Xuan Lingzi choked on his saliva.

“I heard that Senior Brother Mu’s childhood sweetheart, little sister, Miss Liu, is about to enter the Taiyan Sect and live together with Senior Brother Mu. Is this true?”

Xuan Lingzi was at a loss for words and cast a pleading look toward the young man in the chair.

Gu Baiying’s gaze swept over Zanxing as he replied lazily: “It’s true.”

“But I remember when I first entered the sect, Senior Sister Zi Luo once said that unrelated people cannot enter the Taiyan Sect.” Zanxing spoke: “Why are we breaking the rules now?”

“It’s not… that is, Zanxing…” Xuan Lingzi carefully chose his words, racking his brains to come up with a reasonable justification that would both comfort Zanxing and prevent her from becoming dissatisfied with him.

Gu Baiying sat up straight, aimed the fruit pit in his hand at the waste basket by the door, and tossed it. The pit traced an arc through the air and hit the target dead center. The young man looked at her sideways, his tone casually infuriating: “He’s now a direct disciple. Direct disciples naturally have a different treatment from ordinary sect disciples. Rules are rules, but occasionally exceptions can be made.”

Zanxing said, “I object.”

She had said these words once before during the first inner sect examination, facing Duan Xiangrao’s snake bone whip, her tone calm.

Xuan Lingzi, afraid that Zanxing might do something foolish in her heartbreak, hurried to mediate: “Zanxing, actually… there’s nothing wrong with Miss Liu moving in. She’s in poor health, and Cengxiao is just taking care of her. Normally, Cengxiao will be busy with cultivation, so they won’t spend much time together. Besides, there are many talented young men in the sect. Perhaps in a few days you’ll no longer be infatuated with him.”

Zanxing only repeated: “I object.”

Gu Baiying stood up from his chair, walked in front of Zanxing, looked down into her eyes, his tone indifferent: “The sect can’t manage the private affairs between you and Mu Cengxiao. I advise you to focus your mind on cultivation instead of thinking about these boring dual… romantic entanglements. With that effort, you’d be better off reading more cultivation manuals and breaking through early—that’s the right path.”

Currently, Zanxing’s cultivation hadn’t yet formed a Golden Core. Any cultivator with even a bit of talent was stronger than her. If anyone were to dual cultivate with her, the Qin Chong seed would immediately transfer. If she devoted herself to cultivation and could break through to Golden Core, Yuan Ying, or even Soul Departure and Spirit Division in a short time, then even if she dual cultivated with others, the Qin Chong seed would remain safe and sound.

Unfortunately, this person had just entered the sect and was already thinking about romantic affairs, making people frustrated at her lack of ambition.

Zanxing frowned, staring at the person in front of her. This young man’s brows were full of impatience, yet those deep tea-colored eyes also contained a hint of warning.

Zanxing was silent for a moment, then said: “First, between Senior Brother Mu and me, everything is pure and innocent. I have no improper thoughts about him.”

“Zanxing, it’s fine,” Xuan Lingzi was still comforting her: “Master thinks you’re much better than that Miss Liu.”

Zanxing took a deep breath: “Second, I object because he can bring his relatives into the Taiyan Sect. Since that’s the case, I want to bring someone too.”

Xuan Lingzi: “Huh?”

“My maid, Hong Su, grew up with me from childhood. She’s currently living in Pingyang Town. She’s still young, and I want to take care of her too. Since we’re both direct disciples, we should be treated equally. I also want to bring her into the sect. This isn’t excessive, is it, Master?” Zanxing said in one breath. When she had passed the selection tournament and entered the Taiyan Sect, Hong Su and Lao Niu had stayed in Pingyang Town. Every month, Zanxing could go down the mountain once to see them. Lao Niu was getting old and had returned to the Yang family in Yue City. Hong Su should have gone back, too, but the little girl was worried about Zanxing and insisted on staying.

Yue City was just a small city after all, and the Yang family wasn’t a great household. Even though Zanxing had become a sect disciple, the allowance the Yang family gave to a little maid wouldn’t be much. Pingyang Town was a tourist city with high prices, and most of the spirit stones Zanxing received monthly went to supporting Hong Su. Now hearing that even Liu Yunxin could enter the sect, she thought it would be better to bring Hong Su in too, saving on living expenses. Besides, having a young girl outside alone was always worrying.

“Master, Senior Brother Mu and I are both your direct disciples. You can’t show favoritism—you must balance the water in both bowls evenly,” she said.

Even though Xuan Lingzi and Gu Baiying had imagined hundreds of scenarios where Zanxing might go crazy and throw a tantrum, they hadn’t expected her to take such an unexpected approach, acting so strangely.

Wasn’t her focus a bit off?

However, in comparison, just having a little maid live in the sect was already a very easy condition to fulfill.

Xuan Lingzi hurriedly smiled: “Of course, of course, that’s how it should be. I’ll send someone to Pingyang Town right away, and tomorrow morning we’ll bring your maid into the sect to live with you in Mingxiu Courtyard. Zanxing,” he asked carefully: “Do you have any other requests?”

“No more.” Zanxing cupped her hands toward Xuan Lingzi: “Thank you, Master, for thinking of your disciple. Then this disciple will go back first.” Having said this, she left in the same hurried manner as when she came.

Seeing Zanxing’s figure disappear outside the hall, Xuan Lingzi’s legs went weak, and he collapsed into the chair, patting his chest: “That scared me to death. I thought she was going to make a scene. If she had made a fuss, wouldn’t the other people in the sect have laughed at us? Junior Brother, don’t you think so… Junior Brother?” Xuan Lingzi turned around—the dharma hall was empty. Gu Baiying had left at some unknown time.

Neither his junior brother nor his disciples gave him any peace of mind. He sighed deeply, picked up the roasted chestnuts from the table, and said while cracking them: “Being a master is difficult. Truly, parents’ hearts are pitiful everywhere.”

……

On the other side, Gu Baiying returned to Xiaoyao Hall and told Mendong everything that had just happened.

At the end, he looked at Mendong suspiciously: “You said Yang Zanxing was lovesick for Mu Cengxiao, but just now in the hall, she didn’t look sad at all.” Her manner of negotiating with Xuan Lingzi made him suspect that in Yang Zanxing’s heart, Mu Cengxiao probably wasn’t as important as her little maid.

“Master Uncle, you don’t understand this,” Mendong fiddled with a nine-ring puzzle in his hands, saying, “Women often say the opposite of what they mean. Don’t look at how she acts like she doesn’t care on the surface—she’s doing it to maintain her dignity and not let others see her as a laughingstock, so she’s pretending to be nonchalant. Wait until tomorrow when that Miss Liu enters the sect, Master Uncle. You’ll see—she’ll cry secretly behind closed doors.”

“Really?” Gu Baiying was very doubtful and found it even harder to imagine Yang Zanxing crying secretly behind closed doors.

“Of course,” Mendong concentrated on twisting the nine-ring puzzle in front of him, not looking up as he spoke: “But Master Uncle, you can’t go soft-hearted. Although what we’re doing is breaking up lovebirds, something that deserves divine punishment, it’s all for the Qin Chong seed. Although this behavior isn’t very honorable, it’s understandable, right… Ouch!” He covered his forehead: “Why did you hit me?”

Gu Baiying withdrew his hand with a dark expression: “Shut up.”