Chapter 233

Bai Yu suspected he had simply rested too much these past few days and had gone idle to the point of developing some kind of mental problem—his ears must have malfunctioned. Otherwise, how could he have heard such nonsense? The girl actually told him that she and the Patriarch had a thing going on.

Oh wait, no—what she said was that the Patriarch wanted to have a thing with her, but it didn’t happen.

He must have misheard. That was the only explanation. Putting aside the fact that there was a difference of three entire realms of seniority between them, the girl was always rational and proper. She would never do something that defied decorum and ethics. And even if the Patriarch did seem to treat her differently, he was still the founder of the Xuanmen Sect. How could he possibly commit such a beastly act—an old bull eating tender grass, laying hands on his own great-great-disciple?!

Yes, clearly his ears were malfunctioning. He should go have the girl take a look at them.

Then… he walked into Yun Jiao’s room—and saw that beast with his own eyes!

The said “beast” was clinging to the girl’s waist like sticky rice candy. No matter how hard she pushed, he refused to let go.

The old man’s legs gave out at the sight, and he stumbled over the threshold with a loud thud, crashing face-first onto the floor. Wait—was he blind now too? Yes, that must be it! After hallucinating sounds, now he was seeing hallucinations!

Yun Jiao, who was just about to pry off the bear hugging her from behind, jumped in fright at the crash. She quickly patted the hands around her waist and said urgently, “Let go first—you’re pulling my hair!”

Ye Yuan frowned, obviously reluctant, but he still slowly released her and was promptly peeled off. He then gave the fallen old man a cold, piercing glare—clearly thinking he should have expelled him from the sect long ago.

“Are you all right, old man?” Yun Jiao stepped forward and helped him up. “What brings you here?”

A chill ran down Bai Yu’s spine for some reason. He stood, glanced at the cold-faced Patriarch, then at the girl, who looked perfectly calm and unashamed.

Right. That must have been a hallucination. The Patriarch and the girl… Heh, impossible!

“Girl? I… I think my eyes have a problem,” he said, pointing to them. “Maybe something serious. Why don’t you check them for me?”

“Your eyes?” Yun Jiao pried one open and examined it. “Looks fine. Nearsighted? You’re about the right age for presbyopia!”

Bai Yu: “…”

True, but that still stung.

Yun Jiao instinctively reached to check his pulse, then switched hands halfway through as if remembering something. The old man then noticed the white bandage wrapped around her wrist. “What happened to your hand?”

Yun Jiao stiffened slightly. “Just dislocated it. It’ll be fine in a few days.”

“Huh? How’d that happen? Did you grade too many test papers?”

Before she could answer, the Patriarch, who had been sulking nearby, stepped forward, took hold of her right hand, and said, “I’ll heal it.”

He was about to channel spiritual energy when Yun Jiao instantly snatched her hand back. “Don’t! If it heals too fast, it’ll just dislocate again!”

Her hand had a will of its own—it might just slap him again.

Ye Yuan: “…”

The old man blinked in confusion. Huh? Since when did people complain about healing too quickly?

“You seem fine. If your eyes still feel uncomfortable, I’ll prescribe some medicine later.” Yun Jiao put away her hand and gave him a glance. “So you came here just for that?”

The old man froze, suddenly remembering his real purpose. “Ah, no, right—Hall Master Xu is here. Says he has important business with you. He’s waiting in the main hall.”

“Hall Master Xu?” Yun Jiao frowned slightly. The aftermath at the Celestial Master Hall couldn’t have been handled so quickly—she hadn’t even finished her planning yet. “All right, I’ll go now.”

Just as she reached the door, she remembered something, turned back, grabbed a book from her shelf, and shoved it into the old man’s hands. “This is the Heart-Clarity Mantra. Practice it for the next two days—it’s good for your eyesight.” Then she left the room.

The old man stared at the new assignment. “…”

So much for his rest day—she was still the same demon instructor!

Wait a second—

Patriarch, where are you going? Why are you following her?!

(⊙_⊙)

——————

Ever since Yun Jiao started her training program, the Celestial Master Hall usually sent her messages through spiritual communication. Only major matters required someone to come in person. And for Hall Master Xu to visit himself—this must be something big.

So Yun Jiao walked quickly, reaching the main hall in less than two minutes.

“Master Yun!” Hall Master Xu, who was drinking tea, immediately stood and walked forward when he saw her. But before he could greet her properly, he suddenly froze, staring straight at the person behind her in shock. “This…”

Yun Jiao turned and saw that the Patriarch hadn’t changed his appearance—still wearing that breathtakingly handsome face.

Hall Master Xu had seen the Patriarch once before during the sect registration examination. His heart skipped a beat, but all he said was, “This Daoist friend… looks so familiar!”

He pondered for a moment but couldn’t place it. “Your face has a very… Xuanmen air about it.”

Of course, most Xuanmen disciples were attractive due to their spiritual refinement—but this man’s looks were divine, enough to make anyone lose focus for a second. Even more shocking was the cold way he looked at him—as if he were… a thief?!

No, must be my imagination!

Yun Jiao felt relieved. They had only seen the Patriarch from afar last time, and the surrounding immortal energy had obscured his features, so they probably didn’t recognize him. She quickly introduced, “This is a senior from my sect—my… grandmaster.”

Hall Master Xu’s expression instantly turned respectful. He clasped his hands and bowed. “Greetings, senior.”

He didn’t ask further—everyone was used to Qingyang producing mysterious ‘elders’ and ‘ancestors’ every so often. At this point, nobody even knew how many people Qingyang actually had.

“What brings you here, Hall Master Xu?” Yun Jiao gestured for him to sit, then led the Patriarch to sit across from him.

“It’s something important,” he said, pulling out a talisman. “Some items were stored at the Celestial Master Hall, but it’s not appropriate to keep them there—and we don’t know how best to deal with them.”

He activated the talisman, and with a series of crackling sounds, objects began to fall from midair into the hall. In an instant, immortal energy filled the room.

“Immortal artifacts!” Yun Jiao exclaimed, staring at the growing pile. The heap was as tall as a small mountain, nearly spilling to her feet—and every single piece was a celestial weapon. Some even looked familiar—weren’t these life-bound artifacts? Then she realized, “Are these the divine weapons from those fallen immortals of the Southern Heavenly Court?”

“Yes, yes, exactly.” Hall Master Xu nodded quickly. “Hundreds of immortals perished, leaving their artifacts behind. The disciples gathered them all up. We thought about distributing them as rewards in the next sect competition—but there are just too many. The Celestial Master Hall has no room to store them, and our disciples aren’t strong enough to use them yet. Keeping them might attract trouble, so… I brought them all here to ask Master Yun for advice on how to handle them.”

Yun Jiao’s face darkened. So this was basically… loot from the last boss battle? And Hall Master Xu had just come to hand over the distribution rights.

She glanced over the sea of artifacts before her—each one radiating wealth and power. Silver delivered right to her door. How considerate of them! Refusing would almost seem rude.

“In that case,” she said solemnly, nodding at the ever-obliging “wealth-bringing old child” across from her, “just leave them with me. Most of these were life-bound artifacts, and their imprints haven’t faded yet. They’ll need to be properly cleansed.”

Such as… letting them sit for a few days until the marks vanish.

“That’s a great help, Master Yun,” Hall Master Xu said with relief.

As expected of her—so reliable!

(End of Chapter)