The senior brother standing before them wore a stern expression, his countenance as chilling as unmelting rime in the mountains, aloof and upright like a pine and cypress. One look at him was enough to send a chill down a person's spine.
"Why?"
Ruan Wei stood firm, refusing to step through the mountain gate and pulling Ruan Nanzhi back with her, fixing her gaze on Xiao Xuantong.
Chaojian quietly looked on, waiting to see how Xiao Xuantong would handle Ruan Wei's sudden spike in wariness.
Xiao Xuantong frowned, his voice softening a fraction. "Why have you stopped? Surely you aren't afraid that Penglai would trick you into coming up the mountain for hard labor?"
At these words, Ruan Wei only smiled, remaining stubbornly still.
"They cannot ascend Penglai. First, because they have no intent; if cultivators lack an intent for this lifetime, they cannot ascend Penglai. Second, because they have too much intent; when cultivators have too much intent, greed and dread arise, and surrounded by greed and dread, they still cannot ascend Penglai."
Xiao Xuantong glanced at Ruan Nanzhi, pausing momentarily before speaking, "Your elder brother originally could not ascend either; it was you who carried him up."
"Indeed, and therefore the Immortal Venerable has only taken you as a disciple."
Chaojian nodded, chiming in with this remark.
Hearing this, Ruan Nanzhi understood the situation. He bowed respectfully and said, "Many thanks, Immortal Venerable. I must trouble the Immortal Venerable to treat Weiwei kindly, and this junior will now head down the mountain."
A pang of ache struck Ruan Wei's heart. She reached out and grabbed Ruan Nanzhi's sleeve, stopping him from leaving.
"Brother."
She had read the plot; she knew Ruan Nanzhi was bound to go down the mountain, but what if things could change?
Didn't the System bring her here to save the world precisely to alter the plot? Why must Ruan Nanzhi insist on descending the mountain? This was a crucial plot-shifting node as well.
"Hold on."
Xiao Xuantong rubbed his brow, a faint, indifferent smile pulling at the corner of his lips. "Why are both of you in such a rush? Master did not ask Young Master Ruan to go down the mountain just yet."
"Junior Sister was able to climb Penglai because of her Innate Spiritual Body, which grants her an Exquisite Seven-Orificed Heart. The Exquisite Seven-Orificed Heart knows neither love nor fear, which still constitutes a lack of intent. She was able to ascend the mountain because you told her she must."
Xiao Xuantong smoothed the stray hairs at his temples. Naturally, he had no wish to let Ruan Nanzhi go down the mountain either; cultivators from the Ruan Family had caught wind of the situation and had long since lurked onto the island, simply waiting for the brother and sister to descend.
With another flick of Chaojian's whisk, Ruan Wei suddenly felt her entire body grow weightless as a gust of wind swept past. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself already inside the main hall of Penglai. All around her were white jade walls, beneath her feet lay bricks paved from bluish-green stone, and coiling around the eight pillars in the distance were dragon-like carvings that seemed ready to swim away.
Penglai was truly wealthy!
Ruan Wei stared in wide-eyed astonishment, clicking her tongue in awe.
"Once you enter the main hall, you've been stamped with the mark of Penglai disciples," Xiao Xuantong said leisurely, mimicking Chaojian by flicking a nonexistent whisk.
A forced sale? Ruan Wei's gaze began to drift once more.
Seeing his eldest nephew rambling on with childish teasing, Chaojian flicked his whisk again, sending Xiao Xuantong tumbling forward with a startled cry of "Ouch!"
Fortunately, his footwork was agile, and after rolling head over heels twice, he managed to check his momentum. However, the front hem of his embroidered black robe remained hopelessly bunched up around his waist.
A... a giant windmill?
Ruan Wei's hand instinctively reached toward the Mustard Seed Bag at Ruan Nanzhi's waist, but Ruan Nanzhi stopped her without missing a beat, using his eyes to signal that she shouldn't even think about it.
Ruan Wei withdrew her hand wistfully. What a pity she couldn't tip him.
In the Ruan family, after witnessing such a spectacular somersault, one would feel quite embarrassed not to give something in return.
"Ahem—"
Feng Wuya, who had been sitting quietly in the center of the grand hall for quite some time, could no longer help coughing loudly.
"Senior Brother." "Master."
Chaojian and Xiao Xuantong bowed to Feng Wuya.
"Greetings, Immortal Venerable."
Ruan Nanzhi pulled Ruan Wei down with him to offer a bow as well.
A gust of spiritual energy, gentle as a breeze, suddenly hoisted Ruan Nanzhi back to his feet, yet it left Ruan Wei unassisted, letting her bow respectfully all the way to the floor.
Ruan Wei straightened up to take a look at her new master.
In his youth, Feng Wuya had been exceptionally renowned. Among his entire generation across the entire Cultivation World, he and Cén Língxī, the sect master of the Wanjian Sect, were considered the top two sword cultivators.
When Penglai disciples reached the Golden Core stage, they would conceal their names and venture off the island to temper their minds. Feng Wuya had happened to travel to Tongzhou for this purpose. There, he met Cén Língxī, who was also undergoing trials down the mountain, and the two traveled in company for a long time.
"Young Master Ruan, my fate holds five tribulations, and you are not among them."
Hearing this, Ruan Wei couldn't help curling her lip. Calling five disciples five tribulations—well, even if unorthodox, it was remarkably accurate.
She herself happened to be one of those tribulations.
"I know," Ruan Nanzhi said, smoothing out his moon-white robe and bowing once more to Feng Wuya with utmost solemnity. "I have no intention of joining the sect at Penglai. My late father remains in the marshlands, his bones yet uncollected. I originally planned to send Weiwei to study at Penglai before heading back down the mountain to gather my father's remains."
Ruan Wei lowered her eyelashes, keeping silent. She knew Ruan Nanzhi's intentions; she knew he would not stay in Penglai for her sake; she knew that Ruan Nanzhi was determined to return to the Ruan Family to settle all accounts.
Because the poison in her body came from the Ruan Family, Ruan Nanzhi had to go back.
Feng Wuya nodded. "Since Ruan Wei has already entered my sect, Penglai will delay the poison within her until Young Master Ruan arrives."
Clever, all-powerful adults always spoke with such veiled ambiguity. Even when children had already figured out the whole truth, people still chose to put up a peaceful facade.
After Ruan Nanzhi thanked Feng Wuya, Chaojian beckoned to him.
"Weiwei," Ruan Nanzhi looked at his younger sister, who wore two hair buns and barely reached his chest, his nose twitching slightly. "I am going down the mountain, and I am going to bring Father home."
As he spoke, he untied the Mustard Seed Bag from his waist and tied it around Ruan Wei's instead.
Ruan Wei looked up and met his gaze. Her features were exceptionally aloof, yet every frown and smile overflowed with gorgeous brilliance. Nature itself seemed to have meticulously carved out such a naturally beautiful face—thick, dark hair against snowy skin, breathtakingly striking.
"The Golden Core... Once I reach the Golden Core stage, I will go to the Ruan Family to find you, Brother."
Ruan Wei's eyes, reflecting the moonlight, were filled with stubborn determination. She pulled a stack of Communication Talismans from her Mustard Seed Bag and stuffed them into Ruan Nanzhi's moon-white robe.
"When that time comes, Brother must wear narrow-sleeved robes to welcome me home."
"Very well."
Seeing the two finish their farewells over on his side, Chaojian flicked his whisk once, and both he and Ruan Nanzhi vanished from sight.
[No need to grieve; without you holding him back, he can flex his muscles even better.]
The System's dry tone made it hard to tell whether it was offering comfort or sarcasm.
Ruan Wei replied in her mind, "I accidentally planted a dozen flags for my brother just now. I feel like my head is now full of arrows pointing straight to his doom."
"Ruan Wei?"
Feng Wuya called out to her cautiously. This was his very first time taking in a young girl as a disciple, and he felt a bit nervous.
Ruan Wei snapped back to her senses, tucked her hands into her sleeves, and paced to within three feet of Feng Wuya. "Master."
"Ah," Feng Wuya acknowledged, fumbling through his robes until he pulled out a Mustard Seed Bag. "Take this and play with it. Keep whatever you like inside, and if there's anything you don't like, either toss it to your senior brother or throw it to the back mountains to feed the chickens."
Caught completely off guard, Ruan Wei accepted the Mustard Seed Bag and peered inside, instantly dazzled by a full bag of Spirit Stones, Spiritual Artifacts, pearls and jewels, and immortal dresses.
Wait, Master, you could have given this sooner! My brother even left me his entire family fortune, and I had to stuff Communication Talismans into my pockets just to carry them.
"Many thanks, Master, I like all of it. Also, Master, could you please give this to my brother? He didn't even take a single Spirit Stone with him, and I'm afraid that without a penny to his name, he'll have to rely on his looks to beg his way back."
Ruan Wei held up the Mustard Seed Bag she had just received and asked.
Feng Wuya raised an eyebrow. "He's still in the back mountains; let Xuantong make the trip."
Xiao Xuantong, standing nearby, took the Mustard Seed Bag. "Raven."
In an instant, his sword let out a resonant ring from his waist, and a Spirit Sword emitting a black luster hovered right in front of Xiao Xuantong. He stepped onto the blade and zipped out of the great hall with a swoosh.
Just as Ruan Wei was about to speak, a loud explosion echoed from the distance. She couldn't help turning around to look, only to see a cloud of dust billowing outside.
"It's nothing, your senior brother simply fell," Feng Wuya said nonchalantly. "A junior sister has arrived, and he's a bit too excited. He only just learned sword flight a few days ago and wanted to show off in front of you."
Oh, my naive and clueless straight-male senior brother.