Finding a flat open area, Jiang Beiran took out materials from his Universe Ring and had the junior sisters set up their own camp. All five girls were spending the night outdoors for the first time, and they couldn’t help but feel a little excited.
Yu Guishui looked at the large canvas on the ground and said to the others, "How about we set up one big tent? We can all sleep together tonight."
"Sounds good, sounds good!"
Fang Qiuyao immediately agreed. Liu Zijin also nodded after hearing this, showing her approval. However, by the time an hour had passed, Jiang Beiran was already starting a fire to cook, while the five junior sisters were still struggling to figure out how to pitch the tent.
"Strange… I clearly remember tents being set up like this, so why won’t it stand?"
Yu Guizui muttered in confusion while holding a thick wooden pole.
"Should we… ask Senior Brother?"
Yu Guimiao instinctively glanced toward Jiang Beiran.
"But…"
Yu Guizui hesitated. After traveling together for a while, the five junior sisters had started to get a sense of their senior brother’s temper—if he didn’t take the initiative to help, asking him would only earn them a scolding.
At this point, Liu Zijin spoke up, "If we keep struggling like this, we might really end up sleeping on the ground tonight. I’ll go ask Senior Brother."
"No!"
Yu Guishui suddenly exclaimed.
"That’s too unfair to you, Sister Zijin. We can’t always hide behind you. This time, let me go."
"It’s fine. Senior Brother isn’t as strict as you think, I—" "No, this time it has to be me."
After saying this, Yu Guishui walked toward Jiang Beiran.
"Ah!"
Just as Liu Zijin was about to stop her, Yu Guizui and Yu Guimiao each grabbed one of her arms and said, "Let our sister handle it this time. Just wait here, Sister Zijin."
"Then… alright."
Liu Zijin could only sit back down, her heart filled with disappointment.
Snap!
Breaking off a branch and tossing it into the fire, Jiang Beiran didn’t even look up as Yu Guishui approached.
"Didn’t your hall teach you how to set up a tent before coming down the mountain?"
"Y-yes, they did…"
Yu Guishui replied with her head lowered. Though Jiang Beiran’s tone wasn’t particularly stern, for Yu Guishui, who had grown up surrounded by flattery, even a mildly critical question was enough to make her feel embarrassed. That was why she had been too afraid to ask him directly.
"Go on, what don’t you understand?"
"The copper fittings are too scattered, and we can’t figure out which piece connects to which."
"Fine, I’ll teach you one more time."
With that, Jiang Beiran stood up and walked toward their tent. Truthfully, it was within Jiang Beiran’s expectations that Liu Zijin and the others couldn’t set up the tent on their own. Tents in this world were far more complicated than modern ones that could be pitched by simply crossing two poles.
Here, tents had as many as 102 copper fittings of varying sizes, with countless ways to assemble them—definitely not an easy task for beginners. Arriving beside Liu Zijin and the others, Jiang Beiran picked up each pin and socket fitting, carefully explaining their functions to the five junior sisters before guiding them through assembling most of the tent.
"Thank you, Senior Brother."
Watching their large tent take shape in the blink of an eye, the five junior sisters happily expressed their gratitude. That night, after dinner and training, Jiang Beiran sat by the campfire and said to the girls, "Go to sleep. I’ll keep watch."
The five junior sisters bowed in unison.
"Thank you, Senior Brother. Good night, Senior Brother."
Then they eagerly crawled into the tent. Listening to the cheerful laughter coming from inside the tent, Jiang Beiran couldn’t help but shake his head with a smile. They didn’t seem like they were out on a trial mission—it was more like a leisurely autumn outing.
But considering their ages, these five are probably just high schoolers. It’s normal for them to be this carefree. However, by the time of the Chou hour (1–3 AM), the playful chatter inside the tent still hadn’t stopped.
Jiang Beiran had no choice but to stand up and walk over.
"It’s late. Get some rest—we have a long journey tomorrow."
"Yesss~" came the unified reply from inside the tent.
Satisfied, Jiang Beiran nodded and returned to his seat by the fire, adding more firewood before continuing to ponder the possibilities of the "forgettable outfit." After about the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Yu Guishui, who had been tossing and turning for a while, whispered, "I can’t sleep~" "Me neither!"
Yu Guizui was the first to respond. Soon, the other three girls also chimed in, saying they couldn’t sleep at all.
"Then let’s talk a little longer?"
Yu Guishui suggested.
"But Senior Brother will scold us, won’t he?"
Yu Guimiao whispered.
"How about we huddle closer and whisper? That way, Senior Brother won’t hear us."
"Great idea!"
Yu Guishui’s proposal was immediately accepted by all the girls. Soon, the five of them were gathered in a circle, face to face.
"This should be fine, right?"
The five junior sisters exchanged smiles. Yu Guimiao glanced at Senior Brother’s shadow cast on the tent and, seeing that he hadn’t moved, suggested, "Since Senior Brother can’t hear us, why don’t we talk about him?"
"Agreed!"
Yu Guizui led the charge, immediately starting the topic.
"Do you think it was really Senior Brother who broke that formation yesterday?"
Yu Guishui quickly replied, "Come on, don’t tell me anyone actually believes Senior Brother’s excuse about the formation breaking on its own?"
"I didn’t!"
Yu Guizui retorted.
"I just wanted to make sure everyone else thought the same as me."
"Shhh~ Keep it down."
Since Yu Guizui’s tone had gotten a little too excited, the other four girls immediately hushed her.
"Right, right."
Yu Guizui nodded quickly before asking, "Then how do you think Senior Brother broke the formation? I once heard from my father that breaking a formation from inside is several times harder than doing so from outside."
"Exactly! And that formation was terrifying. I started feeling dizzy before long."
Fang Qiuyao added, "Me too. I don’t know what kind of formation it was, but the farther we walked, the dizzier I got. My heart was pounding with fear."
Yu Guimiao nodded vigorously.
"I was so scared yesterday. If not for Senior Brother, we’d probably be in the hands of those bandits by now, right?"
"Right, so the question remains—how did Senior Brother break that formation? I remember Senior Brother is from Blue Heart Hall, right? Isn’t it Star Formation Hall that teaches formations? And…"
Yu Guizui suddenly drew out her words, "Senior Brother seems to know a lot of things. Have you noticed how special the straw hats and sandals he prepared for us are? It’s the first time I’ve walked down the street without anyone noticing me."
"We noticed that ages ago," the other four girls answered in unison.
"There’s more," Fang Qiuyao was about to mention how Senior Brother had saved her that night, but after some thought, she held back and changed the subject.
"I’m pretty sure that pill was something Senior Brother refined himself. Ordinary pills don’t have that fragrance."
Yu Guishui turned to Fang Qiuyao and said, "Speaking of fragrance, the Hundred Flower Honey Senior Brother brewed smells amazing. I’ve been reluctant to take off the scorched cloth these past couple of days." The five of them launched into another lively discussion, recounting all of Jiang Beiran’s actions over the past two days.
Finally, Yu Guimiao sighed in admiration.
"Senior Brother is clearly this skilled, so how come we’ve never heard of his reputation even after joining the sect for so long?"
Yu Guizui glanced furtively at Jiang Beiran’s shadow on the tent before whispering, "Should we… just go ask him directly?"
(End of Chapter)