3. A Touch of Exaggeration

Ji Guanqi was indeed slightly injured, though not severely; the main reason he feigned a worse condition was to compel Xiao Tangqing to leave. Merely restraining himself from drawing his blade against the man had already cost him a great deal of effort.

As the footsteps outside faded until they vanished completely, Ji Guanqi sat on the bed, the circulation of his spiritual energy sluggish. Having awakened this lifetime before his spiritual powers could fall into chaos, he had avoided the grievous injuries of his past life, meaning there was no longer any reason to skip the Sect Grand Ceremony.

"For now, I must simply wait for the ceremony to conclude," Ji Guanqi murmured to himself. He sighed softly, hoping these few days would pass peacefully without further complications.

The mountain air was chilly at night. Before stepping out, Ji Guanqi was accustomed to draping a coat over his shoulders. His spiritual talent was not as exceptional as that of his two junior brothers, and having once suffered severe damage to his meridians, he was particularly sensitive to the cold.

He lived alone in this small wooden hut on the mountain; the two adjacent rooms remained empty. Xiao Tangqing had been angered into leaving, likely heading to the back mountain to cultivate, while his third junior brother, Qiao You, was still away on a journey of experience.

The moon was bright, the stars sparse, and magpies flew toward the south.

He paced through the bamboo grove outside, his mind burdened with too many thoughts. Unable to find sleep, he had no choice but to wander. The silver sword in his hand never left his side. Named the "Gentleman’s Sword"—a nod to the saying, "A true gentleman watches chess in silence"—it was Ji Guanqi’s life-bound weapon.

With the sword, he lived; with the sword, he died. He imagined that after his miserable death in the previous life, this blade must have been destroyed as well.

"Swish!" A bird suddenly darted past in a panic. Ji Guanqi gripped the hilt, whirled around, and demanded, "Who goes there?!"

Just as the bird’s wings had fluttered, he had clearly sensed an unusual trace of spiritual energy. Yet, when he searched again, there was no sign of anyone; it was as if it had been a hallucination.

Ji Guanqi recalled that no mishaps had occurred during the Sect Grand Ceremony in his past life. However, he could not be certain that things would remain the same after his rebirth. Alert, he walked in the direction the bird had fled.

After a few steps, a blade struck out at him diagonally. He instinctively raised his sword to block it. The attacker clearly had not expected it to be him and immediately withdrew his strike, his tone displeased: "What are you doing here? Don't you know not to intrude while others are cultivating? If I had hurt you, it would have been another..."

He stopped mid-sentence, falling silent.

"I was restless tonight and came out for a walk. I felt a fluctuation of spiritual energy, so I came to investigate. I didn't expect it to be you." Not wishing to engage further, Ji Guanqi turned to leave, but the other man pressed a hand onto his shoulder. Ji Guanqi gave a subtle, effortless shudder, slipping out of Xiao Tangqing’s grasp. With a tone neither warm nor cold, he said, "Second Junior Brother."

Having been unexpectedly shrugged off, Xiao Tangqing glanced at his own hand, his irritation growing.

"Could you not feel my spiritual energy?" Xiao Tangqing clearly took this as an excuse. "If you’re going to make excuses, at least make them believable. What is wrong with you today? If you won't say it now, don't bother coming to me later; I won't want to hear it then."

It was rare for Xiao Tangqing to be willing to listen to Ji Guanqi. Had this been the Ji Guanqi of the past life, he surely would have lectured him on the importance of diligent cultivation and avoiding crooked, demonic paths. But the current Ji Guanqi had only one thing in his mind: the two blade strikes from Xiao Tangqing that had ended his life.

That he hadn't drawn his sword to strike back was a testament to his extreme self-restraint.

"Second Junior Brother is overthinking. I have nothing to say to you. Perhaps my spiritual energy is in such disarray that I failed to recognize your signature for a moment." Ji Guanqi pulled his robe tighter. Having been asleep, his hair was not tied up in its usual meticulous jade crown, appearing somewhat loose. His face was pale. After speaking, he turned sharply and prepared to leave.

"Master has come out of seclusion today. Did you know?" Xiao Tangqing suddenly spoke.

At these words, Ji Guanqi instinctively froze. In his past life, the Zhennan Immortal remained in seclusion during this time; even when he accepted Xi Yao as his final disciple, he had sent orders through others rather than appearing in person. Why had he emerged now?

His heart hammered against his ribs, a sense of foreboding rising within him.

"It seems you didn't know." Xiao Tangqing took a few steps forward, blocking his path. "This afternoon, Master emerged suddenly, activated the sect’s protective formation, and tightened security. He personally captured three evil cultivators who had infiltrated our ranks disguised as disciples. If not for his swift action, they might have caused chaos among the newcomers. You knew none of this? Ji Guanqi, you are the senior brother of the sect. It is one thing to lag in cultivation, but can you not even manage these trivial matters now?"

"Where is the Immortal?" Ji Guanqi asked.

"He has returned to seclusion." Xiao Tangqing frowned. Usually, they addressed him as "Master," but Ji Guanqi’s sudden use of "The Immortal" made Xiao Tangqing pause, the sense of dissonance returning. He looked Ji Guanqi up and down. "You were always the most informed about such news. Now that everyone knows, how could you be unaware?"

"I see." Upon hearing that the Zhennan Immortal had returned to seclusion, Ji Guanqi finally felt a sense of relief. The fear from before his death was too profound—fear of the Zhennan Immortal and the terrifying halberd he wielded.

"Ji Guanqi," Xiao Tangqing began to speak again, but was cut off. "I am severely injured and lack the strength to manage sect affairs," Ji Guanqi said. "If you have the heart for it, you may handle them yourself. There is no need to report to me."

"You..." Before Xiao Tangqing could utter another word, Ji Guanqi had already stepped around him and headed toward his hut.

"Severely injured?" Xiao Tangqing chewed over the phrase. Without realizing it, his expression shifted. "Is he really that badly hurt?"

He hadn't seen any sign of severe injury, but Ji Guanqi was never one to speak falsely. Furthermore, Ji Guanqi was always orderly and hands-on, never ignoring sect duties like this. Thinking of this, Xiao Tangqing believed him by seven or eight parts.

Meanwhile, the man who had just claimed to be "severely injured" had returned to his hut. As he reached the door to push it open, he suddenly stopped. He gripped his sword and stepped toward the side of the door, then struck out with lightning speed.

The sword energy shattered the wooden door, but the room was empty. However, the window was standing wide open.

"Such speed." Ji Guanqi stepped forward and leaned against the window, but the intruder was long gone.

His earlier intuition had been correct: there was an outsider on this peak, and their spiritual power even surpassed that of Xiao Tangqing. Otherwise, his heartless second junior brother would not have been so oblivious to an intruder right under his nose.

"What happened?" Sensing the sword energy, Xiao Tangqing rushed back to the hut. He found the other man standing by the door, where a deep gouge remained in the frame, still humming with the residual energy of the Gentleman’s Sword.

Xiao Tangqing grazed his finger on the energy and felt a sting. He pursed his lips and looked at Ji Guanqi. "Why did you suddenly attack? Did someone come? You are severely injured—how can you dare to use your sword energy like that?"

Ji Guanqi did not answer. He merely slanted a glance at him, then climbed onto the bed to meditate, appearing utterly exhausted and devoid of the energy to speak.

If appearing weak could avoid most of his troubles, then he didn't mind the act.

"I am right outside. Call me if you need anything," Xiao Tangqing said, leaning against the door frame. "I call you 'Senior Brother' out of respect; you can certainly come to me if you are in need. Why endure it alone? It would be a great shame if you missed the Sect Grand Ceremony because of this."

The words sounded like deep fraternal concern, but to Ji Guanqi, they were merely laughable.

Had he not lived through his past life, he might have truly believed them. Yet, in reality, when he had begged Xiao Tangqing for help in the past, the other had merely watched him with cold eyes and delivered a callous judgment: "Such base conduct, such a snake-like heart."

He closed his eyes, hiding his thoughts away. Once the Sect Grand Ceremony ended and the protective formation was lowered, he would find an excuse to slip away.

He knew that after this, Xiao Tangqing would encounter a mishap in his cultivation, fall into the ways of evil, and be hunted by the various sects of the immortal world. In his past life, Ji Guanqi had risked everything to protect him. In this life, he would watch from the sidelines to see exactly what fate awaited Xiao Tangqing.

"Ji Guanqi." Xiao Tangqing, unaware of the thoughts of the man on the bed, looked at the moon. "Do you know what I hate most about you?"

The man on the bed remained silent.

"You talk too much and are annoying; your cultivation is mediocre, yet you insist on doing things beyond your capabilities," Xiao Tangqing said.

Xiao Tangqing thought that if Ji Guanqi could always be this quiet and unobtrusive, perhaps one day he might even find himself in a good enough mood to willingly call him "Senior Brother."

Wasn't that what this man loved most—to have him and Qiao You call him "Senior Brother"?