Chapter 80

Chapter 80: Senior Brother Lin Dao Is Back

Rong Shu had not flown very far after leaving. After circling twice, she spotted the stone platform Senior Brother Lin Dao had mentioned earlier and stopped there.

The stone platform lay midway up a mountain. It was not large, but some passing cultivators would land to rest. After a quick survey, Rong Shu chose a conspicuous spot that was still out of the way, took a small stool from her storage pouch, and sat down.

Since she could not sit in meditation to cultivate out in the open, she began to read. She muttered to herself as she flipped for a book: “Perfect timing, senior brother gave me a few volumes earlier, I can look through them now,” then she drew out a sword manual.

After all, she was publicly a sword cultivator, so she had to learn a few sword techniques.

She had skimmed the earlier manuals, but there was one she had not opened. When she turned the first page, three characters had been written there: Presented to Wu Hua.

Rong Shu blinked, a little stunned: [Presented? Wu Hua?] Remembering that Senior Brother Lin Dao had said someone gave this to him, she wondered: [Could Wu Hua be Senior Brother Lin Dao’s real name?]

Gazing at those three characters, her feelings grew more complicated. [Alright then…] At this point, she was one hundred percent certain that Senior Brother Lin Dao’s identity had some issues. He did not seem to be deliberately hiding it either; otherwise there would not be so many obvious “slips.”

[Forget it, forget it, read, read.] She turned a few more pages and focused on the sword manual’s contents.

Some notes had been added later in a different hand from the three characters on the title page; Rong Shu believed these were in Senior Brother Lin Dao’s own writing. It was clear that when he first received the manual and learned the sword from it, he had studied diligently. Thinking that, Rong Shu’s attitude toward the text became even more serious.

Four hours later, at the horizon, a figure was riding a flying sword toward Heaven’s Evolution Sect. In mid-flight, the man suddenly thought of something; his flying sword, which had been moving in a straight line, veered and headed for the stone platform on a distant peak.

His gaze swept the people on the platform. Soon, he spotted a young lady sitting on a small stool, studying a sword manual. He guided his flying sword over.

“Rong Shu,” he called.

Hearing someone call her, Rong Shu looked up from her book and, at once, joy lit her eyes: “Senior brother!”

She put the sword manual and the small stool back into her storage pouch, then hurried over to Lin Dao, who had just landed.

On the other side of the platform, Qin Yuan was accepting a gift box from a vendor when the tips of his ears twitched.

“…senior brother!” came a voice.

[That voice… is that Rong Shu? She is here? Is she looking for me? Did she follow me?] In the span of a few breaths, countless thoughts flashed through Qin Yuan’s mind.

When he looked toward the sound, he froze. Rong Shu, skipping lightly, had reached a man’s side and was chatting with him, all smiles. The easy smile and relaxed air on her face were things Qin Yuan had never seen from her; for a moment he grew dazed. As for the man… Qin Yuan knew him: Lin Dao, the one who had undertaken a mission with him before.

A flurry of thoughts struck Qin Yuan: [When did Rong Shu and Lin Dao become so close? Did they keep in touch after that mission?] He did not know why, but he found himself walking toward them.

Lin Dao looked down at the young lady running over. The coldness on his face softened a little, and the corner of his lips lifted: “Have you been cultivating properly these days?”

Rong Shu nodded at once: “Mm-hmm! I have!”

She had not slackened for a moment in either saber practice or alchemy. With so many people around, she did not speak of her specific gains, but Lin Dao understood what she meant.

He raised a hand and gently patted her head: “Good. When we get back, I will spot-check your homework.”

“Okay!” Rong Shu edged closer and asked curiously: “Senior brother, where did you go these days?”

He had left so abruptly before that, seeing how rushed he was, she had not asked at the time. Now that he was back, she could not help asking.

“I was…” Lin Dao began, then sensed something and turned to look at the person approaching from behind.

Rong Shu followed his gaze and saw Qin Yuan walking over. With a faint smile at the corner of his mouth, Qin Yuan greeted them: “Junior Sister Rong, Junior Brother Lin, what a coincidence.”

Rong Shu scratched her head and answered: “Greetings, Senior Brother Qin.”

They were not far from the sect’s mountain gate; it was no surprise to meet Qin Yuan here.

Qin Yuan’s eyes moved between the two of them, and he asked casually: “Since when did your relationship become this close? Junior Sister Rong, why did you not tell your senior brother?”

Rong Shu looked a bit embarrassed: “Well, Senior Brother Qin, you have been so busy…”

Lin Dao took over, his cool eyes meeting Qin Yuan’s: “It is just normal friendship. Senior Brother Qin is only Rong Shu’s senior brother; you should be able to understand that, right?”

At that, Qin Yuan’s smile thinned. Seeing Rong Shu sheltered behind Lin Dao felt oddly harsh to his eyes, though he could not name the feeling.

Lin Dao did not wish to argue further: “Rong Shu and I still have matters to handle, so we will be going.”

“Goodbye, Senior Brother Qin,” Rong Shu added, then followed Lin Dao, stepping onto the flying sword he had summoned as the two of them left.

When Qin Yuan returned to Limitless Peak, his mind was still tangled in Rong Shu’s familiarity with Lin Dao. As he walked, he ran into Feng Lin.

Feng Lin had been looking for him; seeing Qin Yuan, he relaxed and said: “Where did you go? Today is Ruan Ruan’s birthday. You did not forget, did you?”

Pulled from his thoughts, Qin Yuan shook his head: “Of course I did not forget.”

He had gone out to prepare a birthday present for Yu Ruan Ruan, only to run into Rong Shu and Lin Dao on the way back. Seeing the exquisitely wrapped gift box in his hands, Feng Lin accepted the explanation: “Second Junior Brother did not return to the sect to celebrate with Ruan Ruan, and she has been down lately. Those of us who remained should take extra care of her.”

“I understand, First Senior Brother,” Qin Yuan said.

After Feng Lin left, Qin Yuan hesitated, then went to Rong Shu’s small courtyard, only to find no one there. If she was not on Limitless Peak, could she still be with Lin Dao? He did not know how Rong Shu had gotten entangled with Lin Dao, and they even seemed close. The more he thought, the more uncomfortable he felt. In the end, he could only chalk it up to this: a junior sister who shared the same master choosing to grow close to an outsider would naturally sit poorly with him.

He lifted his eyes to the sunset glow and thought: [Forget it, I will go find Rong Shu tomorrow.] Tonight was Ruan Ruan’s birthday; he could not be absent.