Chapter 047 Senior Brother – “ “Since we are cultivation partners, there’s nothing wrong with dual cultivation.” ” (12/19)
To be honest, if what the Senior Brother of Lingyue Peak said wasn’t directed at him, Shi Jingge would have been tempted to give him a round of applause.
That was so well said! It perfectly provided him with a new direction for development.
But Jiang Lingqing didn’t see it that way. He was furious.
How could they blame Shi Jingge for this? The people of Lingyue Peak were truly shameless!
“You’re blaming Shi Jingge for this too?” Jiang Lingqing snapped. “You’re a Foundation Establishment cultivator yourself—why don’t you go to the Alchemy Hall and bring back a few alchemists and artifact craftsmen for me? Can you supply them with the materials they need? Can you afford to support them? And what’s this about a ‘Mission Hall’? Right now, the remaining disciples of Shuixing Peak haven’t even reached the Foundation Establishment stage yet. What kind of missions could they possibly carry out?
“Aren’t the missions the sect provides specifically for Qi Cultivation Stage disciples enough? Do we need to replicate them within our own peaks? You think I’m crazy? I think you’re the one who’s crazy! To smear Shi Jingge, you’ve even abandoned your conscience!”
“You!” Lingyue Peak’s senior disciple snapped. “I won’t waste my breath on all this nonsense. Just answer me this: shouldn’t every peak have its own Artifact Forging Hall, Alchemy Hall, and Mission Hall?”
Jiang Lingqing glared at him fiercely, but couldn’t bring himself to say they didn’t need those things.
In fact, apart from Shuixing Peak, every other peak had weapon forging workshops, alchemy labs, and mission halls, and there was no shortage of weapon forgers or alchemists.
“As the Peak Master of Shuixing Peak, Shi Jingge can’t even guarantee the basic welfare of his own disciples. What else do you want to argue about?”
“He’s simply not qualified to be a Peak Master! If he can’t recruit alchemists, why doesn’t he go kneel and beg? There must be alchemists and weapon smiths who’ve received favors from Master Gu Yun and would be willing to come! Stop spouting ridiculous nonsense. What’s wrong with making a sacrifice for the peak’s disciples? If it were me, I’d go beg!”
The eldest senior brother of Lingyue Peak was so furious he’d lost track of what he was saying. As long as he could drive Jiang Lingqing to the brink of rage, it didn’t matter what he was spouting.
Jiang Lingqing was truly on the verge of exploding. He, who had never been bested in an argument across the entire Canglie Peak, was facing someone so self-righteous and unreasonable for the first time—and he actually couldn’t win the argument.
Just then, a cool, clear voice rang out, “Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother.”
Shi Jingge slowly emerged from his hiding spot. The argument had been so intense that none of them had noticed him approaching.
The moment they saw him, the expressions of Lingyue Peak’s senior and second disciples both darkened.
Even though they’d been cursing him with such righteous indignation from behind, facing him in person still made them feel guilty. Especially since they’d already been taken to task by him once before.
Jiang Lingqing, on the other hand, froze. He grabbed Shi Jingge’s arm and whispered, “What are you talking about?”
Shi Jingge nodded at him and murmured, “Don’t worry, Senior Brother Jiang.” Then, stepping out from behind Jiang Lingqing, Shi Jingge said in a calm tone, “Senior Brother…”
Shi Jingge paused, glancing hastily at Jiang Lingqing with a look of utter embarrassment.
Jiang Lingqing suppressed a smile and whispered, “Surname Sun.”
“Senior Brother Sun.” Shi Jingge nodded in greeting, and the expression of Lingyue Peak’s eldest senior brother immediately darkened.
How dare Shi Jingge and Jiang Lingqing humiliate him like this!
“Thank you for your advice, Senior Brother Sun,” Shi Jingge said earnestly. “I know what I must do.”
At that moment, Jiang Lingqing felt those two sentences sound strangely familiar.
…As if he’d heard them somewhere before?
But Senior Brother Sun of Lingyue Peak didn’t possess Jiang Lingqing’s magnanimity. He took Shi Jingge’s words as a mockery and sneered. “Go on, tell me—what exactly should you do?”
“Open a Mission Hall, an Alchemy Chamber, and an Artifact Forging Chamber; invite alchemists and artifact forgers so that the disciples of Shuixing Peak can learn alchemy and artifact forging.” Shi Jingge paused, then asked, “Does Senior Brother have anything to add?”
At that moment, Senior Brother Sun was truly about to explode.
This was a provocation—this was absolutely a provocation!!
“Add anything?” Senior Brother Sun said with a grim expression. “Naturally, Junior Brother Shi should hurry up and become a Golden Core cultivator so he can truly take control of Shuixing Peak, recruit disciples, and ensure the peak doesn’t become deserted. He needs to help the disciples of Shuixing Peak grow so they don’t end up unable to even eat a single Xueling Fruit.”
Jiang Lingqing was so furious he was about to come to blows with him, but Shi Jingge stepped in to stop him.
“Senior Brother Sun has a point.” Shi Jingge nodded agreeably. “Is there anything else?”
Senior Brother Sun glared at him with hatred, grinding his teeth as he said, “It’ll be good enough if Junior Brother Shi can manage all that.”
“Alright,” Shi Jingge replied calmly. “Thank you for your insightful advice, Senior Brother Sun.”
The more composed and unflappable Shi Jingge appeared, the angrier Senior Brother Sun became.
How dare Shi Jingge remain so calm and composed when he was this furious? It just made him look malicious and unreasonable.
“When do you expect to accomplish all this, Junior Brother?” Second Senior Brother of Lingyue Peak, who had been silent until then, suddenly spoke up. “When you do, Senior Brother and I will certainly come to congratulate you.”
“Forget congratulations—if you can pull this off within three months, I’ll even apologize to you on the spot! ” Senior Brother Sun spat out the challenge.
Shi Jingge asked in puzzlement, “Why would Senior Brother Sun want to apologize to me?”
Senior Brother Sun: “……”
“But if Senior Brother Sun is willing, your junior brother won’t stop you.” Shi Jingge nodded kindly and politely said, “It’s entirely up to you to decide.”
Senior Brother Sun: “……”
Standing nearby, Jiang Lingqing suddenly felt refreshed and invigorated.
Just look at the expressions on those two from Lingyue Peak—it really brings a smile to my face! Shi Jingge is truly formidable; just look at how he’s riled those two up. Hahaha.
Thinking back to his own earlier frustration, Jiang Lingqing felt even more satisfied.
Senior Brother Sun said gloomily, “Anyone can talk big. Let’s cut to the chase. I hope to see changes at Shuixing Peak within three months. Junior Brother Shi, don’t let your senior brother down.”
“Why would it take three months?” Shi Jingge looked at him in surprise. “One month is plenty.”
Senior Brother Sun felt the veins on his forehead throbbing. “Fine, fine.” He laughed bitterly, his anger turning to sarcasm. “If you can accomplish all this within a month, I’ll apologize to you in front of the entire Liuchong Sect!”
“Huh?” Shi Jingge was even more confused. He hesitated for a moment, seemingly unable to grasp why Senior Brother Sun would say such a thing.
“If Senior Brother insists,” Shi Jingge said, frowning with a soft sigh, “then… I suppose I’ll do as you say.”
That look of reluctant resignation, coupled with that final sigh, seemed to say, “Fine, fine, I’ll give in to your wishes. After all, you are my senior brother.” Senior Brother Sun couldn’t take it; Shi Jingge nearly drove him to his wits’ end!
“I’ll be waiting.” Senior Brother Sun managed to squeeze out those three words with great effort, then flung his sleeve and strode off.
He hadn’t gone far before he heard Jiang Lingqing’s loud laughter, followed immediately by Shi Jingge’s puzzled voice, “Senior Brother Jiang, what’s wrong with you? Why is Senior Brother Sun acting so strange? Why was he so insistent on apologizing to me? Come to think of it, I should actually thank him for giving me so much advice. So how did it end up with Senior Brother Sun apologizing to me?”
Jiang Lingqing laughed even louder.
Senior Brother Sun felt as though he could barely breathe.
The second senior brother of Lingyue Peak had to practically drag him away, and he felt a faint sense of relief. Thank goodness it wasn’t him who had just stormed out to get into a scuffle with Shi Jingge. Otherwise, he would’ve been the one to die of anger.
Amid Shi Jingge’s puzzled questioning, Jiang Lingqing simply couldn’t take it anymore. He leaned against a tree and burst into loud laughter, laughing so hard he couldn’t straighten his back.
“That’s… that’s amazing.” Jiang Lingqing held out his hand and gave a thumbs-up, looking exceptionally sincere.
Shi Jingge blinked in confusion, even more bewildered.
After laughing for a good while, Jiang Lingqing finally stopped. He rubbed his cheeks and asked, “Are you really confident?”
“Mm.” Shi Jingge nodded, puzzled. “What’s so hard about it? I’m an alchemist, and I’m also an artifact craftsman. I’m perfectly capable of teaching my junior brothers and sisters. As for the Quest Hall, just open it up. We can copy the quest types the sect assigns to Qi Cultivation disciples. It’ll save them a trip.”
Jiang Lingqing fell silent for a moment, then patted Shi Jingge on the shoulder and said earnestly, “I think those two from Lingyue Peak are going to be driven to their graves by you.”
Shi Jingge: “Huh?”
“When the time comes, please be sure to invite me along. I’m really interested in seeing the look of utter despair on their faces,” Jiang Lingqing said with genuine enthusiasm. “Please, oh please.”
Shi Jingge: “Huh??”
“Oh, right, here, take this.” Jiang Lingqing pulled out a storage pouch. “Just a bunch of random stones, plus some spiritual herbs and flowers. I thought you might find them useful, so I brought them over for you.”
Shi Jingge tried to refuse immediately, but when had he ever been able to resist Jiang Lingqing?
“And those two from Lingyue Peak, they aren’t really looking out for your best interests,” Jiang Lingqing said hesitantly. “If you can keep your distance from them, do so.”
Shi Jingge nodded obediently. “I know.”
“You know?” Jiang Lingqing asked in return.
Shi Jingge hesitated for a moment. “There’s malice in them. But when Senior Brother was teaching me back then, there was no malice—only anger and disappointment. Naturally, they don’t treat me as well as Senior Brother does. I’ll always listen to Senior Brother.”
Jiang Lingqing: !!!
In that moment, a strong sense of paternal affection welled up within Jiang Lingqing.
This junior brother hasn’t been spoiled for nothing!! He can keep spoiling him!!
Jiang Lingqing forced a change of subject, though his voice was slightly hoarse. “That sword—did you make it?”
“Mm.” Shi Jingge nodded, sounding a bit sheepish. “I found some Blazing Fire Stones and tried my hand at it. The quality doesn’t seem great, but I hope–”
Before he could finish, Jiang Lingqing slapped him on the head. “What bullshit ‘not great’—that’s the best sword I’ve ever owned!” After a pause, Jiang Lingqing added, “I don’t even know how to thank you.”
“Forget it, no thanks needed.”
“Then I’ll punish you by making you my junior brother for life.”
Shi Jingge: !!!
Jiang Lingqing glared at him. “I’m counting to three. If you don’t refuse, I’ll take that as your consent.”
Before Shi Jingge could react, Jiang Lingqing blurted out, “Three, two. one.” His speech was so rapid, delivered in one breath, without a single pause. After speaking, he shrugged. “Sorry, time’s up.”
“You’ll have to be my junior brother for the rest of your life.”
Shi Jingge’s eyes crinkled from his smile as he whispered, “Okay.”
Jiang Lingqing: “!!!”
The next second, Jiang Lingqing let out a loud cry, “You smiled! You actually smiled! Wow, I’m going back to brag to Junior Brother Zhao and the others. I actually saw you smile! Hey, don’t go quiet on me. Are you mad? Come on, Junior Brother Shi, the Junior Brother Shi I know isn’t the petty type!
“Give me a smile, Junior Brother Shi, just one more. If you smile, I’ll let you be my senior brother. Oh, right, Junior Brother Zhao asked me to introduce him to you. Do you want to meet him? He’s actually a pretty decent guy, just a bit of a smooth talker. You can tell him to shut up whenever you want.”
The two gradually walked away, leaving only their voices behind.
On the other side, Ah Jiu and the three-tailed cat slowly materialized.
The three-tailed cat looked at its master, feeling a bit sorry for him, and patted his head comfortingly with a tail.
Ah Jiu looked down at him, sighed deeply, and said thoughtfully, “I think… I got it wrong…”
Three-tailed cat: “?”
“It’s not just the helpless little ones who get accepted and loved by him.”
Three-tailed cat: “??”
Ah Jiu pursed his lips. “I know what to do now.”
Three-tailed cat: “???”
“Let’s go. We should head back.” Ah Jiu held out his hand to the creature with a faint smile. “We’ll wait for him back home.”
Shi Jingge didn’t keep Ah Jiu and the three-tailed cat waiting long; he returned quickly. Since he was opening the Quest Hall, he needed to prepare the rewards. He had to stock up on both elixirs and spiritual artifacts to avoid being caught off guard later.
Then there were the lectures. Since he would be teaching them himself, he needed to prepare his lesson plans. He also had to arrange for more alchemy furnaces for the disciples of Shuixing Peak to use and, of course, he couldn’t skimp on the ingredients.
The same applied to artifact forging; he needed a full supply of materials and tools. Fortunately, there weren’t many disciples at Shuixing Peak yet, so he could manage the preparations. If there were more disciples, he’d have to work overtime.
After Shi Jingge returned, he threw himself into the art of alchemy. Since most of the disciples were at the Qi Cultivation Stage, the Peiyuan Pill was indispensable, so he needed to prepare plenty of them.
Ah Jiu looked at Shi Jingge with eager eyes, then retrieved an alchemy furnace from his storage space, went over to Shi Jingge to help gather materials, and assisted him in refining the pills.
Of course he knew how to refine pills. He was just lazy. Besides, most pills were useless to him; for a three-tailed cat, absorbing the spiritual energy from spirit stones was far more convenient than consuming pills, so there was no need to go through the trouble of refining them.
But now, for the sake of his Dao companion, things were different.
Ah Jiu swore that in all these years, he had never worked as hard at refining pills as he did today.
After finishing several batches, Shi Jingge waved his hand, and Ah Jiu brought over the pills he’d made for Shi Jingge to inspect.
Shi Jingge raised an eyebrow at him. Wasn’t he supposed to be playing the helpless little victim? Had he stopped pretending?
“You know how to refine pills?”
Ah Jiu nodded. “My refining skills are average, but I’m decent at making Peiyuan Pills.”
Shi Jingge looked at him with an inscrutable expression. Ah Jiu scratched his head and flashed Shi Jingge a bright smile.
Actually, he was quite handsome. It was just those silver lips that were simply too distracting.
Shi Jingge silently averted his gaze; if he kept looking, he feared he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from bursting out laughing.
Ah Jiu lowered his eyes in disappointment. He must have really annoyed his dao companion earlier, after all. QAQ
So for the next few days, Ah Jiu kept a low profile. Instead, the silver on his body began to fade bit by bit.
When Shi Jingge woke up that day, he was greeted by an Ah Jiu with black eyes, red lips, and long silver hair.
Ah Jiu’s features were exquisite, and his natural grace was truly exceptional. Even the silver that had once covered him couldn’t hide his radiance, more so now that he’d returned to normal.
Shi Jingge’s breath caught slightly.
“Senior Brother,” Ah Jiu called hoarsely, rubbing his eyes.
Shi Jingge looked at him with an inscrutable expression.
Ah Jiu noticed his gaze and tilted his head in confusion.
“Your eyes…” Shi Jingge murmured.
Ah Jiu instinctively covered his eyes. Shi Jingge raised an eyebrow, then silently walked to the side, retrieving a set of artifact-forging tools from his storage space to begin crafting a pill furnace.
After all, a pill furnace was a necessity; the quality didn’t need to be too high—it just had to be suitable for a Qi Cultivation Stage disciple.
With that, Ah Jiu had missed his best chance to explain, and could only hug his blanket as he looked at Shi Jingge.
Shi Jingge had far less experience with artifact forging than with alchemy, and this was his first time making a pill furnace. Although System 111 provided the blueprints, it was indeed a bit difficult when he first started.
Ah Jiu’s artifact forging skills were average, but he still knew how to handle something of this level. He stepped forward and said slowly, “Don’t go smashing it like that; it’ll disperse all the spiritual energy.”
Shi Jingge turned around and frowned at him. What was he up to now?
Ah Jiu pursed his lips and whispered, “Senior Brother, I apologize.”
Ah Jiu’s hand slowly rested on top of Shi Jingge’s. He placed it very carefully; Shi Jingge’s fingertips trembled slightly, but he didn’t pull his hand away. Only then did Ah Jiu take Shi Jingge’s hand.
In that moment, Ah Jiu’s eyes flickered slightly. A wave of unprecedented, profound gratitude washed over him, making him feel as though his very soul was trembling.
He wanted to embrace him.
He wanted to kiss him.
He wanted to be together forever and ever.
Never, ever to part again.
He had truly waited far too long—so long that he had forgotten his own name, remembering only “Jiu.”
“Like this,” Ah Jiu said softly, then tentatively released a bit of spiritual energy, toning down all aggression. Gentle and natural, he guided Shi Jingge’s spiritual energy, then struck down hard.
“Senior Brother, you’re amazing,” Ah Jiu said, his eyes shining. “Do it like this again, then flip it over. That’s right, just like that. Take your time, wait for the right moment—don’t rush…”
The outline of an alchemy furnace slowly took shape.
Shi Jingge could handle the rest on his own now.
Ah Jiu didn’t want to step back; he still held Shi Jingge’s hand quietly.
Shi Jingge raised an eyebrow, signaling him to let go.
Ah Jiu whispered, “Can I not let go?”
Shi Jingge replied indifferently, “What do you think?”
Ah Jiu had been about to let go, but when he looked up, he saw the crimson flush at the base of Shi Jingge’s ears.
He froze for a moment, then a sudden realization struck him, and his whole body surged with excitement.
His Dao companion… Was his Dao companion blushing? Did he like him too?
After finally suppressing that surge of excitement, Ah Jiu spoke slowly, “Senior Brother.”
“The three-tailed cat said you like silver.”
“So, I thought I’d wear more of the colors Senior Brother likes.”
“That way, maybe Senior Brother will like me.”
“Just a little… just a little bit.”
The surging emotions in his heart were almost impossible to suppress. As Ah Jiu watched Shi Jingge’s ears grow redder and redder, he felt that the boiling emotions within him could no longer be contained.
“I love you so much, Senior Brother… I love you so, so much… I’ve waited for what feels like an eternity… I ache to be with you forever…”
“From the very first moment I saw you… I’ve yearned for you… I never want us to be apart again…”
At that moment, Ah Jiu had no idea what he was saying. Acting purely on instinct, he pulled Shi Jingge into his embrace and nuzzled his neck.
As if doing so could make Shi Jingge believe in him.
He knew it was too soon; they had only known each other for a few days. Cultivators down in the valley had to know each other for five or six years before they could hold hands or embrace, and for over a decade before they could practice dual cultivation—and even then, a grand ceremony had to be held first.
But he couldn’t wait any longer. He really couldn’t.
From the very moment he first laid eyes on Shi Jingge, an endless flame had ignited deep within his heart. No matter how hard he tried to suppress it, it refused to die out, burning fiercely day after day until, finally, it could no longer be contained.
Shi Jingge’s heart ached.
The timidity, caution, and uncontrollable deep affection in Ah Jiu’s voice had long since reached Shi Jingge’s ears.
Shi Jingge didn’t want to play role-playing games with his lover either. Their time together these past few days had already convinced him that this man was Wen Xusheng from his past life.
He was just a bit silly, with a rather peculiar way of thinking. Perhaps it was because he’d been cut off from the world for too long.
Shi Jingge spun around abruptly and chuckled softly. “Is that all?”
Ah Jiu hadn’t had time to react when Shi Jingge grabbed his robe, pinned him against the wall, and pressed his lips firmly against Ah Jiu’s.
Ah Jiu froze for a moment, but quickly turned the tables. In the blink of an eye, the one pressed against the wall was someone else.
His kiss was unlike the foolishness he usually displayed; it was filled with a sense of conquest and possession, yet beneath that lay a deep tenderness and affection, exactly like Wen Xusheng from his past life.
Shi Jingge wrapped his arms around Ah Jiu from behind and whispered, “Wen Xusheng—that is your name.”
In that moment, silent fireworks ignited within Ah Jiu’s mind; a trumpet of joy sounded, then gradually spread throughout his being.
Flowers and plants began to bloom within the cave dwelling, brimming with vitality.
Ah Jiu’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he murmured, “You’ve given me a name. That makes you my Dao companion.”
Shi Jingge raised an eyebrow at him. “I know.”
Ah Jiu took a deep breath; he could no longer hold back. In that instant, his form gradually shifted back to its true state: tall and imposing, handsome yet icy. The aura radiating from every pore made Shi Jingge sense something was amiss.
Before Shi Jingge could react, Wen Xusheng yanked him back. “Since we’re Dao companions, dual cultivation can’t hurt. Your cultivation level is a bit low, but it’s fine,you can use mine.
“Take it all. Don’t be shy.”
Author’s Note: Shi Jingge: This attitude of taking advantage of every opportunity and shining brightly at the slightest hint of light is just the same as before 🙂
Ah Jiu: Hehehehe~ Even though I’ve forgotten my own name, I still remember there’s a “Nine” in it!
Give Ah Jiu a round of applause, hhhh
More coming tonight~
There are probably four or five more chapters in this world. In the next world, I’ll start with the male god, and in the world after that, the Holy Son, wwww
Edit: Krone
Proofread: Choux_choux
