Why did you provoke me?

The two discussed the matter for a long time and finally came to a conclusion.

Yu Meng should first find out Guihong Pavilion's trump cards. If she can handle them, then she doesn't need to hold back. If she can't afford to offend them, then she should go as far away as possible.

Yu Meng wasn't particularly interested in the Jing family or their mountain range. However, she became interested in the cultivation techniques of Guihong Pavilion.

If we could truly control the forces of nature, that would be terrifying.

There seems to have been no news about this over the years.

Thus, unbeknownst to Nian Nian and Jing San, the long-haired man and Yu Meng had already set their sights on the Jing family's mountain range and Guihong Pavilion, and had Mi Ying investigate the matter thoroughly.

Niannian has been feeling very awkward these past few days; she doesn't want to do things according to Jing San's instructions anymore.

If Jing San were to scheme against Fourth Sister, she would resolutely not allow it, even if it meant breaking off all ties with Jing San.

Jing San clearly noticed Niannian's unusual behavior, but he couldn't figure out why. So he brought Niannian all the things he thought were good. He also bought a lot of snacks to please her.

"Niannian, what's wrong? Tell me what's wrong, let's talk about it."

"Oh, it's nothing, I'm just a little upset. You go ahead and do your work, let me have some peace and quiet." Niannian pushed Jing San out and closed the door.

Jing San stood at the door for a long time. Niannian was acting very strangely; something must have happened that I didn't know about. But what could it be? He couldn't figure it out.

Jing San's expression turned serious. Which brat had offended Nian Nian? He'd skin him alive.

Thus, the members of Group Three began living in dire straits. Any mistake, or any imperfection in completing a task, would result in punishment.

Jing San was a clever fellow; he neither hit nor scolded. He simply prescribed a set of movements and determined the number of repetitions. Then, he told you to go to the small dark room to receive your punishment.

Or you could have someone use lines to suspend your feet. Your hands, of course, can't be idle either, so let's peel off dough and make beads. As for where the materials come from, that depends on your teammates' performance, since the beads you make will be shared equally.

The members of the third team were in dire straits, secretly investigating who had offended Third Brother and caused them to suffer this undeserved misfortune.

Yu Meng was the last to notice Niannian's change, because Niannian had been avoiding her during this time. Yu Meng, however, was only focused on the news from Guihong Pavilion and neglected Niannian.

That day, I called Niannian over and pushed a big bag of snacks onto her.

"I bought this for you. Why have you been so down these past few days? Did someone upset you?"

Niannian pulled the bag to her side and rummaged through its contents. "Fourth Sister, these are all my favorite foods. When did you go out to buy them?"

"It's been several days. I've been so busy these past few days that I forgot to give it to you. I thought you had already found it, but when I looked, I was surprised to find it was still here." Yu Meng said with a smile.

"I was busy too, so I didn't come over." Niannian tore open a small bag, put the contents in her mouth, and said, "This is the taste. I missed it so much. It's fragrant and spicy."

"Really? I think you're busy being angry and avoiding me."

"Fourth Sister, how did you figure that out?" Niannian asked while eating.

"Is it because of me that you got angry with your third brother?"

Niannian's eyes widened, and she stopped eating.

"How could you have guessed that?"

"Hmph, who am I?" Yu Meng raised her chin, looking very proud.

"Fourth Sister, he's got a really bad heart. He's got his eye on the Jing family's mountain range and wants to use it as our sect's base. That would have been a good thing, but there's Guihong Pavilion in between. He's afraid you won't agree, so he's saying he'll investigate first. You'll agree sooner or later anyway."

"That's all?" Yu Meng frowned. "It's nothing really."

"He said you'd agree sooner or later, what else could he be but plotting against you?"

"What were the exact words? What did they say?"

"I told him you don't like provoking others, and he said if someone provoked you, you would retaliate. I thought, does he want someone to provoke you, so that you would take action against Guihong Pavilion? That way, he would achieve his goal."

"So you distanced yourself from him, and then his teammates all looked miserable."

"How can you blame me? Who told him to have such thoughts?" Niannian pouted and took a big bite of the jerky in her hand.

"Did he tell you to ask me if this can be done?"

Niannian nodded, "I was supposed to ask you, but I got angry and haven't come to find you."

"Niannian, Jing San is a very sensible person. He has his own ideas, but he hasn't harmed the sect's interests, much less harmed me. Your unilateral break with him is a bit unfair. Look at what he's done to his team members."

"What does this have to do with me? His emotions are so unstable, what if he attacks me one day? I'd be at a huge disadvantage." Niannian argued unreasonably.

"Alright, to be honest with you, I'm interested in Guihong Pavilion's cultivation techniques, and I wouldn't mind taking over that mountain range as well."

Niannian couldn't care less about eating this time. "Fourth Sister, what did you find out?"

"This mountain range is the base of the cripple and the long-haired man. They're not strong enough to take it back after it was occupied. That's why I decided to help them out."

"Isn't this the Jing family's property? Are they involved too?"

"Yes, they're in cahoots."

"How is this possible?" Niannian was stunned.

"The long-haired man said it himself. Besides, why would I lie to you? There's no benefit in it for me."

"So, Third Brother's plan coincides with your thoughts."

Niannian was delighted. "Fourth Sister, the Jing family's mountain range is huge. Even if our sect had twice as many people, it wouldn't feel crowded."

"You've got your eye on it too?"

"Of course, it was I who brought it up in the first place, and that's when Third Brother got that idea." Niannian said this with great pride, "Fourth Sister, don't I have great taste?"

"Yes, just as good as me." The two sisters looked at each other and burst into laughter.

Niannian was carrying a large bag of snacks back home. Jing San was standing by the roadside. When she saw Niannian coming, she hurriedly went up to her, "Niannian, let me carry these for you."

Niannian then handed the snack gift bag to Jing San, saying, "I asked Fourth Sister, and she's investigating Guihong Pavilion. There's no rush regarding the Jing Family Mountain Range."

"Ah, Teacher Yu agreed." Jing San was very happy. "Then let's make some preliminary preparations, scare away some of the smaller forces, and for the larger ones, we'll plunder them until they collapse."

Niannian hurriedly added, "We need to set up formations in all those good spots; we can't let them ruin them."

"Yes, let's claim the best spots first, and then announce to the public that this place belongs to us, drawing the attention of Guihong Pavilion and making it easier for the teacher to act."

The two talked back and forth, as if the Jing family's mountain range was already theirs for the taking.

As for the previous unilateral break-up, Niannian said that it was not something she did. After all, when a girl is in a bad mood, someone always needs to patiently comfort her.