It’s Time to Settle the Accounts

“Master, just lie still.”

Chen Xueli quickly carried Su Wanqing back to the inn and gently laid her on the bed.

She pulled a medical kit from her storage treasure—the one she always kept stocked with emergency salves and pills.

A single glance had told her the wounds were far from simple.

Not only external injuries: the shoulder bone was cracked (not shattered, but the fracture was severe), and the internal organs had taken damage too.

The kind of blunt-force trauma you’d expect from a body cultivator or a heavy weapon.

But Master had been hunting a fox demon, and demons rarely used weapons.

So the fox had to be a physical fighter.

There were also traces of lightning damage, which puzzled her.

Did the fox have an accomplice?

A body cultivator who could also use lightning arts?

No, body cultivators don’t use spells…

After a moment’s thought, Chen Xueli pieced it together.

Master must have used a high-grade thunder talisman that backfired.

She silently cursed Li Ziyue.

A Nascent Soul cultivator, and she still let her teammate get this badly hurt? Useless.

Su Wanqing, of course, had no intention of explaining that she’d been injured protecting Ning Yuer—or that the lightning wound was caused by the very girl she’d saved.

“…”

Chen Xueli took out a jar of trauma salve and a roll of bandages, then turned toward the door.

“Out. I booked the room next door. Wait there until I’m done treating Master.”

Her tone toward Ning Yuer was ice-cold.

Who knew—this girl might become her little junior sister… or worse, a future rival.

Add the inexplicable hostility bubbling inside her, and courtesy was the last thing on her mind.

She couldn’t explain it herself. She just couldn’t stand the kid.

Still, she wasn’t cruel enough to kill randomly. She only disliked her. Nothing more.

If her suspicions were right, she needed a plan to drive the girl away.

Isolation and cold shoulders were a good start.

“…Okay.”

Faced with Chen Xueli’s overwhelming presence, Ning Yuer shrank back timidly.

She was used to rejection and hostile glares.

Her eyes lingered on Su Wanqing, filled with guilt.

If not for her, Immortal Sister wouldn’t be hurt this badly.

In fact, the damage she’d accidentally caused might have been worse than the fox’s.

Once Ning Yuer left, Su Wanqing coughed lightly to ease the pain and scolded her disciple.

Cough cough!

“Be nicer. The girl’s had a rough life.”

That was the future heroine. A warning for Chen Xueli’s own good.

If she kept antagonizing her, and Ning Yuer remembered the grudge later—disaster.

“Strip. I’m treating you.”

Chen Xueli ignored the scolding.

Su Wanqing’s words only deepened her misunderstanding.

So she really was getting a little junior sister…

“Uh… fine.”

Su Wanqing hesitated at first, but realizing only her shoulder needed attention—not full nudity—she nodded, removed her outer robes, and kept only her dudou.

Her disciple had seen everything already anyway.

If Chen Xueli still remembered that night, Su Wanqing had no secrets left.

The reason she’d sent Ning Yuer away was simple:

No one else was allowed to see Master like this.

Only her.

“Does it hurt?”

Chen Xueli asked softly while applying salve to the shoulder wound and claw marks.

“A little.”

Su Wanqing gritted her teeth, stubbornly refusing to admit how bad it was.

“…”

Chen Xueli saw through the act but said nothing.

If Master weren’t so badly injured, she’d have applied a little extra “pressure” to cure the stubbornness.

“Explain. How did this happen?”

“Even with Li Ziyue, a Nascent Soul, you shouldn’t be this hurt.”

“And what’s with that demoness Shen Xianyue?”

“When did she latch onto you?”

Chen Xueli was exasperated.

She’d only been away a few days—less than a week—and Master had collected this much trouble?

“Um… how should I put it?”

The distraction helped. Talking eased the pain.

Su Wanqing recounted most of the story.

She omitted the parts that would enrage her disciple.

Truthfully, when Chen Xueli wasn’t having an episode, she really was a perfect disciple—attentive, caring, filial to a fault.

Only when the sickness kicked in did she become an absolute menace.

“So—you got careless, the fox snatched your talisman, stuck it on you, then landed a heavy blow?”

Chen Xueli repeated, eyes narrowed with suspicion, trying to pressure her into slipping.

But Su Wanqing had rehearsed the story the whole way back. Her answers were flawless, no guilt showing.

She knew—if her disciple ever learned the truth, she’d be the one suffering.

“Yeah. Elder Li and I didn’t coordinate well, so…”

Blame shifted to Li Ziyue. Hope she doesn’t mind.

“Makes sense. You’d only just met, and she’s Nascent Soul. Hard to sync up.”

Chen Xueli accepted it—no holes to poke.

Then she moved on.

“What about Shen Xianyue?”

“Uh… pure coincidence.”

Su Wanqing spun another half-truth about their first meeting.

She left out the physical intimacy, the near-collaring two nights ago, and the fact she’d told Shen Xianyue her disciple’s name.

With Chen Xueli’s possessiveness, even innocent contact would spark jealousy.

“Ah, so she saw you and got ideas. As expected.”

“But she did save you, so I’ll spare her life next time.”

“Shame the fox’s corpse is gone. I’d have ground her to dust for daring to think of dual-cultivating with you and skinning you…”

Chen Xueli’s eyes blazed.

Su Wanqing inwardly patted herself on the back for the omissions.

That murderous aura was terrifying.

“And that Ning Yuer kid—what’s the plan?”

“From what you said, she’s had it rough. Kinda like me back then, but…”

Chen Xueli hesitated, then asked seriously:

“Is she becoming my little junior sister?”

“Or to put it another way—”

She stopped bandaging, staring straight into Su Wanqing’s eyes.

“Master, are you taking her as a disciple?”

“Would you agree?”

“No.”

Chen Xueli answered instantly.

She refused to share Master’s affection—even under the guise of master and disciple.

“See? I’m sending her to Red Embroidery Sect.”

“Relieved now?”

Su Wanqing tilted her head, watching her disciple’s reaction.

Chen Xueli’s tension melted.

“Good.”

She resumed bandaging.

Master’s heart still belonged to her first—and maybe entirely.

“And you? Your side?”

“How did you meet Shen Xianyue?”

Seeing her disciple smile, Su Wanqing fired back.

Thanks to all the chaos she’d caused, this whole trip’s plot was thoroughly scrambled.

So the story wasn’t completely immutable.

Maybe only her character design was fixed.

If she could verify that, she’d have a foundation for future moves.

“My mission here is basically done. As for meeting that demoness—two nights ago…”

Exactly as Su Wanqing had guessed.

But one detail stood out:

They’d run into each other while Chen Xueli was buying pastries…

So this disciple had led the wolf straight to her?

And then “saved” her?

Damn it—she’d sold herself out!

“?”

Feeling the sudden resentful glare, Chen Xueli looked confused but continued.

“Once you’re finished here, I’ll escort you back.”

“But I won’t return to the sect right away. I’ll need about two months.”

“You’re breaking through to Golden Core?!”

Su Wanqing had sensed it—her disciple’s cultivation was at the peak of Foundation Establishment.

In the original story, Chen Xueli had suppressed it until the sect had nothing left to offer, then broken through during her betrayal.

Why now?

“You need to find that inheritance item, not break through—”

But seeing her expression, Su Wanqing asked anyway.

“Yes. And pick something up on the way.”

“You know what I cultivate. Breaking through will cause a huge commotion.”

“The tribulation clouds won’t be normal Golden Core level. If seen, it’ll raise suspicions.”

Originally, she’d planned to delay, just like in the novel.

But Shen Xianyue’s appearance had lit a fire under her.

Time to get stronger.

“I understand. I’ll inform the sect leader.”

Su Wanqing nodded.

Foundation to Golden Core was the true entry into cultivation.

Every major realm after would summon heavenly tribulation.

Survive, and you were qualified to walk the immortal path.

Fail, and longevity was not for you.

Because of her technique, Chen Xueli’s tribulations were never normal—a warning from the heavens.

She always had to hide.

Su Wanqing knew she’d prepared, but still asked out of habit:

“How confident are you?”

Tch—

She instantly regretted it.

Why care about this future traitor?

Better if she died. Then she’d be free.

But… she had raised this girl.

All the old feelings didn’t vanish just because of bullying.

“Don’t worry. Ninety-nine percent.”

“Done.”

Hearing Master’s concern lit her up like a shot of adrenaline.

She finished the last bandage, looked up with a bright smile, and gave a reassuring nod.

“Tch. Like I care. It’d be better if you died.”

“Then you couldn’t bully me anymore.”

Su Wanqing pulled her robes back on.

Words were harsh, but the worry in her heart didn’t lie.

Once reassured, the anxiety vanished.

“External wounds treated. Internal injuries just need rest—no pills yet.”

“Now that we’re done…”

Chen Xueli’s tone suddenly shifted.

In Su Wanqing’s words: the sickness was back. Time for master-riding!

“Settle… what?”

Chen Xueli climbed onto the bed.

Mindful of the injuries, she wasn’t too aggressive.

But she still pinned Su Wanqing beneath her, slender fingers sliding up and down the white silk-clad thighs.

She leaned in close, lips inches away.

One wrong answer, and punishment would follow—sealed with a kiss.

“Why are you dressed so beautifully today?”

“So different from your usual cold elegance.”

“Aren’t you afraid your charm bones would show?”

“Tell me—”

“Who were you dressed up for?”

“Was it Shen Xianyue?”