I Have a Special Trick for Crouching in Corners

[The upcoming stories "Pill Cultivators Are an Endangered Profession" and "After I Lost My Memory, My Disciples Could All Hear My Thoughts" are waiting eagerly in my author page. See below for their blurbs.] Blurb: Qian Xun feels she must have been a mushroom in her previous life. She didn't inherit any other talents, just the habit of squatting in dark corners. Only in damp, shadowy places can she breathe air that makes her feel safe. The things she hears most often at her sect are all about her: "Qian Xun, why are you here?" "When did you get here, Qian Xun?" "Where did Qian Xun go?" "Has anyone seen Qian Xun?" "How did Qian Xun disappear again?" That's right. A little mushroom hiding in the dark is easy to overlook, vanishing from everyone's sight at any moment. Even Qian Xun never expected her habit of crouching in corners to bring her another unexpected benefit. She casually crouches in the grass and overhears two unnamed senior brothers plotting to drug a senior sister from the neighboring mountain, then stage a heroic rescue. Qian Xun thinks it over and takes a moment to toss a little note into the senior sister's courtyard. Afterward, she hears that two disciples, whose names shall remain unknown, were chased by that senior sister for thirty thousand li. Qian Xun quietly takes no credit. She casually crouches in a corner of the training grounds and overhears two unfamiliar elders discussing how to get more resources for their son. But Qian Xun is puzzled: why does she know that the parents of this "son" aren't the two people talking? Qian Xun hesitates for a moment, then casually tosses a little note onto the long table of the poor elder who's been duped. It takes only a moment before she hears that some fake son has been thrown off the mountain, and his fake parents have been beaten to within an inch of their lives. Qian Xun: I'm a little worried. She casually crouches at an inn and overhears two passing servants discussing how to fool the true young master, who has only just been found, drive a wedge between him and his family, and fulfill the fake young master's secret, unspeakable ambitions. Qian Xun ponders for a moment, then casually sends a little note to the true young master, who hasn't yet had a chance to return to his family. Not long afterward, she hears that a certain aristocratic family has been thrown into chaos over its true and fake young masters, and that the true young master has crushed the scheming fake young master with an overwhelming advantage. Qian Xun: What a show. She casually crouches in a secret realm and overhears two disciples from a second-rate sect discussing how to join forces with other sects to kill the newly crowned number-one prodigy and steal his opportunities. Qian Xun: That's not happening! The number-one prodigy is a senior brother from her own sect! But before she can deliver her little note, she's caught red-handed, and gets a front-row view of the prodigy senior brother laying waste to his enemies. Qian Xun: Wow, he's really amazing! After that, a large human attachment starts following Qian Xun, who likes crouching in corners, and even her sunflower seeds lose their appeal. "Senior Brother, have you noticed that your existence has made my talent disappear?" "Maybe we're just not close enough. Your talent can't cover me up." "It's obviously because you're too dazzling, Senior Brother. No one can ignore your brilliant light." Even a little mushroom like her has been exposed to its blinding radiance. Qian Xun feels like she can't breathe. "Then try harder. It's up to you to hide my light!" "...No, Senior Brother. I just want you to keep a little farther away." At least let her avoid that dazzling light and live in the shadows by herself. "Want more sunflower seeds? I've got a new flavor today." Qian Xun: "Yes..." One day, the prodigy smiles without a word: There's no way I'm keeping my distance. Not even a little. ---Some fates aren't meant to lead you into the sunlight. They just want to keep you company as you crouch in the shadows. [Coming Soon No. 1]: "After I Lost My Memory, My Disciples Could All Hear My Thoughts" is waiting eagerly in my author page--- The Immortal Maiden Lin Xianxi of Wentian Sect has lost her memory again. This time, she's even forgotten that she's the sect's strongest sword immortal. She can fall off a mountain while flying on her sword, can't tell spirit herbs from poisonous plants, and is nearly incapable of looking after herself. Her fellow immortals: At least she has a few good disciples. They're filial and can look after her in her old age. Feng Linxi has just transmigrated and is still getting used to her new identity. Looking at her several "good" disciples, she feels that the future of her life looks like the surface of the moon, full of craters. She doesn't know what standards her predecessor used to choose disciples, or how she managed to pick so many "children of fortune" so precisely. The eldest disciple has a naturally gifted sword physique and is both beautiful and tragic. Everyone who gets close to him suffers misfortune. In the end, he's abandoned by all, develops a heart demon, and dies with the world. Feng Linxi: [My greatest misfortune is probably seeing that slim waist and those abs and never getting the chance to touch them...] Eldest Disciple: ??? [Honestly, if this is all it takes to develop a heart demon and destroy yourself, this kid's emotional resilience is terrible. Instead of turning all that frustration inward, he should take it out on others. Their misfortune has nothing to do with him, does it?] Eldest Disciple: … The second disciple is a half-demon who struggles to cultivate and doesn't fit in with the other disciples, leaving him withdrawn and isolated. His greatest wish is to remove his demon bones and blood and become fully human, but everything goes wrong. He eventually becomes the Demon King and starts a war between the demon and human races. Feng Linxi: [Those fluffy ears and that fluffy tail... Is that something I can have, too? A fluff lover like me can't take this! I wonder how impressive he'd look in his true form!] Second Disciple: ??? [What's so great about being human? Those people just have no taste. They don't know how good-looking this kid is! And they know the demons treat him like a tool, yet he throws away his life for a little fake kindness. Why are they bullying a child who's starved for affection?] Second Disciple: … The third disciple has a curvaceous figure and stunning looks, but a fierce temperament and no tolerance for injustice. People constantly misunderstand her and damage her reputation, yet she's willing to fall into the demonic abyss and suffer eternal torment for her two-faced "bestie." Feng Linxi: [That waist! Those legs! That... slurp. Such an inhumanly gorgeous face, breathtaking enough to split the heavens! Do people in the cultivation world really live this well?] Third Disciple: ??? [She's a little foolish, that's all. It's not her fault she's beautiful, so why is she insecure about it? Her beauty is absolute justice! And her taste in friends is terrible. What kind of bestie is that? A toxic friend! She's a walking poison! She must have never known anyone decent, or she wouldn't think that girl's treating her well!] Third Disciple: … Good grief, the fourth disciple is a promising cultivator born with a demonic body, and the fifth has a spotless body and is destined for Buddhism… [This sect has enough wildly different people to start several world wars---] Disciples: … The disciples discover that after their master's latest bout of amnesia, they can hear her thoughts whenever they get even a little close to her. Beneath her cool, otherworldly appearance, her thoughts blow their lives to pieces. They don't actually want to hear them that much--- Feng Linxi: I haven't even done anything. Why do my disciples look at me so strangely? Fellow Immortals: You haven't done anything, but your disciples are about to flatten the whole world. Disciples: We don't exactly want to go flatten the "pitfalls" their master hates the most, but when we hear her thoughts at home, there's nothing else we can do. ---This world is falling apart. Who exactly is stitching it back together? Theme: Don't dismiss a good deed just because it's small, and don't commit an evil deed just because it's small.