After Transmigrating Into The Body Of The Chief Disciple, The Villain Was Reborn. - Chapter 7

Upon seeing the young boy behind Mu Leng, Lu Shi’an paused slightly. He pondered to himself, I did not expect to meet the protagonist shou from the book so soon.

Seeing his senior brother staring at the person opposite him in a daze, Ning Yuzhao felt a surge of doubt and followed Lu Shi’an’s gaze. He saw a twelve-year-old boy dressed in clothes as white as snow. His hair was slightly disheveled, and his face was as pale as paper. He looked extremely delicate and soft, as if a gust of wind would knock him over.

Ning Yuzhao could not help but tug on Lu Shi’an’s sleeve, asking with a hint of jealousy, “Senior Brother, have you taken a liking to that little fellow opposite us? Do you want to bring him back to the sect and make him your junior brother?”

Lu Shi’an was left speechless and hurriedly explained, “What nonsense are you spouting? Senior Brother only has you as a junior brother.”

“Then why have you been staring at him?” Ning Yuzhao questioned with puffed-up cheeks.

Lu Shi’an sighed helplessly and explained, “I was just curious how someone with cultivation only at the Qi Condensation stage could appear this deep within the Phantom Moon Forest.”

Just as the two were whispering, Yun Sheng had already begun to buddy up with Mu Leng on the other side, inquiring why Mu Leng and his junior brother were in this area. Mu Leng had heard that there was Spirit-Discriminating Grass in the Phantom Moon Forest and wanted to try his luck to see if they could harvest it. After all, Spirit-Discriminating Grass was a treasure capable of improving one’s spiritual root value.

When Lu Shi’an saw Ji Yu, he knew that this Spirit-Discriminating Grass must be intended for him. When Mu Leng learned from Yun Sheng that the person in front of him was Lu Shi’an of the Xuantian Sect, he was naturally pleasantly surprised.

He said excitedly, “I never expected to meet the legendary genius here in the Phantom Moon Forest today. It is truly a pleasure!”

Lu Shi’an smiled helplessly, thinking to himself that his reputation had apparently spread throughout the entire world of cultivation. He responded politely, “You are too kind; it is merely an exaggeration by outsiders.”

Just then, Ji Yu approached and said to Lu Shi’an with a smile, “Are you Senior Brother Lu? I really like you! I have always wanted to become someone as outstanding as you!”

Lu Shi’an nodded politely, though he muttered inwardly, Why is this guy suddenly so enthusiastic?

However, Ji Yu’s next sentence made Lu Shi’an feel somewhat displeased. He sighed, “Alas, it is a pity that my spiritual root value is too low. I am afraid I will never be able to catch up to you in this lifetime. If only I had talent like yours…” He then wore an expression of self-pity.

Lu Shi’an furrowed his brow slightly, his favorability toward Ji Yu dropping instantly. He chose not to respond directly, remaining silent because he felt Ji Yu seemed to harbor ill intentions.

Ning Yuzhao, on the other hand, grew even more vigilant at Ji Yu’s attempt to get close. He pulled tightly on Lu Shi’an’s sleeve, terrified that his senior brother would be snatched away.

After learning the purpose of Lu Shi’an and Yun Sheng’s group, Mu Leng calculated for a moment and decided to invite them to form a team. He looked at Lu Shi’an and Yun Sheng, saying earnestly, “Junior Brother Lu, Junior Brother Yun, would you consider traveling together? After all, it is getting more dangerous the closer we get to the depths. If we act together, we can look out for one another.”

Lu Shi’an was still considering whether to agree when Ning Yuzhao interjected impatiently, “No! You are searching for herbs; our paths are different!”

Seeing Ning Yuzhao refuse so decisively, Ji Yu’s eyes instantly filled with tears, and he said pitifully, “Junior Brother Ning, are you really so heartless? Do you look down on me, thinking my cultivation is too low and that I will be a burden to you?”

With these words, Lu Shi’an felt displeased. With that single sentence, the protagonist shou had pitted the others against Yuzhao due to his low cultivation. He had not expected the protagonist shou to be so scheming at such a young age.

Yun Sheng frowned and looked at Ji Yu, saying, “Junior Brother Ji, Junior Brother Yuzhao refused because your paths are indeed different. You do not need to act so aggrieved.” They felt Ning Yuzhao had simply refused a proposal without any ulterior motive. For Ji Yu to use such words to accuse Ning Yuzhao was truly unacceptable.

“Junior Brother Ji, regardless of why Yuzhao refused, it has nothing to do with you. In that case, let us part ways here.” With that, Lu Shi’an turned and left with Ning Yuzhao.

Seeing this, Yun Sheng said politely, “Brother Mu, we are also searching for someone and are not taking the same path. We shall take our leave.” He immediately followed Lu Shi’an and the others.

Left behind, Ji Yu felt humiliated. Usually, this tactic worked on all the senior brothers; why had it failed now? Seeing Mu Leng deep in thought, Ji Yu immediately cried out in grievance, “Senior Brother, did I say something wrong? It is all my fault for having low cultivation; otherwise, I wouldn’t have angered Junior Brother Ning…”

Once Ji Yu started crying, Mu Leng did not have time to ponder whether Ji Yu’s words were intentional or accidental. He hurriedly coaxed, “Don’t cry, Yu’er. Senior Brother knows you didn’t mean it and just made a slip of the tongue. When we see Senior Brother Lu and the others later, we will apologize properly.”

Hearing Mu Leng tell him to apologize, a flash of malice crossed Ji Yu’s eyes. His gaze was like a viper hidden in the shadows, cold and filled with hostility. He swore silently in his heart that he would make Ning Yuzhao pay the price.

On the other side, Ning Yuzhao was naturally happy after his senior brother took him away. He had disliked this person from the very first moment—an inexplicable hatred—but he was also afraid that his senior brother would believe Ji Yu and think he was arrogant, spoiled, and overbearing.

Along the way, his heart felt like it was hanging in mid-air. He looked at Lu Shi’an from time to time, like a puppy waiting for its master’s judgment. Lu Shi’an, however, had not noticed, as he was busy recalling the events of the book. The task of searching for missing disciples had not appeared in the original story.

The reason the original host met Ji Yu was because he had saved Ji Yu from the mouth of a demonic beast while training in the Phantom Moon Forest; there had been no one else around when he did so.

However, based on the current situation, only the act of saving Ji Yu matched the plot of the book, while everything else was completely different. Was this a butterfly effect, or had someone changed the plot? Thinking of this, he formed a guess in his heart.

Seeing that his senior brother still hadn’t spoken to him, Ning Yuzhao could not help but grow anxious. “Senior Brother!”

“Hmm? What is it, Yuzhao?” Snapped out of his thoughts, Lu Shi’an stopped pondering. Seeing his junior brother so anxious, he thought something had happened.

“Senior Brother, are you blaming me for refusing to go with Ji Yu and the others? If you regret it, I will go find them and apologize now.” Ning Yuzhao tugged at Lu Shi’an’s sleeve, looking miserable.

Seeing this, Lu Shi’an knew this was Ning Yuzhao using a “retreat to advance” tactic. If he really went back, his junior brother would probably be so angry he would ignore him.

“What are you saying? Senior Brother is not blaming you. Yuzhao did great just now!” Lu Shi’an patted his junior brother’s head, sighing inwardly at how smooth his hair was.

“Then why didn’t you answer me just now? I called you several times!” Ning Yuzhao said in a rush of anger.

“Senior Brother was just thinking about some old matters. But Yuzhao, from now on, stay far away from Ji Yu whenever you see him. He is not as simple as he looks.”

Seeing that his senior brother was not only not angry but even warned him to stay away from that person, he responded happily, “Yes! Senior Brother, I will listen to you and stay away from him.”