Lu Xun looked at Second Senior Sister's Wooden Hairpin, and his thoughts began to wander further and further astray.
He thought about how, after Second Senior Sister pinned up her hair, she relied on that Wooden Hairpin to hold it in place. Did that mean... if Second Senior Sister used her Wooden Sword, her long black hair would come loose and flutter in the wind?
The more he thought about it, the more vividly the image formed in his mind.
Lu Xun and Mao Nanbei did not stay in the Bamboo Forest for long. After bidding Second Senior Sister farewell, they returned to the Small Study.
Having satisfied her appetite and eaten her fill, Mao Nanbei was in an excellent mood, skipping along as she walked.
Her feline instincts were still very much intact, and she loved darting about everywhere.
Other than refusing to let Lu Xun pet her fur, she really did make him feel like he was raising a Cat-Ear Girl.
When they passed the jujube tree, she picked several more dates, wiped them on the hem of Lu Xun's robe, and started eating them.
Whenever she ate, she wore an expression of pure enjoyment, as if she were very easily satisfied.
Usually, she was as lazy as a puddle of mud, yet she was remarkably diligent when it came to eating.
She perfectly embodied the saying: good for nothing, first place at mealtime.
Not long after they returned to the Small Study, the Demon Sect Master, Shen Yan, came by.
He had been visiting the Back Mountain rather frequently lately, mainly to probe indirectly—when Little Martial Uncle broke through to the second layer of the Qi Devouring Art, just how many qi seas had he seen?
He had a wager going with several Peak Lords. Everyone had bet quite heavily, and he had been hoping to make a tidy profit.
But as the master of a sect, he could not act as though he had too much free time, even though he truly was not all that busy... Thus, every time he came to the Back Mountain, he had to find a reasonably plausible excuse.
For instance, his excuse this time was that the Outer Sect Elders were organizing the Outer Sect Disciples for a training exercise, and he had come to ask whether Little Martial Uncle was interested in joining.
There were mainly two kinds of training exercises for Outer Sect Disciples. One took place within the sect, such as sparring matches or challenges through restrictions. The other involved training down the mountain.
Put simply, they were somewhat like regular school examinations.
Being an Outer Sect Disciple was, in truth, much like attending school.
Disciples who performed especially well could even receive rewards, such as pills or Magic Tools.
Logically speaking, although Lu Xun was still in the midst of cultivating the Qi Devouring Art and was even weaker than many Outer Sect Disciples, his status was what it was. He should not participate, nor was it suitable for him to do so.
If he performed well during the exercise, that would seem difficult, considering how short his cultivation time had been.
If he performed poorly, that would be rather embarrassing, given that he was Teacher's disciple and the Little Martial Grand-Uncle of the Demon Sect Disciples.
But Shen Yan merely wanted an excuse to come to the Back Mountain and chat with Lu Xun, so he had never intended to let Lu Xun go.
If not for the fact that this training exercise was somewhat special, he would have felt too embarrassed even to use such a clumsy excuse.
As Lu Xun listened to Shen Yan's explanation, he had initially been nodding repeatedly in a perfunctory manner, pretending to listen attentively. But as he nodded, he suddenly froze.
"It actually triggered a task." Lu Xun immediately brightened up.
Thinking about it carefully, this was a training exercise for the Outer Sect Disciples, but in game terms, was it not simply a task?
After carefully checking the task details, Lu Xun was somewhat confused.
The task itself was simple: take a brush, then write and draw with it. The only unusual part was... this brush had once belonged to Teacher.
Other than that, there was nothing particularly special about the task. On the contrary, it vaguely seemed rather absurd.
An Outer Sect Elder would lead a group of disciples, who would stand in a line and take turns going up to pick up the brush and draw... Just imagining it felt absurd.
There would certainly be quite a few Outer Sect Disciples taking part in this exercise. The one at the very back of the line would probably have to wait an awfully long time...
Still, since it was called a training exercise, the process could not possibly be that easy. There had to be something hidden within it.
Although the task did not state it outright, the generous reward of one thousand Experience Points could not possibly be easy to obtain.
The task requirement was merely to pick up that brush and keep drawing for five minutes, after which it would be complete.
Clearly, there was definitely something wrong with that brush.
Most interestingly, this task had a completion percentage. Lasting five minutes only counted as 20% completion, while lasting twenty-five minutes counted as 100%.
In other words, 20% completion awarded one thousand Experience Points. If he completed it fully, that would be five thousand Experience Points!
For Lu Xun, five thousand Experience Points were far too tempting! It was equivalent to two hundred and fifty days of hard cultivation!
Driven by his desire for Experience Points and his curiosity about Teacher's brush, Lu Xun said, "Sect Master, I would like to participate in this training exercise."
This surprised Shen Yan somewhat.
He had only been looking for an excuse to fish for information, yet Lu Xun had genuinely become interested.
Since Little Martial Uncle was interested, what else could he do?
Make the arrangements!
As for the probing that followed, Lu Xun had already built up resistance. No matter how Shen Yan tried to sound him out, he simply deflected everything.
Seeing not even a single qi sea would be far too embarrassing. Ever since the Demon Sect was founded, he was probably the first.
But asking him to lie with his eyes open and boast that he had seen a qi sea as vast as a great river... he certainly could say it.
But he was afraid of digging a hole for himself, so it was better to remain silent.
Speak less, scheme more. That was the way to last.
When Shen Yan saw that Lu Xun refused to answer, he knew this wager was as good as void. Thinking of the five hundred Spirit Stones he had already paid in, his heart ached.
Lu Xun, on the other hand, was in a fine mood. He currently had 150/1000 Experience Points, and meditating every day only earned him twenty points. It was dull as could be. Having a task to do could not be better.
Besides, he had not seen Ji Li in a long time. This Outer Sect task would be the perfect chance to see her.
He had promised back then that he would visit her, but in reality, he had not gone even once.
Heh, men.
"It's about time I went to the Outer Sect and relaxed a little," Lu Xun thought.
On the Back Mountain, there were only him and his two Senior Sisters. He was the Little Martial Brother and also the weakest in cultivation, so he had no status whatsoever.
He could not even sleep properly at night. He still had to "enjoy" Second Senior Sister's loving lashes, with that sword intent stabbing through him again and again. His bedsheets got drenched dozens of times a night. Life was a little rough.
But once he left the Back Mountain, things would be different. Ordinary disciples would have to call him Little Martial Grand-Uncle when they met him. He could also see Ji Li, so it would not seem like he had gone back on his word.
Besides, bullying Ji Li was inherently a thing that brought joy to both body and mind.
When it came to bullying people, one had to pick soft persimmons to squeeze. Ji Li was an especially good persimmon—soft, easy to squeeze, and with an excellent feel.
At the thought of this, a warm smile appeared on Lu Xun's handsome face.
Thank you all for your generous tips and votes this week. We are currently first on the signed-contract rankings, which feels pretty great. As expected, I like being on top.
And now, let me recommend a book, "Outstanding Young Man of Great Ming." A shameless bit of mutual promotion, you know how it is.
Before you continue