Senior Sister Jing Tan’er asked in a trembling voice, “It couldn’t be that Bloodthirsty Banner Lord’s personal disciple, could it? I heard he’s always suppressing his cultivation, using the Soul-destroying Bone Awl to steal others’ vital essence, trying to fuse a Perfect Spiritual Foundation through demonic methods.”
“Even cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage who practice vicious Blood Techniques have a hard time dealing with him.”
“That’s right.”
Everyone else looked grave as well, and no wonder, Yun Liu himself was seriously injured, wounded by a Yin Poison Method that struck his Sea of Qi.
That was why Ma Zhong and Liu Zhi had been so shocked by Chi Jiu’s defeat.
But that person didn’t last long—just cannon fodder.
Because of this, the main group had drawn the ire of the Blood Demon Patriarch.
“Luckily, Junior Sister Ji appeared in time and slew the fiend. Otherwise, Xun Ran and I truly wouldn’t have known what to do. It’s my fault for lacking in skill and shaming our Master.”
The youth lowered his head in “shame,” cupping his fists toward Huangmao, once again expressing his gratitude and attributing all the credit to her.
“Ah?”
Ji Shiyu had been staring longingly at the desserts on the table, drooling with hunger, when she was suddenly called out, scratching her head in confusion.
It was indeed the truth, but you, brat, don’t say that to me in private!
Jing Tan’er looked at her with a complicated gaze. If that was really the case, then losing to Ji Shiyu wasn’t unjust at all.
She admitted she didn’t have the ability to provoke the eighty-ninth ranked on the Asura Ranking.
Seeing everyone looking at her with strange expressions, Huangmao said in puzzlement, “Really? Did I ever fight that… uh, Nine… whatever?”
“Don’t mind it. A little Demon Cult Disciple must have been accidentally slain by you, Junior Sister, without you even realizing it. You probably trampled right over him without noticing. Your talent is truly astonishing. As your Senior Brother, I am deeply impressed!”
Yun Liu gave a thumbs-up, praising Huangmao to the skies with no hesitation.
The best way to handle an airhead… is to turn her into an even bigger airhead!
“Is… is that so? Maybe, or rather, it must be! You’re not bad yourself—you held on until I arrived, so the two of us cut down the whole street together! Wahahaha!”
Ji Shiyu put her hands on her hips and laughed heartily, her smile simple and honest—a prime example of being easy to fool.
Hearing that the fiend she casually slew was actually so formidable, didn’t that just make her shine even brighter as the number one unrivaled genius beauty of the Nine Provinces?
“Hah!?”
Xiao Xinran was so angry she laughed.
The two of them were singing in perfect harmony, acting like a couple, as if she didn’t exist.
When she slaughtered the fiend, everyone pretended to be deaf; Huangmao just picked up the leftovers and was praised to the heavens.
That big dummy Yun Liu must have been fooled silly by some green tea girl.
And wasn’t it you who beheaded the Bone Spike freak with a single sword strike?!
As for this, Gelan looked worried.
No matter the reason, this grudge had been formed.
“So that’s how it is. Chi Jiu was the Blood Demon Patriarch’s beloved disciple—he invested a lot in him. With Shiyu’s abilities, she could definitely make the Asura Ranking and take his place. Still, you must be careful when traveling the Nine Provinces; Demon Sect fiends are the most vengeful. Incidents like last night may happen again.”
“I’m not afraid at all! If I did it, I’ll take responsibility. Let them come!”
Ji Shiyu lifted her nose to the sky, sounding a bit puffed up, not knowing that the scheming youth was waiting for those very words.
The fawning boy, with his flattery and snacks, had made her perfectly comfortable, old grievances wiped clean, past offenses forgiven.
Xiao Xinran gritted her teeth and said, “Of course you’re not afraid—you sleep like a dead pig!”
“Eh-heh ๑> ₃ <, I saved you once, you saved me once. That’s fair, isn’t it?”
“Get lost!”
At first, Ao Tian listened with delight, thinking Yun Liu had changed his opinion of Shiyu and grown fond of her, but the more he listened, the more wrong it sounded.
Damn it, this brat is passing the blame, clearly not wanting to take responsibility for this mess!
Obviously, it was Xiao Xinran who caused the trouble, but when word spreads, it will all be pinned on Shiyu, and all the consequences will come down on those two!
Yun Liu was still clapping his hands, distancing himself completely, acting like an innocent passerby.
He avoided mentioning the cave ghosts entirely, shifting the focus onto Huangmao.
When he left, he would surely spread the story, drawing the Demon Sect’s hatred onto her.
Suddenly, a spiritual message arrived.
The Head of Clear Mist Peak looked strange, gazing into the distance.
“There’s news—the fleeing fiend has been found, but… it’s just a pile of incomplete corpses.”
“Dead?”
Xiao Xinran and Ji Shiyu both breathed a sigh of relief, their hearts settling a bit.
“Strange. They died in a remote mountain hollow. Did they run into a troublesome beast? Or perhaps a powerful Inner Disciple happened to pass by and cleaned up along the way.”
Gelan let out a gentle breath and comforted them, “In any case, you can rest easy. The Sea of Clouds is safe now. Though this started because of you, it was ultimately the Sect’s guardians who failed in their duty. I promise the two of you this will never happen again.”
“You two should rest for a few days. Your cultivation lessons can wait. Liu’er, during this time, as Senior Brother, you must take good care of your friends. That’s an order.”
For some reason, the word “friends” sounded particularly ambiguous.
“Disciple… obeys.”
With that, the Head of Qingxia Peak reluctantly put down her teacup and went to investigate in person.
At the doorway, Gelan waved Yun Liu over, hooked an arm around his neck, and pulled him into her embrace to whisper quietly.
“Tell your Second Mother the truth—who’s your chosen one? I’ll help Bingling keep an eye out. That yellow-haired girl is quite talented, and Miss Xiao isn’t bad either. Or do you prefer the slender, tall type?”
Gelan grinned mischievously, acting nothing like a proper elder.
Leaving aside the routine Qinyao, the three girls inside all seemed suitable as “daughters-in-law.”
The Xiao Family may lack vision, but Xun Ran herself knew quality when she saw it—look, she chased all the way here.
Yun Liu’s face turned red, barely able to breathe under the strong “spiritual pressure.”
“Head Seat, please behave!”
“What did you call me? Brat, you’ve even learned to scheme with your Second Mother now, haven’t you? Sigh, kids grow up, their wings harden, and once they get a girlfriend, they don’t care about their elders. Poor me and your Aunt Master, so old and lonely, still counting on you to support us in our old age.”
The shameless Head Seat, calling herself Second Mother, looked as if she might cry, acting nothing like an elder in private and having no bottom line at all.
“Some people, when they were little, would cry and throw themselves at me, demanding milk. How could a maiden like me have any milk to give? Bingling nearly beat your butt raw in frustration. But it’s not your fault—your master’s land really is barren.”
When the little aunt wasn’t home, Second Mother ruled the roost—truly shameless.
“T-there’s no need to bring up the past!”
“Why not? Even your horse would respectfully call me Senior Sister. Is it shameful to call me Second Mother? In a flash, so many years have passed. You’ve grown up, time to get yourself a wife and have some milk.”
“…?”
Gelan let go, then suddenly gave the youth a gentle hug, stroking his head and sighing softly.
Fifth Stage of Qi Refinement already, watching her own cultivation slip away bit by bit—nothing could be more bitter.
“Such a disaster, you’ve suffered so much. As far as I know, only a Fourth Grade Alchemist can reliably refine a Reversion Pill, and that’s at least a Nascent Soul Stage pill cultivator. There are barely a handful in the entire Royal Family.”
Shenhua Sect is a famous orthodox school—they couldn’t just draw their swords and kidnap someone.
Don’t be fooled by the fact that her family members were all Head Seats, admired by tens of thousands; their cultivation was high, but so was their consumption.
All their combined assets didn’t even match Jing Tan’er, a princess of the mundane world.
Gelan saw all this and felt anxious and guilty, unable to live up to her Junior Sister’s trust, feeling just as helpless.
Besides, Liu’er’s identity was too special, tied to an old story.
Maybe living a plain, peaceful life wasn’t such a bad thing after all.
That might be what the Sect Leader Senior Brother thought as well.
At least, Junior Sister had never wanted her son to join the Sect for cultivation…
“Enough joking. If you can never cultivate again, what will you do?”
“I’ll take it one step at a time. If it really can’t be helped, I’ll leave the Sect and find another way to make a living.”
Yun Liu spoke honestly. Gelan’s face changed at once, and she scolded him sternly.
“Don’t say such foolish things again. If you can’t be cured, your Second Mother will support you for life. Wait till I get back—I’ll deal with you properly then!”