THNWO 130

Chapter 130

“Senior brother, are you angry?”

The sudden voice pulled Fang Chaozhou’s attention back, and he turned to look at his fifth junior brother, Du Yunxi, beside him. “No, not at all.”

Du Yunxi looked at the nearly ruined herbs with a pained expression but dared not voice his concerns. He could only smile and place the plate of innocently damaged herbs on the top shelf, “It’s good you’re not angry. I thought you were upset with me over the issue with those two medicinal pills.”

Hearing this, Fang Chaozhou’s expression turned serious, “I have a right to be upset. You claimed to have developed a pill that could remove odors, yet I’ve taken it for days and still can’t rid myself of this smell. Moreover, you never mentioned it would be…” a milky smell, despite having promised a fragrant one.

He was too embarrassed to continue, feeling ridiculous as a grown man reeking of milk.

Fang Chaozhou clenched his fists in anger, “You have three more days. If the smell doesn’t go away…” He trailed off, eyeing the shelves full of herbs with a predatory gaze.

Du Yunxi, sensing trouble, immediately stood in front of the herb shelf, “Second Senior Brother, these herbs were hard to come by. Three days… How could I possibly manage in three days? Give me three… two months.” Under Fang Chaozhou’s intimidating look, he quickly corrected himself to two months.

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“Mbyv’p kxrsppkczl, R nyd’v oykv vos xsal xsdvbp,” Wydt Ubysgbsw nswzed’v clya ydsvbla vos xsdvbp okvb vbl xkzju pxlzz.

“Xdl xsdvb, Flnsde Fldksa Jasvbla, sdl xsdvb kp vbl zkxkv,” Pw Zwdmk rzlyele okvb bkp bydep nzyprle vstlvbla. “Gznblxu vyjlp vkxl, yde pwnnlpp eslpd’v nsxl yv vbl qkapv yvvlxrv. R yzps dlle vs vlpv vbl rkzzp, rzlypl cl y ckv xsal qzlmkczl.”

Wydt Ubysgbsw rwaple bkp zkrp, “Wkdl, cwv ds zsdtla vbyd y xsdvb.”

Tl bye pvsrrle vyjkdt Dkydt Kk Pyd yde Mkyd Nw Eyd, cwv vbl xkzju pxlzz zkdtlale, aldelakdt vbl pwrrsple sesa-lzkxkdyvkdt rkzzp cu Pw Zwdmk kdlqqlnvkhl.

Mbkdtp fwpv olald’v tskdt bkp oyu.

Fllkdt Wydt Ubysgbsw alzldv, Pw Zwdmk calyvble y pktb sq alzklq yde vwadle vs satydkgl vbl blacp. Tl nypwyzzu xldvksdle, “R oldv vs ynnlrv y xkppksd qasx swa plnv vseyu yde ayd kdvs swa Kwdksa Jasvbla. Rv’p iwkvl pwarakpkdt; bl plzesx vyjlp sd plnv xkppksdp.”

Wydt Ubysgbsw’p lyap rlajle wr, “Ebyv eke usw pyu?”

“R pyke Kwdksa Jasvbla vssj sd y plnv xkppksd, yde kv pllxp vs cl y Qayel G xkppksd yv vbyv. Fwnb xkppksdp aliwkal yv zlypv y eyu yde y dktbv vs nsxrzlvl. Tl’p dlhla clld sdl vs vyjl sd plnv xkppksdp clqsal, aktbv? R esd’v alnyzz lhla pllkdt bkx es ps.”

Du Yunxi often took on sect missions out of financial necessity for buying herbs, unlike Fang Chaozhou, who had no need for such tasks given his wealth.

As for Xue Danrong, Du Yunxi wasn’t sure about his financial situation but assumed he wasn’t short on money, given his lack of participation in sect missions. Furthermore, as a sword cultivator like Xue Danrong, there were few expenses, unlike Du Yunxi, who needed funds for herbs.

However, it was peculiar that Xue Danrong had actively taken on a sect mission this time. His familiar manner during registration did not seem like that of a first-timer.

After hearing Du Yunxi’s account, Fang Chaozhou was initially shocked, then a hint of anger appeared on his face, though his tone remained calm, “What kind of mission is a Grade A mission?”

Du Yunxi thought for a moment, “Grade A missions usually involve retrieving items. These items are hard to find and often guarded by beasts, making the missions quite challenging. Typically, the Tian Shui Sect sends a group to undertake these missions together for mutual support.”

He picked up once and felt that searching for things was too difficult. Although the extra good things he found could be kept for himself, the chances of finding them were too slim. He still preferred tasks that were more stable and steady.

As Du Yunxi pondered this, he turned around and was startled by Fang Chaozhou behind him. “Second Senior Brother, you… You look like you’re going to eat someone.”

Fang Chaozhou quickly retracted his exposed teeth and bluntly said, “I’m leaving first,” before leaving Du Yunxi’s residence.

Half a month ago, Fang Chaozhou confidently proposed to Xue Danrong to become Dao companions, but unexpectedly, he was harshly rejected, which infuriated him to the point that he directly drove Xue Danrong out of Zhuyu Pond.

Xue Danrong didn’t want to leave yet, but he was eventually driven away by Fang Chaozhou wielding a tree branch.

Still seething with anger, even when Xue Danrong came late at night in the following days, he chased him away. Little did he know, after chasing him away for a few days, Xue Danrong stopped coming altogether. He thought Xue Danrong might be busy with something important, only to realize that Xue Danrong had gone to take on a mission for the sect.

Xue Danrong originally only cared about cultivation, but now sect missions were prioritized over cultivation. No wonder he stopped coming to see him. He couldn’t compete with cultivation and naturally fell behind the sect missions.

When one was possessed by demons, they talked sweeter than ghosts and acted as if they couldn’t live without him. Now that the demonic influence had cleared, they were going their separate ways. If they wanted to go their separate ways, he didn’t care.

Fang Chaozhou lived up to his words, lying alive and well in Zhuyu Pond for half a month, never going anywhere, until the eldest senior brother came looking for him.

“Second Junior Brother, it’s already this late, why are you still lying down?” The eldest senior brother looked at Fang Chaozhou lying motionless on the bed, laughing.

Fang Chaozhou opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. “I have nothing to do, so why should I get up?”

The eldest senior brother couldn’t help but laugh. “Isn’t cultivation something to do? You’re so lazy. If Master finds out, he’ll probably drag you back to cultivate again.”

Fang Chaozhou still lay stiffly. “Then I’ll wait for the Master to come knocking. I’m not doing anything now anyway.”

The eldest senior brother sighed. “Second Junior Brother, be obedient, get up, find something to do. If nothing else, sit outside, bask in the sun, and read some books.”

Fang Chaozhou: “…”

He reached out to pull aside the bed curtain. “Who told you that?”

“No one did.”

Fang Chaozhou narrowed his eyes. “If you lie, all the lotus flowers newly planted by the Senior Brother will wither.”

The eldest senior brother immediately surrendered. “It was Fifth Junior Brother. He told me you haven’t been quite yourself lately and haven’t been going down the mountain to buy new books.”

“I haven’t finished reading my books. Why should I go down the mountain?” Fang Chaozhou attempted to lower the bed curtain again.

The eldest senior brother preemptively grabbed the bed curtain and stared at the young man on the bed. “You may not feel like cultivating, but going out with me to do some missions could help clear your mind. Have you ever taken on sect missions before? This time, I’ll take you. Some missions are quite interesting, like helping to feed the spirit beasts raised by the elders of various peaks. I remember the Fifth elder has a cute little red fox. You could even hold it in your arms.”

“Fifth elder treasures his spirit beast so much. How could he let me hold it? Senior Brother, don’t lie to me.” Fang Chaozhou remained apathetic.

“In that case, you can choose a sect mission. There are plenty to choose from,” the eldest senior brother said.

Fang Chaozhou’s eyes wandered slowly before finally settling on the eldest senior brother. “Fine, then I’ll go take a look.”

Standing in front of the task board at the hall, Fang Chaozhou looked at the wall full of sect missions, feeling overwhelmed. The eldest senior brother watched him hesitating without saying a word, allowing Fang Chaozhou to make his choice slowly, but the Martial uncle of the hall couldn’t tolerate their dilly-dallying.

“Haven’t made a decision yet?” The Martial uncle flipped through the booklet in his hand. “Let me choose for you. Your junior disciple just picked up the first task under the character ‘甲.’ That task still needs a few more people. Both of you can go together.”

Upon hearing this, the eldest senior brother looked at Fang Chaozhou. “Second Junior Brother, Task 1 under ‘甲’ is a search mission. Are you going?”

Fang Chaozhou remained expressionless. “I don’t care.”

“Then it’s settled. Thanks, Martial uncle.” The eldest senior brother registered their names on the book and retrieved the task token, handing one piece to Fang Chaozhou. “I asked Martial uncle, we’re leaving early tomorrow morning at the hour of Chen. Don’t oversleep. Alright, I’ll come wake you up tomorrow, no more lying in bed.”

Fang Chaozhou tucked the token into his sleeve. “Got it.”

Although the eldest senior brother reminded Fang Chaozhou, he was sure Fang Chaozhou would still try to sleep in, so he went to Zhuyu Pond very early. He thought he would have to personally drag the lazy bug out of bed, but when he arrived, Fang Chaozhou was already dressed.

Fang Chaozhou was dressed exceptionally today as well, wearing a newly made outfit of fine Feiyan silk. Feiyan silk was perfect for early summer, cool to the touch. Although it was green, the color faded from bottom to top, becoming almost white at the collar. Paired with a green-gray jade crown and hair bun, he looked elegant and cool, giving off a refreshing vibe, reducing the stifling heat of summer by a few degrees.

The eldest senior brother was taken aback. Although Fang Chaozhou usually dressed well, he had never seen him dressed like this before… He couldn’t find a good word to describe it for a moment, feeling as if Fang Chaozhou was about to meet someone very important.

After adjusting his collar in the mirror and picking up the fan on the table, Fang Chaozhou finally looked at the eldest senior brother beside him. “Senior Brother, I’m ready, let’s go.”

A quarter of an hour later, they arrived at the meeting point.

There were already quite a few people standing there, but they didn’t converse; they just kept looking in a certain direction.

As the hour of Chen approached, Fang Chaozhou heard someone inhale sharply. “He’s here, he’s coming.”

The excitement tinged with forced restraint made Fang Chaozhou couldn’t help but think of one person. He followed the group’s gaze and saw a young man in snow-white clothes, wearing a veil hat, tall and graceful, approaching this way.

“It’s our junior brother,” the eldest senior brother next to him said.

Fang Chaozhou glanced over and immediately turned his face away.

The young man in snow-white clothes seemed to notice Fang Chaozhou and the eldest senior brother and started walking in their direction. However, halfway there, he was intercepted by someone.

“Brother Xue, let’s team up today,” a young disciple spoke boldly.

The handsome face under the veil hat flashed a hint of displeasure, but as soon as this young disciple spoke, others nearby also gathered around. For a moment, the young man in snow-white clothes was surrounded by people and couldn’t break free for the time being.

Seeing this scene, the eldest senior brother couldn’t help but shake his head. “Junior Brother’s charm is as strong as ever, isn’t it, Second Junior Brother?”

He turned to look at Fang Chaozhou, only to see Fang Chaozhou rolling his eyes dramatically towards Xue Danrong’s direction.

The eldest senior brother: “…”

He cleared his throat. “You look so nice today, don’t roll your eyes like that.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Fang Chaozhou rolling his eyes again, even more obviously towards Xue Danrong this time.