Inside the inn room, Liulin Li sat on the bed while placing the piece of black stone on her forehead.

 

“What is death?” 

 

The question made Liulin Li heart go doki doki. Perhaps because she had died before, or perhaps it was because of what the old man had said.

 

‘Treasure!’ 

 

‘A new beginning.’ Liulin Li said with conviction. She had died, yet she was still able to start anew in a different world.

 

The question blacked out and a new one followed.

 

‘What do you keep?

 

‘My memories.’ 

 

The question blacked out again.

 

‘What do you lose?’

 

‘My sister, my life….’

 

And then, the black stone stopped responding. Liulin Li separated the black stone from her forehead. “That was all?”

 

“??” Wan Zhizhu looked at her in confusion, while Zhou Xiu thought that black stone was a little familiar. However she wasn’t able to pinpoint where she had seen it.

 

Liulin Li passed the stone over. “Do you want to try?” 

 

She passed it over to Wan Zhizhu. 

 

“Are you sure?” 

 

“En.”

 

Seeing her Junior Sister so magnanimous, Wan Zhizhu took the stone and placed it on her forehead. However after a while she took it away. “what kind of broken stone is this?”

 

“Did anything happen?”

 

Wan Zhizhu shook her head. “Nothing happened.” Even though she had answered differently, the stone had still repeated the questions for her.

 

Afterwards, she passed it to Zhou Xiu who did the same before passing back to Liulin Li. 

 

“I remember now.” Zhou Xiu had a eureka moment. “This was a stone that the patriarch had thrown into the library to ro- teach disciples a lesson on being taking risks.” 

 

“”...””

 

She laughed. “There will always be a disciple thinking that it’s a secret technique, however they would always cry for wasting merit points and return it.”

 

She handed the stone back to Liulin Li. 

 

“Then it’s pointless?”

 

“Don’t know.” Zhou Xiu patted the little girl’s head. Seeing her narrow her eyes and nudge her head against her palm she smiled. “Seeing how there is a similar stone here, perhaps it’s not completely pointless.”

 

“En.” Liulin Li placed the stone in her storage bag while lying on the bed. She snuck a glance at Wan Zhizhu and Zhou Xiu. 

 

They were both using the same bed, however different from her, they were seated and in meditation while they cultivated. Their cultivation techniques were different from Liulin Li’s in that they didn’t need to move their bodies.

 

Liulin Li sighed in her heart. ‘Wan Zhizhu, shouldn’t you take the chance to sleep with Aunt Xiu?’ She had a feeling of hating iron can’t become steel.

 

Not wanting to look at the two anymore, she turned around and closed her eyes.

 

***

 

The next day, without securing all of the herbs, Elder Xiu had decided not to delay anymore and refine the Soaking Earth Pills. It couldn’t be helped, since due to that giant arm, the prices had soared, from 30 medium grade to 30 high grade.

 

“They even have this for business?” In front of them was a shop, however it wasn’t a normal shop.

 

It was a place to rent cultivation chambers. 

 

“It’s like a guarantee, not only do they have to insure privacy, the rooms also need to be sturdy which either requires heavenly treasures, or an enchanter. Besides, owning plots of land here is extremely expensive.” Elder Xiu explained to her. 

 

When the entered the store Wan Zhizhu pulled Liulin Li off to the sied.

 

“??”

 

“Although I was already planning to take her there but thanks.” Her voice sounded in her ears.

 

“En,” Liulin Li nodded while pretending not to know anything. “Does Senior Sister need anything else?”

 

Wan Zhizhu shook her head, however the words that sounded in her ears were different. “Can I ask for a favor?”

 

“...”

 

“You see, these cultivation rooms have grades as well. Knowing Aunt Xiu’s personality, she’ll choose a low grade cultivation room. I want you to rent a medium grade room. Seeing that you don’t know how to do sound transmission, I’ll teach you that in return.”

 

“En.” She glanced at Elder Xiu to find that she was looking at them suspiciously. “You can count on me!”

 

Wan Zhizhu wanted to bang her head against a wall. Pig Teammate!

 

“Hehe,” Liulin Li laughed before going over. “Aunt Xiu, we’ll get a medium grade room! I’ll pay.”

 

Elder Xiu sighed. “It’s one medium spirit stone per day, do you have enough for 30 days?”

 

“Sss,” Liulin Li placed a hand on her chest. That took more than half of what her Dad had given her. “I do!” She wanted to cry, but for the sake of Wan Zhizhu, she decided to go for it.

 

Liulin Li went over to the lady at the desk and booked a medium sized cultivation chamber. The three were then led to a 3 roomed chamber. One central room, and two rooms inlaid to the side.

 

“I’ll begin refining the pills. Make sure not to disturb me while I’m doing so.” Zhou Xiu took out a giant cauldron that landed on top of the fire pit in the center. Afterwards, she took out two books; the Sect Rules and The Herb Chronicle as well as a bag of fasting pills. “Xiao Li, you’ll be spending your time cultivating here, and if you’re bored, you’ll have a choice between one of these two.”

 

She nodded.

 

“Zhizhu, you’re free to do whatever you want.” 

 

She then sat in front of the caudron while Wan Zhizhu went over and sat across from her Master.

 

Liulin Li seeing this decided to stop glowing like a lightbulb and enter into a side room. As for the books, she left them outside, for fear that she would burn them by accident. 

 

“Wouldn’t I burn my clothing by accident as well?” although it was a little bit too late, Liulin Li reflexively muttered. 

 

“They’re made of special material, so you won’t have to worry about it.” Elder Xiu’s voice sounded. “And, Zhizhu, although I said you can do anything you want….” ‘You don’t have to stare at me so intently ahh!’

 

“...” Liulin Li sneaked a glance outside to find that Elder Xiu’s cheeks were dyed red. 

 

Although she very much wanted to say I hope you lovebirds meet a bad end, she needed Wan Zhizhu to succeed. 

 

‘Why do I feel like I entered into a dating sim…’ 

 

Shaking her head, she closed the door, shutting off all interference from outside. Afterwards, she sat down on the bed and meditated. Although she couldn’t cultivate while seated like this, it allowed her to calm her heart.

 

“...”

 

When the restless feelings disappeared she stood up and started to practice Fire Dance. 

 

Unlike when she first did it, her movements were a lot smoother, no longer looking robotic. Occasionally, flickers of flames would be released from her. 

 

Like a maiden dancing in the middle of the night, fireflies flew around her.

 

***

 

That night.

 

Wan Zhizhu had entered her room to teach her the sound transmission technique like she promised.

 

Seeing her happily look at the book, Liulin Li sighed while using voice transmission to talk to her. “Is it that important?” 

 

“Tsk tsk,” Wan Zhizhu rolled her eyes at her. “Of course, don’t you find it romantic?”

 

Liulin Li stuck her tongue at her. “Isn’t it just a blank book?”

 

“Naive!” Wan Zhizhu said smugly. “It’s precisely because a blank book is what makes it so important. It means, we can write our own story, one with the two of us. One that isn’t dictated by somebody else. Do you understand? My fate is my own!”

 

Liulin Li nodded while a strange feeling she didn’t understand spreaded apart in her heart. Her words did indeed resound with her. 

 

With a thought she asked her. “Then do you like Shi Xiaolong?” In the story, wasn’t she a harem member?

 

“Of course not,” Wan Zhizhu said. “Although Brother Xiaolong is kind, it doesn’t mean I like him like that. Ah.” She looked at Liulin Li. “Apologies.” 

 

She had forgotten Liulin Li had been almost crippled by Shi Xiaolong. Wan Zhizhu did not know that Liulin Li had lost her memories.

 

Liulin Li shook her head. “It’s fine.” Truth be told, she didn’t have anything against Shi Xiaolong. She only wanted to save her Dad from him. 

 

She hadn’t met him before, nor did she know what he looked like. The only impression of him was from reading the story. She still felt a little disconnected from reality, like she was still inside a pool of water.

 

“Then, you’re not going to step on two ships with one foot right?” Liulin Li asked cautiously. 

 

“Hmph, rude.” Wan Zhizhu’s mood seemed to sour. “Do you think my love is that fickle?”

 

“Hehe, of course not….” Liulin Li laughed while running her hands together. “Senior Sister will definitely succeed and live a long and happy life with Aunt Xiu.”

 

She sighed. “Unfortunately, she’s probably more denser than even you.” She had a grudge against Liulin Li. A really large one! 

 

“...”

 

“The one she probably likes is your Dad!” 

 

Liulin Li’s mind seemed to have blanked. 

 

“No way right?” She didn’t really believe it. ‘What kind of love triangle is this?!’

 

“It’s not particularly a secret, so why are you so shocked about it. That’s why you’re so dense.” 

 

Liulin Li patted her chest. “No worries, I’ll still help you chase after Aunt Xiu!” From the way she saw it, Wan Zhizhu had high chances of succeeding.

 

***

 

Their days silently passed inside the cultivation chamber. Perhaps because of what Wan Zhizhu said about the blank book, or perhaps because her Dad was no longer sitting idly by waiting to be slaughtered, her heart was more calm then before.

 

She would practice ‘Fire Dance’ while in her spare time read the two books that Elder Xiu had passed her. As for the black stone, she would sometimes play with it, although after a bit, she soon got bored and threw it into her storage bag.

 

Her cultivation also continued to break through all the way to the 7th layer. 

 

“Aunt Xiu, is there something wrong with my cultivation? It feels too light and fluffy.” 

 

Elder Xiu took her hand before having her send a streak of qi inside of her. “There doesn’t particularly seem to be a problem.” She knitted her brows. “It might have something to do with your cultivation resetting. However there is another possibility.”

 

“??”

 

“Your previous technique was of a higher tier, while you swapped to another lower tiered technique.” Elder Xiu patted her head. “You’re currently practicing Fire Dance right?”

 

Liulin Li nodded.

 

“Then you can rest your heart and continue until you swap out for a higher ranked cultivation method when it's time. Anything else?” 

 

Liulin Li nodded again. She had to help Wan Zhizhu get through a big hurdle. One that was easier to pass with the help of a third person.

 

“The romance between disciple and master is by no means wrong!”

 

Afterwards, she ran out of the room without looking back at Elder Xiu. As for whether it would separate the two or put them together, she had no idea.