Chapter 28
Jiang Linyu had been secretly following Shi Anxu. Seeing the attitude of the sect members towards Shi Anxu, Jiang Linyu was so angry that the veins on his face bulged. He punched a tree, and the thick trunk immediately collapsed with a crash, leaving a hole in it.
"Damn it! How can they be so lucky!"
Shi Anxu was still on his way back when the spirit tree behind him suddenly fell down, startling him. He patted his chest with relief.
Shi Anxu now strongly suspects that the people in the sect were forced to be polite to him by those in high positions of power, and now that they are gone, they can no longer contain their anger and are taking it out on the spirit tree.
He quickened his pace, wanting to get back to the peak as soon as possible to avoid being chased down by the disciples who were still furious.
Jiang Linyu, having already destroyed the spirit tree he had knocked down, punched the remaining trunk a few more times to vent his anger.
He glanced around, trying to continue following Shi Anxu, but by then Shi Anxu had already returned to Qin Nian Peak, and there was no trace of him on the road.
Jiang Linyu's anger, which he had just suppressed, was about to resurface. He returned to Yunxi Peak, his anger still burning.
Even the locals in the peak didn't dare approach Jiang Linyu or touch his brow when they saw him like this.
Everyone in Yunxi Peak knew exactly what kind of person their senior brother was. In public, he would put on a gentle and refined appearance, but in private, anyone who displeased him would face painful torment.
However, Jiang Linyu's strength was the highest in the peak, so they could only swallow their bitterness and dare not speak out.
If one day Jiang Linyu is condemned by everyone, then the first to betray him will be his fellow disciples in Yunxi Peak.
When Jiang Linyu first joined Yunxi Peak, he was actually quite careful to maintain his shallow relationship with his fellow disciples. However, over the long years, he gradually came to understand a principle: no matter how much he tried to protect this shallow relationship, it would eventually break down, so he might as well not have started it at all.
Besides, he doesn't have time to deal with these things right now; all he wants to do is take everything from Mu Qingzhou.
If the chance for a hero to save the damsel in distress within the sect is gone, there's still the chance outside the sect.
He looked at Shi Anxu's own flyer, which was full of benefits. He didn't believe that Shi Anxu wouldn't go out of the sect and distribute it again.
He will then find some people to add some fun to Shi Anxu's journey, which Shi Anxu will surely enjoy.
After Shi Anxu finished distributing the sect's leaflets and returned to Qin Nian Peak, he wanted to stay in bed until the day was over.
But seeing the living atmosphere inside, he missed Mu Qingzhou. It had been five days since he last saw Mu Qingzhou, and he wondered how Mu Qingzhou was doing with his injuries inside.
Lost in thought, Shi Anxu unknowingly arrived at the door of Mu Qingzhou's secluded room.
Shi Anxu didn't know exactly where Mu Qingzhou was in seclusion, but a special feeling guided him here. He had a gut feeling that this was where Mu Qingzhou was in seclusion.
He stepped forward, wanting to touch the tightly closed door, but a barrier blocked his hand.
Shi Anxu looked at the barrier and chuckled softly; his intuition was indeed accurate.
He sat down on the stone steps in front of the house. "Junior brother, you're inside, right? You can definitely hear what I'm saying, can't you? I've missed you a bit these past few days. I'm already preparing for the opening of our reading area. After I finish handing out the flyers tomorrow, we can open in a few days. Then we won't have to worry about not having enough resources, and your injuries will heal faster."
After saying all this, An Xu's mouth felt a little dry. He conjured a pot of tea, poured himself a cup, took a small sip, and then spoke again: "There's one more thing, and I hope you won't laugh at your senior brother after hearing it. When I saw the message you left saying you were going into seclusion, all I could think about was that you were seriously injured. Later, I focused all my attention on the opening ceremony, and I haven't reported what happened to the sect leader that day. But strangely, the sect leader hasn't sent anyone to inquire about it. No one reminded me until now, so I won't tell you now. I need to go and report to the sect leader."
After Shi Anxu finished speaking, he stood up and placed the teapot on the ground against the barrier. "I'm leaving. I've left the tea at the door. If you want to drink it, use your spiritual power to carry it inside. I'll come back to talk to you again when I have time."
Inside the room, Mu Qingzhou suppressed his urge to go out and stop Shi Anxu from going to find Qiu Yunli. He didn't want Shi Anxu to make a wasted trip, because he had already told Qiu Yunli everything on the day Qiu Yunli saved him. But he couldn't let Shi Anxu know that he had accelerated his cultivation for him.
He needed to be patient a little longer. With the pills given by Qiu Yunli and the absorption of his own spiritual energy, his injuries were healing at an extremely fast pace. In just a few days, he would be able to emerge from seclusion and see his senior brother.
If Shi Anxu knew what Mu Qingzhou was thinking, he'd definitely want to crack open his skull to see if it was filled with water. To risk his life just to see him after leaving seclusion—what was he thinking? Besides, what did Mu Qingzhou's arrival have to do with him? They weren't even observing the same place. Even if Mu Qingzhou said he wanted to go, where had his clever mind gone?
However, all of this was known to Shi Anxu. He was still unaware of this and was wondering how the people from the sect leader's peak would feel when they saw him again.
He entered the sect leader's peak without any hindrance, just like when he was handing out flyers, but he didn't know where to find the sect leader.
So he randomly grabbed a disciple and asked, "Where is the sect leader now? I have something very important to report to the sect leader."
The disciple hesitated for a few seconds when asked, but remembering the sect leader's instructions to them a few days ago, he said to Shi Anxu, "Senior Brother Shi, come with me."
Shi Anxu nodded and followed behind the disciple who had been asked the question.
A few minutes later, he followed the disciple who had been questioned to the garden behind the sect's main peak, where Qiu Yunli was watering the delicate flowers with a jade watering can.
The disciple who was being questioned walked up behind Qiu Yunli, bowed to him, and said respectfully, "Sect Master Qin Nianfeng's Shi Anxu wants to speak to you about something important."
Qiu Yunli didn't even look up, continuing to water his delicate flowers, and said, "I know, you can go now."
After being questioned, the disciple bowed again and respectfully withdrew, leaving Shi Anxu alone to watch Qiu Yunli water the flowers.
An Xu didn't dare to speak when Qiu Yunli remained silent.
One person is watering the flowers in front, while the other person watches from behind; the scene is very warm and romantic.
However, Shi Anxu, one of the parties involved, did not feel that way; he only felt that it was extremely difficult to endure.
He just wanted to finish his report quickly and go back; facing the sect leader alone was still very stressful.
It felt like when you were in school and a teacher took you to their office to talk to you alone, but they didn't say a word and just kept doing their own thing.
The longer Shi Anxu waited, the more panicked he became. Just as he was about to give up and speak up, Qiu Yunli stopped watering the flowers, turned around and looked at Shi Anxu. Shi Anxu felt a jolt of fear and knew he was doomed.
A moment later, Shi Anxu received Qiu Yunli's voice in his ears: "Didn't you say you were going to report something important to me? Why haven't you reported it yet?"
Shi Anxu learned something new: he could start reporting immediately without waiting for the sect leader to tell him to speak, since the sect leader hadn't told him to leave.
Shi Anxu said nervously, "Didn't you send me and Junior Brother Mu to secretly investigate Zhang Xuexin? Junior Brother Mu and I split up to secretly observe the target. This is what I recorded at Zhang Xuexin's home."
As he spoke, Shi Anxu took out a photographic stone and handed it to Qiu Yunli.
After Qiu Yunli took it and read it, he continued, "After I finished my mission, I went to Lanxi Pavilion to find my junior brother, only to find that Lanxi Pavilion had already set a trap for me. I suspect that there are spies from Lanxi within the sect. Also, the Pavilion Master of Lanxi Pavilion was able to see through my junior brother's invisibility using Zhaoyu, which shows that she is quite powerful. The sect's defenses may need to be strengthened."
When Qiu Yunli heard Shi Anxu mention Mu Qingzhou's share, he knew that Mu Qingzhou hadn't told Shi Anxu about their meeting. However, he didn't intend to expose Mu Qingzhou. He said, "I understand. Lanxi Pavilion is coming on strong this time, and we must be careful. Anxu, you should go back now. You've done a great job on this mission. The reward will be sent to Qinnian Peak in a few days."
Shi Anxu also bowed to Qiu Yunli, then retreated.
Shi Anxu returned to Qin Nian Peak; the entire afternoon had been too dreamlike.
Although he said it was a dreamlike scene, we can't rule out the possibility of something unusual. It shouldn't be like this today; it's too strange.
Furthermore, he found the sect leader's attitude towards him strange, being far too kind. He had kept him waiting for so long, yet the sect leader hadn't gotten angry and was still able to speak to him politely.
Shi Anxu hadn't had much contact with the sect leader. He only knew that the sect leader had a good relationship with their master. Could it be because of this?
But when they first reported Zhang Xuexin's matter to him, he didn't have this attitude.
Although they weren't made things difficult for them back then, Shi Anxu still felt that they had the aura of someone in a superior position, unlike the gentle aura they felt now.
This created a strong sense of disconnect for Shi Anxu; why did a relationship that wasn't close suddenly become close?
It all started after he fell into a coma. Did Mu Qingzhou and Qiu Yunli reach some kind of agreement while he was unconscious? Or did Mu Qingzhou obtain the method to save him from Qiu Yunli, but on the condition that he help Qiu Yunli with something? His kindness towards him was actually a manifestation of "love me, love my dog"—he found Mu Qingzhou agreeable, and by extension, he found him agreeable as well.
Shi Anxu thought about it more and more and felt that this was the case. Now he wanted to go back and ask Mu Qingzhou if he and Qiu Yunli had reached some kind of agreement that would harm themselves for the benefit of others.
He summoned the Fallen Blossom Fan and rushed to Qin Nian Peak, but halfway there he suddenly remembered that Mu Qingzhou was still in seclusion, and he couldn't ask him anything.
If they really reached some kind of agreement, Mu Qingzhou is currently in seclusion and it shouldn't have been implemented yet, so there's still time to deal with it. He'll definitely ask Mu Qingzhou about it when he comes out of seclusion.
He would not give up until he got to the bottom of it. He could only get the full picture of the incident from Mu Qingzhou. If he went to ask Qiu Yunli, he might lose his head.
All he needs to do now is stay the same, do what he's supposed to do, and not let Qiu Yunli discover that he's noticed something's wrong with him.
He must not act rashly before things become clear, lest he find himself in a situation where he has no way to extricate himself.
Tomorrow he will still go out of the sect to distribute leaflets as planned. In the next few days, he will try not to think about Mu Qingzhou and Qiu Yunli, so as not to give himself away.
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