After Accidentally Entering the Forbidden Land and Forming a Bond with the Grandmaster - Chapter 21

Helping my wife slap a face.

When Cui Jin saw Chu Lanci’s carefree attitude, he felt a sharp pang of distress. He wanted to offer more warnings, but it is impossible to wake someone who is pretending to sleep, or rather, someone who is simply too pure to see the danger.

“Very well, if you need anything, do not hesitate to find me.”

Chu Lanci nodded. “I will.” After speaking, he remembered something. “Deacon Cui, do you need this?” He handed the Retaining Youth Pill that Xie Zhuo had given him to Cui Jin.

Cui Jin looked at it and said, “This is a Retaining Youth Pill, which is quite rare. You should keep it.” Looking at the bottle, he noticed it was of high quality. It would cost at least tens of thousands of spirit stones.

As expected of Xie Zhuo, he was incredibly generous with his gifts.

“It is fine. Let me share some with you since I cannot finish them all anyway.” Chu Lanci believed that good things should be shared.

Cui Jin did not dare to accept Xie Zhuo’s belongings, but he understood Chu Lanci’s kindness. “Thank you, Lanci. This is far too precious.”

“Is this item really that good?”

“It is very good for you.” Cui Jin thought to himself that such items were usually given by powerful cultivators to their beloved Dao companions.

Chu Lanci did not press him and thanked him with a smile.

Upon returning to his residence, Chu Lanci thought about Cui Jin’s words. His understanding of Xie Zhuo had indeed deepened slightly, but he felt there must be more to the story. Perhaps there were hidden details no one knew about?

He always preferred to think the best of people, especially since his Master was so kind to him.

In the following days, Chu Lanci did not begin his formal cultivation, nor did he do anything else. He focused solely on preparing for the bond contracting ceremony. There were various rules and etiquettes of the sect to learn. Although he knew these were mostly empty formalities, he studied them very seriously.

When he grew tired, he fed the little rabbits or worked on his small flower lanterns.

He actually wanted to return to Wind Listening Village to take a look, but the journey was troublesome and he feared missing the important ceremony, so he gave up on the idea. He considered asking Xie Zhuo for help, but he felt that Xie Zhuo was very busy lately and did not want to bother him.

One day, he was practicing the ceremony as usual. The bond contracting ceremony for a Sect Leader followed a fixed process, from forming the Heart to Heart Array to reciting vows and finalizing the contract. Everything was done strictly by the book, leaving no room for improvisation.

Whatever Wei Daoping instructed, he did.

However, practicing these things every day was truly tedious. If not for Chu Lanci’s good temper and patience, an ordinary person would not have been able to endure it.

The fellow disciples in the sect were polite to Chu Lanci, but some, such as Deacon Ma, who was responsible for teaching the ceremony, were prone to bullying the weak. Seeing that Chu Lanci had a gentle personality, he felt he was an easy target.

Because Chu Lanci misspoken a few lines of the vows, Deacon Ma mocked him sarcastically, “You said it wrong. Say it again.”

But Chu Lanci acted as if he had not heard him. He ignored the man and continued reciting.

Deacon Ma frowned and said, “What is wrong with you? Did you not hear me speaking?” He thought to himself, how can a useless person without a spiritual root contract with the greatest man in the world? He cannot even recite a few lines properly. There is not a single merit to be seen in him and he has no backbone. He is simply meant to be trampled upon.

This time, Chu Lanci did hear him, as the man’s voice was quite loud. Thinking he had caused trouble for someone else, he hurried to apologize, “I am sorry, I did not hear you just now. Deacon Ma, what did you say?”

There was indeed a slight problem with his hearing, requiring others to speak loudly. He had been this way since childhood. Few people knew this because he usually appeared no different from a normal person, and his inability to hear occurred only occasionally.

“I have already said it twice,” Deacon Ma said coldly. He felt more and more that Chu Lanci was stupid.

Can someone this dim-witted truly succeed in cultivation? He was already annoyed at being assigned to teach the ceremony, and with the student being so slow, he felt his bad temper was justified.

Chu Lanci felt a bit flustered. He indeed struggled to keep up with many things, having never been exposed to such major events. But he felt that if he were given a little more time, he would certainly do well.

“Then please say it one more time. I beg of you!” Chu Lanci smiled and clasped his hands in a plea.

Just as Deacon Ma was about to snap back, a cold voice rang in his ear, “Say it again.”

The voice was right beside him, scaring Deacon Ma so much that his heart jumped. Feeling as though he were facing a formidable enemy, he immediately changed his tune and said to Chu Lanci, “Uh, there is a word wrong in the second line and another in the seventh word of the fifth line.”

Chu Lanci looked at the script and saw that it was indeed wrong. He laughed it off, saying, “Ah, I did not notice. In the future, please speak a bit louder, Deacon. I occasionally fail to hear.”

“How could you say such a thing!” Deacon Ma was terrified.

Chu Lanci was stunned. He wondered why the man had suddenly started using respectful honorifics. The change was quite drastic. He turned his head in confusion and saw a tall figure standing at the doorway.

Who else could it be but Xie Zhuo?

The cultivators accompanying him in the room all knelt on the ground, their foreheads pressed against the green bricks. “Greetings, Sect Leader!”

Xie Zhuo was expressionless and commanded coldly, “Everyone, get out.”

Deacon Ma, who had just spoken to Chu Lanci with an unkind tone, scrambled to his feet, intending to lead the others out in a line. Just as they were about to leave, Xie Zhuo spoke, “Do I need to say it again?”

Deacon Ma immediately knelt back down, trembling all over. Cold sweat poured down his forehead. “Sect Leader, please forgive me!”

Xie Zhuo did not even look at him and said slowly, “In the future, you do not need to listen anymore.”

As soon as these words were spoken, Deacon Ma felt as if he had been struck by lightning. His knees hit the ground heavily as he pleaded, “Sect Leader, have mercy! This disciple struggled in the outer sect for thirty years before finally entering the inner sect!”

Chu Lanci wondered how Xie Zhuo knew about the friction between them. He did have an argument with this man named Ma, but he felt there was no need for such a heavy punishment. If this continued, who would ever dare to speak to him again?

He came to Thousand Mountains to study, not to make enemies.

“Master, we just had a small disagreement. I could just scold him back. It is nothing major.” Chu Lanci felt this was very normal in the village. Neighbors would argue over spiritual fields, but the next day they would still be good neighbors.

As soon as he said this, everyone looked at him in shock.

Deacon Ma was even more stunned. He did not expect Chu Lanci to speak up for him or even dare to contradict the Sect Leader. Was Chu Lanci not afraid of losing the Sect Leader’s favor? Was this person foolish or truly righteous?

Xie Zhuo was not surprised. He pursed his lips and remained silent.

Chu Lanci always spoke his mind. He did not know where his confidence came from, but he felt Xie Zhuo would listen to him. After all, his Master was a good person.

“Master, am I wrong?”

Xie Zhuo raised an eyebrow and glanced at Deacon Ma, his eyes like ice. “Then I shall spare you this once. Let there be no next time. Go to the Hall of Discipline to receive your punishment. You are docked three years of merit.”

The punishment was still heavy. Three years of merit meant he would miss out on future trial opportunities. However, Deacon Ma was still deeply grateful and left after thanking him repeatedly.

After the crowd dispersed, Xie Zhuo intended to leave as well. He had only been passing by and had not intended to stay.

Chu Lanci let out a sound of surprise. “Master, are you leaving just after arriving?”

“Do you have something else?”

“I want to ask a favor of you.”

Xie Zhuo asked, “What is it?”

“I want to find time to go back to the village to check on the flowers I am growing.”

Xie Zhuo remained silent.

Chu Lanci said pitifully, “I have been so busy preparing for the ceremony these days that I have not had time to return to Wind Listening Village. Master, if I do not go back soon, my flowers will die.”

“What flowers?”

“The Night Orchid flowers planted in my backyard. I need to sell them. It takes a long time for me to go back on my own. Master, can you give me a ride?” Chu Lanci explained that these flowers were not ordinary. Wind Listening Village had a special geographical location and the things grown there possessed spiritual energy. Many cultivators would buy them to refine into medicine or pills. Although the profit was not much, it was still an income.

Xie Zhuo said helplessly, “Let us go.”

It was always these trivial matters. He wondered if his role as Sect Leader was just a game. Although for him, it indeed was.

Returning to the village took only a blink of an eye. A warm smile spread across Chu Lanci’s face. “Thank you, Master!”

The two returned to Chu Lanci’s house. After dropping him off, Xie Zhuo wanted to leave, but Chu Lanci stopped him. “Master, I will be very fast! If I return on my own, it will be very slow.” Although he had transport talismans, he had to walk to the teleportation array first. It was nowhere near as fast as being carried by his Master.

Xie Zhuo maintained a gentle appearance and said, “Fine.” He felt that Chu Lanci possessed a certain magic, perhaps it was the sincerity of a commoner’s plea. Whenever he was gazed upon by those clear eyes, he found himself unable to refuse.

Xie Zhuo watched Chu Lanci busying himself, pulling a bunch of miscellaneous items out of a large bundle: spiritual herbs and seeds picked from who knows where, as well as some broken talismans and spiritual tools.

“Where did you get these things?”

Chu Lanci was busy sorting and replied as he turned around, “They were distributed.”

“Thousand Mountains distributes these?”

Chu Lanci explained, “Not exactly. I saw that some people did not want these things, so I asked if I could have them. They said it was fine. I picked them up because I thought they were all quite good.”

Xie Zhuo was silent for a moment. He stepped forward and picked up a tablet. “This is a Mysterious Tablet. It has already lost its spiritual energy. Are you taking it to sell for money?”

Chu Lanci took it back from Xie Zhuo’s hand and said righteously, “It is useful! I plan to give it to my students so they can play with it.”

“Play with a Mysterious Tablet?”

“Yes, we should not let it go to waste. I think it looks nice. It might be useless to cultivators, but my students have never seen such things.”

Xie Zhuo remarked, “You are quite good to your students.”

Chu Lanci squinted and smiled. “Since no one wanted them anyway, I brought them back. This Mysterious Tablet has another use. If anyone bullies the village in the future, we can bring this out to intimidate them.”

Xie Zhuo smiled. “I told you, you can use my name.”

“I cannot use it for a lifetime,” Chu Lanci replied casually.

Xie Zhuo did not say anything after hearing this. His gaze landed on the table and he picked up a garment. “What about this? Is it for you to wear?”

Chu Lanci shook his head. “It is for the villagers. These clothes have a bit of spiritual energy. They can be considered immortal items.”

“And what about yourself?” Xie Zhuo noticed that Chu Lanci always wore the same light green robe, switching between only a few identical ones. Surely he would receive many new clothes for the ceremony.

“I have some. I have many and they are all wearable.” He pointed to the wardrobe in his room.

“What about the new clothes? Do you not want them?”

Chu Lanci laughed and said, “Of course I want them, if you are really going to give them to me.”

Xie Zhuo’s heart, which had been touched, settled slightly and his curiosity waned. Chu Lanci was different from others, yet in some ways, no different from any mortal.

He began to wonder: what kind of Chu Lanci could save him? Save the man who had been trapped for a hundred years and still could not find a way out?

Chu Lanci quickly finished his preparations and said, “I am done! I just need to tidy up my flowers. Master, do you want to join me?”

Xie Zhuo had not yet answered.

Chu Lanci added, “Come with me, Master! I have grown many beautiful flowers!” He grabbed Xie Zhuo’s hand, his smile radiant.

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