After Crossdressing and Provoking Long AoTian

Yu Qingtang was stunned for a moment by Scholar Xiao’s resounding declaration. Once he recovered, he clasped Scholar Xiao’s hand in return, shook it gently, and said with heartfelt sincerity, “Congratulations. Truly, congratulations. But I think the two of us are still a long way from being publication material. Why don’t you look at someone else first?”

He tried to redirect the disaster. “We’re already in Nanzhou. Why not target the demon race? They’re far more exciting—not even human!”

“I’ll naturally write about them too. It’s merely a question of order.” Scholar Xiao smiled amiably and pulled him toward a restaurant. “Come, come! I’ve already found a restaurant. We can discuss this properly inside!”

Yu Qingtang tried to resist. “If all else fails, write a restaurant guide!”

Scholar Xiao sighed. “One of my senior sisters already did!”

Yu Qingtang was shocked. “Then local specialties...”

Scholar Xiao closed his eyes. “One of my senior brothers wrote that!”

Yu Qingtang pondered for a moment, then suddenly clapped his hands. “If all else fails, publish a daily weather forecast!”

Scholar Xiao covered his face. “A junior brother beat me to it!”

Yu Qingtang fell silent.

His eyes filled with sympathy. “Life at Four Books Academy isn’t easy either.”

“You don’t know the half of it.” Tears nearly shimmered in Scholar Xiao’s eyes. “Four Books Academy has four schools: qin, chess, literature, and painting. This was originally a topic for our literary lineage, but the other three schools insist on competing with us!”

“Chess manuals, musical scores, and critiques of calligraphy and painting are one thing. But they even seize anything remotely related to those subjects and put it in special publications like A Chronicle of the Nine Provinces’ Qin Cultivators and Inside and Outside the Painting!”

Scholar Xiao gripped Yu Qingtang’s hand tightly. “I have to lock in the two of you before someone from the Qin School discovers you!”

Yu Qingtang had nothing to say.

Chi Yantian clicked his tongue. “I don’t know what he’s so anxious about, but it does sound tough.”

He pointed casually at the restaurant before them. “Is this the place you reserved? They allow spirit pets, right?”

“They do.” Scholar Xiao waved his folding fan. “When I handle something, you can rest easy.”

Smiling, he gestured for Yu Qingtang to enter. “Don’t worry, Brother Yu. Today’s meal is on me.”

Yu Qingtang fell silent again.

But there’s no such thing as a free meal from you!

The three men and one bull went up to the restaurant’s second floor, where a table beside the window offered a view of the street. Scholar Xiao gazed out at Nanzhou with anticipation. “This is an excellent spot. We might even witness something worth recording!”

Once the dishes had arrived, Chi Yantian set aside Flamelet’s portion and let it lie to one side and eat. Then he looked up and asked casually, “By the way, I didn’t get the chance to ask yesterday. Why were you disguised as a woman?”

Scholar Xiao clapped his hands, approval shining in his eyes. “Excellent question, Brother Chi!”

“Uh...” Yu Qingtang’s gaze wandered. “Well, how should I put this?”

Scholar Xiao was brimming with interest. “Let me guess! Hmm—there was some hidden reason?”

“Tch. That goes without saying.” Chi Yantian dismissed the guess, thought seriously for a moment, and slapped his palm. “A special cultivation method!”

He shook his head in deep sympathy. “I’ve thought it over, and that’s the only explanation I can imagine. Unless wearing a skirt were the only way I could refine artifacts, I can’t think of any other reason I’d grit my teeth and agree to it.”

Yu Qingtang regarded him with newfound respect. “Your devotion to smithing truly is unwavering.”

Chi Yantian accepted the praise without the slightest modesty. “Of course!”

Yu Qingtang guiltily rubbed his nose. “Unfortunately, that wasn’t my reason. I only did it to save my life.”

“One lie demands an even greater lie to cover it.”

He shook his head with feigned profundity. “People should be honest. Let my example serve as a warning to you all.”

Scholar Xiao was about to ask another question when Yu Qingtang raised a finger. “That’s enough. We’re ending this topic here! Any more questions would be impolite!”

Scholar Xiao sighed regretfully. “Very well. Leaving a little suspense for now might be for the best.”

“I haven’t asked either of you yet.” Yu Qingtang glanced between them and asked with some embarrassment, “Now that you know I’m a man disguised as a woman... do you have any thoughts?”

“Naturally, I was astonished at first.” Holding his booklet, Scholar Xiao wrote furiously as he spoke, occasionally looking up at him. “But with my keen perception, I soon realized that this was my opportunity!”

He looked deeply grateful. “Whatever the reason, Brother Yu, it is the extraordinary you who has given me an extraordinary story!”

Yu Qingtang was speechless.

Forget it. He never should have expected anything from this man. Scholar Xiao was not remotely normal.

He turned expectantly toward Chi Yantian, who was carefully looking him up and down.

Yu Qingtang straightened his back and raised his chin, allowing him to inspect him.

Chi Yantian scratched his head and looked away. “You don’t seem any different.”

“Hm?” Yu Qingtang stared at him in shock. “How could there be no difference?”

“Before, I wore a skirt, so I couldn’t take long strides or speak loudly. I also had to pretend to be aloof and reserved...”

Chi Yantian narrowed his eyes in confusion. “You were pretending?”

Yu Qingtang choked. Then he held his thumb and forefinger slightly apart. “I pretended a little, didn’t I?”

They stared at each other. In the end, Chi Yantian compromised. “Fine. A little.”

Then he said casually, “Anyway, you didn’t finish your story yesterday. How did you get involved with the Esoteric Sect?”

Yu Qingtang innocently pointed at his own nose. “They want to capture me, though we still don’t know why.”

“Fortunately, Senior Tianji Zi of Guiyi Sect was there. He brought Ye Chenyan and me to Nanzhou, which is why we arrived before you.”

“So that’s what happened...” Understanding dawned on Scholar Xiao, followed by a pensive expression. “Actually, when members of the Esoteric Sect appeared at the Golden Core Competition, my master already had a few suspicions.”

He crooked a finger at them, indicating that they should lean closer, then lowered his voice. “They usually never attend. This time, it seemed to be because this year’s Golden Core Competition had gathered an unusually large number of young prodigies with extraordinary constitutions.”

“Jin Yangzi of Golden Light Sect was born with Buddhist bone. Miaoyin Xian of Heavenly Music Sect possesses an innate White Lotus Sacred Body. Tu Jiaojiao of the Heavenly Fire Cult has a Heavenly Fire Spirit Body. Brother Chi has a pure and guileless heart. As for me...”

He smiled bashfully. “This humble scholar also possesses the bones of a man of letters.”

“Brother Ye presumably has something unusual about him as well, though my master refuses to discuss it. With Senior Tianji Zi protecting him, ordinary people would have difficulty seeing anything amiss.”

He looked curiously at Yu Qingtang. “Could there be something extraordinary about you too, Brother Yu?”

There is, but I can hardly announce to the world that I transmigrated into a book.

Yu Qingtang gave two dry laughs and bluffed his way through. “Perhaps I was born unusually lucky?”

Scholar Xiao sucked in a breath and pondered the idea. To Yu Qingtang’s surprise, he actually believed it. “There may be something to that. Your divine ability, the Scripture of Awaiting Good Fortune, is exceptionally unusual.”

The more he thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. “Biehe Sect is accustomed to its carefree, untroubled way of life. Perhaps it never discovered anything extraordinary about you, while the Esoteric Sect saw through it. At least the rest of us are protected by major sects, so they cannot act rashly. But Brother Yu’s sect has declined, leaving them with fewer reservations.”

Chi Yantian frowned. “But why is the Esoteric Sect seeking out prodigies with unusual constitutions?”

He spoke with his usual bluntness. “Surely they aren’t so impressed by their talents that they want them to change sects?”

Scholar Xiao considered this briefly. “That isn’t impossible.”

“What?” Chi Yantian’s eyes widened. “You can’t simply change sects like that!”

“Throughout history, the Esoteric Sect has consciously sought out and recruited prodigies with extraordinary constitutions.” Scholar Xiao tapped his fingers lightly against the table. “How do you think their holy maiden, born with an innate Dao fetus, came into their hands?”

“They deduced the workings of fate and found her in the mortal world.”

“But this time... whether by coincidence or someone’s interference, the Esoteric Sect found only that holy maiden. They were too late for all the others, who had already been accepted by the major sects.”

Scholar Xiao looked at Yu Qingtang. “To an ordinary cultivator, a colossus like the Esoteric Sect would naturally seem a better destination. Perhaps they assumed Brother Yu would willingly enter their sect instead.”

Yu Qingtang hastily shook his head. “Biehe Sect is wonderful!”

“We may be poor, but we know how to take life easy!”

Scholar Xiao laughed despite himself. “Naturally. A sect must suit the disciple.”

“In any case, the Esoteric Sect has always chosen cultivators with extraordinary constitutions and exceptional gifts, taking them into the sect and nurturing them until they are capable of shouldering the great responsibility of mending heaven.”

He pondered briefly. “The last century has produced an abundance of geniuses. I fear the world may soon fall into turmoil again.”

Chi Yantian raised an eyebrow. “But although the Esoteric Sect has gathered so many talented people, I’ve never heard of it producing any supreme figure who dominated the world.”

“Every one of them merely shone briefly before vanishing.”

“Indeed.” Scholar Xiao waved his folding fan, looking thoughtful. “Perhaps worldly supremacy was never their ambition. Whenever they emerge, the world is in chaos and the common people suffer. Once the turmoil subsides, they disappear again.”

Yu Qingtang listened intently to these secrets of the cultivation world while watching the street below. Nanzhou’s streets were much more interesting than those anywhere else.

There were demonfolk who strutted along arrogantly and could start a fight after exchanging only two sentences; demonfolk with fluffy tails wrapped around their waists, swaying them proudly as they walked; and human cultivators embracing a demon cultivator with one arm and a member of the demonfolk with the other as all three strolled past, clinging affectionately to one another...

Yu Qingtang watched with great interest. Then he suddenly spotted a gleaming bald head in the crowd. After a moment of surprise, he immediately beckoned. “Scholar Xiao! Your publication material is here!”

Scholar Xiao instantly cast every thought of the Esoteric Sect beyond the highest heavens. He leaned out of the window, and his eyes immediately lit up. “Baoshan of Dharma Academy! We truly encountered him!”

He excitedly slapped Yu Qingtang twice on the shoulder. “Brother Yu, you really are my lucky star!”

“We actually found him?” Chi Yantian asked in surprise.

He drew breath to shout, only for Scholar Xiao to cover his mouth.

“Shh!” Scholar Xiao pulled out his booklet. “Don’t alert him yet. Let’s observe what he does in his natural state.”

The three of them crowded around the window. Yu Qingtang watched for a while before saying uncertainly, “Is he trying to stop a fight?”

Chi Yantian raised an eyebrow. “Nanzhou’s cultivators are hot-tempered, and he’s a foreign monk. Will they really listen to him preach?”

“It looks like...”

Before he could finish, the people below attacked—and their blows were directed at Baoshan.

Chi Yantian was about to go help, but Scholar Xiao pushed him back down. “Don’t rush. Those two are only Foundation Establishment cultivators. They’re no match for him.”

Sure enough, Monk Baoshan neither dodged nor retreated. He pressed his palms together, lowered his eyes meekly, and took both attacks directly with his body.

After striking him several times and finding that hitting him felt no different from hitting a rock, his attackers lost their tempers and began cursing viciously.

“Benefactor, do not create evil karma with your words,” Baoshan said, neither servile nor overbearing. “You have struck me and vented your anger. Please forget today’s unpleasantness and stop quarreling with this gentleman.”

“If your anger has not yet subsided, you may strike me a few more times.”

Yu Qingtang stared in astonishment. “So Dharma Academy cultivates the body to keep its monks from fearing a beating when they try to stop fights.”

Chi Yantian scratched his head. “That can’t be true of all of them, can it? The leading monks from Dharma Academy all seemed pretty bad-tempered to me.”

“Ahem.” Scholar Xiao cleared his throat. “It is said that Dharma Academy was once filled with vicious, desperate criminals. The Dharma Patriarch brought them back and taught them only to temper their bodies and cultivate their hearts, never any methods for fighting enemies. He wanted them to endure countless beatings and thereby cleanse themselves of wicked thoughts.”

“So, in a sense, they truly were forbidden from fighting back.”

“But as those teachings were passed down over the generations, Dharma Academy began pursuing physical invincibility without adhering rigidly to the old ways. Seen in that light, this young Monk Baoshan actually follows the Patriarch’s Dao. He has returned to its original simplicity.”

“Hey!” Chi Yantian’s expression suddenly changed. “That man is about to use a dirty trick!”

One of the cultivators who had attacked Baoshan took a pill from his waist. Before he could throw it, tiny flashes of light streaked through the air. His wrist went limp, and the pill fell beside his own foot.

A cloud of pitch-black poisonous smoke billowed out. The surrounding spectators scattered in panic, while the cultivator collapsed with a piercing scream.

Monk Baoshan froze. He instinctively turned to search the area but found nothing.

The cultivator continued to scream in agony. Baoshan did not dare delay. He bent down, hoisted the man onto his shoulders, and apparently set off in search of a medical cultivator.

Chi Yantian clicked his tongue. “Sometimes these monks who never lose their tempers make me angry just looking at them.”

“Hmph.”

A fragrant breeze swept into the room. Silver bells chimed around Pretty Butterfly’s ankle as she stepped onto their windowsill and glared at him.

“What are you angry about?”

Scholar Xiao froze with his booklet in hand, then broke into a delighted smile. “Oh, what a joyous day!”