Chapter 10: I’m Going to Call My Parents

On the high platform, Qin Mengyu watched Qin Mu leave, her eyes reflecting the reactions of those around them earlier, clearly satisfied.

“Ruoshuang-jie, that move of yours was really impressive.”

Qin Mengyu turned to look at her older sister, only to find Qin Ruoshuang engrossed in a picture book, reading with great interest.

??

Usually, those sword techniques—Qin Ruoshuang could master them with just a glance, skimming through and grasping the essence instantly.

To see her so absorbed in viewing something was truly surprising to Qin Mengyu.

Driven by curiosity, Qin Mengyu leaned closer for a peek, and her face instantly turned bright red.

“Th-this…”

Qin Mengyu stammered.

The cold fairy before her was holding the picture book, staring intently at its contents. On closer inspection—

The pages depicted men and women entwined in various poses, filled with primal passion.

Words like absorption, nine—nine six, rubbing but not entering, big white—ball rolling, and pushing explained the beauty of human—art in vivid detail.

This kind of book, spoken of elegantly, is called a Spring Palace Picture, but more crudely—ah, who would’ve thought you read Little Liu—Bei as well.

“Ru… Ruoshuang-jie! Why are you looking at such indecent books!”

Qin Mengyu turned her face away in embarrassment, but her eyes kept darting back to the pages.

“Studying.”

Unlike her flustered younger sister, Qin Ruoshuang replied calmly, flipping to the next page.

“What could you possibly learn from this!?”

Qin Mengyu cried.

“Pos—tures.”

Qin Ruoshuang answered seriously.

“……”

Fine, Qin Mengyu was speechless, unable to come up with a rebuttal.

“Ruoshang-jie, at least do this kind of thing back in your room…”

“It doesn’t matter. They can’t see.”

“You…”

Qin Mengyu puffed her cheeks, her fair, delicate face looking especially cute.

“Hmph! Forget it, I’m going to find Mu-er.”

At the same time, on the other side.

Thanks to his older sister’s godlike move, Qin Mu found the mark on his face wouldn’t come off no matter how much he wiped.

Left with no choice, he pulled out a dog-skin plaster.

Pa!

He covered it perfectly. Young Master Qin gave himself a mental thumbs-up for his quick thinking.

***

Bang!

A figure flew several meters through the air, finally crashing into a pile of debris.

“Clueless. Can’t even hand over twenty Ling Stones. If you had, you wouldn’t have suffered like this.”

A young man in blue stood with his hands behind his back.

In front of him, a red-robed youth retracted his foot.

It seemed he was the one who had acted just now.

The blue-robed youth had a silver badge at his waist—a symbol of an Inner Sect Disciple.

The red-robed youth had a bronze badge, marking him as an Outer Sect Disciple.

Core Disciples wore gold, Personal Disciples red, and Saint Son or Holy Maiden purple.

The blue-robed youth’s name was Mei Jie, Foundation Establishment Early Stage.

Every time new disciples joined, they’d be assigned a senior brother or sister to help them adjust to sect life.

Male guides were senior brothers, female guides senior sisters.

If you got a good one, it was a big help for newcomers.

If not—like Mei Jie, who used the opportunity to extort—you’d just have to pay up to avoid trouble.

When the sect investigated, at most you’d get locked up for a few months as a warning.

Mei Jie was familiar with these tricks.

As long as it didn’t get out of hand, the sect would turn a blind eye.

If it did, the penalties ranged from expulsion and exile to the Savage Wilderness as laborers, to outright execution as a warning to others.

Mei Jie knew his limits—he wouldn’t push too far.

The red-robed youth was Qiu Chu, Qi Cultivation Layer Nine.

After seeing what happened, the rest of the new disciples quickly handed over twenty Ling Stones each.

Mei Jie smiled.

“Happens every year. If we don’t teach you a lesson, you’d all think you’re the treasured young masters of your Family. In this place, status and connections aren’t everything.”

With a wave, the Ling Stones flew into Mei Jie’s Storage Pouch.

A quick glance inside showed a bountiful harvest.

“Alright, you all—”

Mei Jie was about to leave when he noticed a boy with a dog-skin plaster stuck to his face walking over.

A look at his clothes—holy moly, Heavenly Silkworm Spirit Silk.

That outfit alone was worth over a hundred Ling Stones.

This was a fat sheep!

Mei Jie glanced at Qiu Chu, signaling another target had arrived.

Qiu Chu nodded and stepped in front of the boy.

Qin Mu was holding a Communication Jade Slip, searching for his assigned senior brother.

He was humming to himself when a figure suddenly appeared before him, startling Young Master Qin.

The red-robed youth, smiling like a daisy, spoke.

“Junior Brother, are you here to find Senior Brother Mei Jie?”

Qin Mu thought about it. His guide’s name did sound like that, so he nodded.

Seeing him nod, Qiu Chu’s smile grew even more sinister.

“In that case, Junior Brother, please hand over one hundred Ling Stones as a guidance fee.”

“What! One hundred Ling Stones!”

Qin Mu nearly jumped on the spot.

His two sisters had only given him twenty Ling Stones, and nearly half of that went to buying a book.

He couldn’t possibly come up with one hundred Ling Stones on the spot.

“You’re practically bandits! How can it cost this much!”

One hundred Ling Stones—equivalent to a hundred gold coins.

Qin Mu had never seen so much in his life.

Though he lacked for nothing, his allowance was pitifully small.

Whenever he snuck out of the Qin Family to play, he’d spend it on snacks, or on enjoying the gentle company of older ladies in the song halls.

But as for extra spending money—Young Master Qin had none.

All he could do was cry…

At these words, Qiu Chu gathered Qi in his palm and struck.

His handprint sank five inches into the nearby boulder.

“Junior Brother, you wouldn’t want this palm to land on you, would you?”

Qin Mu swallowed hard and smiled awkwardly.

“Senior Brother, I really don’t have that many Ling Stones. How about I ask my sister to lend me some?”

Damn profiteers!

To think they’d try to fleece Young Master Qin!

A gentleman’s revenge is never late—just wait until my cheat activates, then I’ll show you!

Qiu Chu looked over at Mei Jie. Mei Jie transmitted mentally: Let his sister come.

Within the Inner Sect, unless the opponent was unusually strong, Mei Jie could handle it.

If it were a Core Disciple, they’d have been notified in advance, and he’d heard nothing, so it was unlikely the sister was a Core Disciple.

That left Inner and Outer Sect Disciples.

The thought that a cute junior sister might appear put Mei Jie in a good mood.

With permission granted, Qiu Chu snarled.

“Then hurry and get your sister. Otherwise, I won’t hesitate to let my palm kiss your face.”

Threatened, Young Master Qin trembled with anger.

Fine! When my sister gets here, you’ll regret this!

Qin Mu took out the Communication Jade Slip his sister had given him.

The white one was Ruoshuang-jie’s.

If he called her, she’d probably just chop everyone down without mercy.

The pink one belonged to Mengyu-jie.

She was gentle and sensible, though sometimes mischievous.

He remembered how, as a child, she used to catch snakes and big insects and put them in his room, scaring him so badly he had to sleep with his sisters.

After some hesitation, Young Master Qin poured Qi into the jade slip.