Chapter 28: A Nauseating Disgust

Three women were walking toward Shen Qingyun and his companions. The woman in the center was tall, her hair tied up and held in place by a jade hairpin. Her features were sharply defined, yet her expression exuded an icy aloofness.

It was upon this face that Ling Xiao’s gaze lingered.

Shen Qingyun glanced between them, let out a quiet chuckle, patted Ling Xiao on the shoulder, and whispered, “I’ll wait for you up ahead.”

With that, Shen Qingyun stepped around the three women and continued up the mountain.

The three women opposite them also stopped in their tracks. The two on either side seemed to defer to the woman in the middle; seeing her pause, they halted as well.

“I didn’t expect you would actually make it into Cangyun Sect,” the woman in the center said, looking down at Ling Xiao. Her tone was as cold as her expression, as though she were a shard of ancient, unmelting ice.

“Is it really so hard to believe that I’ve come this far?” Ling Xiao’s lips twisted in a bitter smile as he met her gaze.

By now, even Su Ye, who knew little of the situation, had sensed something unusual. He murmured, “I’ll catch up with Senior Brother Shen,” and, without waiting for Ling Xiao’s reply, bypassed the women and headed up the mountain.

The two women on the flanks, overhearing the exchange, seemed to realize there was a history between them. They bid their farewells and left.

Now, only Ling Xiao and the woman remained on the mountain path, separated by just a few steps that felt as insurmountable as a chasm. Ling Xiao stood rooted to the spot.

“Wu—” Ling Xiao’s lips trembled as he tried to speak her name, but she cut him off coldly.

“Don’t call my name. You’re not worthy,” she said, her voice frosty.

A sharp pain shot through Ling Xiao’s heart. His eyes trembled as he looked at her. “I…”

“I’ve done all this for you. Can’t you even give me a smile?” he pleaded.

Wu Xier’s lips curled into a smile—but it was a cold, mocking one. To Ling Xiao, it was like a knife thrust into his heart. It hurt—deeply.

“For me?” she sneered. “Who gave you the right to claim it was for me? Everything you did—wasn’t it all for yourself? For your own selfish desires!”

“I—” Ling Xiao started.

Wu Xier interrupted him again, her words as sharp as blades, stabbing at his heart once more.

“From now on, here at Bamboo Peak, I am your senior. I hope you understand that.”

“I’ve already crippled you once. Don’t force me to do it again,” she said, stepping up to him, her voice icy. “Move aside.”

Ling Xiao obeyed and stepped aside. As Wu Xier passed, he lifted his hand—then let it fall, suspended in midair.

With a sense of loss, Ling Xiao made his way up the mountain and saw Shen Qingyun and Su Ye leaning against a tree, watching him. They really had been waiting.

Shen Qingyun and Su Ye approached. Shen Qingyun glanced at him, a faint smile curling his lips. “Let’s go.”

Su Ye grinned as well. “Let’s hurry and pick out a cave dwelling, or we’ll have to sleep out in the wild tonight!”

Staring at their retreating backs, Ling Xiao stood dazed for a moment before asking, “Aren’t you going to ask me about it?”

Shen Qingyun and Su Ye stopped. Shen Qingyun turned his head slightly and said, “If you want to talk, I’m always ready to listen.”

Su Ye put his hands behind his head and laughed, “I could already guess the relationship between you two isn’t the kind I’d enjoy hearing about. Even if you started, I wouldn’t listen!”

Shen Qingyun smiled. “Come on.”

Warmth returned to Ling Xiao’s heart. He shook off the gloom, smiled, and caught up with them.

…

By the next morning, the three had already chosen their cave dwellings. Midway up Bamboo Peak were rows of caves, each sealed with its own barrier, activated upon moving in. Owing to the small number of disciples on Bamboo Peak, of nearly a hundred caves, only forty were occupied. This made things easier for the trio; they picked three adjacent caves.

As Su Ye put it, “It’s good to be close, so we can look out for each other!”

“The benefits of being an inner disciple are worlds apart from being outer disciples!” he stretched lazily, grinning as the three met in the morning. “The spiritual energy here is so dense, it’s almost like cultivating with spirit stones!”

“That’s why entering the inner sect is considered ascending to heaven in one leap,” Ling Xiao replied, clearly having recovered from the events of the previous day.

Seeing Shen Qingyun glancing around, they asked, “What’s up, Junior Brother Shen?”

“Nothing. I’m just trying to figure out which way the dining hall is,” Shen Qingyun replied with a shake of his head.

“The dining hall?” Su Ye and Ling Xiao were momentarily perplexed.

“Yeah. Don’t tell me you two can already go without eating?” he said.

The two exchanged a look and shook their heads. What a joke—fasting, even the elders couldn’t do that!

“Then why aren’t you in a hurry to eat? There’s a rule in the Cangyun inner sect: only breakfast and lunch are provided, and if you’re late, you miss out. It’s to help us cultivate detachment—if you miss a meal, don’t even think about eating later,” Shen Qingyun explained.

Su Ye and Ling Xiao stared at him in surprise. How did he know all this when they’d just entered the inner sect?

Seeing through their thoughts, Shen Qingyun said in exasperation, “There’s a booklet in your storage bags with all these details!”

Suddenly it all made sense.

“What are we waiting for, then? Let’s go eat!” If they were late, they’d have to go hungry.

…

“I hear we’ve got three new disciples on Bamboo Peak?” In the dining hall, the disciples of Bamboo Peak had already gathered to eat. The arrival of new members naturally gave them something to talk about.

“I heard too, and one of the newcomers is already at the Foundation Establishment stage!”

“No way! When I joined the inner sect, I was only at the peak of the eighth Qi Condensation level. The difference…”

“Tch, so what if he’s at Foundation Establishment? Bet he’s only here to ogle at Senior Sister Wu’s beauty!”

Wu Xier’s reputation on Bamboo Peak seemed quite good. As a sharp, sarcastic voice echoed through the dining hall, all discussion ceased and everyone pricked up their ears to listen.

“I heard from Senior Sister Wu’s companions that after she met them yesterday, she was in a bad mood and locked herself in her cave, no one could get her out!”

“Must be that new disciple pestering her! And since she’s the senior, she didn’t take action—otherwise, that newcomer would’ve been crippled already.”

“Honestly, that newcomer’s shameless!”

Others chimed in, “Exactly! He should know his own limits. I’d be uneasy with such a person as my fellow disciple.”

At the entrance to the dining hall, Shen Qingyun and the others had been standing there for some time, and naturally heard everything. It was clear the words were meant for them.

At the last remark, anger flashed in Su Ye’s eyes. He and Ling Xiao had both been outer disciples in the same cohort and knew Ling Xiao’s character well. Now, even Su Ye could not help but feel indignant on Ling Xiao’s behalf, and made to confront the speaker.

But as he took a step forward, he felt himself held back. Turning, he saw it was Ling Xiao’s hand.

“Ling Senior Brother!” Su Ye called, waiting for him.

Ling Xiao lowered his head, hiding his expression. After a while, he looked up with a forced smile. “Let it go. They’re not wrong. I did hound her relentlessly.”

From a corner of the dining hall, that unpleasant voice rang out again. “No skills and spineless too! With a junior like that, ugh, best not to mess with him.”

“Watch your mouth!” Su Ye could not endure it any longer and shouted across the hall.

“Did I say anything wrong? No ability, pestering Senior Sister Wu—if not for you being new, you’d have been crippled already!” came the mocking reply.

“What did you say!” Su Ye shot back. After all, they’d vowed to look out for each other just yesterday.

“Senior Brother Su!”

A calm voice halted Su Ye’s advance. Shen Qingyun stepped out from behind Ling Xiao, standing at Su Ye’s side, and swept a glance across the dining hall.

“I’d hoped to try the food at Bamboo Peak’s dining hall, but didn’t expect such an appetite-ruining scene. Senior Brother Su, were you cultivating too hard last night? You can’t even smell your own bad breath?”

Su Ye blinked in surprise, then caught on and scratched his head with a sheepish grin. “You’re right, Junior Brother Shen. I overdid it last night!”

“Who are you to talk to your seniors like that?” voices rose from the dining hall, a group supporting the earlier speaker.

Shen Qingyun ignored them, turned to the silent Ling Xiao, and suggested, “Since we’ve lost our appetite, let’s go to the Pill Hall and trade for some fasting pills.”

With that, he dragged both Su Ye and Ling Xiao away.

For a moment, the dining hall fell silent. Shen Qingyun had ignored everyone there, yet twisted their words, making it sound as though those who had spoken were the ones with foul mouths.

After a long pause, a snort of derision was heard. “Who does he think he is? As if fasting pills are so easy to get?”

But before the words had faded, a timid voice interjected, “He’s… he’s first on the points leaderboard…”