This was the first time Yu Zaixi had visited Wushang Peak from his own perspective. It was not the plum blossom season; the mountain was covered in nothing but green leaves and did not look particularly remarkable.
He arrived a step faster than the people behind him and strode toward the room where Jiang Yan had brought Yuan Qi in the illusion. It no longer looked the same as it did in the vision, appearing somewhat dilapidated. There had originally been a small plum tree at the entrance, where Yuan Qi would once lean against the window to pick flowers, but that tree was gone.
He walked forward, but before he could get close, he was repelled by a defensive formation.
Yu Zaixi let out a soft laugh and turned around, acting as if nothing had happened. He addressed Jiang Yan, who had just emerged from the teleportation array, “Aren’t we investigating Tianhe? Are you going to Jingshan?”
Jingshan was the location of Elder Tianhe’s sect. Jiang Yan did not necessarily need to go there in person to find out about Elder Tianhe. Yu Zaixi was simply making small talk, as he tended to ramble whenever he felt awkward.
He sighed inwardly after speaking. Seeing Qin Nai and the others follow behind, he asked Jiang Yan, “Why don’t you arrange a place for us to rest? I haven’t rested in a long time.”
A normal cultivator would not feel a thing even after staying awake for days or weeks. But Yu Zaixi was not normal. His body was in constant pain, and he frequently suffered from the trauma of failed breakthroughs; he was different from ordinary people.
In any case, Jiang Yan could go handle his business, while he would stay on Wushang Peak to sleep. As for Qin Nai and Miao Pei, they could do as they pleased. As for Xiao Ci, he would tie him up with a rope later; the boy would not be able to run away even if he were not tied up. Therefore, he added, “Hurry up and point me to a room where I can sleep.”
Jiang Yan turned his head and signaled for Miao Pei to take him.
After returning to his own body, Miao Pei had been complaining to Qin Nai for a long time, claiming that his soul had been drifting in the sky and that no one answered him when he called out. Upon receiving Jiang Yan’s order, he turned around, visibly displeased, and led them downward.
Jiang Yan and Yuan Qi lived on the summit of Wushang Peak. After Miao Pei arrived, Jiang Yan had a row of houses built on the mountainside for the disciples to stay in. Miao Pei moved in, but he had been waiting in vain for Yuan Qi to accept him as a disciple. Currently, Miao Pei was the only one living in those houses. During the day, cleaning disciples would come by, so Miao Pei was not entirely bored. As he walked, he grumbled to Qin Nai about his boredom.
Yu Zaixi, following behind, caught the conversation and suddenly interjected, “Why don’t you just ask Jiang Yan to take on another disciple?”
“The only reason the Master accepted me as a disciple was because the Sect Leader personally pleaded for me; otherwise, I would have been kicked off the mountain.”
Yu Zaixi clicked his tongue. If Miao Pei were to be kicked out of the Tianji Pavilion, no other sect on the mountain would be willing to take him. The Sect Leader was truly a kind man.
The houses were hidden behind a forest, barely catching any sunlight, yet with their corridors, rockeries, small lake, and apricot trees, they were built quite beautifully. Yu Zaixi walked to the very last building, which was right against the mountainside and had poor lighting. He pushed the door open to inspect it; the guest room’s amenities—the table, chairs, bed, and quilt—were all of better quality than those in the ordinary disciples’ quarters.
Qin Nai and Xiao Ci also chose their rooms. Before going to sleep, Yu Zaixi checked on Xiao Ci and, seeing that his room was not as nice as his own, feigned a sigh: “Poor child. It is alright; we are in someone else’s territory, and it is good enough that we have a place to stay.”
Xiao Ci, who was not a man of many words, looked at Yu Zaixi, who was leaning against the window, and said quietly, “A small bug just flew in through the window.”
Yu Zaixi’s interest vanished instantly. He closed the window, left the room, and complained outside, “Look at how stingy you are. You are not like me at all. How could you possibly look so much like me?”
Once Yu Zaixi left, Miao Pei took Xiao Ci to bathe and brought him a set of new clothes. After he was washed and changed, he looked much more energetic, making it even more obvious that his facial features were identical to Yu Zaixi’s.
Even biological fathers and sons might not look this similar. Shocked, Miao Pei brought Xiao Ci to see Qin Nai, hoping to have him look as well, but as soon as they stepped outside, they saw Yu Zaixi standing in an apricot tree, picking and eating fruit.
The apricot fruit on the mountain ripened a bit late, and they were just beginning to ripen now. Qin Nai stood under the tree. Yu Zaixi would throw a few down from time to time, and Qin Nai would catch them, waiting to wash them before eating. The two coordinated perfectly, and at a glance, one might assume they had done this many times, but in fact, it was their first time picking fruit here.
Miao Pei found it a bit of an eyesore, but he did not know what to say. Yu Zaixi saw them from the tree and smiled, hiding in the shadows of the leaves as he asked Miao Pei, “It is fine to pick a few to eat, right?”
Miao Pei exchanged a glance with Xiao Ci. Xiao Ci made a sound of dismissal and said with disdain, “Greedy.”
Yu Zaixi exclaimed in mock injury, “I just told the disciple who came to sweep to go get you some food, so do not eat later.”
Xiao Ci looked up abruptly. Realizing he was in the wrong, he averted his gaze and muttered, “I will not eat then. I am already used to being hungry.”
Yu Zaixi continued picking fruit, smiling at the poor child. He picked the one that looked the sweetest from under the leaves and tossed it over. Xiao Ci was still acting awkward, so Miao Pei reached out and caught it. Miao Pei coaxed Xiao Ci, “Wash it and try it. I planted this tree myself; it is delicious.”
When Miao Pei returned from washing the fruit and broke it open to offer it to Xiao Ci, Xiao Ci finally stepped down from his stubbornness and opened his mouth to eat. Unexpectedly, Yu Zaixi murmured, “Eating that on an empty stomach is not good for your stomach.”
Xiao Ci could not bring himself to eat the apricot he had been holding. He glared hatefully at Yu Zaixi, his childish temper finally flaring up: “What exactly do you want from me? You will not let me eat it, but you will not let me leave it alone either!”
Yu Zaixi did not answer, leaning against the tree trunk and laughing heartily, still holding two fruits in his hand. He looked exactly like a triumphant bully—only this bully laughed with such unrestrained joy, his expression so bright that it was mesmerizing.
Wushang Peak had not heard such hearty laughter in hundreds of years. The mountain breeze was crisp, the shadows of the trees swayed, and amidst the rustling of the green leaves, the youthful energy overcame the summer heat, making one feel as if they were in a different world for a moment.
By the time Jiang Yan walked under the tree, Yu Zaixi had stopped laughing. He looked down and tossed two fruits to him: “You eat some too.”
He could not say why he was so happy, but he just wanted to mess around for a while and did not want to sleep. Jiang Yan caught the fruits and stood still. From the small path, an old man’s voice called out, “I would like to taste the fruit from your Wushang Peak.”
Yu Zaixi peered through the leaves and saw an elder in Taoist robes approaching. Instinctively, he plucked an unripe one and threw it at him: “Eat!”
The old man caught it, took one look, and let out a scoff, swearing loudly: “You brat, how dare you be so presumptuous in front of me! I think you want to go back to the Buzhu Prison to be locked up.”
Mentioning the Buzhu Prison made Yu Zaixi’s face turn dark. He had not liked this person from the moment he saw him, and now he liked him even less. It was normal for an elder of this age to know who he was, but bringing up the Buzhu Prison was just to disgust him. With Jiang Yan present, no one would dare move against him.
“Then go ahead and throw me back in.”
Yu Zaixi retorted, then turned away to ignore the other person. He picked two more, filled his hands, and said to Jiang Yan, who was under the tree, “Move.”
There was no laughter left in his voice. Jiang Yan stepped aside and walked over to Xiao Ci’s side.
Yu Zaixi jumped down from the tree and gave Qin Nai a look, and the two went to wash the fruit. Xiao Ci had a better impression of Jiang Yan than of Yu Zaixi. Seeing him approach, he looked up and wanted to speak, but Jiang Yan was staring in the direction where Yu Zaixi had left.
So Xiao Ci withdrew his gaze and tugged on Miao Pei’s sleeve. Miao Pei squatted down to look at him and whispered, “What is wrong?”
He thought Xiao Ci was afraid of Elder Tianxing, who had followed them, so he explained, “Do not be afraid. Elder Tianxing has a very good temper; he just sounds a bit scary when he talks.”
“No,” Xiao Ci said, looking at the backs of Yu Zaixi and Qin Nai chatting and laughing, “Is the Immortal Venerable angry?”
Miao Pei exclaimed, “Who?”
He looked at Yu Zaixi and then exclaimed again, “Brother Yu will be fine in a while. If he were truly angry, he would not be like this.”
“No,” Xiao Ci sighed, “that one.”
He wanted to say Jiang Yan, but he did not dare call him by his name. He dared to make faces and give cold replies to Yu Zaixi because he knew the other’s temper was good and he would not easily get angry, but he could not see through Jiang Yan. Jiang Yan spoke little and showed few expressions, always maintaining a cold, indifferent look that made people fearful.
After Miao Pei realized who he was talking about, he laughed and lowered his voice further, saying mysteriously, “It is fine, you will get used to it. He is even angry with trees.”
Xiao Ci did not understand why he was suddenly angry. He turned his head to look at Jiang Yan, and the man also looked down at him.
“Immortal Venerable, can I also cultivate?” He almost stuttered as he spoke. He had never been this scared, even when fighting people in the streets as a beggar.
“Your spiritual roots are excellent, and you have great talent; naturally, you can cultivate.”
After finishing his sentence, Jiang Yan handed over a double-fish jade pendant. It was carved quite uglily. Xiao Ci took it and looked at it for a long time, unwilling to believe it was made by Jiang Yan.
“This was carved by Yu Zaixi, right?”
His question stunned the other three. Jiang Yan blinked slowly, seemingly recalling something, and let out a soft laugh. The curve of his lips was both mocking and amused: “Ugly to an astonishing degree.”
Miao Pei silently applauded Xiao Ci in his heart. He would not even dare to mention such a thing, yet Xiao Ci was so direct. Most importantly, Jiang Yan did not even get angry.
Elder Tianxing walked over, chewing on a sour fruit, grinning: “You kid are smart. No wonder Jiang Yan likes you.”
Xiao Ci was somewhat surprised and looked up at Jiang Yan again: “Is it because I look like him?”
Miao Pei was startled. He did not even dare to look at Jiang Yan’s expression and hurriedly picked up Xiao Ci, lowered his head, and said awkwardly with a smile, “He said he was sleepy earlier; I will take him to sleep.”
After the two of them left, Tianxing finally finished the fruit, smacked his lips, and commented: “So sour.”
Then he laughed loudly: “It has been years since I have been bested by this kid. Coming here today, I feel like I have become a few hundred years younger.”
But no matter how many times Tianxing sighed or remarked about feeling younger, Jiang Yan remained silent with a sunken face.
It was not until Yu Zaixi and Qin Nai returned, still eating, that Tianxing clicked his tongue, finally losing patience, and said in a low voice: “Alright, were you not pretending well enough before?”
After he said this, Jiang Yan finally withdrew his expression and turned to walk down the mountain. He had only come to deliver things to Xiao Ci and take a look.
The two went back down the mountain. Tianxing walked in front, muttering: “You two martial brothers are really not as good as me and Tianhe. Look at us—pure brotherhood. We never had any major conflicts until the day he died.”
Jiang Yan sneered: “You did not even know when he died; the Sect Leader had to tell you.”
Tianxing was choked by the remark and sighed: “At least I did not kill him.”
“I did not kill him either,” Jiang Yan stated coldly, though the emphasis felt somewhat weak.
“Whether in his eyes or the eyes of the world, you are the one who killed him.” Tianxing turned around and asked, “Is that not true?”
Jiang Yan glanced at him and whispered to himself: “Yuan Qi knows.”
“Then he will only die even more miserably.” Tianxing sighed bitterly, “What about Yu Zaixi?”
Jiang Yan replied: “He does not need to know.”
“Then he will have to hate you to death.”