Chapter 20: Swapping Disciples Part 1

A gentle breeze rustled through, and as the sound faded, a peach blossom petal was blown from its branch, landing by chance in Wei Lingci’s hair. The peach blossom and the jade-like beauty complemented each other, with rouge powder gathered at her brows. She lowered her gaze to look at her somewhat unruly disciple, but her eyes were filled with Xun Changqing’s roguish smile amid the sea of peach blossoms. She had entered the grove with three parts stern momentum, but now not even half of it remained.

“The wind is strong here; let’s head back quickly.” The words that left her mouth turned into ones of concern.

“The wind is strong precisely because it reveals the current beauty. Master, did you come from the mountaintop? Is there something important?” Xun Changqing found it inconvenient to talk while lying down, so she sat up, curling her legs beneath her. Over these years, due to her martial training, she had grown tall quickly and was no longer the short-legged girl from before.

The mountaintop referred to the Spirit Abyss Pavilion, where the sect leader held meetings.

Wei Lingci picked a grassy spot abundant with petals, gathered her robes, and sat down. She gazed at the tall pavilion on the mountaintop. “The sect leader has returned, that’s all. Your Second Uncle-Master has taken a disciple—an eleven-year-old girl named Zhou Man.”

“Does she have any notable background?”

“I don’t know. The sect leader brought her, and your Second Uncle-Master took her back. From the outside, she seems like a quiet girl; she probably won’t annoy your Second Uncle-Master.”

Over these years, there were only three direct disciples under the Soaring Cloud Sect Leader on Soaring Cloud Mountain, all taken in early on. Besides Wei Lingci, who was a county princess of the court, the other two were sons of commoners. But while the sect leader had been traveling outside these years, he would occasionally bring back disciples who seemed ‘fated,’ their backgrounds unknown. But if someone with connections investigated, they would find that these ‘fated’ individuals all had impressive identities.

And Xun Changqing had the highest status among them!

With a moment’s thought, she understood the Soaring Cloud Sect Leader’s intentions. He simply wanted to enter the court. Jianghu forces were inevitably mixed with court influences, driven by profit and power. The Soaring Cloud Sect Leader was probably not as clean as he appeared on the surface. Whether he relied on the Second Imperial Prince or the Emperor remained unknown for now.

As she thought this, she subconsciously looked at Wei Lingci and realized that she had lain down too, her pink-and-white robes spread on the ground, her long hair flowing like palace brocade. Over these years, Xun Changqing knew that Wei Lingci treated her well, and she no longer worried about distinctions between men and women. Moreover, this place belonged to Purple Ying Pavilion, undisturbed by others, so she lay down on the ground as well.

The two lay side by side, gazing at the azure sky where clouds gathered and dispersed, peach blossoms like snow.

A poetic, picturesque scene!

Setting aside those complicated matters, Xun Changqing still preferred life on Soaring Cloud Mountain. Her fellow disciples were friendly, her master treated her well, and Second Uncle-Master would drop by from time to time, bringing endless amusement.

But good times didn’t last. They had lain down for not even half a quarter-hour when someone came looking.

Mu Chen entered the Peach Blossom Grove and saw the leisurely master-disciple pair. A surge of anger rose in his heart—he had been bothered by his new eleven-year-old disciple. But upon seeing Xun Changqing’s handsome face, he felt much better. They lived as neighbors, and he was familiar with his little nephew-disciple’s temperament: kind-hearted and extremely respectful toward her master, a rare good disciple.

He strode forward without a care, directly grabbing Xun Changqing and roughly saying, “Come on, come on, let’s go. I have important matters to discuss with your master.”

Xun Changqing was yanked up by him just like that. Over these years, she had grown accustomed to it. The “important matters” in Mu Chen’s mouth were often trivial nonsense. But this time, she could guess it was probably about his new little disciple.

Wei Lingci had taken her in without knowing she was a girl, and he had complained endlessly about impropriety between men and women. Now that it was his turn, he was likely even more troubled and had come to Wei Lingci for a solution.

And the solution was to shove the person onto Wei Lingci. Xun Changqing glanced at him, sat down casually beside Wei Lingci, arched a brow, and said, “Why should I leave? This is my Peach Blossom Grove. Uncle-Master comes in and chases me out—quite unreasonable.”

Mu Chen raised his hand as if to strike, but remembering his goal, he couldn’t afford to anger Xun Changqing. He put on a kindly expression, patted her head, and laughed. “Little Changqing, you can listen from the side if you want, but no speaking. Say one word, and I’ll have the Literature Hall masters smack your palms.”

Wei Lingci sat cross-legged, looking coldly at the bewitchingly smiling Mu Chen. “Don’t even think about shoving Zhou Man onto me. I’ve said I won’t take any more disciples.”

Xun Changqing, who had been ordered to stay silent, nodded vigorously. Everyone knew Mu Chen’s intentions! He coveted his carefree life in the vast Morning Cloud Pavilion.