Chapter 162
Editor: Casey
In the dungeon, Shi Qing scrutinized every inch of Gu Qiushu.
Gu Qiushu couldn’t move, so he could only fume silently with closed eyes as this utterly shameless Steel Bones Sect Master ran his hands across his body.
His ears were already completely red, but the guy was still muttering stuff like, “Is this not stimulating enough for you? Your heart isn’t beating as fast as before…but how could that be? Xianzhang, why aren’t you saying anything? Xianzhang? Xianzhang?”
Gu Qiushu refused to open his eyes as he mentally recited his mantras.
But this time, Shi Qing didn’t threaten him with the little disciples of the Heavenly Derivation Sect. He shrugged and got up after seeing Gu Qiushu ignore him. He even took a moment to stretch his back. “Alright then. People of high seniority really are no fun. I might as well visit those little disciples after all. They’re younger so at least they’ll show some reaction to things.”
Gu Qiushu thought he was threatening him again. His eyes snapped open, all the cold and aloofness in them replaced with rage. But Shi Qing didn’t have a pleased smile on his face this time. Like he really had lost interest in Gu Qiushu, he pushed the door open and left.
This was a completely unexpected turn of events for Gu Qiushu.
After all, Shi Qing’s threats before have always been just for show. But now that Shi Qing was leaving while he was cooperating, Gu Qiushu immediately jumped to the conclusion that this person was actually going to do something to the disciples. His clear, cold eyes immediately filled with a sense of urgency.
“What are you trying to do here?”
“I’m warning you, if anything happens to a disciple of my Heavenly Derivation Sect, you will make an enemy of us all.”
“Come back–”
The Steel Bones Sect disciples waiting outside the door saw Shi Qing come out and hurried over to greet him. Then they saw their lunatic of a sect master lean against the wall with a smile on his devilishly handsome face.
He asked them, “Listen to what’s being said inside. Gu-xianzhang isn’t even willing to be polite at this stage. He’s obviously the one begging me to go back to treat him, but he’s ordering me around like I’m a disciple of his sect.”
“Aiyo. I’m certainly not going to stick around for this.”
Inside, Gu Qiushu could hear him clearly.
Even if he was cold by nature, those words almost made him curse in rage.
He grit his teeth and eventually spat out for the sake of the Heavenly Derivation Sect’s disciples, “Please.”
He would definitely return the humiliation he suffered today in the future.
And yet…
“Oh, he begged me? Aiya, just like I thought. I do like listening to people beg me more.”
Shi Qing waved his hand. “Let’s go see how those juniors are doing. This Sect Master can’t wait to treat them, ah.”
No one here thought he was actually going to treat those disciples.
The Steel Bones Sect disciples were too afraid to speak up. Gu Qiushu, on the other hand, genuinely believed Shi Qing was going to do something to those disciples. He couldn’t move his body, but his eyebrows were furrowed tightly.
“If you want to do something, do it to me. Why go humiliate those juniors?”
“Do you hear me?”
“Do you hear me, Shi Qing?!”
Shi Qing leaned by the dungeon door, watching the man look up and speak to the ceiling because he couldn’t move anything else. His smile widened. “Give this dungeon a good makeover. Make it look like a guest room. How can we mistreat someone of such immortal bearing like Xianzhang?”
“Oh, and also bring over some good dishes and wine. He’s a guest of our Steel Bones Sect, so we should show him how hospitable we can be.”
The disciples of the Steel Bones Sect: “k2026;”
Was the Sect Master being sarcastic??
They cautiously peeked up at Shi Qing. “Sect Master, should we add anything to the dishes and wine?”
Shi Qing narrowed his eyes in thought. “Add extra chilies. Gu-xianzhang looks pretty with flushed cheeks.”
At that, Shi Qing left to where the little disciples were being kept without a second glance at the dungeon. Gu Qiushu had fallen silent after his words, as if too infuriated to speak.
The disciples of the Steel Bones Sect had always been very efficient at their tasks.
This efficiency only increased after Shi Qing became the Sect Master.
After all, the worst disciples from other sects had to only worry about expulsion from their sect.
But in the Steel Bones Sect?
Just look at their lunatic Sect Master. Immediately after coming into his position, he mercilessly captured the inner circle disciples of the other sects. If they couldn’t do what they were told to do, who knew if they would live to see another day.
So the orders given by Shi Qing were always carried out ASAP.
Back with the little disciples, the table in front of them was completely filled with dishes and rice.
Most of them had not learned how to practice inedia yet, so their stomachs were already growling after being locked up so long. With so much food in sight, none of them could resist the temptation.
When Shi Qing arrived, he happened to hear one of the disciples say indignantly, “Shidi, how can you eat their food? Aren’t you afraid they’ve poisoned it?!”
The little disciple answered with a full mouth, “I’ll take that risk. Shixiong, I’ve been hungry for so long. Even if this doesn’t kill me, starvation will.”
“If I’m going to die anyway, I might as well die with a full belly. Wu! This dish is so sweet. I’m going to die of diabetes.”
Shi Qing turned the corner and noted the disciple answering with a full mouth was wearing the uniform of the Heavenly Derivation Sect.
The disciples of the Heavenly Derivation Sect were all raised within the sect, leading to them mostly having steady temperaments. Ling Xingzhi, for example.
Although few of them were as cold and aloof as Gu Qiushu, even fewer were foodies like this disciple.
Smiling, he walked up to them and raised his voice, “Well said. Since you’re going to die anyway, poison is better. Congratulations, little Xianzhang, you’ll be the first to die of pain.”
The young disciple stared dumbly up at Shi Qing with two cheeks stuffed with food.
Shi Qing confirmed yet again that there really were no ugly disciples in the cultivation world.
This little disciple was around fifteen or sixteen years old. His chubby face seemed to still have some baby fat, and there was a childish look about him.
In other words, he was super adorable.
Shi Qing’s hands were itching to touch those soft cheeks and see if they were as squishy as they looked.
Unfortunately, out of consideration for Gu Qiushu, who was back in the Heavenly Word Dungeon, Shi Qing could only dismiss this idea.
What a pity.
He really wanted to touch it, but he already had a Gu Qiushu at home.
He was a very disciplined person, after all.
The very disciplined Shi Qing met the gaze of the dumbfounded foodie.
The little disciple finally reacted. He swallowed the food in his mouth before dumbly hugging the bowl to his chest and asking, “Sect Master Shi, is there really poison in the food?”
Shi Qing saw that he was afraid and smiled. “Didn’t you say you were willing to take that risk? That you would rather die with a full belly?”
The young disciple basically took those words as confirmation. The corners of his eyes instantly reddened as he pitifully looked down at the food. He sounded like he was about to cry. “I thought…I thought there wasn’t any…”
“You could capture us, so you could easily kill us as well. Why go through the trouble of using poison?”
Lin Xingzhi warily stepped in front of his fellow disciple and reprimanded him fiercely, “Don’t cry! We Heavenly Derivation Sect disciple must remain brave even in the face of death!”
The young disciple sniffled. He hung his head, looking depressed.
He was obviously expecting to die at any moment now.
“All right, all right. We shouldn’t waste this chance since you’re going to die anyway. Someone get him out. This pharmacist wanted to take a look at him.”
At that, all the Heavenly Derivation Sect disciples who had been quiet thus far shielded the little disciple with their swords drawn.
However, none of them had any spiritual energy left. The Steel Bones Sect disciples restrained them one by one, eventually dragging the one Shi Qing had requested before him. That little disciple couldn’t stop trembling in fear, his eyes were br.i.m.m.i.n.g with unshed tears. He looked so pitifully cute.
“Peipeipeipei. Are all you Heavenly Derivation Sect disciples this good-looking?”
Shi Qing’s hands were itching like crazy.
His eyes kept turning back to the other’s face. Then he sighed with great regret.
“Such a pity. This Sect Master loves to touch what others don’t want me to touch the most, but I already have Gu Qiushu. No matter how touchable you look, this Sect Master can’t indulge.”
When the little disciple heard Gu Qiushu’s name, he looked up cautiously and happened to meet Shi Qing’s eyes. He jolted out of fright again.
He was so, so scared, but Ling Xingzhi’s words were still fresh in his mind. So despite his trembling body, he stuttered out, “W-we Heavenly Derivation Sect disciples will remain brave even in the face of d-death!”
Shi Qing nodded. “Got it.”
He rummaged around in his lapels and eventually took out a stick of incense, which he lit in front of the little disciple.
The little disciple looked at him warily until his legs suddenly gave out as he fainted. The puppet behind him caught him with inhuman speed and lifted him over its shoulder.
So now the little disciple was once again eye to eye with Shi Qing, who smiled and shook the incense in his hand. “Prepare to die then~”
The little disciple: “…”
Fat tears started to roll down his face.
Seeing that he had taken the joke too far, Shi Qing coughed dryly. “Okay, okay, fine. Don’t worry, the food wasn’t poisoned. But you really are going to die of pain.”
The little disciple continued to cry.
Since he wasn’t listening to a word he said, Shi Qing decided to try a threat. “Stop crying. If you keep crying I’ll kill you.”
The little disciple cried even harder. “I-I’m going to die anyway. Do whatever you want.”
Shi Qing almost laughed out loud at how pitiful and aggrieved the little disciple looked.
He imagined Gu Qiushu in his place and instantly perked up.
“Alright, alright. I’m in a hurry so no more nonsense.”
With incense in hand, Shi Qing watched with an upturned chin as the person being carried gradually stopped crying. Instead, he had an intensifying expression of discomfort on his face. After dry heaving a few times, the little disciple vomited out some larvae-like bug.
It was very large and still writhing about when it hit the ground.
Shi Qing snapped his fingers. “Let’s clean up here.”
Shi Qing snuffed out the incense and gestured for the puppet to return the little disciple to the dungeon. Then he looked down at the befuddled people inside and coldly snorted. “You don’t even know if something got in your stomach. What did your shizhang teach you? And you even dared to cry when this Sect Master helped you out of the goodness of my heart. Hmph. How rude.”
“Welp, this Sect Master has other matters to attend to. Amuse yourselves in my absence.”
He quickly went to the Heavenly Word Dungeon.
Then, accosted by the wary eyes of Gu Qiushu, Shi Qing hastily put his hands on the man’s cheeks. “I saved your shizhi, so you should offer yourself up to pay me back”
Gu Qiushu looked cold, but his face was burning hot.
Shi Qing smiled and touched until he had his fill.
Then he sighed at Gu Qiushu, whose cold gaze was as sharp as a knife.
“Since I could resist touching those little pitiful disciples from your sect, I really am a very disciplined person.”
Author’s Corner
Randomly sending out red pockets~
Night night!
Rain
On a side note, I just noticed that all the named members of the Heavenly Derivation Sect so far have names related to trees:
Gu Qiushu (顾秋树) – His given name means ‘autumn tree’
Lin Xingzhi (林行止) – His surname means ‘forest’
Ye Zi (叶梓) – His name is a h.o.m.onym for ‘leaves’. Shi Qing’s nickname for him (小叶子) literally translates to ‘little leaf’.