The three of them did not linger long at the dilapidated temple.
Now that the great demon had been eliminated, the mission was considered complete.
After Qiong Guang Jun roughly treated his injuries, Pei Chaochao followed him and Jiang Du to rejoin the Guiyuan Sect team. The group then set off back to the sect.
The Guiyuan Sect was located at the northernmost edge of the continent.
Pei Chaochao and the others were currently in the southern part of the continent, far from the Guiyuan Sect. Even with the earth-shrinking technique, the return journey would take several days.
They arrived at the sect three days later.
As a major cultivation sect, the Guiyuan Sect had many disciples and thus occupied a vast area, built upon towering mountain ranges.
At the foot of the mountains lay several bustling towns, inhabited mostly by mortals under the protection of the Guiyuan Sect.
Jiang Du left the group at the mountain foot, excusing himself to purchase supplies in the town.
Pei Chaochao suspected he was going to meet with the Demonic Cultivator.
After ascending the mountain,
the remaining members of the team returned to their respective residences to rest.
Qiong Guang Jun took Pei Chaochao to register her name.
The registration office was located in the same area as the Discipline Hall, medicine room, and Library Pavilion, usually bustling with activity.
As the senior disciple brother, Qiong Guang Jun stood out with his exceptional demeanor and appearance, drawing attention wherever he went.
Thus, as soon as the two arrived, many people turned to look at them.
Several disciples approached to greet him: “Senior Disciple Brother!”
Qiong Guang Jun gave a slight nod.
Everyone in the Guiyuan Sect knew he was extremely aloof and spoke sparingly, so they did not attempt further conversation. After greeting him, they prepared to go about their own business.
However, as soon as they looked up, they noticed—
a woman standing beside Qiong Guang Jun!
She was not wearing the Guiyuan Sect disciple robes, making it clear she was not from the sect.
Dressed in a soft goose-yellow dress, she appeared delicate and fresh. Though her eyes were covered with white silk, her elegant facial contours and glistening lips were still visible, radiating a harmless, non-threatening beauty.
Hearing so many voices, she seemed a bit frightened and reached out to clutch Qiong Guang Jun’s sleeve.
Qiong Guang Jun paused slightly but did not pull his sleeve away, allowing her to hold on.
Seeing this, everyone felt somewhat dazed. Their first thought was—
How did this girl dare to grab the senior disciple brother’s sleeve?
They then glanced at Qiong Guang Jun’s expression.
He rarely showed much emotion, which only accentuated his icy demeanor. Though he was not as fierce as Jiang Du and treated others normally, few dared to get too close to him.
After all, the pressure around him was overwhelming; standing beside him felt psychologically oppressive.
Everyone swallowed hard, thinking this girl must have remarkable resilience.
Even if Qiong Guang Jun didn’t shake her off, even if she couldn’t see, didn’t she feel oppressed standing next to him?
While everyone was silently pondering this with varied expressions,
the next moment,
they heard Qiong Guang Jun speak: “These are all people from the Guiyuan Sect. From now on, they will be your senior sisters and brothers.”
He paused, then added a stiff reassurance: “…Don’t be afraid.”
His tone was normal, no different from when he usually spoke.
Yet those around exchanged glances, feeling shocked—
Since when did the senior disciple brother know how to comfort someone?!
No wonder this girl didn’t feel oppressed—the senior disciple brother was coaxing her!
While everyone was still reeling from this,
Pei Chaochao heard the Deities in her mind say—
【Hahaha, the expressions of these Guiyuan Sect people are just like mine!】
[Although I’m also shocked, seeing others more shocked than me makes me feel better.]
[But Qiong Guang Jun really seems off. Could he be interested in Pei Chaochao? Pei Chaochao loved to play with people’s emotions back in the Heavenly Realm!]
[It can’t be. She just looks too pitiful. Qiong Guang Jun is probably just taking pity on her.]
[Exactly, exactly. This is Qiong Guang Jun we’re talking about. Falling in love? Impossible.]
…
Pei Chaochao ignored the voices in her head.
She released her grip on Qiong Guang Jun’s sleeve.
Qiong Guang Jun had expected her to keep holding onto his sleeve and was surprised when she let go first.
He lowered his gaze to look at her.
Unexpectedly, Pei Chaochao happened to look up at that moment.
She gave him a trusting smile, her voice so soft it was almost lip-readable: “I’m not scared anymore. I believe in you.”
Qiong Guang Jun paused.
After a long moment, he averted his eyes: “Let’s go, to register.”
He started walking forward,
But before he had taken two steps, a disciple came running over: “Senior Brother Ji, the elders are calling for you.”
Hearing this, Qiong Guang Jun’s steps faltered slightly.
He glanced at Pei Chaochao first, then said to the disciple: “I need to accompany her to register.”
“The elders said it’s urgent,” the disciple replied. “How about I accompany this young lady to register instead?”
Qiong Guang Jun hesitated briefly.
“Since it’s urgent, Immortal Master should go ahead,” Pei Chaochao spoke before he could reply, smiling understandingly. “I’m not scared anymore.”
With her saying that,
Qiong Guang Jun nodded: “Very well.”
He called the disciple over and said calmly: “Yiyu, take her to register.”
With Pei Chaochao’s status, entering the Guiyuan Sect meant she could only become a menial disciple.
Menial disciples had to do a lot of work every day,
But she was so frail, and blind too…
Qiong Guang Jun’s thoughts drifted, which was extremely rare for him.
He added to Yiyu: “Assign her a light-duty position.”
As soon as these words fell,
Yiyu was also astonished, thinking to himself: Since when does Senior Brother care about such trivial matters?
Normally, Senior Brother would never have added that extra instruction.
He glanced sideways at Pei Chaochao, suspecting this girl might have an unusual relationship with Senior Brother.
Suppressing his surprise, he said: “Yes, Senior Brother.”
Only then did Qiong Guang Jun leave.
Yiyu quietly asked Pei Chaochao: “What’s your relationship with Senior Brother?”
Qiong Guang Jun hadn’t gone far.
His cultivation level was high, his senses sharp, able to hear movements from far away.
Hearing Yiyu’s question, his footsteps unconsciously paused.
What was their relationship?
As if guided by some unseen force,
He remembered what Pei Chaochao had said to him behind the temple that day.
She had stated plainly and clearly that it was love at first sight.
On the other side.
Pei Chaochao knew Qiong Guang Jun hadn’t gone far.
She curved her lips and gave her answer: “He is my benefactor.”
It was a very objective answer.
Being objective meant onlookers couldn’t detect any emotional undertones from it.
Yiyu thought to himself: Benefactor is true, but what benefactor goes to such lengths?
He’d never seen Senior Brother treat anyone else like this.
Pei Chaochao said nothing more.
She heard Qiong Guang Jun’s departing footsteps, her smile deepening—
A benefactor.
What a precise and impersonal description.
After all, when she confessed her feelings to him, she hadn’t asked for his response, had she?
If you long to hear something different,
Then please take the initiative to give me some response that goes beyond the scope of a benefactor.
Pei Chaochao followed Yiyu to the registration office.
Since it wasn’t the time for public disciple recruitment, the place was rather empty and deserted, with only one person seated behind the front desk.
This person wore deep blue robes, his jet-black hair loosely tied up with a white jade hairpin. His skin was almost as pale as the white jade pin in his hair.
From his stature, it was clear he was a young man.
He had spread various medicinal herbs across the desk and was currently arranging them with his head lowered, not looking up even when he heard someone enter the registration office.
Moving closer, one could catch the scent of medicinal herbs.
Looking further down, it was also noticeable that he was seated in a wheelchair.
At that moment,
Yiyu spoke up, addressing the man: “Elder Bai.”
He gave a simple bow. “What brings you to the registration office?”
Only then did Elder Bai lift his head.
His face was strikingly beautiful, almost delicate in a way that blurred the lines between masculine and feminine, possessing an androgynous kind of beauty.
He didn’t answer Yiyu’s question, instead offering a polite yet distant smile: “Here to register? Feel free.”
There was a certain arrogance unique to scions of noble families about him—
a feeling as if he first created a great distance between himself and others, then added a touch of politeness to that sense of detachment.
While helping Pei Chaochao with the registration, Yiyu quietly introduced him to her—
This Elder Bai was named Bai Ci, the eldest son of the Bai Family, a prominent cultivation clan. Though in poor health, his medical skills were exceptionally profound, which led the Guiyuan Sect to invite him as a guest elder.
He rarely taught classes or involved himself in sect affairs, dedicating himself entirely to the study of medicine.
Pei Chaochao gave a soft acknowledgment.
At the same time, she heard the Deities speaking in her mind:
[Isn’t this the Elder Bai mentioned in the Book of Fate, the one who frequently took Pei Chaochao’s blood to refine pills?]
[That’s right. But since Pei Chaochao is entering the Guiyuan Sect under different circumstances now, unlike what was written in the Book of Fate, she might not have her blood taken by him anymore.]
Pei Chaochao then remembered—
According to the original course of fate, after Jiang Du brought her back to the Guiyuan Sect as a Medicine Person, the unique properties of her flesh and blood were discovered, leading to her imprisonment in the sect’s underground dungeon, where her blood was drawn and flesh carved out daily.
This Elder Bai was one of those who took her flesh and blood after she was locked in the dungeon.
However, he was too arrogant; even the tasks of drawing blood and carving flesh were delegated to the servants around him.
Thus, in the Book of Fate, Pei Chaochao had little interaction with Bai Ci. Instead, it was Bai Ci’s younger brother who would become entangled with her emotionally—
another Love Tribulation for her, aside from Qiong Guang Jun.
Pei Chaochao’s thoughts drifted momentarily, though she wasn’t particularly concerned about the others mentioned in the Book of Fate.
After all, her current plan was solely to obtain Qiong Guang Jun’s Root of Emotion.
At that moment,
Yiyu had finished registering her. As if recalling something, he asked Bai Ci, “Elder Bai, I heard you’re looking for a disciple to assist with drying medicinal herbs. Did you come to the registration office today to review the disciple roster and select an assistant?”
Bai Ci remained silent, his eyes fixed on Yiyu, signaling him to continue.
Yiyu handed him the newly completed record: “What do you think of Miss Pei?”
Drying medicinal herbs required no special skills and was a rather leisurely task—
Yiyu thought it would be a good fit.
Bai Ci took the record.
It contained Pei Chaochao’s personal information. He skimmed through it briefly, then coughed softly a few times.
His health was poor, and the coughing left faint red traces at the corners of his eyes, as if moistened with tears.
Then, his teary gaze shifted and settled on Pei Chaochao: “Would you like to come work as an assistant by my side?”
“I often hear that people from those little villages of yours can’t even tell the difference between hemostatic herbs and calming herbs. Besides, you’re blind and have no Cultivation Level—how could you possibly identify medicinal herbs?”
His tone was haughty, carrying the soft barbs of a noble family, looking down from on high.
The implied meaning in his words was: How could someone like you be fit to serve as my attendant?
Seeing his attitude, Pei Chaochao felt a playful urge.
She picked up a few herbs from the table: “Does drying herbs require knowing them?”
Bai Ci frowned, held out his hand, and spoke condescendingly: “Who allowed you to take them? Give them back.”
Pei Chaochao was very obedient, returning most of the herbs to the table.
She kept only two calming herbs in her hand, toyed with them briefly, but instead of placing them back on the table, she put them into Bai Ci’s palm, sincerely suggesting: “Elder Bai. If you’re in a bad mood, using a little calming herb might work better than sneering at me.”
As she moved, her fingertips inadvertently brushed against Bai Ci’s palm.
Bai Ci narrowed his eyes.
He coughed a few times and directly threw the herbs onto the table.
Then, he took out a handkerchief and meticulously wiped the spot Pei Chaochao had touched.
At that moment.
Pei Chaochao lowered her head slightly.
Bai Ci also lifted his eyelids, watching her as he continued wiping his hand.
Noble families often carry a veneer of hypocritical etiquette; they wouldn’t openly display such arrogant behavior.
Bai Ci was a standard noble scion, yet his actions now seemed somewhat provocative.
Provoking Pei Chaochao’s blindness.
He tore off that refined, hypocritical mask right before her, blatantly showing his disgust and disdain,
But she couldn’t see it.
He finished wiping his hand unhurriedly,
then tossed the handkerchief toward the nearby wastepaper basket.
However, just then,
Pei Chaochao bent slightly and raised her hand to catch the fluttering handkerchief as it fell: “The blind have excellent hearing. Did Elder Bai drop something?”
Bai Ci’s hand paused for a moment.
He stared at Pei Chaochao, the corners of his eyes tinged with a faint, shimmering red, hinting at displeasure.
Yet Pei Chaochao seemed oblivious to his gaze.
She rubbed the handkerchief between her fingers: “Ah, it’s a handkerchief. Were you wiping your hands just now, Elder Bai?”
She gently exposed him with a smile: “Surely it wasn’t because someone like me, a lowly person, accidentally touched you, was it?”