Chapter 505: But I Am His Master!

Hearing the Captain's words, Xu Qing couldn't help but recall that when he previously went to the Corpse Prohibition, his Master's position in the formation seemed even more critical than the Ancestor's.

Thus, he nodded in deep agreement.

Seeing that Xu Qing agreed with his proposal, the Captain beamed with joy and spoke in a low voice.

"We can't use sound transmission to find Master, and it's not easy to pass this matter through the hands of the Sword-Holding Court..."

The Captain blinked, his gaze sweeping over Xu Qing.

"This matter can only be handled by first tricking Master into coming here to talk in person."

"And so?" Xu Qing asked suspiciously; the Captain's gaze felt a bit off.

"So... how to make Master rush over immediately, in a state of extreme urgency, without stopping for a moment, and scurrying over in a panic, is something we need to carefully consider."

The Captain coughed.

"Look, Junior Brother, this matter, it can only work if one of us two is dying, and it must be authentic. Although if I say I'm dying, Master will be anxious and arrive in an instant—after all, Master dotes on me—but... even if my head were gone, it would be fine. I reckon Master would think about it for a second and guess it's a trick."

"Is there no secret code?" Xu Qing asked calmly, his face expressionless.

"There is no secret code! This thing really doesn't exist!!" The Captain sighed, covering his face, then snuck a glance at Xu Qing and continued speaking.

"I can only wrong you, Junior Brother. To make it more realistic, don't resist. I'll be a bit gentler when I strike, and I'll strive for your injuries to heal in seven days."

"Don't worry, at most it'll just be breaking a few legs, adding a few holes to your body, shattering a hundred or eighty bones, and spilling some brain matter. We've done this many times before; I have experience."

"The main thing is, once Master arrives and sees your injuries, he won't think we're tricking him. Then we can naturally bring up this matter, and it will surely go smoothly. Rest assured, I've often done this before." The Captain chuckled, eager to try. Every time he unsealed his cultivation, he wanted to establish his dignity as the Senior Brother in front of Xu Qing.

Especially since he had almost failed to keep up with Xu Qing's cultivation speed earlier, his heart was burning with the desire to properly establish his authority.

Xu Qing nodded, took out his command sword, exchanged for transmission permissions with the Great Elder of the Sword-Holding Court, and sent the message at high speed.

"I trouble the Great Elder to help me pass a message to my Master."

Xu Qing glanced at the Captain and continued to use the command sword to transmit; outsiders could not hear this kind of transmission.

"Please inform my Master that my Senior Brother intends to marry a Cloud Beast in the Commandery Capital. I cannot dissuade him, and the wedding date is three days from now. He dares not tell Master, so I have come to tell him, inviting the old man to be sure to attend the wedding."

"..."

The Great Elder was silent on the other end, then chuckled. Clearly, he understood the true meaning behind the words, so he responded calmly.

"I imagine your Master will be very happy to hear of this."

"Many thanks, Great Elder!" Xu Qing said solemnly, then put down the command sword and looked at his suspicious Senior Brother.

Xu Qing was eating poison, instinctively feeling there was a trap, but it also seemed logical, and in this short time, Xu Qing had already eaten quite a lot.

But thinking of past experiences, he blinked, his expression showing a half-smile.

"Junior Brother, this trick of yours is still too green. You really think I'll believe it? Heh." After the Captain spoke calmly, he stretched.

"From the Yinghuang Continent to here, even with teleportation, it takes at least three days at the fastest. Alright, I won't beat you up. You keep eating yourself; eat more. I'm leaving first to investigate intelligence on the Immortal Prohibition."

Having said that, the Captain walked away with his hands behind his back, looking triumphant, with the air of someone who absolutely wouldn't believe it.

Xu Qing watched the Captain leave, shook his head, and continued to eat poison.

Outside the Sword Pavilion, the Captain looked composed, walking with a swagger. Only when he reached the Commandery Capital did he find a corner and quickly lowered his head to look at his right hand.

Inside his hand, an eye had grown, reflecting the image of Xu Qing eating poison.

"Still eating? Could he have noticed the eye I left behind? Impossible. Now that my seal is broken, little A-Qing shouldn't be able to notice." The Captain was somewhat hesitant.

"I'll observe a bit more."

Two days passed just like that. With only one night left before the fastest possible arrival time from the Yinghuang Continent, the Captain returned to Xu Qing's Sword Pavilion. After entering, he patted his stomach and sat down in front of Xu Qing.

Xu Qing was expressionless, his whole body black and blue, looking as if he had been severely poisoned.

"That... Junior Brother, there's no need for this."

The Captain looked at Xu Qing's state, feeling even more hesitant. He had observed him multiple times over the past two days and found that Xu Qing was truly eating poison without stopping.

"After Master arrives, once he discovers we tricked him, he will definitely be very angry." Xu Qing said, then took a poisonous herb and crunched a few times in his mouth.

"So, if I am a bit more miserable, Master won't be as angry."

The Captain was terrified, but at the same time worried about the result of Xu Qing's analysis. If it were truly like that, then although Master would be angry upon arrival—after all, he was tricked by the two of them—Xu Qing's attitude was sincere, and he was acting out the whole play, which showed great respect for Master.

There is a way even in deception.

In that case, there was a high probability that his anger would dissipate.

And if he himself were perfectly fine... based on his understanding of Master, he would definitely think he was disrespectful to his teacher.

After all, when deceiving one's Master, no matter the reason, one must have a good attitude.

If there were no comparison, it would be one thing, but now there was a comparison.

Thinking of this, the Captain struggled and cast a resentful look at Xu Qing.

Seeing time pass bit by bit and the sky outside beginning to brighten, the Captain gritted his teeth fiercely and reached out toward Xu Qing.

"Give me some poison!"

Xu Qing looked surprised.

"You want some too?"

"Give it to me!" The Captain said with a face full of grief and indignation.

Xu Qing silently handed the poison over.

The Captain took it, closed his eyes, and swallowed it in one gulp. Soon, his face turned black and blue. Seeing that Xu Qing was still eating, he wailed in his heart and continued to eat as well.

Just like that, time passed. An hour later, when the sky outside was completely bright, Xu Qing's sound transmission jade slip suddenly vibrated. Xu Qing hurriedly picked it up, and Seventh Master's low voice came through.

"Where are you!"

Hearing Seventh Master's voice, the Captain quickly swallowed all the poison in his hand, then assumed a dying appearance, lying there and struggling to make his whole body tremble.

Xu Qing glanced at the Captain, informed his Master of his Sword Pavilion, and even raised his hand to open the door of the Sword Pavilion.

Before long, Seventh Master's figure appeared silently outside the door of the Sword Pavilion, as if an invisible brush had painted him into existence.

He walked into the Sword Pavilion expressionlessly. Xu Qing wanted to stand up but couldn't help spitting out a mouthful of poisonous blood, then lowered his head and spoke softly.

"Master..."

"You're acting quite like it. Know that deceiving your Master is wrong? Look at this poison; you've been eating it for days, haven't you? Hmm, your attitude is still acceptable." Seventh Master scanned Xu Qing, his expression softening slightly.

Seeing this, the Captain lay there struggling, trying to stand up, and also spat out a mouthful.

Seventh Master sneered, walked past the Captain, and couldn't help but kick him. With a bang, he kicked the Captain from a lying state into a sitting one, his bottom hitting the floor.

"You're not acting like it at all. Looking at you, you must have only just started eating. Copying your Junior Brother?"

"Master, I missed you." The Captain felt his bottom hurt, so he looked at Seventh Master pitifully.

Xu Qing, to the side, had a bitter expression, wanting to speak but stopping himself.

Seventh Master snorted coldly, glared at the Captain, and when his gaze turned to Xu Qing, it softened again.

"Fourth, you've always been a child who dislikes lying. I know this; it must have been your Senior Brother who forced you. Your Senior Brother is a repeat offender."

Xu Qing lowered his head upon hearing this and spoke softly.

"Master, it was something my Senior Brother and I thought of together."

"Even at this point, you're still thinking of speaking up for your Senior Brother." Seventh Master's eyes showed approval, and he quickly took several precious detoxifying elixirs from his person and handed them to Xu Qing.

"Hurry and eat them to detoxify. You child, you're just too honest." After speaking, Seventh Master turned his head and glared fiercely at the Captain again.

"Look at you. As the Senior Brother, you actually forced your Junior Brother like this. If you wanted to call me, couldn't you use a secret code? Your Junior Brother joined late and doesn't know, but you don't know the secret code? When I took you out in the past, didn't I teach you?"

"What is it? Now that one seal is broken, you're getting cocky again? Is your skin itching for a beating?"

The Captain shuddered and hurriedly shook his head. Finding that Xu Qing was silently watching him, the Captain coughed awkwardly.

Xu Qing was expressionless, put all the detoxifying elixirs in his hand into his mouth, and then swallowed several herbs, instantly neutralizing all the poison in his body.

The poisonous herbs he had eaten over the past two days were mutually reinforcing and restraining, a type of mixed poison; as long as he swallowed the key herb, he could detoxify instantly.

As for the Captain, he had only eaten a portion, so he was currently full of black and blue.

Noticing Xu Qing's complexion recovering rapidly, the Captain's eyes widened, and just as he was about to speak, he was interrupted by Seventh Master's cold snort.

"Enough, tell me what kind of trouble you've caused to trick your Master into coming all this way."

Hearing this, the Captain was about to speak, but Seventh Master glared at him.

"Shut up! I get angry just listening to you!"

The Captain felt wronged and depressed in his heart, thinking to himself that he just wanted to establish authority in front of little A-Qing after his seal was broken—how did things turn out like this...

"Fourth, you tell me."

Xu Qing looked respectful and told his Master everything he had previously told the Captain, from beginning to end, in detail, including his acquisition of the God's finger and the transformation of his body.

It was also the first time the Captain had heard such details, and his eyes went wide.

Seventh Master glanced at the Captain, his expression appearing normal, as if this matter hadn't caused any ripples in him, though his eyelids occasionally twitched slightly, failing to stay under control.

Until Xu Qing finished speaking, Seventh Master was calm and composed, and hummed.

【Line 90 is a continuation of 89】

"You two Heavenly Palace Core Formation cultivators have quite the nerve, actually daring to scheme against a God. Fortunately, you, Fourth, are still sensible and knew to tell your Master about this."

"I know about this matter now. You don't need to worry about it; everything is normal. Just enter the Immortal Prohibition."

Having said that, Seventh Master turned and walked out. Before leaving, he glared fiercely at the Captain one more time, and then his figure slowly blurred and dissipated into the world.

When he reappeared, he was already in the Commandery Capital. While concealing his aura, his breathing became rapid, and a monstrous wave had already risen in his heart as he muttered to himself.

"I've taken in a monster..."

After saying this, he couldn't help but laugh triumphantly, his expression filled with pride.

"But I am his Master!"

And at this moment, inside the Sword Pavilion, the Captain was looking at Xu Qing gloomily.

"Junior Brother, what kind of message did you send to Master? Why did he look so angry the moment he saw me?"

"Senior Brother, so there really was a secret code." Xu Qing...

Jing spoke up.

"Hey, it's all a small matter." The Captain climbed to his feet, threw an arm around Xu Qing, took out a cyan stone familiar to Xu Qing, and shoved it into Xu Qing's hand.

Afterward, his smile was sincere, his eyes filled with affection, and he spoke softly.

"Little Junior Brother, Eldest Senior Brother was just joking with you. Do you feel that the bitterness and sorrow of the battlefield have faded a little now?"

"After we returned, I was very worried about your state of mind."

Xu Qing was stunned and looked at the Captain.

The Captain smiled as he looked at Xu Qing, his eyes gentle. At this moment, the light of the morning sun from outside fell through the open door, reflecting onto the Captain's body and making him appear very warm.

"You, you like to keep everything bottled up inside, and you don't show much expression, especially when it comes to sadness. That won't do."

"Little A-Qing, you aren't actually alone. You have the Old Ancestor, Master, me, Second Senior Sister, and the third one. We all care about you; we are a family. So you don't need to keep everything inside; you can talk to us."

"I told you before, in this life, we walk together. I'm serious about that. Not only must we walk together, but our whole family must walk together!"

The Captain said softly, and at this moment, he seemed just like an older brother.

Xu Qing was moved, and just as endless warmth rose in his heart, the Captain coughed.

"So, could you please cure my poison first?"

pt.

Er Gen