"Mm, that's right. You are indeed helping me."
The gray-haired, green-eyed girl was a bystander, just short of laughing out loud in the Herrscher of Sentience's face.
As she'd said before, the body didn't belong to her alone; now that it contained a Herrscher Core, the two of them shared this body.
And her consciousness was trapped by the Herrscher of Sentience in Fenghuang Down, so all her senses were just this person's true feedback to physical contact.
Saying 'your body isn't up to the task' was nothing more than this person's excuse.
"Old-timer, you finally understand my good intentions."
The Herrscher of Sentience, sensing Fu Hua's cooperation, finally felt relieved.
She wasn't afraid of the world's difficulties, only of a pig-headed teammate dragging her down.
Although Fu Hua had little hope of resisting now, her lack of cooperation was still a hidden danger.
Now, Fu Hua had resigned herself to her fate, which meant she could finally go all out.
It was just that this Old-timer's body really wasn't up to the task; it went soft with just a slight touch.
She was certain that Brian, this master-assaulting rebellious disciple, hadn't done anything to his master. She could only say that this Old-timer's body was far too lonely and cold, to the point where she was practically a neglected wife pining in her chambers.
The Herrscher of Sentience's attention returned to reality. Having thrown herself into the dark-haired youth's arms, she subconsciously took a deep breath, getting a nose full of a strong masculine scent.
Originally, this was a plan to use their own trick against them, to get the Old-timer sent directly to the bridal chamber, and even use the perfect time, place, and people here to complete the grandparent-grandchild rice bowl. But the Herrscher of Sentience thought that this wouldn't fit Fu Hua's character; at the very least, this master-assaulting rebellious disciple had to make the first move.
After all, who takes on a disciple just so the older woman can run over the younger man?
For the sake of her dignity as a master, she still needed to maintain some restraint.
Suppressing the stirring in her body, the Herrscher of Sentience came to her senses, quickly detached from the young Brian's body, and turned to Li Sushang with a reproachful look. "Sushang, what do you think you're doing?"
"Are you trying to have another duel with me, your Ancestral Master, and make your parents curse you from the underworld for being so rebellious?"
At the mention of her long-deceased parents, Li Sushang's heart trembled a little.
But she couldn't understand what this Herrscher of Sentience was doing. She'd already shown her hand so clearly, so why was she still putting up a chaste façade and tying her own hands?
She didn't get it, she really didn't.
But since this person had already willingly entered this place, the grandparent-grandchild rice bowl was definitely going to happen. She'd deal with this person properly once they were in bed.
"Ancestral Master Celestial, Sushang knows she was wrong. Please don't be angry."
Li Sushang, like a new bride who had just entered the family, was meek and subservient, showing none of the pride she had as the Swordswoman of Shenzhou.
This display greatly pleased the Herrscher of Sentience. "To know your mistakes and be able to correct them is the greatest good. Sushang, just remember this in the future."
"You're a grown woman now, a wife though not yet a mother. You need to pay more attention to your words and actions, so you don't leave a bad impression on your children."
Receiving such a subservient attitude from Li Sushang for the first time, the Herrscher of Sentience felt a genuine sense of delight.
One had to know that although this girl had previously called Fu Hua 'Ancestral Master Celestial,' she wasn't particularly reverent towards Fu Hua due to issues with her parents' generation.
She treated her, the second Ancestral Master, as an equal, without any of the respect due to an Ancestral Master.
To think that after just a few days of being bent over, this girl would change her attitude—it was truly an unexpected surprise.
"Sushang understands."
Li Sushang's expression was respectful, showing no anger at being reprimanded.
This momentary forbearance was only temporary. Once this woman's clothes were stripped off, she would know what cruelty truly was!
"The child is teachable."
The Herrscher of Sentience smiled, her lecture complete.
She had intended to go back and continue building a rapport for the Old-timer, but thinking of that accidental contact earlier, she felt it might be better to wait a bit.
With this thought, the Herrscher girl lowered her head and looked at what Li Sushang was holding.
Bread? Or steamed buns?
"Sushang, what is this thing you've made that's neither bread nor a bun? Is it a new creation of yours?"
Speaking of her masterpiece, Li Sushang was wide awake now.
The girl's slender arms lifted three inches, allowing the Herrscher of Sentience to get a better look at her creation.
"Master, this is Sushang's first time making this kind of thing. My skills aren't very polished yet, it's just something I whipped up."
"If Master doesn't mind, you can have a taste."
The Herrscher of Sentience opened her mouth to refuse. After all, this unworthy grand-disciple had always had designs on her, and now that she had ganged up with her own disciple, the danger had multiplied.
It would be a small matter if this girl just wanted to slash her a couple of times, but if she wanted her to eat something strange…
The Herrscher of Sentience looked at where Li Sushang had just been kneading the dough and could clearly see that the whole bottle of cheese sauce on the counter was almost empty.
The answer was obvious; it went without saying where all that cheese sauce had gone.
But before the Herrscher of Sentience could refuse, Li Sushang spoke first: "Ancestral Master Celestial, this is a token of Sushang's sincerity towards you. Are you saying you think Sushang has some rebellious thoughts towards you, and that's why you don't dare to eat?"
"..."
Don't dare?
The Herrscher of Sentience had a childish temperament, and Li Sushang's words hit the bullseye, successfully provoking her competitive spirit.
There was nothing in this world she didn't dare to do!
She even dared to go fifty-fifty with that emotionless block of ice, Kevin!
"Sushang, reverse psychology is a good trick, but it's also an easy way to get taught a lesson."
Instantly, the girl's beautiful eyes curved into crescent moons, her expression unchanged. "In that case, Ancestral Master Celestial, which bun would you like to eat?"
"I have five buns here. Three are filled with cheese, and the other two are pure meat. Please, Master, judge Sushang's skills."
Five buns, three with cheese. The Herrscher of Sentience hoped she wasn't one of them.
Who knew if this cheese was legitimate cheese.
After all, Li Sushang had lain in a Schicksal life-support pod for a full five hundred years; her style and way of thinking were still stuck five hundred years in the past.
She had never encountered something like cheese sauce before, only learning what it was when she joined the Inner World Protagonist's harem.
So... it was probably not very legitimate.
A 3/5 chance of something being wrong…
The gray-haired girl's eyes widened, trying to see what kind of trickery was hidden inside these buns.
She didn't want to lose face, nor did she want to lose substance.
But these white, doughy buns all looked the same, making it impossible to tell them apart.
"Old-timer, you're experienced. Hurry up and help me choose. I don't want to get a cheese-filled one."
"Senti…"
Fu Hua, who had witnessed the Herrscher of Sentience walk into this trap, sighed. "If you weren't so competitive, you wouldn't be in this situation."
It was all because of her pride. It was something that could have been brushed off with a simple excuse, but she had to turn it into a zero-sum game.
In the end, this child's competitive spirit was just too strong. Unless someone truly beat her to her knees, the Herrscher of Sentience would never admit defeat.
Fu Hua wasn't good at raising children, but she could read people's hearts.
"Aiya, I know, I know."
The Herrscher of Sentience was getting impatient and a little annoyed. "We'll talk about this later. You don't want the two of us to eat some not-so-legitimate cheese, do you?"
The Herrscher of Sentience even remembered what happened on the day she was born.
Her disciple was being lovey-dovey with his little lover in the next room, and Fu Hua's cultivation went haywire from hearing too much noise.
She, the Herrscher, had burst onto the scene, smashed through a wall as if it were tofu, and stomped on her disciple's butt, causing Seele to roll her eyes back and vomit a large amount of recently eaten cheese from her mouth.
Although she hadn't been bent over like Seele and fulfilled Fu Hua's inner demonic desires, she was now on the verge of eating the rich cheese sauce prepared for her by this master-assaulting rebellious disciple, all because of her own competitiveness.
Which one to choose? Which one? How much would she have to eat?
Fu Hua didn't know, and the Herrscher of Sentience couldn't tell.
Suddenly, the Herrscher of Sentience's eyes lit up as she looked behind Li Sushang.
This girl had only brought out five buns, but that didn't mean she had only made five buns.
And considering the grudge between this girl and the Old-timer, the probability of the buns that weren't brought out having a problem was smaller.
Instantly, the Herrscher of Sentience made her decision: "Sushang, I see these buns of yours are getting cold. I, your Master, like my food hot. Let me pick one myself."
With that, the Herrscher of Sentience didn't give Li Sushang any time to react, and with a single stride, she dashed into the kitchen.
She grabbed a bun.
Took a bite!
It burst!
A thick, white sauce exploded in an instant, filling the gaps between the gray-haired girl's teeth in a split second, and even leaving traces on her delicate face.
There was no telling how much cheese sauce this girl, Li Sushang, had stuffed inside, banking on the fact that her conscience was strong enough to crush hers.
There was just so much, a bun full of cheese sauce!
Heretical! Utterly heretical!
A few strands of still-warm cheese sauce dripped down the Herrscher of Sentience's gray hair, making Fu Hua, trapped inside the body, sigh.
This was the consequence of trying to be clever.
There was no deep-seated hatred between her and Li Sushang. The grudges from five hundred years ago had been settled in that duel. The current situation was entirely the result of this person, the Herrscher of Sentience, overthinking things.
The cheese sauce was probably supposed to be sweet, but the Herrscher of Sentience had made the wrong choice and embarrassed herself in front of her newly acquired disciple and unworthy grand-disciple.
Hopefully, this person wouldn't go too far next.
However, things didn't go as hoped.
Li Sushang felt as if she had only blinked, and the Herrscher of Sentience had appeared in the kitchen, and then became as dishevelled as if she'd been 'thanked' all over.
She hadn't planned on doing anything to this person, but if she insisted on being overly dramatic, then there was nothing to be done.
The charming girl gave Brian a gentle smile, her slender fingers pinching two dents into the white, smooth skin of a bun.
"Here, you try my cooking too."
The dark-haired youth took a bite, and a savory, fresh taste filled his mouth.
The girl's fair fingertips were also stained with sauce, which then vanished in the next second, leaving only a crystal-clear sheen.
"Sushang, your cooking is excellent."
"Of course. I spent a long time learning these skills from Mei."
The warm atmosphere reeked of public displays of affection, and the only single person present felt like a clown.
The Herrscher of Sentience had figured it out. There were no cheese-filled buns among the ones Li Sushang had offered her just now; all the cheese-filled ones were in the kitchen and hadn't been brought out.
If only she hadn't overthought things, she could have avoided this cheese-sauce-all-over-her-face outcome. But because of her own cleverness, she had suffered this calamity.
This unworthy grand-disciple, Li Sushang... truly had her, the Ancestral Master, wrapped around her little finger!
How rebellious!
And flaunting their affection in front of her! Didn't she know that her Ancestral Master Celestial, Fu Hua, had always wanted to screw her husband's brains out?
Truly shameless!
Having lost face, the Herrscher of Sentience polished off the cheese-filled bun in her mouth in a few bites, wiped the 'thanks' from her face, and returned to the two of them as if nothing had happened.
"Sushang, your bun-making skills are quite good. It seems you've gradually become a mature wife."
"You flatter me, Master."
Her tone shifted: "But the love between a man and a woman cannot save the world. Our civilization is currently facing the crisis of the Honkai threat."
"The Herrscher of Domination has been vanquished, but the even more dangerous Herrscher of Binding and Herrscher of Corruption await, as well as the most terrifying Herrscher of the End."
At this moment, Li Sushang didn't realize the danger was approaching. "So, Master, you mean…"
"One cannot slack off in cultivation for even a day. Clinging to love will only lead to emptiness in the end."
"You are both successors of the Taixuan Sword Qi. I have decided to impart my life's worth of skills to you, to help you both advance to the next level!"
A bright flame ignited in those green eyes, burning with fighting spirit!
Li Sushang had never seen Fu Hua like this before, and she couldn't help but shrink back, terrified that her head would be cracked open by a single punch.
At that moment, a tall figure stood in front of her, his broad back giving her an indescribable sense of security. "Class President, since you want to instruct us, why don't you let me be the one to receive your guidance."
"And then I can pass it on to Sushang. After all, I possess the power of the Herrscher of Reason, so I learn faster and more effectively."
"..."
The Herrscher of Sentience stared.
Young Brian didn't back down an inch.
Li Sushang's prank on her was a bit much, but as a man, he would side with his partner over reason. They could talk about any mistakes later.
He was taking this on today. He'd go back and punish this naughty little woman harshly afterward.
"So be it. You are a man who loves his wife."
The three of them arrived at the training ground. An invisible, domineering aura emanated from the gray-haired girl, as if a supreme martial arts master was looking down on the world.
Kneel and live, stand and die.
The odds of victory were thirty-seventy!
She makes three moves, you'll be dead in seven days!
This was the confidence of a supreme martial arts master.
Her opponent was calm and composed, like a stubborn rock standing firm in a storm, so ordinary yet so resilient.
The battle between the two was about to break out, and the tense atmosphere made the spectators on the sidelines involuntarily clench their hearts.
"It's all my fault…"
Li Sushang felt a little guilty.
Bronya, the girl who had once fought alongside her, appeared here with her younger sister and commented lightly, "Let's make a bet. Class President will definitely not hurt him."
Li Sushang: "But that's not…"
"I know. That's why she won't."
Li Sushang was perplexed. Her identity as a wandering swordswoman had given her enough experience, but it hadn't changed her Dropout who didn't complete nine-year compulsory education's wisdom.
She didn't know where Bronya's confidence came from, but at this point, she could only trust that these two wouldn't really get angry and fight for real.
The battle began.
The gray-haired girl employed exquisite techniques, her momentum merging with heaven and earth, forcing Brian to face the pressure of the entire world.
The latter activated the power of the Herrscher of Reason, learning the essence of Fu Hua's skills in the shortest possible time.
The Herrscher of Sentience's expression was appreciative. "Taking you as my disciple was truly the most correct decision of my life!"
However, he was destined to be a master-assaulting rebellious disciple!
As fists and feet met, the Herrscher of Sentience gradually began to show her true abilities.
Young Brian was momentarily at a disadvantage, but with his rapid improvement, he quickly brought the situation back to a stalemate.
Without using their trump cards, neither could defeat the other. It was an endless deadlock.
As the situation developed, the initial excitement and passion of the fight faded from the Herrscher of Sentience's mind, and this Herrscher finally remembered her original purpose.
'Wasn't I here to set up the Old-timer? Why am I wasting my energy sparring here?'
Her actions followed her thoughts, and the Herrscher of Sentience's movements changed.
A careless move, and the gray-haired girl was overwhelmed by the man's offense, involuntarily falling into young Brian's arms once more.
The Herrscher of Sentience's consciousness instantly withdrew, swiftly leaving the scene of the crime without anyone noticing.
She was a kind person who enjoyed helping others, no need for thanks! Especially not from the Old-timer!
Fu Hua returned to normal. The strong masculine scent stimulated the girl's senses, and a powerful sense of crisis made Fu Hua, who had just regained control of her body, react instinctively.
Inch Force: Sundering Heaven!
Hand of God!
Tuning Resonance!
The gray-haired girl trembled all over, involuntarily tensing every muscle in her body. Even her pure green eyes became as vacant and lost as when she faced the Herrscher of the Void.
The Herrscher of Sentience, who had just left Fu Hua's body, appeared somewhere and couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of clear water. "Old-timer! You've doomed me!"
Her pair of red eyes stared in Fu Hua's direction. Even her well-honed skills couldn't suppress the intense sensation coming from the Herrscher Core.
That felt so good!
Absolutely amazing!
Never felt anything so good!
Better find a place to change my pants first.
…