Chapter 36#

Chapter Thirty-Six#

Xiao Xun woke up again a month later.

The hot wind blew open the carved window, carrying sunlight and the fresh scent of lotus leaves, falling onto Xiao Xun’s face through the bed curtains.

Xiao Xun opened his eyes. What met his gaze was an anciently furnished bedroom.

The room was extremely spacious. In front, by the window, were placed tables, chairs, and a tea table. To the right was a screen. Beyond it was a wooden bridge connecting to a waterside pavilion in the center.

To the left, a study was partitioned off by a moon gate, filled with bookshelves. Besides jade slips, the shelves also held many brand-new array disks and magic tools.

Other than that, there were no lavish decorations, only a small stone basin placed beside the meditation cushion in the study.

A section of green bamboo was inserted into the stone basin, and clear spring water flowed down from a notch at the top, making a gurgling sound.

When the water filled up, it was drawn away by an array at the bottom of the green bamboo, only to flow down again from the top.

This sound of water added a touch of vitality to the room and also calmed one’s restless heart.

The scene before his eyes was too familiar, so much so that Xiao Xun felt a sense of unreality.

In his previous life, he had just been found by the Xiao family. Not long after settling down, he was sent to the Lingxu Sect as an undercover agent.

He chose Xue Jingci, who had the shallowest foundation, as his master, initially just to avoid attracting attention. Later, when he thought back, that period was actually the most peaceful and serene time of his life.

At that time, he also lived in this room.

Presumably, while he was unconscious, Xue Jingci had already submitted the token to the sect and successfully became an outer sect elder, which was why he was assigned a room exactly like the one in his previous life.

Xiao Xun got out of bed and followed the wooden bridge behind the screen to find Xue Jingci. He soon saw that familiar figure in the courtyard behind the waterside pavilion.

Xue Jingci was planting flowers in the courtyard.

Ever since he became an outer sect elder, many people sent flowers and trees to congratulate him. Xue Jingci didn’t like to keep flowers confined in pots, so he dug them out one by one and planted them all in the ground.

However, he had only planted half of them and had left the rest on the ground, presumably because he felt tired.

Xiao Xun chuckled softly, shook his head, and went over to help the fallen saplings, moving them to the nearby pits.

He then bent down to pick up a pot of flowers. Just as he was about to continue working, he heard Xue Jingci’s voice from the tree.

“The sun is strong. You just woke up; leave it for now.”

Xiao Xun was stunned for a moment. He looked up at the tree. On the sturdy, thick trunk, a person and a cat were lazily lying.

This scene was familiar. Xiao Xun stared intently. The overly bright light seemed to pierce from his eyes to his heart, making his eyes turn red.

In his previous life, Master also loved to rest in the tree.

Xiao Xun often practiced his sword under the tree. If he was slightly lazy, a sour fruit would fall from the jujube tree and hit him on the head.

The jujube wasn’t big, but it always hit the painful spot. At first, Xiao Xun was very impatient and didn’t have much good impression of this strict master.

But gradually, he discovered that Xue Jingci was a very pure person.

When Xiao Xun practiced his sword, Xue Jingci never left. From morning till evening, he would sit quietly in that tree, watching him intently.

From that moment on, Xiao Xun prayed in his heart that this person could always look at him like this.

Now that everything had started over, his Master was indeed still here.

However, Xiao Xun soon thought that in his previous life, Master also liked to stay in this old jujube tree. Yet, in the past year, he had never seen Xue Jingci do something like climbing a tree.

Xiao Xun’s raised lips instantly fell.

He suddenly thought of someone.

Xiao Xun looked up and asked, “Master, what made you think of going up the tree?”

Xue Jingci still squinted his eyes, gently stroking the kitten and saying, “I always saw Pei Huang in the tree before, and I was curious then. Now that I’ve lain here, it’s actually very comfortable.”

He spoke of the name without reservation. After saying that, he even sat up and said with a smile, “I’m going to put a wooden board here; it should be even more comfortable to lie on.”

The system meowed in agreement, reaching out to sharpen its claws on the tree trunk.

Seeing Xiao Xun silent, Xue Jingci looked him up and down and asked, “Do you still feel uncomfortable anywhere?”

Xiao Xun shook his head, forcing a smile and saying, “No, I’ve made Master worry these past few days.”

Xue Jingci saw that his face was still a bit pale. He originally wanted to send him back to rest, but then he thought that after being unconscious for so long, he should come out and get some sun.

So he jumped down from the tree, told him to sit at the stone table, and brewed a pot of medicinal tea.

“Peak Master Yin said that since you’re recovering from a serious illness, you should drink more medicinal tea. Although the taste is a bit strange, it’s not hard to drink. Try it.”

Xiao Xun’s emotions dissipated, and he obediently drank all the tea in the cup.

Perhaps Master just found it amusing.

After all, the person accompanying Master now was still himself, and he wouldn’t give anyone else a chance to get close in the future.

The midday sun passed, and Xue Jingci began to tend to the flowers and plants again.

However, the air was still filled with heat, and a thin layer of sweat soon appeared on his face.

Xiao Xun stepped forward to help him and asked, “Now that Master is an outer sect elder, according to the rules, you can have at most twelve attendants. Why does Master still do these chores personally?”

Xue Jingci answered without looking up, “I chose two.”

If it weren’t for the fact that the room assigned to him was truly too large, Xue Jingci wouldn’t even want these two.

Xiao Xun remembered that Xue Jingci indeed had two attendants in his previous life, so he asked, “Since Master chose two attendants, where are they now?”

Xue Jingci pointed to the wooden bridge on the other side and saw a chubby disciple sleeping on a bamboo chair in front of the kitchen, with a pile of melon seed shells scattered on the ground beside his feet.

Seeing Xiao Xun staring at the person, Xue Jingci emphasized, “His name is Guanzi. He’s a loose cultivator who ascended a month ago. His cooking is especially delicious.”

Xiao Xun felt a headache just hearing the name, feeling everything overlapped with the scene from his previous life.

That person named Guanzi was a chubby food cultivator, a natural talent, but he had a loose tongue. Besides cooking, he usually slept and cursed, and had a very bad temper.

Yet, Xue Jingci loved to eat and indulged that fat man in everything. When Xiao Xun first arrived, he was often picked on by that fat man.

The fat man’s real name was Shangguan Yao. It was said that his family had been imperial chefs for generations. He had a smooth life since childhood and was the type of person Xiao Xun most detested.

Because his fate was naturally unusual, he was destined not to live such a smooth life. Only by enduring all hardships could he have a glimmer of hope.

Xiao Xun suppressed his impatience, put on a curious expression, and asked knowingly, “How did he ascend?”

Xue Jingci thought for a moment and said, “He said it was raining outside, and he put a pot on his head to shield himself. He vaguely fell asleep, and when he woke up again, the pot had been shattered by a lightning tribulation, and he inexplicably ascended.”

This was something he already knew, but hearing it again, Xiao Xun still felt indignant.

This person’s fate must be noble beyond words to pass the lightning tribulation so easily. Heaven was truly unfair. What so many people painstakingly sought was something some people could obtain effortlessly.

Xiao Xun sneered in his heart and looked at Xue Jingci, asking, “People skilled in cooking are extremely rare in the upper realm. How did Master persuade him to be an attendant?”

Xue Jingci said, “I promised to use the best materials to forge him a new pot, and besides cooking, he doesn’t have to do anything else here.”

While they were talking, a gloomy-faced disciple walked to Guanzi’s feet and swept away all the melon seed shells on the ground.

Xiao Xun had a strong impression of this person. His name was Shu Mo, and true to his name, he didn’t like to talk, answering only one word after several questions.

He had been in the sect for ten years but didn’t do missions or interact with others, only quietly sweeping the grounds within the sect every day.

Later, when Xue Jingci fell off the cliff, Shu Mo also left the sect and never appeared again.

Unexpectedly, this time Xue Jingci still kept him by his side.

After saying that, Xue Jingci looked at the sky and said, “I need to go to the Hall of All Affairs. You go back to your room to rest first. We’ll taste Guanzi’s cooking together tonight.”

Xiao Xun nodded in agreement, but his gaze still lingered on the two attendants, wondering what he was thinking.

Xue Jingci’s new room was built on a mountain peak by a celestial pond, surrounded by mountains on three sides, with stone steps leading down on one side.

He walked for about a quarter of an hour and saw the lush ancient trees in the Hall of All Affairs.

Just as he was about to knock on the door, he was stopped by Lin Heng.

Lin Heng pulled Xue Jingci’s sleeve to a secluded spot and whispered, “Are you really going to the Hall of All Affairs?”

Seeing Xue Jingci nod, Lin Heng quickly advised, “You should think again. This place has many tasks, and they are too busy, which is why they want you to go early. My brother went to the Hall of Penalties. They said to report after he officially receives the elder token.”

The system was tired of walking and jumped onto Xue Jingci’s shoulder.

Xue Jingci was used to it and didn’t mind. Hearing this, he turned his head to Lin Heng and asked, “Lin Su is an inner sect disciple. Since he obtained the token, shouldn’t he be directly promoted to inner sect elder? Why did he go to the Hall of Penalties?”

Lin Heng felt guilty.

But now that he was familiar with Xue Jingci, he didn’t want to lie to him and whispered, “Both of us were expelled from the inner sect for fighting. It’s not that easy to go back. If it weren’t for my brother getting the token and almost dying in the secret realm, Fourth Uncle wouldn’t have agreed to let him be an outer sect elder.”

The “Fourth Uncle” he mentioned was Lin Su’s biological father, Lin Kongzhao.

This man was upright and strict, the Peak Master of Sword Peak, feared by everyone in the sect, and very harsh even to his own sons.

Promotion for inner sect disciples was much easier than for outer sect disciples. If one’s aptitude was outstanding, they would naturally be promoted to inner sect elder once their cultivation realm was sufficient, without even needing to go to dangerous places to obtain tokens.

And if one was favored by a Peak Master and taken as a direct disciple, they would have the opportunity to become a Young Peak Master, with a status similar to an elder. When the Peak Master’s lifespan was nearing its end and they entered seclusion, they would take over the affairs of the peak.

Due to their special status, Peak Masters rarely appointed Young Peak Masters early, and even less would they casually appoint their own children as Young Peak Masters.

Throughout the entire Lingxu Sect, only Xie Zheng could be called a Young Peak Master.

Promotion for outer sect disciples, however, was much more difficult.

First, one had to complete a large number of sect missions to gain the opportunity to become an outer sect elder.

After becoming an outer sect elder, one had to choose one from the Hall of Penalties, the Hall of Rites, or the Hall of All Affairs, undergo many years of training to become a Hall Master, and only then would they have the chance to become an inner sect elder.

It could be said that given the opportunity, no disciple in the sect wouldn’t want to join the inner sect.

Although the conditions for entry were extremely strict, with high requirements for age and aptitude, there was also a convenient method: to be favored by a certain Peak Master and taken as a direct disciple.

Like Lin Su and Lin Heng, although they were expelled from the inner sect for breaking rules, as long as Lin Kongzhao relented and took them as direct disciples, they could easily be recalled to the inner sect.

It showed that Lin Kongzhao was truly impartial.

Seeing Xue Jingci change the subject, Lin Heng advised again, “My information is more accurate than yours. Do you know that the Hall of All Affairs has the fewest personnel, but the most tasks? The elders there also have peculiar and strange personalities. Ordinary disciples don’t like to approach them, and if you go, you’ll inevitably be put through some trouble.”

Xue Jingci shook his head. “But the Hall of All Affairs allows for flexible scheduling. I don’t like being restricted.”

Seeing his determination, Lin Heng sighed and stopped persuading, then turned and left.

Xue Jingci walked back to the entrance of the Hall of All Affairs. He knocked several times, but no one answered, so he pushed the door open himself.

Upon entering, he found that it was completely different from before. Everyone was very busy, and jade slips and scrolls were piled up at their feet.

Xue Jingci stood in place, hesitating where to step, when a jade slip was thrown at him from mid-air.

He frowned, caught the jade slip, and looked up to see a woman with an irritable expression leaning against the doorframe, watching him.

The woman had a heroic air about her eyebrows. She held a jade pipe between her right fingertips, and as she spoke, smoke leisurely diffused from her lips and teeth.

“New here? This place has no room for idlers. If you regret it, it’s still not too late to leave now.”

The swirling smoke dispersed into the courtyard, but unlike ordinary smoke, it wasn’t pungent. Instead, it had a uniquely alluring fragrance.

Xue Jingci twitched his nose. He had heard of this kind of tobacco, called Liaoling. It was a good thing that could help one focus. Ordinary people might never see it in their lifetime, and very few people in the upper realm used it.

Firstly, because Liaoling grass was rare and extremely expensive. Secondly, because this tobacco was extremely potent, not something ordinary people could handle.

The person before him, however, smoked it like ordinary tobacco, completely unaffected, with no signs of her spiritual sea churning.

Presumably, she was the legendary Elder Wan, Wan Yurao.

Xue Jingci said, “I’m here to report.”

Wan Yurao took another puff of smoke, stared at him for a moment, then suddenly smiled enchantingly.

“You’re quite good-looking. Come in.”