Bu Wei

Feng Zizhang slowly opened his eyes and saw a cold stone wall, immediately followed by intense pain in his thigh and ankle.

“Zizhang, are you awake?” Jiang Yizheng waved her hand in front of his eyes.

Feng Zizhang looked at her, his eyes suddenly turning red. “Xiao Jiang, I was useless… It’s all my fault.”

Jiang Yizheng said, “I’m fine. Father came to rescue us!”

Feng Zizhang was stunned for a moment, his eyes instantly becoming even redder.

Seeing his state, Jiang Yizheng felt even worse inside. “I’m fine, really fine! But you’ve almost been stabbed into a sieve. Actually, this incident is my fault. If I hadn’t suddenly mentioned the Jade Spirit Pill on the street, we wouldn’t have gotten into this trouble for no reason.”

Feng Zizhang sniffled, “No, I was reckless and incompetent.”

“If you know you’re incompetent, why do you run around everywhere?” An impolite voice came from the cave entrance.

“Father— Se-Senior.” Jiang Yizheng suddenly stood up, then lowered her head sheepishly after hearing his words.

Feng Zizhang struggled to get up, and with a face barely recognizable, managed to make a guilty expression. “I’m sorry, Senior…”

“Don’t say that to me,” Ning Buwei said coldly. “Say it to yourself when you get yourself killed someday.”

Jiang Yizheng lowered her head even more.

Feng Zizhang endured the pain and climbed off the bed. Without any ceremony, he knelt on the bed and bowed deeply to Ning Buwei, saying firmly, “I beg the Senior to accept me as a disciple.”

In the seventeen states, there was no rule that a disciple could only have one master in their lifetime. Those with excellent aptitude could even have several masters. For example, San Panfeng, the first great disciple of the Wushi Sect, had four masters, three of whom were founding ancestors of the Wushi Sect…

So Feng Zizhang’s desire to become a disciple wasn’t actually a problem.

The problem was Ning Buwei.

He stood frozen for a moment, his voice as cold as if icicles were about to fall. “I don’t take disciples.”

Feng Zizhang looked up in shock, but because of the bloody hole in one of his thighs, he couldn’t kneel steadily and fell onto the stone bed with a thud.

That stone bed was truly just a stone bed, without even a mattress. Feng Zizhang hit his elbow and for a moment didn’t know which part hurt the most, inhaling sharply.

Jiang Yizheng hurriedly went to help him up.

Just as she helped him up, a colorful, shimmering object flew towards him.

Feng Zizhang instinctively caught it. When he saw clearly what was in his hand, his nose immediately felt sore. “This crystal ball… Shen Ze had cut it to pieces…”

He remembered clearly that in his desperation, he had used the crystal ball, and then it had shattered into pieces.

This ball wasn’t some rare, top-grade magical artifact. On the contrary, apart from being beautiful and able to detect evil energy, it was almost useless. But it was the only thing his master Wen Heshen had given him. Although Wen Heshen had committed a grave mistake, he still cherished this crystal ball very much.

He thought he would never see it again.

“The Senior helped piece it back together,” Jiang Yizheng said quickly, her tone proud. “The Senior is so skilled, it only took less than the time an incense stick burns…”

She met Ning Buwei’s cold gaze, and her voice grew weaker and weaker, finally becoming barely audible. “…to put it back together.”

Ning Buwei said expressionlessly, “You are now on Yijian Peak. Rest here for now. I will first—”

“Senior!” Jiang Yizheng suddenly knelt on the ground, her eyes brimming with tears. “Are you abandoning me and Zizhang?”

“Senior! We won’t cause trouble again in the future, we’ll definitely cultivate diligently and work hard to become stronger!” Feng Zizhang clutched the crystal ball, his heart bitter and his voice tinged with a sob. “I know I’m useless, but I’ll try hard. Please don’t abandon us, wuwu—”

A vein on Ning Buwei’s forehead throbbed violently. “Go back to the inn and bring that shell here.”

“Oh.” Jiang Yizheng’s tears disappeared instantly. She wiped her face and broke into a bright smile. “Then, Father, come back soon.”

“Senior, please be careful,” Feng Zizhang said, slumping onto the bed with his bruised and swollen face.

Ning Buwei: “…………”

What was that feeling of wanting to leave for good?

Jiang Yizheng, watching Ning Buwei’s retreating figure, somehow sensed a hint of fleeing in panic.

Feng Zizhang, covering his elbow, hissed in pain. Seeing Jiang Yizheng still kneeling motionless on the ground, he said softly, “Xiao Jiang, Father has already left.”

Jiang Yizheng, supporting herself on the stone bed, was on the verge of tears. “I knelt too hard just now. My knees hurt so much I can’t stand up.”

Feng Zizhang: “…………”

****

In the cave dwelling, Chu Jun covered the remaining half bowl of rice porridge for his son with a preservation talisman.

He looked at his son sleeping soundly in the cradle, then glanced at the two bodies, one black and one red, by the wall.

At his current Golden Core stage, splitting his divine consciousness into three could barely be sustained for long. He had nearly exhausted himself just controlling one body to buy two bags of rice porridge from the Wujin Square, and he had even run into the child’s other father.

The body he was most accustomed to using had been taken away by the other party, and he had carelessly exposed the red-clothed body to him as well. He had even fabricated a name and identity for this red-clothed body out of thin air…

He could have left without explanation, but he had gone out of his way to do so.

Since the Wushi Sect’s founding three thousand years ago, it had grown into a behemoth. Inevitably, it harbored some corrupt elements.

In the first few hundred years after he entered the Dao, he had traveled the world and witnessed many people and events – joys and sorrows, partings and reunions, love and hate, strange and absurd occurrences, cycles of cause and effect. He thought he could face them calmly.

“Hmm~” The sleeping Ning Xiu grunted softly, kicking his legs and pushing off most of the small blanket Chu Jun had made for him.

Chu Jun pulled up the blanket to cover him properly and gently touched his little belly.

Sensing the familiar aura, the baby immediately calmed down and fell back into deep sleep.

Chu Jun smiled.

But he also knew that often, when things happen to oneself, it’s hard to remain detached.

With a wave of his long sleeve, he arrived at the cave dwelling at the foot of Yijian Peak.

It was actually just a cave he had casually hollowed out. He had recruited two servants intending to have them run errands, but now one of them had an injured leg, and the other was a young girl. The key point was, their father was called Li Chengfeng.

However, these two didn’t bear his family’s mark, so they clearly weren’t his children.

They must be children Li Chengfeng had with some female cultivator.

Inside, the two children were talking.

“Will Father come back?” It was the little girl called Jiang Yizheng.

“He definitely… will, right?” This was the injured brother, Feng Zizhang.

“What if Father leaves for good and abandons us?” Jiang Yizheng sounded worried.

“He won’t. He’s not that kind of person,” Feng Zizhang said, though his tone wasn’t very confident. “It’s okay. There’s still Xiao Shan and Xiao Shan’s mother on Yijian Peak. Father will definitely come back to see them.”

Chu Jun, who had previously used the alias Chu Shan: “…………”

How on earth did they come up with that name?

As Jiang Yizheng and Feng Zizhang were talking, suddenly a faint spiritual energy drifted in, gently tapping on the stone wall, as if knocking on the door.

They turned their heads and saw an exceptionally elegant immortal in white robes slowly entering, making the surrounding atmosphere feel ethereal and dreamy.

So… so beautiful.

Before the two could recover from their shock, they heard the white-robed immortal speak. “Where is Li Chengfeng?”

“He… he went back to the Sangyu Inn to pick someone up,” Feng Zizhang stammered. “You are…?”

“The Master of Yijian Peak,” Chu Jun said.

Jiang Yizheng quickly stood up to bow, while Feng Zizhang struggled to sit up and cupped his fists in greeting. “Thank you, Peak Master, for taking us in.”

“It’s nothing. Your aptitudes are just right,” Chu Jun said calmly.

Feng Zizhang and Jiang Yizheng exchanged a glance, smiling bitterly in resignation.

With their aptitudes… they were indeed very suitable to be servants in the Wushi Sect.

However, Chu Jun didn’t explain further and asked, “Will Li Chengfeng be living with you afterwards?”

“Probably… I think,” Jiang Yizheng said uncertainly.

Chu Jun nodded slightly, then stepped forward and said to the two, “Cover your ears.”

Although Jiang Yizheng and Feng Zizhang didn’t understand why, they cooperated and covered their ears.

Immediately after, there was a sound of mountains crumbling and the earth splitting. The cave was instantly filled with dust and mist. Then, a crimson spiritual light flashed, and all the dust and debris disappeared in an instant.

Three new cave openings had appeared inside the mountain cave, one on the left and one on the right, connecting perfectly with the outer stone cave.

“You two can stay here for now,” Chu Jun said, placing a black jade token on the table. “If you need furniture or utensils, you can go to the Wujin Square to choose them.”

“Thank you, Peak Master,” the two quickly expressed their gratitude, although they were still shocked by the white-robed immortal’s style of splitting mountains and carving caves with bare hands.

Chu Jun said, “There’s no need to be so formal. I won’t mistreat you.”

The two nodded repeatedly like little chicks.

Chu Jun glanced at Feng Zizhang’s wounds and placed a talisman paper under the black jade token. “Heal yourself.”

With that, he turned and left, leaving Feng Zizhang and Jiang Yizheng dumbfounded.

“Zizhang, the Peak Master is so handsome,” Jiang Yizheng finally managed to say after a while.

“He’s so kind,” Feng Zizhang was overwhelmed with emotion. “He carved caves for us, gave us the Wujin Square’s black jade token, and even gave me a talisman to heal.”

“But…” Jiang Yizheng suddenly realized something and asked in confusion, “Why is Xiao Shan’s mother a man?”

Feng Zizhang: “!!!”

****

At the Sangyu Inn.

Ning Buwei was checking out at the lobby with the white-clothed body.

“Here are your spirit stones refunded. Please keep them safe,” the female innkeeper behind the long counter smiled as she wrapped up the spirit stones and pushed them over.

Ning Buwei picked up the spirit stones and frowned, “You didn’t deduct the room fee?”

“Our owner said that any cultivator named Chengfeng who stays here is free of charge,” the innkeeper said with a friendly smile. “It’s a promise she made to an old friend.”

Ning Buwei twitched his lips, picked up the spirit stones from the counter and put them in his storage bag. “Thank you.”

The innkeeper smiled slightly, “You’re welcome.”

Ning Buwei left the inn lobby with the body. The innkeeper watched him leave, only slowly withdrawing her gaze after he was out of sight.

At the main peak of the Wushi Sect.

Chu Linyuan sat in the main seat, with various Grand Elders and Elders sitting below, all looking solemn.

“Last time in Linjiang City, the vine demon caused havoc, resulting in numerous deaths. The Great Rejuvenation Array reappeared in the world, and even traces of the demon Ning Buwei’s evil array were found… Previously, when the 120 sects of the Chongzheng Alliance went to eliminate him, not a single person survived. Xingluo Cliff was destroyed and fell into the Dark Realm. The disciples who went down to investigate didn’t find any trace of him—”

“Ning Buwei should still be alive.”

The hall instantly fell silent.

Ning Buwei was known for his wayward actions and unpredictable moods. Every time he appeared in public, he would stir up a bloody storm, yet somehow always managed to escape successfully.

“The Venerable Nanshu of the Wanghai Sect has been dead for over a year. The disciples of the Wanghai Sect have been demanding an explanation from the Chongzheng Alliance…”

“What explanation do they want? When the Chongzheng Alliance was discussing going to eliminate Ning Buwei, Venerable Nanshu volunteered to go! If we’re talking about justice, who will avenge my disciple Chu Li?!”

An Elder with white hair and beard said indignantly, “Without Nanshu, the Wanghai Sect has already fallen out of the top ten sects. They’re not to be feared at all!”

“Elder Chu Wu, we can’t say that,” Chu Bai cupped his hands and said, “Back then, it was our Wushi Sect and the Wanghai Sect who took the lead in deciding to eliminate Ning Buwei. Venerable Nanshu, as the sect leader of Wanghai Sect, led by example and perished together with Ning Buwei, bringing peace to the Seventeen States. No matter what, Venerable Nanshu is a meritorious official.”

“Hah,” Chu Wu sneered, “You speak well, but it wasn’t your disciple who died.”

“Enough,” Chu Linyuan, sitting in the main seat, spoke up. “Among the 120 sects of the Chongzheng Alliance, our Wushi Sect is at the forefront. Whether Ning Buwei is dead or alive now, we must give the Wanghai Sect an explanation.”

“Please reconsider, Sect Leader,” Chu Wu disagreed. “None of the people sent by the 120 sects of the Chongzheng Alliance survived. If we set this precedent, other sects will surely follow suit and come to the Wushi Sect demanding justice!”

“It’s true that our Wushi Sect leads the Chongzheng Alliance, but when we joined, it was agreed that all sects would be equal. There’s no reason for our Wushi Sect to be accountable to them,” someone else argued.

“That was indeed the case then, but now all 120 sects look to the Wushi Sect for leadership. If the Wushi Sect hadn’t taken the lead, they wouldn’t have gone to the Xingluo Cliff at all!” Chu Bai frowned and said, “Emotionally and rationally, we can’t wash our hands of this matter now!”

Ever since the battle at the Xingluo Cliff over a year ago, this kind of argument had appeared countless times within the Wushi Sect. Because the Sect Leader had never clearly stated his position, the matter always ended inconclusively.

For instance, now, Chu Linyuan had opened the topic, and the Elders were once again arguing fiercely over this matter, while Chu Linyuan sat in the main seat, leisurely drinking tea.

“The Great Venerable Jinghe will be coming out of seclusion soon. Why not let him decide?” someone proposed loudly.

The arguing voices paused, falling into silence.

“That won’t do,” Chu Bai said. “Great Venerable Jinghe has been detached from worldly affairs for many years and prefers tranquility. Disturbing him with mundane matters might displease him.”

This martial uncle had been in seclusion for many years, with little contact with people in the sect. No one was quite sure of his temperament. The older Grand Elders had heard some unfavorable rumors about him, and they feared him more than they respected him.

The martial uncle who was supposed to be detached from worldly affairs was currently struggling to change his son’s diaper.

Ning Xiu was kicking his little legs, his face still wet with tears, looking at his Bai Bai mother with a whimper, “Ah!”

The other party had specifically instructed not to use cleaning spells if possible, so Chu Jun could only try to wash the child with warm water.

“Ah~” Ning Xiu was restless in his arms, moving around and splashing water everywhere. Chu Jun’s sleeves were soaked.

Because his cultivation was limited, controlling the red-clothed body to buy rice porridge from the Wujin Square had consumed most of his spiritual energy. He was still in the process of recovery, so he had to do everything himself.

However, his son was not very cooperative.

The weather was getting cold, and Ning Xiu was wearing nothing, lying in the cradle and sneezing several times in a row.

Chu Jun took a swaddling cloth from the bed and wrapped the little one up, accidentally knocking his little duck outfit to the ground. He bent down to pick it up, and his half-wet sleeve swept the rice porridge off the table. His half-wet sleeve became completely wet, now also emitting the fragrance of rice porridge.

Just as he was about to cast a cleaning spell, Ning Xiu lying in the cradle suddenly burst into loud cries for no apparent reason. He could only reach out to pick up the child first, but then a peculiar smell emanated from the swaddling cloth.

Chu Jun: “?”

Half a quarter of an hour later, the newly changed swaddling cloth was thrown to the ground. Chu Jun finally understood why the child’s other father had prepared so many swaddling clothes and diapers.

In the spacious cave, a temporary stove and several pots had been added. Next to it, a new wooden shelf held several bright red and green small bowls and small porcelain spoons…

On the other side, a pile of newly gathered firewood was scattered on the ground. In the middle, a temporarily built wooden frame held several small clothes, being dried by spiritual energy balls.

The originally empty stone table was now full of bags of rice porridge and various small items. The stone bed beside it was covered with several layers of soft, thick bedding. Half of the quilt was turned back, revealing a suspicious wet spot on the mattress below—

The prepared small cradle was hung with little clothes and pants, as well as several swaddling clothes for changing, completely losing its original function…

The originally ethereal and elegant beauty now had his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, crouching beside a small wooden tub bathing the little baby in his arms. His immaculate white robes were splashed with large wet patches—

This was the strange scene Ning Buwei saw as soon as he entered the cave.

At this time, it had been barely three days since he had handed his son over to the other party.

The moment the harried martial uncle saw Ning Buwei, this evil cultivator seemed to be backlit by a halo of worldly salvation.

To make the lofty, unworldly martial uncle fall into the mortal realm only took one step — let him take care of a child for two days.

Ning Buwei looked at the dramatically changed cave and the completely different Chu Jun, raising an eyebrow with interest.

He then walked to the wooden tub, rolled up his sleeves, and squatted down, taking the restless Ning Xiu from his hands, saying, “Let me.”

“Ah!” Ning Xiu’s eyes immediately lit up upon seeing Ning Buwei, excitedly flailing his arms and legs.

Father!

Seeing his long-missed father suddenly appear, Ning Xiu was extremely excited, splashing water everywhere.

Ning Buwei raised his sleeve to shield Chu Jun.

Chu Jun turned his head to look at him.

While bathing Ning Xiu, Ning Buwei said, “Thank you and your brother for your help.”

Chu Jun, who was both Chu Shan and Chu Qiu: “…You’re welcome.”

Ning Buwei asked curiously, “Where’s your brother?”

“He went down the mountain to travel and gain experience,” Chu Jun said, discreetly hiding the red-clothed body in his storage space even more securely.

“I am unwell and fear I may have to trouble you at Yijian Peak for some time,” Ning Buwei said with an unchanged expression.

“It’s no trouble,” Chu Jun said.

Compared to having that not-so-smart body follow and probe, it was clearly more convenient to keep the person under his nose.

Ning Buwei took the dry towel Chu Jun handed him, dried his obviously over-excited son, and looked at the brightly colored little clothes on the cradle bed.

He had bought two sets for Ning Xiu before, but they were too troublesome to put on, so he simply wrapped him in a swaddling cloth or put on that loose little robe embroidered with ducks. As a result, even when the little robe had holes, Ning Xiu wouldn’t let him throw it away.

This Chu was quite attentive, even buying so many little clothes for his son.

Ning Buwei thought to himself, it’s just that these pink, white, light blue, and pale purple… were really too cute.

His son was a Golden Core cultivator after all, wearing these colors didn’t look imposing at all.

While disapproving, Ning Buwei pulled down a light purple little outfit and put it on his son, also pinching Ning Xiu’s little toes. Then he heard Chu Jun beside him ask.

“Are those two children down the mountain your own children?”