The suddenly raised voice startled the Crescent Cat, causing it to leap from Bai Shengyi's embrace to her shoulder, hissing incessantly at the two of them.
“Er Gou!” Seeing the cat about to attack, Bai Shengyi shot it a warning glance and pulled it down from her shoulder.
Then, gently yet irresistibly, she pressed it back into her arms.
“Meow!” Woman, you’ve changed!
Aren't I your most beloved cat!
If Bai Shengyi could understand Er Gou’s meows, she would have cruelly shaken her head and said no. While she liked fluffy things, she wasn't to the point of being indiscriminate for their sake.
“Be good,” Bai Shengyi ruffled its head, stroking it all the way down with practiced ease.
Soon, the Crescent Cat became a fluffy pancake in her arms, completely relaxed.
Yue Miaomiao watched enviously as the Crescent Cat enjoyed itself so comfortably. Her small ears twitched, and she bit her lip, asking, “Um, are you really Bai Shengyi? The Mountain Lord’s granddaughter?”
“If your Mountain Lord doesn’t have a second granddaughter named Bai Shengyi, then it’s me,” Bai Shengyi smiled. “Is it that hard to accept?”
“No, it’s not!” Yue Miaomiao waved her hands frantically, afraid Bai Shengyi would misunderstand. “I just think you’re so nice, not at all aloof like a cultivator of the Mahayana realm.”
They had known for a while that their Mountain Lord had found her granddaughter recently, and the Mountain Lord had secretly instructed them to help her granddaughter and her companion more.
At first, they were somewhat unconvinced, thinking that the Mountain Lord, who had been impartial for so many years, was now blurring the lines between public and private.
A seed from an outer continent, at best late-stage Golden Core, would be a burden to them if they had to take care of her, slowing down Yueqingshan, wouldn’t it?
When everyone inquired, they learned that the Mountain Lord’s granddaughter was none other than the newly ascended young Mahayana cultivator Bai Shengyi, and they all quietly shut their mouths.
Bai Shengyi, unaware of the reasons behind this, couldn’t help but feel a desire to tease Yue Miaomiao with her innocent words.
“This is our first time meeting, how do you know I’m so nice? Are you lying to me?” Bai Shengyi put on a stern face. “That would be too sad.”
“No, no! How could that be!” Yue Miaomiao rushed to explain, but in her haste, she couldn’t articulate anything.
Lan Xuerou watched her junior sister being teased by the Mountain Lord’s granddaughter and covered her face, unable to bear witness. “Junior Sister, Miss Bai is just joking with you.”
Yue Miaomiao then noticed that Bai Shengyi wasn’t sad at all; in fact, her eyes were sparkling with amusement.
“Ah! Why are you guys like this?” Yue Miaomiao grumbled, her cat-like eyes watery and bright, looking aggrieved.
Bai Shengyi’s heart twitched, and she quickly apologized, “Sorry, sorry, it was my fault.” To show her sincerity, she even gave Yue Miaomiao a bottle of pills.
Yue Miaomiao instinctively took it and exclaimed, “A sixth-grade top-quality Yangshen Pill?”
Pills that were now priceless on the market, and Bai Shengyi had given her a whole bottle? And all of them were sixth-grade top-quality?
There were at least twenty pills in there!
Yue Miaomiao’s hand trembled, almost dropping the pills!
They were too hot to hold!
“The Yangshen Pills are too precious, I can’t accept this.” After regaining her composure, Yue Miaomiao tried to return the pills.
Bai Shengyi exuded a domineering aura, “Take it, I’m giving it to you.”
Yue Miaomiao looked like a child being forced a gift by an elder, at a loss, and could only seek help from her senior sister.
Lan Xuerou was accustomed to cleaning up messes for Yue Miaomiao, but even she found this situation troublesome.
Her mouth twitched, and after a moment of silence, she said, “Take it. If we really count, you should call Miss Bai ‘Martial Aunt,’ so consider it a meeting gift from your Martial Aunt.”
“Thank you, Martial Aunt Bai!” Yue Miaomiao said quickly and then happily put the pills into her storage bag.
Bai Shengyi found Lan Xuerou quite interesting.
With this title of Martial Aunt, Yue Miaomiao would be in danger, and Bai Shengyi would have to take care of her more out of propriety and reason.
“Miss Bai, you might not know, but Junior Sister’s lineage traces back to the Mountain Lord’s disciples. She is a grand-disciple of Daojun Hongyi, the Mountain Lord’s eldest disciple. In terms of辈分 (bèi fèn – generational order), she is also your junior martial niece,” Lan Xuerou explained softly, as if she knew what Bai Shengyi was thinking.
Bai Shengyi realized with a start and no longer minded Lan Xuerou’s small ploy.
Seeing that Lan Xuerou did not show any jealousy or resentment towards her giving Yue Miaomiao Yangshen Pills, she took out another bottle of Yangshen Pills, preparing to hand it to Lan Xuerou.
After all, they were both junior martial nieces, and Bai Shengyi understood the principle of not worrying about scarcity but inequality, although she gave Yue Miaomiao a slightly larger bottle of Yangshen Pills due to her fondness for cat eyes.
Lan Xuerou, however, refused.
She smiled gently, “Yangshen Pills are not easy to refine. You should keep them for yourself. I am a disciple of True Person Xunsan, and not of the same sect as Miaomiao, so I cannot take advantage of you.”
Yue Miaomiao giggled happily, “That’s right!”
Her naively adorable appearance meant she wouldn’t realize if she were being taken advantage of.
Lan Xuerou said helplessly, “Junior Sister has this personality, which is why Daojun Hongyi gave strict orders that she must go out and gain experience.”
Due to the grief of losing his daughter, Yue Bufan had only accepted two disciples in his early years, namely the current Daojun Hongyi and Venerable Feiyun. He had not accepted any more disciples afterward.
Daojun Hongyi had seven male disciples. For some reason, when these male disciples took on disciples later, except for the seventh disciple who took in a female child, Yue Miaomiao, the others again took male grand-disciples.
Thus, Yue Miaomiao became the pampered darling of Daojun Hongyi’s entire lineage. Fortunately, she was inherently pure and innocent and was not spoiled, only a little unaware of certain things.
Even at the Nascent Soul stage, she was sometimes foolish.
“There’s nothing wrong with her personality,” Bai Shengyi said.
Being unaware meant not having experienced hardship. It was like Princess Ruyi in her childhood; if possible, who wouldn’t want their cherished treasure to be free from disaster and hardship their entire lives?
Lan Xuerou thought she was just being polite.
Seeing this, Bai Shengyi didn’t say more. She put away the Yangshen Pills and was preparing to lead Lan Xuerou and Yue Miaomiao deeper into the forest when she heard footsteps from behind.
“Senior Sister Lan, Junior Sister Yue, wait for us!”
Two male cultivators ran up from behind, pursued by a small group of Youming Crows.
The two saw that Bai Shengyi’s barrier could block the Youming Crows’ attacks, their eyes lit up, and they scrambled into the barrier without hesitation.
“Hey! Qiu Wei, Yang Hengce, what are you two doing?” Yue Miaomiao asked indignantly, hands on her hips.
The two seemed not to hear, their actions unabated.
Yang Hengce even said, “Senior Sister Lan, there are too many Youming Crows, and Qiu Wei and I are at our limit. Please help us.”
As he spoke, Yang Hengce and Qiu Wei ran into Bai Shengyi’s barrier and then, with a bang, were both sent flying back by the barrier!
“Ah!” Qiu Wei, pinned beneath Yang Hengce, let out a pained cry.
But before he could get up, he saw more Youming Crows swarming towards him and Yang Hengce!
Clearly, these Youming Crows had changed direction, venting their anger at the newcomers who were blocked by the barrier!
“Help!” Qiu Wei cried out!