Xian Qinglin sighed, lowering his head to look at his own toes, Xu Yifan’s earlier words replaying over and over in his mind. Thinking of his own status, he figured that if an outer disciple like himself chased after the man just to explain, it might come across as though he were currying favor.
Besides, the gap between their statuses was too vast, barring the unexpected, they probably wouldn’t cross paths again anyway. If there’d been a misunderstanding, so be it.
Thinking this, Xian Qinglin still didn’t turn to leave right away. Instead, as he usually did, he walked over to the stone tablet carved with the three characters “Spirit Sword Peak” and stood there for the better part of the night again.
The instant the sky began to pale, Xian Qinglin felt he’d become somewhat obsessed.
Ever since meeting Xu Yifan, he’d started to feel like he wasn’t quite himself anymore.
Before, in order to advance his cultivation, he’d worked extremely hard, every day, the moment he finished whatever tasks were assigned to him, he’d rush straight back to his quarters to cultivate, unwilling to waste even a single second.
And yet, ever since returning from Xiaolin Village and learning that Xu Yifan was following the Sixth Elder in cultivation, living on Spirit Sword Peak, every day once he’d finished his duties, he found himself heading to Spirit Sword Peak instead, standing at the foot of the mountain, keeping watch, waiting.
Inexplicably, he himself didn’t even know what he was waiting for.
Tonight had been the same, all because of one sentence from that man, his mind had gone hazy and he’d chased after him without thinking.
Truly laughable.
Thinking this, he actually laughed, a hint of self-mockery in his clear, bright eyes.
Xu Yifan knew nothing of any of this. Back at his cave dwelling, he’d scolded the demonic plant thoroughly and then wanted nothing more than to fall into a deep sleep.
But his mind wouldn’t settle. Over and over, Xian Qinglin’s words kept echoing in his head, that faintly amused “Because you’re fat!”
Had that amusement been mockery?
Damn it.
This pretty little beauty had such a beautiful mouth, and yet the words that came out of it were so venomous, it was enough to make him furious.
Xu Yifan was thoroughly irritated, and yet he couldn’t help but keep thinking about it, the pretty little beauty’s captivating charm, that cool, aloof demeanor, kept drifting through his mind, drifting until his whole head felt like it was turning to mush.
Completely unable to control it, Xu Yifan mulled it over and decided it must be because this pretty little beauty was simply too beautiful, beautiful enough to be dazzling, and that was why, even after being insulted, he couldn’t stop dwelling on it.
If he really gave up pursuing him, what then?
A man like himself, in this whole wide world, someone like the pretty little beauty was probably the only one worthy of him.
But the pretty little beauty was just so infuriating!
Ugh!
…
In several hundred years, the Sixth Elder had only ever taken on this one disciple. Whether it was because he was naturally this dedicated or because he wanted to fully indulge in the role of master, he came to fetch Xu Yifan for sword practice before dawn every single day without fail.
For a sword cultivator, a sword was like a second life, there were those who never let their sword leave their hand even while sleeping, embracing it through the night, and in battle against an enemy, one mustn’t let go of the sword even in death.
Xu Yifan had practiced all morning, flinging his sword out of his grip six times, infuriating the Sixth Elder to the point of glaring daggers.
“Haven’t you eaten? You can’t even hold onto your sword.”
“Look at how you’re practicing, like some delicate young lady. Why are you swinging that sword all limp and soft? Trying to act dainty? You’re going to be the death of me.”
“I’ve told you already, this move needs to be fast, precise, and vicious. Moving that slowly, are you embroidering flowers or something?”
“I swear to god, I’ve had enough of you.”
The Seventh Elder’s eyes twitched watching too, and he’d wanted to cover his face and walk away more times than he could count, but at least he wasn’t as hot-tempered as the Sixth Elder. Watching Xu Yifan bounce around with his round belly, his face flushed red from exhaustion, he actually felt a pang of sympathy.
“Don’t keep scolding him like that.”
Xu Yifan had practiced until he was drenched in sweat. Being plump made his movements a bit less agile, but that wasn’t really something to fault him for, after all, someone as plump as a pig yet as nimble as the Sixth Elder was truly a rare exception.
“Everything needs to progress gradually, step by step,” the Seventh Elder spoke up on Xu Yifan’s behalf. “He’s only been practicing a little over a month. Getting this far already is quite impressive.”
The Sixth Elder listened to the Seventh Elder in everything. Although he felt this wasn’t quite right, he only grunted and said nothing more.
Xu Yifan panted for breath, his whole body aching.
For a plump man who normally just wanted to lie down and sleep all day, practicing swordsmanship, leaping around like a monkey, was truly exhausting.
He’d really been bewitched by that demon Xian Qinglin back then, falling into this wolf’s den just to see him.
And in the end! The man had nothing going for him but a pretty face, his heart was black through and through. Actually calling him fat, that was just too much of an insult.
His master wasn’t much better either, refusing to give him proper meals, stuffing him with Grain-Avoidance Pills every single day instead.
Damn it, what a miscalculation.
He should never have come here.
Thinking about all this, Xu Yifan felt rather glum.
The Seventh Elder sat down beside Xu Yifan and said, “Hold out your hand, I’ll massage it for you.”
A cultivator’s physical constitution at the Qi Refining stage was only slightly better than an ordinary mortal’s, repeating the same motion continuously for a long stretch of time would probably wreck his tendons and bones.
Xu Yifan’s eyes welled up with grateful tears, feeling as if the Seventh Elder were now wrapped in a halo of divine light. He said with a smile, “Seventh Uncle-Master, you’re so good to me.”
He was still quite young, only sixteen or so, and though plump, his features were striking, his face round and full, paired with a pair of big eyes, when he smiled at someone, it was hard not to feel fond of him.
The Seventh Elder, over three hundred years old, found himself utterly defenseless against this look. He smiled, his temperament gentle and refined, and said, “You call me Uncle-Master. If I’m not good to you, who should I be good to?”
Xu Yifan blinked and rolled straight over, lying down across the Seventh Elder’s lap. “Uncle-Master, you’re the best.”
Aside from the Sixth Elder, whom he interacted with often, the Seventh Elder wasn’t particularly close with anyone else in his day-to-day life. Xu Yifan suddenly sprawling across his lap left the Seventh Elder momentarily stunned.
The Sixth Elder grew angry again and went over to pull him off. “You brat, where do you think you’re lying down! Get up right now.” He himself had never lain down like that even once!
“Not getting up, not getting up, I’m exhausted to death.” Xu Yifan wrenched his hand free and sprawled back across the Seventh Elder’s lap, and, as if the position weren’t quite comfortable enough, wriggled around a bit more, just like a piglet nuzzling into the ground.
The Seventh Elder was practically laughing now, his voice full of indulgent fondness. “Sixth Martial Brother, just let him be.”
The Sixth Elder grumbled, “Just give him a pill, get his spiritual energy back to normal, and he’ll be fine.”
The Seventh Elder shook his head. “We don’t have any top-grade pills on hand. Taking too many low-grade pills can easily produce pill toxicity, which would hinder his future cultivation. Better to avoid it whenever possible.”
Still displeased, the Sixth Elder huffed angrily. “You just keep spoiling him. If he turns out useless later, it’ll be your fault.”
Before the Seventh Elder could respond, Xu Yifan spoke up first to defend his own innocence. “Impossible. My father used to say, a generous heart makes for a plump body, people with generous hearts are rarely bad people.”
The Seventh Elder: “…”
The Sixth Elder sat off to the side, seething with frustration, glaring fixedly at the Seventh Elder and Xu Yifan. That gaze seemed like it might burn holes right through the two of them, yet they appeared completely oblivious to it.
Xu Yifan looked exactly like some dissolute young playboy lounging in a brothel, eyes closed, lying across a beauty’s lap enjoying premium service. Whenever the Seventh Elder’s massage felt particularly good, he’d let out little contented hums, his whole demeanor drunk with indulgence.
Truly unbearable to watch.
Two months passed quickly.
The Sixth Elder still remembered the incident of Xu Yifan lying across the Seventh Elder’s lap, and in the days that followed, he genuinely didn’t give the boy a moment’s rest.
Xu Yifan complained of exhaustion every single day, enduring two months of pure misery. His swordsmanship remained a disaster too painful to watch, and yet, even so, not a single ounce of fat had dropped from his face.
For the newly recruited disciples, the two-month trial period had now come to an end. The Seventh Elder had been ordered to lead a group to Qingyun Mountain to retrieve them, setting off a few days earlier. Now, with no one to massage his shoulders, Xu Yifan was suffering terribly.
Two months was more than enough time for a living body to form certain habits, like waking up early, for instance.
Xu Yifan, who used to sleep straight through even with the sun blazing directly overhead, now found himself waking the moment the sky began to lighten.
He lingered in bed for about the time it takes half a stick of incense to burn, half-dazed, wondering with some confusion, why hadn’t his master come to get him yet today?
He always showed up so punctually to wake him.
Xu Yifan thought it over, rolled out of bed, and stepped out of the cave dwelling. The moment he stepped outside, something snagged around his ankle.
It was the demonic plant.
“What is it?”
Ever since the incident at the Spirit Plant Garden, Xu Yifan had tossed the demonic plant into the secret realm, telling it to cultivate diligently. The demonic plant had behaved well, and had just been “released from its sentence” a couple of days earlier.
The demonic plant scrambled up his sleeve and perched on his shoulder, saying urgently, “Something’s happened to Seventh Uncle-Master. I heard he’s about to kick the bucket.”
Xu Yifan’s footsteps froze, his brow furrowing. “What do you mean? What happened to Seventh Uncle-Master? Is he dead?”
“Don’t know,” the demonic plant swayed its vine tip. “I heard them saying so in the discussion hall, so I rushed straight back.”
It thought for a moment, then added, “Master’s arguing with someone too, arguing something fierce, but Master’s mouth is clumsy, he’s losing the argument, hurry up and go help him.”
Having learned from Xu Yifan, it also called the Sixth Elder “Master”, and since he was Master, that made him one of their own, and one of their own couldn’t be allowed to get bullied.
Xu Yifan changed direction, heading down the mountain. “Who’s he arguing with?”
“Don’t know him,” the demonic plant said. Its memory wasn’t great, but after thinking it over, it added, “But the scent was really familiar. I smelled it back in Xiaolin Village. Oh, right, it’s the one with the rock on him.”
Xu Yifan only had to think about it for a moment to know exactly who the demonic plant meant.
Ma Xiang, Hall Master of the Beast-Taming Hall, Ma Xiu’s father.
Father and son, their bloodline auras similar.
Xu Yifan’s guess was indeed correct.
Last time, when the Sixth Elder and Seventh Elder had led the recruitment trip and Ma Xiu had died, Ma Xiang had held it against them, blaming them for failing to protect his son properly. The very day they’d returned to the sect, Ma Xiang had come storming in furiously to ask about Ma Xiu, at the time even wanting to take the Sixth Elder’s life on the spot.
Afterward, though Ma Xiang had left and even been summoned by the Grand Elder for a stern talking-to, his fury hadn’t subsided in the least.
He had no idea who the actual murderer was, so how was he supposed to avenge his son?
The Sixth Elder and Seventh Elder had failed to protect him properly, that alone was a crime deserving death, in his eyes.
The Seventh Elder was mild-mannered by nature, never one to make enemies. This time, on the road, he’d been poisoned and ambushed, and the great protective array on the flying ship had been tampered with as well, clearly, this had been aimed straight at the Seventh Elder’s life.
The Sixth Elder thought it over, aside from Ma Xiang, they hadn’t offended anyone else, and no one else in the entire sect would dare make a move against Old Seven.
The flying ship was normally overseen by their Third Senior Martial Brother, who had personally laid down the ship’s protective grand array himself and inspected it regularly. Aside from Third Senior Martial Brother, only his own disciples had access to that protective array.
Third Senior Martial Brother had grown up alongside them, he would never make a move against them. But his disciples were another matter entirely.
So who was behind this attack on the Seventh Elder? Aside from Ma Xiang, the Sixth Elder couldn’t think of anyone else.