“Lan’er?”
The voice startled Xiu Lan from her thoughts. She looked away from the old magnolia tree and turned to Li Ran, who had slowed to a stop at the mouth of the courtyard. His gaze left his disciple and trailed up the magnolia tree. His gaze dimmed and his lips pressed into a straight line.
“Why are you here at Tongyun Hall? I was looking all over for you,” Li Ran said.
Xiu Lan left the tree’s side and walked over to Li Ran with a sheepish smile. “I remembered Tongyun Hall had a large magnolia tree, so I wanted to come see it.”
Li Ran nodded, “It’s large. And quite old. I believe the late Sect Leader Wang was the one who planted it when he was first told that he would become the next sect leader.”
“Sect Leader Wang,” Xiu Lan repeated. She looked back at the old magnolia tree, “That must have been…”
“About five hundred years, give or take,” Li Ran said, “Maybe six.” He looked at his disciple. “So, did you come here only because you wanted to see the tree?”
Xiu Lan nodded honestly. “I was reading a book on fauna and plants and I remembered this tree.”
Li Ran watched her silently before sighing. He stepped forward with his wide-sleeves tucked behind his waist. He gazed up at the magnolia tree in a dazed silence. He had done this a lot recently—staring into space in a dazed silence.
Xiu Lan walked up behind her shizun cautiously and remained a respectful distance away. She lowered her head and allowed her shizun to think in silence. The soft autumnal breeze chased after the warm sun that lightly kissed their cheeks and warmed their fingertips. Despite this, Xiu Lan still felt her back grow uncomfortably cold.
“Do you miss him?”
“Who?” Xiu Lan asked cautiously.
Li Ran chuckled. “You and everyone else in this sect—you all miss him, don’t you? Is it because I’m not enough?”
Xiu Lan felt a shiver down her spine. “That’s not it, Shizun; it’s not that we miss him, it’s just that we’re worried that Wu-shishu isn’t doing well outside.”
“You still call him ‘shishu’?” Li Ran turned around and looked at Xiu Lan coldly. “Does he deserve to be your martial uncle?”
“Shi—”
“He killed your grandmaster, my shizun,” Li Ran said lowly. He narrowed his eyes and stepped closer, “Or is it that you believe outsiders’ words and not your own shizun’s words?”
“N-no, no, that’s not it,” Xiu Lan said hurriedly. She took a step back, her right foot catching on her left. Just as she was about to fall, Li Ran finally caught her by the arm.
She held her breath as Li Ran pulled her closer, his eyes burning with suppressed anger.
“Then, what is it? You think I haven’t noticed?” Li Ran stepped back, but his hand still tightly held Xiu Lan’s arm. “The way you all whisper when you think no one else is around? The way you all stare at Tongyun Hall as if you hope that he’ll come back out? Well, let me tell you something—he. Will. Not. Come. Back. He’s a traitor! And he’s a murder.”
Xiu Lan nodded repeatedly. She began to twist her wrist desperately from his grip. “I know. I know, Shizun. I—”
Li Ran’s anger abruptly crumbled. He released Xiu Lan’s hand and stepped back despondently. His body seemed to be obeying another force, as he unnaturally walked a few paces away, only to call out to her again: “Come with me.”
Xiu Lan followed Li Ran without a moment of hesitation. She looked him up and down worriedly, but said nothing to interrupt the silence.
Li Ran walked as if he were asleep. His steps carried a sense of weightlessness and his eyes were half-lidded. They didn’t pass by any disciples, but Xiu Lan still couldn’t stop herself from being antsy. What if others saw Li Ran like this? What would they say? Someone was bound to report it to the elders. She could only hope that Li Ran would hurry up and move faster towards their destination.
However, the longer they went, the more Xiu Lan realized something was wrong.
Whenever Li Ran was in these trance-like states, he would always take her to the ancestral hall or to the dungeons. This time, however, he did neither of those things and continued walking until they were out of the sect.
When they were standing at the entrance, Li Ran finally turned to Xiu Lan. There were notes of clarity in his eyes, but he looked very tired. A small smile lit up his handsome face—one that Xiu Lan used to be familiar with—and a warm, calloused hand raised to rub Xiu Lan’s hair.
“Leave.”
“…Shizun?” Xiu Lan’s voice shook.
“Go find your Wu-shishu,” Li Ran said, his voice was soft, as if he didn’t want anyone to hear what he was saying.
Xiu Lan looked down the steps and then back at Li Ran. She couldn’t tell if this was some type of sick test or not.
Li Ran clenched his jaw. “Lan’er, go, now.”
“Shizun, what are you saying? I don’t want to go find Wu-shishu. Why would I?” Xiu Lan asked, almost desperately. She stepped forward and grabbed his hand. “Shizun, I—”
The warm smile on Li Ran’s face was replaced by the same, twisted expression she had grown used to the past few months.
“Leave. That’s right, you should leave,” Li Ran cackled. He flung Xiu Lan’s hand off and his eyes narrowed, “Leave, and you can act as my little spy.”
“A…spy?” Xiu Lan shakily took a breath.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Wu Lingtian was the one who killed my shizun. Who knows what else he’s hiding?” Li Ran mumbled. He turned his crazed eyes to Xiu Lan said smiled. “You weasel your way to his side—into his sect—then you report back everything you hear.”
Xiu Lan’s eyes widened. “But—Shizun, we have to think about this. If it’s discovered that I’m a spy, then it will practically be declaring war on—”
“P vbc’a mjgf!” Ol Ejc rtbeafv. “Ktlr lr jii obg gfnfcuf, vbc’a sbe ecvfgrajcv? Yg vb sbe cba kjca ab jnfcuf sbeg ugjcvwjrafg?!”
Xiu Lan immediately stopped talking. She lowered her head and thought about it. If she had to go, then she could try and get help from Wu Lingtian. She would figure out a way to tell them that there was something wrong with Li Ran. So long as she can leave Drifting Clouds Mountain Sect, there was a chance to save her shizun and prevent implicating Wu Lingtian.
Wle Ojc tjv bcis atbeuta obg j ofk rfmbcvr yfobgf cbvvlcu. Lbkfnfg, ktfc rtf wfa Ol Ejc’r ujhf, rtf xcfk rbwfatlcu kjr boo.
“Rbk, kf pera tjnf ab wjxf la mbcnlcmlcu,” Ol Ejc rwlgxfv.
A sigh made its way to Wen Yi’s ears. She calmly flipped the page of her book and continued to copy the contents over to the page beside her. The sigh became louder and closer, yet Wen Yi didn’t even flinch. A third sigh emerged, just seconds later, followed by the body of a teenager draping over Wen Yi’s back.
Liang Jun turned to look at Wen Yi.
The young woman’s face remained serene. Her brush strokes were consistent and she didn’t seem the slightest bit distracted.
Liang Jun pulled his legs up, so that he was squatting against her back, his feet resting against the sides of the seat. He wrapped his arms around her neck and placed his chin against her shoulder. Then, he drew in a deep breath and whined loudly into Wen Yi’s ear.
“Shijie! Pay attention to me!”
When Wen Yi still didn’t bother looking up, Liang Jun grasped Wen Yi’s brush and prevented her from writing. The brush hovered in the air and ink slowly dripped onto the page.
Wen Yi suppressed a sigh. “If you’re so bored, find the other disciples to play with.”
“How can that even come close to comparing with playing with my own sister?” Liang Jun clung tighter to Wen Yi.
“I’m busy,” Wen Yi said plainly. “And you’re disturbing my work. You can go find Li Qing or An’ting to play with you.”
“I already said I don’t feel like playing with them,” Liang Jun groaned. “Besides, recently An’ting’s been going down the mountain to play around again. That, or she’s hanging around Bai Qiu.”
“Call him ‘shixiong’,” Wen Yi said without even looking up.
Liang Jun clicked his tongue. He thought for a moment before poking Wen Yi’s cheek again. “Is he really staying?”
“Whether he stays or not is none of our business,” Wen Yi said.
“Have you asked him if he’s staying?” Liang Jun asked.
“I asked. He said that he won’t be,” Wen Yi lightly pushed Liang Jun away from her face as she began writing again. “But he said he’ll visit.”
“He’ll visit,” Liang Jun echoed. After a moment, he slumped against Wen Yi again and slowly rolled off. With a loud thump, Liang Jun landed on the ground with his arms and legs spread out. “What about Da-shixiong?”
“What about him?”
“Is he leaving too?”
“Your Da-shixiong is already twenty-five. It’s about time he leaves the sect and goes exploring anyway,” Wen Yi said.
Liang Jun slowly processed those words before sitting up. “Then, Shijie, won’t you also be leaving soon!?”
“…I’m only twenty-two.”
“That’s another three years!” Liang Jun stood, his movements shaking the table.
Wen Yi held her brush steady, but still couldn’t escape the fate of slightly wobbly characters. She finally set her brush down and turned to Liang Jun. “Most sects let their disciples run around when they’re eighteen. Even our Screeching Sparrow Sect is like that. The only reason we’ve stayed so long is just because we want to stay and look after you bunch of monkeys. Su Han deciding to leave with Bai-shixiong wouldn’t be wrong. As for me, I still want to see the world. Of course, I will leave.”
Liang Jun fell silent. “Then…but…you two will come back, right?”
Wen Yi frowned. “Of course, we’ll come back.”
“Oh,” Liang Jun nodded, somewhat dazed.
“You know, you’ll also be leaving the sect one day too. It’s natural to do it. It isn’t good to just stay at the sect day in and day out and only taking small missions here and there,” Wen Yi pointed out.
“I was just thinking that if you and Su Han left, I don’t think I would be very used to it,” Liang Jun laughed. He gasped and excitedly pointed to himself, “If you two left, would I be the da-shixiong?”
“What are you think? Da-shixiong is still Su Han! As for you…well, in terms of when you all entered the sect, I suppose you’ll be the oldest,” Wen Yi mumbled.
Liang Jun laughed triumphantly. “Then, I’ll be the one who distributes the chores for the months!”
“If you take advantage of the system, you’ll be punished,” Wen Yi reminded him.
“I know! I’m not stupid,” Liang Jun grinned. He sat back down on the floor obediently and fell into his own thoughts. “Say, in the future, won’t we all be taking disciples of our own too? Then, eventually those disciples will take their disciples! And Screeching Sparrow Sect will be so much more rowdier than it is now!”
“That’ll take another couple hundred years,” Wen Yi said. “It’s a miracle that Sect Leader and everyone else even decided to take disciples when they did. Did you know that for the longest time, Screeching Sparrow Sect basically acted as an orphanage? They would take in kids off the street, teach them a bit about cultivation, and then sent them off to join another sect or return to their mortal lives when they were older.”
Liang Jun had never heard of something like this. He looked up in interest. “Do you know what changed?”
“What changed?” Wen Yi echoed. She shook her head. “I’m sure it’s because times were too tumultuous, but now they’re better.”
“Are they?” Liang Jun stared blankly at the wall opposite him. “I keep having a feeling that something bad will happen though.”
Wen Yi glanced down at Liang Jun. “You’re thinking too much.”
Liang Jun let out a long sigh. He sprawled back onto the ground and stared up at the ceiling. “Shijie, since I’m eighteen, does that mean I could leave the sect without reason too?”
“If you wanted to,” Wen Yi said. “You’d still have to get permission from one of the Pillars. Why? Is there somewhere you want to go?”
“Not really. I’m just a bit bored,” Liang Jun sighed. He sat up and looked at Wen Yi with a smile, “Do you want to come with me?”
“I have a lot of work to do, Liang Jun,” Wen Yi sighed. She glanced at her despondent younger martial brother. “Actually, I have something I needed to do, but I’m not sure if I have the time to.”
Liang Jun’s eyes lit up. He jumped up immediately and slammed his hands down onto the table. “Leave it to me! What do you need me to do?”
Wen Yi reached into her desk and pulled out a sachet, “I want you to visit Sect Leader Hu and give this to him.”
Liang Jun stared at the perfume sachet and then back at Wen Yi. “That…that’s it?”
“And these,” Wen Yi smiled as she pulled out a few more gifts. “It’s his son’s birthday, but everyone else in the sect is too busy to drop off the gifts. Seeing that you’re this free, you may as well go.”
Liang Jun stared at the gifts in front of him and glanced back up at Wen Yi, seemingly unwilling.
“If you don’t go, then An’ting and Li Qing will go. And then you’ll be even more bored.”
Liang Jun began reluctantly gather the boxes into his arms. “Alright. Then, I’ll go.”
“Ah, wait,” Wen Yi called out before Liang Jun could leave the library.
Liang Jun turned back around and snatched the golden pouch from the air. He stared at it and looked back to Wen Yi.
“Some money. Since you’re doing me a favor, I’ll let you spend it on whatever you want,” Wen Yi said generously.
The light returned to Liang Jun’s eyes. He enthusiastically patted his chest. “Don’t worry, Shijie! I’ll deliver these gifts with gusto and efficiency!”
Wen Yi giggled. Sometimes this rascal was a little cute. “Alright, alright. You hurry and go tell Shizun that you’ll be the one who goes. You still need to get the invitation from him.”
Liang Jun nodded. He stuffed the things into his Qiankun pouch and excitedly went to find Ren Yizhou.
The elegant person was sitting at the gazebo that sat in the middle of a lake. Too excited to take the winding bridge, Liang Jun used his qinggong to traverse the water. He landed smoothly on the other side and didn’t even bother sparing a glance to Bai Qiu, who had looked up at the sudden noise.
“Shizun, I’m leaving!”
Ren Yizhou lifted their head in the direction of Liang Jun’s voice. “Where to?”
“Um,” Liang Jun’s smile stiffened before he remembered, “Shijie said that she’s too busy, so I’m going to deliver gifts to Stygian Dragon Sect for the little young master’s first birthday.”
“Then, go quickly and return safely,” Ren Yizhou smiled.
“Yes, Shizun!” Liang Jun happily bowed again and was just about to leave when he caught Bai Qiu’s gaze behind the silvery mask. His excitement temporarily left him as he looked Bai Qiu up and down.
“Liang Jun,” Bai Qiu greeted without much emotion.
“…Bai-shixiong,” Liang Jun forced out. He glanced at Ren Yizhou and then to Bai Qiu again, but didn’t ask why the two were together without Tian Xiewen.
After all, despite Bai Qiu’s extended stay, Tian Xiewen hadn’t spoken to Bai Qiu more than three times, yet it had nearly been a month already. Whether the man was still angry, or he just didn’t know how to approach him, was beyond Liang Jun.
“Jun’er,” Ren Yizhou called out to Liang Jun, whose heated presence could still be felt.
“Yes, Shizun?” Liang Jun looked to Ren Yizhou.
“Are there any tasks or missions that the disciples haven’t been able to get around to?” Ren Yizhou asked.
“Tasks or missions?” Liang Jun echoed. He glanced at Bai Qiu again before answering Ren Yizhou, “Recently, the collection of taxes in WuYe City have yet to be completed, but…”
Ren Yizhou coughed lightly. “I see. Anything else?”
“There are new disciples who also need to be trained, however,” Liang Jun’s voice trailed off again.
Ren Yizhou looked a bit troubled before turning back to Bai Qiu. “Apologies, Bai Qiu, I don’t think there’s anything you need to do.”
“That’s quite alright. I just wanted to see if I could be of any help,” Bai Qiu said, though his gaze drifted down with a hint of disappointment.
Liang Jun lightly cleared his throat. It wouldn’t be bad to be a good person once in a while. “Well, you could always clean the weapon storage.”
Ren Yizhou immediately caught on. “That’s right! That’s An’ting’s job, but she absolutely detests it. You can take her shift.”
Bai Qiu looked between the master and disciple. “But…would Shizun allow me?”
“Does he have a say?” Liang Jun raised a brow. “You’re helping him out after all. If he rejects you, I’ll call him a jerk.”
Ren Yizhou nodded as if that were the most—if not only—reasonable response. “And I won’t let him punish you.”
Bai Qiu looked between the little disciple and the little disciple’s shizun. Eventually he let out a helpless chuckle. “Then, if it isn’t trouble Ren-shibó too much, I would like to take on that responsibility.”
“Good!” Ren Yizhou agreed cheerfully. They clapped their hands together, “Then, Shibó will tell your shizun.”
“If Shizun orders him to accept, Tian-shishu will obviously accept,” Liang Jun tossed his ponytail over his shoulder and hopped back onto the lake. “Then, I’m leaving, Shizun, Bai-shixiong!”
This time, instead of stopping, Liang Jun propelled himself up towards the trees and scaled over them. He flew past the watch tower without bidding the watching disciples farewell and smoothly hopped onto his sword. The sword brought him out of Screeching Sparrow Sect’s protective arrays and allowed him to soar over the top of WuYe City.
Down below, the city’s bustling life reached Liang Jun. He gazed down from his sword with a small smile before pouring more spiritual energy into his sword and heading straight southeast.
The trip between Screeching Sparrow Sect and Stygian Dragon was no more than a few hours by sword, but with Liang Jun’s speed, he made it there in under two. When he landed, he noted the amount of people that were pouring towards the gorge that Stygian Dragon Sect made its home. There were people from Nightly Butterflies Sect as well as a few other lesser known unorthodox sects. Amongst the crowd, there were also a few neutral sects who were on good terms with Hu Rongming.
Liang Jun rushed off to the side and hurriedly fixed his hair and robes before pulling the gifts out from his bag. When Wen Yi told him to deliver the gifts, he hadn’t expected today to be the day of the actual birthday banquet.
Feeling a bit frazzled, Liang Jun quickly made sure he was presentable before marching up to the front doors where Hu Rongming stood with his eldest disciple, Pei Nuo.
“Sect Leader Hu,” Liang Jun flashed a smile at Hu Rongming and glanced at Pei Nuo. “Nuo-jie.”
Pei Nuo frowned. She looked Liang Jun up and down in disgust as she took the gifts, “Why are you the one that came?”
“I can’t?” Liang Jun childishly stuck out his tongue.
Hu Rongming laughed and rubbed Liang Jun’s head. “Honestly, we weren’t expecting Screeching Sparrow Sect to attend this year! After all, your shizun made it clear your hands were all full.”
Liang Jun smiled sheepishly, “Our Sect Leader is busy and he made it clear that he wanted us to lay low for a while.”
“That’s understandable,” Hu Rongming nodded. He let out a soft sigh, “Right, how’s your…Fourth Pillar? Right, when is the initiation ceremony?”
“Wu-shishu said that he had some business to attend and went off with Sect Leader. And…well, we’re unsure if we’ll hold a real celebration. Wu-shishu was already given his pass, and he’s recognized by everyone as the Fourth Pillar,” Liang Jun said.
“I see,” Hu Rongming looked a bit troubled. After a moment, he let out a rumbling laugh, “At any rate, it’s just a formality! It wouldn’t make a difference if it was a marriage ceremony instead!”
Liang Jun stared at Hu Rongming with a hint of confusion.
Hu Rongming sighed and patted Liang Jun’s shoulder. “This is why I keep telling your sect leader to make you kids leave the sect more often—if you just stay in WuYe City, where are you going to get any fun gossip? Here, follow me to a seat and we can talk a bit. Ah—A-Nuo, you stay here and receive the guests.”
“Yes, Shizun.” Pei Nuo gave Liang Jun a displeased glare before turning back to the cultivators flooding in.
Liang Jun pulled his gaze away from Pei Nuo for a moment before turning back to Hu Rongming. “Hu-bóbo, is there a reason Nuo-jie looks like she wants to skin me today?”
“Well, we received a letter last week, saying that Screeching Sparrow Sect couldn’t attend, but a gift will be sent by Wen Yi some time this week,” Hu Rongming shrugged. “I’m assuming she wanted to see Wen Yi.”
Liang Jun scoffed. “Serves her right then—coveting my Shijie.”
Hu Rongming laughed heartily and sat down with Liang Jun. He waved over an attendant and ordered them to bring over a few bottles of alcohol. He let out a content sigh as he tapped his fingers against the carefully covered table, “Now, let’s see, what kind of gossip can I share with you?”
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I hope he comes across Xiu Lan and can escort her back – if he can still navigate properly after he hears the gossip about Wu Lingtian and Sect Leader 😂. He probably won’t be surprised to find out something is wrong with Li Ran though.
LMAO he’s just reeling from all the juicy gossip 😂 thanks for reading!
one symbol was a magnolia tree…. of which here is a magnolia tree planted by the late Sect Leader Wang >.> suspicious
also Li Ran is NOT okay!
the kids are tho (ah but Xiu Lan may be in a bit of danger…) Liang Jun you are so cute and precious, someone should give him headpats!!