Qin Ye made no attempt to hide anything. He recounted the whole incident, then said with a guilty expression, "The Ten Thousand Army Demon Subduing Staff is too fierce, and it's difficult to rein in. Even the slightest leak of force could hurt someone. I'll never use this staff technique to spar with my fellow disciples again."
Li Qingqiu's expression remained calm. "How badly was he hurt?"
"His face is swollen."
"Then you really do owe him an apology. How could you hit someone in the face? If you'd hurt him somewhere else, he could cover it with his clothes. But if you hurt his face, his master is bound to find out."
Li Qingqiu's words left Qin Ye stunned. He hadn't thought of that. Hearing his master say it, he felt even more guilty.
Li Sifeng, who was still standing at attention as punishment, chuckled. "Third Senior Brother's pretty petty. You're done for. Maybe he'll come after you and avenge his disciple himself."
Qin Ye wasn't frightened. Instead, he said earnestly, "I'm willing to accept Third Junior Uncle's punishment."
Li Sifeng pursed his lips and muttered that Qin Ye didn't know what he was getting into.
Once Li Qingqiu understood what had happened, he didn't dwell on it. "Since the other party proposed the spar, you did nothing wrong. Just be careful with your strength from now on. Third Junior Brother is proud; he won't come after you. But Xue Jin will definitely try to get his pride back. Just watch out for him when he does."
In a sparring match, injuries were inevitable. Li Qingqiu truly didn't think this was a big deal. They couldn't very well forbid the disciples from sparring altogether.
Qin Ye had won, but Li Qingqiu didn't praise him. He also felt Qin Ye needed to get better control of his staff technique. The other disciples weren't as tough as Xue Jin.
Even so, Qin Ye still seemed hesitant. He even offered to apologize to Third Junior Uncle, so Li Qingqiu kicked him and sent him flying.
"Don't make this any worse. Get lost!"
Li Qingqiu snapped. Qin Ye flew two zhang before slamming into the wall and finally coming to a stop.
He landed in the corner, feeling as if his insides were churning and his whole body ached. Inwardly amazed at his master's strength, he quickly got up and took his leave.
Li Sifeng turned to Li Qingqiu and clicked his tongue in wonder. "Eldest Senior Brother, is the staff technique Wu Baoyu taught him really that powerful? That's not good. Qingxiao Sect needs its own martial arts that can outshine the Ten Thousand Army Demon Subduing Staff."
"Hmph. Take care of yourself first. Stand up straight!"
Li Qingqiu snorted. He walked over to Li Sifeng and kicked him in the backside. In an instant, a wave of pain struck, making Li Sifeng's face change. He nearly dropped to his knees.
He had turned Origin Energy into internal force in that kick, targeting the pain points in Li Sifeng's leg and leaving him in unbearable agony.
"Are you going to bully the disciples again?"
"I only asked him to teach my class for me. How is that bullying?"
"Could he refuse you?"
"Well, I suppose he could..."
Li Qingqiu kicked him again. Li Sifeng grimaced in pain and hurriedly apologized, swearing he wouldn't dare do it again.
At dusk, in a courtyard, the young Bai Ninger sat at a table with one hand propping up his cheek, gazing at the distant mountains as his thoughts drifted.
A disciple hurried into the courtyard carrying four wild rabbits. He walked up to the table and said with a grin, "Hu Feng, today's haul: four wild rabbits, all five jin apiece."
Bai Ninger came back to himself. He picked up his brush and began recording the tally in the booklet before him. "Why is it rabbits again? Are you trying to eat every rabbit in the mountains?"
"The Tai Kun Mountain Range is enormous. There's no way we can catch all the rabbits. Even if we get rid of the ones here, rabbits from somewhere else will come to graze. Besides, I never see you hold back when it's time to eat rabbit meat."
Hu Feng grumbled. Seeing Bai Ninger carefully record his contribution, stroke by stroke, he immediately broke into a broad smile.
"Tie them up before you put them down, then you can leave."
Bai Ninger reminded him. Hu Feng answered and carried the rabbits over to the space behind Bai Ninger. The courtyard was already piled with plenty of flowers, fruit, and game, all brought in by the disciples.
Bai Ninger's job was to record everything each day. Having someone keep track of it helped the disciples stay motivated.
After Hu Feng left, Bai Ninger slumped over the table and couldn't help sighing.
When would this sort of life finally end?
He had been assigned there by his senior brother because he had studied writing from a young age and was physically weak. Of course, the bigger reason was that the senior brother wanted more time to practice martial arts. His senior brother usually took good care of him, so he couldn't refuse.
Now, apart from morning drills, he spent most of every day in this courtyard. It was truly boring.
As Bai Ninger sighed, the stink of urine wafted over, making him frown. He didn't even need to turn around to know a wild boar had peed.
He had to wait for the other disciples to come take away the game, then clean the courtyard. Only after that would his work for the day be done.
Wild boar tasted delicious, but he truly hated the live ones. They were dirty and smelly, and they loved to snort and grunt.
Qingxiao Sect was a martial sect with a great demand for meat, so plenty of disciples were assigned to hunt. They brought in game every day. Whenever Zhang Yuchun went down the mountain, he bought dried or cured meat. The villagers below sometimes traded meat for other food, too. As a result, Qingxiao Sect's disciples might not eat meat at every meal, but they could at least taste it every day.
When he had first come up the mountain, he'd been impressed by this treatment. But as time went by, he grew dissatisfied again. He wanted to practice martial arts.
Bai Ninger reminisced about the past to pass the time.
By the time dusk was falling, five disciples finally entered the courtyard. The moment he saw them, Bai Ninger cheered, gathered up the booklets from the table, and ran out.
The five disciples were used to this by now. They began sorting through the piles of game and grain in the courtyard.
Once he was out, Bai Ninger skipped and bounced his way up the mountain. He planned to slack off that night and clean the courtyard first thing in the morning. It was too much work for him alone. He had to go complain to his senior brother and get him to help.
"Little brother up ahead, please wait."
A woman's voice came from behind. Bai Ninger stopped and turned around, seeing two women walking along the mountain path.
The woman in front wore green and was petite. At first glance, she looked barely fifteen or sixteen. Her delicate, adorable face was framed by two braids, and Bai Ninger's eyes lit up when he saw her.
The woman behind her wore a long, plain white robe and a light veil over her face. A long wooden case was strapped to her back. She carried herself with poise, and her bright, captivating eyes made it clear that she was the one in charge.
Visitors from below the mountain?
Bai Ninger was curious, but not nervous. If he shouted, other disciples would come running. Besides, the two women didn't look like bad people. They even seemed as though they couldn't hurt a fly.
When the two women came closer, Bai Ninger asked, "Who are you?"
The woman in green smiled. "My name is Su Xiling. My young miss's surname is Zhu. We were introduced by Liu Fanzhou, and we'd like to speak with your sect master about something. Could you show us the way?"
She wasn't much taller than the fourteen-year-old Bai Ninger, so he wasn't very wary of her.
"Liu the rich man? He's a great person. He had people build this mountain path. Come on, it's almost dinnertime, so the sect master should be easy to find."
Bai Ninger agreed at once, waved them over, then turned to lead the way.
Su Xiling and the woman in white followed close behind. Su Xiling was clearly interested in Qingxiao Sect and began asking Bai Ninger questions.
He could tell they were all trivial questions: whether it was usually quiet there, whether many martial artists came and went, and whether bandits ever came up the mountain. He answered each one.
As they walked, they passed other Qingxiao Sect disciples. The disciples all asked who the two women were. Once they heard Bai Ninger mention Liu Fanzhou, they understood and didn't stop them.
After the time it took to burn a stick of incense, they reached the courtyard at the highest point. Bai Ninger spotted Li Qingqiu sitting at a long table and hurried over to introduce the two women.
"Thanks for your hard work. Have dinner here tonight. Find yourself a seat."
Li Qingqiu reached out, ruffled Bai Ninger's hair, and smiled. Then he got up and walked toward the two women.
Bai Ninger was delighted and foolishly rubbed his head.
With his back to him, Li Qingqiu opened the Legacy System and saw that this Lucky person's loyalty had gone up by one point. He smiled with satisfaction.
Children were so easily touched.
Li Qingqiu came to stand before Su Xiling and the woman in white, then smiled. "Since Brother Liu introduced you, shall we go inside and talk?"
Su Xiling nodded, and the two women followed Li Qingqiu into the newly built main hall in the courtyard. Its doors stood open.
Li Qingqiu had only just sat down when Su Xiling came to his side. She took a brocade pouch from her sleeve and set it on the table. Then she untied it, revealing gold, silver, and jewels.
"My young miss heard from Liu Fanzhou that Qingxiao Sect is a quiet place, far removed from worldly affairs, so she'd like to stay here for two years. We won't freeload."
Su Xiling spoke softly. Her bluntness made Li Qingqiu glance at the woman in white.
The woman stood with the wooden case on her back, quietly watching him without saying a word.
Li Qingqiu didn't agree right away. Instead, he asked, "May I ask why you want to stay here? Qingxiao Sect is indeed a place for quiet cultivation, but we're wary of trouble as well."
Su Xiling answered, "The Imperial Court is currently suppressing the rebels on a massive scale, and nowhere is peaceful. Only the Tai Kun Mountain Range is relatively safe. My young miss is a renowned scholar from Guzhou named Zhu Yan. She has never cared for fighting. You must have heard of her."
Li Qingqiu truly hadn't heard of her. He usually only paid attention to matters of the martial world and knew little about the literary world.
"In that case, I'll agree."
Li Qingqiu hesitated for a moment, then smiled and got up to lead the way.
After leaving the hall, he called over a disciple to arrange lodgings for them.
As he watched the two women walk away, Li Qingqiu couldn't help sighing. The martial world really was full of masters.
Zhu Yan seemed like a refined, scholarly person, with no martial strength at all. In reality, her Internal Energy was no weaker than Yang Jueding's when he had first come up the mountain.
Her servant, Su Xiling, was even more astonishing. The depth of her Internal Energy was the greatest he had ever seen, stronger even than Lü Taidou of the Seven Peaks Alliance.
With martial skills like theirs, no wonder they had made it up the mountain safely. They had simply cultivated some kind of secret technique that concealed their Internal Energy, so none of the disciples along the way had seen through them.
Li Qingqiu smiled and headed for the dinner table, ready to eat.
In the days that followed, the clear, melodious sound of a zither often drifted through the mountains, giving the disciples plenty to talk about.
When Zhang Yu learned that Zhu Yan had arrived, he was so excited that he wanted to visit her. But Su Xiling stopped him.
Only then did Li Qingqiu believe that Zhu Yan really was a renowned scholar. In this world, anyone who played the zither was no ordinary person. Besides, Zhang Yu was usually so proud, and this was the first time Li Qingqiu had seen him lose his composure like that.
Thanks to Wenren Fu for the 100 Qidian coins!
Two updates and 6,500 words during the new-book period. That's not slow!
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