Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Little Big Sister, Little Big Sister…” Radish was obviously used to being kicked aside. He quickly shot back up rolled back over. Splitting apart the leaves on his head, he offered the dandelion within to Shen Ying, as he did daily. “For… you!”
Shen Ying hesitated uncharacteristically. Her eyes widened at the unexpected offering of a flower. “For… for me?”
“Yes, yes, yes.” Radish waved his leaves back and forth, nodding. “My flowers are the most beautiful, and they are only meant for Little Big Sister.”
Something flashed across Shen Ying’s eyes. She clenched her fists and stared at the dandelion, not reacting for a long while.
“Alright, Radish.” Lonemoon stepped forward. “Do you have to give one every day? Shen Ying will not-”
Before he could finish, the woman next to him reached out and took the flower. She held it close to her body and muttered, “Thank… thank you.”
The two of them: “…”
Huh?
Lonemoon paused. Even Radish was staring blankly at Shen Ying, not daring to believe that Shen Ying had received his gift. Radish glanced at his empty leaves, then at the flower in Shen Ying’s arms. For a long while, he did not recover.
“She… she received it! Little Big Sister accepted my… flower? That’s great!” Radish bounced around excitedly. Unable to get on his feet, he rolled back and forth around the floor shouting, “This is great! This is great! This is great!”
Radish rolled back into the pit from earlier, exclaiming in celebration even as he fell into it.
“I knew that Little Big Sister would accept my flower one day. No, I have to sprout another one for Little Big Sister.” As he spoke, he reached out for a certain dandelion that had been sunbathing. “Son, let’s sprout another flower!”
“Father, you’re finally going to teach me to sprout flowers? That’s great!”
Thus, the dandelion bounced up, transformed into a human and rolled around like his father.
The three of them: “…”
She just took his flower, did he have to be so excited? Lonemoon pursed his lips. Then, his expression darkened. “Wait, where are you rolling?! My immortal herbs! Get back here!” Too bad – they were already far away from Lonemoon. Half of the immortal herbs on the rear mountain were squashed just like that!
“Radish!” You wastrel!
He heard the sound of immortal stones being crushed. How his heart hurt! Indeed, leaving Song Ren to Radish was a mistake.
“Master…” Yi Qing could not help but turn back and look at Shen Ying, who was still hugging the flower. In a strange tone, he said, “Master, why are you suddenly accepting his flower?” She never used to do so.
“Eh? Can’t I?” Shen Ying’s grip tightened around the dandelion. This was… the first time anyone gave her flowers. “It’s not a Chrysanthemum.”
Lonemoon instinctively rebutted, “What kind of Chrysanthemum are you referring to?”
Yi Qing: “…”
Shen Ying: “…”
——————
Lonemoon assessed Shen Ying’s current situation worriedly. She seemed to have become an ordinary person. Naturally, he did not want word to get out. It was true that she had only been some sort of lucky symbol in the sect before. Now that she cannot do anything, he did not feel any palpable difference from before. The only thing was that her character seemed different as well. She was also significantly shorter. It was way too obvious. What’s more, her cheat characteristics seemed to have been sealed up, along with her natural ability to hide herself. They were all stored up somewhere, ready to explode, Lonemoon was sure.
That was why Lonemoon had to be extremely cautious on the road back on the rear mountain. He had to think about how to sneak her back in. But immediately, he found out that… he was worried for no reason.
The first disciple.
“Sect… Sect Master! How fortunate I am to see you today! Greetings, Sect Master!”
Shen Ying paused and nodded slowly. “… Hello.”
The second disciple.
“Sect… Sect Master, did you just water Radish? That was tough on you.”
“… Yes.”
The third disciple.
“Sect Master! My goodness, I’m actually meeting the sect master. Am I dreaming? Quick, punch me!”
“…”
The fourth disciple.
“Sect Master! Have you… eaten?”
“…”
They met more than ten disciples along the way, and each of them looked more victorious than the previous one. Yet, nobody seemed to notice that something was amiss. It was like… Shen Ying had always looked this way. Even Yu Hong did not notice.
The key was Shen Ying’s sharp-tongue seemed to have been switched off. All she did was stiffened up as she walked back. Her expression did not even change. She spoke no more than ten words each time. Even when she saw Yu Hong, all she did was nod.
“Shen Ying, why are you-” Lonemoon was just about to ask, when they bumped into yet another person.
“Good Heart…” Lan Hua suddenly rushed over. “Can you return me that Fire Subduer Fan that I handed to you the last time? It’s not easy to manage the deviant fire used for refining pills without a fan. This concerns my reputation as the master of tenth-grade heavenly pill refinement. Can you just take it as you’re lending it to me?” He could not let himself go down in history as the one who caused the cauldron to explode.
Shen Ying paused. Then, she took one step back. A moment later, she turned to look at the two people beside her.
Who?
“This is Boss Lan. We will explain to you later,” Lonemoon quickly blurted. He retrieved a red fan from his storage back and faced Lan Hua. “Is this the one?”
“Yes, this is it!” Lan Hua’s eyes brightened. He reached out for it. “Quick, give it to me. I’m in the middle of refining my pills.”
“Oh.” Lonemoon narrowed his eyes. His eyes twinkled for a second, but he ended up handing the fan to the person behind him. “Shen Ying, you hand it to him!”
Huh?
Shen Ying, “…”
Yi Qing: “…”
“Holy shit!” Lan Hua was so angry that he was about to explode. “You…” You’re doing this on purpose! You must be!
Shen Ying, on the other hand, glanced down at the fan in her hand, then back at the man in front of her. Why did she have to hand it to him? She reached out to pass it to Lan Hua.
Lan Hua’s expression twisted. He suddenly looked like he was about to burst into tears. Trembling, he reached out and took it, then shot a death glare at the shrewd businessman. “You bastard, just you wait!”
As he spoke, he opened his bag, gritted his teeth, and started to take things out of tit. “Here, I just refined these pills. Here’s a tenth-grade one, and a ninth-grade one, and an eighth-grade, and those below eighth-grade. There are also these weapons I produced, as well as a Waterproof Bell, Ice Silk, a Mixed Yuan Clock…”
He retrieved more and more items, until he could no longer stuff anymore in Shen Ying’s hands. It was then that he finally stopped. He trembled with the empty storage bag in his hands.
Shen Ying, who was almost drowning in weapons, equipment and pills: “…”
“I only have these for now,” Lan Hua said announced helplessly. “Is that alright?”
This darned good-heartedness!
Shen Ying paused. A moment later, the corner of her mouth twitched. “Well…”
Before she could finish speaking, Lan Hua tossed the storage back at her. “Here, take it, take it, take it all! Is that alright!” He tightened his grip on his fan and stalked out of the door. If he stayed any longer, he might even leave his own pants behind.
“Mm, not bad! You’re quite good at improvising!” Lonemoon patted Shen Ying on the shoulder.
She had not completed her sentence: “… I don’t need it.”
Lonemoon, “…”
Yi Qing: “…”
Yi Qing stared at Shen Ying, whose expression remained cold. Why did he feel like Master was…
