'Who could have possibly erased their scent? Could it be that someone with a high realm has entered the sect without our notice? It's possible that a spy has arrived and is trying to perhaps influence our sect, but after all the time this sect has existed for they should already know the power structure and realize that it's not likely for them to sway my Darling towards either side.
Is it possible that it was one of the female elders? It's not likely that every woman here is conservative after all, that extends to those older ones as well. But it shouldn't be them, they have no reason to hide their meeting with a "Junior" right?
Darling also did ask about Li Daji which… hmm. Could it just be another coincidence or is there something more? She had never had any sort of ability to hide this deeply when we last saw each other. Maybe she simply didn't show it, or perhaps she learned it during these 10 years. But last I saw of her she was a mess as she stormed off. I suppose I can't completely rule her out, but I shouldn't ignore her possible presence as well.'
Instead of looking for a smell I tried to track any possible tracks that could have been left behind. But from almost 10 years of almost exclusively using my nose to track people, I've become complacent and those other skills have possibly faded away
I crouched near the ground to try and analyze anything I could, but in the end I found nothing that could help me. It didn't help that the ground was paved which made the few available resources I had become almost non-existent as I arrived.
There wasn't any mud to leave tracks and the miniscule amount of dust that could have accumulated was probably blown away. This search and find mission had ended in failure and I simply didn't have a clue on where to go.
'I guess that means I have to go home empty handed…'
***
(MC POV)
I went home expecting to see Ying'er who had left earlier, but the while building was empty except for me.
'Oh? I guess she must have had something else that was important to do then. I guess I'll be making dinner tonight then. It might not be as good as her meals, but I'd like to think that my food tastes good.
But what to make? How about fried rice, that doesn't seem too bad and maybe a simple vegetable dish as well.'
There wasn't any precooked rice so I quickly got some and put it in a pot to wash a few times. After that was the good old method of making sure you put enough water with the rice. I flattened it out before sticking my finger in for the tried and true method of making sure the water level is sufficiently high. Once it was ready I stuck it on some with the lid tilted so steam would escape.
I pulled out the wok to heat up while I went to go and chose a vegetable to be our side dish and decided on Bok Choy(Fun fact, direct translation means: white vegetable).
As I decided, I heard the door swing open then close abruptly. For a moment I thought it was Ying'er as she returned, but that was quickly resolved by the quick steps and voice I heard.
"Big Brother! I have something to tell you! Ah? Where's Big Sister? Isn't she the one who normally cooks?"
"Oh I don't know where she went, but it must be important. Don't worry, I'm not a bad cook. What did you want to say?"
"Hmm, okay. I wanted to tell you that I won every fight I got into after you left."
"After I left? Seems quite coincidental doesn't it? You're not lying simply because you're embarrassed that I saw you lose that first one are you?"
"N-no… maybe. Okay I lied about winning "every" match, but I swear I did win some. I had around 13 matches with others and I won 7 of them. They lasted a lot longer than my first match though. I felt that these other people I met were more in line with my strength.
That first guy I fought was just too strong, okay? I fought another guy who was in the same layer as him, but I managed to win. I might have gotten a little too confident though as when he came back later I still lost to him."
"You must remind yourself: Overconfidence is a slow and Insidious killer. Say, did you just fight all day?"
"Um, yes?"
"Make sure you take some time to study to expand your repertoire of skills and techniques. Find something that you like and try to build a foundation upon it, wind seems to appeal to your affinity."
"I understand, maybe tomorrow then."
I prepared the vegetables as I heard her footsteps approaching behind me. To my side I could see her eyes scanning the things I had laid out.
"What is it Jinzi?"
"Oh it's nothing, I'm just wondering what you're making."
"It's fried rice with Bok Choy as a side dish. Jinzi, do you like shrimp?"
"Yeah, shrimp is pretty good!"
"Alright, I'll make some shrimp fried rice then."
While Jinzi was watching me work I heard another sound rang out as the door opened once more, this time in a less chaotic and more deliberate manner. I was sure that it was Ying'er this time. After quickly finishing what I did I turned back to see just as Ying'er round the corner.
There was a little odd expression on her face that was a mix of worry and fear, but after she saw our figures she morphed into a smile.
"Ying'er? Are you alright? You look a little uncomfortable."
"That? I just thought about some problems we might face in the future, anyway it looks like you're the one making dinner this time. Do you need some help?"
"No, I'm good. Why don't you sit down Ying'er? Dinner will be ready soon."
***
(Xue Jinzi POV)
I had just turned back to watch Big Brother cook, when her message came through.
{Jinzi come sit down, I have to tell you a few things.}
I turned back towards her then at Big Brother as I left the counter to follow Big Sister to another part of the house. Here in the tea room area we sat down and I stared at her solemn eyes.
'Why did she bring me here? Could she not have spoken about it around Big Brother?'
"Jinzi we can talk now, I've set up a one way sound barrier in case he finds us."
"Um, what is it? What's so important?"
"I need to tell you about girls after our Dear Husband."
"That happens all the time, why don't you just deal with them as you've always had? I don't see any bigger an issue than we've already had before."
"No, Jinzi. This one is different. I can't confirm it yet, but I have a suspicion that it's his 6th Disciple."
"Big Brother's 6th Disciple? Who's that?"
"Ah, it makes sense you don't know. By the time you came, only 3 of them remain here after all. When I first came here there were only 5 of them. The 8th Disciple who was a drunkard and the 6th who… was infatuated with her master."
"So what did you do to her?"
"Me?!..." She exclaimed, but after a moment or two a sly smile surfaced.
"I, of course, had to separate them in some manner. My little plan was for Darling to happen upon both me and that disciple together, but it would have looked like she tried to murder me.
When he arrived I would look as pitiful as possible while limping towards him. I was hoping that in the heat of the moment he would kill his own disciple, but that didn't occur. Either our relationship hadn't reached that level yet or their bond was too great, but in the end she left unscathed.
Of course I couldn't simply fake injuries as Darling would immediately know. I went with the extreme method of stabbing myself with plenty of weapons in a split second. I had already planned how I would injure myself so as to not accidentally truly die, but that experience was quite painful. The look on her face at the time was absolutely splendid as it changed from confusion, worry, and fear as Darling appeared just as I knew he would."
I trembled a little at her previous plan.
'W-would something like this happen to me? N-no, I probably wouldn't have even had the chance to see Big Brother again would I?
That time in the clothing store she could have made me disappear and simply made up a little story about me running away or something.'
"Ignorance is bliss, Jinzi. Just as our Dear Husband wishes to be completely ignorant of the Upper Realm, it's best if he's similarly ignorant of our thoughts and actions.
Now, onto the main topic, the 6th Disciple.
Her main characteristics are that of a Nine-Tailed Fox, but there's no doubt that she would hide that from us. One of the main skills she uses is this transformation art which lets her be anybody really, but there is a flaw within that disguise.
At this stage you won't be able to sense it though as you haven't even started cultivating Qi. There is another method though, through physically breaking through her disguise, but even then I don't know if you're strong enough to do so."
'Wha-! Are you just trying to tactfully say that I'm weak!? Too weak to even come close to her basically!'
"As a result just look for any suspicious people, perhaps that suspicious person might even look like a copy of you or me."
"S-she can even look like me?"
"Yes, but as long as both you and Darling are together it should be fine. If you see him with another you then you need to intervene immediately! You can't let him be taken, perhaps she'll try to smear your name in front of him, who knows?"
'I feel like she might be up playing it a bit, is it perhaps to scare me or is she really that difficult to deal with? Hmm, then I guess I'll just have to pay attention.'
"What am I supposed to do if I find them?"
"Hmm.. I've got it. Take this communication talisman, all you have to do is rip it and I'll know. You don't even have to say anything. But she might have improved even these past 10 years, this information might not even be useful anymore."
She pulled out a golden-hued talisman filled with red characters. I quickly put it in my robes just as we heard Big Brother's calming voice.
"Jinzi, Ying'er dinner's ready!"
"Come on, let's go. We shouldn't keep Darling waiting too long."
In the dining room 3 bowls were laid out and a plate of steaming Bok Choy sat in the center of the table.
Within the bowls was a small mound of glistening golden brown rice and intermixed was bits of egg and little shrimps. Sprinkled over the top were freshly chopped green onions mostly as an edible decoration.
Next to each bowl a pair of pristine black chopsticks with a golden strip near the rear. They were all slightly suspended off the ground on the more tapered end.
I sat down in front of the simple sight of fried rice and probably would have drooled too if I hadn't accidentally made eye contact with Big Brother.
I picked up both the chopsticks and bowl as I scooped a bit in my mouth.
A nice flavorful taste appeared as a bit of egg soon also made its appearance. I looked up and past Big Brother I could see the bottle of soy sauce he used.
"It's great, good job Big Brother!"
"Thank you, I'm glad you enjoy it."