Enter Lin

Reaching mastery for the weapon she had been training with since childhood, the whip, Lin's decision to dip into hand-to-hand kung-fu was fueled by the need to prepare if she was ever disarmed. Although, her electric qi should make quick quirk of her foes before it would come to that, expecting the worst possible outcome is usually given for anyone in the world of cultivation. Be it a pauper, or a young mistress such as herself.

In the Tranquil Waterfall's spacious training ground, where cherry blossoms were in bloom, Lin's booming shouts accompanied her fists and elbows striking the practice dummy.

Catching a breather, Lin wiped the sweat off her knit brow. She followed the instructions on the scrolls meticulously, how come it felt as if her strikes were lacking in power?

"You should be relaxed during your form, only tense up during your strikes."

Lin heard a voice coming from behind her. She turned around to see Xiao, the rumored talented commoner. She built quite a reputation during her time as an inner disciple. Lin raised her brow, "Do you know who I am? Just because you're now my fellow core disciple doesn't mean you can lecture me."

Smiling at Lin's sour demeanor, Xiao moved closer to the training dummy, taking her Baji Quan stance. It was the very same that Lin was trying to pull.

"Why are you young mistresses always so uppity? You're all swimming in spirit stones all the time, shouldn't you be more chill?"

Xiao's naive outlook was merely for jest, but the explosive punch that she released onto the training dummy was not. It contained the power that Lin was trying to imbibe in her own.

Lin was amazed. Such talent is wasted on someone without a family name to carry. Suddenly, Lin had an epiphany. She can use Xiao. She would no doubt prove to be a valuable asset for the An family.

"Would you consider yourself a master of the technique?" Lin asked.

"Of Baji Quan? I am." Xiao proudly declared. "Do you want me to teach you?"

Carefully considering Xiao's offer, Lin paused. There was a matter of pride. In the ranking of the core disciples she is numbered 7, what would the others think if she suddenly took tutelage from the newly inducted rank 10?

Taking this pause as a cue that Lin wasn't interested, Xiao wryly grinned.

"I see. It was nice meeting you, An Lin. See you around." With her goodbye remark, Xiao turned around to be on her merry way.

A fist flew in Xiao's head, aimed straight to her inattentive backside.

Or so Lin thought…

Lin was half expecting it, she was still in awe at how fast Xiao can sense intent. Lin's fist is currently blocked by Xiao's arm.

"Where do you think you're going? Didn't you volunteer to teach me?"

It wasn't just their arms that locked, their eyes along with their grin did so as well.

"I did. But that's a pretty odd way to say yes. What would you have done if I wasn't able to block your attack?" Xiao returned the question.

"Then that would make you nothing but a meddlesome woman who thought she could get in the way of my time training."

"I see. It's a good thing I didn't disappoint the heiress of the An family. Since you've already agreed, consider our Bajin Quan lesson begun."

Breaking their lock, Xiao's free hand moved in a flash, her first crashing into Lin's sternum. Still, the blue haired woman was able to block it. Lin was slid backwards, her grin remained. She could tell from the lack of power that Xiao was holding back. Does she think that Lin can't handle her blows? Lin didn't know why, but instead of anger, she felt elation towards Xiao's disrespect.

They say that the best way to truly learn something is to immediately dive into it. With glee, Lin charged at Xiao.

Thus, the two continued their sparring session until midnight.

+++

A month had passed.

The core disciples were gathered in the alchemy hall. Once every week they would be given a task to craft a pill just to ensure that their alchemy won't become rusty. The method might be rather forced, but alchemy is an integral part of the cultivation world, be it in economical aspects or simply in producing pills that would greatly aid a cultivator.

And for someone who considered alchemy as a hobby, Xiao had no qualms in such a task. There was just something about it that she found so delightful. The melding of ingredients through flame, the recipes and pin-point temperature, and the end product which are spectacular pills or elixirs.

Unfortunately, Lin was not having the same enjoyable experience as Xiao.

"Xiao!"

Already in the process of melding the ingredients together, Xiao's concentration was broken. No need to say, she was irked.

"What!?" Xiao's voice was lowered, but her displeasure was still apparent.

On the table next to Xiao, was Lin.

"Help me, please!"

Xiao found the situation odd, Lin wasn't a slouch when it came to alchemy. Hell, she might even overtake Xiao if she decided to pursue the path completely.

"Alright, calm down. What step are you in? Have you already put the ingredients in the cauldron?" Xiao questioned while maintaining the flames on her furnace.

"See, that's the help I'm asking for. I don't know shit about the pill we're supposed to make. I didn't review the recipe last night." Lin embarrassingly grinned.

"What the fuck were you doing last night!?"

"I was reading…" For a moment, Lin's inner thoughts made her spat out the truth. Lin gulped. Good thing she caught herself in the nick of time.

"Reading what?" Xiao raised her brow.

"Reading…things…you know, stuff."

"I don't know. How would I know if you're not telling me?" Xiao clicked her tongue. Time was running out for her friend. If she was going to help her, she must start doing so right now. "Forget it. Follow my instructions and we might still make it."

Lin let out a sigh of relief.

"Put three chameleon tails in the cauldron."

Lin did as per Xiao's instruction.

"Next, put five petals of vanishing roses."

One by one, Lin started plucking in her hand what looked to be transparent roses. Its clarity was only identified by how it distorted light. Giving it the impression that the rose itself had 'vanished', and what remained was only its silhouette.

"Last one, put an ounce of vermilion tree sap."

Ah, so that was what was in the pitcher. Meticulously, Lin dropped the exact amount inside the cauldron. The vermilion tree is a red tree that has the ability to mask your presence if you stand next to it. A whole forest of it would be an ideal place to hide if you're hiding from your pursuers.

With all ingredients in place, Lin now has an exact idea of what kind of pill they are making.

"Heat it up to 75°. You probably know this, but don't go over or under."

Repose washed all over Lin as she heated up her furnace, "Thank you, Xiao! Dinner's on me later."

Xiao finally relaxed and put on a smile, "It better."

Soon, their sect master had arrived to test not the quality, but the efficacy of their pills. It is a test more apt for the one they had just made.

"It is time. Ingest your invisibility pills." Sect master Meixue commanded.

Having done so, her 10 core disciples vanished right before the sect master's very eyes, their qi hidden. The longevity of such a pill would last depending on their quality and long as they don't exude killing intent which any veteran cultivator could easily detect.

The real test begins now.

30 secs later, 2 of the core disciples' invisibility faded. After another 40, 3 more. The next 50 seconds revealed the others until only 2 were left.

Lin and Xiao.

20 seconds later, their visage resurfaced at the same time.

"That's quite the record. Well done, both of you."

The sect master congratulated them with a smile, the prospect of two talented core disciples would bring joy to any sect master's face.

+++

After eating dinner with Xiao, Lin decided to hang out at Xiao's sect mansion before returning to her own and retiring for the evening.

Although it wasn't as well decorated as hers, there was still enough vase and ornaments to consider the place modish but tidy.

Lin Lazed in the living room's sofa while not far from her, Xiao was busy meditating and having her star breakthrough.

One might think Lin must be bored, but it's actually quite the opposite. The presence of a close friend is enough to ease boredom on its own. And besides, the novel she was reading was really spicy. It was the reason why she wasn't able to review the recipe the other night. The plot started to thicken and she just can't put the book down!

From the corner of her eye, Lin lowered her book a little and stole a glance at the meditating Xiao. If it wasn't for Xiao, she would have been embarrassed in front of everyone.

She was only planning to use Xiao as a valuable asset for the An family. How they became close friends was a development she did not foresee. In her heart, Xiao was like a sworn sister to her now. If Lin wanted Xiao to become her sister in the truest sense, then she might be able to arrange a marriage with her and her younger brother.

As quickly as Lin thought of the idea, her chest inexplicably tightened right after.

(Well that was weird, shouldn't I be happy for Xiao to be part of my family?)

Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door.

Pissed off. Lin almost shouted, (Who the hell is it? Someone's having a breakthrough in here!)

Putting her book down, Lin stormed into the front door. It couldn't be her goons since she specifically told her to NEVER bother her when she is at Xiao's place.

Lin's mouth widened as she opened the door. It was her father's right hand man, Bing. Wearing an all black qipao, his baldness along with his stern expression gave him a serious air around him.

"Your father is expecting you."

"What, why the sudden visit!?" The bewildered Lin questioned.

"Family matters, ask him yourself."

With haste, Lin left.

Moments after, Xiao had just finished her breakthrough, feeling refreshed and powerful, she wanted Lin to congratulate her.

Only for Xiao to find out that Lin had already left. Xiao just shrugged it off, there is still tomorrow.

Xiao noticed something on the sofa and immediately picked it up. It was the book that Lin recently couldn't get enough of. Her curiosity guiding her actions, Xiao decided to read the title. Xiao gasped.

"Lin, what the fuck are you reading!?"

Xiao's surprise made her vocalize her thoughts out loud.

The book's title? It is…

[Vicious young mistress devours the cherry of a commoner girl.]