My Disciple Wants To Tease Me Every Day Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Though Qian Sui is Gone, the Repercussions Live On

"No, no."
　　
Towards Di Jiufeng's question, the System expressed that she had overthought. "The timeline of the world within this novel is perpendicular to that of the real world. That is to say, no matter how many years you spend in this book, as long as you exit, the outside is still at the same moment you left. So, honorable host, you do not at all need to worry about your body disappearing when you return. You can treat everything as if it were a dream."
　　
To treat everything that had happened here as if it were a dream, Di Jiufeng couldn't bear it under any circ.u.mstances.
　　
So much so that another way of thinking had been growing stronger and stronger in her mind. That was, to give up on returning to reality and remain in this place forever. However, in the end, this was only a world within a novel. Whether the people here were real, whether everything she had experienced was only a dream, even Di Jiufeng herself did not know!
　　
She dropped into silence, not speaking for a while, that vacant and helpless expression on her face.
　　
"System, tell me, this place… is it real or not…"
　　
Ever since she had transmigrated into this novel, Di Jiufeng had never shown any weakness. But now, she was like a lost child, shyly standing in the middle of a tide of people, everyone coming and going wearing unfamiliar faces. She already could not discern where she was standing, could not see the way she came, and could not glimpse what was yet to come.
　　
"In fact, whether or not this place is real all depends on you. If you think this place is fake, that is because you lived in that world for too long. But, why don't you think that it was only a very long dream? Maybe this place is where you really belong, it's impossible to know."
　　
Though the System had become shameless, when it spoke of serious matters, it still had some of that manner of great expertise.
　　
Di Jiufeng thought, and felt that its words were somewhat fallacious. So, she continued to push. "If I complete the mission, I will definitely be sent back. But, if I cannot complete it, will I be able to stay?"
　　
The System said cruelly, "You cannot. If you cannot complete the mission, both of us will be obliterated by the program."
　　
"So, there's no way to stay here alive?"
　　
Hearing the faint urgency showing in Di Jiufeng's voice, the System chuckled a few times to itself. It stuck up and crossed its nonexistent legs and asked viciously, "Honorable host, you want to stay?"
　　
Di Jiufeng hurriedly shook her head and denied, "No, I was just asking."
　　
The System felt it might know something, but it refused to say. As a System with some principles, it decided to get a bit of revenge for using the ancient witch to scare it. "According to the information I know now, there is no method to stay here alive at the moment. Maybe if you follow the advancement of the main plotline there could be a method, it's hard to say for sure. I will take note for you, host."
　　
After a little while of the two's secret conversation, Ning Guang had already flown them to the main peak of the sect.
　　
Because Di Jiufeng had gotten up late and tarried some time on the way, most of the people were already seated on the viewing platform. At the entrance door, there was only Yue Qingfeng, standing with his back straight.
　　
"s.h.i.+xiong, why have you not entered?" After not seeing Yue Qingfeng for five years, he had acquired even more of a sage-like immortal air.
　　
If not for his a.s.sistance before, she and Ning Guang could not have peacefully pa.s.sed these days. No matter if it was because of manners, or because of grat.i.tude, Di Jiufeng had no reason not to greet him.
　　
"I was waiting for you two." After nodding to Di Jiufeng, Yue Qingfeng turned his gaze to Ning Guang.
　　
After not seeing her for five years, Jiufeng's disciple had blossomed into a peerless pure beauty. The demonic energy filling her body had been restrained, replaced with spiritual energy as impeccable as a golden core. He looked more closely. If not for the fact that he long ago knew she was a demonic cultivator, if else, he wouldn't be able to make out any oddities with his cultivation level.
　　
This really was a talented and brilliant junior, to be able to internalize the demonic path within a short five years.
　　
This was a cultivation level that could compare to Middle-Stage Nascent Soul. In addition to her ability to control large numbers of spirits, she couldn't fall to a disadvantage even fighting one-on-many.
　　
Seeing this improvement of hers, Yue Qingfeng raised his guard. But, seeing that though her eyes were cool, they held none of their former malice, he finally relaxed a bit. It looked like his s.h.i.+mei's guidance had been very effective, and this evil spirit really had taken a small start onto the righteous path.
　　
"Jiufeng, you taught her quite well. Like this, I can be rea.s.sured." Patting Di Jiufeng's shoulder, he walked to the viewing platform with her.
　　
Ning Guang fell a step behind them. The darkness in her slightly downturned eyes gathered like dark clouds, nearly drowning her pupils.
　　
This Yue Qingfeng really was like a deceased spirit that refused to scatter. He was clinging to her s.h.i.+fu five years ago, and now he still didn't know any subtlety. If not for the fact that she still wasn't a match for him, she would definitely make him suffer.
　　
Ning Guang clenched her fist, forcibly pressing down the malice in her heart. When her breathing finally returned to normal, she strode over to her s.h.i.+fu's side and took her hand.
　　
Though she was only fifteen, Ning Guang was already half a head taller than Di Jiufeng. Standing by her side, waves of cool fragrance tangled in the mountain wind, slowly filling Di Jiufeng's nose like it was holding her in a light embrace.
　　
"Ning Guang, are you a bit nervous?" Tilting her head, she looked at her disciple.
　　
Under the daylight, her disciple's skin was jade-white and translucent like ice and snow. A pair of long and narrow phoenix eyes slightly tilted up, the pupils clear and cool, just like the G.o.ddess Jiutian Xuannü – though elegant to the extreme, she held terrifying power, making others afraid to look directly at her.
　　
"I'm not nervous, I'm just afraid you'll be cold. The mountain wind is freezing, and your clothes are so thin. See, your hands are like ice."
　　
She took that pair of fine and slender pale hands into her sleeves, pressing with the heat of her own arms to warm them.
　　
Di Jiufeng's heart warmed, and her smile softened all the more. "Silly girl, how could a cultivator fear the cold? It's just my body temperature is cool, and my hands and feet can't warm up. Don't worry about me, you must be careful later when you're competing. Even if you have to concede defeat, don't use any techniques you shouldn't."
　　
After Di Jiufeng and Yue Qingfeng took their seats, the elders on the viewing platform had all arrived.
　　
The Sect Leader gave a few words of polite greeting, then walked to the center of the arena stage. "Today's inner disciples' grand compet.i.tion is one, for urging your earnest cultivation, and two, for selecting ten disciples to partic.i.p.ate in the demonstration compet.i.tion. This is an honor second to none. You must spare no effort, but cannot harm anyone's life, or else you will be disqualified from the compet.i.tion. Remember that!" Going over the rules in detail one more time, the Sect Leader then directed an elder at the side of the platform to have the disciples go draw lots.
　　
Ning Guang also went to line up, but halfway there, she lifted up her head. Like they were of one mind, she just happened to meet Di Jiufeng's gaze.

[T/N: Original phrasing is 心有灵犀一般 (xin1 you3 ling2 xi1 yi1 ban1), 'like they had a rhinoceros horn in their hearts'. Rhinoceros horns were thought to confer telepathic powers.]
　　
"Ning Guang, good luck."
　　
No matter if it was because of her selfish motives, or because her own disciple had the ability, Di Jiufeng wished she would win.
　　
Seeing Ning Guang nod towards her and walk over to draw her lot, Di Jiufeng began to smile. She pulled back her attention, planning to quietly watch the compet.i.tion, but in the next second her gaze was frozen by a stream of killing intent. Following it, she saw a twenty-three or twenty-four year old man. Though his appearance was rather handsome, because he grew a pair of drooping willow brows and triple-white eyes, he seemed especially harsh and cunning.
　　
The man darkly fixed his gaze on Ning Guang, eyes s.h.i.+ning, hatching who knows what kind of malicious plans.
　　
Di Jiufeng looked at him for a while. She felt that her heart had been seized by a thread of unease. "s.h.i.+xiong, who is that person?"
　　
She tugged at Yue Qingfeng's sleeves and said in a low voice, "Looking at him, it looks like he has some dispute with my disciple."
　　
Yue Qingfeng followed her gaze, and nodded understandingly. "Of course he has a dispute with your disciple. He is Qian Sui's last disciple. He was used to being arrogant and domineering all the time, but with Qian Sui as his s.h.i.+eld, no one dared confront him. Afterwards, because of you and your disciple, Qian Sui was imprisoned in the Han Yuan forbidden area. This person no longer had a mountain to lean on, and his days got harder to live.
　　
I've heard this person has a reputation for being petty. Ordinarily, if he suffered some grievance, he would definitely pay it back a hundred times. He can't trouble you, so of course he would take it out on your disciple. But, his cultivation isn't very high. He's not a match for your disciple, you don't need to be too concerned."
　　
He casually patted Di Jiufeng's shoulder, telling her not to worry.
　　
But, before he retracted his hand, that person swapped his own lot with another.
　　
Though she couldn't see what number he was, seeing the sinister smirk he sent towards Ning Guang, Di Jiufeng felt that the situation had taken a major turn for the worse. She shot up and hurriedly strode forward.
　　
But, after only one step, Yue Qingfeng pulled her back. "Stop, you can't go!"
　　
"Why not?" Di Jiufeng asked.

Notes:

This chapter was translated by Lily. Jiutian Xuannü (九天玄女) – literally the 'Dark Lady of the Nine Heavens", the G.o.ddess of war, s.e.x, and longevity in Chinese mythology. More information on Wikipedia if you're interested: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiutian_Xuann%C3%BC "Drooping willow brows and triple-white eyes" – 吊梢三白眼 (diao4 shao1 san1 bai2 yan3). As I'm finding this week, Chinese has a lot of really extra poetic terms for face types. 吊梢 is the shortened version of 柳叶吊梢眉, 'willow leaves drooping branch brows', which refers to eyebrows with the tips slating up into the temples. 三白眼, or 'triple white eyes', refer to eyes which have either super-low or super-high pupils, showing the whites on three sides. People with triple white eyes are said to be aloof and ruthless to others. A last disciple is called 关门弟子 (guan1 men2 di4 zi3), or "door closing disciple". 门 is the same word for 'door' and 'sect', and this term carries the same almost metaphoric phrasing as the word for entering a sect, 入门 (ru4 men2), which is "entering door".