Chapter 130: Seeing the Master Again

The four “pancakes” flattened on the floor finally came back to their senses. Yuan Jiang, in particular, lifted his head with disbelief written all over his face. The moment he realized who was standing before him, it was as if he’d been struck by lightning.

“Master!” His voice trembled. For a heartbeat he couldn’t believe his eyes—was he dreaming? It was truly his master, the very same teacher who had vanished for tens of thousands of years. His eyes grew hot, emotion welling in his chest until it ached. “It’s really you! Master, this disciple… this disciple finally sees you again! We’ve been searching for you for millennia, and at last—”

Before he could finish, Ye Yuan turned slightly, his voice flat and cutting:

“Who are you?”

Crack!

Wen Qing: “……”

Xi Teng: “……”

Captain Jiao: “……”

Was that… the sound of a heart shattering?

Ye Yuan, unfazed, adjusted the unconscious Yun Jiao in his arms and turned to leave. As he stepped out of the hall, his gaze fell on a certain figure lying unconscious on the floor—Old Man Bai Yu—who had been flattened by the earlier outburst of pressure. Ye Yuan frowned, then flicked a wisp of celestial energy at him.

Bai Yu jerked awake, blinking in confusion. His eyes landed on the man holding Yun Jiao. “Eh? Patriarch! The girl’s back already?”

“Why are you blocking the way? Move,” Ye Yuan said coolly.

“Oh.” Bai Yu instinctively scrambled aside—then froze as realization hit him. Wait a minute! He’d been knocked out cold by someone’s overwhelming aura when he’d stepped through the door—and that aura belonged to none other than his patriarch!

He wanted to complain—he really did—but who was he to question divine collateral damage?

The old man swallowed his indignation and watched silently as Ye Yuan walked away, face unreadable.

Life is pain, Bai Yu thought bleakly.

(_ _)

———

At the Tower’s Peak

“So, you’re Yuan Jiang?” Ye Yuan’s brows drew together as he looked down at the man kneeling before him, his tone filled with the same familiar disdain. “I recall you used to be… broader. Why are you so scrawny now?” A pause. “Did you finally succeed at that ‘losing weight’ thing my disciple keeps talking about?”

Yuan Jiang’s mouth twitched. His eternally gentle, spring-breeze smile cracked for just a second before he answered politely, “Reporting to Master, the broad one was Fifth Junior Brother.”

“Is that so?” Ye Yuan said, completely unbothered by his own mistake. “Then you must be the sturdy one.”

“Master, that was Seventh Junior Brother.”

“The tall one.”

“That’s Fourth Junior Brother.”

“The short one.”

“…That would be Sixth Junior Brother.”

“The oldest one, then.”

Yuan Jiang hesitated, then turned slightly toward his side. “That’s Junior Brother Wen Qing. He’s right beside me.”

Wen Qing: “……”

Why did it feel like he’d just been hit by friendly fire? Old? He preferred dignified and steady, thank you very much.

“Enough,” Ye Yuan said impatiently, his frown deepening. “Forget your faces—why are you two even here? And why do you look so disgraceful?”

The two exchanged uneasy glances. After a moment, Yuan Jiang began carefully, “Actually, we were… fortunate enough to be brought here through the help of Yun little—”

A single cold glare from Ye Yuan froze him mid-sentence. Yuan Jiang’s instincts screamed don’t call her little anything, and he quickly corrected himself: “—Yun Junior Niece! Yes. It seems Master’s transmission spell drew us in from the Underworld along with her.”

“Underworld?” Ye Yuan’s eyes narrowed dangerously. Instantly, the temperature in the tower plummeted. Frost gathered on the stone floor as his killing intent spread. “I recall warning you both not long ago about meddling in such matters. Have you already forgotten?”

“Master, please calm your anger!” Both men dropped to their knees at once. Wen Qing spoke quickly, “Disciple did not involve himself in Underworld affairs! I merely agreed to assist our little junior niece in investigating the West City Chi Xiao incident. We were ambushed unexpectedly and nearly lost our lives. Thankfully, the junior niece appeared in time to rescue us.”

Ye Yuan frowned, his aura retracting slightly. “So… my disciple went to the Underworld on her own accord?”

“Mm-hm!” Wen Qing nodded furiously, desperate to prove his innocence.

Yuan Jiang added gravely, “There is indeed something amiss down there. Someone has impersonated the Judge of the Dead himself. Even our immortal senses couldn’t discern the deception. I fear a great calamity brews. As for how Yun Junior Niece appeared there, we do not know.”

Ye Yuan fell silent for a long moment, then said coldly, “Enough. She is resting. I won’t wake her now—we’ll discuss this tomorrow.”

Yuan Jiang: “……”

Wen Qing: “……”

Why did she get to sleep peacefully while they had to kneel here freezing their bones off?

“You may go,” Ye Yuan said curtly, waving them away. He gave them a sidelong glance before adding, “Have my disciple examine your injuries tomorrow.”

Both of them brightened instantly, a flicker of warmth in their eyes—their master still cared!

They opened their mouths to thank him—

“Bring payment,” Ye Yuan added flatly.

“……”

Suddenly it didn’t feel like concern anymore. More like… a business transaction.

“No,” they told themselves firmly, “it’s an illusion. Master can’t possibly be that heartless!”

Ye Yuan paused again. “Oh, right. After you leave, fetch the medium-sized jar from Bai Yu’s quarters and bring it up.” With that, his form flickered and vanished straight into his divine tablet.

The two masters stared at each other.

A jar?

Could it be… some newly refined divine artifact? They exchanged puzzled glances, then followed his command and went to Bai Yu’s room—only to be met with furious resistance.

“No way!” Bai Yu shouted, hugging a brown jar to his chest like it was a newborn child. “Absolutely not! Why are you taking mine? Let the Patriarch come himself if he wants it! This is the jar the girl gave me—look, my name’s written on it right here! See? White. Ink. Letters. It says Bai Yu! It’s mine!”

The two immortals blinked, startled by his vehemence. After a moment, Yuan Jiang said carefully, “Nephew Bai, it is Master’s command. We, as juniors, dare not disobey.”

“I don’t care!” Bai Yu’s voice went up another octave. “Just because the girl fell asleep without dinner doesn’t mean you can rob me! Junior or not, have I eaten your rice? The rice in this temple was bought by her anyway!”

He clutched the jar tighter. No one was taking his snacks. Not today.

The two old immortals exchanged helpless looks. Finally, Yuan Jiang sighed, gritted his teeth, and pulled out a gleaming immortal weapon. “Nephew Bai, this is a supreme-grade artifact forged with the Heavenly Spirit Fire. Your cultivation method aligns with the Xuan Heart Sutra—this would make an excellent life-bound weapon. How about we… trade?”

Bai Yu blinked. His eyes flicked between the shining artifact in Yuan Jiang’s hand… and the cookie jar in his arms.

For a long time, he didn’t move.

An immortal weapon… for a biscuit tin.

Σ(°△°|||)︴

These two ancestors—were they idiots?

“…Sure! Take it!” he said cheerfully, handing it over without hesitation.

Yuan Jiang and Wen Qing: “……”

Sometimes wisdom truly comes in unexpected forms.

(End of Chapter)