Geli Disciple, Jingshen Disciple

Cai Shu and Luo Bei spent about half an hour circling around to the opposite side of the canyon.

As they got closer, tiny water droplets condensed on the delicate purple-red flowers before them, making them look alluring and ripe. Cai Shu couldn't help but step forward to pick one. Suddenly, her feet felt unstable, and a cascade of sand and stones tumbled down the cliff. It took a long time for a faint echo to return. Cai Shu, slender as she was, froze instantly. "This mountain stream must be at least several hundred feet deep. If I fell in, even with a Flying Flame Talisman, it definitely wouldn't save me."

Should she pick it or not?

This strong-willed and intelligent young woman hesitated for a moment.

"Junior Sister Cai Shu," just then, she suddenly heard Luo Bei speak from right beside her, "Your body is lighter..."

"This guy!" Hearing Luo Bei say that, Cai Shu gritted her teeth and turned her head. "This guy must be thinking that since I'm lighter, I won't easily collapse the rocks, and wants me to pick it. How shameless, how despicable!"

"The mountain wind is quite strong here, and it's dangerous for you to stand there. You go to the back, and I'll help you pick one. Anyway, Martial Uncle Ming Hao said that members of the same group can help each other collect them." But Luo Bei's next words made her freeze.

In the mountain wind, the young woman with eyebrows like the moon, slightly furrowed, looked at Luo Bei, whose expression was as usual, and couldn't help but think in a daze, "Have I misjudged him?"

"Junior Sister Cai Shu is truly beautiful..." Watching Cai Shu, whose strands of black hair were blown by the mountain wind, her neck fair and slender, her face like a painting, such a thought couldn't help but flash through his mind.

"Walking over to pick it directly seems a bit dangerous." Luo Bei slowly squatted down, carefully examining the ground before him. Although the delicate xīn were right by the cliff edge, the rocks along the cliff were severely weathered, and he could faintly see many cracks, making them look somewhat unstable. He looked left and right, pondered for a moment, then turned to look at Cai Shu behind him. "Junior Sister Cai Shu, are you cold?"

"Cold? What are you talking about? What time is it, and you're asking this?" Cai Shu thought to herself. However, her impression of Luo Bei had greatly improved, and her tone softened. "I'm not cold. You can look for yourself."

"Oh." Luo Bei said "oh" and took off his outer blue robe.

"..." Cai Shu's already large eyes widened even further. "Is this Junior Brother out of his mind, or deaf? Didn't I say I wasn't cold? Why is he still taking off his clothes for me?!"

Just then, she suddenly heard Luo Bei say as he looked at her, "Senior Sister, you take off your outer clothes too."

"What?" Cai Shu was stunned, then almost jumped up, her hands instinctively wrapping around her chest. "What do you want to do?"

"Look, there's a tree over there." Luo Bei pointed to a wild jujube tree not far from them. "We can tie our clothes together, tie one end to the tree, and the other end to me. It should be foolproof."

"……"

Cai Shu stared at Luo Bei, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, for a long time. Seeing the bottomless chasm before her, she finally made up her mind, gritted her teeth, and stomped her foot. "Then you're not allowed to look at me!"

"Alright, Junior Sister Cai Shu."

In fact, Luo Bei had no other amorous thoughts in his mind. Their clothes were basically similar, with white linings inside the blue robes, so there wouldn't be any exposed skin. However, with her outer clothes removed, Cai Shu standing in the wilderness looked even more refined and elegant.

Taking the outer clothes handed over by Cai Shu, whose face was tinged with an almost imperceptible blush, Luo Bei carefully tied a knot. He pulled it hard to test it, then tied one end to the tree and the other to his right foot.

"Not too stupid," Cai Shu saw that Luo Bei did this because the length of the two clothes tied together was still a bit insufficient. She watched as Luo Bei carefully walked a few steps forward, then crawled down, stretching his hand out as far as possible. With a "crash," the rocks at the cliff edge were indeed very loose. Suddenly, several fist-sized rocks broke loose and fell downwards, but Cai Shu couldn't help but let out a cheer because she saw Luo Bei steadily pulling two stalks of delicate duckweed in his hands.

"Junior Sister Cai Shu, here."

When they were in Luofu, Old Zhao Nan had told Luo Bei about something called "failure at the last step," where one fails after going ninety miles out of a hundred. Cultivation was the same; it was often most dangerous when success was closest. Therefore, even with two stalks of delicate water shield in hand, Luo Bei had no intention of becoming complacent. He carefully retreated, stood up, and after stepping back to the tree, untied the clothes. He handed Cai Shu's outer clothes and one stalk of delicate water shield to Cai Shu, whose small face was flushed with excitement.

"This guy," Cai Shu was slightly dazed again by Luo Bei's composure, which was uncharacteristic for his age. However, Cai Shu quickly realized that she had told him not to look, yet she herself was always staring blankly at him, seeming to be infatuated like Senior Sister Yanran. So, taking the herbs, she immediately lowered her head to carefully examine the hard-won herbs.

The small purple-red flowers were like tiny butterflies, with yellow stamens in the center, emitting a faint, slightly spicy aroma. The pale yellow stems and leaves were not cold like other herbs; instead, they felt warm to the touch.

"It's all this guy's fault! Otherwise, maybe we would have even found the Ci Tong Grass." Suddenly, she remembered the herb they hadn't found, and her mouth pouted unconsciously.

"Junior Sister Cai Shu," just then, Luo Bei, who was also carefully examining the herbs in his hand like Cai Shu, suddenly heard a rustling sound in the woods. With his keen senses, he instinctively felt as if someone was walking within, and he couldn't help but call out to Cai Shu.

"What?" Cai Shu looked up at Luo Bei. Before she could ask what was wrong, she also heard a rustling sound not far behind her. Turning around, she saw three youths of similar age to her and Luo Bei emerge from the dark, dense forest.

At first glance, Luo Bei thought they were other martial brothers who had coincidentally run into them here. But he soon realized that the three youths before them were all wearing dark-colored robes, which were completely different from the blue robes worn by the new disciples of Geli Peaks.

The one in the middle was strong and agile, with regular features and a somewhat handsome expression. However, his eyebrows slanted upwards towards his temples, which gave the youth a hint of arrogance.

The youth on the left was slightly thin in build and facial features, a typical example of the "sharp-mouthed, monkey-cheeked" description. The youth on the right had an ordinary appearance, but with a black mole on his left cheek that was rather conspicuous.

The three youths were also taken aback when they first saw Luo Bei and Cai Shu.

"They are disciples of Geli Peak," the youth in the middle said, his eyes sharp, muttering this to himself at first glance. Then, the three of them couldn't help but look astonished. "You... what are you doing here?"

Cai Shu's clear and beautiful face flushed slightly and imperceptibly again. She couldn't help but glare fiercely at Luo Bei.

Because the two of them had only just put on their outer clothes, and they were still wrinkled, it was indeed easy to be misunderstood.

"Only those with impure thoughts would imagine such things!" But Cai Shu immediately blamed the three of them. Her face turned cold, and she snorted heavily, saying irritably, "What business is it of yours that we are here?"

"……" The three youths in dark robes hadn't expected the seemingly delicate and beautiful Cai Shu to have such a harsh tone. The thin youth on the left and the youth with the mole on his face on the right were momentarily taken aback, looking hesitant and unable to reply. However, the youth in the middle, struck by Cai Shu's merciless words, also had his face turn cold, his eyebrows twitching. "What, are we not even allowed to ask why you two are here on Tianzhu Peak with your clothes in disarray? Moreover, don't forget, Tianzhu Peak is the territory of our Jingshen Peaks!"

"Jingshen Peaks, so these three are disciples of the Jingshen lineage." Luo Bei remembered what Zi Xuangu and Ling Dong Shan had told him, and he couldn't help but secretly ask Cai Shu, "Junior Sister Cai Shu, does Tianzhu Peak belong to the Jingshen Peaks?"

"What Jingshen Peaks? They all belong to the Shushan Sect!" Cai Shu's eyes flashed with even greater coldness. "I've never heard that Tianzhu Peak is private property of the Jingshen Peaks!"

"While that may be true, it's not wrong that Tianzhu Peak is managed by Jingshen," the youth in the middle said, not backing down at all, and said coldly, "The herbs produced on Tianzhu Peak are usually refined and allocated uniformly by us Jingshen Peaks."

"Senior Brother, there might be some misunderstanding," Luo Bei said, looking at him. "Martial Uncle Ming Hao sent us here to cultivate..."

But before Luo Bei could finish speaking, Cai Shu had already turned around coldly. "Luo Bei, let's go. Don't waste your breath on them!"

"Presumptuous!" As soon as Cai Shu turned, the youth shouted angrily. "Did your Geli elders not teach you respect for your seniors? Our Jingshen lineage entered the sect earlier than your Geli lineage this time. Just based on that, you should address us as Senior Brother. How dare you be so rude!"

"So, just because you entered earlier, I have to call you Senior Brother?" Cai Shu turned her head and suddenly smiled charmingly, saying to Luo Bei, "Luo Bei, what do you call me?"

Luo Bei was stunned. "Junior Sister Cai Shu."

"Did you hear that?" Cai Shu smiled triumphantly, then her face suddenly turned stern. "Luo Bei entered the sect later than me, but he calls me Junior Sister. This seniority, I will respect whomever I call Senior Brother, and whomever I don't respect, even if they entered ten years before me, they can't make me call them Senior Brother!"

"You!" The youth didn't expect Cai Shu to be so sharp. His eyes bulged for a moment, and the veins on his forehead throbbed.

"Senior Brother Zong Zhen, let's forget it. We still have two medicinal herbs to find," the monkey-like youth said, seeing the two of them on the verge of conflict, and immediately tried to smooth things over. "I'm afraid we're running out of time..."

Just then, the youth with the mole on his face on the right suddenly saw the Water Chestnut Fruit in Luo Bei's cloth bag. His eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but exclaim, "Water Chestnut Fruit!"

Luo Bei followed his gaze to the yellowish-green fruit in his bag. He was startled and then realized that the Water Chestnut Fruit must be one of the two medicinal herbs they were missing.