Yun Yiyi stood on top of the rain pavilion’s roof, gently placing the last tile before stretching with a satisfied expression.
She had become accustomed to this life of patching and repairing, a consequence of her difficulty controlling her strength during daily cultivation.
“My craftsmanship is getting better and better. It looks just like new…”
Looking at the freshly repaired pavilion, Yun Yiyi nodded slightly in satisfaction.
Though ‘repair’ was a generous term; it was more like she had rebuilt it entirely, since the original roof had been completely torn off.
Starting from scratch was the only option.
Standing on the high pavilion roof, Yun Yiyi leaped down, landing on the surface of the adjacent pond.
The pond was a thousand meters deep, yet she stood effortlessly upon the water’s surface, relying solely on the vibrations generated from the countless subtle impacts of her feet against the water.
Her movements were light and graceful.
With just a gentle tap of her toes, she sprang from the still pond surface and landed inside the newly repaired pavilion, the entire process leaving only a faint ripple on the water.
“This spot is finally fixed. I still need to clean up the rest of the place properly…”
After carefully wiping the table, she noticed a lingering, intoxicating fragrance still clung to it.
Yun Yiyi was puzzled.
None of her spiritual wines had this scent.
But since the fragrance didn’t seem to have any negative effects, she decided not to dwell on it.
When pleasant memories fill your heart, even tedious tasks can feel warm.
Yun Yiyi neatly folded the handkerchief in her hand, infused it with a cleansing technique, and gave the pavilion a light wipe.
The layer of dust vanished, leaving the space clean and bright.
“Looks even better than before, hehe. When Xinyi comes here, maybe she’ll praise me a little more~”
Yun Yiyi knew that was unlikely, but she couldn’t help fantasizing about the scene of mutual compliments between friends.
She imagined the other girl pushing the door open, her voice full of surprise.
‘Yun Yiyi, you actually have some redeeming qualities after all. I suppose you can follow behind me, and we can be friends, barely.’
….
Yun Yiyi smiled just imagining the words Lin Xinyi might say.
It was as if receiving praise was the greatest reward.
‘Maybe if I give a bit more “friend allowance,” our relationship could improve even further…’
Yun Yiyi took out the body tempering cultivation manual she had been practicing.
Although her physical cultivation had reached its peak, she had ultimately failed to cross that final threshold.
Body cultivators were rare, and there were few paths to reference.
For a long time, Yun Yiyi had pursued the martial path alone, which gradually led to those around her drifting away.
She knew Lin Xinyi had initially approached her for this body tempering technique, but Yun Yiyi still cherished this cheap friendship immensely.
‘Xinyi is still interested in my body tempering technique. That means the time we can be friends gets a little longer…’
Yun Yiyi slowly stood up and walked towards her cave abode.
As her fingers lightly touched the massive stone door—which weighed a thousand jin yet now opened as easily as a wooden plank—it swung open.
The interior of the cave was extremely sparse, adorned only with a few magical treasures hanging on the walls.
Clutching the manual, Yun Yiyi walked briskly inside, her heel giving a light kick to shut the heavy stone door behind her.
With a smile, Yun Yiyi placed the manual on the table.
In this airtight cave abode, the light was dim and gloomy, a stark contrast to Lin Xinyi’s luxurious version.
‘I thought I was going to lose my last friend. Thankfully, Xinyi didn’t refuse me. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to bring myself to do it to my best friend.’
As she spoke, Yun Yiyi slowly raised her head, her face still wearing that gentle, innocent smile.
But in a place no one could see, chains, shackles, and poisons that could strip away one’s cultivation were piled under the bed as if they were worthless.
Yun Yiyi placed the manual on a nearby bookshelf and casually opened a chest beside it.
Inside were priceless magical treasures and a vast amount of spirit stones, all haphazardly piled within.
Even high-quality immortal-grade and spirit-grade cultivation manuals were placed on the shelves like ordinary books.
These were items that would spark fierce competition if taken outside, yet in Yun Yiyi’s eyes, they held no value.
They were tossed aside randomly, without even a basic protective formation.
“Hmm, I remember it was here…”
Yun Yiyi reached into the pile of treasures, rummaging around until she finally pulled out a few artifacts that looked quite valuable.
She then unceremoniously dumped them all onto the table.
[Crimson Cloud Sword]
[Spirit-grade Treasure]
[Wu Tian Seal]
[Spirit-grade Treasure]
[Void Ancient Robe]
[Spirit-grade Treasure]…
Yun Yiyi laid out the treasures on the table one by one, taking out a small notebook to record them.
However, she wasn’t doing this for inventory purposes.
After noting them down, she began putting each item back into her storage space.
“This one can be next month’s friend allowance. These two are a bit low quality, I can use them for the month after that~”
Yun Yiyi still remembered the indifferent look in Lin Xinyi’s eyes when she had presented the immortal-grade manual at the sect assembly.
She thought to herself that she must give something even better to keep the other girl by her side.
So, instead of manuals, Yun Yiyi had started preparing magical treasures for the next month’s friend allowance.
Having finished this task, she began to look forward to the next time she gave the allowance, wondering if the other girl would show a happy expression.
“Hehe, seeing these things, Xinyi will pay a bit more attention to me, right? I really want to see her again…”
Just as Yun Yiyi was lost in her fantasies, a sound suddenly came from the protective formation outside her door.
Her thoughts were instantly pulled back to reality.
After storing all the treasures away, she walked out of the cave abode with a puzzled expression.
“Someone’s knocking?”
Upon hearing the faint noise, Yun Yiyi quickly stepped out of the grotto-heaven.
As soon as she reached the door and pushed it open, wondering who could be visiting, the very figure she had been longing for appeared before her.
Lin Xinyi stood at the doorway, tears seemingly glistening in the corners of her eyes.
Yun Yiyi was momentarily stunned; she hadn’t expected her wish to be granted so quickly.
“Xinyi?!”
“Yun Yiyi…”
Seeing the door’s formation open, a slight smile touched Lin Xinyi’s lips as she prepared to begin her award-winning performance.
She took a step forward, but before she could react, she was abruptly pulled inside.
“Great! I was just thinking about you, and you came~”
Lin Xinyi’s performance was cut short as she was dragged into the grotto-heaven.
She even lost her footing, nearly falling, but unexpectedly found herself caught by the petite girl in front of her.
“Hey, wait a second!!”
Lin Xinyi fell unprepared into Yun Yiyi’s embrace.
Though Yun Yiyi’s body was small, like a child’s, she held Lin Xinyi steadily and even carefully helped her stand upright.
“I’m so sorry, Xinyi. I was just too happy to see you. Are you okay?”
Yun Yiyi realized her impulsive action and apologized after helping the other girl steady herself.
After all, she had just been thinking about her, and then she appeared right outside her door. It was hard not to get excited.
“What is it, Xinyi? Did you miss me? You came to play with me, right~”
With this interruption, the well-practiced expression of grievance Lin Xinyi had prepared instantly evaporated.
She could only massage her temples in frustration.
“You! At least let me finish speaking!”
Lin Xinyi pushed Yun Yiyi away, her eyes clearly filled with impatience.
However, since her purpose in coming was to use this girl, she suppressed her displeasure.
‘Being this reckless… don’t blame me for using you as a pawn…’
Yun Yiyi gradually calmed down and noticed several bruises on Lin Xinyi’s neck.
A flicker of concern passed through her eyes.
“Xinyi, what happened to your neck? And why were you crying?”
“I came to you precisely because of this. Qin Huaiyin has fallen into demonic ways…”
“Fallen into demonic ways?”
Seeing the other girl finally take the bait and introduce the topic, Lin Xinyi feigned sadness, leaning against the wall with a wounded expression.
She tugged at her collar, revealing the marks left after being defiled.
“I was merely guiding Qin Huaiyin in her cultivation. I never imagined that rebellious disciple would be tempted by an inner demon and commit the act of… Chong Shi!! It has thrown my Dao heart into chaos…!”
“Chong Shi!!”
Upon hearing this, Yun Yiyi’s eyes widened in clear disbelief, and she took two steps back.
Seeing the expected reaction, Lin Xinyi decided to fan the flames higher, ensuring Yun Yiyi would only listen to her version of events.
“Not only did she act bizarrely, she even spouted nonsense! The marks on my body are proof…!” (In reality, they were freshly made by Bai Qianqian; the previous ones had healed.)
As she spoke, Lin Xinyi tugged her collar again, obviously to make the evidence more convincing.
Yun Yiyi was even more shocked.
In her impression, the newly acquainted martial niece was well-mannered and refined, the very picture of a quiet, elegant young lady.
“But…”
“Yun Yiyi, right now, you’re the only one I can rely on. No one else can know about this…”
Faced with Lin Xinyi’s vulnerable appearance, Yun Yiyi showed no suspicion.
How could she refuse a request from her best friend?
Seeing the other girl’s resolve waver, Lin Xinyi knew her words were having an effect.
But she never expected Yun Yiyi to completely defy expectations.
“I… I understand. But… what does Chong Shi mean?”
“?”