At first glance, those words sounded harmless.
But listening closely, Chen Ji felt they were subtly belittling Liu Jingyun and Qiu Lingzhou while elevating him. Even though the facts were as they described, he despised this kind of pulling one down to lift another up behavior.
“If Lingzhou and Jingyun make mistakes, it is ultimately my shortcoming,” Chen Ji said.
Jiang Cichao’s brow furrowed, and he said softly, “A-Ji, what does this have to do with you?”
“I entered the sect before them, yet my cultivation is inferior. Because of that, they never received a formal way of training. Jingyun and Lingzhou are exceptional talents with immense spiritual power, and that is precisely why they lack restraint when they spar. If my power were above theirs, I could stop them when they overstep.”
Chen Ji let out a heavy sigh. “In the end, it is still my fault.”
“Senior Brother, this has nothing to do with you.” Qiu Lingzhou’s brow lowered slightly, appearing somewhat angry. “Stop constantly taking my mistakes upon yourself.”
“A son’s lack of upbringing is the father’s fault! You stay quiet and listen, no talking back!” Chen Ji scolded him sternly.
Knowing he was in the wrong from before, Qiu Lingzhou did not dare to argue.
“Senior Brother Cichao, you see? They are willing to listen to reason; they just cannot control their strength yet,” Chen Ji said.
The surrounding disciples were speechless. They only listen to you, though.
Jiang Cichao forced a stiff smile. “A-Ji, since you defend them so much, I have nothing more to say. This is Bone-Severing Ointment. Elder Luying said your foot injury is severe and asked me to bring this to you.”
“Alright. Once my foot is better, I will find time to go and thank Elder Luying personally.”
Jiang Cichao wanted to say more, but glancing at Qiu Lingzhou and Liu Jingyun beside Chen Ji, the words died in his throat. He hurriedly said, “I have other things to attend to, I’ll be going now,” and left.
Chen Ji did not linger either, leading his two unfilial sons back to rest. Qiu Lingzhou and Liu Jingyun, having been slightly spooked by Tianjizi, spent the next two days quietly accompanying Chen Ji while he recovered.
Their spiritual power was strong, and after two days of regulating their breathing, their injuries were mostly healed. Unable to sit still any longer, the two went to the back mountains to spar.
Sitting in the courtyard, Chen Ji watched the trees in the back mountains fall one by one and felt quite relieved. It did not matter if the trees fell, as long as it was not a house.
In a flash, over half a month passed, and the early spring weather began to warm.
One morning, after finishing breakfast, Chen Ji lay in his rocking chair. He watched the two figures sparring in the back mountains and then looked at Feng Zhimu, who was sitting nearby practicing his mental cultivation. Chen Ji’s lips curled up slightly as he took a sip of tea.
This was what being a Big Senior Brother should be like: watching his junior brothers work diligently at their cultivation while he enjoyed his tea in leisure.
“Little Ji, long time no see. You are looking more and more like a proper Big Senior Brother.”
A voice sounded from behind him.
Startled, Chen Ji’s hand slipped, and the tea he was holding drenched a large patch of his clothes. He did not bother cleaning up, instead spinning around to see the speaker, none other than their irresponsible master, Haiyangzi.
“You old geezer! You finally decided to come back!” Chen Ji clenched his fists in anger.
Haiyangzi chuckled, picked up the teapot from the table, and took a long swig directly from the spout. “Little Ji, we have not seen each other in so long and your temper is still this explosive. How have you been getting along with your junior brothers?”
“Do you actually care about me and your other disciples? I thought you were having so much fun out there you forgot you had four students,” Chen Ji said irritably.
Facing the grumpy Chen Ji, Haiyangzi continued to smile. His gaze landed on Feng Zhimu.
Feng Zhimu walked over and bowed respectfully. “Greetings, Master.”
“Little Zhimu is quite good, very polite. Little Ji, you should learn from your junior brother,” Haiyangzi remarked.
Chen Ji gave a huff but did not respond.
Haiyangzi patted Feng Zhimu’s shoulders, feeling his physical constitution. “A good talent. By my count, you have not been in the sect for even a month yet?”
“Yes, today is my twenty-third day.”
“To have this level of cultivation in twenty-three days is excellent!”
“Old man, you rarely come back. Did you really just return to see if we were doing well?” Chen Ji could not help but ask.
“I did return for a specific reason, but I’ll wait until your other two brothers are back to announce it.” Haiyangzi looked toward the clearing in the back mountains and shouted, “Little Jingyun, Little Lingzhou! Master is back, come here for a moment!”
Haiyangzi infused his voice with spiritual energy, making it so loud that even Liu Jingyun and Qiu Lingzhou in the distance could hear it clearly. Hearing their master’s voice, they stopped their sparring and quickly flew back.
Seeing that it was indeed Haiyangzi, the two bowed with reasonable politeness. “Disciples greet Master.”
“Aya, every one of you has grown into quite a handsome young man.”
Haiyangzi stood up and walked over to them, scanning them from head to toe. “Not bad, not bad. It seems you have been practicing well; your dantians are full of spiritual energy.”
“Master, you rarely return. How many days will you be staying?” Qiu Lingzhou asked.
Haiyangzi replied, “Until tomorrow. I leave tomorrow.”
“So soon?” Chen Ji frowned.
Haiyangzi laughed. “One meeting is enough. Little Ji, do not miss this old man too much.”
“Old man, do you know that half a month ago, our Emerald Bamboo Peak…”
“I know. Senior Brother Sect Leader already sent a letter to tell me. That is why I came back. Little Ji, you and Little Jingyun should go down the mountain together tomorrow for experience.”
Chen Ji and Liu Jingyun were both startled.
Chen Ji asked in shock, “Old man, you know what happened at Emerald Bamboo Peak half a month ago and you still want us to go down for experience?!”
Half a month had passed, and Emerald Bamboo Peak had long been rebuilt, but Tianjizi had insisted they stay at Juyang Peak out of concern for their safety. Haiyangzi coming back and immediately sending them away felt like he was sending them to their deaths!
“Senior Brother Sect Leader told me. That bastard Ghost King has a grudge against the Tianyun Sect and will continue to cause trouble for our disciples. But when you go down, just do not wear your sect uniforms, wouldn’t that solve it?” Haiyangzi said easily.
Chen Ji suppressed the urge to hit him. “Old man, do you realize that Ghost King knows what the four of us look like?”
“I know.”
“You know, and you are still making us leave?”
“A-Ji, staying at Juyang Peak indefinitely is not the answer. Even though Emerald Bamboo Peak is sect territory, it is still isolated. If you return there, that fellow might take advantage of the opening again. So, it is better to go down and travel. If you are constantly moving with no fixed residence, it will be much harder for him to find you.”
Chen Ji lowered his eyes and thought about it, suddenly finding Haiyangzi’s logic very sound.
“Besides,” Haiyangzi added, “you have reached the age to see the world. There is no need to keep staying on Emerald Bamboo Peak. You go with Little Jingyun.”
Chen Ji nodded. “Since you put it that way, I will listen.”
“Master,” Qiu Lingzhou interjected, “if Senior Brother and Liu Dog are going down together, what about me and Feng Zhimu?”