Fairy, Don’t Be Afraid, I’m Blind

Chapter 7: Chicken Leg

You Su’s room was sparsely furnished, containing only a bed, a table, and a cabinet – nothing more.

The young man sat at the table, absently fiddling with the Evil Repelling Token in his hand. In front of him was a bowl of medicinal soup and a basket of flower petals, the strong scent of chrysanthemums filling the empty room. It seemed that his junior sister had swept the floor for him after all.

“Those you once knew may no longer be who they were.”

Elder Ling’s words still echoed in his ears.

I could’ve easily injected a bit of mystical energy into the token to find out the truth, so why did I stop?

In just eighteen years, the world he had known had been turned upside down. Anyone would feel lost in such a situation, let alone someone who was blind.

When faced with things he couldn’t understand, You Su chose not to dwell on them. By the time he accepted the jade pendant, he had already made his decision.

You Su put the jade pendant away and drank the medicinal soup in silence. He still had a day’s worth of chores to do.

Although they were called “chores,” these tasks included many simple but tedious household chores.

The old well inside the sect’s residence had long been unusable, so his first task every day was to fetch two buckets of water from the new well outside the sect and place them in the kitchen. Afterwards, he stayed in the kitchen to chop some firewood.

While tidying up, he accidentally touched a misplaced soup bowl. Upon feeling it, he realized that it was clean, which brought him a sense of relief.

His junior sister liked to stay up late and usually slept until the afternoon, skipping lunch entirely. When she got hungry late at night, she often cooked herself a bowl of noodles, leaving behind a dirty bowl for You Su to wash. Despite his repeated attempts to persuade her otherwise, You Su worried about her lack of nutrition, so he always prepared extra dishes for dinner, saving leftovers for her to eat as a midnight snack.

As for their master, she hadn’t eaten a single meal prepared by anyone in eight years, having reached the state of abstaining from food through cultivation. What kind of realm was that? Yet, she always claimed that she had no cultivation power. How strange.

After You Su finished chopping the firewood, he went to the stream to wash his clothes. The summer heat was oppressive, and clothes had to be washed frequently. As he scrubbed, he thought, ‘When will I finally be able to withstand both heat and cold? Looking at it this way, even reaching the Spirit Platform Realm doesn’t seem like much of an accomplishment.’

He quickly washed the clothes. Actually, he wished his junior sister would let him handle her laundry too, but every time he suggested it, she would angrily tell him to get lost.

“Trust your senior brother’s integrity – I would never do anything improper with your clothes!” Su would say seriously every time.

“Trust you? Ha! Not a chance!” His junior sister would retort, hopping mad.

Teasing his junior sister always brought him joy, but now, recalling the eerie dream from that morning, it felt like a lingering shadow over his heart, making it impossible for him to smile.

After hanging the clothes to dry, You Su returned to his room and began meditating, silently reciting the cultivation technique.

Heaven and Earth Yin-Yang Harmonious Cultivation Technique .

Disregarding any preconceived notions, this was truly a profound and complicated cultivation method.

It was divided into three volumes: Heaven, Earth, and Humanity. The Heaven Volume focused on the cultivation of stillness, using seated meditation to nurture one’s inner essence. It treated the human body as a microcosm of Heaven, Earth, Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements, and directed the flow of mystic energy throughout the body through the spiritual meridians. Through continuous circulation, it eventually achieved the effect of cleansing the marrow and transforming the meridians.

The Earth Volume documented various mystical substances found in nature, along with methods for consuming or utilizing them to transform the body and spirit.

The Humanity Volume, however, was thicker than the first two combined. It included techniques related to the “bedchamber arts,” which treated men and women as embodiments of yin and yang. Through intimate union, it facilitated the circulation of mystic energy, ultimately leading to a state of harmony with all things.

You Su couldn’t read characters, so he had memorized all three volumes word for word from a young age. His junior sister also possessed the same cultivation manual, though hers was an abridged version dictated by You Su.

After focusing on breathing exercises for an hour, You Su went to the kitchen to prepare a simple lunch for himself. The afternoon sun was scorching, so he took a nap.

When the temperature cooled down a bit, You Su practiced swordplay under the loquat tree in the courtyard, wielding a wooden sword. Each thrust, parry, block, and slash allowed him to concentrate fully, free of distractions. This was the part of the day he enjoyed the most.

It was as if he had forgotten the strange dream, his junior sister and master, the evil spirits and Elder Ling. All he focused on was honing his strongest sword techniques. He had a premonition – they would soon come in handy.

Before he knew it, evening had fallen. Too lazy to cook, You Su went to a small restaurant he frequented and bought three dishes. In truth, he had plenty of money.

His primary source of income came from selling stories from his memories of another world. He would recount them to his junior sister, who would then write them into books and sell them to the owner of the bookstore. They split the profits fifty-fifty. The owner said that their books sold well, even reaching other towns, though his tone always carried a hint of amusement. You Su felt a little embarrassed, but hey, there’s no shame in making money.

When he returned, his junior sister was still asleep. When he went to wake her up, she told him to eat first – it seemed she was exhausted from yesterday’s flower picking. After dinner, You Su practiced swordplay for a while before washing up.

A bath usually left him feeling refreshed, but tonight he felt weighed down. It reminded him of how in his previous life, on the night before an important exam, no matter how hard he tried to calm his mind, a faint sense of impending crisis would linger, refusing to dissipate.

Listening to the ceaseless chirping of cicadas outside his window, he sat on the bed in quiet contemplation. He sighed inwardly, thinking about how quickly the day had passed. If only every day could be this peaceful – but that was no longer possible.

He could feel it-the small sword sect had already been dragged into an invisible vortex, much like the outside world being slowly eroded by the silent night.

“You Su, I’m coming in!” A bright and lively voice suddenly rang out from outside the room.

Before You Su could answer, the young girl had already pushed open the door with a food box in her hand. Without waiting for permission, she sat down at the table and began laying out the dishes.

“Why are you eating in my room?”

“What’s wrong? It’s not like I’ve never been here before.” Ji Lingruo acted as if it was perfectly natural, picking up her chopsticks and speaking while serving herself. “Didn’t I tell you this morning? The thirty silver coins you used to forge your sword were paid for in advance by the bookstore owner. If you don’t tell me the story of White Snake soon, how am I supposed to explain myself?”

“Can’t it wait until tomorrow?” You Su just wanted some time alone to think.

“Haha, the stingy guy bought my favorite chestnut chicken today! Of course, I have to eat while listening to the story – it makes everything taste better!” Ji Lingruo’s bright eyes sparkled as she picked up a piece of chestnut and giggled. When she smiled, the corners of her mouth curved like a serene crescent moon.

You Su’s heart softened.

No matter how strict he was when teaching her swordplay, he still doted on his junior sister immensely. After returning the jade token tomorrow, would he still have a chance to tell her stories?

Fine, then… he might as well finish telling her the tale of White Snake.

You Su began to tell the story in a calm, steady voice. When he reached the part where Fahai secretly accused Xu Xian and then detained Xu Xian, Ji Lingruo became furious. Later, when Fahai lured White Snake into rescuing Xu Xian only to trap her under Leifeng Pagoda, Ji Lingruo nearly threw down her chopsticks in anger. Fortunately, when she heard that Xiaoqing eventually defeated Fahai after cultivating hard, reuniting Xu Xian’s family, Ji Lingruo’s face lit up with joy.

The young girl was lost in the story, savoring every detail. When she finally snapped back to reality, she realized that they hadn’t eaten much of the food. And there, sitting untouched on the plate, were two leftover chicken legs. She understood immediately – that silly Senior Brother had deliberately saved them for her. Feeling warmth in her heart, she picked one up and walked over to You Su.

“Here, a chicken leg, as a reward for you.” Ji Lingruo blushed slightly and held the chopsticks in front of You Su’s mouth. “Don’t ever save these things for me again, okay? Do you really think I’ll starve without a chicken leg from you?”

“But…”

“No buts! You Su! Are you looking down on what I’m offering you?” Despite her thin skin, the young girl was determined to show her affection and wouldn’t let him refuse.

But… these chopsticks are the ones you’ve already used, my foolish junior sister…

You Su sighed inwardly but obediently prepared to open his mouth.

Wait!

I feel like I’ve heard this line before!

You Su felt a sudden shiver run through him. He looked up, his pupils instantly dilating!

This isn’t a chicken leg at all! This is clearly the disgusting, rotten meat from his dream!