Chunxi Danzong (II)
The Chunxi Dan Sect is named Chunxi, but in fact it has nothing to do with the stream. It is said that when the ancestor of the Dan Sect was still a young man, he picked up a book on alchemy by the stream. After he achieved success, he founded the sect and named it "Chunxi Dan Sect".
Chenzhou is the young master of Danzong, but he is not the sect master's biological son, but the sect master's nephew.
Lin Zhuo and Shen Zhou's acquaintance was no accident. Shen Zhou was born weak, with a root cause of illness brought from his mother's womb. The people of Dan Sect were always worried that he would die young, so they sent him to Xuan Xiao Sect, hoping that practicing swordsmanship would make him healthier.
It doesn't matter that the young master of Danzong has to learn sword. They just want the child to survive.
At that time, Cang He was not as gentle in his words and deeds as he is now. He bluntly said that Chen Zhou's qualifications were not good, which made Sect Master Shen blush with anger.
In the end, it was Wan Wuji who stepped in to clean up the mess.
Wanting to reassure his elders, Wan Wuji decided to leave Chenzhou behind and help him with his physical training. People of the same age always had more topics to talk about. During the years that Chenzhou was at Xuanxiao Sect, he often played with Lin Zhuo and Xie Zhitiao.
Later, Chenzhou's health finally improved. Sect Leader Shen brought his people back to Danzong and only sent some pills every New Year and visited occasionally. He and Chu Xiao always quarreled when they met. Of course, Lin Zhuo also found out about this later.
As they approached Danzong, Xie Zhitiao's mood had stabilized. Lin Zhuo explained the purpose of his trip to him, and thinking about his relationship with Shenzhou, he sighed.
I almost forgot, these two don't get along well. She glanced at her junior fellow apprentice secretly and sighed again.
Chenzhou is a very gentle person, but Xie Zhitiao always seems to have something against others and always wants to say something to them.
On the way here, Lin Zhuo had already exchanged jade slips with Chenzhou. When they arrived, they saw a figure standing at the mountain gate in the distance. It was Chenzhou. Summer was approaching, and the weather was getting warmer, but Chenzhou was still wearing a rather heavy coat.
"Sister Lin, Brother Xie." Seeing them land, Chen Zhou stepped forward and greeted them with a smile. Although he was a year or two older than Lin Zhuo, due to his frail health, he joined the sect later than the two of them, so calling them "brother" or "sister" was not an exaggeration.
Although they hadn't seen each other for a while, Lin Zhuo didn't seem unfamiliar with him. He smiled and said, "It's been a long time since we last met. I hope you're well, Junior Brother Shen."
Xie Zhitiao stood aside, not wanting to say anything, but after being glared at by his senior sister, he spoke awkwardly, "...I hope you are well."
Chen Zhou didn't care. He knew what Xie Zhitiao was feeling awkward about. Because of Lin Swamp, he didn't say anything, but just smiled and nodded.
He walked ahead, leading the two of them towards a higher place, telling them interesting stories from time to time. Lin Zhuo responded to every word, while Xie Zhitiao, who followed behind, was a little silent.
After exchanging pleasantries, Lin Zhuo explained her purpose. When Chen Zhou heard that she wanted to borrow the Heavenly Furnace, he was taken aback, his face showing a bit of embarrassment.
"We can mortgage it with something of equal value, and it only needs to be used once." Lin Zhuo added when he saw that he was in trouble.
Chen Zhou shook his head and said gently, "Senior Sister Lin is too polite. It's not that I don't want to lend it, but the Heaven-Questioning Furnace has always been under the care of our sect leader. My uncle went to Xiandu today to attend the auction at the Jinyu Tower, and I'm afraid he won't be back until tomorrow."
Jinyulou, a trading house funded by the Immortal Alliance, aims to provide a legitimate trading venue for cultivators and holds auctions at the end of each month.
The auction items were voluntarily submitted by the cultivators, and the spirit stones raised were split 20:80 between the Immortal Alliance and the cultivators. The channels were legitimate, and fair. The Immortal Alliance also explicitly prohibited harming anyone and stealing treasures, so most cultivators preferred to trade through the Jinyu Tower.
There is only one thing: the items to be auctioned must pass the review of Jinyulou.
In addition to the auction, the Jinyu Tower can also provide food, accommodation and rest. Monks can also trade on their own and are protected by the Jinyu Tower.
Hearing that Sect Master Shen had gone to the Golden Jade Tower, Lin Zhuo didn't say anything else. Chen Zhou looked at her, coughed softly, and smiled a little: "Senior Sister Lin, you look quite different from last year."
"Is there?" Lin Zhuo blinked and conjured up a mirror.
Chen Zhou smiled and coughed a few times: "Yes, I have changed." It's not that her appearance has changed much, but the feeling she gives people. He looked at her without blinking: "I feel that she is much more approachable than before."
After turning a hundred, Lin Zhuo began to learn how to manage the sect, inevitably developing a certain authority. Even with his gentle and easygoing manners, it was hard to ignore him. At one point, the outside world even believed that Lin Zhuo would become Xuan Xiao's young master.
Chen Zhou's words were full of sarcasm. Lin Zhuo was stunned. He had not expected him to say that. Then he laughed.
"Maybe it's because my senior brothers and sisters came back a few days ago." She seemed to be in a good mood.
Xie Zhitiao, who had been silent for a long time, finally stopped being silent. He leaned his head and raised his eyelids wearily: "Junior brother, you look quite different."
Chenzhou: "Brother, can you elaborate?"
Xie Zhitiao chuckled lightly, his smile lazy: "Even whiter."
Shenzhou was not in good health and rarely went out, so his skin looked cold and pale. Xie Zhitiao's words were not polite, and his hostility towards Shenzhou was also revealed.
Lin Zhuo glared at him and was about to speak when Chen Zhou stroked his teacup and smiled. His eyes were deep and his smile was usually as gentle as a spring breeze, but now he had a youthful spirit.
"Senior Brother Xie is as outspoken as ever."
Lin Bo:......
The atmosphere in the room suddenly became tense.
Lin Zhuo pinched his brows, trying to ease the tension: "Junior Brother Shen is right. He is very sharp-tongued and will say anything to get away with it." She smiled again, "But he has become much more sensible recently and has taken the initiative to practice."
Chenzhou's arrogance softened, but he didn't speak. Xie Zhitiao curled his lips, wrapped a brocade bag with his spiritual power and threw it over: "Here, it's for you." He raised his chin, "I'm wrong, sorry."
Chen Zhou was stunned for a moment and opened the brocade bag, which contained a bag of lotus cakes.
Under the Xuanxiao Sect, there's a shop that makes lotus pastries. Their craftsmanship has been passed down for centuries, and only this shop has the most authentic taste. Chenzhou loved this pastry when he was a child at the Xuanxiao Sect, but after returning to the Chunxi Dan Sect, he rarely ate it because of the long journey.
He was stunned for a few seconds, then looked up at Lin Zhuo seriously: "Is he Xie Zhitiao?"
Xie Zhitiao:?
He glared at Chenzhou and said unhappily, “Give it back to me if you don’t want to eat it.”
It's no wonder Chenzhou was surprised. They'd known each other for over a hundred years, and Xie Zhitiao had never once taken the initiative to give in. He was a bit arrogant, and Chenzhou was a soft-touch person, so such gentle moments were rare.
Chen Zhou was silent, lowered his head and smiled, then put away the bag of lotus cakes.
"A Tiao, thank you very much." How could he not know that Xie Zhitiao had prepared this lotus pastry a long time ago.
Xie Zhitiao turned his head awkwardly and saw Lin Zhuo smiling at him. He was stunned for a moment and his ears turned red instantly.
"Tsk." He stood up, put his hands behind his head and walked out, mumbling: "You guys chat, I'm going to go out for a walk."
Lin Zhuo withdrew his gaze from him and turned to look at Chen Zhou. Chen Zhou took a sip of tea, his eyes a little dim, but still gentle: "Senior Sister, A Tiao likes you very much."
Lin Zhuo nodded with a smile: "I know."
He was stunned: "You... know?"
"Well, he likes you too. I don't even know when he bought this lotus cake."
Chen Zhou sighed. She didn't understand what he meant. Without saying anything more, he changed the subject: "Why don't you stay today? The journey is long, and my uncle will be back tomorrow."
Lin Zhuo hesitated for a moment and agreed, "Okay, I'll tell my junior brother later."
——
When Lin Zhuo came, Xie Zhitiao was feeding the birds with a handful of grass seeds he had found somewhere. He always seemed to please the birds. Lin Zhuo crouched beside him, and a few birds flapped their wings and flew away, as if startled.
Xie Zhitiao didn't care and scattered another handful of grass seeds.
"Sister, do you have anything to say?" Seeing that Lin Zhuo had been silent, Xie Zhitiao asked.
Lin Zhuo looked at him, took out a piece of candy and handed it to him.
"What is this for?" Xie Zhitiao narrowed his eyes but still took the candy.
"This is a reward for you. You did a good job today." Lin Zhuo wanted to pat his head like she did when they were children, but when she thought about the fact that the boy was more than a head taller than her, she stopped.
Xie Zhitiao hummed, put the candy into his mouth and chewed it a few times: "I thought that senior sister was only busy reminiscing with junior brother Shen and forgot about junior brother Xie." He sat down cross-legged and lowered his head to look at the grass seeds in front of him.
Lin Zhuo was secretly criticizing him in a sarcastic tone.
"How could I forget you? You are my only junior brother."
Xie Zhitiao looked up at her, then suddenly turned his head away, as if aggrieved: "But Senior Sister, you have so many junior brothers. Today this junior brother, tomorrow that junior brother, then what am I?"
Lin Zhuo knew he was looking for trouble again when he heard it, and couldn't help teasing him: "Think of me as your junior brother."
"Senior Sister!" Xie Zhitiao glared at her.
"Alright." Lin Zhuo was annoyed by his noise. "You are all Junior Brothers, yes, but I call them Junior Brother Wang, Junior Brother Li, Junior Brother Zhao, and so on, with the surname first. Only you are Junior Brother. We are from the same school, and no one can surpass you."
Xie Zhitiao's initial joy was dampened by the words "they came from the same school." So it was simply because they shared the same master. He lowered his head again, his expression unclear.
Lin Zhuo paused, then spoke again, "A Tiao." She rubbed her ears, feeling a little uncomfortable. She had never called a man by his nickname before, always calling him "brother or junior."
Seeing the boy's back stiffen, she slightly arched her brows and said, "Are you happy now, A'tiao?"
Xie Zhitiao suddenly turned his head to look at her, and was met with her usual gentle smile, which was also filled with helplessness and doting.
——
When Shen Ruji received the jade slip from Chenzhou, he stepped into the Jinyu Tower. The auction had not yet begun, so he took his accompanying disciples to find a quiet corner and received the jade slip.
"Uncle, did you have a smooth journey?"
Listening to his nephew's concern, Shen Ruji pinched his brows, feeling a little tired. "Everything is going well, Azhou, don't worry. But what happened?"
Over there, Chizhou paused for a few breaths: "It's not a big deal."
When Chen Ruji heard that Lin Zhuo and Xie Zhitiao were coming, he straightened his expression.
They came to borrow the Heavenly Furnace, surely they had some elixir that even Chu Xiao found difficult to obtain. He knew her style; if it were an unimportant elixir, she would have given it up. For her to persist in borrowing the furnace, this elixir must be something truly extraordinary. For some reason, he thought of her junior sister who practiced the Way of Mercy.
He thought for a moment and asked, "What has she been doing lately?"
Chen Zhou was silent for a moment, then replied, "Elder Chu has been visiting Wen Shenghuo for a while. I heard from Lin Zhuo that she is short of poisonous herbs."
Shen Ruji said nothing, flipping through the brochure of today's auction. Finally, she replied to him: "I'll go back tomorrow, let's talk about it tomorrow."
"good."
Chen Ruji hung up the jade slip and flipped through the book for a few more nights, instructing his disciples, "Go see if there's anyone selling poisonous weeds. Don't worry about the type, as long as it's good quality, buy it."
The disciples bowed their heads in agreement. One young disciple couldn't help but ask, "Master, are you going to buy some poisonous herbs for Elder Chu Xiao?"
Shen Ruji didn't comment, and after a while he asked lightly: "Who said I'm going to give it to her? Isn't it okay to have more money?"
After all, the Chunxi Dan Sect was a well-known alchemy sect. They could make a fortune just by selling a few pills, making it one of the wealthiest sects. Upon hearing Shen Ruji's reply, the young disciple curled his lips in disbelief.
Go ahead and pretend as much as you can. If you continue pretending, Elder Chu will not be very friendly to you.
The other disciples all laughed secretly. It was no secret in Chunxi Danzong that Shen Ruji had a crush on Chu Xiao. Unfortunately, Chu Xiao treated him as his mortal enemy. It was unheard of for someone to have such a crush on him.
——
Lin Zhuo wrote back to the sect and stayed in Danzong with Xie Zhitiao for one night. However, the next day, until the sun was about to set, Chen Ruji did not return.
Chenzhou knew his uncle well; he was definitely out looking for poisonous herbs. He wondered if Elder Chu would accept his possessions. He sighed and decided to set up a separate pharmacy to store poisonous herbs, just in case.
Just as I put down my pen, the jade slip lit up, it was Chen Ruji.
"I'll come to Zong later."
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