"Whatever the senior uncle says, shall be so."

Xu Chang'an walked in, glancing at the Beauty Fruit Tree standing in the rain, feeling the meticulously flowing Spiritual Qi on it. He thought that this senior uncle wasn't as decadent as she appeared; at least she had taken care to manage the Spiritual Qi.

Qinling stood up, stretched lazily in front of Xu Chang'an, and the little cat obediently leapt onto her shoulder.

Xu Chang'an averted his gaze.

Qinling exhaled a breath of turbid air.

The burdens she felt from Li Zhibai's dominance suddenly lightened considerably upon seeing Xu Chang'an, as if the clouds hovering over her heart were dispersed by his arrival.

Indeed, when she had no friends, work used to fill her void; now, with free time, she felt almost rusted.

"I've prepared all the procedures for you. Go inside and sit for a while."

Seeing Xu Chang'an walk under the eaves with his umbrella, Qinling went over to take it from him, placing it aside. Then she gently wiped a trace of moisture from his clothes, chiding, "You've reached the Immortal Sect, how are you still getting rained on?"

She truly had a bit of an elder sister's demeanor.

Xu Chang'an paused, wiped his face, and said, "I'm not exactly a formidable Immortal Sect expert, and besides... aren't you familiar with this kind of rain?"

"Rain..." Qinling contemplated for a moment before nodding, "Spiritual Rain... I haven't gone out in recent days, I forgot about that."

Xu Chang'an: "..."

Now he realized how lazy Qinling had become.

"Alright, go inside and sit, don't make me say it a third time." Qinling thought for a moment, "There are some things I need to remind you to avoid bringing up the unspeakable in front of Ms. Zhu."

"Understood."

Xu Chang'an glanced at the small cat on Qinling's shoulder with its bright eyes, coughed, and walked into the house.

He then saw the tea on the table meant for entertaining guests.

"Had visitors?" Xu Chang'an asked casually.

"Guess who it was."

"... My teacher."

"You guessed right; you must have met him on your way here."

"Yes."

The simple conversation masked an unspoken understanding between them. Xu Chang'an didn't ask what Li Zhibai was here for, and Qinling didn't intend to say.

Just as Xu Chang'an felt relaxed speaking with Qinling, Qinling trusted this "loyal" child.

That's why she showed him her young, less rigid self.

If Li Zhibai was the Main Palace bestowed by the heavens, she was most likely the Ah Zi on the road.

"And Miss Li... is quite peculiar too," Qinling chuckled slightly as she tidied the remnants of the tea set on the table, grumbling a bit to Xu Chang'an, her disciple, "Despite having significant cultivation, she insists on walking everywhere... Is that the type of person Miss Zhu likes?"

Xu Chang'an listened with one ear, letting it out the other, serving as a qualified listener.

He had many matters needing help from this senior uncle, so he didn't mind listening to her complaints.

"By the way, I won't make you tea," Qinling said.

"As you wish."

"..."

Qinling turned, frowning, "Kid, was it a mistake for me to ask you to call me senior uncle?"

Back then, she didn't think Xu Chang'an was a particularly comforting person, so she had him call her "Sister Qin" like how he addressed Zhu Pingniang, but it always sounded like "Ms. Qing" or "Eldest Sister," which felt awkward enough to abandon.

Now, she somewhat regretted it.

Considering Xu Chang'an's relationship with Zhu Pingniang and Li Zhibai, calling her "Sister Qin" would have been more appropriate.

Senior uncle?

It didn't sit right, especially since he had left the Sword Hall and was once again under Li Zhibai's guidance, hearing him call her senior uncle didn't feel good.

Being of the same generation as Li Zhibai was not her intention.

"What should I say?" Xu Chang'an blinked, thinking of Miss Yun who was still at home.

At home, he had been considering how to address Yun Qian, and now here with Qinling, she was pondering the same issue.

"Say nothing, just listen to me." Qinling shook her head.

Senior uncle it is.

If the child truly called her "sister," she might not let him in.

Handing Xu Chang'an the items needed for descending the mountain, Qinling sat down to chat, but one look at her crumpled nightdress made her frown.

"What is it?" Xu Chang'an asked, taking the things Qinling gave him, looking up.

"When you came in, couldn't you remind me?" Qinling said with some discontent, smoothing the creases and dirt on her nightdress.

"Didn't think of it." Xu Chang'an replied honestly.

The dress was thick, just a bit wrinkled, wrapped tightly, nothing worth mentioning.

Qinling glanced at him for a moment, then laughed.

She recalled the times she'd occasionally seen Xu Chang'an gently patting the dust off Yun Qian by the lake.

Indeed... this child's attentiveness only belonged to Miss Yun.

A focused person.

Satisfied.

Very satisfied.

Xu Chang'an had no idea why Miss Qin was laughing.

"I'll go change..." Qinling said, walking towards the room, "Sit for a while, get your own tea if you want some. There's some left from the morning when Miss Li was here."

Xu Chang'an: "..."

"Senior uncle."

As Qinling moved farther away, Xu Chang'an suddenly spoke, his tone... uncharacteristically awkward.

"Hmm?" Qinling paused, turning back, "Don't like leftovers from Miss Li?"

"No." Xu Chang'an pointed at the young Little Li Hua perched on Qinling's slender right shoulder, not saying anything further.

"Want to pet it?" Qinling smiled.

"Yes."

"I forgot, you quite like raccoons," Qinling casually placed the little cat near Xu Chang'an's cup, "If you like them, why not keep one?"

"No time." Xu Chang'an couldn't help but smile, looking at the fluffy kitten on the table, devoid of Little Li Hua's aggressiveness.

"No time..."

Qinling gritted her shiny teeth.

To someone like her who had grown idle, his words inevitably held a hint of mockery.

Watching Xu Chang'an start to play with the cat, Qinling turned back to her room, hesitating momentarily.

She remembered their first meeting when Xu Chang'an, not exactly slick in worldly ways, was courteous without subservience, measured in his demeanor... very comfortable.

Now his casualness was quite the opposite.

Yet, she preferred the present Xu Chang'an more.

Humans are so contradictory.

But at the same time, whenever she thought of liking Xu Chang'an, she couldn't help but think of that flowing nature of Miss Yun.

"I know that Muyu Peak is full of girls; as long as he's happy, it's fine."

Yun Qian's words frequently came to Qinling's mind.

Qinling glanced up at the calligraphy on the wall, her gaze lingering briefly on "Clouds roll in, clouds roll out, with indifference."

Compared to Miss Yun, Qinling felt she was a woman who mistrusted Zhu Pingniang and was all too prone to jealousy.

And...

Even though she liked Xu Chang'an, she still preferred Miss Yun more.

Now, with hindsight, her regret wasn't about age; it was about Yun Qian also having to call her senior uncle.

She had few friends, and it would be wonderful if someone could call her "sister."

Whether it was Sister Qin, Eldest Sister, or Ms. Qing didn't matter much.

With a smile, Qinling went inside to change her clothes.

——

Originally playing with the cat, Xu Chang'an stopped.

The kitten tilted its head, peering at him curiously.

Xu Chang'an glanced towards Qinling's room, inexplicably uneasy.

——

In the room, Yun Qian took out a book, skimmed it for a while, then set it down.

She pondered about what intrigued her husband.

Was the story between Li Zhibai and Zhu Pingniang so fascinating?

"Between women... "

She considered herself a woman too, and according to him, still alluring.

Miss Wen, Miss Li, Miss Liu... adding Miss Qin.

Yun Qian thought she wouldn't be jealous, but what about her husband?

If her husband were to feel jealous... who would he be jealous of?

Miss Yun couldn't understand, so she continued to read.

Slanting wind and fine rain brushed against her face, the girl as usual.

...

Perpetually not so clever.

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