Yi Xiannian briskly put down his bowl and chopsticks to stand up. The golden soup floating with grease scraped around the rim of the bowl, tumbling over the unappetizing remains of the tofu and splashing a drop or two of cold oil spots.
The wind howled atop the Cliff of Repentance, causing his robes to flutter wildly. Yi Xiannian bent his wrist slightly, blocking the vortex whipped up by the gust of wind. Beside his ears hung two untied strands of hair, a single strand of icy white interspersed within the raven feather black hair.
Lin Siyu turned over in Yi Xiannian’s arms. Seemingly catching a whiff of an unpleasant memory, his ears drooped, and with a soft whimper, he fell back into a deep sleep.
“Master.”
Yi Xiannian forcibly suppressed his involuntary urge to take a few steps back, bowing slightly in salutation.
Since childhood, he had always been well-behaved and rigid, becoming a stickler through endless reading. Seeing Lan Yibai at this moment naturally brought to mind the perverted deeds of “himself” in the novel, making him feel a long-lost sense of…
Embarrassment, one he hadn’t experienced since entering puberty.
Lan Yibai stood with his hands behind his back, displaying an entirely composed attitude toward the eldest disciple who had stolen his inner garment right in front of him.
His gaze inadvertently brushed past the wolf cub in Yi Xiannian’s arms, after which he spoke faintly, “I will be entering secluded cultivation in a few days. Take good care of yourself and your junior brothers.”
Lan Yibai’s gaze was heavy, his eyes slightly narrowed, gleaming with brilliant light as every inch of his sight traced over the green jade pendant hanging from Yi Xiannian’s waist.
A few days ago, this jade pendant had still been worn close to Lan Yibai’s body.
The original owner’s hidden affection had been relieved, but it sure proved miserable for Yi Xiannian, who had been caught red-handed.
The ends of Yi Xiannian’s brows drooped, he felt an unspeakable bitterness as if he had eaten a durian. He merely tightened his arm, guiltily using the wolf cub to block the jade pendant.
“I was wondering why I couldn’t find it a few days ago.”
Lan Yibai’s tone was meaningful, his voice chiming like the soft clinking of jade pendants. With his fingers resting on his own waist, he stared straight at Yi Xiannian, his flirtatious, half-smiling eyes hooked like little sharp grips.
Yi Xiannian dropped straight to his knees with a thud: “This disciple knows his fault!”
Lin Siyu was bumped right onto his buttocks, opening his eyes in confusion. Landing his gaze straight into Lan Yibai’s frost-cold eyes, he was frightened into transforming back into human form on the spot. Before he could even stand straight while swaying, he knelt down right beside Yi Xiannian and strained his squeaky little voice:
“Greetings, Master!”
Yi Xiannian glanced dubiously at the heavily on-guard Lin Siyu beside him, then quickly lowered his eyes, seeing only the floating hem of Lan Yibai’s robes. After a long moment, a voice sounded from above his head.
“The jade pendant is given to you. Just keep it.”
Lan Yibai dropped this indifferent sentence and departed silently without a trace.
Just like that?
Yi Xiannian raised his head abruptly, only catching a glimpse of a receding figure.
“Master is gone! Eldest Senior Brother, quickly come back with me!”
Lin Siyu exaggeratedly let out a big breath of air, using his short arms and legs to scramble back up.
Yi Xiannian was still immersed in the shock of being let off so easily, completely bewildered: “Why are you so afraid of Master?”
He still didn’t quite understand the relationships within the entire sect.
“Eldest Senior Brother, have you gone mad? Are you really trying to show off to me at a time like this?”
“You don’t have a fever either. How come you’re talking nonsense in broad daylight? You weren’t very smart at learning things to begin with…”
Lin Siyu stood on tiptoe to feel Yi Xiannian’s forehead. His tiny mouth opened and closed as if laced with poison, pouring out words like popping beans. Then, as if realizing something, he let out a heavy sigh.
“Then again, Master favors you so much. Those devilish training sessions… sigh.”
Seeing Lin Siyu close his eyes in agony before even finishing his sentence, Yi Xiannian remained completely baffled. He could only follow Lin Siyu back to Qingya Cave first.
Qingya Cave was inhabited only by Lan Yibai and his four disciples. Located halfway up the mountain, it boasted a quiet, serene environment that was rarely visited by outsiders.
The moment Yi Xiannian stepped through the simple wooden door, a sharp flash of sword light gleamed right across his vision, coming to a dead stop just at the corner of his eye.
The tip of the sword remained motionless.
The newcomer arrived fiercely, neatly sheathing the blade. The sword-wielding youth appeared about twelve or thirteen years old, wearing a faded indigo-blue tight-sleeved martial outfit that wrapped around a body brimming with vibrant energy, like a young leopard waiting to pounce.
His bright black eyes sparkled like refined fire, flickering with unhidden arrogance.
Chen Erluo snorted coldly: “Useless.”
Yi Xiannian’s expression remained unbothered, though listening to Lin Siyu’s muffled chuckles beside him, the space between his brows twitched fiercely.
…Why could everyone step all over him, the Eldest Senior Brother!
“I really can’t understand why Master insists on letting you be the Eldest Senior Brother. Clearly, your strength and talent can’t compare to anyone, yet you enjoy all of Master’s favoritism.”
“Just because you arrived earlier?”
Yi Xiannian sized up Chen Erluo’s outfit: a high ponytail tied casually with a coarse navy-blue cloth strip into an extraordinarily ugly bow, and a worn collar covered in lint balls. He reached up to touch the cloud-patterned belt at his own waist, then turned to look at the messy, scruffy Lin Siyu with a head of wild hair.
Talk about double standards, Master…
Yi Xiannian couldn’t help but complain in his heart.
No wonder the original owner was so obsessive. With such glaring favoritism early on, anyone who had received it and then lost it would go crazy.
Yi Xiannian simply bent his finger, taking advantage of his height advantage to give Chen Erluo’s head a harsh flick.
Thunk! A crisp and loud sound echoed.
Chen Erluo looked on in disbelief, clutching his forehead as a bump slowly swelled up. His eyes rounded, and the tips of his ears turned bright red: “How dare you hit me!”
Lin Siyu shrank near the doorway, desperately lowering his presence, his small face scrunched up into a ball while clutching his own forehead in empathetic pain.
Yi Xiannian glanced at Chen Erluo’s ashamed and furious face, speaking calmly: “I think you’re the one talking nonsense.”
“I’m not a child anymore! How can you hit me! I’m going to tell Master!”
“A senior brother disciplining a junior brother is completely natural and proper.”
“Also, Master has gone into secluded cultivation.”
“I never recognized you as my Eldest Senior Brother!” Chen Erluo’s face flamed red with shame and anger.
Yi Xiannian raised an eyebrow and pressed forward step by step, satisfied to see Chen Erluo’s visibly flustered state. Cracking open his lips, he flashed a deadly smile.
“But I’m the one standing right here as your Eldest Senior Brother. Watch your mouth when you talk from now on.”
These words carried a stern tone of admonition.
Under the gaze of those deep, unruffled eyes, Chen Erluo inexplicably straightened his back.
The tension in the air was thick, like a drawn bow ready to snap, when it was suddenly interrupted by a loud, hungry rumble from a stomach.
Chen Erluo retreated a few steps vigilantly.
Lin Siyu poked his head out from behind Yi Xiannian, looking up to reveal an innocent, harmless smile.
“Second Senior Brother, didn’t you go eat the food Martial Uncle Chen made today?”
“It tastes pretty good, you know.”
Black-hearted little brat.
At an age where one cared most about saving face, having his embarrassment laid bare right in front of the person he disliked was tough. Yi Xiannian thoughtfully walked around Chen Erluo and headed toward the small kitchen.
The pan-fried tofu soup was truly hard to swallow, and since Yi Xiannian was still hungry, he built a simple fire, boiled a batch of Changshou noodles, and poached an egg.
The delicious aroma drifted across the entire Qingya Cave, and Lin Siyu followed the smell, pitter-pattering his way inside.
“Eldest Senior Brother, Xiao Yu wants to eat too! I also want a fried egg!”
Yi Xiannian obliged smoothly, the sizzle of hot oil bubbled with egg foam, gradually crisping into shape.
Yi Xiannian carried two bowls of noodles over to the pavilion in the courtyard. Lin Siyu grabbed a pair of chopsticks and followed along, clicking them together as he sat at the table.
Chen Erluo leaned against the main gate, holding his sword while staring out toward the bamboo forest in the distance. His expression was gloomy and heavy, treating the people in the courtyard like air.
After eating leisurely, Yi Xiannian put the bowls and chopsticks away in the kitchen, then carried out a bowl of noodles and stuffed it into Chen Erluo’s arms.
“Remember to wash the bowl when you’re done.”
“…Thank you,” Chen Erluo took the bowl, his voice as quiet as a mosquito.
…
As one of the top sects in the cultivation world, the Renqing Sect lived up to its name by adhering to a philosophy of engaging with the world to help others. They practiced upholding justice throughout the entire sect, making them the sect with the closest ties to the mortal realm below.
Martial Uncle Chen regularly placed request plaques in the Hundred Tasks Hall. These cries for help from the mortal realm were categorized by difficulty level, allowing disciples to earn corresponding money.
Yi Xiannian returned to his bedroom to pick up his own sidearm, the standard-issue silver sword distributed by the sect, identical to the one Chen Erluo had held up to his face earlier today.
“Where are you going?”
Yi Xiannian was blocked at the door by Chen Erluo. He paused for a moment, then decisively walked past him.
Uncharacteristically, Chen Erluo silently followed behind Yi Xiannian.
As the two passed by the martial arts training ground, they happened upon a large group of white-robed disciples practicing swordplay. Their formation was neat, but they were practicing the most basic movements, with a few individuals performing them quite clumsily.
“You were supposed to be over there.”
While Yi Xiannian paused to watch, Chen Erluo took a step forward, crossed his arms as he walked to Yi Xiannian’s side, tilted his head, and leaned close to his ear.
“What?”
“Having no talent, yet foolishly dreaming of attaining the Dao, becoming an immortal, and gaining eternal life. As long as you pay the fee and pass the basic spiritual root test, you can follow along with the sect’s courses to learn. When you grow old, you return to your roots and die.”
Chen Erluo turned his head, his bright black eyes staring at Yi Xiannian.
“With your talent, you ought to be over there, not under Master’s lineage.”
A provocation.
A stark, blatant provocation.
Yi Xiannian let out a sigh, raised his hand, curled his finger, and delivered a hard forehead flick.
“Yi Xiannian!”
“Call me Eldest Senior Brother.”
Yi Xiannian ignored the jumping-mad Chen Erluo and walked straight to the task board without looking left or right. An old man was shuffling over at a slow pace, leisurely placing the wooden plaques up.
“Martial Uncle.”
The old man squinted his eyes, smiling cheerfully at the two of them.
“How come Immortal Master Lan’s disciples are here today? To accept tasks? You haven’t completed your training yet, so there’s no need to rush. Immortal Master Lan gave instructions, especially for Xiannian, who is still young. Your main task right now is to concentrate on your cultivation.”
After being politely turned away by Martial Uncle Chen, Yi Xiannian fell into deep thought.
“Hey, Yi Xiannian! It’s all your fault! If you weren’t holding us back, I would have taken a task plaque long ago.”
Yi Xiannian looked up and down at Chen Erluo in bewilderment: “Martial Uncle said you’re too young, a little kid whose hair hasn’t even grown in properly. Go cultivate properly.”
Chen Erluo flew into a rage.
“It’s clearly because you’re too weak! The Fifth Senior Brother under the Sect Leader joined much later than you, yet he can already do tasks on his own! You’re just stuck in the Qi Refining stage forever, even Little Senior Brother is about to catch up to you!”
…He seemed to understand why the original owner had blackened. In this sect where everyone else had maxed out their skill points, his status as the Eldest Senior Brother was practically being ground into the dirt.
“Master is so biased! It’s one thing for you to slack off on your own, but out of consideration for your pride, he won’t even let us go down the mountain to gain experience! …”
Yi Xiannian delivered another forehead flick.
The two bickered all the way back to Qingya Cave. Upon reaching the entrance, Chen Erluo finally lost his momentum and quieted down.
He twisted awkwardly, looking at the sky and the ground, avoiding looking at Yi Xiannian at all costs.
“…What are we having for dinner tonight?”
Yi Xiannian remained silent, stepping through the door and slamming it right in Chen Erluo’s face. Expecting to eat his cooking right after scolding him, where in the world was there such a good deal?
Chen Erluo sheepishly rubbed his nose, consciously following behind Yi Xiannian anyway.
The courtyard was soaked in dusk. As nightfall gently descended, it dusted the blue stone platform with a warm, soft shade of purple.
A youth sat inside the pavilion with an ancient guqin resting across his knees. The wind fluttered his plain, wide sleeves, and his jet-black hair was loosely held together with only a wooden hairpin, the stray locks accentuating a neck as smooth as suet jade.
The melody of the guqin floated gently, crisp, clear, and resonant, like tired birds returning to the forest.
Yi Xiannian stood there captivated for a moment, listening in a daze.
“Hey, Jiang Sanli, what are you posturing for?”
Chen Erluo held his sword, boldly spouting rude remarks.
And promptly earned his tenth forehead flick from Yi Xiannian.