Chapter 14

It was Ying Weiye’s primordial spirit, attached to a serpent-shaped artifact.

“Shizun.”

Qin Youzhou suddenly came back to himself.

He had to admit that his current state was far too dejected.

He did not want anyone to see him like this, not even his Shizun.

“This disciple was at fault.”

Feeling the serpent coiled around his wrist tighten almost imperceptibly, Qin Youzhou assumed Ying Weiye was angry that he had left the sect without permission.

“I left the sect on my own and failed to report it beforehand.”

He steeled himself.

“Please punish me, Shizun.”

Silence followed.

The little snake stared at him, and he stared back.

A moment later, the snake tilted its head and flicked out its tongue before Ying Weiye’s voice finally emerged from it.

“Did someone bully you today?”

“Of course not.”

The topic changed so abruptly that Qin Youzhou could not follow.

“Then something happened when you went out,” Ying Weiye said with certainty.

The silver snake slithered across the back of his hand.

“Something happened in the sect, and I was worried about you, so I came to take a look.”

Had Qin Youzhou still been a small child, he might have thrown himself into Shizun’s arms and poured out all his grievances.

But the grown Qin Youzhou could only restrain himself and say, “This disciple did not encounter any trouble. Shizun need not worry.”

“…”

The silver snake narrowed its eyes, then sprang lightly from the back of his hand onto the ground.

“It’s cold. We’ll talk when we get home.”

Fortunately, the weather had been clear lately. Otherwise, snow would already have been falling in the mountains.

Spiritual beings were less sensitive to heat and cold, but that did not mean Qin Youzhou could stand here recklessly exposing himself to the chilly wind.

Qin Youzhou followed behind Ying Weiye, making intermittent conversation with him.

“Is Shizun truly all right after splitting off part of your primordial spirit?”

“I’m fine.”

“But moving around consumes spiritual energy. It would be more convenient to remain coiled around this disciple’s wrist.”

“I enjoy stretching my muscles.”

“Xiao Zhou.”

Overwhelmed by concern coming at him from every direction, Ying Weiye finally turned his head.

“I haven’t yet settled the matter of you leaving the sect without permission. Unless you want to copy texts as punishment, change the subject.”

“Yes, Shizun.”

Only then did Qin Youzhou swallow the lecture already on the tip of his tongue.

But only half of it.

“Still, it was originally my fault. If you punish me, I—”

His voice stopped abruptly.

The snake rapidly slithered up his body and lightly smacked the [bailiantales.com]back of his hand with the tip of its tail.

“I’m trying to make you copy fewer books, yet you insist on resisting.”

At last, some obvious emotion entered Ying Weiye’s voice. He no longer sounded as tense as before.

“If you don’t change the subject, I’ll confine you tonight.”

“Yes.”

Qin Youzhou thought for a while. After a long silence, he finally found a suitable topic.

“Shizun, there were several interesting passages in the medical text I was reading the day before yesterday.”

The system, watching the show: …

The host’s emotional intelligence was beyond saving.

Ying Weiye had obviously come to comfort him because he was in a bad mood and had no intention of punishing him at all.

His Shizun had practically built him a staircase to step down gracefully, yet Qin Youzhou insisted on jumping straight off it.

The host should really just focus on his career!

Ying Weiye: …

“…Little fool.”

The silver snake muttered lazily, settled on his wrist, and patiently answered his questions, no longer inclined to move.

Qin Youzhou had always been both clever and foolish.

He excelled at studying, possessed the stubbornness of a mule, and often connected the wrong ideas, saying things other people found incomprehensible.

There was nothing to be done.

Ying Weiye had raised him into this personality himself, so he could only continue indulging him.

“Choose a few dishes and make yourself dinner. There are snacks in the room too, but don’t eat too many.”

After they returned to the residence, the snake flicked its tail deftly.

The fire spirit pearl used for heating immediately lit up.

“I’m going back to refine the gu. Go to sleep early.”

Qin Youzhou never remained discouraged for very long. He had already returned to his usual calm and gentle demeanor.

He carefully raised his hand and [unauthorized copy]placed the silver snake on a smooth branch of the maple tree outside the window.

“Shizun should also remember to rest.”

“Mm. Good child.”

The silver snake narrowed its eyes contentedly.

Its tail brushed over the patch of skin it had smacked earlier before it finally slithered away.

“Go inside.”

From “little fool” to “good child” required only the length of one mountain path.

“Senior Brother, I have news from Shizun’s side.”

The following day, Yun Luoyi hurried over with bad news.

“Senior Brother Ling Hu, the one who neglected his duty and lost four cultivators, took medicine and killed himself!”

Qin Youzhou’s brow twitched.

“Why did he kill himself?”

He had already found the situation strange.

Where had a cultivator with enough cultivation to break through the barrier come from, especially one familiar with Yinxiao Sect and its surroundings?

Not to mention that even after Qin Youzhou repeatedly emphasized the importance of checking the numbers, Ling Hu had still somehow failed to account for four entire people.

“I don’t know either.”

The female cultivator shook her head.

“I only heard from Shizun’s side that the corpse was sealed away. The Sect Master forbade anyone from spreading the news and did not even allow medical cultivators to examine it.”

She lowered her voice.

“I remembered that Senior Brother was concerned about this matter, so I came to tell you. You must not let anyone else know.”

“Of course.”

The Sect Master seemed determined to bring this farce to a hasty end, even though it had nearly cost four people their lives and had already left two dead.

It was just like Changheng Sect previously blaming everything on the demon race.

But Qin Youzhou had no intention of letting the matter rest.

During his two days of leave, he organized all the ​bailiantales.com​clues he had collected and hid them inside his bookcase.

He could not interfere if the Sect Master wanted to maintain a false appearance of peace.

He would simply continue investigating in secret.

Once he had an opportunity to descend the mountain, he planned to investigate the matter thoroughly.

The selection continued, and Qin Youzhou once again had to leave his secluded paradise to face the cultivators below the mountain, each harboring their own schemes.

The second round of examinations was far more difficult than the first.

Xuanxing Peak was a special case.

Because Ying Weiye had repeatedly violated sect rules, he had been stripped of the right to accept disciples for several centuries. Therefore, the medical cultivators’ examination was prepared by the cultivators of the medicine cottage.

The other four peaks each created ​Read on BaiLianTales​one test. Together with the medicine cottage’s examination, there were five in total.

Anyone who performed exceptionally well on one test could enter the corresponding peak.

An ordinary cultivator who mastered even one discipline was already considered a favored child of heaven.

But the person who answered all five tests perfectly and placed first could freely choose which peak to enter. They also had a strong chance of quickly becoming an inner disciple or even a personal disciple.

In the original novel, Dai Yang had successfully passed the sword, spell, and medical examinations with Qin Youzhou’s guidance.

As for beast taming, it naturally came easily to a demon cultivator.

Furthermore, the Sect Master highly valued Dai Yang’s exceptional aptitude. Even though Dai Yang failed the music examination, he was still declared the winner.

With every advantage aligned in his favor, Dai Yang managed to become Ying Weiye’s disciple despite Ying Weiye’s unwillingness.

This time, however, becoming his disciple would not be so easy.

Yet before Qin Youzhou could find evidence against Dai Yang, Dai Yang came looking for him first.

It was noon.

Qin Youzhou was near the area where the wandering cultivators were staying, discussing music with Yu Jia.

Partway through their conversation, Qin Youzhou abruptly fell silent.

He tilted his head slightly.

A faint light flowed through his golden eyes as he looked toward an old locust tree with a trunk as thick as the mouth of a well.

“Who’s there?”

The leaves rustled.

The young man blinked as though embarrassed and peered around the bark at them.

“My apologies. I wanted to go into the woods to find some water.”

Dai Yang was the protagonist, after all, and his appearance was extraordinarily attractive.

When he pretended to be innocent, he looked weak and pitiful, making it difficult for anyone unfamiliar with him to dislike him.

Yu Jia was deceived.

Seeing that the newcomer was merely a wandering cultivator, his initial wariness relaxed considerably.

He kindly said, “Cultivators deliver water every day. There’s no need to search for it in the forest.”

Dai Yang stuck out his tongue, an embarrassed expression appearing on his face.

“I was simply too thirsty. I used to do this at home too.”

“My parents often taught me not to trouble other people…”

Qin Youzhou adjusted his glass lenses and said nothing.

He remembered Dai Yang saying that everyone in his family was dead.

But in truth, Dai Yang’s father was still alive, merely suppressed and imprisoned.

When convenient, both parents were dead.

When convenient, both were alive.

Such an impressive feat of changing faces was truly bewildering.

Dai Yang had not come for Yu Jia.

Seeing Qin Youzhou remain silent, he inevitably grew nervous.

After observing him for several days, Dai Yang found Qin Youzhou extremely interesting.

His reputation was excellent, his talent was exceptional, and his personality was steady and considerate.

There was no second person in the sect as dependable as him.

Whether as a junior brother, a friend, or something else entirely, Qin Youzhou was a perfect choice.

And associating with him would bring plenty of prestige.

Dai Yang was very satisfied with him.

So he gathered his courage and asked Qin Youzhou directly, “Senior, is this round of the examination… difficult?”

Qin Youzhou replied, “It is the same every year.”

“Then I’m in trouble.”

Dai Yang attempted to draw information from him.

“I want to become your junior brother, but I don’t know how skilled I need to be in medicine.”

“My apologies. My Shizun does not accept disciples.”

Qin Youzhou remained completely unmoved.

“I do not know any of the examination questions. You are asking too many questions.”

Having his intentions exposed, Dai Yang’s face alternated between pale and green.

After a long while, he raised his voice and said, “You’ve misunderstood. I was only asking whether it was difficult. I didn’t mean anything else.”

“If it’s inconvenient to answer, then pretend I never asked.”

“Then none of it is convenient to answer. Please return.”

Qin Youzhou nodded.

“If you speak to me for too long, others may suspect favoritism.”

Yu Jia stared from the side, dumbfounded.

He remembered that his junior brother had [unauthorized copy]always been a dignified gentleman who would show concern even for a passing dog.

When had he begun following the path of icy indifference?

“Th-then I won’t disturb the two Immortal Masters any longer!”

Dai Yang turned away with reddened eyes.

But the less he could obtain something, the more he wanted it.

His head grew hot, and he completely forgot about avenging his entire clan.

Qin Youzhou…

Just you wait. I’m going to become your junior brother no matter what. I want to see how wonderful your expression will be then!

Dai Yang ground his back teeth and left looking aggrieved, perhaps even shedding two tears.

But Yu Jia never saw the slightest trace of pity on Qin Youzhou’s face.

“Has he… offended you before?”

He placed an arm over Qin Youzhou’s shoulder and asked tentatively.

“The child doesn’t look that bad.”

Qin Youzhou would not slander anyone, so he gave Yu Jia a concise but complete account of everything that had happened during the heavenly sacrifice and the Immortal Hunt.

“You truly can’t judge someone by their appearance.”

Yu Jia was a sensible person who understood right from wrong. After hearing everything, he clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“He looks so fair and innocent. Who would have thought his heart was black?”

Thinking of something, his expression became serious.

“But honestly, even if the Sect Master knew he was a terrible person, he would probably still beg him to stay because of that spiritual root.”

Since Qin Youzhou, the sect had never encountered another cultivator with a heaven-grade spiritual root.

Now that the immortal sects were competing fiercely, many outside sects criticized Yinxiao Sect for having already declined and being unable to attract good disciples.

Accepting someone with a heaven-grade spiritual root would silence all those criticisms.

As for that person’s character, it would become irrelevant.

The sect might even promise him benefits to convince him to remain.

There was no telling what Dai Yang might do then.

“Someone lacking in virtue should not enter an immortal sect,” Qin Youzhou said seriously.

“Even if we cannot eliminate every injustice, we should at least try.”

His task was merely to prevent Dai Yang from becoming Shizun’s disciple.

But Qin Youzhou hoped that none of his kindhearted fellow disciples would ever be harmed by Dai Yang.

Yu Jia patted his shoulder and laughed.

“That is exactly what I like about you, Junior Brother. This is how an immortal cultivator should be!”

Qin Youzhou sighed helplessly.

“Senior Brother, you flatter me too much.”

Inside the grass behind them, a little silver snake slowly slithered past.

It raised its body and watched everything from the shadows.