A book flew out from the deepest corner of the bookshelf and landed in front of Meng Shuying. It was an introductory literacy text, The Thousand Character Classic.
"Read it yourself first. If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me." Su Luowei glanced at her with a cold tone, though Meng Shuying detected a hint of concern beneath it.
"There's no need to feel embarrassed. No one is born literate."
Meng Shuying clutched the book before her, carefully stroking the three large characters on the cover.
Her father had once bought the same book for her elder sister, but the one he bought was far less exquisite than the one she held now.
The Thousand Character Classic her father bought was made of rough, yellowing hemp paper, with the characters printed faintly. The one in her hands, however, was bound with cotton-laced paper, smooth and evenly textured.
Back then, her sister was six, and she was four. Her father said that after the new year, her sister would be sent to school, so he bought the Thousand Character Classic to teach her sister to read.
At the time, she wasn't even as tall as the table. Watching her father teach her sister, she told him she wanted to learn too.
What was her father's reaction then? Meng Shuying tried hard to remember.
He seemed to have glanced at her, the gentle smile he reserved for her sister fading, his face cold as he asked, "Do you think you're worthy?"
Meng Shuying opened the book, her fingers gliding over the neatly arranged characters, her eyes growing warm, her heart burning.
This was something she once desperately longed for but couldn't have.
And now it was in her hands.
Perhaps to Su Luowei, this was nothing. She had a privileged upbringing, and getting what she wanted came effortlessly.
But it was different for Meng Shuying.
She looked up, staring fixedly at Su Luowei.
Su Luowei was turned slightly away from her, her nose high and neck slender.
Her eyes were lowered, focused on the book in her hands.
She wore a small earring on her earlobe, inlaid with an East Pearl.
The whole person looked quiet and gentle.
Senior Sister is not quite the same as before, Meng Shuying thought.
If only she could stay like this.
If Senior Sister could always be this kind to her...
Feeling Meng Shuying's intense gaze, Su Luowei didn't even lift her head as she said, "Read the book, don't look at me."
Meng Shuying immediately withdrew her gaze, lowered her eyes, and focused on the book in front of her.
The characters on the first page were simple, and Meng Shuying could recognize most of them.
But as she continued, the number of unfamiliar characters increased.
Su Luowei glanced at her while reading her own book. Seeing Meng Shuying frowning, she took the book and explained each character one by one.
Her explanations were detailed and easy to understand, but after just two pages, she stopped.
Meng Shuying looked at her in confusion.
Su Luowei reached out and tapped her on the head, "Don't bite off more than you can chew."
She told Meng Shuying to continue studying on her own and then resumed reading her book. She read very quickly, finishing one in no time.
Meng Shuying was still engrossed in the characters before her when Su Luowei shook her head with a light laugh, stood up, and went out to brew a pot of tea.
When she returned with the teapot, Meng Shuying snapped out of her daze. She hurriedly stood up to take the teapot from her.
Su Luowei sidestepped slightly, and Meng Shuying's hands grasped at nothing.
She stood there, feeling anxious.
The sect master had instructed her to serve Su Luowei, but instead, she had buried herself in the book, oblivious to Su Luowei's movements, even making her brew tea herself.
She's so useless; she just hoped Senior Sister wouldn't send her away.
She felt guilty, but couldn't find the words to express it, and her eyes gradually filled with tears.
"I saw you were engrossed in studying, so I didn't call you."
Su Luowei's voice was gentle, but the system in her mind immediately flashed red warnings.
Su Luowei quickly added with a cold expression, "This won't happen again. I don't keep useless people around."
Meng Shuying nodded but said nothing, only looking up at her.
Her eyes, already dark, now seemed like spring mountains shrouded in mist, her whole demeanor exuding a sense of pitifulness.
Su Luowei walked to the desk, set the teapot down, and glanced sideways at Meng Shuying, frowning. "You're a disciple of Qingxu, yet you cry at the drop of a hat. If others see this, they'll say I'm bullying you."
Meng Shuying knew that Su Luowei didn't have a good reputation among the Qingxu disciples. If someone saw her crying in front of Su Luowei, it could cause quite a stir.
Things were different now. Before, she just wanted to distance herself from Su Luowei.
But now she understood that her Senior Sister was cold on the outside but soft on the inside, and she was so kind to her.
—She fed her and even taught her to read. Wasn't that kindness?
So now, Meng Shuying didn't want Su Luowei to be criticized.
Especially not because of her.
She sniffled and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with her sleeve. Seeing that Su Luowei had already returned to her book, she quietly sat back down.
Meng Shuying continued reading, while also keeping an eye on Su Luowei's every move. When she saw Su Luowei reach for the teapot, she immediately stood up to pour her tea; when Su Luowei went to pick up the ink stick, she quickly walked over to grind the ink for her.
Su Luowei found her attentiveness both amusing and exasperating, and said seriously, "Don't worry about me. Focus on your studies."
Recalling her own experience of studying in the past, she added, "You started late, so you need to be more diligent. From tomorrow on, I'll check your work daily until you've mastered the introductory books. If I find out you've been slacking—"
She frowned slightly. "I'll make you copy the books as punishment."
Hearing that Su Luowei would check her work every day, Meng Shuying felt a bit happy but tried to hide it, not letting herself smile.
But the joy in her heart was unmistakable, showing through her eyes even if she kept her mouth tightly closed.
...
A few days later, Zhan Xuehan sent word that the altar in the valley had been dealt with by the disciples of Qionghua Peak. The disciples reported that they had completely destroyed the altar at the bottom of the pool.
Su Luowei, having nothing else to do, diligently taught Meng Shuying to read every day. Meng Shuying was very smart and learned quickly, recognizing all the characters in the Thousand Character Classic within a few days.
However, she could only recognize them, not write them. When Su Luowei asked her to write them down, what she produced looked more like scrawls than proper characters.
Su Luowei called her clumsy and began teaching her the basic strokes.
Horizontal, vertical, diagonal, and dot.
Meng Shuying studied hard, but her writing was still a mess.
Looking at the blotches of ink on the paper, Meng Shuying felt deeply ashamed. She had tried so hard, but just couldn't write well.
She sneaked a glance at Su Luowei, wondering how she could hide the paper on the table without being noticed.
Su Luowei, standing at the other end of the desk, was using a small spoon to stir the incense in the burner. The incense burner was a blue and white floral one she had specially requested from Zhan Xuehan, and the incense was custom-made agarwood, intended to help Meng Shuying concentrate while studying.
When she noticed the paper in front of Meng Shuying, she thought her efforts had probably been in vain.
Is it really that hard?
Su Luowei set down the silver spoon, sighed softly, and walked over to stand behind Meng Shuying, reaching out to hold her hand.
"I'll demonstrate just this once. Pay close attention."
She calmed herself, connected her spiritual energy with the world, and directed it into the pen, guiding Meng Shuying's hand to feel the "power of the brush."
The moment her right hand was held, Meng Shuying's body stiffened. Hearing Su Luowei say she would only demonstrate once, she forced herself to concentrate, feeling Su Luowei's warm hand gently holding hers.
It seemed like only a moment passed, but also an eternity.
A subtle fragrance filled the air, which Meng Shuying initially thought was the scent of the agarwood.
But now, with Su Luowei enveloping her from behind, she realized the fragrance was actually the scent of lilies from Su Luowei herself.
Her gaze slid to the side, landing on their intertwined hands.
Su Luowei's hands were beautiful—slender and fair, with neatly trimmed nails that glowed softly.
Warm and soft.
Su Luowei gently guided her hand, and together they wrote three characters on the paper.
Meng Shuying.
Her name.
After the final stroke, Su Luowei released her hand and took a step back.
"It's okay if the other characters are ugly, but your name must be written well."
Su Luowei picked up the paper, satisfied with the small, elegant characters on it. She rolled up the paper and handed it to Meng Shuying, saying, "That's all for today. Keep this paper and practice copying it daily."
Meng Shuying took the rolled-up paper, holding it carefully in her hand, not daring to use too much force, afraid of wrinkling it.
A few days later, Su Luowei felt her body had fully recovered. She stopped spending all her time reading and began dedicating most of her day to cultivating.
Except for the rather alarming cut on her wrist, she hadn't suffered any other injuries. But Zhan Xuehan, concerned for her, had warned her not to cultivate until she was fully healed, fearing she might harm her foundation. Su Luowei had obediently stayed indoors to recover for so many days.
Speaking of that wound, it was somewhat peculiar.
Even though Uncle Yun Fei had specially prepared a salve for her, for some reason, after the wound healed, a faint scar remained on her wrist.
Su Luowei no longer paid much attention to the scar on her wrist.
What concerned her most now was when she could form her Golden Core.
Although she hadn't been in this world for long, she had come to understand clearly that the cultivation world was one of survival of the fittest.
Everything else was meaningless; only diligent cultivation and improving her strength mattered.
Like that Elder Ning, who, by temporarily boosting his cultivation level to Golden Core using a secret method, was able to overpower the three of them without any resistance.
If she hadn't happened to place talismans around the altar, she might already have met her end.
Not to mention that she still had a mission to complete and might face many more challenges in the future.
At present, there was no one she could rely on except herself.