Lou Shuangzui used to be a prince, a prince whose maternal family was isolated and whose foster mother harbored ill intentions. If he didn’t have some skills, he would have been dead long ago. Moreover, in his past life, he was a mercenary walking the line between life and death. Judging him by the standards of a normal child would definitely lead to underestimating him.
He was always good at reading people’s emotions, especially those in front of him who were still young and not very good at hiding their feelings.
Yulan was genuinely happy for Lian Chaoxi, her eyes were bright and filled with joy. Qian Mo, although silent, was still obedient. However, the youngest, Hua Mao, couldn’t hide his discontent.
Qian Mo noticed it too. She turned her head to glance at Hua Mao and frowned.
Afterward, Lian Chaoxi patted Lou Shuangzui’s head, arranged to meet later at the Sect Leader’s Hall, and then returned to handle paperwork.
Hua Mao was the one to take Lou Shuangzui to the storeroom to get his daily necessities. He walked quickly ahead with his head down.
This was a mountainous area, and although there was a path, it wasn’t easy to walk. But Hua Mao had no intention of waiting for Lou Shuangzui, striding ahead with a sullen face.
However, Lou Shuangzui’s experience from two lifetimes had given him excellent skills. Not to mention mountain paths, even cliffs wouldn’t stop him, so he followed along steadily.
Hua Mao looked up and got even angrier. He walked a few steps to a flat area, stopped, and turned back to glare at Lou Shuangzui, “Don’t think you’re so great just because you’re an inner disciple!”
“What makes you say that?” Lou Shuangzui stopped, arms crossed, and glanced at Hua Mao nonchalantly. There was still some distance between them, to prevent any physical conflict due to emotional agitation on the mountain path.
He wasn’t angry at all because this level of conflict, being a straightforward argument rather than something done in secret, showed that Hua Mao’s character wasn’t too troublesome, not enough to concern Lou Shuangzui.
But even a not-so-fierce look, like watching a joke, was enough to make the angry Hua Mao feel like cold water had been poured on him, his back tensed, and his momentum quickly weakened.
“You, you…” Hua Mao looked at Lou Shuangzui warily, his intuition telling him not to offend this person, but youthful spirit bolstered his courage. “Sister Qian Mo knows the finances of Sword Peak best. She’s been managing it for years. You come and want to take her job! So what if you’re an inner disciple? Our spiritual roots may not match yours, but does that mean we can’t handle this?”
“Hmph…” Lou Shuangzui chuckled softly, not bothering to say much. His eyes shifted to the side, accurately locking onto Qian Mo’s hiding spot. “Is that what you think too, Miss Qian Mo?”
“No, I don’t.” Being discovered, there was no point in hiding anymore, especially since Qian Mo hadn’t rushed over to watch a show. She was just a step too late to stop Hua Mao from speaking rudely.
“We can’t even reach the Foundation Establishment stage, our lifespan is at most a hundred years. These things will eventually be handed over to the Peak Master’s disciples. I have no reason to be unwilling, especially since…”
Her black eyes glanced at Lou Shuangzui, as if recalling something. “Before the Peak Master saved me, I was a maid in the household of a concubine of a prime minister in one of the small worlds among the Three Thousand Worlds. I’ve seen the prime minister, but your aura is no less than his. Those in high positions are mostly trained in knowledge and ability from a young age, and it’s rare for them to be completely clueless about finances.”
She looked helplessly at Hua Mao, who was feeling guilty, and grabbed his sleeve, pulling him over. Her seemingly soft fingers were actually quite strong as she pressed Hua Mao’s head, forcing him to apologize.
“Sorry, Hua Mao is mischievous and likes to play with outer disciples and servants from other peaks, learning things he shouldn’t.”
Lou Shuangzui had no intention of arguing with a child. However, if Lian Chaoxi wasn’t around, Sword Peak would be under his control. His strong desire for control meant he wanted his territory, from the palace of the past to the mountain peak of today, to be free of instability.
So his golden eyes fell heavily on Qian Mo’s face, making the girl, who was still somewhat at ease, involuntarily tremble. “Which other peaks specifically?”
“Don’t say you can’t tell. With the Sect Leader’s abilities, the relationship between most inner and outer disciples isn’t that bad, right?”
“It’s… Transformation Peak, Seventh Elder.” Qian Mo’s eyes flickered. She hadn’t noticed this before because those people were often mixed together. But now, thinking carefully, although there were some outer disciples from other peaks mixed in, the ones she knew and often talked to were all from Transformation Peak. Thinking about it, she could almost determine who was leading them.
—Those who practice the Path of Transformation are more common in Tiandao Sect. Chen Yue Sect’s Path of Transformation is rare, not enough to establish a peak, until Wen Weili’s incident left him with nowhere to go, leading to the creation of this peak in Chen Yue Sect.
Qian Mo’s past experience with the concubine’s household battles in the prime minister’s residence made her mind turn quickly. She immediately realized something, and combining it with the rumors about Transformation Peak, the girl widened her eyes. “Seventh Elder…”
Lou Shuangzui raised his hand, stopping her from speaking further. Although he was nearly ten years younger than Qian Mo, a single glance from him made the girl instinctively fall silent.
“Without evidence, speaking now would make it seem like we’re bullying people behind their backs.”
His tone was calm. Although he had heard about this elder twice in one day, both times unpleasant, the current clues weren’t enough to draw a conclusion.
Qian Mo quickly calmed down. She glanced at Hua Mao, gritting her teeth. “Senior Brother, I’ll keep an eye on Hua Mao and make sure he stays away from the people from Transformation Peak.”
Unknowingly, the “Senior Brother” she addressed Lou Shuangzui with was no longer just a polite term but carried a hint of respect.
The girl recalled the words those from Transformation Peak had said to Hua Mao. Qian Mo had heard them too, but she was more grateful and respectful to Lian Chaoxi, so she never took them to heart.
But now, thinking about those words, they were all malicious attempts to sow discord!
Hua Mao’s face was full of confusion. He didn’t quite understand how Qian Mo reached this conclusion or what consensus these two had reached. To him, those people were still friends, so he couldn’t help but want to speak up for them.
He opened his mouth, “No, Senior Sister…”
Before he could finish, Qian Mo had already covered his mouth, her voice low. “I’ll explain when we get back. Don’t speak now.”
Hua Mao blinked, feeling wronged, and closed his mouth.
To prevent her little junior brother from causing trouble, Qian Mo accompanied them the whole way. She quickly helped Lou Shuangzui tidy up his room and then left with Hua Mao, pulling his ear and wearing a stern face.
After checking the room and selecting a few image-retaining stones from the jade given by Uncle Wen Guyue to place in the corners, Lou Shuangzui quickly headed to the Sect Leader’s Hall.
Lian Chaoxi was sitting at the desk in the Sect Leader’s Hall, reviewing documents. He appeared expressionless, but Lou Shuangzui inexplicably felt he was tired. In fact, it wasn’t an illusion because when Lian Chaoxi saw him enter, his eyes lit up, and the Immortal Master shook his head, looking much more spirited.
“Shuangzui…” The Immortal Master dragged out his words, making Lou Shuangzui inexplicably hear a hint of grievance.
…What could be so troublesome to handle?
Lou Shuangzui was genuinely curious. He walked over to the desk, lowered his head beside Lian Chaoxi, and took a look—only three sentences, simple and clear. Basically, it meant that the neighboring Magic Peak felt the two peaks were too close, and newcomers often got lost in the Sword Peak forest, asking Sword Peak to handle the issue.
Those golden eyes blinked in confusion. Lou Shuangzui was puzzled, “You don’t look well? Why?”
Lian Chaoxi covered his face with his hand, his voice weak. “You should understand, right? So what… what should I do? People getting lost in Sword Peak’s territory, what can I do?”
“I can’t possibly… stand guard all the time to send lost people out, can I? Sister Hua is getting more and more humorous.”
Magic Peak’s Peak Master, Hua Ningqi, with an Ice Spiritual Root at the early Nascent Soul stage, had a stubborn personality and wasn’t good at communication. Yet, she had a loli face, unlike Lian Chaoxi, who looked distant, making new disciples hesitant to choose her.
So every time someone crossed the Ten Thousand Cloud Ladder, if there wasn’t a disciple the Peak Master wanted, things would end up like this—
“Sister! Please help!”
Hua Ningqi: “…?”
“Keep the newcomers at your Magic Peak! Our peak really can’t accommodate so many people!”
Hua Ningqi: “…×”
“Thank you, Sister!”
Hua Ningqi: “…!”
If someone else took over the outer disciples, it would be fine. New disciples could be casually guided, and once they reached Foundation Establishment, they could be sent to the sect’s classroom for guidance. But it was Hua Ningqi, and she was a mute gourd. Her personal disciple originally had a wind attribute, but perhaps from spending too much time with her master, it turned from a gentle breeze to a cold wind, also a mute gourd.
Two mute gourds couldn’t speak at all. Squeezing out a few words was already a struggle, let alone familiarizing disciples with the Magic Peak environment. So Magic Peak disciples getting lost due to unfamiliarity with the terrain was common. Getting lost on their own peak, occasionally wandering too far, they would end up at Sword Peak, Beast Taming Peak, or Talisman Array Peak.
Then they’d be picked up by kind disciples from other peaks and sent back, or the next day, when checking for people, Hua Ningqi would finally realize something was wrong and fly around to bring them back.
Listening to Lian Chaoxi’s explanation, Lou Shuangzui’s expression grew more peculiar. He blinked, pondered for a moment, “In short… as long as they don’t get lost on Sword Peak, our problem is solved, right?”
Lian Chaoxi nodded solemnly, “That’s not wrong.”
“In that case, let’s set up some conspicuous stone tablets at the junction between Sword Peak and Magic Peak to remind them not to come over. Just in case, we can also put up some signposts in the mountains to guide Magic Peak disciples back. What do you think?”
Lian Chaoxi thought about it and felt it was indeed a good idea. At worst, he could have the immortal servants and attendants check more often to ensure the signs weren’t lost or skewed.
And so, they continued reviewing documents one by one. The master and disciple, one speaking and one writing, unknowingly worked until the moon set in the west, and the pile of documents on the table was mostly dealt with.
When the last word was written, Lian Chaoxi let out a long breath. He tossed the brush into a prepared dish of clean water and then reached out to pull Lou Shuangzui into his arms.
The long white hair mixed with Lou Shuangzui’s black curls, and the immortal seemed like a big white cat exhausted of all its strength, sighing while holding his little disciple.
“Shuangzui~ I really hate dealing with these things…”
Lou Shuangzui wasn’t used to such close contact with people, so he stiffened at first. But he quickly reacted, reaching out to touch Lian Chaoxi’s wrist resting on his chest.
“If that’s the case, let me share the burden for Master?”
He spoke half sincerely, half tentatively. He remembered the three-tenths of the spirit stones he had chosen, which included a large proportion, probably hundreds, of image-retaining stones.
—The lack of surveillance in the immortal world made Lou Shuangzui uncomfortable. It was fine outside, but even on his own territory, it was easy for people to play tricks, which made him feel insecure.
But if he could gain enough management authority, combined with those image-retaining stones…
Thinking this, he lowered his eyes, hiding the darkness in his pupils.
Could he gather enough evidence to pull down the Seventh Elder, who made Lian Chaoxi feel gloomy, from his pedestal?
Author’s Note:
Beware of a control freak snake appearing ahead.jpg