“Ahahaha! Got you…“
On the mountain path leading to the summit of Duanqing Peak, Gong Shangyu finally made full use of her long legs and height advantage to tackle Gu Qingying, who was trying to circle around a tree and escape.
On the grass between the mountains, the two figures tumbled together in a heap.
“Let go of me… Gong Shangyu, you scoundrel!”
Gu Qingying shrieked and struggled with arms and legs flailing, but Gong Shangyu pressed her down tight.
A pair of wicked hands were already skillfully seeking out her underarms and sides.
“Hehe… Now you call me a scoundrel? Just now, weren’t you quite bold when tattling to Master? Hm?”
Gong Shangyu grinned like a cat that stole the cream, her slender fingers as nimble as the most dexterous musician, dancing frantically on Gu Qingying’s most sensitive ticklish spots.
“Ahahaha… Stop it! Hahaha…”
“I was wrong! Second Senior Sister! Second Senior Sister, I was wrong! Please spare me! Hahaha…”
Gu Qingying collapsed instantly, laughing so hard that tears streamed down her face, her body twisting like a fish out of water.
All her previous composure and pretenses utterly crumbled before Gong Shangyu’s most primitive “torture.”
Her clear, half-crying laughter echoed through the mountain forest, startling even more birds into flight.
“Oh? Tell me, what exactly did you do wrong?”
Gong Shangyu’s hands didn’t stop, interrogating Gu Qingying at her leisure.
“Ahahaha… I shouldn’t… shouldn’t have pretended to be obedient in front of Master! And I definitely shouldn’t have kicked you when you were down, or hid behind Master!”
“Ahahaha… I shouldn’t have kicked you!”
“Ahahaha… Please, stop! I beg you!”
“Ahaha… Senior Sister, I was wrong…”
Gu Qingying was about to laugh herself into breathlessness, stammering out her plea for mercy.
“Hmph… Just admitting your mistake isn’t sincere enough.”
Gong Shangyu finally eased up a little, but her fingers still hovered threateningly at Gu Qingying’s waist, her pink eyes flashing with a crafty light.
“Ahahaha… Then what do you want?”
Gu Qingying managed to question her Senior Sister.
At her words, Gong Shangyu’s smile grew wicked.
“Hehe… If you want me to truly let you go, well, it’s not impossible…”
“Unless, you agree to help me with a little favor.”
“Hm? Wha… what kind of favor?”
Gu Qingying eyed her Second Senior Sister warily, panting and trying to calm the tremors from laughing so hard.
Gong Shangyu leaned in to her ear, lowering her voice like a devil’s whisper:
“Very simple. Master punished me to copy the Sect Rules a hundred times… You, help me copy fifty of them.”
“What?! Fifty times?!”
Gu Qingying’s purple eyes widened.
She was about to refuse on the spot.
“Gong Shangyu! In your dreams!”
“The Sect Rules are so thick! Fifty times? I absolutely—”
“Oh? Not going to copy them?”
Gong Shangyu raised her eyebrow and pressed her fingers once more.
“Aaaah! Hahaha… Stop! I’ll do it! I promise I’ll help you, alright?! Fifty times it is!”
Gu Qingying surrendered instantly.
Tickling was far more effective than any threat.
Gong Shangyu let go with satisfaction, but still straddled Gu Qingying to prevent her escape.
Looking down at her Junior Sister, cheeks flushed, hair messy, tears of laughter glinting at the corners of her eyes, all of Gong Shangyu’s earlier anger vanished from her chest.
“Mm… Now that’s more like it.”
Gong Shangyu patted her hands, but didn’t get up just yet.
Her eyes turned as she revealed an even more “malicious” grin.
“Hehe~ But… just copying, isn’t that letting you off too easily.”
“So, you have to promise me one more thing.”
Gu Qingying had a bad feeling and asked warily.
“You… What else do you want?”
Gong Shangyu bent down, her voice carrying a hint of both temptation and command:
“Take me to Master’s room.”
Gu Qingying’s heart skipped a beat, and she immediately retorted:
“No way! How can we just go into Master’s room as we please? Besides… Besides, Master’s room is locked, and I don’t have the Key to the Master’s Room!”
“Oh? No key?”
Gong Shangyu sneered, reaching out with a finger to lift Gu Qingying’s chin, forcing her to meet her eyes.
“At a time like this, Junior Sister, you’re still playing games with me? We’re both old foxes, so what’s the point in pretending?”
Gong Shangyu leaned even closer, face full of sly amusement.
“With your feelings for Master, there’s no way you haven’t secretly made a copy of the Key to the Master’s Room, hm?”
“In your previous life you were always sneaking into Master’s Jingshi—don’t think I, as your Senior Sister, didn’t notice!”
“I refuse to believe that now, after returning to the sect, you wouldn’t prepare such things ahead of time!”
Gu Qingying’s face turned bright red, as if Gong Shangyu had struck her deepest secret.
Her gaze flickered as she stubbornly retorted.
“You… You’re talking nonsense! I don’t have it!”
“Oh? Don’t have it?”
Gong Shangyu narrowed her eyes, her fingers moving threateningly to Gu Qingying’s waist.
“Hehe~ Looks like the earlier lesson wasn’t deep enough for you!”
“Do you need Senior Sister to help you recall what ‘honest and open’ means?”
With that, Gong Shangyu pressed her fingertips down.
“No! Hahaha… Don’t tickle! I’ll say it! I’ll tell you!”
Gu Qingying broke down at once, the receding ticklishness returning full force, utterly defeating her resistance.
Right now, she was like a haughty kitten caught by the scruff, limp on the grass, whimpering in resignation:
“In… in the secret compartment of my left sleeve pocket, there’s a small Storage Pouch… The Key to the Master’s Room is inside…”
“I had the craftsman at home forge it a few days ago, modeled after Master’s key…”
A victorious gleam flashed in Gong Shangyu’s eyes as she reached into Gu Qingying’s sleeve pocket, quickly finding a small Storage Pouch embroidered with hidden runes.
Gong Shangyu easily dispelled the Restriction on it and took out a brass key shimmering with faint spiritual light.
“Hehe… Just as I thought.”
Gong Shangyu dangled the key triumphantly in front of Gu Qingying.
“Hmph… You even prepared the Key to the Master’s Room, Junior Sister. Don’t tell me you don’t have thoughts about Master’s body?”
“Mm~ Considering Master’s safety, I’ll be keeping this key for you as your Senior Sister!”
Gu Qingying was dying of embarrassment and fury, burying her face in the grass and muffling her curses.
“Gong Shangyu! You scoundrel! Give the key back!”
“Hehehe… Now it’s mine~”
Gong Shangyu gleefully tucked the key into her clothes, then stood up from Gu Qingying, pulling her up as well.
Gu Qingying got up, puffing her cheeks in anger as she fixed her tousled hair and rumpled clothes, her purple eyes full of grievance and silent reproach—she looked just like a powerless husband watching his treasured anime figure get played with by his roommate.
“Hehe~ Let’s go, lead the way~ Time to take a good look at Master’s room!”
Gong Shangyu was in high spirits, ignoring Gu Qingying’s glare as she patted her on the shoulder and urged her on.
Gu Qingying dragged her feet at the front, cursing Gong Shangyu a thousand times in her heart.
Just like that, the two girls didn’t say another word for the rest of the way, soon returning to their lonely Duanqing Peak, stopping before the main hall’s Jingshi where Lu Li resided.
There was a simple Restriction outside the Jingshi, but for Gong Shangyu, now holding the key, it was as good as useless.
Gong Shangyu touched the key gently to the door, causing the Restriction’s light to ripple and open a gap.
Gong Shangyu took a deep breath, her face now showing a mixture of excitement, nervousness, and almost reverent anticipation as she softly pushed open the wooden door to Lu Li’s Jingshi.
A familiar scent—clear, with a faint hint of books and medicinal herbs—washed over her.
This was the unique fragrance belonging to Master, Lu Li.
Gong Shangyu’s eyes instantly brightened.
She darted inside as if it were her own territory, then decisively shut the door behind her, leaving Gu Qingying outside!
“Gong Shangyu! Why are you locking the door? Let me in!”
Gu Qingying pounded on the door in fury, but there was nothing she could do to Gong Shangyu inside.
“This is Master’s place for cultivation and meditation, idle persons are not allowed~”
“So, Junior Sister, you just be good and stand guard outside for me. And by the way, figure out how you’re going to copy those fifty times of the Sect Rules faster~”
Gong Shangyu’s triumphant voice came from within, making Gu Qingying stamp her feet furiously outside the door.