Chapter 20 : What Senior Brother Zhou Was Like

Chapter 20: What Senior Brother Zhou Was Like

Nan Yuchen still did not quite understand why, in a world where personal strength reigned supreme, some people would waste their energy on such things.

“Then… should I just avoid Senior Brother Zhou from now on?”

Seeing that the kid’s first reaction was still to dodge the issue rather than complain to his own master, Long Tao could only rub his forehead inwardly.

But after a second thought, he came up with another idea.

“Ah… since you’re so unwilling to expose the fact that he tricked you, I actually think… you should keep associating with him. Just maintain superficial harmony, same as before.”

“W-why?” Nan Yuchen looked utterly resistant.

“That kind of hypocrite—I… I really feel sick just thinking about him!”

“Treat it as a lesson.” There was a trace of a seasoned person’s helplessness in Long Tao’s tone.

“You brat are a genius when it comes to cultivation, sailing smoothly all the way, but when it comes to judging people, you’re way too far behind. This Zhou fellow’s level as a hypocrite is actually pretty low. I saw through him on the very first day. You should know… truly deep-rooted hypocrites are the kind that even I would need to associate with for several years before figuring out their true nature.”

“So… what you mean is… use him as a whetstone to train my ability to read people?”

“You’re finally smart for once.” Long Tao nodded.

“On the surface he looks decent enough, but in reality he’s stupid and impatient—just right for a blockhead like you. When the day comes that you can, on your own, completely figure out all the twists and turns hidden in his words, you’ll have graduated. By then, I won’t dare promise anything else, but at the very least, when you’re out on your own, you won’t be sold out and still help count the money.”

At this moment, inside True Person Mingzhu’s residence, the four women once again fell into silence.

A subtle thought rose in their minds almost simultaneously: this outer sect disciple surnamed Long somehow felt more like Nan Yuchen’s fellow senior brother than they did—he even felt like… an actual older brother.

Over the past two years, nearly all of their attention had been focused on Nan Yuchen’s cultivation progress and physical condition.

As for how he interacted with his fellow disciples and handled social relations, they had indeed neglected that aspect.

Of course, they did not think this was wrong.

In their eyes, Junior Brother was still just a child; worrying about such matters seemed premature.

Especially Senior Sister Su Muzhi—an inexplicable sense of crisis welled up in her heart.

She faintly worried whether the position of “closest and most trusted” in Junior Brother’s heart might be taken over by this suddenly appeared disciple surnamed Long.

Meanwhile, Fifth Junior Sister Zhu Huaisu was more concerned about that so-called Senior Brother Zhou.

As the overseer of the Spirit Spring Garden project, she immediately guessed who it was and was well aware of the shady dealings he conducted behind the scenes, skimming off others’ Spirit Stones.

He truly was a textbook hypocrite.

She steadied herself and looked toward the depths behind the curtain.

“Master, what do you think? Should we keep that Zhou fellow?”

“Mm…” True Person Mingzhu’s voice remained calm.

“First, tell me about that person.”

“Yes. His name was Zhou Qingshu. He entered the sect about ten-odd years ago and was a junior from a small sect family. He also applied twice to cultivate on our Moon-Washing Peak, but both times were rejected.” Zhu Huaisu answered respectfully.

“Oh? And what were the reasons for rejection?” True Person Mingzhu had no impression of this at all.

“At the time, you said…” Zhu Huaisu recalled, her tone turning a little strange, “that a grown man spending so much effort on how he dressed was overly affected and pretentious, and you disliked it… Ah!” She suddenly seemed to realize something and looked toward the curtain with admiration.

“Master! Did you see through his hypocritical nature back then already?”

Behind the curtain, True Person Mingzhu felt a bit embarrassed by her disciple’s sudden “admiration.” Her vague memory finally became a little clearer—there did seem to be such a thing.

But the truth was far less profound than her disciple imagined.

Back then, she had rejected several disciples with decent reputations from entering the peak for a very simple and crude reason: she just could not stand seeing a grown man grooming himself excessively clean, and even… drawing his eyebrows and applying makeup.

It made her feel uncomfortable from the bottom of her heart.

Just then, the sound transmitted through the Listening Insect once again interrupted the conversation among the master and the four disciples.

“Ah… Senior Brother Long, if only you really were my fellow senior brother. There are so many things I could discuss with you. I’m a man—there are some things I really feel too embarrassed to complain about to the senior sisters.”

Su Muzhi’s hands unconsciously clenched inside her sleeves.

A powerful determination rose in her heart—she must make sure Junior Brother stayed far away from this Long fellow in the future! The position of closest person in Junior Brother’s heart absolutely could not be taken by an outer sect disciple at the Qi Refining stage.

“Ah… who wouldn’t want that?” Long Tao’s voice also carried helplessness.

“It’s just a pity my talent is too poor—how could True Person Mingzhu ever take a liking to me? Let me tell you in secret: back then, my parents thought that with my mixed spiritual roots, forcing my way into a major sect like the Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect would only lead to being looked down upon. They said I might as well go to a smaller sect. But I still came, thinking… what if I got a chance to catch True Person Mingzhu’s eye…”

“Oh! Right, you mentioned that in passing when we ate last time.” After recalling it, Nan Yuchen immediately grew puzzled again.

“But Senior Brother, when you entered the sect… I hadn’t arrived yet. At that time, Master’s disciples were all senior sisters. That doesn’t add up. Before you joined the sect, how could you possibly have met Master?”

The eavesdroppers on this side also perked up their ears.

From his words, he clearly was not from a major sect family.

Before entering the sect, how could he have had any chance to meet True Person Mingzhu?

“Oh, I’m from Qinglin Town,” Long Tao explained.

“The city lord there is a close friend of your master. She often visited the town, and I was lucky enough to see her twice when I was little.” He paused, and a hint of youthful longing entered his voice.

“Back then I just thought—how could there be someone so beautiful under heaven!”

Behind the curtain, True Person Mingzhu felt slightly surprised.

So he was a child from Qinglin Town.

She really was old friends with the city lord and visited often.

A small-town boy seeing a Golden Core Stage female cultivator up close for the first time and being shocked by it was nothing strange.

However, Long Tao was not finished.

The Listening Insect clearly transmitted his next sigh.

“Later I thought about it—maybe I was just young back then, hadn’t seen the world, so I treated her like a fairy from my dreams. I figured that once I entered a major sect and saw more Golden Core and Nascent Soul Stage female cultivators, the feeling would fade. But in the end…” He let out a long sigh, his tone filled with resigned honesty.

“After muddling around in the sect for five years, no matter how I look at it, I still think True Person Mingzhu is the number one beauty of the Nine-Xia Heavenly Sect.”