Ji Lan finally managed to sneakily trick Zhen’er into opening up the permissions so he could peek at the new disciples.
After all, the disciples inside the Sword Pavilion already knew what kind of temperament he possessed.
Ji Lan wanted to raise a few pure disciples, ideally ones who would follow his every command.
Unexpectedly, the moment the permissions were opened, before he even had time to appreciate how delicate the new crop of female disciples looked, he heard that cute little doll utter some terrifying words.
No, absolutely not.
Ji Lan felt his scalp tingle. He did want to take on a female disciple, but he was not going to bother competing for this girl named Xu Xi.
With that kind of wicked and charismatic aura, did she think this was a female-centric web novel?
Ji Lan was deeply dissatisfied. Ah Zhen, what happened to the sweet, gentle girl you promised? What is this?
Zhen’er did not feel like it had messed up at all. This is exactly what the host asked for! You wanted to see female disciples, preferably cute ones, and I fulfilled all your requirements!
Change her! Ji Lan protested. This one doesn’t count.
That won’t do, Zhen’er remained unmoved. You only get one chance to cheat. None of the other elders even get the chance to peek at what’s happening inside the Azure Cloud Ladder.
It wasn’t that the other elders didn’t have the opportunity, but rather that they simply disdained to look.
As long as one walked up to the observation platform of the martial arena and pressed their palm down, someone with Ji Lan’s seniority could still view it.
However, no elder would ever do such a thing. For one, the Azure Cloud Ladder was merely the first step of the screening process; climbing it only secured one a spot to enter the Sword Pavilion.
Secondly, a bunch of children bickering amongst themselves, what was there to look at?
Therefore, Ji Lan had felt too embarrassed to check it out himself and had been forced to threaten Zhen’er into showing him.
I can’t do it, I’m too exhausted, Zhen’er said weakly. I hollowed myself out just for you, Host. Cheer up, don’t let me down!
With that, Zhen’er emitted a harsh static noise and vanished.
Ji Lan: “”
Why was cheating at something like this so difficult?
“Master, what are you looking at?” Mo Chenxiao had spotted Ji Lan meditating in the Lotus Rain Pavilion from afar. Upon walking closer, he realized his master had simply been spacing out.
Large lotus leaves bloomed all around, reflecting a greenish tint onto Ji Lan’s white robes.
Ji Lan jumped slightly at being called. Turning his head, he found his disciple standing right in front of him dressed head-to-toe in crimson red.
Right beside them was a large, unyielding lotus leaf that stubbornly draped itself over the pavilion’s railing.
Red paired with green just screamed awkwardness.
“Why are you dressed so lively today?”
After all, this disciple of his wore black robes day in and day out.
As if he never changed his clothes.
Mo Chenxiao paused for a moment before speaking. “Master, today is the tenth anniversary of me taking you as my master.”
Ten years ago, an eight-year-old radish-like little Mo Chenxiao had kowtowed three resounding times to Ji Lan, sealing their bond as master and disciple.
Back then, Mo Chenxiao had felt incredibly fortunate. Entering the Sword Pavilion and immediately becoming an inner disciple was a stroke of immense good fortune.
It was only later that Mo Chenxiao realized this had simply been the beginning of his tragedy.
Until now, that fortune had returned, entirely because of the solitary ghost residing inside Ji Lan.
Ji Lan felt uncomfortable under that gaze. He was an eighteen-year-old adult now; why was his disciple still acting so spoiled?
Such a massive disciple really wasn’t suited for acting cute.
“It has been so many years, and you’ve grown up,” Ji Lan nodded with satisfaction. “Is there anything you want? Master can grant you a single wish.”
I don’t want you to take on any disciples.
I only want you to have me as your sole disciple.
Mo Chenxiao lowered his gaze, his fists clenched tight. “This disciple doesn’t want anything. If Master is willing, could you cook a bowl of noodles for this disciple?”
Mo Chenxiao did not know his own birthday. Ten years ago, he had designated the day his master took him in as his birthday.
A year later, he had stopped celebrating birthdays altogether.
Today, he wanted to fulfill a childhood wish and hoped his master would make him a bowl of longevity noodles.
Mo Chenxiao had no idea who the person inside Ji Lan truly was; he only knew that this person was currently his master.
“Noodles?” Ji Lan was stunned, never expecting his disciple to have such a modest wish. “Very well, I’ll go prepare them for you right now.”
Ji Lan was well aware of what Mo Chenxiao had been through.
There was a reason Mo Chenxiao was dubbed the Dark God of Destruction.
No one learns to hate the world for no reason; the seeds of hatred simply take root and sprout inside a person’s heart one by one.
And that very first seed of resentment had been planted by the protagonist’s villainous master.
Cooking noodles for the protagonist naturally shattered the Ji Lan persona.
However, Ji Lan didn’t care. Weren’t personas meant to be shattered anyway?
“Master, let’s go to the Qingya Courtyard,” Mo Chenxiao said, looking somewhat uneasy. “The kitchen over at my place can also cook.”
Actually, Ji Lan had no idea where the kitchen in the main quarters of the Lotus Rain Pavilion was located. Hearing Mo Chenxiao take the initiative, he let out a sigh of relief. “Very well, let’s go.”
“Alright.” Mo Chenxiao bit his lower lip slightly, his earlobes turning pink like a blooming peach blossom.
However, Ji Lan failed to notice this.
Mo Chenxiao’s pleasant mood was completely obliterated the moment he laid eyes on Wansong.
“Master, why is Junior Brother Wansong here too?”
Looking at Big Brother Mo’s gloomy face, Wansong looked anxiously toward Elder Qinglian.
Even though Big Brother Mo was asking him, he had no clue either! The Blue-Exploring Bird had simply told him that Elder Qinglian was looking for him.
Acting as though he hadn’t noticed Mo Chenxiao’s displeasure, Ji Lan patted Wansong’s head and calmly stated, “Today is also the anniversary of Wansong entering the Sword Pavilion. I figured since I’m already boiling noodles, I might as well make an extra portion for him.”
Wansong’s eyes lit up. “Elder Qinglian actually remembers today?!”
Mo Chenxiao’s expression turned gloomy. Was this Wansong an idiot? Pick any random disciple in the Sword Pavilion, and today would be their anniversary of entering the sect as well.
“Thank you, Elder Qinglian!” Wansong’s face flushed red with excitement, causing him to completely forget about Big Brother Mo’s expression. “I’ll work hard!”
“Mhm, good boy.”
Ji Lan nodded and continued walking forward, staring straight ahead.
What a joke, he wasn’t going to show preferential treatment to the male lead!
He had seen this trick a million times before, if a master showed special favoritism to a single disciple, it was bound to spell disaster!
The male lead had specifically asked him to cook noodles, but who knew what hidden agenda he was harboring?
Ji Lan felt that the smartest thing he had ever done was keeping little Song’er by his side. Look how useful he was right now.
“Master really is thoughtful toward Junior Brother Wansong,” Mo Chenxiao said gloomily. “It’s just that Junior Brother’s aptitude is too poor; who knows when he’ll ever manage to become Master’s formal disciple.”
Just as Wansong was riding a high of excitement, a basin of cold water was dumped straight over his head, freezing his burning heart instantly. “I… I will work hard.”
“Alright, today is a good day. Why are you trying to scare him?” Ji Lan, having easily caught the passive-aggressiveness in his disciple’s tone, patted Wansong’s shoulder. “Wansong will definitely be my disciple in the future. Chenxiao, as the senior brother, you must take good care of your junior brother.”
That would have been fine if he hadn’t said it, but once he did, Wansong felt even colder.
Big Brother Mo’s gaze looked like it wanted to hack him into pieces.
Wansong trembled in fear. Was his aptitude really that abysmal? Even someone as nice as Big Brother Mo was giving him that kind of look.
“It’s fine,” at that moment, they arrived at the kitchen in Qingya Courtyard, and Ji Lan patted Wansong’s shoulder. “Just ask your Big Brother Mo to teach you more, and you’ll catch on in no time.”
As he spoke, Ji Lan began sizing up the kitchen. He had to admit, this place definitely looked like it saw regular use.
He wondered how his disciple usually acted when cooking. Did he keep that same icy face the entire time?
Ji Lan found the mental image too hilarious to even contemplate.
“Chenxiao, where are the noodles?” Ji Lan looked around the spotless kitchen with a blank expression. “You should have prepared them.”
“They’re prepared.” Mo Chenxiao fished a small handful of noodles out from somewhere. “It’s just that this portion is a bit too small…”
“Then the two of you can just share it,” Ji Lan cut in with a smile. “If you ate all of this by yourself, you wouldn’t be full anyway.”
Ji Lan had claimed all the talking points, leaving Mo Chenxiao with no room to refuse, forcing him to nod with a dark face.
Even though he hadn’t officially been taken as a disciple yet, he was already getting disciple-level treatment, which left Wansong deeply moved.
Ah Zhen, did you see that? Ji Lan thought smugly. If Song’er were a girl, she’d probably offer to pledge her life to me once she grew up.
… Zhen’er remained silent for a long while before speaking. I thought you had finally figured things out and wanted to romance the male lead. What on earth are you trying to accomplish by dragging Wansong along?
Spreading the love evenly? Ji Lan analyzed while blankly boiling noodles. I think this move of mine was brilliant. It both captured Song’er’s heart and kept a safe distance from the male lead. I’m a genius.
Zhen’er was at a loss for words, a thousand thoughts ultimately condensing into a single sentence: As long as you’re happy.
What was it going to do if the male lead went dark side after being messed with like this?
Watching his blindly confident host, Zhen’er felt a headache coming on. It was one thing for the host to be a coward, but being a coward while trying to play both sides was truly a rare sight.
Realizing Zhen’er was ignoring him, Ji Lan didn’t mind. He quickly finished preparing the two bowls of noodles, or to be precise, he had divided a single portion into two bowls.
“Eat up,” Ji Lan said with a benevolent expression as he pushed the two bowls toward them. “It won’t taste good if it gets cold.”
It was a simple bowl of plain scallion noodles. Even with a poached egg dropped inside, there was nothing particularly special about it.
Mo Chenxiao suddenly asked, “Master, why is there an extra egg in mine?”
Naturally, it was because Wansong was just a child and couldn’t eat that much right before dinner.
“Naturally, it’s because you are my disciple,” Ji Lan stated righteously. “It is only natural for a master to be a bit biased.”
Mo Chenxiao opened his mouth, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down a few times. “Thank you, Master.”
So Master was actually biased toward him after all.
Wansong didn’t think much of it. After all, having Elder Qinglian personally cook noodles for him was already a supreme blessing.
“Once we finish eating, let’s go soak in the springs,” Ji Lan said, his enthusiasm bubbling up. “I remember there’s a hot spring right behind the kitchen.”
That was a natural hot spring!
Ji Lan rubbed his hands together. Such a wonderful spot was actually hidden inside Qingya Courtyard!
“Soak in the hot spring?” Mo Chenxiao suddenly stammered. “Master, are you going by yourself?”
“Why would you ask that?” Ji Lan said with a strange look. “Naturally, we’re all going together.”