Parts of the mountain path were smooth and level, while others were difficult to traverse. Mo Chen held onto Xiaodong’s hand very naturally as he led Xiaodong forward.
Xiaodong suddenly asked,
Senior Brother, if Master takes in another direct disciple in the future, and he is older than me, should he call me Senior Brother or Junior Brother?
Little Junior Brother’s question was really strange, but Mo Chen had long gotten used to his endless eccentric thoughts and replied,
Naturally age is not considered when entering under one’s tutelage, only who came first mattered. If a disciple were to go under Master’s tutelage after you, no matter if he were already eighty years old, he would still have to call you Senior Brother.
Ou…
Xiaodong pondered for a moment. Would Master take in that Senior Brother Di as his direct disciple? The outer sect disciples worked hard with all of their heart and soul in order to become direct disciples, after all. Senior Brother Di should also be one of the outstanding ones among the outer sect disciples. Becoming a direct disciple was just a matter of time.
However, if what Eldest Senior Brother said was true, by real standards, he would be ranked below Xiaodong if he entered under Master’s tutelage. He would have to refer Xiaodong as Senior Brother. T-This really sounded a little awkward. Senior Sister was a competitive person, and was the most unwilling to be taken advantage of. If this matter were to truly come true, the moment they encountered each other, Senior Brother Di would have to instead refer Xiaodong as his Senior Brother. Senior Sister Linglong’s expression would definitely be amazing to see.
If that time ever came, Senior Sister Linglong might fly into a rage again and even pinch his face.
Xiaodong instantly felt that the side of his cheeks that hadn’t been pinched was also beginning to ache.
Master’s letter came yesterday,
Mo Chen said.
His trip this time is rather successful.
Xiaodong instantly threw away his thoughts about the Senior Brother and Junior Brother addressing issue.
Really? What else did Master say in the letter? When is he going to return?
Master’s trip this time was already considerably long. Xiaodong missed him dearly.
Mo Chen consoled him.
Though he still isn’t able to return anytime soon, you don’t have to worry too much. Master isn’t someone that would be taken advantage of by others. Master is fully aware of the things that he can do, and the things that he can’t.
Xiaodong solemnly responded,
Ou.
Though he understood, his heart could not help but feel at ease.
Mo Chen thought of something that could make Xiaodong happy.
A few years ago, I once headed out with Master to visit that Spiritual Master Hu who is good at divination. He truly possesses magical powers and is not the sort that makes money off fooling people. Master sent Spiritual Master Hu a letter, and Spiritual Master Hu replied. A talisman was attached to the reply. With the talisman, your pendant most likely could be found immediately.
Xiaodong was stunned for a moment, his words escaping his mouth:
Truly?
When he spoke, he then felt that he shouldn’t have said that. Eldest Senior Brother was not the type that would exaggerate others’ abilities, nor would he randomly blurt things out. Since he had already spoken as such, then it must be true.
When he suddenly heard this piece of good news, Xiaodong’s reaction was actually not excitement. Rather, he felt that this was really unrealistic.
Was he really going to find his pendant just like that?
For some reason, Xiaodong did not feel happy but instead extremely perturbed. He felt apprehensive. Could he really… locate his pendant?
Ever since the start of spring, he would search for it whenever he had spare time. However, with such a huge mountain and such a small pendant, it was definitely not any easier than finding a needle in the ocean. As the ice and snow began to melt, the mountain streams were filled with water. With the change in season, the pendant might possibly have been washed away by the melted ice and snow to somewhere undiscoverable.
Though he had not say it out loud, it wasn’t the first time this thought had popped up in Xiaodong’s mind.
There was a chance that the pendant was no longer on Returnflow Mountain.
He might have possibly already lost the only memento his parents left behind, never ever finding it again.
Now, Senior Brother said that there was a talisman that could divine the location of a lost object. Not only did Xiaodong’s worry not disappear, but this feeling also became even clearer, and he could no longer deny it.
If it still could not be found even with the talisman, he had no choice but to accept that the pendant could no longer return.
How could Mo Chen be unable to see through Xiaodong’s unease?
In the past few days, Xiaodong had often headed out to search for his pendant, and whenever he returned, he would often carry a depressed look. However, in front of others, he had never exposed this, acting as if nothing had happened.
He was feeling uneasy, yet he was unwilling to have others worry about him.
Mo Chen could not help but reach out his hand to stroke Xiaodong’s head.
Xiaodong could feel Eldest Senior Brother’s quiet consolation.
Yet, he still felt downcast.
My clothes… got torn just now.
Xiaodong was currently wearing a pale blue Daoist robe that was eighty percent new. This was initially Mo Chen’s old clothes, and Mo Chen remembered it really clearly. Because of some matters where he had to head out, Master ordered the attendants to make two new sets of clothes for him. Mo Chen only managed to wear them a few times. Because his height suddenly grew rapidly, the clothes were too short, and so he stored them away. Because it was made for outdoor use, the clothes were clearly more refined than the usual wear. The temperature instantly turned warm last month, and Xiaodong discovered that he had grown a little too. The clothes he wore last spring were a little tight when he wore them now. Mo Chen thus searched through his own past clothes and let him wear them.
Xiaodong cherished this set of clothes from Eldest Senior Brother. Not only did he not despise it for being old, but he also wore it especially carefully.
Earlier, he anxiously wanted to send the pills to Senior Sister Linglong and did not realize that the clothes were torn. Only now when he lowered his head did he see a very clear hole had appeared at the corner of the sleeves.
This stacked another layer of frost over Xiaodong’s feelings.
This isn’t much. Have Auntie Qi patch it up for you when we get back. Auntie Qi’s needlework is really good, she will definitely patch it back to its original state. You won’t be able to see the difference at all.
Xiaodong had confidence in Auntie Qi’s skills as well.
Before arriving on Returnflow Mountain, when Xiaodong’s clothes were torn, there would be times when his uncle would request others to fix the clothes. During inconvenient times, XIaodong would learn to sew on his own to save on the costs, and simply smack patches of cloths on the holes. With his pitiful skills, the patches were all creased as if crooked plasters were placed on top of the clothes. It was truly, as embarrassing to look at as it could be. His uncle had once scrutinized the sewing that Xiaodong did on a short overall, and truthfully told him,
You might as well have left it unsewn.
However, Auntie Qi’s skills were completely different. Most of the clothes that she fixed looked as if they had not been torn in the first place. Among the clothes that Senior Sister Linglong was wearing, several of them had been patched. After patching them up, Auntie Qi would occasionally embroider flowers and butterflies onto them, concealing the scars from being patched.
As expected, when Auntie Qi saw Xiaodong requesting her to patch up his clothes, she gestured with a smile,
This is not a problem. It does not even take the time to drink a cup of tea to finish patching it.
Xiaodong heaved a sigh of relief and thanked Auntie Qi. He then said,
Sorry for the trouble.
This isn’t much. Coincidentally, Lady Linglong went into seclusion training. Other than looking after the apartment, I don’t have much to do.
Auntie Qi opened up the clothes and looked at it.
I will send it back to you after patching it up.
While Auntie Qi was looking for strands of the same color in her sewing basket, Xiaodong wanted to ask Auntie Qi if she knew about Senior Sister Linglong and Senior Brother Di. Just as he was about to say it, he swallowed his words back in.
He had promised Senior Sister not to tell anyone else. If he were to ask Auntie Qi about this matter now, wouldn’t he be exposing their relationship? Since he promised her, then he had to keep his promise.
