Descending the Mountain as a Group

By the hour of the Rat, the night was deep, and all was silent.

Luo Qingyu slept exceptionally deeply. Curled up under her covers, her breathing was slow and long, and even the rustling of the wind blowing through the bamboo leaves outside the window failed to wake her.

Until—

“Fourth Junior Brother... Fourth Junior Brother...”

A resentful voice drifted into Luo Qingyu's ears without warning.

The voice made it feel as though someone was relentlessly pursuing her from behind, forcing her to run for her life in her dream.

Luo Qingyu suddenly bolted upright in bed, her head slamming hard against Ming Xuan, who was leaning over to wake her up.

Ming Xuan was knocked flat on his back, tumbling to the floor. Clutching his forehead, he grimaced and wailed in pain.

“Oh my god, that hurts so much! Fourth Junior Brother, did you practice some Iron Head technique? How is your head so hard?”

Luo Qingyu was also seeing stars from the impact. Clutching her forehead, she gasped and couldn't help but complain, “Second Senior Brother, what normal person calls out to their junior brother in such a resentful tone while they're sleeping? I thought I saw a ghost!”

Looking at the two of them, Xue Yu's lips couldn't help but twitch. “Are you two alright?”

The two waved their hands, indicating they were fine.

Standing to the side, Mu Zhongxi pointed at Luo Qingyu on the bed and clamored, “Fourth Senior Brother, hurry up! We've been waiting for you in the courtyard all this time, but look at you, sleeping here!”

Luo Qingyu felt a bit embarrassed, but then she suddenly realized something. Holding her forehead, she said, “Wait, I don't think I ever said I was going with you guys.”

The three widened their eyes and cried out in unison, “Huh?”

Mu Zhongxi wasn't having it. With his hands on his hips, he said, “No way! You must come down the mountain with us!”

Ming Xuan grabbed Luo Qingyu's arm and dragged her out of bed, clamoring, “Let's go, let's go! You have to come with us. Even if we get caught by the elders and punished, we'll face it together!”

Hearing the two clamoring in her ears and seeing Ming Xuan's relentless attitude, Luo Qingyu's face was a picture of utter despair.

“Fine, fine, fine, I'll go, okay...” She sighed weakly, letting them drag her by the arms off the bed.

Now that they had decided to go, they didn't dare delay any longer.

To avoid the patrolling elders and disciples, the four of them intentionally bypassed the main paths, choosing instead the secluded trails that few people took on normal days.

Mu Zhongxi walked at the very front to scout the way, turning back from time to time to make a shushing gesture. Ming Xuan tightly gripped Luo Qingyu's sleeve, terrified that this newly awakened Fourth Junior Brother would regret it halfway. Xue Yu brought up the rear, warily scanning the surroundings for anyone.

The group proceeded with extreme caution, even deliberately softening their breathing.

Ming Xuan lowered his voice and said, “Once we pass through this wall and cross one more barrier, we'll reach the sect gate. Then we can all go down the mountain.”

Xue Yu looked at the wall, which was much taller than himself. With a furrowed brow, he muttered softly, “How are we supposed to get over such a high wall?”

“Piece of cake, watch me!” Ming Xuan had a smug look on his face. He walked over to a nearby old tree and reached out to push aside the dense grass.

Under the grass, a dark, small dog hole was revealed.

Ming Xuan patted the dirt off his hands and pointed at the dog hole, saying matter-of-factly, “Crawl through here.”

Luo Qingyu, who had been silent the entire way, looked at them. When she saw her Second Senior Brother pointing at the dog hole with such a proud expression, she finally couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Her laughter even made Xue Yu daze for a moment, before a smile tugged at the corners of his own lips.

“Fourth Senior Brother, what are you laughing at?” Mu Zhongxi poked his head out of the dog hole and asked with a puzzled expression.

Luo Qingyu waved her hand and held back her laughter. “It's nothing. I just think... sneaking around like this is actually pretty fun.”

Ming Xuan chimed in from the side, “Indeed! Sneaking down the mountain behind the backs of the elders and Master is super thrilling!”

The four of them crawled through the low dog hole one by one, only to find that they had already arrived at the sect gate.

Before them was a transparent barrier, separating the inside of the sect from the outside world.

Looking at the barrier of light, Mu Zhongxi scratched his head and asked, “How do we open this barrier?”

At that moment, Xue Yu pulled out a warm jade token from his sleeve and said calmly, “Every Personal Disciple has a unique jade token to enter and exit.”

With that, he raised his hand and gently pressed the jade token against the surface of the barrier. The once-impenetrable barrier slowly melted to reveal a small opening.

“Quick, one by one,” Xue Yu whispered.

Seeing this, they quickly filed through, crossing the small opening one after another.

As the last person passed through, the gap in the barrier rapidly healed, returning to its tranquil state.

Standing on the ground outside the sect, feeling the air of freedom, they all let out a long sigh of relief.

Mu Zhongxi waved his hands excitedly and cheered, “We're out! We're finally out!”

Xue Yu, however, looked at the sky with some worry and said, “It's already so late. How are we going to get back? I'm afraid if I go back in the middle of the night, I'll scare my dad.”

Ming Xuan nodded in agreement.

Luo Qingyu, sitting on the ground, raised her hand and said, “Um... how about we go to an inn under my name? We can stay there for the night. Does anyone want to go?”

“Me!” the three agreed in unison, as if they had found their savior.

Just then, Luo Qingyu seemed to hear an unfamiliar voice suddenly coming from behind them, its tone carrying a hint of anger and majesty.

A jolt of alarm shot through her heart; she sensed trouble. Instinctively, she reached into her system space, quickly pulled out an Invisibility Pill, and swallowed it.

Qin Fanfan, who had pursued them on his flying sword from behind, slowly landed, holding a ruler in his hand.

His gaze locked onto the three of them, especially Mu Zhongxi, as he said coldly, “Well, well, the three of you! Especially you, Mu Zhongxi—you've barely entered the sect, and you're already instigating your fellow disciples to sneak down the mountain! Off to the forbidden grounds with all of you!”

At the sight of Qin Fanfan, Mu Zhongxi, Ming Xuan, and Xue Yu turned pale with fright, as if they had seen a ghost.

Helpless, the three of them could only be led away in dejection.

At this moment, the observant Xue Yu noticed something amiss. He leaned in close to Ming Xuan and whispered, “Wait, where is Fourth Junior Brother? Wasn't he just next to us?”

Ming Xuan looked around and finally realized. Damn it, Fourth Junior Brother actually abandoned us and ran!

Having consumed the Invisibility Pill, Luo Qingyu watched the figures of the three being led away by Qin Fanfan.

She couldn't help but silently light a candle for them in her heart: Sorry, Second Senior Brother, Third Senior Brother, and Junior Brother. I'm truly sorry. After all, I really don't want to get beaten and locked in the forbidden grounds.