28. Sour Apricots (Part 3)

◎Because I've developed feelings for her◎

"Old man Ye, what nonsense are you talking about?" Ran Qinghe's voice suddenly grew louder, startling Lou Tinglan, who was silently eating apricots. Lou Tinglan seemed to have choked on an apricot pit and coughed twice with a red face.

After calming down, she lowered her voice and said, "Stop overthinking things. There's absolutely no way there's anything between us."

"Instead of gossiping all day, you should think about how to build your foundation," Ran Qinghe advised, seizing the opportunity.

The relationship between the two was nothing like that of an ordinary master and disciple. Ever since Ran Qinghe realized that he had not yet reached the Foundation Establishment stage, she was more like a master who constantly gave instructions and urged his disciple to work hard and make progress.

Ye Buchen gave an awkward "oh".

Therefore, it's impossible, not that I don't like it.

Ye Buchen felt that subconscious reactions wouldn't lie. He looked up and glanced at the Dao Heart Tribulation Mark between Lou Tinglan's brows, sighing inwardly: So that's how it is.

"Never mind, here you go." Ran Qinghe tossed a storage bag as if changing the subject, and Ye Buchen caught it.

"Why are you giving me so many spirit stones and pills again?" Ye Buchen knew what was inside without even opening it.

He knew perfectly well that Ran Qinghe was bothered by his failure to reach the Foundation Establishment stage. It wasn't because she felt ashamed of him having a master who hadn't reached the Foundation Establishment stage, but because she was worried that his lifespan was coming to an end.

Since she entered Qingxiao, she has brought him various spiritual artifacts and pills that are beneficial to improving his cultivation every now and then.

This time, seeing Ye Buchen accept the bag without even looking at the contents, Ran Qinghe narrowed her eyes slightly: "Did you use the pills I brought you before?"

Ye Buchen said frankly, "Of course, disciple, don't worry, Master eats every day without fail."

Ran Qinghe then probed, "Oh? What kind of pills did I bring you last time?"

Ye Buchen, without batting an eye, fabricated a lie: "As you know, I have a bad memory. I forget things as soon as I eat them. It must be a Qi-strengthening Pill."

Ran Qinghe snatched the storage bag back: "What I brought you last time was a spirit-guiding banner, it didn't contain any pills at all."

She rarely lost her temper with him, saying, "If you're thinking of keeping all those things and returning them to me after you die, then you might as well give up on that idea. If you die and I still see those things, I will burn them all on your grave with a spiritual fire, so that you won't have peace even in your next life."

Ye Buchen seemed to have been exposed, and his expression became uneasy: "...Master knows."

He took the storage bag from her again and began to ask, "What is this for?"

Although Ran Qinghe was angry, she answered each question: "This is a meridian-opening talisman, used to widen and strengthen the meridians."

What about this one?

"The Marrow Cleansing Pill eliminates impurities from the body."

"Oh, what about this one?"

"The Vajra amulet is used to ward off external evils."

Seeing that he was seriously studying its effects, Ran Qinghe's expression finally softened. Ye Buchen then resumed his somewhat frivolous demeanor, pulled out the talisman, and said, "I don't need this. What kind of monsters or vengeful spirits would come from Mortal Valley?"

Ran Qinghe said, "It would be better if it were only spirits and vengeful ghosts causing trouble. Sometimes, the human heart is much more terrifying than those spirits and vengeful ghosts."

Ye Buchen realized what was happening: "You ran into Wei Lin?"

Ran Qinghe nodded: "We ran into him at the valley entrance. He provoked me several times, and I almost couldn't hold back and slit his throat."

According to Ye Buchen, when Wei Lin first came to Mortal Valley, he was the same age as her, full of youthful vigor and lofty ambitions. However, after so many years in Mortal Valley, he had wasted his life and reached the age of fifty without making any progress. His mindset gradually became extreme, and he always believed that the people in the valley were stealing the spiritual energy for his cultivation, which was why he was unable to establish his foundation.

Furthermore, Ran Qinghe had only stayed in this Mortal Valley for two or three years before she had already established her foundation and entered the Azure Sky realm. He suspected that the two of them had used some kind of evil trick, so he would come to the cave to cause trouble from time to time and refused to give up.

Ye Buchen sighed and said, "He won't do anything to me."

"He's just scared. He's afraid that my today will be his tomorrow. Don't worry, he's more afraid of my death than anyone else. If I really die one day, he'll be filled with anxiety."

Ran Qinghe shoved the talisman back into the air: "Who knows?" The human heart is ultimately unpredictable.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lou Tinglan still sitting upright on that low stool, taking another bite of a green apricot with an unchanged expression.

He seemed to have gotten used to the sourness of the green apricots, eating them without batting an eye. Ran Qinghe thought to herself, "He's really stubborn. If he's not to disappoint his senior, he'll actually eat them all without saying a word."

Seeing that the two had finally finished speaking, he stood up with a sigh of relief, bowed, and said goodbye, "Senior, please wait."

Ran Qinghe walked slowly ahead, as if waiting for something. She would occasionally grind a pebble on the roadside, or whittle a twig to weave a grass ring. Behind her, Lou Tinglan maintained the same distance as before, neither too close nor too far.

Finally, she stopped and turned around. Without looking at him, she casually tugged at a leaf on a grass wreath, her eyelids still closed, and calmly asked:

"Didn't you say you wouldn't lie? Then why did you just now...?" He then said he was her senior brother.

She just didn't want to worry Old Man Ye, so she didn't want to show him her connection with the Discipline Hall. Who knew that he would actually help her cover it up.

Lou Tinglan then stepped forward, closing the distance between them, and slowly said, "I believe this is not a lie, because I will indeed become your senior brother."

Ran Qinghe looked at him with a hint of suspicion, her brows furrowing involuntarily. "Senior brother? What do you mean?"

Lou Tinglan seemed to be affected by the way he was addressed, and he quickly lowered his eyes. When he looked up again, he was calm again. He said indifferently, "I remember, on the way back from Tianhai Valley, you said that you were unaffiliated with any sect or faction?"

Ran Qinghe hummed in agreement, waiting for him to continue.

“The Yunya Academy of the Discipline Hall conducts a selection of new disciples every five years, and the most recent selection will be held in a month.”

Ran Qinghe had also learned about Yunya Academy. It was founded by the former head of the Discipline Hall and the three original elders of the Discipline Hall in order to select and cultivate outstanding disciples from the five major sects.

Students of Yunya Academy can either return to their sect to take charge after graduation, or they can stay in the Discipline Hall and work for the Discipline Hall.

For example, Lou Tinglan became a disciple of Qingxiao Academy and received instruction at Yunya Academy before staying at the Discipline Hall.

Nowadays, most of the elders of various sects also come from here. Therefore, Yunya Academy has become an institution that sect disciples are eager to enter.

But she is no longer a disciple of Qingxiao, so she probably doesn't even qualify for the selection.

Lou Tinglan knew her concerns: "I can write you a letter of recommendation as the chief disciple of the Discipline Hall."

Ran Qinghe sneered again: "Let alone whether that old man Lou Yi is willing to let me go now, even if he really does let me go, I will avoid the Discipline Hall like the plague. How can you be so sure that I will definitely participate in the disciple selection and win the disciple assessment full of geniuses?"

Lou Tinglan hesitated for a moment before finally speaking: "I have already asked Qi Feng about the merit points and sin points, and he has never heard of such a thing either, so I think... it must be something the hall master specially set up for you, so you don't need to worry about it."

Ran Qinghe gritted her teeth; she knew that old man Lou Yi was deliberately making things difficult for her.

Lou Tinglan continued, "As for the next two questions, your master has already given you the answers."

"Yunya Academy's training of disciples goes beyond simply imparting Daoist techniques. More importantly, it dedicates all its resources to nurturing its disciples. Moreover, the resources it provides are no less than what you received at Qingxiao Academy. And you want your master to successfully achieve Foundation Establishment, right?"

Ran Qinghe, however, missed the point: "So, you were eavesdropping on our conversation just now, what a despicable act."

Lou Tinglan explained, "I wasn't eavesdropping; the two of you were arguing quite loudly."

Ran Qinghe: ...

But after regaining her composure, she continued, "What do you want from me?"

She never believed that there were any benefits in this world without a reason.

Lou Tinglan was clearly taken aback. He stared openly into her eyes, as if to prove the truth of her words, and solemnly said, "You have great talent and should not be overlooked. That's all."

"If you really think I'm up to something, then consider it as me repaying your kindness in saving me."

"Whether it's the Spirit Regeneration Pill from Tianhai Valley or the Spirit Gathering Pill from the Mirror of Past Lives, I should formally thank you."

He touched his chest; the wound had been woven into a fine, dense net by spiritual energy and was slowly healing.

Ran Qinghe turned her face away, thinking guiltily: What's there to thank me for? I was the one who stabbed her in the first place.

In a daze, she felt as if she had overlooked something crucial: if he had known all along that what she fed him wasn't poison, why would he have followed her into the valley, spouting nonsense about stagnant spiritual energy? But she dismissed all of that; all that remained was the joy of running free once more.

*

"presumptuous!"

Lou Yi was furious and slammed his fist on the table.

"Tinglan, do you know what you're doing?"

Half an incense stick later, Lou Tinglan truthfully reported what had happened in the lower realm, and finally said directly, "Therefore, I ask the hall master to set her free as previously agreed."

Lou Yi snorted coldly, clearly indicating his refusal.

Seeing Ran Qinghe watching coldly from below, looking like she was enjoying the show, he became even angrier.

He suddenly remembered the time when Ran Qinghe escaped using the puppet talisman, and secretly cast a binding spell, but Lou Tinglan stopped him without making a sound.

That's when he got angry and slammed his fist on the table, yelling and cursing.

Lou Yi felt as if he knew nothing about this nephew. He thought he was upright and polite, and could serve as a role model for all the disciples of the Discipline Hall.

He had never disobeyed anyone before, and he always responded to the most difficult tasks in the hall.

But after only two missions with that enchantress Ran Qinghe, he was completely bewitched and lost his mind.

"Why are you treating her this way? Is it because of the rules and regulations of the monastery, or because you have feelings for her?"

Lou Yi let out a cold laugh, his chilling voice squeezed out from between his teeth, sharp and piercing.