Heavenly Soul

With her hands on her hips, she admonished Jing Shui, "Yes, you brat. I'm glad you remembered I exist. I have been waiting here for your return all this while and you stand here chatting as if you have all the time in the world. Now introduce us, who is your friend?"

Before Jing Shui could recover, Qinghe took the initiative to say, "My most sincere apologies for holding up your disciple, Sect Master Liu. I am Feng Qinghe from Heavenly Peak Sect, and sect master Zhen YiLan's second disciple."

Looking at the sect emblem st.i.tched with indigo-colored thread on his robes, she spoke wryly, "I gathered as much."

All sects of the righteous faction wore white robes, with the sect emblem st.i.tched at the bottom center of the outer robe. The color of the sect emblem varied for different tiers: Outer sect disciples—the disciples who hadn't yet formed their cultivation core—had a light green emblem, inner sect disciples who had already formed their cores used light blue, the sect master's direct disciples had indigo colored emblems, while the sect elders used purple, and finally, red was reserved for the sect master.

So it was quite obvious at a glance that Feng Qinghe was a direct disciple of the sect master of the Heavenly Peak Sect due to the sect emblem and the indigo-colored thread used to st.i.tch it.

Though Qinghe knew it was easy to deduce his ident.i.ty, he still had to be polite towards an elder and introduce himself, didn't he?

"It seems you've both gotten close in the hidden realm. I've also heard that Xiao He lead you all to kill a Behemoth? I do hope you've collected its corpse, it can provide much valuable raw material for many things."

Qinghe felt strange at being called 'Xiao He'.

Jing Shui nodded. "Of course we did. We get to keep the beast's body while Brother Feng insisted on only getting the beast core."

Liu Xue raised an eyebrow. This disciple Feng Qinghe seemed to be quite cunning. Giving them the majority of a kill that he had made would mean they would be indebted to him. But the Golden Sun Sect also couldn't pa.s.s up this opportunity to get its hands on such valuable materials. Though the materials themselves held little value to a warrior sect like the Heavenly Peak Sect, separately, each part of the Behemoth could be made into a unique treasure or medicine, its uses ranging from making armor from its skin, elixirs from its blood and organs, weapons from its bones, enchanted bindings from its veins etc. But the process for making these required much refining and effort.

On the other hand, though the beast core held almost the same value as the rest of the body, it could only be used by cultivators and was inflexible in the way it could be utilized—that is, increasing cultivation and pill making. A beast core had no other uses apart from these, but they were also easier and simpler to use without any further refining.

So though it appeared as if Qinghe was doing them a favor by taking the shorter end of the stick, he was, in fact, using this to gain the maximum benefits from minimal losses. As a businesswoman herself, Sect Master Liu Xue could clearly appreciate the brilliance of this move.

"Aren't you a sly little fox, Xiao He?" she commented sardonically in her smooth voice.

"This disciple only wishes to help one's friend," Qinghe replied humbly, but with an undercurrent of humor that could be detected by those who were perceptive.

Jing Shui was not perceptive.

"Master! Brother Feng is only helping us, why must we question him? Can't you put a little trust in my friend?" Jing Shui tried to emphasize that Qinghe was a 'friend' and that she should not make things difficult for him.

"Oh? Only a friend? You both look so close that I thought you were definitely a couple," she said casually while brus.h.i.+ng aside the main topic.

"Eww!" Jing Shui could not hold back his disgust at the thought of getting together with his friend. Qinghe also wrinkled his brows as if very uncomfortable at the idea.

The current world was very progressive. There was absolutely no bias against same-s.e.x relations.h.i.+ps or marriages, so Jing Shui and Qinghe did not react like that because they were both men, but because the very thought of getting intimate with their friend made their stomachs turn.

"There's no way I'd get

"I would also rather face death by a thousand cuts rather than lie with Brother Jing," Qinghe declared.

Liu Xue was amused at both of their immediate and vehement rejection.

"That's right―" Jing Shui was about to agree before the words registered. "Wait, what? What do you mean by that?!" He scowled.

With a placating smile, Qinghe spoke, "Brother Jing, I only meant that I'd prefer to die horribly rather than inflict my unwanted advances onto you against your will since I cherish my friend so deeply and respect his choices."

"Oh, I guess it's okay then…" Jing Shui was reluctantly convinced despite the obvious.

Liu Xue could only shake her head. How did this disciple of hers turn out so gullible? Was it her fault? Did she shelter him too much? No. It was all that d.a.m.n Wu Xiao's fault for pampering him so much!

And thus all blame was placed onto the head of her unsuspecting junior martial brother.

No sooner had she thought of him than he appeared.

"I heard that Ah-Shui brought a friend. Where is he?" came a voice suddenly, interrupting their conversation.

They turned to look and found a man approaching them. His hair was long and silver, his face somewhat narrow but beautifully crafted. His frame was slender and he moved as if he were floating. His brows were lowered as if in displeasure, his dark eyes glinting with a cold light.

This was the aforementioned Wu Xiao, the sect master of the Silver Moon Sect and Sect Master Liu Xue's junior martial brother.

It was a well-known fact that the Golden Sun Sect and the Silver Moon Sect had always been two parts of a whole, though they were considered separate sects. The two sects shared resources, with the Golden Sun Sect providing essentials while the Silver Moon Sect provided formation crafters, who were considered exceedingly rare.

There was another subdivision in the Silver Moon Sect that specialized in nurturing seers that foretold calamities—but this was a secret not known to many and one that Qinghe definitely should not have known.

Another thing that tied the two sects together was the choosing of the sect master for the Silver Moon Sect. The new sect leader was almost always chosen from among the disciples in the same generation as the Golden Sun Sect's new sect leader since the sect masters of the Silver Moon Sect mostly did not accept direct disciples. So the sect leaders of the two sects often had a martial sibling relations.h.i.+p, as was the case for the current sect heads.

"Oh, Elder Sister. I didn't realize you were here too," Wu Xiao said, just noticing.

Liu Xue rapped him on the head mercilessly. "What 'Elder Sister'? Show some manners and call me 'Senior Martial Sister'!"

"Ow! Elder Sister, why must you always be so violent towards your darling little brother?"

"Who is my darling little brother?!" Liu Xue was furious.

"Me!" Wu Xiao shamelessly raised his hand as if answering a question in cla.s.s.

On the side, Qinghe was speechless. Who were these five-year-old kids masquerading as the sect masters of two prominent sects?

As if hearing Qinghe's thoughts, Jing Shui buried his head in his hands in embarra.s.sment. Was it too late to pretend he didn't know them?

Just when his elder sister was about to beat him up, Wu Xiao seemed to remember something and exclaimed, "Ah, I almost forgot! Where is that brat who is trying to seduce– I mean befriend my Ah-Shui!"

Qinghe was unimpressed but still chose to pay his respects. A buffoon or not, he was still a sect master. Moreover, he was someone he had already met once.

Offering the appropriate salutations, Qinghe introduced himself again, "Sect Master Wu, I wonder if you remember me. I am Feng Qinghe from Heavenly Peak Sect, sect master Zhen YiLan's second disciple. My master once introduced us a couple of decades ago."

Wu Xiao frowned, why did that sound familiar? He shook off the vague feeling and threatened, "You brat, are you trying to appear more familiar towards me so that my Ah-Shui will let down his guard? As if I'll let you!"

"Who's yours! Don't just go and claim me on your own!" Jing Shui finally retorted, his ears red as apples.

Hmm, it seems Sect Master Wu's affections were at least somewhat reciprocated, Qinghe observed thoughtfully.

Wu Xiao ignored his beloved's denial and continued to glare at Qinghe.

"I am not interested in Brother Jing," Qinghe clarified firmly, his eyes projecting sincerity and trustworthiness.

And it flew right over Wu Xiao's head.

"As if! Anyone who sees my Ah-Shui will be instantly charmed by his adorableness! You're just lying to get me to put my guard down, hmph! I can see right through you, you scheming b.a.s.t.a.r.d!"

Qinghe was once again rendered speechless by this senior. Why was he more unreasonable and difficult to handle than the teenagers? Why did all these immature people seem to congregate around him? Did he have some strange magnetic force that attracted these kinds of people? He just wanted to go home and relax!

Taking a deep breath, Qinghe tried to calm down.

On the side, the three of them were bickering again. Jing Shui refusing to be claimed as 'his' or called 'adorable', Liu Xue insisting on being called 'senior martial sister', and Wu Xiao shamelessly evading the arguments of both sides while trying to toss barbs at Qinghe.

It was a mess of a situation and headache-inducing. Sighing, Qinghe ma.s.saged his forehead. He really needed to rest and cultivate soon. He could feel that exerting himself yesterday had led to him gaining a few more levels. He couldn't keep suppressing his cultivation to the current realm anymore, he had to at least let it rise to the next realm or else his core might just crack.

Qinghe felt his surroundings wobble and had to force himself to keep standing upright.

Suddenly, two pairs of hands were supporting him. Two voices asked anxiously, "Senior Brother, are you all right? Do we need to get Master?" There was a barely concealed hint of panic in their tone.

The others finally noticed his state.

"Qinghe, what's wrong?" Jing Shui sounded worried.

"Is something wrong with Xiao He?" Liu Xue was concerned.

Seeing Qinghe's expression stiff with pain, something suddenly clicked in Wu Xiao's mind. It's him, that boy!

Pus.h.i.+ng aside the clamoring voices, Qinghe quickly began circulating his spiritual energy, trying to get rid of the excess. It was several minutes before the roiling calmed and the spiritual energy in his meridians resumed flowing smoothly. This was only a stopgap measure that would hold at most for a few days.

When he opened his eyes again, he found the two faces of his junior brothers looking at him in anxiety and felt their grip as they held him tightly on either side, supporting him. The rest had also crowded around him.

"Senior Brother?" Fei Jin and Fei Yin sounded on the verge of tears.

Though he felt exhausted, Qinghe still smiled rea.s.suringly as he patted their heads. "I'm fine, I just need to cultivate for a bit."

The twins buried their heads in his chest, not letting go.

"What happened?" Jing Shui asked, still worried.

"Brother Jing, there is no need to fret, I'll be alright. I just overexerted myself, that's all. I will be fine with some rest."

Though Jing Shui was doubtful, he could only let it go for now.

"You. What did you say your name was?" Wu Xiao asked suddenly, his tone uncharacteristically serious.

"Feng Qinghe," he replied simply. He didn't have the energy for anything more at the moment.

"You are Zhen YiLan's kid disciple? The one he brought to me about two decades ago?"

"Yes."

Wu Xiao turned pale as a sheet and looked at him as if seeing a ghost. "Well, this is a surprise. I didn't think you'd survive such severe restrictions for so long."

This sentence, said in a grave tone and a voice choked with emotion, shocked everyone.