After wiping Ying Wuyou's body with a handkerchief, the entire basin of cold water turned lukewarm. The initial effects of the demonic fire weren't too severe, but it would only get worse from here.

  Xiao Che paced back and forth inside the wooden cabin, her steps growing faster and more urgent.

  The bck boots scraped against the floor, finally ending with a slightly grating noise.

  "Xibai, I'll have to entrust her to your care for the next week. Wuyou has had a pitiful life since childhood, wandering the streets of Skygazing City. Her parents died early, leaving her with no retives or friends to rely on, and on top of that, she's pgued by illness.

  If it weren't for the Scripture of Constant Change from the Formless Sect that I used to protect her meridians, she probably wouldn't have survived until now. The curse on her body is extremely dangerous, and before it reaches a point where even medicine can't save her, we must act early."

  Seeing her beloved disciple, who had just been lively and energetic a few days ago, now confined to a sickbed, her heart felt as if it were being sliced by a knife, and she couldn't stay still for a moment.

  Hearing this, Shen Xibai felt a subtle flicker of delight.

  The master was leaving again, which meant she could freely admire the senior sister's sleeping face and gain the legitimate right to bathe her, change her clothes, and wipe her body.

  Before coming up the mountain, she had overheard the girls at the next table in the inn discussing how the senior sister of Mantra Peak was exceptionally beautiful, like a celestial being.

  Now that she had seen her in person, she found her even more stunning than described, making her unconsciously want to get closer and touch her.

  The moment she untied her belt, the wheels of fate had already taken an irreversible step.

  After hurriedly expining a few precautions, Xiao Che pointed to the flying sword leaning against the wall, picked up the wine bottle on the table, and prepared to travel thousands of miles to the capital on official business.

  There were many immortal sects in the capital, and she knew dozens of cultivators.

  By asking around, she believed she could find some hope. Overcoming a life-threatening camity was a major event, and Xiao Che wanted to give it her all, leaving no regrets.

  Just as she stepped onto the flying sword, Shen Xibai grabbed her fluttering sleeve.

  "Master, I have one more question."

  "What is it?"

  "I want to live closer to Senior Sister's dormitory so I can take care of her more often. It takes more than half an hour to walk from the room Senior Sister arranged for me to here. If it's dark, windy, or rainy, it takes even longer, and I'm worried I might miss something important."

  Shen Xibai spoke with righteous confidence, not feeling the slightest bit of ulterior motive.

  She was only doing this to take care of her senior sister, respecting her like an elder. There was no ulterior motive, and her intentions were purer than the cold waters of the icy pond atop Mantra Peak by 114 times.

  "This... let me think about it."

  Xiao Che fell into a dilemma.

  Her eldest disciple had always disliked living too close to others, enjoying a solitary life.

  On her first day of cultivation, she had shown despair and resistance to communal living, spending a month transforming an old tree in a secluded area behind the dormitory into a house.

  Except for cultivation and going down the mountain for errands, she almost always stayed in the treehouse as a recluse, only occasionally appearing in the scripture pavilion.

  Suddenly arranging for a new disciple to live nearby, Xiao Che was very concerned about Ying Wuyou's mental state.

  Given the intensity of the demonic fire within Ying Wuyou, Shen Xibai, a weak and frail little rabbit, might be devoured completely.

  She had seen a fellow disciple who suffered from the same curse unable to endure the torment, going down the mountain every day to seek soce in pleasure houses, eventually falling into demonic ways and being expelled from the immortal sect, standing in opposition to her former comrades.

  It's often said that lust is a knife hanging over one's head, and overindulgence will eventually lead to disaster. She didn't want to see the new disciple being taken advantage of.

  Shen Xibai noticed her master's hesitation and tugged at the belt on her waist. The belts of the Formless Sect were designed to be sturdy, specifically considering the possibility of disciples falling off cliffs.

  If such an event occurred, they often survived by hanging from trees. Moreover, others could easily grab the belt without it slipping, which helped preserve one's chastity and avoid many tragedies caused by loose belts.

  "Senior Sister isn't as strong as me. Don't worry. I'll subdue her the moment she takes off her clothes, just like earlier. By the time you return, I can simply move out. I won't cause any trouble for you or Senior Sister."

  Her attitude was humble, and her words were sincere. Xiao Che couldn't help but be swayed, feeling a bit of hesitation.

  Taking on a second disciple was also to give Ying Wuyou some companionship, to prevent her from hiding in her room all day, isoting herself. Perhaps this was an opportunity for the two of them to get along and adjust to each other.

  "Granted. I'll leave a letter. You can temporarily move into the wooden house under the tree. I'll have other disciples prepare the necessary items, and you take good care of her. Don't worry about your daily cultivation lessons; Wuyou will guide you once she wakes up. You're both my true disciples, so from now on, you don't need to cultivate with the other disciples."

  "Thank you, Master."

  Shen Xibai bowed to Xiao Che's retreating figure, respectfully watching as she stepped onto the flying sword and transformed into a swift silver-bck sword light, flying toward the distant, misty horizon.

  The taut string was nearing its breaking point, and now it was finally released.

  She had lied a little to her master.

  Her desire to take care of her senior sister was genuine, but she also wanted to be closer to her. On one hand, she could admire her delicate, sickly figure, and on the other, trouble wouldn't come knocking.

  The outer and inner disciples who looked down on her wouldn't dare to cause any trouble in front of the senior sister.

  From the very beginning, she had nothing. Ying Wuyou was her lifeline, the only one, and she wanted to hold onto it tightly, no matter what.

  ...

  That night, Ying Wuyou slowly woke up.

  Her illness had thrown her sleep schedule into chaos, like a young person in the real world who enjoys staying up te. Eating dinner in the morning and breakfast at night was common, and exercising in the courtyard in the middle of the night was also typical.

  "It seems I fainted again."

  Her memory before passing out was of walking along the bamboo forest path near the dormitory area, supported by her soft and gentle junior sister. Beyond that, she remembered nothing.

  The candle on the wooden table had been lit, its weak fme flickering in the windy night. It was probably around two or three in the morning, still a long way from dawn.

  With no sleepiness and a bit of hunger, Ying Wuyou thought about going to the kitchen to make something to eat. The dining area was separate from the living quarters to prevent the smell of cooking from dirtying the wooden furniture.

  There was a small river nearby, neatly dividing the treehouses from the kitchen. As she passed by the river, Ying Wuyou heard the sound of water rippling. The bamboo fence blocked her view, so she walked a bit further to see what was hidden behind it.

  A rge expanse of fair skin was turned away from her, covered in droplets of water. Smooth, light gray hair hung over her shoulders, and her clothes were neatly folded on the shore.

  The figure looked more and more like Shen Xibai.

  In the original work The Path to Immortality, there was an obligatory R18 scene where the senior sister Ying Wuyou saw her junior sister Shen Xibai bathing by the river, gave in to evil thoughts, used a spell to seal her acupoints, covered her eyes with a bck cloth, tied her hands with a belt, and engaged in a night-long dual cultivation.

  The familiar scene sent cold sweat running down Ying Wuyou's back.