The novelty of the Qie sect eventually wore off replaced by something more irritating and that is a horde of Qie Ranzhe's harem members. Tall, short, pretty, beautiful, you name it, they were all there. They were all doting on the sect leader eager to serve him making Wen Qinxi's heart twist excruciatingly.
It was "Sect leader, here are some seedless grapes please try them. I peeled the skin off myself" or "Sect leader why try grapes when you can have some wine. I especially brewed it for you", "Sect leader this sect leader that."
Wen Qinxi's head almost exploded with rage watching such a scene. He wanted to walk over there and drag each of those women by their hair and kick them out of the sect followed by their luggage. He was jealous, not inhumane so he wouldn't throw them out penniless.
This sight made the food he was eating tasteless or rather sour which made him refrain from eating altogether with a black expression. His aura was so dark and resentful that Qie Ranzhe felt a malicious intent building up nearby but when he looked up to find out where it was emanating from he couldn't pinpoint the culprit.
At that time Wen Qinxi had his head lowered with his cold gaze on his cup of wine looking like it had offended him in some way. It was Qie Xieling who noticed his Shixiong's damp mood after managing to get away from his aunt who seemed to live only to torment him.
"Shixiong," he called out placing his hand on Zhao Zhi's shoulder before sitting down next to him. When Zhao Zhi raised his head to look at Qie Xieling, the boy almost fell over in bewilderment.
"Shixiong, why are you crying?" he asked staring at Zhao Zhi's reddened eyes. Poor Wen Qinxi who had been misunderstood stared at his son slackjawed. He truthfully had drunk too much making his eyes misty and red but it was mistaken for crying. Even when Zhao Huangzhi was dating Qie Ranzhe in the third world he didn't cry. Angry, yes but he didn't shed a tear.
Wen Qinxi gently flicked Qie Xieling's forehead with a forced smile. "Ouch... Shixiong!" complained Qie Xieling while covering his forehead making sure to be careful not to smudge his drawn on eyebrows that Zhao Zhi fixed for him a couple of hours ago.
"Such a cry baby," said Wen Qinxi before taking a sip of his wine, "I just drank a little too much."
Qie Xieling stopped rubbing his forehead and eyed the half-empty cup with gluttonous eyes. He wanted a sip but he knew his Shixiong wouldn't let him. Well, at least not in front of Qie Ranzhe so he decided to distract Zhao Zhi and rob him.
"Shixiong, will your junior disciples be okay going back alone?" he asked with his elbow on the table and his hand propping up his head.
Wen Qinxi bit his lower lip thinking about how those kids' faces fell when he told them to get back to the sect alone. He didn't understand why they had to be that dissatisfied with his decision. It's not like they needed to be babysat or something as long as they stick to the route back to the Zhao sect.
One of them even embraced him in tears which was both awkward and weird. According to the game files, Zhao Zhi wasn't close to any of them. To be exact, Zhao Zhi wasn't close to anyone in the Zhao sect. He usually kept to himself.
What Wen Qinxi didn't know was that the zealous disciple was collecting samples for the Zhao sect leader for pill refinement. This wasn't the only time this disciple did such things. He also confiscated anything used by Zhao Zhi. Be it utensils or quilt, he took everything as instructed by sect leader Zhao despite not understanding why. He wasn't one to judge sect leader Zhao's special hobbies.
"They will be fine, they aren't toddlers that need to be watched constantly," explained Wen Qinxi while picking up some food from the dishes in front of him. While he was doing this Qie Xieling stole the cup of wine and drank a sip before putting it back in place in a hurry. He had also checked if his father was looking his way and found that the man had his head down seemingly lost in thought.
A satisfied smile showed up on his face while wiping away the evidence on his lips with the back of his hand. "Oh, so won't they miss you in the Zhao sect?" asked Qie Xieling looking so innocent you wouldn't think he did anything wrong.
"Nope," replied Wen Qinxi before eating a mouthful of rice while looking at Qie Xieling. At that moment, he was thinking at least he still had his son to keep him company. Little did he know Qie Xieling was more interested in the red liquid shimmering under the candlelight. Qie Xieling was a typical teenager in that regard.
The more you refuse him the more he wants it but if you give him what he wants willingly he would quickly lose interest. It was just that Qie Ranzhe's parenting style wouldn't let him yield so he could only punish Qie Xieling when he broke the rules. It seemed the sect leader wasn't familiar with the term 'flogging a dead horse'.
Qie Xieling managed to chat up Zhao Zhi sneaking in two sips without being found out. When he did get found out he spun it in such a way that demonstrated his superiority in terms of IQ. That is to say, Wen Qinxi didn't see that one coming.
This is how it went down. Wen Qinxi had just taken a glimpse of Qie Ranzhe at the corner of his eye and noticed some hussy massaging the man's shoulders with vigour. This prompted Wen Qinxi to lift his cup in disdain but there was barely a mouthful left which made him eye the most plausible culprit.
The supposedly guilty party hurriedly shook his head and said, "Shixiong, I didn't. You drank it all by yourself. I think Shixiong has had a little too much to drink.... thi-this is why he can't remember."
This explanation had Wen Qinxi looking down at his cup with pouted lips. Qie Xieling was right, he was a little tipsy and it seemed plausible that he wouldn't remember drinking this much. While he was scolding himself for drinking like a fish, Qie Xieling interrupted him just in case his Shixiong thinks through the past hour in great detail and realise he had been tricked.
"Shixiong, I think you should retire early. You really drank too much," explained Qie Xieling while helping him up to his feet. Wen Qinxi was extremely obedient especially when his heart was crushed into pieces by that frivolous sect leader who always toyed with his feelings each world he enters.
Qie Xieling left his Shixiong's room after making sure he had fallen asleep blowing out the candles on his way out. The reason why he had to leave was that he was still under a short leash and had to return to his father otherwise the punishment would be extended.
Wen Qinxi wasn't actually sleeping. He was just closing his eyes replaying the happy moments he shared with Qie Ranzhe in the previous worlds like a memory video with background music.
That was all thanks to Jolie adding special effects but this only succeeded in invoking Wen Qinxi's emotions. He couldn't help a tear streaming down from the corner of his eye as his mood dampened. "Shut it off," he said turning to his side with a sullen expression.