White-Robed Chief

“Senior Brother Ji!” Li Ruolan smiled sweetly.

Her eyes suddenly became captivating as they glimmering like the limpid autumn waters.

Right away, Chu Li’s heart sank and he sighed to himself. Clearly, Li Ruolan was fond of her Senior Brother Ji!

In his green shirt, Senior Brother Ji looked poised and dignified. He did a fist salute as he smiled brightly, then let out a long sigh of relief. “I finally made it!”

“Senior Brother Ji, why are you here?” Li Ruolan asked.

Senior Brother Ji replied, “I unintentionally heard that you went to Qiu Dynasty. I know that Qiu Dynasty’s masters are strong and since you’re just a lady, it must be dangerous to hunt someone down thousands of miles away. I’ve come to your aid!”

Later, he noticed Chu Li. “This is…?”

“This is Zhao Dahe, Junior Brother Zhao!” Li Ruolan removed her veil before she responded, “Luckily, Junior Brother Zhao came to help or we wouldn’t have succeeded!”

“Zhao Dahe, Junior Brother Zhao.” Senior Brother Ji cupped his fists together and greeted him, “I’m Ji Xin, thank you so much!”

He knew of Zhao Dahe; all 36 patrols knew about this genius. Li Ruolan was extremely fortunate to have met this genius who was not only outstanding in martial arts, but also uncommonly resourceful even though he came from a village. His conduct was always out of expectations, such that he often made the impossible possible. More so, he had a bright future.

Chu Li returned a fist saluted. He said, “I was simply obeying orders, there’s no need to thank me. I’m the one who should thank Senior Sister Li’s saving grace.”

“Junior Brother Zhao, are you injured?” Ji Xin asked.

Chu Li nodded. “I’ve been crippled of my martial art.”

“You’ve been crippled of your martial art!” Utterly shocked, Ji Xin looked at him. He shook his head and sighed. “That is truly unfortunate. Nonetheless, Junior Brother Zhao, you’re still young so you can just cultivate again. Don’t give up!”

“Junior Brother Zhao has mastered the Earth Matrix and Reincarnation Scripture, he’ll recover in no time.” Li Ruolan grinned.

“You’ve cultivated the Earth Matrix and Reincarnation Scripture!” Ji Xin’s face changed slightly. He then looked at Chu Li. “I can’t believe that apart from Junior Brother Qin Huaichuan, someone else did master it. Sure enough, you’re a genius!”

Chu Li replied, “It was Senior Brother Qin who passed it on to me.”

“That’s extremely hard to come by!” Ji Xin was moved. “I’m afraid you’re the only two people from the Holy Church who have practiced it. Junior Brother Zhao, you’re truly exceptional… Let’s go. You were hunted down by Hai Cang Mountain, right?”

Li Ruolan filled him in excitedly.

Upon listening to what had happened, Ji Xin looked amazed. “You’ve killed two Hai Cang Mountain elders? That’s a significant contribution!”

“I only assisted. The credit belongs to Senior Sister Li,” Chu Li mentioned.

Ji Xin shook his head. “If it wasn’t for you, Junior Brother Zhao, Junior Sister Li wouldn’t have achieved something so marvelous.”

“Senior Brother Ji!” Li Ruolan glared at him.

Ji Xin chuckled. “Alright, Junior Sister Li, you’re amazing too.”

Li Ruolan rolled her eyes at him.

Chu Li shook his head. He then looked away as he did not want to watch their interaction.

“Junior Brother Zhao, are you feeling unwell?” Seeing as Chu Li was not looking good, Ji Xin quickly asked, “Do you want to rest somewhere?”

Chu Li shook his head. “Let’s go back as fast as we can. I need to meditate to heal myself.”

“Yes, yes, you need to regain your martial arts quickly.” Ji Xin then suggested, “Junior Sister Li, let me carry Junior Brother Zhao. That way, we can move faster.”

Meanwhile, he reached out for Chu Li’s back.

Feeling helpless, Li Ruolan responded, “I’m alright.”

“After all, you went through a fight. Let me do it,” Ji Xin insisted. “Let’s go.”

With that, he fluttered away at lightning speed.

On the other hand, Li Ruolan moved to his other side. While she conversed with him, she traveled quickly by using her light-body technique. Eventually, they had cast Chu Li aside.

Since that was the case, Chu Li simply shut his eyes because as the saying went, ‘out of sight, out of mind’.

Although he had no intention to overstep the bound between himself and Li Ruolan, whereby he had only ever teased her, it was just unacceptable for a young village man like him to not feel something when being taken care of by a charming lady.

That being said, seeing that Li Ruolan admired Senior Brother Ji whole-heartedly and neither did she hesitate to keep her distance away, Chu Li still felt uncomfortable. This was a man’s nature, where one wished that all beautiful girls in the world belonged to one only.

Afterward, Li Ruolan asked, “Senior Brother Ji, how is the outer mountain disciple whom you were going to get?”

“He’s dead.” Ji Xin sighed, then added, “Wasn’t lucky enough.”

“That’s sad to hear.” Li Ruolan comforted, “Senior Brother Ji, don’t be too upset, life and death are destined.”

“It was my mistake, I shouldn’t have rushed him during practice.” Ji Xin shook his head and guilt was shown on his face. “I should’ve let him train for a few more years.”

“If he’s unlucky, training for a few more years won’t change anything,” Li Ruolan continued to ease him of grief.

Nonetheless, Ji Xin disagreed. “It was because of how successful you were at bringing up Junior Brother Zhao and that you brought him into the Great Light Peak after just a few months that had made me impatient. Whatever it is, it was my fault. I’m not fit to be a receiver. I’ve already reported to the Saint and I’ll never take in outer mountain disciples anymore.”

“Senior Brother Ji, you’re too extreme!” Dissatisfied with what she was told, Li Ruolan furrowed her brows. “If you don’t take in outer mountain disciples, you can only hustle about in other places, it’s too dangerous!”

“I’m not afraid of danger.” Ji Xin explained, “As long as I am at peace.”

“You only think about yourself, not for others!” Li Ruolan yelled, “What if something happened to you, what will happen to those who care for you?!”

Ji Xin giggled. “I’ve gone through numerous obstacles and should’ve been dead long ago. Yet, I’ve managed to advance from being a fella outside the mountain and into a patrol. I’ll live a long life. Don’t worry, Junior Sister Li.”

Following that, he turned to smile at Chu Li. “Junior Brother Zhao, we have similar backgrounds. I was also a young village man before I entered the Great Light Peak, and I’m finally where I am today. But you have better qualities than me, keep working hard, and strive to be an Altar Leader, or even a Priest!”

Chu Li nodded.

As the saying went, the love for a person extended even to the crows on one’s roof. Due to his background that was similar to Ji Xin’s, it was no wonder that Li Ruolan was so kind to him.

Li Ruolan grinned. “Junior Brother Zhao has a promising future. If everything goes smoothly, he’ll progress to the Priest’s position.”

“That’s true.” Ji Xin showed a faint smile on his face.

When Chu Li heard her, he replied, “Senior Sister Zhao, don’t flatter me. It’s not easy to become the Priest!”

“You have the skill and intelligence. As long as you’re not down on your luck, I believe that you’ll be the Priest!” Li Ruolan added, “Which is why you should be focused on your path, do your job diligently and you’ll be a Priest in the long run!”

Chu Li beamed.

“Let us fawn you in advance then,” said Ji Xin, “future Priest.”

Upon hearing that, Chu Li chuckled. “Senior Brother Ji, don’t tease me!”

Ji Xin rejoined, “Junior Sister Li never exaggerates. If she says you have the qualities to become a Priest, you have high hopes. So keep it up!”

“I’m counting on that then, Senior Brother Ji,” Chu Li responded. Without notice, his face changed as he pointed diagonally opposite them and shouted, “Careful!”

“Tss!” An electric light appeared and it was headed toward Chu Li.

At once, Li Ruolan moved forward.

“Ding…” She pulled her long sword out before she paused.

Upon seeing the unfavorable situation, Ji Xin was about to let Chu Li go to assist her.

Without warning, an enormous sucking force came from Chu Li’s back, which was now glued to Ji Xin’s palms. Subsequently, his inner energy was channeled into Chu Li’s body like water from a burst dam.

“Tss!” As Chu Li swung his right hand, a blade light was seen.

“Ding…” The long sword that was previously aimed at Li Ruolan quickly moved to block the flying blade.

“Tss, tss, tss, tss!” Chu Li kept swinging his right hand as he attacked the short and fat Elder who had emerged from the ground.