The Demon's Sleeping Posture

"Oh! Tell me! What tasty things are there?" Sixth Senior Brother was in charge of the meals, so he cared quite a bit about food.

"Hmph! Who has time to worry about that now? Help me wake this fatty up first, or just drag him to the dining hall." Tian Linger tugged a few more times with all her might. Maybe he was stuck in the doorframe, because he didn't budge an inch.

"Did Little Junior Brother get rounder again?"

"Haha!" At that, everyone burst out laughing. Tian Buyi didn't particularly mind his own hefty build, but he still didn't like hearing the word "fat" from other people. Little Junior Brother was sensitive about that word too.

Tian Buyi simply disliked it, though deep down he did care a little about his figure. Luo Yunji, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. He loved his chubby body, especially his soft, round little belly.

But considering Master Tian Buyi's preferences, it was Fourth Senior Brother He Dazhi who came up with the idea of using "round" in place of "fat."

"No wonder I can't drag him!" Tian Linger let go of the quilt in her hands, a little dejected.

"Little piggy! Time to get up!" Second Senior Brother Wu Dayi walked over and crouched down. He reached out and patted Little Junior Brother on the bottom, calling to him, but got no reaction at all.

Wu Dayi shook his head with a smile, then picked him up off the ground.

"Oof! He really has gotten a lot heavier!" Wu Dayi hefted him and laughed.

Then he carried him back to the room. Before long, he came out carrying Luo Yunji, who was dressed but still fast asleep.

"Let's eat breakfast first. I'll take you to the Back Mountain today!" Wu Dayi said with a smile to Zhang Xiaofan.

"Where's Eldest Senior Brother?" Usually, Eldest Senior Brother took them to the Back Mountain.

"Senior Sister Wen Min is here." Sixth Senior Brother grinned mischievously. The few who knew the truth all wore equally sly smiles.

"Oh! No wonder!" Tian Linger suddenly understood.

Only Zhang Xiaofan was still completely at a loss. As for Luo Yunji, who hadn't woken up, he had no interest in any of this. In the eyes of his fellow disciples, his mind held nothing but food and sleep.

At the table, Tian Buyi looked at his youngest disciple, whose head was knocked against the tabletop and who was still fast asleep. His teeth ground with anger. He kept rubbing his hands on the table, wondering whether he should beat the boy awake.

The others wanted to laugh but didn't dare, and were having a hard time keeping it in.

After breakfast, Wu Dayi carried Luo Yunji, with Tian Linger and Zhang Xiaofan following behind him and Big Yellow darting back and forth ahead of them, as they headed to the Back Mountain.

"Is this the place?" Wu Dayi had been at the sect for over a hundred years and hadn't visited the bamboo grove where he'd once practiced his basic skills in a long time.

"It's farther ahead! There's still a ways to go before we reach the spot where Little Fatty sleeps," Tian Linger replied.

"Does Little Junior Brother really never do his lessons?" Wu Dayi still found it hard to believe.

"I've been chopping bamboo for almost three years, while this lazy fatty has been sleeping for three years," Tian Linger said indignantly.

When she'd learned from Su Ru that this lazy fellow had already cultivated the Taiji Mystic Purity Dao to the fifth level, she'd been utterly crushed.

"Little Junior Brother really is a monster!" Wu Dayi sighed, echoing Sixth Senior Brother.

"There!" They passed a few clusters of bamboo. The sound of water could be heard faintly, and a huge stone came into view among the grove.

"This really is a good place. Much better than the bamboo grove I picked for practicing back then!" Seeing the scene before him, Wu Dayi couldn't help but feel wistful. This had been where he rested after finishing his lessons. More than a hundred years had passed in the blink of an eye, and he found himself missing the place.

"Do you want me to come get you when you're done?" Wu Dayi laid the sleeping Luo Yunji down on the huge stone.

"No need! By then, this Little Fatty will have woken up on his own!"

"All right, then I'll head back first. You should finish your lessons and come back early, too."

After Wu Dayi had gone some distance, Zhang Xiaofan finally asked curiously, "Senior Sister, why not let Little Junior Brother sleep in his room?"

Zhang Xiaofan watched Luo Yunji sleeping soundly on the huge stone and thought, He really can sleep!

"Well, about that! My father actually gave his tacit approval. And the senior brothers all want to mess with this lazy fellow, even if it doesn't have any effect. My father hopes that one day Little Junior Brother will suddenly start finishing his lessons on his own. As for the senior brothers, Little Junior Brother's cultivation is so freakish that they're jealous and want to bully him a little, I guess." Tian Linger started laughing at her own explanation.

"You call that bullying?" Zhang Xiaofan didn't quite understand.

"Actually, Little Junior Brother's cultivation is a bit baffling. My father doesn't know how to explain it either, because none of us have ever seen him cultivate. So my father concluded that it might have something to do with his usual routine. That's why things are like this." Tian Linger pointed at Luo Yunji, sleeping on the huge stone, and explained it to Zhang Xiaofan.

"You can improve your cultivation just by sleeping?" Zhang Xiaofan felt that cultivation wasn't as difficult as Eldest Senior Brother had made it sound.

"Hmph! What did you think? Haven't you heard what the senior brothers call him behind his back? It's—Little... De... mon! All right, hurry up and do your lessons." With that, Tian Linger went off to find her target and complete her own lessons.

Zhang Xiaofan also put his thoughts aside and went to look for his own target.

Since Black-Joint Bamboo was used for the first three years of training, it couldn't be an ordinary plant. No matter what stance or method Zhang Xiaofan tried, he couldn't leave the slightest mark on it. Instead, the bamboo sprang back and whipped him across the forehead, raising a huge bump. Rubbing his forehead and baring his teeth in pain, he noticed from the corner of his eye that the figure that should have been there had suddenly disappeared.

Zhang Xiaofan jolted and hurried over.

Sure enough, Luo Yunji was gone from the huge stone. Zhang Xiaofan circled it once but couldn't find him. Then he looked into the lake—and nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Senior Sister! Senior Sister! Help!" Zhang Xiaofan shouted, nearly crying with panic. Luo Yunji was bobbing up and down in the middle of the lake. Without waiting for Tian Linger to come over, he hurriedly jumped into the water and swam toward the lake's center.

Fortunately, climbing trees and swimming had been essential pastimes for the children in his village, so Zhang Xiaofan was a decent swimmer.

Hearing the cries for help, Tian Linger dropped her hatchet and rushed over at full speed.

As soon as she rounded the huge stone, she saw a figure bobbing in the middle of the lake and Zhang Xiaofan struggling to reach Little Fatty. Luo Yunji's blue light kept knocking Zhang Xiaofan away, and he was already crying with panic.

"Junior Brother!" Caught up in Zhang Xiaofan's distress, Tian Linger began to feel uneasy too.

"Senior Sister! I can't... can't save Little Junior Brother! Wh... what should I do?!" Zhang Xiaofan sobbed at Tian Linger from the shore, but he still hadn't given up trying to touch Luo Yunji.

This was the first time anything like this had happened. Little Junior Brother had never slept so outrageously before. He'd somehow gone from sleeping on top of a tall rock to sleeping in the lake. But how had he even gotten down there? Seeing that the two in the lake weren't in immediate danger, Tian Linger let out a breath of relief. She turned to look at the huge stone, then at Luo Yunji in the middle of the lake, and suddenly grew curious.