is nothing to fear.

That’s right. Aside from the silver-haired little loli, the only people allowed to stay in this Pavilion on Youyun Peak were their Shizun’s disciples.

But what was the Eldest Senior Sister doing?

Curiosity getting the better of her, Luo Qing’er stood on her tiptoes. Her body drifted off the ground, floating silently toward Xia Jin.

Luo Qing’er wasn’t a novice who had just stepped into the path of cultivation like Xia Jin. Her current strength was already comparable to a human cultivator at the early stage of the Soul Transformation Realm.

As long as she chose to slightly conceal her aura, Xia Jin—who only had a Qi Condensation cultivation—didn’t stand a chance of sensing the girl floating behind her.

It was only then that Luo Qing’er realized her Eldest Senior Sister was only at the Qi Condensation stage.

This realm was almost no different from being a mortal. Moreover, Luo Qing’er could sense that Xia Jin still possessed a mortal physique; she hadn’t even completed the spiritual tempering of her body. It seemed she had only just started cultivating recently.

This was quite surprising.

Luo Qing’er knew her Shizun had taken a disciple before her, but aside from basic physical descriptions, she hadn’t had the time to learn about Xia Jin’s background or cultivation. She had assumed that for someone to be chosen by her Shizun as the Eldest Senior Sister, their cultivation would at the very least be at the Mid-stage of Qi Condensation or Great Perfection—perhaps even a Foundation Establishment genius.

But it seemed she had guessed wrong. Had Shizun chosen her based purely on her latent talent?

Luo Qing’er looked her up and down, but aside from a Heavenly Spirit Root with a strong affinity for water (just like her own), she couldn’t see anything particularly special about Xia Jin’s constitution. Heavenly Spirit Roots were rare, but not unheard of; Nangong Tian from the last recruitment ceremony was also a Heavenly Spirit Root, yet Shizun hadn’t taken him in.

Though she hadn’t found the “spark” in Xia Jin yet, Luo Qing’er knew that anyone who caught Shizun’s eye was definitely no ordinary person.

Having observed enough, Luo Qing’er dissipated her spiritual energy and landed lightly, preparing to greet this Eldest Senior Sister who looked much younger than herself.

But just then, Xia Jin suddenly stood up. She ran to the sink, grabbed two wet cloths, wrapped them around her hands and the handles of the steamer, and lifted the lid just a crack.

Luo Qing’er saw it: rows of plump, round, steaming mantou lying inside. Xia Jin produced a bamboo chopstick from somewhere and poked one of the buns. At the slightest touch, the tip of the chopstick sank easily into the soft dough.

“It’s done!” Xia Jin let out a delighted cry.

She replaced the lid, scurried back to the sink for a ladle of water, and splashed it onto the firewood beneath the stove to extinguish the flames.

“Mission accomplished. Now I just have to wait for Shizun to return…”

Xia Jin muttered happily to herself. As she turned around to grab some plates, her relaxed state vanished the moment she saw a girl standing right behind her.

“Eek!” Xia Jin jumped in fright. “Wh-who are you?!”

Luo Qing’er was standing there with her hand half-raised, clearly having been in the middle of preparing a greeting. Not expecting such a huge reaction, her hand froze in mid-air, looking quite awkward.

Actually, Xia Jin had several chances to spot Luo Qing’er out of the corner of her eye earlier, but she had been so hyper-focused on the buns in the steamer that she had completely ignored her. Luo Qing’er had tried to greet her several times, but Xia Jin had just hurried past, treating her like thin air. For a moment, Luo Qing’er even wondered if she had forgotten to turn off her invisibility.

If anyone was the victim here, it was Luo Qing’er. However, since she had floated in silently without knocking, she had to take the blame.

“My name is Luo Qing’er. I’m sorry, Eldest Senior Sister, I didn’t mean to scare you…”

Luo Qing’er apologized proactively. Her sincere attitude and obvious goodwill allowed Xia Jin to breathe a sigh of relief, finally giving her a chance to properly look at the newcomer.

“Eldest Senior Sister?”

Xia Jin repeated the title. Remembering what Xu Jinghuai had told her earlier, she had an epiphany. “Luo Qing’er… are you the new disciple Shizun took in last night?”

“Mhm! Yes, Eldest Senior Sister!”

Luo Qing’er nodded repeatedly. Her inner anxiety vanished. Just moments ago, she was worried Xia Jin might not even know about her. Shizun had mentioned Xia Jin was asleep last night, and the empty kitchen suggested he hadn’t been here yet this morning to introduce them. Explaining things later would have been a hassle.

“So it’s Junior Sister! It’s alright, I thought an outsider had broken into the Pavilion…”

Xia Jin wiped her hands on a dry towel and extended one to Luo Qing’er, offering a pure, innocent smile. “Junior Sister Luo Qing’er, I heard your name from Shizun this morning. By the way, I’m Xia Jin. Please look after me, Junior Sister.”

Seeing the hastily dried little hand, Luo Qing’er didn’t hesitate. She smiled and shook it.

“Mhm!”

“Shizun said you were already asleep last night, so I was a bit sad I didn’t get to meet you then. Please look after me too, Eldest Senior Sister!”

The sight of the two girls shaking hands was incredibly harmonious. Girls tend to bond quickly; despite just meeting, they became fast friends. They immediately found a common topic: their Shizun, Xu Jinghuai.

Like two fans discovering they both support the same idol, they became kindred spirits, gushing about how wonderful Xu Jinghuai was. As the conversation grew more heated, it naturally drifted toward a certain question.

Namely: When would Xu Jinghuai take his next disciple?

This was a topic of great concern to both Xia Jin and Luo Qing’er. After all, Xia Jin had been his disciple for less than two days before a Junior Sister appeared. Who’s to say that tomorrow or the day after, Shizun wouldn’t bring home another girl and make her their little Junior Sister?

“A-choo!”

Xu Jinghuai, who was currently flying back up the mountain, suddenly let out a sneeze for no reason. He rubbed his nose in confusion.

‘Strange. I’m an Immortal Venerable with an immortal body; why would I sneeze? Is it some sort of karmic connection acting up?’

Thinking this way, he decisively dumped the blame on Luo Hanhai. It had to be that old Dragon Emperor thinking about his daughter, and by extension, thinking about him, causing a ripple in karma.

Once he settled on that “logical” explanation, he put it out of his mind. Let Luo Hanhai think what he wanted; the man was already back in the Eastern Sea—it wasn’t like he could fly back on a whim.

A tiny bit of karma was nothing to fear.