Chapter 26: The Appearance of the Second Senior Brother

When Su Jiu woke up, the rabbit she had brought back from Mengxi Valley the day before had disappeared without a trace.

She was startled and searched the front and back of the house but still could not find it.

As for the rabbits of Buda Mountain, Su Jiu wasn’t worried that it would be caught by some junior disciples to make spicy rabbit heads or braised rabbit meat; she only felt a slight disappointment that it had left so early in the morning.

After tidying her emotions, Su Jiu took up her sword and prepared to go to the sword training platform. Just as she opened the door, she heard someone else opening a door next door, and immediately, a long red figure appeared in her sight.

Dressed in a loose red robe made of South Sea kelp, the waistband was adorned with several high-quality spirit stones worth tens of millions of spirit stones; the edges were trimmed with silver spider silk, generally used for defensive weapons, shimmering with a rainbow-like glow in the sunlight.

Flowing long black hair hung down to his waist, with two strands braided on the sides, embellished with exceptionally beautiful various-colored spirit stones emanating a gentle aura. Even from a distance, Su Jiu could feel the soft spiritual energy rush toward her, opening her pores and giving her the comfortable sensation of soaking in a spiritual spring.

Without seeing his face, Su Jiu already knew who had arrived.

She couldn’t help but sigh in her heart.

[As long as Qi Chaoye shows up, something indeed is bound to happen. Ugh… just standing there dazzles my eyes.]

[This is the power of money!]

Hearing her thoughts, Qi Chaoye smiled even more radiantly.

Lazily leaning against the side, he casually drew out the fan from his waist, flicked it open with a swift motion, and started fanning it leisurely. His red lips slightly parted; before he even spoke, a series of pleasant, low chuckles escaped his mouth.

“Junior Sister, long time no see.” His voice was different from the indifference of Shen Wangchen, the calmness of Cangshan Xue, or the gentleness of Mu Yunqing. Each word ended with a hint of laughter, like a feather fan lightly brushing across the strings of one’s heart, making people feel eager to look, wanting to see what kind of stunning man possessed such a voice.

Su Jiu instinctively lifted her head.

[Ugh—this bastard Qi Chaoye is using seduction techniques on me right off the bat. Damn, that’s so shameless.]

Once she reacted, she forced herself to stop moving, directing her gaze to just below Qi Chaoye’s chest, the corners of her lips tugging slightly to reveal a hollow smile.

Her voice carried an undertone of indifference.

“The Second Senior Brother is back? Long time no see.”

After saying this, Su Jiu wanted to slip away.

[No kidding, that smelly brat Mo Lin was supposed to come back tonight. If Qi Chaoye finds out that I slept with my master—ugh!]

Su Jiu hurriedly retracted her filthy thoughts, reminding herself that Shen Wangchen merely helped her with detoxification; it hardly counted as sleeping together.

It was her fault for having a lewd thought.

Qi Chaoye’s fan-fanning movement came to a halt.

Upon hearing that Su Jiu knew he had used seduction techniques, he was only slightly surprised.

However, he couldn’t hold himself back

upon hearing the next part.

“Slept?”

“With my master?”

What did that mean?

Which kind of slept?

Qi Chaoye narrowed his eyes, looking at the seemingly quiet girl with her head lowered beside him. Suddenly, he closed his fan and lightly tapped the bone handle against his palm as he walked over to her.

Su Jiu was startled and instinctively stepped back a step, finally looking up.

No matter how many times she saw Qi Chaoye’s face, her mind would still momentarily go blank.

It was simply because his looks were stunningly beautiful, unparalleled in the world.

Every frown and smile carried the inherent charm of the fox clan, his fox-like eyes slightly squinted, the crystal-clear blue like gemstones, akin to the vast, deep ocean. One look into those eyes would leave a person feeling as if they were underwater, gasping for breath.

Two braids flowed down from her delicate collarbone to her waist, with the tips adorned with a silver bell the size of a baby’s little finger, intricately carved with complex patterns. With every movement, it produced a soft sound that wasn’t piercing. Listening for a long time could indeed make one feel as if they were hearing the most beautiful music from the heavens, involuntarily breaking into a smile.

However, Su Jiu knew that Qi Chaoye was a person who could kill with even a single hair.

That bell’s sound could mesmerize the mind; listening too long could weaken one’s will and lead to demonic obsession.

The seemingly unremarkable fan in his hand was ranked third among divine artifacts, called the Hundred Sparrow Immortal, capable of easily taking away the name of a Nascent Soul cultivator with a flick.

There’s no need to mention those flashy-looking beads that seem useless; each one hides a deadly weapon.

Even if Su Jiu had a thousand guts, she wouldn’t dare to get close to Qi Chaoye.

She swallowed hard, her back already pressed against the apricot blossom tree by the door, unable to retreat for a moment. With a bitter smile in her heart, she forced herself to lift her head and pretended to be very busy, saying, “Ah! Second Senior Brother, I suddenly remembered that I haven’t gone to greet Master today. It’s getting late, so I’ll head out first, you—”

Before she could finish her sentence, Qi Chaoye’s enchanting face moved in closer.

He leaned one hand against the tree trunk beside Su Jiu, slightly bending down, lazily looking at her, a smile playing at the corners of his lips.

The braids on either side of his head fell down with his movement, the tips brushing against Su Jiu’s neck, and the tiny bells at the ends stopped right at her collarbone.

The icy sensation, like death approaching, made Su Jiu involuntarily shiver.

“Second, Second Senior Brother…”

She looked up at Qi Chaoye, tears already welling in her eyes.

Logically speaking, Su Jiu shouldn’t be this afraid of Qi Chaoye.

After all, the one who ultimately stabbed her with the last sword was someone else. Compared to Mo Lin, who took her name, Qi Chaoye, who merely suggested sparing her life and expelling her from the mountain, shouldn’t be too kind.

However, if it were the original Su Jiu, she might have thought so.

But the Su Jiu before him had read Qi Chaoye’s psychological profile.

The book stated that although he spared Su Jiu’s life, he pretended in front of Mu Yunqing and Mo Lin that he would only cripple her cultivation and expel her from the mountain.

In reality, he intended to send the crippled Su Jiu to the most debased den of succubi in the demon realm, forcing her to witness her degradation into a tool for those demon beasts.

This was Qi Chaoye’s punishment for her coveting Shen Wangchen.

As for her master, the one who was like the moon among the pines and snow in the mountains, he was not someone anyone could fantasize about.

Moreover, she was Shen Wangchen’s only beloved female disciple from back in the day.

It was a lie for Qi Chaoye to say he wasn’t jealous.

One day, when he gained power, he would make Su Jiu unable to live or die, falling into the abyss, never to see the light of day again.

This was Qi Chaoye—an enchanting and beautiful face, with an incredibly dark heart.

Su Jiu would rather be stabbed to death by Mo Lin than fall into Qi Chaoye’s hands.

Qi Chaoye watched as the girl appeared quite frightened, a trace of subtle surprise passing through his eyes.

He believed he hadn’t done anything to Su Jiu up to this point.

Why was she suddenly so afraid of him?

Before Qi Chaoye could figure it out, a gentle and elegant voice suddenly came from behind.

“Second Junior Brother, you’re back? Oh? Junior Sister?”

Mu Yunqing approached and saw Su Jiu being pressed down by Qi Chaoye.

He hadn’t noticed Su Jiu just now.

“Senior Brother!”

Su Jiu, like a drowning person grasping at a life-saving straw, suddenly darted out from under Qi Chaoye’s arm, swiftly moving behind Mu Yunqing. She grabbed the corner of his robe, which gave off a faint herbal scent, and hid herself behind him, her trembling hands unable to stop.

Mu Yunqing was slightly taken aback, turning to say something to her. When he unintentionally touched her fingers, he realized her hands were frighteningly cold.

“Your hands…”

Before he could finish, Qi Chaoye, as if nothing had happened, leisurely stood up straight, lightly brushing off the dust from his sleeves, revealing a smile.

“Ah, so it’s Senior Brother.”

His tone didn’t reveal much respect; he said casually, “Senior Brother, don’t misunderstand. I was just catching up with Junior Sister after not seeing her for a long time; I wasn’t bullying her.”

Mu Yunqing frowned, glancing at him, clearly unconvinced.

“Is that so?”

He tilted his head and gently asked Su Jiu.

Qi Chaoye stood opposite them, watching as Mu Yunqing and Su Jiu whispered intimately to each other. For some reason, he suddenly recalled how Su Jiu had also held him so tenderly last night while talking.

When she smiled, there were two dimples at the corners of her lips.

Qi Chaoye’s gaze fell thoughtfully on the sides of Su Jiu’s cheeks.

Feeling his gaze, Su Jiu misunderstood it as a threat from Qi Chaoye, and she suddenly choked, quickly shaking her head.

“It’s nothing, Senior Brother.”

Qi Chaoye noticed her way of addressing Mu Yunqing, narrowing his eyes slightly, displaying some displeasure.

Why was it that a mortal like Mu Yunqing was called Senior Brother, while he was only called Second Senior Brother?