"Tch…Didn't think I'd see the day where I'd have to study scriptures."
Su Xiaobai muttered to himself as he returned to his quarters, the private cave dwelling assigned to him.
Not that he had actually used it.
His little sister lived here, and his maid, Xiao Lu, either stayed with her or inside his ring world.
And since the cultivation speed inside the ring world was the sa as outside, Su Xiaobai didn't bother micromanaging them.
He stepped inside, glaring at the scroll in his hand, still thinking about Bai Yujian's scathing insults.
Without paying attention, he walked straight to the stiff jade bed and sat down.
Then—
A soft splash.
A small intake of breath.
And a very distinct feeling that he was not alone.
Su Xiaobai froze.
Slowly, he turned his head.
And there—
A girl, subrged in a steaming spiritual bath, her bare shoulders snow-white under the mist, her delicate collarbones faintly visible above the rippling water.
The faint glow of the spiritual spring highlighted the natural flush on her skin, her damp hair stuck to her swan-like neck.
Her cherry lips parted slightly, but no words ca out—only a stunned, breathless silence.
Their eyes t.
"…Gege?"
i i's voice was soft, startled, her long lashes fluttering.
Su Xiaobai blinked for a second.
Then, as if the sword scriptures had suddenly beco the most fascinating text in existence, he snapped his gaze back down at the scroll in his hands.
"…Truly, the Dao of the Sword is deep and boundless."
His face was the picture of solemnity, like a monk ditating on the aning of life.
(A/N: Using i i for Su Xiaoi—too many 'Xiao's were causing issues.)
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i i: "…"
A faint rosy hue crept onto her cheeks, but it wasn't clear whether it was from the heat of the bath or sothing else.
The mont passed.
Then—
Without another word, she stood up, the water cascading off her skin in shimring streams, the steam swirling around her like an ethereal veil.
Su Xiaobai did not look.
He was a respectable man.
A gentleman.
A dedicated scholar of the sword.
But he definitely felt her leave.
Minutes later, she returned.
Her short, asured steps barely made a sound as she approached, now dressed in a light blue robe, her long wet hair falling down her back.
Her gaze flickered toward him—soft, unreadable.
Then—
"…You didn't even knock, Gege."
Her tone carried a hint of complaint.
Su Xiaobai kept his eyes firmly on the scroll.
"…Didn't think I needed to."
i i's lips curled slightly, as if suppressing a smile.
She sat beside him on the bed, close enough that the faint scent of spiritual herbs and lotus blossom between them.
She tilted her head.
"…Are you actually reading that?"
Su Xiaobai nodded sagely.
"Of course. My thirst for knowledge is endless."
i i leaned closer, her warm breath brushing against his shoulder.
"…It's upside down."
Su Xiaobai: "… … …"
"Ahem."
With extre dignity, he flipped the scroll around.
i i didn't say anything. But the slight curve at the corner of her lips clearly ant she had seen through him.
Su Xiaobai coughed.
"i i, how do you find it here?"
His eyes should have stayed on the scroll.
But they didn't.
Against his better judgnt, they wandered.
A mont of silence passed.
His gaze peeked sideways—just a quick glance.
A glimpse of faintly bulged tender white skin beneath the robe's loose collar.
…Soft.
Su Xiaobai blinked.
He had not expected this girl to grow up this well.
His last accidental glimpse years ago? Flat.
Now? Very much not.
"…Hmm." i i leaned slightly against the bed, her fingers running absently over the fabric. "It's not bad. Better than our ho."
Her voice was soft, touched with nostalgia.
The sect was safer. More eventful.
But—
"…Sothing still feels lacking."
Su Xiaobai nodded sagely.
"Oh."
He had no idea what she ant.
But he pretended to understand.
It was probably the lack of family, right?
i i had always had that delicate aura—the kind that naturally made others feel protective.
In fact, if he had to describe her…
She was exactly what that Princess Lingling should have been at her age—delicate, well-mannered, and innocent.
Unlike a certain other woman who threw him into pits for fun.
His eyes flickered again.
…Damn.
If he didn't feel an unshakable sense of guilt, he probably would've stared longer.
But he wasn't an idiot.
His mother wasn't here, but one day she would be.
And if she ever found out he did sothing criminal against his own sister—
Not even the Dao of Immortality could save him.
Su Xiaobai exhaled.
He was very good at recognizing impulses.
More importantly—he was good at knowing which ones to act on and which ones to avoid.
Right now, she was sitting close, comfortably, with absolute trust.
No hidden intent. No ulterior motives.
He would not ruin that.
Su Xiaobai suddenly rembered sothing.
"i i, could you show your temporal ability for a mont?"
She had ntioned sothing about a change in her powers before, but at the ti, he hadn't paid much attention.
Now, though, after getting his pride shredded by Bai Yujian, he suddenly felt very interested in anything not related to swords.
i i tilted her head slightly.
"Okay."
She reached out, her slender fingers picking up a small pebble from the ground.
Then—
Everything stopped.
The flickering candles. The faint ripples in the bath's water. Even the drifting specks of dust in the air froze in place.
Su Xiaobai's eyes widened.
No matter how many tis he saw it, he was fascinated.
This—this was a truly broken ability!
Not just powerful. Absurd.
i i, however, looked completely unfazed.
For her, this was nothing special.
Then—
She hesitated.
A slight pause. A flicker of uncertainty in her calm, clear eyes.
And then—
The pebble rolled back into her palm.
The dust in the air retreated back to where it was.
The ripples in the bath reversed.
Everything returned to a mont before.
Su Xiaobai's breath caught in his throat.
"…What?"
His gaze snapped to i i.
She hesitated for another second, then spoke softly.
"I… I can reverse it as well."
"Only for a small duration… but I can do it now."
Su Xiaobai's face darkened.
What the hell is going on?!
On the one hand, he was completely lost in the Dao of the Sword, getting insulted into enlightennt.
On the other hand—
His sister was casually bending the laws of ti.
"Ah!?"
i i let out a startled yelp as Su Xiaobai hugged her thin waist and pinched her side.
"Little girl, why don't you cultivate faster? If you get strong enough, you can just go deal with all our enemies by yourself."
i i let out a small 'humph', puffing out her cheeks in an exaggerated pout.
"If I do everything, what would you do then?"
Her lips pressed together in a soft, playful scowl, though there was a distinct hint of happiness in her voice.
Even if she didn't admit it, she liked it when her brother acknowledged her strength.
She had been trying to cultivate.
But no matter what—
Su Xiaobai's speed was monstrous.
There was simply no way to catch up.
She wasn't like their elder sister, who enjoyed battle and sought out challenges.
i i wasn't a fighter. She didn't enjoy reckless combat.
Yet—
Even though she spent most of her ti simply existing, her cultivation still soared past most people.
It was unfair.
Talent was truly cruel.
Even now, as she sat beside him, her body was naturally absorbing Spiritual Qi without any effort.
She didn't even need to ditate.
It just happened.
Su Xiaobai sighed internally.
A monster. His sister was a natural-born monster.
Then—
"Gege, are you learning about swords?"
i i's soft voice broke his thoughts.
She had leaned forward, peering at the scroll in his lap.
Her eyes flickered as she scanned the characters.
A mont later, a small look of realization appeared on her face.
"…Oh. It's about swordsmanship."
Su Xiaobai's eye twitched.
The disdain in her tone was subtle.
But he felt it.
Very clearly.
Even this girl thinks it's beneath her?!
…Fuck.
"Huh, it's more detailed than what Mother taught us…"
The more i i read, the more fascinated she beca.
Su Xiaobai shook his head.
"Taught you and Yiran, not us."
He wasn't included. Learning swordsmanship without cultivation was pointless—a waste of ti for soone who, back then, couldn't even refine Qi.
But now—
His eyes lit up.
Since Bai Yujian was throwing the modern equivalent of a sword-cultivator temper tantrum, this girl—couldn't she just explain it to him?
It would save so much ti.
i i suddenly felt there was sothing wrong with the way Su Xiaobai glanced at her.
His gaze was sharp, calculating—like she was a big, juicy piece of free labor.
Her cheeks turned slightly red.
Then—
Before she could protest, she was dragged into unpaid tutoring.
____
"It's Sword Qi."
i i pulled up a small wooden table between them, slipping into full tutor mode.
Her delicate hands moved as she spoke, reinforcing her words with visual examples.
"Think of it as projecting energy in the shape of a blade—"
Su Xiaobai frowned.
"Isn't that what I did?"
i i shook her head, lifting a finger.
"Look here, Gege."
A soft glow of blue Spiritual Qi flickered to life at her fingertip, like a dancing fla.
"Sword Qi doesn't always have to be a sword. It is just Qi shaped into a cutting force, allowing slashes from a distance or enhancing a strike."
The energy at her fingertip suddenly elongated, turning razor-sharp.
Then—
Shing!
The energy shot forward—swift, precise—cleanly slicing a chair in half.
Su Xiaobai blinked.
"…So that's it."
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