Chapter 30 : Meeting Senior Sister Zhu Again
Chapter 30: Meeting Senior Sister Zhu Again
After leaving the Pill Chamber, Long Tao did not hurry back.
He pondered going to the Scripture Pavilion to flip through some books, to carefully comb through the procedures following a breakthrough to the Qi-Refining Sixth Layer, striving to ensure everything was foolproof.
When he reached into his waist pouch to feel for his disciple waist token, his fingertips instead brushed against something icy and smooth—it was the emerald jade necklace Zhu Huaisu had given him, the one capable of performing the Shrinking-the-Earth Technique! He should have tested this treasure as soon as he returned from Moon-Washing Peak, but first there had been the farcical suicide note incident, followed by his busy breakthrough.
In the end, he had completely forgotten about it.
He turned into a quiet, secluded patch of open ground by the roadside and put on the necklace.
Carefully, he infused a wisp of spiritual energy into it.
Immediately, the emerald gemstone at the center of the pendant glowed faintly.
Right after that, the space not far ahead of him visibly “compressed,” the scenery appearing as though it had been pulled closer and squeezed flat by an invisible hand.
Even though he had studied the theory behind the Shrinking-the-Earth Technique, witnessing such spatial magic with his own eyes still sent a hard jolt through Long Tao’s heart.
Holding his breath, he cautiously took a small step toward that compressed space.
In an instant, the world spun! The surrounding scenery seemed to be fast-forwarded, flashing madly past his eyes.
A powerful wave of dizziness rushed straight to his head, and his stomach churned violently.
By the time his feet landed and he steadied himself, he turned back to look—just that single small step had covered the distance of more than twenty normal steps! He then sensed the spiritual energy consumed within his body… not bad.
It was quite a lot, but still within an acceptable range.
The necklace would require two quarters of an hour before it could be used again.
Long Tao could not be bothered to wait around, so he headed straight for the Scripture Pavilion.
In any sect, the Scripture Pavilion held a position of paramount importance, and the Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect was no exception.
This majestic structure had been newly built after the merger of the three great sects back then.
In terms of scale, it was even more imposing than the sect’s main hall.
Many internal meetings and activities of the sect were simply held inside it.
The aboveground portion alone stood five stories tall.
Unlike those stingy minor sects, the Scripture Pavilion of the Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect was open to all disciples.
These five floors were accessible at will—there were none of those absurd rules about “insufficient cultivation not permitted upstairs.” Of course, everything placed on the shelves of these five floors consisted of knowledge the sect allowed to be publicly shared internally.
As for the truly powerful, high-tier cultivation methods? Please—what sane sect would brazenly place such closely guarded secrets on public bookshelves? That would just be inviting theft! Those were things privately passed down behind closed doors by peak masters and elders.
That said, the Scripture Pavilion did indeed have underground levels.
Rumor had it that some unspeakable things were hidden below.
But such inside information was clearly not something a small Outer Sect Disciple like him was qualified to inquire about, and he could not be bothered to waste his thoughts on it.
After verifying his waist token and entering, Long Tao did not linger in the main hall.
The place was arranged like an immortal garden, complete with artificial hills, flowing water, and exotic flowers and plants.
It was luxurious, yes—but for someone looking for books, it was nothing but an obstacle.
Familiar with the layout, he bypassed several rows of shelves and headed straight for the Qi Refining Experience and Insights section.
He was not here for those dry cultivation diagrams.
What he wanted were handwritten notes stained with ink, sweat, and perhaps even traces of blood and tears from senior cultivators—manuals where sect disciples, after breaking through, recorded the pitfalls they had fallen into and the insights they had gained.
Submitting such notes earned contribution points while also pointing the way for future generations.
Very soon, he selected a few volumes that caught his eye and turned to find a quiet corner to bury himself in reading.
The moment he turned his head, he nearly collided head-on with someone.
“Senior Sister Zhu?” Long Tao froze.
“You… you… Long Tao?!” Zhu Huaisu’s voice even changed pitch, her beautiful eyes widening to full circles.
She could hardly believe her own eyes! She had only come to the Scripture Pavilion, yet she ran into this man again?
The matter of the Nine-Leaf Ganoderma had not yet been sorted out, and the eavesdropping incident was still weighing on her mind.
In just these few days, counting this time, this was already their third direct encounter! This “fate” was so thick it made her scalp prickle.
“Ahem…” Long Tao also felt something was off and let out a dry laugh.
“This… really is a coincidence. Senior Sister Zhu, don’t you think we’ve been running into each other a bit too often these past few days?”
“Often?” Zhu Huaisu’s brows shot up as she scrutinized him.
“You’re not… doing this on purpose, are you?!”
“On purpose?” Long Tao spread his hands, looking utterly innocent.
“Me? A Qi-Refining Fifth Layer cultivator? Even if I had the guts, I wouldn’t have the ability to block your path every single day!”
“Spare me!” Zhu Huaisu did not buy it at all.
Thinking of the incident at Moon-Washing Peak made her angry again.
“Who knows whether you have that ability or not? Just to worm your way onto our Moon-Washing Peak, you even managed to sweet-talk Junior Brother into being so muddleheaded that he opened the back door for you. And you call that not impressive?”
Those words pierced straight through Long Tao’s flimsy façade of innocence.
Indeed, he could still claim the encounter at the market with the statue had been a coincidence, but the trip to Moon-Washing Peak… that had truly been a calculated move on his part.
Long Tao simply hardened his heart, stopped pretending, and broke into a wide grin.
“Alright, alright, I admit it! I just wanted to find more chances to look at you, Senior Sister Zhu. I, Long Tao, am just that kind of thick-skinned, lustful common man! With your immortal grace and jade-like beauty, Senior Sister, even dying after seeing you a few more times would be worth it!”
“You!!” Zhu Huaisu was caught completely off guard by his shamelessly direct words.
Her face flushed crimson, half from embarrassment and half from anger.
“No wonder you could coax Junior Brother into doing something like that! Your skin— it’s thicker than the sect’s mountain-protecting grand formation!”
“Oh my, Senior Sister Zhu, you’re of noble birth, a princess, aren’t you?” Long Tao said with a mischievous grin, continuing to provoke her.
“How could a mere mortal like me dare speak to you if my skin weren’t thick enough?”
“Wait!” Zhu Huaisu’s gaze sharpened abruptly.
“When did I ever tell you I was a princess?!” Her heart skipped a beat.
Within the sect, she had never once voluntarily mentioned that identity.
“Did that even need to be said?” Long Tao replied matter-of-factly.
“Your surname is Zhu, you entered the sect with three spiritual roots and were immediately taken in by True Person Mingzhu. Add in your bearing and demeanor… anyone with eyes could tell you came from a great family. I guessed you were most likely from the imperial clan of the Mingde Dynasty.”
“Hmph, so you were just guessing!” Zhu Huaisu finally relaxed, but then immediately put on a stern face.
“I was able to enter my master’s tutelage through real ability! It had nothing to do with that bit of status! Besides, that little bit of bloodline from our Zhu family would be a joke in today’s Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect.”
“Oh, Senior Sister, don’t say that,” Long Tao quickly waved his hands, his tone turning more sincere.
“We common folk of humble origins truly cherish the Mingde Dynasty in our hearts. Calling you ‘Princess’ is genuine respect! Just think—back when the Mingde Dynasty was at its height, not to mention speaking to you like this, even kneeling on the ground and daring to take a few more glances at your jade feet would’ve been considered grave disrespect, possibly costing one’s head!”
“Lewd scoundrel!”
The blush that had just faded from Zhu Huaisu’s face flared up again, even spreading to the tips of her ears.
“W-what jade feet… you filthy degenerate! Forget it…” She forcibly suppressed her anger and shifted her gaze to the stack of books in Long Tao’s arms, trying to change the subject.
“What are you doing here? A Qi-Refining Fifth Layer cultivator should be properly going into seclusion to break through, yet you have the leisure to flip through idle books here?”
“How could these be idle books, Senior Sister?” Long Tao hurriedly hugged the stack closer.
“I’m here precisely so my breakthrough can be steadier—coming to learn from experience and see what pitfalls senior brothers and sisters fell into back then!”
Zhu Huaisu swept her eyes over the pile of books.
She had not intended to ask further, but her gaze was suddenly drawn as if by a magnet, locking firmly onto the cover of the topmost volume.
She struck like lightning, snatching that book from Long Tao’s arms.
“This one?” She raised the booklet in her hand, her expression rather strange.
“I wrote this back then. I suddenly remembered a few days ago that some parts weren’t thorough enough, so I came to revise it. Heh, what a coincidence that you of all people dug it out.”
“Oh!” Long Tao’s eyes lit up, his grin turning even more playful.
“So it’s Senior Sister’s own writing! No wonder—the handwriting just radiates immortal grace, delicate yet full of character! Then you revise it first, and once you’re done, could you lend it to this junior brother for admiration?”
“In your dreams!” Zhu Huaisu immediately hid the book behind her back as if burned, her face full of disdain.
“Who would let you rummage through it with your filthy hands? I’ll take it back to revise! Just thinking about my insights being read by those hands of yours… it makes me sick!” Recalling the events of that night at Moon-Washing Peak, her tone grew even sharper.
Long Tao rubbed his nose, knowing he was in the wrong.
He had offended everyone on Moon-Washing Peak from top to bottom, so he did not argue with her barbed words.
Still, he could not help asking the question he cared about most.
“Alright, alright, Senior Sister, calm down. I’ll just ask one thing—Junior Brother Nan… is he okay? He wasn’t punished too harshly, was he?”
“No need for your fake concern!” Zhu Huaisu snapped, her tone resolute.
“You staying as far away from Junior Brother as possible would be the greatest mercy to him! Besides…” She deliberately paused, wanting to see some dejection on Long Tao’s face.
“Junior Brother said it himself—it was all because you egged him on that night to do such absurd things, nearly causing him to commit a grave mistake! He’s seen through the filthy heart hidden beneath your skin now and has already said he wants to sever ties with you!”
After saying that, she stared intently at Long Tao, waiting to see him lose his spirit.
Who knew that not only did Long Tao not look dejected, he instead let out a “pfft” of laughter, the smile carrying a hint of understanding and a touch of amusement.
“Senior Sister Zhu,” he said slowly, though his gaze sharpened, “you can say whatever you like about other things, and I’ll listen. But those few words about Junior Brother Nan… hehe, forget it. I haven’t known him long, but I know he’s definitely not the kind of coward who dumps blame on others and shrinks back to play innocent when something goes wrong! Could it be…” He deliberately dragged out his tone.
“That the kid’s mouth is just too stubborn, so he carried everything on his own, and you all, unable to vent your anger, locked him up?”
“You—!” Zhu Huaisu exploded like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, her face flushing red then pale.
She wanted to retort, but it was as if something had clogged her throat.
Because this bastard… had guessed right again!
From that night until now, Junior Brother Nan Yuchen had clenched his teeth and insisted that the decision had been his alone, the fault his alone, and that it had nothing whatsoever to do with Long Tao.
No matter how the senior sisters questioned him, persuaded him, or even scolded him, he stubbornly refused to budge, leaving them frantic and heartbroken.
Having her sore spot exposed, Zhu Huaisu was mortified and furious, no longer able to stay.
She shot Long Tao a vicious glare, let out a cold snort through clenched teeth, and tightly clutched that troublesome insight notebook.
As if fleeing from a plague, she turned and left, her steps so fast they stirred up a gust of wind.
In the blink of an eye, she disappeared beyond the layers of bookshelves.