Volume 3, Chapter 262 – How Many People Are You Going to Call Sister?

“Thank you for your patronage, esteemed guests. Please come again.”

Qing Niang smiled as she accepted Chi Xiyan’s spirit stones and saw the three cloaked young women out through Five Immortals House’s back door.

“Back to the Chi residence.”

Chi Xiyan bought a carriage on the way and had the three of them return via a side road.

“So this is the Chi residence?”

After entering the Chi family grand mansion, Bu Lianshuang walked the entire way with an expression of undisguised wonder that never once faded.

The wolf clan had always lived in hardship. The prosperity of human settlements had already dazzled this wolf clan princess who had grown up knowing little else but difficult days.

But she hadn’t expected that within this already prosperous city, there could be somewhere even more lavish.

“Stop gawking,” Chi Xiyan said, brow creased. “As a maidservant at your master’s side, you should not be conducting yourself so improperly.”

“Remember your position. Right now, you are a maidservant of the Chi residence. Your every word and action reflects how the Chi family manages its servants.”

Then Chi Xiyan looked at Bu Lianshuang with narrow-eyed suspicion. “Besides, aren’t the girls trained by Five Immortals House supposed to be well-mannered and socially aware?”

“Why do you look like someone who’s never seen the world before?”

Chi Xiyan recalled that when Yu Lizhi, a farm girl, had first entered the residence, even she hadn’t reacted this dramatically.

Bu Lianshuang walked behind Lu Zhuxin, face stiff.

The fist hidden in her sleeve clenched tighter and tighter.

Through the Dao contract, Lu Zhuxin could feel the roiling emotion in the girl’s soul.

Bu Lianshuang released her fist and ground out through clenched teeth, “I’m just a wandering cultivator. I genuinely have never seen a great family as prosperous as the Chi family before.”

“And at Five Immortals House, I worked more as a fighter. I never actually learned their rules of feminine conduct.”

The truth was, Bu Lianshuang had only entered Five Immortals House yesterday.

Qing Niang had crammed her with some basics of Five Immortals House’s decorum for women, but with so little time, there hadn’t been much she could absorb.

Chi Xiyan’s frown deepened further at that. “Unacceptable. Absolutely unacceptable.”

“How can you speak to your master that way?”

“A maidservant should carry herself like one. The way you are now will bring trouble to Little Xue’er.”

Lu Zhuxin could hear that Bu Lianshuang’s breathing had grown noticeably heavier.

She found it a little funny.

She had imagined before what it might look like when Bu Lianshuang and Chi Xiyan ended up in the same place.

She just hadn’t expected these two to open on quite this note.

Chi Xiyan walked Bu Lianshuang through the residence the entire way back, lecturing her every step.

Her manner of speaking. Her posture while walking. Her taste in clothes. Her makeup and grooming.

She was practically one step away from poking Bu Lianshuang in the nose and calling her unwomanly.

This wolf clan princess, doted on by her tribe’s elders her whole life, when had she ever been subjected to this kind of indignity?

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Lu Zhuxin had already lost count of how many times she’d watched Bu Lianshuang’s sharp nails slip uncontrollably past her fingertips.

“Alright, Sister.” Lu Zhuxin quickly stepped in to smooth things over. “Shuang’er has a blood debt to settle and has been hunted by a sword sect, hiding and running for her life. Just surviving is already a feat. How could she have had the time to learn these things?”

“Honestly, I quite like Shuang’er the way she is. She has a real heroic spirit, wandering the world, unbound and free, sword in hand.”

Bu Lianshuang turned to look at Lu Zhuxin upon hearing her speak up, expression pitifully earnest.

You’re a wolf! Don’t start thinking you’re actually a little puppy!

Chi Xiyan turned to look at Lu Zhuxin, a deep crease forming between her brows.

Lu Zhuxin tilted her head with a sweet smile. “What is it, Sister?”

“You too,” Chi Xiyan said. “Since when does a young lady of a great family call a maidservant ‘Sister’?”

“Hm?” Lu Zhuxin blinked.

Chi Xiyan continued. “You are now the Chi family’s second young lady. Not a maidservant to be sent on errands.”

“You are the legitimate bloodline of this household.”

“Within this residence, every branch family member stands a rank below you. A legitimate young lady should carry herself like one. Always being soft and meek, what does that look like?”

“Most importantly. That habit of yours of calling everyone Sister, when are you going to fix that?”

Chi Xiyan said it with clear indignation. “Does just anyone get to be your sister?”

A question mark slowly formed on Lu Zhuxin’s face.

…Huh?

“No, no, how did I not notice this sooner?” Chi Xiyan turned and walked ahead, muttering to herself. “I’ll have Qingluo give both of you a proper correction. The way you two are right now is completely unacceptable.”

Bu Lianshuang watched Chi Xiyan’s retreating figure. Her left hand gripped her right, while her right hand slowly, uncontrollably began to rise on its own.

She glanced at Lu Zhuxin beside her, her eyes asking plainly: Can I hit her? Just once.

Lu Zhuxin glared back with full force: No! Hold it together!

Bu Lianshuang had no choice but to stand down.

Her rising right hand was pushed back down by her own left.

Before long, the three of them arrived together at the courtyard that belonged to the Chi family’s second young lady.

Inside, many household servants were still busy moving furniture around, while maids swept the fallen leaves from the paths.

The martial artist Lin Xiu spotted Chi Xiyan and hurried over. “Miss Chi! The matter you assigned me has been taken care of.”

As he spoke, Lin Xiu seemed to feel something, a reflex that made him glance toward the figure behind Chi Xiyan.

There stood a woman of ordinary features but striking height.

She feels strong.

A martial artist’s instincts had him sensing something threatening from Bu Lianshuang.

And yet, to his senses, her aura read as nothing more than a Third Realm cultivator.

How could a Third Realm woman make him, a Fifth Realm martial artist, feel threatened?

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At that same moment, Bu Lianshuang’s gaze swept over Lin Xiu in passing. Her delicate brows drew together slightly.

A human martial artist carrying a killing aura. And woven through that aura, a considerable amount of absorbed demonic energy.

To have reached this state, he must have killed a great many demon clan members.

Someone like this was usually a veteran retired from the front lines.

This Miss Chi had someone like that at her side?

Chi Xiyan noticed the shift in Lin Xiu’s expression and gave him a small shake of her head, signaling him not to make a scene.

Lin Xiu understood. He withdrew his gaze and set aside his questions.

“Miss Chi, the men behind me are the guards I selected for the second young lady.”

Behind Lin Xiu, four men in fitted training clothes cupped their fists toward Lu Zhuxin and Chi Xiyan.

“Miss Chi!”

“Second Young Lady!”

These four were powerfully built with dense, vigorous auras, and every one of them had cultivation at the higher stages of the Fourth Realm.

Lin Xiu’s eye for talent was undeniable.

Chi Xiyan was fully satisfied with the selections. “From today onward, you are the second young lady’s guards.”

“Protecting the second young lady is your duty.”

“Understood!” they said in unison.

Beyond the guards Lin Xiu had brought, the courtyard also had a number of sweeping maids temporarily transferred over from Chi Xiyan’s own quarters.

Today, Chi Xiyan had originally planned to fully staff Lu Zhuxin’s courtyard with attendants and servants alike, but in the end, she’d only brought back one Fifth Realm personal maidservant.

A Fifth Realm personal maidservant. Even Chi Xiyan herself didn’t have that luxury.

Though of course, at Chi Xiyan’s current level of strength, she had no need for a Fifth Realm maid to protect her.

“Qingluo.” Chi Xiyan called over the senior maid from her own courtyard.

Qingluo walked gracefully to Chi Xiyan’s side. “Miss Chi, what are your instructions?”

“Qingluo,” Chi Xiyan said, “this is the second young lady’s maid, Lan Shuang’er. She has just arrived and does not yet know the ways of this residence.”

“For the next few days, remain in the second young lady’s courtyard and teach her the Chi residence’s etiquette properly.”

“Return only once the lessons are complete.”

Upon hearing this, Bu Lianshuang suddenly had a very bad feeling.

And the maid named Qingluo looked at Bu Lianshuang in undisguised surprise.

This was the second young lady’s senior maid?

Having grown up in the Chi residence, Qingluo understood perfectly what Miss Chi’s words implied.

For an ordinary maid, you’d just find any matron to teach her the basics.

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But Miss Chi had specifically emphasized teaching her well, which meant she expected Qingluo to instruct this Lan Shuang’er as though she were being groomed to manage the courtyard.

This plain-looking woman was going directly into the position of the second young lady’s head maid?

Whatever had the second young lady seen in her? Her height?

Bu Lianshuang could feel the disdain and scrutiny in this young girl’s gaze.

All Chi Xiyan’s doing. Now, even a girl still wet behind the ears could look down on her.

“Miss Lan Shuang’er. I will be your teacher for the coming days.” Qingluo extended a hand toward Bu Lianshuang in a friendly gesture. “I look forward to working with you.”

“Mm.” Bu Lianshuang gave Qingluo a nod.

Not that she couldn’t flatten this little girl with a single slap.

But this was the Chi residence. She couldn’t bring trouble to the fox lady.

Besides, if she could pick up some skills for winning people over from these humans, that wasn’t a bad thing. Bu Lianshuang had heard back in the tribe that the fox clan had always been fond of humans precisely because humans were better than most other races in the demon territory at making the fox clan happy.

After settling Bu Lianshuang’s situation, Chi Xiyan turned her gaze back to Lu Zhuxin, deep and unreadable.

Under that stare, Lu Zhuxin felt uncomfortable all over.

“Sister, what is it?”

“Do you still remember what I said before?”

What she said before? What was she referring to? About calling everyone Sister?

But what was wrong with that? Wasn’t being sweet and endearing a good thing?

The older sisters in her novels always loved it when a pretty younger sister called them “Sister” with such sweetness.

Still, since Chi Xiyan had brought it up, Lu Zhuxin didn’t want to push back.

So Lu Zhuxin said sheepishly, “Sister, I understand. I’ll be more mindful going forward.”

Chi Xiyan’s expression, however, had not softened much at all.

She let out a quiet sigh. “Come with me. I have some things I need to say to you.”

With that, she turned and walked deeper into the courtyard.

Lu Zhuxin didn’t understand, but she followed.

Deep in the second young lady’s courtyard was a small pond, where a few spirit carp swam freely about. Several small pavilions had been built around it.

Quiet and secluded, the only sound was the gentle murmur of water.

“Sister, what did you want to talk about?” Lu Zhuxin asked, looking at Chi Xiyan’s back.

“Zhizhi.” Chi Xiyan said. “You still like women, don’t you?”

Lu Zhuxin looked puzzled. “Why are you asking that now, Sister?”

Chi Xiyan’s expression was grave. “Answer me. Don’t be vague.”

“Sister…” Lu Zhuxin lowered her head slightly. “I don’t want to deceive you.”

“I’ll do whatever Sister asks of me, except marry a man. That is something I could absolutely never do.”

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“Marriage is far off. That’s not what I’m talking about right now.” Chi Xiyan said.

“Then I should also say, Sister,” Lu Zhuxin continued, “that while I do like women, I don’t fall for every woman I meet.”

Lu Zhuxin had already gathered a rough idea of where this was going.

This girl had probably been holding this in since back at Five Immortals House.

“I’ve already had one bad experience. I have no desire to go through something like that again.”

“Is that really so?” Chi Xiyan asked. “You wanted me to buy Lan Shuang’er, is it not because she’s beautiful?”

Lu Zhuxin was momentarily at a loss for words.

She hadn’t expected this girl to come out and say it so bluntly.

“Sister, in your eyes, is Yu Lizhi really that shallow?”

“I’m not saying that,” Chi Xiyan said. “But haven’t you noticed it yourself? You and that Lan Shuang’er were familiar with each other in a way that didn’t look like two people meeting for the first time.”

“Was it because she’s beautiful that you were so close with her?”

Lu Zhuxin’s face twitched. This girl was really hung up on Bu Lianshuang’s looks.

“Sister, it’s not like that.”

“Shuang’er and I simply clicked right away. She has a wonderful personality, treated me like a real sister, and that’s why I felt closer to her.”

“Oh? Like a sister.” Chi Xiyan said, without expression. “Am I not your sister?”

…Ah. That came out wrong.

“Sister, that’s not what I meant,” Lu Zhuxin said quickly.

“Xue’er, I’m not criticizing you.” Chi Xiyan said. “I simply think you trust people too easily.”

“Especially when the person in question is beautiful.”

Come on!

She was really not going to let this go today, was she?

“Sister~” Lu Zhuxin called out in a deliberately wheedling tone.

“Playing pitiful won’t work on me.” Chi Xiyan lowered her gaze slightly.

“Do you think I couldn’t tell?”

“Back at Five Immortals House, you did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

Chi Xiyan was referring to Lu Zhuxin revealing their identities to Lan Shuang’er.

“Sister, I’m sorry.” Lu Zhuxin dropped her head, voice soft. “Today at Five Immortals House, I really did act without asking first.”

“Was it because she’s beautiful?” Chi Xiyan said again.

“Sister, it really wasn’t…” Lu Zhuxin felt her composure starting to crack.

Chi Xiyan looked at her and said quietly, “It seems like every time you meet a beautiful woman, you end up calling her Sister.”