There was only one horse, so Chen Xiaowu let me sit in front while he wrapped his arms around me. The feeling was a bit strange, but getting back safely was the top priority now.
He took a small path that bypassed Spring Night City, making the journey slightly shorter. As night fell, I asked him if we should find a place to rest.
“Senior Brother can just lean against me and sleep if you are tired. We will arrive tomorrow.” He let the horse walk at a leisurely pace.
By the afternoon of the second day, we had indeed reached the foot of the sect’s mountain. The horses were thoroughly exhausted by this point.
He led the horse to a local household, handed over some silver, and then very naturally wrapped his arm around me to fly back to the sect on a sword.
It saved me some energy, but the whole thing still felt rather strange.
Upon entering the sect, I told him to get some rest while I went to find Master.
“Then I will come to Leisure Cloud Tower later to look for Senior Brother and treat your injuries.” He said before heading back.
Stepping out through the side door of the main hall, there was a bamboo grove containing a bamboo cottage named Years of Tranquility, which was precisely Master’s residence.
Spiritual energy gathered all around this grove, making it ideal for healing.
As I drew closer, I saw a person sitting on a straw mat in the front courtyard of the bamboo cottage. It was Duan Qianyue, his outer robes stripped away, revealing numerous sword wounds that had not yet fully healed.
Master was sitting nearby, sipping tea.
“Yu’er has arrived.”
When I approached, Duan Qianyue opened his eyes, glanced at me, and then resumed closing his eyes in meditation.
“How is Junior Brother Qianyue doing?” I asked.
“No major issues,” Master said.
“Master, the people who hurt us and killed Senior Sister were Tang Ying from the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion and his disciples.” I stated.
“Your Junior Brother Qianyue has already told me. I have already sent a letter to Pavilion Master Chen to ask for clarification.” Master replied.
Master’s implication was that we had to wait and see what the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion’s pavilion master had to say before deciding on the next course of action.
“What if the pavilion master of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion is the one behind this?” I asked.
“Yu’er, do not spout nonsense. Pavilion Master Chen is a person of high virtue and prestige; how could he make things difficult for a few juniors?”
Since he put it that way, I had nothing more to say. After all, I had only been guessing randomly.
“Sit down and have some tea.” Master said.
“No, I will head back first.” I said.
“Come over.” Seeing that Master was not just being polite, but genuinely wanted to share tea with me, I had no choice but to sit down.
I filled Master’s cup with tea and poured one for myself.
“Master, what happened regarding Junior Brother Meng last time?” I suddenly remembered to ask.
Master merely shook his head without answering me.
After a moment, he said, “You will take care of Qianyue for the next few days.”
I was startled. Why was this suddenly falling on me? Duan Qianyue also opened his eyes to look at me.
“This disciple feels it would be better to choose someone else. Master, my own injuries have not even fully healed yet.”
With so many disciples in the sect, I simply could not understand why I was the one assigned to look after Duan Qianyue. Did they think our relationship had soured because of the divine punishment whip last time, and were trying to find an opportunity for us to spend more time together? That was completely unnecessary.
Master placed his hand on my wrist, channeling a healing spell. After Chen Xiaowu treated me yesterday, my injuries were already mostly better, and with Master’s touch now, I was practically fine.
“How is it now?” Master asked.
“I think Junior Brother Qianyue probably doesn’t want me to take care of him either.”
“Oh? Is that so?” Master looked at Duan Qianyue.
“I will obey Master’s arrangements.” Duan Qianyue rasped out.
Master looked back at me.
“This disciple understands.” I said helplessly.
“The tea is finished. Yu’er, escort Junior Brother Qianyue back.” Master said.
The old man was practically shooing me away. I had only taken a single sip of my tea.
Reluctantly, I stood up and walked over to Duan Qianyue.
“Let’s go, Junior Brother.” I said, my tone less than pleasant.
Duan Qianyue paid his respects to Master, put his outer robe back on, and stood there without moving. I walked over to support him.
“Thank you, Senior Brother.” His voice was very hoarse, and his lips were extremely pale.
After recuperating here for so many days, even with Master treating him, he was still in this state. It seemed his brush with death had truly been a near-fatal ordeal.
“Don’t put all your weight on me. I’m barely going to be able to hold you up.”
“I’m sorry, Senior Brother.”
Despite saying that, his posture didn’t change one bit. I genuinely wondered if he was doing it on purpose.
“At this rate, you might as well let me carry you on my back.”
“Alright.”
Wonderful. I had dug a pit and jumped right into it myself.
“Don’t wrap your arms around me so tightly.” I complained irritably.
Duan Qianyue let out an oh, but his arms didn’t loosen their grip at all. His chin rested on my shoulder, and the warm breath from his exhales brushed against my neck, making it tickle.
“Where on earth do you live?” We had been walking for ages and still hadn’t reached his White Cloud Abode.
“Does Senior Brother not even remember where I live?” He asked.
I truly had never been there before. In fact, there were large parts of the entire Starry Sky Sect that I had never set foot in.
The White Cloud Abode was shrouded in rolling mist, truly looking as though it were floating among the clouds. It was a remarkably crude and simple wooden cottage, a stark contrast to my Leisure Cloud Tower. The protagonist really did live in destitute conditions.
“Why isn’t Senior Brother coming inside?” He asked.
“I’ll head back first.” I said.
“Master instructed Senior Brother to take care of me. Senior Brother needs to channel healing energy into me every single hour, otherwise my wounds will deteriorate.”
“I haven’t even learned any healing spells.”
Duan Qianyue picked up a cultivation manual from the table and tossed it to me.
Healing Spells. He actually expected me to learn it on the spot.
“How about I have Xiaowu come over? He knows how.”
“Master said…” Before he could finish, I interrupted, “Forget about Master. I’ll learn it. I’ll learn it right now.”
He seemed satisfied, a smile blooming across his pale face.
I always had the sneaking suspicion he was doing this on purpose. Knowing full well that I was afflicted with the Blue Grass poison, he still wanted me to expend my spiritual energy to treat him. Unhappy, I chose to ignore him.
While he sat in meditation, I flipped through the healing manual, channeling spiritual energy into him once every hour.
“Is Senior Brother not curious about what happened later that day?” He asked.
“If you want to talk, then talk.”
I waited a moment, but he didn’t say anything further. “Did you give the Exquisite Pagoda to them?” I asked.
“Hah.” He sneered. “How could I possibly give it to them?”
No wonder he was beaten to such a state. Brazenly provoking Tang Ying, who was in the Deity Transformation realm, and still managing to come out alive, he truly lived up to being the protagonist.
“Why does the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion want the Exquisite Pagoda so badly?”
“Senior Brother, give me your hand.” He said after a moment of contemplation.
Without questioning why, I handed him my hand. He grasped my hand with one of his while taking out the Exquisite Pagoda with the other, channeling spiritual energy to activate it. The next instant, we found ourselves in a peach blossom forest, as if immersed in a sea of pink.
“Is it pretty, Senior Brother?” Seeing that I remained silent, he chuckled. The scene shifted again, and we were standing among the mountains amidst a sea of clouds, with a vista resembling a magnificent landscape painting unfurling in the distance.
“You mean, with the Exquisite Pagoda, one can exist independently in another utopia?” I asked.
The next instant, we returned to the White Cloud Abode, and Duan Qianyue put the Exquisite Pagoda away.
“Senior Brother is thinking too simply. While it is true that one could live at ease in another peach blossom spring, why would someone go through such elaborate schemes to snatch this pagoda if that were all there is to it?”
He paused for a second before continuing:
“If someone’s cultivation is high enough, they can bring everyone in this world into the Exquisite Pagoda. They can transform the interior of the pagoda to be completely identical to the outside world, so that people never realize they have already entered the pagoda. That person would then become the master of this world. If they cannot become the master of this real world, they can become the master of a replicated world.”
I never imagined that such a small pagoda could achieve something like this.
“Who are you referring to?” I asked in shock.
“Senior Brother is truly smart, catching on with just a single hint.” He put back on that cheeky, playful expression.
“My guess is Chen Haishu.”