The Secret Key

Xiao Ran carried his drunk master on his back as he walked through the dim bamboo forest.

Plants that had been grafted and transplanted on both sides had merged with the soil and were now thriving. The seeds sowed had grown into seedlings out of the soil as well, which was a new sign of life greeting the tender moonlight.

Xiao Ran could actually hear the shuffling and nudging of everything growing around him.

His master's radiant, gorgeous face was lying on his right shoulder. Puffs of drunken breaths felt like the scent of spring as she exhaled next to Xiao Ran's ears, feeling warm and ticklish.

Xiao Ran thought that despite the loose robe concealing her body, his master's curves were still visible. Nevertheless, she was surprisingly light on his back.

Perhaps this was due to the lack of density of a cultivator. She probably weighed less than 50 kilograms or exactly 50 kilograms—the perfect weight for a woman taller than 1.7 meters.

She was like a streamlined deluxe sports car!

Chuyan trailed behind Xiao Ran with her hands on Lingzhou Yue's waist.

Even though there was no need to hold on to her waist, Chuyan insisted to prevent any mishap and repay the Elder's love for holding her waist back then.

Lingzhou Yue's waist was cool to the touch, resilient like a sword yet soft like a willow.

"Even I can dissolve alcohol very easily, but Grandmaster remains unconscious. She must have a past no one knows about."

The title Grandmaster rolled quite easily off her tongue.

Xiao Ran replied, "It's possible. Master's an alcoholic, so she finds joy even in drinking poisoned wine. She has no intention of remedying the drug."

Chuyan pouted.

"I think you're painting Grandmaster in a bad light so I will stay away from her and you can have her all to yourself. Save it, I like how unrestrained Grandmaster is!"

The two of them bickered on the way.

By following the quiet path toward the north, they finally arrived at a clearing and saw cottony layers of clouds.

The hot spring at the edge was blanketed by warm moonlight and soft mist. Rocks, the forest surrounding the pool with Bailing Herb, and cherry blossoms were thrown into the mix as it faced the glowing sea of clouds.

The surface of the water was misty, and scented herbs and flowers were floating atop it. Under the dim lighting, the scene looked ethereal as the water and clouds blended together, making it feel like a heavenly palace.

The pale moon hung above the cotton-like clouds, while the line distinguishing the water from the sky had vanished.

As the narrow winding path went deeper, the trio arrived at the hot spring.

Xiao Ran approached the side of the pool while carrying his master with light steps. Laying her against the small stone stool by the rocks, he draped a large bamboo-fiber bathrobe over her dark cultivation robe.

One should not look when it was contrary to propriety.

To be safe, Xiao Ran stepped to the side quietly and told Chuyan, "Alright, the task of undressing Master is yours."

"Ok—Okay…"

Happiness came too swiftly. Chuyan's straight legs were shaking so much from excitement that she even stuttered as she replied.

Xiao Ran retreated to the bamboo forest.

As Chuyan shakily stretched out her fair milky hands to probe into Lingzhou Yue's bathrobe, her wrists were caught by the woman!

"What are you doing?" Lingzhou Yue asked drowsily. However, her tone left no room to be taken lightly.

Chuyan's voice quivered as she answered in a whisper, "Chuyan's undressing Grandmaster to put her in the hot spring."

Lingzhou Yue sat in a lotus position and said, "Your hands do not have pure intentions. Have your Master come over."

Ah, but…

Her caught prey was actually flying away?

Chuyan argued, "But Master's a man."

Lingzhou Yue retorted, "His thoughts are pure, unlike your salacious ones."

Goodness! How could he have pure thoughts? Xiao Ran panicked.

He suddenly recalled the men who used to court his master and were all gone now. He felt like he was now on pins and needles.

If he saw or touched something he should not while he undressed his master, or his intention changed halfway through, would he be… gone too?

"What are you waiting for?" Lingzhou Yue called out from a distance.

What else could he do? Xiao Ran could only brace himself.

As he approached the pool and stood behind his master, he calmed himself down. He did not purposely close his eyes or seem wary of physical contact, as that would only reflect on his less than innocent mind.

While listening to the world and holding resonance in his heart, Xiao Ran extended his hands into the robe with indifference.

His master's robe was loose and thin, and he had only touched her shoulders throughout the process. Anything else he needed to touch he had shaken softly, making the garment vibrate off of her with the force of resonance.

Nothing was intentional or unintentional. This process was natural. As a matter of course, Xiao Ran took off his master's bathrobe and gently helped her into the hot spring.

"Congratulations, you've earned 3 Devotion Points!"

It was a risky move, and Xiao Ran heaved a sigh of relief.

Chuyan was in a stupor while watching this.

How many women must he have undressed to be trained so well? Even the eunuchs in the palace were not as seasoned as he was!

Lingzhou Yue relaxed once she entered the hot spring.

The water was only waist-deep and it was warm and clear. There was a sense of cool freshness that felt like snow melting tinged with a slight sulfur scent.

The stones in the water were clear and easy to see alongside the water weeds, while colorful fish swam around in the pool, pecking at Lingzhou Yue's skin and making her itch a little and feel comfortable.

Xiao Ran and Chuyan could not help watching.

Veiled by the mist, Lingzhou Yue's black hair spread like an onyx waterfall. Her snowy skin in the steam seemed like the pale moon in the clouds. The warm water went just over the pink nubs under the robe.

As the platinum stars adorned the soft waves of clouds and the moon shone down silver light over the mist, the woman, water, and sky blended into a perfect picture.

"Congratulations, you've earned 1 Devotion Point!"

"Congratulations, you've earned 1 Devotion Point!"

"Congratulations, you've earned 1 Devotion Point!"

"…"

It was an onslaught of DP!

The speed of his increasing DP made Xiao Ran think that if he worked hard tonight, he might actually reach 100 DP the next morning. After some contemplation, he took the liberty to sit beside the pool in a lotus position and massage his master once again.

Lingzhou Yue consented silently.

Xiao Ran's strength was controlled with increasing force by his fingertips. It was only after warming up that he began using the force of resonance.

This time, Lingzhou Yue was prepared. Getting used to the resonating strength, her body warmed gradually according to the rhythm of Xiao Ran's massage and let out heat into the hot spring.

It felt amazing!

"Congratulations, you've earned 2 Devotion Points!"

"Congratulations, you've earned 2 Devotion Points!"

"Congratulations, you've earned 2 Devotion Points!"

"…"

"Where's my wine?" Lingzhou Yue spoke up suddenly.

Xiao Ran gave the entire bucket to his master, saving a few pots for himself just in case.

Lingzhou Yue took a sip of the wine. Her expression cleared into glowing gentleness, as if she was reminiscing about something.

"You will be in charge of the Sword-Wielding Mountain's winemaking from now on."

"Yes, Master."

Chuyan obediently sat cross-legged in a lotus position as well on the rock on the side, watching and memorizing Xiao Ran's techniques.

Xiao Ran had massaged his master until she had fallen asleep again because the DP had increased to the limit.

A glance at the interface showed that he had a total of 80 DP!

He was just a little bit off from the Qi Refining stage…

"Let's go."

Xiao Ran was about to leave the pool when he turned back and thought something seemed to be missing from the hot spring.

The water was moving and bringing away the manually-sprinkled herbs and flowers.

The fact that this would decrease the medicinal effect was secondary. His main concern was that it took away the poetic and artistic sense of the place.

Unfortunately, it was too tiring to keep sprinkling herbs and flowers.

An idea popped up in Xiao Ran's mind.

If there were cherry blossoms or peach blossoms, as it would be best if it was a spiritual scenic plant that bloomed without bearing fruit all year long, and the petals kept falling into the hot spring as the wind blew before being brought away by the stream… that would add a lot of charm!

He ransacked his storage space and... Wow, Lin Yunzi had prepared plenty of scenic peach blossoms and ever-changing cherry blossoms for him. One of the scenic peach plants looked mature, as its branches were old and strong and had almost no leaves. However, it was blooming beautifully.

That was it!

Xiao Ran observed the area around the pool and found a perfect spot where the wind blew in a single direction and three spiritual veins converged with a sufficient water source.

He had Chuyan dig a deep pit and clear a spiritual channel before filling it with fertilizer and soil and then planting the tree in. If everything was right, the peach blossoms would drift into the hot spring by midnight.

Chuyan was confused.

"This peach tree is just an earthly one. Is this meant to improve the view?"

Xiao Ran's gaze was steady and meaningful.

"It's meant to add soul to the hot spring. You gotta learn."

After planting the tree, Xiao Ran took Chuyan back to the disciple house and briefly explained the setting and individual resting area of the house to her.

"This is the kitchen."

"This is the bathroom. Toilet's next door."

"The second floor is where Master meditates."

"The master bedroom on the first floor is where I sleep."

"If you want to sleep, you can add a bed in the study on the first floor."

Upon looking at Xiao Ran's exaggeratedly large bed, indecent scenes started playing in Chuyan's mind.

"Cultivators don't sleep. I'm going to meditate and cultivate with Grandmaster on the second floor."

"Up to you. I need to sleep anyway."

Xiao Ran then took her to the bathroom.

"This is the bathtub. You must be tired from the day's work. You can have a bath later too. That's all for tonight. Go to the central mountain with my memo tomorrow for the procedure and collect your daily necessities. When you return to the Sword-Wielding Mountain, you'll officially be my disciple."

Chuyan stared at the warm water in the bathtub.

"Have you drugged it?"

"Yes."

Once the words left his mouth, Xiao Ran regretted it instantly and quickly explained, "It's not the type of drug you're imagining. It's just antibacterial and it spiritually revitalizes herbs."

Chuyan then said, "What will you be doing alone while I'm taking a bath? Are you going to peep at Grandmaster?"

"I'm going to sleep!"

Xiao Ran turned to go to his bedroom and closed the door with a slam, plopping himself on his super-large bamboo bed, which was eight square meters.

Super-comfortable!

…

The night was quiet. Only the sounds of insects and running water were heard.

The water in the bathtub was steaming, and fragrant herbs were drifting atop. Platinum moonlight spilled into the bathroom, casting light into the faint mist.

Chuyan's hair was tied up. Her petite frame was lathered up in spiritual soap, and she rested in the warm bathwater against the corner of the bathtub.

It felt so nice…

She thought that it would be wonderful if she could be in the hot spring with the Sword-Wielding Elder one day!

Xiao Ran was annoying, but it was thanks to him that she had the opportunity to come in touch with the Sword-Wielding Elder.

The man was strange.

Upon spending half a day with him and turning from his enemy to his disciple, she had noticed that he was never purposeful and was very nonchalant, closing the distance with her naturally and making her feel like they had known each other for a long time.

He had just joined the sect three days ago but he shared a tacit synchronicity with the Sword-Wielding Elder, as though they had been married for a long time.

In addition, he was just a mortal but he seemed to know everything and was good at everything too. Although he was good at everything, the only thing he was unable to do was cultivate.

That bastard had to have a huge hidden secret…

It seemed that she had to go through her Master to get to her Grandmaster. With a goal in mind, Chuyan could not stay idle now. She should study her master carefully.

He must have the secret key to accessing the Sword-Wielding Elder!

…

By midnight, Lingzhou Yue had slowly peeled her bright pretty eyes open on the hot spring ridge.

Under the moonlight, pink flower petals floated in the water as they drifted off the edge of the cliff.

Where had the peach blossoms come from?

With a slight frown, she turned to look at the peach tree beside her.

The peach blossoms bloomed with radiance as if there was no beginning or end.

Lingzhou Yue was reminded of herself counting flowers in the yard as a child…

Back then, she had asked, "Passing flowers galore, yet unattached to even a piece of leaf. Mother, your child has had too much good luck in love and romance recently. I wonder what I should choose."

Was there really a man who could enlighten her in the ways of heaven?

Someone who was her destiny?

She chuckled in amusement.

…

In the middle of the night, Xiao Ran was sound asleep in his eight-square-meter giant bed when he was woken up by a system notification.

"Congratulations, you've earned 38 Devotion Points! You have 118 Devotion Points in total."

'I didn't even do anything at this point in time. Where did these DP come from?'

Upon recalling the events carefully, he realized it was about time the peach blossoms began falling.

Come on, he had received messages about the resonance strength, the barbecue, the fermented wine, and the hot spring, but nothing had resulted in a hike of 38 DP!

'Does Master like peach blossoms so much?'

Hold on! That was beside the point!

The point was… Was Xiao Ran going into the Qi Refining stage now?

'No need to wait anymore. Early tomorrow morning, the disciple challenge will begin. It's time to end all doubts and take on the sword."