisters, but we can at least be friends, right?

After these words, Yan Qingshuang remained silent for a long moment, even ceasing her meditation.

Sensing something, Jian Li poked her with a paw. “Could it be… you don’t have any friends?”

“Does Aunt Zhao count as a friend?”

This… Jian Li hesitated.

A friendship between generations?

It was clear Zhao Yu treated her as a well-regarded junior.

Reluctant to shatter Yan Qingshuang’s hopes, Jian Li pointed to the sash around her waist.

“I’m hungry.”

Without a word, Yan Qingshuang retrieved her Storage Ring, pulled out a food box, and opened it.

“It should be roasted chicken.”

“Yay! My favorite! Feed me!”

Yan Qingshuang paused, then silently freed a hand, her slender, pale fingers carefully tearing apart the roasted chicken.

She gently fed Jian Li, waiting for her to swallow before repeating the motion.

Jian Li’s mouth was filled with the savory aroma of roasted chicken, while her nose was enveloped in Yan Qingshuang’s unique, subtle fragrance.

Do all cultivators possess such innate scents? Jian Li wondered as she ate. Could I also cultivate and join their ranks someday?

“Little Shuang, is it difficult to activate a spiritual root?”

“It depends on fate.”

Jian Li nodded, realizing she’d forgotten.

In the game, Yan Qingshuang had been described as reaching the Nascent Soul stage by the age of eighteen.

Within the Tianyan Sect, only the Sect Master and the Main Peak Elders held cultivation levels one stage higher than hers.

She was a genius, a prodigy among prodigies.

As for why Yan Qingshuang hadn’t advanced further, Jian Li suspected she had encountered a cultivation bottleneck.

Jian Li thought activating a spiritual root couldn’t be too difficult. After all, she had the System—a natural cheat code.

Speaking of cheat codes, Jian Li summoned the System. “System, Yan Qingshuang has Three Thousand Spirit Stones. Can I exchange them for a Three Percent Great Tonic Pill?”

“I’m sorry, but our policy requires the Host to earn resources through their own efforts.”

“You mean I have to work like a slave?”

“Exactly.”

“Fine, being a slave is fine, being a slave is great.”

Jian Li grew listless, her enthusiasm waning as Yan Qingshuang continued to feed her.

She turned her face away. “I’m full. Thank you, Little Shuang. You can have the rest.”

Yan Qingshuang, unaccustomed to greasy foods, gathered the leftovers, planning to feed Jian Li later if she got hungry.

She crushed a Cleansing Talisman to clean up.

“Are we almost at the Sect?” Jian Li asked.

Yan Qingshuang mentally calculated the distance and the Flying Beast’s speed. “About half an hour.”

With that, she stowed her bamboo staff and retrieved a light veil from her Storage Ring, deftly tying it behind her head.

The veil brushed against Yan Qingshuang’s delicate nose.

Her lips were pale, like snow-kissed cherry blossoms.

Jian Li, captivated by her beauty, couldn’t resist nuzzling her arm. “Your eyes are so beautiful. Why do you hide them?”

“They’re ugly. Frightening.”

“How could they be frightening?”

In modern society, colorful contact lenses were commonplace.

Yan Qingshuang evaded the question. “We’re here.”

Jian Li didn’t press further.

True to schedule, the Flying Elephant Beast arrived at the foot of Tianyan Sect’s mountain.

Stepping onto the solid ground, Jian Li looked up.

Mist swirled around the towering peaks, the forest canopy stretching like a sea of clouds.

After Yan Qingshuang’s jade token was authenticated, the massive gates swung open.

The disciple guarding the gate glanced over absently.

The disciple’s expression shifted slightly, but he said nothing. He merely exchanged a knowing look with his companion.

Author’s Note:

Little Snow Leopard Jian Li: “Loves roasted chicken, fried chicken, steamed chicken, stewed chicken, stir-fried chicken, Sichuan poached chicken…”

Chicken: “May my sacrifice be fruitful.”