Li Shouyi returned to the courtyard with those two thoughts in mind, his anger boiling over.
Seeing the two girls with their heads lowered and necks hunched, he snapped, "Look at you two! What kind of behavior is this, shrinking into your shells? Raise your heads, both of you!"
"Master, Senior Sister and I were just afraid of upsetting you!"
"And hunching your necks and lowering your heads will put me in a better mood?"
"What am I supposed to say to you? Especially you, Su Wan'er. I told you to build good relationships with your fellow disciples and properly study the magical treasure I gave you."
"But what did you do instead?"
"Master, was the Great Dao of Cause and Effect I comprehended wrong?"
That question left Li Shouyi speechless.
He couldn't very well say, "Just be good-for-nothing disciples and do nothing so I can finish my mission. Once I get my reward, I'll protect you both."
Seeing Su Wan'er's cautious expression, he gritted his teeth. "You ungrateful disciple, you dare talk back? Stay in the courtyard for the next two days. You're not allowed to go anywhere."
"Oh."
Su Wan'er answered, then pouted and headed toward her room, looking thoroughly dejected.
Li Shouyi was just about to ask Lin Shuishui what exactly had happened when a sudden clamor broke out outside the courtyard.
"Elder Li, your disciple Wu Suowei requests an audience."
"Get out of my way! I got here first! Elder Li, your disciple Wu Yifei requests an audience. Please accept me as your disciple!"
"You two brothers should be at the back of the line! Have you even looked at your own aptitude?"
"I got here first! I got here first..."
Li Shouyi frowned and walked out of the courtyard, only to find a scene that left him dumbfounded.
Dozens of disciples were arguing in a noisy crowd, all clamoring to become his disciples.
What was going on?
Li Shouyi was utterly bewildered.
"He's out! Elder Li's come out!"
The dozens of people who had been arguing immediately quieted down upon seeing Li Shouyi, then respectfully addressed him in unison. "Please accept us as your disciples, Elder Li!"
"You want to become my disciples?"
"Yes, Elder Li! We saw how astonishingly fast our two junior sisters progressed after studying under you for just a short time. That alone shows how incredible your teaching must be!"
"So please accept us as your disciples, Elder!"
Accept you, my fucking ass! Look at yourselves! You're either mediocre or highly talented. What use would accepting you be?
Before he could speak, two heads poked out from the courtyard gate. "Master, why not accept them? Then Senior Sister and I would have a few junior brothers and sisters!"
Li Shouyi immediately turned and glared at the two girls, then barked, "Get back to your rooms right now! You're not allowed out until the day of the competition!"
His words made Su Wan'er and Lin Shuishui shrink their necks in fright before scurrying away.
The disciples kneeling at the entrance watched him, their eyes shining.
They thought that Elder Li truly lived up to his reputation. His teaching was so strict! No wonder Lin Shuishui and Su Wan'er had progressed so quickly.
And each had comprehended an extraordinary divine ability, too.
This only strengthened their determination to become Li Shouyi's disciples.
"Elder, please accept us!"
Looking at the disciples, Li Shouyi's lips twitched involuntarily before he said sternly, "My energy is limited. Teaching two disciples is already my limit."
"Besides, some of you have already become disciples of other elders. Why switch to studying under me?"
"Leave at once. If you stay here and keep making a racket, I'll send you straight to the Law Enforcement Hall for punishment."
Seeing Li Shouyi's stern expression, the disciples were clearly reluctant to give up and still wanted to speak.
But Li Shouyi gave them a cold-faced "Hmm?" and those who had wanted to speak could only grit their teeth, turn around, and leave.
Once they were gone, Li Shouyi breathed a sigh of relief.
He wondered whether, after offending so many disciples at once, they would complain to the sect master.
But then he remembered that the day after tomorrow would decide whether he lived or died.
Why worry about all that?
He would be better off thinking about how to find himself a way to survive.
Then he turned into a streak of light and vanished from the spot.
He planned to try his luck farther afield. Right now, other than relying on the system, there was nothing he could do.
Not long after he left, the money-losing trio descended on their flying swords.
"Third Brother, is this the place?"
"Yes, Big Brother. This is Elder Li's cultivation residence."
"Second Brother, hurry up and knock."
The three straightened their appearances, then respectfully pressed the formation button on the gate.
It was much like a doorbell, used to alert the owner that someone had come to visit.
After the three waited for quite a while, Su Wan'er opened the gate and came out.
She frowned at them and asked, "Who are you looking for?"
Her question startled the three. Third Brother, the quickest to speak, hurriedly said, "Junior Sister Su, you just bet a hundred thousand Spirit Stones with us on Junior Sister Lin winning. Did you forget?"
"Huh? Did I?"
Hearing that, Su Wan'er rubbed her smooth little chin and frowned as she tried to remember.
After hearing Third Brother's words, Big Brother gritted his teeth, wishing he could strangle the idiot.
She clearly didn't remember, yet he just had to remind her that she had won money from them.
"Oh, oh, oh! I remember now! So the three of you came to deliver my Spirit Stones?"
After thinking for a while, Su Wan'er seemed to recall it, then grinned and held her slender hand out before the three.
This was her first time winning money. She couldn't have been happier.
"Uh, Junior Sister, we don't have that much money right now. Would this work?"
"We'll return your stake first and pay the rest in installments."
"You don't have any money?"
Hearing that they had no money to give her, Su Wan'er wrinkled her little nose and wondered whether these three had come to make a fool of her.
Seeing her expression, Big Brother hated Third Brother even more.
I must have had lard clogging my heart just now. He had thought about how the three of them had run the betting together.
They also owed so much money together, and each feared the others might run away. So, after discussing it...
They had naturally become sworn brothers.
After inwardly calling himself an idiot a few times, he put on a ingratiating smile and said to Su Wan'er, "Junior Sister, don't worry. The three of us can sign a contract scroll with you. Once we have the money, we'll definitely pay you back."
"I see!"
Su Wan'er rubbed her chin and pondered a little longer, her lovely big eyes darting around.
Suddenly, the three seemed to see a flash of light in Su Wan'er's eyes.
Then they heard her say with a smile, "Return my stake first. If the three of you can help me figure out what my master meant, you won't have to pay back the rest."
She cultivated the Great Dao of Cause and Effect, so these three surely shared some unseen karmic connection with her.
Otherwise, they couldn't possibly have come to her door just when she was feeling confused.
"No problem, Junior Sister! Tell us what Elder Li said to you."
This time, Big Brother hurried to answer first, afraid that the imbecilic Third Brother would ruin things again.
He didn't want to inexplicably lose this hard-won opportunity.
Before you continue