A light morning rain.
Lin Luoyu slowly opened her eyes to the patter of rain against the window.
The Haoran Sword that Master had given her was a spirit treasure that suited her perfectly, but a spirit treasure was still a spirit treasure — it still required physical contact with the sword.
This sword possessed a true sword spirit, and a rather naive one at that. Going by the sword spirit alone, it was undoubtedly a brand-new spirit sword.
It was a bit like her former self — quite stubborn in temper.
Master had still gone to the trouble for her. This was the sword she had longed for in her heart.
Lin Luoyu stood up. The Haoran Sword resting in front of her glowed with a pure white light, and Haoran qi rippled out, lifting it into the air. Lin Luoyu reached out and lightly tapped the hilt in greeting.
The gentleman's sword swayed gently, as if returning the greeting.
A faint smile appeared on Lin Luoyu's face. She walked to the window, pushed it open gently, and looked out at the small street veiled in drizzle.
What Cui Hao had said last night made some sense, but she only knew how to do the right thing — she wasn't some inflexible fool who couldn't adapt.
This Fifth Junior Brother still hadn't figured out why he was the Fifth Junior Brother, while she was the Fourth Senior Sister.
Today they would set out again, and they would see whether this Fifth Junior Brother would ultimately need his Fourth Senior Sister to back him up.
Lin Luoyu raised her hand slightly, and the Haoran longsword returned to her grasp.
She stepped out of her room and made her way down to the inn's first-floor hall.
"Senior Sister, rested well? Care for a bowl?"
Lin Luoyu looked over and saw Cui Hao holding a bowl of plain congee, greeting her with a face full of smiles. Beside him sat Dong Gua and half-Xi Gua.
Half-Xi Gua was still quite intimidating-looking. The waiters around them cast curious glances, but their faces were slightly furrowed with what looked like distaste — the reaction of seeing something freakish, never encountered before, curious to look but finding it disgusting.
Xi Gua remained calm and unhurried, scooping congee with his one remaining hand and bringing it to his mouth.
Dong Gua's expression was soft, her posture elegant as she delicately sipped the congee — though it came off as somewhat affected.
Lin Luoyu raised an eyebrow slightly. Sure enough, Cui Hao never seemed out of place no matter who he paired up with — even shoulder-to-shoulder with half-Xi Gua, she still found the sight easy on the eyes.
But eating with them was another matter. She opened her mouth to refuse.
"No thanks, you all go ahead and eat."
Cui Hao slurped a mouthful of congee and sighed softly. "Sigh, I still miss the days of having plain congee with Senior Sister. What a pity Senior Sister has reached Bigu, while I'm still a little Foundation Establishment cultivator."
"Then shouldn't you be reflecting on yourself? How are you still in Foundation Establishment after so long?"
Lin Luoyu took her sword and sat down.
"Eat quickly, the road is long. We'll rest once we get there."
Cui Hao nodded heavily and started gulping straight from the bowl.
Seeing this, Dong Gua and Xi Gua quickly followed suit.
Once again, it was Dong Gua who paid for the meal.
After breakfast, the rain was still pattering down.
Today Cui Hao had volunteered to drive the carriage.
A somewhat rundown carriage began moving along a somewhat rundown road.
Li Xingtian stood at the highest point of the inn, his gaze calmly following that rundown moving carriage.
After pinning down Xi Gua and Dong Gua, Li Xingtian had also temporarily extracted himself from the Growth Sect. He no longer had to deal with that crowd of irritating demonic cultivators, and had begun cooperating with this operation led by his junior brother and sister.
Some news suggested that Eldest Senior Sister was also cooperating.
Li Xingtian naturally understood the temperaments of his own junior brother and sister — they had, after all, spent quite a long time together. Only, compared to Cui Hao, he probably understood Lin Luoyu a little better.
Lin Luoyu had once joined him in seeking out the opportunity divined by the Heavenly Divination Sect's sect master. For that, they had searched through many secret realms and acted together.
Regarding this Fourth Junior Sister, Li Xingtian naturally knew her to be steady and reliable.
As for Cui Hao…
The reputation of "Trouble Cui" might seem unremarkable to outsiders, but within the sect, even San Dong — once Cui Hao's loyal little sidekick — had come to accept this nickname.
But the next moment, Li Xingtian's gaze showed a hint of shock, and an inexplicable emotion welled up in his heart.
Behind that carriage, Cui Hao had exposed his right hand and was giving him a thumbs-up.
Li Xingtian was momentarily speechless. Back in the year when he had first left Master to travel the world, Master had used a similar gesture to remind him that there was something extra left for him inside his spatial ring.
Seeing this, Li Xingtian's heart settled.
Even though Cui Hao had the "Trouble Cui" reputation, the troubles he caused were measured — just absurdly laughable things.
The most crucial point, in fact… was that among all these disciples, Cui Hao was the one who most resembled Master.
You could roughly call him a super-budget version of Master.
But a super-budget Master handling affairs was still enough to put one at ease.
Li Xingtian's gaze turned to Yu Jing and Wen Zuo at his side.
"Proceed as planned, but be careful of my junior sister."
Wen Zuo hesitated slightly, then asked carefully:
"Cult Leader, the junior sister you speak of — is it that female cultivator with Haoran qi overflowing from her body?"
Li Xingtian's brow furrowed. "Who else could it be — the junior brother driving the carriage? Can you not tell men from women?"
"Yes, sir." Wen Zuo hastily complied, though inwardly he muttered to himself — compared to men and women, the gap between righteous and demonic was far harder to accept.
The peerless Blood Demon's junior sister was a cultivator suffused with righteous Haoran qi.
Which sect could manage such an extreme contrast?
But in the end, these were not his thoughts to have.
Wen Zuo raised his longsword and continued. "Rest assured, Cult Leader. Brother Yu and I will certainly hold back and ensure the junior sister's safety."
Li Xingtian inhaled at this and looked at the two of them.
"I'm telling you to be careful. My junior sister rarely spars with people of the same realm. She may not be able to control her strength perfectly — don't get accidentally slashed by her."
Wen Zuo asked hesitantly, "Your junior sister should be at early Golden Core, right?"
"Naturally."
"Then rest assured, Cult Leader. Brother Yu and I are both mid-to-late Golden Core cultivators. Two-on-one, we have some confidence in acting it out flawlessly."
Wen Zuo's expression grew somewhat more confident.
Even for great sects, truly opening a huge gap had to wait until the Nascent Soul realm. This was also why disciples of great sects were often pushed to the Nascent Soul stage during their training.
Right now, facing a cultivator who had just entered Golden Core, two-on-one — even if they couldn't win, surely they wouldn't lose too badly, right?
Seeing this, Li Xingtian didn't say anything more, just gave the order. "Go."
Wen Zuo and Yu Jing bowed in salute, and the next moment flanked left and right in pursuit of the carriage.
Per the Cult Leader's request, they had to wait until the carriage was far from any habitation before making their move, so the aftermath wouldn't harm innocent passersby.
——————
Inside the carriage.
Cui Hao's endless chatter hadn't stopped just because he was driving. His voice came through the door curtain.
Lin Luoyu had no interest in replying, and half-Xi Gua leaned against the corner.
Only Dong Gua responded to each and every remark.
Only, Lin Luoyu noticed that Dong Gua's occasional responses had an unnatural look to them.
They had traveled some distance, with Dong Gua responding the whole way — but suddenly, Dong Gua's expression turned solemn in an instant.
She shifted her gaze toward Lin Luoyu, only to find Lin Luoyu's expression equally solemn, giving her a gentle nod.
"Hey, Dong Gua, what kind of food do you like?"
Dong Gua ignored the question. Right now, she didn't like eating anything — right now, she was the one about to be eaten.
Within her divine sense, she faintly detected two cultivators of about Golden Core cultivation encircling them.
And before her, Lin Luoyu was merely an early Golden Core cultivator. Her own blood qi was still in a suppressed state — fighting would basically be suicide. Xi Gua was even worse off than her.
"Why aren't you talking?"
Cui Hao poked his head in through the curtain. He first glanced at the somewhat tense-looking Dong Gua, then shot Lin Luoyu a look.
Lin Luoyu lowered her eyes to signal that she understood.
A smile appeared on Cui Hao's face — the sect secret technique: Reading the Eyes.
In moments like this, it was especially useful.
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