Ch 141: The Cannon Fodder Won’t Play Along Anymore [QT]

Ever since Xue Zhongyu returned to Taixu Sect, he had been extremely active.

Unlike Mu Xing, who spent all his time on Medicine Peak and was rarely seen, he loved traveling between the peaks, often teaming up with other disciples to take on trial missions.

He was young, good-looking, sweet-tongued, and generous. Among the disciples who interacted with him, there wasn’t a single one who disliked him.

Rumors about him in the sect grew more and more widespread.

And once enough people were talking, someone was bound to bring it up:

“Junior Brother Mu from Medicine Peak—I’ve heard he looks very similar to Junior Brother Xue.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I saw Junior Brother Mu once before. They really do look alike. If you didn’t know, you’d think they were brothers born of the same mother.”

“But we hardly ever hear any news about Junior Brother Mu.”

When Xue Zhongyu occasionally heard such remarks, not only did he not deny it, he would happily say, “Yes, I’ve seen Junior Brother Mu, we really do look alike. It’s a pity. If only I had such a big brother.”

If Medicine Peak disciples heard such rumors, they would always seriously insist that the two didn’t look alike at all.

But unfortunately, Medicine Peak disciples were homebodies, busy with farming and alchemy, with little social contact. Their clarifications were not enough to stop the spread of rumors.

That day.

Xue Zhongyu followed a few sect disciples on a mission to find the high-grade spiritual herb “Chiyun Zhi.” Guided by clues, they found where it grew, but a demon beast had also set its eyes on the herb.

After a fierce battle, several disciples were left injured.

Standing among them, Xue Zhongyu spoke in a low, apologetic voice: “It was my mistake. I only detected one Beauty Spider here—I didn’t expect there to be two.”

Now they were hiding inside a barrier that concealed their forms and auras, while the spiders prowled outside, searching for prey.

The barrier had a time limit. Once half a stick of incense passed, it would shatter.

And none of them were a match for two Beauty Spiders.

The other disciples comforted him: “It’s not your fault. None of us would have guessed it. Beauty Spiders are solitary spiritual beasts—it’s unheard of for two to appear together.”

Xue Zhongyu looked at them pitifully, his eyes reddening: “I’m so scared. We won’t die, will we?”

At that, the disciples’ faces grew grim.

But they still comforted their youngest companion. The sword cultivator whose left hand was poisoned and paralyzed on one side said, “Junior Brother, it’s our fault we didn’t protect you. When the barrier breaks, Senior Brother Cheng and I will charge forward. You must run in the opposite direction. We will never let these venomous spiders hurt you.”

Xue Zhongyu looked deeply moved: “Thank you, Senior Brothers.”

They took some qi-restoring pills. As the sword cultivator meditated, he suddenly said, “This pill restores me faster than usual. Where did it come from?”

The female cultivator who had given out the pills replied, “I bought it from a Medicine Peak disciple. They said it came from the personal disciple of the Medicine Peak master.”

“Personal disciple? Could it be that Mu, the one who looks so much like Junior Brother Xue?”

Xue Zhongyu smiled faintly: “Yes, the two of us are practically carved from the same mold.”

The group exchanged a few more words, quickly trying to recover. Soon, the barrier’s time would be up.

The sword cultivator stood, gripping his blade tightly, and whispered, “When the barrier opens, Cheng and I will rush out… Three, two, one!”

The barrier suddenly shattered. Smelling the blood, the two Beauty Spiders locked onto their position immediately.

Just as the disciples raised their swords to charge, another figure moved faster than all of them.

It was a graceful silhouette dressed in purple.

She leapt lightly from the trees like a bird, raised her hand, and purple spiritual power enveloped the spiders before they could strike.

Before the disciples’ shocked eyes, the two Beauty Spiders disintegrated under the purple energy, turning into nothing but dust.

As she turned, they finally saw her clearly: a strikingly beautiful female cultivator, clad in purple robes, long hair braided and draped across her chest, a small silver gourd hanging from her waist.

Looking at the remains—not even corpses—of the spiders, the disciples swallowed hard, their scalps tingling as they stepped forward to thank her.

She said nothing, but studied Xue Zhongyu intently for several moments. Then she nodded to the group, turned, and vanished swiftly into the dense forest.

“Wh-who was that? Which kindhearted senior just saved us?” The sword cultivator looked shaken, relief written all over his face.

The female cultivator who had given out the pills frowned in thought, staring after the purple-robed woman. After a long pause, realization dawned: “A hibiscus face, fond of purple robes, a gourd at her waist, skilled in poisons—that was Senior Sister Yu Hongyao of Medicine Peak!”

*

Senior Sister Yu Hongyao had returned!

At the news, countless Medicine Peak disciples were struck with shock. Many of them, upon hearing it, immediately abandoned the peak and rushed to the trial office to accept missions.

They didn’t care which missions—so long as they could leave right away.

When Mu Xing heard the news, he was in the alchemy room, refining a pill slightly more difficult than the Foundation Establishment Pill: the Barrier-Breaking Pill.

This pill was considered top-grade among low-level pills. Taken, it could dispel delusions and inner demons from the spirit platform, and also resist illusion and mental attacks.

As soon as he stepped out, he received a message from Yao Wushi: Come see your Second Senior Sister.

Mu Xing, curious about this senior sister he had never met, changed his clothes obediently and went to pay his respects.

As soon as he stepped inside, he saw a beautiful woman in purple standing at Medicine Master Yao’s side, strikingly attractive, with a silver gourd hanging at her waist, chatting with him:

“…That secret realm was full of dangers. There were thirteen rogue cultivators who entered with us, and in the end only three came out.”

When she saw Mu Xing arrive, Yu Hongyao broke off, smiling as she asked, “This is little junior brother, isn’t it?”

Mu Xing cupped his hands, bowing formally: “I have met Second Senior Sister.”

“So obedient.” Yu Hongyao seemed to recall something. “On my way back, I ran into a group of Crescent Moon Peak disciples. One of them said that Junior Brother Mu looks very much like him. From what I see, they don’t look alike at all.”

“Our little junior brother is much cuter!” she declared.

Mu Xing immediately knew which disciple she meant.

Who else could it be but Xue Zhongyu?

It puzzled him—clearly in the original plot, Xue Zhongyu didn’t like the original Mu Xing, and Crescent Moon Peak’s whole attitude was that they wished he would disappear and not be an eyesore.

But now, Xue Zhongyu seemed eager for everyone to know how much the two of them looked alike.

Could it be that he actually enjoyed being constantly compared to someone else?

Meanwhile, Yu Hongyao was already taking out a meeting gift.

She lifted her hand, and a silver chest about a foot wide and nearly a foot tall appeared. When opened, it shone with dazzling light—Mu Xing instinctively raised his hand to shield his eyes.

Inside was a box crammed full of luminous pearls and gemstones, glowing softly even under daylight.

Yu Hongyao handed it over generously: “Take it and play!”

Mu Xing: “…”

He blurted out, “This is far too valuable.”

He had thought Senior Brother’s jade wind chimes were extravagant enough, but this was even more outrageous—jewels given by the chestful.

Yu Hongyao waved it off: “It’s nothing valuable. In that undersea secret realm I went to, these things piled up like mountains. I just picked a few with better luster for you to have fun with.”

She even added, “If you use them up, come find me. Your senior sister has more.”

Glancing at Medicine Master Yao, she smiled sweetly: “Master and Senior Brother also have shares.”

Mu Xing: “…”

He reached out and accepted the heavy chest.

Yu Hongyao didn’t stop there. After rummaging in her storage ring, she produced a delicate blue embroidered pouch.

“This is for you, a proper meeting gift from your senior sister.”

Mu Xing took it. When he opened the pouch, he saw two eggs glowing with faint white mist.

Each was so large they had to be held with both hands, and within, he could faintly sense weak life.

“This…” Mu Xing looked up at her.

Yu Hongyao said, “I don’t know what kind of eggs they are, but I found them deep in the secret realm. They should be rare spirit beast eggs.”

High-grade spirit beast eggs were no trivial thing. Mu Xing quickly tried to return them.

Yu Hongyao stepped back: “No. Everything I raise ends up dead. If they fall into my hands, it’ll be a death sentence for them. But I just heard Master say that spirit beasts adore you—even Lingbao, that little ancestor, clings to you. Isn’t that destiny?”

Before he could argue further, she cut him off decisively: “Settled!”

After meeting her little junior brother, Medicine Peak’s quick and domineering Second Senior Sister strode straight into the pill room. “It’s been so long since I refined anything. I wonder if I’ve gone rusty. This time, which junior brother should I use to test my new pill?”

Mu Xing: “…”

Alright, now he understood why Medicine Peak disciples fled like they’d seen a ghost when they heard Second Senior Sister had returned.

Medicine Peak’s two great alchemy fanatics: Medicine Master Yao and Yu Hongyao.

The difference was, Medicine Master Yao tested every strange pill on himself, so he never harmed others.

Yu Hongyao, on the other hand, tested them on her juniors.

She had her limits and wouldn’t cause real disasters, but even small accidents were miserable enough.

*

When Xue Zhongyu returned to Crescent Moon Peak and to his own quarters, he ran into Qi Xiubai head-on.

“Second Senior Brother, I haven’t seen you much these days. Where have you been?” Xue Zhongyu tilted his head and asked.

Qi Xiubai lowered his gaze. His little junior brother looked up at him, sweet and well-behaved, a vermilion mark between his brows accentuating his delicate features with a touch of brilliance.

His expression softened. Smiling, he said, “Senior Brother has many duties. I must cultivate, organize the disciples’ morning classes, and lately also attend Crescent Moon Peak’s annual recruitment of new disciples.”

Xue Zhongyu pouted unhappily: “But that means Senior Brother has no time to keep me company. Xiao Yu is so bored.”

Qi Xiubai froze. Looking at the ten-year-old junior brother with his innocent, lazy face, another face suddenly surfaced in his mind.

For once, he spoke sternly: “Junior Brother, you are no longer that young. Beyond play, you must set your mind to cultivation. With your excellent talent, diligent cultivation will surely bring achievements. In the cultivation world, strength rules. Strive to improve yourself—that is the proper path.”

“Look at Junior Brother Mu from Medicine Peak. He’s a month younger than you, yet he’s already formed his Foundation.”

Xue Zhongyu: ???

❣╰(⸝⸝⸝꒳⸝⸝⸝)╯❣