At dawn the next day, the sky was still gray and hazy, yet quite a crowd had already gathered both inside and outside the Chaoyang Sect. Every one of them stood there glaring with wide, indignant eyes, and the atmosphere was so tense it felt like a fight could break out at any moment.
“The Chaoyang Sect is an important place. Please refrain from shouting!” one of the disciples called out.
“Like hell I care! Tell Shi Qixue to get his ass out here!”
The newcomer had a rugged, imposing face. The moment he opened his mouth, his booming voice echoed throughout the entire sect, reverberating endlessly.
“Let’s talk this out calmly…”
Shi Qixue had yet to appear, so Ling Fengqi, the sect’s vice-sect master, had no choice but to step forward.
“Brother An…”
“You’re Shi Qixue?!”
“I’m not.”
“Then get lost!”
Those three words left Ling Fengqi’s head ringing. He immediately backed off.
The man was none other than Ruan Anjing, the sect master of the neighboring Jinglei Sect.
Despite his name meaning “quiet,” Ruan Anjing was anything but.
The Jinglei Sect cultivated a type of technique that manifested power through sound. Put simply, they specialized in sonic attacks. During their daily training, every disciple would scream at the top of their lungs. Even when their eardrums started bleeding, they still wouldn’t stop.
And, unfortunately, they always faced Chaoyang Sect when they practiced.
The constant noise had kept the entire Chaoyang Sect from getting any peace. Nobody could meditate properly, let alone cultivate.
Their philosophy could basically be summed up as: If I can’t have peace, neither can you.
It wasn’t until Yi Yang set up a formation to block out the sound that the Chaoyang Sect finally got some peace and quiet.
Back then, Shi Qixue had never understood why Ruan Anjing was so bored that he kept coming to harass them.
Now he knew.
Apparently, Ruan Anjing’s wife had been stolen by Shi Qixue.
Wait…
Who stole whose wife?
“You Chaoyang Sect call yourselves the number-one sect, the righteous and upright sect, yet Shi Qixue is absolutely despicable! And all of you are a bunch of crooked melons and cracked dates—not a single one of you is any good!”
Ruan Anjing was so furious that his face had turned red and the veins in his neck bulged. He continued hurling insults without pause.
“Our Sect Master Qingyu would never do such a thing! Sect Master is pure and noble, and he cultivates the orthodox Ruthless Dao. How could he possibly steal someone else’s beloved?”
“Besides, in terms of appearance, there’s probably no one in this world who can compare to our master. If you’re saying Master stole your beloved, then why didn’t Master simply create a clone and fall in love with himself? Wouldn’t having a beautiful man in his arms be much more enjoyable?”
“Exactly! Exactly!”
Ruan Anjing was rendered speechless by their quick tongues. His anger only burned hotter.
“Shi Qixue! If you’ve got any guts, get out here! Hiding like a coward—what kind of man does that make you? Don’t force me to storm in there myself!”
Behind him, the disciples of the Jinglei Sect were already itching for a fight.
“Sect Master Ruan, please wait.”
A clear, warm voice rang out.
The speaker slightly lowered his head.
“I’m afraid there’s been some misunderstanding. Master isn’t that kind of person.”
“And you are?”
Ruan Anjing scrutinized the ordinary-looking young man standing before him.
For some reason, he actually looked rather like someone from the Jinglei Sect.
Years ago, when this fellow had come to the Chaoyang Sect to apply for entry, Ruan Anjing had personally rejected him for his looks.
So why were they no longer judging people by appearance now?!
The world was unfair!
“I am Chi Yan, Sect Master Qingyu’s last and only direct disciple. If Sect Master Ruan is determined to cause trouble for my master, then you’ll have to step over me first.”
What a good disciple.
Truly, what an absolutely wonderful disciple!
Shi Qixue—the shameless culprit in question—was hiding behind a tree not far away. He listened to the entire exchange and was deeply moved.
But…
Disciple, can your ten fingers even beat one of his?!!!
Ruan Anjing, however, seemed to find this rather amusing.
“You’re only at the late Foundation Establishment stage, yet you’re his last and only direct disciple? Shi Qixue must have completely lost his mind. I bet he took you in just so you could open and close the doors, wash clothes, cook meals, and make tea for him. He probably hasn’t taught you a single useful technique! Hahahahaha!”
“Please refrain from making such reckless statements.”
Chi Yan swept his gaze discreetly to the side.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could just make out a small, translucent rabbit trembling behind the tree trunk.
“Sect Master Ruan only needs to say whether he intends to fight or not. Why hesitate for so long? Could it be that Sect Master’s wife found this indecisiveness unbearable and chose to run away and find someone else…”
“How dare you!”
Ruan Anjing had been stabbed right in his sore spot.
He exploded in rage, flicking his sword into a flourish as he opened his mouth wide and began gathering power, clearly intending to teach this ignorant brat a lesson.
Ling Fengqi had already quietly put up a barrier and plugged both ears with his fingers.
“Who dares disturb my Chaoyang Sect?”
A voice as cold and pure as falling snow suddenly rang out.
The surrounding crowd automatically parted, their gazes following the white-robed figure walking through the middle.
He looked like an immortal descended from the heavens. His expression was calm and detached, his beautiful eyes glimmering like crystal as though they could contain all things beneath the sky.
“Qingyu is here. What business do you have with me?”
His voice was neither loud nor soft, yet it carried a steady composure that was almost like a calming pill for the heart.
The disciples of the Chaoyang Sect instantly snapped back to their senses.
It’s Master!
Master is finally here!
“Anyone else would have lost their temper after being insulted like that. They’d be cursing and shouting by now. Yet Master remains as steady as a mountain, his dignity completely untouched. No wonder he’s considered the number-one person in the cultivation world!”
Another disciple immediately began showering their master with praise.
In reality…
Shi Qixue was scared half to death.
When he’d been hiding behind the tree earlier, he couldn’t see clearly enough. Nobody had told him that there were hundreds of hulking men standing on the other side!
If he’d known, he never would have come out.
“If there’s some grievance between us, then say it plainly. We can settle it here and now.”
Shi Qixue’s face was cold and expressionless, giving no hint of his fear.
“When exactly did I steal your wife?”
“If you don’t explain yourselves today, our Master will never let you off! We’ll beat your entire Jinglei Sect until you’re crawling around looking for your teeth!”
Ling Fengqi shouted from the side, deliberately fanning the flames because he clearly had no intention of missing out on the spectacle.
Shi Qixue turned his head and stared at him, his pupils practically trembling in shock.
You little bastard. Are you trying to get me killed too?!
“Two months ago. Wuwang Peak.”
Although Ruan Anjing was unreasonable, he knew very well that the Chaoyang Sect was the number-one sect in the cultivation world. If they actually fought, the Jinglei Sect would definitely be the one to suffer.
His eyes filled with tears, as though he couldn’t bear to recall that painful memory. Gritting his teeth, he continued.
“My wife and I were playing by the Lingxi River. We were trying to catch fish with our bare hands. I only rolled up my trouser legs for a moment, and you suddenly appeared and hit it off with my wife!”
“I even grilled fish for the two of you! You ate the fish I grilled, then shamelessly turned around and abducted my wife! Waaaah!”
His thunderous sobs made Shi Qixue’s head buzz.
Me?
“Are you sure?”
“If it wasn’t you, then who else could it be?! Is there someone else in the world who looks exactly like you?! Waaaah! Give me back my wife! Wife, where are you?! Ling’er! Waaaah!”
Ruan Anjing was crying so hard that tears and snot streamed down his face.
Shi Qixue’s expression became complicated.
Two months ago.
Wuwang Peak.
Grilled fish.
Eloping…
Holy crap.
Wasn’t this the ending of that terrible novel, The Cautious Master?!
The male protagonist and his twentieth wife held grilled fish in their hands and exchanged a sweet smile. The setting sun sank in the west, spiritual fish flicked their tails beneath the shimmering water, and the scenery was breathtakingly beautiful.
“Ling’er, should we bring along the servant who grilled this fish for us?”
“No. His grilled fish tastes awful.”
“Excellent. Then let’s go.”
The male protagonist and his twenty wives lived happily ever after.
The End.
So this hulking man who was crying his eyes out was nothing more than the servant who had grilled the fish in the original novel?!
Wait.
Wait, wait, wait.
He said the male protagonist looked exactly like him?!
No.
That couldn’t be right.
The novel had explicitly stated that the male protagonist had an utterly ordinary appearance, with the downtrodden look of a pathetic nobody.
But the disguise technique taught to him by that overpowered old man was unparalleled. The protagonist frequently disguised himself and went around using different identities, and whenever he couldn’t beat someone, he simply ran away.
Shi Qixue suddenly realized what had happened.
His vision went dark.
So…
The male protagonist had been walking around using his face, flirting with women, stirring up trouble, wrapping himself in the arms of one woman after another, and making enemies everywhere?!
Holy shit.