The next morning, as soon as she opened her eyes, she was met with a pair of eyes filled with deep meaning. Shen Jianxi startled and jumped up, but her force was too much, and she hit her head on the headboard.
"Bang!" A loud noise startled them both.
Qiu Tao hadn't expected this either. He had thought she looked beautiful while sleeping and had stared for a while, but he didn't expect her to wake up so suddenly and hit her head.
Shen Jianxi clutched her head and gave him a resentful look. "What do you want so early in the morning? Don't you know that scaring people to death is a serious offense?"
Since it was his fault, Qiu Tao rubbed her head and apologized earnestly, "I'm sorry."
Then, he felt the apology lacked sincerity and added after some thought, "It's okay, I'll take responsibility if you become stupid."
Is this something to take responsibility for! Huh!?
Feeling the pain in her head lessen, Shen Jianxi slapped his hand away and said irritably, "Who wants you to take responsibility!"
As she spoke, she pushed him away and got out of bed.
Being injured so early in the morning, no one would be in a good mood.
Lu Yuan's voice sounded from outside the door. Without Shen Jianxi saying anything, Qiu Tao instinctively hid.
"Come in."
As her voice fell, Lu Yuan pushed the door open and entered. "Miss, which outfit would you like to wear today?"
She picked out a pink, a light green, and a light blue dress.
Shen Jianxi glanced at them and pointed to the light blue one. "This one."
Lu Yuan put away the remaining clothes, pulled open the screen as she requested, and helped her get dressed.
After her grooming, it was time for a meal. Before leaving, she subtly glanced at the place where Qiu Tao was hiding.
After they left, Qiu Tao crawled out from under the bed and looked at the dust on his body, feeling a little helpless. He had almost crawled under every bed in this house.
The communication stone on the corner of the table lit up. He walked over to check it.
...
"I heard from the servants that Xiao Guai has been going out frequently lately," Shen Ziqian suddenly said at the dinner table.
Shen Jianxi's expression remained unchanged, and she replied naturally, "I felt a bit bored staying at home, so I went out to explore."
"Is the small kitchen on fire?" Shen's father suddenly asked. He didn't mean anything else; he was just curious about what his daughter had made.
Shen Jianxi had already prepared for this situation. She waved her hand, and Lu Yuan stepped forward to place the food boxes she had asked to be brought up that morning onto the table.
These were all made by her during dinner yesterday. She had calculated that her family members would likely inquire in a few days, so she was prepared.
"Dad, Mom, Big Brother, please try these. I learned them recently and wanted to make them for you."
This one sentence both clarified her vague earlier response and explained what she had been busy with in the small kitchen.
Her current identity was that of a pampered young lady who had never lifted a finger in housework. It was perfectly normal for her to spend ten days or half a month researching a dessert, right?
As Lu Yuan moved, exquisite pastries were placed on the table.
She had made some traditional snacks she had learned before, such as osmanthus cake and lotus crisp. Each one was small and cute, making one reluctant to eat them.
The three at the dinner table were shocked, especially Shen's mother.
"This, you made this."
No matter how much Shen's father doted on his daughter, he usually maintained a sense of propriety. Shen's mother, however, was different. Daughters had always been close to their mothers, and they spent a lot of time together, so she knew very well whether her daughter could cook.
"Yes!" Shen Jianxi hooked her arm around Shen's mother's arm, displaying a little girl's pride, looking incredibly adorable. "I've been learning for a long time! I wanted to make them for you to try."
This one sentence dispelled the doubts that had just arisen in Shen's mother's mind. She patted her daughter's hand with relief. "You've grown up, you've grown up."
They couldn't bear to eat them. In the end, Shen Ziqian called someone to take these pastries away intact and preserve them with a magical artifact.
When Shen Jianxi returned to her room, Qiu Tao was already gone. On the table was a note he had left for her:
[Something came up, don't worry]
The ink color was different below, as if it had been added again:
[I'll be back soon]
She wouldn't go to the Apricot Blossom Grove today. The tactic of playing hard to get, though cliché, was effective.
Shen Jianxi crumpled the note into a ball and sat on the bed, cross-legged, meditating. She could feel that she was close to a breakthrough.
❤️
Qiu Tao tapped his fingers impatiently on the table, looking at the young man sitting opposite him.
"Lin Xinglan, I'll ask you one more time, are you coming with me or not?"
Lin Xinglan's gaze remained fixed, looking in one direction, and he replied perfunctorily, "No."
Lin Xinglan was somewhat annoyed. He didn't understand why the person who was supposed to come hadn't arrived yet.
Qiu Tao was almost laughing in exasperation. What had he done in his past life to deserve such an unmanageable junior disciple?
He lost his communication stone after coming down the mountain and became unreachable. Now that he finally contacted him, he was so absent-minded.
He stood up abruptly and looked down at Lin Xinglan. "Fine! I won't bother with you anymore. Whoever wants to manage him can!"
With that, he flicked his sleeve and left.
Qiu Tao's departure didn't cause the slightest ripple in Lin Xinglan's emotions. His mind was filled with Shen Jianxi.
He wanted to find her, but he suddenly realized he had no idea where she lived. Usually, she would come to the inn to find him, which was why he didn't know where she lived now.
...
When Qiu Tao returned, Shen Jianxi was still cultivating. He sat at the table, poured himself a cup of tea, and drank it in one gulp. His anger finally subsided a little.
Seeing the spiritual energy around her surging wildly into her body, Qiu Tao's expression changed. He knew she was about to break through.
Every breakthrough for a cultivator was a journey between life and death, which was why so many people needed artifacts and elixirs to reduce the chance of death during breakthroughs.
He didn't know that Shen Jianxi had 77 protecting her and hurriedly put down his teacup to guard her.
Although 77 was there, it could only ensure her life was not threatened. The pain of leveling up was still there.
The last time, perhaps due to the Marrow Cleansing Pill, Shen Jianxi had broken through without feeling pain. This time, spiritual energy furiously entered her body, and her meridians were stretched to the point of pain. The tearing agony made her lips turn pale.
She circulated her cultivation technique to soothe the spiritual energy within her, enduring the pain of her meridians being forcibly widened, guiding the spiritual energy to circulate throughout her body again and again.
Suddenly, the spiritual energy became even more violent, and blood beads appeared on her skin.
"This is bad!" Qiu Tao thought anxiously. He knew this was a sign of a failed breakthrough, which meant she might become crippled.
He was anxious but helpless. He had thought he could return after finding his junior disciple on this trip down the mountain. He hadn't brought any elixirs with him. At this moment, there was nothing he could do except use his own spiritual energy to guide her.
However, he still had internal injuries, and the spiritual energy he had recovered recently was like a drop in the bucket.