Chapter 248- The Black-Bellied Demon Cultivator’s Senior Brother VS The Righteous Young Junior Brother (13)
He didn’t know exactly why he was laughing, but he found the little guy in front of him incredibly endearing. Just seeing him made Ning Yizhou feel relaxed and happy.
He had a feeling that if he kept someone like this by his side, his genuine smiles—not the ones he put on for show—would become more frequent. The thought of having more true smiles warmed his heart.
After they finished touring the entire Chuanyun Peak, Ning Yizhou began arranging a place for Mu Jin to stay. Ignoring the fact that many junior sisters had enthusiastically volunteered to take care of the cute and talented new junior brother, Ning Yizhou decided to place Mu Jin’s residence in his own courtyard.
Seeing Mu Jin’s delight at the news of living in the same courtyard, Ning Yizhou couldn’t help but smile slightly. Unable to resist, he reached out and patted Mu Jin’s head, savoring the soft feel of his hair.
After all, besides himself, only Mao Kun lived in this courtyard. Since his master had already told him to take good care of the new junior brother, wasn’t having Mu Jin live here the most fitting way to do so?
No one seemed to notice anything unusual about Mu Jin being placed in Ning Yizhou’s courtyard. As the senior disciple of Chuanyun Peak, Ning Yizhou had always looked out for everyone on the peak. Although Mu Jin was highly gifted, living in such a place was still something to be envied, since everyone knew how kind and caring their senior brother was.
The only person who knew Ning Yizhou’s true nature, Mao Kun, could only silently lament, thinking to himself that soon he would have another “brother-in-arms” in suffering.
The disciples of Chuanyun Peak were a close-knit group, which was in part due to Luo Kangde’s teachings. While the place was spacious, the senior brothers and sisters were all on good terms, preferring to live together rather than alone.
On Chuanyun Peak, Ning Yizhou was the most popular and sought-after figure. Many people aspired to get close to him, so living in the same courtyard as him was naturally something many desired.
Mao Kun was able to live there because, like Ning Yizhou, he had both metal and fire spiritual roots. The Peak Master of Chuanyun Peak, Luo Kangde, personally arranged for Mao Kun to live there, saying that it would allow Ning Yizhou to mentor him more effectively.
Ning Yizhou did mentor him, but not without making Mao Kun suffer quite a bit. After all, Mao Kun was quite a troublemaker when he first arrived at Chuanyun Peak.
Mao Kun was originally the child of an elder from another prominent sect. He was highly talented and rebellious, determined to carve out his own path. When he joined Qingliu Sect, he entered the first-ranked sect in the cultivation world and became a disciple of Chuanyun Peak.
However, his dreams of glory and dominance didn’t materialize. Instead, after provoking Ning Yizhou, he suffered a brutal and relentless payback.
Of course, this retribution was never overt. Mao Kun was shocked to discover that the senior brother, who was known for his magnanimity and gentle demeanor, could be so petty.
Even if he said something bad about Ning Yizhou in private, if Ning Yizhou found out, Mao Kun would soon find his elixirs or magical tools malfunctioning. Making a fool of himself was just the beginning.
Mao Kun remembered that shortly after he joined Qingliu Sect, he once followed Ning Yizhou into a secret realm to hunt a spirit beast. Despite the beast’s high level, it was quite small, and there wasn’t much meat on it.
He took advantage of the moment when his senior brother wasn’t paying attention, grabbed an extra piece of meat, and smugly challenged him. At the time, his senior brother didn’t say anything, merely smiled gently at him.
However, that exploration of the secret realm turned into a nightmare for him. Not only did he come back empty-handed, but he also had the misfortune of encountering a swarm of Ice Jade Bees and ended up with his head covered in stings.
The Ice Jade Bees were particularly persistent, and to this day, he still doesn’t know what he did to attract them. They chased him relentlessly, leaving him no chance to fight back. By the time they left the secret realm, he had no choice but to face the humiliation of leaving with a face swollen like a pig’s, feeling utterly disgraced.
From that day on, whenever Mao Kun saw Ning Yizhou flash him that gentle smile, he couldn’t help but feel a shiver of fear, convinced that he had uncovered a significant secret about him.
He did try to share his discovery with others, but no one believed that their senior brother could have such a side to him. Instead of agreeing with him, they accused him of slandering Ning Yizhou and even reported him to Ning Yizhou. After suffering so much from his actions, Mao Kun could only cry out in his heart about the injustice and never dared to casually badmouth Ning Yizhou again.
However, Mao Kun was used to being outspoken and sometimes couldn’t hold his tongue, leading to occasional confrontations with Ning Yizhou. Despite this, after spending so much time together, Mao Kun had grown to deeply admire Ning Yizhou.
Since they lived in the same courtyard, Ning Yizhou often guided him in his cultivation, helping him make significant progress. His advancement in strength was far quicker than that of those who joined Qingliu Sect at the same time as him.
Even after the incident with the Ice Jade Bees, where he ended up with a face swollen like a pig’s, his senior brother later generously gifted him some royal jelly from the Ice Jade Bees. The royal jelly helped him solidify his cultivation base, turning the misfortune into a blessing.
However, upon seeing the royal jelly, Mao Kun suddenly recalled the slightly sour smell he had noticed on himself earlier—it was unmistakably the scent of the royal jelly.
It had to be said that Ning Yizhou’s actions were both a reward and a warning, subtly reminding Mao Kun of his place. This clever maneuver made Mao Kun completely submit to Ning Yizhou, never daring to cause trouble for him again.
Though Mao Kun had great respect for Ning Yizhou, old habits die hard. When he saw the innocent and adorable junior brother with a baby face in front of him, Mao Kun couldn’t help but feel a bit concerned.
Even though it seemed like Mu Jin and Ning Yizhou were getting along well now, Mao Kun couldn’t help but worry that his little junior brother might one day fall victim to their senior brother’s “methods.” After much deliberation, he decided to act on his sense of brotherly love.
So, when Ning Yizhou turned his head away, Mao Kun quickly sidled up to Mu Jin and whispered, “Junior Brother Mu Jin, you need to be careful around Senior Brother Ning. Make sure you behave!”
Mu Jin blinked, puzzled by Mao Kun’s warning. He couldn’t understand why someone would caution him against Ning Yizhou, given his man’s stellar reputation within Qingliu Sect. What was the reason behind this?
Seeing Mu Jin’s innocent and confused expression, Mao Kun sighed deeply. He spoke earnestly, “Let me tell you, whatever you do, don’t cross Senior Brother Ning, or you’ll suffer for it.”
“I’m a living example of that. Others might not know, but we who live in the same courtyard with Senior Brother Ning know better. I’m telling you, Senior Brother Ning is…”
Before he could finish, a clear voice rang out from nearby, “Mao Kun.”
Startled, Mao Kun quickly turned around to find Ning Yizhou standing not far behind him, smiling pleasantly. “What are you talking about with Junior Brother Mu Jin?” Ning Yizhou asked in a gentle tone.
Mao Kun felt a wave of terror wash over him, a chill running down his spine. He hastily forced a stiff smile and waved his hand dismissively, “Nothing, nothing! I was just checking in with our little junior brother, making sure he’s settling in well here at Chuanyun Peak.”
“Oh, is that so?” Ning Yizhou’s smile widened as he listened to Mao Kun’s explanation.
Mao Kun’s entire body stiffened involuntarily. He quickly broke into a cold sweat, taking two steps back while frantically signaling to Mu Jin with his eyes.
Under different circumstances, Mu Jin might have been willing to cover for Mao Kun, but Mao Kun had just been speaking ill of his beloved.
Alright, perhaps it wasn’t outright slander against his lover. Maybe Mao Kun had witnessed a side of Ning Yizhou that was unknown to others, given that they lived in the same courtyard.
However, that didn’t mean Mu Jin would tolerate someone speaking ill of his beloved in front of him!
So, Mu Jin raised an eyebrow and glanced at Mao Kun, replying in a flat tone, “Senior Brother Mao Kun, is something wrong with your eyes? Why do you keep winking at me? Do you have a twitch?”
Mao Kun nearly did develop a twitch at that moment, realizing that this junior brother was not someone he could rely on. It was likely that Senior Brother Ning had already guessed what he had just been saying. Mao Kun only wanted to find a quick excuse to make his escape.
However, just as he mumbled a few words and reached the courtyard gate, Ning Yizhou’s voice sounded behind him again, with a smile, “Oh, by the way, Senior Brother Mao Kun, our master recently made an agreement with the Peak Master of Danfeng to have a batch of pills refined for us. However, we’ll need to gather quite a few spiritual plants.”
“You know, our Chuanyun Peak is currently short-staffed, and everyone is busy with their cultivation. I noticed you’ve seemed rather free lately, so why don’t you take on this task?”
“The spiritual plants we need aren’t too many, just around two thousand or so. I’m sure you can gather them quickly. However, there’s a time limit—Danfeng said all the plants must be collected within a month. So, I’m entrusting this task to you.”
Mao Kun, who had just reached the courtyard gate, nearly stumbled to the ground. He felt like crying but had no tears left. Two thousand spiritual plants!
The people at Danfeng always preferred high-end, rare herbs, most of which were difficult to cultivate. With limited spirit stones and unable to buy them ready-made, he would have to search for them in secret realms. Even if they weren’t too rare, collecting two thousand plants would be a daunting task. And with a one-month deadline, this was clearly blatant revenge!
Mu Jin then witnessed a rather dramatic scene: a tall, dark-skinned man suddenly turned around and dashed off, nearly in tears.
While playfully tormenting Mao Kun, Ning Yizhou deliberately watched Mu Jin’s reaction. Seeing that Mu Jin’s expression remained unchanged, as if he believed Ning Yizhou’s actions were perfectly justified, Ning Yizhou couldn’t help but feel a bit pleased.
In reality, although Ning Yizhou occasionally played pranks on his loose-lipped junior brother, he had never exposed this side of himself to others before.