The Glutton’s Awakening and a Sister’s Stern Comfort

On the petite stone bed, Zhang Xiaocha lay curled up quietly.

Silvery moonlight, like flowing water, streamed through the cracks in the stone, gently bathing her form and imbuing her somewhat delicate frame with a hazy glow.

A faint blush graced her small face, and a few strands of disheveled hair fanned across her smooth forehead.

She clenched her pearly teeth tightly against her tender pink lips, her body trembling slightly. Suddenly, a wave of intense pain, like a surging tide, crashed over her, violently wrenching her from her slumber.

Her long lashes fluttered, like the trembling wings of a startled butterfly.

Slowly, she opened her eyes. As her gaze fell upon the somewhat familiar stone walls, her brow furrowed slightly, her eyes a swirling mix of pain and bewilderment. Pouting, she murmured, “Why am I here? Shouldn’t I be in the Jade Maiden Sect?”

Her voice, usually so sweet and soft, now carried a fragile, broken quality.

Instinctively, she tried to shift, but a searing pain shot through her limbs. Even her toes throbbed painfully. “Ugh…”

Her small body gave a delicate shudder, and a faint, tearful whimper escaped her lips. “It hurts so much…”

Gritting her teeth against the agony, she was about to pull her feet from beneath the covers when her gaze inadvertently landed on Luo Bingning. Fragmented memories, like scattered shards, suddenly flooded her mind.

Her pupils dilated, and her breath hitched sharply.

[Ah, yes!]
[Chacha remembers! After that Old Woman threw me out, Senior Sister told me to come out!]
[But I had barely managed to crawl halfway out before that hateful Senior Sister knocked me unconscious! Argh! You scoundrel! The pain wracking my body now must also be her doing!]

Her small frame trembled violently with indignation, and her large, obsidian eyes widened, brimming with fury and injustice. “Argh! Senior Sister, you are truly too much!”

She whipped her head around, roaring at Luo Bingning. “I trusted you so much, yet you knocked me unconscious and even tortured me! Now my entire body aches so terribly…”

Her nose prickled, and she pouted, tears welling in her eyes. Like a string of broken pearls, they streamed down, smearing her face. “I’ll tell Master! And Grandmaster! I’ll make them cripple your cultivation!”

“Is that so?” Luo Bingning’s voice was frigid, her usually radiant eyes instantly filled with an icy chill. This caused the little figure on the stone bed to shiver violently, instinctively wanting to burrow deeper into the covers. She stammered, “I… I…”

“What ‘I’? You, Zhang Xiaocha, have you perhaps forgotten who was responsible for those incidents in the Jade Maiden Sect? What did I tell you before I left?”

“I told you to use the demon core I left you to calm your temperament and cultivate properly! Yet what did you do? Not only did you sneak out, but you also stirred up such a catastrophe within the sect! Do you feel the pain now? But when you were causing trouble, why did it never occur to you that your body would ache?”

Her voice was exceptionally cold, causing the chill radiating from her to intensify. However, a faint blush secretly crept onto her delicate face, prompting her to lower her head.

Her ink-black hair cascaded down, obscuring the slightly flushed curve of her cheek.

Luo Bingning’s mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, replaying Zhang Xiaocha’s earlier stammering.

‘My words… were they too harsh? What if Xiaocha becomes afraid of me because of this? Wouldn’t that only widen the distance between us?’

Her gaze darkened involuntarily, and she bit down hard on her lower lip.

‘But if I don’t do this, if my true nature is exposed, Xiaocha will surely leave me for the sake of her Disgust Value…’

Her brows furrowed deeply, the turmoil and unease within her spreading like wild weeds. Her hands unconsciously tightened their grip on the hem of her skirt.

Zhang Xiaocha shouted with all her might. “Argh! Argh!”

“You’re lying! You’re lying!”

“I didn’t do anything! It was Senior Sister who tortured me and now you’re trying to change the subject! I’ll make Grandmaster punish you, make you my servant! Punish you severely!”

The soft, sweet voice echoed in Luo Bingning’s ears, causing her chest to heave violently. ‘She truly shows no remorse whatsoever!’

Forcing down the unsettling feelings in her heart, she subtly raised her head.

She saw Zhang Xiaocha’s entire body fearfully curled up beneath the covers, only a tiny section of her toes peeking out and trembling. Yet, her voice continued to ring out, relentless. “I’ll make it so you can never eat snacks again, only watch me eat, starving you! Wuwuwu…”

‘Hmph, such a coward…’

Luo Bingning let out a soft hmph, giving the trembling Zhang Xiaocha beneath the covers a cross look.

‘Starve me? You’ll starve yourself first! You little glutton!’

The corner of her mouth unconsciously curved upwards, forming a doting smile.

Honestly, sometimes she couldn’t fathom it. How could someone as lazy, timid, gluttonous, and pampered as Xiaocha dare to cause so much trouble, all for the sake of ‘Disgust Value‘?

Luo Bingning shook her head, the chill in her eyes gradually thawing. She glanced at the trembling little figure beneath the covers, an undeniable urge to comfort her rising within. Her lotus-like steps moved lightly, and in an instant, she was beside the stone bed.

Sitting down slowly, she gently raised her fair wrist, extending a hand to lightly pat Zhang Xiaocha’s trembling form. “There, there,” she said softly. “Alright, don’t be scared! Since I brought you out, I never intended to harm you!”

“But…”

However, before she could finish, she felt a small, round head cautiously peek out from beneath the covers. The little face was streaked with tears, and some snot still clung to it, not yet wiped clean.

Slowly, she looked up. Upon seeing Luo Bingning, her eyes sparkled brightly, and she immediately pounced, pressing her small face against Luo Bingning’s chest and rubbing it gently, her face alight with joy. “Wah wah wah… Senior Sister, you’re so good~ Chacha likes you the most! Hehe~”

Luo Bingning lowered her gaze, silently watching Zhang Xiaocha surreptitiously wipe her snot onto her chest. Inwardly, she added a quiet thought.

‘Hmm! And messy!’

Just as she was about to demand the treasure from her, she heard a soft, confused thought echo within her sea of consciousness.

[Hmm? Strange!]
[Where’s my Disgust Value? Why hasn’t Chacha heard the prompt for Senior Sister’s Disgust Value increasing? Doesn’t Senior Sister hate my touch the most?]
[Could it be because she sees I am so scared, so she’s enduring it?]
[Oh! That means I haven’t hugged enough! Hehe~ I’ll hug her more!]
[So soft~ So fragrant~]

Then, the little figure in her arms turned her head, shifting her face to a new spot, carefully avoiding where she’d wiped her snot. She rubbed greedily, a look of utter contentment on her face, a glint of crystal moisture at the corner of her mouth.

Luo Bingning’s brows furrowed slightly, her breathing growing rapid and erratic. Even her eyes seemed tinged with a flicker of desire, and she bit down hard on her lower lip.

‘Truly incorrigible!’
‘Even now, she’s still thinking about increasing her Disgust Value!’

She spoke coldly, “I’ve already spoken with the Sect Master. As long as you hand over the treasure that caused such chaos in half the sect, she will forgive you this time!”

As if fearing her refusal, she added, “Moreover, this is for your own good. With your temperament, if that treasure remains with you, it will only invite greater calamity in the future! It would be far safer with the Sect Master.” A hint of worry now laced her radiant eyes.