That afternoon, Chen Xiaowu rushed over excitedly to tell me that his cultivation had made significant progress, and his Master had rewarded him with a spiritual beast.
“Senior Brother, come with me. Tell me if you see one you like, and I will catch it and give it to you,” Chen Xiaowu said with great enthusiasm.
I did not have much interest in spiritual beasts for three reasons: first, I would not raise one; second, I would not eat it; and third, I was not short on money. Besides, the items available for exchange were just minor trinkets that could easily be bought with money from the accounting department.
After all, the Starry Sky Sect had to manage the food, clothing, and daily expenses of over a hundred people, yet we did not charge tuition fees. We did not accept payment for going down the mountain to subdue demons either, nor were we a temple that received incense money.
If someone like me, one of the few wealthy individuals within the sect, did not contribute a bit, we would probably run out of money soon. I figured this was also the reason why the original host, despite having mediocre aptitude, managed to enter the inner sect so early.
“Why did Yaoshuang not come with you today?” Usually, the two of them always came to find me together.
“Senior Brother Qianyue’s confinement has ended, so Senior Sister went to find him. Senior Brother Qianyue would not even let me play with the Exquisite Pagoda, so I am not going to look for him.”
“Did he say it was with him?”
“He said he did not know what the Exquisite Pagoda was. I do not believe him.”
I smiled. The credibility of that statement was indeed not very high. Chen Xiaowu looked rather silly, yet he was actually quite hard to fool.
“Oh right, Senior Brother Yu, do you know why Senior Brother Qianyue was put in confinement?”
I shook my head and asked, “Why?”
Normally, I did not care to listen to the gossip within the sect. After all, I could never match the names to the faces, but I did have a shred of curiosity about this matter concerning Qianyue.
“A disciple from Zongqi came to study in the sect and ended up fighting with Senior Brother Qianyue. Senior Brother Lin Mo told me that the outer sect disciple said he wanted to become cultivation partners with Senior Brother Qianyue, which made Senior Brother Qianyue furious.”
Throughout the generations, disciples in the Starry Sky Sect who cultivated to the Nascent Soul stage still could not attain immortality, so most chose to take on apprentices.
However, most of those with good aptitude entered the inner sect. The Starry Sky Sect currently had over a dozen branches, which was why the original host was the eldest senior brother of the Starry Sky Sect at such a young age.
Although Duan Qianyue was a man, given that the original host could take a fancy to that face, it would not be strange for other men to do the same.
Every disciple in the sect knew Duan Qianyue’s temper. Furthermore, among the current disciples, his cultivation level was the highest, so no one dared to provoke him. That outer sect disciple was truly bold.
“Right, Senior Brother, can men and women? No, can men and men also become cultivation partners?” Chen Xiaowu asked me with a puzzled look.
“No.” I had no intention of opening up a whole new world for him; if he grew up warped, I would not be able to take responsibility.
“Oh, no wonder Senior Brother Qianyue said that outer sect disciple was crazy. It seems he really was.”
“What happened to that outer sect disciple?” I did not believe anyone could get the better of Duan Qianyue.
“Expelled from the sect.”
No wonder.
“It is getting late. Let us get on our way,” I reminded him, knowing how children tended to forget business once they started chatting.
“Senior Brother, let us race to see who gets there first!” With that, he summoned his sword and soared instantly into mid-air, and I followed closely behind.
As the cold and heat alternated, autumn arrived in the blink of an eye. The air was filled with the fragrance of osmanthus blossoms, and right behind my Yunxian Pavilion stood a century-old osmanthus tree.
“Senior Brother, you are too slow,” Chen Xiaowu laughed.
“Senior Brother, why do you not buy a better sword?”
His words reminded me that this sword was still something I had picked up from the back mountain. However, I had gotten used to using it and it felt natural in my hand. It was said that good swords all had sword spirits and communicated in harmony with their masters.
As we spoke, we stepped into the Misty Forest. No boundary barrier had been set up here, yet the mist seemed to have a spiritual awareness, dividing the area as clearly as the boundary between Chu and Han. The spiritual beasts only operated within the mountain mist.
The moment Chen Xiaowu stepped inside, his eyes lit up, and he chased after a small beast with crimson pupils and flickering flames. Just by looking at its appearance, one could tell it would breathe fire. The humidity in the Misty Forest was extremely high, and if a spiritual beast like this were brought out, it would end up setting your house on fire.
The spiritual beasts feared us and were all hiding away, refusing to come out. I simply used my newly practiced Spirit Pupil technique: closing my eyes and using just a tiny bit of spiritual energy, I could sense living creatures within a radius of a hundred meters, including their size and grade. If they were human, I could tell if their level was lower than mine.
After a long while, Chen Xiaowu came running back toward me, holding the flame beast in his arms.
“Senior Brother, is it not cool?”
“Cool.” The little beast was entirely orange with bright fur, pointed ears, and was undoubtedly cool.
“I am giving it to you!” Chen Xiaowu generously handed the little beast to me.
The little beast bared a few sharp milk teeth and let out a milky roar.
“Junior Brother gives such a fine gift. Are you trying to prepare to burn your Senior Brother’s house down?” A voice came from behind, dripping with sarcasm. Nobody else spoke like that except Duan Qianyue.
“Senior Brother Qianyue.” Chen Xiaowu’s earlier excitement was mostly snuffed out, and he greeted him listlessly.
Duan Qianyue was merely passing by. After dropping those words, he headed deeper into the Misty Forest.
“A small flame beast is indeed rare, and it is fate that Xiaowu managed to catch it. But it is truly not suitable to take outside. How about this, Junior Brother? Give it a name, then release it. Next time we come, bring it some food, and gradually you will be able to tame it,” I advised.
“Alright, then let us call it Xiaozhu.”
“Xiaozhu, Senior Brother Yu and I will come see you next time!” The flame beast was still struggling desperately, yet Chen Xiaowu had already started waxing sentimental, making the scene rather comical.
“Alright, Junior Brother, we should head back. We have braised pork trotters for dinner today, and if we are late, there will not be any left.”
“Oh right! How could I forget about that?” As soon as Chen Xiaowu let go, the flame beast darted away and vanished in a flash.
Soon, the New Year arrived. The sect granted a New Year holiday, allowing all disciples to return home and reunite with their families until before the Lantern Festival, which was a major festival within the sect.
Therefore, the outer sect disciples all gathered together for a meal. It was also an opportunity for everyone, including senior brothers, junior brothers, senior sisters, and junior sisters from the same sect, to get acquainted.
On the day before the New Year, Chen Xiaowu came to invite me to go down the mountain together. Over the past few days, the disciples of the Starry Sky Sect had been leaving the mountain one after another, leaving the entire Starry Sky Sect unusually quiet.
We changed into casual clothes and bid farewell to our Master. Before stepping out of the mountain gates, a melodious sound of a flute drifted over, and I curiously looked in the direction of the sound.
“It is Senior Brother Qianyue,” Chen Xiaowu said.
Duan Qianyue was sitting on a rooftop, playing the flute for a moment before picking up a flask of wine and taking a few sips.
A tragic background was also the standard setup for a web novel protagonist. The original text stated that Duan Qianyue had been picked up by Master Pengying while he was traveling down the mountain, so naturally, he had no family to reunite with for the holidays.
If anyone else had been in his place at this moment, I would have invited them over to the Rong Wang Manor to spend the New Year together. But as for Duan Qianyue, forget it. The protagonist certainly did not need pity from a cannon-fodder character like me.
I only glanced at him once and then withdrew my gaze. “Let us go.”
Though unsaid, Chen Xiaowu could definitely tell that my relationship with Duan Qianyue was poor, so he did not ask any further questions.
We flew down on our swords. It had snowed a few days prior, and now the tips of all the trees were completely white.
When we reached the foot of the mountain, I spotted A-Yun. Chen Xiaowu waved goodbye to him and then parted ways with me. I had never been to Fairy Maiden Mountain, but it should not be too far from here. I reminded him to be careful on the road and not get distracted by playing around.
A-Yun took off the pure white fox-fur cloak hanging over his arm and draped it securely around me, even thoughtfully helping me tie the strings.
With a completely expressionless face, A-Yun attended to these meticulous tasks. Having not seen him for a long time, it still felt just as incongruous as ever.