'I’m quite sure that I didn’t invite her to become a student, but why does she want to be my disciple? Doesn’t she see that I’m just an ordinary woman?'

Hearing the child’s words made Vheena confused about how to respond, especially since the little girl seemed serious. Vheena could only ask her the reason.

"Little girl, why do you want to be my disciple? Don’t you see that I am just an ordinary human?"

"My reason is that I want to become the strongest so no one will look down on me anymore, Master!"

"That’s not the answer I wanted to hear, little girl. Can’t you see? I’m not a cultivator; I’m truly an ordinary human. Look, even my clothes are tattered. I’m not rich either. So why do you want to be my disciple?" Vheena replied, pointing at her worn robe.

"I’m sure you are an immortal, Master! Seeing your face and demeanor makes me want to make you my master! Please, take me as your disciple!"

The child’s strong response made Vheena uncomfortable. She was sure there was another misunderstanding, just like two years ago when she first arrived in the village.

‘Although it seems she wants to follow me, it’s a bit strange because of her reason for wanting to be my disciple. Besides, what can I teach her? I’m not even a cultivator. Well, seeing that she won’t stop unless she becomes my disciple, I’ll reluctantly take her as my disciple. Fortunately, I’ve studied martial arts before, even if just briefly, so I understand the basics. I should be able to teach her martial arts,’ she thought.

"Alright, little girl, I’ll take you as my disciple."

Hearing Vheena’s words, the little girl was overjoyed. She quickly bowed before her master as a sign that she was now her disciple. Seeing the little girl bow, Vheena hurriedly lifted her up and told her not to bow.

"There’s no need for such formal bowing. I’ve already accepted you as my disciple."

‘If I’m not mistaken, in ancient Chinese society, bowing to a master is a form of politeness to show a disciple’s devotion. I remember reading that in a Chinese novel,’ Vheena thought.

Nodding at her master’s words, the little girl quickly stood up with her master’s help. After talking with her disciple for a while, Vheena realized that it was starting to get late. She invited her disciple to return home with her.

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The Forest of Death is a forest located on the outskirts of the border city. It is called so because it harbors many dangerous monsters that can easily kill a cultivator. Nevertheless, many cultivators still come to the forest to search for treasures.

It’s easy to find the bodies of both animals and cultivators left behind with their treasures looted in this forest. The Forest of Death is also where Vheena chose to live when she was first transported to this world. Strangely, in the two years she had lived there, she hadn’t encountered any dangerous situations in the forest.

‘We’ve been walking on this forest path for over an hour. It seems my disciple is not very talkative. It would be better if I started a conversation with her.’

Feeling awkward about the prolonged silence in the forest, Vheena mustered the courage to start a conversation with her disciple to ease the tension.

"What is your name, my disciple?"

"My name is Ruan Xiaoyue, Master!"

"O-oh, you’re very enthusiastic, my disciple. Don’t you feel tired after walking quite a distance?" Vheena replied, puzzled by how enthusiastic her disciple was.

"Not at all, Master! Ruan is very happy because my dream of becoming an immortal will come true!"

‘No!… Seeing her enthusiasm makes it hard to tell her that what I’ll teach her is just martial arts for self-defense. Y-yes, for cultivation, I’ll teach her a bit from the knowledge I’ve gathered from Xianxia novels. If successful, she’ll become a cultivator. If not, I can only say she doesn’t have the talent to be a cultivator.’

Thinking about her disciple’s words, Vheena devised a plan for the future if she disappointed her disciple.

Vheena shifted the conversation to her disciple’s daily activities. Through this conversation, she felt closer to her disciple.

As they neared her house, Vheena stopped the conversation. She also wanted to let her disciple know about her living conditions so that her disciple wouldn’t have too high expectations.

"Ruan, up ahead is the master’s house. As I said before, I’m not rich. The master’s house is small too, so if you’re disappointed later, just let me know."

Seeing her disciple nod in response made her feel relieved. However, the relief was short-lived when she heard her disciple mutter in a low voice.

"From what I’ve heard in taverns from the ramblings of drunks, they often say that immortals who descend to the mortal world usually like to pretend to be ordinary people. In that case, it seems I should pretend that Master is just an ordinary person, right?"

‘Ugh, why does she come to her own conclusions? I’ve already said that I’m just a poor ordinary person. Ah, well, let it be.’

If Vheena didn’t maintain her composure, she would have shouted like a madwoman over this misunderstanding. Upon reaching her home, her disciple seemed reassured and nodded at her own conclusion upon seeing her modest little house.

‘Oh well… I’ll just resign myself to seeing this little girl nodding at my house. I’m too lazy to think about what she’s imagining when seeing my house.’

Vheena could only resignedly watch her disciple. With the forest growing darker around them, she quickly led her disciple into the house without introducing her to the surroundings.

Feeling tired, Vheena showed her the bathroom and her room so she would know their locations and then urged her to rest. After settling her disciple in bed, Vheena went to the back door of the house and went out to the storage room to put away her merchandise.

After organizing her things, she returned to the house and went to her own room. She took off her robe, collapsed onto the bed, and sorted through her thoughts.

‘What should I do for her tomorrow? Besides feeding her, I suppose I’ll ask her to help tidy the house and clean the front and back yards.’

‘As for training, I can start by teaching her to strengthen her body, but what kind of exercises should I use to teach her?’

Thinking about her disciple’s physical training, she thought hard. In both her old world and now, she wasn’t someone who liked exercising, so she knew very few physical exercises. After recalling all the exercises from real life, anime, manga, and novels, she chose the most well-known exercises from her previous world.

‘Well, I hope the exercise I’ve carefully selected will be suitable for her seven-year-old body,’ she thought.