"Senior Sister, save me! Senior Sister, save me!"
Que Sixi, holding a musical score in one hand and a long jade flute in the other, trotted into the courtyard.
"Senior Sister, this piece of music is too strange. Every time I play this part, the spiritual energy in my body gets stuck."
"If Master finds out I still haven't learned it, he'll punish me."
Beneath the pear blossom tree,
The girl Que Sixi was pulling on appeared to be no older than fifteen or sixteen.
She wore a white disciple robe, her dark hair tied up high with a red ribbon, her eyebrows sharp as swords.
Her delicate features held a sharp edge.
Coupled with her usual demeanor, which was as silent as cicadas in winter, and her eyes like still water, as if she saw everyone as a dead person.
In the sect, not only did the younger disciples dare not provoke her,
But even her fellow disciples from Jiang Lin's generation were reluctant to interact with her.
Because talking to Su Shenxue always felt eerie, as if being watched by something malevolent.
Su Shenxue paid no mind to this and continued to do as she pleased.
In the entire sect, apart from Jiang Lin and Jiang Lin's master,
Perhaps only the simple-minded Que Sixi would seek Su Shenxue's help.
In his eyes, Senior Sister was simply Senior Sister, the closest person besides Master and Grandmaster.
After all, when in trouble, if he couldn't find Master or Grandmaster, Senior Sister was always the right person to turn to.
"Don't rush, let me see."
Seeing her junior brother approach, Su Shenxue put down the suona she was holding.
She sat on a stone stool, took the musical score her junior brother handed her, and examined it.
Towards her only junior brother, Su Shenxue was unusually accommodating.
After a moment's thought, she explained, "This piece is a bit different from ordinary music; it's used to disrupt the spiritual energy within an enemy's body."
"When I first started practicing, I also encountered this situation..."
Su Shenxue analyzed it with him, explaining how she managed it back then.
Her voice was neither hurried nor slow.
Her expression remained cold.
Her eyebrows slightly raised, as if ready to kill.
She still appeared difficult to approach.
But as one spoke and the other listened, they seemed like the most ordinary of fellow disciples.
After a while,
Que Sixi nodded in sudden realization, "Oh~ So that's how it is! I was wondering why I couldn't play it."
With his biggest worry resolved, and no longer fearing punishment from Master,
He relaxed instantly and his gaze fell upon the instrument his Senior Sister had chosen.
"If I had known Senior Sister would choose the suona, I would have chosen the drums. Wouldn't that be more lively together?"
Although he was young when he left home, he remembered his rather plump father.
He remembered how lively and festive their home always was.
As for why he chose the jade flute...
Que Sixi touched the jade flute in his hand, his eyebrows drooping.
Because among the many instruments, this one looked the most valuable.
If exchanged for food, it could probably buy a lot.
He wasn't good at recognizing anything else, but he knew jade.
Because he had a piece of it on him.
His father often reminded him to take good care of it.
Before he left, he repeatedly instructed him:
"Son, you must keep this safe. Even if we can now live comfortably with the immortals..."
But life is unpredictable, and no one can say for sure.
If something were to happen one day, this jade could still get him a hot meal and a good night's sleep.
"Nothing in this world is more important than life."
No matter what happened, after a good night's sleep, remember to find a new path.
...
His father had said many things back then,
But what Que Sixi remembered most clearly was—
Keep the jade safe, and you can eat well and live comfortably.
This showed how valuable jade was.
However, Que Sixi later learned that gold was the most common currency in many countries now.
Of course, spirit stones were even better.
Su Shenxue listened quietly, then said, "Choosing what suits you is the most important thing."
"Besides, these instruments are worth much more than ordinary gold and silver. You won't lose out no matter what you choose."
"Huh? Really?"
Que Sixi immediately straightened his back, his legs no longer feeling weak, and his entire being became energetic.
His eyes darted quickly, and he suddenly looked at Su Shenxue's suona.
He grinned, "Senior Sister, why don't you let me bite it? Just once!"
"I'm sure I can tell if it's made of gold!"
Su Shenxue: "..."
"Master is coming back."
"So soon?!"
Que Sixi was startled and looked at the sky.
He thought to himself: This is bad!
If Master found out he had snuck out, it would be a disaster!
His round body moved, he picked up the musical score with one hand and the jade flute with the other.
He quickly ran back to his practice room.
"Senior Sister, I'm leaving now. Don't tell Master I was here..."
Watching her junior brother run away, Su Shenxue shook her head.
Then she picked up her instrument and continued her practice.
...
On a distant mountain peak, there was a small red pavilion.
In the pavilion, Jiang Lin and his master were playing chess.
He held a black chess piece in his hand, while also paying attention to the movements in the pear blossom courtyard.
"What, can't you rest assured?"
His master made a move, then looked up at him.
Jiang Lin's gaze was fixed on the chessboard. After a moment of thought, he made a black move.
"She accepted a sect mission."
Master: "Related to demons?"
"Yes."
"Children grow up and have to fly on their own. Besides, you can't control her," his master said slowly.
"From the first moment I saw her, I knew she wouldn't stop here."
"She's different from you."
Jiang Lin was silent for a moment, then placed a piece, "That's because Master helped deal with those people."
His master held a white piece, pondered for a long time, "Didn't you also find the demons who killed her family back then?"
"The revenge is taken, but her heart hasn't let go."
"Letting her go out to calm her temper is also good."
Jiang Lin grunted, "Master, aren't you going to see her off tomorrow?"
His master glared at him and threw down the chess piece he had been holding, "I knew you weren't here for nothing."
He took out two golden silent bells and said, "Take these to my eldest grand-disciple."
Jiang Lin casually took the bells, "I thank you on behalf of my disciple, Master."
...
When his eldest disciple Su Shenxue departed, Jiang Lin saw her off at the entrance of the pear blossom courtyard.
The second disciple, Que Sixi, also came.
He hugged his Senior Sister's leg, crying that he couldn't bear to part.
Then he buried his head and whispered, asking her to bring back more fun things.
As for himself?
His cultivation was too low now, and he didn't have permission to descend the mountain alone.
No matter how much delicious food or fun there was outside, it had nothing to do with him.
If it weren't for the outer disciples in the sect sharing news from the outside, he felt he was almost 'cut off from the world.'
Su Shenxue responded with a soft "Mm."
Que Sixi then reluctantly let go, wailing dramatically.
"Senior Sister is the best, I'm so reluctant to part with you, woo woo woo—"
After he had wailed for a while, Jiang Lin pulled him back and said to his eldest disciple, "You may depart. Be careful on your journey."
"Yes, Master!"
Su Shenxue turned and walked down the mountain, two golden silent bells now adorning her wrist.
Her white disciple robe was lifted high by the wind.
Until she left the sect, disappeared into the mortal world, and could no longer be seen.
...