Chapter 319 - 209: Lantern Festival (4)

Chapter 319: Chapter 209: Lantern Festival (4)

Xie Yuan answered honestly:

"I heard after I got back that only Senior Brother Qin Zhenyang can consistently last longer than I did. Among those below the Grandmaster Realm, it’s rare for anyone to last more than nine days, unless they have a sudden epiphany or stay on a terrace below their own realm’s level."

Inner Sect disciples at the Second or Third Transformation Realm could naturally last nine days on the eleventh terrace, but that would be a waste—

The chance to enter the Sword Peak is rare. Who wouldn’t want to go higher for a better chance at enlightenment and greater rewards? That’s why disciples always push for the highest terrace they can reach, sitting down to cultivate at their absolute limit. It’s on that edge that breakthroughs are far more likely.

Situ Qin said with admiration:

"Master Xie, you’ve only just joined the sect, and you’re already catching up to the chief disciple. You could be the vice-chief disciple!"

Xie Yuan gave a wry smile.

"Miss Qin, please stop teasing me. I’m already at my wit’s end."

"How am I teasing you? I’m sincerely complimenting you. It’s hard enough for me to cultivate in seclusion for nine days, but for you to last that long in a miraculous place like the Sword Peak... ’I can only imagine how incredible your talent must be!’ I always knew you were one of a kind, Master Xie, but I never expected that you’d be one of the most outstanding individuals in the entire Cloud Mountain Sword Sect."

There was a hint of surprise in Situ Qin’s voice, but it was quickly replaced by a beaming smile as she said:

"If I were a Grandmaster elder, I’d definitely keep my eyes glued to you too!"

Hearing this, Xie Yuan sighed even more dramatically.

"I’d rather just be another face in the crowd, completely beneath their notice... Miss Qin, why does it feel like you’re not worried for me at all? You seem to be gloating over my misfortune! What a terrible friend. I was clearly careless in my choice of companions!"

Xie Yuan grumbled.

Situ Qin smiled charmingly.

"Of course I’m worried about you. Go on."

There wasn’t much more to tell after that. Xie Yuan described leaving the Sword Peak and the various reactions of the Sword Sect members, focusing, of course, on Li Xingtuo. Xie Yuan repeated the Sect Leader’s words to Situ Qin almost verbatim. When he finished his story, he picked up his teacup to wet his throat and waited for her opinion.

Situ Qin’s elegant brows furrowed slightly. She, too, found Li Xingtuo’s reaction strange.

She smiled faintly.

"It is rather interesting. No wonder you’re so confused, Master Xie."

"Right?"

Xie Yuan felt a sense of kinship, seeing that she agreed with him.

"First, let’s consider one possibility: his words and actions were genuine, and he truly hasn’t discovered your real identity. This is plausible, and on the surface, there’s nothing wrong with it."

Situ Qin said slowly and deliberately:

"However, this is Li Xingtuo we’re talking about. He’s the youngest Sect Leader the Cloud Mountain Sword Sect has had in a century, the fastest-advancing Swordsman, and a Sword Immortal poised to become a Grandmaster. The Cloud Mountain Sword Sect is flourishing under his leadership. A man like that isn’t much different from my father back in his day, just a few spots lower on the list. Anyone who takes a man like that for a fool is a fool themselves."

"So he did see something after all."

Xie Yuan let out a long breath, feeling that Situ Qin’s judgment was perfectly aligned with his own.

"It’s not just ’seeing something.’ He’s more than likely figured out your true identity. For some reason, he just doesn’t want to expose you, nor does he intend to hold it against you."

Situ Qin furrowed her elegant brows again.

"That’s what I don’t understand. A Sect Leader should have the least tolerance for a little mouse like you! Why would he let you keep nibbling away at the Cloud Mountain’s sword manuals?"

Hearing her take the opportunity to poke fun at him, Xie Yuan clicked his tongue and laughed.

"That’s the very thing I can’t figure out. Miss Qin, our thoughts are perfectly in sync! You’re like a... a parasite, living in my thoughts!"

"Pah! ’Parasite’ is so ugly. ’Little mouse’ is much cuter."

Situ Qin said with a playful scolding.

She pondered for a moment, then smiled.

"Since he’s pretending not to have noticed, you should just act like he hasn’t noticed and go back to your cultivation."

"What? You want me to keep tempting fate?"

Xie Yuan’s heart pounded with uncertainty.

Situ Qin revealed a sly smile.

"Wouldn’t that be more interesting?"

"Miss Qin, this could get someone killed..."

"Other sects might, but the Cloud Mountain Sword Sect won’t. Otherwise, I would have told you to come down from the mountain long ago."

Situ Qin laughed.

"The worst that could happen is you get locked in a cave to face a wall for ten years. If that happens, I’ll step in and plead on your behalf... to get you moved to a more comfortable courtyard!"

Situ Qin laughed to herself for a while before turning slightly more serious.

"I suppose you were thinking the same thing, Master Xie. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have risked exposing yourself so easily."

Xie Yuan nodded silently. ’It’s not my fault. It’s the Cloud Mountain Sword Sect’s fault for being so damn righteous!’

"The way I see it, Li Xingtuo’s attitude is a hint that nothing has happened. He’s even teaching you how to cover your tracks so you don’t seem so green. Since the great Sect Leader has gone to such lengths, shouldn’t you just obediently play along and go back to being a good disciple?"

Situ Qin said with a beaming smile, her eyes glinting with amusement.

Xie Yuan was still hesitant.

"What you’re saying makes sense, and Sect Leader Li’s intentions are probably... probably... good. But since I’ve already escaped the mountain, why go back and gamble? Beyond Cloud Mountain, the world is my oyster."

"Master Xie, did you really escape?"

Situ Qin’s simple question sent a jolt through Xie Yuan, instantly plunging him into doubt.

"I’m not trying to scare you, but to someone who wields the ’Floating Light and Shadow Sword,’ what difference is there between being on the mountain or off it? It’s like I said before: don’t underestimate him."

"In my opinion, if you obediently go back, you might still earn his goodwill. But if you give in to the idea of escaping, I doubt any Sect Leader would let a technique thief just run away, would they? At that point, Master Xie, you’ll have to rely on your own Secret Technique to race against the sixth-ranked expert on the Flying Dragon List~"

Situ Qin’s half-joking, half-serious comment, delivered with a knowing smile, instantly caused Xie Yuan to break out in a cold sweat.

As the saying goes, an outsider sees things more clearly. Xie Yuan had gotten himself tangled up in his guessing games with Li Xingtuo, but Situ Qin’s words woke him up with a jolt.

Li Xingtuo’s words had basically been telling him exactly what to do all along.