Dustfall

In the Skycloud Nation, upon Bamboo Green Peak.

Before the first light of dawn, Luochen was already awake.

With practiced ease, she brewed tea, chopped vegetables, and prepared breakfast.

As she busied herself, the quiet was broken by a soft creak as the room’s door swung open.

From within emerged an immortal maiden, looking a touch weary.

Though her demeanor was pure and elegant, her face remained expressionless, exuding an aura that warned all to keep their distance.

“Junior Sister, good morning,” Luochen greeted with a smile.

“Good morning.” Su Yue offered a faint nod in response.

‘My Junior Sister truly remains as aloof as ever,’ Luochen mused.

Luochen shook her head with a wry smile, then turned to retrieve noodles from the cabinet.

‘Today, it will be dried noodles,’ she decided.

Having fished out the perfectly cooked noodles, Luochen turned around, only to find Su Yue still standing motionlessly in the same spot.

“Is something the matter, Junior Sister?”

At the sound of Luochen’s voice, Su Yue seemed to activate, raising the cylindrical object she held—what on Earth would typically be called an electric toothbrush.

“This… it’s out of spiritual energy.”

“Why didn’t you just call me?”

Luochen inquired, puzzled.

“Senior Sister was busy.”

‘Sometimes, I truly can’t tell if my Junior Sister is merely naive or genuinely aloof,’ Luochen thought, feeling a touch helpless.

“Wait here a moment; I’ll go find some spirit stones.”

‘Now, where did I put them?’

Lost in thought, Luochen nearly walked straight into the partially open door before her.

‘Why isn’t Junior Sister’s door closed?’

She paused, slightly taken aback, and as she was about to leave, she inadvertently glimpsed a half-sewn scarf lying on the bed.

The material was the finest soft gold silk, yet the craftsmanship appeared surprisingly rough.

‘Since when did Junior Sister develop a fondness for needlework?’ Luochen wondered inwardly.

Returning to the kitchen, she carefully placed a spirit stone into the toothbrush.

“There, it’s done.”

“Thank you, Senior Sister,” Su Yue replied softly, her expression still betraying a hint of weariness.

‘Could she have stayed up all night knitting that scarf?’ Luochen pondered.

As her Senior Sister, Luochen felt it was her duty to find a moment to remind Su Yue about getting proper rest.

For now, however… she needed to wake up their Master.

Luochen carried the noodles to the dining table, then exited the kitchen.

Looking up, the morning sun had already ascended, suspended in the sky and casting its boundless light upon the world.

No matter how many times she witnessed it, the sight remained awe-inspiring.

The sun in this world was far larger than Earth’s, commanding its own prominent space even within the vast expanse of the heavens.

Indeed, Luochen was not a native of this realm.

Just a few years prior, as a university student, he had been struck by a fully insured semi-trailer truck while heading out for breakfast.

‘”I hope it’s a harem anime,”‘ was his last thought before death.

It was his final thought before death, yet not only did he fail to transmigrate into a harem anime, but even his ‘tools of the trade’ (TL Note: A humorous euphemism for male genitalia) had been confiscated.

Luochen chuckled wryly, a hint of helplessness in her smile.

The very next moment, her gaze turned solemn.

Before arriving in this world, she had conversed with something akin to a World Will.

From Its words, she learned that this world was destined to endure an unprecedented war between righteous and demonic forces, ultimately leading to its destruction.

However, It could not directly intervene in reality, nor could It reveal too much information, lest the world fall into imbalance.

Therefore, It could only seek an agent to resolve the impending crisis.

And thus, Luochen was chosen.

The key to solving the problem lay with several Daughters of Destiny (TL Note: ‘Tianming zhi Nü,’ fated heroines or chosen ones) of this world.

‘”Find all the Daughters of Destiny and gain their support,”‘ was Its hope for Luochen.

If the world could be preserved, It promised to return her to her original world.

‘”Home… ah,”‘ Luochen murmured to herself.

Even though this world was exceptionally brilliant, she still could not let go of her parents and relatives back on Earth.

‘To return home, I must gain the support of all the Fated Ones,’ she resolved.

Thinking this, a faint smile graced Luochen’s lips, for she had already met two of them.

Indeed, both her Master and her Junior Sister were Daughters of Destiny.

‘What a truly magnificent beginning!’

A chill autumn breeze snaked into Luochen’s collar, causing her to shiver.

Well, perhaps it wasn’t quite that magnificent after all.

Every single day, she was filled with regret.

‘Why did I max out my appearance and talent back then?’ she lamented.

‘No one told me my physical constitution would be so utterly terrible!’

‘How was one supposed to play the game when starting with a terminal illness?’

Without actively circulating spiritual energy, her physical body was even weaker than that of an uncultivated mortal.

Fortunately, the unique spiritual energy of her Master, Venerable Zhu Qing, could suppress her ailment, allowing her to survive until today.

Venerable Zhu Qing had reached the Eighth Revolution (TL Note: A cultivation realm) in only a century of cultivation, earning her the title of an unparalleled genius.

According to external rumors, Venerable Zhu Qing possessed a cold and haughty disposition, her heart solely dedicated to the Great Dao of cultivation.

She rarely appeared before others, and all matters, great and small, concerning Bamboo Green Peak were entirely entrusted to Luochen.

But only Luochen knew the truth…

Amidst her soaring thoughts, she had already arrived at Zhu Qing’s chamber door.

Luochen gently rapped on the door. “Master, it’s time to wake up!”

Receiving no response from within, and after calling out a few more times, Luochen helplessly pushed the door open.

As expected, the powerful and mysterious Venerable, in the eyes of outsiders, was currently fast asleep, snoring softly.

An open book covered her face.

‘”Basic Theoretical Knowledge of Alchemy,“‘ Luochen read.

‘Since when did Master start researching the Dao of pills?’

‘And what’s this wet patch? It’s definitely drool!’

“Master,” Luochen said, gently shaking Zhu Qing’s shoulder.

“I can’t hear you, I can’t hear you,” the Venerable mumbled, pulling the blanket over her head.

“If you don’t get up now, you won’t get any breakfast!”

Luochen was forced to employ her ultimate weapon, and the next second, her vision went black.

The very next second, a neatly dressed Zhu Qing appeared before her eyes.

“Master, you don’t even need to sleep anymore, so why do you still laze in bed like a child every day?”

Luochen’s tone held a hint of grievance.

“My dear disciple, it’s not that I want to,” Zhu Qing said with a laugh, pinching Luochen’s cheek.

“But sleeping is just too comfortable!”

“Come on, what are we eating today?”

With an enthusiastic flourish, she swept up her robes and, taking Luochen with her, vanished from the spot.

“Oh, wow, it’s my favorite dried noodles!” Zhu Qing exclaimed, her face instantly breaking into a wide smile upon seeing the table.

“I knew my Chen’er was the best to me!”

“Cough, cough.” Su Yue interrupted her.

“You rebellious disciple, what do you want?” Zhu Qing demanded, her expression one of utter fury.

Su Yue pondered for a moment, seemingly organizing her thoughts.

After a silence that was neither too long nor too short, she slowly spoke.

“Old geezer, time to drop the gold (TL Note: A popular internet slang phrase, ‘lao deng, bao jinbi le,’ used humorously to demand money from an older person, often in gaming contexts to ‘drop loot’).”

Upon hearing this, Luochen felt cold sweat threatening to trickle down her back.

‘Junior Sister, while I often share some memes that we Earthlings enjoy, this is absolutely not the place to use them!’

Luochen was on the verge of tears, yet had none to shed.

“Huh? What does that mean?”

Zhu Qing turned her head to look at Luochen.

Years of behavioral conditioning told her that if anything novel or incomprehensible appeared, it was almost certainly Luochen’s doing.

“It’s just… she’s asking you for living expenses.”

Luochen explained meekly.

The term ‘living expenses’ was also coined by Luochen, and Zhu Qing understood it to roughly mean a monthly allowance.

‘But hadn’t she just given Su Yue her living expenses?’

Zhu Qing frowned, demanding, “Again with the ‘dropping gold’? What happened to the three thousand spirit stones I ‘dropped’ for you just last week?”

[?]

Luochen nearly lost her composure.

‘Master, your venerable self is adopting new memes a little too quickly!’

“Spent them all,” Su Yue shrugged.

“You didn’t spend the spirit stones at Drunken Dream Pavilion, did you? How could a Fourth Revolution cultivator… wait, you’ve reached the Fifth Revolution?”

Zhu Qing, having casually probed with her spiritual energy, arrived at an unbelievable conclusion.

“I just broke through yesterday.”

“Junior Sister is only seventeen and has already broken through to the Fifth Revolution,” Luochen remarked.

“Master, you only just barely broke through at nineteen, didn’t you?”

Su Yue delivered a merciless jab: “It was twenty.”

Luochen clicked her tongue. “In any case, congratulations, Junior Sister! Your future is boundless.”

Zhu Qing’s mouth twitched. “Didn’t Chen’er also reach the Fifth Revolution at seventeen? Truly, the student surpasses the master.”

The Master before them wore a crestfallen expression.

Luochen gently shook her shoulder, saying softly, “Master is amazing too! And your cultivation after the Fifth Revolution was incredibly smooth, wasn’t it?”

“I don’t care,” Zhu Qing pouted.

“If little Luochen doesn’t feed me today, my entire future will be shrouded in the shadow of failure.”

Zhu Qing looked at Luochen with a pitiful expression.

‘Oh no, I’ve fallen for it.’

“Alright, alright,” Luochen conceded.

“Open wide.”

“Ah,” Zhu Qing responded, resting her chin in her hands as she accepted Luochen’s feeding.

“Cough, cough.” As if sensing her presence was growing faint, Su Yue spoke up again.

Zhu Qing glared at her resentfully, then flicked out a spirit card with a dismissive tone.

“There are ten thousand spirit stones on this card. You have three seconds to disappear from my beloved disciple’s sight and mine.”

“Thank you,” Su Yue replied softly, quickly devouring the remaining noodles before departing on her sword.

After finishing breakfast, Zhu Qing stretched leisurely.

“Full and content, it’s a good time for a nap,” she declared.

While Luochen was busy washing the dishes, Zhu Qing prepared to make her escape.

However, Luochen was well-prepared, seizing her furtive Master by the hand.

“Hey, hey, Chen’er, what is the meaning of this?” Zhu Qing asked, a sheepish smile on her face as she looked at the hand tightly gripping her palm.

With her other hand, Luochen produced a notebook, her tone serious. “No sneaking off! Today, there’s a Peak Master’s meeting, a new disciple recruitment preparation conference, and a Seventh and Eighth Revolution (TL Note: Cultivation realms) cultivation exchange forum.”

Zhu Qing pressed her palms together. “Please, have mercy on me! Haven’t I told you that you can attend all these trivial matters in my stead? Your opinion is my opinion.”

Luochen considered this. “But I’m only at the Fifth Revolution. You’ll have to attend the last meeting yourself.”

“Absolutely, absolutely,” Zhu Qing waved her hand dismissively, then vanished from the spot.

A spirit card fluttered to the ground, and Zhu Qing’s voice echoed through the air.

“There are two thousand spirit stones on the card; consider it little Luochen’s payment for attending meetings on my behalf. Your clothes look old, so go buy some nice new outfits.”