Chapter 193: Everyone, Say Hello
This novel is translated and hosted only on BCatranslation
Lan Zi Yu and Su Ming stared at Fang Cheng Lang in alarm.
For a fleeting moment, they thought their eldest senior brother might turn his sword on Quan Ye.
“If you think I, as your eldest senior brother, am incompetent, then from now on, you need not call me that again,” Fang Cheng Lang said coldly before striding away.
“Eldest Senior Brother!” Lan Zi Yu, sensing something wrong with Fang Cheng Lang’s mood, hurried after him.
Su Ming, however, punched Quan Ye in the chest. “Why do you always talk nonsense? Now look what you’ve done—you’ve even angered the eldest senior brother!”
Quan Ye regretted his earlier words but stubbornly refused to admit fault.
“Eldest Senior Brother was wrong first. We are his junior brothers, yet he insists on siding with that imposter.”
“Are you sure Yu Zhao is fake?” Su Ming asked, half in doubt.
“Absolutely!” Quan Ye thumped his chest in assurance. “Right now, it’s not easy to act on Aspiration Pavilion’s territory. But once we’re on the Floating Island, I’ll tear off her disguise and expose her true self!”
Su Ming found himself somewhat convinced by Quan Ye’s confidence. If the current Yu Zhao was indeed fake, her efforts to keep her distance from them would make sense—perhaps she was afraid of being exposed and was deliberately finding excuses to avoid close interactions.
Eldest Senior Brother and Fourth Senior Brother had likely been misled by her lies, genuinely believing they owed her too much. Little did they know she was just a worthless fraud.
Thinking he had uncovered the truth, Su Ming felt a weight lifted off his chest. He patted Quan Ye’s shoulder happily. “Fifth Brother, I’m leaving this matter to you.”
“Third Brother, just wait and watch the show!”
Meanwhile, Lan Zi Yu had followed Fang Cheng Lang into his room, where he saw him standing by the window. Dust particles glinted in the golden sunlight, softening Fang Cheng Lang’s normally composed features.
“Eldest Senior Brother…”
Looking at Fang Cheng Lang bathed in sunlight, Lan Zi Yu felt an inexplicable sadness.
“Zi Yu, have I failed as an eldest senior brother?” Fang Cheng Lang’s voice was laced with bitterness.
“Of course not.”
Master Qing Yan had been in seclusion for many years, leaving Fang Cheng Lang to guide them in cultivation as their mentor’s stand-in. Lan Zi Yu began listing all the things Fang Cheng Lang had done for them as brothers, more than he could count on both hands.
“I used to think I was doing well,” Fang Cheng Lang said with a bitter smile. “If not for Little Six’s resolute departure, I wouldn’t have realized my own shortcomings even now.”
“Eldest Senior Brother, there’s something I’ve wanted to say for a long time. Before Little Junior Sister came to Lone Moon Peak, weren’t we already good to Yu Zhao? Anything fun or interesting, we let her choose first. Even the usually quiet Cui Jue would try to entertain her every day.
“But after all those years of enjoying our care, she wasn’t willing to share even a little when Little Junior Sister came. If you ask me, she’s been spoiled by us and can’t handle even a tiny grievance.”
Fang Cheng Lang nearly laughed out of anger at Lan Zi Yu’s brazen remarks.
He finally understood why Zhou Jin Yue had slapped him that day before he could finish his explanation—it had been out of sheer frustration.
Even now, Lan Zi Yu believed Yu Zhao had lived well on Lone Moon Peak, with her only grievance being that her senior brothers favored Ye Cong Xin, their newest disciple, over her.
Talking further seemed pointless. Fang Cheng Lang lost all desire to share his thoughts and dreams with Lan Zi Yu.
“Leave. One day, you’ll understand,” Fang Cheng Lang said. Understand just how wrong you’ve been. But by then, it will be too late for regret.
Lan Zi Yu hesitated, unwilling to leave. But no matter what he said, Fang Cheng Lang refused to respond.
As he stepped out of the room, he felt as though he had missed something incredibly important. Turning back, he wanted to try again, but the door slammed shut before he could.
Standing at the door, he felt lost and stood there for a long time.
…
“Sister Yu!”
Ji Han Zhou’s face lit up with a goofy smile when he saw Yu Zhao open the door.
“What are you doing here?” Yu Zhao raised an eyebrow.
“Here too?”
Ji Han Zhou immediately caught onto the key word.
Recalling the warnings from his sect leader and his mother, an ominous feeling crept into his heart.
Yu Zhao stepped aside, revealing a room full of people. “Come in and say hello. This is Ji Han Zhou, a junior from the Heavenly Sword Sect.”
“Hi!”
“Junior Brother Ji has come too.”
“Junior Brother Ji, you’re late! There’s no place left to sit. Hmm, over there’s a corner—you can squat there.”
“…”
A chorus of greetings bombarded Ji Han Zhou, leaving him dizzy and overwhelmed.
He had known his mother’s advice wasn’t reliable!
All those sayings about women dressing to impress and how to win a woman’s heart by catching her eye… He had believed it, spending extra time grooming himself before arriving here, only to discover he’d been beaten to the punch.
The real question was—why were there so many people here?
“Junior Brother Ji, I don’t think introductions are necessary. They’re all your fellow competitors in the sect tournament,” Yu Zhao remarked with a smile.
Ji Han Zhou took a closer look. Sure enough, he recognized familiar faces: Mu Ye and You Fei from the Green Wood Sect, Mo Ci and Jing Nan from the Hundred Flowers Valley, Yan Shan and Qi Qi from the Aspiration Pavilion, and an incongruous bald head…
Wait—a bald head?!
“Why is Silence here too?!”
Ji Han Zhou’s eyes widened in disbelief.
It made sense for the others to be here—they all shared the same goal, unspoken but understood.
But the Harmony Sound Temple disciples were monks! Surely they weren’t trying to convince Yu Zhao to shave her head and join them?
Silence smiled politely and greeted him. “Junior Brother Ji, I’m just here as a guest.”
Of course, he wouldn’t admit he’d come specifically to enjoy the spectacle.
Luckily, he had arrived early enough to snag the last chair. Ji Han Zhou, however, arrived late and could only stand.
“Come on, everyone, make some space for Junior Brother Ji.”
As much as they wanted to, no one could actually kick Ji Han Zhou out. After a bit of shuffling, they managed to squeeze out a spot for him.
Then, an awkward silence filled the room.
Yu Zhao leaned against the doorframe, her expression teasing as she looked over the crowd. “Weren’t you all saying you had something to discuss with me? Go ahead.”
The group exchanged glances, hesitant to speak up. After all, poaching talent from another sect wasn’t exactly honorable, and the offers they had prepared were meant for private negotiations, not public airing.
“If you won’t speak, then I will.”
Mo Ci from the Hundred Flowers Valley stood up.
The others tensed, suppressing their urge to jump in, waiting to hear what Mo Ci would propose.
“Yu Zhao, our sect leader was deeply impressed by your performance during the tournament and would like to invite you to visit the Hundred Flowers Valley. After the Floating Island event ends, you could join us on our flying boat and enjoy our famous wines and delicacies.”
Everyone else: !!!
Cunning!
The gentle and soft-spoken disciples of the Hundred Flowers Valley had struck first, planning to whisk Yu Zhao away under the guise of hospitality. Treacherous!