Chapter 48

Zheng Fa quickly understood why Gao Yuan said the Seventh Young Master had become like him.

That day, morning light had just illuminated the eaves of the roof, and dew still clung to the grass by the path.

As Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan arrived at the study, they saw the Seventh Young Master sitting upright, reading a copy of Complete Explanations of Talisman Diagrams, his brush moving across the paper as he read, utterly focused.

Zheng Fa couldn’t help glancing at Gao Yuan, who gave him a slight nod.

“How long has this been going on?”

“Two days,” Gao Yuan replied.

“This is clearly from a major shock!”

Zheng Fa frowned—the Seventh Young Master’s behavior was truly abnormal.

Of the three of them, it was hard to say whether Zheng Fa or Gao Yuan was the most diligent, but the laziest was undoubtedly the Seventh Young Master.

In the past, when they came in the morning, the Seventh Young Master hadn’t even woken up, let alone sat at the desk so earnestly and voluntarily studying.

Gao Yuan’s description of the Seventh Young Master was spot-on:

Zheng Fa was accustomed to memorizing everything in the books, then slowly understanding it; to others, he often seemed to be staring blankly rather than reading.

Gao Yuan, by contrast, loved to meditate deeply over books, reading while memorizing, and when stuck, he would scratch his head in frustration—just like the Seventh Young Master, who was now frantically scratching his scalp.

Bang!

The Seventh Young Master angrily flung his brush aside, stood up, and glared at the open book before him, gritting his teeth as if he wanted to fight it for three hundred rounds.

After stewing in silence for a while, he finally looked up and noticed Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan at the door.

“Young Master, what’s going on?” Zheng Fa asked.

“Phew… My mother told me my sister is coming back,” the Seventh Young Master exhaled.

“The Eldest Miss? But she went to an immortal sect—she’s coming back?”

Zheng Fa had grown up in the estate and didn’t know the family dynamics as well as Gao Yuan; only now did he learn that the legendary elder sister of the Seventh Young Master, the Zhao family’s divine talent of this generation, was the eldest.

“But how does the Eldest Miss coming back relate to you studying so hard?” Zheng Fa still didn’t understand the change in the Seventh Young Master.

“Though she went to the immortal sect, she writes to my mother every ten days or so, always urging her to make me study talisman arts seriously, and saying she’ll test me when she returns.”

Now it made sense—the Seventh Young Master was suffering from exam anxiety.

“But if the Eldest Miss is going to test you, let her test you—why do you care so much?” Gao Yuan asked.

Zheng Fa understood his meaning: if the Seventh Young Master had even a shred of respect for exams or shame over poor grades, he wouldn’t have become Master Shen’s unspoken secret disciple.

“You don’t understand my sister,” the Seventh Young Master’s expression turned grim: “When we were kids, I went out to cause trouble with my brothers in the front courtyard—my sister came with a stick, found them all, and beat them so badly they couldn’t get out of bed for three days.”

“She was only ten then.”

Zheng Fa had now heard enough about the Zhao estate’s structure: the Lady held most power, but the front courtyard was ruled by the Master—the Seventh Young Master’s father—whom the Lady rarely interfered with.

Front and back courtyards were strictly divided; the front courtyard’s master avoided worldly affairs, known for his wild, unrestrained ways, indulging in wine, women, and keeping many concubines and illegitimate children.

The “brothers” the Seventh Young Master referred to were likely these men, and “causing trouble” probably meant some internal household scheme.

Gao Yuan knew the full story and said with a sigh: “An elder sister is like a mother—the Eldest Miss truly cares for you.”

The Seventh Young Master grimaced: “After she came back to the back courtyard, she beat me too—I couldn’t get out of bed for three months. If she finds out I’ve been slacking off these past ten years…”

Zheng Fa: … This was a tiger mother. No wonder the Seventh Young Master was so panicked.

…

At lunchtime, Zheng Fa left the study and headed home; since his mother and sister moved into the Zhao estate, Zheng Fa nearly always returned home for meals.

Watching his distant figure fade away, the Seventh Young Master let out a quiet breath, leaned back in his chair, and seemed to relax considerably.

“Young Master?” Gao Yuan glanced at him, then at Zheng Fa’s retreating back.

“Gao Yuan…” the Seventh Young Master stood, walked over, and patted Gao Yuan’s shoulder: “I’ve treated you too harshly in the past.”

He suddenly spoke like a human being, leaving Gao Yuan terrified: “Young Master, when the Eldest Miss comes to beat you, I can’t stop her!”

“Get lost!”

Still staring at where Zheng Fa had disappeared, the Seventh Young Master recalled his mother’s earlier words.

Zheng Fa… if he didn’t have a Nascent Soul True Person behind him, how could he have mastered the Spirit Crane Body?

As for why Zheng Fa never told him, his mother had also said: he’s just a mortal, born a household slave—how would he dare reveal the whereabouts of a Nascent Soul True Person?

The Seventh Young Master wasn’t even overly concerned that the Nascent Soul True Person might have designs on his family.

The Zhao family had nothing worth a Nascent Soul True Person’s ambition; if they did, why would such a cultivator go through so much trouble?

His mother and he had speculated for hours and concluded the most likely scenario was—Zheng Fa had extraordinary talent, caught the attention of a Nascent Soul True Person, who planned to take him as a disciple.

“I used to think you were petty, always comparing yourself to others, full of scheming thoughts, and just not straightforward,” the Seventh Young Master said to Gao Yuan with a touch of reflection: “I really looked down on you.”

Gao Yuan: …

“Now I finally understand you. Around Zheng Fa, having a few scheming thoughts is only natural.”

“Young Master, I’m not really like you said…”

Gao Yuan tried to defend himself.

“Don’t explain—I understand you! Alas, now Zheng Fa is favored by… someone,” the Seventh Young Master cut himself off from saying “Nascent Soul,” speaking vaguely: “Before, I was the Young Master, he was my servant; no matter how talented he was, I never felt anything.”

The Seventh Young Master recalled how, even when Zheng Fa showed extraordinary talent, he had still subtly looked down on him.

After all, Zheng Fa was still his servant—even if he had the potential to enter Dengxianmen, he still needed the Zhao family to open the path for him.

But now…

“Now he can enter an immortal sect effortlessly, and being beside him suddenly makes me feel utterly uncomfortable,” the Seventh Young Master’s face twisted with distress: “I think of my sister going to the immortal sect, and now Zheng Fa going too… leaving only me. Doesn’t that make me look like a complete waste? I haven’t slept well these past two days!”

Gao Yuan didn’t fully understand, but he grasped one thing:

The Seventh Young Master’s sudden diligence wasn’t just because the Eldest Miss was returning—it was also because Zheng Fa’s talent was so extraordinary, making the Seventh Young Master anxious.

He didn’t even want to be around Zheng Fa anymore!

Feeling the Seventh Young Master’s newfound trust and warmth toward him, unlike before:

Gao Yuan’s face broke into a smile, his heart swelling with excitement:

Zheng Fa, let you stand out above the rest! Though I can’t match you in other ways, from now on, I alone shall receive the Young Master’s favor!

“Young Master! From now on…” he prepared to express his loyalty again.

“Whenever Zheng Fa is around, I feel like I’m worse than him in everything—I feel like a waste,” the Seventh Young Master interrupted him, then turned to Gao Yuan with gentle eyes and heartfelt words:

“But when I see you, I feel better. You’re no better than him in literary talent, even worse in martial training, and have no talent for talisman arts at all. The only thing you have over him is your better birth, and your fairer skin… oh, now you’re not even as fair as him.”

Gao Yuan’s smile slowly froze.

“Looking at you, I think: if even someone as useless as you is fine, then I’m still a Young Master—suddenly, I don’t feel so miserable.” He genuinely sighed: “Gao Yuan, I can’t live without you anymore.”

Gao Yuan: … This favor… is it really this cruel?