This greeting received no response, but Liu Ziyi did not mind.
Before their hems had barely brushed past each other, that long-unheard voice rang out. The hesitant voice uttered a familiar address:
“Xiao-Liu…”
Liu Ziyi’s footsteps paused. The words “Xiao-Liu” felt as though someone had pinched his heart sharply, and a tiny flame in the depths of his chest flared up instantly.
Yet, he managed to maintain his patience, turned around, and looked toward Shen Zhuoqing. Upon looking, he only felt more displeased.
Even though his frame had shot up rapidly over the past few years, his height still seemed unable to surpass Shen Zhuoqing’s, falling short by just a tiny bit. Thinking of how his younger self could only look up eagerly at Shen Zhuoqing and call him “Senior Brother,” anger rose within him. Senior Brother this, Senior Brother that, and yet Shen Zhuoqing had never seemed to care about him all that much.
“Hmm?”
Liu Ziyi let out a hum from his nasal passage, his tone drawn out and slow, clearly not understanding what else Shen Zhuoqing could possibly have to say. Wouldn’t it be just like the usual routine—casually handing out some punishment, and then leaving under the pretext of being busy?
As soon as that sound fell, Liu Ziyi felt Shen Zhuoqing look over toward him.
His Senior Brother possessed a pair of cold phoenix eyes, his willow-like eyebrows displaying utmost severity. He had heard that most of the newly arrived disciples were terrified of this strict senior brother. Yet, Liu Ziyi inexplicably detected a trace of vulnerability within those eyes. It was not very obvious, hidden beneath those slightly furrowed brows and tightly pursed lips, as if he were trying desperately to suppress some kind of impulse. Especially the gaze falling upon his face, which felt as though it would melt away at the slightest touch.
Just as Liu Ziyi was filled with bewilderment because of this, that expression vanished from Shen Zhuoqing’s face as if it had never existed, replaced by an accusatory tone:
“In the past, whenever you went down the mountain, you never reported to the sect, and you would only ever be punished with copying texts and confinement. I suppose that must have been too indulgent of you, so much so that you now dare to lead the newly arrived junior brothers and sisters down the mountain to carouse?”
Hearing Shen Zhuoqing’s reprimand after such a long time, Liu Ziyi raised his eyes with a beaming smile and retorted, “First, the junior brothers went willingly. Second, nobody got hurt. Could it be that our Fuajian Sect has turned into a prison, and going down the mountain is a capital offense?”
“The terrain below the mountain is treacherous, and as a core hub where cultivators travel between various states, the fish and the dragons are mixed together. They are only twelve or thirteen years old, which is truly dangerous. It is simply against the rules for you to lead them down there.”
“I will protect them well.”
Liu Ziyi didn’t listen to Shen Zhuoqing’s high-sounding principles at all. While people said the area below the mountain was a mix of good and bad, in reality, there was only a faction operating there called the Ends of the Earth Inn. Over the years, he had long since become acquainted with Manager Lin of the inn. If he hadn’t been confident in his ability to protect the little rascals, he naturally wouldn’t have acted so impulsively.
Seeing Liu Ziyi being so obstinate, Shen Zhuoqing seemed to stop dwelling on arguing right from wrong. He simply spoke in a faint tone: “You have been stagnant at the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm for three years now, and yet you still have such confidence.”
The sorrow, real or imagined, in this tone completely made Liu Ziyi lose interest in continuing the conversation.
Liu Ziyi averted his gaze, pressed his palm against the slender willow sword at his waist, rubbed his fingertips against it, and raised his voice: “So what if I am? When have you ever cared about these kinds of things anyway?”
It was true that he hadn’t practiced cultivation seriously for the past three years. It wasn’t because he had encountered difficulties; rather, it was precisely because there were no difficulties and everything went smoothly to an unbelievable degree that he had lost interest. If Shen Zhuoqing had treated him with the same strictness as before, he feared it wouldn’t even take half a month for him to immediately advance to the next tier. It wasn’t that Liu Ziyi was conceited; it was just that, in his eyes, cultivation truly was as simple as eating and drinking.
Shen Zhuoqing fell into a brief silence, likely having nothing more to say to that.
Liu Ziyi gave a scoff and turned his head away, his thoughts beginning to drift. He still had to go find Qin Xiaoyi first later on. When they went down the mountain, about half of those junior disciples had been canvassed by Qin Xiaoyi. The two of them had split the work fifty-fifty, but before they had time to exchange intelligence, they had been rounded up in one net by Uncle Fu. If he didn’t hurry up and ask clearly, he was afraid that tonight Xiliu would sneakily slip out of its scabbard and start making a noisy fuss again.
Amidst his wandering thoughts, Liu Ziyi suddenly felt a chill on his wrist. Realizing that this cold hand belonged to Shen Zhuoqing standing right in front of him, every single plan in his mind vanished instantly. What remained was only astonishment.
He immediately pulled his hand back and retreated half a step, only to hear Shen Zhuoqing say in a low voice: “It was Senior Brother’s fault for neglecting to care for you in the past.”
Liu Ziyi parted his lips slightly, his eyes filled with doubt and surprise. And what followed next completely scrambled his brain, causing his thoughts to crash and go offline temporarily. Could he actually live to see the day when Shen Zhuoqing admitted he was in the wrong? And over something like this?
However, Shen Zhuoqing’s words were not yet finished; there was even a next sentence:
“From now on, I will have Master assign some of the sect affairs to the senior disciples under the other elders. Once these administrative duties are reduced, I will have more time to supervise Xiao-Liu’s cultivation and also be able to clear up your doubts.”
Liu Ziyi had yet to recover from the shock. He stared blankly at Shen Zhuoqing for a long time, until he stared him into averting his gaze, before pointing at the tip of his own nose and saying:
“You are going to hand over the sect’s affairs to someone else just for my sake?”
As the Senior Brother, if words like this spread, there would inevitably be malicious gossip. Such a statement was no different from telling all the disciples eyeing the position hungrily that he, Shen Zhuoqing, had no heart for the Sect Master’s seat. As early as four or five years ago, Shen Zhuoqing was already universally recognized within the entire Fuajian Sect as the disciple who best understood propriety and governance, and he was also Shen Qing’s biological child. Taking over the Fuajian Sect in the future would be a matter of course. But if he started delegating these responsibilities now, it would be leaving a rope for those who wanted to drag him down to grasp. This was the world of cultivation; even in a righteous sect like Fuajian, internal strife and the survival of the fittest could never be eliminated.
Shen Zhuoqing merely nodded, then took out a transmission talisman he had prepared beforehand from his hand, and with a flick of his fingertip, sent it out:
“Mn. Senior Brother thinks that at least until Xiao-Liu grows up, I won’t be able to rest easy.”
Liu Ziyi choked for a long time, utterly unable to squeeze out the words asking if he was just exhausted and using him as a shield. Shen Zhuoqing’s gaze was far too earnest, as though he were uttering a solemn vow. Perhaps he had suddenly found his conscience after abandoning his junior brother for three years. Well, even so, Liu Ziyi still felt it was extremely magical.
He flatly refused: “No! I am already twenty years old now; I do not want to be treated like a child.”
With that, he turned to leave, but was lightly cast under an immobilization spell by the person behind him, pinning him right in place. Then Shen Zhuoqing’s voice reached his ear:
“The message has already reached Master’s hands. There is no way to change it anymore.”
Liu Ziyi stood frozen in place, his previous composure finally vanishing. This was still the Senior Brother he knew! That rigid, unyielding, unreasonable, stubborn bad senior brother! He had almost been fooled by Shen Zhuoqing’s apology and guilt. Whether distancing himself and abandoning him, or picking him up and making amends, Shen Zhuoqing never gave him a choice at all.
It infuriated Liu Ziyi so much that his brows knitted tightly together, and he gritted his teeth: “Senior Brother.”
Hearing this name squeezed out from between his teeth, Shen Zhuoqing, who had stepped up in front of him, let a trace of pleasure leak into his eyes, as though he hadn’t noticed the displeasure at all. He leaned in closely with lowered eyes, maintaining an over-the-line distance from Liu Ziyi right there in the main hall of the grand sect.
“Xiao-Liu has finally deigned to call me Senior Brother.”
In his heart, Liu Ziyi vaguely felt the atmosphere was a bit strange, but he ultimately didn’t lean his thoughts in that direction. Seeing Shen Zhuoqing’s expression as calm as usual, yet filled with utter satisfaction in those words, he knew that Shen Zhuoqing was entirely aware he was angry! What a bad senior brother!
Liu Ziyi couldn’t manage to curse him out loud. No matter what, he was still his senior brother, so he simply closed his eyes tight, choosing to shut them to avoid a vexing sight. So what if he dropped his duties to watch over him? It wasn’t as if there were completely no matters for Shen Zhuoqing to be busy with; he would have plenty of chances to slip away.
In the darkness behind his closed eyes, Liu Ziyi heard Shen Zhuoqing’s faint, light breathing—it seemed he had chuckled. However, the immobilization spell on his body was lifted almost immediately, allowing Liu Ziyi to open his eyes and rapidly take a step backward to put some distance between himself and Shen Zhuoqing.
Without turning back to look at him, Shen Zhuoqing merely said, “Let us return to the cliff. We will make up for today’s morning and evening lessons. Afterwards, I will inspect Xiao-Liu’s swordsmanship level, and finally, you will copy the precepts and sect rules.”
Translated into plain terms, that meant: Go back to class! Practice the sword! Spar with Shen Zhuoqing and get beaten up! And finally, copy the precepts and sect rules!
Looking at the setting sun of the dusk, Liu Ziyi felt his life turn pitch black—had his good days really come to an end just like that? Even so, Liu Ziyi merely let out a fierce hmph behind his back and followed along anyway.
For some reason, although he didn’t like being reined in and had even enjoyed the unrestrained, carefree freedom of the past three years, when Shen Zhuoqing turned back to fetch him, he inexplicably found himself unable to throw a massive tantrum or make a rebellious escape. He was someone who dared to take responsibility for his actions; he wouldn’t throw a temper tantrum just over a punishment.
Liu Ziyi strolled along behind Shen Zhuoqing, and gradually even the stifled anger in his heart dissipated quite a bit. There’s no helping it, I’m just one of those rare people who holds no grudges and is easy to coax, Liu Ziyi thought.
It was just that all his plans would have to be postponed for a few days. He only hoped that Xiliu at his waist wouldn’t make things difficult for him; if anyone else discovered the existence of this fellow, who knew how many troublesome matters would follow.
Just as Liu Ziyi slowed his pace, creating a gap between himself and Shen Zhuoqing as they headed out of the hall, the sword at his waist suddenly began to vibrate slightly, catching his attention. Keeping his composure, Liu Ziyi patted the scabbard, but that failed to stop the abnormal movement. He had no choice but to quietly take hold of the sword and draw it open just a crack.
“Danger! Danger.”
Who would have thought that this little fellow had a voice that was anything but small? Leaving a crack couldn’t suppress it at all. With that single roar, to say nothing of Shen Zhuoqing ahead, even any cultivator within ten meters outside the hall could hear it crystal clear!
Liu Ziyi slammed the sword back into its scabbard with a crisp clang.
“Xiao-Liu?”
Shen Zhuoqing turned back around ahead of him, looking with incomprehension at Liu Ziyi, who was clutching his scabbard. He looked for all the world like he was about to draw his sword and start hacking people to death on the spot.
Liu Ziyi gave an awkward cough, acted as though nothing was wrong, and rehung Xiliu back at his waist. In the depths of his heart, however, he cursed this little fellow a hundred and eighty times before looking straight at Shen Zhuoqing and saying deadpan:
“What is it? Just looking at my sword!”
Seeing Shen Zhuoqing look puzzled yet helplessly forced to lead the way again, Liu Ziyi finally let out a sigh of relief. It seems outsiders can’t hear Xiliu’s voice? That roar of his almost scared my soul right out of my body.
Liu Ziyi frowned and looked up at the sky, seeing that the guardian mountain array above the firmament was still a perfect barrier. In his heart, he felt that Xiliu made minor disturbances every three days and major freaks every five. Instead, he raised his hand and gave a fierce slap to Xiliu, who was still vibrating away at his waist.
Danger? What danger, yelling blindly! What kind of danger could there possibly be inside the Fuajian Sect?
The sizes of their palms, which hadn’t overlapped in countless years, were now practically identical. Shen Zhuoqing seemed to have turned back with the intention of holding his hand. Holding hands like that was something he only used to do when he was fourteen or fifteen! Shen Zhuoqing was so childish.
Thinking this, Liu Ziyi folded his arms and dodged away, shouting, “I am already grown up.”
The former smiled without a word, only that the desolate expression when he turned his back no longer fell into Liu Ziyi’s sight.