I don't want to be trained by my senior sister!

Nothing much happened in the afternoon.

Fang Xuan kept his seriously injured persona in mind and spent most of his time obediently in bed, closing his eyes to regulate his breathing.

Ning Qian seemed to have returned to her usual aloofness, quietly pounding medicine and arranging herbs to dry in the courtyard.

I would occasionally go into the room to check if he needed water or tuck him in.

But Fang Xuan felt that his senior sister was a little...different today.

Beneath that cool and aloof demeanor lay an inexplicable awkwardness.

It's like having something to say to him, something to do, but being tied up and only able to go around in circles.

The most obvious instance was near dusk when Ning Qian brought in a bowl of cooked medicinal porridge.

She sat on the edge of the bed as usual and scooped up a spoonful.

Then, the movement stopped.

She held the spoon in mid-air, her eyes fixed on the porridge, occasionally glancing quickly at Fang Xuan.

The base of her ears turned a faint pink at a speed visible to the naked eye.

He pursed his lips again and again, the words "I'll feed you" rolling around in his throat countless times, but he just couldn't utter them.

Fang Xuan could only think that this conflicted little face...

I've been thinking about it...

......

In the end, Fang Xuan took the spoonful of porridge and ate it himself.

Ning Qian seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, yet also a little disappointed, and sat silently to the side.

After he finished eating, he cleared away the dishes and left without saying a word.

......

By evening, Fang Xuan felt his bones were about to melt from lying down for so long, so he decided to move around a bit and made an excuse to go to the outhouse behind the house.

He quietly pushed open the door, and as soon as he poked half his body out, his gaze casually swept across the room before settling on the old tree in the corner of the yard.

Ning Qian was squatting under the tree, her head bowed, her slender fingers circling a piece of withered grass on the ground.

The afterglow bathed her slender figure in a warm gold, yet somehow conveyed a sense of bewilderment.

Fang Xuan stopped in his tracks.

He knew it was probably over; he had used too much force this time...

Where is his senior sister, who is so tall and aloof?

......

Seemingly hearing the door open, she quickly stood up and turned around.

His face remained aloof and detached, as if the helpless figure squatting on the ground twirling his fingers was just Fang Xuan's illusion.

But a trace of panic still lingered in those eyes.

"Hmm?" Ning Qian looked at him, her voice calm and expressionless. "Didn't we agree... we wouldn't get out of bed?"

Fang Xuan coughed lightly, feigning weakness on his face:

"Senior sister, I need to go to the outhouse..."

Ning Qian frowned slightly, her gaze sweeping across his face.

Fang Xuan felt uneasy under her gaze, knowing what might happen, and quickly thought to himself, "I can manage on my own."

But Ning Qian had already walked over, reached out, and supported his arm.

"I'll help you up."

"No...no need, Senior Sister? It's just a few steps..."

"Speak less," Ning Qian interrupted him.

Fang Xuan: "..."

Fortunately... the worst thing didn't happen. His senior sister forcibly helped him to the door and then left.

Although I saw him naked yesterday... and he was still tied up with little toys, thankfully he passed out.

Anyway, he had already seen everything he should have seen about his senior sister's body, and even more that he shouldn't have...

But now, in broad daylight, although he's feigning injury, he's fully conscious...

[Detected that the host experiences shame and anticipation under the forced care of master Ning Qian, consistent with the scenario of a sex slave being strictly controlled by their master. Training value +1!]

Fang Xuan: ...Shut up, I don't want to hear this right now.

.......

Outside the door, Ning Qian stood quietly, her cold face expressionless.

But the fingers hanging at her sides unconsciously pinched each other again.

When Fang Xuan finally came out, Ning Qian immediately went up to him, helped him up, and silently escorted him back to bed, carefully covering him with the blanket.

"Rest well, and don't get out of bed."

She left those words behind, glanced at him one last time, and then turned and left.

Fang Xuan lay on the bed, gazing at the bamboo roof, and let out a long sigh of relief.

Isn't my senior sister's concern a little too... earnest?

It seems this injury can't be faked for too long.

Fang Xuan touched his nose, pondering to himself.

Once the training points rewards are tallied tonight, we'll see what we've gained, and things should improve by tomorrow.

Then, it's time to move on to the next "big move".

For example, find a suitable time and speak to your senior sister in the most sincere tone:

"Senior sister, my filial piety towards you... seems to have changed."

I wonder how my senior sister will react? Will she blush? Throw him out? Or... be stunned?

I'm actually a little excited about it.

......

As darkness fell.

After confirming that there was no movement outside, Ning Qian was probably still busy.

Fang Xuan immediately sat up, his spirits lifted, and eagerly opened the system panel with his mind.

[Daily task settlement and reward distribution begins...]

Here it comes! The main event.

Fang Xuan held his breath, staring intently at the virtual interface.

Several hundred training points! Will the system have a change of heart and just give you some high-end stuff?

For example, a pill that can help break through to the Golden Core stage, or a decent magic weapon.

He even thought of meat buns, thinking that it would be nice to change things up from the monotonous steamed buns, since he was really tired of eating steamed buns.

The light flashed, and the settlement was complete.

Based on the accumulated training points from yesterday and early this morning (totaling 608.5), the conversion rewards are as follows:

【Spiritual Power Buns x 16】

[Note: A significant increase in the host's recent training value acquisition efficiency has been detected. Therefore, the conversion rate has been slightly increased as encouragement.]

[Please keep up the good work, host, and strive to be completely trained into a sex slave by your master as soon as possible!]

Fang Xuan's expectant expression froze instantly.

Then, it slowly collapsed.

Sixteen...

Plump and warm, it doesn't have any special effects besides absorbing pure spiritual energy...

Spiritual energy steamed buns.

It was piled up in the system space, like a small white mound.

System, are you a newbie...?

Well, steamed buns are alright too.

At least others who cultivated to this level had weak foundations, while he rose from humble beginnings by swallowing steamed buns, so his foundation was naturally solid.

He choked to death on what he was eating.

And at this moment—

"Squeak."

The bamboo door to his room was pushed open again.

Ning Qian walked in carrying a glass of warm water.

As soon as I entered, I saw Fang Xuan sitting on the bed, holding half a steamed bun in his hand, his cheeks bulging out.

Eyes facing each other.

The air fell silent for a moment.

"Hmm! Ugh—!"

Fang Xuan was so startled by the sudden room check that he couldn't catch his breath. He swallowed hard before he could finish the steamed bun.

After finally catching his breath, Fang Xuan drank most of a glass of water before recovering. He leaned weakly against the headboard, still clutching the remaining half of the steamed bun in his hand.

Ning Qian looked at the extremely plain white steamed bun in his hand, and a complex emotion welled up in her cool eyes.

There was regret, heartache, self-blame, and a touch of indescribable bitterness.

She remembered Fang Xuan taking out the medicine to save her, and how he protected her without hesitation yesterday.

I recalled his words, "Senior sister, I'll take you away..."

In private, however, he was seriously injured and had no decent tonics. He could only eat the most ordinary white flour buns, which were not even spiritual grains.

Ultimately, it's a matter of failing her, a dereliction of duty as the senior student.

She is currently in dire straits and cannot provide him with good cultivation resources; she even neglects his daily food...

Besides, judging from how ravenously he wolfed down his food, almost choking... he definitely wasn't full...

Also, she never knew that her junior brother liked steamed buns so much.

Ning Qian silently made a note of it.

She can't do it, but she can learn.

There's flour for sale in the town at the foot of the mountain; she can buy some and learn how to make it.

Although it can't compare to spiritual food, it's still... something he can eat more comfortably.

Also, she was on tenterhooks the whole time he left the room.

Seeing him almost choke on the steamed bun now, that lingering fear welled up again.

You can't let him out of your sight.

But what reason could I give to make him stay obediently where I could see him?

The terror of last night's attack by a hundred ghosts, and the image of Fang Xuan covered in blood, resurfaced in his mind.

She didn't want to be alone anymore.

This long road, filled with betrayal and pain, she originally only wanted to drag her crippled body to its end in silence.

But now, all she wants is to live.

Being alive, watching him laugh, watching him be mischievous and make her angry, is better than being motionless and weak.

Ning Qian lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes concealing the turbulent thoughts within them.

Fang Xuan looked at Ning Qian's lowered profile and, for some reason, felt a sudden chill run down his spine.

Senior sister's gaze... why does it seem a little different from usual?