Upon this thought, Shen Yan grew more and more cheerful, to the extent that the painful sensation from consuming the high-quality spirit pill substantially dissipated.
His gaze and tone towards Ji Li also became increasingly gentle.
However, his voice was so hoarse, it sounded like a chicken being strangled. So even though he was putting in effort to soften his voice, it still had the same difference between a chicken being squeezed hard and one being squeezed gently.
Ji Li stood by the side, her chubby babyface revealing her surprise. She didn't even dare to look up at Shen Yan.
She was just sixteen years old, an age where she would've just been a high school student on Earth.
She felt like a student on the first day of school, being mysteriously summoned to the disciplinary teacher's office despite not having done anything. It was understandably frightening.
This place was the Demon Sect, and Shen Yan was one of the fiercest people in the entire Heavenly Dust Continent!
However, Shen Yan, being oblivious to the situation, thought he had left a good impression on her since he, the sect master, had appeared very approachable.
But he still needed to lay down the subconscious clues.
With a wave of his sleeve, a small red crystal stone appeared in his hand.
The crystal stone was very small, about the size of a thumbnail.
This is a Flame Essence, it's suitable for your fire technique cultivation. It would be very beneficial to an initial realm cultivator. Keep it with you as a token of thanks for looking after the young elder these few days."
The Flame Essence was not a particularly precious item and the one Shen Yan gave her... was a bit small.
But as the sect master, his gift to his disciples would have a totally different meaning, right?
Especially since she was just a newly-accepted disciple.
Being stingy... or more accurately, not having much to be generous with, he was great at making the most impressive gift out of the least amount of resources!
This is not being stingy! It's you who don't understand the importance of rationing resources, not me!
Thank you, Sect Master!" Ji Li quickly received the Flame Essence with both her hands, not daring to show any disrespect.
Seeing that it was all settled, Shen Yan gave a slight smile and said in his grating voice, "You have great potential and you are a good seed. I hope you can work hard and advance to the inner disciples soon. I look forward to the day."
He felt that his earnest advice embodied the expectations of a master looking forward to his disciple's future.
She should've understood, right?
After all, he was the distinguished sect master. He couldn't say too much. He had to keep up appearances.
Ji Li was slightly stunned at his words, but hurriedly paid respects again, although her mind was in a mess.
Even after Shen Yan left, she still did not understand his meaning and could only watch him leave with a dazed and polite expression on her face.
Upon returning to the room, she carefully examined the Flame Essence in her hand and thought it was actually very beautiful.
But after a while, she got tired of looking at it and instead shifted her gaze to Lu Xun's face.
His face, she would never tire of looking at.
...
...
The night deepened gradually.
The view at night in the back hills had a unique charm.
Through the open window, Ji Li could see the fireflies flying around outside. They looked like flickering candles moving randomly around the hills.
The nights in the back hills were peaceful, if only... Mao Nanbei's snoring wasn't so loud.
Indeed, Mao Nanbei, the little elf girl with cat ears, was lying ungracefully on a large rattan chair outside, snoring with her mouth open. Was she even drooling?
Ji Li previously thought cultivators should be vastly different from mortals - that they wouldn't have to eat the common five grains or have any romantic feelings, and would be completely detached.
Only after entering the Demon Sect did she realize that cultivators were just people who cultivated, nothing more.
Looking at Mao Nanbei's sleeping posture, with her little butt sticking up toward the sky!
Where was the dignified image of a wise person?
Ji Li sat down cross-legged, preparing to circulate her cultivation technique and refine her cultivation base, when she noticed that Lu Xun seemed to be slightly stirring in his sleep.
He slowly opened his eyes, and Ji Li quickly helped him sit up.
Mao Nanbei who was lying ungracefully outside the room perked her cat ears at the sound, then jumped in right through the window.
"You seem to have recovered well!" She said after sizing up Lu Xun.
Lu Xun looked down at his own body and found that he had almost fully recovered.
He must have been in a pretty bad shape after the fall. It would have been suitable for censorship in a video game, he surmised.
He had thought that after using one of his revival chances, he'd be able to do a return-to-full-health resurrection in-place. He hadn't expected only a remnant of his health points to remain.
"I wanted to look cool by doing an in-place revival! But look at what had become of me..."
What was this, an aftereffect of transmigration?
Couldn't the times of revival accumulate and reset to the original state of revival? Do I have to suffer like this after a revival?
What a trap! There's definitely something wrong with this character!
The little elf girl looked at him and said, "Our Sect Master fed you a spirit pill. Otherwise, you'd have been in a predicament."
"I see." Lu Xun nodded. No wonder his health had almost fully recovered.
After feeling around his body a bit, it seemed that his physique had improved quite significantly as well.
Mao Nanbei gave a little hop and sat her little butt down on the table. Looking at Lu Xun, she said, "Tell me, how did you manage to hang on without dying even though you don't have any cultivation base?"
"That's a secret." Lu Xun answered bluntly.
"Hmph, I bet you have some kind of treasure on you, don't you? If you don't wanna tell me, then don't. Do you think I'm after your treasure?" Mao Nanbei pouted.
At the mention of treasures, Lu Xun's thought began to wander. Speaking of which... the Demon Sect did have an unclaimed treasure. His current self, however, doesn't seem to have the ability to seek it out yet.
He had checked the mission prompt earlier and found that he had already completed the mission of accepting a master, effectively making him a perfect starter. He will have to find the time to properly plan out his future path.
He was a man who liked to plan. It gave him efficiency, clear objectives, and clarity when thinking.
That treasure, he wanted it.
No! He must have it!
Seeing Lu Xun absent-mindedly drifting off again, Mao Nanbei couldn't help but ask, "Hey, what are you thinking about?"
Lu Xun roused himself, "Nothing special. I just spaced out a bit, is there any problem?"
The little elf girl did not sit on the table anymore but stood up on it. She held her head high and put her hands behind her back. Making a series of movements at one go, she somehow managed to put up a grandmaster-like demeanor, "Did you forget something?"
"Huh? What did I forget again?" Lu Xun was a bit stumped.
Mao Nanbei was so irritated that she almost stamped her foot. Her cat ears stood straight, and she announced loudly, "You haven't called me Senior Sister yet!"
The little elf girl raised her chin slightly, her face radiating sheer joy and arrogance!
She had always been the youngest on the back hill, now she finally got to be a senior sister!
Just when Mao Nanbei was feeling triumphant, Lu Xun deftly changed the topic and turned to Ji Li,
"Did you forget something?"
"Huh?" Ji Li looked puzzled.
"Quickly call me Young Elder!" Lu Xun started to make grabs for whatever he could get his hands on.
If it's easy, he might as well reach out and grab more in the future.
...