They were practically ready to fire up a grill and start a barbecue; how was that anything like cheering for him? They were simply adding fuel to the fire.
Xie Tinglan’s pupils constricted as he questioned Yao Dai, a faint trace of anger in his eyes. “Weren't you going to join forces with me to rob him?”
Yao Dai acted surprised. “Ah, did I say that?” She looked toward Xin Jiuxian. “Did you hear anything?”
Xin Jiuxian replied, “No.”
They had simply been two birds of a feather acting on a single look, attacking simultaneously. Xie Tinglan understood now—these two were washing their hands of the matter to watch him make a fool of himself. The alliance they had formed less than fifteen minutes ago to deal with Hua Cishu had already disintegrated. He let out a cold sneer and looked at Gu Linshu.
“You have quite a lot of talismans on you, don't you?”
Gu Linshu, whose hands were pumping spiritual energy into his talismans, didn't understand. “W-w-what’s it to you?”
Is he a stutterer?
Xie Tinglan’s eyes flashed as he pointed at the two spectators. His tone was cold. “You don’t even need Golden Core talismans for those two. Two Foundation Establishment Great Perfection ones would be enough.”
If Xie Tinglan had bothered to ask Zongzheng Huangyue more about Old Three instead of just dismissing him with contempt after hearing he was only at the Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment, he would have recognized him by now. Just the two traits ‘stutterer’ and ‘wealthy’ would have been enough for Xie Tinglan to make the connection.
“...” They were turning on their own.
Gu Linshu’s eyes darted around. Looking at how the two women were eating, drinking, and laughing, he felt a bit annoyed. Even though they weren't mocking him specifically, they had attacked him earlier. Seeing them so relaxed now felt very disrespectful.
And so...
“Ah!”
Yao Dai let out a startled cry as the hem of her robe was nearly scorched by the flames of a talisman attack.
Gu Linshu had actually thrown two Foundation Establishment Great Perfection talismans their way.
The two women, who had been acting as leisure-loving observers, immediately fled to the left and right, hurriedly moving to counter his talismans.
Yao Dai swung her Blood Vine Whip to intercept the talisman, shouting in rage, “Xie Tinglan, you mangy snake! We were already injured from our earlier attack. How are two Foundation Establishment cultivators supposed to beat his Golden Core talismans? Are you trying to make us throw away our lives against him?!”
“I wouldn't have cared about you if you hadn't gone too far,” Xie Tinglan sneered.
The trio began fighting Gu Linshu again.
However, Gu Linshu was stunned. Xie Tinglan... if he remembered correctly, wasn't that the Second Senior Brother Master had mentioned many times? Mangy snake? Master did say that Second Senior Brother was indeed a snake.
Gu Linshu looked up at the cold, black-robed Xie Tinglan high in the air. At the thought of this being a snake demon in human form, goosebumps immediately erupted on the back of his hands. He took five steps back in fear.
Compared to reuniting with his senior brother and sister, mentally preparing himself to face his fear of snakes was his only priority right now. Tingyin Pavilion’s Second Elder hadn't told him that all of Master’s disciples were here; he had only said that he was bringing him to the Interprovincial Passage at Master’s request and that he should go to Tingyin Pavilion to find her himself.
Wait, what am I afraid of?
Yao Dai noticed this change. Why was he looking at Xie Xiao'er as if he’d seen a ghost? He hadn't been like this before. It seemed her insult to Xie Tinglan just now had worked. Her eyes darkened as she began to think.
What did I mention? Aside from his name, there was ‘mangy snake’...
“Xie Tinglan, he’s afraid of snakes!”
Yao Dai narrowed her fox-like eyes, her red lips curling into a wicked smile. The woman who had been cowering from the talismans just a moment ago now looked as if she had caught her enemy's weakness, acting triumphant and arrogant once more.
Hearing this, Xie Tinglan didn't hesitate. He transformed into a black shadow and soared into the clouds. In the next instant, an eerie Ancient Soaring Serpent, dozens of meters long and two or three meters thick, suddenly dove out. It lunged straight at Gu Linshu, its bloody maw letting out a chilling roar.
“Roar!!!”
The serpent’s scales were iridescent and dark, looking sharp and overbearing. It had crimson vertical pupils and two sharp horns on its head. As it flew through the air, the entire atmosphere became filled with the bloody, damp scent of a soaring serpent.
A snake...
That's a huge snake!
Gu Linshu, who hadn't finished his mental preparation, saw this scene and his face turned deathly pale. His frail, scholar-like aura vanished as his pupils froze and his legs stopped moving. He stood there in a daze of shock, covered in goosebumps.
Seeing that he truly was terrified of his true form, Xie Tinglan immediately spiraled down toward him.
Seeing the giant snake flying toward him, Gu Linshu stumbled over a rock and fell to the ground. He raised his voice, so terrified that he forgot to use Divine Sense transmission and spoke aloud.
“S-s-s-senior Brother, I-I-I-I'm y-y-y-your j-j-j-junior brother...”
Senior Brother, don't hit me, I'm one of us!
He was still stuttering, unable to finish his sentence.
Yao Dai looked at Xin Jiuxian. “Do you know him?”
Xin Jiuxian shook her head. “No.”
Hearing this, Xie Tinglan—in his massive serpent form with his mouth wide open—stopped ten meters away from Gu Linshu. He spoke in a human voice.
“Of all the things you could lie about, you had to claim to be a fellow disciple.”
None of the six disciples Master had taken in were anything but one-in-a-million oddities; it was difficult for ordinary people to blend in with their group. Even though Old Three hadn't arrived yet, he shouldn't be such a frail, wealthy scholar. Master loved money so much; if she had such a wealthy disciple, wouldn't she have swindled him out of all his money? How could she possibly let him keep so many valuable talismans?
Xie Tinglan had calculated many things, but he hadn't expected that Gu Linshu wasn't just normally wealthy. He was so wealthy that even after Wen Li had confiscated ninety percent of his fortune, the remaining ten percent still allowed him to be such a tycoon!
Yao Dai flew forward with a subtle expression. “Are you really our fellow disciple?”
Her two wounds were still throbbing with pain.
When the senior brother was hitting the junior brother and the junior brother was hitting the senior sister, why didn't he say he was a junior brother when he had the upper hand? Now that he was about to get beaten, he suddenly knew how to say he was one of them. She seriously suspected that this kid wasn't as harmless as he looked on the surface.
“Yes, yes, yes!”
The stuttering Gu Linshu didn't speak further, shaking his head like a rattle as he nodded frantically. He was terrified that a second's delay would result in his Second Senior Brother eating him as a midnight snack. Master had said that Second Senior Brother ate people!
“...”
Yao Dai exchanged a glance with the massive serpent beside her, their eyes communicating something. Master had indeed said that Old Three would come to meet up with them, but this guy was so rich...
Could Master really have restrained herself from taking everything? Or maybe he had acquired these valuable talismans after parting with Master.
Xie Tinglan and Yao Dai exchanged another look, and an agreement was reached.
Yao Dai turned back to Gu Linshu with a relieved smile. “You should have said so earlier! So it really is Little Three. Truly, a misunderstanding occurred. Master has been waiting for you for a long time, and we've been looking forward to meeting you too. Everything just now was a mistake. Come, get up quickly. The ground is cold.”
She warmly stepped forward and reached out a hand to pull up Gu Linshu, who was sitting on the ground with weak legs. “I am your Eldest Senior Sister, Yao Dai.”
Xie Tinglan also shifted from his serpent form back into a human.
Seeing that he was a human and not a snake, the suffocating feeling in Gu Linshu’s chest finally subsided a little. He took a slight breath and politely greeted her.
“H-hello, Eldest Senior Sister.”
Xin Jiuxian walked up and spoke coldly, “You aren't allowed to call me Junior Sister. You can only call me Old Six.”
Gu Linshu was confused, thinking she was still angry about what had just happened. His expression was awkward. “This...”
“It’s fine. She doesn't care for seniority; you can only call her by her rank.” Yao Dai patted his shoulder, kindly helping him out as she rested her hand on his shoulder.
Gu Linshu understood. “O-o-oh... I s-s-see.”
He looked up carefully at Xie Tinglan, about to speak to apologize and offer a greeting.
“Se-se...”
Boom.
Rate on N.U.
