By the time Song Qingge finished copying the sect rules, the moon had already risen high into the sky.

Wei Yaozu had finished his copies about an hour earlier, but Xuan Yi hadn’t allowed him to leave. His excuse for this was that Yao Huizhong’s message had made it clear that the two Juniors had to spend time together and get along.

Xuan Yi was of course aware that keeping Wei Yaozu in the Disciplinary Hall because of Song Qingge would have the opposite effect, but that was exactly what he wanted.

They were both his rival’s disciples, after all. If the two of them continued to be at odds, Yao Huizhong would send them back for punishment, which would make him very happy.

So for the last hour the only thing Wei Yaozu could do was stare out the window and occasionally shoot Song Qingge an annoyed glare.

“Shishu! I’m finally done!” Song Qingge exclaimed while stretching out her cramped arms.

Xuan Yi checked over Song Qingge’s work.

Her handwriting was still terrible, but it was technically legible, and as much as Xuan Yi enjoyed tormenting his martial nieces and nephews, it was getting quite late.

 He had an important ‘appointment’ to make that night, so after a short lecture, Song Qingge and Wei Yaozu were finally set free.

As soon as Xuan Yi flew out of sight, Song Qingge grabbed Wei Yaozu by the wrist and began running back up the path to Zhuzi Peak.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Wei Yaozu shouted as he was practically dragged up  the mountain.

“Hurry up Wei Shidi! We’re going to miss our chance to bump into Luo Shixiong!”

“What-?!” Wei Yaozu’s heart began to beat dangerously fast. He had already embarrassed himself twice today in front of Luo Jie, so how could he have the guts to face him so soon?!

“Just calm down and trust me, ok? It’s all a part of my plan!” Song Qingge said while turning back to give Wei Yaozu a comforting smile.

Unfortunately for Song Qingge, this momentary lapse in attention to the path ahead caused her to run head on into someone coming down the mountain path!

Slam!

“Oof-!” Even though Song Qingge had fallen to the ground, her land was cushioned by something…soft. She slowly opened her eyes, feeling a bit confused, but that confusion was quickly replaced with embarrassment.

She had landed on top of Feng Wenling! Again!!! And this time she had fallen right into her-!!

Song Qingge jumped up like a cricket and began profusely apologizing once again.

“Feng Shijie, I’m so sorry!!! The path was dark and I… I-I didn’t mean to-! Ah! Let me help you get up!” Song Qingge quickly offered Feng Wenling a hand.

This time, Feng Wenling accepted her help with a slight smile and stood up, before elegantly dusting herself off and fixing her hair.

“It’s alright, Song Shimei, but you really shouldn’t be running around so late at night. You could get hurt.”

Song Qingge looked down apologetically.

“You’re right, Shijie, I’m sorry…We were just in a rush to get back…”

“I understand” Feng Wenling said, giving Song Qingge a reassuring pat on the head “I came down to escort you two back, so let's head back up together. Now where did my lantern go…”

“Ah, it’s over there! I’ll grab it for you, Shijie!”

The lantern had tumbled into the brush next to Wei Yaozu, and Song Qingge happily retrieved it for Feng Wenling, completely ignoring Wei Yaozu as though he was a piece of garbage dumped on the roadside.

“Here you go, Shijie!” 

Song Qingge handed Feng Wenling the lantern with a sweet smile.

“Ahem!” Wei Yaozu couldn’t bear being ignored any longer and cleared his throat, which finally made Feng Wenling and Song Qingge turn to look at him.

“Wei Shidi, hurry and stand up, we’re heading with Feng Shijie back now.” Song Qingge said after noticing him still on the ground.

Wei Yaozu: “...my ankle’s twisted…”

The two girls shared a startled glance before rushing over to Wei Yaozu’s side. Feng Wenling held out her lantern, clearly illuminating Wei Yaozu’s swollen ankle.

“Oh no! Shijie, how are we going to bring him back?” 

“I can’t fly with another person on my sword, but either of us should be able to carry him quite easily-”

“No!” Wei Yaozu shouted “I don’t want to be seen getting carried back by either of you!”

What would Shixiong think if he saw me getting carried around by a woman! He might misunderstand our relationship!

Song Qingge shot him a disdainful look.

“Are you seriously worried about that right now? Nobody is on the mountain besides our Shizun! Who cares if he sees you getting carried by a girl?!”

“...Luo Shixiong is probably also up there by now…”

Feng Wenling couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

“Wei Shidi, I know you’re from the mortal world and are new to the Fenhui Sect, but here it’s normal to consider men and women as equals. No one is going to think less of you because we helped you.”

“Yeah!” Song Qingge chimed in, “So stop worrying about it and let's go!”

“No!” Wei Yaozu insisted. He didn’t care if his two Senior Sisters were girls, boys, or non-binary, he just could absolutely not bear being carried by someone other than his Shixiong!

Feng Wenling pinched her brow and took a few moments to calm down before standing up and addressing Song Qingge.

“Shimei, I’ll fly back up the mountain and go get Shizun. Can you wait here with Wei Shidi?”

Of course, Song Qingge was reluctant to give up her chance to walk back with Feng Wenling.

“Let me go with you, Shijie! I’m sure Wei Shidi will be fine if we leave him for a little while…”

Feng Wenling couldn’t stop herself from letting out a light laugh.

“Silly girl, if something happens to him while we’re gone, how will we explain it to Shizun? Just wait here for a little while, when I return, we can head back up together, ok?”

“...Alright, Shijie. It’s a promise!” 

Feng Wenling saw that her expression was still a bit reluctant and felt a bit of warmth spread throughout her chest.

Perhaps I was wrong to be suspicious earlier…?

No, I still need to keep an eye on her, this could all just be some kind of trick. She’s done this cute act in front of Shizun and Shixiong before…

But why does it feel different when she does it to me…?

Feng Wenling quickly reined in her conflicting emotions and took out her sword.

“Well, I’ll be heading out n-”

She was cut off by a loud rustling noise emanating from the dark bamboo forest surrounding them.

All three disciples became deadly silent and turned their heads to listen carefully.

The rustling sounded like it was getting closer and closer, and they could even hear the sounds of heavy breathing, reminding them of the growls of a wild beast.

Song Qingge felt a chill down her spine.

Was some wild spiritual beast approaching them?! Had they sensed Wei Yaozu’s weakness and come to devour him?! 

Song Qingge glanced at Feng Wenling, who was looking into the forest with a fierce expression.

Seeing her like this actually calmed Song Qingge’s nerves.

That’s right, I’m a cultivator now…

Whatever comes at us… we just have to face it head on, as a team!