"Phew—" "Hiss—" "Ugh, how revealing... isn't this just a dantie with two pieces of cloth added? Wearing this out would blind people!" "This one's even worse—the most important parts aren't even covered! Fourth Senior Sister actually wore this for Fifth Senior Brother to see?" "Wait, no, I think they're meant to be worn together..."
Rustling, snickering, hehehe— From early morning, Jiu Jiu had been bustling about in her small tower. By noon, she finally stood at her door, her slender hand resting on the latch, but she couldn't bring herself to pull it open.
Just going out for a stroll! Mm, just a stroll...
She exhaled softly and slowly pushed open the wooden door before her. Her blue embroidered cloth boots stepped out first. In that instant, the forest and fields beneath the great formation gained a splash of new color.
Several gazes turned toward the sound... There were clatters and crashes—the disciple carrying water to the pill room dropped his shoulder pole, the disciple weeding in the garden lost his hoe, and the girl carrying several bottles of pills let her tray fly from her hands...
"Ahem!" Jiu Jiu cleared her throat, clasped her hands behind her back, took half a step forward, then instinctively straightened her posture, sweeping her calm gaze across the surroundings. Several male disciples hurriedly lowered their heads, not daring to look too long, but snuck a few glances anyway. One young boy who had recently arrived on the mountain blushed for no apparent reason.
*'It's not such a big deal. Does it really matter what I wear?'* *'It's not indecent or anything—it actually covers more than the short skirts I usually wear.'*
Jiu Jiu licked her lips with the tip of her tongue, her gaze carrying a trace of hesitation, but she quickly made up her mind. She summoned the large gourd she had almost forgotten to bring, expanding it to ten feet long.
She was about to straddle it habitually, but then remembered her current outfit—a light pink, somehow weightless long skirt. Straddling it would look awkward.
So, she gathered her skirt hem, crossed her jade-like feet gently, and sat sideways on the front of the large gourd, rising into the air...
The moment she flew out of Pico Potian, she spotted a short Daoist with dark circles under his eyes riding a white cloud, leisurely floating over with a book in his hands. Jiu Jiu immediately stopped her gourd and, using immortal power to amplify her voice, deliberately coughed:
"Ahem! Ahem ahem!"
Jiu Wu, passing by, looked up, gave Jiu Jiu a polite smile, bowed with his book in his arms, and descended toward the middle of Pico Potian. Jiu Jiu froze for a moment, then rolled her eyes and continued flying on her gourd.
But after entering the great formation, Jiu Wu suddenly turned his head. "Did I just see... Little Junior Sister?" "No, that can't be. Little Junior Sister has worn those same few outfits for centuries. How could she change into something like that?" "I must have been seeing things. Ah, I've lost quite a bit lately. At least Big Sister has finally gone into closed cultivation. I can finally replenish my vitality."
With a sigh, Jiu Wu continued studying the book in his hands—"Thirty-Two Methods for Nurturing Vitality and Fortifying Qi"—and walked toward his own small tower. The moment he entered his room, the short Daoist caught a faint lingering scent of fairy perfume and couldn't help but shiver. A bodily reaction. Purely a bodily reaction.
His feelings for his Fourth Senior Sister were unwavering and stronger than gold—he absolutely had not an ounce of fear toward her!
Jiu Wu then recalled his recent brave performance and broke into a knowing smile... Ever since drinking the Poison Dragon Wine his nephew Li Changshou had prepared, his back might have gone weak, but his confidence before Big Sister had only grown. Their relationship as dao companions had become more harmonious. The life of cultivation and seeking longevity had gained more fun and color.
It was just that last time, when this fellow tricked him, he still felt a bit sour about it. Jiu Wu mused to himself, sitting behind his desk lost in thought.
*Fight fire with fire? Develop some pills similar to that wine, lure him into a trap formation?* *That guy might actually be able to keep his composure without embarrassing himself... Then, have Little Jiu help fan the flames?* *No, no—wouldn't that be giving him a benefit rather than tricking him? What if Little Junior Sister doesn't resist? That'd be a huge loss!*
Battling wits with this fellow—the oath restricted many of his options, but made it all the more interesting.
"Just you wait, little thief. I'll find your weakness sooner or later!"
......
"Really, those people on the road—why did they all look at me with such strange eyes? Are they not afraid of getting beaten?!"
When she arrived over Pico Xiaoqiong, Jiu Jiu's lips curled downward as she muttered. Her large gourd slowly descended. She swept her immortal sense across Pico Xiaoqiong and found Li Changshou lecturing Blue Ling'e.
Jiu Jiu blinked lightly, deliberately concealing her aura fluctuation, wanting to see how this senior-junior pair would react to her sudden appearance.
*Would they be startled?*
Jiu Jiu furrowed her elegant brows, slightly exasperated. She tiptoed toward the thatched hut. From a distance, she could already hear a clear, refined voice coming from within:
"Divine thoughts are vast and boundless, the Dao manifests within; qi returns to the central sea, condensing at the primordial soul. The hardest part of this passage to understand is 'qi returns to the central sea.' The qi here doesn't refer to the mana you've cultivated, nor to clear qi or turbid qi, but rather to that bit of prenatal essence qi within you. This is a treasure brought from the mother's womb, extremely important for cultivators..."
Inside the hut, Li Changshou sat in a round-backed chair in a relaxed posture, while Little Ling'e sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, listening attentively.
Jiu Jiu crept up to the door, spun around, raised her arms in a tiger-claw pose, and charged in with a shout of "Uraaa!"
Little Ling'e, who had been sitting with her eyes closed, couldn't help but burst into laughter. Li Changshou set down the scripture in his hand with a helpless expression, looking at the suddenly transformed Jiu Jiu with a smile...
Jiu Jiu glared. "Why aren't you scared?"
"Aah! Big Junior Aunt scared me!"
Little Ling'e feigned panic with a soft cry, but as she turned her head, her small mouth let out a sound of admiration, "Big Junior Aunt, why did you suddenly... suddenly wear a long skirt?"
"What? Can't I?"
Jiu Jiu secretly observed Li Changshou's reaction, spinning once in front of Little Ling'e. Her skirt hem and flowing hair swayed gently, filling the room with a faint fragrance.
Ling'e was also secretly watching her senior brother's reaction. When she saw him smiling and nodding, she relaxed slightly inside. *As long as senior brother isn't stunned, that's fine.*
Ling'e smiled lightly, "Of course you can, Big Junior Aunt. You're already beautiful normally, and now you're even more dazzling. I wouldn't dare ride a cloud with you, Big Junior Aunt."
Jiu Jiu blinked at Li Changshou. "Little Changshou, what do you think...?"
"Very nice," Li Changshou nodded in approval.
When women he had a good relationship with—like these two before him, Little Junior Sister and Big Junior Aunt—suddenly changed into a new dress or added new jewelry, with faces full of expectation for compliments, as a gentleman, he really shouldn't be stingy with praise.
But thinking about the possible misunderstanding from yesterday...
Li Changshou added, "It's just that it might take some getting used to, seeing it suddenly like this."
"Oh."
Jiu Jiu looked down at the outfit she had spent all morning selecting, her expression slightly downcast. Beside her, Ling'e sighed internally. *Senior brother really is still the same as always...* *With senior brother's personality of wanting to keep all karma and entanglements at arm's length, trying to get close to him is truly difficult.* *How troublesome.*
Ling'e quickly put on a faint smile, leaned in close, and whispered in Jiu Jiu's ear, "Big Junior Aunt, is this your first time wearing something like this?"
Jiu Jiu hurriedly replied, "Mm, yes. I suddenly wanted to change my style, that's all."
"When dressing like this, light makeup suits better," Ling'e whispered a few more words in Jiu Jiu's ear. Jiu Jiu's eyes lit up, and she pulled Ling'e behind a folding screen to the side.
Li Changshou saw this and shook his head slightly, picking up his bamboo scroll to continue reading. Listening to the whispers beside him, his mind wandered briefly, but his expression remained unchanged.
Before long, amid Ling'e's continuous stream of compliments, Jiu Jiu emerged from behind the screen, looking at Li Changshou triumphantly.
"How about it!"
Li Changshou looked up, and his smile deepened. The Big Junior Aunt before him seemed like a different person—delicately made up, carefully shaped brows, a touch of blush on her cheeks, lips gilded with rouge. With her layered skirts and phoenix-tail cloud-patterned garment, she had gained several degrees of refinement, adding to the natural charm of femininity.
"Not bad," Li Changshou gave a thumbs up. "Honest opinion—among all the women I've seen, your beauty is absolutely top three!"
"Really?"
Jiu Jiu blinked, and for some reason, the strange, subtle feeling that had been haunting her heart these past two days quietly dissolved. Her mood became happy and lighthearted.
"Of course it's real. Does Big Junior Aunt misunderstand her own charm?" Li Changshou laughed. "When Big Junior Aunt doesn't dress up, you're already the object of admiration for many male disciples in the sect."
"Pfft, no way," Jiu Jiu rolled her eyes, but the corners of her lips couldn't stop curving upward. She said calmly, "This Big Junior Aunt doesn't really care about such things. After all, cultivation and seeking longevity are the proper business." "Anyway, are you two still lecturing?" "If not, let's play Grand Spirit Battle together!"
Li Changshou said, "Lecturing is, after all, the proper business..."
"Big Junior Aunt rarely comes!" Ling'e immediately hugged Jiu Jiu's arm from behind. "Grand Spirit Battle!"
Li Changshou couldn't help but press one hand to his forehead. She came seven or eight times a month on average—how was that "rarely"?
Jiu Jiu decisively chimed in, "Grand Spirit Battle!"
"Fine. Since you two are in such high spirits, I'll find another time to make up Ling'e's lessons later."
Li Changshou shook his head. The two beside him were already cheering and celebrating, deftly setting up low tables and soft cushions.
When sitting down, Jiu Jiu felt a bit awkward, so she borrowed Li Changshou's adjacent thatched hut to change back into her most comfortable outfit—linen short top and short skirt, replacing the embroidered shoes with soft, comfortable custom-made grass sandals, and wiping off her light makeup.
These grass sandals weren't ordinary grass—they were fairy grass carefully cultivated by Jiu Wu...
This was much more comfortable.
Before leaving the thatched hut, Jiu Jiu's mind echoed with Li Changshou's words from earlier...
*'Your beauty is absolutely top three!'*
The corners of Jiu Jiu's lips rose involuntarily, and she muttered, "This guy really is outrageous—saying something like that."
She pulled open the door and dashed like the wind toward the adjacent thatched hut. Before long, sounds of competition erupted from within...
"Grand Spirit Battle!" "Doubled!" "Super doubled!" "This round, the Grand Spirit is Ling'e. Big Junior Aunt and I are Minor Immortals. Super doubled—current pot is twelve spirit stones." "Hmph hmph, make your move, Little Ling'e!" "This Big Junior Aunt has seventeen cards. You think you can one-shot me today?!"
......
Night fell, and Li Changshou left the thatched hut with his hands behind his back. Big Junior Aunt and Little Junior Sister had both drunk some wine and were now sound asleep in bed. He would handle locking the door and setting up the formations, so their disheveled appearance in the morning wouldn't be seen by others.
Back in his pill room, entering the underground chamber, Li Changshou sat on a meditation cushion in the corner, closed his eyes to focus his mind, and brought both hands together to center his yuan shen. Between his palms, a flame of orange-red slowly condensed, then was drawn into his body, beginning to wander slowly, tempering his primordial soul and Dao body...
Nine-petaled lotus flowers slowly rotated around him. These lotus flowers had already grown to the size of fists, their patterns crystal clear, the Dao they contained approaching completion, with mysterious and ethereal Dao resonance drifting without fixed form.
But he still felt it was somewhat lacking...
He remained reluctant to step into the ninth stage of Return to the Dao.
......
......