Older Sister

“Miss Chen, may I come in?”

“Ah? Mm, yes, please come in.”

It should be noted that this was not a strange scene in the slightest; Luochen was simply knocking on Chen Ruan’s door.

Upon entering the room, Luochen noticed Chen Ruan’s eyes were slightly red, as if she had been crying.

“What’s wrong, Miss Chen?”

Luochen was a little bewildered, wondering why this child had cried after being left alone for just one day.

Chen Ruan, holding back her tears, stammered, “Why did Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai end up separated forever? Wuwu, Fellow Daoist Luo, you have such a cruel heart.”

Luochen let out a speechless laugh. “Shall I change it then?”

“Mm-hm!” Chen Ruan’s eyes immediately lit up.

“The story’s ending is that Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai transformed into a pair of butterflies.

From then on, they stayed together, fluttering freely among the flowers, no longer bound by worldly constraints.”

Luochen raised her hand, and two butterflies, formed from spiritual energy, danced gracefully before Chen Ruan, intertwining with each other.

“Hooray!” The fairy on the bed blossomed into a smile.

“I love this ending; it’s so…”

“Very romantic, isn’t it?” Luochen finished her sentence.

“Oh, and Miss Chen, could you please stop calling me Fellow Daoist Luo? It makes me sound like a rigid old scholar.”

“Then what should I call you?”

“Hmm, how old are you, Miss Chen?”

“Seventeen.”

“I’m already nineteen, so if you don’t mind, Miss Chen, you can call me ‘older sister’.”

‘Older sister’... ?

A certain emotion, long lost, seemed to once again permeate her heart.

It was as if, a long time ago, she too had an older sister.

“Older Sister Luo?” Chen Ruan called out tentatively.

“Hm?” Luochen smiled sweetly, like a delicate flower reflected in water. Chen Ruan stared blankly, not even noticing the medicinal soup being brought to her lips.

“Miss Chen?” Noticing Chen Ruan’s mind wandering again, Luochen blinked and spoke, reminding her.

“Ah? Nothing, nothing at all.”

To mask her embarrassment, Chen Ruan quickly picked up the medicinal soup before her and gulped it down. Drinking too hastily, she choked on the bitter taste, dissolving into a fit of coughs.

Luochen paused, then gave a somewhat helpless smile. “No one’s going to steal it from you, why drink so quickly?” As she spoke, Luochen gently patted Chen Ruan’s back.

After a long while, seeing that Chen Ruan had finally calmed down, Luochen offered her dinner.

“Is this… braised pork?”

Luochen nodded. “My junior sister wanted to eat it, so I made some.”

“Junior sister? Speaking of which, I only know Older Sister Luo’s identity; I’m not familiar with anyone else.”

“The peak I reside on is called Bamboo Green Peak, and my master is Venerable Zhu Qing.

Her personality is rather… ‘easygoing‘?”

Luochen mused for a moment, ultimately swallowing the disparaging words she had almost uttered.

“I also have a junior sister named Su Yue. She appears cold on the outside but is warm-hearted within, though she’s simply not good at communicating with others.

In truth, her heart is kind.”

“You should be able to get out of bed and walk around tomorrow.

It’ll be a good opportunity for me to introduce you to Master and Junior Sister.”

The next day.

Feeling the deathly silence at the dining table, Luochen understood the true meaning of a ‘shura field’ (TL Note: A Chinese slang term referring to an intensely awkward, tense, or confrontational situation).

After she introduced Chen Ruan’s background, her junior sister merely offered a greeting before lowering her head to eat her breakfast.

This, however, was still within Luochen’s expectations.

What she hadn’t anticipated was that Master’s demeanor was even colder than her junior sister’s, bordering on outright disregard.

Luochen swore she had exhausted every possible topic of conversation, yet the dining table remained stubbornly devoid of any lively interaction.

Her junior sister, having finished first, departed by sword. Master, on the other hand, simply waved a sleeve and vanished on the spot, leaving the two of them to exchange bewildered glances.

“Ahem, ahem, they’re not usually like this; I don’t know what got into them today.” Luochen explained cautiously, sighing inwardly.

‘These problematic children!’

“It’s fine, it’s fine.” Chen Ruan offered an awkward smile.

“Let me take you for a stroll, Miss Chen.”

“That would be nice.”

Chen Ruan followed behind Luochen, taking in the sights as they walked. Behind them, a gentle breeze stirred, and a single bamboo leaf drifted down, transforming into the likeness of Zhu Qing, who watched them with a complicated expression.

“This will be your residence from now on.” Luochen pointed to a dwelling by the pond. “It took me a considerable amount of effort to clean it.”

“I’m truly sorry for having usurped your home these past few days.”

Chen Ruan bowed earnestly.

Luochen pressed her hand. “It’s alright. You’re injured; I couldn’t possibly turn you away, could I?”

The two continued their leisurely stroll, and soon enough, they had explored the entirety of the small Bamboo Green Peak.

“Shall I take you to Sword Forging Peak to see our sect’s sword cultivators?”

“Whatever Older Sister Luo wishes.”

It was dismissal time, and many disciples were moving about the plaza, all of them coming forward to greet the two women upon seeing them.

“Greetings, Senior Sister.” The crowd bowed.

“Greetings, everyone.”

“Why do they all seem so… respectful towards you?”

Chen Ruan felt a hint of confusion.

“I’ve only done a few minor things within my capabilities.” Luochen waved her hand dismissively. “It’s hardly anything to be considered virtuous.”

[Urgent matter. Come to Bamboo Green Peak’s main hall immediately.] Zhu Qing’s voice suddenly echoed in Luochen’s mind.

“My apologies, Miss Chen, please explore for a while on your own; I have an urgent matter to attend to.”

After a brief moment of contemplation, Luochen retrieved a token that was entirely dark green.

“Take this. Aside from a few forbidden areas, it will grant you unimpeded passage within the sect.”

No sooner had she spoken than Luochen hastily departed by sword.

Chen Ruan held the token, upon which the characters “Feibai” were clearly engraved.

It was identical to the token she had found that day. A chill ran through Chen Ruan’s heart.

“Who is this person? Why did Senior Sister directly give her a token?”

“I don’t know; she seems to be a new face.”

“Could she be Senior Sister Luo’s girlfriend?”

A bolder female disciple stepped forward. “Excuse me, what is your relationship with Senior Sister?”

“I was rescued by your Senior Sister due to certain circumstances, and I’m currently residing temporarily on Bamboo Green Peak,” Chen Ruan replied.

“Aren’t you two Dao companions?”

Chen Ruan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

“No, we are merely friends.”

“That’s good, that’s good.” The female disciple before her seemed to heave a sigh of relief.

“Is this token very rare in your sect?”

Chen Ruan asked, her tone betraying no hint of her true intentions.

The female disciple, completely unguarded, launched into a ceaseless stream of chatter as if a floodgate had opened.

“Yes, indeed! Our sect’s token ranks are white, blue, purple, green, and gold.”

“A gold token is the Sect Master’s command token, and green tokens can only be possessed by the various peak masters.”

The female disciple revealed a look of longing.

“However, because Senior Sister Luo has managed Bamboo Green Peak’s affairs for many years, a lack of a token caused many inconveniences, so the Sect Master specially approved one for her.”

‘Several peak masters?’

Chen Ruan clutched the token tightly, her fingertips turning slightly white from the pressure.

Chen Ruan harbored no doubt about Luochen, not only because Luochen’s demeanor was utterly unlike someone who would harm innocent civilians in pursuit of demonic cultists.

But also because her cultivation was merely at the fifth revolution, making it utterly impossible for her to possess such destructive power.

Recalling the towering sword light above Moyang City that day, Chen Ruan couldn’t help but feel a shiver of dread in her heart.

‘When will I ever possess such power?’

‘Wait, sword light?’

Chen Ruan’s brow furrowed.

‘I remember this place is… Sword Forging Peak?’

“Could you tell me about your peak? I happen to have some interest in the Way of the Sword as well.”

“Oh, yes, please do! And in return, you can tell us what Senior Sister Luo usually does.

After all, Senior Sister Luo rarely shows her face, and Senior Sister Su Yue is far too aloof.”

The female disciple harbored no suspicions.

“No problem.” Chen Ruan sneered. ‘The peak master of this Sword Forging Peak might just be the true culprit behind the incident from back then!’

“Well, if we’re going to talk about Sword Forging Peak, we first have to mention our peak master…”