SQLJBFDTW Chapter 56

Chapter 56: Treading Snow, Can’t Sleep

The hot spring villa was built halfway up the snowy mountain. As the sun rose, the azure sky almost blended with the snowy peak, and as the clouds dispersed, a layer of gold was sprinkled on the mountaintop.

Chao Jianxue was dozing off in the corner of the lecture hall. Yu Wei was blocking him from the front, enough to prevent him from being discovered by the Lords on the stage.

When a ray of golden sunlight fell on Chao Jianxue’s cheek, he finally woke up completely. He looked out the window, then at the sect leaders on the stage, who were gesturing animatedly as they spoke, his expression blank.

Chao Jianxue was dazed.

He knew he shouldn’t have messed around with Yu Wei so late yesterday. He had poor balance in the water, and his legs went weak after kissing for so long. By the time everyone got ashore, he was crawling out of the pool with unsteady steps, like a wet noodle, mostly from nervousness.

He ordered Yu Wei not to do bad things in such situations again, but Yu Wei looked very innocent, saying “It’s just a kiss,” and Chao Jianxue wanted to bite him.

He was wrong. Yu Wei wasn’t a fairy at all, but a wolf in sheep’s clothing, incredibly daring.

At this moment, Yu Wei was sitting in front of him, listening attentively to the speech on the stage. Disciples on the side occasionally cast glances at him, all fooled by the noble and dignified appearance of the younger disciple Yu, clutching their chests and whispering to each other.

Chao Jianxue took it all in, revealing the gaze of a cricket, staring at Yu Wei’s profile.

Yu Wei felt his gaze, turned his eyes, and smiled slightly at him.

Chao Jianxue mouthed, “What are you smiling at…”

Yu Wei smiled even more innocently.

After a drowsy morning of listening, the lecturers spoke tirelessly. Someone reminded them, “The second batch of disciples is here.”

It turned out that their listening to the Dao was also divided into batches.

Chao Jianxue looked at the afternoon’s arrangements and thought, great, it’s treading snow.

They filed out, and as they saw the second batch of disciples waiting at the door to listen to the discussion, Chao Jianxue, with his sharp eyes, saw Tan Zhou of the Tianyao Sect in the crowd of nearly a hundred people.

Compared to their previous meeting, Tan Zhou seemed to have a higher status in the Tianyao Sect. The disciples of the Tianyao Sect around him all followed his lead, respectfully following behind him.

Their eyes met, and Tan Zhou nodded to him.

Chao Jianxue also nodded in response.

But Yu Wei whispered beside him, “Didn’t all the people from the Tianyao Sect come?”

Chao Jianxue looked more carefully.

The Tianyao Sect should have twelve people in the three paths of sword, medicine, and formation, but there were only eleven here.

He didn’t take it to heart: “It’s just one person missing, maybe something came up.”

Yu Wei said: “When it comes to the Tianyao Sect, we must be extra vigilant.”

Chao Jianxue looked at him suspiciously, and immediately realized that Yu Wei was still worried about the incident where he had offended the Tianyao Sect before, and had been thinking about it all along.

A little sweetness rose in his heart, and he gently squeezed Yu Wei’s knuckles with his hand hidden under his sleeve, and said, “Don’t worry.”

He didn’t know that his proactive hooking of fingers, the intimacy in his tone, and the dependence in his smiling eyes all seemed like coquetry.

To say that he was more beautiful than flowers was too cliché. In short, the senior brother’s situation made people want to hold him in their palms.

Yu Wei couldn’t help but smile. This time, the smile was as beautiful as spring mountains, as clear as bright waves. Chao Jianxue hooked his fingers again, his heart filled with a sticky joy.

“Hey! What are you waiting for here? Hurry up, hurry up, I want to go back to catch up on sleep during the lunch break!” Li Zhenzhen jumped out from the side, kindly reminding them.

Yu Wei’s smile faded, and so did Chao Jianxue’s.

However, the two of them did not follow the team back, but walked alone towards the hall where they had signed in yesterday.

Fortunately, the sign-in board had not been taken away.

Yu Wei said, “Here.”

Chao Jianxue looked in the direction he was pointing, and it said that twelve people from the Tianyao Sect had signed up, but only the names of the three leading disciples, headed by Tan Zhou, were signed.

Chao Jianxue yawned: “Don’t overthink it. Didn’t Li Zhenzhen almost arrive late this morning?”

“When it comes to your affairs, it’s better to be careful.”

Chao Jianxue hummed: “I’m very powerful now, not to mention the Nascent Soul stage, even…” He didn’t continue, but his eyebrows were very smug. He took Yu Wei’s hand and went back to take a good nap.

In the afternoon, the so-called treading snow was to have the disciples compete and spar with each other while playing.

Treading snow without a trace. Whoever picks the red silk from the golden summit of the snowy mountain will get the top prize, which is said to be a surprise prepared jointly by the Masters of each sect.

If there’s a surprise, how can there be no reason to work hard to get it? It must be some peerless treasure, magical instrument, or wonderful method.

Chao Jianxue was already agile, and Yu Wei was willing to help him, backing him up below. Chao Jianxue quickly jumped to the top of the mountain first, winning the top prize in one fell swoop.

He stood on the golden summit of the snowy mountain, his whole body illuminated by golden light. The disciples who had fallen behind and caught up felt that their eyes were dazzled, but they still stared at him, asking each other, “Who is it?”

It turned out to be Chao Jianxue from Lord Mu Yuan’s sect of the Wuwu Sect.

“Why didn’t we know before that, besides junior disciple Yu Wei, there is such a person under Lord Mu Yuan’s command?”

“Eh, is that Chao Jianxue?”

“Yes, I knew long ago that rumors are not to be believed. He is obviously such a powerful senior brother.”

Li Zhenzhen also caught up and took the opportunity to distribute flyers to them.

“Come, come, come and learn about our senior brother Chao. In this situation, don’t you think it really fits the phrase ‘Seeing snow temper gold in the morning, crossing a thousand miles to illuminate light’? Look at this golden light, look at this snow light, look at the sword light, and look at his appearance. Isn’t everything shining? From this, it can be seen that our Wuwu Sect is outstanding and blessed by nature. We sincerely invite disciples from other sects to visit our sect as guests, and we also sincerely invite all casual cultivators to come to our Wuwu Sect for further study…”

Chao Jianxue heard it, he heard it clearly.

How come Li Zhenzhen never said that they were also shouldering the mission of publicity and recruitment when they came out?

But he maintained a decent smile and modestly kept being polite in the midst of everyone’s congratulations.

“Senior brother Chao, hurry up and see what the surprise is!” some disciples couldn’t wait to say, and gathered around to get a glimpse of the surprise.

So Chao Jianxue, with a smile, happily dug out a box from under the snow at the marked spot. It was not heavy to hold.

Someone said: “Is it a material for refining?”

Someone said: “Could it be some new exercise compiled by the Masters?”

Someone else said: “It may also be a rare elixir?”

Chao Jianxue opened the box with confidence and anticipation under the observation of the crowd.

Um…

“Eh…”

“Ah…”

“Hiss…”

For a time, sighs, exclamations, and questions rose and fell one after another.

Chao Jianxue picked up the booklet from the box, and his hand trembled. The pages of the booklet fell open one by one, like a long carpet, spreading out in front of everyone.

The surrounding disciples quickly jumped away, and then gathered around again.

It turned out to be…

“A collection of personally signed autographs from the Masters of each sect!”

Chao Jianxue wordlessly folded the booklet well, and tentatively put it into his storage, his whole body surrounded by a faint deathly aura of hopelessness.

His debut of poetry in the Xuanzhen world was actually such a dramatic scene.

It must have been very memorable.

While being surrounded by Li Zhenzhen, Yu Wei and others down the snowy mountain, a disciple suddenly passed by and greeted him: “Senior Brother Chao, do you remember me?”

Chao Jianxue thought he looked quite delicate and well-behaved, but he had no impression. However, it was too embarrassing to have no impression, so he just said randomly, “I remember, I remember.”

The disciple smiled obediently: “Senior brother’s sword is really good-looking, and senior brother is also very good-looking.”

Caught off guard by being praised, Chao Jianxue was secretly delighted, and said, “Thank you.”

The disciple then just passed by like that, actually just coming to specifically praise him.

Chao Jianxue wanted to laugh out loud three times to the sky. Now he was finally not a foil to Yu Wei and an object of comparison!

He smiled and turned his gaze to Yu Wei. Yu Wei looked at the departing disciple for a while, and then looked at him for a while, and transmitted to him helplessly: “Senior brother is so happy?”

“Of course. You people who have been praised since childhood wouldn’t understand.”

Yu Wei suddenly opened his mouth and said, “Senior brother is good in every way.”

Chao Jianxue’s eyes widened. Wasn’t he transmitting his voice? Why did he say it out loud? Li Zhenzhen and the others were all here!

His face was hot again.

Fortunately, Li Zhenzhen said at this time: “Ah, I really envy you. I wish I had such a sweet-talking junior brother. It sounds so comfortable!”

As night fell, the snow surface also reflected the clear moonlight, sparkling.

The disciples hurried back to their rooms and plunged into the hot spring water again.

Li Zhenzhen and the others rubbed each other’s backs, relaxing their muscles and bones well. Going into the water again was like being in paradise.

Yu Wei didn’t act rashly this time. The brothers sat opposite each other, running the spiritual power around their bodies and practicing.

For a time, there was only the sound of water flowing in the misty air. Several people discarded all distracting thoughts and seriously completed their homework.

At this time, the same was true with mist.

In the steaming hot spring, Tan Zhou sat casually by the pool, combing someone’s hair.

That person seemed unwilling, but whenever he dodged his restraints, he was grabbed by the hair and pulled back.

“Mo Tan Zhou! You might as well kill me with a sword!” he screamed.

Tan Zhou was unmoved, as if his struggles were just a small animal’s ignorant and useless spinning in his eyes.

He hummed a tune happily.

“Mo Tan Zhou! You will be punished!”

The strength in Tan Zhou’s hand suddenly increased, and the comb’s teeth pierced into that person’s scalp. Accompanied by a hoarse scream, blood dripped down his hair, dyeing the pool water below him pink.

He said: “Isn’t it the elder brother who is going to be punished?”

“You used to make things difficult for me, but don’t worry, elder brother. As long as you obey now and be my dog by my side, I won’t make things too difficult for you.” He slowly shook off the blood droplets on the comb.

“What else do you want! You already have the identity of the young master of the Tianyao Sect, you son of a bitch, you…”

The remaining words were all pressed into the water by Tan Zhou.

He watched him struggle coldly, and only pulled the person up when he was about to go too far.

“Elder brother’s nature is really hateful. After so long, he still hasn’t learned to bow his head and admit his mistake. Actually, I really thank Chao Jianxue. If it weren’t for him, how could I have seen you have such a day?”

He grabbed his hair and dragged him out of the water like a dead fish that couldn’t flap its fins. Red water stains drew a line of water on the rough stone ground.

Screams and curses never stopped, but Tan Zhou turned a deaf ear.

He had already cast a soundproof spell in this room, and no matter how loud the noise was, it couldn’t be transmitted.

He threw the person onto the table, pinched his neck, and pierced through him viciously: “Don’t you know yet, you are a piece of trash now. What you humiliated me with in the past, I will repay you a hundred times a thousand times. Don’t even think about dying, don’t even think about dying so easily…”

His expression was cold and his movements were brutal. Watching the other person’s face turn from flushed to pale, his eyes were also like the eyes of a dead fish.

At this time, he calmed down, paused for a long time, picked up the person, and re-entered the hot spring.

“Elder brother, be obedient, just like now. In that case, I can agree to any request you have.” Tan Zhou’s words were almost delirious.

The pool water stirred, and the smell of blood spread.

–

Chao Jianxue opened his eyes, turned his head, and met Yu Wei’s eyes.

He hid his smile and asked, “Did you hear it?”

Yu Wei nodded.

Someone in the next room was already snoring.

“Ah…” Chao Jianxue lay flat, “I can’t sleep.”

It was quiet on Yu Wei’s side for a moment.

After a while, Yu Wei walked over, lay down in his quilt, and reached out to hug him.

The cold fragrance was faint. Chao Jianxue snuggled up to him.

“Sleep, senior brother. Otherwise, you will still be dozing off early tomorrow morning. Tomorrow is the Sect Leader’s discussion.”

Chao Jianxue quickly closed his eyes.