“This disciple greets the Peak Master.”
Zhu Lan knew she hadn’t picked the best time, but since she was already in their line of sight, she could only brace herself and offer a greeting.
The middle-aged woman narrowed her eyes, her gaze scrutinizing.
“So you’re the friend Qingyi made outside? How have you been spending time with my Qingyi? You’ve led her astray!”
Zhu Lan’s scalp tingled.
‘Is this right?’
Based on Senior Sister’s description, she had imagined the Peak Master of Pozhen Peak would be a haughty, golden-haired little girl.
But looking at this woman, why did she seem like one of those unreasonable parents of bratty kids back on Blue Star?
“Peak Master, Senior Sister Qingyi and I haven’t done anything… improper.”
Zhu Lan’s tone was stiff.
She was beginning to regret choosing this time to visit.
She even started to suspect that Senior Sister Qingyi hadn’t shown her face for so long because the Peak Master of Pozhen Peak had forced her to kneel this whole time as punishment.
Unexpectedly, the woman gave a light snort.
“A new disciple, I take it? I am not the Peak Master. What business do you have at our Pozhen Peak?”
Not the Peak Master?
Just as Zhu Lan was about to explain, a piercing voice reached them.
“Qingyi, Hong Yuan, I’ve finished the formation plate for the Yin Yang Soul-Bewildering Array!”
A small, golden-haired figure came running over excitedly, showing off the disk in her hands with pride.
“It took me three days to make this formation plate! It should sell for at least ten storage rings’ worth of top-grade spirit stones. Xue Li’s birthday is coming up soon, hehehe…”
“Peak Master!”
The middle-aged woman kept a straight face and snatched the disk from the golden-haired girl’s hands, her expression serious.
“You locked yourself in the secret room and skipped meals again. How many times have I told you? Three meals a day is the most basic requirement. Otherwise, how are you supposed to grow taller?”
The golden-haired girl scratched her head.
“I know, I know. But I’m almost eighty years old. Hong Yuan, do you really think I can still grow?”
“Persistence pays off in all things. Peak Master, have you forgotten how you ran back crying thirty years ago, saying you wanted to grow taller?”
With every word Hong Yuan spoke, the golden-haired girl’s head dropped a little lower.
The… the Peak Master?
Zhu Lan was a little shocked.
So the Peak Master of Pozhen Peak really was a golden-haired little girl?
“And who is this?” the Peak Master asked, as if only just noticing Zhu Lan.
“This disciple greets… greets the Peak Master. I am a disciple from Yushou Peak and a friend of Senior Sister Qingyi.”
Zhu Lan repeated her introduction.
“Oh, so you’re Qingyi’s friend!”
Hearing this, the Peak Master quickly took out a small formation plate and deactivated the array around Qingyi, who was still kneeling on the ground.
“With a friend visiting, how could we elders let the child keep kneeling here?”
Once the array was deactivated, Qingyi, who had been kneeling in silence, inhaled deeply.
She said with a grin, “Master, you’re finally out! I’m saved!”
Then, she quickly turned around, scurried forward, and gave Zhu Lan a hug.
“Junior Sister, you came to see me?” she cheered.
In terms of being ladylike, Song Qingyi seemed even more of a failure than Zhu Lan.
Song Qingyi hugged her so hard that Zhu Lan felt like she had slammed into an indestructible wall, making her nose ache.
“Yeah, I’m here to return your things.”
Zhu Lan rubbed her nose and reached out to take the bag containing the stories.
To her surprise, Song Qingyi’s face immediately contorted in terror as she frantically shot her a warning look.
“I was wondering why I couldn’t find those books. So you left them with someone else!”
Hong Yuan lunged forward and snatched the bag from Zhu Lan’s hands.
“Very well. You’ve even learned how to hide things and lie now.”
Hong Yuan’s expression was grim, making the other three people present break into a cold sweat.
“Peak Master, you don’t even care that Qingyi is being corrupted. If she runs off with some broke boy one day, you’ll have nowhere to go to cry about it. I’m confiscating this!”
Seeing Hong Yuan put the bag into her storage ring, Song Qingyi wanted to cry but had no tears.
“Qing—Qingyi, your Eldest Senior Sister is doing this for your own good. You can’t read this improper trash anymore. If you behave well, I’ll return them to you.”
The little girl put on a lecturing front.
Song Qingyi looked at her rambling master, hesitant to speak.
Zhu Lan was shocked once again.
‘Eldest Senior Sister?’
So that meant the little girl was the Peak Master, the woman was the Eldest Senior Sister, and Senior Sister Qingyi was the youngest disciple?
She had been prejudiced, assuming the woman was the Peak Master of Pozhen Peak.
But why did the woman seem like the one in charge?
Just then, Hong Yuan flipped through one of the stories, and her face darkened even further.
Everyone present was on edge, afraid the fire would spread to them.
“Get over here and keep kneeling!”
Hong Yuan barked.
Song Qingyi shivered and obediently went over to kneel on the formation.
“You too, Peak Master!”
“Wh—What? I have to kneel too?” the little girl cried in dismay, pointing a small finger at herself.
“I mean you should do what a master is supposed to do and come persuade your disciple to return to the righteous path.”
“Oh, oh, right.”
The little girl patted her chest and breathed a sigh of relief.
Hong Yuan was really something; she had almost made her lose face in front of a disciple from another peak.
She scurried over to Song Qingyi’s side and began to nag, “Qingyi, we’re doing this for your own good. We want to raise you to be a model disciple of the third generation, so you can contribute to the development of the entire Cultivation World in the future. So, Qingyi, quit that improper stuff. I have no idea how you picked up such a habit, sigh.”
Song Qingyi’s eyes widened, and she made muffled sounds.
Clearly, she wanted to speak.
However, the little girl guiltily reinforced the array, giving Song Qingyi no chance to speak.
But Hong Yuan’s sharp eyes caught her master’s little trick.
She narrowed her eyes and stepped forward to deactivate the binding array on Song Qingyi.
Song Qingyi immediately defected, pointing at the little girl.
“Eldest Senior Sister, Master was the one who showed them to me! I only like reading them because Master loves them!”
The little girl was horrified and rushed forward to cover her mouth.
“Qingyi, you can eat whatever you want, but you can’t just say whatever you want!”
Realizing the situation, Hong Yuan pulled the little girl away with one hand and said seriously, “Qingyi, is this true?”
“It’s true! There’s a box under the bed in Master’s room filled with a massive collection of stories!”
Qingyi spat the words out like a cannonball, looking at her master with glee.
Hong Yuan’s face was dark as she marched off in that direction.
“Qingyi, how could you betray me! Didn’t we agree not to tell anyone?”
The little girl slapped her thigh, deeply regretting that she had dragged her youngest disciple into this hole.
She hadn’t expected her to be so loose-lipped!
“Hong Yuan, don’t go into Master’s room! Adults have a right to privacy!”
The little girl followed Hong Yuan, trying to save the situation.
…
Five minutes later, another formation appeared next to Song Qingyi, and the little girl was kneeling on it too.
Master and disciple knelt side by side.
Song Qingyi was grinning, not looking upset at all.
The little girl stealthily leaned toward her eldest disciple and whispered, “Hong Yuan, there’s an outsider here. Can you give me some face?”
“Kneel properly!”