Elder Baili didn’t lose any time and hurried to his second disciple’s house. He knocked on the door but nobody answered much less opened. He furrowed his brow. Why was this happening now of all times? Well, not that his second disciple was that dependable.

Speaking of which … it shouldn’t be too difficult to find him. That Yan Hong Min was certainly wherever mischief was happening. Or maybe he was planning to cause some and just pretended not to be in.

Baili Chao pointed at the door and concentrated his spiritual energy. The hinges creaked and the door burst open. A keg of ink clattered to the ground, staining the door.

Baili Chao’s brows twitched. Seriously? He stepped over the blotch and walked to the study. Or, well, the room his disciple called his study. In fact, this was more of a workshop where he prepared whatever he could use to cause harm.

"Yan Hong Min!"

The second disciple flinched and a talisman slipped out of his fingers. The paper that had originally been rolled up tightly fell to the ground and unfurled. The two men looked at it and exchanged a glance. Yan Hong Min plunged forward but Baili Chao raised his hand and his spiritual energy lifted the talisman, snatching it right out of Yan Hong Min’s fingers.

Yan Hong Min froze before slowly raising his gaze. "It’s … something I made for self-defense."

The Elder looked at the squiggly handwriting and barely made out a tripping spell. His brows twitched. "What an interesting way of self-defense." He threw the talisman back at his disciple and cleared his throat. Having learned from his previous mistake, he made sure his words were unambiguous. "That’s not what I’m here for. Your little junior martial brother arrived yesterday and he hasn’t reached the fourth layer of Qi Refinement yet so he’ll need to eat. Make him a bowl of porridge."

"Porridge?"

"The thing you’ve eaten back when you joined the sect. Now go and make some!"

"But Master … It’s been so long since then!"

"Hogwash! It’s been much longer for your Master! So get moving, you lazy bum, or you can solve the next mess you cause on your own!"

Yan Hong Min seemed as if he wanted to retort but he stopped right before the words came out. His eyes darted from side to side and he finally got up like an obedient child and nodded. "Sure, Master! I’ll do it immediately, Master!" Then he dashed out.

Baili Chao waited. The brat wouldn’t have run away, would he?

Before he had time to contemplate further, the door opened again and Yan Hong Min walked in with a bowl that had steam wafting from it. Yan Hong Min smiled and blinked his eyes like an obedient sheep. "Here, Master. This is the bowl of porridge this disciple made. It should be really tasty. Little junior martial brother will like it!"

Baili Chao took the bowl and wanted to praise his disciple when his gaze fell on the talisman on the ground. Wait a moment … He narrowed his eyes and picked up the spoon, tasting the porridge himself.

Yan Hong Min’s obedient expression cracked. "This … This disciple forgot an important ingredient!" With that, he dashed back out.

Baili Chao frowned. It tasted alright though? He wanted to go and bring the bowl to Yun Bei Fen. When he looked down to make sure he didn’t step on any traps … he finally saw his hair.

"Yan Hong Min, you get back here! How dare you make your Master’s hair turn green!"