Chapter 24 - Is It Funny That the Reincarnated Senior Sister Is Also Being Pursued?

024. Senior Sister Bai Lian's Angry Embarrassment Why had Mu Jian Li come? Hadn't she already left? How long had she been standing outside the door? The moment Bai Lian heard Mu Jian Li knocking, countless thoughts rushed into her mind. Clutching the undergarments she had yet to put on, she felt somewhat like crying without tears. Was there anything more embarrassing in this world than being discovered by someone close to you when rewarding yourself? It must be even worse to be caught just after the act, when preparing to clean up. If only she had joined the Wanxiang Sect and learned the Phantom Body Technique, then she could have transformed into a little bug and hidden in a crack in the ground in such a situation. Unlike now, where she might as well have lost all face and still couldn’t run away... Wuu wuu... "Sister Bai, Jian Li has entered," Tang Chu Huan called out. "Eeek—" "No, wait, wait a moment!" She hastily spoke up and frantically began to pull on her clothes, not even minding her damp hair. She darted to the bed and covered the large damp patch on the bed with a blanket—it was too late to use a cleaning talisman now! After she managed all this, she finally opened the door, pretending she had just come out of a bath, and leaned against the doorframe to ask, "Sister Mu Jian Li, so late at night, you're not resting but coming to see me instead, what's the matter?" "In cultivation, there's no distinction between day and night. Jian Li has matters to discuss with Senior Sister, so I came," Mu Jian Li said. "But why is Senior Sister bathing so late at night?" Bai Lian's eyes flickered uncertainly, and she answered somewhat guiltily, "The weather's been so hot these past days, and without a cooling spiritual array, I felt sticky and couldn't sleep, so I decided to take a bath." Cultivators, pure of body, are impervious to the elements; there's no such thing as feeling sticky due to the heat. The excuse was simply too far-fetched. Yet, observing the guilt-ridden and somewhat flustered expressions on Bai Lian's face was truly too endearing. The corner of Mu Jian Li's mouth curved up, but she did not expose the flimsiness of Bai Lian's argument. Instead, she peered into the room. "Strange, there's a peculiar scent in Sister Bai's room. Could it be that the bedding Tang Chu Huan gave to Senior Sister hasn't been washed?" She sniffed the air, as if she had discovered the source of the smell, and prepared to walk towards the bed with the determination of confronting Tang Chu Huan for an explanation. Bai Lian could certainly not let her succeed. If Mu Jian Li discovered the traces of self-reward on the bedding, her dignity as eldest senior sister would be utterly lost! She quickly intercepted Mu Jian Li and said, "Ah, the smell you mentioned... It's, it’s the scent of soapberries!" "The soapberries used by mortals are too inferior, some smell is normal. It would be petty to blame Tang Gongzi for such a trifle and would reflect poorly on us as cultivators...” "The scent of soapberries?" Unexpectedly, Mu Jian Li tilted her head and took the opportunity to lean in and gently sniff Bai Lian's neck. "But I only smell fragrance on Senior Sister's body, not that kind of scent." Bai Lian had not anticipated Mu Jian Li's sudden approach. She stiffened, enduring Mu Jian Li's audacious actions, as she felt on the verge of tears. Sniffing here and there, are you a dog or something?! She gritted her teeth, deciding she could no longer let Mu Jian Li take such liberties! Thus, she pushed away Mu Jian Li, who was nearly sprawled over her, and said angrily, "Junior Sister Mu Jian Li, what exactly are you trying to do?" "We are merely fellow sect sisters; out of respect for you as the sect master's direct disciple, I have always been accommodating to you. Yet not only have you shown no restraint, but you have humiliated me so brazenly – this is going too far!” "Or do you simply not regard me, your eldest senior sister, at all?!" Her tone was aggressive, reminiscent of her initial confrontations with Mu Jian Li. However, the Mu Jian Li of today was no longer the Mu Jian Li before her rebirth. The Bai Lian of now seemed like a hissing kitten in her eyes, posing no threat whatsoever. Nevertheless, she realized that she might have gone a bit too far with her behavior. She had intended to discuss serious matters, but upon seeing Bai Lian, she had subconsciously begun to tease her. It couldn’t be helped; her senior brother turned into a girl was just too adorable. Whether it was her shyness, her panic, or even her anger, it was all so cute that it made one want to tease her. To prevent the kitten from staying upset, Mu Jian Li conceded with a cupped fist, "It was Jian Li who was presumptuous with Senior Sister, please punish me as you see fit." "Hmph, forget about the punishment, speak if you have something to say!" Bai Lian said with a sniff, tilting her head, but she dared not bring up any punishment again, for who knows what kind of mischief Mu Jian Li would concoct next. What if there was another foot-washing fiasco? To whom would she cry then? "Jian Li has just eliminated a heretical spy who attempted to surveil us. The Tang family may no longer be safe, and I request that Senior Sister make a decision." "What?" Bai Lian was briefly startled, immediately putting aside her trivial emotions. The appearance of a heretical spy within the Tang family's domain was no small matter. Bai Lian and Mu Jian Li's investigation into the heretical sect would require the mortal forces represented by the Tang family; now that the Tang family had been infiltrated, weren't all of their actions exposed to the enemy? "Where's the corpse?" she asked. Mu Jian Li pointed outside, and Bai Lian followed her gaze, only to see that the spirit force remaining on the body of the black-clothed person was turbid and damp, the aura lewd. It was evident that he often engaged in perverse and heretical cultivation methods such as essence harvesting. Within Gu Su City, the one most notorious for mastery in the art of essence harvesting was surely that heretical cult member. But... the Tang family's infiltration wasn’t supposed to happen until half a year later, was it? Bai Lian rubbed her temples. With the unexpected turn of events, she couldn’t help but feel irritable. "Let's go, let's find Tang Gongzi." "Alright." The guest had only just arrived at the Tang family and was already targeted by an unknown person, even capturing a perpetrator red-handed; Tang Chu Huan had no choice but to rise in the middle of the night. The three of them convened solemnly in the Tang family's main hall, facing the corpse of the black-clothed individual on the ground. Strictly speaking, only Tang Chu Huan's expression was somber. Mu Jian Li was lost in thought, her gaze hollow, and it was unclear what she was pondering. And as for Bai Lian, her demeanor was somewhat awkward, standing aside with her arms crossed, a slight blush still lingering on her face. Tang Chu Huan averted her gaze from the corpse and looked towards the two abnormal Tai Hua Sword Sect members, suspicion in her eyes. Odd... why did Bai Lian and Mu Jian Li seem so unusual? Surely, the discovery of a person from the heretical sect shouldn't lead to this? Could it be that something unknown to her transpired between them? "Our Tang family prides itself as a distinguished lineage, yet to think we would be infiltrated by heretical cultists to such an extent," she said with a wry smile. "Chu Huan has failed in her duties, startling the two fairy-like maidens. My apologies." "This is not the fault of Tang Gongzi, and you need not blame yourself," Bai Lian, recovering from her embarrassment, said absent-mindedly as she shook her head. "With magical powers beyond mortal handling, this villain has even evaded the Spirit-Seeking Plate of my Tai Hua Sword Sect, suggesting there's more than meets the eye." Her graceful eyebrows slightly furrowed, she voiced her doubts cautiously. This Spirit-Seeking Plate, acquired by chance by an elder of the Tai Hua Sword Sect who had a history with the Tang family, had the functions of spirit detection and probing. Housed within it was also a guarding array that, once deployed, could repel the attacks of a Tengyun stage cultivator for the duration of an incense stick. Most importantly, despite being a high-grade magical instrument, the Spirit-Seeking Plate had a very low threshold for use. By simply inserting enough spirit stones, even a mortal without any spiritual power could operate it. It was for this reason that the Spirit-Seeking Plate had been given to the Tang family. Under normal circumstances, the Tang family, armed with the Spirit-Seeking Plate, should have been impervious to infiltration by mere Phoenix Initial stage cultivators. In fact, in the game narrative, it was precisely because the heretical sect had secretly bribed insiders within the Tang family, working both from within and without, to steal the Spirit-Seeking Plate, which ultimately led to the Tang family's thorough infiltration. That, however, was supposed to unfold half a year later, but was now occurring prematurely. Bai Lian spoke tactfully, but her implications were clear, drawing the attendees into deep contemplation. Tang Chu Huan was even more enraged. The failure of the Spirit-Seeking Plate indicated there was a traitor within the Tang family, and moreover… someone of no low status!