After Mo Fan finishes speaking, Bai Yu is also rendered speechless. They chat with their arms around each other’s shoulders. Huang Qiao greets You Qing, who is walking over. “Junior brother, you’ve joined the Suiyi Sect today. You’re one of us now.”

“I’m your first senior brother, Huang Qiao. This is your second senior brother, Bai Yu. This is your third senior brother, Mo Fan.”

“You also have a fourth senior sister, Lin Xia, but she’s out and hasn’t returned yet.”

“There aren’t many of us in the Suiyi Sect. Since our master has ascended to the heaven, including you, there are only five of us in total.”

Just as Huang Qiao finishes saying “five people” his clothes are tugged by a small, chubby hand. He looks down, he sees the little child on the bench blinking at him and softly says, “Six.”

Huang Qiao: “Huh?”

The little one lets go of his clothes, points to himself, and reminds him, “There’s also Qiao Qiao.”

Huang Qiao: “…”

Huang Qiao corrects himself, “Right, the Suiyi Sect now has six of us.”

In other sects, more than six people are needed to do odd jobs. Yet, their sect has only this few, which is quite rare. Huang Qiao clears his throat, trying to preserve some dignity for their sect.

“Even though our sect has few people, we still have a library, an alchemy room, medicinal and herb garden, an armory… we have all of these.”

Their sect’s recruitment flyer was sent out, and some people came to apprentice. But the only one who truly becomes their junior disciple is the boy standing before them. You Qing, with a broken spiritual root. You Qing listens to Huang Qiao. His handsome face shows no disappointment or disdain for the sect.

In a calm tone, he says, “First senior brother, I’m already grateful for your help in treating Qiao Qiao’s illness.”

His hearing is sharp, and he heard the conversation between Ming Qiao and the others just now. It was because of what he overheard, regardless of how small the sect is, he’s willing to join.

“No need for formalities. The people in the Suiyi Sect always protect each other. From now on, whether it’s you or Qiao Qiao, you are both under our care.”

“Come on, let’s light some incense for Master. Before he ascended to heaven, he wanted to take in one more junior disciple, but unfortunately, there wasn’t a suitable one.”

Huang Qiao bends down to pick up the little child on the bench and leads You Qing to the main hall in the inner courtyard. The hall has three memorial tablets honoring the past leaders of the Suiyi Sect. You Qing knows proper etiquette. He respectfully kneels in front of the memorial tablets, lights incense, and calls out to his Master.

After the apprentice ceremony, Ming Qiao tilts his little head at Huang Qiao’s chin and asks, “Should Qiao Qiao also kneel?”

“You don’t need to kneel.”

Huang Qiao doesn’t let him down to kneel: “Your brother’s kneeling is enough.”

The Suiyi Sect’s members are few, and their life is simple.

You Qing is assigned a room and even receives a bucket of hot bath water.

“Clean yourself up, then come out to eat.”

“Thank you, first senior brother.”

Watching You Qing take a bath in the room, Ming Qiao starts to feel dirty himself. He hasn’t bathed since hiding in the cart.

“Qiao Qiao wants a bath too.”

Ming Qiao points to You Qing’s room door and makes his request. Huang Qiao hesitates for a moment, then looks at Bai Yu and Mo Fan, asking, “Will giving him a bath make him catch a cold?”

“It won’t. Leave it to me.”

Bai Yu takes the little one from Huang Qiao’s arms. He tells Mo Fan to search the herb garden and store spiritual herbs. After some searching, Mo Fan indeed finds two herbs that are suitable for Ming Qiao.

“This one’s for the bath.”

Ming Qiao recognizes the herbs he needs. He tosses the two herbs into the water and then starts undressing. With the windows and doors tightly shut, and the warm bathwater, it still doesn’t seem to be enough.

Seeing the little one shiver from the cold after undressing, Bai Yu focuses his spiritual power with both hands. In an instant, the entire room feels as warm as spring. The little one, about to climb into the tub, feels the warmth all around. He widens his eyes in shock.

“It’s not cold anymore!”

“Exactly, now it’s warm enough for a bath. Mo Fan, come help out.”

Bai Yu says this as he puts the little, chubby, fair-skinned kid in the tub. Mo Fan sits by the tub, mimicking Bai Yu as they help scrub the little one’s chubby arms. While Bai Yu and Mo Fan are bathing the little one, Huang Qiao heads to the kitchen to prepare food for him.

As evening arrives, everyone gathers around the dining table. Ming Qiao wears a bib around his neck to prevent food from spilling onto his clothes.

“Delicious!” Ming Qiao, holding a rice scoop in his small hands, gives his compliments to the meal set before them.

With grains of rice sticking to his chubby cheeks, he eats with delight. Huang Qiao’s cooking isn’t particularly good, its tastiness often depends on luck. Fortunately, this time luck is on his side, and the dishes he prepared receive a good review.

“Big brother, this meat tastes good!”

With his cheeks stuffed full of meat, the little one hands over a chicken leg to You Qing, who has not eaten much.

“Thank you.” You Qing doesn’t mind that the chicken leg has a bite taken out of it and might even have some of Ming Qiao’s saliva on it. He takes the leg and eats a few bites.

The three senior brothers can tell that the new junior brother is still a bit awkward with them. They don’t say much. Bai Yu leisurely picks the fish’s bones. He quietly plans tomorrow’s activities.

“Senior brother, you take the junior brother around tomorrow and see what he wants to learn.”

“Mo Fan, make a list of the herbs Qiao Qiao needs, and we will gather them one by one.”

“It’s too late today, everyone should finish eating and rest early.”

Among the three senior brothers, Bai Yu is second in rank. Despite that, it’s clear that the first senior brother listens to his arrangements.

Outside, the sky is pitch black.

When Ming Qiao returns to his room, he rubs his full belly, feeling completely happy. “Big brother, this place is really nice.”

Ming Qiao leans against You Qing and chats, “Qiao Qiao likes it here.”

“This place… is indeed nice.”

You Qing climbs onto the bed, holding the little one who has changed into his pajamas. They share the same bed.

“Big brother, the senior brother said he would find more medicine for Qiao Qiao.”

Clinging to You Qing, the little one isn’t sleepy yet. His chubby little hand grabs You Qing’s calloused one. He squeezes it playfully while talking. Most children are afraid of taking medicine, but Ming Qiao actively wants to take it.

You Qing looks down at the little one, who is giggling while playing with his fingers. He suddenly wonders how much suffering this little one has endured. Qiao Qiao is always well-behaved and even calmly finds medicine for himself.

The finger game is simple enough to be boring, but Ming Qiao enjoys it and plays for a long time. Eventually, it’s You Qing who sees it’s getting late and gently lulls him to sleep. The bed has thick sheets. The two little ones sleep closely together, enjoying their first good sleep in many days.

Once they are sound asleep, Huang Qiao, Bai Yu, and Mo Fan quietly come to their room. Just standing outside the door, they can clearly perceive all the sounds in the room. The faint sounds of breathing and the occasional distressing cough are all caught by their ears.

“Mo Fan, shall we go?”

“Let’s go.”

The two figures disappear at the same time. After a while, Huang Qiao mutters to himself, “I wonder how much stock the Jingxiu Sect has…”

If there isn’t much, they might need to go to other places to “borrow”.

That night, Ming Qiao coughs but sleeps fairly well. By the next day, the sun shines down on his little bottom, and he stubbornly refuses to get up. You Qing lets him sleep while quickly dressing him.

“You Qing, Qiao Qiao, come out for breakfast.”

Soon after getting dressed, someone knocks on the door. It was Huang Qiao.

You Qing, holding the still-sleepy Ming Qiao, steps out and sits at the dining table. On the table sits a bowl of black, mysterious liquid. Ming Qiao, sitting on You Qing’s lap, sniffs the familiar smell with his little nose.

“Medicine”

Feeling a bit dazed, Ming Qiao becomes much more alert as soon as he catches the scent. He rubs his eyes and looks at the porcelain bowl exuding a bitter aroma, recognizing, “It’s Motherwort.”

Besides the Motherwort, there’s also the Purple Void Root (紫虚根) This bitter bowl of medicine has even made Huang Qiao frown while brewing it. He glances at the medicine and then at the little one sitting on You Qing’s lap.

“Qiao Qiao, do you want to drink it?”

“I want to!”

Ming Qiao stretches out his little hand and feels the temperature of the bowl.

“Brother, you don’t need to hold Qiao Qiao anymore.”

He climbs down from You Qing’s lap, picks up the medicine bowl, which is bigger than his face, and begins to gulp it down. After a few sips, Ming Qiao’s little face scrunches up in bitterness. He frowns and feels the urge to vomit.

If this were before, he might have thrown up a little and then continued drinking. But now, he doesn’t have much medicine to waste. He closes his eyes, tightens his lips, and fights the urge to throw up. Once the feeling passes, he continues to drink the medicine in big gulps.

With pauses in between, he manages to finish the entire bowl of medicine. Almost as soon as he sets the bowl down, Huang Qiao quickly shoves a piece of candy he has peeled into Ming Qiao’s mouth.

“Have a candy to chase it down.”

“Mm!”

Ming Qiao munches on the candy. He tilts his little face, still sticky from the medicine, and smiles at Huang Qiao, “Thank you, first senior brother!”

“No need to thank me.”

Huang Qiao gently pats his little head, feeling a bit teary-eyed. It’s hard for even adults to gulp down such bitter medicine, so how can this little one drink it so obediently?

“I’ll find all the medicine for you as soon as possible. One day, your illness will be cured…”

The bitterness in Ming Qiao’s mouth is something a single piece of candy can’t cover up. But despite the bitterness, looking at his first senior brother, who brews the medicine and feeds him candy. It makes him feel warm inside. You Qing pulls the child who is eating candy back toward him and wipes Ming Qiao’s mouth with his hand.

At the door, Bai Yu and Mo Fan, both with dark circles under their eyes, watch the child take medicine. They seem lost in thought. Until Ming Qiao notices them and waves his chubby little hand to call them over, they finally walk up.

“Second senior brother, third senior brother, good morning!”

Ming Qiao happily greets them and shares his good news: “Qiao Qiao just drank the medicine!”

“After drinking the medicine, Qiao Qiao won’t die!”

Ming Qiao says this joyfully, causing all the adults in the room to crack smiles.

Bai Yu clenches his fist and quietly says, “Mo Fan, tonight—”

“Let’s go again!”

“Okay.”

In order to help the little one live another day, they are determined to raid the Jingxiu Sect!

Days pass, and Ming Qiao drinks medicine every day. He looks visibly much healthier than when he first arrived at the sect.

“Qiao Qiao, what are you planting?”

“Qiao Qiao is planting radishes to give to senior brothers and also to big brother.”

The morning sun is warm. Ming Qiao, in new clothes Mo Fan made, stands in the vegetable garden, happily swinging a little hoe.

You Qing stays on the back mountain. As a person with a useless spirit root, it’s difficult for him to cultivate. But he found a book in the library and is now studying diligently in the back mountains. Huang Qiao tells Ming Qiao not to disturb his big brother during this time.

Ming Qiao isn’t lonely without his big brother. The three senior brothers keep him company. He swings the little hoe, and when he gets tired, he sits on the ground in the garden, wiping sweat from his forehead.

“Senior brother, when will the second and third senior brothers come back?”

“Soon. When they return, they’ll bring cake for our Qiao Qiao.”

“Mm! Senior brother, too!”

The big one and the little one spend time in the vegetable garden, the atmosphere being warm and harmonious. However, outside this warmth, tensions rise as the situation escalates. Bai Yu and Mo Fan borrowed medicine too often. Now, the debt holders have come. A group of angry creditors blocks the entrance of the Su Yi Sect, each with an expression full of rage.

“Qiao Qiao! Qiao Qiao! Where are you?!”

Bai Yu rushes back, calling for Ming Qiao from afar. Huang Qiao hears the commotion and hugs Ming Qiao as he walks over, frowning and asking, “Why are you in such a rush? Are dogs chasing you?”

“It’s not a dog, but it’s something like a dog!”

Bai Yu picks up Ming Qiao and turns to Huang Qiao. “Pack Qiao Qiao’s things. I need to take him out for a while.”

Huang Qiao looks confused. “What exactly happened?”

Bai Yu wears a look of discomfort. “Haven’t Mo Fan and I borrowed some herb recently? They’re coming over to visit.”

Since Ming Qiao is still here, Bai Yu says vaguely, “I don’t want to greet them. I want to take Ming Qiao out for a bit.”

“Just right, the Xisha Forest is opening. I heard there’s Xuanyang Wood in the forest. I’m going to take Qiao Qiao to chop a few pieces.”

Huang Qiao “…”

Huang Qiao’s expression changes as he realizes the situation. It’s a borrowing mishap, and they need to flee. He turns around and silently starts gathering the things to take for Ming Qiao. Once everything is ready, Huang Qiao asks, “Is it convenient for you to go to Xisha Forest with Qiao Qiao?”

“It is.” Bai Yu is fast-thinking. Since he’s planning to flee, he surely has a backup plan.

“In this area, we can’t borrow any more medicine, if we want to borrow, we definitely have to go out.”

“First senior brother, you and Mo Fan hold on here. Qiao Qiao and I will be back early.”

“Okay, come back early.”

While Bai Yu and Huang Qiao are talking, Ming Qiao feels a bit confused. He hasn’t finished planting his radishes yet, so why are they leaving? Just as Ming Qiao is about to mention his radishes, his little ears catch Bai Yu saying: “By the way, this time going to Xisha Forest, Lu Heng will also be there.”

“What is she going there for? Be careful and don’t run into her.”

“I know, I’ll go around her. Besides her, people from the Lin Tian Sect will be there too.”

With the Lin Tian Sect present, there won’t be any accidents. So, Bai Yu is at ease taking the little one out.

“Enough chit chat, first senior brother. We’re leaving now. Qiao Qiao, say goodbye to senior brother!”

“Goodbye, senior brother!” Ming Qiao wraps his arms around Bai Yu’s neck and obediently bids farewell to Huang Qiao.

After saying goodbye, just a second before being taken away, he quickly leaves a message to You Qing. “First senior brother, tell big brother that Qiao Qiao is going to find mother!”

With Lu Heng and the Lintian Sect in the Xisha Forest, Ming Qiao wants to see who his mother really is!

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The author has something to say: Come on, let’s go!