rest

The four of them gathered together. Their eyes were fixed intently on Xing Juan in the middle.

Xing Juan said, "This sect competition is coming to an end. You can rest for a while. In a while, some tasks will be assigned to you."

"As for other matters, you can put them aside for now."

The implication is that Zhao Zhao means, "Let's catch our breath first, and then talk about our careers later."

Yan Tianhua said, "Okay."

The others are in a state of exhaustion to some extent. Currently, apart from the initial excitement, they are all stuck in a feeling of emptiness.

Seeing that everyone was in roughly the same state, Xing Juan said bluntly, "Let's disperse."

"Hmm." As soon as they heard the command "Disperse," they scattered like birds and beasts.

With most of the junior disciples gone, Xing Juan turned to look at the sect leader, Xu Nian, who seemed to enjoy watching the drama unfold.

And two other elders and fellow disciples who pretended not to care but actually cared a lot.

Liu Wushuang pretended to be completely unaware, and smiled helplessly as he witnessed his little apprentice and little devil being "abducted" in a different way. Xing Juan, on the other hand, remained expressionless throughout the entire process.

It's like having your teeth stuck in ice, leaving your mouth feeling cold.

Liu Wu glanced at the other person beside him; he was more "smooth" and seemed particularly embarrassed.

Lu Qingyun, an elder of Fufeng, had a slightly rough voice. When he spoke, people immediately doubted whether the person they saw was still him. However, when Xing Juan's gaze swept over him, he managed to suppress his inner thoughts and put on an innocent expression, blinking his eyes to the fullest extent.

Xing Juan turned her gaze to Xu Nian, who was observing their minor conflict with a mild temper. The saying "When the city gate catches fire, the fish in the moat suffer" perfectly encapsulates Xu's meddling.

"Are you still watching the show?" Xing Juan said quietly.

Xu Nian was hit hard.

He pondered for a moment and replied, "The human spiritual world is vast and boundless, but we should promptly nourish the barren soil at the edges of the spiritual world, rather than simply letting the land rust and fail to grow the beautiful fantasy space and rich storylines that represent it."

Xing Juan succinctly pointed out, "Nonsense, empty talk."

He left as soon as he finished speaking, and the three people standing there belatedly realized what had happened.

"Sigh, junior brother~ You haven't even seen those victorious sect competition participants yet, and you're just going to dismiss them with gimmicks? Do you know that some of your respected disciples might be disappointed for days!"

Xu Nian muttered to himself, then looked up and saw that Liu Wushuang and Lu Qingyun had left, leaving him alone. Helplessly, Xu Nian withdrew his hand, his eyes becoming more serious. "I will clean up the mess, but there's no need to use such methods to force people to be ambitious."

“Junior Brother Liu, Danxin Peak, the Illusory Realm, intriguing. It seems I’ll have to put the other things I’ve planned on aside for now.” Xu Nian put it on his agenda. As a sect leader who “only speaks when he does,” he always stayed behind the scenes, testing his skills with others and laying out a grand strategy.

"The world is muddled, but I alone am sober; I laugh at the world."

"Everyone in the world is awake but I am muddled; the world laughs at me."

"But so what?"

While lost in thought, Xu Nian effortlessly recreated all four examination venues, as well as the center where all the contestants had gathered—the location introduced in the opening remarks—and the chairs where the four individuals had been seated on the high platform, tossing them into a corner. However, Xu Nian kept the pastries, treating them as a reward for her hard work.

The wind blew, and we passed through countless mountains, but compared to before, it was too easy to cross them in a light boat.

Xing Juan sat in the small attic, resting with his eyes closed. Suddenly, several cheerful and lively voices disturbed his peace, but he was not angry. Even the usually quiet Wuqing Peak was disturbed. Xing Juan got up, poured a cup of tea, sipped it gently, and his expression was gentle.

He said, "Do you think they are capable of taking on this responsibility? Judging from the preparations this time, these young talents have only just begun to show their abilities. Like the Yangtze River, they are still young and full of promise."

Ignorance is no excuse, regardless of the form. But no matter what, development is always moving forward.

The echo was silent, leaving only stillness. A wisp of purple mist swirled in the air, seemingly possessing the qualities of a spirit. The spirit hovered above and below it, as if responding.

No one could see him; he was all alone here, and he didn't feel so lonely anymore.

Chi Wangyue followed Senior Brother Yan back to Yiren Pavilion. As they approached the entrance, he planned to lie on the bed and not get up. But his illusion was shattered in an instant.

Those who dig their own graves will always have to pay the price. Senior Brother Yan, seeing Xie Cuo, expressionlessly stood in front of Chi Wangyue.

Xie Cuo said, "It's been a long time, I've even missed you."

Chi Wangyue asked Hu Li, "Are you online? There's some big news."

Hu Li said, "There's no need for that. Xie Cuo seems to have come prepared. You should talk to him alone for a while and test the waters."

"No. I'm tired," Chi Wangyue said weakly.

Hu Li remained silent, focusing solely on accumulating points.

[Talk to Xie Cuo, score +3]

Chi Wangyue glanced helplessly at Hu Li, who had gone to great lengths, and bowed slightly to look at the person in front of him. From the first time he met him, he felt a sense of familiarity with him, more so than with the events at Wanshou Mountain. It wasn't as much as the plot had revealed; he felt like he was just blindly chasing a mouse.

"Hello."

"Can we talk privately?" Chi Wangyue asked.

“Okay,” Xie Cuo replied.

After seeing that Chi Wangyue had issued the "pass," Senior Brother Yan went back to his room first. Chi Wangyue led Xie Cuo to her room. After walking a few steps, Chi Wangyue shed her sickly demeanor and said cheerfully, "Come with me, it's not far away."

"good."

The tea on the table was just right, neither too hot nor too cold. Chi Wangyue reminded the other person that they could have some. Xie Cuo smiled but remained silent.

"Brother Xie Cuo, is there something important you need to ask for your guidance?"

"No, it was just on my way."

Chi Wangyue said to Hu Li, "He said it was on his way, but I didn't think much of it. He probably just wanted to see me, so he came to find me. However, I did feel a bit more familiar with him."

Hu Li: [From the moment the actor was activated, the host's behavior was slightly off, but there weren't any major mistakes.]

Chi Wangyue understood that Hu Li probably thought he was under a lot of pressure and was experiencing hallucinations.

However, the Xie Cuo in front of him was not the same as the character identity indicated by the system. If he chose the authenticity option, he intuitively felt that the person in front of him was a living person, not just an inanimate object.

Chi Wangyue is not very emotional, but he always remembers what others give him.

Looking at it another way, from meeting Xie Cuo to the start of the competition, everything seemed like a performance. Chi Wangyue's premonition was sometimes accurate and sometimes not, but in the face of disaster, its credibility had to be increased. Now, there was no need for it.

The person before me represents not only the affairs of Longevity Hill, but also has a deeper relationship with me.

This brings to mind the 3 points given by Hu Li.

Chi Wangyue asked, "How have you been lately?"

Xie Cuo replied, "It's acceptable."

Chi Wangyue asked, "How are your daily routines?"

Xie Cuo replied, "It's like any other day."

The question-and-answer session was very structured, requiring a high level of eloquence from both sides. But Chi Wangyue thought it was quite good, and Xie Cuo showed no intention of arguing.

It seemed that from a certain moment on, they had already been connected in spirit. Unfortunately, Chi Wangyue searched his memory but found no record of Xie Cuo. He was puzzled, but more so, he wanted to interpret Xie Cuo's senior brother's views.

Chi Wangyue asked, "How have you been lately?" The subtext was, "How effective is Bai Hanxin's gold powder?" He replied directly, "It's alright," meaning, "It's not very potent, but it's enough to have an anesthetic effect. It's not the kind of drug that can turn someone into an idiot."

Chi Wangyue asked, "How is your daily life?" He replied, "Like any other day." Subconsciously, she was asking, "What do you usually do?" He replied, "Being locked up, practicing swordsmanship after being locked up."

Chi Wangyue smiled and said, "According to his explanation, they get along very well and can develop a tacit understanding." The simple conversation ended quickly, and Xie Cuo said, "Then, you are the chief examiner behind [The Actor], right?"

Chi Wangyue didn't hide anything, "That's right." Everything should be viewed with the understanding that "secrets can't stay hidden forever." Looking at it from a long-term perspective, he'd eventually slip up, but in a casual conversation, once his true colors were revealed, the other party wouldn't be able to catch him red-handed. Xie Cuo said, "I understand. Thank you."

When he made the move to leave, there was no lingering attachment; it was all the stubbornness of a young prodigy and the triumph of returning home. Although Xie Cuo did not show any flaws, Chi Wangyue felt that he was in a good mood.

"That's my intuition."

Chi Wangyue got up to see him off. Senior Brother Yan was resting in his room, and he couldn't help but disturb him. The two of them smiled at each other at the door, as if exchanging a secret signal.

At this moment, Laziness, like a pond gazing at the moon, never uttered a word of giving up.

At that moment, even the hot-tempered Xie Cuo didn't utter a single word.

Hu Li couldn't understand the cryptic conversation they had just had.

As Chi Wangyue answered his question, his goal was also subtly achieved. Killing two birds with one stone, he happily drew his conclusion while simultaneously knocking on Senior Brother Yan's door.

But after knocking for a while, Chi Wangyue called his name a few times and quickly realized something was wrong. He kicked it away and saw Senior Brother Yan lying there, his face pale. Chi Wangyue felt his heart stop beating for a moment.

[Hu Li, how is the main character?]

Currently in a state of suspended animation.

Chi Wangyue took a deep breath and helped him up.

Then, a turbulent undercurrent of emotion flickered in his eyes: "How could this be?"

The system remained silent, and Hu Li was speechless. Excluding Xie Cuo's influence, it was now undoubtedly the case.

There's only one possibility: it might have been done by Senior Brother Yan himself.

Chi Wangyue didn't find it strange that whenever he looked at other things, there was always some kind of obstruction preventing him from doing so. He disliked this behavior especially towards the people around him and loathed it even more.

He got up, put him down, and took the herbs from Hu Li's side. Points could be exchanged for things that existed in this world, so he exchanged them for medicinal herbs.

Unfortunately, there weren't many, but at least the quantity was sufficient.

When Bai Hanxin was woken up by Chi Wangyue, her mind was still foggy, but after seeing who the patient was, her emotions gradually calmed down, and she looked at him with a serious expression, saying, "There's no major problem."

Even so, the two of them were still busy for quite a while, until the next morning.

As dawn broke.