Chapter 123: Teaching The Self Conscious Elder

Chapter 123: Chapter 123: Teaching The Self Conscious Elder

With two people working together, the remaining tasks were finished much faster than usual. Once everything was done, Disciple Tang bid Sui Sui farewell and left.

As usual, Sui Sui returned to his own routine and went to Elder Shan Li’s residence. He knocked on the door, and when it opened, the first thing he saw was MuMu’s large, round belly.

The little fellow was fast asleep, sprawled comfortably on the floor with a small trail of drool at the corner of his mouth. Judging from how deeply he was sleeping, Sui Sui suspected MuMu had eaten himself into a food coma again.

Elder Shan Li was sitting beside MuMu, a cup of tea in one hand and a book in the other. He appeared completely at ease as he quietly sipped his tea while reading.

"Already finished?" Elder Shan Li asked, raising his head from the book.

"Yeah, all done," Sui Sui replied.

"Oh, then that is good." With that, Elder Shan Li lowered his gaze again and continued reading.

Sui Sui stood there for a moment, watching him.

Sui Sui noticed that the atmosphere was once again a little awkward, just like it had been during their first few conversations. He did not know how to open the conversation again either. As a bystander, Sui Sui had naturally felt indignant just watching everything that had happened earlier with Madam Jiang. Seeing Elder Shan Li quietly accept everything without saying much had already made him uncomfortable, so he could not help wondering what it must have felt like for the person himself. ℴℴ𝘮

He felt that it really should not be this way at all. Elder Shan Li clearly did not want those people or those arrangements, so why did he keep quietly giving in? Why was he always so passive, allowing himself to be pushed around without defending what he wanted?

The thought made Sui Sui feel a little distressed.

No, it must not go on like this. He had to do something to help.

"Elder, are you in a bad mood?" Sui Sui asked.

Elder Shan Li’s hand paused slightly around his teacup, but he did not raise his eyes from the book in front of him. For a moment, he seemed to remain focused on the page, though his stillness made it obvious that he had heard the question.

"Oh? What makes you think so?"

"Isn’t it because Madam Jiang insistently sent people you don’t want? Or is it because you’re angry that you’re unable to defend yourself? Or is it both?" Sui Sui went straight to the point, his gaze fixed on Elder Shan Li.

He knew he was being blunt, but someone had to knock some sense into this elder. Otherwise, who knew how long he would continue quietly swallowing his grievances?

Elder Shan Li did not respond for a long time. His eyes remained fixed on the same page, but he did not turn it. The teacup in his hand had also been left untouched, and the longer the silence dragged on, the more Sui Sui felt that his question had struck somewhere he should not have.

Sui Sui began to wonder if he had pushed too far and accidentally offended him. He was just about to apologize when Elder Shan Li finally spoke.

"Then, what should I have done in that situation? I am not like you or the others who are good at talking. The only thing I am good at is alchemy. I am already grateful that the sect took me in. Isn’t it only natural that I give everything I can back?"

It was the longest stretch of words Sui Sui had ever heard Elder Shan Li say.

Hearing this, Sui Sui finally had a clearer picture of the problem. It seemed that besides having trouble dealing with people, Elder Shan Li also had some issues with his confidence. But how could that be?

"Of course not!" Sui Sui said defensively. "Although it is natural to give back to the sect, it is only okay when there is no exploitation involved. No matter what, you are an esteemed elder and a high-level alchemist. If it were me, I wouldn’t just let anyone walk all over me."

He paused before continuing, his words becoming more impassioned. "Well, I’m not saying that they’re exactly walking all over you, but it is similar. You just let them do whatever they want. You have already contributed so much to the sect by refining pills and just being a renowned alchemist, bringing glory to the sect, so why do you still have to give up every good thing you have? We can look around and see which other elder has to relent to everything unilaterally. No one at all! Everyone has their own feelings and ideas. We are not just people who should be taken advantage of. Didn’t Elder also feel dissatisfied earlier?"

Shan Li lowered his eyes to the ground.

His fingers tightened slightly around the teacup, his expression becoming a little more complicated.

What Sui Sui said was indeed true.

He had accumulated quite a lot of grievance as well. There had been moments when he felt unwilling, moments when he felt annoyed, and even moments when he wondered why he always had to be the one giving in. But because of his non-confrontational personality, he had always pushed those feelings to the back of his mind and told himself that there was no need to care about them.

After all, he had already gotten used to it.

But now that Sui Sui had dug all those suppressed grievances back up and placed them right in front of him, Shan Li suddenly found that he could no longer pretend they were not there.

He had clearly done so much for the sect.

So why did he still have to accept everything, even when it was something he did not want?

The more he thought about it, the more a strange sense of grievance welled up inside him. He almost felt like sulking over it.

For once, he allowed himself to think about what he actually wanted.

"Then?" Shan Li finally asked, his voice firmer than before. "What should I have done?"

Hearing this, Sui Sui could not help feeling a little delighted.

Okay, this was good progress, It seemed Elder Shan Li was actually willing to learn.

"Of course, the first thing Elder must learn is to be firm with your ’no.’ No matter the reason, whether it is good or bad, if you do not like something, then just say no," Sui Sui said.

"But I already did," Elder Shan Li replied. "And somehow, they were still able to twist my words."

Sui Sui thought about it for a moment, then, as though he had suddenly come up with an important secret, he leaned closer and whispered something into Elder Shan Li’s ear.

Elder Shan Li’s expression changed slightly.

"Will it really work?"

"I think so?" Sui Sui answered honestly. "I’ve seen (read) about a few people succeeding by doing it."

"Okay. I will keep it in mind," Elder Shan Li said.

The two of them ended up talking throughout the entire afternoon. This time, however, the roles were completely reversed. It was Sui Sui doing the teaching while Elder Shan Li listened attentively.

Sui Sui shared some of his victories in his various wars of words, earning looks of amazement from Elder Shan Li. He even took out a few novels to share. They were some of the books he had bought when he went down the mountain to purchase things.

It seemed that novels were also popular in this world, and there were quite a lot of good selections. Some even had familiar types of plots, such as rebirth and rising from the mud to become a phoenix, which Sui Sui found quite entertaining.

After flipping through them, Sui Sui picked out several that he thought had particularly good dialogue structures and handed all of them to Elder Shan Li.

Elder Shan Li held the books carefully in his hands, as though they were precious divine scriptures.

He was determined to learn the art of talking back.

—

The next day, when Sui Sui arrived at the herb garden, he was just about to begin his usual routine when he was surprised to find that the three people from yesterday had all returned.

Yes, even Chu Ran.

After what had happened the previous day, Sui Sui had thought they would probably give up. Yet it seemed their determination was much stronger than he had expected.

Chu Ran’s gaze immediately fell on Sui Sui.

After what had happened yesterday, she had finally realized that the task truly was not suitable for her. Even she, a Foundation Building cultivator, had been nearly drained dry, so how could a mere Qi Refining cultivator possibly handle it without a problem?

There was only one explanation.

Sui Sui must have lied to her.

It must not have actually been him who tended to these herbs. He had deliberately claimed that it was his work just to bait her into attempting the task.

Yes, that must be it.

The more Chu Ran thought about it, the more convinced she became.

It was all Sui Sui’s fault.

She absolutely could not allow herself to be the only one embarrassed by what had happened. The humiliation from yesterday still lingered in her mind, and the more she thought about it, the more unwilling she became to let the matter go.

She had to get back at him.

As that thought took root, several dark ideas began to flood her mind.

Sui Sui could feel someone’s burning gaze fixed on his back. He did not even need to turn around to know who it was.

Chu Ran again?

What was she thinking this time?

Don’t tell him she was still blaming him for what had happened yesterday. She was the one who had ignored his warning in the first place!

Sui Sui did not bother paying attention to them. However, he soon noticed that they had changed their assignments. Disciple Tang was no longer working on the most difficult task, while Chu Ran had taken the second-hardest one.

It seemed she was still reluctant to give up showing off.

Well, that had nothing to do with him.

As long as they did not bother him, Sui Sui had no reason to target them either. With that thought, he simply turned around and headed toward the back again to continue his own work.

Meanwhile, off to the side, Chu Ran and Senior Brother Leng were whispering in hushed tones.

"Junior Sister, what do you think he’s going to the back mountain for?" Disciple Leng asked, leaning in closer.

"How should I know?" Chu Ran muttered, though her eyes glinted with a sharp, calculating light. "But one thing is certain—it must be something extraordinary." After all, if Elder Shan Li had gone out of his way to isolate that area right behind his own residence, whatever was hidden there had to be a treasure he valued above all else. No matter what it was, she was determined to find out.

Disciple Leng looked at her, picking up on the dark edge in her voice. "Is Junior Sister planning to get back at him?"

"Naturally," Chu Ran sneered softly, her lips curling into a cold smile. "I, Chu Ran, have never been one to swallow my pride and let someone walk all over me. Doesn’t he only dare to act so arrogant because he has Elder Shan Li backing him up? Let’s see if he can still keep that old man’s favor once he brings disaster upon himself!"