Chapter 20 What Is This Supposed to Mean?

Following previous practice, a message talisman sent inside would usually elicit a quick response. If an entire hour passed without any sign, it meant that the master was unwilling to come out, and one should obediently apologize and leave.

Shen Yanchu waited desperately for three hours, but no reply came. Despair slowly crept in.

The master had always cared deeply for his junior sister. How could he become so cold in just a few short years?

Could it be because of the incident involving the little junior sister?

A fragment in Shen Yanchu’s mind seemed to shatter quietly.

He vaguely sensed that something was amiss, yet that faint awareness slipped away like a slippery fish, vanishing through his fingers into the vast river sea.

For two days and one night, Shen Yanchu knelt at the entrance to the Cloud Hidden Immortal Lord’s cave.

It wasn’t until the entire Snow Crane Peak failed to locate the senior brother that Huo Shiqing sensed something was wrong and found him at the Starless Ridge.

“Senior Brother, what are you doing here?!” Huo Shiqing saw Shen Yanchu’s pale face and hurried forward to support him.

Shen Yanchu did not rise. Instead, he pulled Huo Shiqing down to kneel beside him. “Come, Shiqing, you also send a message—beg the master to save our junior sister…”

He dared not send a second message himself, fearing that angering the master might bring disaster upon Jiang Heng.

Huo Shiqing remained silent for a long moment before coldly refusing, “She wouldn’t even discuss something as important as the formation of a core with us and instead called in an outsider protector. That clearly shows her displeasure at us entering her cave at will. If that’s the case, why should we offend the master for her sake?”

Shen Yanchu looked straight at him. “Don’t you have some understanding of why she refuses to discuss things with us?”

Huo Shiqing frowned. “What do you mean by that, Senior Brother?”

Shen Yanchu’s words were both an accusation of Huo Shiqing and a reproach of himself: “When the spiritual beast ran amok, it was clearly our junior sister’s fault, yet instead of defending Jiang Heng, we tried to take away her chance to retreat into the Minor Celestial Realm. Especially you—you even tried to seize her demonic pill!”

Huo Shiqing was unwilling to accept this. “That’s because the master can…”

Shen Yanchu’s voice rose a few degrees. “Now that our junior sister’s life is at risk and the master refuses to come out, what makes you think he’d be willing to help heal her meridians?”

“Even if you didn’t realize this, after coming out of the Minor Celestial Realm, why did you, like me, only worry about the trivial celebratory banquet and not think to speak to her? A senior brother so indifferent and biased, if she still discussed matters with us, that would be suspicious!”

Huo Shiqing was speechless.

After a long while, he angrily spoke his true feelings: “Yes, I am biased. But Senior Brother, aren’t you also biased toward An’an? People’s hearts are made of flesh; she’s so despicable herself, don’t blame others for disliking her!”

“An’an was always timid and less talented. It’s normal we cherish her more. Jiang Heng, on the other hand, is so selfish and narrow-minded, repeatedly attacking her own junior sister. It’s disgusting! If it weren’t for our years of sibling bond, I would have long since destroyed her spiritual root!”

Shen Yanchu sneered bitterly: “Yes, Jiang Heng indeed did many excessive things to An’an, but those were minor scuffles and had reasons behind them. The root cause was our neglect of her feelings. An’an liked Third Junior Brother more and got jealous. Why should she be forbidden from feeling jealousy?”

“You recklessly injured her and shattered her meridians without knowing the whole story. Aside from giving a few spirit stones, what else did you do? Now that her life is in danger because of your recklessness, you won’t even plead for her. Such a fault is far graver than hers—should I destroy your spiritual root too?!”

Huo Shiqing’s face suddenly turned pale.

In the end, he too knelt at the cave entrance, handing in a message talisman.

But by dawn, still no reply came.

Only then did Huo Shiqing truly begin to panic.

He had never contemplated this before, but now reminded by Shen Yanchu and seeing the master’s reaction, he realized how hollow and laughable his so-called promises were—unable to withstand even a moment’s reflection.

The master was no longer the person he used to be. He was angry about An’an being bullied and his relationship with Jiang Heng had significantly deteriorated.

Could it be that Jiang Heng, sensing the master would never help, risked everything to save herself?

Just as the two were about to risk sending another message, a cold voice sounded behind them.

“What are you kneeling here for?”

It was Jiang Huaixu.

Shen Yanchu seized the chance like a savior, grabbing his sleeve eagerly. “You’re here at the right time. Among us apprentices, the master values you the most. If you plead, he might agree.”

After hearing their request, Jiang Huaixu said calmly, “It’s unnecessary. I divined two days ago that Jiang Heng will not perish for now. She still has at least a hundred years of life left. You don’t need to bother the master over such a trivial matter.”

Both men felt relieved. Huo Shiqing awkwardly stood up. “Why didn’t you tell us earlier?”

Jiang Huaixu’s expression remained neutral. “You didn’t ask.”

Huo Shiqing was speechless.

Shen Yanchu sighed, “Third Junior Brother may seem distant toward our junior sister, but in his heart, he still cares for her.”

Few were granted the honor to seek Jiang Huaixu’s divination—his insights touched upon celestial secrets and were terrifyingly accurate, though they came at great spiritual and physical cost.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Huaixu said, “I don’t care about her affairs. I just don’t want An’an to feel guilty or blame herself. You two should return early and not worry An’an; she’s been searching for you.”

Shen Yanchu’s face darkened, but before he could reply, Jiang Huaixu departed swiftly.

Huo Shiqing sneered. “Rather than blame me, Senior Brother should scold this person more. I’m only biased; what is he then?”

Shen Yanchu lowered his gaze, silent.

The wager on Jiang Heng’s breakthrough had not disappeared just because Han Jie exposed it—it had merely shifted to another lively location.

Xu Ning’an was out walking with her new spirit pet when she noticed a crowd gathered, noisy and excited. Curious, she approached.

“What are you playing?”

Seeing the little junior sister, everyone grew more animated.

“We’re betting on how long Jiang Heng can keep up the act before she breaks. An’an, you should join and place your bets too.”

“The most popular guess is one month, the rarest is half a year!”

Xu Ning’an frowned slightly. “Why are you mocking Senior Sister like this? If she knew, how embarrassing it would be. She’s already become useless, and you want to expose her charade of keeping up appearances? If it were me, I wouldn’t even want to face anyone.”

Her words did not deter them at all—instead, they poured fuel on the fire.

“An’an, you’re wrong. Jiang Heng’s skin is so thick, there’s no way she’d be ashamed to face anyone.”

“If she had any shame, she wouldn’t have chosen your special day to show off and invite mockery. She deserves it!”

“Our An’an is too kind. She’s been openly provoked and bullied, yet still speaks up for the other side.”

Xu Ning’an gently stroked the feathers of the little bird on her shoulder and shook her head. “Everyone treats An’an so well. It’s understandable that Senior Sister feels disappointed and jealous. Don’t be too harsh on her.”

“Her only advantage over An’an used to be her cultivation talent, but after her meridians were destroyed, she lost even that. She’s pitiful. An’an has so much. She shouldn’t bother fighting with someone so utterly helpless.”