The winner of the last Spiritual assembly, who secured QianYan’lu’s ranking as first in the cultivation world for the next five years. Sun Chenxi was the final piece who brought victory and broke their second-place streak to their long-time rival sect, Chunqing Yang Sect. Sun Chenxi: The new rising cultivator who turned tides and Lai XingXue’s martial senior brother. Then the question became why.

Sun Chenxi laughed, “Speechless?”

Shen QuanLi was the best. Lai XingXue didn’t have a clue why his master’s first disciple would suggest him to be so cruel. “Why would you speak so cruelly of Shizun...”

“Shizun?” Sun Chenxi’s eyes narrowed at the address. “How come you like him so much? Shen QuanLi’s a horrendous teacher.”

“Don’t refer to Shizun so disrespectfully.”

The doors of Moon pavilion creaked open, revealing Shen QuanLi, who was holding a platter of food in his hands. He noticed the new disciple standing next to Lai XingXue. A brief look of guilt flashed across the immortal’s face when his eyes fell on Sun Chenxi. It greatly confused Lai XingXue. But, Shen QuanLi’s expression naturally returned back to its usual aloofness, as if it never changed.

He set down the wooden platter of food on Lai XingXue’s lap before addressing his oldest disciple. “Sun Chenxi. What are you doing back here?”

“I can’t visit my Shizun?” the sun-dressed disciple replied, tone sweetened to the point that it made Lai XingXue sick.

Shen QuanLi gave no visible reactions outside his normal loftiness, “You haven’t visited since you left.” The immortal peered at Sun Chenxi as if he was nothing but air. “I recall that you said you no longer wanted to be my disciple, isn’t that right?”

Enraged, the first disciple lunged forward and clutched Shen QuanLi by the collar. It was a movement that the master could have dodged effortlessly. Regardless, Lai XingXue got to his feet to help, only to be waved down by the sepia-haired man. So the youth sat, cradling the platter of food his master had made for him while heeding close attention to his martial family.

“Shen. Quan. Li.” It was obvious that Sun Chenxi wanted to curse his ex-master to hell and back, but he took a moment to calm himself instead. He released his grip on Shen QuanLi’s collar, “I’m still part of Qian’Yan’lu, I’ve been assigned to the YangSu Village case.” The oldest disciple gritted, coating his words in a lighthearted tone.

“I see.” Shen QuanLi tilted his head, “What does that have to do with me?”

“Since Shizun and his incompetent disciple couldn’t handle it, I’ll have to take the reins.” Sun Chenxi explained himself, “It’ll be fine if I direct any questions I have towards Shizun, right?~” Spitefully, he nudged his foot against the tray in Lai XingXue’s lap.

“Don’t call me ‘Shizun.’ Read the case file I wrote if you have any questions.” Shen QuanLi stepped in front of Lai XingXue, so the prince could properly eat his meal without being interrupted.

“Hey Shizun-”

“If you have any questions, discuss it with Qinglan-Zhangmen.” The sun had dipped into the horizon, and the lanterns surrounding the sect lit themselves in brilliant white. “XingXue, get up and go to my study.”

Lai XingXue gathered the platter with his dishes and headed in, leaving the two alone in uncomfortable tension. The second prince had always assumed his master was a straightforward, no-nonsense type of person, but the sour relationship between Shen QuanLi and Sun Chenxi left more than a few questions to be answered. Sun Chenxi was supposed to be his respected older martial brother, but he had almost kicked over his meal.

The second prince struck two matches together to light the wax candles and lanterns in the study. The soundproofing was great in Moon pavilion, he couldn’t hear any tidbits of Shen QuanLi and Sun Chenxi’s ongoing conversation. Lai XingXue went to clean up the dinner his master had made. The kitchen was rather small and had a moon door covered with curtains as its entrance.

Flour laced the countertops while the sink was littered with dirty dishes. The disciple used a rag to wash everything as he admired the mess. There was no reason why Shen QuanLi needed to know how to cook, being a cultivator half a step to ascension, there was no reason why he would even eat. Even the mess Shen QuanLi made was reflective of his kindness.

After he was done cleaning and placed the plates back in the cabinets, Shen QuanLi entered the pavilion. Lai XingXue noticed his master’s creased eyebrows. His teacher appeared quite frustrated as he smoothed out his creased collar.

“Shizun.”

The prince had never seen his mentor so downcast before. Shuangyue Elder always kept a tight leash on his emotions, always appearing untouched and reserved as one would expect of an immortal. But Lai XingXue was perceptive, he noticed the small quirks of Shen QuanLi’s personality. His master would shut down easily when he felt upset, acting overly aloof and beyond mortal matters.

“XingXue, go prepare.” Shen QuanLi swept his arms into his sleeves. “We’ll be going to forge your spiritual sword.”

“Shizun, how are you feeling?”

“Feeling?” LiangDi Immortal schooled his expression, “Well.”

The second prince shot a look of disbelief towards his master, before changing the subject. “When will we be leaving?”

“Tonight.”

“Tonight?” Lai XingXue was puzzled. The sun had set just a few moments prior, he doubted there were many hours left in the day.

Shen QuanLi reaffirmed, “Tonight.”

Blinking twice, the second prince only bowed, dismissing himself as he hurried to assemble his luggage. A storage treasure had enough room to hold all his necessities and, when the teen wasn’t paying attention, a sliver of red snuck into the infinity pouch. Lai XingXue would've been blind if he didn’t notice the maroon and white flower petals surrounding his pouch when he turned around holding a change of robes. He loosened the knotted ribbon at the top to see a red snout with horns poking out.

Lai XingXue pressed his finger against the reptile’s head, “It’s you from this afternoon. What are you doing here?” Acting cute, the small noodle-like creature slunk back into the pocket dimension of the storage pouch. The second prince was weak to animals and even weaker to cuteness, so he gave in. “You’re quite strange.” He slid his robes into the pouch, “Take care of my possessions, then.”

The beast waved its paw, tugging the clothes in before fastening the pouch from the inside. The creature treated the pocket dimension as if it was its natural home. Yet, no matter how he looked at it, the reptile was mythical in all regards. Lai XingXue scratched his head as he grabbed and hooked a wooden sword to his waistband. He’ll ask his Shizun about it.