Chapter 114: Senior Brothers of the Xuan Sect

Wen Qing was completely miserable, crying out in pain, “Ow, ow, ow, ow! Senior brothers, what are you doing?! Let me go! My immortal bones are about to break! I’m your junior brother, remember? Even if you have to beat me, could you at least not use the magic weapons I gave you?!” He was an old man already—his bones couldn’t take this!

The others ignored his wailing. A middle-aged immortal grabbed him by the collar and yanked him off the ground. “Why were you running? We’ve been waiting here for days! The moment you saw us, you turned tail and fled. What are you hiding that you’re so afraid to see us?”

“Nothing!” Wen Qing protested loudly. “Seventh Senior Brother, don’t wrong me! I just didn’t notice you, that’s all! How was I supposed to know you’d attack first and ask questions later? But since it’s family, I won’t hold it against you—now hurry up and take off this Binding Immortal Chain, would you?” If they kept him tied up like this, he wasn’t giving them the Xuanxin Sutra Analysis!

But no one moved to untie him. “Then tell us,” the man demanded, “where have you been hiding these past few days?”

“I… I was out cultivating!” Wen Qing’s eyes darted, and he quickly said, “You all know my cultivation isn’t as high as yours, so I thought I’d go train and improve a little! Traveling outside helps with enlightenment, you know, so I—”

“Bullshit!” the man snapped, cutting him off. He glared fiercely. “You’re lying. You’re clearly guilty of something! I ought to beat the truth out of you!”

“It’s true!” Wen Qing was on the verge of tears.

A younger-looking man stepped forward and caught the middle-aged immortal’s fist, stopping him. “Seventh Junior Brother, calm down,” he said in a low, even tone. “Let’s hear what he has to say about Master first.”

The middle-aged man froze mid-motion, then shot Wen Qing another glare. “You almost distracted me. Speak! What was that message you sent us a few days ago supposed to mean?”

“Uh…” Wen Qing’s expression stiffened. After a moment of awkward silence, he pleaded, “Can you at least untie me first?” He turned to the younger man, “Second Senior Brother…”

The second brother frowned slightly, thought for a moment, then formed a hand seal. The spells binding Wen Qing dissipated, and the others reluctantly withdrew their weapons. Only then did the second brother ask again, his tone low but tense, “Now speak. Why did you send us that message? What did you mean by Master’s warning? You…”—he hesitated, visibly anxious, his fingers tightening slightly—“…did you see Master?”

The moment he spoke, everyone froze. Four or five pairs of eyes fixed on Wen Qing, full of nervous expectation.

Wen Qing sighed. There was no hiding it now. He glanced around at them and said quietly, “It’s just as the message said. I really did see Master.”

“Where is he?” The instant the words left his mouth, everyone’s eyes lit up. They surged toward Wen Qing, bombarding him with questions.

“Where did you meet him?”

“How is he? Is he all right?”

“Did he say when he’d return?”

“Take us to him—we want to pay our respects!”

“Master doesn’t wish to see anyone,” Wen Qing said gravely.

At once, all the joy drained from their faces. They wilted like frostbitten plants, their expressions full of disappointment.

“Master doesn’t want to be disturbed,” Wen Qing went on. “He said no matter what we do, he won’t interfere. He only told me to remind you all—don’t forget why we first began cultivating.”

Silence fell. Uneasy expressions flickered across their faces.

After a while, the seventh brother spoke hesitantly, “So Master… doesn’t approve of what we’ve been doing? If that’s why he’s upset, then we should explain ourselves to him! If we can just—”

“Seventh Junior Brother.” The second brother cut him off with a sigh. “If Master doesn’t want to see us, forcing it will only anger him further.”

“…” The other fell quiet again, dejected.

The second brother’s brows knit together as if recalling something. His gaze swept over Wen Qing. “Master hasn’t shown himself for tens of thousands of years. Why now, suddenly, would he send a warning? Little Junior Brother, do you know what happened?”

“Uh…” Wen Qing froze, cold sweat beading on his forehead. “I… I don’t know.”

“Is that so?” The second brother’s voice dropped a shade lower. His clear eyes fixed sharply on Wen Qing, making the latter’s scalp tingle. “Then why didn’t you stay by Master’s side? Why come back here so suddenly?”

“Heh… heh heh…” Wen Qing forced a laugh. “Didn’t I just say? Master said he didn’t want us bothering him anymore.”

“Oh?” The second brother’s tone darkened. “So you weren’t out cultivating, then?”

“…” Wen Qing’s face went pale. Crap, second brother’s too sharp! He regretted coming back for the underworld pass—if he’d just stormed the place directly, no one would’ve dared stop him!

“Spit it out,” the second brother said coldly. “What did you do this time to make Master angry?” His piercing gaze made Wen Qing shudder; it was clear that if he didn’t talk, he’d be eating another round of beatings.

Feeling completely wronged, Wen Qing finally gave in and explained everything—the underworld weapon that had appeared in the mortal realm, and how Master had caught him right in the middle of it.

When he finished, everyone’s expressions turned grim. The seventh brother swore aloud, “The underworld has gone mad! Releasing an artifact like that—and even letting a Chi Xiao loose! Junior Brother, what kind of useless disciple did you take in?!”

Wen Qing’s face burned with shame.

The second brother, however, only asked steadily, “Does the eldest brother know of this yet?”

“I… don’t think so.” Wen Qing shook his head. “You all know the eldest brother—he’s been guarding that place all this time. I haven’t had a chance to tell him.”

“Hmm.” The second brother nodded, thinking deeply. After a moment he said, “Don’t inform him for now. We’ll investigate first. I’ll go to the underworld with you—the rest of you, return to your posts.”

“Second Brother…” The others looked reluctant.

“The underworld isn’t a place we’re familiar with,” he said firmly. “Too many of us going at once would draw attention. Besides, you all have your own duties.”

Reluctantly, they nodded, murmuring among themselves before dispersing in different directions.

Wen Qing and his second brother returned to the immortal residence together, retrieved the realm-crossing pass, and set off for the underworld to find Han Shu.

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Meanwhile, back at Qingyang Sect,

Yun Qiao, who had gone out “just to treat a few patients,” had somehow been busy for four or five full days. She finally cleared away every last trace of the Shaohua Curses in the city. Rubbing her sore shoulders, she picked up a freshly organized ledger filled with treatment records.

Now she faced a dilemma—should she send the bill to the Tianshi Hall, or directly to the Yu family of West City?

After all, doctors needed to eat too; she couldn’t work for free.

She was just about to call the old man over to discuss it when she turned around—and froze.

Standing behind her was a young man in azure robes, his expression dazed. His figure was faintly translucent, flickering in and out of sight, as though he might vanish at any moment.

“Who are you?” Yun Qiao blurted, startled—but her tone remained serious.

“You can see me?!” The man looked shocked, then suddenly overjoyed. After a moment, he seemed to remember something. Straightening his back, he clasped his fists respectfully and said, “Greetings, miss. I am… Han Shu.”

“…”

(End of Chapter)