Chapter 7
A Junior Sister That Has Senior Brother Is Like A Gra.s.s
A few sticks of bamboo and a whole loads of straw, that’s the first impression of Zhi Yan House on Hu Sha. It is completely different that those luxurious lofty palaces that she expected. It looks more like the home of a normal farmer family, she almost expected chickens and ducks running around.
The island is indifferent to weather, it is spring all around completely contrasting the frigid cold weather outside. There are peculiar echoes coming from the bamboo forest, and what flies out isn’t magpies or crows, but a colorful phoenix.
There are tall lofty bamboos in front of the house while behind is a couple of apricot tree. The overall appearance is really calm and peaceful.
Now that it is back in it’s own place, the Xue Suan Ni who had been p.i.s.sed off all throughout the journey finally gets the chance for revenge. It shakes it’s body and flings Hu Sha to the ground. And then it humphed from it’s nose, gives her a dirty look and strode away with it’s tail wagging.
“It…… didn’t like me very much.” Hu Sha laughs hollowly. The first thing she thinks of is to fix her own girdle. Once she makes sure her dress wouldn’t fall again, she immediately sheds off the big robe. She pats the robe to get rid of dirt and respectfully presents it back to Feng Yi.
“Xue Suan Ni’s personality is haughty and lofty, you must impress it first or else it will treat you like that.” Feng Yi accepts the robe and casually flings it on his shoulder, watching the snow-white creature jumping up and down the roof and rolling around in the ground. After that, it happily runs over to him and coquettishly rub it’s head against his chest.
It acts just like a dog! Hu Sha quietly wipe her sweat.
‘Alright, let me take you to your room.” Feng Yi beckons her with his hands. They walk past the apricot forest, there is a few buildings side by side at the back, constructed using green stones.
The door has no lock, he pushes it open. The room is already equipped with table, chairs and bed. The mattress is green!
“Junior Sister will be living here from now on. Senior Brother Feng Di and I will be living next to you. If you need anything, you don’t need to be shy, just come to us.” After saying that, he turns around wanting to leave but then suddenly thinks of something. He turns his head to her and lazily smiles, “Right, shifu wanted me to explain the rules of Qing Yuan to you. That will be too troublesome, those rules and all. You’ll naturally gets them after living here for a while. There are only two things that I need to tell you. You will need to go to Ruo Yan Hall at the peak of the mountain at 5 am everyday to study. And if you sees those Senior Uncles or Senior Elders or whatever, you need to act modestly. Other than that, you don’t really have to worry about anything.”
Hu Sha nods repeatedly until her neck feels like it is going to be strained. Feng Yi seeing her so silent and not asking anything feels his interest piqued. He laughs, “What’s wrong? Are you disappointed that this place is so different than the celestial dwellings mortals has in mind?”
Hu Sha nods unceasingly, hearing that she immediately shakes her head, almost straining a vein, “N-No! I think it’s great this way!” She will be really sad if it’s really those high and imposing celestial palaces.
“This place feels like…… feels like home.” She laughs shyly.
Home? Feng Yi frowns.
“You have to go to Ruo Yan Hall tomorrow, I don’t think your clothes will do.” He said somewhat in disdain as his eyes sweep over her grey and dull clothes. She looks like a sparrow. “Change it with something better.”
Hu Sha waves her small bag and simply smiles, “No need. All my clothes are like this. Cultivating to be a celestial does not require one to wear beautiful clothes, I believe the celestials will not look down on me just because of my clothes.”
“Whatever makes you happy,” Feng Yi lazily walks out of the door, suddenly stopping when he thinks of something. “Oh right. The first step to cultivation is abstaining from foods. Grains has no use to cultivators. If you’re hungry, there is nothing on this island you can eat.”
Huh——? What? Nothing to eat? Hu Sha jumps up, she wasn’t hungry just now. But now that he told her that, she suddenly feels hungry. But…… there’s nothing to eat ah!
Feng Yi finally manages to shock her, he smilingly walks out of the door in satisfaction, leaving a startled green-faced Hu Sha. She hastily scours through her bag, hoping she hasn’t finished the grain ration she brought with her.
This is a serious problem, if she wants to go home, she needs to find Qing Ling Zhen Jun. If she wants to find Qing Ling Zhen Jun, she needs to cultivate in Qing Yuan Mountain as a disciple. But to cultivate means she cannot eat any food! If this is the case, she will turns into a hungry ghost before she even gets to go home.
Hu Sha is at loss, she almost pulls out her hair and still cannot think of any solution. Maybe it’s a psychological side-effect or something, but the feeling of hunger gradually intensifies within her. Her stomach grumbles non-stop. Her eyes fell on Xue Suan Ni who is happily rolling in the snow outside, so round—- so white—– so pliant, just like a big bun.
Hungry—– So hungry———- Hu Sha lies next to the windowsill helplessly.
The windowsill is green, two little flowers the color of ice blue are growing on it. There are deep black lines on the flowers, when blown by the wind, it looks like a sad face and then turns into a happy face.
She can’t resist reaching out and touches it. Just as her finger touches it, she suddenly hears a cold voice, “Who are you? How did you come in?”
She quickly looks up, a man wearing black clothes is standing in front of her. He is that guy she saw earlier in the forbidden part of Qing Yuan Mountain! “Ah, celestial!” she blurts out.
The man in black freeze for a moment, “….. It is you. What are you doing here?”
“I found shifu and made him my shifu….” Hu Sha quickly explains haphazardly.
The man looks at her fingers that is harshly tugging at the small flower. He can’t help but frown, “Don’t move. n.o.body tells you everything within Zhi Yan House are precious herbs?”
Hu Sha hastily retrieves her hand, extremely embarra.s.sed.
Feng Yi’s voice floats from behind, “It’s Senior Brother. Where were you? People from Wu Qu Department has been looking for you all day long.”
The frown on that person’s face intensifies, a slightly bashful expression appearing on his face. He lowers his voice, “I was just strolling around. Did any of the Wu Qu people leaves any message?”
Feng Yi slowly flings his robe before walking towards him, laughing, “Did you got lost again? Senior Brother, no matter what, you came here 20 years earlier before me. Why did you get lost everywhere unless it’s Zhi Yan House or the main mountain?”
That man’s face gets suspiciously red, “Don’t speak nonsense, did they leave any message?”
Feng Yi takes out a sealed letter from his sleeve and hands it over to him, “Shifu told you to look for him in Yu Hua Hall.”
The man stuffs the letter in his sleeve before turning his head to glance at Hu Sha. He pauses for a moment. “I was in the main mountain just now and heard them saying shifu took in a new disciple. Don’t tell me it’s her?”
Feng Yi laughs, “You indeed got lost! You got lost until you reached the main mountain! You’re right, this girl from now on is our Junior Sister. Her name is Hu Sha. Junior Sister, this is our eldest senior brother, Feng Di.”
So he is her eldest senior brother! Hu Sha suddenly feels very honored, thinking she will be able to fly in the sky like him one day. Her hunger suddenly didn’t feels like a big deal anymore.
She flatteringly and worshippingly greets him, “Eldest senior brother!”
Feng Di scrutinize her from up and down, after a while, he finally says, “Why did shifu chose a mortal without a single foundation?”
The flattering and admiring expression on Hu Sha’s face froze.
Feng Yi quickly speaks up for her, “Celestials are all mortals before cultivating. Everything has a beginning. Junior Sister is still so young, and we on the other hand is so old.”
Feng Di quickly goes to do his thing. Xue Suan Ni who has been trying to egg him into playing cries after he left, whining and rolling on the ground. Feng Yi crouch in front of it and rub it’s stomach before speaking in a low voice, “Shifu’s health is not good. He has not been able to teach disciples cultivation for years. He will most likely ask Senior Brother to teach you. So, even though he is your Senior Brother by name, you must treat him with respect you will give a teacher. You must not lose conduct.”
Hu Sha smiles obsequiously, “That conduct is……”
Feng Yi takes out two fingers, solemnly saying, “There are two rules. Everything Eldest Senior Brother said is right. Everything Eldest Senior Brother does not agree to is wrong! As long as you remember these two, you will do just fine.”
Hu Sha was busy trying to find a little notebook to jot down that word of wisdom when she thinks of something, “Then…. Will you be teaching me too, Second Senior Brother?”
Feng Yi props his chin, lightly smiling before saying, “Me? I am not a good teacher. You are such a cute little girl, how can I bear to torture you? We can only count on our Eldest Senior Brother who has no tender feeling for the fairer s.e.x.”
C-Cute? Hu Sha’s face feels like it is on fire, her heart racing. She can’t help but steal a look on his face.
Those fancy, flashy robes, those lazy and idle demeanor, that smile that seems to contain ill-intention upon closer inspection, no matter how she looks at it——- he looks like a lecher. Is Second Senior Brother the kind of man who speaks flowery words to women?
Hu Sha instinctively puts some distance from him.
“What? You want Second Senior Brother to teach you? You really want me to?” Feng Yi studies her face that suddenly turns red and then turns green and can’t help but to tease her. “Then, I’ll speak to Shifu tonight, I’ll ask him to let me teach this cute Junior Sister.”
“N-No need!” Hu Sha quickly refused. “Eldest Senior Brother is fine! He is fine!”
Of course, that is a decision she will tearfully regret in the future.
That night, Hu Sha toss and turns in that foreign place, she cannot sleep.
She misses home and she is hungry.
Don’t know how her parents are doing in that distant world, will they remember her everyday? She miss her parents, she miss the shrine that she used to hate so much in the past, also that dense scent of incense. She miss meat dumplings, beef stew and chicken cooked with lotus leaves. She thinks about them so much her saliva flows. She can’t sleep even more.
In that hazy and blurry time, she can hear a sound from outside. Eldest Senior Brother, Feng Di’s cold voice can be heard, “Get up, it is 3 am now.”
Hu Sha muddle headedly sits up. Before she can even discern where she is at, the door is pushed open. A black silhouette entered her room like a whirlwind and makes her get up.
“Get up. From now on, you must wake up at 3 am everyday to cultivate. You must not be lazy.”
She was left on the floor. With a light head, she puts on her shoes and follows him out. The sky is still dark outside, even the moon is still suspended in the sky.
“Eldest Senior Brother, w-where are we going?” Hu Sha asks him nervously.
The person in front who is taking big steps answers without even turning his head, “You have no foundation. Don’t talk about cultivating, you need to work out first.”
Hu Sha nods understandingly, he is right. Your body is your biggest a.s.set in cultivation. In the end, Eldest Senior Brother is the one who speaks with great impact. Her respect for this Eldest Senior Brother is unending, like the ceaseless flow of the river.
After a while, they reaches the frozen lake. Hu Sha is already restless from the cold.
Feng Di stops at the bank and motions towards the lake, “Run ten laps, after that practice the ‘horse stance.’”
Boom.
Hu Sha’s chin almost falls to the floor. “T-That place is ice. Can I go and wear more clothes?” Hu Sha pitifully smiles at him.
Feng Di didn’t even look at her, simply saying, “No need. Go on.”
She helplessly grits her teeth and jump down. Just as her feet touches the ground, she slips on the slippery ice.
She wants to cry.
She is hungry to death. Her dress is so thin it is doing nothing to protect her from the cold snow and ice. The ice is so slippery it is so hard for her to run on it.
She finish a lap with such difficulty. Just as she was about to rest to take a breather, she hears her senior brother’s cold and heartless voice, “You are too slow. You are not allowed to rest. If you’re still slow on the next lap, I will add 5 more rounds as punishment.”
At that moment, Hu Sha felt like her road home is so far and distant.
She looks back to see Feng Di. That face that was initially handsome in her eyes is the face of a devil now. A devil!
In the end, the first day of training ended with Hu Sha tearfully and tremblingly practicing the horse squat before pa.s.sing out.