Chapter 23: A Peaceful Daily Life

Having reached that conclusion, Qingyun’s mood was somewhat heavy, but none of it showed on her face. Carrying the prepared meal inside, she set it on the table in the outer room.

“Young Miss, it is time for lunch,” she called toward the courtyard.

At that moment, Yueli was hugging her knees and sitting on the clean step beneath the corridor, her unfocused gaze resting on the old tree in the courtyard, whose leaves were sparse and thin. No one knew what she was thinking about.

Because she was not permitted to step beyond the courtyard, had no companions of her own age, and rarely even had anyone with whom she could exchange a few ordinary words, the long years of loneliness had worn this little girl’s temperament into something unnaturally quiet, even faintly sluggish.

Most of the time, she simply stayed there in silence like that, as though she were an exquisitely crafted doll with no life in it.

Yet ever since Qingyun had arrived, this “doll” seemed to have been infused with a thread of faint but genuine vitality.

Qingyun’s daily care, her occasional conversations, and even those awkward little interactions between them were like stones cast into a dead pool, stirring small ripples and casting a rare ray of light into Yueli’s gray and monotonous childhood.

“I’m coming.”

Hearing the call, Yueli came back to herself. She slowly rose to her feet, patted at dust that did not exist on her skirt, and walked inside, naturally sitting down on the stool beside Qingyun.

Somewhere along the way, she had grown used to Qingyun being beside her while she ate.

She picked up her chopsticks, yet did not begin eating at once. Instead, she turned to look at Qingyun, who was still arranging the bowls and chopsticks, and in her golden eyes there was a rare trace of childish curiosity and expectation.

“That thing you told me last night, Qingyun—the princess who lost her crystal slipper at the ball. What happened afterward? The one she loved... did he manage to find her through that slipper?”

The chill was gone from her voice. Instead, there was a faint softness in it.

That was right.

In order to “deal with” this Young Miss, and also to make the nights a little less unbearable, Qingyun had started telling Yueli little stories before bed about half a month earlier.

Most of them were simplified and adapted from the vague fairy tales or fables she remembered from her previous life.

Unexpectedly, Yueli had shown an interest in them far beyond anything Qingyun had anticipated. She listened seriously every night, and even during the day she would think about what happened next.

Hearing Yueli’s question, Qingyun picked up a clean cloth and very naturally wiped Yueli’s little hands and the corner of her mouth, which might have gotten dusty outside. Only then did she smile and answer,

“As for that... the ending of the story is very exciting. But I’ll save it for tonight and tell it to Young Miss then, all right? For now, eat properly first.”

Faced with such an answer that deliberately left her hanging, Yueli was somewhat dissatisfied. She pursed her little lips, but in the end did not press further. She only muttered softly, “Always keeping people in suspense,” then lowered her head and began eating.

Perhaps it was only an illusion, but recently her meals seemed to suit her appetite a little more than before.

Watching her take small mouthfuls of food, Qingyun felt somewhat reassured.

Over the past two months, she had secretly and carefully removed the poisonous portion from Yueli’s meals each day, greatly reducing the amount of toxin Yueli was taking in.

Added to that was the lingering gentle medicinal effect of the Clear Spirit Pill, as well as the fact that her body was no longer being continuously harmed. Yueli’s complexion and spirit were indeed improving at a visible, if slow, pace.

The cheeks that had once been pale as paper now held the faintest hint of color. The frequency of her coughing had also gone down.

Most noticeable of all, however, was that from time to time a childlike spark would flicker in her eyes, instead of that constant deadened indifference.

Fortunately, the poison does not seem to have truly invaded her heart meridians and marrow. It has only been slowly wearing away at her vitality over a long period. Now that the source has been cut off, and with gradual conditioning, she should recover a fair amount.

Qingyun reflected inwardly.

Yet no sooner had that thought settled than another arose:

By interfering in secret like this—removing the poison and helping restore her body... is this not something the future male lead was supposed to do? Could I be causing the story to drift away from its original course?

The thought made her a little uneasy. She could not tell what sort of chain reaction her own involvement might trigger.

Forget it.

She quickly shook her head and scattered the useless worry.

According to the vague timeline she remembered from the original story, the important plot would not begin until Yueli was at least fifteen or sixteen.

How old is she now? There is still a long time before that. For now, the only proper thing is to deal with what is in front of me.

Once the two of them had finished lunch, Qingyun put away the bowls and chopsticks and resumed the usual sweeping and cleaning for the afternoon.

And so the days passed, one after another, within this surface calm of ordinary life.

By day, she was the diligent and proper maid Qingyun, carefully tending to Yueli’s daily needs, dealing with the occasional little flare of temper, chatting with her now and then, and continuing the unfinished bedtime stories.

By night, once Yueli had fallen deeply asleep, she would steal every possible moment to cultivate within the small world of the side room.

She circulated 《Longevity Art》, absorbed the sparse spiritual qi in the air, used Qi-Gathering Pills to assist her cultivation, and from time to time spent the Spirit Source she had accumulated in the system shop on one or two cheap yet practical low-rank spells or minor cultivation techniques.

Every few days, she could even go to the dispensary to “help,” absorb another wave of essence from medicinal herbs, and replenish her Spirit Source reserve.

The progress of her cultivation was slow, but steady and grounded.

She could clearly feel the strands of spiritual power within her dantian gradually growing stronger and more solid, while her control over spells became more and more practiced.

That sense of power growing little by little gave her a greater measure of confidence when facing the hidden dangers of the Bai Residence and the uncertainties of the future.

Thus passed two months of days so calm they could almost be called peaceful.

Until one day, Qingyun had just broken through the night before and stabilized her cultivation at the fourth level of Qi Refining—

which meant she had formally crossed the threshold of the early stage of Qi Refining, and both the total amount of her spiritual power and the precision of her control had risen by another level.

She was in a good mood. Holding a newly bound broom, she swept beneath the corridor of the already spotless courtyard with idle, absent motions.

It was called sweeping, but in truth it was little more than an ingrained habit.

Most of her attention was focused instead upon the system light screen before her, visible only to her own eyes, as she examined with satisfaction the fruits of the past two months:

【Name: Qingyun】

【Bone Age: 14】

【Cultivation Realm: Fourth Level of Qi Refining (early Qi Refining stage)】

【Spirit Root Aptitude: Mutated dual ice-lightning spirit roots】

【Innate Foundation and Comprehension: Outstanding natural talent】

【Cultivation Method: Longevity Art (initiated), Lightness Art (martial art · perfected), Fireball Art (minor accomplishment), Cleansing Art (proficient), Wind-Guiding Art (proficient)】

【Special Cultivation Method: First Level of Heavenly Fiend Glazed Body (requirements for cultivation not yet met)】

【Owned Magic Treasure: Longsword “Starfall” (Common Grade sharp weapon)】

【Spirit Source Reserve: 643】

Looking at the number after 【Spirit Source Reserve】, which had risen from 367 to 643, Qingyun felt quite gratified inside.

Yet when she thought of the terrifying resources required for later cultivation—that sky-high medicinal bath cost of at least eighteen thousand Spirit Source—these six hundred-odd points suddenly looked pitifully insignificant.

For the time being, she suppressed the urge to exchange for another cultivation method right away. She decided to continue accumulating Spirit Source while giving priority to raising her foundational cultivation.

After all, even if she exchanged for something now, she would not be able to cultivate it yet. It would be better to wait until after Foundation Establishment before choosing another cultivation method.

She was already at the fourth level of Qi Refining. It should not be too long before she reached the fifth. Once that time came, she would be able to cultivate the first level of 《Heavenly Fiend Glazed Body》. She ought to begin planning now and prepare to search for “thunder qi” and gather the materials for the medicinal bath...