Chapter 9: The Senior Brother Who’s Both Father and Mother
When Song Zhen finished drawing the design of the sword she wanted, the Sect Leader nearly spat blood.
Those intricate and exquisite patterns, along with all those demanding requirements—and pink, too! This was really going to take years off his life!
Ji Fan, standing beside them, didn’t even know what to say. The ‘patterns’ they were talking about weren’t ordinary decorations; the patterns on a sword all carried meaning—they were spell-inscriptions that could make the sword stronger.
Forging an ordinary sword was easy, but engraving these spells onto it… that was impossibly difficult.
This wasn’t a job just anyone could do, and who knew where Song Zhen had even gotten this spells from? In the entire world, the number of people capable of carving it could be counted on one hand.
And it wasn’t as if money alone could hire these people—let alone when they didn’t even have much money to begin with.
Looking at Song Zhen’s innocent smile, the Sect Leader swallowed the blood in his throat and spoke between clenched teeth, “Where did you find these patterns?”
Song Zhen thought for a moment and replied, “From the Library Pavilion, of course. I thought that pattern looked the prettiest among all of them, so I memorized it.”
“Master, my requirements aren’t high; you just need to make it exactly like this, hehe.”
Hehe? You think you can just “hehe” your way out of this!
The Sect Leader took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. She’s my disciple. Spending a bit of effort isn’t a problem. It’s just a small favor…
It was normal to indulge the last disciple a little. A child wanting a fine sword was for cultivating properly—it was a good thing.
Ji Fan couldn’t watch anymore. He could literally see the tears in the Sect Leader’s eyes. This was the first time in all these years that he’d seen his master look so vulnerable.
All the other disciples who had done good deeds had been asked if they wanted a reward—but none were as bold as Song Zhen. Normally, people would politely decline and let the elders decide what to give.
Song Zhen really didn’t play by the rules—she directly drained half of her master’s blood.
As for the sword, her master would definitely be able to get it; and the spell, he could surely find someone to carve it. After all, as the number one in swordsmanship, people would have to show him some face.
It was just a bit troublesome—there’s a saying that debts of favor are hard to repay. Many people owed her master favors, and if he asked them to help with this, those favors would be considered used up.
Money is easy to repay, but favors are not. It’s not easy to make someone owe you a favor.
“Alright, if there’s nothing else, you may leave for now. I still have sect affairs to handle,” the Sect Leader said, clutching his chest. His voice sounded weak.
Seeing this, Song Zhen immediately asked with concern, “Master, are you feeling unwell?”
Ji Fan quickly pulled her away, half-dragging, half-guiding her out. Song Zhen still fussed, asking, “Senior Brother, Master seems unwell. Should we ask an elder from the Alchemy Hall to check?”
Ji Fan said, “No need. Master isn’t unwell. He’s just… overwhelmed.”
If you stay, he’ll really collapse. Can’t you see he’s about to die from your antics?
To keep Song Zhen entertained, Ji Fan took her all over the mountains, running and playing until evening. By the time they returned, he felt utterly drained, like someone had sucked all his energy. Song Zhen was already asleep comfortably in her warm room, leaving the Sect Leader and Ji Fan huddled together for warmth.
“Master… I haven’t even married yet, and yet I already experienced what it’s like to raise a child. This is exhausting… even more than practicing sword for three days straight,” Ji Fan said weakly.
The Sect Leader had sat there all day without moving, looking completely spent.
“Endure it. She’s your junior sister. Isn’t there a saying—‘the eldest brother is like a father’? Your senior brothers and sisters aren’t here, so the responsibility fell on you. Treat it as a practice to raise a child.”
Ji Fan flopped onto the ground. Big brother, second brother, third brother… when will you come back? Save me from this! I’m going to age before my time!
Ji Fan had a burning question. “Master, there’s a senior brother in the neighboring sect who end up having a relationship with his junior sister. He’s been raising her too. How did they… get together?
Right now I practically want to strangle that little brat Song Zhen to death. How did those two even develop romantic feelings for each other?”
The Sect Leader was stumped. He honestly didn’t understand these romantic matters—he’d been single his whole life. But he couldn’t admit ignorance to his disciple; his face was at stake.
“This… matters of the heart are complicated. Maybe they just bickered and spent time together until feelings formed. Perhaps you and your junior sister might develop feelings someday too,” the Sect Leader said.
As soon as the sect master finished speaking, Ji Fan let out a gagging sound.
“Master! Don’t say such horrifying things. Every time Song Zhen annoys me, I strongly urge to bury her underground!”
“No matter how pretty she is, in my eyes she’s still an infuriating little brat. I’ve been acting as both father and mother these days—if I really ended up with her as my cultivate partner, my first thought would be that my future had turned bleak. I might as well give up cultivating altogether.”
It’s not that exaggerated, right? Song Zhen can be pretty cute sometimes, thought the Sect Leader.
Ji Fan sighed. He was seriously considering staying single like his master. Love really was a nuisance. The neighboring sect’s couple constantly bickered, and watching them flaunting their ‘love’ was annoying. In the path of cultivation, entanglements like these were a distraction.
Time flew. Soon, the new disciple competition began. These were disciples recently admitted, with varying levels of cultivation, but overall not too far apart. Song Zhen was the most eye-catching—after all, she had opened a new world for everyone.
Logically speaking, she was the last to join the sect, so she shouldn’t be participating in this competition. But she insisted on joining with great determination.
The Sect Leader had been busy searching for materials for Song Zhen’s sword, so Elder Liu would oversee this competition.
“Disciples, you’ve been in our Mystic Cloud Sect for some time. This competition is to test what you’ve learned. Don’t worry about accidents; it’s all just friendly sparring. Elders will be observing each match. Do your best and show your abilities!”
Clap! Clap! Clap!
As soon as Elder Liu finished speaking, Song Zhen started clapping enthusiastically—sure enough, someone educated in the modern era; applauding after a leader speaks seems to be in her genes.
Join the Discussion