Senior Brother Will Protect You!

Great Bamboo Peak.

Shou Jing Hall.

"Go on."

"If you can't refine the medicinal energy, don't come out and embarrass yourselves."

Once he had figured everything out,

Tian Buyi waved his big hand as if shooing away flies.

He seemed annoyed, but was actually urging them along.

Song Daren and the others looked as though they'd been granted a pardon.

They clutched the jade vials in their hands tightly, afraid that if they were even a step too slow, some of the medicinal energy would evaporate.

"Mom, let's go too."

Tian Ling'er tugged at Su Ru's sleeve, her little face full of eagerness.

Su Ru shook her head helplessly and tapped her daughter on the forehead, though her gaze was gentle enough to melt.

"Now, now. Take it slow."

Su Ru turned to Tian Buyi and gave him a slight nod, then led Tian Ling'er to the rear hall.

In the blink of an eye,

the once-bustling Shou Jing Hall had fallen quiet.

Only Tian Buyi, seated in a Grand Tutor Chair, Ye Xuan, standing off to the side to watch the show, and the two bewildered Lin Jingyu and Zhang Xiaofan remained.

The empty hall felt a little strange.

Tian Buyi lifted his teacup to his lips but didn't drink.

His ears twitched slightly.

His attention had long since drifted to the courtyard behind the hall, to the rooms where several of his disciples were.

"Master?"

Ye Xuan called out.

"Are you trying to summon my soul?"

"I'm not deaf."

Tian Buyi's hand shook, and a few drops of tea spilled out.

He immediately put on a stern expression, set the teacup down hard on the table, and glared at Ye Xuan.

"Your two junior brothers are still waiting for you to teach them."

Ye Xuan shrugged.

That was what they called getting angry out of embarrassment.

Then,

Ye Xuan pointed at the two little boys standing awkwardly in the middle of the hall.

Lin Jingyu was doing all right.

Though a little nervous, he stood ramrod straight, with a sharpness about him.

Zhang Xiaofan was far worse.

He hunched his shoulders, avoided eye contact, and clutched the hem of his clothes so tightly that his knuckles had turned white.

Tian Buyi followed Ye Xuan's finger and looked over.

When his gaze fell on Lin Jingyu, his expression softened a little.

The child had an exceptionally fine constitution and was a promising candidate for cultivation.

Though he couldn't compare to the monstrous Seventh, he was still among the best of this generation of Qingyun Sect disciples.

But when Tian Buyi's gaze shifted to Zhang Xiaofan,

his brows instantly knitted into a knot.

Dull.

Far too dull.

"Hmph."

Tian Buyi snorted.

Forget it.

Since the boy had joined the sect, he was one of Great Bamboo Peak's people.

No matter how poor he was, he was still Tian Buyi's disciple.

"You two, step forward and listen."

Tian Buyi gathered himself, sat up straight, and assumed the air of a stern master.

Lin Jingyu tugged at Zhang Xiaofan, who was still spacing out.

The two hurried forward and knelt on the prayer mats.

"Once you join Great Bamboo Peak, you must abide by its rules."

"Today, I will teach you the first level of the Tai Chi Xuan Qing Dao."

Tian Buyi's booming voice echoed through the hall.

"The Tai Chi Xuan Qing Dao is the foundation upon which our Qingyun Sect was founded. It seizes the creations of heaven and earth and fathoms the principles of yin and yang..."

He began reciting the dry, obscure incantation.

Every word contained spiritual energy, making the two boys' eardrums buzz.

Lin Jingyu listened intently, excitement shining in his eyes.

Zhang Xiaofan, on the other hand, looked utterly lost. He clearly couldn't understand a word.

Ye Xuan leaned against a nearby pillar, watching the scene with bored indifference.

There was something strangely familiar about it.

When Ye Xuan had first joined the sect, his chubby master had recited the text in just the same way, with a solemn expression.

Only,

Ye Xuan keenly noticed

that Tian Buyi was clearly not himself today.

He'd gotten the words wrong.

"Draw spiritual energy from heaven and earth into the body, then circulate it through the great circuit..."

"No, it's sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth..."

Tian Buyi paused, corrected himself as if nothing had happened, and continued reciting.

He hadn't gotten through two more lines

before he stopped again.

His gaze drifted outside the hall once more, and his fingers tapped unconsciously against his knee.

The rhythm was quick.

His impatience was showing.

"Master."

"If you're worried about Senior Brother and the others, why not go check on them?"

Ye Xuan couldn't stand watching any longer and couldn't help interrupting.

He knew full well that there was no way anything could go wrong with the Foundation Replenishing Pills he'd concocted.

After all, he'd taken Foundation Replenishing Pills himself—several at once, no less.

But Tian Buyi didn't know that.

It was understandable that he'd worry about Song Daren and the others.

"Who's worried?"

"Seventh, stop talking nonsense!"

"I'm just..."

"I'm thinking about how to explain the intricacies of meridian circulation to them!"

"Those good-for-nothings aren't going to eat themselves to death just because they took a pill, are they?"

Tian Buyi was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, bristling in an instant.

He whipped around, eyes wide as saucers.

He was stubborn.

The classic case of a duck refusing to admit it was wet.

Ye Xuan pursed his lips but didn't call him out.

Though Tian Buyi cursed up a storm, deep down, he cared about his disciples more than anyone.

"Fine, fine. Carry on."

Ye Xuan spread his hands, inviting him to proceed.

After Ye Xuan interrupted him, Tian Buyi no longer felt like teaching.

"That's enough."

"Have you memorized the incantation?"

He looked at the two little disciples kneeling on the ground and waved a hand in annoyance.

"I've memorized most of it,"

Lin Jingyu answered with a nod.

"Th-this disciple is foolish. I... I didn't memorize it."

Zhang Xiaofan's face had gone pale, and he stammered out his answer.

Tian Buyi felt a headache coming on.

They'd both grown up eating rice, so how could they be so different?

"Seventh!"

"You're a senior brother now. I'll leave your two junior brothers' introductory lessons to you."

"I have important matters to attend to."

Tian Buyi didn't want to look at this block of wood any longer, so he dumped the task on Ye Xuan.

With that,

before Ye Xuan could agree,

Tian Buyi strode toward the rear hall in his characteristic bowlegged gait, hurrying along.

He moved so fast that he stirred up a gust of wind.

In the blink of an eye, he was gone.

"Important matters?"

Ye Xuan looked at Tian Buyi's retreating figure and chuckled.

These "important matters" probably involved going to protect his disciples while they cultivated.

That chubby man.

His tsundere act was adorable.

"All right."

"Little Eighth, Little Ninth."

"Take your Marrow Cleansing Pills first."

"Your senior brother will protect you."

"Once you've finished refining the pills, your senior brother will teach you how to cultivate."

Soon,

Ye Xuan turned his gaze toward Lin Jingyu and Zhang Xiaofan.

The two little ones hadn't received Foundation Replenishing Pills.

But they had Marrow Cleansing Pills.

The Marrow Cleansing Pill was naturally inferior to the Foundation Replenishing Pill.

But for two children who hadn't begun cultivating, the Marrow Cleansing Pill was more suitable.

"Yes, Seventh Senior Brother."

At Ye Xuan's words,

Lin Jingyu nodded first and sat cross-legged on the ground.

Zhang Xiaofan followed his example.

Under Ye Xuan's watch,

the two little ones took out their Marrow Cleansing Pills and swallowed them.

Then...

Then Ye Xuan left.

As the one who had concocted the Marrow Cleansing Pills,

Ye Xuan knew exactly how they worked.

Their effects were gentle and completely harmless.

Even a newborn baby could take a Marrow Cleansing Pill without a problem.

Under the circumstances,

there was no need to protect them at all.

Most importantly,

the Marrow Cleansing Pills would expel the impurities from the body.

The smell...

Tsk, tsk...