After the proposal day, as hosts, Wen Shuangbai and the other five spent several days showing the little fairies and young monks around Qingzhou before the seniors from Jade Rhino Valley and Divine Evolution Temple took their youngsters home.
The day after the two sects departed, Yin Xuan also prepared to leave Qingling Mountain for a while. He wanted to revisit the mountain where his parents had died to erect a grave for them.
The group saw him off.
Lu Jiayao, eyes brimming with tears, gave endless reminders about food, clothing, and travel, and still couldn’t resist asking, "Senior Brother Yin, are you sure you don’t want us to come with you?!"
"Lu Jiayao, you’re getting more long-winded by the day," Shen Hefeng teased sarcastically. "Brother Yin doesn’t need you tagging along—he’d probably prefer to be as far from you as possible!"
Yin Xuan smiled gently. "Really, it’s fine. I’d like to go alone this time. I’ll invite you all later."
"Alright then." Lu Jiayao was about to say more when Li Zhuohua shoved him aside and urged Yin Xuan to leave. "Go on, hurry up! I’ll handle your duties at the Sword Pavilion, but you owe me a spar when you return!"
This was their agreed-upon deal. Yin Xuan nodded. "Sure~"
Nearby, Wen Shuangbai and Wen Xin were stuffing all sorts of supplies into their senior brother’s storage ring, packing it to the brim.
"That’s enough, really," Yin Xuan said, then turned to Xie Ziyin, who was handing items to Wen Shuangbai. "Brother-in-law, while I’m away, please take care of my two junior sisters."
In high spirits since his recent happiness, Xie Ziyin nodded. "Don’t worry. Just focus on yourself."
And so, under the watchful eyes of his friends, Yin Xuan shooed the freeloading Nine Thousand and Four Hundred off his narrow sword, used a minuscule amount of spiritual energy to lift into the air, and wobbled his way toward the opposite mountain.
Everyone shook their heads and sighed. "Senior Brother’s slacking off again…"
True to form, Yin Xuan’s journey was entirely unplanned.
Along the way, he took thirty-nine wrong turns, crashed into mountains, trees, and birds, and fell into rivers, lakes, and the sea over a hundred times… But because his seemingly slow flight was actually incredibly fast, he reached his destination in about seven days.
After the truth about the Helan family became widely known, the locals renamed the mountain where Yin Xuan’s parents had died "Helan Mountain."
In the towns below, newly built Helan Temples had sprung up.
His thoughtful junior sisters, aware that many on the Xuantian Continent now recognized him, had prepared a veiled hat for him in advance.
After offering incense at the temple, Yin Xuan sealed his spiritual power and walked step by step into the depths of Helan Mountain.
Using the compass Shen Hefeng had given him, he found a scenic spot with excellent feng shui. There, he erected a grave, built a small wooden house with the materials Wen Shuangbai had packed for him, laid a pebble path, and dug a pond.
He even tilled a vegetable patch and planted the seeds Lu Jiayao had gifted him.
"Plucking chrysanthemums under the eastern hedge, I gaze leisurely at the southern mountains."
Yin Xuan lived the idyllic life he had always dreamed of, happy every day—though he often missed his friends.
This was also why he hadn’t outright refused the position of Sword Pavilion’s young master.
Before leaving, he had requested a two-month leave from the pavilion master.
Ten days before his vacation ended, Lu Jiayao suddenly sent a message in their Qingling Mountain group chat.
[Lu Jiayao]: Everyone, everyone! I have something very important to discuss in person! Meet at the Fortune Private Room on the third floor of the dining hall at noon in seven days!
[Lu Jiayao]: Senior Brother Yin, your leave’s almost up, so you have to come! I really need your help! This won’t work without you!!!
[Wen Xin]: Senior Brother Jiayao, I’m swamped with work at the Rainbow Fate Tower, so I’ll pass. If you need anything, just message me on the Xuantian Mirror.
Apart from the soft-hearted junior sister, none of the hardened veterans replied. Undeterred, Lu Jiayao persisted.
[Lu Jiayao]: Where is everyone else?
[Lu Jiayao]: My dear friends, did you get this? Confirm if received, confirm if received!
Lying in the grass sunbathing, Yin Xuan thought for a moment before replying: [Alright.]
[Lu Jiayao]: Wow, Senior Brother Yin, you’re the best! You’re willing to travel all the way back just for me—you’re my favorite!!!
[Yin Sleepy]: :)
Only then did the others reluctantly respond.
It wasn’t that they were ignoring him—it was just that over the past month, there had been too many "very important matters," and no one trusted Lu Jiayao anymore.
[Rainbow Fate Wen]: Lu Jiayao, I’m warning you—if this ‘important matter’ is something like your mom’s pig giving birth, I will kill you. Understood?!
[Li Zhuohua]: Seconded. Prepare to face my Flowing Rainbow Sword!
[Xie the Reliable]: I’ll handle the corpse.
[Shen the Mad]: Hahaha! Lu Jiayao, your doom is nigh! Don’t worry, I’ll pick an auspicious day to give you a grand, humble burial.
[Golden Monkey King]: Who die? Who, who?
[Four Hundred]: Monkey King, can’t you speak properly? That’s all wrong.
[Golden Monkey King]: Still better than Nine Thousand! It no talk at all!!
[Lu Jiayao]: Relax, relax! This time it’s really important! I promise! You all have to come—I’ve already reserved the room!
---
Seven days later, at noon.
After happily greeting their senior brother, everyone took their seats and turned to Lu Jiayao, who was enthusiastically serving Yin Xuan dishes.
As future core leaders of Qingling Mountain, the young masters and mistresses had been swamped lately.
Yet somehow, despite his duties at the Music Pavilion, Lu Jiayao always found time for bizarre antics—much to everyone’s exasperation.
Li Zhuohua demanded sharply, "Jiayao, what’s this ‘important matter’? Spit it out!"
Wen Shuangbai shot him a murderous look. Last time, Lu Jiayao had tricked them into naming his family’s piglets, and she’d been so furious she’d ordered Nine Thousand to swallow and spit him out repeatedly.
Lu Jiayao still shuddered at the memory.
Glancing around, he noted that Four Hundred, Nine Thousand, and the Golden Monkey King hadn’t arrived yet and sighed in relief—but then, bolstered by conviction, straightened up.
He truly believed this was important!
In fact, he’d lost sleep over it, sometimes jolting awake in the middle of the night to ponder.
Lu Jiayao: "No, seriously—what do you think Elder Cao actually cultivates?"
Lu Jiayao had been troubled by this for a long time. During the competition, he hadn’t managed to get any answers from the elders of Qingling Academy.
After returning to Qingling Mountain, he practically harassed every elder and sect leader he could find who might know the truth, but no one would tell him. They all told him to ask Cao Xing himself.
Elder Cao Xing, who had taken half a year’s leave, only replied with four words through the Xuantian Mirror: [Not telling you.]
"Why won’t Elder Cao say anything? What exactly does he cultivate? I really want to know, ahhh…!" The more they refused to tell him, the more Lu Jiayao’s curiosity gnawed at him.
"………………" Wen Shuangbai took a deep breath, her hand on the table clenching into a fist, spiritual veins bulging.
If not for Xie Ziyin’s quiet reminder beside her—"Stay calm, stay calm. Breaking the private room means paying for damages."—she would have punched Lu Jiayao straight into the wall!
Li Zhuohua acted the fastest, already kicking and punching her junior brother: "What does this have to do with you? What does this have to do with me? Do you have any idea how busy I am? Huh? Huh??"
Lu Jiayao didn’t dare fight back, dodging behind Yin Xuan for cover.
Yin Xuan, grimacing, shielded his rice bowl, deeply regretting his decision to return early.
Why had he come back ahead of schedule? Wouldn’t it have been better to stay in his paradise, eating, sleeping, and tending to his vegetables?
Li Zhuohua finally stopped her assault and pointed at Yin Xuan. "Hurry up and eat. After this, we’re sparring!"
Yin Xuan looked lost and helpless. "…But I still have three days of leave left…"
"I don’t care how many days you have left," Li Zhuohua snapped. "Since you’re back, you’re sparring with me!"
Over on the other side, Shen Hefeng took over, continuing the beating: "You little brat, Lu Jiayao! Tricking us again! You’ve got some nerve, huh? How about I give you a new name? From now on, you’ll be called Lu Melon-Eater…"
"Then you’ll be Shen Misfortune-Wind!" This time, Lu Jiayao dared to retaliate, and the two immediately started brawling like children.
Amid the chaotic background noise, Wen Shuangbai and Xie Ziyin calmly ate their meal, occasionally picking food for each other while enjoying the spectacle.
Then—BANG!—the private room door was kicked open.
Shen Hefeng, who had just tussled his way to the entrance, took the full force of the heavy wooden door right across half his face.
Shen Hefeng: "…………" Who. The. Hell. Was. That?!
Lu Jiayao, who had been beaten up by everyone yet hadn’t suffered as badly as Shen Hefeng did from this one hit: "…………"
The door-kicker was the Golden Monkey King, who swaggered in with extreme arrogance, even shamelessly yanking a strand of hair from a nearby Taoist’s head before asking Lu Jiayao: "Whasss sooo imporrrrtant, huh? Tell meee, I’ll helppp ya figger it out!"
Behind it, Ninety Million waddled in, carrying Four Hundred on its back.
In just two short months, the kindred spirits Ninety Million and the Golden Monkey King had become the best of friends, wreaking havoc all over Qingling Mountain. They caused no shortage of trouble, but Four Hundred always smoothed things over in the end.
Thus, the trio was known as the [Four-Eating Monkey Gang].
Ninety Million disdainfully shoved Shen Hefeng aside—his face half-red from the door slap, half-black with fury.
Perched on the flower’s head, Four Hundred stretched out a tiny wooden hand and politely closed the door, then curiously looked at Lu Jiayao, waiting for his answer.
It really wanted to know what the big deal was too!
Lu Jiayao, not holding out much hope, asked the monkey: "It’s about Elder Cao Xing from your Administration Hall—what exactly does he cultivate?"
"That’s it?" Unexpectedly, the Golden Monkey King actually knew. Without hesitation, it blurted out, "Xiao Cao’s a liu yao! A liu… liu… amazin’ one from the Cao family!"
The four who had been quietly eating all paused, chopsticks frozen mid-air. Their expressions cycled through [Oh? Really? No way? So that’s it?] before they collectively turned to stare at the monkey.
Their eyes were so bright with astonishment that the Golden Monkey King couldn’t help but preen.
Clearly, it had done something major! Even the young sect leader and young pavilion master were looking at it with reverence now!!
The Golden Monkey King immediately leaped onto the windowsill, eager to spill more secrets: "Our Admin Hall’s got three demons! I’m a monkey, Xiao Cao’s a liu."
Even Shen Hefeng retracted his vengeful hand and asked, "Who’s the third one?"
The Golden Monkey King’s eyes gleamed with mischief: "Old Qian, duh!"
Everyone: "?!!!!!"
Even Li Zhuohua, who was usually in the know, was shocked: "Old Qian is a demon? What kind?"
At this point, even Yin Xuan forgot about his meal, staring at the monkey in anticipation.
The Golden Monkey King’s heart swelled with pride. So this was something nobody else knew—only it did!
It laughed uproariously three times: "He’s a cock-a-doodle-doo rooster demon! Real good at lyin’, tells everyone he’s human—but he ain’t! But don’t say I told ya, or Old Qian’ll come after me!"
The group exchanged glances, stunned, then obediently nodded. "Got it. Won’t say a word."
That afternoon, the six humans, one brush spirit, one flower, and one monkey left the table completely satisfied—stuffed with both food and gossip.
However, for several months after that, the disciples of Qingling Mountain never saw that monkey again.
Rumor had it that Elder Qian had thrown it into some secret realm for training.
