Chapter 5: Sister's Night Tutoring

“Junior Sister!”

“Here!”

“Listen to the question!”

“Yes!”

Li Changshou waved his sleeve. The young girl, sitting cross-legged on the grass by the lake, jolted awake, instantly becoming fully alert.

“Imagine, Junior Sister, you are at the ninth stage of the Soul Transformation realm, flying along, when you suddenly come across an uninhabited place. There, you see a cultivator at the sixth stage of the Soul Transformation realm forcefully assaulting a female cultivator at the Qi Refinement stage. What would you do?

“Here are three options:

“A. Rush forward and kill him. You would be the embodiment of justice!“B. Throw a magic treasure from a distance to hit him, then calmly leave, ruining his mood.“C. Pretend you saw nothing and quietly slip away.”

Lan Ling’e blinked. Both the question and the options seemed to contain concepts she couldn’t quite grasp at her age...

Li Changshou smiled and reminded her, “It’s a single-choice question. Make your selection.”

“A?” Lan Ling’e replied with a hint of uncertainty.

Li Changshou calmly said, “How do you know this person isn’t concealing his true cultivation, merely displaying the sixth stage of Soul Transformation, when in fact he’s a master of the Void Return realm? Generally speaking, someone brazen enough to commit such a despicable act openly is certainly a villain. How can you place your hopes on his honesty!”

“Then,” Lan Ling’e furrowed her small brow, “B?”

“Junior Sister, don’t forget that you are also a female cultivator,” Li Changshou sighed. “If all the hypothetical conditions for A were true, and that beast saw a beautiful girl like you, he might become even more depraved. Wouldn’t you then be putting yourself in danger?”

Lan Ling’e’s small face flushed red, and she felt a dizzying confusion. She spoke weakly, “But Senior Brother, option C is not something cultivators like us should do. My father told me similar things when I was very young, saying that we siblings should step forward to punish the wicked and support the weak. Father said if everyone saw injustice and didn’t help, then if we were the victims, wouldn’t it be...”

“No, Junior Sister, you must remember, if you were in a peaceful, friendly environment, your way of thinking would be absolutely correct. But the Great Wilderness is not a peaceful place. Here, masters are as numerous as clouds, and qi refiners often fight fiercely over a single magic treasure or a spiritual root. Most cultivators who survive are ruthless individuals.”

Li Changshou stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the lake, and sighed, “It’s very difficult to survive in this world with such a benevolent and chivalrous mindset. What we should do is not commit evil ourselves, nor assist in evil, but we don’t necessarily have to stop all evil deeds. Rather than playing the hero when your abilities are insufficient, it’s better to stay alive until you stand at the pinnacle of all beings, when you can set rules and rewrite the survival environment for the weak throughout the Great Wilderness. So, do you understand?”

“Yes!”

Lan Ling’e nodded heavily, her eyes filled with light.

***

At that moment, unbeknownst to the siblings, a wisp of green smoke drifted out from a nearby thatched hut and quietly floated behind them.

Li Changshou said in a low voice, “Junior Sister! Now, I’m giving you another chance to choose. State it clearly and firmly! If you encounter a male cultivator assaulting a female cultivator, what should you do!”

Lan Ling’e’s eyes were full of bright light. Her voice was soft but exceptionally firm as she exclaimed, “C, pretend I didn’t see anything! Slip away from the side!”

“Excellent!” Li Changshou couldn’t help but give his junior sister a thumbs-up, a feeling of deep satisfaction rising in his heart. Two days of teaching had yielded such results. If this continued, in just a few years, he wouldn’t have to worry about his junior sister causing trouble that might implicate him! Having a junior sister who understood how to survive discreetly was truly...

Suddenly, a cold breeze swept from behind them. Both siblings’ hair stood on end as an old, icy voice abruptly spoke from behind:

“Li... Chang... Shou!”

*Click, creak...*

This was Lan Ling’e’s teeth chattering uncontrollably.

Li Changshou’s mouth twitched as he turned his head for a quick glance, instantly plastering on a smile.

“Master, have you finished your secluded cultivation? Are you about to begin today’s arduous teaching session for Junior Sister... Master, let’s talk this through, Master! Why are you taking out your horsetail whisk! I’m also your own disciple! You can’t mistreat the elder one just because you have a younger one, Master!”

“Insolent rascal!”

Daoist Qi Yuan’s beard and hair flew wildly, his eyes wide as he raised his horsetail whisk to strike. “You’re timid and afraid of trouble, and you’re even corrupting your junior sister! I’m going to teach you a good lesson today!”

However, as the whisk fell, Li Changshou’s figure was enveloped in a streak of green light, instantly reappearing on the other side of the willow tree, once again cupping his hands in supplication to his master.

“Still daring to use Wood Escape to hide! You’re asking for a beating!”

Qi Yuan was even more enraged, raising his whisk and chasing after him. Li Changshou retreated gracefully, continuously evading his master’s pursuit. Daoist Qi Yuan began to activate his spells, and the horsetail whisk in his hand grew erratically, creating a sky full of whisk-swept illusions by the lake. Yet, Li Changshou was like a loach, always finding gaps to slip through.

“Master, please calm down. Wasn’t I doing this for Junior Sister’s good?”

“Our Immortal Du Sect belongs to the Human Path lineage, one of the three great Immortal Sects! How could a junior like you, full of crooked and evil ideas, emerge from it!”

“Isn’t it because Master, you have a discerning eye for talent?”

“Bah! This poor Daoist will clean up the sect today! Aargh! You infuriate me!”

“Master, you’re not handsome at all when you’re angry...”

Under the willow shade, Ling’e, who had initially been very nervous seeing her master about to hit her senior brother, gradually burst into laughter, amused by her master and senior brother’s playful chase. She could tell that her master wasn’t truly striking hard, and her senior brother’s evasive movements were also very relaxed and casual.

After chasing for a moment, her senior brother seemed to slip and fall to the ground. Her master pounced, pinned him down, and furiously whipped his buttocks with the horsetail whisk, creating a rhythmic slapping sound...

A moment later, Daoist Qi Yuan, who had disciplined his eldest disciple for a while, stood up, straightened his disheveled Daoist robe, and yelled a few times at his humiliated disciple on the ground:

“Reflect deeply for your master! From now on, you are forbidden from teaching your junior sister how to behave! Go finish building Junior Sister’s thatched hut!”

“Yes, Master, your disciple obeys...”

“Ling’e, come here! Your master will teach you the Dao! Forget all those twisted theories your senior brother taught you!”

“Oh!”

Ling’e responded weakly, glancing worriedly at her senior brother’s swollen backside beneath his Daoist robe. Then she caught sight of Li Changshou’s right hand, hidden in his sleeve... That hand gently waved at her and gave a thumbs-up gesture.

Ling’e felt a little relieved. Seeing her senior brother’s disheveled state on the grass, she lowered her head and let out a soft laugh, then quickly ran after her master’s retreating figure. Her steps became lighter and lighter, eventually breaking into a run...

***

Li Changshou lay there and sighed softly. A white cloud floated over from the side, slowly lifting him up. Master actually hit me! Li Changshou rubbed his buttocks, took a sharp breath, and then sighed softly again. If he had known he’d actually get a beating from Master, he wouldn’t have let Master catch him...

No, that wouldn’t do either. He still had to consider Master’s dignity. After all, Master’s chances of becoming an immortal were slim, and he was under a lot of pressure, already having a difficult time. Judging by the spells Master displayed just now, they seemed powerful on the outside but weak within, and his locking onto Li Changshou’s qi was intermittent. This was clearly a sign of rushing too much in raising his cultivation realm...

Never mind. He should still figure out a way to increase Master’s chances of passing his heavenly tribulation.

Li Changshou scratched his head, lost in thought as he lay on the cloud, slowly drifting towards the nearly completed third thatched hut nearby.

***

These past few days felt like a dream.

This year, at the age of nine, while she was with her mother at the market, an old immortal took a liking to her and accepted her as a disciple. Although her parents were reluctant to part with her, this was an immense blessing. If she succeeded in cultivation, her clan would also benefit later. So, after a discipleship ceremony at home, and with many admonitions from her mother, she followed her master to the Immortal Du Sect.

Then, she met her rather peculiar senior brother. Senior Brother had many lengthy discussions that sounded very reasonable, yet always felt a bit off; her master repeatedly warned her that Senior Brother was eccentric and that she shouldn’t learn how to behave from him. Still, she always felt that Senior Brother was actually a very powerful qi refiner.

There weren’t many formalities or rules in the mountains. The lake and mountains were full of delicious things, and cultivating the Dao was quite interesting—at least not as boring as she had imagined before coming. Of course, what made her happiest was grilling with Senior Brother, feeding fish together, wandering through the mountains, finding delicious wild treats to fill her little stomach, and then sitting quietly by the lake for a while, listening to Senior Brother’s twisted theories...

Would her days always be like this?

Curled up in a quilt of unknown material, Ling’e softly exhaled and turned to face the window. She suddenly felt a shadow moving before her eyes. She slightly widened her sleepy, blurry eyes, but was instantly startled awake, her small body trembling slightly.

Outside the window, Li Changshou was lying on a white cloud, gently waving at her.

“Night tutoring session, young lady.”

“Huh?” Ling’e blinked, then nodded slightly from within her quilt. “Hmm...”

“Now, listen to the second question!”

Ugh, Senior Brother really was an odd one.

***

And so, ten years later.