26: Junior brother, you still need to practice more.

“Senior Brother, this net is squeezing my bones. What should I do?”

“I don’t know either. This Formation is really evil. The more you move, the tighter it gets.”

“How about… we call Master? He must have a way.”

“Call Master? Are you crazy? If he sees us hanging here like cured meat, he’ll beat us so badly tomorrow that we won’t be able to get out of bed!”

“But we can’t just keep hanging here, can we? It’s almost dawn. If Junior Brother Xiao Ruobai comes out for morning practice and sees us like this, we’ll lose all face.”

“Then what do you suggest? How about we try our luck and call Martial Uncle Gu?”

“Call Martial Uncle Gu? What if he thinks we’re here to steal something and throws us down the mountain to feed the wolves?”

“Then… how about we pretend to be unconscious? Maybe someone passing by will let us down.”

“Are you stupid? There are Spiritual Qi fluctuations in this net. If you faint, won’t you be squeezed even worse?”

“If I had known it would be this much trouble, I shouldn’t have listened to Master. What’s with setting off before dawn? Now look, we tried to steal a chicken but lost the rice instead.”

“You’re right. He wanted to freeload tea leaves, but he pushed us out as a cover.”

“Shh… I think I hear something!”

“Don’t move! What if it’s Martial Uncle Gu…”

A moment of silence… “Where is he? You scared me.”

“It was just a little bird.”

“So what do we do now? My arm is numb.”

“What else can we do? Wait. Maybe the Formation will loosen on its own later.”

“Your comfort is worse than saying nothing.”

“…”

The surrounding darkness seemed to solidify, and Zizhu Peak was so quiet you could hear the soft rustle of bamboo leaves falling.

Only the two people hanging in mid-air occasionally exchanged a few words.

Inside the bamboo house, Gu Changge twirled a teacup between his fingers, looking through the window at the two dark figures suspended in the air, a faint smile playing on his lips.

The water mirror on the table reflected the two struggling, and even their hushed conversations were clearly transmitted.

Gu Changge couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle.

“This Xuan Yangzi, the Disciples he teaches are just like him, always thinking of crooked ways.”

He looked up at the window, saw the two in the net still bickering in low voices, so he got up, pushed open the door, and walked out.

As he stepped over the threshold, a small bird fluttered over and landed steadily on his shoulder, tilting its head to look at the two people in mid-air.

Gu Changge’s smile deepened in his eyes, and his gaze swept over Li Xuanfeng and Shen Jinghong, who were hanging, with a hint of playfulness and helplessness.

“Alright, if I hang them any longer, they might really turn into cured meat.”

With that, he flicked his finger, and a wisp of light blue Spiritual Qi flew out silently.

The invisible net in mid-air suddenly loosened, and the two dark figures fell to the ground with a “thud,” accompanied by two suppressed cries of pain.

Gu Changge slowly opened his mouth, his voice neither high nor low, just enough to reach their ears.

“Next time you want to visit in the middle of the night, at least scout the place beforehand.”

Li Xuanfeng and Shen Jinghong fell to the ground, grimacing in pain. Hearing Gu Changge’s voice, both of them stiffened, their faces full of embarrassment.

They struggled to get up, patted the dust off their clothes, and lowered their heads, not daring to look at Gu Changge.

Gu Changge slowly walked in front of them, and the little bird on his shoulder chirped twice again, as if mocking their plight.

“You two,”

Gu Changge gently shook his head.

“With this little skill, you still want to sneak around like others? Look at your Martial Uncle Shi. He knows to dig a dog hole to crawl through when he comes to the mountainside in the middle of the night. But you two, you just crashed straight into the Formation.”

At this moment, Shi Wanshan, far away on Qingyue Peak, was sleeping soundly, hugging his beloved stone pillow, when he suddenly felt a cold wind blow past.

“Achoo——”

Shi Wanshan suddenly sneezed, his brows furrowing into a knot in his sleep.

He smacked his lips, turned over, hugged his stone pillow tighter, and his snoring resumed.

Li Xuanfeng and Shen Jinghong buried their heads even lower, their cheeks burning hot.

Just then, a clear young voice rang out: “Master, what happened?”

Everyone looked over to see Xiao Ruobai, dressed in a plain training suit, rubbing his sleepy eyes as he walked out of the room.

When he saw Li Xuanfeng and Shen Jinghong in their night clothes, covered in dust, he was stunned.

Immediately, he flipped his hand, and a Nine Heavens Dragon Soul Halberd, shimmering with a faint light, appeared in his hand. He vigilantly shouted, “Assassins! Master, step back!”

“Assassins?”

Li Xuanfeng was startled by the words, then raised his hand with a wry smile and removed the black cloth from his face.

“Junior Brother Xiao Ruobai, it’s us, Li Xuanfeng and Shen Jinghong from Qingyun Peak.”

Shen Jinghong also pulled down her hood, revealing a clear, cold face tinged with embarrassment.

However, having just climbed up from the ground, her hair was a bit dishevelled, and with her night clothes, she looked suspiciously out of place.

Xiao Ruobai tightened his grip on the Nine Heavens Dragon Soul Halberd, his eyes still wary.

“You’re wearing night clothes and breaking in in the middle of the night. You don’t look like good people at all.”

The little bird on Gu Changge’s shoulder chirped, as if chiming in.

He cleared his throat and patted Xiao Ruobai’s arm.

“Put it down. They were sent by your Senior Martial Uncle Xuan Yangzi.”

Xiao Ruobai blinked. Yesterday, he heard Master and Senior Martial Uncle talking, and it seemed like they mentioned this matter.

However… his gaze swept over Li Xuanfeng and the other person.

“Does communication require dressing like this and coming in the middle of the night?”

Li Xuanfeng’s smile stiffened. He couldn’t possibly say that he came to freeload Spiritual Qi and was hung by a Formation for half a day, could he?

He cleared his throat twice to change the subject.

“Junior Brother, you don’t know, but your Senior Sister Jinghong and I wanted to test your alertness.

It’s not Senior Brother talking about you, but look, your Senior Sister and I reached the mountain gate of Zizhu Peak, and you didn’t even notice. Martial Uncle Gu is truly amazing; he knew there was movement as soon as the Formation activated.”

As he spoke, he secretly glanced at Gu Changge. Seeing the other person’s lips curved in a smile, he quickly struck while the iron was hot.

“Junior Brother, you still need to practice more. Consider this your first lesson from Senior Brother. When you travel in the cultivation world in the future, alertness is a life-saving skill.”

Shen Jinghong listened from the side, her lips twitching uncontrollably—

This Senior Brother’s ability to lie through his teeth was becoming more and more proficient. He made the embarrassing incident of being hung by a Formation for half a day sound so grand.

And he even flattered Martial Uncle Gu along the way; his cheeky (thick skin) was truly impressive.

After listening, Xiao Ruobai looked at Gu Changge seriously. Seeing that Master didn’t refute, he believed most of it.

He put away the Nine Heavens Dragon Soul Halberd, cupped his hands to Li Xuanfeng, and bowed, his face sincere.

“Thank you for your Senior Brother’s teaching. It was Junior Brother’s oversight. In the future, I will diligently practice and improve my alertness.”

His serious demeanor made Li Xuanfeng’s heart pound, and he almost couldn't maintain his expression.

Gu Changge looked at Li Xuanfeng, trying hard not to laugh out loud.

He secretly wondered, why hadn’t he noticed Xuan Feng’s amusing personality before?

He spun lies effortlessly, and he really did fool the innocent Xiao Ruobai.

My good Disciple, you really should practice more. At the very least, your cheeky (thick skin) needs to be as thick as your Senior Brother’s.

“Alright, since you’ve arrived, don’t just stand there. Go and communicate amongst yourselves.”

Gu Changge spoke, breaking the slightly subtle atmosphere.

With that, he turned and walked towards the bamboo house first.

And far away on Qingyue Peak, Shi Wanshan shivered in his sleep again, mumbling, “Dog hole… my dog hole…”