“Ma… Master, may this disciple go back now?” Yu Mian's lashes fluttered. Both hands rested on Sheng Qing's shoulders, and she didn't dare move an inch.
She couldn't escape Sheng Qing's grip, nor could she understand the mind of this strange serpent.
Don't tell me this snake has a taste for women?!
Her heart raced in the cool water. Fear wrapped around her nerves like a deadly game.
Sheng Qing's alluring chuckle sounded beside her ear, half pitying and half regretful. “Mian'er has scarcely any flesh on her bones. As food, she wouldn't even fill the gap between my teeth. Perhaps she should be fattened up first.”
Yu Mian's mind went completely blank.
What had she said?
Food!
“I was born unable to gain weight… Master, couldn't you find something else to eat?!”
“Besides, I'm an ordinary mortal full of worldly impurities. You're a revered immortal master. Eating me would upset your stomach. It really would…” Yu Mian was nearly in tears, her face ashen. This snake truly intended to fatten her up and eat her!
Damn that author, Long-Eared Rabbit! Damn *Fragrant Shadows, Damp with Desire*! Damn this rotten woman…
Her miserable life was going to end in the blink of an eye.
“Don't be afraid, Mian'er. Your master only… mentioned it in passing~”
Sheng Qing reached out and pinched Yu Mian's cheek. The girl's eyes were tightly closed with fear.
She cradled the fair little face that already hinted at the captivating beauty it would someday possess, like a lotus about to bloom. Finding it amusing, she kneaded and pinched it without restraint, delight hidden in her eyes, even as she teased mercilessly. “But since you've brought up being a mere mortal, are you complaining that your master hasn't taught you any cultivation techniques?”
Even a clay figurine had a temper!
This rotten woman was twisting her words!
For the first time, Yu Mian opened her eyes and tried to look directly at her so-called master. Then those unfathomable dark pupils frightened her again.
She—!
She shrank back and answered timidly, “How could I? I know Master has endless matters to attend to. I became your disciple less than a day ago. There'll naturally be opportunities to learn in the future.”
Sheng Qing smiled brightly as starlight. With one hand, she lifted Yu Mian to her feet beside the pool. Her other hand reluctantly left the tender cheek. “Water benefits all things and does so with compassion. Since we're at the spring pool today, your master shall teach you a cleansing spell.”
With a casual wave, she clothed herself in splendid, fiery-red brocade robes embroidered with countless lotus blossoms unfurling amid flames. Golden threads and colored crystals glittered extravagantly in the shadows.
The clothes emphasized her full figure and willow-thin waist. Perhaps because no one else was present, she wore them in a relatively casual, simple style, with cloud motifs across the bright-red overlapping lapels.
She was breathtaking.
In the face of overwhelming beauty, sexual preference became the least important thing in the world.
Yu Mian was dazed for only a moment. This was poison coated in honey.
Deadly poison, at that.
Yu Mian: …So she was the only one still half-undressed now, was she?
She escaped Sheng Qing's embrace, hurried to the bank, removed her old clothes, and put on the Wayward Immortal Sect disciple's outer robes.
Her skin was still damp, making the fabric stick unpleasantly, but it was better than exposing herself to the lecherous snake's gaze.
“Thank you, Master, for teaching this disciple a spell.” Standing beside Sheng Qing's tall figure, which was over half a head taller, Yu Mian looked like a little bean sprout.
It wasn't that she was particularly short. This body was at least 165 centimeters tall, which certainly wasn't small. The woman beside her was simply unusually tall.
Well, her snake body was who knew how many meters long. It made sense that her human form would be tall too. Yu Mian estimated she was at least 178 centimeters.
Full bust, wasp waist, and legs that seemed to go on forever. Quite fitting for a snake.
Yu Mian stole a glance at Sheng Qing's profile and promptly looked away. When she behaved properly, she actually looked rather human—like the cold, otherworldly immortal Yu Mian had first seen.
“Watch closely.” Sheng Qing finally raised her hand to demonstrate this supposedly elementary spell. Her fingertip traced an incomprehensible symbol in the air, while her lips articulated a series of obscure incantations, distinct and indistinct all at once.
Yu Mian's eyes shone. Who hadn't dreamed of immortal cultivation? Now that she could actually learn legendary magic, she stared with all her might.
Once the symbol formed in the air, blue light flickered across it. It transformed into something like the head of a flood dragon, spinning effortlessly as a long body of water gathered behind it.
The water dragon obediently settled into Sheng Qing's palm, nuzzling her gently. With her permission, it flew several loops around her, then perched on her shoulder and looked at Yu Mian with lively eyes.
Yu Mian: And you call that a cleansing spell?
Under Sheng Qing's expectant gaze, she twitched her lips and reluctantly lifted her hand. With nothing to lose, she traced approximately the same motions and muttered the sounds she'd half remembered.
Forget the magical symbol. Not even a drop of water appeared in the air.
Puzzlement crossed Sheng Qing's eyes. How could her disciple be so stupid?
She was about to speak when Yu Mian interrupted her. “Master, is it possible that, unlike you, I'm a human with absolutely no cultivation foundation? I haven't even studied the immortal script.”
Sheng Qing's face became entirely expressionless, her gaze dark and heavy. She resembled an unfeeling statue. After Yu Mian held her breath for two long beats, a dazzling smile finally returned.
“Quite right. Your master was too impatient. Mian'er, go to Seeking Immortals Mountain tomorrow morning and begin your lessons.” She reached out to pat Yu Mian's head. Yu Mian instinctively tried to avoid her.
Seeing the icy look instantly flash in Sheng Qing's eyes, Yu Mian froze where she stood, then willingly pushed her head beneath the demonic hand. Sheng Qing narrowed her eyes in satisfaction. When her gaze settled on the Wayward Immortal Sect's main peak, a shadow flickered across it.
Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west—fortune always changes!
Just wait until I become strong enough to beat you!
Yu Mian secretly encouraged herself.
Once she'd petted the girl to her satisfaction, Sheng Qing vanished in the blink of an eye. Yu Mian immediately sighed in relief.
At least she could go to school.
Who would have imagined that transmigrating into a cultivation world would make her love studying so much?!
She wished she could live at Seeking Immortals Mountain forever.
A cold breeze from somewhere brushed against her damp skin. Goosebumps rose all over her. She hastily put on the rest of her clothes and jogged back to her room.
In the gathering darkness, overlapping eaves, carved beams, and painted rafters resembled countless monsters revealing their true shapes, ready to tear apart and devour the little treat running down the path.
Yu Mian ran faster and faster.
When she returned to her room, she smacked her forehead. She'd forgotten to ask how she was supposed to get to class!
If she had to walk, with her sense of direction, it would take three to five days just to find the school.
But her master had promised she could attend classes. Surely she wouldn't go back on her word?!
Filled with unease, Yu Mian lay beneath an icy silk quilt made from ice-silkworm threads, staring wide-eyed at the carved birds on the bed canopy and beginning to count them.
One bird, two birds, three…
Deep in the night, a cold, sinister presence approached her bed and embraced the little living stove.
The visitor didn't even breathe, like a cold corpse. Only a heartbeat coming once every few dozen seconds proved she was alive.
