The pear blossoms in the courtyard were fluttering down in the wind, landing on the shoulders of the two figures as the evening glow painted the sky and earth in brilliant shades of crimson.
Shen Changchuan did not answer Jiang Youbai’s cautious and probing question, instead asking him in return, “Did I guess wrong?”
Jiang Youbai lowered his gaze slightly, withdrawing the testiness from his eyes. He sat down casually and leisurely. If Tang Ci were here right now, he would surely accuse him once again of lacking respect for his master and elders. “You didn’t guess wrong. I did indeed stir up trouble.”
Shen Changchuan’s expression remained tranquil.
Jiang Youbai continued, “Actually, it’s nothing major. I just happened to run into two senior martial brothers while getting measured for robes, and I accidentally addressed you by your first name. Those two senior martial brothers felt I was being disrespectful to my master and wanted to drive me out of the Shangqing Sect.”
As he spoke, he watched the subtle changes in Shen Changchuan’s expression. Without waiting for the other to reply, he added, “Why don’t you just grant their wish and kick me down the mountain?”
Shen Changchuan cast a sidelong glance at him, saying only indifferently, “I know.”
Jiang Youbai: “What?”
What did Shen Changchuan know? What on earth was this supposed to mean? Was he going to kick him down the mountain or not?
Unable to resist, Jiang Youbai took another look at Shen Changchuan, a slow, floating smile playing on his lips. “And I casually broke both of their hands.”
He said it as casually as if he were discussing what delicious pastry he had just eaten earlier.
Shen Changchuan’s gaze fell upon him, neither heavy nor light. “Just a verbal dispute?”
Jiang Youbai lowered his gaze, thought for a moment, and nodded. “Yes, just a verbal dispute. I am a moody person with a strange temperament. Whenever I am unhappy, I simply break someone’s hand or leg. Your Shangqing Sect simply cannot afford the damage I would cause.”
Shen Changchuan looked at the trace of a smile on Jiang Youbai’s lips, though there was not the slightest hint of genuine smiling in his eyes and brows, and replied, “Understood.”
Jiang Youbai’s expression grew even more peculiar as he looked at Shen Changchuan.
Understood? Again with the understood? What on earth did he actually understand? Could he please just let him go down the mountain?
Yet the very next second, Shen Changchuan cleared up his confusion: “Tomorrow, I will teach you how to use the Binding Demon Rope.”
Fine. So there was no intention of kicking him down the mountain, completely wasting his breath.
With his plan thwarted, Jiang Youbai propped his chin in his hand, looking utterly bored. “I don’t want to learn that.”
Shen Changchuan asked, “Then what do you want to learn?”
Jiang Youbai brushed a fallen pear blossom petal off his clothes, pinching the very last petal to play with between his fingertips. “I want to learn…”
“Spells that can kill you!” The petal and his words were hurled at Shen Changchuan simultaneously, instantly turning into fine dust that fell upon the stone table and was scattered into the air by the breeze.
Jiang Youbai inwardly felt it a pity. If his demonic power had not been sealed, he would have at least forced Shen Changchuan to use his natal spiritual artifact jade plaque to block it.
Shen Changchuan acted as though he had not seen the petal that carried a fatal blow, simply standing up and walking into the house, leaving behind a single sentence: “Before you kill me, learn how to defend yourself first.”
The moon hung high in the sky, and the myriad stars twinkling across the heavens above Yuling Peak resembled blinking eyes. They gazed down at the solitary figure that quietly leapt out from a doorway in the tranquil courtyard below.
Jiang Youbai walked out of the room on tiptoe, moving like a soundless cat in the courtyard. He familiarly slipped over to the entrance of Shen Changchuan’s room and entered the other’s quarters without making the slightest sound.
The fresh, crisp fragrance of pear blossoms filled the room, instantly enveloping Jiang Youbai. His mind wavered slightly, his gaze landing on the figure lying upon the bed. The man was lying flat on his back dressed only in inner garments, losing a fraction of his usual unapproachable distance. The moonlight fell precisely upon him, casting a soft halo over Shen Changchuan’s entire body and making him look even more like a deity. Whether moving or still, he was a living painting.
Jiang Youbai steadied his mind, and the spirit feather reappeared in his hand like a silver dagger, gleaming with a cold light in the deep night.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared right beside Shen Changchuan’s bed. The spirit feather was already pressed against the other’s chest, a speed far beyond ordinary mortal capability, and something no ordinary person could possibly react to in time.
However, the person he wanted to kill was Shen Changchuan.
A golden-glowing phantom image of a jade plaque accurately and unfailingly materialized right in front of Shen Changchuan’s heart, and the man lying on the bed opened his eyes in that exact fraction of a second.
Jiang Youbai met those crystal-clear eyes. The chill radiating from them made him feel a bone-deep, physical cold, causing his soul to tremble in tandem.
Jiang Youbai almost thought for a second that he was surely doomed to die.
Yet in the end, the only thing that happened was that the spirit feather in his hand was ground into powder. His whole body flew backward, landing lightly on the ground where he stood rigidly not far away, completely uninjured.
Shen Changchuan did not even get up, nor did he speak, but Jiang Youbai sensed that he could no longer move. He stood three meters away from Shen Changchuan’s bed, unable to move even a single finger. “Shen Changchuan, release me!”
“Shen Changchuan, when you kept me in the Shangqing Sect, you must have known I would want to kill you. Why don’t you just let me go down the mountain? If I stay on Ling Mountain by myself, those demons might not even be able to catch me.”
“Shen Changchuan, how about we make a deal? If you let me go, I promise you, from now on whenever you need…”
Shen Changchuan!
Jiang Youbai was pinned in place and silenced by Shen Changchuan, forced to simply watch Shen Changchuan go back to sleep and wait in place all the way until dawn.
Does Shen Changchuan ever punish people? What happened to his self-control and refinement?
The moon sank to the east as the rising sun broke through the clouds, casting a pale light that eclipsed the moonlight. A stray bird swept across the firmament, shattering the deep night’s silence.
Jiang Youbai hadn’t slept a wink all night, watching Shen Changchuan sleep and then watching him wake up. The man’s ink-black hair cascaded down with the movement of him sitting up. After an entire night, not a single strand was out of place.
This person gave off completely different impressions when dressed versus when he wasn’t. When fully clothed, he looked as though he practiced the merciless path of the unfeeling dao, with worldly greed and desires having nothing to do with him whatsoever. Yet when clad only in his inner robes, even with his expression completely unchanged, that half-open collar brazenly seduced anyone who looked upon him with every subtle shift of his posture.
Jiang Youbai’s gaze fixed upon the neckline of Shen Changchuan’s robe, only for it to be blocked out as the other pulled on an outer robe. The man raised his eyes, locking gazes with Jiang Youbai, who blinked back at him.
Release me!
Only then did Shen Changchuan walk over to him, raising a hand to press a finger against Jiang Youbai’s glabella. The immobilization spell was lifted accordingly.
Having stood rigidly for an entire night, Jiang Youbai’s legs were long since numb. His whole body fell forward out of control, crashing straight into Shen Changchuan. His head happened to land squarely on the other’s shoulder, his gaze falling upon that slender neck where blood vessels pulsed faintly beneath the fair skin. Without a moment’s hesitation, Jiang Youbai bit down hard, venting his frustration until he drew blood.
Shen Changchuan frowned slightly, raising a hand to pinch the back of Jiang Youbai’s neck, forcing the other to let go. “A minor punishment to serve as a warning. Let this be the last time.”
With a mouth full of the metallic taste of blood, Jiang Youbai had blood smeared across his lips. He looked at the other man, slowly licking the blood from the corner of his mouth without the slightest hint of remorse. “Shen Changchuan, my whole body is sore. I can’t practice today.”
Shen Changchuan never liked people making temporary changes to his pre-arranged schedules. Jiang Youbai assumed the other would definitely force him to study, so he planned to simply act shamelessly and refuse to learn, giving Shen Changchuan a proper headache.
Yet Shen Changchuan loosened his grip on the back of his neck and nodded in agreement. “Then we’ll do it tomorrow.”
Jiang Youbai: “What?”
Wait, since when has Shen Changchuan been this easy to talk to?
Indeed, Zhao Tianyi and Yang Hua had no direct way to contact Shen Changchuan, and since they were stationed on Baiyuan Peak, they hadn’t even had their robes made.
Zhao Tianyi grumbled, “Are we just going to let this go? Before he left, he actually dared to threaten us. He is simply too arrogant! Which elder recruited him into the Shangqing Sect anyway? Don’t tell me it’s just because he’s good-looking…”
Yang Hua glanced at him without committing to an answer.
Zhao Tianyi recalled how Jiang Youbai had looked standing at the courtyard entrance, as pristine as an ivory snow sculpture with a smile on his lips, his eyes and brows picturesque. His lively demeanor resembled a white crane soaring among the mountain peaks, proud and untainted, making Zhao Tianyi desperately want to drag him down into the dust and make him submit.
Yang Hua lowered his voice and said, “Speaking of elders, Elder Man is the one in charge of teaching new disciples their manners. He is the most upright and strict. If he learns that a new disciple is showing such a lack of respect for his teachers, he will definitely punish him.”
Zhao Tianyi looked at Yang Hua and laughed, clapping him on the shoulder. “Good man! You’re usually so quiet and reserved, but you always hit the nail on the head!”
“Even if that guy refuses to obey Elder Man, Elder Man will take the matter up with the Sect Master. That’ll be enough to get him kicked out.”
Yang Hua nodded. “Once we’re outside the Shangqing Sect, whatever we want to do to him will be…”
Zhao Tianyi smiled maliciously. “Let’s go, let’s go find Elder Man for some tea right now!”
Having successfully pushed aside the lessons Shen Changchuan had originally arranged, Jiang Youbai spent half the day letting the stiffness and soreness in his body fade away. He was lingering in the courtyard, pondering how he might break through Shen Changchuan’s jade plaque, when Tang Ci came looking for him.
“Xiao Bai, Master said that since you aren’t learning the Binding Demon Rope today and have nothing much to do this afternoon, you should head down to the lecture hall to study some basics. Building a solid foundation in spiritual power is still essential.”
Jiang Youbai pulled himself out of his own thoughts, looking at the gentle, smiling Tang Ci before him, looking every bit like a child of the heavens untouched by what was to come. He reined in his thoughts, his expression turning cold. “No need. I don’t like dealing with people.”
Refusing to take no for an answer, Tang Ci reached out to pull his junior martial brother along as he headed outside. “Master said you weren’t feeling well. I know you’re uncomfortable, but you still need to go out for a walk and not coop yourself up until you fall ill. Weren’t you also planning to get your robes changed? We can just take care of that on the way.”
Jiang Youbai’s gaze dropped to Tang Ci’s hand holding his wrist. He followed the other’s momentum as they walked outward, then suddenly smiled. “Alright.”
If he couldn’t kill Shen Changchuan, surely he couldn’t kill Tang Ci either?
Deliberately lagging a step behind Tang Ci, Jiang Youbai reached out with his free hand to retrieve his spirit feather.
However, the next second, he froze. He currently couldn’t transform back into his true form, and the single remaining spirit feather had already been used for his assassination attempt on Shen Changchuan yesterday. Right now, he had nothing left on him.
He pressed his lips together, stared at Tang Ci’s back, and ground his teeth.
Fine. I’ll spare your life for today.
With his plan aborted, Jiang Youbai ruthlessly yanked his hand back. “I don’t like other people touching me.”
Tang Ci didn’t mind, saying softly, “Alright, I won’t touch you.”
As the two of them walked toward Lingyun Peak, a familiar voice drifted over from a distance. Jiang Youbai raised an eyebrow and stopped alongside Tang Ci.
It was precisely Zhao Tianyi’s voice carrying from inside: “Sigh, I’ve never seen such an arrogant and dismissive disciple in the entire Shangqing Sect. After all, we’ve all been taught by Elder Man, and I’ve never seen anyone lack respect for their master and elders like this. This new disciple is simply dragging your reputation through the mud, Elder!”
“Who knows which elder or senior brother recruited him in the first place? With a state of mind like that, how could he possibly cultivate properly? Don’t you agree, Elder?”
“What’s more, he’s even this disrespectful to the Sect Master, let alone the other elders and senior brothers! If he goes around setting a bad example and ruining the atmosphere, once we go out, the reputation of the Shangqing Sect as a whole will be implicated because of him!”
“As senior brothers, we tried to kindly advise him a couple of times, but what did he do? He straight up twisted both of our hands right off! How can someone so vicious and brutal be allowed to remain a disciple of our Shangqing Sect?”
“Exactly! For someone to strike with such venom, he must be deeply depraved at heart!”
Elder Man Shuosheng stroked his beard. “This new disciple you speak of… who is he?”
Seeing Elder Man’s furrowed brows, Zhao Tianyi assumed everything was going exactly as they planned. “Oh, when he came to get measured for robes yesterday, he filled out his name. It seemed to be Jiang Youbai.”
Man Shuosheng spat out a mouthful of tea right on the spot. “Who? Jiang Youbai?!”
Seeing this reaction, Zhao Tianyi was utterly baffled. “Yes… what’s wrong?”
Man Shuosheng put down his teacup and stammered, “He… do you guys have any idea whose disciple he is?”
Zhao Tianyi and Yang Hua both shook their heads.
Thinking to himself that the tides of fortune really do turn, Man Shuosheng realized it was finally his turn to watch someone else make a fool of themselves.
“He is the Sect Master’s newly accepted personal disciple.”
Zhao Tianyi: “What?!”
Yang Hua: “…”
Just as the two of them stood frozen in shock, something even more terrifying reached their ears from the doorway, delivered in a clear, light-hearted tone:
“Yo, snitching behind my back?”