Once You Come, You Can't Leave

On the way to Tianyun Peak, Zhu Huai finally couldn't help but ask, “Senior Brother, why do you keep avoiding the people of Tianyun Peak?”

He had seen everything his senior brother had done over the years. It was no exaggeration to say that Wang Xuanyi deliberately avoided Leng Ning'an and the others, even in public settings.

“Zhu Huai, you don't understand. That crowd from Tianyun Peak are ruthless wolves who eat people alive without spitting out the bones. If I get involved with them, I'll end up like a stray dog on the street, dying a miserable death in a matter of minutes.”

Wang Xuanyi said, his expression completely calm. It made it hard to tell whether he was joking or being serious.

Just like his strength, it was forever impossible to fathom.

“Oh. Then I won't ask anymore.”

“Good junior brother. My doting on you wasn't in vain.”

Wang Xuanyi gave Zhu Huai a thumbs-up, praising him without reservation for his understanding.

The journey from Tianzhu Peak to Tianyun Peak was a mere few minutes by sword-riding, yet Wang Xuanyi dragged it out to several dozen minutes.

Along the way, he either had a stomachache, a bellyache, or was on the verge of qi deviation—trying every excuse under the sun to get Zhu Huai to deliver the gifts instead.

Unfortunately, Zhu Huai was under strict orders and said only one thing:

“Master ordered you to deliver them personally, and I am in charge of supervising. Afterward, he will even ask Senior Sister Leng and the others. If you flee at the last moment...”

This threat had him completely cornered, causing Wang Xuanyi to curse under his breath, “Old geezer, you really know me too well.”

...

At the summit of Tianyun Peak.

A large wooden house stood surrounded by several smaller ones, looking very much like a mother leading her children. This style of architecture seemed completely out of place with Xiao Hongye's status.

But that was someone else's business, and it was none of Wang Xuanyi's concern.

He only wanted to deliver the goods quickly, go back, and have a wonderful sleep. He wouldn't think about anything else, nor did he dare to.

The people eating in the main house froze slightly upon hearing the knock. Only Xiao Hongye spoke up: “Xuanyi, come in.”

Hearing Xiao Hongye's voice from inside, Wang Xuanyi was stunned for a moment. He then steeled himself, pushed open the door, bowed, and said, “Disciple Wang Xuanyi greets Martial Aunt.”

“Disciple Zhu Huai greets Martial Aunt.”

Both bowed in unison, but Zhu Huai was clearly much calmer than Wang Xuanyi.

“No need for such formalities. Have you eaten yet? I just brought back some cooked food from outside today. Would you like to join us?” Xiao Hongye asked.

She had already heard from Mo Yan about the purpose of their visit.

Because of this, Xiao Hongye, who should have returned to her peak much earlier, had specially detoured to buy some mortal food within the sect, waiting for this awkward boy to show up.

Leng Ning'an and the others certainly wanted to say something, but since their master had spoken, they, as disciples, naturally couldn't speak out of turn.

Huo Huang finally got to see the “protagonist” of today's gossip.

She was extremely curious about what kind of person could attract the attention of so many people.

“You old geezer! You even calculated this?!”

Wang Xuanyi cursed inwardly. In previous years, the sect meetings would never end in less than two hours. Why was it so fast this time?!

At the same time, he was utterly speechless at how well Mo Yan understood his personality. =_=

That old guy had him completely figured out, calculating the exact moment Wang Xuanyi would arrive at Tianyun Peak.

“If I had known, I wouldn't have dawdled and just come straight here.”

Despite his inner discontent, Wang Xuanyi remained polite on the surface. “Martial Aunt, following my master's orders to celebrate your acquisition of a pair of exceptional disciples, I have specially come to deliver some modest gifts. I hope you will not refuse them.”

You ask if I'm hungry, and I ask if you'll accept the gifts.

Anyway, I don't want to have too much contact with you all, lest I get entangled in karma.

Of course, the most surprised was Long Zitian. He had never expected to meet Wang Xuanyi in this manner, and he felt somewhat astonished.

By all rights, Wang Xuanyi should have picked a fight, framed him, and then got caught red-handed, allowing Long Zitian to expose his crimes to the public. That was how it was supposed to go.

Why was he...

This sudden politeness made Long Zitian feel a sense of unfamiliarity.

“Zitian, Huo Huang, why haven't you thanked your senior brother and Elder Mo Yan yet?” Xiao Hongye prompted.

“Yes.”

The two took the introductory gifts and bowed in unison. “Thank you, Senior Brother and Elder Mo Yan, for your generosity.”

“It's nothing. We are all disciples of the Heavenly Martial Immortal Sect, so there is no need for such formalities.”

Wang Xuanyi quickly helped them up. Just as he began to say, “Since my task is...”

Xiao Hongye immediately interrupted, “Since Junior Brother Mo Yan has sent gifts, I naturally cannot neglect you juniors.” She then instructed, “Sining, go set two more pairs of bowls and chopsticks.”

“Yes, Master.”

Her words left Wang Xuanyi absolutely no room to react.

Wait, what? Seriously... I...

Wang Xuanyi screamed “holy shit” in his mind, as if tens of thousands of alpacas were stampeding through his brain.

“Then... this junior will not stand on ceremony. Haha...”

His final two laughs were extremely forced, and his voice trembled slightly.

The male lead and female leads were almost all gathered, only missing the two youngest junior sisters. If he sat down right in front of the protagonist now and ate with them, wasn't that just pure suicide?

“Damn old geezer, you are about to lose your most beloved disciple forever,” Wang Xuanyi cursed inwardly, clenching his fists.

In the distance, the old geezer—ah, no, Mo Yan, who had just returned to Tianzhu Peak—sneezed for no apparent reason. Wondering who was cursing him, he went back to savoring the Green Bamboo Wine hidden under his disciple's wooden house.

He praised it with every sip. Wang Xuanyi's wine-brewing skills were truly exceptional.

Mo Yan: (๑´∀`๑) How comfortable~

Meanwhile, back on Tianyun Peak.

Compared to Wang Xuanyi's forced composure, his junior brother, Zhu Huai, had been extremely stable in terms of emotions and behavior from the moment he entered the room to when he sat down.

“Whatever. Since I'm already here, I might as well eat. Who cares? Anyway, I'm not close to them. It's just a single meal, it won't tie me to any karmic relationships.”

After giving himself a healthy dose of self-consolation, Wang Xuanyi was about to sit down between Zhu Huai and Long Zitian. Unexpectedly, Xiao Hongye pulled him over, and he sat down with a “cheerful” expression.

At the dining table.

Some remained silent while others chatted.

Huo Huang, on the other hand, waited with an expectant look on her face, eager for some gossip.

Faced with this atmosphere, Wang Xuanyi spoke no more, focusing all his attention on devouring his food.

“Like a starved ghost reincarnated,” Leng Ning'an sneered inwardly.

Wang Xuanyi's table manners were completely at odds with his appearance. Possessing a heaven-defyingly handsome face, his eating manners were so atrocious that it was a total waste of such a good-looking shell.

Zhu Huai, however, kept putting food into his senior brother's bowl and refilling his rice, showing no sign of disgust whatsoever. Instead, he wore a smile like that of a doting fangirl.

Whether they were influenced by him or simply hungry,

Xiao Hongye and the others, watching Wang Xuanyi eat like a ravenous beast, actually felt a pang of hunger themselves, finding the food incredibly appetizing.

“Mmh.”

Wang Xuanyi didn't hold back either. He picked up a piece of lean meat and stuffed it into Zhu Huai's mouth, saying with puffed cheeks, “Zhu Huai, this meat is great, very nourishing for the body. Eat more. Leave the fatty parts to me, and you take the lean ones.”

“Mmh, thank you, Senior Brother.”

Zhu Huai savored it slowly.

With the mindset that since he couldn't leave, he might as well eat as much as possible and disgust them to death, Wang Xuanyi completely disregarded his image, eating and talking to himself.