Chapter 120: Behind

Zheng Fa looked at the old man, and the more he looked, the more he felt the man had a kind face and looked approachable.

High cultivation, timid heart, few troubles.

It was a natural master-disciple fate between him and me!

"Don't look at me like that!" The sect master, his face stern, said, sensing the obvious warmth in Zheng Fa's eyes: "I will not take on another disciple!"

"Just like you, Sect Master, I am also a person who dislikes going out!"

Zheng Fa declared with solemn oaths.

"My eldest disciple said the exact same thing! I believed his ghostly lies back then." The sect master pouted, his expression full of vicissitudes: "He stayed properly within the sect for three hundred years, but the very first time he went out, he ran into the Demonic Sect..."

"Was he killed by the Demonic Sect later?"

"Being killed would have been better!"

"Ah?"

"He seduced the granddaughter of a Demonic Sect elder and led her to abandon evil and follow the righteous path!"

"... Isn't that good?"

"Good my foot! When he left, he was alone; when he returned, it was a dark cloud of people, with the Demonic Sect army following right behind him!" The sect master gnashed his teeth as he spoke: "If I hadn't had some means and crushed that elder until both his spirit and form were destroyed, wouldn't our Jiushan Sect have been exterminated?"

... Zheng Fa listened, yet somehow felt that Demonic Sect elder was somewhat aggrieved.

Not only was his own cabbage trampled by a righteous pig, but when he came to check, he was killed by people.

Wait, who is the Demonic Sect here!

"And my second disciple told me he had no interest in women at all, and even disliked interacting with people!"

"Isn't that quite suitable for you, Sect Master..."

Such social anxiety usually wouldn't attract any danger.

"He didn't like people; in fact, the places he went, no one dared to go!"

"Ah?"

"He just loved going to ancient ruins, searching for secret realms and grotto-heavens." The sect master's tone could only be described as bitter: "Either he got trapped in ancient immortal grotto-heavens full of traps, or he dug up some evil cultivator sealed by predecessors; every time I had to go rescue him!"

"..."

Zheng Fa was speechless, but finally understood the sect master's fear of his disciples.

He even felt a trace of sympathy for him.

Let alone a personality like the sect master's that fears trouble.

Just for an ordinary person, encountering these two "Sleeping Dragons and Phoenix Chicks" would also cause a headache.

"Then what about your other disciples, Sect Master..."

"Are two not enough?" The sect master looked at Zheng Fa with a strange gaze: "With these two disciples, no matter how evil I was in my past life, I should have paid off my debts in this life! So I cannot possibly have a third disciple!"

Seeing the sect master's decisive attitude, Zheng Fa fell silent for a moment, then nodded and said: "I understand what Sect Master means."

"Understand?" The sect master was stunned by Zheng Fa's calm demeanor, and instead asked: "You... won't try to strive for it anymore?"

"If I beg again, will Sect Master agree?"

"Absolutely not!"

"Then this disciple will not put Sect Master in a difficult position."

Zheng Fa said decisively.

"This disciple of yours is indeed excellent." The sect master hesitated for a long while, then spoke in a dry voice.

"Then this disciple has one request."

"But we truly are not suitable!"

"I do not wish to beg Sect Master to take me as a disciple; I have just written a few storybooks and wish to exchange a few words with you, Sect Master."

"Oh? You are fond of this path?" The sect master readily agreed to this matter: "This is fine; I have read nine out of ten of the storybooks in the Xuanwei Realm, so I can give you some guidance!"

Watching Zheng Fa walk out of the thatched cottage, Senior Sister Yuan's gaze held a hint of concern.

Zheng Fa shook his head at her.

Senior Sister Yuan pouted toward the thatched cottage but said nothing, as if she had expected it all along.

Not as anxious as when they arrived, Senior Sister Yuan had no intention of letting Zheng Fa hitch a ride again.

The two walked side by side down the mountain.

"Zheng Shidi, perhaps I should help persuade the sect master again?"

"Senior Sister Yuan, you have already done your best." Zheng Fa shook his head and refused: "Saying more might only anger the sect master."

"It doesn't matter; that old man is actually a good person; at most, he just won't listen to me—he finds even getting angry to be troublesome."

Zheng Fa nodded.

Don't let the sect master's claim that he fears trouble fool you; in reality, if he truly took on a disciple, he would worry a great deal for them.

Let alone the eldest senior brother who converted a demonic female demon with love.

Even that explorer second disciple, time and again trapped in perilous situations, the sect master was willing to go rescue him.

Often, a person's unwillingness to bear responsibility is not because they are irresponsible, but rather because they view the responsibility as too heavy, causing them to shrink back.

A person like the sect master makes for an excellent master!

"Actually, it's not just you." Senior Sister Yuan sighed: "As soon as I took form, that old man kicked me off the mountain, told me to follow Zhang Shijie, and said he would no longer care for me in the future—he just likes to stay alone, playing with that 'Heaven and Earth within the Thatched Cottage'."

"Speaking of which, I must thank Senior Sister Yuan for your kind words."

Zheng Fa suddenly straightened his body and bowed seriously to Senior Sister Yuan to express his gratitude.

"That day you spoke well of me before Zhang Shijie; isn't it only right that I speak well of you in return?" Senior Sister Yuan waved her hand: "It's just that I couldn't help much."

Zheng Fa turned back, looked at the thatched cottage on the mountainside, and suddenly said to Senior Sister Yuan: "There is one thing I am afraid I must ask Senior Sister Yuan to do for me."

"What?"

"I made an appointment with the Sect Master to show him a few storybooks; when the time comes, I'd be grateful if Senior Sister Yuan could deliver them for me."

"Just this small thing? No problem!"

Seemingly feeling guilty for not being able to help, Senior Sister Yuan immediately agreed.

……

"Zheng Fa! The Sect Master wants you to come up again!"

More than ten days later, Senior Sister Yuan burst into Zheng Fa's study and told him happily.

"Go up again?"

"Yes!" Senior Sister Yuan grabbed Zheng Fa's arm, ready to lead him up the mountain: "Aren't I the one delivering those storybooks to you? Today, the Sect Master suddenly told me you need to come up again!"

"Wait!"

"What's there to wait for?" Senior Sister Yuan fretted. "It's definitely because your storybooks are so good—the Sect Master has taken a liking to them and has changed his mind about taking you as his disciple!"

"Senior Sister, tell the Sect Master I've just thought of a brand-new storybook—I'm too busy to go up the mountain—here's another one, please deliver it to him as an apology!"

Zheng Fa struggled fiercely to free himself from Senior Sister Yuan's grip.

"Too busy?" Senior Sister Yuan eyed him suspiciously, then narrowed her eyes. "Why do I feel you're afraid?"

"Afraid? I'm not afraid!" Zheng Fa immediately shook his head, then as if remembering something, asked her: "If I wanted to stay for two days in Zhang Shijie's courtyard, would she agree?"

"……" Senior Sister Yuan stared at him from head to toe for a long moment, puzzled, then flew up to the Ninth Peak with the new book he handed her.

……

"Where's Zheng Fa?"

What Senior Sister Yuan didn't expect was that upon arriving, she saw the Sect Master—who hadn't left his residence in a thousand years—waiting at the door of his thatched hut.

"He said he's too busy."

"Too busy?"

The Sect Master sneered, about to say something, but then noticed the book in Senior Sister Yuan's hand, and a flicker of hesitation crossed his face.

"What's that you're holding?"

"Senior Zheng Shidi says it's a new storybook—he's bringing it to you as an apology!"

"Apology?" The Sect Master gritted his teeth. "Pah! Keep it away! I won't even look at the storybooks he sends!"

With a sweep of his sleeve, he kicked open the wooden door of his thatched hut and stormed inside in a rage.

"……"

Senior Sister Yuan looked at the book in her hand, then at the tightly shut door of the thatched hut.

Now she finally understood why Zheng Fa refused to come.

But… why?

Unable to suppress her curiosity, she waved her hand—the grass and trees on the mountainside grew rapidly, vines and blades of grass intertwining to form a single-person sofa-like… nest.

Senior Sister Yuan collapsed into the nest, picked up the storybook, and was soon utterly absorbed.

As a cultivator, she read at an astonishing speed; after the time of one incense stick, she felt her turning fingers meet empty air—she had reached the final page.

But…

"What about the rest?!"

A frantic voice echoed from the thatched hut.

"Sect Master! Didn't you say you wouldn't read it?"

Senior Sister Yuan blinked, then realized—the old man had been squatting inside the hut all along, using his spiritual sense to read alongside her.

"I didn't want to read it—but you're sitting right outside my door reading it! How could I resist?"

The Sect Master flung open the door, his expression gloomy.

"Does Senior Zheng Shidi always send storybooks like this?"

Senior Sister Yuan said, suddenly understanding.

The Sect Master nodded.

"No wonder he dared not come up!"

"I'm going down!" The Sect Master gritted his teeth and suddenly said.

"You're actually leaving your mountain?" Senior Sister Yuan's expression was stunned.

"Lead the way!"

Senior Sister Yuan brought the Sect Master straight to Zheng Fa's courtyard.

But Zheng Fa's house was now empty.

The Sect Master swept his spiritual sense across the area, sneered, grabbed Senior Sister Yuan, and vanished from Zheng Fa's courtyard—in the next instant, the two appeared in the main hall of Zhang Shijie's home.

Zheng Fa was still packing his bag, chatting awkwardly with Zhang Shijie—who hadn't yet grasped the situation—and hadn't even settled in when he suddenly saw the two appear before him.

"Sect Master?" Zhang Shijie's face was full of shock: "You came down the mountain?"

The Sect Master ignored her completely, only sneering at Zheng Fa: "Run? Where could you possibly run to?"

"…I just got tired of staying in my own place," Zheng Fa muttered.

"Tired of your own place? Then finish writing the damn storybook!"

The Sect Master sneered:

"In the first one, you wrote the male lead taking on a wicked disciple, who stole his secret manual and secretly conspired with his consort to slander him as a fame-seeking hypocrite. After much hardship, the protagonist fell into a cave, learned supreme arts, obtained a divine weapon, and gained a peerless beauty as his companion—then returned to seek revenge…"

Zhang Shijie and Zheng Fa listened, entranced, feeling the story sounded quite good.

"Then you stopped writing right before the revenge battle?"

"……"

Zhang Shijie glanced at Zheng Fa, as if she understood why he wanted to flee.

"The protagonist of the second book suffered even more; he was originally the leader of a great sect, a hero renowned throughout the world! Yet it turned out he was a descendant of the demon race; not only was he betrayed and slandered by his subordinates, but he was also framed along the way by the mastermind and his ringleader—after enduring all manner of hardships, just as he was about to see the true face of that ringleader, you stopped writing?"

"This disciple hasn't left every single book unfinished," Zheng Fa argued in a low voice.

"The most infuriating one is precisely the book you did finish! For the sake of his nephew, the uncle bore humiliation and shouldered the burden, enduring endless infamy, hated by all and shunned like a dog his entire life... Just when he was finally understood by everyone, the protagonist was already dead! Dead!"

Seeing the Sect Master's angry face, Zheng Fa felt a bit afraid and couldn't help taking two steps closer to Zhang Shijie and Senior Sister Yuan...

As a result, the two senior sisters dodged away swiftly, their expressions toward him filled with disgust.