Chapter 7
Chapter 7: Offending People Too Easily
Jiang Li Sheng had lived eighteen years without ever joining a secret realm trial, because her master was afraid she’d be eaten by a Demon.
In the end, it came down to one thing: her master thought she was too useless.
She sighed silently.
She had nothing in her hands now. Even her sword had shattered. She didn’t know whether the meager allowance issued to new disciples would be enough to buy a replacement.
“Junior Sister Jiang, don’t worry,” An Ru Xu said, hearing her sigh behind him as he flew. “When the time comes, I’ll look out for you.”
“Thank you, Senior Brother An,” Jiang Li Sheng said.
They reached the Sword Hall and stepped down from the sword.
Two women were just coming out. One wore more ornate disciple robes than usual, jewelry glittering at her sleeves. The moment she spotted An Ru Xu, her face lit up. “Senior Brother An!”
An Ru Xu put away his sword and returned the salute. “Junior Sister Zhao. Junior Sister Zhu.”
“Senior Brother An, you…” Junior Sister Zhao’s voice trailed as she noticed Jiang Li Sheng. The joy in her expression faded by half, and her eyes flicked between them, sharp with suspicion.
An Ru Xu, clearly remembering what had happened in the Lecture Hall, introduced quickly and carefully. “Junior Sister Zhao, Junior Sister Zhu, this is Junior Sister Jiang.”
Then he turned to Jiang Li Sheng. “Junior Sister Jiang, these two are junior sisters from Spirit Beast Peak.”
He lowered his voice, embarrassed. “It’s the same Spirit Beast Peak where I roasted that yuan hu. It was theirs. I got them punished too—they have to clean the mountain gate for a month.”
Jiang Li Sheng understood at once.
If An Ru Xu had roasted a spirit beast she raised and she still greeted him warmly… then she must like him. Otherwise, there would have been a fight by now, not smiles.
Jiang Li Sheng saluted politely. “Greetings, Senior Sisters.”
Junior Sister Zhao studied her face. “A new disciple? Which peak did you join?”
“The Discipline Hall,” Jiang Li Sheng answered.
“Oh.” Junior Sister Zhao’s gaze sharpened further. “New disciples all have to train at the Discipline Hall.”
Then she asked, pointedly, “Why aren’t you flying your own sword? Why are you making Senior Brother An carry you?”
Before Jiang Li Sheng could speak, An Ru Xu answered too fast, too loudly. “Her sword got destroyed by Instructor He. We’re here to buy her one.”
He kept going without realizing he was digging a hole. “We were late today—Instructor He is vicious. He made each of us take ten moves under him. I was seriously injured, and Junior Sister Jiang’s sword is completely ruined…”
“What?” Junior Sister Zhao’s attention snapped back to An Ru Xu at once, worry flooding her expression. “Senior Brother An, you’re seriously injured? Where are you hurt?”
“It’s already treated,” An Ru Xu said quickly, waving it off. “We won’t disturb you two. I’ll take Junior Sister Jiang inside to buy a sword.”
“We’ll come with you,” Junior Sister Zhao said immediately, grabbing Junior Sister Zhu and following them back in.
So the four of them entered the Sword Hall together.
Inside, countless swords hung dense along the walls. Most were sheathed, their light muted and controlled, as if the hall itself didn’t allow anything too sharp to run wild.
An Ru Xu looked at Jiang Li Sheng. “Junior Sister Jiang, what kind of sword do you want?”
Then he added, still offended on her behalf, “You should buy a good one. That sword today was way too flimsy.”
Jiang Li Sheng hesitated, then pulled out the entire contents of her low-grade storage pouch and laid them on the counter. “I only have this. Whatever it can trade for… that’s what I’ll take.”
An Ru Xu leaned in, then froze.
A beat later, he laughed in disbelief. “Wait—Junior Sister Jiang, how are you this poor?”
Qing Xu Sect wasn’t poor. And Jiang Li Sheng wasn’t just any disciple—she was the sect master’s only personal disciple. She shouldn’t be poor at all. She’d ruined half a medicine field once. Any single spirit plant from that field could buy a sword.
Jiang Li Sheng sighed. “I’m poor.”
“Ouch.” An Ru Xu looked pained on her behalf. “Then you can only get the most ordinary sword.”
Jiang Li Sheng nodded. “Mm.”
Junior Sister Zhao leaned closer, voice turning almost sympathetic. “Junior Sister Jiang, you’re not from a great family down the mountain, are you? If you’re cultivating at Kun Lun Sect without backing… it’ll be hard. For a sword cultivator, the most expensive thing is always the sword.”
“I’m not,” Jiang Li Sheng said.
Junior Sister Zhao suddenly brightened. She tipped her storage ring and poured out a pile of spirit stones with a loud clatter—top-grade spirit stones, glittering like frozen light. She pushed them toward Jiang Li Sheng.
“Junior Sister Jiang, I like you at first sight. Let’s be friends. I’ll give you a sword. Pick whatever you want.”
Jiang Li Sheng stared, stunned.
An Ru Xu clicked his tongue. “Junior Sister Zhao, are you always this generous the moment you meet someone? Back then you gave me a sword too.”
Jiang Li Sheng immediately turned to him. “Senior Brother An—what did you trade her?”
An Ru Xu scratched his cheek. “I was poor back then too. I borrowed it. Later I worked missions, earned spirit stones, and repaid Junior Sister Zhao double.”
Jiang Li Sheng pushed the top-grade stones back toward Junior Sister Zhao. “Thank you, Senior Sister Zhao, but I go through swords. I won’t be able to repay you. I’ll just buy the ordinary one.”
“You don’t have to repay me,” Junior Sister Zhao said, leaning closer.
Her next words dropped into Jiang Li Sheng’s ear, private as a blade. “Just don’t compete with me for Senior Brother An. If you don’t, I’ll cover your swords from now on.”
Jiang Li Sheng’s breath caught.
The temptation was… enormous.
But she couldn’t do that. Senior Brother An had been kind to her. Even if she had no intention of competing, she couldn’t sell him like a bargaining chip.
She shook her head. “No, Senior Sister Zhao. I can’t agree.”
Junior Sister Zhao’s face cooled instantly. “Junior Sister Jiang, are you sure you want to offend me?”
Jiang Li Sheng didn’t want trouble at Kun Lun Sect. But what unsettled her most was how effortless it had been.
She hadn’t even done anything.
Back at Qing Xu Sect, the people she’d “offended” were always collateral damage: she lost control testing talismans and singed someone’s eyebrows, or her forging went wrong and she punched a hole through someone’s house with broken parts, or she refined pills so pretty they looked divine—then the person who ate them lost all spiritual power for half a month and thought they’d been crippled. Or she got obsessed with a formation and trapped herself and someone else inside for a month until her master dragged them out half-dead.
It was endless, really.
But she had never offended someone just by meeting eyes.
Her emotions tangled, and she tried to reason with her, honestly. “Senior Sister Zhao… don’t put this much effort into another girl.”
It did not land the way she thought it would.
Junior Sister Zhao’s expression turned hard. She swept the spirit stones back into her ring and tossed out a calm, vicious warning. “You’re young. Your skills aren’t great. Don’t let your heart grow too big. Otherwise, when you go out to train, be careful you don’t get eaten by a Demon.”
Then, like she’d changed masks, she turned and smiled at An Ru Xu. “Junior Sister Jiang is too proud. If she won’t accept it, then forget it. I meant well, but it’s wasted. Senior Brother An, help her choose slowly. We’re leaving.”
An Ru Xu sensed something was wrong but didn’t understand what. He nodded awkwardly. “Uh… all right.”
Junior Sister Zhao pulled Junior Sister Zhu and left.
An Ru Xu turned back to Jiang Li Sheng, baffled. “What did she whisper to you? Why did she suddenly leave?”
Jiang Li Sheng wasn’t the type to hide things—especially not from someone who had been kind to her, and especially not after being threatened.
So she repeated it all, word for word.
An Ru Xu went silent.
He’d learned, yet again, how brutally honest Jiang Li Sheng could be.
And he’d also learned, to his horror, how expensive he apparently was.
After a long moment, he coughed into his fist, dazed. “Um… Junior Sister Jiang. Sorry.”
Jiang Li Sheng’s eyes curved, bright and unbothered. She picked out the most ordinary sword and lifted it from the rack.
“Being liked by girls isn’t a crime, Senior Brother An,” she said, cheerful as ever. “You don’t need to apologize. Come on—let’s go back.”