In just a moment, Li Yanbi's gaze towards Li Lanshou changed. He had always thought this child was unambitious, but now he realized he had underestimated Li Lanshou.
Ordinarily, what Li Lanshou was doing would be considered a great humiliation for a man, but he didn't get angry at all. He spoke calmly and casually, as if it were nothing, which showed his inner strength.
Li Yanbi sighed in relief and exclaimed, "Alright, I agree to what you said."
Li Lanshou hugged his arm, "Thank you, Father."
"But you must also promise me one thing," Li Yanbi said solemnly. "You must protect yourself in the Azurerain realm and return safely!"
Li Lanshou nodded vigorously, "I promise."
Li Yanbi smiled and fastened the fluffy collar of the fox fur for him. "It's too cold here. You should go back."
Li Lanshou smiled and nodded again, "Okay."
Chuxuan didn't get the exciting show he had hoped for, and he couldn't understand this new development either. During these few days, he couldn't figure out what his Shidi was up to.
The Azurerain realm was really dangerous, and his cowardly Shidi wouldn't risk his life just to prove a point.
Li Yanbi looked at Chuxuan and smiled, "Chuxuan, your master has something to tell you."
Chuxuan could tell that Li Yanbi was in a very good mood. Since his wife passed away, his master had never been in such a good mood before. Now it was as if he had finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel.
As the master of a peak, Li Yanbi had many coveted treasures that could help Li Lanshou survive in the Azurerain realm, but he didn't want to dampen his spirit, so he gave them to Chuxuan.
Chuxuan took the treasures entrusted to him by Li Yanbi and walked out of the cave. A large peach blossom forest was in full bloom at the entrance.
Li Lanshou sat on a large, smooth rock, toying with a peach blossom in his hand.
Chuxuan stared at him intently, his gaze sliding from the grotesque mask to the shallow red scar on his neck. It was a peculiar and subtly alluring scar, only visible when he tilted his chin and looked down at others.
Li Lanshou casually tossed aside the peach blossom and leaped off the rock. "Where are the spirit stones you owe me?"
"I thought you were waiting for me, Shidi," Chuxuan smiled slowly. "So it turns out you were here to collect a debt."
Li Lanshou tilted his head. "Isn't that the same thing?"
Chuxuan glanced back at Li Yanbi's cave and quickly formed a hand seal, creating a small soundproof barrier to ensure their conversation wouldn't be overheard by their master.
He looked at Li Lanshou. "They aren’t the same, Shidi. I'm happier when you’re waiting for me. I'm not happy when you're just here to collect a debt.”
Ignoring his senior brother's mood, Li Lanshou glanced at him sideways. "You're not trying to avoid paying me back, are you, Shixiong?"
Chuxuan untied the qiankun bag around his waist and took out two mid-grade spirit stones. "Can I ask you something, Shidi?"
"What?"
Chuxuan asked, "Why do you want to enter the Azurerain realm?"
Li Lanshou smiled and narrowed his eyes. "Can't you see through me, Shixiong?"
Chuxuan's expression faltered. "I'm just happy for Master."
Li Lanshou couldn't afford to break with him now, or else Chuxuan might stab him in the back in the Azurerain realm.
He hooked a delicate, jade-like finger and beckoned. "Come closer."
Chuxuan involuntarily leaned in. Li Lanshou lifted a corner of his mask, revealing soft, inviting lips. The corner of his mouth curled up in a seductive smile, like a sharp blade laced with alluring fragrance, as he softly uttered, "Such a good dog."
Chuxuan's heart tightened. Anger and humiliation surged through him once more, but this time, there was also a hidden sense of pleasure.
Li Yanbi had picked Chuxuan up from a small mountain village. His family was so poor they didn't have a penny to their name. His older brother, fearing that Chuxuan would inherit two mu of land, had volunteered him as a sacrifice to the river god during the village festival.
He had been destined for a miserable death.
Li Yanbi had descended from the heavens, slaying the river god with a single strike. Seeing Chuxuan's handsome appearance and intelligence, he brought him back to Violetstage Peak and took him as a disciple.
A lowly life was transformed into one of privilege.
Li Yanbi had named him "Chuxuan," but his original name was Gou-nuer, meaning "dog slave."
When Li Yanbi told the original host about Chuxuan's past, he had hoped the original host would sympathize with Chuxuan and stop bullying his senior brother.
However, the original host only remembered the name "Gou-nuer" and often insulted Chuxuan by calling him "dog slave."
Every time he heard those words, Chuxuan's expression would darken, and his facade of a good shixiong would crumble.
Chuxuan suddenly turned his face, their eyes meeting.
Li Lanshou reached out and took the spirit stones from Chuxuan's palm, putting them into his own qiankun bag. "I'm happy for my father too, and grateful for having such a loyal slave as my shixiong."
"You say that so nicely, Shidi. Could you say it again?" Chuxuan asked softly, his voice trembling with excitement.
Li Lanshou, being a completely straight man, didn't understand the complexities of Chuxuan's mind. He chuckled lightly. "You're so pathetic, Shixiong."
Chuxuan licked his lips and lowered his voice. "I want to be your dog slave, Shidi."
Li Lanshou raised an eyebrow and scoffed. "Are you even worthy?"
Why would he want a dog with ulterior motives, one that could turn on him at any moment?
Chuxuan's expression turned cold as he distanced himself. "Fine, Shidi, you're right."
His beautiful shidi, after saying such hurtful words, waved his hand and summoned his flying fan, disappearing like an immortal.
Chuxuan returned to his cave and took out the sect's trial letter. He wrote the name "Li Lanshou" on it, and the letter instantly lit up. The black words turned golden as they were recorded.
He pulled a handkerchief embroidered with cranes and auspicious clouds from his chest and played with it in his hand. The white silk was stained with brown blood.
Miaosu's handkerchief had the faint scent of a woman's powder and perfume.
Chuxuan carefully distinguished the scents, picking up a hint of cool sandalwood.
He held it up to his nose and closed his eyes, inhaling deeply.
Why are you so cruel and foolish, my shidi? Yet you have a face that could captivate anyone.
Meanwhile, at the outer gate of the southern court:
The outer disciples' quarters were simple and plain. A room held four beds, wooden tables, chairs and basic necessities.
Chu Yue, having just entered the sect, received a gray Daoist robe. The three others who shared his room with him had joined a year earlier and were already at the early stage of Foundation Establishment. They were quite familiar with the inner workings of the sect.
A thin boy, named Gu Yunzi, was a year older than Chu Yue. Happy to have met a peer in the sect, Gu Yunzi was very welcoming towards him.
Chu Yue took off his outer robe and changed into the outer disciple's robe.
Gu Yunzi sat beside him, counting on his fingers as he introduced the various peaks and their people within the sect. "Surfoot Peak has the strongest overall strength. Their Lian-shixiong has nearly perfected the Nascent Soul level and possesses unparalleled swordsmanship..."
"Then there's Thousandchance Peak. Jiang-shixiong has a heavenly spiritual root. At only twenty years old, he has already reached the initial stage of Yuan Ying. There's no one else in the sect who can match him. Moreover, Jiang-shixiong is from the Jiang family, the same Jiang family that owns the Four Seas Commerce Guild, the number one merchant company in the cultivation world. You'll understand more about this later."
Another disciple with a round face clicked his tongue in admiration. "Jiang-shixiong is my idol. Only someone like Jiang-shixiong is worthy of Lady Yan."
At the mention of Lady Yan, Gu Yunzi blushed. "Lady Yan is the daughter of the Discipline Hall Elder and is considered the number one beauty by Sevenstar Tower. They say she's as beautiful as a celestial being."
The round-headed disciple sighed heavily. "It's a pity that Lady Yan..."
Chu Yue was just about to tie his belt after putting on the robe's sleeves when Gu Yunzi suddenly exclaimed, "Ah! What's that on your neck?"
The others looked over, and they saw a square red mark on Chu Yue's neck, with some words seemingly written on it. Before they could see clearly, Chu Yue quickly pulled up his collar, covering the mark on his neck.
Chu Yue pressed down heavily on the mark and said casually, "It's nothing."
None of them had ever seen or heard of a soul-binding mark. For cultivators at their level, planting one was a waste of spiritual energy, so they didn’t think much of it and continued their conversation.
Chu Yue tore a strip of cloth from his robe, wrapped it around his neck twice and covered the mark of shame that Li Lanshou had left on him.
Gu Yunzi’s eyes lit up with excitement. Standing up, he said, “I admire Li Fengzhu of Violetstage Peak the most. There’s a trial tower in Sevenstar Tower with nine levels. Li Fengzhu reached the fifth level. He’s undoubtedly a swordmaster!”
“Li Fengzhu has a son who’s engaged to Lady Yan.”
The round-faced shixiong sneered, “Heh! I said it was a pity for Lady Yan. She's like a beautiful flower stuck in a pile of manure.”
Gu Yunzi blushed and argued, “Young Master Li is at the early stage of Golden Core at such a young age. Although he’s not as good as Lady Yan, he’s not manure either!”
“I never said he had a low cultivation level. Haven’t you heard? He wears a ghost mask all day long, with a gloomy aura. They say he’s even uglier than his mask!” the round-faced shixiong sneered.
Another shixiong chimed in, “The number one beauty paired with an ugly monster? Isn’t she like a flower stuck in manure?”
“I heard that when Young Master Li hears someone talk about his appearance, he beats that person to death. He’s so insecure, he must be really ugly.”
Gu Yunzi admired Li Yanbi and, by extension, Li Lanshou. He couldn’t stand hearing others say bad things about Li Lanshou. He said angrily, “Li Fengzhu is extremely handsome. How could his son be ugly?”
“If he’s not ugly, why does he wear a mask all day long?”
“Yeah, Gu Yunzi, tell me, if he’s not ugly, why does he hide his face?”
Gu Yunzi was tongue-tied and looked at Chu Yue, who was outside the conversation. “Shidi, do you think Young Master Li is handsome or ugly?”
Chu Yue was reading a book on breathing techniques and didn’t look up. “Whether he’s handsome or ugly, I don’t care.”
Gu Yunzi was so angry he was speechless.
As the midday sun began to set, the outer disciples, in addition to practicing their own cultivation, had to do odd jobs such as chopping wood and cleaning the various halls.
The four of them were assigned to clean the largest martial arts arena, which was a hundred zhang long and paved with blue stone slabs. It was so spacious and grand that four people couldn’t possibly clean it. The steward had assigned two groups of people to the martial arts arena.
As Chu Yue swept the floor, he adjusted his breathing and practiced his breathing techniques.
The leader of the other group was a man who wasn’t wearing a Daoist robe. He was dressed in fine clothes and looked ordinary, but had a very arrogant demeanor.
The four of them arrived late and sat on the chairs in the martial arts arena, taking out teacups and saucers to drink tea.
The round-faced shixiong approached them with a smile and asked, “Zhou Shao, you’re here.”
Zhou Shao ignored him and poured tea into his small teapot.
The round-faced shixiong stood up straight and looked around, smiling. “Zhou Shao, the martial arts arena is too big. It will take us until tomorrow to finish cleaning. Why don’t you ask your two friends to help us?”
One of Zhou Shao’s followers slapped the round-faced shixiong across the face, sending him spinning several times before he fell to the ground on his bottom.
Chu Yue sized up the group.
Gu Yunzi leaned in and explained in a low voice, "Zhou Shao never does any work. Other people always do his tasks for him. We’ve helped them so many times. Whoever gets paired with him is just out of luck!"
Over there, Zhou Shao splashed tea on the round-faced shixiong and said disdainfully, “What are you? It’s a privilege for you to work for me. Don’t get cocky!”
“You lowly scum! Others would beg to do work for Zhou Shao, but they can’t get their turn. You’re lucky to have this opportunity, yet you dare to refuse?”
Zhou Shao’s two followers beat the round-faced shixiong, punching and kicking him. The round-faced shixiong covered his head and begged for mercy, not even daring to fight back.
Gu Yunzi looked at the scene with distress. He grabbed Chu Yue’s sleeve and looked away. “Don’t be impulsive. Zhou Shao has a powerful backer.”
Chu Yue stared at the shixiong kneeling and begging, his brows furrowed slightly. “They’re being too much.”
“Who told us to not have any backers?” Gu Yunzi sighed heavily and patted Chu Yue’s shoulder. “You should stay away from Zhou Shao in the future. You’ve just entered the sect and can’t afford to offend him. His uncle is the inner affairs steward of Violetstage Peak.”
Thank you for the update 💝💝💝💝
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