Before Xie Zhou could answer, she added, “How about I go with you? I've already reached the Golden Core Stage, so I won't hold you back.”
Xie Zhou paused in the middle of pouring tea and looked up at her, seemingly a bit surprised. “You?”
Song Yao: “Yes, yes! Me.”
As long as she could leave the Nine Saints Hall, she would agree to anything. She really didn't want to attend the Teaching Elder's classes anymore.
Falling asleep every day while staring at his solemn face was not a pleasant experience.
Even in her dreams, his voice would drone on like a chanting monk.
It was torture.
Absolute torture.
It felt like she had joined some kind of cult.
If this continued, she was going to be brainwashed.
Xie Zhou resumed pouring the tea, his hand perfectly steady. “Are you very concerned about Wen Tang?”
Song Yao nodded, trying to convince him. “Of course! Naturally, I care about Fifth Senior Sister. Even though we've never met, we are fellow disciples after all. Besides, Second Senior Sister's poison hasn't been cured yet. Didn't they say only Fifth Senior Sister can neutralize it...?”
Xie Zhou finished pouring the tea and set the silver kettle on the table with a crisp clink. His voice grew noticeably colder. “No.”
Song Yao: “Why?”
Xie Zhou: “Your studies are incomplete.”
Song Yao: “...”
Well, great.
He just had to bring up the one sore spot.
Once again, she felt as if the scruff of her neck had been grabbed by fate.
She sighed softly and stood up. “Alright, I'll head back then.”
Xie Zhou stood up as well. Reaching out to pick up the peace jade pendant from the table, he walked over to Song Yao and leaned down slightly.
Song Yao instinctively stepped back, only to hear him say, “Don't move.”
He threaded the cord of the peace jade pendant through her sash, carefully tying a knot so the jade hung securely at her waist.
Song Yao was taken aback. “Fourth Senior Brother? This...”
Wasn't this a keepsake left behind by his parents?
In the past, he wouldn't even let anyone touch it.
Had he lost his mind?
Xie Zhou straightened up, returned to the table, and took a sip from his teacup before speaking. “I do not know what lies ahead on this journey, and I fear I might lose it. Keep it safe for me.”
The main peak of the Nine Saints Hall had a small treasury. Wouldn't putting it there be much safer than leaving it with her?
Song Yao wanted to ask, but having just accepted an entire building from him, she felt it would be a bit heartless to question him. She could only nod and say, “Alright, I'll do my best not to lose it.”
Before leaving, she tried to secure a way out for herself. “If I do lose it, will you kill me?”
Xie Zhou: “...What kind of person do you take me for?”
...
After buying her wine and returning to the main peak, she ran straight into Jiang Jin.
Jiang Jin frowned, looking displeased. “Why are you bringing wine back again? Alcohol is forbidden within the hall, and especially for disciples of your age. Be careful, or the Teaching Elder will catch you.”
Clutching her wine jar, Song Yao bypassed him and walked to the edge of the cliff in the backyard. She found a thick tree branch, lay down on it, and said lazily, “If you don't tell and I don't tell, who's going to know?”
Below was a sheer drop of ten thousand feet. Jiang Jin felt his heart leap into his throat just watching her. “Then at least don't drink there. What if you get drunk and fall off?”
Having suddenly become a wealthy woman, Song Yao was in a great mood. She crossed her legs and said with a smile, “Coward. What else would happen if I fell? I'd just die.”
“...”
Jiang Jin was speechless. Then, his sharp eyes caught sight of the peace jade pendant at her waist. “You didn't return that to Fourth Senior Brother?”
Song Yao gripped the jade pendant and rubbed it twice. Suddenly, she remembered that Jiang Jin was also a personal disciple now.
Fourth Junior Brother had said it was for the sake of proper etiquette, which was why he gave her Wanchun Pavilion.
What about Jiang Jin? Did he get anything?
She thought about it but decided not to ask.
As an overpowered protagonist, Jiang Jin certainly wouldn't have received anything less than her.
She rolled over and leaped onto another branch. Jiang Jin shuddered in fright again, only to hear her say, “I'm not telling you.”
Jiang Jin felt a bit uncomfortable. He pulled out a jade pendant from his spatial pouch and leaped over to her side. “I heard that Fourth Senior Brother's jade pendant holds extraordinary meaning. You shouldn't break it. Why don't you wear mine instead?”
Song Yao glanced at it. “No.”
Jiang Jin: “Why not?”
Song Yao: “Yours isn't pretty.”
Jiang Jin: “...”
Song Yao: “Yours doesn't hold extraordinary meaning.”
Jiang Jin: “...”
His face flushed slightly as he grew even more jealous. “How does mine not hold extraordinary meaning? This is... this is something I obtained years ago by a stroke of luck. Besides, it's highly inappropriate for you to be wearing another man's keepsake.”
Song Yao blinked, looking at him in confusion. She had no idea why he was suddenly so emotional or what kind of fit he was throwing now.
Met with her beautiful, misty eyes, Jiang Jin blushed completely red. In his frustration, he tossed the jade pendant into her lap. “Fine! Take it or leave it. If you don't want it, just throw it away!”
With that, he turned and stomped off in a huff.
Completely bewildered, Song Yao sat up, holding his jade pendant.
Did people nowadays enjoy practically forcing money onto others?
This jade pendant was worth quite a bit of money.
She really couldn't understand.
She truly couldn't make head or tail of it.
After some thought, Song Yao decided not to throw it away.
If that lunatic ever asked for it back and she didn't have it, he would probably demand compensation.
She tucked the jade pendant into her spatial pouch, intending to return it to him when she got the chance.
Just as she was about to lie back down, she turned her head and saw a tall, cold figure standing at the end of the branch. Her heart nearly leaped out of her throat.
Zhu Zhao.
The curse words she was about to utter got stuck in her throat.
Song Yao subtly hid the wine behind her back. “Second Senior Sister, what brings you here?”
Zhu Zhao walked over step by step. Leaning down, she raised her hand and slipped a red string right over Song Yao's head.
The string was a bit short, making Song Yao grimace as it squeezed past her face. By the time it was around her neck, her hair was a messy nest.
She looked down and saw a heavy, solid gold longevity lock hanging at the end of the red string.
On the back of the lock, the word “Peace” was engraved.
Song Yao was stunned. She looked up, but before she could speak, Zhu Zhao had already vanished, leaving behind only a threat: “If you dare lose it, you know what will happen.”
Having received so many gifts in a single evening, Song Yao was even more bewildered and confused.
But the confusion lasted only a moment. She leaned back against the branch and pushed it all to the back of her mind.
The people of the main peak had always been bizarre.
It was no big deal.
...
“Lotus Crow-Sparrow Grass can suppress inner demons, clear the mind, and focus the spirit. Consuming it directly without refining it into a pill is already extremely beneficial to one's mental strength.”
A few days later.
Inside the Ward-Off-Illness Hall, the Sixth Elder asked with a solemn expression, “Are you sure you don't want to use it yourself?”
Song Yao, who had a handful of goji berries tucked in her robes, shook her head while munching on them. “No.”
She had her own method of cultivation. Even though a portion of her cultivation was suppressed, her divine sense and mental strength were already growing fast enough. She had little need for external aids.
The Sixth Elder took a deep breath and accepted the Lotus Crow-Sparrow Grass. “In that case, this herb might be of some use to the Hall Master. I will take it to the Sixteenth Elder to have a look. We cannot take this from you for free. Is there anything you want? The sect will surely grant it to you.”
Song Yao stuffed a few more goji berries into her mouth and immediately nodded. “Yes! I don't want to attend the Teaching Elder's classes anymore.”
The Sixth Elder: “...That won't do. Pick something else. Even if I agreed, the Teaching Elder would probably chase you all the way to the main peak just to lecture you.”
Song Yao was deeply disappointed. After some thought, she asked, “Well... I heard Third Senior Sister has a Guiyu Sword. Can I have that?”
Rate on N.U.
