Chapter 23 (1/2)

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Li Changshou looked at the thirteen nearly-empty storage Dharma artifacts in front of him, as black lines appeared on his forehead. He began to mumble to himself in a low voice, as if a violent storm was brewing, “My Junior Sister is a wastrel! She was fighting prawn demons, who had as much battle skills as ordinary mortals. Yet, she used up more than 80% of the poisonous powder that I prepared for her… This amount was enough to kill 100,000-strong mortal armies!”

Lan Ling’e knelt on the futon in front of him, two streams of tears flowing down her cheeks. She tried to look as pitiful as possible so that she could escape the righteous punishment of her senior brother.

The corners of Li Changshou’s mouth twitched as he picked up a purse and asked, “Did you kill great demons at the East Ocean?”

“Well, Senior Brother said to use this if I met with any danger… Those prawn demons nearly killed me! I poured out the powder subconsciously!”

Li Changshou’s expression darkened. “I remember preparing nine bottles of this for you.”

“I was nearly killed several times…”

Lan Ling’e pursed her lips and continued crying. Indignantly, she whined, “Senior Brother, don’t be angry. I know that you put a lot of effort into producing these things. I didn’t waste them on purpose.”

Li Changshou could not find it in himself to blow up at his junior sister while she looked like that. He sighed and said, “Effort is a small thing, but the ingredients are hard to find. Few people in the Immortal Du Sect know how to produce poisonous pills. I used my own monthly allowance to exchange for these ingredients bit by bit.”

“Senior Brother, I thought about this, too.”

Lan Ling’e blinked, and then patted the girdle wrapped around her slender waist. Then, she retrieved seven or eight simple storage Dharma artifacts.

“That’s why I exchanged the rewards that I earned this time for poisonous herbs and medicines that I found in the sect! We did not incur a loss this time. I think we even made a profit!”

Li Changshou did not know whether to laugh or cry. He studied Lan Ling’e’s widened eyes, which looked like two clear gems. There was a hint of evasion.

‘This la.s.s…’

“What else do you have to account for? Tell me everything while my mood is still quite good.”

Lan Ling’e sucked in a deep breath and raised up her arms all of a sudden. With all her might, she leaned over, lowered her head, and knocked her palms and forehead against the ground at the same time. Her long hair fell on either side of her face.

She was kowtowing to admit her mistake!

Lan Ling’e closed her eyes tightly and plucked up her courage to shout,

“Senior Brother! Ling’e did you wrong! Two Uncle-Masters became interested in the poisonous powder that you produced. They took several bottles of my most powerful poisons! I really did not know how to turn them down. Senior Brother, I accidentally exposed the fact that you are highly-skilled in producing poisons!”

The house became so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

Lan Ling’e’s shoulders kept trembling.

She was not afraid of being scolded by her senior brother. In fact, she wanted her senior brother to hit her to release his frustrations.

Her senior brother had taught her everything she knew. She understood his principles. That was why she was so nervous. Lan Ling’e was worried that he would ‘abandon’ her and not want anything to do with her in the future.

‘Why… is it so quiet…? I’m done for, I’m done for. Senior Brother is completely disappointed in me this time! Lan Ling’e, Lan Ling’e. How did you lose control of yourself the moment you stepped outside? You even neglected to take care of yourself and ended up showing off in front of others. Now, other elders in the sect have their eyes on you…’

In the entire world, Lan Ling’e probably understood her senior brother’s character the best.

Li Changshou could hide 90% of his skills as his trump cards. In everything, he prioritized being low-key. He would never incur unnecessary karma.

Lan Ling’e was probably the only person who was cared for and loved by her senior brother, and it was only because they shared the same master. Otherwise, her senior brother would probably have never spared her a second glance!

Lan Ling’e sobbed as she said, “Senior Brother, you can hit me if you want, but please don’t abandon me… I know that I was wrong. I will never unnecessarily show off in front of others again!”

Lan Ling’e caught a glimpse of a hand reaching out towards her, and instinctively squeezed her eyes shut.

Ever since Lan Ling’e had joined the sect, she had never endured physical punishment. Would her first time be a good bas.h.i.+ng from her senior brother?

It was a good thing if he would hit her. At the very least, her senior brother could employ such a method of punishment on her.

The hand, which carried countless worries, finally landed. However, it did not hit her. Instead, it made a bend and pinched her ear, and then twisted left and right.

“Ow, Senior Brother, be gentle… It hurts… My ear is falling off…”

“Stop using this tone with me. If Master hears you, he might think I’m doing something else.”

Li Changshou let go of the small ear and said matter-of-factly, “Get up. That’s no big deal.”

Lan Ling’e immediately sat upright and got to her feet. This movement revealed a considerable amount of her slender figure.

Frustrated, she looked at her senior brother and asked softly, “Senior Brother, you’re not hiding your skills? Are you going to have a face-off with the sect?”

“A face-off? What face-off?”

Once again, Li Changshou didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Do you think I don’t know you well?

“Since I gave you the poisonous powder to protect yourself, I was already prepared for you to do something like that. Actually, I purposely allowed you to reveal these poisons. I had other important considerations, as well.

“Come and sit down.

“Was Senior Wan Linyun of the Pill Tripod Peak among the two elders who took the poisons from you?

“This senior has a disease in his left leg, so he walks with a copper cane. He looks quite cold, too. However, when he talks to others, he tends to put on a stiff smile.”

‘Purposely allowed me to reveal? Other important considerations?’

Lan Ling’e was stunned. “Senior Brother, how did you know? It was that elder indeed. Didn’t you just return last night? The person who first asked me for the poisonous powder was Elder Ge, the organizer of the Priming Meet. Two days ago, at noon, the old man with the cane came over. He gave me many herbs and took those. Senior Brother!”

Lan Ling’e reacted quickly and turned to look into Li Changshou’s deep eyes. Through gritted teeth, she said, “You planned it all!”

“Why put it that way between us, Junior Sister? I was just trying to protect you. The more you knew, the more burdened you would feel.”