Inside the chamber, upon hearing Lin Xiaolu's question, Li Miaoxin recounted with a smile, "The Star-Picking and the Nine Infants are, in fact, branches of our Mount Emei. And there are a total of nine such branches.
They are the Spirit Sword, the Crescent Moon, the Yang God, the Star-Picking, the Medicine Essence, the Talisman, the Nine Infants, the Monster Taming, and the Luomen."
Lin Xiaolu and Xiaoyuer listened with blank expressions. They couldn't understand a single one. At this moment, they both stared at the maiden in front of them like dullards.
Li Miaoxin couldn't help but laugh out loud upon seeing their reactions. She covered her mouth and said, "Junior brother and sister, you don't need to remember so much. You just need to know that although our Star-Picking Lineage has few people, our master is the strongest among the nine branches in terms of strength, comparable even to the sect leader."
"Then, senior sister, what's special about our Star-Picking Lineage?" Lin Xiaolu asked curiously.
"Yes." The maiden smiled. "The supernatural power of our Star-Picking Lineage is called the Star-Picking Art. It is the most difficult technique among the nine branches and has extremely great power. It is rumored that our master once plucked a star from the sky, which astonished the entire Divine Continent."
"Wow~" The siblings exclaimed in amazement.
Lin Xiaolu couldn't even imagine what it would be like to pluck a star from the sky.
Li Miaoxin continued with a smile, "Junior brother and sister, don't overthink. Just grow up well and cultivate diligently. In the future, revive our Star-Picking Lineage and become great figures like our master."
Li Miaoxin looked at Lin Xiaolu and Xiaoyuer in front of her, her eyes filled with affection. Ordinarily, she had been cultivating alone in the sect. Her master was negligent, and her senior brother was in seclusion all year round. So she was actually very lonely.
Although cultivation required endurance of loneliness, Li Miaoxin was, after all, only a sixteen-year-old maiden. Liking liveliness was the nature of her age. She usually saw the inner disciples of other families in groups of two or three, cultivating together, doing sect tasks together, chatting and playing around in the sect, and had long been envious. And now, she finally had her own junior disciples. It was really nice.
After eating the miraculous spiritual food, Lin Xiaolu and his sister followed Li Miaoxin and left the pavilion.
Before leaving, Lin Xiaolu patted Monkey San'er in a rather precocious manner and said with a smile, "You are a good lad. Perform well in the future. Big brother has high hopes for you."
This left Monkey San'er rather bewildered.
After leaving the dining hall, Lin Xiaolu and his sister followed Li Miaoxin to the Servant Yard to collect living supplies.
There were also some outer disciples around the Servant Yard. And as soon as Li Miaoxin appeared, the outer disciples greeted her one after another.
"Greetings, Senior Sister Li."
"Good noon, Senior Sister Li."
"Senior Sister Li, you've worked hard."
Li Miaoxin nodded and smiled in response one by one, without a trace of arrogance, being polite to everyone.
Soon, she brought the siblings to a row of wooden chambers side by side and greeted a woman who was counting on an abacus inside the chamber:
"Junior Sister Liu."
The woman named Junior Sister Liu was startled upon hearing the voice. Looking up and seeing that it was Li Miaoxin, her eyes immediately showed surprise. "Senior Sister Li, why do you have time to come here today?"
"Bringing the new disciples recruited by my master to collect living supplies." Li Miaoxin said with a smile.
The woman surnamed Liu looked at Lin Xiaolu and Xiaoyuer outside the door upon hearing this and smiled with a raised corner of her mouth. "Your Star-Picking Lineage has finally recruited new disciples. Congratulations."
"Giggle. Junior Sister Liu, you are too kind. Are you getting used to working here?"
"It's okay. It's just that there are a lot of things to remember. It's rather taxing on the brain."
"Ah? Then you can ask someone to help you."
"Forget it, senior sister. The contribution points for this job are so few in a month. I can hardly support myself."
Half an hour later...
"Oh, senior sister, have you heard? Last night, the Golden Armored Giant Turtle of the Monster Taming Lineage slipped out of the Blue Water Pool and went on a date with the Green-haired Black Tortoise Turtle in the middle of the night. Coincidentally, it was seen by Elder Qi Guan who got up to relieve himself. It really made Elder Qi Guan furious."
"Wow~ So exciting? A turtle and a tortoise? Did Elder Qi Guan see anything he shouldn't have seen?"
"Oh, I don't know. Oh ho ho ho~"
Lin Xiaolu and Xiaoyuer looked at their senior sister chatting animatedly with the woman surnamed Liu, and from time to time, there was a crazy laugh. Both of their faces were filled with helplessness.
"Xiaoyuer." Lin Xiaolu held his sister's hand and instructed, "Don't learn from your senior sister to chat about gossip, okay?"
"Okay." Xiaoyuer replied.
Lin Xiaolu nodded and then looked at Li Miaoxin, who was still chattering away with flushed cheeks, and a sense of powerlessness welled up in his heart.
These immortal cultivators seemed no different from ordinary people. Chatting about gossip so enthusiastically, forgetting the time, and even constantly chatting about vulgar jokes. Did they think that he and his sister were too young to understand?
Li Miaoxin became more and more excited, chattering non-stop. It was not until the sun gradually set in the west and the surrounding environment darkened that she realized that she and Junior Sister Liu had been chatting for almost an hour and a half. She immediately turned around and looked at Lin Xiaolu and Xiaoyuer and found that the siblings had already sat on the ground at some point and were sleeping quietly, huddled together.
The maiden immediately felt regretful. She slapped her forehead in annoyance and reproached herself in her heart: Li Miaoxin, Li Miaoxin, how can you be a senior sister like this? You forgot about your junior disciples while chatting about gossip.
The woman surnamed Liu also realized her mistake and apologized to Li Miaoxin. Then she went to get the supplies.
When Li Miaoxin woke up the siblings, the woman surnamed Liu brought the supplies over with an apologetic look and then started to register and record in the account book beside her, muttering while recording:
"Three sets of inner disciple uniforms of the Star-Picking Lineage,
One token,
One set of golden velvet bedding,
One set of living utensils,
One box of Dust-Cleansing Pills,
Thirty sticks of Insect-Repelling and Spirit-Calming Incense..."
Soon, after all the supplies were registered, the woman surnamed Liu put this messy pile of things into a large wooden box.
After everything was packed, Li Miaoxin smiled slightly. "Thank you, Junior Sister Liu."
"Senior sister, you are welcome. It was my fault for being too talkative and making the two little senior brothers and sisters wait for so long."
After filling two large boxes, Li Miaoxin made a hand seal and put the two boxes into the tasseled brocade pouch on her waist. Then she bid farewell to the woman surnamed Liu and led the siblings back to the courtyard.
...
...
"Junior brother and sister, you will live here from now on." Li Miaoxin pointed at the classically and elegantly decorated house in front of her and said with a proud smile, "Our Star-Picking Lineage has few people, so there are a lot of empty houses. You can choose whichever you like. Live wherever you want."
After that, she pointed at a small palace-like courtyard next door and smiled, "Senior sister lives in that house. It's not far from you. If you need any help in the future, just tell senior sister at any time."
Xiaoyuer obediently thanked Li Miaoxin.
Lin Xiaolu also nodded and thanked her.
After that, Li Miaoxin very enthusiastically carried the living supplies into the house chosen by the siblings.
For some things that they didn't know how to use, Li Miaoxin patiently taught them hand by hand. For things like the Dust-Cleansing Pills used for washing and bathing and doing laundry, and the Insect-Repelling and Spirit-Calming Incense used for driving away snakes, insects, rats, and ants, which the siblings had never seen before, she taught them one by one.
It was not until it was getting late and the bright moon was high in the sky and everything was properly arranged that Li Miaoxin prepared to leave with a smile.
"Xiaolu, Xiaoyuer." She, who had become familiar with the siblings, smiled at them affectionately. "You will go to the Literacy Hall to learn to read and write with the inner disciples of other branches from tomorrow. Have a good rest tonight. Senior sister will take you there early tomorrow morning."
"Okay. Thank you, senior sister. Goodbye, senior sister~" Xiaoyuer waved her small hand to say goodbye.
Lin Xiaolu also snorted through his small nose and said coolly to Li Miaoxin, "See you tomorrow, senior sister."