Chapter 65 - 055 Qinling (two-in-one)_2

Seeing Xu Chang’an’s eyes glaze over, Steward Qin blinked and said, "This is the Beauty Fruit Tree. I hurried back because it’s time to comb the Spiritual Qi for them."

Xu Chang’an nodded. In the Immortal Sect, timely combing of Spiritual Qi for Spirit Fruit plants is very important.

"I know you have a talent for cultivation, and there are many Spirit Fruits planted at your home." Steward Qin gently smiled, "I have a position at the Hundred Herbs Garden, and those people are quite envious of you. Actually, if you were an ordinary Outer Disciple, working at the Hundred Herbs Garden wouldn’t be bad either."

"Hundred Herbs Garden..." Xu Chang’an recalled the events that happened when those people offered him an olive branch, showing a helpless expression.

Perhaps people with cultivation talent are really rare, so back then, the people from the Hundred Herbs Garden indeed caused him quite some trouble.

"Alright, you go inside." Steward Qin gathered Spiritual Qi and touched a tree in front, instantly causing complex patterns resembling meridians to appear on the Beauty Fruit Tree. Waves of concentrated Spiritual Qi fluctuations spread out, ruffling Xu Chang’an’s hair.

Steward Qin turned back and said, "I’ll come right after I finish combing the Spiritual Qi."

"..." Xu Chang’an looked at the house in front of him and sighed softly.

By norms, there’s no reason to enter someone’s house the first time, especially when the host hasn’t moved.

However, since combing Spiritual Qi requires full concentration, staying here would disturb Steward Qin. After thinking for a moment, he decided it was better to follow her words, so he pushed open the main hall door and sat by the window.

As soon as he closed the door, a blinding light emanated from the courtyard. Spiraling Spiritual Qi transformed into a turbulent wind striking the window. Even from this distance, Xu Chang’an could feel the surging True Yuan from Steward Qin, causing his mouth to twitch.

"That’s why she’s a Senior."

Combing Spiritual Qi for a tree... made such a commotion, anyone not knowing would think there was a battle outside.

Xu Chang’an thought if the roaring Spiritual Qi outside exploded, it might blast the entire courtyard into the sky.

Now he understood why Steward Qin lived in such a secluded area; her cultivation must far surpass other Stewards on Celestial Bright Peak.

Comparing it to his careful and cautious way of combing Spiritual Qi daily, Xu Chang’an couldn’t help but feel like a small wizard meeting a master.

But he also felt puzzled.

The Beauty Fruit he planted hadn’t ripened yet, so he didn’t quite understand its structure, but based on his personal experience... combing Spiritual Qi shouldn’t require such a massive amount of True Yuan, right?

The Senior must be right.

Come to think of it, should he ask Steward Qin for guidance on cultivating Beauty Fruits?

Zhu Pingniang had asked him to try cultivating the Beauty Fruit. If someone could give him pointers, he wouldn’t ruin the seed she gave him.

He lifted his gaze.

Steward Qin’s main hall was much simpler than Xu Chang’an had imagined, exuding a strong scent of ink. To be precise, as soon as he opened the door, he was met with the aroma of books, with calligraphy filling the walls.

He didn’t need to gaze around because the walls were covered with paintings and calligraphy.

While on the island, Xu Chang’an also self-studied calligraphy, and looking at the ink characters on the walls, he could feel the temperament of the writer. He had previously seen Steward Qin’s handwriting when handling Yun Qian’s registration, so he easily recognized her handwriting.

The writing is so good.

As he thought of this, Xu Chang’an suddenly froze, because he inevitably saw the largest piece of calligraphy hanging in the center of the room.

The brushstrokes were gentle, exuding the subtlety of a woman, with strokes like clouds dissipating, clearly from someone’s hand.

And unlike other copied poems, this piece only had two characters.

[Qin Ling]

Inscribed with—Zhu Pingniang.

"..."

Zhu Pingniang?

So it was Senior Zhu’s writing; he thought it had such a worldly aura, contrasting starkly with the other writings in the room. However... the writing of Zhu Pingniang was placed like a moon surrounded by stars in the center, and even if Xu Chang’an knew nothing, he could clearly sense Zhu Pingniang’s status in Steward Qin’s heart.

No wonder, even though he and Steward Qin weren’t acquainted, she was willing to help him this way.

And those two characters Qin Ling...

While Xu Chang’an was in a daze, suddenly he heard a slightly weak voice from behind.

"That’s my name."

"Senior, this junior has been disrespectful." Xu Chang’an was startled, quickly stood up, and saluted.

"What’s so... disrespectful about it?" At this time, Qin Ling’s face was pale, her chest lightly heaved, taking shallow breaths, clearly exhausted.

"The Beauty Fruit Tree had many blockages; I spent a bit more effort. Wait a moment, I’ll return shortly..." Qin Ling started to say, then suddenly froze as she saw Xu Chang’an reaching out to her with three Qi Replenishing Pills.

"This child... aren’t these the ones I gave you?" Qin Ling sighed helplessly.

"This junior doesn’t need them." Xu Chang’an said seriously, "Apologies for disturbing you, Senior."

"Why be so distant." Qin Ling chided, then ignored Xu Chang’an, heading into the inner room herself.

"..." Xu Chang’an put away the Qi Replenishing Pills, feeling a bit odd.

Speaking of it.

The Steward Qin in front of him, and the stern and harsh person he had met before seemed like two completely different people.

After thinking, he found it quite normal for someone to have two different personalities, one for work and one for personal life.

This thought was confirmed when Steward Qin emerged from the room.

Not long after, a tall woman walked out from behind the screen, no longer wearing the Deacon’s Robe but instead in a dark robe similar to a scholarly teacher’s attire in the mundane world, her hair simply tied in a ponytail, hanging to her nape, looking fresh and sharp.

Although at first glance, one might still consider her quite stiff, the stern impression had greatly diminished, the fine lines around her eyes had all disappeared, making her look a decade younger.

"Sorry for the wait." Qin Ling came out, looking at Xu Chang’an and asked, "Would you like some tea?"

Xu Chang’an just paused slightly, then quickly came back to his senses and shook his head.

"Never mind, I know you’re in a hurry." Qin Ling sat across from Xu Chang’an, smiling and said, "Young lad, do I look... strange?"

"Nothing strange at all." Xu Chang’an said truthfully.

Young lad?

Xu Chang’an remembered that before, Steward Qin always referred to him as "Xu Neizhi," but now... the address had suddenly become much closer.

He quickly realized that the woman before him had a clear distinction between her work and personal life.

Indeed.

This kind of personality is what makes her good at being a Steward.

"Yesterday, I sent a message to Miss Zhu, and she praises you highly." Qin Ling looked admiringly at the young man in front.

"Senior..."

"Don’t call me Senior." Qin Ling furrowed her brow a little, saying seriously, "I heard from Miss Zhu that you call her sister?"

Uh oh...

Although Xu Chang’an wanted to shake his head, at Zhu Pingniang’s request, he indeed had called her that.

"In private, you call Miss Zhu sister, yet call me Senior." Qin Ling shook her head, "Doesn’t that make me a generation older than her out of nowhere? That can’t happen... If you call her sister, you should call me sister too."

"..."

"Why are you looking at me like that? I know my age is enough to be your mother." Qin Ling seriously said, "But titles mustn’t be confused."

The main thing is, she cannot be a generation older than Miss Zhu, no matter what.

"Sister Qin," Xu Chang’an helplessly said.

"Tsk."

Qin Ling’s brows arched, looking at the young boy before her, who could be her son, shaking her head firmly, "Ugh, it sounds rather awkward... Forget it, just call me Shishu (Aunt-Master)."

After all, no matter which master Xu Chang’an eventually apprenticed to, calling her Shishu wouldn’t be wrong.

Xu Chang’an: "..."

Although thinking this might be rude... he originally thought Steward Qin, whose working style was competent, nearly perfect, turned out to be a normal young lady privately, mysterious and hard to grasp.

Indeed, only his Miss Yun is truly special.