Chapter 32: Xiaoyu Pays Respect to Her Master

A month later, beneath the Cliff of Reflection.

 As dawn broke, Ye Dafu and his companions finally finished memorizing their books.

 "Boss, you're amazing! We just completed two books, and you've finished four?" one of the lackeys marveled.

 "Of course! If I didn't work hard at memorizing, would I just stand here taking that brat's nonsense every day?" Ye Dafu shot a glare at the lackey.

 "Now that we've finished our books, can we leave? Should we find a way to teach that little punk a lesson before we go?" another lackey asked.

 With a whoosh, everyone glared at that lackey in unison.

 "Don't you think we've memorized enough already? Damn it, can't we leave this place in peace?" Ye Dafu cursed.

 "Exactly! We don't want to come back here again." The group echoed his sentiments.

 The lackey recalled the torturous experience from a month ago and shivered.

 "Time is on our side; there will be opportunities later," Ye Dafu said through gritted teeth, a sinister glint in his eyes.

 "Boss is right; time is on our side." The lackeys also showed fierce expressions.

 Suddenly, they all felt something and instinctively turned to look behind Ye Dafu, only to see three enforcers quietly standing nearby, eavesdropping on their conversation.

 "When did you guys get here?" Ye Dafu's face changed, and he exclaimed.

 The group inhaled sharply, realizing how stealthy the enforcers were.

 "You've finished your books? Just like last time, sneaking around and whispering? Are you planning something bad again? What was that about time being on your side?" one enforcer asked coldly.

 The group's expressions changed drastically.

 "No, you must have misheard. We're leaving now, right this minute!" Ye Dafu quickly backtracked.

 "We weren't planning to ambush Nan Feng! Please don't punish us with more memorization!" one lackey blurted out nervously.

 "Shut your crow's mouth!" Ye Dafu yelled in anger, then turned to the enforcers, "Brothers, we should take our leave. Goodbye—no, let's not meet again!"

 With that, Ye Dafu fled in a panic, followed closely by his lackeys, disappearing in an instant. The enforcers stared blankly, wondering why their casual question had elicited such a reaction.

 "Are they really thinking about ambushing Junior Brother Nan Feng again?" one enforcer wondered aloud.

 They glanced towards Nan Feng's room, unaware of the terror unfolding inside.

 As Nan Feng slept deeply, dark mist enveloped him, and a pale skeleton stood quietly by his bedside, watching him as if waiting for something, yet it remained motionless.

 Nan Feng exited his deep sleep and opened his eyes, meeting the skeleton's gaze.

 He didn't scream; he was already accustomed to this. His face merely twitched slightly.

 "Lady Rouge? It's been a month. If you keep watching me like this, my little heart can't take it! At first, when I woke up, you and this dark mist would scatter quickly and hide from me. Have you gotten used to it now, boldly standing in front of me without fear of me screaming and attracting attention?" Nan Feng spoke to the skeleton with a hint of exasperation.

 The skeleton continued to stare at him in silence, seemingly blaming him for not dreaming, which had prevented it from entering his dreams for an entire month.

 "I apologize for what happened before, but you can't blame me entirely. If you want to kill me, I have to save myself. You've been clinging to me for a month; my spirit has suffered under your torment. Can we call it even now?" Nan Feng pleaded gently.

 The skeleton remained still, fixated on him. You call that torment? For a month, you've slept deeper than a dead pig.

 "Let's part on good terms. I bought the best incense for you; can we say it's a tribute to you? Just don't bother me anymore. I'm innocent!" Nan Feng tried to reason with it.

 He lit a stick of incense and placed it in the incense burner, the smoke swirling, filling the room with a hazy atmosphere.

 "How does this brand of smoke taste?" Nan Feng looked expectantly at the skeleton.

 Unfortunately, the skeleton showed no reaction, clearly unaffected.

 "Not to your liking? Don't worry; I'll find one you prefer next time," Nan Feng promised, patting his chest.

 The skeleton: "..."

 Helpless, Nan Feng stepped out of the room, ignoring the sulking Lady Rouge inside.

 After a deep sleep, one's energy is revitalized. Nan Feng began another energetic day.

 After washing up, he absorbed the morning's vitality, then ate and practiced martial arts.

 Xiaoyu, looking disheveled, arrived breathlessly. "I heard you were looking for me?"

 "Yeah, where have you been? You look terrible!" Nan Feng asked curiously.

 "I just returned from eradicating a monster den. It took a lot out of the boss. I barely had time to rest before hearing you needed me urgently. What's going on? Did you run out of money and want to borrow from me?" Xiaoyu teased proudly.

 "Go clean yourself up and put on some nice clothes before you come back!" Nan Feng shook his head.

 "Hey? You're getting quite demanding, calling me over and complaining about my appearance? Spit it out already!" Xiaoyu crossed her arms, fire in her eyes.

 "Hey, do you think I'm that kind of person? As for why I want you to tidy up, you should figure that out yourself! Unappreciative," Nan Feng retorted.

 Xiaoyu paused, then her eyes lit up as she grabbed his sleeve. "You didn't… you didn't succeed, did you?"

 Nan Feng laughed. "My master has been in a good mood lately. I hinted at it a few times, and thankfully, my efforts paid off; Master finally agreed."

 "Elder Ku finally agreed to take me as a disciple? Haha, Nan Feng, I knew you were loyal!" Xiaoyu exclaimed, jumping up and hugging him tightly.

 "Ahem!"

 Nan Feng coughed a few times as he was squeezed. Only then did Xiaoyu, excited, dash away. He looked at her with a strange expression, thinking, She's small, but she's quite strong!

 Before long, Xiaoyu returned, looking refreshed and wearing neat clothes, beaming with joy.

 Elder Ku was already sitting beside Nan Feng, seemingly instructing him in martial arts.

 "Disciple Xiaoyu, pays respect to Master," she approached, eyes full of expectation as she bowed to Elder Ku.

 "Xiaoyu, it's not that I didn't want to teach you the art of the zither, but I can't. My zither holds a dark entity, and it shouldn't be touched lightly," Elder Ku explained with a sigh.

 "Dark entity?" Xiaoyu asked, puzzled.

 "Indeed! However, that entity hasn't been bothering me lately, which is a good thing," Elder Ku said cheerfully.

 Nan Feng frowned beside them. Is that really a good thing? Lady Rouge is no longer bothering you; she's taken a liking to me and haunts me every day.

 "I can't guarantee that the dark entity won't return to bother me. So, learning the zither with me is still quite dangerous. Do you still want to learn?" Elder Ku asked calmly.

 "I'm willing!" Xiaoyu declared firmly.

 "Good. Then just like Nan Feng, I'll first accept you as a nominal disciple. Once I've completely dealt with that dark entity, I'll formally take you on as my personal disciple and we'll establish a master-disciple contract then," Elder Ku stated solemnly.

 "Yes, Master, I pay my respects!" Xiaoyu was ecstatic and bowed deeply.

 After bowing to Elder Ku, Xiaoyu turned to Nan Feng with gratitude. "Thank you, Junior Brother!"

 "I entered Master's sect first; you should call me Senior Brother," Nan Feng replied, shaking his head.

 "Dream on! In the rules of the Taiqing Immortal Sect, we second-generation disciples defer to the stronger. With your innate realm, you think you can be my Senior Brother? Not a chance! You'll continue being my little brother!" Xiaoyu laughed triumphantly.

 "Xiaoyu, have you ever studied the zither?" Elder Ku inquired.

 "I've practiced secretly. I learned some scriptures about entering the Dao through melodies from the Sutra Repository. Please, Master, guide me," Xiaoyu said with a serious expression.

 "Play a piece for me, let me listen," Elder Ku instructed, pointing to his ancient zither.

 "Yes!" Xiaoyu responded eagerly.

 Setting up Elder Ku's zither, she quickly assumed a serious demeanor and began to play.

 "Ding ding ding ding…"

 A series of zither notes rang out, and Nan Feng suddenly noticed a ripple of spiritual energy in the surroundings, though it was far from his master's playing.

 "Master, this is the best I can do," Xiaoyu said respectfully after finishing the piece.

 "You actually entered the Dao through melodies?" Elder Ku was astonished.

 "Just the beginning; I still have a long way to go," Xiaoyu said humbly, though a hint of pride peeked through.

 "Now that you've entered the Dao, it saves me a lot of trouble. Starting tomorrow, prepare your own zither and practice with me daily," Elder Ku said, satisfied.

 "Thank you, Master!" Xiaoyu said joyfully, bowing again.

 Elder Ku then explained a few things before heading to the Sutra Repository to choose scriptures for the two of them.

"Junior Brother, you've finally fulfilled my wish! Unlike that Zhao Yuanjiao, who I begged so many times for help but always made excuses. You're the one who's truly loyal!" Xiaoyu exclaimed excitedly.

"Of course!" Nan Feng smiled.

"On this mission to eradicate the monster den, we brought back a lot of monster beasts. I'll share a couple with you to taste. No time to chat, I'm off to buy a good zither!" Xiaoyu hurriedly said, practically bouncing with excitement.

"Sister, didn't you just learn to enter the Dao through melodies? Don't you already have your own zither?" Nan Feng asked, curious.

"I entered the Dao through melodies, but I didn't learn on the guqin; I learned to play the xiao," Xiaoyu whispered, explaining.

"Xiao?" Nan Feng was taken aback.

"Yeah, I'm really good at playing the xiao. One day, I'll find a chance to show you," Xiaoyu said proudly.

Nan Feng: "…"

After Xiaoyu happily ran off to choose her guqin, Nan Feng suppressed his swirling emotions and returned to practicing his martial arts.