Chapter 10 The Scheming Disciple and the Charming Master 10

Chapter 10: The Scheming Disciple and His Charming Master (10)

The disciples were all adults now, so as their master, he should keep an eye out and play matchmaker for them.

The Yuqing Shrine was located on the back mountain of the Xianyue Sect, a place people rarely visited, with the entrance to the secret realm right beside it.

However, the secret realm had not yet been opened, and the area around it was just a big stretch of empty land.

Inside the shrine, there happened to be two small tile-roofed rooms, rumored to be where Xianyue Sect disciples were sent to reflect in isolation after major screw-ups.

The place wasn't much to look at—just a simple bed and a table with a couple of chairs.

Lin Huaiqing took one room for himself, while Qin Du and Mu Yunting shared the other.

The two of them ended up bickering over who got the bed and who got the floor.

Lin Huaiqing was long used to this kind of "friendly bonding" between his disciples.

But watching the two of them go at it tooth and nail over a bed, Lin Huaiqing couldn't stand it anymore and decided to step in and offer a suggestion.

"Stop fighting. Why don't you both just share the bed?"

Qin Du: "..."

Mu Yunting: "..."

Staring at the tiny bed that was barely wide enough for one, the two fell into deep thought.

Were they really going to share a bed with their mortal enemy?!

Qin Du was the first to speak up: "Fine, I'll take the bed! No way I'm sleeping on the floor! If someone's got a problem with it, they can hit the floor themselves!"

Provoked, Mu Yunting wasn't about to back down: "Why the hell would I sleep on the floor? I'm taking the bed too!"

"Alright, alright, you both take the bed. It's getting late—I'm heading back to my room." Lin Huaiqing yawned.

The case was finally closed. Time for him to get some shut-eye.

Lin Huaiqing returned to his room alone and pinged the system.

Only then did he learn from the system that the original owner of this body and Yin Shuangyue actually had a bit of a complicated history.

The two had been close friends for years. Lin Huaiqing never got close to women, and Yin Shuangyue was the only female friend he had.

Before he lost his sight, Yin Shuangyue had confessed to him, but he turned her down and just flew off on his sword.

Yin Shuangyue figured Lin Huaiqing was too cold and proud, that he looked down on her, so she never reached out again.

As for Lin Huaiqing, he only saw her as a friend, but didn't know how to let her down easy, so a misunderstanding had lingered between them ever since.

After hearing this, Lin Huaiqing took a deep breath.

These cultivators really were clueless about the mortal world.

If you don't like someone, just say so plainly, and you can still be friends after.

No wonder Yin Shuangyue had seemed like she wanted to say something but kept holding back, all hesitant and wishy-washy with him today.

So that was the root of it all.

Since they'd be staying here a few more days anyway, he'd find a chance to clear the air with Yin Shuangyue.

With his thoughts sorted, drowsiness hit Lin Huaiqing. Just as he was drifting off into a hazy sleep, he suddenly heard footsteps in his room.

This was the Xianyue Sect—was there seriously a pervert running around?!

Maybe they mistook him for a female disciple sent here for reflection and wanted to take advantage of her under the cover of darkness.

Under the blanket, Lin Huaiqing's slender, well-defined fingers clenched tight, ready to summon Shuofeng at any second.

The second the pervert got close, he'd have a sword at his throat.

He waited, and the footsteps drew nearer. A pair of warm, big hands had already found his bed.

Lin Huaiqing held his breath and stayed alert, thinking this pervert had some patience.

But the next second, his blanket was ripped open, and a big, sturdy shadow slipped right in without a second thought.

"Xiaodu?" Lin Huaiqing ventured.

"Master's still awake?" As he spoke, Qin Du had already kicked off his shoes and climbed into bed, slipping under Lin Huaiqing's blanket without an ounce of guilt.

He hadn't been asleep at all—he'd been scared awake by him.

"Why are you here at your master's place?" Even as he said it, Lin Huaiqing shifted over to make a little room for Qin Du.

Qin Du nuzzled against Lin Huaiqing's shoulder, almost like he was being all clingy:

"Junior brother snores in his sleep, and the bed's too small—we can't both fit. Master, please take your disciple in for just one night!"

Feeling Qin Du's puppy-dog eagerness to please, Lin Huaiqing couldn't bring himself to refuse.

"Fine... but you're on the floor tomorrow."

With that, Lin Huaiqing turned over, only to find his back against the wall. He couldn't turn around, so he was stuck facing Qin Du.

In the darkness, Qin Du's heart pounded like a drum.

Usually, he only dared to get close to Lin Huaiqing after he'd drunk his calming tea and was fast asleep. But now, he didn't dare move a muscle.

Any tiny movement he made would be caught by Lin Huaiqing.

He was afraid Lin Huaiqing would see through the perfect-disciple act he'd so carefully put on, and then all his efforts would be for nothing.

As the morning sun rose and the mist cleared, a beam of dawn light broke through the clouds, spilling over the peaks of the Xianyue Sect's back mountain.

Qin Du, still dead asleep, was yanked off the bed by Mu Yunting.

Falling from the bed to the floor without any warning, Qin Du's face went black as a pot. Especially when he saw it was Mu Yunting who'd dragged him down.

"You're asking for it!!" Qin Du wiped his face and glared murderously at Mu Yunting, who was glaring right back.

"How dare you sleep in Master's bed? I was wondering where you snuck off to last night—so you had the nerve to come bother Master in the middle of the night."

He'd just pushed open the door to help Master get ready for the morning when he saw this, and it nearly gave him a heart attack.

"Master didn't say a thing—got a problem with that?"

Awakened by the two of them squabbling, Lin Huaiqing had to play referee between his disciples first thing in the morning.

"Enough! Stop arguing! The trial's in two days, and you still have the nerve to bicker. Have you got the mental techniques down? Have you practiced your sword forms?"

The two immediately snapped to attention in a row, heads bowed, not saying a word.

"I'll say a few words. In two days, the secret realm opens, lasting five days. This is your chance to prove yourselves.

There may be treasures inside—whoever grabs them keeps them. Killing demonic beasts isn't the only way to score—finding treasures counts too.

Xianyue Sect rules allow you to form teams, but no team can exceed five members. You two had better team up and cooperate. If you run into disciples from other sects, you'll have a better shot that way.

No bickering, no fighting, no hurting your fellow disciples! Rankings don't matter. Safety first. I'll be waiting for you outside."

He said "a few words," but Lin Huaiqing definitely said way more than a few.

He was genuinely scared these two little troublemakers would start brawling in the secret realm, no matter the time or place.

After all, it was his two youngest disciples' first time entering the trial secret realm, so there were things he had to drill into them.

On the day the secret realm opened, before dawn, plenty of Xianyue Sect disciples were already setting up the stage.

A tall platform was erected beside the secret realm, where elders of Xianyue Sect and prominent figures from other sects took their seats.

Lin Huaiqing was naturally among them.

But being unsociable, he simply found an inconspicuous corner to sit and drink tea.

Since he couldn't see them, he didn't have to make small talk with all those big shots one by one. Unless someone took the initiative to chat with him, he'd only respond sparingly.

Directly facing the stage was a massive screen formed from spiritual energy. Once the secret realm opened, it would broadcast real-time footage and rankings.

No wonder this was one of the top immortal sects in the cultivation world—the setup was top-notch.