Second Senior Sister Has A Highly Dangerous Profession - Chapter 55

Chapter 55

Qianya peak was scattered with demon cores.

Yu Xizhi carefully saved a perfectly round one to roll over to Orange Mimi, hoping the kitten would bat it around with playful leaps.

Yet, as soon as the little cat pinned it down with her paw, she didn’t act as Yu Xizhi imagined.

Instead, Orange Mimi just laid down, clutching the bead, and let out a familiar “Miaaow.”

Slightly disappointed, the girl squatted down, patted Orange Mimi, and went inside to prepare some food for her.

She watched Orange Mimi happily devour its meal, then cleaned her hands again, prepared a rich broth, and began sorting the vegetables and slicing the meat she’d bought the day before for seasoning.

On New Year’s Eve, it’s only fitting to celebrate with a lively, red-hot hotpot.

Yi Zui had taken Cheng Luocen and Huang Li to Ziyuan Peak for registration, and now they both wore crisp, new uniforms, marking them as inner disciples.

Yi Zui, being thoughtful, collected two extra sets of disciple robes for both himself and Yu Xizhi.

He even discreetly prepared a set for their junior master uncle after glancing in his direction for a long moment.

Each of the peaks had already held their flower-pinned ceremonies, and it was down to the last one, Qianya Peak.

As it was New Year’s Eve and a hotpot is livelier with more people, Yu Xizhi also invited Yu Si and Shen Ye to join.

At the time, Lu Zhiheng, Gao Xiude, Meng Xizhou, and Sun Tian’er happened to be nearby.

Sun Tian’er, mustering her courage, shyly mentioned she had a craving too and earned herself a spot at the hotpot table.

White fog drifted around the mountain, the fragrance of the broth slowly wafting from a red clay stove.

The snowy peaks and firework-filled skies made the lonely forest below seem less isolated, touched by the flavors of human life.

Qianya Peak lacked a main hall, but even if it had one, eating hotpot in a grand hall would feel cold and distant.

Though their house was small, it wasn’t enough to deter the group.

While Yu Xizhi busied herself with preparing the hotpot base, the others built a temporary wooden house outside.

Once the house was finished, Huang Li rubbed his hands, carefully took out a few exquisite red window paper cuts from his pocket, and secretly pasted them on the windows of each wooden house.

He was still wondering if he was too worldly, but when he turned around, he saw Yi Zui standing on a stool and hanging lanterns on the eaves.

The red paper lanterns bore bold, elegant calligraphy in ink—Yi Zui, with his fine brushwork, had inscribed “Qianya” on each one as if afraid others wouldn’t know where they were.

With the spacious wooden house ready, all that was missing was a round table.

Yi Zui rummaged through his storage bag and miraculously pulled out a grand, intricately carved purple sandalwood Eight Immortals table, which looked a bit out of place in the rustic wooden house.

He then fished out around a dozen different wooden chairs, which, when counted, were just the right number.

Huang Li was amazed by the table, but when Yi Zui kept pulling out chair after chair, he was almost numb with surprise and asked curiously, “Senior Brother, why do you have so many chairs in your storage bag?”

Chairs, naturally, were meant for sitting.

Yi Zui could easily enter a state of meditation at any time.

Sometimes he leaned against a big tree, sometimes against a railing.

Standing was too tiring, so he stuffed chairs into the storage bag.

So, he stuffed chairs into his storage bag just in case.

After each meditation, if he woke up with sore muscles, he’d switch chairs, trying out different ones until he found the most comfortable.

Thus, he’d developed a habit of collecting chairs.

Although Yi Zui never thought much of it, pulling out so many chairs at once today made him seem a bit eccentric.

He didn’t want to explain, though, so he just grumbled, “If I don’t have enough chairs, what will you all sit on?”

Huang Li thought to himself that Senior Brother Yi Zui, who usually seemed so carefree, was surprisingly practical at heart.

Cheng Luocen quietly used a dust-repelling spell on the chairs and table, then took the special fire talismans Yi Zui handed him, sticking them around the wooden house to warm it up.

Everyone on Qianya Peak had a taste for spicy food, so the hotpot base was made entirely with red chili oil.

Heating the oil until it was almost smoking, they tossed in green onions, ginger, dried chilis, and spices like Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, and cinnamon bark.

Once the aroma filled the air, they added a fermented bean paste, letting the oil turn a deep, rich red before adding the broth.

A few sprigs of fresh Sichuan peppercorn floated on top.

Sword lights appeared in the night, illuminating the sky.

Though Qianya Peak had a protective sword formation, it was open tonight, allowing these lights to color the wind and snow as they landed on the snow-capped summit.

With all the food on the table, Yi Zui glanced at the approaching sword lights and quickly pulled out a few small items from his bag.

First, he pressed one to his own chest, examined it with satisfaction, and then stuck another on Cheng Luocen and Huang Li before hurrying over to Yu Xizhi.

“Second Senior Sister, look at me! Notice anything different?”

Through the steam, Yu Xizhi glanced at him.

“…You got a year older?”

Yi Zui: “…”

“No, no! Something else! Look at my clothes or something!”

Yu Xizhi scrutinized him.

“You’re wearing a new uniform? Did you get one for me too? I want a new outfit for the New Year.”

“Got one, got one!”

Yi Zui quickly assured her, then hesitated, “But that’s not it! Check the details!”

Finally, Yu Xizhi noticed the small white-and-red badge on his chest.

It had two beautifully written seal characters, “Qianya.”

Seeing her gaze, Yi Zui smiled, extending his hand.

“Want one?”

Yu Xizhi looked at the badge in his palm, then took it and stuck it on herself.

Then she held out her hand again.

“Is there another?”

Yi Zui blinked, “Huh?”

“Did you forget our junior master uncle?”

Yi Zui had indeed prepared extras and quickly produced a few more.

“Do you think Junior Master Uncle would wear one?”

“Whether he wants to or not, we should at least ask.”

Yu Xizhi handed the ladle to Yi Zui, “Watch the soup.”

Instead of heading straight to Xie Junzhi, who was lazily reclining on a soft white tiger-fur cushion, she went to another room.

Inside, Orange Mimi lay full-bellied, warming itself by the fire, while two tiny paper figures rested atop its stomach, one using her tail as a blanket and the other her hind leg as a pillow, both sound asleep.

Yu Xizhi leaned down and stuck a Qianya badge on each of the paper figures.

The badge was small on a person, but on the paper figures, it stood out clearly.

Thanks to Yi Zui’s calligraphy skills, it looked quite nice.

Finally, she opened the door and walked toward the person waiting under the lantern light.

Yi Zui observed the bubbling hotpot broth and called Huang Li to bring it to the table.

He set up the ingredients around the pot, along with the bowls, chopsticks, and dipping sauces, just as Yu Si and the others arrived, their sword lights descending.

The girl held out her hand to Xie Junzhi, revealing two characters in her palm: Qianya.

“Want to wear one?” she asked with a smile.

Xie Junzhi looked up at her, his reflection filling her bright, smiling eyes.

She was already wearing the badge on her chest.

Glancing around, he noticed the red lanterns swinging from the eaves, each inscribed with “Qianya” in bold ink, so there was no mistaking the location.

Yi Zui, Huang Li, and Cheng Luocen had already begun greeting everyone over with cheerful voices.

Though Qianya Peak was famed throughout the land, most of them were stepping onto its summit for the first time.

Shen Ye and the others, expecting an overwhelming sense of sword energy, had mentally prepared for a rough ascent.

Yet, the atmosphere was surprisingly mellow, much like passing through a misty forest.

“Today, Junior Master Uncle spread a bit more of his spiritual consciousness and suppressed most of the sword energy,” Yi Zui whispered, lowering his voice.

“He didn’t want you to get injured—after all, starting the new year with injuries is hardly ideal.”

Even with the sword energy held back, it still felt like that misty forest, making them wonder what kind of intense energy the people of Qianya Peak lived with daily.

No wonder their sword lights shone brighter than most when they crossed paths near Tianjiu Town.

Then Yi Zui, chest puffed out with pride, pointed to the lanterns.

“See the characters I wrote on those?”

Shen Ye glanced up.

“Yeah, Qianya.”

“I’ll go get a batch for our Ziyuan Peak some other day. It doesn’t make sense that only your Qianya Peak has it.”

“True, they say Qianya, but they’re not just ordinary characters. They’re actually a talisman,” Yi Zui said, smiling mischievously.

“Want to guess what kind of talisman?”

Shen Ye shook his head, and Sun Tian’er, being from Liuguang Peak, inspected the lanterns closely but still seemed stumped.

She looked at Yi Zui, puzzled.

“They’re ‘no leaving until you’re full’ talisman,” Yi Zui announced, triumphant.

Then, raising his arm, he urged everyone into the wooden house, where the aroma of the broth had everyone’s appetite going wild.

Thoughts of fasting were quickly forgotten as they filed in, laughing and chatting.

One of them glanced back at Xie Junzhi and caught a moment between him and the second senior sister.

She was holding something out, and he reached over, taking it from her hand.

In the snowy night, the two of them, white-robed against the backdrop of snow, looked so perfectly aligned it felt almost daunting to witness.

Xie Junzhi placed the small badge on his own chest.

He wore only black and white—his dark eyes and raven hair framed by his pale skin—leaving only his lips and the two characters of ‘Qianya’ on his chest tinged with red.

As he smiled, his expression seemed the very essence of elegance against the snowy backdrop.

“Qianya, indeed,” he murmured.

Rising to his feet, he lazily brushed the creases from his sleeve and made his way into the warm light of the wooden house.

His eyes were dark and listless, but with the festive atmosphere and warm glow around him, his cheeks were tinged faintly pink.

Just before entering, he paused.

“What’s wrong?” Yu Xizhi asked, standing behind him.

Xie Junzhi took another look at the snowy peaks outside, then at the lively scene inside.

Since coming to Qianya Peak, he’d never seen it this lively.

Every year he’d spent here was as cold and quiet as the snow.

The snow would melt, fall again, and melt once more, season after season, with no effect on Qianya Peak.

The nearby forest remained barren and empty due to the sword energy permeating the area, void of life, with not even a bird daring to take flight.

This scene of lanterns, hotpot, and holiday cheer—he had never experienced anything like it before.

And all of it, oddly enough, began with one playful scratch from  Orange Mimi to the girl behind him.

Xie Junzhi found the whole thing amusing.

But as he stood quietly watching the scene, he murmured, “I just wouldn’t want to disturb them.”

He wasn’t very old, but his seniority was high; Qianya Peak stood even higher, and his sword skills even higher than that.

For those who knew of him, his title as “Junior Master Uncle” was spoken more as a respectful address than anything else.

Yu Xizhi hadn’t expected him to be bothered by such a thing.

She thought that this ‘ancestor’ of the Xie family was acting like a big boss most of the time, but at certain moments he seemed particularly gentle and immature, and he didn’t even look like an ‘ancestor’.

She stepped forward, pushing open the door so that the warmth and aroma of the hotpot poured out.

Inside, everyone wore slightly nervous but gleeful smiles.

Yi Zui was the first to call out, “Junior master uncle, join us! If you don’t come, and Old Huang refuses to slice the meat for us! He insists fresh-cut meat tastes best and is making us wait till the last second, so the poor children are practically drooling with hunger!”

Xie Junzhi blinked, feeling the warmth and cheer wash over him as he glanced down at the little “Qianya” badge on his chest.

Then, a small hand behind him gave him a gentle nudge, bringing him from the cold and snow outside into the warmth of fresh meat, red broth, and lively chatter.

As he took his seat, the girl handed him a warm piece of honey cake.

“Eat this quickly—it doesn’t taste the same when it cools.”

He took a bite without thinking, savoring the sweet, warm flavor.

The girl then poured everyone a bowl of icy glutinous rice ball soup to balance the spice.

The meat slices from Huang Li’s knife were finally done, and as they tumbled into the boiling broth, a dozen pairs of chopsticks raced to grab the first bites.

Yi Zui, with sharp eyes, snatched a piece from Shen Ye’s chopsticks, only to have Yu Xizhi swoop in and take it from him with a smug expression, placing it directly into Xie Junzhi’s bowl.

Her look clearly said, “If you dare, try stealing from ‘his’ bowl.”

And then, for herself, Yu Xizhi rolled up her sleeves and joined the battle for the hotpot.

Huang Li’s blade was swift, thin slices of meat flew into the pot, and chopsticks tangled in a friendly skirmish.

Sun Tian’er brought out a few jars of fruit wine, their fragrance mingling with the spice, adding a touch of sweetness to the air.

In the snowy winter night, with friends gathered to ring in the new year, Xie Junzhi leaned back in the comfortable chair Yi Zui had picked out especially for him.

It was tiring to suppress all the mountain’s sword energy like this, a bit more chaotic and noisy than all his previous years combined.

And offering guidance on training to the disciples had him saying more than usual tonight.

But it wasn’t all that unpleasant.

**End of Volume Two**