Hong Yuan was merciless.
The little loli made a bitter face, kneeling back down with a look of pure grievance.
Zhu Lan, who had witnessed the entire scene, was speechless.
‘It’s okay, you’ve already lost all your dignity with her anyway.’
Zhu Lan really had not expected the master-disciple relationship on Pozhen Peak to be like this.
Even the Master had to listen to her eldest disciple.
“As the Master, you’re even worse. At least Junior Sister looks at romance between men and women. You’re different—you’re reading about girls loving girls!”
Hong Yuan’s words were shocking.
The little loli disregarded everything else and scrambled up to cover her eldest disciple’s mouth.
“Don’t say it! Don’t say it!”
“If you don’t want people to know, don’t do it in the first place.”
Hong Yuan said crossly, “I was wondering how my little Junior Sister went astray. It turns out you, the Master, were the one leading the way.”
The little loli looked aggrieved.
“I didn’t want to either. I only looked once and got hooked; I can’t quit. Xue Li knows too. She hasn’t spoken to me at all this year, and I haven’t even been able to send her any gifts yet.”
Hong Yuan clearly understood her master’s situation.
Despite her frustration, she asked, “How did she find out?”
“Last year, when I sent her a gift, I accidentally included one of my personal collections.”
“And then?”
“Xue Li hasn’t acknowledged me for the entire year.”
The little loli’s tone was sour, and she seemed quite unhappy.
Her appearance was simply too deceptive.
Zhu Lan felt her own maternal instincts being stirred.
Hong Yuan sighed and said nothing more.
‘Fine, Master has been alone for so many years. Now that she’s finally found something she likes, maybe I shouldn’t stop her as her disciple…’
“Hong Yuan, do you have any in your collection? I heard that girls loving girls is quite popular in the Yaochi Holy Land. Those kinds of books should be everywhere there.”
‘I shouldn’t have been so considerate!’
“I don’t have anything like that!”
Hong Yuan waved her hand irritably.
She turned her head and spotted Zhu Lan trying to sneak away.
“Junior Sister, I heard that you and Qing Yi were the ones who went out to buy those storybooks last time?”
Zhu Lan turned around, squeezing out a strained smile.
“Haha, Senior Sister, you’re quite the detective. But I haven’t looked at the contents!”
Hong Yuan sneered.
She took a bag out of her storage ring and placed it in front of Qing Yi.
“Count them. If even one is missing, I’ll make you buy two to compensate me. If the count is correct, I’ll return the bag to you.”
Zhu Lan breathed a sigh of relief.
Such an obvious trap—as long as Senior Sister Qing Yi wasn’t a fool, she would see…
‘Senior Sister Qing Yi, what are you doing?!’
“Reporting to Senior Sister! There are twenty-eight books in total, but only twenty-seven are currently present.”
In just 5 seconds, Song Qingyi had finished the count and reported to Hong Yuan.
Hong Yuan turned her head to look at Zhu Lan without saying a word.
‘Damn, the pressure is too high!’
Reluctantly, Zhu Lan pulled the final book, The Junior Sister Runs, the Senior Brother Pursues, and the Junior Sister Cannot Escape, out of her storage ring.
She had almost finished reading it.
She had originally planned to return the other books to Senior Sister Qing Yi first, then return this last one in 2 days after she finished it.
After all, a single book was easy to hide; Ye Feng would not find it.
But now, she had been betrayed by Senior Sister Qing Yi!
…
5 minutes later, three people were kneeling in a row.
Zhu Lan felt bitter.
‘Why do I have to kneel too?’
Hong Yuan never appeared before them again, nor did she do anything else disrespectful.
‘Though making a loli master kneel is already disrespectful enough!!’
Zhu Lan could only assume that the rules of the Pozhen Peak lineage were quite liberal and differed from traditional sect rules.
Since they could accept it, she, as an outsider, was not going to comment.
‘The loli master really has no dignity!’
“You may get up in one incense stick of time.”
Hong Yuan left those words behind and went off to handle who-knows-what.
After a moment of silence, the loli master was the first to speak.
“Are you Qing Yi’s friend? I’m relieved to see that Qing Yi has finally made a friend.”
“Senior Sister Qing Yi?”
Zhu Lan was a bit confused.
Logically, someone as lively as Senior Sister Qing Yi should have many friends.
“Yes. Although the child is a bit dim-witted at times, she isn’t a bad person. I hope she can make more friends.”
“Hey, you old geezer! I’m right here next to you! Is it really okay to badmouth me like that?”
Song Qingyi realized her master was speaking ill of her and quickly interrupted.
She then turned to Zhu Lan.
“Junior Sister, don’t listen to my master! I have plenty of friends!”
Zhu Lan could not help but laugh at the words.
This lineage was too amusing.
The Master had no authority and was being stepped on by her two disciples.
The little loli was also quite defiant.
“Oh? What friends do you have? Also, doesn’t Master need to save face? Qing Yi, don’t you dare humiliate me!”
Seeing that the two were about to bicker again, Zhu Lan quickly interrupted.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. I understand. I still don’t know your name, Peak Master. I didn’t know how to address you.”
The little loli immediately replied, “Taoist Li Li.”
Taoist Li Li?
Most female peak masters Zhu Lan had met were called “Fairy.”
It was rare to see the “Taoist” suffix.
Sure enough, the little loli said proudly, “I chose it myself. How is it? Does it sound good?”
“It sounds good,” Zhu Lan said against her conscience.
“Hehe, thank you! I think it sounds good too.”
The little loli giggled.
“Master, you’re too stupid. Couldn’t you hear the reluctance in Junior Sister Zhu Lan’s voice?”
Song Qingyi ruthlessly exposed Zhu Lan.
“Ah? Really?”
The little loli looked at Zhu Lan.
Meeting those big eyes, Zhu Lan continued to lie.
“No.”
“Master, you’re so dumb!”
Song Qingyi turned her head away and stopped interrupting.
Taoist Li Li began to talk about Hong Yuan of her own accord.
“Hong Yuan was originally a disciple of the Yaochi Holy Land. When she was young, she fell in love with a man. They agreed to elope, but in the end, that man failed her. Only Hong Yuan managed to escape.”
“The Yaochi Holy Land punishes runaway disciples very severely. While she was on the run, she happened to meet me. I brought her into the Heavenly Evolution Sect, and she became the only disciple of Pozhen Peak.”
“Actually, I wasn’t originally meant to be the Peak Master. I didn’t want the position at all. I only wanted to focus on studying the Dao of Formations. That’s why I rarely manage the affairs of Pozhen Peak; Hong Yuan handles everything.”
“The Heavenly Evolution Sect is the number one sect in the world, so there are countless annoying matters to deal with. I gave Hong Yuan full authority to manage things. Hong Yuan lived up to expectations and kept Pozhen Peak in perfect order.”
“Later, I picked up Qing Yi. However, because I’m often in seclusion for 1 month at a time to study formations, Qing Yi was actually raised by Hong Yuan.”
“Hong Yuan’s heart was broken by that man back then, so she insists on maintaining her current appearance and refuses to change it. Otherwise, given a cultivator’s lifespan, Hong Yuan would still be a young woman. Since then, she has loathed the culture of girls loving girls in her former sect and has grown to hate romance between men and women as well.”
Zhu Lan and Song Qingyi listened quietly until she finished.
Zhu Lan suddenly understood.
“So that’s how it is.”
No wonder everyone on Pozhen Peak deferred to Hong Yuan, and even Taoist Li Li was willing to go along with her.
But why tell her all this?
Was it just so she would not hold a prejudice against Hong Yuan?
“I know. You’re his disciple; I can smell it. Tell your master to come talk to me.”