Chapter 93

Chapter 93: Second Senior Brother Huo Yi Han

Yu Ruan Ruan lightly bit her lip, a trace of worry in her expression, and sighed as she said: “Junior Sister Rong just went out to have fun with another male disciple.”

Huo Yi Han paused and said: “Just now?”

“Yes.” Yu Ruan Ruan nodded with a touch of regret in her voice as she said: “I originally wanted Second senior brother and Junior Sister Rong to meet each other. But Junior Sister Rong had already made plans with another male disciple in advance, so she went down the mountain.”

As she spoke, Yu Ruan Ruan took the initiative to comfort Huo Yi Han, as if afraid he might misunderstand something, and said: “But it’s fine. Now that Second senior brother is back, there will be plenty of time later to get to know Junior Sister Rong.”

Her tone carried a few shades of childlike innocence, as if without a trace of scheming.

Huo Yi Han listened, his expression unchanged, and followed her words as he said: “Very well. Then we can meet this junior sister another day.”

Yu Ruan Ruan lifted the corners of her lips and shifted the topic, saying: “Second senior brother, you just got back. I’ll cook personally and make a table of good dishes for Second senior brother to try.”

Huo Yi Han nodded with a smile and said: “Alright.”

Yu Ruan Ruan walked a few steps toward the door, then turned and beckoned to the three of them, saying with a sweet smile: “I’ll go down with Chun Tao to prepare the ingredients. First senior brother, Second senior brother, Third senior brother, you three can chat.”

Once Yu Ruan Ruan left, the air in the room suddenly congealed.

Huo Yi Han turned his eyes slightly, a faint chill at the corners of his gaze as he swept a look over Feng Lin and Qin Yuan and said: “What exactly is going on? Why has a Junior Sister Rong appeared out of nowhere?”

Feng Lin’s face was cold as he said: “That’s a question for master. When she was accepted, the three of us were not in the sect.”

Huo Yi Han’s eyes grew deep as he said: “And this new little junior sister, what is she like?”

Qin Yuan answered: “Junior Sister Rong’s full name is Rong Shu. She’s thirteen, with mid-grade Wind-Fire dual spiritual roots. On ordinary days she just trains and takes missions on her own. She’s fairly well-behaved.”

Feng Lin, however, had a different view. He snorted coldly and said: “If she were truly ordinary, becoming a master’s personal disciple would have had her so happy she wouldn’t know east from west. Yet she reacted with indifference. She is not simple.”

Qin Yuan’s tone remained even as he said: “Whatever the case, Rong Shu has not targeted Ruan Ruan so far. On the contrary, First senior brother once warned Rong Shu and scared her off. She hasn’t stayed at Limitless Peak these recent months.”

Huo Yi Han’s gaze weighed the two of them, his expression unreadable. Only when he heard that the new junior sister had moved out of Limitless Peak did he lift his brows slightly and say: “Not staying on Limitless Peak? Then where did she go?”

Qin Yuan replied: “The cultivation rooms on Spirit Nurturing Peak.”

Huo Yi Han frowned and said: “If I remember right, a night in a cultivation room costs 50 Spirit Stones. Where did she get that many Spirit Stones? From master?”

Qin Yuan said: “She took on a mission and earned some Spirit Stones herself.”

Having said that, his mind flashed back to the mix-up a month ago when he confronted Lin Dao on Spirit Nurturing Peak, and his expression grew faintly unnatural.

Huo Yi Han lowered his eyes slightly, his gaze falling on the hands he often used to gather herbs and refine pills, and said: “I see.”

Qin Yuan began: “Second senior brother, you’ve just returned to Limitless Peak and have not yet paid respects to master. Perhaps you should now…”

Before he could finish, the silent Huo Yi Han suddenly spoke, cutting him off as he said: “How about we simply poison her.”

Qin Yuan blanched.

Feng Lin arched a brow and said, with a hint of amusement: “If Second junior brother made a move, he really could have that Rong Shu die quietly inside the sect.”

Qin Yuan looked at the two of them, conflicted, and said firmly: “That will not do.”

He added: “Rong Shu is at least a personal disciple. If she dies in the sect for no reason, the upper echelons will undoubtedly investigate.”

At this, Feng Lin scoffed disdainfully and then swept Qin Yuan with a sharp gaze as he said: “Third junior brother, why so nervous? It was only a joke, yet you rush to defend Rong Shu?”

He pressed on: “What, have you actually developed feelings for that Rong Shu? Do you truly take her to be as kind, sensible, and considerate as Ruan Ruan?”

Huo Yi Han also looked at Qin Yuan. He said nothing, but there was a faint pressure in his gaze.

Qin Yuan’s face cooled as he blurted without thinking: “How could that be? How can Rong Shu compare with Ruan Ruan!”

Feng Lin said: “Then why object? Why hesitate?”

Qin Yuan’s voice faltered for a moment as he said: “It’s just…”

In his mind he again recalled the scene he had witnessed outside the sect a month ago—

The Junior Sister Rong who, in his impression, had always been well-behaved, taciturn, and disciplined, had in front of another man, in front of another senior brother, revealed without guard the innocent smile that ought to belong to a thirteen-year-old young lady…

Qin Yuan had always subconsciously tried to ignore that image.

But once recalled, something in his heart always felt off: surprise, puzzlement, or was it… jealousy?

When those last two words sprang to mind, Qin Yuan instinctively denied the possibility in his heart.

[Impossible. Absolutely impossible.]

As for why he opposed his two senior brothers’ idea of killing Rong Shu, it was only because she looked pitiful, and because it would be too much trouble.

[Yes, that’s it. It must be like that.]

Steadying himself, Qin Yuan looked at the two before him and said: “First senior brother, you ignore worldly affairs, and Second senior brother, you’ve just returned to the sect, so you may not know some secret news…”

Feng Lin said: “What news?”

Qin Yuan’s expression turned severe as he said, word by word: “Within the sect, and possibly even among the higher-ups, spies from the demonic path may have infiltrated.”

“What?”

“Truly?”

At those words, the expressions of Feng Lin and Huo Yi Han instantly sank.

Qin Yuan continued: “If Rong Shu were to die in the sect right now, it’s hard to guarantee the upper echelons would not treat it as a case of spies committing murder. If the trail then led back to Limitless Peak…”

He concluded: “We might not be branded as spies, but it would still stir up a world of trouble.”

With that said, Feng Lin and Huo Yi Han realized the gravity of the matter.

Huo Yi Han’s expression returned to normal, and he no longer mentioned poison.

Feng Lin could only snort coldly. He knew the weight of things and did not bring up Rong Shu again, instead continuing to ask about matters concerning Demonic Cultivators.