Kill kill kill kill kill kill…
Kill someone?!
Lu Zhiyun was left completely baffled by the question, her mind turning utterly blank.
This evil cultivator isn’t even bothering to put on an act anymore, is he?
To ask her something like that so bluntly—how on earth was she supposed to answer?
Back when she was a constable, she’d always been assigned more clerical duties, like investigating crime scenes, lurking undercover to gather evidence, and the like.
Forget about killing people—she’d never even killed a chicken.
Lin Shu wouldn’t ask such a thing for no reason; maybe he was trying to sound her out about something!
Once she figured this out, Lu Zhiyun’s mind began whirling, swiftly analyzing the consequences of different answers.
The first was to lie! She could tell Senior Brother, “Yes, I have killed before!”
There were two possible outcomes for this: one, she’d gain the evil cultivator’s trust, letting him think she, Lu Zhiyun, was one of his kind; or two, he’d decide to “righteously” eliminate her on the spot, with ample justification, thus ending her undercover mission prematurely!
The second was to tell the truth, “I haven’t killed anyone!”
That could also go two ways.
Either he’d lower his guard, believing she was innocent and harmless; or he’d despise her for being too soft and lose interest in interacting with her.
Judging from this, if she wanted to keep her cover safely, the only choice was to answer sincerely!
But she couldn’t be too sincere either!
“Se…Senior Brother! I haven’t killed anyone… but… but!”
Lu Zhiyun thought for a long while before finally blurting out, “For Senior Brother! I can learn!”
“Ah, no no no, there’s really no need!”
Lin Shu waved his hands rapidly.
This little Junior Sister’s way of thinking was a bit too extreme!
What did she mean, “For me, I can kill”? It made him sound like an evil cultivator!
If word got out that he’d “led astray” the future rising star of the sect, Qingluan Peak would be crucified for criticism all over again.
Lin Shu had only asked because he was curious—how had this Junior Sister, who’d never even killed before, ended up assigned to their Qingluan Peak?
Anyone with even a little experience in the cultivation world or a passing familiarity with the Tianque Sect would know just how terrible Qingluan Peak’s reputation was.
Of course, Lin Shu wasn’t going to take the blame for the sect’s reputation turning sour; that was all thanks to his Senior Sister and Master, who were both bizarre in their own ways, always stirring up trouble, to the point that Lin Shu could hardly keep up with cleaning up after them.
The Tianque Sect was different from others; it emphasized disciples’ Contribution Points to the sect.
There were all sorts of ways to earn Contribution Points—taking on Mission Hall tasks, scouring Secret Realms for techniques, or even Script Compilation to boost Sect Reputation.
Other peaks would typically choose the standard routes—taking missions or searching Secret Realms.
But Lin Shu’s Qingluan Peak was something else entirely.
His Master, looking for an easy way out, chose to write and distribute stories among the common folk to enhance the sect’s reputation.
In theory, nothing was wrong with this—except she used real names and always made Lin Shu the protagonist.
Things like Lin Shu shattering the myriad techniques of the Wanfa Immortal Sect’s Chief Disciple with a single sword; or Lin Shu casually demonstrating something that gave a Fusion Stage Grandmaster a sudden moment of enlightenment, forcing him to admit defeat…
Maybe the first tales had a grain of truth, but afterward, they were pure wish-fulfillment.
Even Lin Shu had no idea he’d supposedly done so many amazing things.
Ever since Master started writing those stories, Lin Shu’s fame soared, the Tianque Sect got more recognition, but Qingluan Peak became the sect’s public enemy number one.
There was even a period where Lin Shu received daily challenge letters from disciples of the four other Super Sects, and even some Grandmasters came seeking his “guidance.”
What guidance!
Every time he read the latest chapter of the Legend of the Tianque Sect, Lin Shu could only sigh, wishing the author would just abandon the series for good.
His Master was like this, and so was his Senior Sister!
If Master had been away for two years, Senior Sister had run off half a year ago.
Half a year back, after discussing culinary woes with Junior Uncle, Senior Sister came up with the Music and Cuisine Theory, believing that “the reason no one enjoys Junior Uncle’s food is that there’s no artistic mood, no resonance. Just eating blandly, you can’t savor the real flavor—pairing it with music would improve the effect.”
This theory laid the foundation for the Immortal Chef field of how music influences appetite—a milestone in the cultivation world.
Then, under Senior Sister’s organization, the first Music and Culinary Conference was officially held on Qingluan Peak.
That day, Lin Shu had been out on a mission and couldn’t stop it in time.
When he returned, he found a group of disciples lying on the ground, twitching with purple faces, idiotically grinning, yet with tears of happiness in their eyes…
From that day forward, Qingluan Peak became something like a forbidden zone within the Tianque Sect…
Looking at the innocent and naive little Junior Sister before him, Lin Shu could only shake his head regretfully.
How did she end up assigned to their Qingluan Peak?
If you told him Lu Zhiyun volunteered to come here, he wouldn’t believe it even if he died.
Impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
Why would anyone do that?
The more he thought about it, the more Lin Shu felt he needed to treat Junior Sister well!
Seeing Lin Shu silent and serious for a long time, Lu Zhiyun worried she’d answered wrongly, so she quickly tried to find another topic to get closer to him.
“Senior Brother, I’m new to the Tianque Sect and don’t really understand the rules here. Could you tell me a bit about them?”
Lu Zhiyun tugged on Lin Shu’s sleeve, acting cute.
A good undercover must keep the target’s guard down at all times!
Lu Zhiyun was very pleased with herself—she was confident she could get some information out of him.
Lin Shu, on the other hand, wasn’t thinking that much.
Asked by Lu Zhiyun, he completely forgot about the previous topic and began to explain:
“In our Tianque Sect, there’s no division between inner and outer disciples. We’re generally ranked by Contribution Points in the Heavenly Spirit Thirty-Six Rankings and Earthly Hero Seventy-Two Rankings. If you want more resources, you just have to work harder for the sect!”
Lu Zhiyun nodded—she’d already learned this, but pretended not to know.
“And also, on Qingluan Peak, don’t eat anything at random.
Even if it looks fine, always use a Yin Needle to test for poison first!”
Lu Zhiyun tilted her head, her mind a jumble!
“Furthermore, if some old men come to Qingluan Peak asking for me, you must say you don’t know me!”
Lu Zhiyun felt she understood—must be that people higher up also suspected Lin Shu was an evil cultivator and wanted her to cover for him!
“Oh, right! And…”
As they chatted, Lu Zhiyun unknowingly learned quite a lot about the “urban legends of the Tianque Sect.”
Very good! More intel on this evil cultivator!
If Lin Shu weren’t right beside her, Lu Zhiyun would have whipped out her notebook to jot everything down!
***
A quarter of an hour later, the two of them arrived at the Yunfeng Peak dining hall entrance, where many disciples were cooking fragrant dishes.
The delicious aromas mingled with the spiritual energy at the mountain’s peak, making it all the more tempting.
This was Lu Zhiyun’s first visit to Yunfeng Peak since joining the sect.
Normally, new disciples would wander the sect to get familiar with everything during their first month, but she’d spent all her time at Qingluan Peak gathering “evidence” on Lin Shu.
Lin Shu eyed the roasting spirit beast in the pot, his appetite soaring.
It was a rare chance not to eat Junior Uncle’s food—he was determined to enjoy himself for once!
Just as Lin Shu was about to lead Junior Sister in for a meal, two junior brothers rushed out from inside and blocked his way.
Lin Shu recognized the two disciples; previously, he’d helped them when they hit bottlenecks in their cultivation.
The two of them looked ashen, as if they’d just eaten shit, their legs so weak they were on the verge of collapse, yet even so, they clung to Lin Shu’s sleeve, refusing to let him in.
“Senior Brother! Quick! Run!” one of the junior brothers croaked.
“Junior Master Lin Yingxue is inside—she wants to test her culinary skills and insists on competing with Elder Pei!”
The other was worn out from talking, and collapsed as soon as he finished.
Lin Shu immediately sensed danger and pulled Lu Zhiyun to leave.
Lu Zhiyun was baffled—just who was this Lin Yingxue that made even this “evil cultivator” so scared?
“Is that Little Shu?”
A chilly voice echoed in the empty courtyard.
At some point, all the other disciples had vanished, leaving only Lin Shu and Lu Zhiyun.
A hand landed on Lin Shu’s shoulder.
It felt delicate and weak, yet Lin Shu couldn’t move an inch!
Too slow to escape—he could only accept his fate!
Lu Zhiyun, seeing Lin Shu looking like a martyr, grew even more curious about this person’s identity.
She turned to look and saw a young female cultivator standing behind them, dressed in white like new-fallen snow, icy and beautiful, yet carrying a touch of worldly air, like a banished immortal woman who’d fallen to earth and been stained by mortal dust.
“Junior Uncle, long time no see!”
Lin Shu forced a laugh.
“Mm!”
Lin Yingxue pursed her lips.
“You’ve been avoiding me for a long time!”
“Hey now! That’s not true—I’ve just been busy cultivating! Look at you, saying such things!”
Lin Shu chuckled awkwardly.
Junior Uncle was beautiful, sure, but she was just too blunt, making Lin Shu never know how to respond.
“Oh, right! This is our new Junior Sister at Qingluan Peak!”
Lin Shu quickly changed the subject.
Lin Yingxue glanced at Lu Zhiyun and nodded.
“I know.”
A month ago, when she was in charge of security at the Ascension Conference, she’d noticed something odd about Lu Zhiyun and had told Lin Shu to pay close attention to the side effects of the Qingmu Immortal Fruit in her body.
“Mm! Looks like you’re recovering well!”
Lin Yingxue said to Lu Zhiyun.
Lu Zhiyun had no idea what she was talking about—recovering well from what? Did she have some sort of problem?
While Lin Yingxue was distracted with Lu Zhiyun, Lin Shu rapidly thought up an escape plan.
Before long, he bowed and said, “Junior Uncle, I was planning to show Junior Sister around the other main peaks this afternoon, so we won’t bother you anymore! See you!”
With that, he pulled Lu Zhiyun and tried to leave.
“Stop!”
Lin Yingxue barked.
“You came to Yunfeng Peak to eat, didn’t you?”
“As it happens, I’m competing in cooking skills with Elder Pei, but I need someone to judge. You arrived at just the right time!”
Ignoring Lin Shu’s protests, Lin Yingxue dragged him inside by the hem of his clothes.
Inside, Elder Pei sat gloomily in a corner, cradling a cracked pot and sighing, while two bowls of fried rice giving off mouthwatering aromas sat on the table.
Lin Yingxue sat Lin Shu down in a chair and said, “There are two bowls on the table—choose one and tell me which is better!”
Lin Shu looked at the two bowls of identical fried rice and felt a sense of impending doom.
Junior Uncle had imitated every detail of “color, aroma, and flavor” so perfectly just to make sure someone would eat her food!
Now, his chances of eating Elder Pei’s cooking had plummeted!
Seeing Lin Shu’s conflicted expression, Lin Yingxue’s lips curled in a sly smile.
She’d already competed with Elder Pei before Lin Shu arrived, and technically, Lin Yingxue had won the culinary contest.
Er… though it hadn’t been entirely fair!
They’d used ingredients suggested by Lin Yingxue, but Elder Pei’s pot exploded halfway through the contest, leaving him defeated.
As for why there were two bowls—of course, it was because—the bowl on the left was made by her, and the bowl on the right was also made by her.
No matter what, she was guaranteed to hear Lin Shu’s praise for at least one bowl!
Lin Yingxue thought smugly.