Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Keep a Low Profile

After Xia Mo came in, she curtsied to Wei Yun Xi, then asked a little blankly, “Miss, what orders do you have for this servant?”

“Last night you stood night watch. Did you notice anything unusual?” Wei Yun Xi asked.

Xia Mo froze. In the next moment she knelt on the ground and said, “Miss, please forgive me. This servant fell into a dead sleep in the second half of the night.”

The moment Chun Yu heard that, she glared and snapped, “Xia Mo, how dare you! How could you make that kind of mistake? Didn’t we let you get off early in the daytime so you could rest?”

Xia Mo’s face went white as she stammered, “This servant… this servant doesn’t know what happened. It’s never been like this before.”

Wei Yun Xi already had a good idea of what was going on. She knew she couldn’t blame Xia Mo. After all, Xia Mo was a mortal, and a cultivator’s methods were not something she could break. Wei Yun Xi waved her small hand. “It’s fine. I already have a rough guess. Tonight, have Chun Yu stand night watch instead.”

“Yes, Miss,” Xia Mo replied.

After breakfast, Zhen Zhu came to pick up Wei Yun Xi and take her to the Cultivation Hall.

Wei Yun Xi looked excited. Under the gaze of her four maids, she left Zhuo Hua Courtyard.

After her identity was confirmed, Wei Yun Xi went into the Cultivation Hall alone. Zhen Zhu didn’t have the qualifications to enter this place, so she returned to Zhuo Hua Courtyard at Wei Yun Xi’s signal.

Wei Yun Xi ran into Wei Yun Qing at the entrance of the Cultivation Hall. There was smugness in Wei Yun Qing’s eyes, while Wei Yun Xi spoke sweetly. “Sister Yun Qing, you’re here? Did your new attendant bring you today?”

Wei Yun Qing wasn’t used to being so close. She pulled away a little and lifted her small chin. “Father assigned me a maid at Qi Refining level six. What about you?”

Wei Yun Xi immediately put on a wronged look and pouted. “Father plays favorites. I’m going to find Father. I want a Qi Refining level six maid too.”

Just then, the Sixth Elder in charge of the Cultivation Hall opened his eyes. He had heard everything the two little ones said, but he also understood why Wei Ling Yue had done it. He gave a light cough and said, “Time is almost up. Everyone, sit down as soon as possible.”

Wei Yun Qing thought she was above Wei Yun Xi, so she walked into the Cultivation Hall first with her head held high. Wei Yun Xi followed behind with a pitiful, wronged expression and found a corner seat, staring off blankly.

The Sixth Elder didn’t say anything else and began teaching the key points of Qi Induction. “Today I will teach the essentials of Qi Induction. The first step is to sense the specks of spiritual energy. Depending on the attributes of each of your spiritual roots…”

Wei Yun Xi pretended to keep staring off blankly. She had already heard these lessons once at the Feng Family, but she still listened with one ear to the Sixth Elder’s lecture to see if it differed from what the Feng Family taught. She could just take the strengths of both.

The other part of Wei Yun Xi’s mind focused on analyzing the storage pendant being moved. She guessed it had been Zhen Zhu who touched her pendant last night, and it wasn’t hard to guess the other’s goal.

If Zhen Zhu was Du Ruo Lan’s person, then what she was watching was what Feng Jia Yun had left behind. After all, her mother had been a second-rank alchemist, and the pills she left were enough to support Wei Yun Xi’s cultivation all the way to the Foundation Establishment Stage.

To Du Ruo Lan, those were valuable resources. Even if she didn’t use them herself, she would still try every means to pull those resources into her own pocket, especially since her daughter’s aptitude was excellent.

Since the attendant at her side couldn’t be trusted, then when she attempted Qi Induction, she definitely couldn’t let Zhen Zhu protect her. Who knew if she would cause trouble? If the other party ruined her foundation, who would she cry to?

Just as Wei Yun Xi was calculating what to do next, a childish voice cried out beside her, “Look! What’s that around Sister Yun Qing?”

Everyone in the Cultivation Hall turned their eyes to Wei Yun Qing. At that moment, blue and green light specks were drifting around Wei Yun Qing, looking dreamy.

The Sixth Elder reminded them sternly, “Quiet!”

Then he looked at Wei Yun Qing with gentle eyes. Dual spiritual roots really were good. On the very first day, she could already sense the specks of spiritual energy.

The children in the Cultivation Hall all looked at Wei Yun Qing with small eyes full of envy and jealousy. It was only the first day, and someone had already sensed the specks. It was infuriating.

Wei Yun Xi, on the other hand, secretly prayed that the other girl would fail to succeed at Qi Induction.

Maybe the heavens heard Wei Yun Xi’s prayer, or maybe the sudden quiet environment startled Wei Yun Qing. In any case, not long after, Wei Yun Qing opened her eyes, and the specks of light around her scattered as well.

Wei Yun Qing scratched her head in annoyance, then looked at the Sixth Elder.

The Sixth Elder smiled. “Yun Qing, don’t rush. It’s only your first day cultivating, and you already sensed the specks. That’s already very good. Drawing them into your body will still take some time. Don’t lose heart. Keep working hard.”

“Yes, Sixth Elder. Yun Qing understands,” Wei Yun Qing replied.

Wei Yun Qing glanced around and saw that all the other little companions were looking at her with envy. The bit of gloom in her heart vanished in an instant.

At noon, the Sixth Elder gave everyone half an hour to eat. In the afternoon, they continued staying in the Cultivation Hall to sense the specks of spiritual energy.

When Zhen Zhu came to pick up Wei Yun Xi and take her back to Zhuo Hua Courtyard, Wei Yun Xi pretended to be a little downcast and asked, “Zhen Zhu, how long did Qi Induction take you?”

Zhen Zhu replied respectfully, “Replying to Miss, this servant has four spiritual roots. Qi Induction took three months.”

Wei Yun Xi sucked in a breath. “Three months? That long?”

“Yes.” Zhen Zhu lowered her eyes. “This servant’s aptitude isn’t as good as Miss’s, and my cultivation resources were limited, so Qi Induction took that long. With Miss’s aptitude, you should succeed at Qi Induction within at most a month. Miss, don’t rush. The more you rush, the more you can’t get it done.”

Wei Yun Xi sighed. “All right. I understand.”

After Wei Yun Xi returned, she ate dinner and then had Zhen Zhu stand outside the door to protect her, while she sat cross-legged on the bed and put on a show of sensing the specks of spiritual energy.

In truth, the moment she closed her eyes, she could see specks of spiritual energy in all kinds of colors. She could feel that as long as she released a bit of goodwill, those specks would be drawn to her, and they could even enter her body.

But she couldn’t do that. With her three spiritual roots, it was impossible to succeed at Qi Induction in a single day. If she did, it would not only make Wei Ling Yue suspicious, but Du Ruo Lan and Wei Yun Qing would also keep a close eye on her. She didn’t want her spiritual roots ripped out, and she didn’t want her Golden Core dug out, so for now she could only lie low.

Zhen Zhu kept a close watch on Wei Yun Xi in the room. She saw the little one sit on the bed for a quarter of an hour, then start fidgeting as if needles were under her. Before long she opened her eyes, played with her fingers for a while, then took things out of the storage pendant and laid them on the bed, picking them up one by one to play with. She had long since thrown Qi Induction to the back of her mind.

Zhen Zhu’s mouth curled a little. She felt the spirit stones she was being paid this time were easy money. She didn’t even need to trip the little one up. The kid played on her own, and it couldn’t have been more effortless. She wasn’t going to remind Miss, either. Her duty was only to protect the other party’s safety. As for cultivation progress, that had nothing to do with her.

For the next three days, Wei Yun Xi lived like this. Then on the fifth day, news spread from the Cultivation Hall that Wei Yun Qing had succeeded at Qi Induction.