Facing the answers from his two disciples, as their Master, Lu Li was extremely satisfied.
“Now that the first matter has been discussed, let’s talk about the second issue related to the Yin Corpse Sect!”
As soon as Lu Li finished speaking, the atmosphere inside Duanqing Peak’s cave abode turned solemn in an instant.
Gu Qingying and Gong Shangyu also put away their other thoughts and sat up straight.
“The matter of Yangzhou City has reached a temporary conclusion. We’ve destroyed one of their branch altars and captured and killed several key figures, but their foundation remains untouched.”
Lu Li said in a deep voice, “According to our sect’s internal intelligence network, it seems the Yin Corpse Sect has recently relocated their operations, fleeing to the capital of the Jin Kingdom.”
After speaking, Lu Li looked toward Gong Shangyu.
“Baiyu, you’re from the Pill Cauldron Pavilion and well-informed. Have you heard of any collusion between the Yin Corpse Sect and other demonic sects? Or have you caught wind of any unusual activity lately?”
Gong Shangyu furrowed her delicate brows and thought carefully, then shook her head at Lu Li.
“Reporting to Master, although the Pill Cauldron Pavilion does business with all sides of the cultivation world, our main trade is still in pills and medicinal materials.”
“The Yin Corpse Sect acts in secrecy and rarely has open contact with orthodox forces. However… a few days ago I vaguely heard that in some remote scattered cultivator marketplaces, some top-quality, unidentified yin-type refined corpse materials have appeared. I wonder if this is related to the Yin Corpse Sect accelerating their production of corpse puppets.”
Lu Li’s eyes sharpened.
“Oh? Is that so? That is a lead worth investigating.”
He then looked at Gu Qingying.
“Qingkong, your mind is especially meticulous. What are your thoughts on what moves the demonic Yin Corpse Sect might take next?”
Gu Qingying pondered and said, “Master, the Yin Corpse Sect suffered considerable loss after their plan in Yangzhou City was ruined by us. By normal logic, at this time, they’d either lie low for a while to avoid our attention, or… they’d hasten their actions somewhere unexpected to make up for the previous loss.”
“And from the intelligence our sect obtained, those bastards clearly chose the latter.”
“If we really do go to the Jin Kingdom’s capital, we must keep a close eye on the Yin Corpse Sect’s movements at all times.”
Lu Li nodded in approval.
“Yes, that matches my own thoughts. If the Yin Corpse Sect isn’t eliminated, it’s a disaster waiting to happen.”
“I’ll report this to the sect, so the Elders and Stewards give it due attention. You two, when traveling outside in the future, must also keep an eye out for any trace related to that sect.”
“Yes, Master!”
The two girls responded in unison.
With the serious business concluded, Lu Li looked at his two obedient disciples and felt quite gratified in his heart.
Although sometimes he felt the atmosphere between them was a bit odd—his eldest disciple could be overly intense, while the second was almost too clever—in serious matters, both of his disciples were still quite reliable.
“Mm… Alright, that’s enough for today.”
Lu Li waved his hand at the two.
“You two go and train your cultivation techniques, toughen your bodies! Especially you, Qingkong, now that you’ve built your foundation, you must stabilize it regularly. Baiyu, you should also prepare to break through to mid Foundation Establishment!”
“Understood, Master!”
“Yes, Master.”
Gu Qingying and Gong Shangyu both bowed and excused themselves.
After leaving the cave, the two girls exchanged a glance, and the “private grudges” and subtle thoughts that had been set aside during the discussion quietly floated back to the surface.
Gong Shangyu leaned closer to Gu Qingying and lowered her voice, a teasing note in her tone.
“So, little junior sister? Senior sister’s plan worked beautifully, didn’t it? Did you see how fast Duan Xueyan ran just now~”
Gu Qingying snorted lightly.
Although she felt secretly pleased, she still retorted sharply, “Hmph! Your methods are nothing but petty tricks. If you have real skill, show it when dealing with the Yin Corpse Sect or at the upcoming Jin Kingdom trial.”
“Oh? Using the provocation method?”
Gong Shangyu raised her brow with a mischievous smile.
“Don’t worry, I definitely won’t let you down then~”
So, as the two bickered quietly, they headed toward their respective residences.
The sunlight above cast their shadows long across the stone steps of Duanqing Peak, just like the entwined fates between them.
***
Time flew by, and in a blink, another week had passed.
After much careful thought, Lu Li decided he and his two disciples really should take part in the trial and make a trip to the Jin Kingdom’s capital.
So, after a week of preparation, Lu Li sent a reply to the Royal Family of Jin Kingdom through the sect, getting ready to take his two disciples to Yicheng, the capital.
Although Lu Li’s Spirit Boat was fast, the Jin Kingdom’s capital was simply too far from the Xuling Sect.
Even taking the Spirit Boat, it would take three days and three nights to reach the capital.
Once aboard the Spirit Boat, Lu Li turned to Gu Qingying with a note of concern in his voice.
“Qingkong, aren’t you sleepy?”
Gu Qingying yawned perfunctorily at his words.
“Mmm… a little.”
Lu Li felt both amused and helpless.
What made him speechless was that Gu Qingying’s tone almost sounded like coaxing a child.
Lu Li glanced aside, at Gong Shangyu who had put on an eye mask and closed her eyes as soon as she sat down, then said to Gu Qingying, “Qingkong, look~ your Baiyu senior has already closed her eyes to rest. You should seize the time to rest too~”
“After all, the journey to Yicheng is a long one. If you rest up now, you’ll have the energy to enjoy yourself tomorrow~”
“Mmm… okay.”
Gu Qingying obediently closed her eyes, and soon drifted off to a sweet sleep.
Lu Li maintained his posture, sitting beside Gu Qingying and watching her sleeping face for a long while, before turning his gaze to Gong Shangyu.
Gong Shangyu wore a plain black, unadorned eye mask.
She slept peacefully like a cursed sleeping beauty, her long hair tangled by the mask’s strap, lips slightly parted and brow deeply furrowed, her expression grave.
From Lu Li’s angle, it looked as if she was having a bad dream.
With that, the Spirit Boat took off, heading straight for Yicheng.
Duan Xueyan stood silently at the peak of Xiaoyao Peak, gazing from afar at the disappearing shadow of the Spirit Boat on the horizon, feeling a strange sadness in her heart.
In truth, she was still a little jealous of Lu Li’s two new disciples.
After all, she had originally planned to travel to Yicheng with Lu Li for some fun.
But with his two newly accepted disciples being so troublesome, she really didn’t know how to bring up the subject with Junior Brother Lu, and ended up giving up.
As Lu Li watched his two sleeping disciples, he remained silent for a long time before getting up to the deck to handle some internal sect management documents.
After dealing with paperwork for a good half an hour, Lu Li began to feel a bit tired.
He switched the Spirit Boat to autopilot, returned to the cabin, and planned to close his eyes and rest for a while.
Just as Lu Li was about to rest, he glanced over at Gu Qingying with concern and saw her sleeping soundly with her head tilted, her face wearing its usual cool expression, lips curled, brows tightly knit, looking so stern she resembled a little old man.
Lu Li couldn’t hold back and let out a quiet chuckle.
His sudden laughter was oddly abrupt in the pin-drop silence, but fortunately, he swallowed back the rest of his laughter before waking Gu Qingying.
However, at some point, Gong Shangyu had woken up and removed her eye mask, and was now staring at him expressionlessly.
When their eyes met, Gong Shangyu didn’t look away.
Instead, her gaze seemed a bit probing.
Seeing this, Lu Li hurriedly asked in confusion,
“Baiyu, is there something you need?”
Gong Shangyu answered stiffly, “No.”
Lu Li looked at the shivering Gu Qingying, then raised his head to say to Gong Shangyu, “Baiyu, could you get a blanket for Qingkong? I’m worried she might catch a cold.”
Gong Shangyu answered, found a blanket, and handed it to Lu Li.
Lu Li took the blanket and covered Gu Qingying.
But perhaps she’d grown a bit quickly—one blanket wasn’t enough to fully cover her, so Lu Li tugged it down to cover her legs.
Yet Gu Qingying’s upper body was left exposed to the cold air.
In her sleep, Gu Qingying seemed to feel the chill, hugging her arms and curling her shoulders, looking so pitiful and helpless that Lu Li could only pull the blanket up again.
But then her legs were exposed, so Lu Li finally had to ask Gong Shangyu for another blanket, and only then managed to wrap Gu Qingying up from head to toe.
Seeing this, the corners of Lu Li’s mouth showed a look of great satisfaction.
Gong Shangyu said sourly, “Master, aren’t you worrying a bit too much? With Senior Brother’s constitution, a little chill is nothing to her. You really don’t have to fuss so much.”
Lu Li shook his head and said, “If she catches a cold, won’t I be the one worrying in the end? It’s better to be careful.”
Gong Shangyu said, “You really spoil her too much~”
Lu Li just smiled and said nothing more, walking to the next room to rest with his eyes closed.
As Lu Li left, the cabin soon grew quiet again.
Gong Shangyu returned to her seat and tried to rest as well.
But she couldn’t calm down.
What irritated her most was that every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was Lu Li smiling foolishly at Gu Qingying’s sleeping face, and the sight of Lu Li showing such care for her junior sister.
Even though she knew Lu Li didn’t know Gu Qingying’s true identity or gender, she couldn’t help but feel a bit sour every time she thought about how Lu Li had treated Gu Qingying just now.
The more Gong Shangyu thought about it, the more jealous she felt of Gu Qingying.
After all, even in her previous life, her own Master had never done anything like that for her!
And yet Lu Li had just treated Gu Qingying with such concern and care, which made Gong Shangyu feel all the more upset the more she thought about it.