Chapter 44 Duanmu (Part 3) There's no need to make things difficult for a junior. ...

"He's asleep." An hour later, Qingxing stepped out of the room and whispered to Jiuquchen at the door.

Jiu Qu Chen also lowered his voice: "Then let him sleep a little longer."

He stepped forward and carefully closed the door, then pulled Qingxing aside: "Qiuzhi just told me that Patriarch Duanmu invited us to his study."

"Should I go too?" Qingxing thought for a moment. "Are my senior sisters and the others going?"

Jiu Qu Chen shook his head: "I don't know."

After thinking for a moment, he said, "They probably want to ask about some things at the bottom of the lake. Don't be nervous, just tell them the truth. The elders are here too, and even if it's the head of the Duanmu family, he wouldn't dare to make things difficult for you."

As he spoke, he winked at Qingxing and said rather irreverently, "Besides, there's also your master, me!"

He blinked, and the beauty mark next to his eye seemed to shimmer. Qingxing watched, paused for a moment, then looked away, down at the embroidery on her hem.

The embroidery was new, which put her in a state of emotional turmoil.

Cultivators generally don't like to change their clothes. If they get dirty, they can simply use a cleaning spell. This is true for ordinary cultivators, let alone the disciples of Mount Taihua. Their clothes are specially made and are not easily torn. Therefore, Qingxing never even considered the possibility of changing clothes on this trip.

So after returning from Jade Lake, she was so busy she barely had time to breathe and didn't care about her appearance, so she didn't change out of her tattered clothes. In the end, Chen Mo couldn't stand it anymore and asked someone to find a family to buy her a new set.

The outfit was also in the style of lantern pants, and was a bright blue color all over. Qingxing didn't have high requirements for clothing, as long as it was comfortable, so she just put it on.

But when Jiu Quchen saw her the next day, he first widened his eyes, then opened his mouth and made a duck-like quacking sound.

The sound wasn't actually that loud, but it was so close to Qingxing that it almost deafened her.

"Master?" Qingxing rubbed one ear and asked earnestly, "What's wrong?"

Jiu Qu Chen looked quite angry: "How dare someone dress my disciple in such ugly clothes! It's simply challenging my bottom line of taste!"

Qingxing said helplessly, "Master, you yourself have also worn ugly rag dolls."

She didn't think much of it at the time, assuming that Jiu Qu Chen was just used to dressing up and couldn't stand seeing others behaving so casually. It wasn't until three days later that Jiu Qu Chen, sporting two dark circles under his eyes, tossed her a bag and a Qiankun bag that felt like dozens of pounds of stone, specifically instructing her: "Open it when you get back."

Qingxing returned to her room with a head full of questions. She tore open the thin string sealing the bag, and a bunch of colorful clothes instantly sprayed out, covering her completely.

She expressionlessly pulled the clothes off her head, and inadvertently caught a glimpse of the green apricot pattern on them.

After a moment of stunned silence, she took out the cloth bag from her waist and compared them, discovering that the stitching of the two was exactly the same.

Looking at the mess in the room, Qingxing was stunned: Could this all have been done by Master?

Overwhelmed by a mixture of surprise and joy, Qingxing suddenly remembered the term "Daoist companion" that Wang Yan had mentioned in the secret chamber of Emerald Lake.

She shook her head, silently repeating "He is your master, he is your master" in her heart, while folding her clothes and putting them aside, choosing a light blue and warm white one to wear.

Looking at herself in the bronze mirror, she couldn't suppress the urge to smile, so she simply let her mood take flight and went to Shen Wan and the others, hoping to casually show off.

But she was stunned when she saw the group of people.

Because apart from Wenren Xi and Chen Mo, the other two, and even a Guda Book Spirit, were all wearing new clothes.

Qingxing's lips instantly twitched downwards, but Guda didn't notice. It flew to Qingxing's side and said with a grin, "Isn't it beautiful, Master's doing it!"

Qingxing glanced at it expressionlessly, then waved her hand—and the book spirit, dressed in its new clothes, crashed back into the open book on the table.

She asked expressionlessly, "Have you performed the apprenticeship ceremony?"

Just spouting nonsense!

The green apricot at the hem of her clothes swayed with her steps, pulling Qingxing back to reality.

She looked up at Jiu Quchen's back, and although she tried her best to suppress it, her heart was still filled with a bittersweet emotion.

She couldn't figure out the origin of this strange emotion, but this matter weighed heavily on Qingxing's mind. She had been wondering about it for several days. Now, walking on her way to the study, with only Jiu Qu Chen by her side, she hesitated for a moment before finally deciding to ask, "Master, have you made clothes for everyone?"

His voice was extremely soft and low; if the two hadn't been so close, Jiu Qu Chen wouldn't have been able to hear him at all.

"Huh?" Jiu Qu Chen didn't react for a moment. Seeing Qing Xing staring at the hem of his clothes, he then said "Oh" in understanding. "You mean those things? I didn't make any for Wenren Xi and Chen Mo. They are too old. It would be inappropriate for them to wear clothes I made. I didn't make any for Ting Zhu either. After all, he can't even wear all the clothes the patriarch gave him."

He spoke with great enthusiasm, seemingly quite pleased with himself.

"Oh," Qingxing replied listlessly, her eyes lowered.

"What's wrong?" Jiu Qu Chen asked, noticing her displeasure. "Do you think you don't have enough clothes?"

Before Qingxing could deny it, he tapped her head lightly with his fan, burst into laughter, and teased, "It doesn't matter if you don't have enough clothes. When Master has a Daoist partner in the future, he and your master's wife will make you an endless supply of clothes!"

After hearing this, Qingxing swallowed all her explanation.

She didn't utter another word until she reached the study.

Although Jiu Quchen was puzzled, he assumed it was just a matter of the quantity of Qingxing's clothes, and secretly thought to himself: I need to do something else!

The master and apprentice, each with their own thoughts, walked silently into the study.

"Patriarch, Elder." Jiu Qu Chen addressed the group of people inside the room, with Qing Xing following closely behind.

Duanmu Yi put down his teacup and waved his hand: "Come here."

After the master and apprentice sat down, Qinghe spoke up: "I called Qingxing over because I wanted to ask you something."

He looked at Qingxing: "That day at the bottom of Emerald Lake, besides the Purple-Clad Demon, did you see anyone else?"

Qingxing met his gaze directly and said calmly, "No."

Xuan Ying, standing to the side, frowned and said in a deep voice, "Qing Xing, this matter is of great importance. Have you thought it through?"

Qingxing pretended to recall something, and after a moment, she still said, "I haven't seen it. I fainted after the Purple-Clad Demon self-destructed. When I woke up, I was in a secret passage. There was a teleportation array in that passage, so I brought my master and junior brother out."

While observing the situation, Jiu Quchen suddenly raised his hand: "I can testify that my disciple would never lie."

Qinghe glanced at him speechlessly: "You've already fainted, what kind of testimony are you giving?"

Jiu Qu Chen pointed to the green apricot and said matter-of-factly, "My disciple just said that she also fainted, so it's normal that she doesn't know."

Qinghe: "..."

He suspected that Jiuquchen did it on purpose.

Just as he was about to speak again, Duanmu Yi, who was seated at the head of the table, suddenly coughed lightly. Everyone turned their attention to him, and he said slowly, "There are many demons in the Blood Peach Forest, including some high-level demons with self-awareness. Young friend, you must have been quite frightened when you fell into the Jade Lake. It is normal that you can't remember anything."

"The strange phenomenon that day might have been the scene of a high-level demon breaking through to a higher realm. Even if it is very similar to the time when Wang Yan entered the demon realm, there have been many demons that caused a great commotion when breaking through to a higher realm in the past five hundred years. It is not surprising."

Qinghe's expression was solemn: "The Purple-Clad Demon is dead, but what about the person who drew the magic array behind him? This scene is not unusual, but those who have suffered this time are all disciples of my Taihua Mountain, the best of this generation. Patriarch, if we do not get to the bottom of this today, if I may be so bold, it will be a dereliction of duty on our part as elders."

“Among your disciples is my son.” Duanmu Yi raised his voice slightly. “This accident was something no one could have foreseen. As the head of the Duanmu family, I should reflect on my actions. But now that the mastermind behind this has disappeared, we should focus on searching for him, rather than making things difficult for a frightened junior.”

He then sighed and softened his tone: "Elders, we must not rush things. Since she can't remember, then so be it. This is territory under the jurisdiction of my Duanmu family. Even if it's to protect the reputation of my clan, even if I have to dig three feet into the ground, I will find that person!"

Having said all that, Xuan Ying and Qing He couldn't say anything more. The reason they had brought Qing Xing here today was to explore a possibility; since this path was blocked, they would look for another way.

The two exchanged a glance, and Qinghe took out the recording bead and placed it on the table: "Since that's the case, this is the recording bead that recorded the strange phenomenon that day. We will give it to the elder so that he can investigate it."

He stood up and bowed to Duanmu Yi: "Yesterday I sent a message to the sect leader, and she took this matter very seriously. We need to send someone back to investigate with the sect leader. However, the date of the trial is approaching. Once Tingzhu has recovered from her injuries, for the safety of the disciples, I hope the elders will activate the teleportation array to send them directly to the Northern Wilderness. As for the spirit stones spent, Taihua Mountain will compensate us."

Since it concerned the younger generation, Duanmu Yi naturally agreed: "Of course, but there's no need for spirit stones. Duanmu has been stationed here for a hundred years, so it's not like he can't produce something like this."

Xuan Ying nodded: "Let's stop here then. Qing Xing, you go back first."

Qingxing glanced at Duanmu Yi, who was seated at the head of the table, then got up and quickly left the study.

Duanmu Yi kept his word, obscuring the main point and drawing attention to the "person behind the scenes," effectively distancing herself from the matter of the strange phenomenon.

As for why Duanmu Yi guessed that she was the culprit behind the strange phenomenon... Qingxing didn't want to waste any more brainpower on it.

Qinghe and Xuanying did not look for her again. A few days later, Qinghe embarked on the road back to Mount Taihua; and after a month of recuperation, they were also to set off for the Northern Wilderness Continent.

During this month, Duanmu Tingzhu recovered very well. Everyone tacitly avoided talking about his damaged foundation. They chatted as they did when they were at Mount Taihua, joking around and laughing together.

Duanmu Tingzhu laughed more and more often. During the day, he cultivated with his senior brothers and sisters, and sunbathed with Guda in the courtyard. When he was bored, he would pick up his old hobby, take out his sketchbook, and start learning idioms.

“‘She let out a strange cry and shouted: You are truly ignorant!’” Upon reading this, Duanmu Tingzhu smacked his lips twice, frowned, and asked, “‘Ignorant’ sounds like a good idiom, but what does it mean?”

"Idiot, you don't even know something this simple!" Shen Wan, wiping her sword, chimed in, "'Not a speck of ink on his chest' means that person is very clean!"

The rest of the group were speechless.

Gudako scoffed: "Misleading the youth."

Such jokes would happen every two days. Everyone would look at Duanmu Tingzhu's expression, seemingly carefree but actually very careful, trying their best to make him happy. Of course, Tingzhu would "live up to expectations" and often grin from ear to ear.

Everything seemed normal, if Qingxing hadn't seen Duanmu Tingzhu secretly practicing talisman techniques in the dead of night.