SQLJBFDTW Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Junior Brother, Dear Fellow Disciples

Lord Qishan’s disappearance had lasted for three or four decades. As a late-stage Great Ascension cultivator, he held significant weight in the Xuanzhen Realm, and even the Sect Leader had to yield to him.

He single-handedly scooped Chao Jianxue up from the ground. The latter’s knees were sore and weak, and he grimaced in pain as he stood up.

Lord Mu Yuan looked at this senior brother of his and helplessly shook his head, “Senior Brother, this matter is no small matter. The Tianyao Sect will definitely come looking for trouble. It’s better to lock him up in a safe place.”

It turned out that locking Chao Jianxue in the water prison wasn’t just to punish him, but also for his safety.

The Wuwu Sect’s water prison was located in a heavily guarded cave, with layers of barriers blocking entry and exit, making it indeed the safest place.

Lord Qishan, however, said, “Let’s see if they dare! I’ve already made it clear that if the Tianyao Sect dares to kill him, I’ll make the entire Tianyao Sect pay the price!”

Lord Mu Yuan was greatly shocked, “If you say such words, people will believe that you’ve fallen into demonic cultivation.”

Lord Qishan snorted coldly, “Does it mean I’ve fallen into demonic cultivation just because people say so? The Xuanzhen Realm has always been a place where the strong prey on the weak. Chao Jianxue injured others through his own abilities, and I’m protecting him through my own abilities, so what’s wrong with that? I also want to ask, why did the Sect Leader decide to let that Mo fellow go when Chao Jianxue had that incident that day?”

“Lord Qishan has been away from the Wuwu Sect for many years and doesn’t know the ins and outs of the situation!” The Sect Leader sat down, realizing that punishing Chao Jianxue was no longer an option, and waved his hand, “Chao Jianxue, return to your residence and undergo closed-door cultivation.”

Chao Jianxue had long wanted to leave. Before leaving, he didn’t forget to bow twice to his adoptive father and teacher, and walked out of the council hall with light steps, dragging his sore legs.

Several disciples of Fuxian Mountain were waiting outside the hall. Seeing him come out unscathed, they were quite surprised.

Nan Shan couldn’t suppress his curiosity and came over to ask, “The Sect Leader didn’t punish you?”

Chao Jianxue raised his eyebrows, “Junior Brother was hoping I’d be punished?”

Nan Shan thought to himself, why is this person so prickly? Talking to him is just asking for trouble.

He forced a smile, “Just asking.”

Chao Jianxue chuckled, “I was punished, closed-door cultivation.”

Causing such a big trouble only resulted in closed-door cultivation?

They had all heard what Lord Qishan said when he went in, and couldn’t help but secretly ponder that having a strong backer was indeed different.

Nan Shan wanted to ask more about the specific situation inside, but then he heard his teacher’s deep and angry voice as he walked out. Although he wasn’t addressing him directly, it still sent a shiver down his spine, and he shut his mouth.

Lord Mu Yuan called out by name, “Chao Jianxue, hurry back! Yu Wei, you follow him and keep an eye on your eldest brother!”

Chao Jianxue bowed again and again, “Master, please don’t be angry, I’ll leave right away!”

Lord Mu Yuan couldn’t understand. Not long ago, Chao Jianxue was still a dull person, but suddenly he had the potential to become a troublemaker.

Not only could he not understand, but the Sect Leader and Lord Shen Du also couldn’t understand.

After closing the door, everyone sighed. Lord Mu Yuan, as the teacher, felt that he was to blame and said, “This matter is my negligence. Sect Leader, if you want to punish, then punish me. It’s also a response to the Tianyao Sect.”

The Sect Leader stroked his long beard and said, “Do you think this is just a matter of punishment or not? The Immortal Sect Competition was originally an opportunity for various sects and forces to enhance their relationships. The demon realm has been restless for the past decade. If there are rifts among human cultivators again, do you want to see the events of a hundred years ago repeat themselves?”

“It’s not that serious, just a young sect master. The Tianyao Sect is at least the second largest sect, and they’re not in the right.” Lord Shen Du opened his folding fan and fawned over the Sect Leader, fanning him.

“The Tianyao Sect has grown stronger in recent years, it’s always a hidden danger!”

Lord Qishan took a sip of tea and said indifferently, “Uncle-Master is too cautious. What good would it do for the Tianyao Sect to be enemies with the Wuwu Sect? The Tianyao Sect Leader doesn’t only have Mo Zezhi as a son. Anyway, he ruined the Tianyao Sect’s reputation. If it were me, I would have admitted my misfortune and dealt with that evil creature myself.”

The Sect Leader didn’t respond, and after a long silence, he said, “Lord Qishan, in my opinion, you should take Chao Jianxue away.”

Lord Qishan looked at him, but didn’t answer.

“After this incident, that child is really not suitable to stay in the Wuwu Sect. The Wuwu Sect values gentleness and yielding, while his personality is too strong. Although he made mistakes from time to time in the past, he wasn’t as outrageous as he was today. Lord Shen Du, you stopped him at the time, but he still went for the kill, didn’t he?”

Lord Shen Du stopped fanning and nodded helplessly.

“I only released my pressure. Normally, he wouldn’t have been able to withstand it. Perhaps the child was too angry in his heart…”

Lord Qishan then said, “I can’t. Sect Leader, don’t forget that in the beginning, I sent Jianxue here because I needed to guard the Fumo Pass all year round. Although the Fumo Pass has been peaceful for hundreds of years, it’s hard to guarantee that there won’t be any changes.”

This was also one of the reasons why Lord Qishan was so important.

The Fumo Pass was located in the extreme south of the Xuanzhen Realm. Below the pass was a bottomless demon cave, which bred demonic energy. The surrounding area was also a barren desert where nothing grew.

Once a person or demon became demonized, they would unknowingly turn into a mindless demonic creature, attracted to the Fumo Pass, and spontaneously rush into it, becoming nourishment for the great demons within.

Two hundred years ago, there was friction between the human and demon races. A great demon took the opportunity to appear. After the Immortal Sects finally annihilated the great demon, Lord Qishan volunteered to guard the Fumo Pass to prevent the old events from repeating themselves.

Lord Mu Yuan said, “There’s no need to say more. Since Chao Jianxue has already become my disciple, I should be responsible for my own disciple. I used to let him do as he pleased because he was born with deficiencies, but now it’s time to force him to cultivate.”

Chao Jianxue was completely unaware that he was about to face a great disaster.

At this time, walking on the mountain path, the wind gently rustled the leaves on both sides, and moist mist surrounded him. The jade pendant on his waist and the sect token occasionally collided, making the sound of money.

He had avenged the original owner, vented his anger, escaped punishment, and discovered that he had a strong backer and was even the son of a wealthy family.

In this situation, the only flaw was that Yu Wei was following him closely, and Chao Jianxue had the idea of exploring his mind.

He secretly glanced at Yu Wei several times, but the other party was also looking at him, but had no intention of speaking.

Chao Jianxue finally gave up and turned his face to ask, “Junior Brother, tell me honestly, didn’t you feel any anger in your heart when Mo Zezhi used dirty tricks against you?”

The wound on Yu Wei’s neck was wrapped in white silk, which, combined with his unchanging fairy face, made him appear even more like an unattainable and sacred flower on a high mountain.

He said, “Why should I be angry? It was my fault for not being observant in the first place. The law of the jungle prevails in the Xuanzhen Realm.”

Chao Jianxue was choked by his detached calmness, “But this was a competition! Competitions should be fair. You were originally the winner!”

Yu Wei said solemnly, “Winning or losing is not important to me.”

“Then tell me, what is important?”

Yu Wei continued to be solemn, but the gaze he directed at him was very sincere, “Nothing and everything is important.”

Chao Jianxue carefully examined him, but couldn’t find even a hint of falsehood in his expression.

“Haha.” He laughed dryly a few times and said impolitely, “Don’t talk nonsense. If nothing is important, then what are you cultivating immortality for? What are you doing at the Wuwu Sect? What are you working so hard for?”

In his memory, Yu Wei was a try-hard.

He was both diligent and talented, not just an ordinary try-hard, but the try-hard among try-hards, the king of try-hards, the best of the best among try-hards.

Yu Wei wasn’t angry at being ridiculed like this. His dark eyes hid a bottomless dark river, and he smiled slightly, but Chao Jianxue keenly noticed a trace of unusual emotion within them.

He felt that he had guessed correctly.

Yu Wei must have his own secrets.

He continued to find topics to talk about, “Speaking of winning and losing, you didn’t argue for justice, causing me to lose a sum of money for nothing.”

He took out the betting slip, which clearly stated “One high-grade spirit stone” in black and white.

Yu Wei said faintly, “I disappointed Senior Brother.”

“Hey, actually, after seeing that the situation was not right, I rushed to buy another bet on Mo Zezhi winning at the last moment. Guess how much I bought? Two high-grade spirit stones.”

Yu Wei said calmly, “Senior Brother is good at judging the situation.”

The more Chao Jianxue looked at him, the more he wanted to be a smart aleck, “Are you made of wood or stone? Have you always been like this since you were a child? Aren’t you angry at being bet on and then having the bet changed like that? Are you even human?”

“…”

He looked at Yu Wei, and Yu Wei looked at him.

Finally, Yu Wei let out a shallow breath.

“Senior Brother,” he said in a detached tone like cold jade, “These things you said are not important to me, so I naturally won’t waste my energy on unimportant things. Senior Brother, please hurry up, it’s almost dusk.”

Chao Jianxue understood his intention to urge him and smiled, “Actually, you don’t have to see me off, I can go back by myself.”

Yu Wei said, “Master ordered me to.”

Junior Brother was always polite and impeccable.

But the more this kind of person was, the more likely they were to be seemingly nice people with dark intentions!

After this series of events, the two turned a corner on the winding mountain road and indeed saw a purple and beautiful glow, dyeing everything within sight red.

Chao Jianxue walked in front, and Yu Wei was originally just looking at the ground, but his gaze moved slightly upward. He obviously saw that Chao Jianxue’s steps were abnormal, unsteady and shallow.

He had a clear mind, and immediately thought that Chao Jianxue had exhausted his spiritual power today and had also withstood Lord Shen Du’s pressure while casting his spells. He must be at the end of his rope.

If Mo Zezhi had lasted a little longer, who knows what the result would have been.

It was already difficult for him to walk, so why did he say so much to him just now?

Chao Jianxue had never spoken so much to him before. Even though he secretly disliked him in the past, he had never dared to be so impolite in person.

Yu Wei raised his gaze again.

In the glow, Chao Jianxue’s hair was slightly damp with sweat, his breathing was unsteady, and his face was pale due to the depletion of spiritual power, but it was also flushed due to extreme fatigue, just like the glow in the sky, infinitely beautiful.

“What are you looking at me for?” Chao Jianxue tried his best not to pant, so as not to lose his momentum in front of Yu Wei.

Yu Wei felt that he had the impulse to question for the first time.

“Did Senior Brother ever think about putting himself in danger today?”

Chao Jianxue said, “I thought about it, the worst that could happen is death, but I have so many spiritual tools to use, wouldn’t it be a pity not to take revenge? The opportunity to make him admit it in front of everyone only comes once.”

Yu Wei said softly, “Senior Brother wasn’t this kind of person before.”

The kind of person who would risk his life for revenge, and who would talk tough even when he could barely walk.

It was as if he had become a different person.

But he was so full of life, with the same intense colors as the glow in the sky.

Chao Jianxue’s heart skipped a beat. He suddenly thought that there was a heretical art of seizing bodies in the cultivation world.

If the contrast between him and the original owner was too great, would he be seen as a body-snatcher?

Yu Wei unusually asked a lot, “Was it worth it?”

Chao Jianxue turned his gaze away, “What’s worth it or not, I just wasn’t willing to let it go like that! Dying once makes you clear-headed, all the things I do are just according to my will. I was just curious when I said those things to you just now, if I offended you in the past… please don’t take it to heart.”

“I didn’t take it to heart.” Yu Wei shook his head.

Chao Jianxue thought to himself, who knows if you’re the kind of person who smiles on the surface but stabs you in the back? So he made up for it again.

“Also, I was just talking nonsense, I didn’t change my bet to bet on Mo winning. Junior Brother, we’re fellow disciples, of course I wanted you to win!”

Fellow disciples…

Yu Wei silently repeated these four words, strange.