A goddess dwells in my heart.

Chapter 19 The strong must ruthlessly humiliate the weak.

As dusk falls, the setting sun bathes the stone path of the academy in a warm orange-red hue.

Following the address given by Yin Siyue, Lu Zheji bypassed a bamboo grove and arrived at a cave dwelling built against the mountain behind the academy.

The door was ajar, and he pushed it open and went inside.

There was a stone table in the courtyard, with several small dishes and a pot of wine on it.

Yin Siyue sat alone at the table, pouring herself a drink. Her bright red dress accentuated her alluring waistline.

She tilted her head back slightly and drank it all, a graceful arc rising and falling in her throat. Seeing Lu Zheji arrive, she put down her glass, beckoned to him with her finger, and said, "You've arrived? Your room is ready. Come with me."

The slender beauty rose gracefully, her red dress trailing on the ground, her waist swaying as she swayed her beautiful figure across the courtyard and pushed open the door to the east wing of the main house.

Lu Zheji followed him in, and as soon as he stepped inside, he felt a lightness all over his body.

The spiritual energy was so dense it was almost tangible; with each breath, one could feel the spiritual energy flowing into the meridians through the nasal cavity. Clearly, a very high-level spirit-gathering array had been set up here, and an astonishing number of high-grade spirit stones were piled up at the array's core.

Within her mind, the goddess's cool voice rang out softly: "As expected, she didn't truly regard you as an outer disciple."

Lu Zheji nodded silently to himself. With this kind of pomp and circumstance, no one would believe he wasn't a direct disciple.

Yin Siyue leaned against the doorframe, lazily raising her chin: "Take a closer look, what's missing from this room?"

Lu Zheji looked around and shook his head, saying, "Thank you, Sister Yin, I don't need anything."

"Not lacking?" Yin Siyue raised her eyebrows, a mischievous smile suddenly appearing on her alluring face.

She gracefully entered the room, walked to the large bed, patted the soft bedding with her delicate hand, and said meaningfully:

"I think something's missing here."

Lu Zheji's eyelids twitched.

As expected, Yin Siyue's lips curled into that familiar wicked smile: "You're missing a maid to warm your bed. If you were still the Holy Son, you would naturally have all of these. But now, as a mere outer disciple, you don't have that honor."

You're always talking about pornography; the image of you that I had of you as a sage has completely crumbled...

Lu Zheji's lips twitched slightly, and he couldn't help but say, "Is the only difference between a Holy Son and an outer disciple the bed warmer? Sister Yin, you actually acknowledge me after all, don't you?"

Not only was there a luxurious spirit-gathering array in the room, but as soon as he entered the sect, Yin Siyue casually tossed him a storage ring with a considerable capacity, containing an exaggerated amount of cultivation resources, and it was only a month's supply.

If he were to say that it's just that the outer disciples of a sect receive better treatment than the direct disciples of other sects, then he would conclude that Yin Siyue is a stubborn but soft-hearted arrogance.

Yin Siyue snorted lightly: "There's no such thing as a free lunch. We'll talk about this later. Now go cook me a dish."

……

Previously, Yin Siyue said, "You will repay her slowly for the rest of your life." Lu Zheji thought it was some kind of extraordinary condition, but it turned out that he was just to be her servant and take care of her daily life.

Without the microwave and air fryer from his previous life, all he could make, besides simple noodles, was fried rice.

The fried rice was only mediocre, far from being presentable.

He declined, saying his cooking skills were not good enough, but Yin Siyue just waved her hand and said she wasn't picky, fried rice it is.

So Lu Zheji had no choice but to comply.

The kitchen was in a side room on the east side of the cave. The stove was a boiler made of spirit stones, which was similar to the gas stove in his previous life, so he wasn't completely clueless.

The egg mixture was poured into the pan and stir-fried together with the distinct grains of rice. Before long, three large plates of fried rice were served on the stone table.

"It's just so-so, I hope you'll forgive me, Sister Yin."

Yin Siyue picked up a mouthful of fried rice and put it into her mouth. She chewed slowly and deliberately, her charming phoenix eyes slightly narrowed, as if she was savoring some distant memory.

"It's alright. My master used to make me fried rice with eggs every day, and it tasted about the same as yours."

Lu Zheji thought to himself, "It seems your master's cooking skills aren't that great either."

He sat down opposite her, looked at another set of bowls and chopsticks on the table, and asked, "Sister Yin asked me to make enough for three people. Who else wants to come?"

Just then, the courtyard gate was pushed open from the outside, and a petite figure peeked in, grinning, "Wow, dinner's ready!"

Lu Zheji exclaimed in surprise, "Junior Sister?"

The newcomer was Su Wanning. She walked to the stone table with a smile, plopped down, and sat down as naturally as if she were returning home: "Yes, are you surprised, Junior Brother?"

Yin Siyue said slowly, "Su Wanning is also an outer disciple of our sect, so taking care of you is her duty."

Lu Zheji asked, puzzled, "Wasn't it said that the entry requirements were very high? How did Senior Sister get in with her talent?"

Su Wan Ning clutched her chest, feigning a hurt expression: "Junior Brother, your words are so hurtful, sob sob, Senior Sister is sad. But Junior Brother is right, Senior Sister got in through connections, so it's all thanks to you."

"Thanks to me?"

"Yes." Su Wan Ning lowered her hand from her chest and said with a smile, "It was precisely because I was looking for someone to take care of you that the Grand Master of Ceremonies took me, the academy's physician, under his wing."

"The chief priest?"

Yin Siyue continued, "My clan holds a prominent position in the Southern Wei court. To make it easier to look after you, I specifically requested the position of Chief Priest. By the way, the last question in the civil service exam was added by me using my position. If you flatter me, I will change your status to Chief Priest and punish you for forgetting your ancestors."

"I see..." Lu Zheji processed this information, then suddenly realized, "Wait a minute! With so much power, whether I pass the exam or not doesn't really matter, right?"

Yin Siyue disagreed, arguing, "That won't do. I've meticulously planned how to impress everyone during the examination. If you don't come, all my carefully crafted ideas will be wasted!"

Lu Zheji: "..."

This reclusive sect seems to be getting more and more unreliable...

Su Wanning gave a wry smile, feeling a pang of sympathy: "That's just how Senior Sister Yin is. You'll get used to it as you live together."

Living together?

Lu Zheji suddenly realized something: if Su Wanning was Yin Siyue's person, then wouldn't all his secrets be exposed...?

Just as she was pondering, Su Wan Ning suddenly spoke again:

"Let me remind you, Senior Sister Yin is very strict and doesn't tolerate any imperfections. She also uses her divine sense to cover the entire cave from time to time. You absolutely mustn't hide under the covers in your room and secretly do anything evil or heretical!"

Lu Zheji was stunned for a moment before he realized that his pure and innocent junior sister was actually making a sexual advance.

No, it was ostensibly a ruse, but actually a warning to him not to be discovered practicing demonic cultivation methods.

The junior sister is still going to great lengths for him...

Lu Zheji felt a warmth in his heart, and his gaze toward Su Wanning softened even more.

While Lu Zheji was moved, the two women at the dinner table were secretly communicating with each other through telepathy.

Yin Siyue slowly ate her rice, but her voice, transmitted through telepathy, was full of contempt: "Shameless, witch. You can play the innocent, kind senior sister forever."

Su Wan Ning maintained her smile, replying telepathically with an air of self-righteousness: "Have you ever heard of the Su family caring about their reputation? At worst, we'll just keep it a secret for life. Anyway, my junior brother's talent isn't as high as mine, he definitely won't outlive me, hahaha!"

While they were exchanging words, Yin Siyue silently ate her rice.

She ate the fried rice slowly and deliberately, taking each bite seriously, as if it were not just an ordinary bowl of fried rice, but some kind of delicacy.

Su Wan Ning muttered to herself: Is it really that delicious?

She picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks, still somewhat skeptical, and put it in her mouth.

After chewing twice, her gaze sharpened slightly.

Lu Zheji noticed her unusual expression and, worried that his cooking wouldn't satisfy Su Wanning, a seasoned foodie, asked, "Junior Sister, how is it?"

Su Wan Ning's almond-shaped eyes instantly curved into two crescent moons, her voice so sweet and soft it was almost dripping with honey: "Wow! Junior Brother, your fried rice is absolutely delicious! Each grain is distinct, the egg flavor is rich, and the saltiness is just right—it's simply divine! Junior Brother, are you a genius? To be able to make something so delicious on your first cooking attempt!"

Lu Zheji was already used to his junior sister's emotional influence, so he smiled faintly and remained noncommittal.

Yin Siyue put down her chopsticks and said, "Since you like it so much, you can have him cook all the meals at home from now on."

Su Wan Ning's smile froze.

After Lu Zheji finished cleaning up the dishes and went to the kitchen, the petite girl slammed her hand on the stone table:

"I demand to have the power to cook back!"

Yin Siyue lazily propped her chin on her hand, her alluring eyes filled with schadenfreude: "What's wrong? Don't you like it? Weren't you praising it to the skies just now?"

Su Wan Ning bit her lip: "Eating that kind of thing once in a while is one thing, but I'd get tired of it every day!"

Yin Siyue smiled knowingly: "That's easy. Go tell Lu Zheji that you were just praising him against your conscience, and that the food he cooked was actually unpalatable to a pampered young lady like you. Then I'll let you take charge of the cooking again."

Su Wan Ning gritted her teeth: "Are you looking for trouble?!"

Yin Siyue crossed her arms over her chest, her full curves rising and falling slightly beneath her red dress:

"Our sect's bastard founder once said that the strong must ruthlessly humiliate the weak; this is a creed passed down through generations of our sect. Originally, once his brain was cured, you were no longer needed. But you insisted on joining the outer sect to look after him. Now that you're in, you should adapt to local customs. If you don't like it, suffer the consequences!"

Su Wanning didn't say anything, she just stared at her.

Yin Siyue ignored them and swayed her graceful figure as she walked into the house. Her red dress was like a flowing flame in the twilight. Her waist swayed and her full hips gently rocked, making her back view breathtakingly alluring.

Only after her figure disappeared through the door did Su Wan Ning grit her teeth and mutter a curse under her breath:

"The strong must ruthlessly humiliate the weak... These are indeed words that the great demon Emperor Wu would utter."

……

Night deepened.

Lu Zheji was meditating in his room when a charming and languid voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

"come over."

Following the instructions, Lu Zheji went to the deepest part of the cave and found a carved wooden door. The door was not closed tightly, and warm yellow light shone through the cracks. The air was filled with the fragrance of damp flowers and warm water vapor.

He pushed open the door and entered. The floor was paved with smooth green jade bricks, and in the center was a spiritual spring. Several petals of unknown spiritual flowers floated on the surface of the water, and a faint fragrance wafted in the rising steam.

A plain gauze screen stands in front, and on one of the screens hangs a familiar bright red dress.

Lu Zheji abruptly stopped, no longer daring to go any further.

The screen was semi-transparent, and the candlelight cast a graceful silhouette onto the white gauze, hazy and indistinct, yet all the more evocative.

The beautiful woman leaned against the edge of the pool, the water just covering her collarbone, revealing only a section of her slender neck and two rounded shoulders. Her languid voice came from behind the screen:

"Weren't you curious about why you were treated so well? Actually, the treatment of outer disciples isn't necessarily lower than that of inner disciples."

"Let's talk business, what's the point of talking about it while showering..." Lu Zheji kept his eyes down, trying hard not to let his gaze drift towards the screen: "If the outer sect members are treated better than the inner sect members, then what's the point of the inner sect?"

"Because the so-called outer sect is a slang term in some sects." Yin Siyue casually splashed water, and water droplets slid down her arm and dripped back into the pool, creating fine ripples.

"Only the Empress understood that the identity I promised you was not that of an outer disciple in the conventional sense, but rather that of a personal assassin belonging exclusively to me."

Lu Zheji frowned: "An assassin?"

"Indeed, after Emperor Wu was executed, Emperor Wen negotiated with the contemporary goddess. To prevent the human race from wasting resources in internal strife, the leading forces of the human race signed a pact that they would not attack each other. The current situation in the Northern and Southern Wei dynasties stems from this."

Lu Zheji pondered for a moment, then suddenly realized, "I see. Because they couldn't fight each other, the Northern and Southern Wei dynasties never developed into a civil war over the past four hundred years. But it was also because there was no civil war that unification was delayed."

"Clever." Yin Siyue chuckled approvingly. "But ultimately, there's always a need for internal strife between sects. There's always a solution to every problem, so we came up with the idea of ​​raising prodigies as death squads. You don't need to know the sect's name; you only need to carry out the sect's orders. In name, you're not a member of the sect, so what you do won't involve the sect, and if you die outside, no one will collect your body."

The road was broken and silence fell.

The water splashed a few more times, as if she had changed her position in the pool.

"Of course, you can refuse. We were the ones who took you from the Prince of Zhenbei when you were young, so we should take responsibility for you. Asking you to pay compensation before was just to scare you. Even though your Holy Body is now ruined, the sect doesn't mind feeding another mouth, but we won't go all out to support you."

Lu Zheji was still somewhat proud and arrogant, so he naturally wouldn't back down on this matter. Moreover, he remembered that Yin Siyue had said she had made a special trip to the Yellow Springs to find a soul-nourishing herb for him.

He had just consulted relevant ancient texts, which mentioned that rashly using rare and precious materials to enhance soul power when one's cultivation level was insufficient was tantamount to forcing growth and would lead to endless troubles. His symptoms back then could only be treated with gentle spiritual items like Soul-Nourishing Grass.

But the issue with Soul-Nourishing Grass is no longer its price; it's simply priceless. This thing is in very low demand and extremely difficult to find. It's said that even great cultivators risk their lives if they venture into the Yellow Springs.

Lu Zheji had previously wondered if his weak innate soul after reincarnation was a preordained arrangement. But now he realized that if Yin Siyue hadn't found him the Soul-Nourishing Grass, he, a dignified emperor reincarnated, would have been mentally impaired for life.

It's no exaggeration to say that he owes Yin Siyue a life.

Without further hesitation, he solemnly bowed to the faintly visible figure behind the screen, saying, "Greetings, Master."

There was a moment of silence behind the screen, followed by Yin Siyue's sneer: "You're really shameless. Before, you called me 'sister' without asking, and now you're using this as an excuse to call me 'master.' At first, we let you call me that because you weren't wrong. If you had entered the sect normally, you would have been my junior brother."

So you weren't the one who wanted to take me as your apprentice... Lu Zheji looked up, somewhat embarrassed, "Then who am I now...?"

"Now that you are an outer disciple, you should still call me Senior Sister."

"Alright, Senior Sister Yin." Lu Zheji paused, "I still have one question. Since you're a suicide squad member, why are you responsible for Senior Sister's food and lodging?"

Yin Siyue chuckled softly, and the sound of splashing water rang out. The graceful figure behind the screen slowly stood up. In the candlelight, her shapely contours were clearly visible, and every curve was breathtaking.

"Because I'm abusing my power to bully you."

Lu Zheji: "???"

With a flick of her slender hand, Yin Siyue sent her crimson dress, hanging on the screen, fluttering towards her. The soft rustling of the fabric was particularly clear in the quiet bathroom. As she dressed, she continued speaking unhurriedly:

"This is a tradition of my sect. The strong must do whatever they want and bully the weak so that the weak will be motivated to become stronger out of their resentment."

"You come from an extraordinary background and possess astonishing talent, yet I force you to perform these menial tasks. How does it feel? Aren't you resentful? Do you long for a good revenge against your senior sister?"

What kind of level 80 dog sect is this... their methods are just too gentle.

Lu Zheji hesitated for a moment, then honestly replied, "Uh... I feel alright."

"It seems we haven't bullied her enough." Yin Siyue, with her bare, snow-white feet, gracefully stepped out from behind the screen.

She was fixing her long, wet hair, water droplets dripping from the ends and sliding down her slender neck into her neckline. The red dress she had just changed into was loosely draped over her body, the belt not yet tightened, revealing a large expanse of fair and delicate skin at the neckline, her full curves almost bursting out.

"Go and wash my clothes."

Lu Zheji turned behind the screen and picked up the red dress that Yin Siyue had just taken off from the clothes basket by the pond. As soon as he touched it, two pieces of light blue silk fabric slipped out of the dress and fluttered to the ground.

He bent down to pick it up and immediately fell silent.

Within his sea of ​​consciousness, the goddess's clear, cold voice, tinged with hesitation, echoed: "Martial Emperor, have you joined some demonic sect?"

Just then, Yin Siyue's charming voice drifted over from afar: "By the way, if one day you become stronger than your senior sister, you can do whatever you want to her too. How's that motivational effect?"

She chuckled softly and walked away, her laughter echoing through the corridor. Lu Zheji stood there, clutching the two pieces of cloth in his hand, his lips twitching.

"I think it's necessary to investigate. Could this sect be called the Joyful Union Sect?"