The three disciples watched with bated breath as something emerged from the darkness of the bamboo forest and stepped into the light.

Standing before them was the familiar sight of a young man with long, black hair tied up into a high ponytail, with emerald green eyes and handsomely tanned skin that seemed to glow in the lanternlight. 

Their Senior Brother, Luo Jie, had emerged from the bamboo forest looking slightly disheveled after running laps around Zhuzi Peak. At some point he had removed his outer robes and tied them around his waist as a way to combat the heat, which left a small bit of his muscular chest exposed.

This fact combined with his slightly sweaty post workout appearance created a scene that even Song Qingge had to admit was objectively sexy, though of course she thought that Feng Wenling’s determined and slightly fierce expression from a few moments earlier was even sexier.

Even so, Song Qingge quickly tried to block Wei Yaozu’s line of sight. If even she had to acknowledge Luo Jie’s objective attractiveness at that moment, Wei Yaozu definitely wouldn’t be able to function normally.

Unfortunately, the damage had already been done the moment Luo Jie stepped into the light. Wei Yaozu’s face had already turned a dangerous shade of red, and the disordered Qi within his body began to fluctuate wildly. 

“Ah, Luo Shixiong, it’s just you.” Feng Wenling said while casually lowering her sword, which had been pointing right at Luo Jie’s heart.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to alarm you, Feng Shimei.” Luo Jie said. “I just finished my hundredth lap and heard your voices coming from this direction…”

Song Qingge suddenly remembered her original plan for her and Wei Yaozu  ‘coincidentally’ bump into Luo Jie on the way back up the mountain. After running into Feng Wenling and dealing with Wei Yaozu’s newest injury, she had completely forgotten about her scheme!

It seems like fate is on our side tonight!

“Ah, Shixiong, we’re so lucky you came,” Song Qingge said, forcing herself to sound distraught.

“Wei Shidi tripped and sprained his ankle, and we aren’t able to carry him up ourselves… Could you do us a favor and carry him back for us?”

“I’m happy to help, but aren’t you two more than capable of carrying up the mountain yourselves...?” Luo Jie asked, a bit confused. Wei Yaozu appeared to be quite skinny, after all. Someone at Song Qingge’s or Feng Wenling’s level should be able to carry him up the mountain without any trouble.

“Er… well since you’re here now, it should be your responsibility as the Eldest, right?”

“Hold on a minute!” Wei Yaozu whispered to Song Qingge anxiously “You’re actually trying to get Shixiong to carry me?!”

“Shh! Don’t ruin this chance!” Song Qingge whispered back fiercely “Do you want him to fall for you or not?!”

“Sorry you two, but could you two speak up a bit? I can’t hear you very well from over here…” Luo Jie said as he shuffled a bit closer.

“Ahaha, Wei Shidi was just worried he would be too heavy to carry, but I told him it wouldn’t be a problem for you! Let’s start herding back now!” 

Song Qingge quickly moved to Feng Wenling’s side and wrapped one of her arms around her Shijie’s as though they were two female friends walking to school together.

“Shijie, let's walk back together, just like you promised!”

This was a risky move on Song Qingge’s part, but to her relief Feng Wenling didn’t pull away.

The moment Song Qingge moved over to Feng Wenling’s side, Wei Yaozu was once again psychically attacked by Luo Jie’s appearance, but before he even had a chance to protest, Luo Jie scooped him up into his arms!

Song Qingge: Wow! Bridal Style! This plan went even better than I thought!!

While Song Qingge gave herself a mental pat on the back, Wei Yaozu was nearly sent into Qi Deviation on the spot. The feeling of Shixiong's arms around him was really more than he could handle!

Luo Jie noticed that his Shidi had suddenly turned quite tense, and a jolt of anxiety shot through his heart.

“I’m sorry, Wei Shidi! Did I aggravate your injury when I picked you up?!”

Wei Yaozu was too nervous to even speak, so he could only woodenly shake his head, but this left Luo Jie unconvinced.

“Come on, let’s hurry back and have Shizun take a look at you!” 

In a flash Luo Jie had begun to run up the dark mountain path with Wei Yaozu in his arms, forcing Song Qingge and Feng Wenling to chase after them with the lantern.

---

It took Luo Jie about a quarter of an hour to make it to Yao Huizhong’s door, and by the time he arrived nearly all the color had drained out of Wei Yaozu’s face. Luo Jie was so anxious that he didn’t even bother knocking on his Master’s door, opting to kick it open instead.

“Shizun! Something happened to- Huh? Shishu, you’re here too?!”

For a moment, Luo Jie could have sworn he had seen Martial Uncle dutifully grinding ink while his Master was writing something down…

…But his eyes must have been mistaken, because in a blink, the ink was gone, and Xuan Yi was clearly scolding his Master.

“Yao Huizhong, you scumbag! What is the meaning of this?!”

“Xiao Yi, I don’t- Ahem! I mean Peak Master Xuan, calm down for a moment! A-Luo, what’s going on?”

Jie Luo quickly forgot about matter between the two Masters and rushed over to place Wei Yaozu by Yao Huizhong’s side.

“Shizun, Wei Shidi was injured on his way back up the mountain, please take a look at him!”

Yao Huizhong looked down at Wei Yaozu, who appeared barely conscious and was deathly pale. He shot Xuan Yi an accusatory look.  

“Peak Master Xuan, do you know anything about this?”

Xuan Yi’s face immediately flushed with anger.

“You seriously think I would do something like this?! The boy was fine when he left!”

“When I sent him down with Song Qingge, I specifically told you not to push him too hard, to prevent his injury from flaring up. But it seems I put too much faith in you this time, other than you, who else could cause such intense emotional backlash?!”

Xuan Yi’s entire body began to physically shake with anger.

“Yao Huizhong, how dare you accuse me?! How do you know this wasn’t caused by your precious disciple, Song Qingge!?” 

“Why must you always have it out for A-Song?” Yao Huizhong said with a sigh.

Xuan Yi replied with a bitter laugh.

“Ha! Yao Huizhong, I’m not a blind fool like you, that girl has always been one to cause trouble…”

“I’ll be taking my leave now. Go tend to your disciple.”

Yao Huizhong attempted to stop Xuan Yi by grabbing him by the sleeve.

“Wait- you can’t just leave after harassing my Disciples!”

Xuan Yi roughly slapped Yao Huizhong’s hand away.

“Go and tend to the boy! We’ll settle this at the Inner Sect competition.”

And with that, Xuan Yi angrily walked out the door, just as Song Qingge and Feng Wenling finally arrived.