The Tian Siblings

"Many thanks to Brother Li Li and Brother Li Qing. It's getting late, so get some sleep early."

Returning to the courtyard, Ling Qing and his companion bid farewell to the Li Family Uncle and Nephew.

Although they were uncle and nephew, the elder was not much older than the two of them, and the younger was not much younger.

Neither side could bring themselves to address the other as uncle or nephew, so they simply addressed each other as equals.

After saying goodbye, Ling Qing and his companion returned to their dormitory, where Zhu Guang had already arrived.

"Where did you two run off to? I couldn't find a trace of you anywhere in the courtyard."

Sitting behind a desk, Zhu Guang, who had just finished drawing a talisman, looked up and asked.

"We went for a stroll with the Li Family Uncle and Nephew. Why? Was the kitchen work easy?"

The two responded, and as Zhang Zhe tidied his bed, he asked casually.

"Easy? There's no such thing as easy work here!

You have no idea; it's not just exhausting, it's endless. I couldn't stop for even a second.

It was just like climbing the mountain yesterday—by the end, I was working in a complete daze."

Zhu Guang was busy packing away his cinnabar and yellow paper, but upon hearing their question, he opened the floodgates and began pouring out his grievances.

"Isn't chopping and carrying firewood the same for us? Why don't you ask Senior Brother Zhang to let you come chop wood with us?"

Ling Qing washed his hands, wiped his face, dried off with a towel, and looked at Zhu Guang with a smile.

"No way, I know that firewood isn't ordinary."

As soon as Zhu Guang heard this, he shook his head vigorously. "When I was helping Senior Brother carry the wood today, I nearly ran my legs off.

I don't know if it's the stove or the wood itself.

It's so heavy and hard, yet it burns so fast. The wood I hauled until I was half-dead wasn't even enough for one fire."

"But the Li Family Uncle and Nephew are actually quite decent." After some lighthearted banter, they returned to the topic of the Li Family Uncle and Nephew who had tipped off Ling Qing and his companion.

Li Li had taught them to put their full effort into the work, so he must have known the secret behind it.

Whether he discovered it himself or heard it from someone else, given his temperament and perseverance, it was impossible for them to return empty-handed in this dungeon.

"No wonder Senior Brother Zhang watches me like I'm a thief. So that's what it's all about."

Listening to the method the two described, Zhu Guang said thoughtfully.

Ling Qing and Zhang Zhe exchanged a glance, feeling a bit helpless.

It seemed Senior Brother Zhang really had taken a liking to this fatty; otherwise, he would have just told him the secret without needing to keep such a close eye on him.

After all, the fatty wasn't the only one working in the kitchen.

By now, the three of them had cleaned up and were sitting on their respective cushions, facing the wall with their backs to the door.

"The stars of the Supreme One shine above, responding to changes without pause;

Expelling evil and binding demons, protecting life and guarding the body;

Wisdom is bright and pure, the heart and spirit are at peace;

The three souls remain eternal, the spirits never lost or scattered."

With Ling Qing leading, the three began their evening prayers.

Although it might have differed slightly from formal morning and evening rituals, Ling Qing did it to increase his skill proficiency, and he had also grown accustomed to it.

Zhang Zhe and the other were half-accompanying him and half-doing it for their own benefit.

It was not yet "Ren Ding"—the modern equivalent of nine o'clock—and reciting the divine incantation helped them sleep.

After one round of the incantation, a sense of peace and harmony lingered in their minds.

Lying on their beds with few thoughts, they drifted off to sleep before long.

The next morning, after finishing their morning prayers, they went back to chopping wood and helping in the kitchen as usual.

However, it was tough for Zhu Guang; the result of being favored by Senior Brother Zhang was that he was dragged to the kitchen to help before the sun had even risen.

They had to prepare breakfast for the senior brothers on the mountain in advance, after all.

Two or three days passed this way, and people arrived one after another.

There were not only those with talent but also those from the dungeon who were seeking immortality and the Way.

Whenever someone arrived, the Master would ask, "Can you endure hardship?" and anyone who answered "Yes" was accepted.

Even if the Master saw that someone couldn't handle the hardship, he would at most offer a hint, never turning them away.

Of course, there were departures as well; those who couldn't stand the poverty and labor on the mountain could say they wanted to leave, and the Master would not hold them back.

He would only offer a parting word to "abandon evil and follow good" before letting them go.

However, so far, the talented individuals who had arrived first had only been on the mountain for a few days, and none of them were thinking of leaving yet.

On the contrary, some who had been on the mountain for years could no longer endure it and had headed down.

On this day, while Ling Qing and his companion were eating dinner, they encountered two familiar faces.

Since neither side had much to say in the cafeteria, they simply nodded to each other, finished their meals in a hurry, and walked out together.

"Why did you two arrive so late?" Zhang Zhe asked impatiently the moment they stepped outside.

"On the way here, Tian Ying ran into a female sword immortal and spent a few days learning some swordsmanship from her, which delayed us," Tian Yong explained with a smile, clearly quite happy about his sister's stroke of luck.

The two were none other than the Tian siblings.

They had entered dungeons together many times before, but they usually started at the same location and never ended up too far apart even if they were separated.

It was nothing like this time, where it took over half a month for them to finally meet.

Although Zhang Zhe hadn't said anything, he had been worried about them the entire time.

"Not bad, Tian Ying," Zhang Zhe said, looking at Tian Ying with some surprise.

Ling Qing also looked toward her; everyone naturally envied the ability to ride a sword and fly through the heavens.

As the saying goes: Travel the world in half a day, no need for phoenixes or dragons to ride. A casual game of chance sends the divine sword flying, shattering the highest peak of Zhongnan. Morning in Northern Yue, evening in Cangwu, a green snake in the sleeve emboldens the spirit. Three times I entered Yueyang, yet no one knew my face, chanting aloud as I flew over Dongting Lake.

Unable to help himself, he asked, "Have you mastered it?"

"Not yet. My master was in a hurry, so she only taught me the basics, though she did pass down the method for practicing the sword," Tian Ying said with a shy smile. "But some parts are too profound, and I still don't understand them."

She was still that same simple, honest girl.

"That doesn't matter. Once you have the method, you can just practice diligently in the future," Tian Yong comforted her, with Ling Qing and Zhang Zhe chiming in from the side.

"Isn't that why we came to Mount Lao? To seek the Way? Once you've read more scriptures and your skills have deepened, you'll naturally be able to understand it."

"Exactly. The masters and senior brothers in the temple aren't just for show; if you're stuck, just go ask someone."

Tian Ying nodded happily and said, "Mm, my master also said I could ask one of the senior brothers in the temple for guidance."

Originally, the two were just offering words of comfort, as both immortals and mortals alike guarded their own cultivation techniques very closely.

Except for personally initiated disciples, outsiders were generally not allowed to see them.

If one were to show them to an outsider without permission, it would be considered a taboo.

Even if you didn't care, the person you asked for advice might look down on you in their heart.

They might think you are untrustworthy and lacking in integrity—if you took a technique learned from someone else to ask them for advice today, would you take the technique they taught you and trade it with someone else tomorrow?

Even in modern times, when exchanging for secret manuals from the Special Affairs Department, one must sign various agreements based on the provider's requirements, such as non-disclosure clauses.

Although you could choose not to comply, if the Special Affairs Department found out, it would be difficult to exchange for anything else in the future.

At the very least, you would have to compensate for the Special Affairs Department's losses first.

However, it seemed likely that the sword immortal was well-acquainted with the senior brother in the temple, which was why she didn't mind; it was simply Tian Ying's own stroke of fate and luck.