Chapter 11: The Deaconess’s Dilemma and the Saintess’s Predicament

“Furthermore, if those young maidens knew they had the chance to become a concubine to the Saintess, and that your decision caused them to miss this fated opportunity, do you truly believe they would let you off the hook?”

“I… I… I am merely a small deaconess. Elder Sister, please don’t make things difficult for me, alright? I’ve managed to save up a few hundred spirit stones here, so please, Elder Sister… you…” By this point, the young deaconess’s voice was thick with tears.

“You still remember you’re a small deaconess? If you truly delay the Saintess’s plans, do you think you’ll even leave the Sacred Land alive?”

“This… I…”

“However, if you pretend today that nothing ever happened, I, your Elder Sister, could put in a good word for you before the Saintess. Perhaps you might even catch the Saintess’s eye! My words are final here; the choice is yours!”

“I… I… I… Elder Sister, can you please let me off? I… I’m just a minor character. I only came to the Hundred Flowers Palace to find a beautiful dao companion with fair skin and long legs, hoping to live a carefree life for the rest of my days. I don’t want to get involved in any conspiracies. Elder Sister, please just let this small character go! If you can spare me, I’m willing to give my first time to…”

“Heh, as the Saintess’s number one little sister, do you think I lack women throwing themselves at me? You, with your frail beauty, still dare to daydream? You’re simply insulting me. Now, I’ll give you two choices. First, put your head under the table and stick your rear end high in the air. Second, I’ll leave immediately, and when I return, I’ll tell the Saintess about you. I guarantee you won’t see tomorrow’s sun.”

“Wuwu, Sister, I’ll go under the table. Please, do as you wish, do as you wish, wuwu…” The deaconess sobbed, burying her head into the table, revealing a beautifully shaped peach-like derriere.

“Hmph, that’s more like it.”

****

Outside, Luo Bingli felt her mind buzzing, and she couldn’t help but blurt out a curse: “What the hell!”

Luo Bingli felt that Wang Qiu’er absolutely could not be kept around, otherwise, she would undoubtedly cause her immense trouble in the future.

Having read countless books, Luo Bingli knew well that the reason those ‘children of heaven’ ultimately ended up being killed by the protagonist was precisely because they unknowingly provoked them.

What if Wang Qiu’er did something heinous one day, provoked some reincarnated grand elder or protagonist, and then, like a classic minor character, revealed her backing—which was Luo Bingli herself? The outcome would be Wang Qiu’er’s death, followed by that person holding a grudge against Luo Bingli.

With this thought, Luo Bingli suddenly had a feeling: her storyline would end in a ‘ragdoll’ finale, and there was a high probability it would be Wang Qiu’er’s fault.

Just as Luo Bingli was lost in these random thoughts, Wang Qiu’er returned. “Saintess, I’ve already taken care of it! I guarantee there won’t be any problems afterward!” She then flashed a fawning smile, her expression practically screaming, ‘Praise me, praise me…’

“You did well,” Luo Bingli said through gritted teeth. After all, her primary goal now was to find Ye Xiaozi. Wang Qiu’er’s eccentricities, she figured, wouldn’t be cured in a short while. For the sake of her own life, it was better to ignore them for now.

Anyway, this girl had already unknowingly caused her trouble countless times. What was one more? At worst, she would just have to make amends later.

“Hehe, it’s all thanks to the Saintess’s excellent teaching! Alright, let’s go!” Wang Qiu’er said cheerfully, leading the way.

‘I taught you my ass!’ Luo Bingli barely restrained herself from punching the other party. After taking several deep breaths, she finally followed Wang Qiu’er into the administration office.

Upon entering, they saw a young woman whose upper body was currently tucked under a desk, revealing a very pleasing curve of her buttocks. She kept muttering, “I can’t see anything, I can’t hear anything.”

Seeing this, Luo Bingli couldn’t help but sigh. Fortunately, the Hundred Flowers Palace had no male disciples; otherwise, encountering such a beautiful sight would surely lead to some ‘flower-inserting’—a euphemism for flirting.

Of course, even without male disciples, some female disciples might develop deviant thoughts upon seeing this.

Shaking her head, Luo Bingli ignored the murmuring derriere and followed Wang Qiu’er to the data section. The two then began to search through the records.

The new batch of handyman disciples totaled 37,560 people. Thirty thousand-plus names and basic information—if a regular person were to look through them, let alone finish in three days, they might not even finish in three months.

However, as cultivators, their spiritual energy was abundant. They could scan through each of the more than three hundred jade slips in less than ten seconds. In just over half an hour, both of them had finished reviewing all the jade slips. What shocked Luo Bingli was that there was no disciple named Ye Xiaozi among them.

At this moment, Luo Bingli felt a chill run through her. She felt as though the world was filled with malice, as if it had deliberately given her an impossible task, just so she would relinquish control of her body and allow it to become a lewd puppet for netizens.

“It’s over! My life is forfeit!” With that exclamation, Luo Bingli seemed to lose all strength and collapsed to the ground.

****

“Xiaozi, I’ve noticed you usually like to wear purple dresses. Is that why you’re called Xiaozi?” Ye Xiaozi’s roommate, Wang Xiaomei, speculated.

“That’s true! But the main reason I’m called Xiaozi is because my original name doesn’t quite suit me!” Ye Xiaozi said shyly, lowering her head.

“Oh, tell me! What is it?”

“This… wouldn’t that be inappropriate?”

“Oh, come on! What’s wrong with letting me hear it? I won’t tell anyone.”

“But…”

“Hmph, you’re the one who piqued my interest. If you don’t tell me, don’t force me to use one of the Hundred Flowers Palace’s three ultimate killing moves: the ‘Dragon’s Claw of Breast Grabbing’!”

“Stop, stop, stop!” Seeing this, Ye Xiaozi quickly covered her chest and immediately pleaded, “I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you!”

“Tsk, really, why are you so weak? Can’t you just resist a little?”

“Hey, hey, Xiaomei, don’t be like that. Isn’t it okay if I tell you? You’re scaring me like this.”

“Tsk, what’s there to be afraid of? Alright, alright, hurry up and tell me! What’s your real name?”

“It’s… it’s… Ye Qingzi…” As she spoke, Ye Xiaozi’s cheeks flushed, and she lowered her head even further. After all, in Ye Xiaozi’s heart, she truly felt she didn’t live up to that name.

“Wow… ‘Alluring Beauty,’ ‘Peerless Grace’! Not bad, not bad! I’m sure you’ll become a devastatingly beautiful woman in the future!”

“You’re laughing at me!”

“How could I be? How about we make a bet? If you become beautiful later, you let me ‘dual cultivate’ with you once. How does that sound?” As Wang Xiaomei said this, a strange smile flickered across her face, but Ye Xiaozi, due to her shyness, didn’t notice it.

“Go away! Stop having such wild thoughts! Go bother someone else!”