“What did you say just now doesn’t seem to be that sentence,” Ji Lan said, feeling a bit dazed, though he figured it wouldn’t be anything important. Looking at his stern disciple, he gave a light cough. “Chenxiao, you are also going to be a senior brother. You must set a good example for your junior martial brothers and junior martial sisters, right?”
Mo Chenxiao lowered his gaze, the veins on his hands hidden beneath his wide sleeves bulging, yet his expression remained completely calm. “Yes, Master.”
“Ji Lan, how old are you?” Xiao Yuwei could not help complaining. “Why are you still not as steady as your disciple?”
He had no idea what Ji Lan had encountered during his last seclusion, but his entire demeanor had completely changed.
In the past, Xiao Yuwei had resisted her engagement to Ji Lan with every fiber of her being, not only because of her younger brother, but also because of issues with Ji Lan himself. Yet now, Ji Lan had changed, and it might even be for her sake.
Xiao Yuwei could not help feeling a slight flutter in her heart; perhaps she should give Ji Lan a chance.
“Ji Lan, my parents will be coming back soon,” Xiao Yuwei thought for a moment and continued. “I allow you to come with me to see them.”
Did this mean his fiancée was acknowledging the relationship between them?
“What kind of expression is that?” Xiao Yuwei asked, looking displeased at Ji Lan’s worried expression. “You don’t want to go?”
“No,” Ji Lan said, weighing his tone carefully. “Yuwei, I am just too happy.”
“Hmph.” Xiao Yuwei was finally satisfied. Without even looking at the others, she said, “Now that you know, I’m leaving.”
Xiao Yuwei didn’t care whether Ji Lan took on disciples or not; she only wanted to tell him the news of her parents’ return.
“Elder Brother Mo,” Wansong asked cautiously, “Is Elder Xiao going to be your master’s wife?”
Wansong felt at a loss. In his heart, he didn’t want Elder Xiao to marry Elder Qinglian.
Yet, by what right did he feel unwilling?
Wansong couldn’t figure it out.
“Master, Elder Xiao is still young,” Mo Chenxiao said in a deep voice. “This disciple thinks we can wait until Elder Xiao is a bit older before considering marriage matters.”
“Young Master Mo makes a good point,” Yu Zhengyang chimed in gloomily as well. “Ji Lan, Elder Xiao is so young yet already thinking about marriage. I don’t think she is the right match for you.”
Ji Lan felt a bit piqued. What was Mo Chenxiao playing at? As for Yu Zhengyang’s remark, he automatically tuned it out.
Showing disrespect and committing offenses against a superior, Mo Chenxiao actually dared to pull this right to his face?
In order to prevent Xiao Yuwei from marrying him, he even dragged out an irrelevant point like age.
“Chenxiao,” Ji Lan said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, “As your master, I intend for you to guide your future junior brothers and sisters, not for you to guide me right now.”
Seeing Ji Lan’s expression, Mo Chenxiao’s eyelids twitched.
For a very long time, Mo Chenxiao had been the one giving orders, having grown accustomed to others submitting to him.
This time, he had slipped up. At this point in time, he was still just an inner disciple in the Sword Pavilion, one who took beatings and insults without a word, holding a status even lower than outer disciples.
“Chenxiao knows his fault,” Mo Chenxiao stepped back half a step, cupped his fists, and said, “Please punish me, Master.”
When a disciple begs for punishment from their master, they are generally expected to kneel.
Yet Mo Chenxiao kept his spine straight, merely lowering his head slightly.
Ji Lan pressed his lips together. He was wrong; he regretted it. He shouldn’t have provoked the male lead with a remark like that.
Did the male lead’s posture look anything like someone admitting fault? Who knew, he might even be holding a grudge against him!
Make him kneel! Zhen’er suddenly chimed in with a sinister tone. If he won’t kneel to his master, it’s a crime on top of a crime! Host, this is such a great opportunity to humiliate the male lead, you must not let him off!
“That posture of yours doesn’t look much like asking a master for punishment,” Yu Zhengyang said with a chuckle. “It looks more like you’re interrogating one!”
What was Yu Zhengyang sticking his nose in for now?
Before Ji Lan had time to scold Zhen’er or stop Yu Zhengyang, he heard a loud thud. Mo Chenxiao bent his noble knees and dropped straight to the ground, kneeling rigidly. “This disciple asks Master to punish him!”
What kind of mess was this?
Ji Lan pinched his own thigh to force himself to stay calm. “As long as you know you’re at fault, that’s enough. Chenxiao, go chop all the firewood in the outer courtyard. You aren’t allowed to eat until you finish chopping it all. This is my punishment for you.”
Yu Zhengyang looked at Ji Lan in astonishment. Was this even considered a punishment?
Mo Chenxiao, however, raised his head, his gaze fixed firmly on Ji Lan. “Yes, Master!”
After dropping those three resolute words, Mo Chenxiao went straight off to chop firewood.
Why did his disciple’s reaction look almost happy?
Ji Lan felt rather bewildered. Looking at Yu Zhengyang’s dazzling face, he said coldly, “Young Master Yu, this is a matter for our Lotus Rain Pavilion. I hope you won’t meddle.”
“What’s yours and mine, where’s the fun in that?” Yu Zhengyang said with dissatisfaction. “Ji Lan, I will definitely make you take me as your master!”
The fact that Ji Lan had been so gentle toward Mo Chenxiao even after being talked back to only solidified Yu Zhengyang’s resolve.
“Young Master Yu,” Ji Lan suddenly pulled out a Blue-Exploring Bird. “The Pavilion Master has matters to discuss with you, so I won’t see you out.”
Yu Zhengyang’s good mood vanished instantly. If it weren’t for the sake of pestering Ji Lan out in the open, he wouldn’t have wanted to use such an exalted identity at all.
The downside was that the Sword Pavilion’s Pavilion Master would summon him every now and then.
After sending away the troublesome pest, Ji Lan finally had the time to turn his attention to Wansong.
Looking at Wansong, who was blinking his innocent, wide eyes with an obedient demeanor, Ji Lan’s battered psyche found some healing.
“Wansong, did you hear what I said just now?” Ji Lan gently stroked Wansong’s hair. “You must work hard.”
Wansong shifted his eyes nervously. Work hard at what? Work hard at not letting Elder Qinglian marry Elder Xiao?
“Although your aptitude isn’t top-tier, I, Ji Lan, look only for a karmic affinity when taking disciples,” Ji Lan encouraged him. “Wansong, achieve Qi condensation soon so you can enter my sect.”
W-was he talking about taking him as a disciple?
Wansong’s face turned completely red. Elder Qinglian thought so highly of him, yet he didn’t want the Elder to take a cultivation partner.
He really was a bad person.
“Elder Qinglian, I will work hard!” Wansong raised his head, light sparkling in his eyes. “I will not let down your expectations!”
No matter what method it took, he had to achieve Qi condensation! Wansong had originally thought it wouldn’t matter if he remained a mortal and an outer disciple for his entire life.
After all, being able to enter the Sword Pavilion was already a blessing cultivated over several lifetimes.
He simply hadn’t expected an even greater blessing to be waiting for him here.
Ji Lan nodded with satisfaction. Not bad; with this kind of drive and self-confidence, if he hadn’t been born in the wrong world, Wansong would have made a great protagonist material too.
“Master, I’ve finished chopping the firewood.”
Just as Ji Lan was attempting to offer Wansong a few more words of praise, Mo Chenxiao returned once again.
He felt that Ah Zhen was truly problematic. If the protagonist were a small child like Wansong or Ah Yue, would he be this terrified?
“Since that’s the case, you can go busy yourself with other things first.” Ji Lan waved a hand. “There’s nothing pressing here.”
“Master,” Mo Chenxiao showed no intention of leaving. Instead, he walked right up to Ji Lan, pulled out a ledger, and said, “This disciple noticed that many pavilions in the Lotus Rain Pavilion are empty, and quite a few places are in a state of disrepair. If Master is willing, let this disciple handle it.”
Ji Lan took the ledger, flipped through a few pages, and his hand shook.
How on earth did he owe this much money?!
“What is this?” Ji Lan forced himself to stay calm. “You can handle such minor matters yourself; there’s no need to ask me.”
Mo Chenxiao replied, “Master, our Lotus Rain Pavilion can only afford to take in three or four more disciples at most. If we take any more, we won’t be able to support them.”
Unbelievable!
Ji Lan was shocked. Setting aside the fact that the original host was a dignified Sword Pavilion elder with no cash, how could he have gotten poor to this extent?
The original host didn’t just owe massive amounts of superior spirit stones; there was also gold, platinum, silver notes.
“Understood,” Ji Lan said, his eyes going out of focus. “Chenxiao, take Wansong outside first. Your master needs to recuperate in peace.”
Once everyone had left, Ji Lan realized his disciple had taken the ledger with him as well.
Ah, to be exact, it should be called an account book.
Ah Zhen, Ji Lan felt like he had just swallowed feces, do you and I have some kind of grudge from a past life?
Zhen’er appeared promptly. Of course not, dear. In your past life, you were just an innocent college student.
Ji Lan suffered a myocardial infarction. Stop with the passive-aggressiveness. Why did the original host owe so much money? What on earth did he spend it all on?
As for that, Zhen’er pondered for a moment before arriving at a conclusion, this is the world consciousness supplementing the persona settings for Ji Lan. Details like this don’t affect the villain’s ending, so dear doesn’t need to worry about them.
How could he not worry about this?!
Yet Ji Lan had no way to refute it. In a book as long as The Dark God of Destruction, Ji Lan was merely a minor villain, and the most detailed description of him in the entire book was the specially marked chapter: [The Death of the Villainous Master (A Miserable Death)].
Money is merely an external possession, Zhen’er said speechlessly. Host, why are you so hung up on such trivial, unimportant matters? It is recommended that you focus your attention on the main plot.
If it were just a trivial matter, why did Mo Chenxiao have to show him the ledger?!
Since this prop called a ledger had actually fallen into the male lead’s hands, what if it was a crucial item?
However, since Ah Zhen claimed it didn’t matter, Ji Lan reluctantly chose to trust it this time.
Over the next few days, neither Xiao Yuwei nor Yu Zhengyang showed up much, allowing Ji Lan to enjoy a rare few days of peace. Very soon, the sect’s biannual trial tournament arrived.
Every disciple needed to pull out all the stops to attract the elders’ attention, all for the sake of securing an inner disciple quota.
Although it was entirely possible the elders wouldn’t take a single one.
This was also the sect’s quinquennial recruitment grand assembly.
The Azure Cloud Ladder opened once more, its guardian grand array emitting a gentle glow while protecting everyone climbing upon the Azure Cloud Ladder.
Among all the eager new disciples, a doll-like little girl dressed in pink stood out as exceptionally unique.
“Xu Xi, why did you come to the Sword Pavilion?” asked a young boy half a head shorter than her. “You look so pretty, the Shattered Jade Tower would suit you much better.”
The little girl called Xu Xi smiled, though the smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Do you believe me if I say that if I wanted you dead, even the guardian grand array couldn’t protect you?”