3/3


    Pleasant Reading


    ====


    After training, Xie Qing was quite exhausted. His body was drenched in sweat due to the frequent use of Qi Aura, which drained him. Afterpleting several sets, Xie Qing finally came to his senses and, using a Dao technique, washed away all the sweat and cleansed himself, presenting himself to the girls in his perfect form.


    As evening approached, the question of dinner arose. Traditionally, Xu Mei and Xie Qing ate regr food, but Xie Meiling still needed to eat nutritious soups. However, no one wanted to burden Yu Yang.


    "Alright, I''ll go prepare dinner. Come on, Yu Yang, you can help me too," said Xie Qing, donning an apron that looked too feminine for him. However, there was no other choice, as the other aprons looked the same.


    In the world of cultivation, where stereotypical thinking still prevailed, men were not allowed to cook, so Xie Meiling was surprised that her son knew how to cook. When she asked, "Who taught you?", the young man simply pointed to Yu Yang, who politely bowed.


    "I see... so your beloved maid taught you, right?" said Xu Mei with narrowed eyes and a smile.


    "Heh."


    Xie Qing just rolled his eyes and went to cook. He wasn''t particrly good at cooking, as one might think. Anyone can boil rice, and cooking pork isn''t that difficult either. But as he did all this, he began to forget how to cook properly.


    As a result, while helping Yu Yang, Xie Qing set the table. Everything on the table was made of spiritual something or other. Spiritual rice, spiritual pork (the pig doesn''t fly, it''s just fed Qi from infancy to make it tastier and more beneficial), spiritual greens, and so on.


    Even the tea was spiritual!


    Well, these were the perks of being rich. After that time, Xu Mei sold her collection of expensive wine, paid off her debt to Zhang Mei (which she had owed for a thousand years), and then began spending the rest on useful things.


    Recently, for example, she bought special pills for Xie Qing that would stimte the growth of the soul seed.


    The soul seed is a thing that forms in the Golden Core at the peak of Core Formation. If your cultivation technique isn''t pulled out of the trash, it will form this soul seed on its own. But if it doesn''t, you need to buy it, nt it in the Golden Core, and try not to die from rejection.


    This pill greatly helped Xie Qing, who had already begun to take steps toward the next stage of cultivation. Although it was very rushed, and it would take six months of diligent training to reach the peak of Core Formation and build a solid foundation, the result would be worth it.


    For example, Xie Qing was not sure that he could easily kill a Soul Nascent cultivator, as thetter could attack his not yet fully manifested soul, turning him into dust.


    But for such tricks, some artifacts protect the soul. They are expensive as oranges in the summer but quite affordable to acquire.


    ***


    Having finished his business, Xie Qing finally extricated himself from the trap of his mother''s embrace. She had fallen asleep after drinking with Xu Mei. After putting her to bed, he shook his head and left the pavilion.


    It was already dark. He wanted to breathe in the fresh night air and gaze at the stars.


    The sect was empty. Although the disciples liked to be idle, it would be much more efficient to spend their time cultivating.


    In a year, there would be an exam for an inner court disciple, so all the outer court disciples were diligently cultivating at this time. Not everyone was a cultivation monster like Xie Qing and Xu Mei.


    For an ordinary person, and even a genius, breaking through to the ministerial level within six months or even a year of training was considered a good result. The earlier they started training, the more beneficial it was for the disciples.


    The exam for the main disciple was in half a year, but registration had to be done well in advance, which Lian Xin had done for Xie Qing.


    "She is trying to please me a lot," thought Xie Qing, and his eyes gleamed with tenderness.


    More than anything else in the world, he valued sincerity in people and could see that her behavior was primarily aimed at taking care of him. She didn''t even bother to tell the young man about this, and did everything quietly and carefully, as always.


    Thinking about such caution andparing it to her fervor in the early days, Xie Qingughed. After he ascended to the heavens, Lian Xin felt awkward around him and could no longer use her charms to charm him.


    But considering that there were too many dangerous women around him, Lian Xin could only remain silent.


    However, who was Xie Qing? Of course, he was an insatiable lecher... I mean, a respected gentleman who couldn''t abandon a girl in trouble.


    And so he found himself in the Elders'' Pavilion, where the elders mostly lived. Something like a dormitory.


    Entering inside after showing a special guest pass (the Elders'' Pavilion guest token is mandatory if there is no apaniment) and entering the dormitory.


    There was a grave silence. Well, the reason was quite understandable - it was now two o''clock in the morning, and few of the elders showed such nightly activity as to make noise instead of cultivating.


    Finding the right door, Xie Qing knocked, and after two seconds, the door opened, revealing Lian Xin dressed in a robe in front of him.


    "U-Udisciple Xie Qing?" Lian Xin eximed in surprise, her cheeks sweetly blushing.


    "Good evening, Elder Lian. I havee to visit you, and not empty-handed!" said Xie Qing, lowering his voice when he felt that his voice had awakened some of the elders. He showed the wine, chocte, and flowers in his hand.


    "E-e... k-of course,e in".


    "Thank you,"


    Xie Qing entered, and Lian Xin closed the door. The elder in the room in front of them coughed up blood.


    "Kha-kha... this scoundrel..."


    The elder with a bald head and long white beard, resembling a tendon, coughed up blood. His eyes were dark brown. His name was Bai Ju.


    He was from the Bai family - Bai Bai was the son of his brother. For some time, he had been asked to look after this disciple, and so far, Bai Ju had treated it with disdain.


    However, recently he learned that this disciple was the very scoundrel to whom Lian Xin had shown sympathy! Bai Ju was enraged; his heart was broken.


    Lian Xin had been his love since his youth when he joined the sect as a disciple. Falling in love with this girl, he tried to get her attention, but in return, he saw only coldness and indifference.


    He despaired and wanted to pressure her with the power of his family, but then what happened happened. Lian Xin was not from an ordinary family; her older sister was the sect leader herself. So Bai Ju''s hopes for the future were grim.


    However, even after bing an elder, he never gave up hope and tried to court Lian Xin, but to no avail. And learning that she had someone she was fond of, his brain exploded with jealousy.


    Despite countless warnings from other elders, he wanted to harm the disciple. As a result, he was beaten to a pulp by Xu Mei, who learned of this.


    He was left to live a miserable life until suddenly one night, this scoundrel showed up at the Elders'' Pavilion! Moreover, when he tried to eavesdrop, a sudden Qi attack disrupted his spiritual sense, causing him to cough up blood from the damage.


    "I tried to suppress this hatred inside me, but you came to my door yourself. And you even dared toe to a woman in the middle of the night..." Bai Ju clenched his teeth, and there was a crunch.


    His heart was bleeding. He didn''t care about the wound from the spiritual attack; he was tormented by hatred and thoughts of what was happening behind Elder Lian''s door.


    He was not a naive boy and hardly thought that Xie Qing hade here just to talk heart to heart. He had some motive.


    Although the sect did not forbid rtionships between an elder and a disciple, it was still considered a controversial issue, given that filial piety was still present.


    However, it was unnecessary to waste time on this, so no one paid attention, and among the elders, several men had rtionships with disciples, but mostly with disciples of the main court.


    Clenching his teeth, Bai Ju looked at Elder Lian''s door.


    ***


    "Here''s a gift for you, Elder Lian," said Xie Qing, handing Lian Xin a bouquet of fragrant flowers.


    "T-thank you very much,"


    Lian Xin''s face turned red with excitement, and she brightly smiled, her beauty making the flowers merely a background. Xie Qing admired her smile and smiled back.


    "You are very nice," he said, making the woman blush sweetly.


    Lian Xin ced the bouquet on her bed and then moved the table. Xie Qing adjusted the chairs, and after pushing back a chair, the young man helped Lian Xin sit like a true gentleman. He then took two sses, one of which he ced in front of the woman.


    Elegantly pouring the wine, he handed it to Lian Xin and smiled. Then he poured himself a ss and sat down in his ce.


    "What a beautiful view from here," said Xie Qing, looking out the window.


    "True. I love to sit alone in the evenings and look at the stars," Lian Xin agreed.


    "Hehe... maybe I should apany my beloved elder to make our star gazing even better?"


    "E-e..." Lian Xin was taken aback by such frankness and then shyly smiled: "I would be very happy about that..."


    "Of course. From this day on, I wille to visit my dear Elder Lian," Xie Qing dered with a smile.


    Lian Xin gently smiled at him, epting hispliments and courtship. Of course, she was not against it; on the contrary, she was very excited. For her, there was nothing better than spending time with her beloved.


    At some point, she got rid of her shyness and talked to Xie Qing normally, without stuttering and showing initiative in the conversation.


    "I learned about your intention to be the head of the Xie family. I would like to support you," said Lian Xin seriously, her voice slightly agitated. She took a sip of wine and then said: "I conducted several investigations and found out that there are conflicts among the heirs within the Xie family. Two of the potential heirs are dead. Many are unhappy with Xie Hai''s management."


    "Hm? Two have been eliminated, huh? It seems Xie Xui is not idle, working as best he can," Xie Qingmented with a smile, showing no interest in mourning his brothers. He thought about Lian Xin''s proposal for a moment and then nodded: "Alright, this is an offer that would be a sin to refuse. I''m just worried about causing you inconvenience."


    "You will never cause me inconvenience," Lian Xin resolutely replied.


    "Well then..."


    Xie Qing crookedly smiled, feeling as if someone had stolen his role. However, he could not deny that her words made the young man feel satisfied.


    So he stood up and picked up Lian Xin, carrying her like a princess.


    "Eeek?!"


    With a surprised cry, Lian Xin blushed. No matter how resolute she was, lying in his arms was too awkward!


    However, Xie Qing did not hear her and twirled around the room, making Lian Xin smile. Although it was too frivolous, she enjoyed spending time this way. She looked at the stars and saw that they were shining brighter than usual.


    "Watching the stars with him..." Lian Xin blushed with excitement.


    Meanwhile, Xie Qing finally stopped, and his gaze fell on Lian Xin''s smile, which was shy and happy. He thought for a moment before kissing her.


    "Aah?!"


    Lian Xin made a surprised sound and looked at Xie Qing in disbelief, who smiled at her. She put her hands to her lips and opened her eyes in disbelief, from which tears then began to flow.


    "U-u-u..."


    "..."


    Xie Qing lost the power of speech and already began to feel guilty, although he did not understand what he had done wrong. But soon, Lian Xin herself kissed him and exined the reason for her tears.


    "I... I''m just very happy."


    Only then could the young man breathe a sigh of relief? It seemed to him that he had done something wrong, so as punishment, he twirled Lian Xin around the room, making the woman giggle.


    After that, Xie Qing sat on the bed and then hugged Lian Xin, whofortably settled on his chest, curling up like a kitten.


    Her cuteness reached 9000 levels, so Xie Qing could not help but stroke her head. The woman purred contentedly and, snuggling up to her beloved''s chest, forgot about all her problems and coquettishly responded to his courtship.


    Feeling rxed, Xie Qing kissed her on the cheek, then on the eyshes, and then on the forehead. He stroked her soft cheeks.


    "Unfair..." murmured Lian Xin,pletely red from the kisses, her heart sweet.