Unexpectedly, My Cousin Actually Is

"Senior Sister Sun, we're almost there." Pei Ling clutched the Aversion to Life Saber, his heart filled with surprise and uncertainty. He quickly hid behind a nearby tree, and then heard someone anxiously shout, "This time, we must catch that good-for-nothing Pei Hong Nian!"

"Right! He absolutely has to apologize to Senior Sister properly!"

"Just apologizing isn't letting him off easy enough, is it? He needs to take out all the subsidies the Pei Family gave him and buy that Moonlight Skirt for Senior Sister!"

Amidst the chatter, a group of five or six people appeared in view. They were several outer disciples, all around twenty years old, surrounding a young girl in a pink skirt.

The young girl had a decent figure and a pretty face. She was dressed in a way that made her look pitiful, yet her expression was quite haughty.

"Junior Sister Yinglan, is that you?" Before Pei Ling could decide how to react, Pei Hong Nian, who had just scrambled to his feet nearby, rushed over with a pained expression. "Why did you have that phoenix attack my paper boat? You know all my spirit stones these past few years have gone to buying you talisman tools, and this paper boat was made by my mother saving up for a whole year, secretly hiding fifty spirit stones..."

Before he could finish, Sun Yinglan raised her hand and slapped him.

Pei Ling: "..."

The people who came with Sun Yinglan applauded and cheered, even egging Sun Yinglan on to hit him a few more times.

Pei Hong Nian, having been slapped in public, didn't get angry. Instead, he said mournfully, "You always treat me like this, you..."

"You had a chance to go out on official business with inner disciple Senior Brother Zheng, and when you came back, you even rode True Inheritor Fairy Li's Xuan Gu Ling Yin Boat. Why didn't you take me?!" Sun Yinglan interrupted him with a spoiled tone. "You don't have me in your heart at all!"

"It's not like that..."

Sun Yinglan interrupted him again. "You keep saying you like me, you keep saying you'd do anything for me. And what happened? When you had the chance to get close to an inner disciple senior brother, when you had the chance to get noticed by Fairy Li, you only thought of yourself! I'm so angry, and I didn't directly attack you, I just took it out on your paper boat!"

"And you?"

"A mere paper boat worth fifty spirit stones is more important to you than I am!"

"You heartless, ungrateful wretch!"

The more she spoke, the angrier she became. She couldn't help but swing her hand for another slap—but before it could reach Pei Hong Nian's face, someone grabbed her wrist from the side, holding it firmly and preventing her from striking again.

Pei Ling glanced at Pei Hong Nian speechlessly, then said calmly to Sun Yinglan, "Isn't it enough that my cousin has spent all his spirit stones these past few years buying talisman tools for you? You're not even married into the Pei Family yet, isn't this behavior a bit too unsightly?"

Although his relationship with Pei Hong Nian was just average, and his cousin had even tried to trip him up on the Xuan Gu Ling Yin Boat, he had just arrived and still needed Pei Hong Nian's help to find lodging. He didn't have time to watch a gold digger play her games.

"You!" Sun Yinglan was also at the fourth level of Qi Condensation. She struggled but couldn't break free. Her expression changed slightly, and she looked at Pei Hong Nian. "Who is he?! Are you just going to watch someone from your clan bully me?!"

"Pei Ling, let go quickly!" Pei Hong Nian didn't disappoint her and immediately shouted, "Don't be disrespectful to Junior Sister Yinglan!"

Then, he turned to Sun Yinglan and said ingratiatingly, "This is my branch cousin. He's young and ignorant. Junior Sister Yinglan, please don't take it to heart!"

What the hell? I never realized this Sect Son was such a simp back in the clan!

Pei Ling released his hand. Sun Yinglan's eyes flashed with ferocity, and with a slight movement of her fingertips, she actually intended to slap him too.

Seeing Pei Ling raise his head and stare at him coldly, and recalling Pei Ling's previous words and actions, which showed him no courtesy at all, his heart faltered. He didn't dare, and instead unleashed his pent-up anger on Pei Hong Nian, shouting, "As the Sect Son of the Pei Family, you can't even control a branch cousin? You're doing this on purpose!!!"

Pei Ling patiently stood by and watched Pei Hong Nian grovel for a long time. Finally, Pei Hong Nian agreed not to cultivate for the next month and to focus solely on drawing talismans for Sun Yinglan before the matter was barely settled... He seemed to understand why his cousin, despite having decent talent and being sent to the Chongming Sect early, with the family also finding ways to save resources to support his cultivation every year, had his cultivation easily surpassed by himself...

Damn it, this idiot is beyond saving!

"Follow this direction out of the woods, and you'll see a road. Walk up the mountain along the road, and you'll find the Affairs Hall of Huaiyin Peak. You can choose a place to stay there yourself." Pei Hong Nian had appeased Sun Yinglan and had no intention of bothering with his cousin anymore. He casually told him, "I live in the southern part of the peak. There's a big locust tree in my courtyard. If you need anything, come find me. I'll take Yinglan Junior Sister back first."

Pei Ling, who had been impatiently waiting, didn't need him to say it a second time. He turned and left.

After walking a distance, he could still hear Sun Yinglan deliberately pouting loudly, "I don't like your cousin. You're not allowed to help him anymore!"

Pei Hong Nian: "Okay, okay... I'll listen to you!"

Pei Ling: "..."

Damn it, you're really beyond saving!

A while later, he found the Affairs Hall. The male disciple in charge listened to his request, first sizing him up from head to toe, and then led him to a large sand table in the inner room, saying with a smile, "Junior Brother, it's not the time for new disciples to join the sect. Although there are residences, they are uneven. You look like a talented individual, Junior Brother. Ordinary residences have insufficient spiritual energy, which might delay your cultivation?"

"Thank you, Senior Brother." Pei Ling naturally wanted a better place to stay, but he didn't have a single spirit stone in his pocket right now. He could only pretend not to understand the hint, "I come from a poor background. As long as I have a place to stay, it's fine."

The male disciple asked persistently, "Not a single spirit stone? Some places seem similar, but you only realize the difference after living there for a while. It's not me bragging, but the entire Huaiyin Peak..."

"How about Senior Brother lending me a spirit stone?" Pei Ling thought for a moment and asked, "I promise I will definitely..."

"Then you can stay here. Just use your nameplate to open the restriction after you get there." The male disciple pointed to a location on the sand table without another word and inputted a spell into Pei Ling's nameplate, "Alright, that's it. You can leave if there's nothing else!"

Seeing the Senior Brother's attitude, Pei Ling was mentally prepared to be assigned a dilapidated shack. To his surprise, when he arrived, although it was some distance from other houses, the surrounding vegetation was lush, a stream gurgled in front of the door, bees and butterflies danced, creating a picturesque scene of mountains and water.

The house itself was also bright and clean, swept spotless.

Was he judging a gentleman with a villain's heart?

Or was the Chongming Sect so wealthy that even the worst residences were up to this standard?

Pei Ling was a little confused but too lazy to think further. He took out his nameplate, opened the restriction, and walked in. He saw that the furnishings inside were luxurious. Judging by the arrangement of items, three people already lived here, and none of them were present.

He looked around briefly, then eagerly took out the Sect Rules.