After handling all matters related to the minor competition, I returned to Falling River Peak beneath the faint moonlight. It was already close to the third watch of the night, and the entire mountain lay in silence.
I sat cross-legged upon a meditation cushion, preparing to calm my mind, cultivate for a while, and then use that Taiyi Golden Stabilizing Pill. But just as my hand touched the storage pouch, I suddenly remembered that the cold core pearl rewarded by Ling Shuang still had not been dealt with.
That pearl contained extremely pure water-attributed spiritual energy. For me, it could only be considered an ordinary supplementary item. But for Chu Qinglin, whose sword path cultivation leaned toward the ice attribute, it was an extremely suitable treasure.
Thinking this, I stood up and left the side hall, walking toward the exquisite small courtyard nearby. That place was originally where I had arranged for Chu Qinglin to recover after rescuing her years ago.
But the moment I stepped into the courtyard, my gaze accidentally stopped on the clothesline in the middle of the yard.
Hanging there was a moon-white outer robe.
I looked carefully several times before slightly freezing. Wasn't that precisely the robe I had hung out to dry a few days ago, before it suddenly disappeared?
Countless possibilities immediately surfaced in my mind. Did she accidentally pick it up, or had she deliberately taken it herself? Recalling this junior sister's unusual attentiveness toward me, along with several actions somewhat inconsistent with the cold image she normally displayed during the daytime, I felt that the second possibility seemed far more believable.
At that exact moment, the main room door was suddenly pushed open. Chu Qinglin quickly stepped outside. But the instant she saw me standing in the courtyard, she immediately halted. A rare trace of panic appeared within her icy eyes.
"Senior brother."
I acted as though I had noticed nothing. The familiar gentle smile remained on my face. "Sorry for disturbing you, junior sister. I happened to pass by and remembered a few things, so I stopped in for a look."
Seeing that I made absolutely no mention of the robe on the clothesline, Chu Qinglin clearly let out a silent sigh of relief, but her voice remained slightly stiff. "Does senior brother need something?"
I took out the jade box containing the cold core pearl and held it toward her. "Today I went to the Spirit Beast Garden. Lord Ling Shuang rewarded me with this item. It is very useful for your cultivation, so I brought it here."
Chu Qinglin's gaze fell onto the jade box before slowly lifting back toward me. Within those eyes that were normally cold as ice, a tiny ripple seemed to appear. She did not immediately accept it, and instead softly asked, "A reward personally given by Lord Ling Shuang is naturally a treasure. Won't senior brother keep it for himself?"
I continued holding the box out toward her. "This item is not particularly suitable for my cultivation technique. At most, it would only serve as an additional enhancement. But for you, it is different. It can help refine your sword qi and improve your ice attribute cultivation. Your progress is what I wish to see most."
Hearing that, Chu Qinglin finally accepted the jade box with both hands. She opened the lid. The cold core pearl lay quietly inside. Pure ice-blue spiritual light softly spread outward, reflecting onto her face as a layer of gentle cold radiance.
"Thank you, senior brother." Her voice was extremely soft.
Afterward, she tightened her grip on the box in her hands, slightly lowering her head as though trying to hide the emotions within her eyes. Only after a moment did she raise her head again and seriously continue, "I will use it well. I absolutely will not disappoint senior brother."
I smiled and nodded. "That's good. If there is anything you do not understand in cultivation, come ask me anytime. It's getting late. Get some rest. Don't stay up late practicing swordsmanship."
Chu Qinglin lightly nodded. Then, as though suddenly remembering something, she hesitated before asking further, "Were senior brother's administrative duties today handled smoothly?"
"More or less," I answered with a smile. "The preparations for the minor competition have basically all been arranged."
My gaze accidentally swept across the clothesline before immediately withdrawing, as though I had never seen anything. "I'll be leaving now. You should rest early as well."
"Safe travels, senior brother."
Chu Qinglin stood quietly within the courtyard, silently watching my departing figure until it completely disappeared into the night, before softly exhaling. She lowered her head to look at the cold core pearl in her hand. A tiny smile rarely curved upon her indifferent lips. She hugged the box tightly against her chest, feeling the cool spiritual energy passing through her fingertips.
Meanwhile, I had already returned to my own room. The moment the door closed, the perfect smile on my face immediately collapsed. My expression became extremely complicated.
I remained silent for a long time before opening my mouth to ask the system, "Hey. The matter of junior sister secretly collecting my clothes — is that just normal behavior from admiring a senior brother? Or has it already crossed the line?"
The system immediately gave a cold analysis. "Preliminary determination. This is a manifestation of distorted dependent attachment, accompanied by mild collection tendencies. It commonly appears in individuals lacking a sense of security, or possessing special emotional attachment bonds. Through collecting items related to the dependency target, they obtain a sense of comfort and psychological connection."
The corner of my mouth twitched. "Speak human language."
The system fell silent for a moment before explaining in an extremely user-friendly tone. "Simply put, she sees you as a reliable older brother figure. However, she's not skilled at expressing closeness and dependence through normal methods. Her behavior of taking your clothes is similar in nature to certain female beasts collecting items carrying the scent of their mother beast in order to obtain a sense of security."
After hearing that, the corner of my mouth twitched slightly. "Why does your example sound more terrifying the more I hear it?"
I rubbed my forehead and continued asking, "Then what should I do? Pretend not to know, or find an opportunity to tactfully remind her?"
The system quickly reached a conclusion. "Recommendation, maintain the current situation and pretend not to know. At present, this behavior has not caused any substantial harm or negative influence toward the host or the target. At the same time, this is highly likely to be one of the other party's important methods of psychological adjustment."
I remained silent for a long while before sighing. "I never expected your system to also provide psychological counseling."
The system immediately replied in a tone full of pride, as though reciting an advertising slogan. "This system is a maximum-level senior brother system, specialized in assisting the host with perfectly handling all issues inside and outside the sect, including cultivation, personnel matters, and non-personnel related matters."
Hearing that, I suddenly did not know whether I should feel touched or call someone to debug the system. No matter how I listened to it, it sounded more like a high-end logistical support service for office workers than a cultivation system. If it later added emotional care and stress management support, I would not even be surprised anymore.