34: Chapter 34 The Little Tail of a Smuggler? This Junior Sister's System Panel is Strange!

The night wind, carrying the chilly moisture unique to high altitudes, blew across the open deck at the front of the flying boat.

Facing Liu Qingwan's evaluation of him as a "little rascal," delivered with three parts intoxication and seven parts teasing, Gu Yi did not offer a rebuttal.

He raised the translucent white jade cup in his hand and naturally clinked it gently against the emerald green wine gourd in Liu Qingwan's hand, producing a crisp sound of jade striking jade.

"Elder, you flatter me. This Disciple merely feels that with such excellent moonlight and immortal brew, if I were to still maintain those rigid airs, wouldn't I be failing to appreciate your refined interest?"

Gu Yi tilted his head back and downed the mellow wine in his cup in one gulp.

Watching his neither humble nor arrogant demeanor, the smile on Liu Qingwan's red lips deepened.

Just as she was about to pour another cup of wine, a faint sound of wooden boards rubbing against each other drifted over on the biting night wind, coming from the shadowy corner at the back of the deck where the Sect's Materials were stored.

"Creeeeeak—"

Although the sound was faint, on the quiet deck where only the wind remained, it sounded exceptionally clear.

Gu Yi's hand holding the jade cup paused slightly; the relaxed and comfortable look in his eyes vanished instantly as he turned his head to look at the source of the sound.

Liu Qingwan also glanced over slightly, a flicker of confusion flashing in her watery eyes.

In the corner, a massive spirit wood chest used for storing top-grade Formation Materials had its heavy lid being laboriously pushed open from the inside.

Accompanied by a dull, forceful push, the chest lid slid to the side with a "clatter."

Following that, a small, fair hand, though covered in dust, gripped the edge of the chest.

A petite figure, like a small beast dug out from a dirt pit, climbed out of the wooden chest rather clumsily.

"Cough, cough, cough... I was suffocated to death. Why is this lousy chest full of wood shavings..."

The person was wearing the pale pink, cinched-waist long dress unique to the Xuantian Sect's inner Sect, but at this moment, the hem of the dress was already wrinkled.

Not only was it covered in a large amount of dust, but there were even two ridiculous blades of withered grass on her hair.

While muttering complaints under her breath, she brushed the dust off her body and looked up, revealing a pretty face that was pure, spirited, and possessed extremely delicate features.

The moment Gu Yi saw that face, he, who was usually tactful and unfazed even if Mount Tai collapsed before him, felt the corner of his eye twitch uncontrollably.

Junior Sister Lin Wanying!

The only daughter most cherished by the current Xuantian Sect Master, and also that spoiled, mischievous Junior Sister in the Sect who relied on her status and could not be controlled by anyone.

Gu Yi only felt his temples throbbing.

He was the official leader for this trip to Sword King City in the Central Province, and the Sect Master had given him repeated instructions to lead the team well.

Who could have imagined that this little ancestor would be so daring as to deceive everyone, even bypassing the Sect's mountain-protecting Formation, and forcefully pack herself as "Materials" to stow away on board!

If the old Sect Master found out his precious daughter was missing, he would probably grab his sword, cross the hundred thousand mountains, and hack him to pieces alive.

[Beep! Core target meeting inclusion criteria detected. System deep scan has been forcefully initiated!]

Immediately after, a translucent System panel emitting a faint blue glow popped up silently before Gu Yi's retina.

[Target Name]: Junior Sister Lin Wanying

[Identity]: Daughter of the Xuantian Sect Master, the host's fellow Junior Sister

[Current Cultivation]: Foundation Establishment Stage Peak

[Personality Profile]: Mischievous, spoiled, and willful. Long-term overprotection within the Sect has left her extremely eager for new things from the outside world. She has an extremely strong sense of dependence and possessiveness toward the host (a "guarding food" mentality), believing the host is the only "interesting and easy-to-talk-to" backer in the entire Sect.

[Real-time Behavioral Motivation]: Unable to endure the boredom of the Sect and unwilling to let the host travel far, she planned this stowaway attempt. Current psychological state: Extremely guilty, attempting to muddle through by acting spoiled and unreasonable.

"Yo, I wondered who had such great ability to bypass the layers of checks for boarding."

Liu Qingwan, who was leaning against the ship's railing, recognized the disheveled little girl at this moment.

Not only did she not feel embarrassed about being caught drinking in the middle of the night, but she also raised her wine gourd again, shook it, and let out a playful, teasing laugh.

"Our Team Leader Gu's charm is truly boundless. Even the Sect Master's precious darling is willing to hide in a wooden chest and eat dirt just to follow you as your little tail."

Facing Liu Qingwan's undisguised teasing, Junior Sister Lin Wanying's movements of brushing off dust froze abruptly.

She turned her head and met Gu Yi's deep eyes, which were half-smiling and filled with a touch of helplessness and scrutiny.

Then, looking at Liu Qingwan beside him, who was lazily charming with her clothes half-undone, Junior Sister Lin Wanying's dirty little face instantly flushed red.

It's over. She was caught red-handed just after climbing out!

A hundred miserable images flashed through Junior Sister Lin Wanying's mind: being sent back to the Sect by a cold-faced Gu Yi, and then having her legs broken by her own father.

At this moment, her desire to survive completely overcame her embarrassment.

She completely ignored Liu Qingwan, who was still watching the show, and like a small pink cannonball, she stepped on the frost on the deck and charged straight toward Gu Yi.

"Senior Brother—!"

Junior Sister Lin Wanying rushed in front of Gu Yi, unceremoniously sat down on the deck, and wrapped her two slender arms like extremely tough vines tightly around Gu Yi's left thigh.

"Senior Brother! You must, absolutely must not send me back!"

She looked up, her delicate little face stained with a few streaks of grayish-black grime, and her eyes instantly filled with aggrieved tears. She looked at Gu Yi pitifully, her voice full of pure, unadulterated coquetry and wheedling.

"I was really about to die of boredom on the mountain! Father forces me to memorize those boring Dao scriptures every day, and won't even let me go to the Purple Bamboo Forest! I don't care, I'm already on the boat, the flying boat has already traveled so far. If you drive me away now, what if I encounter a massive Yao Beast in the wilderness and get eaten?"

Gu Yi looked down at the Sect Master's daughter, who was hanging on his leg like an octopus with no regard for her image, and only felt that the immortal brew he had just drunk was about to turn into cold sweat and seep out.

He extended his long, slender fingers and rubbed his throbbing temples with a headache.

"Junior Sister Lin, do you know what the crime of fleeing the Sect without permission is? If the Sect Master discovers you are missing, the Xuantian Sect is probably already in chaos. This is not just messing around; it is sheer audacity."

Gu Yi deliberately stiffened his face, his tone revealing a bit of the severity he usually held as the Senior Brother.

"I don't care, I don't care!"

Seeing Gu Yi's official, business-like demeanor, Junior Sister Lin Wanying panicked and hugged him tighter. She buried her dusty little face directly into Gu Yi's robe hem and rubbed against it regardless.

"Others might fear you as the Senior Brother, but I don't! I know you are the best, Senior Brother. You usually can't even bear to punish those stupid outer Sect Disciples severely when they make mistakes, so you definitely can't bear to throw me off the ship alone! Can you really bear to watch your cutest Junior Sister have her legs broken by Father?"

This girl really embodied the four words "spoiled by favor" to the fullest.

Feeling the astonishing binding force on his leg and the dust rubbing against his luxurious Dharma robe, Gu Yi sighed in his heart.

He turned his head to look at Liu Qingwan, who was watching the show with great interest, his tone filled with undisguised helplessness.

"Elder Liu, please excuse this. This girl is naturally mischievous. The night is deep and the dew is heavy; I will take her back to the cabin for strict questioning first, and will not disturb your refined interest in enjoying the moonlight and drinking alone."