Chapter 12: A Bolt from the Blue

When Wei Yunxi, who was in the Cultivation Hall, heard the news, she joined the other young members of the Wei family in exclaiming with envy and surprise. She touched her chubby little chin and thought to herself:

‘No wonder she’s the protagonist—she really does have some luck and skill on her side. That means I have to play it even safer!’

That afternoon, after returning to Zhuohua Courtyard, Wei Yunxi pretended to work hard, sitting in meditation half an hour longer than usual, but in the end, she simply slumped over and fell asleep, wasting yet another evening.

Pearl, standing guard outside the door, made no effort to urge her young mistress to cultivate. On the contrary, she blocked Chunyu and the others from approaching, using the ready excuse: Miss is sensing spiritual energy and must not be disturbed.

The four maids—Chunyu, Qiutao, Dongmei, and Pear—were now highly wary of Pearl. Ever since Xia Mo’s experience of falling asleep in the middle of the night, all three—Chunyu, Qiutao, and Dongmei—had suffered the same fate. It was obvious who was behind it.

Even knowing this, they were powerless to do anything. None of them were a match for Pearl, so all they could do was follow Miss’s instructions: avoid conflict with her as much as possible and take good care of Miss in daily life.

The day after Wei Yunqing successfully guided spiritual energy into her body, the two sisters met again at the entrance of the Cultivation Hall. By now, Wei Yunqing’s features had grown even more delicate, faintly resembling Du Ruolan, with eyes much like Wei Lingyue’s—she’d inherited the best of both, which explained her father’s favoritism.

Wei Yunxi approached with a bright smile and greeted her, “Congratulations, Sister, on successfully guiding spiritual energy into your body. I still haven’t grasped the knack—could you teach me?”

After hearing enough compliments these days, Wei Yunqing had become immune to them. Besides, she had no desire to help her younger sister, not wanting to be surpassed. So she replied perfunctorily, “I don’t have any secret tricks. I just followed Elder Six’s instructions. The most important thing is to calm your mind and eliminate distractions. Have you managed that?”

Wei Yunxi bashfully touched her fingers together, her cheeks reddening. “Whenever I meditate for long, my legs go numb…”

There was no need to say more—everyone present knew what she meant, for they’d all experienced the same.

Feigning helplessness, Wei Yunqing shrugged. “There’s nothing I can do, then. If you can’t even endure meditation, nothing I say will help.”

Seeing her sister’s dejected look, Wei Yunqing’s mood brightened. She patted Wei Yunxi’s shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, little sister. I’ve already pleaded with Father and Mother. When I go to Haoran Sect to cultivate, I’ll take you with me.”

Wei Yunxi’s heart sank at these words—she knew trouble was coming. Still, she replaced her crestfallen look with one of delight, taking Wei Yunqing’s hand to confirm, “Sister, is that true? I can really go to Haoran Sect with you? But I only have three spiritual roots, and I haven’t even succeeded in guiding energy into my body!”

The other children in the Cultivation Hall listened intently to the sisters’ conversation. A few older children had already realized what was happening, their gazes toward Wei Yunxi and Wei Yunqing tinged with discontent.

Wei Yunqing, secretly satisfied, soothed her aloud, “It’s true. I’ve already asked Father—I don’t want to be separated from you. Even if you haven’t succeeded in guiding energy, you can still join Haoran Sect with me.”

Wei Yunxi’s heart sank further, but she continued to feign excitement, squeezing Wei Yunqing’s hand and saying, “Thank you, Sister! I… I’ll work hard to cultivate and try to succeed before Haoran Sect’s disciple selection.”

Before Wei Yunqing could respond, Wei Yunxi let go of her wrist and trotted into the Cultivation Hall, choosing a spot and sitting down with eyes closed, as if she were earnestly meditating.

Inside her mind, Wei Yunxi cursed furiously. The wretched heavens truly wouldn’t let her go—not even after all her efforts to twist the plot. Heaven was still intent on pushing her back onto the original track, wanting her to become the protagonist’s walking treasure chest.

Her original plan had been to separate from the heroine right from the start, denying her any chance to leech resources. She was convinced that as long as she stayed away from the protagonist, her own luck would guarantee a bright future.

But now, the heroine was clearly determined to cling to her and bleed her dry. She would have to find another way. If the two of them entered Haoran Sect together, she would face even more challenges—but at least it would allow her to keep a close eye on the heroine’s every move. She wondered how much help her uncle could provide this time.

That evening, back at Zhuohua Courtyard, Wei Yunxi put on a display of newfound zeal, forcing herself to meditate half an hour longer than usual. This made her even more attuned to the motes of spiritual energy. She was certain that, with just a word, the spiritual energy would enter her body, but she had to hold back.

Seeing Wei Yunxi fall asleep while meditating yet again, Pearl slipped quietly out of Zhuohua Courtyard and made her way in the darkness to Haitang Courtyard to see Du Ruolan.

Du Ruolan listened to Pearl’s report, her brow furrowing tightly as she questioned her repeatedly, “You’ve checked all of Zhuohua Courtyard?”

“I’ve checked everywhere, Madam—even the quarters of the four maids. I found nothing.”

“And did you sound them out?”

“Madam, those four rarely interact with me. But I overheard Chunyu say that Miss Yunxi stayed for a time at the Feng family’s house, so anything left by her mother is probably there.”

Du Ruolan’s face darkened at these words. She hadn’t expected the Feng family to be so shameless. No wonder Pearl had found nothing.

She waved Pearl away, then went to find Wei Lingyue.

Wei Lingyue had already finished his cultivation for the day. Recently, he’d hit a bottleneck, always falling just short of breaking through to the late Foundation Establishment stage.

He took out the storage bag left by Feng Jiayun, hoping to find a suitable pill to help him advance.

At that moment, Du Ruolan came to see him, informing him of what her maid had “inadvertently overheard.”

Wei Lingyue felt a trace of discontent. In his eyes, all those things rightfully belonged to the Wei family, but he couldn’t say so outright—it would make them look too greedy.

Du Ruolan’s beautiful eyes shifted as she changed the topic to their daughter’s impending journey to Haoran Sect. “Lingyue, I heard from Yunqing that Yunxi still hasn’t succeeded in guiding energy into her body. With such poor talent, wouldn’t it be inappropriate to send her to Haoran Sect?”

Wei Lingyue glanced at Du Ruolan and replied, “Wasn’t it you who said Yunqing wanted Yunxi to accompany her? That’s why you asked me to send the two of them together to Haoran Sect.”

Du Ruolan smiled slightly, speaking plainly. “Lingyue, I didn’t know the Feng family would do such a thing. I thought Yunxi would have the pills her mother left behind, so even if she relied on those for cultivation, she wouldn’t fall too far behind Yunqing. That way, the sisters could support each other and the Wei family wouldn’t lose face.

“But she’s still young and too easily influenced by the Fengs. She’s left all her good things with them. Once she enters the sect, how will she cultivate? We can’t expect Yunqing to share her own resources with her, can we?”

Wei Lingyue answered with a calm expression, “We of the Wei family won’t covet what belongs to the Fengs. Yunxi is still young—once she begins cultivating, she’ll understand the importance of resources.”

“And about Yunxi going to Haoran Sect…”

“I’ll think it over.”