The Wager and The Fight

"Let's go," Cai Shu pouted, no longer wanting to bicker with that disciple from the Jingshen Peaks named Zong Zhen.

Luo Bei nodded. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he paused. "Wait, Senior Sister Cai Shu."

"What are you doing? Dawdling," Cai Shu started to say, but before she could, she saw Luo Bei humbly ask Zong Zhen and the other two, "By the way, Senior Brothers, have you seen any Ci Tong Grass along the way?"

"Ci Tong Grass?" Zong Zhen and the other two exchanged glances. Zong Zhen suddenly laughed triumphantly and reached into his waist pouch, pulling out a plant with dark leaves and red, chili-like fruits. "So you were looking for Ci Tong Grass. What a coincidence, I have several plants right here."

"Luo Bei, let's go!" Cai Shu's voice suddenly turned sharp.

She could hear the mockery in Zong Zhen's words. Although she was only thirteen or fourteen, she could easily see the immaturity and shallowness of others when she was with people her age. She knew that if Luo Bei responded again, the arrogant Zong Zhen would surely say something like, "If you apologize to us and show some respect for your elders, I might consider giving you one."

If Luo Bei were to beg for the Ci Tong Grass from these people, she would absolutely ignore him!

"En," Luo Bei nodded and said no more, turning to head back the way they came.

This brought a flicker of happiness to Cai Shu's heart. In reality, he had no intention of getting something for nothing. He had already seen what Ci Tong Grass looked like, and he might even find some along the way back.

"You two who just joined, stop right there!" The fleeting sense of triumph vanished instantly. Cai Shu and Luo Bei's attitude made Zong Zhen, who felt utterly disrespected, unable to help but shout.

Luo Bei looked back at Zong Zhen and the others with some surprise. Having grown up in hardship and carrying the fate of Luofu even after arriving, constantly struggling against destiny without any sense of superiority, Luo Bei couldn't understand why Zong Zhen was so furious. Cai Shu, walking beside him, didn't even turn her head. Her beautiful lips curled into a disdainful arc, and she coldly spat out, "You're still looking for Water Chestnut Fruit? You must have joined not long ago either."

"I didn't expect disciples of Ge Li to be so arrogant," Zong Zhen said, laughing in anger. "If I don't teach you a lesson today, you'll probably walk sideways in Shushan from now on."

"What is that talisman?" Luo Bei saw that Zong Zhen, who was laughing in anger, now held a green talisman in his hand.

"Yimu Green Lightning Talisman? So you have that kind of talisman too," Cai Shu said, looking at Zong Zhen. She smiled again, her pretty nose wrinkling slightly, and pointed at Luo Bei. "But do you know who he is? It's fine if you hurt me, but if you hurt him, I'm afraid the three of you couldn't bear the consequences."

Zong Zhen, stunned that Cai Shu had recognized the talisman in his hand, looked at Cai Shu and Luo Bei with surprise and suspicion. "Who is he?"

"He's the famous Luo Bei, hailed as the most gifted disciple Shushan has seen in decades. Surely you've heard of him," Cai Shu said, winking at Luo Bei with a smile.

Luo Bei's face, already a little embarrassed, flushed slightly.

He's Luo Bei?!

Zong Zhen and the other two exchanged a silent glance.

Everyone knew that Ge Li had recently accepted a disciple named Luo Bei, who was said to have exceptional talent, and even the Acting Sect Leader and others held him in high regard.

If they injured him, they would surely face severe reprimand.

Furthermore, if his future achievements were high, he might seek revenge for today's events.

These thoughts flashed through Zong Zhen's mind. The Yimu Green Lightning Talisman, which he was about to cast, couldn't be thrown. His expression was uncertain, and he was extremely awkward.

"Never mind, we're all..." Seeing Zong Zhen's extreme embarrassment, Luo Bei couldn't help but try to smooth things over. He originally wanted to say that they were all fellow disciples and shouldn't be so hostile, but before he could finish, he felt Cai Shu tug at his sleeve. He stopped in surprise and looked at Cai Shu. Cai Shu had narrowed her eyes and smiled again. "However, this fellow disciple who wants me to call him Senior Brother, I don't have much of a background. He can't teach me a lesson, but teaching me a lesson shouldn't be a big problem."

"What did you say?" Zong Zhen also narrowed his eyes, a cold glint flashing within them.

"Let's make a bet," Cai Shu said, unfazed by the cold glint in Zong Zhen's eyes. She smiled, raised her fair hand, and pointed at the pouch where she and Luo Bei kept their herbs. "If you win against me, our Water Chestnut Fruit will be yours. If you lose to me, your Ci Tong Grass will be ours."

The air was thick with tension.

"Fine! You provoked this, don't blame me for bullying the younger ones!"

Furious, Zong Zhen chanted an incantation. Like Zi Xuangu, he had some foundation in cultivation before entering Shushan. He was a dominant figure among the new disciples of the Jingshen lineage. Relying on the incantation, he quickly entered tranquility and focused his mind. A faint clear light soon emanated from his hand. But just as he was about to cast the green talisman, everyone's vision blurred. Cai Shu instantly appeared before him. Then he saw a rapidly expanding fist hurtling towards him.

With a "bang," as blood and tears gushed from his nose, Cai Shu's seemingly frail body somehow appeared behind him again. "Bang," a delicate black footprint appeared on his backside, and then he was sent flying forward, his entire face making intimate contact with the wet ground.

When his nose was struck, the faint clear light in Zong Zhen's hand had already vanished.

As he fell forward uncontrollably, Cai Shu reached out and caught the green talisman that was drifting slowly in the air, having lost its anchor. She then turned to look at the stunned, skinny-monkey-like youth and the other youth with a conspicuous black mole on his face.

The two youths blinked. Hearing Zong Zhen's pained howl, they suddenly seemed to snap out of their daze. They simultaneously reached into their pouches and handed over their Ci Tong Grass to the beautiful, witch-like girl.

Cai Shu didn't even glance at the fallen Zong Zhen. She handed a stalk of the acquired Ci Tong Grass to Luo Bei. As Luo Bei turned with her, she smiled, wrinkling her nose slightly. "Seeing as you behaved well today, I'll give you this."

Luo Bei was taken aback as the green talisman appeared in his hand.

Not far away, on the mountainside, at the top of a towering fir tree, Ming Yuan, dressed in a dark robe and with a slightly pale face, frowned, a hint of anger appearing on his face. "This little girl from Ge Li is going too far."

As he muttered to himself, the Martial Uncle of Zong Zhen and the others, a renowned expert of the Jingshen lineage, had purple auspicious light glowing beneath his feet. But then he suddenly turned around.

"Senior Brother Ming Yuan." Duan Tianya, dressed in a black robe with a perpetually cold expression, stood on a treetop not far behind him, his gaze also falling in the direction of Luo Bei and the others. "It's not bad for the children to spar a bit. We can't have them being as lifeless as us, can we?"

"Junior Brother Duan, your cultivation has advanced again," Ming Yuan said after observing Duan Tianya for a moment, then sighed slightly. "It seems our new disciples from Jingshen might still not be able to win against your Ge Li disciples this time."

"Senior Brother Ming Yuan, you are too fixated," Duan Tianya said to Ming Yuan. "However, mutual encouragement is not necessarily a bad thing."

"Junior Brother Duan is right," Ming Yuan smiled and, in the setting sun, flew to Duan Tianya's side, standing beside him. "For these twelve years, I've always wanted to surpass you."

A red light shot up from beside the iron chain bridge on the mountainside, which was already shrouded in a light mist. The dozens of auspicious lights that suddenly exploded dyed Duan Tianya's cold face red.

Ming Hao had released the Flying Flame Talisman, signaling all Ge Li disciples to return for assembly.

***

"Junior Sister Cai Shu, is that Zong Zhen badly hurt?"

"Why do you care if he lives or dies? He won't die. At most, his nose will be a bit crooked later, making him look ugly, hehe."

"This... Junior Sister Cai Shu, are we robbing them?"

"Pah, do you want it or not? If you don't want it, then throw away the Ci Tong Grass and the Yimu Green Lightning Talisman."

"Throw them away... then it's still robbery. Forget it, I'll keep them to study."

"You're not that foolish, are you?"

"Senior Sister Cai Shu, how do you use this Yimu Green Lightning Talisman? Is it like the Flying Flame Talisman, where you just drip a drop of fresh blood on it before you have any Dao power to use it?"

"Honestly, aren't you annoying, always asking questions. Aren't you supposed to have the best talent, so why don't you understand anything? Do you think your fresh blood is a universal key that works for every talisman? Anyway, just remember, this Yimu Green Lightning Talisman is quite a powerful talisman. I don't know how that kid got it. Hmm, to put it this way, this isn't a talisman that can be easily learned like the Flying Flame Talisman. I suspect even someone with Martial Uncle Ming Hao's cultivation level would find it difficult to resist, so you better hide it well. As for how to use it, Martial Uncle Ming Hao and the others will teach you later..."

"Senior Sister Cai Shu, what Dao technique did you just use to injure Senior Brother Zong Zhen?"

"Luo Bei, you're so annoying! Why are you like Senior Sister Yanran, asking about everything? Fortunately, you're not like her and prone to getting starstruck..."

"Senior Sister Cai Shu..."

"So annoying! Aren't you thirsty?..."

During the cautious return journey, Cai Shu kept frowning and calling Luo Bei annoying. However, no matter how much she complained about him being bothersome, she never told Luo Bei to stop talking to her.

Meanwhile, some disciples who had already returned to the iron chain bridge, including Ming Hao who was waiting there, were astonished to hear Luo Bei calling out to Senior Sister Cai Shu. "How come Cai Shu is letting him call her Senior Sister and she's not even angry?" What surprised them even more was seeing Cai Shu and Luo Bei appearing almost shoulder-to-shoulder in their line of sight.