Chapter 183
Chapter 183: Rong Shu Ran Into Yu Ruan Ruan
The Ice Lake lay ahead, glittering like a frozen mirror beneath the open sky.
It was one of Xiao Yao City’s famous sights. With the Alchemy Tournament approaching, the place was packed.
Around the lake, tall pavilions rose in tiers.
“Senior Brother,” Rong Shu said, pointing, “let’s go up there.”
Wu Hua nodded.
To enter the lake area or climb a pavilion, each person paid two spirit stones. The price wasn’t steep—mostly a way to keep mortals out and reduce the press of bodies.
They paid and climbed.
From the pavilion, the Ice Lake’s scenery spread wide beneath them. The frozen surface shone with cold light; even the air tasted sharp and clean.
“The ice qi here really is dense,” Rong Shu murmured. Even her ice-element spirit root seemed to relax, as if breathing easier.
She hadn’t tested with an Ice Spirit Root, but she could absorb ice qi. More than once she’d wondered if she had some hidden ice affinity.
“Look at how many ice cultivators there are,” Rong Shu said, scanning the crowd below. “Everyone came for this place.”
“The ice qi density here is about twice what you find outside,” Wu Hua said. “Not enough to change the world, but enough to make ordinary cultivators yearn for it.”
His eyes lingered on the lake, thoughtful.
A place like this often hid something.
Then Rong Shu’s gaze sharpened. She spotted familiar faces moving through the crowd.
Yu Ruan Ruan’s group.
Below, Yu Ruan Ruan stared at the Ice Lake with undisguised excitement. “So this is the Ice Lake… the ice qi is really rich.”
Qin Yuan spoke gently beside her. “There’s still time before the Alchemy Tournament. You can stay here a few days and cultivate.”
“Mm.” Yu Ruan Ruan turned, putting on a soft, grateful expression. “Third Senior Brother… will it trouble you all, making you accompany me?”
“Of course not,” Qin Yuan said immediately. “Second Senior Brother won’t find it troublesome either.”
…
Yu Ruan Ruan’s excitement flickered again and again.
Then the system’s voice sounded in her mind, cold and flat.
[There is an opportunity here that belongs to Rong Shu. Beneath this Ice Lake lies a rank-eight ice-crystal glass lotus.]
[If you obtain it, it will improve your physique and strengthen your control over ice qi.]
Yu Ruan Ruan’s breath tightened.
A rank-eight treasure.
No wonder her heart raced.
She needed it.
Ever since she broke through to mid Foundation Establishment Stage at the Sect Grand Tournament over two years ago, her cultivation had not advanced even a step.
Her reputation in the sect hadn’t changed. She was still the “genius girl.”
But inside, she was burning.
Yu Ruan Ruan asked silently, System, when can I steal Jin Yu’s fortune? It’s been two years. Is it still not enough?
[Your conquest value remains mediocre. In two years, it hasn’t even reached half. You should switch methods.]
Yu Ruan Ruan felt regret.
Give me more time. I already ruined Yan Zi Mo. If I ruin Jin Yu too, can I even find another luck bearer?
The system’s voice carried a faint, coaxing chill.
[What are you afraid of? You are a luck-blessed girl—the protagonist of this world. You don’t need to do anything. Luck bearers will flock to you. Jin Yu is nothing. You’ll have as many as you want later.]
Yu Ruan Ruan’s unease calmed.
“Ruanruan,” Qin Yuan said, drawing her forward, “let’s go over there.”
“Okay, Third Senior Brother.”
…
Up on the pavilion, Rong Shu’s stomach tightened.
“Senior Brother,” she said quietly, “it’s Yu Ruan Ruan and them…”
Her gaze dropped to the man walking at the back, and her face changed. “Senior Brother—that man… isn’t he the evil cultivator we met before?”
She pointed.
Wu Hua followed her line of sight. The moment he saw Yun Wu Ya’s face clearly, cold light flashed in his eyes.
“Yes,” he said. “The one from Dragon Ridge Palace. The one who led people to bully you and the little one.”
“Gugu!” The Little Hamster shoved aside Rong Shu’s finger and craned to look.
He recognized Yun Wu Ya too.
Rong Shu frowned hard. “Why would an evil cultivator be with Yu Ruan Ruan and Tian Yan Sect disciples? And they’re laughing like old friends?”
“Unless,” Wu Hua said evenly, “they don’t know his true identity.”
“Evil cultivators plant spies in righteous sects.” Displeasure sharpened in his gaze. “He may be one who infiltrated Tian Yan Sect.”
“This person can’t be left alive.”
Rong Shu hesitated. “Senior Brother… maybe wait.”
“If he infiltrated smoothly, there may be a mole. We could follow the thread and catch more than one.”
Wu Hua’s lips curved slightly. “Good. Thinking like that is not bad.”
Then he added, almost casually, “But my identity is special. I can’t interfere in the struggle between forces without reason. Catching moles isn’t my job.”
Rong Shu blinked. “Then why did you say we should kill him?”
Wu Hua’s answer was calm, almost too straightforward.
“Because he bullied my Little Junior Sister.”
Warmth rose in Rong Shu’s chest before she could stop it.
And then confusion, too.
Little Junior Sister.
Not just “Junior Sister.”
It sounded… closer. More deliberate.
She couldn’t figure out why he insisted on saying it like that.
Maybe Heart-Inquiry Academy disciples were all older, and she’d end up the youngest?
The excuse sounded flimsy even in her own head.
But the sincerity in Wu Hua’s voice was real. She could feel it.
“Senior Brother,” she said carefully, “let’s spare him for now.”
“If an evil cultivator dies in Xiao Yao City, it’ll cause chaos. It might even affect the Alchemy Tournament.”
Wu Hua considered it, then nodded. “That’s reasonable. Then we’ll spare him for now.”
He withdrew his gaze from Yun Wu Ya.
With Yu Ruan Ruan’s group here, neither Rong Shu nor Wu Hua wanted to linger at the Ice Lake. They left quietly.
…
Back at the inn, Rong Shu caught Wu Hua just as he reached his door.
“Senior Brother…” she began. “About my breakthrough earlier…”
Before she could continue, Wu Hua interrupted gently, “It’s late. You should rest.”
Rong Shu froze. “Huh?”
Wu Hua lifted a hand and tapped her forehead lightly with one finger.
“Everyone has secrets,” he said. “That’s normal.”
“Hiding everything isn’t good, but telling everything isn’t always good either.”
“When you befriend someone, what matters is shared intent and shared goals. Leave each other room.”
Rong Shu’s hand paused where she’d lifted it to rub her forehead.
Wu Hua continued, “If someone truly trusts you, even if you carry a bellyful of secrets, they won’t distance themselves over trivial things.”
“And if someone looks down on you, even if you bare your heart and hold nothing back, you still won’t change a narrow mind.”
“Understand?”
Rong Shu looked up at him, speechless for a moment.
Wu Hua had noticed her hesitation earlier—how she’d looked like she wanted to confess something.
He hadn’t expected it to be about this.
Rong Shu’s secrets… he didn’t plan to dig.
All he needed to know was that she was the one he had chosen. His future Little Junior Sister.
That was enough.
Rong Shu’s lips curved into a slow smile. “Senior Brother… good night.”
Wu Hua nodded. “Xiao Yao City is big. We can stroll again tomorrow.”
“Okay!”
…
Back in her room, Rong Shu set the Little Hamster on the bed, took off her shoes, and sat cross-legged.
“Besides Pureclear Six-Spirit Flower, the other ingredients are all ready…” she muttered, counting in her head. “Some herbs can be pre-processed…”
“Month-end is in a few days. I should test for rank-three certification then. That will let me exchange for certain rank-three formulas…”
“And Yun Wu Ya…” Her eyes narrowed. “He’s with Yu Ruan Ruan. I need to watch him. He didn’t come to Xiao Yao City just to tag along. He has to be hiding something…”
“Also…” She sighed. “My Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation is getting harder to suppress. After the tournament, once my foundation stabilizes, I can consider breaking through.”
Thinking of her cultivation, Rong Shu waved a hand and released Feng Ling and Huo Ling.
The two little spirits immediately began hiding—one ducking behind the other, the other popping behind the first—anything to avoid her gaze.
She’d already scolded them enough. Now she softened her tone. “Next time, at least warn me first. Okay?”
“Wu!”
“Houhou!”
They nodded so hard they nearly toppled.
Rong Shu’s stern face eased. “Alright. Tell me—how did you do it?”
“My displayed realm…” She frowned, thinking it through. “It seems like the Qi Refining, fifth layer I’m showing is from wind and fire. Metal, wood, water, earth, lightning are still at early Foundation Establishment Stage.”
The two little spirits chattered excitedly.
Huo Ling planted its hands on its hips like it was about to deliver a grand explanation. Feng Ling spun around it like a cheerleader.
The Little Hamster, nibbling melon seeds on the bed, stopped to watch.
Then Huo Ling spread its arms and began wildly gesturing, its face so expressive it looked like a tiny actor.
The flame on its head shot upward—so high it nearly licked the roof.
Rong Shu and the Little Hamster stared, then instinctively looked at each other.
Rong Shu’s eyes said: did you understand?
The Little Hamster squeaked: “Gu!”
Rong Shu sighed: me neither.
“Stop.” Rong Shu raised a hand. “New rule. I ask, you nod or shake your heads.”
“Can you help me freely control what realm I show outwardly?”
The two little spirits exchanged rapid chatter, then nodded together.
Rong Shu relaxed slightly.
“You’re Feng Ling and Huo Ling, so you can control wind and fire. You can’t control the others. Right?”
They nodded again.
“Then why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
Feng Ling tilted its head, confused.
Huo Ling crossed its arms and gave her a look of pure disdain.
Rong Shu blinked.
Right.
She hadn’t exactly asked.
She cleared her throat. “Fine. Then how long can you maintain it? Any side effects—for you or me?”
Both shook their heads.
Huo Ling even chattered indignantly, like she’d insulted its competence.
Rong Shu hurried to smooth it over. “No, no. You did great. Later I’ll refine you a whole bottle of pills to eat.”
The moment “pills” came up, Huo Ling’s entire mood flipped. It practically glowed with happiness.
The “fake pills” from the secret realm were gone, but Rong Shu could refine other fire-qi pills and feed them to Huo Ling.
It wouldn’t harm her. If anything, it was a convenient way to use excess materials.
“Alright,” Rong Shu said. “Be good. I’m cultivating.”
She settled into meditation.
Senior Brother wasn’t wrong.
She needed to cultivate harder.
She had to raise her ice cultivation.
She had to reach Golden Core… but not too fast.