As he saw the people of Yueqing Sect gather because of him, the boy's face revealed a gentle, heartwarming smile.
“Ah! Isn’t he Shixiong’s servant, Lin Zizheng?” From within the crowd, someone recognized the youth before them and exclaimed in amazement.
“He…… Didn’t he go into the depths of Misty Ridge? How's he come back now?" The tone of the disciple exposed the guilt on his conscience. At the time, he had also been a member of the group who pursued Lin Zizheng. Seeing he had returned safely and trekked across Dengtian Road in so short a time frame, his heart suddenly tensed and he feared that Lin Zizheng would speak out on what he had done.
It appeared he had heard their words and the smile on his face became softer whilst his gaze seemed to unintentionally sweep across them.
He answered the assembly of seniors with courtesy, replying to their many questions. The rest, however, did not have much to say and remained silent. Afterwards, he headed towards Yunlan Peak and Qin Mo's Dongfu.
Witnessing that Lin Zizheng had not revealed their prior plot to murder him, many of those present couldn't help but breath a sigh of relief. At the same time, within their hearts, they were still bothered. How did this Lin Zizheng come back! How is his fate so strong!
However, what they failed to notice was that as he passed by, occasionally black insects appeared and began to burrow into their bodies.
“The kid is not bad, his bone age is only fifteen and his cultivation has already reached the seventh layer of Qi refining.” Deng Qianli looked at Lin Zizheng's back, his eyes flashed briefly as he spoke with a smile.
“He is quite good, but I’m getting the overarching sense that something is wrong.” Jin Linfeng’s brow wrinkled slightly, his face revealed his distrust. Having thought about it for a while, without finding anything out of the ordinary, he smiled in relief: “Must be my imagination. After all, he is Xiao Mo's servant.”
Back at Qin Mo’s Dongfu, Lin Zizheng wiped the gentle smile off his face and walked blankly to the still secluded Qin Mo's stone room. Reaching out and gently touching the stone door, he muttered in a low voice: “Shixiong.”
At the moment, he lowered his head and no one could see the expression on his face. A cool breeze crossed over the expanse, fanning the long hair on his forehead and revealing his clear, stunning eyes.
After some time had passed, Lin Zizheng turned and went over to the Spirit Field. Looking at the dying spirit grass, he began carefully watering it as though he'd never left.
A month later, Qin Mo opened his eyes in the stone chamber. Sensing the abundant spirit power in his body, he looked at the roaring thunder fire burning in his Dantian and nodded in satisfaction. At last, he'd finally built his foundation!
Standing up and tidying his clothes, Qin Mo turned to walk over to the chamber's exit when he noticed his hair had already grown quite a bit behind him. It seemed a long time had passed. He didn't know how Lin Zizheng's life had passed here.
It was noon and the sunlight outside was extremely bright. Qin Mo had just stepped out of the room when, with a quick glance, his line of sight fell on a youth hard at work in the Spirit Field.
Qin Mo couldn’t help but stare blankly. Had it really been so long? Even this child who had once only reached to his chest was now almost as tall as him.
Lin Zizheng’s hands were raised in line with his chest, his fingers swept back and forth, striking each and every one of the hidden method points. There, amidst the sky, a burst of water suddenly materialized and was cast onto the spirit grass.
When he turned and saw Qin Mo standing in front of the entrance to the stone room, his gaze couldn't help but linger and he stood expressionlessly still for a while.
Naturally, Shixiong was a man of utmost beauty. His long eyebrows like willow leaves, his stature tall as jade, his clothes a spotless white, his long ink hair draped over his shoulder and behind him. Even though concentrated cold Qi lingered around his body, it still made people want to approach him like moths to a flame.
“Shixiong.” The youth's voice was barely audible and slowly dissipated into the air.
“En.” Seeing Lin Zizheng again, Qin Mo's heart was also delighted. He nodded slightly and joy briefly flashed in his pupils.
Lin Zizheng's sudden and rapid advancement in cultivation surprised him a bit. He then immediately realised that during his time in seclusion Lin Zizheng must have come across some sort of stroke of luck. Only then he'd grown up so fast. Assuming that perhaps it was the youth's secret, Qin Mo questioned it no more and so did not find out about the attempt on the boy's life whilst he was gone.
The young man before him was coming to resemble the protagonist in his memory more and more; cultured, refined, and good-natured. He had no knowledge of the outer disciples whose flesh was unwittingly being devoured by poisonous insects and of those already dead. Had they known the thoughts in Qin Mo's heart, would they had risen from their graves to sneer? Him cultured and refined?! Him kindhearted?!
After Qin Mo had gone out, he spent some time just staying at his Dongfu. During this period, he took care of the spirit grass with Lin Zizheng and although it didn't make it as lush as that on Yundan Peak, it was still considerably good.
For the rest of the time, he guided and directed Lin Zizheng in cultivation, teased the little fox, and passed fleeting hours in a relaxed atmosphere.
One day, a light blue paper crane flew by Qin Mo's Dongfu, circling his body twice before resting on his finger and coming to halt.
As he viewed its contents, his eyes narrowed slightly. The paper crane relayed Jin Linfeng's voice, summoning him to the main hall of Yunlan Peak.
After telling Lin Zizheng, Qin Mo headed off to Jin Linfeng at a moderate pace.
Qin Mo had barely set foot in the main hall of Yunlan Peak when he found the frowning Jin Linfeng. He was staring at an opened invitation with an unconvinced expression on his face. Upon hearing the sound of footsteps he noticed Qin Mo approaching.
Sweeping a glance at Qin Mo, he discerned that his cultivation had already reached the foundation building phase. Jin Linfeng couldn't resist breaking into a gratified smile, his brow also relaxed as he said: "Xiao Mo, good! You built your foundation so soon!"
Hearing his praise, Qin Mo’s face remained unchanged and he only gave him a passing glimpse. Jin Linfeng’s expression lagged after which he immediately smiled and cursed: “You brat, don’t always wear such a wooden look! There are other things to do in life!”
Once he'd spoken, Jin Linfeng once again knit his brows.
“What?” Seeing him so troubled, Qin Mo couldn't help but ask.
"Zhengyang Sect has sent out an invitation, calling the younger generation to discuss cultivation techniques at Zhengyang Sect. This is something that has never happened before! The assembly of major sects is held once every ten years and the next one is a long time away." Jin Linfeng handed the invitation to Qin Mo, his voice full of doubt.
Qin Mo turned over the invitation in his hand. Indeed, it was inviting the young disciples of Yueqing Sect to stay at Zhengyang Sect for some time while conducting an assessment for the young disciples to compete amongst themselves. In the lower right corner of the invitation, there was also the unique symbol of Zhengyang Sect – a large sun.
“I'll go then.” However, Qin Mo didn't think about it as much as Jin Linfeng did. He felt that, like building a cart behind closed doors, cultivating alone was also no good1. Different disciples could, by learning from each other's strengths, improve their own.
Hearing this, the corner of Jin Linfeng's mouth rose slightly. Qin Mo had always been so fearless, he couldn't help but smile: "Whether or not you'll be able to take the lead with your current strength, make them know how astounding Yueqing Sect's great Shixiong is!”
Qin Mo nodded, without anything to say, he was confident in himself. In the early days, Shixiong was indeed the best of those in the younger generation. Since he was already here, he'd decided it was necessary to continue maintaining his dominance.
After bidding farewell to Jin Linfeng, Qin Mo returned to his Dongfu and told Lin Zizheng of the matter. Lin Zizheng was now at the seventh layer of Qi refining. This level of cultivation at his age was also considered excellent. Naturally, Qin Mo decided to take him along to Zhengyang Sect.
After listening to what Qin Mo had to say, Lin Zizheng smiled and answered: "As Shixiong says so it shall be."
Qin Mo was quite satisfied with his answer. He only knew now what a wonderful thing it was to have a well-behaved little Shidi.
As the journey to Zhengyang Sect would take Jin Linfeng a few days, the young disciples were led by Qin Mo.
Yueqing Sect lay in the north of the boundary of the blue sky, while Zhengyang Sect was more or less in the south. The two sects were rather far apart. So Qin Mo made use of a flying mystic item, Yueqing Sect's Cloud Boat, for its speed.
Having already flown through the air for nearly ten days, despite consuming spirit gathering pellets from the start, Qin Mo had still become exceedingly exhausted by this point. He looked back at the famished disciples behind him and decided to stop and rest for a while.
The place where the Cloud Boat landed was a wide open clearing next to a dense forest. Unlike Misty Ridge, although people came there to seek treasures, the degree of danger found within the thicket was far from that of the Ridge. Thus everyone rested feeling at ease.
Qin Mo sat at the corner edge of the clearing. Even though all the disciples greatly admired their Shixiong, the cold Qi he had absorbed into his body kept them at a distance. Only Lin Zizheng sat quietly by his side.
Some disciples went hunting in the nearby forest. Once they'd returned, they first took the best of the wild boar flesh they'd caught and brought it over to Qin Mo. Seeing him give a nod of indifference, they quickly left.
As he watched the situation unfold, Lin Zizheng's mouth curled upward faintly and he spoke: "Great."
Upon hearing him whisper, Qin Mo, somewhat puzzled, asked: “What's great?”
Lin Zizheng’s brows curved and he continued: “This boar meat is great!” In his heart, he thought to himself, great, no one dares snatch Shixiong from me.
Qin Mo obviously had no culinary talents, therefore he only clasped his hands indifferently and stood to the side, watching Lin Zizheng aptly roast the meat.
Yet the tips of his ears slightly reddened. Last time it was because he was injured that he allowed Lin Zizheng, this child, to prepare food for him. This time, he was obviously fine but could still only help himself to the barbecue, giving the illusion that he was bullying the child.
Although in his mind he had already gone over multiple thoughts, Qin Mo's expression was still the same as he calmly accepted the barbecue that Lin Zizheng handed to him and ate it up.
Qin Mo's ears stirred, from his side he seemingly heard a snapping sound. His hands tightened, a light flashed in his eyes as he looked into the thick woods ahead and sternly shouted: "Who's there!? "
The author has something to say:
~(≧▽≦)/~ Lalala, two more to go.
Lol eyebrows like willow leaves look like this. You poor pure child you, Qin Mo, you don't have a clue. ( ･ᴗ･̥̥̥ )
Happy New Year Peeps! I'm currently travelling and I'll be starting classes soon so the update pace may slow down a bit, but mama didn't raise no quitter. Enjoy!
1Idiom used here that is meant as one is prone to be overly subjective if they disregard the outside world.