Cai Shu and Luo Bei spent about half an hour circling around to the opposite side of the gorge.
Now that they were closer, tiny droplets of water clung to the slender purple-red flowers before them, making them look bewitchingly lush. Cai Shu could not resist stepping forward to pick them, but suddenly felt the ground beneath her feet soften. Sand and stones came rattling down the cliff, and only after a long while did faint echoes drift back up. Cai Shu's slender body froze at once. "This ravine is at least several hundred zhang deep. If someone accidentally falls in, even releasing a Flying Flame Talisman definitely won't save them."
To pick it or not?
This headstrong yet ice-snow clever young woman hesitated for a moment.
"Junior Sister Cai Shu," just then, Luo Bei beside her said, "you're lighter..."
"This bastard!" The moment she heard him say that, Cai Shu ground her teeth and turned around. This bastard must be about to say that since I'm lighter, I won't collapse the rocks as easily, so I should go pick it. Shameless. Despicable!
"The mountain wind is strong here. It's dangerous for you to stand there. Go farther back. I'll pick one for you. Martial Uncle Ming Hao said that people in the same group can help each other gather herbs anyway." Yet Luo Bei's next words left her stunned.
Amid the mountain wind, the young woman with crescent-dark brows, lightly furrowed in a frown, stared at Luo Bei's unchanging expression and could not help becoming lost in thought. Did I misjudge him somewhat?
"Junior Sister Cai Shu is really pretty..." As he watched strands of her black hair flutter in the mountain wind, her fair, slender neck and painting-like features, the thought flashed through his mind as well.
"Walking straight over to pick it seems dangerous." Luo Bei slowly crouched down and carefully studied the ground ahead. Though the slender herbs at the cliff's edge were right before him, the rocks there had weathered badly. Numerous cracks were faintly visible, and the ground looked loose and unstable. After looking around and pondering briefly, Luo Bei turned to Cai Shu behind him. "Junior Sister Cai Shu, are you cold?"
Cold? At a time like this, why is he asking that? Cai Shu thought. Yet her impression of Luo Bei had changed greatly, and her tone softened somewhat. "I'm not cold. Just look after yourself."
"Oh." Luo Bei answered, then took off his outer green robe.
"..." Cai Shu's already large eyes widened even further. Is something wrong with this Junior Brother's brain, or with his ears? Didn't I say I wasn't cold? Why is he taking off his clothes to give them to me?!
Just then, she heard Luo Bei say to her, "Senior Sister, take off your outer robe too."
"What?" Cai Shu was startled, then nearly jumped up. Her arms instinctively crossed over her chest. "What are you trying to do?"
"There's a tree over there." Luo Bei pointed at a wild jujube tree not far away. "If we tie our clothes together, bind one end to the tree and the other to me, it should make everything foolproof."
"..."
Cai Shu stared at Luo Bei, caught between laughter and tears, for a long while. Then she looked again at the bottomless ravine before them. At last, she clenched her teeth and stamped her foot. "Then you're not allowed to look at me!"
"Alright, Junior Sister Cai Shu."
In truth, Luo Bei had no improper thoughts at all. Their clothes were more or less alike, and beneath their green robes they still wore white inner garments, so there was no danger of exposing anything. Still, standing amid the wilderness after removing her outer robe, Cai Shu looked even more fresh and unworldly.
Taking the outer robe Cai Shu handed him, with a nearly imperceptible flush on her face, Luo Bei carefully tied a knot, tugged it hard to test it, then bound one end to the tree and the other around his right ankle.
"He's not completely stupid." Cai Shu realized that Luo Bei had done this because the two tied robes were still slightly too short. She watched him cautiously take a few steps forward, then lie flat and stretch his hand out as far as he could. With a crash, the rocks at the cliff edge proved to be extremely loose. Several fist-sized stones suddenly broke free and fell downward, but Cai Shu could not help letting out a cheer, because Luo Bei had already firmly pulled up two slender herbs.
"Junior Sister Cai Shu, here."
Back in Luofu, Old Zhao Nan had told Luo Bei that there was a saying: success could crumble at the very last moment; after walking a hundred miles, one might fail at the ninetieth. Cultivation was the same. Often, the closer one came to success, the greater the danger. Thus, even with two slender herbs in hand, Luo Bei had not the slightest thought of getting carried away. He carefully backed away, stood up, and only after retreating to the tree did he untie the clothes and hand Cai Shu her outer robe and one of the herbs. Her little face was bright with excitement.
"This guy..." Luo Bei's steadiness, so mismatched with his age, left Cai Shu slightly dazed again. But she quickly came back to herself. She had told him not to look, yet she herself kept staring blankly at him, as though she were as lovestruck as Senior Sister Yanran. So after taking the medicinal herb, she immediately lowered her head and began examining the hard-won plant carefully.
The tiny purple-red flowers resembled little butterflies, with yellow stamens at their centers, giving off a faint fragrance with a slight pungency. The pale yellow stalk and leaves were unlike other medicinal herbs, which felt somewhat cold; these instead felt warm to the touch.
"It's all this guy's fault! Otherwise, maybe we would've found the Ci Tong Grass too." Suddenly remembering the herb neither of them had seen, she unconsciously puffed out her lips again.
"Junior Sister Cai Shu," just then, Luo Bei, who was also carefully inspecting the herb in his hand, suddenly heard rustling from the forest. His Six Senses Sharpened, he instinctively felt as though someone were walking within, and could not help calling out to Cai Shu.
"What is it?" Cai Shu raised her head and glanced at Luo Bei. Before she could ask what was wrong, she too heard a crash not far behind her. Turning around, she saw three youths about her and Luo Bei's age emerge from the dim, dense forest.
At first, Luo Bei thought they were other martial brothers whom they had happened to encounter here. But he immediately noticed that the three youths before them all wore black garments, entirely different from the green clothes worn by the new disciples of Geli Peaks.
The youth in the center had a strong, agile build and regular, somewhat handsome features. Yet his brows slanted sharply into his temples, lending him an air of arrogance.
The youth on the left was slightly thin and small in both build and face, the very picture of sharp-mouthed, monkey-cheeked. The youth on the right looked ordinary, except for a black mole on his left cheek that caught the eye.
The three youths were likewise taken aback upon seeing Luo Bei and Cai Shu.
"They're disciples of Geli Peak." The youth in the middle had a discerning eye and muttered this at a glance. Then all three involuntarily stared in astonishment. "You... what are you doing here?"
A faint, imperceptible blush immediately rose to Cai Shu's lovely face again, and she could not help shooting Luo Bei a fierce glare.
Their outer robes had only just been draped over themselves and were not yet properly worn, all rumpled besides. It was truly easy to misunderstand.
"Only those with crooked hearts would think crooked thoughts!" Cai Shu immediately blamed the three youths instead. Her expression turned cold, and she gave a heavy snort. "What does it have to do with you that we're here?"
"..." The three youths in black had not expected the delicate, lovely-looking Cai Shu to speak so harshly. The thin youth on the left and the black-moled youth on the right both froze, looking hesitant and unable to respond. Yet the youth in the middle was struck by Cai Shu's merciless tone, and his face immediately turned cold as well. His brows twitched. "What, you two are here on Tianzhu Peak with your clothes in disarray, and no one is allowed to ask? Besides, don't forget that Tianzhu Peak lies within our Jingshen Peaks territory!"
"Jingshen Peaks. So these three are disciples of the Jingshen lineage." Recalling what Zi Xuangu and Ling Dong Shan had told him, Luo Bei could not help quietly asking Cai Shu, "Junior Sister Cai Shu, does Tianzhu Peak belong to Jingshen Peaks?"
"What Jingshen Peaks? Aren't we all part of Shushan?" The cold gleam in Cai Shu's eyes grew stronger. "I've never heard that Tianzhu Peak is the private property of Jingshen Peaks!"
"That may be so, but Tianzhu Peak being under Jingshen's administration is certainly true." The youth in the center refused to yield an inch, saying coldly, "The medicinal herbs produced on Tianzhu Peak are normally refined and allocated under the unified control of our Jingshen Peaks."
"This Senior Brother may have misunderstood." Luo Bei looked at him. "Martial Uncle Ming Hao sent us here to cultivate..."
But before Luo Bei could finish, Cai Shu had already turned away coldly. "Luo Bei, let's go. Don't waste words on them!"
"Impudent!" The instant Cai Shu turned around, the youth shouted in fury. "Did your Geli teachers not teach you to respect teachers and honor the Way? Our Jingshen lineage entered the sect earlier than your Geli faction this time. On that basis alone, you should respectfully call us Senior Brothers, yet you dare be so rude!"
"Those who entered earlier must be called Senior Brothers?" Cai Shu turned back, suddenly smiled sweetly, and said to Luo Bei, "Luo Bei, what do you call me?"
Luo Bei was startled. "Junior Sister Cai Shu."
"Did you hear that?" Cai Shu smiled triumphantly, then suddenly hardened her expression. "Luo Bei entered later than I did, yet he calls me Junior Sister. As for Senior Brother status, I call whoever I respect Senior Brother. Whoever I do not respect—let alone someone who entered ten years before me—can forget about making me call him Senior Brother!"
"You!" The youth had not expected Cai Shu to be so sharp and fierce. His eyes bulged, and the veins on his forehead throbbed.
"Senior Brother Zong Zhen, forget it. We still haven't found two medicinal herbs." Seeing the two standing with swords drawn and bows bent, the monkey-faced youth hurriedly tried to smooth things over. "I'm afraid we won't have enough time..."
Just then, the black-moled youth on the right suddenly spotted the Water Chestnut Fruit in the cloth bag in Luo Bei's hand. His eyes lit up, and he involuntarily cried out, "Water Chestnut Fruit."
Following his gaze to the greenish-yellow fruits in his bag, Luo Bei was startled, then understood. These Water Chestnut Fruits were surely one of the two medicinal herbs they still lacked.
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