The utter confusion in Li Yijiu’s eyes stood out amid the disciples’ looks of enlightened admiration.
Fu Yangzi thought this genius known as “Dadao Zhijian” must have some special insight, so he asked, “Do you have any thoughts?”
The disciples were shocked. Could this gentle Elder Fu Yangzi really be the same person they knew?
What had Fifty-Nine done to him???
The one who felt the most aggrieved was Yin Lan.
She had already chosen her path and wanted to stay at Talisman Peak. Whenever Fu Yangzi lectured, she was always eager to participate and had showered him with plenty of flattery.
The Elder had never once softened his expression toward her, yet now he was being so gentle with Li Yijiu!
Yin Lan noticed that her favorite Earth Grade wolf-hair brush was still hanging from Li Yijiu’s waist, and she grew even more irritated. She wanted to see what sort of lofty insight Fifty-Nine, who had scored full marks on the talisman arts examination, could possibly have!
Everyone waited for Li Yijiu’s insight.
Li Yijiu said, “…I do have a thought, but I’m not sure whether I should say it.”
If anyone else had said that, Fu Yangzi would definitely have snapped, “If you know you shouldn’t say it, then shut up.”
But facing “Dadao Zhijian,” his Thunder Lord face broke into a peculiar smile, something between kindness and encouragement. “Go ahead. It’s all right if you’re wrong.”
So Li Yijiu spoke frankly. “The picture on the book’s cover is a turtle.”
Fu Yangzi’s expression froze.
The disciples stared, dumbfounded.
What had they just heard…?
A t-turtle?
She was saying the mysterious talisman pattern on Patriarch Mingdeng’s book cover was a turtle???
How dare she?!
Fu Yangzi had just spent two whole hours passionately analyzing the mysterious pattern. His smile slowly stiffened. “…Say that again?”
Xilin Lulu frantically signaled to Li Yijiu with her eyes.
Danger, danger, danger, danger, danger, danger!
Li Yijiu remained unmoved. Thinking he hadn’t heard her, she helpfully repeated herself. “It’s a turtle.”
“A turtle?”
Fu Yangzi’s smile vanished completely. His brows drew together, his face brewing a storm. With a bang, the spiritwood desk beneath his palm disintegrated into dust.
The disciples fell silent, hardly daring to breathe.
There it was! That was the Elder Fu Yangzi they knew!
But Li Yijiu was still perfectly calm.
As expected of Fifty-Nine—what nerve!
Pointing at Li Yijiu, Fu Yangzi roared so loudly his voice shook the room. “You’re the one who looks like a turtle! How could a brat like you possibly comprehend the profound meaning of the talisman patterns left behind by the Patriarch?!”
The brat Li Yijiu: “…”
It really was just a turtle…
Though the drawing wasn’t quite standard, since she’d made her cultivation partner draw it while they were fooling around, surely anyone could tell at a glance that it was a turtle?
They could spend that long analyzing a turtle? She was starting to worry about the mental state of her disciples and grand-disciples.
Li Yijiu looked at Fu Yangzi with concern. “Are you all right?”
“…”
Fu Yangzi nearly choked on his own breath.
What Dadao Zhijian? What peerless genius? What utter bullshit! She was a complete ignoramus!
Fu Yangzi was so furious that even the hand pointing at Li Yijiu was trembling.
“You—you…”
Li Yijiu said patiently, “It’s all right. Take your time. Don’t rush.”
“…”
Fu Yangzi thrust The Complete Talisman Compendium of Patriarch Mingdeng into her hands. “So it’s a turtle, is it? Draw it a hundred times for me and see if it’s still a turtle!”
Li Yijiu: “…”
She could draw it ten thousand times, and it would still be a turtle.
Fu Yangzi took a Heart-Protecting Pill, clutched his chest, and walked out of the classroom. “I must have been blind. A rotten piece of wood can’t be carved. A rotten piece of wood can’t be carved…”
“…”
Li Yijiu looked at the book in her hands and shook her head. How could they fail to recognize such an adorable little turtle? Honestly, these disciples and grand-disciples of hers…
The Patriarch was truly worried for them.
“Fellow Daoist Li.”
Only after Fu Yangzi had disappeared from sight did Xilin Lulu dare speak. Lowering her voice, she said to Li Yijiu, “I thought it looked like a turtle too, but I didn’t dare say so. You’re so brave…”
She gave her a thumbs-up.
Fellow Daoist Li really was something else. She dared to act up right in front of Thunder Lord.
The other disciples also stared at Li Yijiu, their eyes wide with amazement. Every time they thought she couldn’t possibly be any more reckless, she proved through her actions that there was no limit to how far she would go!
Didn’t she want to stay in the sect?
Was something wrong with her?
Most of the disciples were happy to watch the show.
Yin Lan cast a pained glance at the wolf-hair brush at Li Yijiu’s waist, then gave a schadenfreude-filled snort. “As expected of Fifty-Nine. What a truly original insight…”
That ignoramus would be expelled from the sect sooner or later!
She’d heard Li Yijiu got full marks on the talisman examination and thought she must be impressive. As expected, it was just a blind cat stumbling across a dead mouse—pure dumb luck. She’d sullied Yin Lan’s precious brush!
“Original” was a compliment.
So Li Yijiu said, “Thanks for the compliment.”
Then she untied the wolf-hair brush from her waist. “I’ve noticed you’ve looked at it hundreds of times. Are you reluctant to part with your Earth Grade spirit artifact? Do you want it back?”
“…”
What was wrong with this woman?!
Even if Yin Lan wanted it back, after Li Yijiu put it that way, she couldn’t exactly ask for it!
Yin Lan flushed with anger. “Who’s been looking at it?! It’s only an Earth Grade spirit artifact. I have plenty of them. Why would I be reluctant to part with it?!”
Li Yijiu asked sincerely, “Really? You’re sure you’re not reluctant to part with it? I was only joking and was about to give it back. But since you put it that way, I’ll keep it, then?”
“…”
Yin Lan’s face twisted. Looking at her beloved brush was like a knife twisting in her heart. She badly wanted to snatch it back, but with so many people watching, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Gritting her teeth, she said, “I said I don’t want it, so I don’t want it! I never use things someone else has touched! Take it!”
“Thank you. You’re so rich.”
Li Yijiu accepted the brush without hesitation, then glanced at the sword at Yin Lan’s waist. “I like your sword too. Could I touch it?”
“…”
Was she a bandit?!
Terrified, Yin Lan clutched her sword and backed away several steps, furious and alarmed. She wanted to curse Li Yijiu out, but worried that she might accidentally “generously” give Fifty-Nine something else.
“You—you…”
For a long while, she couldn’t manage a complete sentence. In the end, she could only fling out a thoroughly harmless “You shameless woman!” before storming away.
The Patriarch was deeply disappointed not to have gotten a rise out of her.
Xie Lang passed by Li Yijiu and spoke with concern. “…Fellow Daoist, did you go to all that trouble to enter the sect just so you could get kicked out?”
Li Yijiu thought about it. “I don’t think I went to all that much trouble.”
“…”
The disciples who had gone to all that trouble to enter the sect: Hatred +999!
Li Yijiu habitually ignored the murderous looks and strolled out of the classroom, unconcerned. “It’s just a turtle. What’s the big deal?”
“…”
Was the turtle really the point?
The point was that she’d offended an Elder!
The Elders of each peak held the power to decide who could enter the inner sect on Dao Selection Day. The other disciples were racking their brains to impress the Elders and win their favor.
And there she was, sprinting in the opposite direction!
Xie Lang sighed and put a bottle of Brain-Boosting Pills into Li Yijiu’s hand. “Fellow Daoist, try to be a little more sensible.”
“…”
Wasn’t he the one who was thickheaded?
Li Yijiu didn’t leave Talisman Peak with Xilin Lulu and the other disciples to attend the inner core cultivation class on Main Peak.
Instead, she went to the Talisman Pavilion.
Fu Yangzi was drawing talismans at the desk facing the main entrance, trying to calm his mind. The moment Li Yijiu appeared, he pressed too hard with his brush and ruined the talisman.
Li Yijiu glanced at it. He was drawing the “mysterious talisman pattern.” For a moment, she didn’t know what to say, so she settled for, “Elder, you’ve drawn it so accurately.”
It was exactly like the turtle in the book.
“…”
Fu Yangzi’s temple throbbed. He flung the wolf-hair brush onto the desk, frightening the personal disciple attending to his ink and brushes. “What are you doing here?!”
Had she come just to anger him?!
Li Yijiu wasn’t intimidated in the slightest.
“I’m here to collect talisman paper.”
The sect provided its disciples with the basic supplies they needed for their studies. Any disciple interested in talisman arts could come here to collect a set amount of ordinary talisman-making materials.
That was one of the benefits of joining a major sect.
Supplies outside the sect were all expensive.
The Patriarch was currently penniless, so she could only sponge off her disciples and grand-disciples.
Fu Yangzi took a deep breath and impatiently ordered his personal disciple, “Take her to collect them!”
The personal disciple hurriedly whisked Li Yijiu away. “You must be the legendary Fellow Daoist Fifty-Nine! What did you grow up eating to make you so brave?”
“…”
Was this Fifty-Nine joke never going to end?
Li Yijiu said, “My name is Li Yijiu.”
“Of course, of course, Fifty-Nine.” The personal disciple quickly gathered talisman paper, cinnabar, and the other supplies, then handed them to her. “Now hurry up and go! Next time, try to score ninety-nine!”
“…”
Li Yijiu took the supplies and left.
As she passed Fu Yangzi’s desk, she set a jade bottle on its corner. Fu Yangzi assumed she had come to apologize and gave a cold snort.
“Take it back!”
But Li Yijiu kept up her usual style from the day of the examination: she was fast on her feet.
She was gone in no time.
Fu Yangzi was never one to accept gifts from his disciples, but his anger had eased somewhat. He thought, At least she knows how to admit when she’s wrong. Then he opened the jade bottle…
Inside were—Brain-Boosting Pills!
What utter bullshit about knowing how to admit she was wrong!
She’d come here just to make him angry!
“Li. Yi. Jiu!”
Li Yijiu had already left Talisman Peak, but she could still hear Fu Yangzi’s booming voice. She shook her head and sighed. Why was this grand-disciple of hers so full of ire?
Looks like he needed some Fire-Clearing Pills too.
As for the Brain-Boosting Pills, when she saw him sitting there drawing a turtle with such a straight face, she genuinely thought he needed them, so she’d given them to him.
It was the Patriarch’s heartfelt kindness.