Free Web NovelChapter 70: Chapter 69: Return
The next day, early in the morning.
"Wen Qingye, I heard about yesterday! They said your final sword strike was absolutely devastating and that you killed the chieftain of Black Cloud Mountain with a single blow?" The moment Zhao Mei woke up and learned what happened, she began chattering at Wen Qingye nonstop.
Wen Qingye replied coolly, "It wasn’t that dramatic. It was a sneak attack."
"I knew it! That chieftain was a master at the Sixth Level of Refining Essence," Zhao Mei said, the realization dawning on her. "Your swordsmanship is quite good. How about teaching me a few moves? Like the Moonfall Swordsmanship?"
"Little Mei, stop messing around," Zhao Xia said, glaring at her sister. She then turned to Wen Qingye with a smile. "Don’t listen to my sister’s nonsense. I have some water here. You should have a drink."
Wen Qingye nodded. He happened to be thirsty, so he took the waterskin and drank deeply. GULP, GULP.
Zhao Xia sighed. "I just wonder how Little Yunshan will get by once she learns her grandfather was brutally killed."
Zhao Mei’s eyes lit up. "We could just adopt her! She could come with us to Celestial Academy. I really like that little kid."
"That could work," Zhao Xia agreed with a nod.
Despite some of them being injured, the four of them made their way down the mountain quickly.
As they neared the foot of the mountain, Zhao Mei shot a suspicious look at Zhao Xia and Wen Qingye before turning to Zhao Hao. "Little Hao, what’s our sister up to? Why is she being so nice to that guy?"
Zhao Hao glanced at Zhao Mei and said coolly, "Our older sister isn’t a child anymore. You should stay out of her business and worry about yourself."
"Hey, you little brat!" Zhao Mei fumed.
Zhao Mei watched the pair ahead of them talking and laughing, feeling indignant. ’If he wants to be my brother-in-law, he should at least have some real strength. My sister might not be a legendary, world-stunning beauty, but she’s still gorgeous.’ freewёbnoνel.com
Soon, the four of them arrived at the foot of the mountain.
Little Yunshan seemed to have been waiting anxiously at the door for a long time. The moment her eyes landed on Wen Qingye and the others, she immediately ran over. When she didn’t see her grandfather, her heart lurched. She looked at Wen Qingye and asked, "Savior, where’s my grandpa?"
Wen Qingye looked at the adorable little girl before him, his heart aching with pity. He said softly, "Your grandpa has passed away."
"What?!" Little Yunshan gripped Wen Qingye’s arm tightly, shaking it as she spoke. "Savior, you’re lying to me, aren’t you? My grandpa was only gone for a day! How could he be... gone?"
Seeing the tears in Little Yunshan’s eyes, Zhao Xia’s brows furrowed in sympathy. She tenderly picked Yunshan up and said, "Yunshan, don’t cry. You’ll get through this. From now on, you can come with me. I’ll take care of you."
Yunshan bit her lip, tears streaming down her face like rain.
Seeing Yunshan’s tears, Zhao Mei flusteredly said, "Don’t cry, don’t cry! I’ll take you to Celestial Academy! There are lots of fun things to do there!"
"WAAAHHH~"
Yunshan finally couldn’t hold back any longer and burst into loud sobs.
Zhao Xia quickly patted Yunshan’s back, saying, "Shh, it’s okay. Crying it out will make you feel better."
After some time, Yunshan seemed to have cried herself to exhaustion. She looked up at Wen Qingye with pleading eyes. "Savior, I want to go with you."
Wen Qingye was taken aback. Looking into Yunshan’s bright, star-like eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to refuse. "Alright. In that case, you can come with me to Qig Mountain Academy."
Yunshan nodded, slid down from Zhao Xia’s arms, and clutched tightly onto Wen Qingye’s arm.
Zhao Mei glared at Wen Qingye indignantly but didn’t know what to say.
Zhao Xia patted Yunshan’s little head and gave Wen Qingye a gentle smile. "If it were anyone else, I’d be truly worried. But since you’ll be the one looking after Yunshan, I have nothing to fear."
Wen Qingye smiled and glanced at Yunshan beside him. "I’ll take good care of this little one."
Zhao Mei snorted. "Sis, I think we should get going. It’s getting late, and we still have a few days’ travel to get back to Celestial Academy."
Zhao Mei was quite fond of the adorable Yunshan, so she was naturally upset that the girl didn’t want to leave with them.
Zhao Xia nodded and looked at Wen Qingye. "We should be going, too. Farewell, until we meet again."
"Alright. Until we meet again!"
The three Zhao siblings gradually departed into the distance. Just before leaving, Zhao Mei shot Wen Qingye a faintly threatening glance, which he found rather odd.
Yunshan looked at Wen Qingye and asked, "Brother Qingye, when are we leaving?"
Now that Yunshan knew Wen Qingye’s name, she stopped calling him "Savior" and started calling him "Brother Qingye" instead.
"We’ll leave right now," Wen Qingye said, smiling as he looked off into the distance.
.......
Before long, Wen Qingye and Little Yunshan arrived at North Mountain.
Although Yunshan hadn’t completely gotten over her grandfather’s death, she was doing much better. She was only a child of four or five, after all.
Yunshan looked at the dense surrounding forest and the towering North Mountain before them. "Brother Qingye, are we the only ones living here?"
"Yes, it’s just us here," Wen Qingye replied.
Yunshan said nervously, "I want to sleep in the same room as you tonight. I’m a little scared."
"Alright." Wen Qingye considered it for a moment. ’Little Yunshan just lost her last remaining relative. She’s only a child; it’s natural for her to be afraid.’
After getting Yunshan settled, Wen Qingye began to cultivate. His cultivation had just broken through to the Refining Essence Second Layer Heaven, and he now needed to fully stabilize his new level of strength.
As he activated the Longevity Technique, the vast, magnificent Primordial Qi of the world came surging in, flooding his limbs and meridians. Lying beside him, the sleeping Little Yunshan seemed to sense the rolling Primordial Qi as well and turned over in her sleep.
Wen Qingye knew that being bathed in this Primordial Qi every day would bring Little Yunshan immense benefits in the future.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Wen Qingye’s cultivation had completely stabilized at the Refining Essence Second Layer Heaven. Now, all he needed was a single catalyst to break through once more and reach the Refining Essence Third Layer Heaven.
On this day, Xiaxia returned with a bundle on her back.
Xiaxia looked at the little girl before her with curiosity. "Hey there, little one, who are you? How did you get to my North Mountain?"
Yunshan wrung her hands together and said nervously, "I came with Brother Qingye."
"Brother Qingye?" Xiaxia understood immediately. Her eyes flew wide. "Wait, that’s not right! You call my Master ’Brother,’ so doesn’t that mean I’m a generation below you?"
Yunshan blinked her big eyes at Xiaxia, who now found herself at a complete loss for words. Just then, as luck would have it, Wen Qingye walked out.
"Master? Is this your little sister?" Xiaxia asked in disbelief, pointing at Yunshan.
Wen Qingye nodded, a smile in his eyes. "Yes, she is. Why do you ask?"
"But... but..." Xiaxia scratched her head, too flustered to form a coherent sentence.
Wen Qingye waved his hand. "You’re back just in time. Today, I’m going to teach you some alchemy techniques. Afterward, I need to make a trip to the Celestial Essence Hall, so you’ll be in charge of looking after Yunshan."
Xiaxia’s face lit up with joy. "That’s wonderful! Master, you’re finally going to teach me alchemy!"
Xiaxia was overjoyed. After studying medicinal recipes for so long, Wen Qingye was finally going to teach her alchemy. How could she not be ecstatic? She even forgot all about the confusing situation with Yunshan.
