THNWO 131

Chapter 131 

After rolling his eyes, Fang Chaozhou said to the eldest senior brother, “Senior Brother, let’s go first.”

The eldest senior brother considered asking the junior brother if he wanted to join them, but seeing Fang Chaozhou’s expression, he ultimately didn’t ask.

Their destination this trip was the Spring River Barrier. The terrain there was steep, with dense fog and monster beasts. The eldest senior brother summoned his flying sword, took Fang Chaozhou along, informed the person in charge, and set off for the Spring River Barrier.

However, they hadn’t gone far when someone caught up with them.

“Senior Brother.”

The voice was Xue Danrong’s.

Upon hearing it, the eldest senior brother slowed down the flying sword. Soon, Xue Danrong caught up with him, flying side by side. After nodding slightly to the eldest senior brother, Xue Danrong looked at Fang Chaozhou sitting on the flying sword, his gaze fixed ahead.

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“Flnsde Jasvbla,” Dwl Pydasdt’p hsknl oyp dsvknlyczu psqvla, “obu yal usw blal?”

Ekvbswv zssjkdt yv Dwl Pydasdt, Wydt Ubysgbsw alrzkle nszezu, “Ebu nyd’v R nsxl swv kq usw’al swv?”

“R eked’v xlyd…”

Jlqsal Dwl Pydasdt nswze qkdkpb bkp pldvldnl, bl oyp ycawrvzu kdvlaawrvle. “Fldksa Jasvbla, bso xwnb zsdtla wdvkz ol yaakhl?”

Mbl lzelpv pldksa casvbla zssjle yv Wydt Ubysgbsw okvb psxl pwarakpl, vbld tzydnle yv Dwl Pydasdt, obs qlzz pkzldv kdpvydvzu, yde nsdpkelale, “Rv okzz cl y obkzl zsdtla.”

Wydt Ubysgbsw alpvle bkp nbkd sd bkp byde. “Mbld nyzz xl obld ol yaakhl.”

Tl nzlyazu bye y elxlydsa sq alqwpkdt vs ldtytl kd nsdhlapyvksd okvb svblap, yde lhld vbl lzelpv pldksa casvbla eked’v eyal vs prlyj wr. Tl nswze sdzu pbyjl bkp blye vsoyaep Dwl Pydasdt. Tsolhla, Dwl Pydasdt’p tygl alxykdle qkmle sd Wydt Ubysgbsw, cwv ds xyvvla bso bl zssjle, Wydt Ubysgbsw dlhla tzydnle kd bkp ekalnvksd, yp kq bl eked’v lmkpv yv yzz.

Rv vssj ycswv vos bswap vs alynb vbl Frakdt Skhla Jyaakla. Gqvla yaakhkdt, vblu eked’v awpb kd cwv pvsse swvpkel oykvkdt qsa vbl zyvl yaakhyzp. Gzvbswtb vbl lzelpv pldksa casvbla oypd’v zlyekdt vbkp vkxl, kv oyp y byckv qasx bkp ralhkswp zlyelapbkr lmrlakldnlp vs oykv wdvkz lhlausdl oyp vstlvbla clqsal rasnllekdt. Geekvksdyzzu, vblu dllele vbl nzlyaydnl yavkqynv, obknb oyp kd vbl bydep sq vbl twkekdt fwdksa ekpnkrzl.

While waiting outside, Xue Danrong walked up to Fang Chaozhou. Before he could even open his mouth to call him “Brother,” Fang Chaozhou ran to the side of the eldest senior brother. “Senior Brother, I’ve been struggling with a spell I can’t seem to master. Can you teach me?”

During the process of Fang Chaozhou seeking advice from the eldest senior brother, he sneaked a glance at Xue Danrong behind him. Seeing him standing there like a wooden block, Fang Chaozhou couldn’t help but snort.

The eldest senior brother paused in his speech. “Second Junior Brother, did I say something wrong just now?”

“No, not at all,” Fang Chaozhou replied.

“Then why did you snort?”

Fang Chaozhou pondered for a moment. “My mouth itched.”

The eldest senior brother couldn’t help but chuckle. “And what about rolling your eyes back at the sect earlier?”

“My eyes itched,” Fang Chaozhou said decisively this time.

The eldest senior brother burst into laughter and even reached out to pat Fang Chaozhou’s head. “You’ve really grown up now, becoming so vain.”

In the midst of their conversation, the other disciples finally arrived.

As the name suggested, the Spring River Barrier maintained a spring-like temperature all year round, but the barrier qi was extremely heavy. The deeper they went, the heavier the barrier qi became. At the deepest point, they could hardly even see their own hands. The guiding junior disciple distributed the clearance artifacts provided by the martial uncle to them. Due to limited availability, not everyone had one; each small team shared one, so they had to team up.

Naturally, Fang Chaozhou teamed up with the eldest senior brother, while everyone else wanted to team up with Xue Danrong. Without saying a word, Xue Danrong directly joined the team led by the eldest senior brother, causing a crowd to quickly gather around Fang Chaozhou’s side.

A squad can consist of up to five people; any more, and the time each person spends searching for items will be shortened.

In the end, the eldest Senior Brother selected two junior brothers to accompany him.

This time, their team was scheduled to stay at Spring River Barrier for three days because the barrier-clearing artifacts could only last for three days. After three days, regardless of whether they found anything or not, they would have to retreat. To avoid conflicts, generally, within a team, each person searched for different items, but all were rare treasures, such as what Fang Chaozhou was searching for—the Full Moon Umbrella. The Full Moon Umbrella wasn’t an umbrella but a type of mushroom that only appeared during a full moon.

This kind of mushroom had miraculous healing effects, but it was also extremely rare. Mainly, when the Full Moon Umbrella became aware, it would actively avoid crowds. Even if forcefully picked, it would choose to commit suicide in anger, turning into the most common mushroom in the world.

Fang Chaozhou knew he was looking for the Full Moon Umbrella, but he never thought he would find it. Even if he did find it, he wouldn’t be able to take it back.

This little thing was hard to find, and its nature was tricky. In other words, the Full Moon Umbrella would only choose a destined person, but this notion of destiny was incredibly mysterious, and Fang Chaozhou wasn’t confident about it.

“Senior Brother.”

As Fang Chaozhou was thinking about the Full Moon Umbrella, Xue Danrong appeared beside him, calling out softly.

Fang Chaozhou didn’t look sideways. “Why are you coming over here? The road is so wide; go over there.”

Xue Danrong was about to say something when suddenly a voice interrupted him.

“Junior Brother Xue, is that the immortal herb you’re looking for over there?”

The speaker was a junior brother who had mastered the Thousand-Mile Eyes spell. With his eyes, he could clearly see things miles away, so he always took on item-searching missions.

However, the barrier here was heavy, so his Thousand-Mile Eyes were greatly discounted, but still stronger than the rest of them.

Upon hearing this, Xue Danrong hesitated for a moment before continuing to speak to Fang Chaozhou, “Senior Brother, I’ll come over later.”

With that said, he walked towards the junior brother with the Thousand-Mile Eyes.

Fang Chaozhou watched him go, silently pursing his lips.

A mere blade of grass was more important than him.

Xue Danrong had put in a lot of effort to harvest that immortal herb, which was guarded by a monster. The monster lurked underground, only emerging when Xue Danrong picked the herb, attacking him.

The scene made Fang Chaozhou unable to help but move forward immediately, but upon seeing Xue Danrong evade, he abruptly stopped in his tracks.

Xue Danrong gestured towards them, indicating they didn’t need to come forward, but in a moment, he alone subdued the monster.

The eldest senior brother, witnessing this scene, nodded repeatedly. “Junior Brother has made progress in recent days, not only in cultivation but also in combat ability. It seems coming out for missions is indeed a way to temper oneself. Junior Brother is truly intelligent.”

Upon hearing these words, Fang Chaozhou felt a strange sensation in his heart. On one hand, he was pleased that Xue Danrong’s cultivation had improved, but on the other hand, Xue Danrong’s actions explained why he hadn’t come to him.

Taking on missions not only earned money but also provided practical combat experience, naturally making them more important than him.

Although Xue Danrong had evaded the initial attack of the monster, his sleeve was torn into a large strip, making him look quite disheveled. After picking the herb, he turned to walk towards Fang Chaozhou, but before he could take two steps, he was intercepted by another junior brother.

“Junior Brother Xue, your clothes are torn. I have a new one here. Why don’t you change into it?” 

Xue Danrong responded coldly, “No need, thank you, Senior Brother.”

After he declined, he walked up to Fang Chaozhou, his voice carrying a hint of grievance. “Senior Brother, my clothes are torn.”

Without hesitation, Fang Chaozhou nudged the eldest senior brother with his elbow. “Senior Brother, lend your clothes to Junior Brother.”

The eldest senior brother readily agreed, “Sure, but all my clothes are worn out. Junior Brother doesn’t mind, right?”

Xue Danrong furrowed his brows but remained silent, while Fang Chaozhou had already walked ahead, seemingly unconcerned whether Xue Danrong eventually wore Senior Brother’s clothes or not.

After that, Xue Danrong walked alone at the end of the team. Even if someone spoke to him, he didn’t respond.

He didn’t wear the eldest senior brother’s clothes and still wore the tattered garment.

On the first day, because they weren’t familiar with the terrain of Spring River Barrier, they didn’t make much progress. In the meantime, they encountered an extremely fierce monster, which they killed together. This monster was extraordinary, able to exhale barrier qi, causing them to waste a lot of time. By the time it got dark, they couldn’t continue. As darkness fell, the barrier qi became heavier, greatly reducing the effectiveness of the barrier-clearing artifacts. Those following behind would easily get lost and separate from the team.

They collectively set up a barrier to repel the barrier qi. After the eldest senior brother set up the barrier, he said he wanted to go out to explore the path and asked Junior Brother Xue to accompany him. Inside the barrier, there were only Fang Chaozhou and the other two junior brothers.

One of the junior brothers had walked for a day and felt a little tired, so he leaned against a tree root and fell asleep. The junior brother with the Thousand-Mile Eyes, on the other hand, walked over to Fang Chaozhou and sat down beside him.

“You’re Senior Brother Fang from Yizhi Peak, right?”

Fang Chaozhou was originally staring at the ground and was startled by the voice, turning his head to glance at the junior brother with the Thousand-Mile Eyes, nodding. “Yes, I’m Fang Chaozhou.”

“Hello, Senior Brother Fang. I’m He Mingzhe.” He Mingzhe smiled slightly. “Is this your first time coming out?”

Fang Chaozhou looked at him. “How did you know?”

He Mingzhe smiled, “Only first-timers dress so well. When we go out on missions, clothes often get torn. It’s a pity when good clothes get ruined.”

Upon hearing this, Fang Chaozhou glanced at himself, feeling inexplicably as if his inner thoughts had been exposed. “Is that so? I usually wear this. Just ordinary clothes.”

He definitely didn’t dress nicely just to see Xue Danrong.

He Mingzhe chuckled again, “Yes, it’s me who lacks exposure.” Without giving Fang Chaozhou a chance to explain, he continued, “Actually, I haven’t taken on missions for a long time. I didn’t expect to team up with Junior Brother Xue as soon as I came out. I’ve heard that Junior Brother Xue hardly teams up with anyone.”

He paused. “Today, I found the immortal herb for him, and he specially thanked me.”

Fang Chaozhou remained silent.

He Mingzhe blushed slightly and continued, “What do you think Junior Brother Xue means by that?”

Fang Chaozhou raised an eyebrow. Why did he feel like He Mingzhe had an ulterior motive in his words?

“What do you want to ask?”

He Mingzhe pursed his lips and smiled, “Forgive my bluntness, but I know Senior Brother Fang is Junior Brother Xue’s direct senior brother, so I wanted to ask how Junior Brother Xue treats others. I’ve heard he’s always aloof and dislikes interacting with people.”

Hmm… not an illusion.

“Are you asking if Junior Brother likes you or not? He definitely does.” Fang Chaozhou replied with a smile.

He Mingzhe blushed, but before he could speak, the junior brother who had been sleeping suddenly woke up and interjected, “Is saying thank you a sign of liking? I lent clothes to Junior Brother Xue, and he also said thank you. Does that mean he likes me too?”

He Mingzhe’s face darkened. “Junior Brother Xue didn’t take your clothes.”

Fang Chaozhou didn’t mind the fuss and rubbed his chin. “Not taking clothes doesn’t mean he doesn’t like you. Maybe he’s just shy?”

As this remark came out, both junior brothers looked at him. “Senior Brother Fang, who does Junior Brother Xue really like?”