"So," the man said, pulling out a cyan jade token as if by magic, "take me as your master! I guarantee the things you'll get will be much more exciting than what that girl received~"
Li Nanzhu looked at the six large characters on the token—'Direct Disciple of a Peerless Genius'—and her lip twitched. "...Can I refuse?"
"Of course not!" The man shoved the token into her hand. "The moment you took the jade slip earlier, you automatically became my disciple!"
Li Nanzhu: "???"
"Surprised?" The man grinned so widely his eyes were nearly invisible. "That's my specially made 'No Escape Once Accepted' jade slip~"
Li Nanzhu finally reached the end of her patience. "Is it too late for me to resign?"
"I'm afraid not," the man shook his head regretfully. "To resign, you have to recite 'Master is the most handsome, elegant, and unrestrained genius under heaven' three times in a row."
Li Nanzhu: "..." Lunatic!
"I already have a lineage," Li Nanzhu said calmly.
"Oh, he has his way, I have mine. What's the problem?" the man said with an air of righteous confidence. "You call him 'honored master,' and you call me 'master'! It's not strange in the cultivation world for one person to have several masters."
Li Nanzhu: "..."
She was actually speechless. Since meeting this man, she had lost count of how many times she had been rendered silent.
"So!" The man smiled squinty-eyed. "Hurry up and call me Master!"
"...Do you even know my name?"
"..."
Silence fell over the air once again.
"You don't even know my name and you're trying to take me as a disciple!" Li Nanzhu finally snapped. A cluster of green and red spiritual energy condensed in her palm as she struck out at the man.
"Ouch!" The man's figure blurred as he dodged. The spiritual energy brushed against his wide sleeve, instantly burning a charred hole into it. He hurriedly swatted at the sparks on his cuff, muttering incessantly, "This is cloud brocade! Cloud brocade worth ten high-grade spirit stones per inch!"
"Who told you to take a disciple without even asking!" Li Nanzhu formed a hand seal, and several vines suddenly sprouted from the ground, coiling toward the man.
The man tapped his toes lightly, weaving through the vines with incredible speed. "Don't hit me, don't hit me! Your master was just about to ask! Look, I even have the apprenticeship gift ready—"
"Who is your disciple!" Li Nanzhu quickly formed another seal, water-attribute spiritual energy intertwining in her hands. "Xuanze Two-Polarity!"
A water dragon roared as it charged toward the man. Like a startled quail, the man fluttered and jumped away. The water dragon crashed into and shattered three green bamboos. He landed on a large rock nearby, patting his chest. "Close call, close call. Almost ruined this handsome face of mine."
Li Nanzhu stomped her foot in frustration. "Stop hiding if you have the guts!"
"That won't do," the man conjured a water mirror again to fix his sideburns. "If your master strikes back, wouldn't it look like I'm bullying a junior?"
The two of them chased each other through the bamboo forest, creating a chaotic scene.
Li Nanzhu used all her signature moves—fire lotuses charred half the bamboo forest, water arrows pierced through a dozen stalks, and vines turned the path into a spiderweb.
But the man in green was like a slippery loach, managing to dodge every single time at the critical moment.
"I'm done!" Fifteen minutes later, Li Nanzhu sat on the ground panting, her hair disheveled and her face covered in sweat. "You... how can you move like a ghost..."
The man landed gracefully ten feet in front of her, not even a corner of his robes out of place. "Vented your anger? Now are you willing to listen to your master?"
The spiritual energy condensing in Li Nanzhu's palm suddenly stagnated. She abruptly realized something and looked down at her slightly trembling fingertips.
"Strange..." she murmured to herself. "How could I..."
Given her personality, she would never rashly attack someone without knowing their background. Even if she were seeking death, it wouldn't be in such a manner.
The man lightly fanned himself with a folding fan. "Noticed it?" A hint of cunning flashed in his eyes. "Isn't the fragrance in this bamboo forest particularly good at making people open their hearts?"
Seeing that Li Nanzhu didn't reply, the man sighed. "Why does such a young girl think so much? Rest easy, the fragrance in this bamboo forest only has benefits for you. If you keep bottling things up, you'll develop a heart demon sooner or later."
Li Nanzhu blinked. Was that it? This feeling... how many years had it been since she felt this way?
She cast a Cleansing Heart Sutra, her gaze complicated as she looked at the man. "So, you were actually thinking of my physical and mental health?"
"Wrong!" The man suddenly pulled a folding fan from his sleeve and snapped it open. At some point, the words 'Most Handsome in the Cultivation World' had been written across it. "Your master is the embodiment of both beauty and talent—"
"A lunatic?" Li Nanzhu finished his sentence expressionlessly.
"Hey, how can you talk to me like that!" The man closed his fan, looking aggrieved. "Your master is what you call free-spirited, do you understand?"
Li Nanzhu stared at him for a long while before suddenly asking, "How old are you?"
"Oh, it's so impolite to ask for age~" The man waved his hand bashfully. "Only about a thousand years or so?"
"A thousand-year-old lunatic." Li Nanzhu nodded. "Understood."
"Hey!" Just as the man was about to retort, Li Nanzhu spoke up.
"Li Nanzhu."
The man paused, his eyes crinkling into crescent moons. He knew this was Li Nanzhu's way of acknowledging him as her master.
"Your master's surname is Xiao, given name Yan. I am the world-renowned 'Qingming Pill Venerable'! You've gained a massive opportunity by taking me as your master!"
"Master!" Li Nanzhu performed a quick, crisp bow, though her brows furrowed slightly upon hearing the title Qingming Pill Venerable.
"Qingming Pill Venerable?" She searched her memory carefully for the title. "Are you sure that's your title?"
Xiao Yan's fan suddenly stopped. "What? You haven't heard of it?"
"I've read through all the records in the sect's Library Pavilion," Li Nanzhu shook her head with certainty. "I have never seen a record of this title."
"It must be because your sect is too small to have it recorded!" Xiao Yan shook his head in dissatisfaction. "Which sect are you from? To not even know my name... You should probably switch sects soon. There's no future for you in a place like that!"
Li Nanzhu still shook her head. "Impossible. It's unlikely that the sect's records would have an omission in this regard."
"Which disciple's family are you from, anyway?" Xiao Yan asked, intrigued.
"Five Elements Dao Sect."
Xiao Yan's expression suddenly froze. "Five Elements Dao Sect? You're not lying to me?"
Seeing that something was off with Xiao Yan's expression, Li Nanzhu sensed the anomaly. "Is there... a problem with the Five Elements Dao Sect?"
Could her cheap master have a grudge against the Five Elements Dao Sect? Li Nanzhu's heart began to drum with anxiety.
Hearing this, Xiao Yan shook his head, but his brows furrowed unconsciously. He snapped his fan shut and then open again, repeating the action several times as if contemplating something important.
After a long while, he looked up again, having resumed his cynical, playful smile. "Then your master must have been far too low-profile. Ah, if I'd known, I should have been more arrogant."
Li Nanzhu narrowed her eyes. This transition was too forced; he was clearly avoiding something. But judging from his attitude, he shouldn't have a grudge against the sect, or his expression would be different.
"Speaking of which," Xiao Yan suddenly leaned in, tapping her forehead with his fan, "that Xuanze Two-Polarity move you used earlier was decent, but your spiritual energy circulation still lacks a bit of refinement..."
"Wait," Li Nanzhu remained unmoved. "You haven't explained why—"
"Explain what!" Xiao Yan suddenly pulled a handful of colorful pills from his sleeve. "Come, come, pick one to taste! These are your master's specially made rainbow sugar beans!"
Li Nanzhu looked at the pills emitting a suspicious glow, and her lip twitched. "...Are you changing the subject?"
"How could I!" Xiao Yan looked hurt. "Your master is concerned about his disciple's dietary health!"
"These don't look healthy at all..."
"Nonsense!" Xiao Yan picked up a purple one. "This grape-flavored one can enhance your eyesight!" He pointed to a green one. "This mint-flavored one can refresh your mind!"
Li Nanzhu looked at him blankly. "What about the one emitting black smoke?"
"Ah, that one..." Xiao Yan quickly hid the black pill back in his sleeve. "That's for your master's personal use..."
"Wait!" Li Nanzhu suddenly realized something. "Those strange pills in the alchemy room... were you the one who made those, too?"
"Alchemy room?" Xiao Yan was stunned. "You've already been there?"
His face then filled with surprise. "You really are my destined successor! Look at that! You hadn't even received the inheritance yet, and you already found the things I prepared! I put a lot of fun stuff in there! You'll definitely like them!"
Li Nanzhu: "..."
She suddenly thought of how the others were laughing hysterically and felt that this inheritance shouldn't have gone to her. Instead, it should have gone to her third senior brother, whom she had never met; those two would probably have a lot in common.
It was only now, when she was fully relaxed, that she had the time to think about other things—for instance, Suisui.
She remembered that when they entered the light gate, Suisui had hooked onto her skirt and come along. But she had endured so many trials and torments that she hadn't had time to think about anything else. She had even been relieved that Suisui hadn't shared those trials with her.
Furthermore, even after confirming she was safe, she hadn't dared to ask about Suisui immediately. After all, Suisui was a walking, jumping skeleton; anyone would see it as an evil entity. Even if Suisui were accepted by the spiritual plants in the herb garden, she couldn't guarantee that Xiao Yan wouldn't harm it.
If Xiao Yan hadn't noticed Suisui, but her inquiry drew his attention and led to Suisui being harmed, it would be a devastating loss.
Now that she was sure Xiao Yan wouldn't hurt her and they had this master-disciple relationship, she pursed her lips tightly, thinking of how to ask about Suisui.
She stole a glance at Xiao Yan—the man was busy stuffing the black-smoking pill into his sleeve, muttering, "The heat was too high again this time."
"Master..." The words reached her lips but were swallowed back down.
The stray hair on top of Xiao Yan's head bobbed with his movements. He suddenly turned and grinned at her. "Why are you hesitating to speak, disciple? Could it be..." His eyes lit up. "You've finally noticed your master's handsomeness?"
Li Nanzhu took a deep breath and decided to ask directly. "Master, have you seen a... uh... rather unique little fellow?"
"Oh—" Xiao Yan dragged out the sound, suddenly leaning toward her ear. "So my disciple is looking for the little guy who stole my pills?"
Warm breath brushed against her ear, but Li Nanzhu felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar.
He knew? How would he treat Suisui? An exorcism array, or...
"Here." Xiao Yan flipped his wrist, and an exquisite hollow gold sphere appeared in his palm. Through the gaps in the pattern, she could see Suisui hugging a pill larger than its own head, munching happily.
Even more ridiculous was that at some point, a messy little braid had been tied onto the small skeleton's head, complete with a pink ribbon.
Li Nanzhu's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, was just about to settle when she saw a wisp of green fire flicker from Xiao Yan's fingertip.
She lunged forward almost instinctively. "Don't hurt it!"
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