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墨書 Inktalez
Li Hong stayed at home, overwhelmed by the amount of work he had to do.
He needed to practice and test the newly acquired Lingyi and Dragon Tail Whip, study Elder Yue Changzi's insights on artifact refinement, and learn the Mid-Level Spirit Talisman. Every day felt like he needed to split himself into eight parts, dedicating one to each task. He was so busy that even going to the restroom felt rushed. In a moment of determination, he decided to cut down his three daily meals to just dinner, only hurriedly eating to keep up appearances.
Suddenly, several months passed, and it was already the Beginning of Autumn. He had received only two letters from the Spirit Stone. The letters were public announcements for all disciples, read aloud by his senior brother Chuming, stating that their master was well and busy dealing with the Demon Sect, urging everyone not to worry and to focus on their cultivation.
Despite these reassurances, everyone knew the situation was grim. Although the elders kept their missions secret from lower-ranking disciples, rumors began to spread. One elder was severely injured and nearly lost his life when brought back to the Nine Li Sect. Another elder had fallen victim to an ambush set by the Demon Sect.
Rumors have a way of spreading; the more they were suppressed, the more they proliferated, leading to widespread anxiety among the disciples.
Only Li Hong remained unconcerned; he continued with his tasks, remembering Spirit Stone's words before leaving—ignore everything else and stay low-key; nothing was more important than improving his strength.
Because of this mindset, he turned a blind eye to some of Chuxuan's private actions. Not only did he ignore them, but he also advised Chuxiong not to make their distancing too obvious. His goal was to avoid arousing suspicion from this little person and prevent any trouble during their master's absence.
Perhaps it was Li Hong's attitude that caused Chuxiong to let down his guard.
One day, while Li Hong was in his study drawing a Mid-Level Spirit Talisman, he had just finished a Separation Fire Talisman when he noticed Chuxiong approaching with someone else. Stretching his neck for a better look, he was surprised to see it was Chuxuan.
Feeling slightly startled, he quickly covered the drawn Spirit Talisman with a piece of paper.
Chuxiong was in high spirits, holding a cloth bag upside down as he shouted from a distance: "It's time for a feast! Old Eight got two wild chickens for us; let's find a place to roast them!"
Li Hong smiled lightly and replied, "You guys go ahead; I still have work to do."
Chuxuan cheerfully walked into the study and said with a flattering smile, "Sixth Senior Brother is really diligent. But there's no rush at this moment. I've also prepared some good Fenjiu from outside the mountains; let's enjoy ourselves!"
"Yeah!" Chuxiong eagerly urged Li Hong to join them.
Li Hong was about to firmly decline when Chuxuan picked up the paper covering the Separation Fire Talisman. The yellow talisman underneath became visible. He exclaimed in surprise and picked up the Separation Fire Talisman for a closer look.
Li Hong's brow furrowed as he shot a stern glance at Chuxiong.
Chuxiong scratched his head, unsure of what to say and looking regretful. Seeing his younger brother's honest expression softened Li Hong's heart. After entering Nine Li Sect, Chuxiong had been simple-minded; aside from cultivation, his thoughts revolved around food. Chuxuan frequently brought him delicious treats from outside the mountains, which only drew them closer together.
Noticing the growing confusion in Chuxuan's eyes, fearing he might recognize that this was a Mid-Level Spirit Talisman personally bestowed by their master for him, Li Hong signaled Chuxiong with his eyes and smiled as he pulled Chuxuan along: "Alright, you win; let's go."
Chuxuan had already recognized it and shouted, "This is the Mid-Level Spirit Talisman 'Separation Fire Talisman'! You are actually drawing a Mid-Level Spirit Talisman!" His gaze towards Li Hong immediately turned hostile, filled with jealousy and anger, unwilling to accept the situation.
Li Hong felt annoyed and didn't even want to feign politeness anymore. He snatched the Separation Fire Talisman from Chuxuan's hand and coldly said, "You all can go."
Chuxiong quickly tried to mediate, "Yes, Old Eight, let's go. No need to shout here."
Chuxuan was furious and directed his jealousy towards Chuxiong, shouting, "Who is shouting? If you want to leave, then leave! What's so special about a Mid-Level Spirit Talisman? We can wait for Master to come back and teach us. Hmph!" With that, he flicked his sleeve and left.
Chuxiong was left dumbfounded, holding the wild chicken in his hand, unsure of what to do.
Li Hong said lightly, "Go on. They have good Fenjiu over there; isn't that your favorite?"
Upon hearing this, even Chuxiong realized that Li Hong was angry and felt even more at a loss, standing there not knowing whether to leave or stay.
At that moment, White Shadow flashed by, and Chuxuan returned.
His expression changed quickly; he even had a slight blush. After thinking for a moment, he sincerely cupped his hands and said, "I spoke too hastily just now. Please forgive me, Sixth Senior Brother and Seventh Senior Brother."
Li Hong couldn't be bothered to say much more. He replied indifferently, "There was nothing to begin with. You all enjoy yourselves; I won't accompany you."
Chuxuan didn't linger on the matter. He grabbed Chuxiong's arm and started to leave. Chuxiong initially intended to stay but couldn't resist Chuxuan's enthusiasm and could only give an apologetic glance before following him.
After they left, Li Hong did not continue drawing talismans but sat quietly for a while. After a moment, he had some thoughts.
With a flash of silver light, Lingyi emerged from his forehead, and Li Hong jumped onto Lingyi to follow them.
********
Chuxiong and Chuxuan were currently quite strong in their cultivation, having both entered the Refining Qi Early Stage. Although they couldn't manipulate objects yet, they moved swiftly. However, they couldn't match Li Hong's speed on his sword. After circling for a bit, he found their traces.
They were about to descend the mountain and leave Nine Vermilion Peaks, each carrying a cloth bag. Chuxiong had a wild chicken in his bag while Chuxuan likely had the good Fenjiu he mentioned earlier.
Li Hong stealthily followed behind them, carefully keeping his distance so they wouldn't notice him while also observing his surroundings to avoid being seen by others.
Outside Nine Vermilion Peaks were two other peaks where Ling Panzai and Ling Shizi resided with their disciples—one located slightly west of Nine Vermilion Peaks and the other slightly north. Although roasting chicken didn't violate the Rules of the Sect, it was still undesirable to be seen doing so. Familiar with this route, Chuxiong and Chuxuan chose not to head northwest but instead took a path south towards an uninhabited gorge.
So far, everything seemed normal; it looked like the usual behavior of two people preparing to steal food.
In the Gorge, there was a small stream beside a pebble beach. The stream flowed gently, its water crystal clear, and there were several scorched marks on the beach. There was also a simple fire pit made of stacked pebbles.
The two of them made their way to the pebble beach with familiarity. Chuxiong eagerly rolled up his sleeves and called out, "As usual, I'll gut the chicken, and you go gather firewood."
Chuxuan nodded and turned to walk into the thicket by the stream, snapping branches as he went.
Li Hong keenly noticed that until this moment, Chuxuan had not put down the bulging cloth bag in his hand.
Chuxiong quickly cleaned and gutted two chickens, shaking off the water vigorously before skewering them on a branch. He then pulled out a small spice bottle from his pocket, sprinkled some salt on top, and shouted, "Old Eight, are you done yet? Hurry up!"
Chuxuan responded with a murmur, but soon called out, "There are a few birds here! I caught them! There's quite a bit of meat; I might as well snap their necks and skewer them for roasting!"
"Bring them here quickly! I'm already salivating!" Chuxiong shouted impatiently.
Li Hong hid behind a tree and saw Chuxuan open the cloth bag, quickly shaking several green birds onto the ground before swiftly picking them up and walking out of the thicket.
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