Before long, the residence of the newly arrived junior disciple, Xie Chen, was surrounded every day by fellow disciples who came hoping to show goodwill.
Spiritual fruits, magical artifacts and gifts of every kind piled up like small hills.
Unfortunately, the junior brother himself was far too gloomy and taciturn.
Even when people wanted to grow closer to him, the conversation would quickly falter into awkward silence.
After all, no one wanted to reopen the wound of his entire family being slaughtered. The atmosphere often became so quiet that one could hear a needle drop.
Because of this, no one knew who first brought it up but before long the topic inevitably shifted toward their mutual enemy, Yin Xuanlin.
“Junior Brother Xie, you’ve only just arrived, so you might not know… but you must be very careful of that Senior Brother Yin Xuanlin!”
“That man has always been narrow minded, jealous, arrogant and extremely vindictive. The two of you both possess fire spiritual roots yet your talent… ah, it surpasses his by far. With his dark and vicious temperament, he may very well use underhanded methods to harm you.”
“We’re absolutely not exaggerating!”
“I heard from someone who was on duty that the day you tested your spiritual root, he was so furious that he smashed the Bihai Liuli Cup the elders had just rewarded him with.”
“And for several days afterward, his courtyard was in complete chaos. The servants were all trembling in fear!”
“Besides, look, he’s your senior brother yet he hasn’t even come to visit you once!”
“Just imagine how resentful he must be right now but don’t worry, Junior Brother. We’ll definitely protect you…”
Everyone spoke at once, one sentence after another, embellishing the story until Yin Xuanlin sounded like a monstrous villain capable of every imaginable evil.
Only after delivering this long and “earnest lecture” did they finally leave in satisfaction.
Secretly, however, they were all eagerly waiting for the sect assembly next month.
At that time, no matter how unwilling Yin Xuanlin might be, the two of them would inevitably have to meet.
Everyone was convinced that their first meeting would be extremely unpleasant.
After all, judging by Yin Xuanlin’s petty, sharp tongued nature, his refusal to ever accept a loss, if he didn’t immediately deliver some sarcastic remarks and barbed insults to give the newcomer a proper show of authority, it would truly be like the sun rising from the west.
And with Junior Brother Xie’s personality, cold and rigid like an ice sculpture, he certainly wouldn’t offer even half a soft reply.
When the moment came…
Well.
Quite a few disciples who loved chaos had already secretly opened betting pools, wagering on which sentence the two of them would reach before they started fighting.
However, when the day actually arrived, the scene that unfolded left everyone utterly stunned.
On that day, Yin Xuanlin looked completely different from usual.
The strands of hair that normally fell loosely over his forehead had been meticulously combed back, revealing his smooth brow and sharp, striking features.
He wore a moon white brocade robe embroidered with cloud patterns traced in silver thread, which made his tall, upright figure appear even more elegant.
His entire bearing radiated noble refinement, like that of a graceful and distinguished young lord.
There was not the slightest trace left of the little beggar he had once been.
But if it had only been an improvement in appearance, that alone would not have been so shocking.
What truly left everyone staring in disbelief was his attitude.
The arrogance with which he normally looked down on everyone had been completely restrained. Instead, he took the initiative to step forward, smiling at the dark eyed and cold looking junior disciple, Xie Chen. His smile was bright and perfectly polite, warm and courteous.
His tone was even more attentive and intimate.
“So this must be our newly arrived Junior Brother Xie Chen?”
“As expected, graceful and refined, with extraordinary bearing. I’m your Senior Brother Yin. Since we both possess fire spiritual roots, it would be most beneficial for us to study cultivation techniques together.”
“If you ever encounter any difficulties or have questions in the future, feel free to come to me at any time.”
“Oh, right. This is a small gift for our first meeting…”
Watching from the sidelines, the surrounding disciples all felt the corners of their mouths twitch uncontrollably.
They truly had not expected that after all these years, Yin Xuanlin still retained that old ability from when he had first entered the sect, the ability to bend and stretch as needed, flattering and ingratiating when it suited him.
What an act.
He was truly capable of acting!
He even wore an expression so gentle and harmless, glowing with pure sincerity.
Anyone who didn’t know the truth might have believed that he was the kindest and most considerate senior brother in the entire sect.
Fortunately, Xie Chen’s reaction offered the others at least a small measure of comfort.
The young man’s face remained as cold and still as though it had been carved from ice and snow. His dark pupils showed no trace of emotion. As Yin Xuanlin spoke with obvious goodwill, he merely listened in silence.
When Yin Xuanlin tried to draw closer and casually pat his shoulder, the young man even stepped back half a pace, almost imperceptibly, avoiding the touch.
The watching disciples secretly rejoiced.
It seemed their earlier warnings had not been in vain. The junior brother knew exactly what kind of person Yin Xuanlin was and had not been deceived.
Logically speaking, given Yin Xuanlin’s usual pride and arrogance, lowering himself to show kindness only to be met with cold indifference should have caused him to lose face terribly.
Most people expected that he would hold a grudge against Xie Chen from that day forward and that every future encounter would be filled with sarcasm and endless harassment.
Yet to everyone’s surprise, Yin Xuanlin showed no anger at all.
The very next day, he came again, still wearing that same cheerful smile.
“Junior Brother, these are spiritual fruits that just ripened on the mountain behind the sect. They’re especially sweet, would you like to try some?”
“Junior Brother, your courtyard seemed rather empty, so I had this transplanted for you. It’s the most beautiful ‘Golden Lotus Reflecting the Sun’ from the lotus pond.”
“Junior Brother, you’re always so quiet. Are you feeling unwell? By the way, do you like roasted wild boar? I happened to hunt one yesterday…”
“Junior Brother, the weather has turned cold lately. You should wear this white fox fur cloak so you don’t catch a chill.”
“Junior Brother…”
Thus, the disciples began tirelessly examining Yin Xuanlin’s words and actions, analyzing them one by one without rest.
And once they began digging, they truly found suspicious details everywhere.
Take, for example, the matter of him giving the junior brother that high grade spiritual bow.
At first glance, it appeared to be an expensive and generous gift, brimming with sincerity but upon closer thought, could it be that he had deliberately given such an extremely high tier weapon, secretly hoping that Xie Chen, who had only just entered the sect and whose cultivation was still shallow, would fail to control it? If the bow’s spiritual power backlashed, it could easily leave him severely injured or even dead.
Unfortunately, the junior brother’s talent was simply too heaven defying. He managed to control it with ease and Yin Xuanlin’s scheme never succeeded.
And after that, he had given the junior brother a stalk of Blazing Sun Grass. That item possessed such fierce and violent spiritual energy, how could a newly initiated disciple possibly endure it? Surely he had hoped the junior brother would suffer a violent explosion of spiritual energy and perish on the spot.
Yet once again, the plan had failed to work out as intended.
After all, the junior brother was no ordinary person. Instead of harming him, the herb actually caused his cultivation to increase dramatically. In fact, recently he had even been granted special permission to enter the low level Gray Crystal Secret Realm for training.
On his very first expedition, the junior brother’s harvest far surpassed that of his peers.
And his appearance could hardly be called miserable.
He had suffered almost no injuries. At most, his refined and handsome face was smeared with dirt and his clothes were somewhat torn.
Yin Xuanlin’s reaction, however, was excessively dramatic.
He pushed his way through the crowd and rushed forward immediately.
Not only did he use his sleeve to carefully wipe the mud from Xie Chen’s face, his voice was filled with a tension that had never been heard from him before.
“How did you end up like this? Where are you hurt? Does it hurt? Hurry and take this medicine!”
“As expected of little A’Chen. Your first battle and you already obtained so many spirit stones and spiritual fruits. You must be exhausted, right?”
“Come quickly to my place. I’ve made plenty of delicious food, you must let me nourish your body properly!”
The others stood there speechless, their hearts heavy, each of them watching Xie Chen leave with the solemn feeling of seeing a brave warrior off to certain doom.
Junior brother!!!
He’s feeding you medicine and you actually dare to swallow it? Aren’t you afraid it might be poison?!
Not to mention that the so called “nourishing meal” he had prepared was an enormous pot of mountain delicacy mushroom soup!
And all those spiritual mushrooms had been personally picked by Yin Xuanlin himself from the back mountain, a whole basket of them, in every possible color, with bright red caps and pale white stalks.
It was even said that while he was gathering those mushrooms, he would occasionally let out strange, eerie bursts of laughter.
“Jie… jie… jie…”
It was obvious, he was using every sinister method available, deliberately plotting to harm you!
Fortunately, the junior brother seemed to be blessed by fate.
More than half a year passed and he still remained completely intact, safe and sound.
In the blink of an eye, the New Year arrived. The junior brother’s cultivation once again surged forward at an astonishing pace. One after another, he broke through the White Crystal and Yellow Crystal secret realms, places that countless senior brothers and sisters could only gaze at with longing yet never dare to enter.
Relying purely on his own strength, he stepped into the Green Crystal Secret Realm, a domain that only a small number of elite disciples such as Yin Xuanlin had previously been qualified to enter.
And yet, at the same time, the very Senior Brother Yin who had once walked sideways through the Green Crystal Secret Realm, effortlessly defeating every opponent without meeting a single worthy match…
Had suddenly, quite unprecedentedly, begun encountering danger from time to time.
Gradually, as the seemingly cold yet warm hearted junior brother repeatedly suffered injuries while rescuing Senior Brother Yin, the others finally saw through Yin Xuanlin’s newest method of committing his schemes.
“Yin! You… this is clearly deliberate!”
“You intentionally lure out high level demon beasts and activate hidden mechanisms, taking advantage of the junior brother’s upright and pure hearted nature. You’re trying to harm him!”
“Otherwise, how do you explain that every single time you encounter danger, you always emerge completely unharmed?”
“And every single time, the only one who ends up injured is the junior brother!”
Faced with these accusations, Yin Xuanlin merely rested his chin on his hand, answering with an ease that seemed almost carefree, as though he were entirely justified.
“Little A’Chen gets injured simply because his cultivation is unbalanced.”
“Didn’t Master repeatedly advise him with great patience? Yet he stubbornly insists on focusing only on attack techniques while completely neglecting defense. No matter how much we try to persuade him, he refuses to change.”
“When someone concentrates entirely on a single aspect like that, it’s true that progress can come rapidly… but it also carries certain hidden risks.”
“Such as being more prone to injury, naturally.”
The crowd nearly choked with anger. Someone immediately stepped forward.
“If that’s the case, then when you encounter danger together, you, Senior Brother, possess both strong offense and defense. Why can’t you protect him more?”
“I did protect him,” Yin Xuanlin replied, looking utterly innocent. “Otherwise, how do you think he manages to come back alive every single time? It’s all thanks to me risking my life to shield him.”
Twisted logic.
Nothing but completely absurd, twisted nonsense!
Anyone with clear eyes could no longer endure listening to it.
“Then explain this, why is it that only when you enter the secret realm recently does the Green Crystal Secret Realm suddenly become unusually dangerous, with crises appearing one after another?”
“I have no idea either! Do you think I want to run into danger?” Yin Xuanlin said, sounding somewhat exasperated. “You make it sound as if I’m deliberately trying to harm him.”
“I cherish my little junior brother so much in my daily life. Why would I want to harm him?”
Why?
Of course it was because he was jealous of him, eager to eliminate him as quickly as possible.
This Yin Xuanlin was truly vicious beyond words and astonishingly good at putting on an act.
✦ ✧ ✦
Fleurveil
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
✧ Your mission, should you choose to accept it: FEED THE TRANSLATOR. ✧
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
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ChaptersChapter 1 · Once a chosen one of heavenChapter 2 · Why didn’t you crawl in the shadows?!Chapter 3 · They would rather fight each otherChapter 4 · I’ll do a handstand and run naked three times!Chapter 5 · So what if I’m showing off!Chapter 6 · If you look again, I’ll gouge your eyes out!Chapter 7 · The young couple is fighting again.Chapter 8 · I’m back at the Jinchan SectChapter 9 · Sour, sourChapter 10 · To seize credit for someone’s workChapter 11 · The Golden Toad Sect has come to our aid to annihilate the Demon LordChapter 12 · Sect Leader’s HusbandChapter 13 · The stone, fox, tree, and scarecrow are named XuanlinChapter 14 · My junior and I have had sweet moments in private!Chapter 15 · The truth behind their first falling out back thenChapter 16 · Hate lasts longer than loveChapter 17 · Xie Chen was actually the Demon LordChapter 18 · Slaying the Demon LordChapter 19 · From resistance to enjoymentChapter 20 · Xiao Xie’s perspective begins!Chapter 21 · Only because it was Yin XuanlinChapter 22 · Xie Chen was not a foolChapter 23 · The End