"Crackle!"

A gentle breeze blew past, causing two sparks to burst from the campfire, startling Liu Zijin as she lifted the tent flap to step outside.

"Not sleeping yet?"

Jiang Beiran turned his head and asked, setting down the straw hat in his hands. Having already prepared her excuse inside, Liu Zijin replied, "I really couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd come out and keep Senior Brother company during the night watch. Consider it practice for the future."

As soon as Liu Zijin finished speaking, three options appeared before Jiang Beiran's eyes.

[Option 1: "Hmm, hungry? Want some snacks?" Reward: Bright Sun Divine Mantra (Earth Grade, Low Tier)] [Option 2: Take out a small stool and let Liu Zijin sit beside you. Reward: Five Spirits Ghost Technique (Mysterious Grade, Mid Tier)] [Option 3: "Since it's practice, start by getting used to solitude. I happen to have some matters to attend to, so I'll leave this to you." Reward: Random Basic Attribute Point +1] Without hesitation, Jiang Beiran chose the third option.

Tucking the straw hat into his Universe Ring, he stood up and said to Liu Zijin, "Since it's practice, start by getting used to solitude. I happen to have some matters to attend to, so I'll leave this to you."

[Option task completed. Reward: Constitution +1] "Huh...?"

Before Liu Zijin could react, she realized Jiang Beiran had already vanished into the night. 'Seems Senior Brother really does dislike me...' Sighing, Liu Zijin sat down on the small stool Jiang Beiran had just vacated, her emotions a tangled mess—somewhat upset, yet also somewhat fond of Senior Brother's cold demeanor.

Before long, the tent flap was lifted again as the three Yu sisters poked their heads out one after another.

"Where's Senior Brother?"

"Did he go back to his own tent?"

"Zijin-jie, did you get scolded?"

Shaking her head, Liu Zijin turned and said, "Senior Brother said he had some matters to attend to and left me to keep watch alone."

"Is that so..."

The three sisters sighed in unison.

"Senior Brother really is so mysterious." ......

Meanwhile, Jiang Beiran had already arrived in a small grove. When passing by earlier, he had noticed several useful medicinal herbs growing here. Originally, he had planned to come back later to gather them, but now was the perfect opportunity.

Carefully plucking a "Pinellia Ternata" and storing it away, Jiang Beiran couldn't help but sigh inwardly as he stood up to search for the next herb. Back when he used to take newly recruited junior brothers out for training, he would usually have to find opportunities to slip away from the group to trigger options.

But this time, with these five junior sisters, he had no such troubles. A few words were enough to trigger options, and they often started at Earth Grade—truly a "perilous situation." This only strengthened his resolve to stay away from pretty junior sisters.

He was certain that if there had been a few male disciples in this group, he would have already completed several Yellow or even Mysterious Grade tasks by now.

An hour later, after finally coaxing Fang Qiuyao and the others back into their tents, Liu Zijin yawned as she stared at the campfire, realizing that night watch wasn’t as easy as it seemed—it was both exhausting and boring.

"If you're sleepy, go back and rest. I'll take over from here."

Startled by the sudden voice, Liu Zijin blinked several times before recognizing the figure before her.

"Senior Brother, you're back? Did you finish your business?"

"Mn."

Jiang Beiran nodded.

"Then I'll leave it to you, Senior Brother."

Liu Zijin stood up and walked to the tent, lifting the flap. But just before entering, she couldn’t resist turning back to call out, "Senior Brother."

"Speak."

Jiang Beiran replied without turning his head.

"N-Nothing... Goodnight, Senior Brother."

"Mn. Goodnight." ......

At the third mark of the Chen hour (around 7:45 AM), Jiang Beiran extinguished the campfire and roused the junior sisters from their sleep. Indeed, youth was full of vitality—despite having slept late, all five junior sisters woke up immediately, each looking bright-eyed and energetic.

After packing up the tents, the group of six set off once more on the road back to the sect.

"Clang!"

"Junior Sister, you go first!"

"Hmph! None of you will escape today!" ......

Just as they entered a small forest, Jiang Beiran suddenly heard the sounds of a fight not far away. Naturally, Liu Zijin and the others heard it too, but none of them made a move.

They had encountered a similar situation on their way to Fortune Gathering Village, and at that time, Senior Brother had simply bypassed it without any intention of intervening. So this time, they merely glanced in the direction of the commotion.

"Let’s go take a look."

"Ah!?"

All five junior sisters froze in shock, staring at their senior brother in disbelief. But by then, he was already heading toward the source of the fighting. Exchanging glances, the five silently marveled at how the sun must truly be rising from the west today before quickly following.

The reason Jiang Beiran suddenly decided to meddle in this affair was entirely because two options had appeared before him the moment he heard the fighting.

[Option 1: Leave immediately. Reward: Triple Miasma (Mysterious Grade, Low Tier)] [Option 2: Follow the sounds of fighting and offer assistance. Reward: Random Basic Attribute Point +1] The skirmish wasn’t far from Jiang Beiran’s group, and in no time at all, they arrived at the scene, where two groups were already locked in combat.

After scanning both sides with his spiritual sense, Jiang Beiran determined that the strongest among them was only at Qi Refining Stage Three. He turned to Liu Zijin and the others.

"Go separate them. I’ll cover you."

"Yes!"

With that acknowledgment, Liu Zijin and the other four drew their swords and charged into the fray.

"Who goes there!?"

A burly man in grayish-white short robes and a blue headband bellowed.

"Liu Zijin of the Heart Returning Sect!"

As she answered, Liu Zijin deflected a gold-ringed broadsword and positioned herself in front of an injured girl.

"This has nothing to do with the Heart Returning Sect! Stay out of it!"

The burly man swung his staff at Liu Zijin, only for Fang Qiuyao to effortlessly deflect it with a "Flickering Shadow Step" technique. Seeing that their opponents were no pushovers, the burly man could only shout, "Liu Zijin of the Heart Returning Sect, was it?

Fine!

Consider this grudge settled! You’ll regret this!" With that, he swept his staff and retreated a step.

"Brothers, fall back!"

"Yes!"

The others quickly disengaged and followed the burly man as they retreated deeper into the forest. Once the group had completely vanished, a young man in green robes from the rescued party bowed to Liu Zijin.

"I am Gu Qingyue of the Azure Cloud Sect. Many thanks, Miss Liu, for lending us your aid in our time of need. We are deeply indebted to you."

The others also sheathed their weapons and bowed in gratitude. Just as Liu Zijin was about to return the courtesy, she heard a sharp "clang" behind her. Startled, she whirled around.

"That’s called a returning dart. Next time you drive off enemies, stay alert—they might not have truly left."

Jiang Beiran lowered his sword and bent down to pick up a double-pointed, four-edged dart with a bulging center. He handed it to Liu Zijin.

"A spiked dart. Keep it as a memento."

PS: Stop scolding me, stop scolding me, any more and I’ll go dumb. I’ve been working hard to update, but there’s just too much to consider… So after all the editing and rewriting, I can only manage one chapter a night.

The comment section is really strict these days.

(Fear.jpg) (End of Chapter)