Chapter 945: Clothes

Yun Zhi had always prided herself on being a woman of unshakeable poise, someone capable of dissecting any crisis with cool detachment.

Be it the terrifying lightning tribulations she endured during her ascension, her first clash with an immortal, or even the moment she discovered Lu Yang's extraordinary knack for spellcraft... though some of those predicaments remained unresolved, she had, at the very least, maintained her composure.

Yet, as the words of the Immortal Fairy settled into her mind, she found her thoughts grinding to a complete and utterly bewildered halt.

Thud.

Lu Yang was so utterly startled that the spiritual fruit slipped from his grasp, tumbling to the floor and rolling off to parts unknown.

"I—I am Lu Yang."

Lu Yang hastened to declare his identity. If he let the Immortal Fairy run her mouth any longer, there was no telling what sort of earth-shattering absurdities she might spill next.

When that time came, his Eldest Senior Sister would certainly hesitate to strike an immortal, meaning the one left to bear the brunt of her wrath would be none other than himself!

...

Within the guest quarters, Lu Yang and the Immortal Fairy knelt meekly side by side, enduring Yun Zhi's lecture with the utmost obedience.

Yun Zhi paced before them, a discipline ruler clutched in her hand. The sight of it sent tremors through the pair, freezing them in place; neither dared to lift their eyes, utterly terrified of receiving a strike from her rod.

"Fairy Senior, there are certain things that simply cannot be uttered lightly. They can easily incite great chaos, do you understand?"

"I can sympathize with your desire to protect my Junior Brother, but you must not take it to such extremes. Should outsiders catch wind of this, they would assume something improper had transpired between you two, which would gravely tarnish both your reputations."

"I was wrong. I will never tell a lie again." The Immortal Fairy bowed her head in contrition, her attitude thoroughly sincere. Had her literary faculties been slightly more robust, she might have even felt the urge to compose a formal letter of apology.

Seeing the Immortal Fairy confess her faults so earnestly was a rare sight, and it succeeded in soothing the greater part of the alarm that had just gripped Yun Zhi's heart.

A stern fright was sufficient; she could not truly bring herself to strike the pair with the ruler.

It was a pity the imperial throne had been left behind on Heaven's Gate Peak rather than brought along on this journey. Thus, Yun Zhi simply pulled over a random chair from the guest room, seated herself before the two, and listened as Lu Yang recounted the sequence of events.

"So, a mishap with the laurel tree caused you to fall victim to its effects when you kindled it, shrinking your form?"

"It wasn't just me. Every disciple in the Immortal Palace has shrunk."

Yun Zhi nodded. The matter was neither entirely trivial nor overwhelmingly grave. Just as Elder Zhou Yulu had noted, the loss of cultivation and the reduction in size were merely temporary. So long as they refrained from venturing outside during this period, no harm would come to them.

Of course, that assumed no one else would covertly infiltrate the Immortal Palace as she had.

"Eldest Senior Sister, do you have any way to restore me to my proper form?" Lu Yang looked up with hopeful eyes at his seemingly omnipotent senior sister. A child's body was terribly inconvenient; sitting on a stool required a leap, and reaching for a spiritual fruit demanded a desperate stretch.

Yun Zhi offered no immediate reply, merely gesturing with her hand as she said, "Come here. Let me examine you."

"Oh."

Yun Zhi pinched Lu Yang's cheeks and felt the crown of his small head before shaking her head in regret, shattering his lingering hopes. "No. I am not versed in the ways of medicine. In a situation like yours, you can only rely on time for a full recovery."

A look of perplexity crossed the Immortal Fairy's countenance. Was this matter truly so difficult?

She, too, lacked any mastery over medicine, yet reverting Little Yangzi back to his original state would be an effortless endeavor, a mere flick of her wrist. However, if he changed back, she would lose the freedom to pinch and knead him as she pleased.

Young Yun had just instructed her not to lie, so she reasoned that the girl must be speaking the truth now, which proved that Young Yun genuinely lacked the capability.

Evidently, Young Yun was still no match for her. The Immortal Fairy thought to herself with smug satisfaction, realizing that aside from her superior wit, she had discovered yet another domain where she outshone the girl.

"Do you not have any proper garments?" Yun Zhi remarked, noting how excessively loose Lu Yang's clothes were.

"None."

"In that case, find a set of robes, and I shall alter them for you."

A look of delight washed over Lu Yang's face. "Eldest Senior Sister, you know how to tailor clothes?"

"I learned the craft in my youth, though it has been long unused. I hope my fingers have not grown clumsy."

When Lu Yang moved to search for a garment, he realized that apart from the fabric wrapped around his frame, all his remaining attire was stored within his identity jade medallion.

And in his current state, devoid of spiritual energy, he could not open it.

Yun Zhi stepped forward, extracting a set of robes from Lu Yang's jade medallion with ease. This feat owed nothing to her cultivation level, but was rather a privilege granted by her authority as the Acting Sect Master.

She scrutinized Lu Yang thoroughly, a design forming in her mind. Using her finger as a blade, she sliced the fabric, tailoring the robes to fit Lu Yang's current diminutive stature.

Next, she produced a sewing kit from her own identity jade medallion and began to work on the garment stitch by stitch, altering, sewing, embroidering patterns, and smoothing out the creases.

Her movements were fluid and seamless, completely belying her earlier claim that her long-neglected needlework might have grown clumsy. On the contrary, Lu Yang had never witnessed anyone whose craftsmanship surpassed that of his Eldest Senior Sister.

"It is finished."

With a flick of her wrists, Yun Zhi unfurled a beautifully crafted garment of white silk bordered with blue trim. Lu Yang accepted it carefully, cradling it as though it were a priceless treasure.

Come to think of it, this was the very first time he had ever received something handmade by his Eldest Senior Sister. Setting aside its practical utility, its sentimental value was extraordinary.

"Ah, yes, Fairy Senior. Did you mean to say that the people of the Immortal Palace should drink the waters of the Twin Rivers?" Yun Zhi finally recalled the primary objective of her journey.

"Indeed. Did they not claim they wished to bear children? Drinking from the Twin Rivers is the perfect solution."

"Are there any precautions to keep in mind regarding the consumption of the water? For instance, is there a limit to how much one can drink at a single time?"

"The things created by this immortal are not bound by such tedious rules. A single bowl suffices. There is no harm in drinking more, or even plunging headfirst into the river; drinking to excess will not result in bearing four children at once."

"Furthermore, an individual can only drink from the Twin Rivers once in their lifetime. A second draft yields no effect, rendering it no different from ordinary river water."

Yun Zhi nodded silently. It appeared the Twin Rivers functioned similarly to the Child-Mother River, differing only slightly in their specific effects.

"Then take good care of yourself here in the Immortal Palace, Junior Brother. Return to the Daoist Seeking Sect whenever you wish." Yun Zhi rose to take her leave. Though this excursion had met with a few unforeseen twists, her ultimate goal had been achieved.

After bidding farewell to his Eldest Senior Sister, Lu Yang instructed the Immortal Fairy to close her eyes and avert her gaze.

"I am going to change my clothes now."

"Rest assured, this immortal shall not look."

Lu Yang rustled about as he donned his new attire. It fit him perfectly, leaving him thoroughly refreshed and brimming with renewed vitality.

Previously, he had been forced to wrap himself in oversized robes like a blanket, looking for all the world like an invalid.

Not long after Lu Yang finished changing, he heard a knock at the door, followed by Lan Ting's voice: "Senior Brother Lu Yang, are you within?"

"Come in."

Lan Ting pushed the door open and stepped inside, clad in a fresh outfit. She held another set of robes in her arms, a mischievous smirk playing upon her lips.

"Senior Brother Lu Yang, the Elder just journeyed down the mountain to purchase clothing for everyone. However, in her haste, she overlooked your circumstance and bought only garments intended for women. Would you care to make do with... eh? You already have clothes to wear?"

Lan Ting stared in astonishment at Lu Yang, who was perfectly outfitted, her scheme thoroughly thwarted.

"Ah, yes. I happened to have a set of child's clothing on hand by sheer coincidence." Lu Yang offered a casual laugh to gloss over the matter. He could hardly reveal that his Eldest Senior Sister had paid a clandestine visit just to fashion him a new outfit on the spot.

Lan Ting gave Lu Yang a rather peculiar look. Why on earth would Senior Brother Lu Yang carry a child's outfit around with him?