It seemed that Wen Shunian couldn’t stand the overly harmonious and loving scene between the master and disciple. After untying the chains binding He Zhibai and checking his body to heal his wounds, he cleared his throat.
The Sect Leader’s expression was a mix of a smile and a frown. “There are still some matters with the outer disciples that need Lou Shizhi’s help to resolve. I wonder if Lian Shidi can lend him to me for a while?”
At this moment, the sky was filled with sparse stars and a bright moon. The chirping of birds had gradually faded, leaving only the continuous sound of cicadas. The wind rustled through the branches and leaves, and the banyan tree’s roots swayed in the breeze not far away.
Lian Chaoxi glanced outside the tree cave and shook his head without hesitation. His warm arm reached from behind, wrapping around Lou Shuangzui’s chest, shielding him from the chill of the night wind.
“Shixiong, my disciple is only thirteen, still growing. Look at the time… Is there anything so important that it can’t wait until tomorrow morning?”
Wen Shunian almost laughed in exasperation, but when he looked up, he saw Lou Shuangzui also looking bewildered.
Lou Shuangzui was indeed surprised. After all, immortals were different from ordinary people. He usually didn’t rest much, except for the first month when he was still adjusting.
Nighttime was often used for cultivation, allowing oneself to immerse in the flow of spiritual veins, feeling oneself, destiny, and the world, like having a bizarre dream. When waking up, one could bring the enlightenment and further cultivation back to the mortal world.
He thought this way but didn’t want to undermine Lian Chaoxi, so he just lowered his head in confusion for a moment.
Meanwhile, the three people on the ground finally showed some movement. Wen Yifeng, looking lost, had somehow ended up beside Wen Weili’s body, while He Zhibai was being checked by his master, who seemed eager to tear off his clothes to examine him, thus ignoring him for the moment.
Wen Yifeng lay on Wen Weili’s “corpse,” which was almost a corpse, with only a couple of breaths left. Unless a high-grade precious pill was used, there was no way to save him.
And Wen Shunian, who was most likely to have the resources, didn’t seem inclined to give out such a pill. Even if he outright refused today, no one could blame him. It was already commendable that Wen Shunian had held back until now.
“My master kindly took him in, but who would have thought he’d raise a white-eyed wolf? Before the Sect Leader’s succession ceremony, he poisoned my cup. I didn’t drink it, but Wen Shidi did, and he had to recuperate for a long time afterward.”
Talking about this made Wen Shunian a bit angry. The past grievances and disappointments were like a thorn in his throat, making him lose interest in teasing Lou Shuangzui and Lian Chaoxi.
The Sect Leader glanced coldly at the dying person on the ground, his eyes full of wariness and dislike, but he didn’t stop He Zhibai from trying to treat him with the herbs Lou Shuangzui had just given.
The senior brother of the Sect Leader Peak clasped his hands together, and the herbs instantly turned into a green light, entering Wen Weili’s chest. The treated person only improved slightly, probably able to hold on for another half day.
“Forget it…” Perhaps recalling what Lian Chaoxi had just said, He Zhibai, who was a bit older than Lou Shuangzui, but still a child who hadn’t experienced the death of acquaintances, decided to spare the cruelty for now. Wen Shunian also hoped such a harsh moment could be delayed, so he gave up the idea of killing in front of the children.
The Sect Leader listlessly lifted his eyelids to glance at Lou Shuangzui. “You guys go back and rest. Just tell me the location of those outer disciples from Transformation Peak before you leave.”
Lou Shuangzui, still having his eyes covered by Lian Chaoxi’s hand, could only blink twice, his soft eyelashes gently brushing against the Sword Master’s palm. “You can ask the outer disciple Mo Shidi from Magic Peak. He has a good relationship with Miss Qianmo and agreed to take care of the fainted Liu Shidi and the others.”
Actually, Lou Shuangzui still felt something was off, so before being taken away by Lian Chaoxi, he turned back one last time, memorizing the scene inside the tree cave.
After that, it had nothing to do with him. Lian Chaoxi was very protective, so even though it was obvious that the mysterious fainting of those outer disciples was related to Lou Shuangzui, no one dared to pursue it.
Moreover, since Wen Weili was independent on his peak, after he was severely injured and fell into an indefinite slumber, Transformation Peak needed to be rearranged. It was uncertain whether a new Peak Master would be chosen or the disciples would be dispersed, so the Sect Leader Peak was busy and had long forgotten about Lou Shuangzui.
In the end, they decided to choose a new Peak Master. As for who it would be… Wen Shunian sent the Eleventh Elder, who managed the Suspended Mirror Platform, over.
When things were at their busiest, Wen Shunian finally remembered Lou Shuangzui. He didn’t know how he talked to Lian Chaoxi, but he managed to get the Sword Master, who had been especially protective since the incident, to agree to send Lou Shuangzui over to help.
On the morning of sending the disciple, Lian Chaoxi wore a purple outfit with blue jacaranda embroidery, draped with a dark blue outer garment. This outfit was custom-made by a famous shop in the Immortal Realm during Lian Chaoxi’s seclusion, ordered by Lou Shuangzui through He Zhibai, using gifts and allowances he received.
“If anyone bullies you, come back to find your master. Your master will stand up for you, but don’t take risks.”
Wen Shunian, who came to pick him up, couldn’t help but roll his eyes at these words, thinking, who would dare provoke this little viper?
Lian Chaoxi then put a small jade bracelet engraved with a protective formation on Lou Shuangzui’s wrist, reminiscing and complaining, “That day scared me to death. If Wen Weili had really hurt you, I would have killed him before Shixiong could.”
“We weren’t always like this, or at least not at the beginning. It seemed to change after the Shen Yuan Secret Realm. I knew Shidi was unhappy about it, so I brought back the protective spirit fruit he needed, but he never gave me a good face again.”
Wen Shunian didn’t interrupt the master and disciple’s conversation, just pursed his lips with a not-so-good expression. After a moment of daze, Lou Shuangzui quickly opened his arms and, for the first time, hugged Lian Chaoxi proactively, saying, “It’s not Shizun’s fault.”
Lian Chaoxi smiled and patted his back.
From that moment on, Wen Shunian unabashedly entrusted many matters that shouldn’t have been given to someone of Lou Shuangzui’s age, allowing him to establish his own intelligence network.
Thus, the discerning people of Chen Yue Sect could see that Lou Shuangzui was likely the next Sect Leader.
He Zhibai was never suited for this role. He was well aware of it, so he didn’t mind his master’s decision and instead grew closer to Lou Shuangzui.
In the blink of an eye, seven years passed, and Lou Shuangzui turned twenty.
At this moment, his suppressed cultivation broke through, entering the Golden Core stage, and his appearance and age were permanently fixed.
He didn’t grow crooked. On the contrary, as the years passed, the features inherited from his mother gradually unfolded. The gloomy and sharp beauty, once shackled by baby fat, became increasingly captivating, and his height finally settled at 5.43 chi (1.81 meters).
He was quite tall, but still not as tall as Lian Chaoxi, who always gave the illusion of not being burly, with a slight difference in height and build.
But these weren’t the main points. The main point was that after reaching the Golden Core stage, one would face the test of three disasters and nine tribulations. The Heavenly Dao would randomly send down one of the three disasters, and Lou Shuangzui’s first encounter was with a fire disaster, the most feared by those with wood attributes.
Yin fire ignited at the Yongquan acupoint, and heavenly fire descended from the sky, vowing to burn his internal organs and skin to ashes.
Red, a sea of red, this was the power of the Heavenly Dao, determined to burn away all the filth and obscurity on the path ahead. It was scorching, bright, unstoppable, yet it grasped the measure of the test.
This great fire lasted for seven days and nights. Lian Chaoxi was alarmed and left his cave to guard beside Lou Shuangzui’s tribulation site, staying for seven days.
After seven days, the young man emerged from the clearing with part of his hair singed, then collapsed into Lian Chaoxi’s arms from exhaustion.
Recovery and stabilizing cultivation after the tribulation didn’t take long, and the randomly occurring nine tribulations were temporarily silent—everyone’s timing was different. Some encountered it right after the tribulation, some during mid-stage cultivation, and others only when breaking through the Golden Core to the Nascent Soul stage.
When Lou Shuangzui woke up, he was lying on Lian Chaoxi’s lap. His master had checked his condition and, finding he was just too tired, lent him his thigh, waiting for Lou Shuangzui to wake up while reviewing some letters and documents.
“I asked Mu Shimei, and she said your tribulation won’t come for another ten years. You can cultivate well before then without worrying too much.” Lian Chaoxi stroked Lou Shuangzui’s increasingly soft hair and turned to the next letter, only to find it was from Wen Shunian to Lou Shuangzui, causing him to frown.
“You just finished your tribulation, and Shixiong is already urging you…”
Lou Shuangzui turned slightly, looking up at him, his beautiful golden eyes filled with amusement. “Shibo values me. Isn’t that a good thing?”
“But you’re still young.” Lian Chaoxi’s face was full of disapproval.
“I’m already twenty, Shizun.” Lou Shuangzui caught a strand of Lian Chaoxi’s hair that fell in front of him, white, not the kind of white from mortal aging or illness, weak like withered grass, but soft, like a wisp of white cloud flowing through his hand.
“So what if you’re twenty? You’re not even a fraction of my age.” Lian Chaoxi pinched Lou Shuangzui’s nose, his eyes filled with indulgent and doting laughter, his voice incredibly gentle. “I was planning to celebrate your twentieth birthday, but you insisted on choosing this day for your tribulation.”
Lou Shuangzui, feeling uncomfortable from the pinch, tried to block it with his hand, but couldn’t match the Sword Master’s strength, so he couldn’t help but laugh and plead, “I was wrong, Shizun, but I wanted to round it up to a whole number, just right for entering a new stage.”
When Lian Chaoxi let go, Lou Shuangzui reached up to grab his fingers, looking at him with curved eyes. “Shizun, at twenty, a man receives his courtesy name. Have you thought of one for me?”
“I have, how could I forget yours?” The white-haired Sword Master nodded at Lou Shuangzui’s nose, which had turned red from the pinch. He found a piece of white paper from the pile beside him, dipped the pen in ink, and wrote down the name he had long thought of.
“They say those who strive often lament having no wings, but why should the forest crow also turn white-headed? I hope my Shuangzui can fly high and far, always free and unrestrained, so I chose this name for you—Yishao.”
Yi, soaring with the wind; Shao, youth not wasted.
He looked at Lou Shuangzui, and the young man revealed his joy, smiling at the Sword Master. “Of course, I like it very much. Thank you, Shizun.”
So Lian Chaoxi also smiled, playing with the small section of Lou Shuangzui’s hair that had been trimmed. The purple eyes sparkled like the dewy morning mist.
Author’s Note:
Shuangzui has OCD, and the Sect Leader is a bit allergic to romance, finding it too cheesy.