Chapter 21: Annoying Senior Brother

Chapter 21: Annoying Senior Brother

Luckily, my own master didn't suspect anything. He even asked Li Changshou with genuine concern when he developed these symptoms and carefully examined Li Changshou's wrist.

It was also fortunate that Senior Daoist Qi Yuan was only at the ninth stage of Returning to Dao Realm, just one step away from becoming an immortal. When he probed, Li Changshou easily fooled him, resolving this "minor crisis" for him...

"Your six senses are unstable, and your mind is confused," Qi Yuan earnestly warned, "Changshou, when you return, you should focus on secluding yourself for a period of time. You must not go out and wander around. I will also instruct Ling'e not to disturb you. Your state of mind has some issues, but fortunately, they are not serious. A period of quiet cultivation will suffice."

Li Changshou nodded solemnly, "Yes, Master."

Ahead, there was a bit of tension from Qin Xuanya. Upon hearing this, she also breathed a sigh of relief. Her subtle expression happened to fall into the eyes of the nearby Daoist Jiu Wu, whose eyes gleamed with interest.

"Quite interesting."

His thick, short eyebrows raised slightly, his expression suddenly filled with playful intent...

Upon hearing Senior Daoist Qi Yuan's words, Jiu Jiu also relaxed. He stood up and jumped to Qin Xuanya's side, quietly asking what had happened earlier.

Li Changshou glanced at the Soul Capturing Bead in his storage magic item. There were still a few remnants of souls inside that hadn't completely dissipated, containing many fragments of memories. So, he quietly released a strand of spiritual consciousness, placed the Soul Capturing Bead in a more secluded corner, and sealed it with a talisman.

Not my business; all's well that ends well.

Jiu Wu's strength was much stronger than Jiu Jiu's, but even within the Northern Continent, he didn't dare to fly at full speed. This short Daoist was quite cautious, never uttering a word while traveling and always scanning the surroundings vigilantly.

—This made Li Changshou quite fond of him.

Finally, they safely left the Northern Lu Continent without incident.

After leaving the area covered by miasma, Jiu Wu led them a hundred miles southward and found a desolate mountain, where he informed several fellow disciples to gather there.

After waiting for almost half an hour, Wang Qi's master arrived first with Wang Qi and Liu Yan'er; followed by Qin Xuanya's master, Ge Jingshan, and Yuan Qing's master, Lin Qi. It took another two hours for Liu Yan'er's master to arrive at the scene.

Ge Jingshan was a 'standard template' fairy, with a beautiful face surrounded by a clear aura. Her hair was tied up, wearing fairy clothes, she exuded a full aura of immortality, yet did not lose the earthly warmth.

"Xiaoya!"

Seeing her beloved disciple kneeling on the ground, covered in bandages with blood stains on her long skirt, Ge Jingshan's face showed a trace of sorrow. She rushed to Qin Xuanya's side and embraced her in her arms.

"Master..."

"Master is here, master is here! It's master's fault for being confused for a moment and agreeing to Yuan Qing's request to let you come here to search for something like the Hate Fire Clear Mind Grass as training. It's all master's fault!"

Qin Xuanya's eyes slightly reddened, but she took a deep breath, steadying her emotions, and said softly, "Disciple is useless, making master worry."

Lin Qi, who had received the news of Yuan Qing's death, did not get angry. Looking at his disciple Qin Xuanya, who was kneeling there, with a heavy voice, he asked:

"What exactly happened?"

When they split up to search, they also took away a Fairy who was Yuan Qing's accomplice. At this time, that Fairy was also dealt with by them casually and roughly, and the general situation was asked.

Jiu Wu said, "Junior Brother Lin Qi, calm down a bit, let Xuanya tell the whole story in detail. Xuanya, try to be as detailed as possible and don't hide anything!"

Ge Jingshan hurriedly said, "Xiaoya, just tell everything, master will take care of everything for you!"

"Disciple obeys," Qin Xuanya looked towards Li Changshou on the periphery. Just as her emotions were about to fluctuate, they inexplicably calmed down.

She sighed first and slowly recounted everything from the moment they split up as a group of five disciples, leaving no detail untold.

From the afternoon until dusk, from dusk until the stars filled the sky;

'Why didn't this Poison Sister start from the beginning of the world?' Li Changshou silently complained, quietly going to a slightly farther place to meditate and adjust his breath, also hearing about Qin Xuanya's approximate experience...

After being trapped by Jiu Jiu, Yuan Qing did not directly attack Qin Xuanya. Instead, he first called a group of bandits to attack the two of them, wanting to play the hero to save the beauty.

As a result, Qin Xuanya's 'beauty' was much stronger than Yuan Qing's 'hero', making Yuan Qing's situation extremely embarrassing; then Yuan Qing changed his strategy, constantly putting pressure on the two people, creating an atmosphere of desperation, and then took the opportunity to express his feelings to Qin Xuanya.

However, when facing the desperate situation, Qin Xuanya still straightforwardly rejected Yuan Qing's confession of "living together, dying together"...

His soft tactics repeatedly failed, and Yuan Qing finally became angry out of humiliation. He tore off his mask and tried to control Qin Xuanya with the Emotion Gu, but Qin Xuanya found an opportunity to escape using a Teleportation Talisman, coincidentally meeting Li Changshou, who saved her for the first time...

After recovering from her injuries, Qin Xuanya wanted to take a detour back to the Miasma Forest, but after walking for a few days, she found herself accidentally lost. Then she was unlucky enough to be found by Yuan Qing's group, and had no choice but to fight a battle; once again, Li Changshou passed by in time.

Under Li Changshou's guidance, Qin Xuanya led those people to a dangerous nest of poisonous creatures, ultimately causing them to be killed by the poisonous creatures, and she personally killed Yuan Qing.

Listening to Qin Xuanya recount these events, Li Changshou couldn't help but sigh inwardly:

"This Yuan Qing had so many opportunities, but he was useless by himself."

He felt somewhat sorry for the subordinates of Yu Wenling, such as Yuan Qing.

After Qin Xuanya finished recounting her experiences on this trip, everyone's gaze fell on Li Changshou.

Ge Jingshan personally brought Qin Xuanya over, and the two of them solemnly bowed to Li Changshou in gratitude, saying they would offer heavier gratitude upon their return to the sect. Li Changshou, however, felt somewhat 'awkward' and repeatedly declined.

Afraid that Li Changshou might say something wrong, Qi Yuan arrived in time, smilingly accepting this wave of gratitude.

In the scene, only Yuan Qing's master Lin Qi was the most embarrassed at the moment.

"Alas," Lin Qi sighed, "it's this disciple's fault for misjudging. After returning to the mountain, I'll accept punishment."

Jiu Wu said, "That Yuan Qing schemed deeply. His character was corrupt when he entered the sect. Brother, you directly took him as a disciple during the last opening ceremony of the mountain. You can't blame yourself for this."

Lin Qi shook his head with a dim expression and said nothing more.

Although Yuan Qing did evil, he was still Lin Qi's disciple after all. At this moment, this Daoist was also somewhat distressed, and everyone advised each other for a while.

Regarding Qin Xuanya killing Yuan Qing, although she had the moral upper hand, she still killed a fellow disciple and would still be punished according to the sect's rules.

Of course, the punishment was very minor, just a few years of closed-door introspection in the mountains.

Jiu Wu also encouraged Li Changshou a few words, saying that there would be rewards for Li Changshou within the sect after returning, and the rewards for Li Changshou would definitely not be stingy.

They did not return to the Path of Transcendence together. Qi Yuan took Li Changshou, along with Liu Yan'er and Wang Qi, the two master-disciple pairs, to slowly travel behind.

The others hurried back to the Path of Transcendence, those who were punished would be punished, and those who pleaded guilty would plead guilty.

They were in such a hurry because of Ge Jingshan's urging.

Qin Xuanya's master was not an ordinary person. She herself was the head disciple, with a high position within the sect, and had a profound cultivation base and numerous magical treasures. Moreover, she had a Daoist companion who treated her with utmost respect, who was also a master of the Heavenly Immortal Realm.

Although the matter in the Northern Continent had come to an end, how could Ge Jingshan let her disciple suffer these grievances for nothing?

Before setting off, Ge Jingshan directly sent a message to her Daoist companion, asking him to find a few idle fellow disciples. After she returned to the mountain, she would immediately rush to the Southern Continent, determined to uproot the secular forces behind Yuan Qing, leaving no room for future trouble!

The journey back to the mountain was calm and uneventful, without any waves.

But whenever Li Changshou heard Liu Yan'er's affectionate call of 'Senior Brother Qi Qi', he couldn't help but shiver...

Ah, cultural differences, cultural differences.

...

At night, Little Qiong Peak was quiet and peaceful. A white cloud hovered in the air, and Li Changshou floated down from above, while Senior Daoist Qi Yuan had a face full of spring breeze, floating towards other peaks on the cloud.

—Master had just received an invitation from Liu Yan'er's master to go over for a small drink and a gathering.

Stepping through the isolation array he had set up himself, stepping onto the familiar grass, Li Changshou breathed a sigh of relief.

Stable.

"Senior Brother!"

A joyful shout came from the side, and Li Changshou turned his head to see his junior sister's grass hut surrounded by a faint green light.

The small array that isolated external exploration was opened from the inside, and the sound came from this crack...

The sound of flowing water continued endlessly, as Ling'e joyfully shouted, "Senior Brother, you're back! Are you injured? What happened earlier? Why are you so late!"

Before her voice fell, a graceful figure rushed out of the grass hut. She was wrapped in only a thin quilt, her graceful figure exceptionally charming, her long hair dripping wet, and her delicate skin covered with clear water.

But she didn't care about these things. When she saw Li Changshou, she jumped up happily.

She had just entered the wooden tub not long ago, just finished bathing, and perhaps accidentally washed her eyes. Her almond eyes suddenly became misty, and she opened her arms and threw herself over.

Li Changshou instinctively wanted to dodge, but seeing Ling'e's pair of eyes full of grievances, he sighed inwardly, stood still with his hands behind his back, and let his junior sister crash into his arms.

"Senior Brother, you scared me to death! You didn't come back all this time, I thought something happened to you!"

Ling'e's voice couldn't help but carry a hint of crying, and she even choked up a bit. But just as she was about to cry, a big hand gently rubbed her head.

"Senior Brother..."

Looking up at him, Ling'e's eyes sparkled, her small mouth couldn't help but pout.

Li Changshou suddenly said, "By the way, Master..."

"Ah!"

Ling'e suddenly realized, thinking that Master had also returned with this Senior Brother, she softly called out, turned around in a hurry, and rushed back into the grass hut, wrapped in a quilt, and plunged into the large wooden tub, hiding in the water and not daring to come out.

—The way she looked just now could naturally be seen by Senior Brother, but how could she be seen by other men besides Senior Brother!

Master is also not allowed!

Releasing his spiritual consciousness to probe outside, Ling'e looked puzzled and raised her head out of the water...

Li Changshou's voice floated over from outside, "Master, she... has gone to the other mountain peaks for a banquet. I'll rest for a while and come to ask you about this training later at the hour of the tiger."

With that, he casually opened the formation around her grass hut again, floated back to his own residence.

In the wooden tub, Ling'e looked down at the thin quilt wrapped around her body, her face gradually turning red.

"Stinky Senior Brother..."

She muttered with pursed lips, then slowly sank into the water, leaving a string of bubbles on the water surface.