Tongtian: Second Brother, I Was Wrong, Truly Wrong

Tongtian looked furious.

However, he seemed wary of something and did not dare say it to Nan Ji.

Nan Ji stared at Tongtian with wide eyes and said in disbelief, "What, Martial Uncle?"

Tongtian slapped his thigh in anger. "Those seven living beings I brought back have already been taken in as my attendants."

Fine.

The wheels of history had not changed after all. Though no one knew what had happened, Tongtian had still taken them in.

Nan Ji glanced at Tongtian and said, "Martial Uncle, I did beat those attendants, but they deserved it."

"Disciple, take out some of your Enlightenment Tea and give some to your Eldest Martial Uncle and me." Yuanshi silently cursed his younger brother for being an idiot, but wanted him to realize it himself, so he spoke to Nan Ji.

Nan Ji immediately looked troubled and said somewhat awkwardly, "That Enlightenment Tea... I gave it all to Ancestor Master."

Tongtian did not understand Yuanshi's meaning. Thinking that disciples were disciples and Nan Ji was Nan Ji, he shamelessly said, "Then, kid, take out your wine and let us have a taste. Earlier, just looking at it nearly had me drooling."

"Uh..."

Seeing Tongtian like this, Nan Ji felt nothing but guilt toward the Three Xiao Sisters and Zhao Gongming.

Why did this Martial Uncle... seem so improper?

Thus, Nan Ji asked with a sidelong grin, "Then, about beating your attendants..."

"They got beaten, so they got beaten. If I tried to beat you back, your master and eldest martial uncle would never let me off."

Tongtian scratched his head as he spoke.

Actually, there were two others he had not mentioned... one was that hot-tempered tigress in the back mountain, and the other was in the chaos.

"Mm..." Nan Ji did not immediately take out the Wine Crystal. Instead, his eyes shifted.

Then he smacked his lips and said, "Tongtian, you're a liar."

!!!

Those words stunned Tongtian, while Laozi and Yuanshi smiled. They had heard every word the Seven Attendant Immortals had said in Biyu Palace.

"L-Little Nan Ji, how can you speak of your Martial Uncle like that? I only... said a few things about you. Why slander me like this?" Tongtian said incredulously, his eyes wide.

But Nan Ji ignored Tongtian and put his hands on his hips again. "Maybe I should just leave. Why should I stay here and put up with this nonsense?"

Tongtian immediately rose to his feet. "Fine, Nan Ji, then leave! Go on, leave!"

Hearing Nan Ji's words, Tongtian was so angry his eyebrows nearly flew off his face. Yet before he could say anything, Nan Ji suddenly collapsed onto the ground.

"Ah, I can't go on living! Martial Uncle is insulting me!"

"There's no way to live!"

"Master, Eldest Martial Uncle, you have to stand up for me!"

Nan Ji dramatically flopped onto the ground, fiercely slapping his thighs with both hands as he wailed.

"You... you... utterly shameless!" Tongtian's face turned purple with rage as he pointed a trembling finger at Nan Ji.

Then Tongtian looked at Yuanshi with an aggrieved expression. "Second Brother, look at Little Nan Ji!"

Yuanshi continued looking at Nan Ji with a smile, saying nothing. Tongtian followed Yuanshi's gaze and saw that Nan Ji had returned to his usual appearance.

Seeing Tongtian looking at him, Nan Ji cupped his hands and said, "Little Martial Uncle, Nan Ji merely reenacted your fine attendants' performance on the spot. I did not tell you beforehand so you could have a more immersive experience."

Hearing Nan Ji's words and recalling Laozi and Yuanshi's expressions just now, Tongtian's face instantly looked as ugly as if he had swallowed a fly.

But Tongtian thought that he was still the martial uncle, so he said somewhat unwillingly, "Then... then you beat them too."

"Tsk tsk, Little Martial Uncle, have you ever seen a cooked spirit duck?"

Nan Ji's inexplicable question left Tongtian bewildered.

"No." Tongtian instinctively shook his head.

Nan Ji immediately used spiritual power to conjure a pot of cooked duck and pointed at it. "Martial Uncle, look!"

Seeing the tender, juicy duck meat steaming continuously in the boiling water, Tongtian could not help swallowing. "It should... taste pretty good."

Nan Ji looked speechless as he pointed at it. "Martial Uncle, look at its beak. It's already cooked, yet it's still so hard."

Tongtian was initially baffled, but then he understood. He pulled Nan Ji into his arms and pressed a fist against his head. "Well now, kid, you're mocking your Martial Uncle."

After Nan Ji broke free from Tongtian, he ignored him.

He took out the Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Exquisite Pagoda and said to Laozi, "Eldest Martial Uncle, the two Primordial Yin-Yang Flood Dragons inside have had their spiritual intelligence corroded by the Soul Slaying Staff. Their bodies and Yin-Yang laws seem extraordinary to this disciple, so I ask Eldest Martial Uncle to help refine them into treasures."

Feeling ignored, Tongtian angrily snatched the Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Exquisite Pagoda away.

"Little Nan Ji, your Eldest Martial Uncle excels at alchemy. Even outsiders know that, yet you do not." As he spoke, Tongtian looked at the two flood dragon corpses inside the exquisite pagoda.

Sure enough, even though Nan Ji had held back, they had still been beaten into a bloody pulp.

"This... Soul Slaying Staff..."

Tongtian could not help exclaiming in surprise after seeing it.

Then he noticed Laozi, Yuanshi, and Nan Ji all looking at him with smiles.

At that moment, how could he not understand that he, too, had been deceived by those seven attendants?

"Ah, Third Brother, you always say I nag too much."

"But look at these seven wretches. They truly are unworthy of being called human!"

Yuanshi said only those two sentences and spoke no more, causing Tongtian's face to flush at once.

Laozi merely shook his head and said with disappointment, "I told you to stay calm and not act rashly. Ah."

Seeing the disappointment in his two brothers' eyes, and with Yuanshi no longer nagging him, Tongtian panicked. "Second Brother, I was wrong. I was truly wrong."

Yuanshi did not answer. Tongtian looked at Nan Ji, who stood nearby with his hands behind his back, staring at the palace floor tiles, and knew that he had wronged this little martial nephew.

Thinking of how Nan Ji had once joined the Three Pure Ones' school, offered treasures, and even gifted them a palace, Tongtian felt especially guilty.

But Tongtian was an exceedingly proud man. He gave Nan Ji a fawning smile. "Little Nan Ji..."

"Oh, tsk tsk, Martial Uncle, this weapon of mine does not feel quite right in my hand. Help me refine it."

Nan Ji naturally knew Tongtian was embarrassed and did not wish to make things difficult for him, so he simply gave Tongtian a way out.

"Oh, right. I have another use for the Pangu's essence blood inside, so do not refine it in."

Nan Ji added.

"Sure!"

Tongtian happily accepted it.

Seeing that everything had come to an end, Nan Ji wrapped an arm around Tongtian just as Tongtian had done earlier. "Martial Uncle, you treat me well, and I treat you very well too."

"Huh?"

Tongtian did not understand what Nan Ji meant.

Then Nan Ji suddenly knelt down and said to Laozi and Yuanshi, "This time, while traveling to the East Sea, this disciple found disciples for Martial Uncle. I ask Eldest Martial Uncle and Master to forgive me."

Laozi naturally understood Nan Ji's actions. How could he not know Nan Ji's good intentions? Thus, he said, "You have worked hard."

Nan Ji had previously told the two of them that he intended to go to the East Sea and find some disciples of good character for Tongtian, and Laozi had agreed.

Yuanshi naturally knew why Nan Ji had gone to the East Sea. He nodded and said, "Their origins are not bad. They were transformed from innate clear wind and innate cloud qi, so they are decent enough."

Tongtian was utterly confused by their words and asked blankly, "What? What are you talking about? Why can't I understand any of this?"

Nan Ji did not immediately answer Tongtian. He cupped his hands toward Laozi and Yuanshi. "Then this disciple shall take his leave."

As he spoke, Nan Ji grabbed Tongtian and headed toward Changsheng Hall.

"Hey, Little Nan Ji, what are you doing? Tell me already."

Tongtian let Nan Ji drag him along and did not find it appropriate to break free, only asking curiously.

"Martial Uncle, this time your martial nephew found you disciples!" Nan Ji said to Tongtian with a mischievous grin.

"Ah, then your master surely..."

Tongtian's first thought was that Yuanshi would not agree, but recalling what had just happened, he immediately broke into a wide grin.

"You're quite capable, kid. Not bad."

Tongtian was extremely pleased that he could finally take disciples, but then he said reservedly, "Still, your Martial Uncle must test them. If they are not suitable..."

Not suitable?

Could they possibly be worse than your "seven-member zoo"?

Nan Ji could not help mocking him inwardly, but he said aloud, "Oh, Martial Uncle, there are four disciples. Take your time testing them."