"Her name is Wen Qing..."

Qin Beast took out a portrait and showed it to the Netherworld White Tiger.

"Remember what she looks like. You can protect her secretly or openly, but never tell her that I sent you, understand?"

"Yes, I know."

"And another thing, if you don't protect her, I'll skin you alive and use the tiger skin to make chair skin."

"Then how do I find her?"

"Go on."

Qin Shou grabbed the little tiger, spun it around, and with a "whoosh," threw it towards the horizon.

"Awoo~"

........

The afternoon sun was gentle.

Qin Shou sat by the spirit pool, soaking his feet, holding a carving knife and a piece of brownish-red wood in his hand.

The wood is a rare resurrection wood, and the carving knife is a top-grade spiritual treasure rewarded by the system for saving Nangong Liuli.

He is carving wood.

Qin Shou loved wood carving in his first life and was even a master wood carver, but those are all distant memories.

"Senior, who is Wen Qing?"

Beneath the old mulberry tree, a serene fairy sat on a swing, her thick, cloud-like black hair flowing freely. Layers of fine golden light filtered through the branches of the old mulberry tree, falling on her head, hair, face, shoulders, and the flowing white skirt... creating an exquisite and tranquil scene.

"My apprentice."

Qin Shou responded with a smile.

"Senior, you have apprentices?"

"Yes, I have four disciples. The one on the back mountain is my eldest disciple; his name is Changsheng."

Nangong Liuli thought she had misheard.

"Senior, are you referring to that over 100-year-old cultivator in the back mountain who's only at the ninth level of Qi Refining?"

"yes. "

“..........”

Nangong Liuli was clearly taken aback for a moment.

She never expected that a powerful figure like Qin Shou, with such exceptional cultivation, would take a Qi Refining Realm cultivator as his disciple.

However, what shocked and intrigued her even more was that she had seen the resources on this mountain. The spiritual energy was more than a hundred times denser than that of the outside world, and there were countless top-grade spirit stones, elixirs, and a master who was unfathomable... Under such circumstances, how did that person maintain his Qi Refining Realm at over a hundred years old?

"Haha, come on, isn't my wood carving cute?"

Qin Shou held up a wooden carving and waved it at Nangong Liuli... Small green bead eyes, a chubby face, a big belly, hands on hips, head held high, small lips pursed, slightly upturned, looking very smug.

"This is....? "

"This is my third apprentice, her name is Yi Cheng. She can eat a ton of food; she can eat a whole mountain in one meal, hahaha..."

"???" "It seems the senior's disciples are all quite...unique."

"Hahaha, that's right. My eldest disciple is incredibly talented, with a resolute will and a single-minded pursuit of immortality; my second disciple is gentle and virtuous, beautiful and charming, and also good at housework, her braised pork is the best in the world; my third disciple is adorably silly, being able to eat is a blessing, she's always acting like a fool, give her a few mountains and she'll patrol them for a hundred years, she's very well-behaved, unlike my second and fourth disciples, who are always causing trouble and keeping me on edge; as for my fourth disciple..."

Speaking of Xiao Xuan, Qin Shou suddenly changed his tone, spitting out, "Pah, what a despicable person, all he does is exploit his own master."

Hearing Qin Shou's words, Nangong Liuli smiled slightly.

She rarely smiles, or almost never smiles.

For some reason, she smiled more after arriving at this mountain.

Perhaps it was this mountain that made her feel genuinely comfortable.

Here, time flows peacefully, and life moves slowly, unlike the ever-present bloodshed and turmoil of the cultivation world...

"Hmm? This is also your apprentice?"

Nangong Liuli's gaze fell on a wooden carving, her brows furrowing slightly as she felt a sense of familiarity.

"This is my fourth apprentice."

"Your fourth disciple is named Xiao Xuan?"

"Yes, you know him?"

"Your fourth disciple is named Xiao Xuan!!!"

Nangong Liuli raised her voice slightly, "It's that Xiao Xuan, the number one genius of Yunzhou, the former prince of the Vermilion Bird Dynasty who's currently at war with the Dragon Cloud Empire!!!"

"Yeah, why are you reacting so strongly?"

Qin Shou blinked, somewhat bewildered.

Nangong Liuli looked at Qin Shou with a strange expression. "That little thief took advantage of my fierce battle with a powerful figure from the demonic path, when I was severely injured and unconscious. He used pills to seal my cultivation, and even said he would carry me back to his master to be his wife, his master's wife."

"Well........."

Qin Shou was stunned, and after a moment of hesitation, he cursed angrily, "Damn it! This dog of a disciple, he doesn't learn anything good from his master, but insists on learning bad things from others. He's despicable, utterly despicable! I'll beat him to death when he gets back!"

In his heart: Holy crap, my good disciple! I misunderstood you before! Waaah~, I'm sorry, I'll definitely treat you better from now on.

"Then what?"

"Then he observed me for a long time and said I might be suitable to be his wife, but not suitable to be his teacher's wife."

o_o??? "What the heck?"

Qin Shou was instantly in an emotional state... Damn it, that dog of a disciple, what a bastard, he's completely heartless! I've been so good to him, and this is how he treats me time and time again?!

"And then what?"

Qin Shou asked, unwilling to give up.

He still harbored a sliver of hope for his disciple, wishing that he would see the error of his ways and return to the right path.

"And then? Ha, he didn't know I was a Nascent Soul cultivator, he thought I was just a Core Formation cultivator, so he used drugs meant for Core Formation cultivators on me, which of course didn't work. Once my cultivation recovered a bit, I beat him up, but considering he indirectly saved my life, I didn't kill him, I just wanted to castrate him, but he escaped..."

"Hiss~!"

Qin Shou felt a chill run down his spine, and his expression showed some regret.

"Ah, what a pity, what a real pity. If only you could have castrated that scoundrel of a disciple, instead of letting him harm me...and others."

Nangong Liuli:..........These two really are a good master and disciple pair!

She remembered that the little thief Xiao Xuan had said that his master was really good-looking and that being his master's wife would be a good deal. Now it seemed that it was indeed true.

However, he later changed his tune, saying that his master was actually all show and no substance, and that he couldn't let himself be pushed into the abyss. After thinking about it, he realized that it would be more worthwhile for his master to become his wife.

Thinking of this,

Nangong Liuli suddenly glanced down at Qin Beast without realizing it.

When she realized what had happened, her face was already flushed with embarrassment.

? ? ? ?

Qin Shou blinked: ...Holy crap, what were you looking at just now? What's with that expression? Why do I feel like you're questioning and insulting me? ???

"not good."

Nangong Liuli, who was lost in thought, suddenly woke up and stood up from the swing.

Qin Beast: ? ? ? ? What's this guy doing, making such a fuss?

Nangong Liuli looked at Qin Shou: "I remember the decision of the palace elders was to form an alliance with the Dragon Cloud Empire..."

Qin Beast: ? ? ? ?

Good heavens, what are you saying? Should I slap you to death to clear an obstacle for my disciple, or should I send you to slap my rebellious disciple to death...?