Chapter 68: Qianyuan and Xianyun Request Wuyang

Lingxiang's leg injury was seven or eight parts healed, but she was still under strict orders from Fuyin Zhenren not to walk about at will; although the Bone-Mending Pill was excellent in its efficacy, the bones were, after all, newly grown and could not yet withstand too much exertion.

Yet the martial arts exhibition was only a few days away, and she had already promised Zhao Wuyang to assist in his cultivation; however, the distance to Zhuyuan was quite far, and having to go down the mountain and back up again was truly quite inconvenient.

Since that was the case, she might as well notify those old fossils at Hufeng Hall and borrow these few people to use for a while first.

Thus, Lingxiang wrote a letter and requested a few people from Shangqing Zhenren.

When Shangqing Zhenren read the Paper Crane Letter, he could not help but feel a splitting headache; the letter spoke of dilapidated rooms, of living in a cold hut with no one to answer her, and also claimed that while all the other Elders had disciples everywhere, she alone was lonely and helpless—in short, it was utterly miserable.

But when he flipped to the second page, he saw the names of several people written there, saying she wished to borrow them for a few days to play with, and if he did not agree, she would come to make a scene at Wuji Hall.

To speak so recklessly was truly a disgrace to the Daoist Sect, but Lingxiang had always acted without restraint; if things did not go her way, it was hard to say she wouldn't really turn Wuji Hall upside down.

Fortunately, Shangqing Zhenren knew Lingxiang's character well and understood that these words were merely because she held a grudge over the Linglong affair and wanted to irritate her Sect Leader senior brother; with Qianyuan Zhenren there to persuade him, he eventually gave his consent.

When Lingxiang received the letter, she was slightly surprised; could it be that the old man Shangqing had truly become as calm as still water and an ancient well, unmoved by anything, after being angered by her all these years?

Looking at Qianyuan Zhenren, who had come in person to deliver the message with a smile on his face, she calculated rapidly in her heart—that he had actually specially ordered the old man to deliver the message meant that the old fox before her, whose mind was full of twists and turns, was someone she had to guard against.

"So that old man agreed just like that?" Lingxiang asked, seemingly intentionally or unintentionally.

Qianyuan Zhenren did not answer, but with a wave of his robe, a pot of hot tea appeared on the table; he sat down leisurely, picked up a Tea Cup, poured for himself, and began to drink slowly.

Lingxiang could not see through Qianyuan Zhenren's intentions, thinking to herself: why is this old man sitting in her room drinking tea without saying a word?

Yet she remained calm on the surface, and actually began to drink tea along with Qianyuan Zhenren.

After one cup of tea, Lingxiang sighed inwardly—it is true that those with profound cultivation are always catered to; even the tea he drank was much more mellow and fragrant than what she had at Qingwei Peak.

Perhaps it was because he felt bad for the good tea, or perhaps because it was getting late and there were things to do, Qianyuan Zhenren finally opened his mouth:

"Little Junior Sister has become increasingly patient these days."

Lingxiang smiled lightly upon hearing this: "There is nothing to do on the mountain, and I am in this state, and you have all granted my request, so what is there to be anxious about?"

What a joke; the one with something to do was clearly this old man, yet he insisted on putting on an act and drinking tea. Since there was good tea offered, why should she be polite?

"I saw that there are a few people on your list with decent aptitude; are you thinking of taking them in?" Qianyuan Zhenren raised his cup to drink, the tea mist swirling and obscuring his eyes.

Lingxiang pondered the subtext of Qianyuan Zhenren's words; could it be that this old man had taken a fancy to one of the disciples?

"Why not?" Lingxiang picked up the pot to pour tea, answering vaguely.

"It is not that you cannot, but they are currently still Outer Disciples; if you treat them with such special regard, it will ultimately be unfair to the other disciples." Qianyuan Zhenren set down his Tea Cup and looked at Lingxiang.

Lingxiang smiled softly: "Unfair? Everything in this world is inherently unfair; just like me, when has the heavens ever been fair to me?"

Qianyuan Zhenren's eyes dimmed upon hearing this, and before he could speak, Lingxiang continued:

"Furthermore, firstly, if I really have taken a fancy to these few, there is nothing wrong with teaching them in advance; is my position as Peak Master just for show? And secondly..." She slurped a mouthful of tea, seemingly intentionally making the sound extremely loud, "No one has stipulated that disciples cannot seek out Elders to ask about Daoist methods. Since they are here to cultivate, if they cannot take the initiative to seek out a master early to ask questions and resolve doubts, then one can only say that their heart for the Dao is insincere; if they fall behind others, they cannot blame anyone else."

As soon as Lingxiang mentioned this, she thought of Banyue; she admired that female disciple greatly, and although Senior Brother Donghui seemed interested in her, that did not prevent her from liking her too.

As for why she liked her—whether it was flattery or sycophancy—when she had used a Spirit-Substitution Puppet to look for Xin Yi that day, she had run into her, and she had actually praised her and, in the end, had not even hidden her desire to learn talisman techniques from her.

Perhaps the sweet words had intoxicated Lingxiang's mind, as she had even included her in the list of people to borrow this time.

Since meeting is fate, and the other party was also cultivating diligently, helping her once would also be a favor to Senior Brother Donghui; why not do it? Who knows, maybe one day he would have some good item, and she could use this as a bargaining chip to trade for it?

Thinking of this, Lingxiang felt a wave of regret: she had forgotten about Chengkai; Senior Brother Zhaoming was in charge of the Mountain Guarding Array, and he had the most treasures.

Lingxiang beat her chest and stamped her feet in secret regret, but then heard Qianyuan Zhenren say:

"I observe that Zhao Wuyang's character is quite good; although born into wealth and power, he has no air of arrogance or luxury. He is a talent worth molding, if only..."

"If only you could let him to you, Senior Brother, you would surely be able to lead him into the Supreme Dao Realm?" Before Qianyuan Zhenren could finish, Lingxiang interrupted: "So that's why you, Second Senior Brother, are putting on this act; it turns out you wanted to ask me for a disciple."

As Lingxiang spoke, she slurped another mouthful of tea and smacked her lips with great seriousness, as if she were truly savoring the tea.

"Very well, since you have taken a fancy to this person, Senior Brother, it is his good fortune. I will go with the flow and do you a favor, but..." Lingxiang said, setting down her Tea Cup, "but for those who cultivate the Dao, integrity is paramount. I promised to assist him in his cultivation, and there is no way I can go back on my word. Besides, look at this—my tea isn't even as good as yours or Eldest Senior Brother's. Since I am letting one disciple go to you, you shouldn't let me make a losing deal, right?"

Qianyuan Zhenren smiled upon hearing this; this Little Junior Sister never liked to suffer a loss, and all that talk before was merely waiting for him at this final sentence.

"I am not like Fourth Junior Brother or Fifth Junior Brother, sitting on a pile of magical treasures. Managing the sect's affairs day in and day out is already exhausting enough. If you want to squeeze even a tiny bit of benefit out of me, I fear it would be harder than ascending to heaven. If I don't ask your Qingwei Peak for Pills, you should be thanking the Three Pure Ones every day."

"Oh~ look at what you're saying, Second Senior Brother; when have I ever made things difficult for you?" Lingxiang said, picking up her Tea Cup.

Qianyuan Zhenren listened and muttered to himself: You have made this old bag of bones suffer plenty of difficulties since you were small.

Just as he was complaining internally, he heard Lingxiang say: "I certainly wouldn't ask for something you don't have, Senior Brother. Even if I did, you couldn't conjure it out of thin air for me, could you? What I want is naturally what you have, and it will never make things difficult for you."

Qianyuan Zhenren listened, and his interest was piqued: "Oh? Let's hear it."

"I have read all the books in the Langhuan Pavilion, yet my cultivation still makes no progress; I suppose they do not suit my method of cultivation. I have never studied the secret scrolls and techniques that you senior brothers practice. Why not grant me a token so I can go to the Hidden Scroll Room under Wuji Hall a few times to take a look? Who knows, maybe one day I will break through my realm."

"This..." Qianyuan Zhenren hesitated after hearing this.

Seeing him like this, Lingxiang hurriedly added fuel to the fire: "Oh my, what a good seedling; if he falls into my hands, even if I don't ruin him, it would surely be a waste of talent! ~"

Qianyuan Zhenren's expression turned stern upon hearing this.

"It is not that I won't allow it, but this matter must be discussed with the Sect Leader senior brother before a decision can be made. Why don't you wait a while, and I will go back and inform Eldest Senior Brother before we discuss it further."

"It's a deal!" Lingxiang raised her right palm toward Qianyuan Zhenren.

"It's a deal!" Qianyuan Zhenren returned the palm, then suddenly came to his senses: he hadn't even gone to discuss it yet, so how was it already a deal?

Oh no! He had fallen for this little girl's trick again!