Chapter 27

Although the invitation from Bixu Peak was very tempting, Zhang Lan frowned slightly and took a step back.

It was said to be an invitation to enter the peak, but when it fell into her ears, it carried a strange undertone, as if he were plotting something, or coveting something. It made displeasure rise in Zhang Lan’s heart.

“Zhang Lan, are you willing?”

Seeing that Zhang Lan did not speak, Feng Luoya was not angry either. Good-temperedly, he repeated himself, then leisurely waited for her answer.

Zhang Lan was silent for a long while. Her amber-like eyes narrowed slightly, as if shadows were surging inside them.

She lifted her head. Even while facing one of Yashan’s strongest people, she was not afraid in the slightest and looked directly at him. “My apologies. This disciple is foolish.”

“Oh?” Feng Luoya studied Zhang Lan’s brows and eyes, the smile on his face not fading. “What do you mean?”

Zhang Lan paused, then said, “This disciple’s roots are weak. I fear I would disappoint your expectations.”

Feng Luoya smiled. “Is it truly that your roots are lacking, or are you unwilling?”

Zhang Lan placed both hands behind her back and obediently lowered her head. A few strands [unauthorized copy]of loose hair fell, just brushing against her brows and eyes. Between her tightly clenched fingers, spiritual power faintly leapt, only to be crushed down before it could gather.

“…Both,” Zhang Lan said. “I already have other considerations in my heart.”

As for what “considerations” she meant, in truth, from beginning to end, she had never considered anything at all. Her goal had only ever been one thing:

Wherever Senior Sister was, she would be there. She would firmly follow Senior Sister!

Whatever Feng Luoya, whatever Bixu Peak—all of you can get lost! I don’t care!!

Feng Luoya sighed rather regretfully and said leisurely, “How rare. It’s not often that I become interested in accepting a disciple, yet I was actually rejected. But if you’re unwilling, I naturally won’t force you.”

Feng Luoya turned to leave, but after taking a few steps, he inexplicably turned back and glanced at her again. His expression was normal, his voice light and shallow. “There should still be chances to meet in the future.”

“—I just wonder, at that time, how should I address you?”

Zhang Lan’s brow twitched. In the end, however, the other party acted as though nothing had happened. Casually pressing down on Qin Zhi’s shoulder, he pushed her away, not even looking at Zhang Lan again.

“Inexplicable.” Zhang Lan muttered softly, kicking a small stone on the ground with the tip of her shoe.

Wang Yan found it unbelievable. She rushed over, grabbed Zhang Lan’s shoulders, and shook her hard. “Zhang Lan, what are you thinking? That was Feng read the original at bailiantales.comLuoya, the peak master of Bixu Peak!”

Bixu Peak had always been idle and relaxed, but its strength could not be underestimated. Especially its peak master, Feng Luoya. Forget Yashan—even across the entire continent, he ranked near the top and had few opponents.

What a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity. And the peak master had even personally offered to accept her as a disciple. Yet Zhang Lan had refused.

Wang Yan looked at Zhang Lan as if looking at a fool, her heart aching so badly she was far more anxious than the person herself. “Why did you reject him!”

Jin Li stuck out her tongue. “Why are you so worked up? Our great expert naturally has her own considerations. Bixu Peak isn’t necessarily the best!”

Zhang Lan’s face was indifferent. After being shaken a few times by Wang Yan, she dissatisfiedly pushed her away. “Don’t shake me. Senior Sister finally tied my hair for me!”

She retreated several steps in a row, distressedly holding the long hair Xia Zhitao had put up for her, and said angrily, “What are you doing? You shook it loose!!”

Xia Zhitao: “…………”

Loose how? It was only that the ribbon had loosened a tiny bit and a few strands of hair had fallen out. But judging from Zhang Lan’s expression, she was simply grief-stricken, as if she wanted to slam Wang Yan onto the ground and beat her.

Wang Yan was still having heartache. “That was Feng Luoya! Bixu Peak!”

“Feng what? Luo what?” Zhang Lan said expressionlessly [stolen content]and coldly. “Forgot. Anyway, I don’t know what ghost of a name that is.”

Fortunately, Feng Luoya had already left while clinging to Qin Zhi’s shoulder. If that dignified peak master had heard Zhang Lan’s words, he might really have been angered until smoke came from all seven orifices.

Xia Zhitao was both annoyed and amused. She reached out and pinched Zhang Lan’s cheek.

The other girl obediently let her mess with her without resisting at all. Soft and squishy, like a piece of fluffy cotton candy.

The feel was very good. Xia Zhitao pinched her several more times, still reluctant to stop. Then, looking into Zhang Lan’s large eyes like golden beads, she suddenly realized something.

Oh no. Why did I get carried away again and pinch the Sect Leader’s cheeks!

Xia Zhitao hurriedly withdrew her hand, pretended to cough, and feigned seriousness. “Junior Sister, that person is Master Feng Luoya. You still need to show some respect.”

—At least, she had to show some respect while on Yashan’s territory. If they were outside, then it did not really matter.

Since the person speaking had changed to Xia Zhitao, Zhang Lan became serious. Her expression was solemn as she said, “Mm, okay! I’ll listen to Senior Sister!”

Speaking of which, Feng Luoya had not actually meant to threaten or warn her. It was just that the way he looked at Zhang Lan had been somewhat strange.

.

After the rankings came out, Mu Si unsurprisingly took first place.

Strangely, Wang Ze ranked eighth, Wang Yan fell out of the top ten, and Zhang Lan’s ranking was not read even after they waited for a long while. Who knew what obscure corner she had been placed in?

Only the top ten disciples had the chance to choose. The others could only hope that a peak master would be willing to keep them. And naturally, the peak masters would only choose the disciples they believed had the greatest potential and the most outstanding performance.

This was also the most “terrifying” part of Yashan’s recruitment. No matter how many outstanding disciples there were, the number who could truly enter Yashan in the end was pitifully small.

Take Xia Zhitao’s batch, for example. Nearly ten thousand people had been recruited at the foot of the mountain. Before the trial assembly, only three hundred remained. And in the end, only fourteen disciples entered the sect.

Zhang Lan could not sit still. Furious, she slapped the table, rolled up her sleeves, and wanted to rush forward. “On what basis?!”

She had originally thought that once they took first place as a team, she would be able to rest easy. In the end, once the peak masters rearranged things according to performance, aside from the reliable Wang Ze, everyone else had been ranked into oblivion.

Zhang Lan’s plans were completely ruined. Full of grief and anger, she wished she could rush onto the Baiyu Altar and beat someone up.

She had planned it all out: whichever peak Senior Sister chose, she would choose that peak. But now, forget choosing. It was hard to say whether any peak master would be willing to accept her at all.

“Peak Master Luoya wanted to accept you just now, and you bailiantales.com didn’t want to,” Wang Yan looked at Zhang Lan resentfully, her voice full of complaint. “Now look what happened.”

Seeing that this child Zhang Lan was about to charge up there out of sheer stubbornness, Xia Zhitao quickly grabbed her wrist and called, “Wait a moment, don’t be anxious yet!”

“Senior Sister, I had everything planned!” Zhang Lan was so angry she nearly overturned the table, accusing pitifully, “It must be that Feng-something secretly interfering!”

Feng Luoya had not participated in the ranking at all. It was probably the other peak masters who thought Zhang Lan’s performance was too poor and ranked her toward the back.

“We’ll go back in a while,” Xia Zhitao said, glancing at Jin Li. “When the time comes, I’ll see if I can talk to Grandmaster.”

Zhang Lan nodded eagerly, pitifully tugging at Xia Zhitao’s clothes. Even her eyes had reddened. “Senior Sister…”

Xia Zhitao was most unable to bear seeing her look so pitiful. She rubbed Zhang Lan’s hair and comforted her gently, “Don’t worry. It’ll definitely be fine.”

.

The peak-entry ceremony had nothing to do with the inner disciples, so the team leaders all returned to stand behind their peak masters. The newcomers and outer disciples stood on the Baiyu Altar, anxiously waiting for the result.

An old man in white slowly stood from the high platform, his withered fingers stroking his long beard as he said slowly:

“First place, Mu Si.”

Mu Si half-knelt on the Baiyu Altar. She had always been silent and taciturn. With her head slightly lowered, the expression on her face could not be seen clearly.

The old man was Gao Ze, the peak master of Jingtang Peak, which ranked third in Yashan. The sect leader of Yubai Peak was still in seclusion, so Gao Ze was presiding over the trial assembly.

Gao Ze cleared his throat, and his old, hoarse voice rang throughout the venue. “Mu Si, as the top disciple of this batch, you may choose the peak you hope to enter.”

Rather unexpectedly, Mu Si did not choose the more famous peaks such as Qiaohu, Jingtang, or Bixu. Instead, she lifted her head and said in a flat voice, “Jinhua.”

“—This disciple hopes to enter Jinhua Peak.”

As soon as these words came out, the venue fell into a somewhat awkward silence. A moment later, Jinhua Peak’s peak master stepped forward.

She was a slightly slender woman dressed in a smoky-red robe. Her brows and eyes were very faint, and even her voice was extremely light and shallow. “If you have come for the Hibiscus Immortal Spirit, then please return.”

“The Hibiscus Immortal Spirit…” she paused, then said, “has been out training for many years and has yet to return.”

Perhaps it was Xia Zhitao’s imagination, but when Jinhua Peak’s peak master mentioned the “Hibiscus Immortal Spirit,” Feng Luoya, who was sitting off to the side, suddenly dimmed slightly.

He turned his head a little. His gaze landed accurately on Zhang Lan, carrying a hint of scrutiny.

However, this child Zhang Lan was currently furious, lowering her head and kicking stones. Not a single thought of hers was on the trial assembly.

This “Hibiscus Immortal Spirit” was quite famous in Yashan. It was said that she was an Immortal Venerable with extremely high talent who was about to ascend.

However, when Xia Zhitao had first arrived, she had already been out training. Now, a new batch of disciples was about to enter the sect, and she was still training. She could be called a training maniac.

Such persistent, diligent training spirit could practically be compared with the sect leader of Yubai Peak, who was always in seclusion and known as a cultivation maniac.

And because she had been absent year-round, Jinhua Peak had been handed down in order for someone else to manage.

Mu Si shook her head. “It doesn’t matter.”

She spoke too little and did not explain what exactly did not matter. Jinhua Peak’s peak master was silent for a long while before smiling helplessly, her voice warm. “Then come over.”

.

Because of his wind spiritual root, Wang Ze chose Shuijing Peak, which cultivated in a rather bold and sweeping manner. Bearded Grandmaster laughed heartily and, considering that the siblings were close, allowed Wang Yan to join as well.

The siblings were happy, but Zhang Lan was miserable.

Her trial results had been at the bottom every time, and this assembly had nothing outstanding either. At most, she had stabbed the giant python once before crashing onto the ground and remaining unconscious for several hours.

The peak masters accepted a few disciples here and there, but none of them seemed to want Zhang Lan. Even Bearded Grandmaster rejected Xia Zhitao’s request.

Just as the situation grew tense, Zheng Luoyi, peak master of Yuwan Peak, silently stood up.

He smiled faintly and said softly, “Zhang Lan, are you willing to join my Yuwan Peak?”

As soon as these words came out, the whole venue burst into an uproar.

Yuwan Peak emphasized a warm, gentle, and steady path of cultivation. Although it was not outstanding among Yashan’s peaks, there was no lack of disciples who wanted to join.

But the moment Peak Master Zheng Luoyi spoke, he cleanly and directly chose Zhang Lan, who had ranked last in this trial. It was truly unexpected.

Even more astonishing was that Feng Luoya, who was usually so idle he could barely be bothered to speak, actually gave a cold snort at this moment.

Waving the folding fan in his hand, his voice seemed to smile without smiling. “Junior Brother Luoyi, what’s gotten into you? There are so many good seedlings for you to choose from, yet you picked a waste with no roots?”

A little girl in red stepped forward. The little red fish was circling her ponytail, blowing bubbles and spinning happily.

Jin Li put her hands on her waist and said loudly, “I suggested it to Grandmaster!”

“This little red-clothed disciple of mine isn’t good at anything and doesn’t usually like cultivating either, but there is one thing,” Zheng Luoyi said slowly, his voice carrying a helpless smile. “Her luck is especially good.”

Feng Luoya: “…”

The disciples: “…………”

Zheng Luoyi said warmly, “So I believe her.”

Jin Li smiled rather proudly and openly made a “yeah” gesture toward Xia Zhitao, mouthing, “I finally dragged the great expert over!”

Xia Zhitao laughed. Down below, Zhang Lan had a thousand and ten thousand unwilling feelings, but she still yielded. Knowing when to take the win, she silently chose to join.

As luck would have it, Yuwan Peak also had a familiar face.

A graceful-looking woman in blue walked out with a smile, looking at Zhang Lan with great interest. “Our Yuwan Peak hasn’t had a new disciple in so long. Welcome, welcome.”

This person was naturally the female lead of the book whom Xia Zhitao had met once before—Ling Xishi.

Ling Xishi studied Zhang Lan and could not help sighing, “Such an adorable little junior sister was actually snatched by our peak master.”

Only, the little junior sister before her was indeed cute, but why was the look in her eyes so… complicated?

Zhang Lan’s gaze was resentful, and her voice carried a hint of having seen through the mortal world, as if she had nothing left to live for. “Senior Sister Ling really is beautiful.”

Ling Xishi froze for a moment, then smiled. “Ya, this child really has a sweet mouth.”

Zhang Lan laughed dryly and mumbled, her voice sour. “I’m only speaking the truth. Senior Sister Ling really was born beautiful.”

—Beautiful enough that Senior Sister had actually praised her personally!

Zhang Lan remembered very clearly that Xia Zhitao had not only said aloud before that Ling Xishi was “good-looking,” but had even said that she had “a limitless future” and told Zhang Lan to get along well with Ling Xishi.

I can go to hell with that!!

Senior Sister has never praised me like that! What getting along well? If I don’t beat you up and throw you off Yashan, that already counts as me being polite!

Zhang Lan felt so wronged inside, as if she had knocked over an ​Read on BaiLianTales​entire vat of aged vinegar. Her whole person was gloomily drowned in vinegar, bubbling up with a string of angry little bubbles.

.

Xia Zhitao still had not reacted to the fact that Zhang Lan, her little junior sister who was very likely the villain boss, had somehow ended up in the same peak as the original female lead by freak accident.

Because the new disciples had entered the peaks, she was now “returning to her old profession” and acting as a tour guide, taking the two new disciples around to familiarize them with Shuijing Peak’s terrain, geography, and human scenery.

“I heard a little about it while cultivating with Peak Master Qin,” Wang Ze said as he looked at the rippleless lake before him, concentrating. “I didn’t expect Ruoshui to be such a terrifying thing.”

There was a restriction between the group and Shuijing Lake, and the distance was also quite far, but they could still faintly sense the dead silence without the slightest vitality.

Wang Yan muttered, “It really does make one’s scalp tingle.”

Xia Zhitao silently agreed. Ever since she had been slashed head-on and fallen to the bottom of the lake, hovering between life and death, she had developed an instinctive fear of this place.

If not for that woman in black saving her, to put it exaggeratedly, she might have turned into bones at the bottom of the lake without anyone ever knowing.

Since then, Jingtang Peak had been investigating the matter, but unfortunately, there were too few clues. For now, they still had no real leads on the culprit and could only temporarily set it aside among a pile of case files.

“These are roughly the main places.” Xia Zhitao looked ​bailiantales.com​at the siblings and asked, “Is there anywhere else you want to go?”

The moment she asked this, the siblings suddenly exchanged a very tacit glance.

Then Wang Yan rather warmly leaned over, her eyes sparkling. “Senior Sister Xia, we want to go down the mountain… with you!”

Xia Zhitao froze slightly. After asking a few questions, she learned that Wang Ze felt he had troubled her quite a lot over the past few days. In addition, now that they had formally entered the sect, they would not have many chances to go down the mountain, so he wanted to treat Xia Zhitao and the others to a meal. It could also be considered an official farewell to worldly matters.

It had to be said that Wang Ze truly was meticulous in thought and very good at the ways of dealing with people. He was extremely comfortable to get along with.

“So Senior Sister Xia agrees?!” Wang Yan clapped excitedly and said cheerfully, “Then let’s go to Yuwan Peak to find Senior Sister Jin, and also that little fellow Zhang Lan!”

Xia Zhitao nodded with a smile. The group headed toward Yuwan Peak. Along the way, clouds and mist spread, and water vapor swirled, giving the scenery a rather ethereal, immortal feeling.

Unfortunately, however, Jin Li had gone to the back mountain to fish, and her little junior sister was nowhere to be seen either. In the end, only Xia Zhitao and the siblings remained.

But three people had the benefits of three people. Moving around was much more convenient. Xia Zhitao greeted the senior sister at the mountain gate, then smoothly brought the two down Yashan.

After not coming here for a long time, it felt like a lifetime had passed. The siblings looked at the bustling, prosperous mortal world and felt somewhat emotional for a while.

“Senior Sister Xia, this way!”

Wang Yan led the two of them with great energy. “Let’s go to Xijiang Moon Tower. The private rooms there are very beautiful, and you can even see the lovely view by the river.”

Wang Ze looked at his younger sister, who had darted far ahead in the blink of an eye, and said helplessly, “Slow down. We’re not in a hurry.”

Xia Zhitao smiled. “It’s fine. Let’s just follow her.”

Wang Yan turned back from far away and made a face at her brother. “There are only a few private rooms in Xijiang Moon Tower. If we don’t hurry, it’ll be too late!”

As she spoke, she rushed farther ahead again, impossible to pull back.

The group soon arrived at Xijiang Moon Tower. Inside, customers were packed in and people came and went, yet it did not feel noisy. It had its own simple, poetic charm.

The waiter receiving them seemed to be new and was somewhat unfamiliar with the matters of the tower.

He smiled shyly and led them upstairs while explaining, “You came at just the right time. There’s only one private room left.”

He led them around the long corridor and brought them to a private seat half-suspended over the riverside. Looking outward through the gauze curtains, one could see the grand, surging waters of the Xijiang River, as well as the lights of thousands of homes on the opposite bank.

“Wow, you actually hid such a good private seat?” Wang Yan said in surprise. “My brother and I have come so m bailiantales.com any times, but we never knew.”

The waiter rubbed his head and laughed honestly. “I-I’m also new here. It just so happened that this private room usually doesn’t have many people, so I brought you all here.”

The group sat down. Xia Zhitao ordered a pot of tea, while Wang Yan excitedly ordered a whole pile of dishes. The waiter nodded and bowed, then left.

However, after they had only chatted for a short while, someone suddenly knocked on the door.

“So fast?” Wang Yan thought the dishes had arrived, but as the door opened, they saw the waiter from earlier lowering his head fearfully. Behind him stood a white-clad woman with a displeased expression.

That person’s skin was extremely pale, without the slightest trace of blood in her cheeks. She was as white as someone on the verge of death.

“What is going on?” The woman glanced at everyone inside the room and slowly said, “Is this private room something just anyone can enter so easily?”

—What was going on?

The three people in the room immediately froze. The waiter’s body trembled like a sieve, and there was a faint sob in his voice. “I-I’m sorry! This little one only recently arrived and didn’t know you had reserved this private room…”

The woman in white smiled without smiling, her voice cold. “Then why aren’t you quickly driving these three people away? That distinguished guest is not someone you can afford to delay.”

The waiter was terrified by her words. He pressed his hands together and faced Xia Zhitao and the others, begging humbly, “E-everyone, I’m sorry.”

He lowered his head, his body trembling the whole time. “I didn’t know just now. This private room has actually been long-term reserved by this madam. Please, please move somewhere else…”

In truth, it was only a matter of changing rooms and was not a big deal. Unfortunately, that woman in white ordered people around with her eyes and chin, her words full of contempt inside and out, making the three rather uncomfortable.

Wang Yan was the first who could not sit still. She slapped the table with a “peng” and said sharply, “Everything should follow the order of first come, first served. Why should we give way?”

“Since this table was given to us, then it should be ours. On what basis do we have to leave after we’ve already sat down?”

The woman in white raised a brow and smiled leisurely. “Oh? I didn’t notice just now. Tiny little Yashan has quite some nerve.”

Wang Yan refused to yield. “And who are you? Such great face, monopolizing this private room and not letting others use it?”

Oh no! How did they start arguing?

The current atmosphere was tense, as if one spark would set it off. The waiter beside them was so anxious he was about to cry, only short of kneeling to them.

How could he have been so brainless, actually making a mistake with such an important matter?

On one side was Madam, and on the other was Yashan. Neither side was someone he could offend!

The waiter gave a look to his companion. The other person then quietly walked outside the door to stand guard and closed the wooden door, thinking that delaying for a little while was better than nothing.

“How truly ignorant of the height of heaven and the depth of earth. Considering that a distinguished guest is coming, I will not lower myself to argue with you today.”

The woman in white placed her fingers over the tabletop, furrowing her brows slightly in displeasure. “If you leave now, there is still time.”

Wang Yan’s anger rose, but Wang Ze pulled her back.

He stopped his impulsive younger sister and, following the principle that one less matter was better than one more, hesitated and said, “Wang Yan, forget it. It’s only changing places…”

Xia Zhitao had the same thought. Although the white-clad woman before them had not attacked, her clothing was ancient and elegant, and her presence was imposing. She was probably not someone easy to provoke.

“Brother!” Wang Yan puffed up angrily. “Why should I have to give way to this person!”

Just as everyone remained deadlocked, another waiter’s trembling voice suddenly came from outside the room. “S-sorry, you temporarily cannot go inside.”

A cool voice faintly came through the wooden door, a little indistinct and carrying some exhaustion. “Oh.”

The white-clad woman’s body instantly stiffened. Her breathing stopped, ​bailiantales.com​and her expression became somewhat anxious.

The waiter outside was terrified and repeatedly said, “It won’t be long. It’ll-it’ll be ready immediately!”

…

The room fell into a strange silence. Everyone stared at one another. No one dared speak.

…

That voice sounded again. “Hey.”

“…Do you really think I’ll obediently wait here?!”

As she spoke, there came an earth-shaking boom. The heavy wooden door was forcibly kicked open, crashing onto the ground with a thunderous sound. Wood chips scattered everywhere, and smoke and dust flew.

Someone quickly strode in, black boots stepping over the spilling wood splinters as she scolded coldly, “Gu Ji!! Do you really think this Venerable One has that much leisure—”

Before she could finish speaking, she froze first.

Zhang Kuang looked at one person in the room. Her eyes widened in shock, and her body became ​unauthorized copy​unsteady. She staggered back several steps, and her head hit the wooden wall behind her with a loud “clang.”

What a loud sound. Just hearing it hurt.

Author’s Note: Zhang Kuang: QAQ What lousy Xijiang Moon Tower? Dismantle it.