CH 27.2

Everyone turned their heads.

A young man with a black longsword on his back and a tall and straight figure bowed to Lan Xiao Sheng and said in a calm voice, “Master, I have returned from my journey.”

Lan Xiaosheng nodded, “Perfect timing. Your Master is here discussing the Dao. You can listen together with me later.”

Zhao Lin’s gaze fell lightly on the side, “Senior Brother.”

Ye Bingran nodded slightly and didn’t say much.

The other disciples of the Sword Sect were used to their dynamics. If one were to judge from appearances, one might think that the relationship between the two disciples of Sect Master Lan was not good. But in fact, the two of them were as close as brothers.

When Zhao Lin was young, after becoming a disciple, Sect Master Lan was burdened with many responsibilities and had little time to teach him. Most of the responsibility fell on Ye Bingran, who was his senior brother.

For Zhao Lin, Ye Bingran was not just his senior brother; he was also his master. He deeply respected him.

Not to mention other things, when Immortal Shen, who everyone in the Sword Sect wanted to kill, repeatedly came to disturb Ye Bingran, others were afraid to stop him due to his identity as a Celestial Immortal. However, Zhao Lin would appear and drive him away every time.

Although the two were aloof and indifferent, they were like brothers to each other.

“Shifu has come out of seclusion,” Zhao Lin glanced at Ning Runxin and greeted, “Long time no see, Shifu.”

But Ning Shishu didn’t pay him any attention, seemingly unaware that someone was talking to him. His gaze remained fixed on the disciples of Qingling.

Zhao Lin followed his gaze.

In his sight, he saw two disciples, one at the Foundation Establishment stage leaning his head on the shoulder of a Golden Core stage disciple, and a small little ball curled up beside them.

The scene was harmonious, yet somewhat peculiar.

Zhao Lin frowned, not understanding what Shifu wanted to observe. Fortunately, it had nothing to do with him, so he didn’t need to pay any attention.

Just as he was about to retract his gaze, a gust of night wind blew, lifting the hair that partly covered the face of the disciple at the Foundation Establishment stage, revealing an ordinary-looking face.

Zhao Lin’s eyes widened suddenly, showing some astonishment.

“Brother Shen Xiang?”

He wanted to confirm and immediately walked over. Lan Xiaosheng called out to him, but Zhao Lin didn’t pay any attention.

Ye Bingran frowned, “What’s wrong with Junior Brother?”

Sect Master Lan said, “He went towards Qingling’s direction; let’s go and take a look too.”

Just as he said that, he noticed Ning Runxin had already arrived ahead of them.

The commotion on the Sword Sect side quickly attracted the attention of others.

Everyone saw Zhao Lin approaching Qingling, setting down his long sword on his back, and squatting down in front of two disciples. He carefully observed one of them and suddenly showed a delighted expression on his usually calm face. “Brother Shen Xiang, why are you here?!”

The disciples of Qingling were collectively confused.

The disciples of the Sword Sect felt like they wanted to buy a block of tofu and smash their heads into it. This was once again Shen Liu Liu!!!

Shen Liuxiang remained motionless – Zhou Xuanlan cast a soundproofing spell to cover his ears. At this moment, he was sleeping soundly, completely unaware of his surroundings.

Zhou Xuanlan looked at Zhao Lin and said, “He’s called Shen Liu Liu.”

The two of them had interacted before during their experiences outside the sect and were considered familiar with each other.

Zhao Lin replied, “In my presence, he is Shen Xiang.”

Zhou Xuanlan raised an eyebrow, glancing at the little head resting on Shen Liuxiang’s lap, and squinted his eyes.

Ye Bingran looked at the sleeping person and couldn’t help but frown.

When the Master was discussing the Dao, Shen Liuxiang was not in deep contemplation. Instead, Shen Liuxiang was sleeping soundly while leaning on someone else. If he were a disciple from his own sect, Ye Bingran would have reprimanded him, but since these were disciples of Qingling, he had no right to interfere.

Ye Bingran asked, “Do you know him?”

Zhao Lin replied: “I’ve told Senior Brother before, I once encountered a noble person, and it’s him.”

Ye Bingran frowned slightly.

Zhao Lin had mentioned before that he came from a remote and secluded place in the Southern Province. He had no connection to the world of cultivation in his early life, but fortunately, he encountered a noble person when he was young.

That noble person taught him a set of sword techniques and helped him join the Sword Sect.

When Zhao Lin participated in the entrance trial, he had no trace of spiritual power in his body, and he was far behind his peers. But with the use of that set of sword techniques, he impressed the Master, who recognized his talent for sword cultivation and took him as a disciple.

The whole process was like ascending to heaven in one step.

Ye Bingran never imagined that the person his junior brother had been thinking about for a long time turned out to be the young man in front of them, the person his Senior Brother had been looking for all these years.

Though Zhao Lin was eager to catch up with him, he refrained from disturbing Shen Liuxiang while he was resting.

So he simply sat cross-legged opposite Shen Liuxiang, resting his chin on his hand, and stared at him fixedly.

Ning Runxin also sat down and cast his gaze in that direction.

Meanwhile, Zhou Xuanlan remained silent, but he raised an eyebrow slightly and used his fingertips to pull a few strands of Shen Liuxiang’s silky black hair over his face, covering a large part of it.

The atmosphere suddenly became weird.

The disciples of the Sword Sect all pretended to be dead.

The Sword Sect had many talents, but those who gained fame in the world of cultivation were few and far between. In the last generation, it was Ye Bingran and Ning Runxin, and this time, it was Zhao Lin.

Who would have thought that the two people who would carry the future of the Sword Sect were now entangled with Shen Liuliu!

The hearts of the Sword Sect disciples turned cold, but they found some consolation in Ye Bingran. Born and raised in the Sect, he had no noble person to rescue him and no fateful encounter during his training. The only thing he could do was to save others.

Even though he saved a rotten-to-the-core peach blossom Immortal Shen, at least he also saved the one they cared about which brought them some comfort.

Compared to the complex thoughts of the Sword Sect disciples, the disciples of Qingling were much simpler.

Four words: trembling with fear.

Being watched by the Sect Master, the Sword Sovereign, Senior Uncle Ning, and Senior Brother Zhou, and others they were already cold with sweat even though they were at the edge of their sight.

They had never seen such a situation before!

The person causing this scene, however, was still sleeping soundly, with his face slightly tickled by the strands of hair, he moved his head slightly and leaned against Zhou Xuanlan’s neck, seeking a comfortable spot before continuing to sleep.

“Where did you meet him?” Ning Runxin asked.

“In the Southern Province.”

Ning Runxin replied, “Tell me more.”

“I was born in a small country in the Southern Province and was a wandering beggar at the age of eight. In a dangerous situation, I was saved by a young man.”

Zhao Lin’s gaze fell on Shen Liuxiang’s face, his eyes filled with nostalgia.

The young man was dressed in a green robe and introduced himself as Shen Xiang.

At that time, Zhao Lin had never seen a cultivator and didn’t know that the world was so vast, with such existences as cultivators. He thought Shen Liuxiang was like a fairy from the stories he had heard, so he called him “Brother Immortal.”

This nickname amused the young man for a long time.

They laughed from morning till night, and after the laughter, the young man taught him a set of sword techniques for self-defense.

Although Zhao Lin was young at the time, he realized that the person in front of him could change his destiny. He thought of the stories about immortals descending to the mortal world to take disciples and impart knowledge, so he asked the young man to take him as a disciple.

The young man in the green robe refused without hesitation.

“Being a Master is not all that great; you still have to clean up the mess left by your disciples. If they were like my Senior Brother, it would be less troublesome. If they were like me, I would probably want to ascend early and be done with it.”

Zhao Lin listened with a confused expression, but he understood deep down that this person was his only chance.

Fortunately, the young man didn’t rush to leave. He stayed in that place for a long time, looking towards a towering mountain in the distance that covered the sky and sun.

At night, Zhao Lin once asked him what he was looking at.

With a few twitches, the young man fiddled with the campfire, and the dancing firelight fell on his fair face. His lips curled slightly as he said, “Deep in the mountains, there are tigers and leopards hidden, and in the fields, there are qilins buried.”

Zhao Lin didn’t understand.

So he pointed to the distant mountain and asked for an explanation, “The treasure is hidden there, and there must be something good there.”

Seeing Zhao Lin accustomed to robbery and treasure hunting, the young man calmly explained, “Don’t worry; it’s not time yet. We have to wait for a while.”

And so they waited for half a month.

During this time, the young man spent his days lying on an ancient tree in the sky.

Resting his head on his hand, he swung one leg gently while humming an unknown tune. He seemed completely relaxed and carefree amidst the rustling of leaves in the wind.

Every day, Zhao Lin did three things: practice sword techniques under the tree, search for wild fruits to satisfy his hunger, and pick the best fruits to give to the person in the tree.

After half a month passed, the young man jumped down from the tree and said it was time to go on an adventure to search for treasure.

Zhao Lin’s face turned pale instantly, and he asked tremblingly if the young man could take him as a disciple.

He knew this was his last chance, and if the young man refused again, he would lose all hope.

In the end, the young man still declined, but he didn’t rush to leave. Instead, he drew a formation on the ground and took out several magic weapons to set up.

“Since you have talent in swordsmanship and a determined mind, I will send you on your way,” he said as he placed hundreds of spiritual stones in the formation.

“Judging by the time, the Sword Sect in Beilun will soon recruit new disciples. I will use this formation to send you directly to Lunhua City. Whether you can join the Immortal Sect or not will depend on your own destiny.”

Zhao Lin’s despair was reignited with hope.

He stood in the formation, but his mouth couldn’t utter a word, and his gaze was fixed on the person outside the formation, firmly imprinting his appearance in his heart.

On the side of the road, the young man in the green robe propped his hand on the back of his neck, with a stalk of dogtail grass in his mouth, nibbling it absentmindedly.

The breeze gently brushed his black hair, and the young man smiled faintly.

“If fate allows, we will meet again.”

Zhao Lin snapped out of his memories and stared at Shen Liuxiang’s sleeping face, unable to resist the urge to touch him. However, his hand was intercepted halfway.

Zhou Xuanlan’s expression was extremely unsightly as he gritted his teeth and said, “Repeat the reason he last refused to take you as his disciple.”

Zhao Lin withdrew his hand and repeated the reason. He remembered that the young man had bitten the dogtail grass, looked disgusted, and said, “Disciples are troublesome, and I hate troublesome things the most. Taking disciples or anything like that is impossible, absolutely impossible!”

“I, Shen Liu… cough, Shen Xiang, will never take disciples in this lifetime!”

Zhou Xuanlan’s face turned pale.

Everything suddenly made sense. His Master took him as a disciple, but deep down, he was very unwilling, which was why he had ignored him all these years.

Originally, Master disliked disciples.

So, in fact… Master dislikes him the most, right?

Zhou Xuanlan’s mind went blank, and his spiritual power became chaotic. The soundproofing technique that Shen Liuxiang had cast on his ears disappeared instantly.

In a half-dreamy state, Shen Liuxiang vaguely heard an unfamiliar voice speaking, seemingly close to him, ‘Brother Shen Xiang said he dislikes disciples the most and will never take in any in this lifetime.’

Shen Xiang?

What does he, Shen Liuxiang, have to do with this?

Why say this to him?

Confused, Shen Liuxiang opened his eyes, and immediately, gazes from all around focused on him.

T/N: Ladies and Gentlemen, Immortal Shen: an adulterous two-timer, runaway father and now disciple hater. Bro is never beating the allegations.