Chapter 17: This Disciple Knows What to Do

Chapter 17: Chapter 17: This Disciple Knows What to Do

"This is the founding master of Purple Bamboo Peak, once the second disciple of Ancestor Master Zi Yun. Offer a stick of incense to pay your respects."

The Grand Elder pulled Yang Haichen, now all cleaned up, and had him kneel beside a stone statue.

"Master, I’ve never seen you do this before."

Yang Haichen couldn’t help but ask. For the past six months, his master had, at most, made him come here to clean the place. Offering incense was a first.

"Hm?!"

The Grand Elder shot Yang Haichen a glance, and the latter immediately shut his mouth and obediently offered the incense.

After kneeling for a full hour, the Grand Elder finally led Yang Haichen back to the Bamboo Garden.

"Have you remembered what I told you?"

The Grand Elder couldn’t help but ask. ’If that boy Yang Haichen still doesn’t take his life seriously this time,’ he thought, ’I’ll have to consider finding another Official Disciple. After all, this one might not even make it.’

"I remember, Master. I will think before I act, and I won’t be impulsive or try to overreach."

Yang Haichen said piously. The Grand Elder nodded in satisfaction. ’Looks like the boy is teachable,’ he thought. ’For now, I don’t need to look for another successor.’

"Now, back on topic. Do you know that the Peak Master has three disciples?"

"Of course I know. When I went to the rear mountain this time, I met two junior sisters and one senior brother."

Yang Haichen nodded slowly. ’Why would Master bring this up?’ he wondered. ’Could it be that the Peak Master doesn’t just have three disciples?’

"What senior brother? Mo Xuan only accepted his first disciple half a month ago!"

The Grand Elder put a hand to his forehead. ’This is the whole point! What could possibly make you keep calling him Senior Brother? The kid’s only been here for half a month, and you’ve been here for six!’

"But that senior brother—no, junior brother—has already reached the beginner stage of Body Tempering. With that kind of speed, he’s only been here half a month?"

It was as if all the fight had gone out of Yang Haichen. He collapsed to the ground, and as he stared at his own hands, he lost all of his confidence.

’Compared to him, my title as the top Outer Disciple of Purple Bamboo Peak is an absolute joke.’

"Don’t be disheartened. Mo Xuan used to travel the Red Dust frequently. It’s possible he has been cultivating for even longer than you."

The Grand Elder shook his head and pulled Yang Haichen to his feet. He knew that Mo Xuan had been away on business, which meant he’d had, at most, about half that time to actually teach the boy.

’If we go by the longest possible timeframe, then the kid’s cultivation Talent is decent. But no one knows the truth. The less time Mo Xuan spent teaching him, the more monstrous his Talent must be. Not that it has anything to do with me.’

"I see. So it wasn’t wrong for me to call him Senior Brother after all."

Yang Haichen took a deep breath, finally regaining some of his composure. ’That Senior Brother was worried he’d die if he jumped off the cliff, which obviously means he doesn’t know the Clear Wind Technique. That’s enough to prove his cultivation Talent might just be average.’

"On Purple Bamboo Peak, we determine seniority by the date one officially joins the sect. He is still your junior brother."

The Grand Elder shook his head. It was common for masters to accept disciples while traveling the Red Dust, but their official entry into the sect was marked by their arrival at Purple Bamboo Peak.

"Build a good relationship with him. If you can manage to get some Spiritual Cuisine out of it, it will be a great help to your Body Tempering."

"Don’t worry, Master. I know what to do."

-----------------

"Building a bamboo house isn’t as simple as we thought."

At the rear of Purple Bamboo Peak, on top of the cliff, Liu Chen looked at the bamboo stalks they had cut down and then at his two gasping, exhausted junior sisters. He couldn’t help but let out a helpless sigh.

He had overestimated himself. Building a bamboo house from scratch was a bit of a stretch. Forget the house; they had been toiling away for nearly the entire afternoon and hadn’t even managed to dig the holes for the foundation.

"Senior Brother, could you help us widen the bed first?"

Ji Suyao couldn’t help but ask. Squeezing two people onto a single bed was a little tight, and to be honest, neither of them had slept well the previous night.

’Making do for one night is fine,’ she thought, ’but at this rate, it’ll probably take several months, maybe even half a year, before we have a new bamboo house to live in.’

"When you went to pack your things, didn’t you bring a bed over?"

Liu Chen couldn’t help but turn back and ask. ’Don’t tell me these two junior sisters squeezed together to sleep last night?’

Ye Linglong and Ji Suyao exchanged a glance, then silently lowered their heads. In their minds, a bed wasn’t something you normally moved. But a bamboo bed wasn’t a heavy piece of furniture like the ones back home; the two of them working together could have moved one with ease.

The bamboo house was reasonably spacious. Adding another bed would make it a bit crowded at most, but aside from sleeping at night, they didn’t usually spend time inside anyway.

"Let’s dig up some bamboo shoots and head back to cook."

Seeing their expressions, Liu Chen knew he had guessed right, but he didn’t press the issue. It was getting late, so it was better to go and start cooking.

’I missed a Body Tempering session this afternoon, so I’ll have to make up for it tonight.’

[Spirit Chef Proficiency +30]

Under Ye Linglong’s verbal guidance, his Spirit Chef Skill Proficiency didn’t increase as much as it used to, but it was still more than what he gained when fumbling around on his own. The only disappointment was that he still hadn’t gained enough Proficiency to advance to a Second Grade Spirit Chef.

Liu Chen shook his head. ’I wonder if my junior sisters will be able to get up tomorrow. If they can, I should be able to advance to a Second Grade Spirit Chef right after breakfast. The higher the level of a Skill, the harder it is to advance, and the same applies to gaining Proficiency. I feel like I’ve already made great strides, so I probably won’t gain much Proficiency from making breakfast.’

’It might even be a new personal low.’

"Senior Brother, who was that person from this afternoon?"

After dinner, Ye Linglong couldn’t help but ask. That area was going to be their private space from now on. If that guy just popped up from time to time, wouldn’t they have any privacy?

"He’s probably one of our senior brothers. He already promised he won’t come up that way again."

Liu Chen shook his head. ’It’s a toss-up whether that Senior Brother is even still alive,’ he thought. ’But even if there was an accident, it has nothing to do with me. Master should know the guy jumped on his own.’

"That’s good to hear."

Ye Linglong nodded slowly. ’A reckless fool like that must be a rare sight,’ she thought. ’Since he already gave his word, he’ll probably keep it.’

"The food box... it’s flying back?!"

Ji Suyao, full from her meal, was idly gazing at the scenery when a flying food box suddenly appeared in her line of sight.

As the three of them watched, the food box landed steadily on the table between them.

"There’s something inside."

Ji Suyao opened the food box and, from the top layer, took out a piece of paper that still smelled faintly of fresh ink.

"It’s the Cultivation Technique for the Artifact Manipulation Technique."

Ye Linglong leaned in for a look, her gaze falling on Liu Chen. She and Ji Suyao hadn’t even learned the most basic Withering Skill, so neither their master nor grand-master would teach them any more Magic.

’Senior Brother Liu Chen, on the other hand, has already mastered several kinds of Magic. This must have been sent by Master and the others because they found out about us building the bamboo house.’

"Senior Brother, you should be the one to read it."

Ye Linglong didn’t say a word, but Ji Suyao was well aware of her own aptitude for Magic. It was obvious this spell, delivered so deliberately, was not meant for her.

Liu Chen took the paper, finished reading it, then closed his eyes to ponder for a moment.