An hour earlier.
Wen Shuangbai hummed a cheerful tune, carrying the freshly prepared Zui Xian San Wei delicacies. After taking a long detour, she stealthily slipped back using an invisibility talisman.
Not far from Zui Xian Pavilion, there was an alley. Under the osmanthus tree at the entrance stood a shabby-looking ox cart.
The old, emaciated ox listlessly snorted through its nostrils.
A breeze rustled past, lifting a corner of the black carriage curtain before letting it fall again.
Shen Hefeng had grown impatient, grumbling, "You're finally here. I was about to starve to death."
He had skipped dinner, eagerly awaiting this feast from Zui Xian Pavilion.
"Then starve," Wen Shuangbai retorted as she materialized inside the carriage.
Xie Ziyin glanced up at her and naturally reached out to take the food box from her hands.
As she handed it over, Wen Shuangbai surveyed the four people already waiting inside. To her surprise, the cramped carriage was surprisingly well-furnished—small but fully equipped.
She raised an eyebrow. "Where did you guys get this ox cart?"
She hadn’t suggested buying one, knowing her thrifty teammates would never waste money on such a thing.
They’d rather walk than spend on transportation.
Shen Hefeng, already crowding Xie Ziyin in anticipation of the food, blurted out, "Lu Santu swindled it."
"Brother Shen, don’t slander me! It wasn’t swindling—it was borrowing!" Lu Jiayao, ever the diligent one, noticed the lack of utensils and rummaged under the carriage seats, pulling out bowls and chopsticks. After cleaning them with a purification spell, he distributed them while explaining, "I borrowed it from Chu Er."
Wen Shuangbai accepted her set. "Chu Er?"
During their competition, Little Wenxin had recruited additional cultivators to help manage Cai Yuan Lou’s operations, so Wen Shuangbai wasn’t familiar with every employee.
Li Zhuohua tapped her chopsticks against her bowl, waiting for Xie Ziyin to unpack the food. "Chu Er is Chu Da’s injured cousin! His swordsmanship isn’t bad, but not as good as his brother’s!"
She had just challenged him earlier, planning to recruit him into Cai Yuan Lou’s guard unit for training.
At this reminder, Wen Shuangbai recalled—their head chef, Chu Da, did have a younger cousin. "So Chu Er joined Cai Yuan Lou too?"
"Yep," Lu Jiayao nodded enthusiastically.
Unlike Wen Shuangbai, he’d been frequenting Cai Yuan Lou lately, chatting up every employee. He knew everything—how many family members they had, how many pigs they owned, even how many litters those pigs had birthed!
"We needed someone for odd jobs, so Little Wenxin decided to hire. Chu Da jumped in and recommended his cousin," Lu Jiayao explained animatedly. "Chu Da and Chu Er are from a farming background. All their relatives are gone—just the two of them and this old ox left. Chu Er traveled all the way from Qingzhou with the cart, took him a whole month! He only arrived ten days ago. Too honest for his own good!"
As he finished, Lu Jiayao looked down to find the other three already happily devouring the food, the platter of chicken, duck, and goose half gone.
"……" He spotted a small bowl set aside and reached for it, only for three pairs of chopsticks to block him.
Li Zhuohua warned, "That’s off-limits!"
Wen Shuangbai clarified, "That’s for my senior brother. You take from the big bowl."
Shen Hefeng smirked. "Serves you right for yapping instead of eating!"
Xie Ziyin placed the small bowl back into the food box, then picked up a chicken head with his chopsticks and dropped it into Lu Jiayao’s bowl. "Here, eat this. Good for the brain."
Lu Jiayao, initially touched: "???"
—
After the meal, Wen Feng still hadn’t emerged from Zui Xian Pavilion.
Bored, Wen Shuangbai passed around liquor, handing a flask to each person.
"!!" Li Zhuohua examined hers excitedly. "Sect Leader Li loves this! Once the competition’s over and we’re back at Qingling Mountain, I’ll give it to her!"
Wen Shuangbai immediately added, "Senior Sister, make sure to tell her it’s from me!"
Li Zhuohua: "Sure, no problem."
"Not bad, Shuangbai. You even got this premium stuff for me." Shen Hefeng stashed his away hastily, as if afraid she’d take it back. "I’ll bury it on Qingling Mountain and dig it up a hundred years later!"
Xie Ziyin asked absently, "You think you’ll live that long?"
Shen Hefeng: "……"
He was in a good mood today—for the sake of the liquor, he’d refrain from cursing this venomous physician.
Lu Jiayao: "Shuangbai, how many flasks did you take?"
"Nine." Wen Shuangbai sighed. "That’s the maximum I could carry."
Lu Jiayao whistled. "Your father’s going to owe a fortune. Can he even pay?"
"Of course not." Wen Shuangbai crossed her legs, eyes narrowing shrewdly. "Wen Dafeng barely has a single spirit stone to his name. But it’s fine—he’ll find someone else to foot the bill."
Gambling addicts and drunkards had no bottom line. They’d shamelessly leech off anyone willing to pay.
Now that his daughter was even more unreliable than him, and with Senior Brother and Little Wenxin out of reach, Wen Feng had no friends left to exploit.
So whoever bailed Wen Feng out of jail would become his target.
Tonight, she’d find out who was cruel enough to unleash this gambling, drunken nuisance on her.
As the book described, Wen Feng had once been considered talented in his youth.
But after representing Qingling Mountain in the Xuantian Grand Competition, he realized that compared to the elite disciples of other sects, he was mediocre at best.
Those prodigies far outshone him.
Repeatedly ranking at the bottom shattered his confidence. To escape the humiliation, he turned to alcohol and abandoned cultivation.
When Wen Shuangbai’s mother became pregnant, her weakened state, coupled with caring for her perpetually drunk husband, wore her down. By the time she gave birth, she was gone.
After that, Wen Feng had even more reason to drown himself in liquor.
And as he wished, those who didn’t know the truth would sigh and say, "Wen Feng had such potential. If only he’d kept cultivating, he’d have a bright future. What a pity—he’s just a lovesick fool, ruined by grief for his late wife."
That was how a man rotted from the inside out.
Yet, absurdly, the book later had Yu Xiaoxiao stumble upon Wen Feng being hunted by debt collectors. Out of kindness, she saved him, nursed him back to health, helped him quit drinking and gambling, and convinced him he still had talent—that he could start anew.
And just like that, Wen Feng repented and turned over a new leaf.
Compared to his own unfilial daughter, he felt that someone like Yu Xiaoxiao was the model of what a good daughter should be.
At that time, the original host had already died at the hands of the protagonist group.
The eldest brother, seeking revenge for the original host, confronted the protagonist group—unsurprisingly, he failed and ended up dead as well.
Upon hearing the news, Little Wenxin was so enraged that she fell into demonic cultivation, joining forces with Xie Ziyin to become a great demonic duo. The two villains collaborated, making life difficult for the protagonist group.
In the final battle of the original story, Xie Ziyin was killed by Di Qi, while Little Wenxin met her end at the hands of Wen Feng.
Yes, after a sudden awakening, Wen Feng personally ended the life of his youngest disciple.
After this ordeal, he experienced a profound enlightenment, achieving true mastery of the Dao. He retreated into seclusion among the common folk and even took Yu Xiaoxiao as his adopted daughter.
Whenever Yu Xiaoxiao needed help, her adoptive father would spare no effort to assist her.
When Wen Shuangbai first transmigrated into the novel, she had seen the artifacts forged by Wen Feng.
Truthfully, Wen Feng wasn’t lacking in talent for artifact crafting.
Unfortunately, Wen Shuangbai had no intention of being the considerate, understanding, and filial daughter. Whoever wanted the role could take it—along with the mountain of gambling debts he’d accumulated.
---
The disciples who had inexplicably appeared outside Qingling Academy during the day confirmed Wen Shuangbai’s suspicions: someone was using Wen Feng to frame her and the eldest brother.
She had a few suspects in mind but couldn’t be certain who was behind it.
After distributing the wine, they waited silently in the ox cart at the mouth of the alley, biding their time.
Just as Wen Shuangbai had predicted, about an hour after she left the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, a furtive-looking man dressed as a servant arrived.
Afraid of being discovered by Wen Feng, Wen Shuangbai instructed Little Wenxin to summon the high-speed teleportation treasure, the Colorful Fate Tower, to their location. They boarded the ox cart and retreated inside the tower, then sent Brother Qiang and the others to tail the man.
Even if they were caught, Wen Feng would only assume they were thieves.
After all, they were thieves.
Over on the other side, the servant settled Wen Feng’s tab and pulled him aside to speak in hushed tones: "Elder Wen, my master owes you nothing. He already paid a hefty sum to get you out of the dungeon. How can you come asking for more? Don’t you have a daughter and disciples to rely on?"
Wen Feng exhaled a cloud of alcohol-laden breath into the servant’s face and shamelessly replied, "My reliable eldest disciple isn’t answering my calls, and my daughter’s a disrespectful brat. What else can I do but turn to you? Don’t worry—just write down how much this meal cost, and I’ll sign an IOU. My daughter’s coming into money soon. She’ll pay you back every last coin!"
The servant’s expression soured, but he swallowed his words and turned to leave—only for Wen Feng to grab him again. "Wait! Lend me another hundred thousand spirit stones. I’ll sign another IOU."
The servant had never met someone so brazen. "Elder Wen, I don’t have that kind of money on me—"
"Cut the crap. I saw your purse when you paid—you’ve got plenty!"
"This isn’t my money! It belongs to my master, and I have to return it!"
"Then ask your master if he’ll lend it to me. If not, I’ll go plead with him myself. How’s that?"
"Elder Wen, I’m just a servant. Please, have some mercy. Let me report back first, and I’ll return with an answer tomorrow."
"Fine." Wen Feng yawned and pointed at the expensive inn across the street. "I’ll be staying there tonight. Bring the money by morning, or I’ll go straight to the Lu Family to collect it myself."
The servant’s eyes widened in alarm. "Elder Wen, you mustn’t say such things! My master’s surname is Yun!"
"Lies." Wen Feng flicked his greasy hair and exhaled another alcoholic breath into the man’s face. "I crossed blades with your Lu Family’s patriarch years ago. I recognize your techniques. Don’t try to fool me—got it? Otherwise, I’ll make sure my daughter and my sect hear all about it."
He patted the servant’s cheek. "I know what you’re trying to use me for. As long as the price is right, I’ll play along. Understood?"
Picking his nose, Wen Feng swaggered toward the inn.
The servant, grimacing, hurried back to report to his young master.
