Chapter Thirteen: Master Xu
Several streaks of white light flew out from the Universe Pouch, darting in all directions.
Qu Yi Qiu opened her eyes and glanced at the cloak draped over her.
“Junior Sister, change your clothes first. We’ll talk once we’re outside,” Chi Yushu said, turning his back to her.
Qu Yi Qiu swiftly changed and returned the cloak to him.
Remembering the way in, Chi Yushu quickly led her out.
Outside the cave, Qu Yi Qiu saw a woman dancing an odd jig and burst into laughter.
“Haha! I never expected Senior Brother Zhao dressed as a woman to be so convincing!”
Her unabashed, hearty laughter startled those hiding in the surrounding grass.
Qu Youyou and three others leapt out.
“How did you get out… Senior Brother Chi, did you rescue her?” Qu Youyou’s voice was sharp with accusation, but as soon as she saw Chi Yushu emerge behind, her tone wilted.
Chi Yushu gave Zhao Wen a peculiar look and shook his head. “It wasn’t me. When I arrived, Junior Sister Qu had already subdued the evil spirit.”
“What? How could she possibly do that?” Qu Youyou and her four companions spoke in astonished unison.
Qu Yi Qiu walked up to Zhao Wen, eyeing his attire up and down. “Tsk tsk, what a waste for you not to be a woman, Senior Brother Zhao. What did you stuff in your chest? Why does it look… so big?”
Feigning astonishment, Qu Yi Qiu opened her mouth wide and, without thinking, grabbed his chest.
“So firm—”
Everyone present was dumbfounded.
Zhao Wen, realizing what had happened, blushed furiously, pushed her hand away, pulled out two red apples, and angrily threw them to the ground.
“You shameless woman! Don’t touch me!” He crossed his arms over his chest and ran to hide behind Qu Youyou.
“You really have no shame. Zhao Wen did this for the sake of the Celestial Evolution Sect!” Qu Youyou shielded him indignantly.
“Ahem.” Chi Yushu cleared his throat, drawing their attention. “We can’t linger here. The evil spirit is destroyed, and the sect has likely sent others. We should return and report immediately.”
Qu Youyou glared at Qu Yi Qiu with discontent. “If it weren’t for you, our sect would have won this mission!”
Chi Yushu, just about to release the Azure Chime Sword, darkened at her words. “She was captured by the evil spirit because I, as team leader, failed to protect her. When we return, I will personally confess my fault to the Sect Master!”
“Senior Brother… that’s not what I meant!” Qu Youyou hadn’t expected Chi Yushu to shoulder all the blame and hurried to take back her words.
“All right, all right, I know what you meant, Senior Sister. It’s not my fault anyway. You just misspoke, and now you want to apologize, don’t you?” Qu Yi Qiu swaggered up and made a face.
Chi Yushu, with his back turned, didn’t see her expression.
Qu Youyou gritted her teeth, forcing herself to say, “Junior Sister Qu, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to blame anyone. Your abduction wasn’t your fault, nor Senior Brother’s. It’s all the evil spirit’s doing!”
Zhao Wen, hoping to help her save face, echoed, “Yes, yes, it’s all because of that evil spirit. Once we’re back at the Celestial Evolution Sect, everything will be fine!”
“That’s right, all the evil spirit’s fault!”
“It’s committed countless evils!”
“That spirit deserves to die!”
All of Qu Youyou’s teammates chimed in to support her.
Qu Yi Qiu smiled, leapt onto Chi Yushu’s Azure Chime Sword, and called out triumphantly to Qu Youyou, “Senior Brother Chi said not to waste time. You’d better prepare to leave!”
Once she’d secured her footing, Chi Yushu gave a few brief instructions to Qu Youyou and the others before soaring away on his sword.
“Qu Yi Qiu is simply insufferable. Wasn’t she supposed to be growing spirit rice on Little Peace Peak? How did she end up in Senior Brother Chi’s team?” Zhao Wen stamped his foot.
Qu Youyou’s expression soured, a suspicion forming in her heart. She replied sourly, “Senior Brother Chi only wanted to use her as bait for the evil spirit. She really thinks she’s something special! Let’s go, keep up!”
Several streaks of light flashed across the sky.
Chi Yushu and Qu Yi Qiu arrived at the ancient temple first.
Wu Qiu and the others greeted them in astonishment. “Senior Brother Chi, Junior Sister Qu…”
They could hardly believe the two had returned unharmed.
“Yushu, did you defeat the evil spirit?” A Daoist in yellow robes approached unhurriedly.
Chi Yushu shook his head. “Master Xu, it was Junior Sister Qu who destroyed the evil spirit.”
Wu Qiu, Luo Yingying, and Lin Yaoxing exchanged shocked glances, rooted to the spot.
Xu Chenguang shifted his gaze in surprise, studying Qu Yi Qiu. “How did you do it?”
“My parents once gave me half a relic. When I faced the evil spirit, I used it to unleash Buddhist light and subdued it,” Qu Yi Qiu replied simply.
Xu Chenguang was still skeptical and pressed, “Where is the relic? Show it to me.”
Qu Yi Qiu glanced at him coolly. “Once we return to the sect, I will present the relic to the Sect Master.”
“What do you mean by that?” Xu Chenguang could hardly miss the implication—she was outright disregarding his authority!
“Exactly what I said,” Qu Yi Qiu replied without a hint of retreat.
She’d heard of Xu Chenguang: a 330-year-old Golden Core cultivator, the very image of a snob.
His attitude towards Chi Yushu and towards her was like night and day; she saw no reason to be deferential.
“You impudent girl. Are you saying I, a true master, am unworthy to inspect your relic?” Xu Chenguang pressed on, relishing the thought of seeing such a beautiful face humbled beneath his feet.
Just a disciple of Mo Qingli, both of them hopeless cases for achieving Nascent Soul—he, as a Golden Core master, could bully them as he pleased!
“Master Xu,” Chi Yushu interjected, “I think Junior Sister Qu’s words are not unreasonable. Now that I’ve crushed the mission token, yet the evil spirit was slain by my junior sister, to judge the outcome, we must leave it to the Sect Masters’ deliberation.”
Xu Chenguang couldn’t afford to embarrass him, not when he was Su Xichen’s chief disciple.
“Yushu is right. There’s no time to lose. I’ll send a message to the Sect Masters at once to see how they wish to handle this.”
Luo Yingying glanced admiringly at Qu Yi Qiu, quietly impressed by her courage.
Xu Chenguang shot Qu Yi Qiu a cold look, produced a messaging talisman, and, lips moving, recounted the incident in detail.
“Go!”
With a low command, the messaging talisman, wrapped in spiritual light, sped away.
It bore a unique restriction of Golden Core cultivators—should anyone intercept it, he would sense it immediately and could detonate the talisman, preventing the message from being stolen.
“The disciples of the Profound Intention Sect likely don’t know what’s happened yet. It’s getting late; let’s stay at an inn in Tianchen Town tonight. Once all disciples are gathered, we’ll depart together tomorrow,” Chi Yushu arranged calmly.
His thoroughness left Xu Chenguang with no objections, and Wu Qiu and the others had even less to say.
“Very well, we’ll stay in Tianchen Town for the night,” Xu Chenguang declared, and with a sweep of his sleeve, a blue sphere of light enveloped them all, carrying them away in a streak of radiance.