Deep in the canyon, the spiritual pet was nowhere to be seen, leading Si Fanqing to suspect he’d been hearing things.

“Little Junior Uncle, why are you running around in the canyon in the middle of the night without sleeping?” It was Cong Yue’s gloating voice.

Si Fanqing only then realized he’d been tricked by Cong Yue, and he was instantly furious.  So young, yet she was already quite adept at teasing people.

“Cong Yue…” Si Fanqing gritted his teeth, too angry to speak.

Cong Yue clasped her hands behind her back, abandoning her usual cautious demeanor.  She arched her back, looking up at Si Fanqing. “Little Junior Uncle, was the canyon fun?”

She tapped the edge of the canyon with her chin, adding fuel to the fire. “I know you won’t get hurt. Little Junior Uncle has high cultivation; falling into a place where spiritual energy gathers might even increase your cultivation.”  With that, she ran away as fast as she could.

Si Fanqing’s spiritual pet appeared from nowhere, meowing as it chased after her, abandoning its master without a second thought.

Si Fanqing shook his wet robe.  A sticky, putrid corpse smell emanated from him, the bloody stench strong and pungent, almost like it could drip blood.  His anger was almost overwhelmed by the smell.

He spent nearly two hours bathing, and it took all night for Si Fanqing to finally get rid of the corpse scent from his hair.

After venting his anger the previous night, he slept well. The next day, Cong Yue got up unusually early, acting as if nothing had happened, waiting obediently in the courtyard.

His Little Junior Uncle was unusually late that day. His beautiful eyes lacked their usual brilliance, and dark circles hung under them.

“Little Junior Uncle, are you feeling unwell?” Cong Yue quickly ran forward, tugging at his sleeve to show her concern. Si Fanqing abruptly threw off Cong Yue’s hand, glaring at her warningly. “Don’t touch me.”

Cong Yue took a step back, looking at Si Fanqing with a pitiful expression before turning and running to hide behind Ji Yunqing.

Ji Yunqing had already witnessed their little tug-of-war. Before he could speak, Si Fanqing approached with a cold face.

“Sect Master, do you know what she did last night?” Si Fanqing was furious, his fair and clear cheeks flushed, barely able to restrain his emotions. “She…”

His accusation faltered. It was too embarrassing. A junior had tricked him into the back mountain, causing him to fall into the canyon and get covered in corpse stench.

Ultimately, it was his carelessness that had led to this.

“Little Junior Uncle, I’m sorry,” Cong Yue hung her head, her hands clasped tightly together. “I didn’t mean to. The kitten must have been startled and ran to the back mountain, and I went to look for it.”

She looked up at Si Fanqing, her sincere remorse almost tangible. For a moment, Si Fanqing felt a flicker of doubt, wondering if he had misjudged Cong Yue.

Ji Yunqing was kind and gentle, always calmly advising the juniors when they made mistakes. He gently patted Si Fanqing’s shoulder. “Fanqing, don’t argue with a child.”

Si Fanqing couldn’t help but suspect that Cong Yue’s recent recklessness was due to the Sect Master spoiling her. However, since the Sect Master had spoken, he could only swallow his displeasure and be more wary of Cong Yue in the future.

One day, after finishing his training, Si Fanqing was walking back when he noticed Cong Yue following him closely. He immediately became alert. “What are you following me for?”

“Little Junior Uncle, I’m going back to my room,” Cong Yue quickly stepped in front of Si Fanqing, blocking his path, and squinted at him with a smile. “What? Little Junior Uncle doesn’t want me to stay in this courtyard anymore?”

From eight to thirteen years old, the child’s round face had become thinner, her eyebrows and eyes bright, and her gaze even more imposing.

Si Fanqing choked, his ears quickly reddening. He understood; Cong Yue was deliberately bringing this up.

“Go away,” Si Fanqing stepped aside, letting Cong Yue pass. If he couldn’t win, he would avoid her.

But Cong Yue showed no intention of leaving.

For five years, Little Junior Uncle had avoided her like the plague, always hiding whenever he saw her. She was intensely curious.

“Little Junior Uncle, are you afraid of me?”

Si Fanqing avoided her gaze, saying coldly, “Afraid of you? Afraid you’ll throw me into the canyon again?”

He just didn’t want trouble, and Cong Yue was a troublemaker.

Cong Yue knew he wasn’t afraid. Over the years, she couldn’t remember how many times she’d used the kitten as an excuse to lure Little Junior Uncle to the back mountain, using harmless spells to tease him.

Si Fanqing had long since honed his skills in the depths of the canyon, becoming accustomed to being covered in corpse stench and blood. Every time he heard that Cong Yue had taken the spiritual pet away, Si Fanqing still uncontrollably ran to the back mountain, it had become a habit.

Although he was reluctant to admit it, his spiritual pet was becoming closer to Cong Yue than to him, and it was increasingly acting like a cat.  He knew Cong Yue wouldn’t bully the pet.

“Then why don’t you dare look at me?” Cong Yue tilted her head provocatively, her expression determined.

“Cong Yue, you’ve been training all day, aren’t you tired?” Si Fanqing was exasperated, looking up at her, his expression returning to normal. “I’ll give you extra tasks tomorrow.”

Cong Yue’s eyes went dark.  She’d really shot herself in the foot.

“Little Junior Uncle, sweet dreams,” she said as she ran into the house, disappearing from Si Fanqing’s sight in the blink of an eye.

Si Fanqing stood there, rubbing his throbbing temples, sensing a sleepless night ahead, fearing nightmares.

It was Valley Rain again, the spring was warm and bright.

Si Fanqing led a group of juniors in training on the peak of the canyon. During their rest, the juniors chattered about the activities of the demons.

“Did you hear? The demons have become extremely rampant lately, kidnapping cultivators for their cultivation.”

“All the major sects are panicked. The master went to Qingyun Sect to discuss countermeasures and hasn’t returned yet.”

“The demons and the major sects have long since made peace, why are they returning?”

“That was more than ten years ago, it had to do with the deceased wife of the Demon Lord.”

“It is said that the new Demon Lord is ambitious…”

Cong Yue’s body swayed, and she lost control of her hand. Si Fanqing lost his footing and fell.

“Cong Yue…” Faced with the sudden prank, Si Fanqing was furious, his face red with anger.

Gathering her thoughts, Cong Yue squinted at Si Fanqing, smiling slyly. “Little Junior Uncle, after ten years, you still haven’t learned your lesson?”

“Cong Yue, could I borrow the bracelet you made a few days ago, the one for activating blood circulation and removing blood stasis?”

The next morning, Cong Yue was still asleep when she was awakened by a knock on the door.  Opening the door, her eyelids felt heavy, “Senior Sister, you’re up early.”

“It’s Mao time, if you don’t get up, Little Junior Uncle will punish you.”

Looking up, she saw Little Junior Uncle passing by the courtyard gate. Cong Yue immediately woke up and waved to him. “Little Junior Uncle, morning!”

Hearing her voice, Si Fanqing paused, but didn’t respond, and silently quickened his pace.

“Little Junior Uncle…” Cong Yue retracted her hand, turning dejectedly back into the house.

Little Junior Uncle must still be angry with her.  She hadn’t intentionally caused Little Junior Uncle to fall into the canyon the other day, although her past pranks had all been premeditated. This time, however, Cong Yue hadn’t meant to.

Senior Sister followed Cong Yue into the room.  In the inner room, she couldn’t help but sigh, “Your room is almost overflowing. Pick out some of the less frequently used spiritual artifacts, move them to the warehouse for storage, it will be more convenient when you need them.”

Cong Yue had quite a talent for making spiritual artifacts, from small jewelry items that could be used for exorcism and healing to those that could enhance attack or defense in battle, or assist in cultivation and accelerate spiritual energy absorption… they were scattered all over half the room.

“Okay, Senior Sister.” Cong Yue nodded absentmindedly, her thoughts already drifting towards the still-angry Little Junior Uncle.

“Found it.”

“What?”

“The bracelet.” Senior Sister handed a jade bracelet to Cong Yue, gently shaking it. “What’s wrong? Something on your mind?” Sensing that Cong Yue was acting strangely, Senior Sister couldn’t help but ask.

Cong Yue looked intently at Senior Sister, slightly hesitant. “Senior Sister, if you made someone angry, and it wasn’t intentional, but the other person believes you did it on purpose, what should you do?”

Senior Sister looked at her meaningfully and said directly, “Little Junior Uncle?”

Cong Yue immediately straightened up, stammering, “Senior Sister, I… am I that obvious?”  After saying this, she felt her cheeks flush and became uncomfortable.

Senior Sister didn’t respond, looking her up and down questioningly. “You often bully Little Junior Uncle, you like to tease him. Does it matter whether he believes you or not?”

“It matters,” Cong Yue anxiously explained, “It was intentional in the past, I won’t deny it. But this time it wasn’t, I accidentally lost my footing.”

Senior Sister was slightly surprised, she smiled slightly, “Then tell him the truth.”

Cong Yue slumped her shoulders, looking deflated, turning her back to Senior Sister. “Senior Sister, Little Junior Uncle won’t believe me. I know what kind of image I have in his mind.”

Senior Sister said earnestly, “How will you know if you don’t try? Cong Yue, if you don’t explain clearly, the misunderstanding will only deepen.”

“Senior Sister, something’s wrong!”

Before Cong Yue could say anything, she heard hurried footsteps outside. Sixth Senior Sister ran forward, shouting, “Senior Sister, Third Senior Brother…”

The two quickly went to the courtyard and saw Sixth Senior Sister supporting herself with both hands on her knees, breathless.  “Third Senior Brother has been captured by the demons!”

“What happened?” Senior Sister patted her back to help her catch her breath. “Lu Qing, don’t worry, tell me slowly.”

“We were training in the back mountain, and Third Senior Brother was trying the method Little Junior Uncle taught us, going into the canyon, but there were demons ambushing there.”