“Junior Sister!”
“Present!”
“Please listen to this question!”
“Yes!”
Li Changshou waved his sleeve, and the little girl sitting cross-legged on the grass by the lake immediately became alert, her attention fully focused.
“Suppose, Junior Sister, you’re at the ninth stage of the Nascent Soul realm, and while flying along your path, you suddenly discover a deserted place where a cultivator at the sixth stage of Nascent Soul is forcefully assaulting a female cultivator at the Qi Condensation realm. What should you do?
Here are three options:
A: Rush in and kill him – you’ll be the embodiment of justice!
B: Throw a magical artifact at him from afar, then leave gracefully, ruining his mood.
C: Pretend you didn’t see anything and slip away.”
Lan Ling’e blinked, realizing there were things in both the question and options that someone her age might not fully comprehend…
Li Changshou smiled and reminded her: “Single choice question, make your selection.”
“A?” Lan Ling’e answered with some uncertainty.
Li Changshou calmly replied: “How do you know this person hasn’t hidden their true cultivation level and is merely displaying the sixth stage of Nascent Soul, when in fact they’re already a powerhouse at the Return to Void realm? Generally speaking, someone who dares to commit such despicable acts without concealment must also be treacherous and shameless – how can you place your hopes on their honesty!”
“Then,” Lan Ling’e furrowed her small brows, “B?”
“Junior Sister, don’t forget that you’re also a female cultivator,” Li Changshou sighed. “If all the assumptions in option A were true, and this beast sees a beautiful young lady like yourself, his bestial nature might be further aroused – wouldn’t you be putting yourself at risk too?”
Lan Ling’e’s small face turned red, feeling dizzy and confused. She weakly said: “But Senior Brother, option C isn’t what we cultivators should do. Father taught me and my siblings similar principles when I was very young, telling us to stand up against injustice and help the weak. Father said if everyone turns a blind eye to injustice, then when we become victims ourselves…”
“No, Junior Sister, you must remember that in a peaceful and friendly environment, your thinking would be correct. But the Primordial World isn’t a peaceful place. Here, powerful experts are as common as clouds, and cultivators often fight fierce battles over a single magical treasure or spirit root. Most cultivators who survive here are ruthless.”
Li Changshou clasped his hands behind his back, gazing at the lake’s surface, and sighed: “It’s difficult to survive in this world while maintaining such kindness and prioritizing chivalry. What we should do is neither commit evil nor support it, but we don’t necessarily need to stop evil acts. Rather than playing the hero when our abilities are insufficient, it’s better to stay alive until we stand at the peak above all beings when we can make the rules and rewrite the living conditions for the weak throughout the Primordial World. So, do you understand?”
“Yes!” Lan Ling’e nodded firmly, her eyes full of brightness.
At this moment, the master and disciple pair didn’t notice a wisp of green smoke floating out from the nearby thatched cottage, quietly drifting behind them.
Li Changshou said solemnly: “Junior Sister! Now I’ll give you another chance to choose. Answer quickly and firmly! If you encounter a male cultivator assaulting a female cultivator, what should you do!”
Lan Ling’e’s eyes were full of light, and though her voice wasn’t loud, it was exceptionally firm: “C, pretend I didn’t see anything! Slip away!”
“Good!” Li Changshou couldn’t help but give his junior sister a thumbs up, feeling moved inside. Just two days of teaching had yielded such results. If they continued like this, in a few years, he wouldn’t need to worry about his junior sister causing trouble that might implicate him! Having a junior sister who understands the importance of keeping a low profile for survival was really…
Suddenly, a cold wind blew from behind, causing both siblings to bristle. An elderly and cold voice suddenly sounded from behind:
“Li! Chang! Shou!”
Click… click…
That was the sound of Lan Ling’e’s teeth chattering.
Li Changshou’s mouth twitched as he turned his head to look, immediately forcing a smile.
“Master, you’ve finished your closed-door cultivation? Are you ready to begin today’s earnest teaching for little Junior Sister… Master, let’s talk this through! Why are you taking out your whisk? I’m your dear disciple too! You can’t mistreat the elder disciple just because you have a younger one, Master!”
“Outrageous!” Master Qi Yuan’s beard and hair flew wildly as his eyes widened, raising his whisk to strike. “Not only are you a coward, but you’re also corrupting your junior sister! Today I must teach you a good lesson!”
However, when the whisk fell, Li Changshou’s form was enveloped in a green light, instantly appearing on the other side of the willow tree, again bowing and begging his master for mercy.
“You dare use the wood escape technique to dodge! You’re asking for it!” Master Qi Yuan became even more furious, raising his whisk and giving chase.
Li Changshou’s form floated back, continuously dodging his master’s pursuit. Master Qi Yuan began activating spells, his whisk growing rapidly, creating countless illusory shadows by the lake, but Li Changshou moved like a loach, always finding gaps to slip through.
“Master, please calm down. I’m doing this for Junior Sister’s good.”
“Our Crossing Immortal Gate belongs to the Human Path, one of the Three Schools! How did we produce such a crooked-minded descendant like you!”
“Isn’t it because of Master’s keen eye for talent?”
“Bah! Today I’ll clean the house! Argh! This is infuriating!”
“Master, you’re not looking handsome at all when you’re angry…”
Under the willow shade, Ling’e, who was initially very worried when seeing Master about to hit Senior Brother, gradually began to laugh at their chase and “fight.”
She could see that Master wasn’t using his full force, and Senior Brother’s dodging movements were quite relaxed and graceful.
After this brief chase, Senior Brother seemed to slip and fall to the ground. Master pounced and pinned him down, using his whisk to vigorously whip Senior Brother’s bottom, producing rhythmic sounds…
A moment later, Master Qi Yuan, having disciplined his senior disciple, stood up and arranged his disheveled Daoist robe, shouting at his pathetic disciple on the ground:
“Reflect carefully on your actions!
From now on, you’re forbidden from teaching your Junior Sister how to conduct herself!
To finish building the thatched cottage for your Junior Sister!”
“Ah, yes, disciple obeys…”
“Ling’e, come here! The master will teach you the Dao! Forget all those twisted principles your Senior Brother taught you!”
“Oh!”
Ling’e responded weakly, looking with concern at her Senior Brother’s swollen bottom under his Daoist robe, then catching a glimpse of Li Changshou’s right hand hidden in his sleeve…
That right hand made a slight waving motion to her, giving a thumbs up.
Ling’e felt somewhat relieved, but seeing her Senior Brother’s pathetic form sprawled on the grass, she lowered her head and giggled, quickly following after Master’s silhouette.
Her steps became increasingly light, gradually breaking into a run…
Li Changshou lay there and let out a long sigh as a white cloud drifted over, slowly lifting him.
Master hit hard!
Li Changshou rubbed his bottom, sucking in a cold breath, then sighed again.
If he had known Master would beat him, he wouldn’t have let Master catch him…
But that wouldn’t work either. He had to consider Master’s face, after all, especially since Master’s hopes of becoming an immortal were slim now, and he was under great pressure and quite troubled.
From the magic Master just displayed, he was strong on the outside but weak inside, and his energy lock on Li Changshou was intermittent, clearly showing signs of rushing cultivation level advancement…
Well, he should think of a way to increase Master’s chances of surviving the heavenly tribulation.
Li Changshou scratched his head and fell into deep thought while lying on the cloud, slowly drifting towards the nearly completed third thatched cottage not far away.
…
These past few days had felt like a dream.
In this ninth year of her life;
While shopping at the market with her mother, she was chosen by an old immortal master and taken as a disciple.
Although her parents were reluctant to part with her, this was an incredible opportunity. If she succeeded in cultivation, her clan would benefit from her achievements, so after holding an apprenticeship ceremony at home and receiving many instructions from her mother, she followed Master to the Crossing Immortal Gate.
Then, she met her somewhat strange Senior Brother.
Senior Brother had many seemingly reasonable but somehow odd long speeches;
Master repeatedly warned that Senior Brother was just a weird person and that she shouldn’t learn how to behave from him, but she always felt that Senior Brother was a very capable cultivator.
There weren’t too many etiquette rules and customs in the mountains. The lake and mountains were full of delicacies, and cultivation was quite interesting, at least not as boring as she had imagined before coming.
Of course, the happiest times were barbecuing with Senior Brother, feeding fish together, wandering in the mountains, finding an extremely delicious wild game to fill her little belly, and then quietly sitting by the lake for a while, listening to Senior Brother’s crooked principles…
Would future days always be like this?
Curled up in a blanket made of some unknown material, Ling’e let out a soft breath, turning to face the window.
She suddenly felt a shadow moving before her eyes, and as she slightly widened her drowsy eyes, she was instantly startled awake, her small body trembling slightly.
Outside the window, Li Changshou was lying on a white cloud, waving to her gently.
“Night tutoring, young lady.”
“Huh?” Ling’e blinked, then nodded slightly while wrapped in her blanket, “Mm…”
“Now listen to the second question!”
Ah, Senior Brother was a weird person.
…
And so, ten years later.