Cluelessness in romance is passed down through the generations.

"Junior Sister, what on earth is packed inside these storage bags?" Zhou Yan had a sinking premonition.

"Oh, one storage bag contains various types of beast blood. Senior Brother, don't forget to practice while you're away, so I've written down all the proper formulations and put them right inside."

True to form, Junior Sister, never missing a chance to push him into cultivation even when heading out!

"What about the rest?" He hoped it wasn't what he thought.

"Those are empty bottles. I've made a list of the beast blood and spiritual plants I need. Senior Brother, don't miss them if you come across them, and make sure not to waste any beast blood when hunting demonic beasts." Lin Jiuge's instructions made Zhou Yan lose all remaining hope.

"Junior Sister, didn't you prepare anything else? Like talismans, perhaps?" Zhou Yan asked, refusing to give up.

"Senior Brother, what kind of joke are you telling? You're an array master yourself, and as for the rest... Senior Brother, are you sure you'd even be able to walk out of the sect if I prepared those for you?" Lin Jiuge's blunt reply almost brought Zhou Yan to tears. *Junior Sister, my dear Junior Sister, besides cultivation, do the two of us literally have nothing else to talk about?*

"Besides, Master and the others must have already prepared those for you." Lin Jiuge had a thoroughly realistic understanding of herself, so she answered without the slightest bit of hesitation.

"Right. Junior Sister, see you in three months." Taking the items handed over by his junior sister, Zhou Yan felt a heavy weight in his hands.

"Jiuge, are those really the things you prepared to give your senior brother?" Li Yun was genuinely shocked; this was completely different from what he had imagined.

"Master, is there a problem?" She was merely an ordinary cultivating disciple within the sect with no vast family fortune, and she felt the items she chose were extremely practical.

"No problem at all." Li Yun thought of the occasional encounters he had witnessed between senior and junior disciples within the sect.

"Jiuge, didn't you ever think of asking your senior brother to bring you back a set of magical robes?" Li Yun couldn't help but ask.

"Magical robes? Is that permitted by the sect?" This once again strayed into Lin Jiuge's blind spot.

"Naturally." Didn't he see Zhou Yan wearing several different styles of clothing?

"Next time, then."

"You can do it this time too. Just send your senior brother a sound-transmission talisman."

"In that case, I'll ask Senior Brother to bring back some pretty magical robes for Jiucheng, along with some hair ornaments." Her little sister was due for some new clothes!

"Jiuge, don't you need any for yourself?" Li Yun hadn't expected Lin Jiuge's sudden awakening to be entirely for the sake of her younger sister, and he couldn't help asking.

"I don't need them," Lin Jiuge answered without a second thought. The two sets of disciple uniforms provided by the sect each year were plenty to wear.

"Surely you need some defensive magic tools at the very least? Young girls all like jewelry and things of that sort. Jiuge, have your senior brother bring you some." Li Yun asked, unwilling to give up.

"No need, Master. How can practitioners of our sword cultivation sect ever rely on magic tools other than the sword?" Lin Jiuge firmly rejected the idea.

***

Li Yun had finally come to understand a brand new term: an iron-willed, emotionally oblivious maiden! Was his training direction entirely wrong? Should he consult her master about this?

In front of Lin Jiuge's quarters, a woman stood frowning as she stared at the house.

"Senior, who are you?" Seeing someone staring intently at their dwelling, Lin Jiuge couldn't help asking. She didn't recognize this aunt-like figure.

"Little girl, who are you, and why are you here?" the woman asked in a gentle voice.

"I... I live here. Senior, what are you doing standing at the entrance of my house?" Lin Jiuge didn't state her name; Big Sister had explicitly told her never to tell strangers her name.

"The entrance to *your* house?" The woman practically gritted her teeth as she said this.

"That's right, my house." Lin Jiuge nodded. It was her and her sister's house.

"You—" The woman wanted to say more, but she was interrupted.

"Junior Sister Wujing, you've come out of secluded cultivation," Elder Wudao greeted.

"Master!" Lin Jiuge scampered over with pattering footsteps.

"Is this the disciple you took in, Senior Brother?" Revered One Wujing looked at Lin Jiuge, finding it rather difficult to speak. Such a tiny child actually dared to occupy her room!

"Indeed." Elder Wudao picked Lin Jiuge up with practiced ease.

Revered One Wujing felt as though her worldview had shattered after just a few years of closed-door cultivation. Her usually austere and expressionless senior brother had actually taken in a child as a disciple, and even pampered her to the point of worldly warmth! Was there something wrong with the way she had come out of seclusion?

"Old Bookworm, Jiucheng, oh—wait, Senior Sister Wujing, you've come out of seclusion?" Li Yun's voice drifted over.

"Senior Brother Wuzhan." Revered One Wujing's eyes lit up. Li Yun looked just as he always had, followed closely by a short-statured youth who possessed quite a handsome appearance.

"Jiuge, let me introduce you. This is your Martial Aunt Wujing," Li Yun said, turning to introduce her to Lin Jiuge.

"Lin Jiuge pays her respects to Martial Aunt Wujing." Lin Jiuge obediently bowed, her voice ringing out crisp and clear like that of a young maiden.

"Senior Sister, this is my disciple, Lin Jiuge."

"A female disciple?!" Revered One Wujing was utterly shocked. What on earth had happened to her two senior brothers? Why had they both taken disciples, and female ones at that?

"That's right."

"Senior Brother, didn't you used to say that female disciples are far too troublesome?" Revered One Wujing said with great difficulty.

"Female disciples are indeed troublesome, but Jiuge isn't troublesome at all." *Troublesome? She was far rougher around the edges than most male cultivators!*

***

Revered One Wujing felt like crying. *Did that make *her* the troublesome one?!*

"Master, what's wrong with Martial Aunt?" Lin Jiuge couldn't quite fathom why Revered One Wujing looked on the verge of tears.

"Jiucheng, your martial aunt is just feeling a bit overwhelmed by emotion," Elder Wudao explained. After all, imagine having the person you adored define women in general as a massive hassle, only for him to make an exception for someone else—remaining composed under such circumstances was already a testament to her restraint.

"Jiucheng?" Revered One Wujing finally processed the name.

"Junior Sister, this is my disciple, Lin Jiucheng."

"Lin Jiuge, Lin Jiucheng," Revered One Wujing murmured under her breath.

"They're sisters, and they're living here now," Li Yun added.

"We have Junior Sister to thank for her original arrangement of the place; otherwise, it really would have been difficult to place them." Li Yun's words were no less than a lethal follow-up strike.

Revered One Wujing concluded that coming out of seclusion was a profound mistake! The man of her affections was as dense as ever, and her own room had been given away without the slightest hesitation!

Dazed and pale-faced, Revered One Wujing looked at the adorable Lin Jiuge cradled in Elder Wudao's arms, and then back at the youthful-looking maiden standing behind Li Yun. *Was her steadfast persistence all these years completely wrong?*

"Master, since you and Senior Uncle are catching up with Martial Aunt, Jiuge will take her leave." With that, Lin Jiuge gently took Lin Jiucheng from Elder Wudao's arms. Since the elders were reminiscing, it was best for the juniors to withdraw.

"Brute, you've seen Ah Yan off. Did Jiuge say anything before leaving?" Elder Wudao asked curiously.

"She did." Mentioning this brought a speechless expression to Li Yun's face.

"Oh? What did she say?" Elder Wudao grew even more curious, gesturing for Revered One Wujing to take a seat.

"She told her senior brother not to forget his body-tempering cultivation, and to remember to collect the blood of demonic beasts."

So much for childhood sweethearts and the romantic tropes found in romance storybooks—they were all complete lies!

Elder Wudao was left completely speechless. It seemed this particular trait ran firmly in the lineage. Glancing at the heartbroken junior sister whose soul seemed to have drifted off to who-knows-where, and imagining the rather wretched path Zhou Yan was currently walking, Elder Wudao silently decided that perhaps such matchmaking traditions were best left alone.

"Junior Sister's cultivation has shown some improvement," Elder Wudao said, attempting to change the subject.

"Indeed," Revered One Wujing replied, tasting bitterness in her mouth and feeling an even greater bitterness in her heart.

"If there's anything you don't understand, Junior Sister, feel free to ask. After all, our master and your master were close friends."