Truly Lucky

Xu Jinghuai was genuinely touched. He hadn’t expected Xia Jin to take his casual remark from the day before so seriously, getting up at the crack of dawn to figure out how to make mantou from scratch.

‘If this girl doesn’t become a peerless Immortal Venerable in the future, I’ll write my name backward!’

Xu Jinghuai nodded with fatherly pride. “Jin’er, you’ve put a lot of heart into this.”

“However, I believe that since it’s made by your hands, the taste will certainly be excellent. Your teacher has full faith in your skill.”

Yunlai Xia raised a paw from the side in agreement. “Me too! I believe in Jin’er too!”

“Mhm!”

Boosted by the confidence of her teacher and the spear spirit, Xia Jin’s spirits soared. She nodded firmly.

While waiting for the buns to finish steaming, Xu Jinghuai sat at the table and brought up another matter. “Jin’er, I have something to tell you.”

“What is it, Shizun?”

“You have a Junior Sister now.”

The air went dead quiet for a few seconds. Xia Jin blinked, staring at him for a long while before finally processing the information with a bewildered, “Eh?”

“It’s like this: last night, a friend entrusted me with another disciple. Her name is Luo Qing’er. In our lineage, I don’t rank disciples by cultivation level, only by the order they join. You were the first, so you are the Eldest Senior Sister. She is your Junior Sister,” Xu Jinghuai explained.

For some reason, as he explained this, he felt a strange, nagging sense of guilt.

‘Wait, why do I feel guilty? I just took another student, that’s all.’

Shaking off the unnecessary thoughts, he continued, “Luo Qing’er is staying on the third floor of the Pavilion. She’s likely still asleep, but she should be down in a while. From now on, you sisters should get along well.”

Xia Jin nodded obediently. “Jin’er understands, Shizun.”

Ah, it really was nice to have such a quiet, sensible, and obedient disciple. Xu Jinghuai once again felt incredibly lucky to have taken Xia Jin in.

After finishing the business regarding Luo Qing’er, Xu Jinghuai had intended to wait for the mantou, but right then, he received a mental ping from his incarnation.

“Hey, main body. Get down the mountain. Your ‘express delivery’ has arrived.”

‘Express delivery?’

‘Does this world even have that industry?’ Xu Jinghuai didn’t react immediately.

The incarnation explained: “The Autumn Cloud Chamber of Commerce is at the foot of Youyun Peak with a whole carriage of stuff. They called you out by name to the gate guards. If that’s not a delivery, what is?”

Snapped back to reality, Xu Jinghuai remembered he had asked them yesterday for ancient texts regarding the “Five Elements Immortal Body.” He hadn’t expected them to be so efficient, delivering everything the very next day—and right to his doorstep, too. What a service.

“Right, I got it.”

Ending the link with his clone, Xu Jinghuai stood up. “Jin’er, I’m leaving for a moment. I’ll be right back. If your Junior Sister comes down and asks for me, just have her take a seat for a bit.”

Xia Jin nodded. “Mhm, okay Shizun.”

“Yunlai Xia, let’s go.”

“Mhm? Why do I have to go too?”

Yunlai Xia protested. She could smell that the mantou were almost done, and she wanted to be the first one to take a bite. But Xu Jinghuai ignored her complaints entirely, grabbing the back of her collar and hauling her off like a kitten, leaving her no room to struggle.

The two left in a whirlwind, while Xia Jin returned her focus to the steamer. Just as she said, Shizun had high expectations—she absolutely couldn’t fail this time!

On the way down the mountain, Xu Jinghuai told Yunlai Xia to stay on high alert. If anything happened, he would give a signal for her to return to her spear form as his backup.

Seeing his dead-serious expression, Yunlai Xia sighed. “Master, in this world, aside from the Demon Emperor Luo Hanhai and ‘that woman,’ there’s probably nobody who can beat you, right?”

Xu Jinghuai shook his head. “Yunlai Xia, the fact that you can say that means I haven’t reached the absolute peak of this world yet. If even you can name people who are above me, what about the ‘old monsters’ hidden in the dark corners of the world that no one knows about? There is always a heaven beyond heaven, and a person beyond people…”

Yunlai Xia curled her lip. “I don’t believe your nonsense. ‘Heaven beyond heaven’? That woman is gone, and Luo Hanhai is the ceiling of this world. Right now, who else but Master can trade blows with him without losing? Besides, you’re on good terms with him—he even dumped his daughter on you! If you two teamed up, what ‘heaven’ would there be to fear?”

“Why do you act so paranoid every single day?”

Facing her argument, Xu Jinghuai simply said calmly, “Prepare for danger in times of peace. People are often ambushed or backstabbed because they are too confident or trust others too much, causing them to capsize in a small gutter.”

“I have lived through the darkest era of the Cangnan Realm and witnessed countless tragedies. In my eyes, there is no such thing as absolute trust in this world, not even among blood relatives. The only one you can trust is yourself. I have held this belief until now.”

“I have never given anyone absolute trust. Except, of course, for you.”

Yunlai Xia wanted to snap back, but that last sentence stopped her cold.

They say the eyes are the windows to the soul, but when she looked into Xu Jinghuai’s eyes—deep as a bottomless abyss—she couldn’t see what he was thinking at all. The only thing she could see was her own reflection in his pupils.

It was the only spark of warmth and light left in them.

Yunlai Xia fell silent. Xu Jinghuai was right; she was the only one with his absolute trust. She knew many of his secrets, including the fact that he was an “outsider” who had transmigrated to this world. To him, she wasn’t just a weapon for slaughter; she held a far more special meaning.

“Hmph… fine! Master always has the most twisted logic. I’ll just listen to you.”

Xu Jinghuai just smiled and said nothing.

At the foot of the mountain, a carriage was indeed parked in the shade. Several members of the Autumn Cloud Chamber of Commerce were discussing how to bring the cargo up the peak.

The chamber lived up to its reputation as the largest in the realm; they had sent two “Great Ascension” stage cultivators—the peak of the Mortal Realm—just for the escort. Most Immortal Realm cultivators were too proud to do delivery work, seeing money as dirt, so getting Great Ascension guards was a testament to the chamber’s sheer financial power.

Xu Jinghuai didn’t rush over. He hid his presence and activated his ocular techniques to scan the group. After confirming no “hidden bosses” were among them and checking the carriage for explosives or poisons, he finally revealed himself with Yunlai Xia.

After some pleasantries, Xu Jinghuai stowed the carriage-load of ancient texts into his spatial ring and saw the merchants off.

‘Mhm, another day without being assassinated. How lucky.’