Sect Assessment
One of the lights in the women's quarters was still on. In the side room, Lingfang sat by the window, propping her chin on her elbow, when she suddenly looked up.
She got up and opened the door. The man walked across the cobblestones in front of the door and stopped in front of her gatehouse.
"Senior brother?" Lingfang's face lit up with joy. "Is there something you need so late?"
"Junior Sister." Song Qingyun stood outside the door. She had been busy with many things these past few days, all for the assessment, and only now had she found some free time.
"Come in, senior brother." She stepped back half a step, revealing half of her body, and gestured for him to come in.
Song Qingyun shook his head, and stood politely outside the door, saying, "There are some things I want to say to you."
"Come on in." Lingfang didn't care about anything else. She hadn't seen her senior brother for more than half a year. When she went to see him before, he wasn't there. Now was a good time for her to catch up with him.
Pulled into the house, Lingfang pressed him into a chair, and Song Qingyun immediately got up and opened the doors and windows.
"Don't overexert yourself during tomorrow's assessment," he said earnestly as he sat down.
"Don't worry, senior brother, I know all this." So what if she doesn't pass? Anyway, the sect leader will back her up. No matter what she does wrong, the sect leader will forgive her.
Just like the time she framed Rong Yan, although she was taken into the Chengtian Tower, the sect leader eventually got her out.
I was injured, and I'm still not fully recovered.
Thinking of this, Lingfang's evil thoughts arose.
"If you encounter fellow disciples, you must be respectful and avoid causing trouble," Song Qingyun carefully instructed her, afraid that she might make a mistake.
He said this, but Lingfang didn't quite understand. "What do you mean, senior brother?"
Song Qingyun had no choice but to explain, "Rong Yan is, after all, your junior brother. What's past is past. You should be able to let go of things, respect and love each other, and not waste the painstaking teachings of your master and mistress."
Lingfang immediately frowned, her affectionate demeanor completely gone. "Senior brother, what do you mean? Do you think I'm the kind of person who repays kindness with enmity?"
Song Qingyun's eyes questioned her, his expression practically written all over his face, wasn't that right?
Her huffy expression added a touch of naivety. She genuinely disliked Rong Yan, but she also knew that Xuan Tong Zhenren and Lin Yueyao had his backing.
In formal settings, one should still maintain the proper humility; at the very least, one wouldn't be foolish enough to personally attempt to harm someone.
After all, once you've learned your lesson, you should learn from it and grow from it.
This can be considered as making the best use of resources.
"Leaving aside what my senior brother thinks of me, even if I don't like Rong Yan, I wouldn't go around telling everyone without thinking." As she spoke, she became aggrieved. "I've already been punished, and I won't do the same thing again. Does my senior brother really not trust me that much?"
It wasn't that he was worried, but that Lingfang was a wicked girl. He could tolerate her violent temper, but others couldn't.
He had to give instructions, being as meticulous as possible and as cautious as possible.
If he were to cause any trouble, he would be utterly humiliated.
“It’s not that I don’t trust you, but sometimes things aren’t as simple as you think.” He comforted her. “It’s not that you can do whatever you want. Common people suffer from the burden of firewood and rice, kings are hindered by the court, and cultivators are troubled by love. Many things are beyond our control.”
"Remember this: patience brings peace, and retreating is the wise way to protect yourself."
Lingfang turned to the side, her heart full of resentment. The longing she had accumulated over the days was dissolved by his scolding. "Don't worry, senior brother, I understand the reasoning."
“As long as he doesn’t harm me, I won’t harm him.”
Song Qingyun nodded with relief, stood up to say goodbye, and said, "It's good that you understand. Get some rest."
She drifted out of the small house, the door wide open, the night wind rushing in, causing the candlelight to flicker.
Lingfang sat at the table, clenching her fists.
There seemed to be movement in the men's quarters. Passing by the bedroom, I saw that the candles in Xu Yourong's brother's room were brightly lit.
My younger brother was fast asleep by the candlelight, occasionally letting out soft snores.
Xu Yourong, the older brother, sat by the bed, looking at her younger brother sleeping soundly, and her worries deepened.
He packed his bags and did his best to leave the best things for his younger brother.
Waiting for tomorrow's assessment.
The next day, it was still dark.
All the disciples who participated in the sect's assessment gathered outside the mountain gate, awaiting the sect leader's instructions.
Rong Yan woke up early in the morning, intending to pay his respects to his master, but to his surprise, neither his senior sister nor his master were in the hall.
Upon further inquiry, it was discovered that the matter was being discussed in the Wenshan Hall.
Sunlight rises from the forest, the mist dissipates, and the warmth of the earth creeps up your body from your feet, causing sweat to slowly seep onto your face.
Rong Yan and his disciples stood outside the mountain gate, under the scorching sun.
A white figure swarmed over, hovering above the disciples, and activated a summoning array.
As the formation landed and Rong Yan felt enveloped by surging spiritual energy, he looked up and realized that he was no longer in front of the Misty Sect's mountain gate, but at the foot of an unknown mountain.
The assessment has begun. Although I haven't been able to see my senior sister yet, the thought of passing the assessment and being able to see her every day fills me with a strong sense of courage.
He walked along the mountain path. Dragon Spirit Mountain was under a restriction, so he couldn't use his spiritual power, but the talismans could still be used.
The Misty Sect members, high above in the sky, took in everything. Lin Yueyao stood on the Questioning of Love, her gaze dreamlike and ethereal.
Song Qingyun stood beside her and said, "Junior sister, don't worry. Rong Yan is a calm and steady person. He will pass this test."
Lin Yueyao's face was expressionless. Master Xuantong arrived late and smiled subtly when he saw the two of them standing close together.
"Where is Benben?" Master always takes him with him, so his absence today is quite surprising.
"It has its own destination." After saying that, everyone saw a wolf demon fall into the territory of Dragon Spirit Mountain.
The other elders in the sect said, "Isn't that the beast that Xuan Tong raised? What's it doing there?"
Master Xuantong slapped his forehead, "Oh dear, how did I fall down? I hope I don't get hurt."
"I'll catch it back."
"No need," he said, "this beast has a magic array I set up on it, it can't harm anyone else."
Only then did everyone stop.
When Benben fell, it hit someone, Xu Youruo. Benben opened its mouth to ask about Rong Yan's whereabouts, forgetting to transform into human form.
After a wolf howl, Xu Youruo was terrified and ran away screaming. In her panic, she fell into a mud pit. After struggling to get up, she fell into a nearby ditch.
Knowing he had caused trouble, Benben bit off a vine, tied one end to a tree trunk, and threw it to Xu Youruo in the cave.
That wouldn't count as cheating, right? He transformed into human form and hurried off to find Rong Yan.
On the other side, Rong Yan was on his way. He wiped the fine sweat from his face, put away his handkerchief, and continued on his way.
As they traveled, they caught a growing scent of demons, which became increasingly pronounced. Without realizing it, they frowned and stopped in front of a grove of trees.
There were rustling sounds coming from the bushes, and creatures darting about, like unknown animals.
His sense of smell was absolutely correct. Demons can smell each other's scent. Before he had spiritual power, he couldn't smell it, but now that he has awakened his cultivation, he can smell others, but others can't smell him.
He is not a true demon, but a half-demon. He can cultivate immortal techniques with a human body, and he can also be connected with the bloodline of the demon race.
Rong Yan is not an isolated case. Children born from the union of humans and demons are either neither entirely good nor evil, and are prone to going astray; or they are extreme examples, being half-human and half-demon, with prominent characteristics of the demon race.
Rong Yan was the only one who stood out from the crowd, like a monster.
The commotion in the bushes grew louder and louder, and his hand reached for the Weeping Robe at his waist, ready to strike.
The monster suddenly jumped out and bumped into Rong Yan.
Rong Yan couldn't see clearly, but he felt a wetness on his face as a wolf demon kept licking him.
He broke free, sat up, and, not wanting to get the handkerchief his senior sister had given him dirty, picked a handful of leaves to wipe his face.
Benben transformed into human form, sat opposite him with a grin, and bounced around, ready to pounce on him again.
Rong Yan reached out and covered his face.
"Master—" Benben said, feeling wronged. He hadn't seen him for several days, and she was already so disgusted with him.
Rong Yan squatted by the river to wash his face, scrubbing for a long time until his skin turned red before he finally stopped.
"What are you doing here?" Rong Yan found a clean spot, laid down some grass, and sat down to rest.
"I miss my master! Doesn't my master miss me at all?" Benben rolled around on the ground, and it seemed that an invisible tail could be seen on his body.
"What do I need you to do?" Rong Yan dusted off his clothes. If he dragged the assessment into this, he would throw him out immediately.
The little master made no attempt to hide his disdain for him, but Benben refused to give up, saying, "The immortals sent me here, so as long as I don't use my spiritual power, it's not considered cheating."
"Don't worry, Master."
After resting and packing their things, they continued walking into the mountains, with Benben quickly following behind.
After walking for a while, it got a little dark.
They lit a fire on the spot and spent the night there. Benben was very much looking forward to dinner. Sure enough, his little master took out a fresh trout from his spirit pouch.
Scrape off the fish scales, remove the intestines and lungs, grill it over a fire, sprinkle with a little spice, and pour a handful of sesame spice over it. The grilled fish smells delicious from miles away.
Benben was so hungry that his mouth was watering, and he stared intently at the freshly baked fish, almost getting burned by the fire.
Rong Yan generously offered him one. He took a bite, and the fish meat released a fragrant, caramelized flavor in his mouth. He wiped away imaginary tears and exclaimed how delicious it was.
And so, the human and the demon happily started a fire to grill fish and enjoyed a picnic, while the other disciples were not so fortunate.
Xu Youruo fell into the pit, grabbed onto the vines to climb up, but worried that the wolf demon would come back, her hands and feet trembled and she lost her grip, falling to the ground again.
This wasn't just a serious fall; the worst part was that he sprained his ankle. By the time his brother, Xu Yourong, found him, half an hour had already passed.
"Brother!!"
It was his brother's voice from above. He shook the vines forcefully and responded weakly, "I'm here..."
"Brother—" Xu Yourong called anxiously, finally finding him. She lay on the edge of the pit and jumped in without hesitation.
"Brother." Xu Youruo burst into tears, completely losing her composure.
Xu Yourong punched him, "You scared me to death, you know that?!"
"I didn't mean to," he stammered, unable to speak due to the pain in his foot.
"Let's get out of here first." Xu Yourong carried him on her back and, relying solely on a vine, slowly climbed up the cave wall, clinging to the protruding stone ridges.
"Uh..." Xu Yourong collapsed to the ground, exhausted. She regained some strength and, fortunately, had enough ointment on hand. She applied it to her younger brother and took out a flint to start a fire.
The two brothers sat by the fire and finally explained what had happened.
“It was that wolf demon; it was it that pushed me into the pit,” Xu Youruo said angrily.
"What wolf demon? Explain yourself clearly."
"It's the one Rong Yan keeps." He gritted his teeth in hatred. His leg injury had subsided considerably, but his anger remained undiminished.
Why did the wolf demon push you?
"Of course it was under Rong Yan's orders, otherwise why would he push me for no reason?"
"He must not want us to pass the test, that's why he did this."
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