Peacock Spreads Its Tail

Not long after the Mid-Autumn Festival, the autumn air deepened and the weather turned slightly cooler. The begonias in the Sheng family yard were in full bloom. At this time, a messenger from Wuchen Island knocked on the door of the Sheng Mansion.

The visitor was Li Qi, a disciple of the Punishment Hall. He was quite friendly with Xu Shulou, Bai Roushuang and the others. After greeting Song Ping and the others, he asked, "Where is Senior Sister Xu? She must have been very worried these days. The headmaster asked me to bring a message that may comfort her a little."

"Worried?" Bai Roushuang sighed. The person who was least worried in the entire Sheng Mansion was probably her senior sister. The swans raised in the small pond in the yard seemed to be more worried than her.

Bai Roushuang searched around skillfully, and finally pulled Xu Shulou down from the tree. It turned out that Sheng Wuyou had made a small hammock for her, hanging high on the tree trunk, hidden in the branches, and not easy to be found. Xu Shulou liked to lie here recently, listening to the birds and insects chirping and taking a nap. Bai Roushuang was often worried that she would be taken away by birds when she fell asleep.

Xu Shulou regained consciousness, stretched himself in the palm of his junior sister's hand, looked at the person in front of him clearly, and said happily: "Junior Brother Li is here!"

She floated in front of Li Qi, and he subconsciously stretched out his hand to catch her. Xu Shulou then jumped on his palm as a greeting.

"Senior Sister Xu is still so lively and energetic." Li Qi sighed.

“…”

But this image was a little too cute, small and delicate. Li Qi held her in his hands, looked at her left and right, and suddenly felt healed. Even the shadows caused by Xu Shulou who often carried the bleeding villains to the Punishment Hall and threw them in front of him over the years were almost smoothed out.

The healing effects may last until her next appearance in the Hall of Punishment.

After Xu Shulou greeted him, he asked, "Is there anything new happening in the sect recently?"

Li Qi thought for a moment and said, "The headmaster has ordered the expansion of the punishment hall."

"I remember the Punishment Hall was quite spacious," Xu Shulou asked curiously, "Why are they suddenly expanding it?"

"It's all thanks to you, Senior Sister Xu. You helped fill half of the positions in the Punishment Hall," Li Qi looked at the bewildered party, "especially after the Colosseum incident. Some spectators who committed minor crimes were not beheaded, but they couldn't be released directly. They had to be taught a lesson, so they were detained first. However, there were not enough cells, so only four or five people could squeeze into one. It was Qingcheng Sect that helped us share half of the prisoners."

“…”

"Anyway, the headmaster was very distressed and agreed to allocate spiritual stones to us for expansion. He also said that with Xu Shulou here, we will have to expand sooner or later."

"...The old master is too polite," Xu Shulou shook his head. "Given the friendship between him and me, how could it be easy to say that? He should give me a heads-up, and I will try my best to kill the man outside and not bring him back to occupy a cell in the Punishment Hall."

Still the "caring" Senior Sister Xu, Li Qi was happy: "No, the Punishment Hall has been expanded, my master is very happy right now, come to think of it, he even asked me to thank you, Senior Sister."

"You're welcome," Xu Shulou waved his hand, "What do you want to see me about this time?"

Li Qi took out a porcelain bottle and held it in his palm to show her: "This is the medicine that the headmaster asked me to bring you."

Song Ping was pleasantly surprised and asked, "Could it be possible to restore Senior Sister to her original state?"

"Well," Li Qi touched his chin, "Master, I may not say for sure, but even if I don't eat well, it won't get any worse."

"..."Everyone suddenly felt that the pill he took out was full of unreliable aura. They stared at it seriously, as if they wanted to see through its formula.

"Let's give it a try." Xu Shulou made the decision decisively.

Li Qi handed the pill to her. Xu Shulou opened her arms and struggled to hold the pill, which was a circle bigger than her head. She sighed and started to chew it.

Bai Roushuang took the opportunity to touch her senior sister in a rebellious manner.

Xu Shulou turned back and glared at her in the midst of his busy schedule. Bai Roushuang lowered her eyes and acted sad: "Maybe there will be no chance in the future. Please allow me to be unbridled for the last time."

“…”

When the people from Sheng Mansion heard that there were visitors, they also went to the courtyard to welcome them. They had met Li Qi at the wedding banquet, and they exchanged greetings. Li Qi inevitably praised the quiet and elegant Sheng Mansion and teased Song Ping about his wonderful life after marriage, and then everyone gathered in a circle to watch Xu Shulou chew the pills.

Seeing everyone staring at him, Xu Shulou found it very difficult to understand, but he could only respect everyone's interests. Under these scorching stares, he simply took out his small wooden sword, cut the pill into many even pieces, and then took out his chopsticks to elegantly pick up a little bit and put it into his mouth.

After finally finishing the pill, everyone gathered around her expectantly, waiting to see the effect. The effect of the pill did not make them wait in vain. After an incense stick, Xu Shulou's black hair suddenly stood up, standing there proudly. From the front, it looked like the tail feathers of a peacock spreading its tail, and from the side, it looked like the black thorns on the shell of a sea urchin. It looked different from side to side.

“…”

Xu Shulou shook his head in disbelief. Everyone's breathing immediately stopped. They tried hard to hold back their laughter and pinched their thighs to remind themselves - don't judge a person by her cute appearance alone, her strength is still terrifying.

Xu Shulou looked at Li Qi with a complicated expression: "The old master...is he really not holding a grudge against me?"

"..." Li Qi was speechless, fearing that she would vent her anger on him as an envoy.

Sheng Wuyou held her over considerately: "Miss Xu, I will comb your hair again."

Xu Shulou was still in shock from the peacock's spreading tail attack, and he let her carry him back to the room without moving. The moment he turned around the corridor, he heard a sudden burst of cheerful laughter behind him, and he didn't care about it anymore.

After laughing, everyone got down to business again: "This elixir is not working. Is it possible that even the head of the sect can't do anything about it?"

Li Qi smiled and said, "Don't worry. Before I set out, the headmaster told me a location and told me that if the elixir is ineffective, I should ask Senior Sister Xu to find someone."

"Who is it?"

"Mr. Dan."

"It's him..." Everyone had obviously heard of this name. It was said that this person had lived for a very long time, and no one in the world knew the origin of his name, so they just called him "Mr. Dan."

Mr. Dan was extremely skilled in refining pills. It was said that any pill he had would attract many cultivators to fight for it. However, he had a rather strange temper and was very demanding of perfection. If the pills made by his subordinates did not meet his requirements in any way, he would destroy the entire furnace.

It is said in the cultivation world that he is very principled. If someone asks him for help, he will generally save the person, unless he is an extremely evil person. But other than that, if someone asks for pills for reasons such as improving cultivation or building a foundation, he will drive them out even if they are tempted with a large sum of money, and they will never be allowed to enter his residence. However, considering that he may be needed to save their lives one day, the cultivators generally do not dare to use force to force them, for fear of offending him.

Feng Yi pondered: "I wonder if Senior Sister's problem is within the scope of Mr. Dan's treatment."

During the conversation, Xu Shulou had already returned in high spirits. Sheng Wuyou combed her hair into a bun, put flowers in her hair, and changed her into a beautiful skirt that matched her hairstyle. Worried that the pill she had just taken was too bitter, he made her a cup of honey water to rinse her mouth. Xu Shulou then rubbed her cheek against Sheng Wuyou's fingers to express his gratitude.

No one knew what kind of fabric Madam Sheng used, but the skirt sparkled in the sunlight. Everyone was watching Xu Shulou flying over. Her brilliant beauty immediately made them forget the wonder of the peacock spreading its tail.

Li Qi repeated what he said before and wrote the location on a note for her. Xu Shulou listened and said thoughtfully, "Then I will go visit Mr. Dan."

"Senior sister, we will go with you."

"No need," Xu Shulou refused. "You have been with me for a long time, it's time to go back to Xuancang College. Besides, I heard that Mr. Dan likes quietness, and if too many people go, I'm afraid he will be disturbed."

Everyone hesitated. Since they wanted to ask for medicine, they naturally had to do everything according to other people's preferences. They had no choice but to agree: "Even if not all of you go, at least one or two of you have to accompany us, so that we can feel at ease."

Xu Shulou looked around and said, "Junior sister, just accompany me."

"no problem!"

Bai Roushuang immediately became happy and felt that her senior sister really favored her the most.

Xu Shulou looked at her and smiled. Among all the people in Mingyue Peak, Junior Sister was the one who was most easily fooled by him. Didn't he just do whatever he wanted along the way?

The two looked at each other and were both very satisfied with this arrangement.