So he had invented a debt of sect contribution points owed by Xu Ziyan and threatened to stop the medicinal baths unless it was repaid, forcing Zirong to work for him. He had intended to make the boy beg for mercy. Instead, Zirong worked himself nearly to exhaustion on the first day without complaining, then devised a method on the second day that both completed his chores and benefited his cultivation.
This boy’s future achievements would surely be remarkable!
Although Dao Lord Luo Yun did not particularly like Zirong, he could still recognize the boy’s promise. His resilience amazed him. Such persistence usually appeared only in those who had endured considerable hardship. It was startling to find it in a child who, as far as he knew, had enjoyed a sheltered upbringing.
He had already received a full dossier on the Xu brothers, including Zirong’s background.
Zirong might have been born to an outside woman of the Xu family head, but according to the information Luo Yun possessed, he had suffered little hardship growing up. After returning to the Xu family, his brother had cared for him. Luo Yun could not imagine how the child had developed such a character.
Never mind. Everyone had their own fate. Having passed through the illusion formation, the Xu brothers had proved they were unrelated to demon cultivators. As long as they were not demon cultivators, everything else could be discussed.
As for their future… time would tell. There were many years ahead.
Dao Lord Luo Yun dismissed the Water Mirror technique and looked at Xu Ziyan impatiently. “Satisfied now?”
Xu Ziyan nodded awkwardly, thinking, If you weren’t so eccentric and unpredictable in the original owner’s memories, I wouldn’t have worried that Zirong might offend you and get bullied…
(Xu Zirong, who had in fact been bullied: …)
Dao Lord Luo Yun rubbed his chin, then abruptly lifted Xu Ziyan’s blanket and pressed his hands against the young man’s legs.
Xu Ziyan startled, then relaxed when he realized his master was only examining them.
“Still no response?” Luo Yun was puzzled. His arms had regained sensation, so why were his legs still completely numb? He had never heard of the grand formation tempering the meridians of one’s upper and lower body differently.
Xu Ziyan shook his head. He watched Luo Yun squeeze his calves several times without feeling anything at all.
“Oh, well. Another few days of medicinal baths.” Luo Yun had no better solution. Few people had ever received the full inheritance, and unusual side effects were possible.
“Master, I’m not going to be crippled, am I?” Xu Ziyan asked anxiously.
Luo Yun rolled his eyes. “Relax. Even if your legs really were crippled, I could heal them.”
Xu Ziyan smiled sheepishly. He had almost forgotten that this was the cultivation world. Regrowing severed limbs might be difficult, but was not impossible. His master was a Nascent Soul cultivator. Surely he could manage a problem like this.
“By the way, my Daoist title is Luo Yun, though hardly anyone uses it. Most people call me Luo Bigfoot.” Dao Lord Luo Yun proudly displayed his enormous feet.
Xu Ziyan’s mouth twitched. He had known this Dao Lord was unconventional, but such complete disregard for appearances was rare even here.
“All right. I know the two of you well enough, so there’s no need to explain yourselves. Now that you’ve entered my lineage, you’ll follow my rules. I had three disciples before you, but none is in the sect right now. You’ll meet them when they return.”
“Yes, Master.” Xu Ziyan readily agreed. Anyone accepted by Dao Lord Luo Yun had to be capable. The original memories and novel had never mentioned these disciples, but the master’s judgment alone suggested they could hardly be ordinary people.
After a few more words, Dao Lord Luo Yun was quite pleased with his new disciple. Xu Ziyan was tactful, respectful and knew how to behave. True, he had brought along an unpleasant little extra, but Zirong was clever enough not to disgrace Luo Yun’s name.
“Mm, it’s about time for your medicinal bath,” Luo Yun said, glancing at the sky.
Xu Ziyan looked helplessly at his unresponsive legs. How had he managed to take his medicinal baths these past two days? Surely his master had not carried him there?
The thought of his master attending to him made Xu Ziyan feel guilty. Before he could ask, a small figure appeared in the doorway.
“Big Brother, it’s time for your bath!”
Xu Ziyan: =口=
What?! Zirong has been carrying me to the bath? How can a boy his size carry someone almost 180 centimeters tall?!
The gratitude in Xu Ziyan’s eyes instantly turned to accusation as he glared at Luo Yun. Master, you’ve gone too far! Making an eleven-year-old do such heavy work!
Luo Yun bore the glare with a twitching mouth. You idiot disciple, did you forget what you just saw? Your brother’s as crafty as a monkey! He’s going to have you wrapped around his little finger for life!
“Big Brother?” Zirong asked, puzzled by his brother’s glare.
“Nothing.” Xu Ziyan quickly looked back. “Zirong, how can you carry me? Perhaps we should let…”
“It’s all right, Big Brother. It’s no trouble at all,” Zirong interrupted with a smile. He would never give up any chance to be physically close to his older brother.
Xu Ziyan had no choice but to let Zirong carry him on his back to the small kitchen adjoining the hut.
A large vat had been set up there, full of water mixed with medicinal herbs, giving off an intensely bitter smell.
He might not have noticed it while unconscious, but enduring this bath awake was a real trial.
Zirong worked efficiently. He first formed a hand seal and grew enough vines to cover every hole or gap in the small room.
Every inch of his older brother’s skin belonged to him. How could he let anyone else have the chance to see it!
After setting two stools in place, Zirong carefully helped Xu Ziyan out of his clothes. He thoughtfully checked the water temperature before lowering him into the vat.
Xu Ziyan was deeply touched by such attentive care. Look at the little brother I raised. So considerate! So obedient and adorable!
Whose little brother could possibly be this thoughtful?
Go ahead and envy me all you like! ╮(╯▽╰)╭
Zirong had no idea his attentiveness had moved Xu Ziyan so deeply. He simply held the stubborn conviction that everything about his brother belonged to him. Naturally, he could not leave caring for his brother to anyone else.
What belonged to him had to be cared for and protected by his own hands, and hidden away too. Otherwise, someone else could easily snatch it away. That was the deepest lesson he had learned at the Xu family in his previous life!
He could not hide his brother away, but he could insist on caring for and protecting him himself.
Xu Ziyan’s medicinal bath took about two shichen. Zirong obediently stood watch beside him the entire time, gazing at him as though he could never look enough.
Two shichen later, Zirong rinsed Xu Ziyan with clean water, dressed him, then carried him back to the adjoining room.
Dao Lord Luo Yun had already left, but two jade slips remained beside Xu Ziyan’s bed.
They instructed Xu Ziyan to report to the sect master once sensation returned to his legs. As the first-place finisher in the inner-sect examination, he still had rewards to collect.
All inner-sect disciples received spirit pills, spirit stones and the right to choose a cultivation technique at the Practice Hall. As the first-place candidate, Xu Ziyan also earned a place in Qilin Tower.
However, entering Qilin Tower required at least Foundation Establishment cultivation. His first priority was therefore to reach Foundation Establishment.
For that, he needed a Foundation Establishment Pill. Such pills could be exchanged for sect contribution points at the Merit Hall, but Xu Ziyan’s balance was currently negative. That route was closed to him, and he would have to find another way.
First place also normally granted the right to choose one’s own master. Unfortunately, Luo Yun had already taken the unconscious Xu Ziyan as his disciple, leaving him no opportunity to object.
Three days passed in a blink. As promised, sensation returned to Xu Ziyan’s legs. Luo Yun had not appeared again, but sent one message instructing him to visit after reporting to the sect master.
Xu Ziyan flexed his calves. They felt strong and solid. A few casual kicks sent the air whistling. Overjoyed, he hopped around the room several times. His legs moved perfectly, without a trace of lingering damage.
“Zirong, let’s go. We can collect our rewards today,” he said brightly.
Being able to use his legs again felt wonderful. The stiffness he had noticed when waking was gone. His legs felt as though they had never been injured, and their physical strength seemed greater than before.
The brothers followed the only path down their mountain toward Qianyuan Peak. Only after making the journey could they appreciate how far Tianluo Peak, where they lived, stood from the sect’s main peak. Had Luo Yun not occasionally made himself known before the sect master and elders, everyone might have forgotten that Tianluo Peak existed at all.
A whole shichen!
That was how long Xu Ziyan needed to walk from Tianluo Peak to Qianyuan Peak. Sword flight was forbidden within the sect except on urgent business. Only disciples of the masters of the seven principal peaks were entitled to receive an immortal crane from the Spirit Beast Garden as a mount.
Had Xu Ziyan become the sect master’s disciple, he would have enjoyed that privilege. But Luo Yun’s Tianluo Peak was not one of the seven main peaks. It was a place almost everyone had forgotten.
At the foot of Qianyuan Peak, Zirong gave his name to the guarding disciple. The man immediately looked sympathetic. Apparently, the story of the brothers being snatched away from the sect master by a supposed Meridian Condensation cultivator had spread throughout the sect.