Lin Ji finally got to see a different Lu Xiaobai, just as he wished. He watched as Lu Xiaobai stood there, stunned for a few moments after hearing his words, and when he came back to his senses, his eyes were filled with shock. Lin Ji couldn’t quite describe the complex expression on Lu Xiaobai’s face. After a moment of confusion, Lu Xiaobai silently turned and quickly walked back without saying a word.

Lin Ji hurried to catch up, saying, “Master kept it from us because he didn’t want to see us worry about him. What good does it do to confront him? It only adds to his feelings of guilt and frustration. It’s him who suffers when the demon poison flares up again.”

Lu Xiaobai seemed not to hear him, walking faster and even breaking into a run until he stopped in front of the spiritual artifact library. 

Today, Meng Wanqiu had wandered into the spiritual artifact library, lovingly organizing his collection. He picked up a sword and practiced some moves, shaking his head after a while, “I’m getting old; I actually find this sword heavy.”

Lu Xiaobai glanced in from outside, while Lin Ji watched him anxiously. After a moment, Lu Xiaobai gently pushed Lin Ji aside and turned to leave. 

It was his oversight; how could two hundred years in the cultivation world be considered old? He thought the old man had passed the passionate phase and had become more stable after taking on disciples, especially since he had old injuries, which led him to focus on the more peaceful path of literary cultivation. 

In recent decades, Meng Wanqiu had immersed himself in alchemy and artifact crafting, compiling and revising books to make things easier for the future disciples of the Peifeng Sect, and had rarely engaged in combat training. By the time he reached the Nascent Soul stage, it was normal for his realm to be difficult to advance further.

Lu Xiaobai had always thought it was just his personality; after all, Meng Wanqiu had been like this for years before he took him in as a disciple. But if the old man was harboring demon poison, it would be excruciatingly painful to exert his spiritual power, which would force him to retreat behind the scenes.

Looking at the armor and other weapons in the spiritual artifact library, one could understand that Meng Wanqiu was not a quiet person in his youth; he was competitive and strong-willed, which explained his fondness for collecting magical artifacts and weapons. 

But he had never doubted it, never noticed anything unusual. 

Lu Xiaobai hung his head in silence, his heart in turmoil like a pot of mixed grains, filled with all sorts of flavors. 

Sometimes, Lin Ji didn’t like to see Lu Xiaobai happy and carefree, but when he truly made him unhappy, he felt like he was a stranger. 

Suddenly, Lu Xiaobai turned back, looking at Lin Ji, who had reached out as if to say something, “Thank you.” 

Lin Ji was taken aback, a surge of anger rising within him: “Why thank me? Isn’t he my master?” 

Lu Xiaobai sighed helplessly, innocently blinking at him, “If thanking you won’t do, can I ask you a question?” 

“Why do some people always like to hide things after discovering a problem, using the excuse of not wanting to worry others while bearing it themselves? What’s the point of having a mouth?” 

“If they can’t solve it themselves, will dragging it out until it becomes serious make the people around them worry less? Why not speak up while the situation is still manageable and brainstorm solutions together?” 

Lin Ji narrowed his eyes suspiciously, “Are you talking about Master or hinting at someone else?” 

It sounded like he was complaining about Master, but why did he keep glancing at him? 

If it weren’t for him acting decisively this time, Lu Xiaobai would still be in the dark. Lin Ji didn’t think he had such a flaw. 

Unexpectedly, Lu Xiaobai looked at him with a hint of grievance, “You have to answer me!” 

Lin Ji: “… Is it wrong to bother Master and make things difficult for Junior Brother?” 

After a pause, Lin Ji disdainfully replied, “What’s the use of saying it? Just like Master’s illness, knowing it won’t help him detoxify.” 

He thought Master’s mindset should be like this: small matters don’t need to be mentioned since he can handle them; big matters are even less worth mentioning, especially situations that even a Nascent Soul cultivator can’t resolve—what’s the point in saying it? 

As for hiding it, let it last as long as it can; knowing later means worrying later. 

Lu Xiaobai looked at Lin Ji, who seemed to take it for granted, understanding each other so well, yet he said they weren’t the same kind. 

Lin Ji was surprised by how well Lu Xiaobai managed his emotions; just moments ago, he had been in a state of disarray, and now he had quickly regained his composure, even during meals, he showed no signs of weakness, making Lin Ji secretly admire him. 

In the evening, Wen Ling returned for a visit. 

“Sorry, Lord Lin Ji, I couldn’t find out who that unidentified foreign entity is, and I’m not even sure what species it belongs to.” 

“The main system shows I don’t have the permission to query, boohoo…” 

The light orb flickered, looking quite dejected. 

Lin Ji waved a fan to fan the stove, taking the opportunity to poke Wen Ling, “It’s fine, you can go back to your work.” 

He wasn’t in such a hurry to verify things anymore. 

“Alright! I’ll find a way!” 

After Wen Ling left, Lin Ji poured the pear soup he had made into a bowl. This was something Lu Xiaobai had stewed not long ago, and he had asked Lin Ji to take it to Master before leaving. 

Since he had asked Lin Ji, he felt it was reasonable to do it. 

Meng Wanqiu was still meditating in the library, rarely returning to his cave dwelling since taking on disciples, fearing that his two disciples would have questions and not be able to find him. 

However, neither of them liked to seek him out for serious matters. At this moment, Lin Ji placed the soup bowl in front of him, “Master, drink this.” 

Meng Wanqiu felt quite pleased, thinking how good his disciple’s judgment was. The pear soup could soothe the throat and relieve coughs, sweet and not bitter, so there was no reason to refuse. 

Meng Wanqiu directly picked up the bowl and took a sip. After swallowing, he suspected something was wrong with his taste buds; the pear soup went down his throat, and by the time he realized, it was too late. 

It was a trap! The bitterness reminded him of the hundred-year-old Coptis from the Peifeng Sect’s herb garden. 

The color and recipe of this soup were fine! Why did it turn out to be medicinal soup? 

Meng Wanqiu’s face twisted in agony as he quickly raised the bowl and gulped it down, feeling as if he had redeemed all his sins from his first half of life. 

Lin Ji had watched Lu Xiaobai add who knows how many kinds of spiritual herbs into the bowl, which had finally condensed into a pot of soup, and even attached a talisman that could temporarily confuse the sense of smell, all to trick Meng Wanqiu. 

He smiled faintly and quickly withdrew. 

“Alright, alright, you two are teaming up to prank me now.” Meng Wanqiu said in silence, “You still told him.” 

Lin Ji was taken aback, not feeling ashamed for not keeping the secret, but rather for what Meng Wanqiu had said. 

Lu Xiaobai didn’t like mutual concealment, so he cleverly found a way to communicate with him. There was no need for disputes, and he could convey what he already knew to his master. 

And gradually, he was being influenced by Lu Xiaobai, even cooperating with him… Lin Ji quickly steadied his mind, reminding himself that this time it was for Master, but next time he absolutely couldn’t be deceived by Lu Xiaobai’s innocent and weak facade! 

After Meng Wanqiu finished a cup of tea, he finally calmed down. His mouth still tasted bitter, but his heart flowed with warmth. He relaxed, realizing that it wasn’t so bad to be discovered by his disciple; he suddenly questioned why he had to go to such lengths to hide things. 

Meng Wanqiu suddenly remembered something and looked up at Lin Ji, “A Ji, I’ve discovered…” 

Lin Ji looked at him, “Master?” 

“… It’s nothing, you can go back and rest.” 

Meng Wanqiu closed his mouth, and Lin Ji wasn’t one to dig deeper. He bowed and turned to leave. 

Meng Wanqiu recalled the question Lin Ji had asked him last time, and he suddenly had an answer: Little Bai seemed to have really changed. 

Although Little Bai had always been clever and sharp, never affected by idle gossip, and had his own ideas, he was still just a fifteen-year-old boy. Meng Wanqiu remembered that not long after he entered the sect, his disciple had always been loud and childlike in front of him. 

This was also why he feared that Little Bai would be very angry after finding out and would come to ask him why he hadn’t told him. Logically, he might even flip the table and argue with him… but he didn’t do that, and Meng Wanqiu’s worries were all assumptions. 

Meng Wanqiu rubbed his temples in thought; perhaps when A Ji first entered the sect, he focused mainly on observing the actions of his two disciples and didn’t notice the changes in his eldest disciple right away. 

It seemed that since the day Little Bai found his new direction, he had gradually matured. 

However, Lu Xiaobai didn’t recover his calm as quickly as he appeared to; he sat in his cave dwelling until late at night, still unable to sleep. 

Lu Xiaobai stared blankly at the Mo Huai Sword in his hand, reminiscing about the day he met Meng Wanqiu, back when he was still called Lu Xiaobai. 

Before he turned ten, he still had parents. 

Unfortunately, a flood had submerged their rice fields, leading to disease and famine, forcing his parents to take him elsewhere to escape. 

Little Bai almost became the child who was eaten in exchange for food, but his parents couldn’t bear to trade him away, which saved his life. 

What he got in return was a mother who fell ill and starved to death, and Little Bai, holding her corpse, discovered that she was nothing but skin and bones, with only her bones protruding. 

Later, his father also died, on the day when the mob wanted to take him away for food. They said children’s meat was tender and easy to cook. His father fought them off but was beaten to death. 

Fortunately, before leaving home, he had hidden a bag of rat poison. While preparing his food supplies, he quietly cut the ropes and sprinkled it into the pot meant for the children, poisoning them all. 

Little Bai struggled to lift stones, smashing them down on the man’s head until it was a bloody mess. 

“I’ll make you pay for killing my father!” 

So he told Lin Ji that he was never a good person. He learned to kill when he was just ten years old. 

With his parents gone, he had to survive on his own. But that year, the rain was relentless; people had to travel while being drenched, and he didn’t know how many fell ill and died along the way. 

Little Bai hid and fled, escaping through the cracks. 

But the heavy rain caused floods, and countless refugees desperately ran up the mountain, only to be submerged in the muddy waters. 

Little Bai finally made it to the mountainside, unable to run any further, and could only tie himself to a tree with a rope he found along the way, doing his best and leaving the rest to fate. 

Just as he was about to tie the knot, he saw a little girl being swept away, her parents screaming and crying in despair. 

Those who managed to hold on until now must also have good parents, right? 

He didn’t deny that in a moment of impulse, he jumped into the river to save the little girl. He often played in the river as a child and could swim, which allowed him to escape several times. He held the little girl and tied her to a high tree, doing his best to find a way to help her, but whether she could survive afterward was beyond his control. 

After all, he was swept away too. 

Little Bai felt frustrated, for the first time looking at the dim sky with a sense of unwillingness. 

Why were their lives so cheap, like ants in the face of natural disasters and human calamities? 

If there were immortals in the world, if he could control his own fate… Little Bai gulped down water until he was full, and halfway through, he lost consciousness. 

When he woke up again, he found himself looking at a clear sky, and below him was a sea of clouds. 

Little Bai was astonished, “So this is what the world after death is like?” Did his parents also go to such a good place? 

Suddenly, a gentle and warm voice came from above, “Don’t worry, you’re not dead.” 

Little Bai looked up and saw that he was being held by someone in an orange-yellow Daoist robe, and beneath his feet was a sword? 

He really met an immortal! The immortal took him to a city far away from natural disasters, handed over silver to a family, hoping they would take him in. 

Little Bai hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed his arm, “What must a mortal do to go to the place where immortals live?” 

Meng Wanqiu was surprised; usually, children, even if they knew he was an immortal, would say, “Immortal, can you take me with you?” 

Then he would coax them for a while, but this child asked in such a way that he didn’t know how to respond. 

Meng Wanqiu squatted down and rubbed his head, feeling a bit troubled. He actually wanted to take him away, but this child had no spiritual roots at all, even worse than an ordinary mortal. 

However, his intellect was beyond that of ordinary people. Meng Wanqiu held him and quietly whispered in his ear, “There’s a cultivation sect in this world called Peifeng Sect. If you can find it, you’ll be able to meet immortals.” 

The immortal left gracefully, but left an incredibly deep impression on his little heart. 

Little Bai thought, “What’s the point of meeting an immortal? Becoming an immortal is what matters.” 

Mortals can sometimes be small and stubborn. 

Although now that Lu Xiaobai thought back, he seemed to have experienced quite a few adventures on the road to find the Peifeng Sect: today he met an old Daoist who gave him a talisman, tomorrow he killed a small beast and dropped some pearls, which attracted an old man with a white beard who insisted on trading something with him. 

He finally arrived at the Peifeng Sect, guided by the immortal, looking like a beggar with tattered clothes and a waxy face, a group of immortals almost retreated dozens of paces. 

However, the sect leader, seeing his sincerity, allowed him to test his qualifications. 

When tested, he turned out to be nothing, unable to even pass through the restriction gate. 

At that moment, the young immortal who had saved his life appeared again. The men and women around him all bowed to him respectfully. 

Ling Yun Zunzhe Meng Wanqiu, good, he would definitely be his master. 

Lu Xiaobai had always believed that one must take the initiative to have a story; he risked half his life to finally climb over the restriction gate, inadvertently revealing the jade pendant left to him by the other party, successfully recognized by Meng Wanqiu, and successfully became his disciple. 

After entering the sect, he learned that Meng Wanqiu was two hundred years old, but immortals could maintain their youth, looking no different from someone in their twenties, which added to his yearning for cultivation. 

“Uh,” Meng Wanqiu, not knowing what to say during his first time accepting a disciple, asked after a long pause, “What’s your name?” 

Lu Xiaobai scratched his head, “My secular name is Lu, everyone calls me Little Bai!” 

Meng Wanqiu closed his eyes: why could a person’s name be so hastily chosen? At least the surname was acceptable. 

“Then I’ll give you a new character, how about that?” 

“I’ll listen to Master!” 

Later, Lu Xiaobai discovered that changing his name but not his title was just a form of torment… 

After a few months, the harmonious and friendly relationship between master and disciple could no longer be maintained. 

“Old man, can you wear a different color? The earthy yellow paired with your name is just too old-fashioned. If I were a female immortal, I would turn and leave at the sight of you, I wouldn’t even recognize you!” 

“Rebellious disciple! I’ll wear whatever I want! And you dare to criticize me with that name?” 

“……” 

Lu Xiaobai held the Mo Huai Sword in his arms, taking a long time to catch his breath. 

It was his fault; after so many years by his master’s side, he was still less observant than A Ji, who had just arrived and noticed the signs. 

He had always prided himself on being perceptive, yet he hadn’t even noticed the demon poison hidden within Meng Wanqiu. 

Junior Sister, Master, A Ji… 

But soon, Lu Xiaobai snapped back to reality, picked up the storage bag under his pillow, and whispered, “Come out.” 

“Grandpa, you finally need me!” 

Elder Shuhua was a spirit behind him; after being drained of his cultivation by Mo Shangxian and dying, his corpse had been suppressed in ancient ruins. 

This kid found him, but he insisted on being called “Grandpa” for a hundred years and forming an unequal spirit contract to work for him, or he wouldn’t save him. 

Elder Shuhua didn’t want to compromise, but this guy said he would really leave, so he had no choice but to acknowledge him as a senior, hoping the other party would shorten his lifespan to free him. 

He thought Lu Xiaobai would find him useful, but every time they encountered danger, he would ask if he needed help, and the other would always say no. 

The old man was going crazy: “Then what do you want me for?!!” It was more unbearable than being forced to call him grandpa, being stuck within three paces of Lu Xiaobai! 

The old man had gone from arrogant and indifferent to humble and eager. 

Lu Xiaobai spoke in a gentle tone, “Be humble and patient, Grandpa has something to ask you.” 

“……” 

The next day, Lin Ji saw Lu Xiaobai with dark circles under his eyes, ruffling his hair as he draped an arm over his shoulder, “A Ji, I’ve been troubling you with managing Luoxia Peak lately; I need to go into seclusion for a while.” 

Lin Ji: “… You?” 

He couldn’t even cultivate his spiritual power; what good would seclusion do? 

Yet, Lu Xiaobai really did go into seclusion for half a month, not eating or drinking, and not showing his face. Lin Ji was worried he might die in there—he wouldn’t be practicing fasting, would he? 

There wasn’t much to manage at Luoxia Peak; a simple spell would do, and it would only take time to prepare medicinal meals for Meng Wanqiu. 

But suddenly missing someone who loved to come around made him feel a bit uncomfortable. 

Meng Wanqiu, upon hearing this, patiently explained, “He wants to go down the mountain but is afraid of encountering danger, so he’s been drawing protective talismans lately. A Ji, why don’t you go out and play with Little Bai?” 

Lin Ji: “……” 

Sure enough, the moment Lu Xiaobai came out of seclusion, he rushed to Shaowei Peak, the closest to Luoxia Peak, to snatch a sect mission, and when he saw Lin Ji, he practically wanted to pounce on him. 

He excitedly grabbed Lin Ji’s hands, “Junior Brother, let’s go down the mountain for training!” 

Lin Ji was horrified and quickly stepped back, “Let go, what kind of behavior is this?” 

Lu Xiaobai feigned a pitiful look, “No one wanted to team up with me before…” 

Lin Ji was astonished, “Do you think I want to?” 

Lu Xiaobai insisted, “But I can’t do it without you, really! You’re so powerful and skilled; you have to give me a chance to team up for my first training down the mountain!” 

Lin Ji twitched his lips: “……”