Chapter Eight: A Belated Gift for the Master

The beautiful senior aunt shot a glare at her disappointing grand-disciple and said, “Fine, this matter truly was your master’s fault. If word of this gets out, people might think less of the Illusory Sword Sect—imagine, unable to even provide a proper gift for a new disciple.”

Li Chengzhu, standing nearby and playing up his righteous indignation, chimed in, “Master has been secluded within the Heaven-Supporting, Earth-Bearing Grand Array for nearly a century now; perhaps he’s simply grown forgetful—though, well, it’s not impossible.”

The beautiful senior aunt laughed and scolded, “Little rascal, don’t play tricks with me. Didn’t I just tell you I can read minds?”

Li Chengzhu put on an innocent face. “I’m wronged, Aunt! I was only trying to find an excuse for Master.”

She found herself helpless before this grand-disciple she’d only just met. He dared rely on his seniority to pester her endlessly, and she could hardly argue with him. Yet, despite his cheek, there was something endearing about him. She shot him another glare and said, “Enough. Today, I’ll give you a gift on your master’s behalf.”

This was exactly what Li Chengzhu had been waiting for. A wave of delight swept through him, and he quickly replied, “Thank you, Aunt!”

Her willow brows arched slightly in amusement. “Do you want a defensive treasure or an offensive one?”

He already possessed an immortal-grade armor, so, rolling his eyes, Li Chengzhu replied, “Then, I’d like an immortal sword.”

“You certainly don’t hold back—asking for an immortal sword right off the bat.” Yet there was no displeasure in her tone.

Li Chengzhu grinned. “Aunt, you’re already an immortal. If you were to give me just a flying sword like a common magical treasure, wouldn’t that be beneath your status?”

“You have a way with words,” she laughed. Reaching into her ring, she produced a sword. “This is Meteor, a low-grade wood-type immortal sword. It excels in speed and enhances wood-element spells.” She glanced at Li Chengzhu with a sly look. “It’s especially handy for making a quick escape.”

Thick-skinned, Li Chengzhu accepted her teasing without the least embarrassment. He reached out respectfully and received the sword. “Thank you, Aunt.”

Watching her grand-disciple fondly admire his new sword, she scolded with a smile, “You little rascal, you’ve taken all the advantage. I’ve never given anyone a gift before, you know.”

Li Chengzhu put the sword back into his storage ring and replied with a laugh, “How could that be? If you hadn’t sincerely wanted to give me something, even with all my skills, I could never have received such a precious sword.”

“Oh?” She raised her eyebrows, realizing she’d underestimated him—he’d actually seen through her intentions.

“By the way, don’t tell anyone in the sect that this sword came from me…”

“I understand completely!” Li Chengzhu cut her off before she could finish.

“That’s for the best. I have other matters to attend to—be careful on your own.”

“Take care, Aunt!” No sooner had Li Chengzhu spoken than she vanished from sight.

Clicking his tongue, Li Chengzhu muttered to himself, “That aunt truly is beautiful.”

“Squeak, squeak!”

“And generous, too.”

“Squeak, squeak.”

“If only she were a little kinder to me, it’d be perfect.”

“…”

Gathering his thoughts, Li Chengzhu followed his tracking spell back toward Gu Linglong and the others. The red dust storm on the Red Rock Plateau showed no sign of abating; the crimson sand, driven by the wind, struck relentlessly against the protective aura around him.

After this episode, Li Chengzhu felt somewhat disappointed in his sect. After all his searching, this was the scene that awaited him.

Would things have been different if, after leaving the array, he’d sent his master another message?

He reproached himself. Fearful of angering his master, he’d only sent a single message from within the array to assure him of his safety, and hadn’t followed up. Then, not long after leaving, he’d been captured by Gu Linglong and forgotten all about it.

A mistake, he chided himself. But even if he’d handled everything perfectly, people’s hearts are not so easily changed. From what his aunt and the other disciples revealed, Li Chengzhu had a growing suspicion that factional strife ran deep within the sect. He didn’t know if his master was involved, but if he was, Li Chengzhu knew he couldn’t just stand idly by.

Still, given his master’s temperament, he probably wouldn’t care for such foolish struggles, would he? Li Chengzhu tried to reassure himself.

Before he knew it, he’d arrived at the resting place of Gu Linglong and the others.

Xiao Ying, seeing the “big boss” return, quickly stood up and scolded, “Where did you go? Don’t you know I was… very worried about you?”

She’d almost said Gu Linglong, but knowing her sister’s temper would never allow that, she hastily changed it to herself instead. Her cheeks flushed bright red.

Li Chengzhu stood before her, taking in her shy manner with great satisfaction.

Qiu Feng opened his eyes and fixed Li Chengzhu with a cold, narrow stare—like a venomous snake eyeing its prey.

That look of disdain irritated Li Chengzhu. To break the tension, he laughed and reached out to pinch Xiao Ying’s soft cheek. “I just went to see someone. What, did you miss me?”

At these words, everyone else snapped out of their meditative states, staring in disbelief at this fledgling cultivator who dared tease the city lord’s attendant in front of her.

Some troublemakers were already anticipating the city lord’s wrath and the spectacle of this novice being put in his place.

But the result left them dumbfounded.

Blushing, Xiao Ying stamped on Li Chengzhu’s foot and scolded, “Rogue!” Then she snatched the little creature from his shoulder and dashed off.

Qiu Feng watched coolly and spat, “Shameless!”

Gu Linglong, her eyes still closed, ground out through clenched teeth, “Beast!”

Li Chengzhu grinned, unfazed by their reactions, and sat down cross-legged beside Gu Linglong, meeting Qiu Feng’s gaze.

The two men locked eyes over Gu Linglong’s head, neither willing to back down.

The others, sensing the tension, all hurriedly closed their eyes and began meditating again—out of sight, out of mind.

Because Gu Linglong was between them, Qiu Feng didn’t dare attack mentally, so he simply maintained the staring contest.

Li Chengzhu, meanwhile, had the leisure to note the faint blush spreading across Gu Linglong’s cheeks—a discovery that delighted him. She still cared for him, after all; she was, after all, an ascendant from Earth.

Li Chengzhu almost wanted to praise whoever had set the ancient rule that the wife must follow the husband—how wise, how perceptive! A thousand years of ingrained teachings had left even this immortal unable to shake free of her feelings.

This realization left his standoff with Qiu Feng suddenly dull. Gu Linglong was his—her heart, too, belonged partly to him. What did Qiu Feng have left to compete for? Li Chengzhu gave him a sympathetic look and turned away.

Qiu Feng, thinking he had won, was puzzled by the change. How could an immortal like Gu Linglong blush?

As understanding dawned, Qiu Feng’s spirit sank.

Alas, he knew—he had lost this battle.