Pay Up

"Little Grand-Uncle, isn't this... a bit inappropriate?"

The female disciple's voice was as soft as a mosquito's hum.

Xu Xian frowned. "You don't need to speak so softly. It's not like we're doing anything shameful."

The female disciple was dazed. Could this really be shown to people?

Then why did you just cover my mouth?

"Little Grand-Uncle, I'm really in a difficult position. I'm afraid I'll end up hurting you," the female disciple struggled.

Xu Xian became displeased and immediately said, "Let me ask you, is this a proper mission issued by the Mission Hall?"

"Yes..."

"Then, can anyone from the Wendao Sword Sect take this mission?"

"That's correct."

"Am I a member of the Wendao Sword Sect?"

"Of course!"

"Then am I allowed to take it?"

"Yes!"

"Is the mission considered complete once Xu Xian is found?"

"Right."

"Then, I took the mission and found myself. Is there a problem?"

"No problem."

Xu Xian slapped the table and said solemnly, "Then that's that. Pay up!"

"Okay!"

Through the quick-fire exchange, the female disciple was successfully led astray.

When she regained her senses, she felt something was wrong, yet everything seemed right. She stole another glance at Xu Xian, swallowed hard, and said weakly, "But..."

Xu Xian raised a hand to interrupt her. "No buts. Just follow the rules. Don't worry, no one understands the rules of the Wendao Sword Sect better than I do."

The female disciple hesitated. The person before her was the Little Grand-Uncle, the holder of the eleventh seat in the Sword Pavilion.

Furthermore, after the incident in Yecheng spread through the Wendao Sword Sect, she had become one of the Little Grand-Uncle's fans.

Refusing an elder was hard enough!

Refusing an idol was even harder!

Refusing someone who was both an elder and an idol? Impossible!

She compromised. "Fine. But Little Grand-Uncle, I must remind you that if word of this gets out, you'll lose a lot of face. Of course, I definitely won't be the one to tell anyone."

Xu Xian's gaze was firm. "It's fine! Your Grand-Uncle can handle it."

The disciple from the Mission Hall stopped trying to persuade him. Following the procedure, she submitted the mission and transferred the reward to Xu Xian's dao jade.

"Little Grand-Uncle, it's done. According to the rules, for privately posted bounty missions, the Mission Hall deducts ten percent as an intermediary fee. The amount reaching your hands is 571,831 merit points. Please check if there are any issues."

Xu Xian scanned his dao jade. The six-figure balance was exceptionally moving.

"No problem. We must follow the rules. Without rules, there is no order."

The female disciple smiled slightly. "Then, Little Grand-Uncle, is there anything else I can help you with?"

Xu Xian skillfully whipped out the Grade B mission scroll.

"Settle this one for me as well."

"Certainly."

Another two thousand merit points were credited.

"Little Grand-Uncle, do you need anything else?"

Xu Xian was very satisfied. "No."

The female disciple gave him a deep look and said meaningfully, "Then, Little Grand-Uncle, please take great care of yourself!"

Xu Xian felt those words sounded a bit strange.

However, he didn't dwell on it. He waved goodbye and swaggered away.

Left behind, the female disciple watched him from afar for a long time before squeezing out a forced compliment.

"The Little Grand-Uncle is truly... one of a kind."

To be honest, if anyone else had done such a thing, she would have certainly condemned their behavior. But since the Little Grand-Uncle was so handsome, good looks were their own justification.

Meanwhile, at the exact moment Xu Xian received the transfer from the Mission Hall, the members of the Wendao Sword Sect who had participated in posting the mission received a corresponding deduction notification.

[The mission you participated in posting (Finding the Little Grand-Uncle) has been completed by Xu Xian. Merit points deducted...]

They were stunned.

They were numb.

They were utterly confused!

One by one, their eyes went wide, their faces filled with disbelief!

In the Spirit Food Workshop, Zhou Tao held his jade tablet and asked the assistant beside him, "Brother, take a look for me. What's written here? I can't seem to understand it."

"Let me see. Isn't it written right here? Xu Xian found the Little Grand-Uncle. Mission complete!"

"Is that right?"

"How could it be wrong? It's all written there."

"What's the Little Grand-Uncle's name?"

"Xu Xian!"

The two of them stared at each other in silence for a long time. Then, almost simultaneously, they spoke.

Zhou Tao: "Is this logical?"

Assistant: "Haha, the Little Grand-Uncle isn't dead!"

On Zhujian Peak, Zhang Yang, who was busy forging, suddenly burst into wild laughter.

"Hahaha!"

"Hahaha!!"

"Hahaha!!!"

His laughter startled the senior brothers around him.

"Little Junior Brother, what's wrong?"

Zhang Yang threw down his iron hammer, which happened to land on his First Senior Brother's foot. He rushed out without a care in the world.

"Hahaha! Great! He's been found! He's been found! Hahaha!"

The First Senior Brother of Zhujian Peak clutched his foot, grimacing in pain, while the other senior brothers looked at each other in total confusion.

"What happened to Yangyang?"

"It's over. Another one has gone mad."

"Hiss... my foot."

While traveling outside, Nangong Ning saw the message in her dao jade, and large tears began to roll down her cheeks.

"Senior Sister, what's wrong?"

Nangong Ning wept with joy, sobbing, "The Little Grand-Uncle... the Little Grand-Uncle is back!"

On Zhijian Peak, Wen Qingxue stared at the dao jade in her hand, reading it over and over.

Despite there being only a dozen or so words, for some reason, she couldn't seem to make sense of them today.

Her beautiful brows furrowed slightly, her cold eyes clouded with a mist of confusion.

Li Qingshan stood at the mountain peak, his dark hair disheveled by the wind. A faint rouge-like flush tinged the corners of his eyes, and his usually cold, aloof face seemed steeped in sorrow.

He tightly gripped a dao jade in his hand.

Qingshan gazed at the green mountains. 'I was probably truly wrong!'

At almost the same time, at the summit of the Ancestral Peak, within the largest residence of the Wendao Sword Sect—the Peach Blossom Immortal Abode—a roar erupted, echoing through the thousand mountains.

"Xu Xian!"

"Get your ass over here and see me! Right! Now!!"

A violent wind rose, peach blossoms scattered, and birds fled the forest. Xu Xian shuddered violently, nearly falling off the mountain path.

After steadying himself, he looked back toward the summit and said calmly, "What must come will eventually come!"

Among the seven peaks and thousand mountains, the disciples of the Wendao Sword Sect were also drawn by the Sect Master's thunderous shout.

They all looked toward the Ancestral Peak, dazed.

The discussions went from sparse whispers to a deafening roar in an instant.

"Am I hallucinating? Did the Sect Master just shout for Xu Xian? The Little Grand-Uncle?"

"The Little Grand-Uncle is back!"

"The Little Grand-Uncle is back!"

"The Little Grand-Uncle is back!!!"

First came surprise, then joy. Many people cheered and celebrated.

The battle at the snake bones in Yecheng was already common knowledge within the Wendao Sword Sect.

To save his fellow disciples, the Little Grand-Uncle had braved a demon den while only at the foundation establishment stage. He had fought bloody battles for two days, slaying countless demonic cultivators.

At the critical moment of life and death, he had faced a fifth-stage peak cultivator and a sixth-rank beast king alone to cover his companions' retreat...

He was truly a hero.

However, good news travels fast, but bad news travels even faster.

As the disciples who had participated in posting the [Finding the Little Grand-Uncle] mission received their point deduction notifications, the news of Xu Xian taking the mission himself and finding himself to claim the points spread like a gust of wind.

From one side of the mountains to the other, it blew in an instant.

In no time at all, the entire sect knew, and the news continued to ferment.

"What? You're saying the Little Grand-Uncle took the mission to find the Little Grand-Uncle, found himself, completed the mission, and took all the points?"

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! How could there be someone so brazenly shameless in this world?"

"It's the absolute truth!"

"This guy is a genius!"

"Brothers, does anyone understand? My world is collapsing! My idol actually did this..."

"He must have had a reason. Yes, I believe the Little Grand-Uncle must have been forced by circumstances!"

"Sigh, I said back then that he was the one who slipped through the Heart Inquiry formation, but no one believed me. Do you believe me now? Where's the integrity? Where's the face?"

"This is blatant exploitation."

"And he exploited the Sect Master! Just thinking about it is terrifying!"

"No wonder the Sect Master shouted so loudly. Tsk tsk, it's over. The Little Grand-Uncle is truly finished this time..."

Opinions varied, and the debates were endless.

Meanwhile, Xu Xian, the person at the center of it all, had already arrived at the Peach Blossom Immortal Abode. He had changed into tattered clothes and mussed up his hair to make himself look travel-worn. With a look that was both deliberate and casual, he summoned his courage and knocked on the courtyard gate.

"Senior Sister, you were looking for me?"