A Brief Respite

Shen Yuxi returned to Spirit Pool Peak after finishing his lesson.

He left behind a group of disciples staring at one another, their faces full of bewilderment and their eyes brimming with confusion and helplessness. Clearly, they had been utterly lost throughout the lesson and understood nothing at all. When class ended, they instead felt the liberation of having been reborn.

They cast pitiful looks toward the elders, silently pleading for help. The elders naturally understood that the disciples had essentially attended this lesson for nothing.

It was not as though they could not simply cancel the classes originally assigned to Shen Yuxi, or arrange for other senior brothers and sisters with slightly inferior cultivation but more stable teaching styles to replace him. Yet making such a change without reason would far too easily arouse everyone's suspicions. Shen Yuxi in particular—once he grew suspicious, more trouble would likely follow. That was precisely the outcome they needed most desperately to avoid.

Thus, when True Person Yu Qing noticed this thorny predicament, he frowned slightly, a trace of contemplation flashing through his eyes. Then, without giving anything away, he conveyed a message to the disciples with his gaze: overcome it yourselves.

The disciples all sighed mournfully, as though all the mindset lessons they had missed over the past several years had been forcibly made up by their second senior brother. Left with no choice, they could only quietly adjust their mindsets and brace themselves for the coming "trial."

After class, dusk gradually deepened. A faint, elusive fragrance drifted from the spirit plants, swaying gently with the evening breeze and flowing along the bluestone paths.

Zhou Wen and Li Ming walked side by side, slowly making their way back to their residences as they discussed what had happened in class. Their shadows were stretched long and thin by the setting sun.

Li Ming casually rested both hands behind his head and looked up at the clouds burning crimson beneath the evening glow. Then he suddenly chuckled. "Heh, I really never expected it. Second Senior Brother usually looks so steady and dignified, but deep down, he's actually such a chatterbox.

"Just the things he said praising Eldest Senior Brother in class today—if they were all compiled into a book, it would probably be even thicker than the scriptures in the Scripture Pavilion. The contrast with how he usually acts is just too great."

Zhou Wen frowned slightly at this. His fingers unconsciously smoothed out nonexistent wrinkles on his sleeve—this compulsive little habit exposed his inner disapproval.

"Do you truly think those Heart Voices are Second Senior Brother's true face?" he asked softly, a hint of probing in his voice.

Li Ming turned sideways, recalling the scene in class. His tone was certain. "Isn't that so? Those extravagant praises and wild, unrestrained metaphors couldn't possibly have been put on, could they? Who would put on an act even when speaking their own thoughts?"

His face was full of utter certainty, as though the question did not deserve to be doubted in the first place.

Zhou Wen halted, his expression turning serious, his gaze earnest. "That isn't what I mean. I only think that the most reliable basis for knowing a person is still what they do."

He paused. Though his voice remained quiet, it carried an unarguable resolve. "Heart Voices are ultimately just fleeting thoughts, and they cannot be taken as fact. Second Senior Brother's focus and seriousness when teaching, his guidance during the Outer Sect Grand Competition—those tangible actions are what he truly is. Even if his thoughts are somewhat uninhibited, it does nothing to diminish his character."

After hearing this, Li Ming scratched his head. After thinking for a moment, he seemed to have been awakened by Zhou Wen's words. He gave Zhou Wen's shoulder a heavy slap and said loudly, "You're right! What someone mutters in their heart is their own business. What matters is whether they can be relied upon when it counts!"

The corners of Zhou Wen's lips rose slightly as he subtly shifted half a step aside—Li Ming's slap had been too heavy and knocked his neatly arranged collar crooked.

As he methodically straightened his robe, he said earnestly, "No matter what others say, in my heart, Second Senior Brother has always been someone worthy of my admiration."

"Speaking of which, I never expected Second Senior Brother to admire Eldest Senior Brother so much," Li Ming said with feeling, a trace of curiosity slipping into his eyes.

"Eldest Senior Brother has always been outstanding among the outstanding, exceptional both in cultivation and in the way he conducts himself. It is only natural for Second Senior Brother to look up to him."

Zhou Wen chuckled, his fingers still carefully arranging his collar. "Come to think of it... Eldest Senior Brother probably heard those Heart Voices from Second Senior Brother the clearest."

"Ha ha ha!" Li Ming suddenly burst into uninhibited laughter. "Did you see Eldest Senior Brother's face then? His expression was still fairly calm, but the tips of his ears were red all the way through! It felt like Eldest Senior Brother wanted nothing more than to dig a hole on the spot and bury himself in it!"

Zhou Wen laughed as well and asked, "If it were you, wouldn't you feel embarrassed too?"

"Me?" Li Ming immediately straightened his back, his face brimming with pride. "I'd be overjoyed. I'd turn around and praise Second Senior Brother fiercely right back."

Zhou Wen could not hold back a laugh. "Then perhaps Second Senior Brother would be the one blushing."

"Right? Right? That's what I think too!"

The two exchanged smiles, startling several spirit sparrows resting by the roadside into flight. Dusk deepened further, and lights lit up one after another in the disciples' quarters, gently blending their shadows together.

Chu Shihan truly could not calm his turbulent thoughts. He wished he could immediately enter a closed-door seclusion, only emerging once he could steadily deal with his second junior brother's fanatical remarks. Yet at this moment, the one more troubled was True Person Yu Qing.

Originally, learning so suddenly that his eldest disciple, Chu Shihan, was Heavenly Dao's Son should have been a momentous delight worth celebrating grandly. After all, Shen Yuxi's mysterious and miraculous predictions had never been wrong thus far. After being verified time and again, the elders had already come to believe seven or eight parts out of ten in his prophecies.

Moreover, True Person Yu Qing knew full well that the many strange circumstances surrounding his beloved disciple Shen Yuxi were inextricably tied to the magical treasure, the Heaven-Peeking Treasure. For that very reason, he trusted Shen Yuxi's words even more deeply, practically treating them as settled conclusions.

Yet before he could properly savor that joy in his heart, another headache-inducing problem came crashing in after it like surging waves.

No matter how much he thought about it, he could not have imagined that Shen Yuxi, the disciple he had always doted on, had already given his heart to someone—and that person was none other than the sect's eldest disciple, Chu Shihan.

He weighed and considered it again and again in his heart, sinking into deep conflict. He truly could not make up his mind whether he ought to bless this special yet troublesome affection.

Although he was conflicted over Shen Yuxi and Chu Shihan's feelings, the matter of the sect's eldest disciple possessing extraordinary fortune was indeed a cause for celebration for the entire Profound Heaven Sect. When the elders learned of it, none could conceal their smiles, as though they could already see a still more glorious future for the Profound Heaven Sect.

As the elders listened to Shen Yuxi's Heart Voice, their emotions rose and fell uncontrollably with those outrageously absurd remarks. At times, they were so astonished that their eyes widened in shock; at other times, they could not suppress their laughter. Yet just as everyone's emotions heaved like stormy waves, True Person Yu Qing noticed something unusual about Seventh Elder True Person Yulan.

Faced with Shen Yuxi's Heart Voice, which was so absurd this time and produced one explosive revelation after another, True Person Yulan's emotional shifts were not obvious. Even the entire process of his changing emotions appeared stiff and unnatural, clearly half a beat slower than everyone else's.

True Person Yu Qing's heart abruptly skipped a beat, and he immediately kept his guard up.

On the surface, his expression remained as usual as he chatted and laughed amiably with the other elders. In truth, however, his gaze would occasionally sweep over Seventh Elder when no one was paying attention, attempting to catch even the faintest clue from his somewhat unnatural expression.

True Person Yu Qing secretly pondered, Why was Junior Brother acting so strangely?

From then on, every day Shen Yuxi taught was like a heart-pounding trial of mindset for the disciples. Meanwhile, those inner sect disciples who loved ferreting out fresh news and craved the first bite of gossip naturally would not miss such lively excitement. One after another, they joined the lectures under the banner of "wanting to improve."

In order to keep Second Senior Brother from discovering their true intentions, these disciples went to great pains. They even attended the classes of the other senior brothers and sisters as well. Reviewing the basics was not entirely without benefit, but concentrating fully on the lesson while also pricking up their ears to catch gossip amid Shen Yuxi's disorderly Heart Voice was truly no small test of spiritual strength.

Just as everyone in the sect was being tormented to exhaustion and utter weariness by Shen Yuxi's Heart Voice, which flowed on without end like a mighty river, a piece of news suddenly exploded among the disciples like thunder in spring—Fifth Senior Brother was returning!

That news was like a ray of dawn piercing the darkness, and in an instant, everyone felt as though they had found a savior.

After all, listening to Shen Yuxi's Heart Voice truly was like being in hell most of the time. Those uninhibited, wildly rushing inner thoughts came flooding in like a tide that blanketed heaven and earth, leaving people with no time to respond and no ability to withstand them.

Yet the occasional bombshell that erupted from those Heart Voices was like irresistible honey, radiating a charm that no one could resist. Who could help but delight in it?

For that reason, the disciples endured torture while also enjoying those occasional "surprises," suffering and rejoicing at once. No matter how miserable the torment made them, they stubbornly insisted on staying near Second Senior Brother, all for the chance to catch more jaw-dropping, explosive revelations.

But now, the circumstances were completely different—Fifth Senior Brother was coming back!

Just what sort of person was this Fifth Senior Brother? Allow me to explain in detail—

This Fifth Senior Brother was named Lin Huaixu, the prized disciple of the late Eighth Elder. Since childhood, he had indulged in gambling halls and pleasure houses, cultivating a carefree and romantic temperament. In the gambling halls, he was a figure of great renown, proficient in cards, dice, and lots alike. In the pleasure houses, he was also a rather famous storyteller, and with that silver tongue of his, he knew not how many listeners he had charmed.

However, what truly made his name travel far and wide was his extreme passion for gossip. Within the Profound Heaven Sect, he could be called the "Little Prince of Gossip." From the lofty sect elders above to the big yellow dog silently guarding the gate below, there was no gossip about them that Lin Huaixu could not uncover.

At the same time, anything he learned would, within half a day, spread through every corner of the sect as though it had sprouted wings, from the towering main peak to the remote side chambers, leaving nowhere untouched.

For that very reason, with him around, the disciples would never miss a single amusing tidbit of gossip, even without deliberately clustering around Second Senior Brother. The disciples even joked that when it came to gossip, Fifth Senior Brother possessed divine powers like a deity: nothing in heaven or earth could escape his eyes and ears, and there was nothing he did not know.

At that time, the afterglow of the setting sun had gilded the entire sect in a soft layer of gold. Lin Huaixu was humming an off-key tune as he leisurely strolled back toward the sect. Several blades of grass, picked up from who knew where, still clung to the hem of his moon-white robes, swaying gently with his steps.

At that moment, he was considering the fresh tales he had gathered during this trip, thinking of sharing them with his fellow disciples once he returned, when the sect master's familiar voice transmission suddenly sounded beside his ear:

"Qingyang, come see me in the quiet chamber immediately upon your return."

Lin Huaixu stopped short. The folding fan in his hand snapped against his palm. He raised a brow slightly and muttered to himself, "Strange. I haven't even entered the mountain gate yet. Why is he in such a hurry to find me?"

His eyes rolled around as he casually brushed the grass scraps from his lapel. Then he started up the mountain, still muttering nonstop, "Did they catch me for some trouble I caused before?"

Though a trace of doubt flickered through Lin Huaixu's heart, he had always been carefree and easygoing, so he did not dwell on it. After all, the sect master occasionally summoned him in ordinary times to assign miscellaneous sect affairs, so he assumed this time would be no different.

Before long, Lin Huaixu arrived at the quiet chamber. Inside, sandalwood incense curled upward, its elegant fragrance pervading the air and giving the place a tranquil, peaceful atmosphere.

Yet after listening to True Person Yu Qing's account, Lin Huaixu's peach blossom eyes opened wider and wider. His face first showed utter disbelief, then he let out a snort of laughter, delight blooming across his whole face. "I was only gone for a while, yet something this wonderful happened to Second Senior Brother? Such excitement—"

As he laughed, he slapped his thigh. Before he could finish speaking, True Person Yu Qing flicked his sleeve, and a streak of golden light plunged into his throat.

"Silencing Spell. I strengthened its effects. Do not cause trouble."

True Person Yu Qing knew his gossip-loving nature like the back of his hand, and he truly could not rest easy. He feared Lin Huaixu would spread Shen Yuxi's matter across the world, needlessly giving rise to countless unnecessary troubles.

Lin Huaixu touched his throat and blinked, a crafty glint flashing through his eyes. He suddenly showed a wicked grin and whispered in a breathy voice, "Sect Master~ Then it's fine if I tell the Spirit Cranes by the mountain gate, right?"

He looked exactly like a mischievous child, clearly knowing it could not be done yet insisting on testing the boundary.

"Qingyang!" True Person Yu Qing made as though to knock him on the head, his face full of helpless exasperation.

Lin Huaixu nimbly jumped away, the smile still hanging on his face. He hurriedly cupped his hands in salute and put on a sincere expression. "This disciple was wrong! I promise to keep my mouth shut!"

Having said that, he darted out like a cheerful deer, utterly unconcerned that a spell had been cast on him right in front of him.

I can't tell outsiders, but chatting with my own junior brothers should be fine... Lin Huaixu schemed inwardly. Now that he knew there was something exciting to watch, how could he possibly miss it? Without another word, he turned and hurried toward Spirit Medicine Peak.

The instant Lin Huaixu left, True Person Yu Qing watched his receding back and suddenly felt his temples throbbing. An inexplicable unease surged into his heart, leaving him unable to settle.

He knew Lin Huaixu's temperament too well. Although, because his beloved disciple's Heart Voice had leaked, he had specially improved the Silencing Spell so it would only affect outsiders to the sect and Shen Yuxi himself, and had strengthened its silencing effect, Qingyang had always been exceptionally clever and full of crafty ideas. There was no guarantee he would not find some loophole to exploit.

"No, I need to keep an eye on him." With that thought, True Person Yu Qing pondered briefly, swept his sleeve to put away the tea set, and gradually faded from sight as though blending into the air. In the end, he decided to secretly follow Lin Huaixu, just in case, ensuring things would not spiral out of control and head toward an irreparable outcome.

Meanwhile, Lin Huaixu had already skipped his way halfway up the mountain. In no hurry, he gathered all the recent gossip in the sect as he walked. When he passed the foot of Spirit Martial Peak, he even gave a mysterious smile to some passing outer sect disciples, frightening them into quickening their pace and hurrying away.

He stroked his chin and calculated, "Should I find Second Senior Brother first, or tease Eldest Senior Brother first? Ah, what a sweet dilemma~"