Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Shen Sang Ruo Comes to Her Senses

Shen Sang Ruo did not grow angry. She explained clearly, word by word: “After what happened, I understand that all things in this world are like passing clouds. Only my own life matters most.”

“In the past, my path was too smooth, and I failed to grasp this truth. I did many unwise things. Master, Senior Uncle, please forgive me.”

“Now I have come to my senses. From here on, I will focus on cultivation. I will not trouble Master, Senior Uncle, my Senior Brothers, or my Junior Sisters again.”

No one expected such words from her.

After a moment of shock, their faces turned to the look of people thinking, It is good you figured it out.

She looked at Lu Shi Qing and said: “As for spreading rumors in the sect to smear someone on purpose, I think you know more about that than I do, right, Third Senior Brother?”

Through the ice in her eyes, Lu Shi Qing seemed to see that past scene again: Shen Sang Ruo, accused by everyone, close to breaking, coming to beg him to explain for her.

He had been the one who secretly told others that she had improper feelings for him, pushing her into the storm.

But he did not think he was wrong. He had only tried to correct her.

And he had reached that goal, had he not?

Shen Sang Ruo gave a mocking look, then said to Shen Dao Chen: “I am sincerely returning the token with no other intent. Please take it back, Senior Uncle.”

She held out her hand. The token lay there, quiet and still on her palm.

Her eyes showed no emotion at all. She was calm to a shocking degree, not even disappointed.

Yet that very chill and distance stabbed Shen Dao Chen’s heart. It felt as if someone suddenly squeezed it tight.

Though he was glad she had grown sensible, he also felt a bit of pity.

An awakening this painful and deep was too hard on her. She was only sixteen.

In the end he said nothing and took the token back.

But he changed his mind in his heart and said: “I will keep this token for now. You and Mu’er will compete fairly. The more outstanding one will be the next Sect Master.”

He thought it through. He had been too hasty before.

He believed he treated both daughters the same. For that very reason, he should make up what Bai Mu Mu had missed.

But as head of a sect, he really had to be fair and just.

Thinking this way, he hid the panic that her coldness had stirred in him.

Bai Mu Mu cursed in her heart: [So Shen Sang Ruo has wised up? She even learned to play hard to get.]

The position of Young Sect Master had already been in her bag. Why did the old man change his mind?

She studied Shen Sang Ruo with new care.

In her eyes, Shen Sang Ruo was a complete loser.

What now? Did she want to compete with her again?

“Yes,” Shen Sang Ruo said to Shen Dao Chen with a cupped fist salute, her voice cool as spring water.

Bai Mu Mu watched every change on her face but saw no trace of hidden joy at success.

She looked indifferent, as if only agreeing to oblige Shen Dao Chen.

Bai Mu Mu pressed down her doubts, drew back her gaze, and also saluted Shen Dao Chen: “Your daughter obeys. I will do my best to catch up to Fifth Senior Sister.”

The others also noticed Shen Sang Ruo’s expression.

They were used to her warmth and liveliness, so seeing her so cold made them uncomfortable.

Even so, they only thought she was angry about what had happened lately.

After some time, once her anger faded, she would be back to normal, chirping in their ears like before.

They were not too worried. They had spent years with Shen Sang Ruo, and she was always like that.

“As compensation, the sect grants you one year of cultivation in the Clearheart Pavilion,” Master Ling Xiao said, and his words made Shen Sang Ruo’s eyes brighten.

Bai Mu Mu almost failed to hide her shock.

The Clearheart Pavilion was the place with the densest Spiritual Qi in the Flying Cloud Sect.

Even the personal disciples of Peak Masters only had one day per month to cultivate there.

Yet Master Ling Xiao was granting Shen Sang Ruo a whole year?

Bai Mu Mu was burning with jealousy.

“Disciple thanks Master,” Shen Sang Ruo said with pleasure.

She had indeed earned it.

A year would be enough to recover most of the cultivation she had lost.

“After Foundation Establishment, come find me,” Master Ling Xiao added after a pause: “I will teach you a new technique.”

He must have already noticed she had been cultivating another method, and he likely knew its limit would only let her just reach Foundation Establishment.

Shen Sang Ruo agreed without showing it, but in her heart she planned to find a new technique as soon as possible.

Master Ling Xiao flicked his sleeve and left the cave dwelling.

A moment later, Shen Dao Chen, Bai Mu Mu, and Lu Shi Qing also left one after another.

Only she and Wen Xuan remained.

Wen Xuan reminded her how to care for herself while healing, said he was glad she understood things now, and asked her not to blame Feng He Yun.

“If you feel any discomfort later, come to Second Senior Brother,” he said softly. “Do not be afraid of troubling me. If you do not heal well, your body will be left with lasting problems.”

His voice was soft like clouds in the sky. It had been a long time since he had spoken to her so gently.

Facing the gentleness she had once dreamed of, Shen Sang Ruo no longer felt much.

Instead, she remembered how Wen Xuan had told her such words many times in the past.

Because First Senior Brother Feng He Yun did not handle daily affairs, and because she had been very young when she entered the sect, it had always been Wen Xuan who took care of her.

He had given her the Access Jade Token for the Warding Seal and told her that if anything happened, she could come to him. He would never think she was a bother.

Her thoughts were pulled back by Wen Xuan’s voice as he said: “Sometimes I forget the time while refining pills. Just come in. Do not stand waiting outside the Warding Seal like that other day. Did I not give you the Access Jade Token…”

His voice stopped mid sentence.

He remembered that he had taken back Little Ruo’s Access Jade Token a long time ago.

Back then he had been at a key point in his breakthrough, and Shen Sang Ruo always came to him to talk about small things like catching a butterfly or seeing colors in the clouds.

Annoyed, he took the Access Jade Token back, saying he would return it after his breakthrough.

After he broke through, Shen Sang Ruo brought it up several times, but he pretended not to hear.

Later she stopped mentioning it, and he slowly forgot—until now.

Wen Xuan felt a stab of regret. How could he have forgotten?

[She must be very disappointed in me.]

He looked at Shen Sang Ruo and said at once: “It was my fault. I later forgot to give the Access Jade Token back to you.”

“It does not matter,” Shen Sang Ruo said with a light wave of her hand. Not only was there no grievance, her face did not show any emotion at all.

In the past, Wen Xuan most feared Shen Sang Ruo making a fuss and clinging to him. Now, seeing her so rational and calm, a kind of frustration rose in his chest.

He did not even know why. Shen Sang Ruo being this sensible should have made him happy.