Becoming a Little Fool

“Done!”

The last wisp of silver light at Xun Xue’s fingertips dissipated, and she let out a long sigh of relief.

She carefully extended a thread of her immortal sense into Lu Qiancha’s body—the meridians had been widened by nearly ten percent, and even the pill toxins left behind from consuming various impure elixirs had been completely cleansed.

A satisfied smile graced her lips as she gently gathered the little girl, whose consciousness was hazy with comfort, into her arms.

“Nnngh…”

Lu Qiancha’s consciousness drifted on a warm, fluffy cloud.

Hearing Xun Xue’s low whisper, she unconsciously nuzzled the other’s chin with her small head, as if cooing coquettishly, ‘One more time…’

“Heh.”

Xun Xue simply smiled.

She reached out to stroke Lu Qiancha’s little head, only for the other girl to extend a small, pink tongue and lick her palm with affectionate dependence.

Just then, a figure in blue and pink suddenly threw the door open, calling excitedly into the room, “Senior Brother! I’ve broken through… huh?”

Gan Tang’s excited cheer caught in her throat.

The sheer joy on her face froze in an instant, solidifying into an expression of utter bewilderment.

The first thing she saw upon opening the door was her very own Senior Brother, in a dazed state she had never witnessed before, licking Xun Xue’s hand.

‘Did my cultivation go awry, am I hallucinating?’

Gan Tang was suddenly plunged into self-doubt.

The Senior Brother she knew… to say he was uninterested in the charms of women would be an understatement.

He was practically a golden Arhat enshrined in an ancient temple, with asceticism carved into his very bones.

Her expression stiffened.

With a “smack,” she expressionlessly slammed the door shut again.

Gan Tang leaned her back against the cool wood of the door, took a deep, deep breath, and then exhaled it forcefully!

‘It must have been the way I opened it… Again!’

Creak—the door was pushed open once more.

Right, it had changed, indeed.

Now, Lu Qiancha was like a dazed little beast seeking affection, persistently nuzzling her head into the crook of Xun Xue’s neck.

The latter dodged with a string of delicate giggles, “Oh my, that tickles~ Stop it, Little Qiancha~”

Faced with this scene, Gan Tang was now completely certain of one thing—she hadn’t gone mad; it was Senior Brother—she’s been possessed!

‘I need to find a Daoist priest to exorcise the evil from Senior Brother! Right now! Immediately!’

‘Wait, no, I am a Daoist priest.’

A lightning bolt of clarity flashed through Gan Tang’s mind.

‘Watch as the brilliant and clever Daoist Master Gan vanquishes this demon and saves Senior Brother!’

Her gaze sharpened.

She strode toward Xun Xue with determined steps, dead set on teaching this person who had possessed her Senior Brother a lesson!

“Ah, I remember you. You’re Little Qiancha’s junior sister, right?”

Xun Xue watched Gan Tang approach, blinking her large, clear eyes, seemingly oblivious to the surging battle intent.

“Yes!” Gan Tang puffed out her chest and replied with immense bravado, just about to launch into a reprimand—

“Oh, perfect then!” As if suddenly recalling an important task, Xun Xue very naturally held out the little girl who had gone limp in her arms. “Could you please take care of Little Qiancha for a bit? I need to hurry to Tianshu Peak to sign an equality contract.”

With that, she placed the still-dizzy Lu Qiancha securely into Gan Tang’s arms!

“Huh?!”

Caught completely off guard, Gan Tang fumbled to catch the warm, soft bundle, her mind going completely blank!

The momentum she had just built up deflated like a punctured balloon.

‘This plot… is not developing correctly, is it?!’

“Oh, I almost forgot!” Xun Xue said, taking out an exquisite storage pouch.

With a soft thud, she tossed it onto the old wooden table nearby.

“There are several hundred high-grade spirit stones inside. It’s some pocket money for Little Qiancha. You can take some for yourself, as payment for looking after her.”

“Oh… oh… okay…”

Like a puppet receiving a command, Gan Tang subconsciously nodded in agreement.

Cradling the drowsy Lu Qiancha, she dumbly watched as Xun Xue transformed into a streak of light and vanished over the horizon.

“…”

The room fell silent in an instant.

Gan Tang stiffly lowered her head, looking at the soft, blue little wolf cub with hazy eyes in her arms.

The little cub seemed to sense the change in embrace and let out a soft, sweet, questioning whimper from her nose, “Wuu…?”

“Senior Brother, you’re so cute!”

Gan Tang’s heart nearly melted at the sight.

She suddenly felt that perhaps this whole “possession” business was just a matter of perspective.

Wasn’t Senior Brother perfectly fine?

Where was the possession?

This was wonderful!

She tightened her arms abruptly, rubbing her face against the little blue furball’s soft cheeks like a cat nuzzling catnip!

And Lu Qiancha, being nuzzled, seemed to feel a tickle on her face.

In her daze, she followed her instincts and, at the face so close to hers, planted a kiss—the moist, warm, soft sensation was clearly imprinted on Gan Tang’s cheek!

“!!! Senior Brother!!!”

A jolt shot through Gan Tang as if she’d been struck by lightning!

Her face instantly flushed crimson.

Her voice was a mixture of shy and frantic, like a startled rabbit, “Y-y-you… how could you be so bold! Kissing me right away…”

In a flash!

An intense competitive spirit and a strange sense of reciprocation instantly took over.

With a baffling sense of determination, faster than the eye could follow, Gan Tang also puckered her lips and, with a loud “smack!”, planted a firm kiss on Lu Qiancha’s plump and supple cheek!

‘Wow! So soft! So bouncy! And it has a cool, vanilla scent!’

Gan Tang’s eyes went wide, as if she had discovered a new continent, still endlessly savoring the explosive sensation…

The next second—

“Gan Tang!!!”

The soft bundle in her arms suddenly erupted with a furious roar, thick with shame and indignation.

The previously hazy blue eyes now seemed to be spitting fire.

“Uh… Senior Brother, you’re awake?”

Gan Tang flinched at the shout, tumbling from the clouds back to reality.

Meeting those watery blue eyes that were nonetheless burning with rage, her little heart hammered against her ribs.

Her guilty gaze drifted to the ceiling, the walls, the floor… anywhere but the bristling little wolf in her arms.

“Hmph! If I hadn’t woken up, I’m afraid you would have eaten me whole!”

Lu Qiancha glared at her, her little paw showing no mercy as it “smacked” down on top of Gan Tang’s head!

“Ouch!”

Gan Tang clutched her head and hung it low in grievance, looking for all the world like a child being scolded by a parent for doing something wrong.

Looking at her junior sister’s pitiful, lost expression, the words of her master, Xuan Ya, from that morning flashed through Lu Qiancha’s mind—

“Gan Tang has been worried sick about you these past few days and has grown quite haggard. You should comfort her a little.”

A bucket of cold water was thrown over her anger, and a corner of her heart inexplicably softened.

“Sigh…”

She let out a long, resigned sigh, and moved her tai—ahem, that wouldn’t do.

Lu Qiancha petulantly turned her little head to the side, proactively nudging her pair of sensitive, slightly twitching, blue-furred ears just beneath Gan Tang’s palm.

“Eh, Senior Brother?”

Gan Tang’s heart skipped a beat as she looked at the little one in her arms.

“You can touch them if you want. Consider it compensation for making you worry.”

Lu Qiancha said in a muffled voice, her eyes closed.

“Ehehe! Senior Brother is the best!”

Gan Tang’s eyes lit up in an instant, like a large dog being given permission by its master to have a bone.

Carefully, with an almost reverent air, she extended a slender finger and gently traced the delicate blue fuzz covering the small ear, feeling the faint warmth and the wonderfully pliable texture at her fingertip… She simply couldn’t get enough!

“Oh, right,” Lu Qiancha suddenly remembered something and her eyes snapped open, looking straight into Gan Tang’s pink eyes, which were shining with adoration. “Those poisons I gave you before, how much did you use?”

“Ah… about that…”

Gan Tang’s finger froze on the tip of the ear as if someone had hit pause.

She carefully placed the little blue furball onto a nearby meditation cushion.

“…Sigh, just take out your storage ring. I’ll refill it for you.”

Seeing the flicker of panic on Gan Tang’s face, Lu Qiancha instantly guessed the answer—she must have used a lot.

“Mhm…”

Gan Tang slowly sat up straight, her pair of slender, pale legs pressed together, her hands folded on her knees—serene, obedient, and just a little zoned out.

“You used it all?!”

Even though she was prepared for it, Lu Qiancha couldn’t help but cry out in alarm.

She looked at Gan Tang in disbelief and asked, “Junior Sister, did you go hunt a Mahayana realm great demon?”

Like a little quail being interrogated, Gan Tang knelt on the cushion, fidgeting with the hem of her clothes, and explained in a small voice, “Well, Senior Brother said… to use it when I’m in danger… I was almost cut down by that group of shrimp demons, so I just instinctively threw it.”

Lu Qiancha’s mouth hung open, her little fangs flashing by her lips.

She thought for a moment and said, “Don’t I recall preparing more than twenty vials for you?”

“I was almost cut down many times…”

Gan Tang’s little mouth drooped, her eyes welling up as she explained pitifully, “Senior Brother, please don’t be angry. I know you didn’t mean to waste them when you made them, and I didn’t mean to waste them either.”