A guest arrived at Miaoqing Hall, entering once again hidden beneath a cloak. The visitor approached the counter and asked for Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie.
Tie Miaoqing asked tentatively, “May I ask your name?”
The visitor replied, “Just say the second brother is here. They will naturally know who I am.”
The titles seventh, ninth, and fifteenth flashed through Tie Miaoqing’s mind. Realising something, he said, “Alright, please wait a moment.”
After speaking, he nodded towards Sun Ping, who was watching from the doorway, signalling him to keep an eye on things there. Then he hurried off.
Before long, Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie came hurrying over. The visitor slightly lifted the brim of his hood to show them his face. The two of them quickly ushered him inside, passing Tie Miaoqing as he returned.
Once she was back behind the counter, Sun Ping also temporarily came over from the door, muttering, “Looks like it is one of their own again.”
Tie Miaoqing slowly shook his head. “Not entirely sure.”
In the rear courtyard, Nan and Mu brought the visitor to their own yard.
After inviting the guest into the sitting room, Nan Zhu smiled and said, “Second senior brother, you must be tired from the journey.” As he spoke, he reached out to help remove the cloak.
The visitor was none other than Gao Yunjie, nominally the second senior brother of Linglong Temple, but in reality the eldest senior brother!
Gao Yunjie raised a hand to stop his junior brother’s assistance. He carefully observed his surroundings and asked in a low voice, “Are you certain it is safe to show your faces here?”
Seeing his cautious manner, Nan and Mu exchanged a glance. They both understood and sympathised with his concerns.
Nan Zhu smiled reassuringly. “Second senior brother, it is fine. Those messy affairs from back then really amount to nothing. After all these years, the authorities are hardly going to chase us to a place so remote and far away. Even if they did come here, they would be useless.”
Mu Aotie also nodded. “Rest assured, second senior brother. Nothing will happen.”
In truth, the two of them had initially shared the same mindset as the second brother. They had been tense and frightened along the way, always afraid the authorities would discover their status as wanted criminals. Of course, they still feared being found out now, but it no longer weighed heavily on them. Simply put, they had seen the world. Having survived those life and death struggles and clashed with the three major factions, their mindset had indeed changed greatly. Local authorities and such no longer seemed like much of a threat.
Seeing his two junior brothers give such assurances, Gao Yunjie finally relaxed. He unfastened his cloak and let Mu Aotie take it away.
With his true face revealed, his beard and hair were as dark as ink. His eyes were large and full of vigour. His demeanour was steady, carrying a mature aura refined by time. Coupled with his rather distinguished appearance, even though he was past fifty, he still possessed an extraordinary elegance. One could tell at a glance that he was no ordinary man.
He stroked his beard, then habitually adjusted his robes to make them neat before speaking. “After the junior martial uncle returned to the temple, he told me the general situation. He told me to ask you for the details once I arrived here. Tell me exactly what happened, and explain it to me in detail.”
The two junior brothers still held him in reasonable respect. After all, he was practically the eldest senior brother. Originally, the relationship among the disciples had been quite good, with strict seniority observed. Yu Qing had also respected his three senior brothers. However, once the matter of sect leadership succession arose, everything fell into complete disarray.
The actions of the three senior brothers had also disappointed Yu Qing, which naturally cost him their respect.
Nan and Mu did not hide anything from him. They immediately explained the situation in detail. Whenever Gao Yunjie had unclear questions, the two answered them one by one with thorough explanations.
Once he finally grasped the entire sequence of events, especially after learning of the perils in the ancient tomb and the Xiao Yun Chamber, Gao Yunjie secretly drew a sharp breath. He inwardly rejoiced that he had not gone. Otherwise, he truly could not guarantee he would have returned alive.
“Hmm, you have worked hard.” After sighing with emotion, Gao Yunjie asked again, “Where is the sixteenth brother? He stayed at the temple for only a short while before leaving with the junior martial uncle. Should he not be here? Why is he nowhere to be seen?”
Mentioning this, Nan Zhu showed slight displeasure. “I do not know what kind of bewitching spell the fifteenth brother used on him. He is staying over at the fifteenth brother’s place. If he is not cultivating, he is acting as a little attendant, running around doing chores for the fifteenth brother like a shadow. The ninth brother and I can hardly bear to watch it anymore.”
Gao Yunjie, sitting in the place of honour, lifted his chin. “Tell the fifteenth and sixteenth brothers to come over. Just say I am here.”
“Uh… well…” Nan Zhu hesitated slightly. He was afraid of hurting the visitor’s pride by speaking the truth, but ultimately nodded. “Alright.” He then hurried out.
Arriving at the courtyard where Yu Qing lived, Nan Zhu saw the room where Chong’er was carrying water in and out. He immediately headed straight for that room.
Inside the room, Yu Qing stood by a table, watching Da Tou crunch spiritual rice. Chong’er was pouring water into a large water vat.
The room stored quite a few water vats that were already full and sealed shut.
Nan Zhu knew exactly what they were doing, because that fifteenth brother was running experiments again.
This time, he was not experimenting on Chong’er alone, but using everyone together.
The experiment was simple. He had Da Tou boil water, and then they stored the boiled water. Now, everyone drank the stored boiled water instead of water freshly boiled by Da Tou. The fifteenth brother wanted to know how long Da Tou’s boiled water would retain its evil warding effects after storage.
Nan Zhu and the others could understand this. Relying entirely on staying beside Da Tou was still somewhat unreliable, so having extra preparations was a good idea.
Judging from the fifteenth brother’s implied words, this experiment seemed to also take Liu Piaopiao into consideration. He had originally promised Liu Piaopiao a share of the immortal peaches, but had never found an opportunity to fulfil that promise. Liu Piaopiao had also not visited, clearly because it was inconvenient for her.
“Fifteenth brother, sixteenth brother, the second senior brother is here.”
Nan Zhu took a glance at the room and tentatively raised his voice.
“Hmm?” Yu Qing looked up. After a moment of realisation, he said indifferently, “Let him come. The junior martial uncle returned and swapped places with him. I already know about it.”
“Ah!” Chong’er actually cried out in joy, asking excitedly, “Where is the second senior brother?”
“At my place.” Nan Zhu replied cheerfully. He then observed Yu Qing’s expression and added, “The second brother wants you two to go over there.”
Chong’er put down his water bucket and was about to run off.
“Stop.” Yu Qing called out to him, turning his head to question, “Your work is not finished. Where do you think you are running to?”
Chong’er’s excitement was instantly dampened. Looking like he had done something wrong, he pointed outside. “The second senior brother is here. He wants us to go over.”
Yu Qing turned around. “I am not deaf. Do you think I do not know he is here? Get it straight. I am the sect master. He arrives and does not come to see me of his own accord. Instead, he summons the sect master like a servant. Who does he think he is? Is there any sense of discipline left? I reckon he does not want to eat the immortal peaches anymore! Without my word as sect master, you are not allowed to run around. Stay put and do your work properly.”
“Oh.” Chong’er lowered his head again and picked up the bucket.
He had only heard about certain conflicts before. This time, he was experiencing them firsthand.
Yu Qing turned back to Nan Zhu. “Tell the second brother that the sect master is here. I will wait for him. He can just come directly to me.”
Nan Zhu could only stare blankly. He realised these two had not even met face to face yet, but they were already at odds. They had turned him into a messenger, ordering him back and forth.
Fine, forget it. He had long guessed this might be the outcome. He did not want to draw trouble to himself either. With a sweep of his wide sleeves, he turned and strode away.
Back at his residence, Nan Zhu immediately told the truth upon seeing the second senior brother sitting and sipping tea. “Second senior brother, he says he is the sect master. He claims you ought to come see him. He said you lack discipline and asked if you still want to eat the immortal peaches. The sixteenth brother has also been suppressed by his sect master airs and dares not come.”
Bang! Gao Yunjie slammed the table and stood up on the spot. His elegance vanished instantly. His face darkened immediately, and he even bared his teeth, looking utterly insulted. “What kind of broken immortal peach? I would rather not eat it. I will not accept charity given with insult!”
He turned around and grabbed the cloak he had taken off earlier. Full of anger, he said to his two junior brothers, “Seventh and ninth brothers, lend me some travel expenses. I will fly back as soon as possible to report this to the junior martial uncle. Let him decide what to do!”
How could he possibly have money? The junior martial uncle had given him the travel funds to get here. The little money he had on him was not enough to hire a flying mount back, let alone cover the cost of a horse on land. Without borrowing money, he truly had no idea when he could return to Linglong Temple.
Nan and Mu were instantly speechless. He had only just arrived, and had not even warmed his seat, yet he wanted to leave immediately. It would be fine for him, but what would it look like if they did not persuade him to stay and instead gave him money for the return journey? How would they explain that to the junior martial uncle?
Nan Zhu immediately slapped his thigh. “Second senior brother, it is not that we do not want to lend it to you. We truly have no money. All the funds are controlled by that fellow.”
Mu Aotie nodded repeatedly. “You will have to ask the fifteenth brother to borrow it.”
Nonsense! Gao Yunjie almost coughed up blood from anger. He wanted to spit in their faces. Gritting his teeth, he added, “What, are you afraid I cannot repay it or something? Go find those two women outside and borrow from them first. I will borrow from the junior martial uncle later and pay you back.”
Nan Zhu sighed. “Second senior brother, this is his territory. Those two women belong to him as well. If he does not give the word, how could those two women possibly lend us money?”
Gao Yunjie instantly clenched his fists. His face was filled with sorrow and indignation. He looked speechlessly to the heavens, fully tasting the bitterness of a single coin defeating a hero. Suddenly, he punched his own chest. “If I had known it would be like this, why did I bother coming all this way to suffer such humiliation!”
Nan Zhu immediately stepped forward to hold him and offer comfort. “Second senior brother, a true man knows when to yield and when to stand firm. Just bow your head for now. Let us focus on raising our cultivation first. This batch of immortal peaches has a limited preservation time. Every day of delay is a significant loss, not to mention running back and forth over such a long distance!”
Gao Yunjie said bitterly, “The three of us are all proud men. What use is cultivation gained through humiliation? Can you two really swallow this insult?”
Nan Zhu sighed heavily. “What else can we do? Regarding these things, no matter how tough we talk or how much we strive, everyone deep down knows he is the one who brought them here. He truly holds the primary merit. It is also truly his place to call the shots now. The key point is we cannot defeat him. We surely cannot betray him from within and sell him out, can we? Second senior brother, let it go. Having something is better than having nothing. I even had my ribs broken by him, yet I still shamelessly stayed here.”