Too Lazy to Entangle

Night fell, and Maple Mountain was crisp with cold.

On his way back, Li Qingyun took a stroll through the rear mountain Dining Hall late at night and, just before it completely closed for the day, picked up a portion of free food.

It was not that he could not afford it, but that he had come too late. The "delicacies of mountain and sea," Spirit Rice Porridge, and the like had long since sold out.

Li Qingyun made an unexpected discovery as well.

A dozen or so temple disciples he had never seen before had also arrived at the Dining Hall just as it was closing, hoping to get free meals.

Sure enough, their Daoist robes were worn and faded, their expressions haggard and dejected. They were all down-and-out idle disciples.

They even looked at Li Qingyun, this new face in the late-night Dining Hall, with pity!

It was as though they were saying, "Alas, another brother in misery..."

By the time he returned to the Bamboo Lodge, it was already deep into the night, and lamplight glowed inside.

Li Qingyun pushed open the door and found that He Xiao had indeed returned.

Yet that fellow looked at him with a face full of envy and jealousy.

"Qingyun, I truly envy you. You've latched onto Senior Brother Zhao's thigh. This ghost-suppressing mission to Yinshan Town stirred up the entire temple, and you got to ride along and earn contribution points for free!"

A faint scent of powder and perfume wafted from He Xiao's body. It seemed that he was becoming ever more like a fish in water working at the Hall of Seeking Offspring.

He then walked over to Li Qingyun's wooden bed. Unable to hide his jealousy, he pointed at a brand-new white Daoist robe embroidered with thread atop it and cried exaggeratedly:

"Just now, Senior Sister Lu Liqian paid a late-night visit and brought this new robe for you, Junior Brother. Tsk, tsk, this workmanship, this fabric, and above all, this thoughtfulness!"

"Junior Brother, tell your Senior Brother here—what exactly is Senior Sister Lu thinking, treating you with such tender concern and deep care..."

The air in the room was thick with sourness.

"Hmm?"

Li Qingyun looked over, his expression shifting slightly. He walked over and picked up the new white robe on the bed. It felt fine and soft, made from superior material.

Then he looked at the desk. The change of clothes he had left there before going to the Scripture Repository had also disappeared.

A small note lay on the desk, its handwriting graceful and lovely: Qingyun, I took your robe to wash it. The one on the bed is newly made by me. Junior Brother Zhao said you performed quite well on this trip down the mountain. Keep it up!

Senior Sister Lu, Senior Sister Lu, what exactly did you mean by this!

He had only just arrived, yet this senior sister was caring for him so thoroughly. Was this not a little excessive?

And Zhao Yifan was rather loyal too. He had not revealed much about Li Qingyun's true circumstances.

"Why does this feel a little like when men and women dated in my previous life..."

His thoughts raced. Li Qingyun acted as though he had not heard He Xiao's sour remarks, but he swiftly began analyzing Lu Liqian's intentions.

Where there was something strange, there was bound to be a demon at work!

"Could Zhao Yifan have let something slip, mentioning some of my performance in Yinshan Town? Is that why Lu Liqian made this move with intentions written all over it?"

Thinking of this, he found it both amusing and speechless.

When he had first come up the mountain, Lu Nanling had been extremely cold toward him.

"Forget it. This new white Daoist robe should stay in the drawer. I can't wear it. Wearing it would mean accepting and tacitly acknowledging something, when there clearly isn't anything..."

With a casual wave of his hand, he moved his spiritual power. The drawer slid open on its own, and the white Daoist robe fell inside.

Then he climbed onto the bed and sat cross-legged in meditation, directly where the robe had been folded moments before.

"Eh? Could it be that you've reached Great Accomplishment of Qi Sensing, Junior Brother? Your use of spiritual power is so adept too?"

Seeing this, the sour-faced He Xiao shuddered, his jealousy now mixed with shock.

"No wonder Senior Brother Zhao was willing to take you down the mountain..."

He Xiao muttered to himself.

"Senior Brother He." Li Qingyun looked over calmly. "I may move out tomorrow. We were roommates once, so I have something to say. Listen if you are willing; if not, let it pass through your ears as though you never heard it."

The scene of the ruined temple flashed through his mind, along with the Cai Family of Luoshui young mistress's alluring bearing.

"We were born with deficient aptitude. Since we came up the mountain and entered the temple, we ought to cultivate diligently. Some things may be done, while others must not be done. On this trip down the mountain, I encountered the young mistress of the Cai Family of Luoshui midway. The jade pendant hanging at her waist looked somewhat familiar..."

"Brother He, Lingbao Temple's good name must not be tarnished!"

After saying this, he gave the drastically changed He Xiao a deep look. Then he ignored him, opened the newly copied booklet containing the subsequent essentials of the Precious Furnace Qi Absorption Art, and began reading it carefully beneath the orange-yellow glow of the copper lamp on the desk.

Without realizing it, his ties to Lingbao Temple had grown deeper and deeper. Naturally, he did not wish to see He Xiao commit filthy acts that would damage the temple's reputation.

If He Xiao listened, then so be it. If he did not, calamity would not be far away!

"What Junior Brother says is right. I will certainly set my attitude straight and learn from you..."

He Xiao's expression changed several times. After standing there for a long while, he finally gave Li Qingyun, who was meditating, a deep bow.

This roommate who prided himself on being romantic finally settled down. He went to his own desk, picked up his talisman brush, dipped it in ink, and began tracing lines, intending to finish the two yellow talismans that had been left idle for so long.

Seeing Li Qingyun, whom he had once somewhat looked down upon, suddenly achieve Great Accomplishment of Qi Sensing and wield spiritual power with such finesse, He Xiao felt pressure as immense as a mountain.

Especially since Li Qingyun's tone had clearly indicated that he already knew of some of the things He Xiao had been doing at the Hall of Seeking Offspring.

At that moment, He Xiao abruptly felt that the youth seated in meditation before the oil lamp, reading with a scroll in hand, resembled a towering mountain, carrying an indescribable, faint majesty!

On the surface, Li Qingyun was studying the fourth through sixth layers of the Precious Furnace Qi Absorption Art, but in secret, he was inwardly observing the mysterious Daoist effigy in his mind.

The effigy lowered its brows and cast down its eyes. The booklet floating before it had also changed to the fourth through sixth layers of the Qi Absorption Art.

Threads of familiar clear qi continuously escaped from above the effigy's head.

Specks of spiritual power sprang forth within Li Qingyun's body, warm and tingling, making his body and mind feel as though they were soaking in a hot spring.

He sensed that the "bottleneck" of the third layer of Qi Refining had been shattered in an instant.

His spiritual cultivation slowly broke through, pressing toward the fourth layer of Qi Refining!

The next morning.

Li Qingyun stopped meditating, a trace of weariness between his brows.

He first cast a Cleanse Technique on himself, and his body immediately felt much fresher.

Zhao Yifan came looking for him early in the morning. Smiling cheerfully, he handed Li Qingyun ten spirit stones and said that another hundred temple contribution points had already been transferred to his disciple token.

Within the temple, contribution points were equivalent to assets such as spirit stones and gold or silver. They could be used to buy pills and spells, hire Daoist masters for guidance, commission the forging of Dharma artifacts, and more. Some unpublicized thresholds also tacitly required a certain number of contribution points.

Li Qingyun accepted them with a smile and saw his senior brother out.

He Xiao, awakened by the noise early in the morning, saw Li Qingyun receive so many benefits and saw how warm and friendly Zhao Yifan was, treating Li Qingyun completely as an equal. He immediately grew envious and jealous, while also feeling deeply stirred.

After Zhao Yifan left, He Xiao quietly slipped out as well, found a secluded hilltop, and gathered qi to cultivate.

He had finally awakened to the truth: without sufficient cultivation, he was nothing at all!

At noon, Li Qingyun rose and left the room, heading for the Patrol Monitor Steward's hall.

"There are twenty-four furnaces' worth of spiritual power accumulated in my qi sea. The day after tomorrow, I should nearly reach the fourth layer of Qi Refining! I'll go to the rear mountain Patrol Monitor hall now and inquire about an independent residence."

As his cultivation continuously increased, Li Qingyun was no longer suited to living with others. Otherwise, it would be easy for his true circumstances to be exposed.

The matter of Lu Liqian delivering a Daoist robe late last night also left him uneasy.

Rather than be "harassed" by this senior sister whose motives were unclear, he might as well leave and seek some peace and quiet.

This poor Daoist wishes only for the eternal companionship of a green lamp. As for such lingering affection, I truly have no fortune to enjoy it. Senior Sister, you should go plague more outstanding senior brothers instead...