Li Qing’s eyes widened and her hand reached out, but her body only reacted faster than her brain. Before she could utter a word, she watched as Wu Lingtian climbed onto the tree and hopped onto the lion’s back. The lion, feeling a new weight on it, fell into another fit of rage and flew directly into the sky, carrying its new passenger along with it.

“Wh-what do we do?” one of the disciples stuttered out.

“Get Shizun!” Li Qing smacked aside the trio as she began to run out of the estate and towards the main hall. The three disciples glanced at each other and quickly followed after her, their minds only filled with how much trouble they will be in once this fiasco was over.

Meanwhile, the Flying Crystal Lion had shot straight up into the sky and was quickly making its descent again. Wu Lingtian observed its erratic movements and felt that there was something severely wrong. Although the Flying Crystal Lion was a large animal, it was extremely docile to anyone that it didn’t claim to be its enemy. They were often the favored choice of pets to female cultivators due to their loyalty and gentleness. It was not the type of spiritual creature that would go on a rampage unprovoked. 

Wu Lingtian braced himself as the lion slammed down onto the ground and began to thrash about again. Wu Lingtian unconsciously held out his hand, palm down, and called for his sword. His head snapped towards his empty hand as he grasped at the air.

They broke my sword.

Before Wu Lingtian could recover from the initial shock, the lion began rearing its head again. Wu Lingtian held tightly onto the lion, but soon fell to the ground. The leash that had been clipped onto it was still tightly wrapped around Wu Lingtian’s fist. Instead of becoming completely thrown off, Wu Lingtian ended up being dragged through the summer grass. He bemoaned the inconvenience but did not lose his temper. He carefully relaxed his body and allowed himself to be dragged as the lion sprinted. When the lion stood back on its hindlegs, Wu Lingtian caught a glimmer of something in the light of the sun.

Very quickly, Wu Lingtian stood as well. He gave the lion a harsh tug and immediately shoved it into a tree with his entire body. He worked swiftly so as not to alarm the lion any further and reached down to pull a thorn from its hind leg.

The Flying Crystal Lion’s body tensed beneath Wu Lingtian but soon melted into a large cloud beneath Wu Lingtian’s body.

Wu Lingtian’s grip on the leash loosened. He turned to the Flying Crystal Lion, who was curled into a ball and knelt down beside it. He reached out and carefully patted the top of its nose, his voice soft and gentle as he spoke.

“Are you okay? That must have hurt,” Wu Lingtian murmured. “I didn’t injure you, did I?”

The lion purred pitifully and moved one of its paws to take a look at Wu Lingtian. It moved a little closer and nudged its head against him, looking extremely embarrassed.

Wu Lingtian comforted the large lion: “It must have been scary. You were hurt, but no one even noticed.”

Wu Lingtian glanced back at the lion’s leg. “Can you walk?”

The Flying Crystal Lion stood slowly and gently moved its leg a few times. It let out a soft roar in affirmation. Wu Lingtian stood and dusted himself off. He reached up and combed his fingers through his hair before turning around, ready to lead the lion back to wherever there were people. But when he turned, he found that he didn’t need to.

There was already a crowd watching him in a stunned silence.

“Lord Immortal!” a pitched voice sounded out from the middle of the crowd. A few seconds later, Li Qing emerged with a red face. She turned towards the lion and then looked back at Wu Lingtian. She let out a loud sigh of relief and patted her chest. “Oh, thank goodness, you’re fine! I thought Liangliang was going to bite you to death for sure!”

“Good thing Lord Immortal is so agile and dexterous!” one of the disciples from earlier perked up.

“Mn! If it was anyone else, they may already be dead!” the other said.

At first, Wu Lingtian’s expression had been rather neutral. However, once he heard two of the three disciples speak, his expression cooled. He turned his gaze towards them.

“You three are in charge of watching over the spiritual animals?”

The three disciples felt a chill crawl up their backs. They straightened unconsciously and nodded.

“Y-yes. We were for today…”

“If you had handled this matter differently, then I would not have had to intervene,” Wu Lingtian spoke coldly. Everyone was suddenly conscious of how loud they were breathing and the sweltering summer air chilled. “A Flying Crystal Lion is a very docile creature. If it goes on a rampage, that means it is feeling unwell—normally because it got hurt. Were you not even aware of such a simple fact?”

“We…we…”

Wu Lingtian frowned at the three disciples in disapproval. “Who put you three in charge?”

“We signed up for it.”

“Then you should have properly educated yourselves on the creatures you were caring for first,” Wu Lingtian said. “They are not just here to play with you or help you fight. These spiritual creatures have feelings and thoughts too. They cannot communicate them other than doing what their instinct tells them to do. It is up to you, as their caretakers to be able to read those cues. If you cannot even do that, then why did you bother signing up?”

“We…we…” the disciples lowered their head in shame.

Wu Lingtian opened his mouth to give out a punishment but lips soon shut.

He was not in Drifting Clouds Mountain Sect. In fact, he was not even a part of this sect. Not only was he scolding disciples out in the open in another people’s territory, the area he was staying in had also been crushed by the lion. His expression cooled even further as he felt a headache coming on.

He closed his eyes and pinched and bridge of his nose. He vaguely heard Li Qing’s excited greeting before he felt a warm breath brush against his cheek.

“You’re awake?”

Wu Lingtian’s heart slammed against his chest at the familiar voice. His eyes immediately snapped open and he took a few steps back from the man.

Fan Yi’s eyes trailed down to Wu Lingtian’s feet. “Even if you are going out for a walk, you should wear shoes.”

“I…I…” Wu Lingtian unconsciously wanted to hide his feet. He met Fan Yi’s gaze and quickly averted his eyes. “You…”

“This is my sect,” Fan Yi said with a bright smile on his face. He took a step closer and pulled Wu Lingtian’s hand from his side. His expression recovered a hint of seriousness as he carefully checked Wu Lingtian’s pulse. He looked back at Wu Lingtian and smiled. His voice was soft as he leaned in a little closer. “Why is your heart beating so fast?”

Wu Lingtian slowly turned his head back towards Fan Yi. He resisted the urge to smack Fan Yi away and slowly took a deep breath. “You brought me here?”

“I did,” Fan Yi nodded. “Do you like it?”

Wu Lingtian stared at Fan Yi blankly. “Like what?”

“My sect.”

“…I have not looked.”

“Then, after you bathe and change, I will take you around for a look,” Fan Yi suggested.

Wu Lingtian nodded silently.

Fan Yi smiled in satisfaction and stepped back. He looked at the three disciples standing off to the side. “You three were looking after the spiritual creatures today?”

“Y-yes, Sect Leader.”

“Handstand for three hours. You also have kitchen cleaning duty for two weeks,” Fan Yi said.

Wu Lingtian glanced at Fan Yi.

Fan Yi noticed his gaze and quirked an eyebrow. “No?”

Wu Lingtian looked away. “Not my position.”

“No, no, no, tell me,” Fan Yi waved his hand. “What would you do?”

“Tell them to study the creatures and then give them a test.”