One person: Senior brother Zhang Zhiwei, the Celestial Master begged me to descend the mountain.

The east is turning white.

The first rays of sunlight in the early morning pierced through the thin mist that shrouds Longhu Mountain all year round, casting dappled shadows on the stone steps behind the mountain.

Zhang Zhiwei stood in front of the courtyard gate of Rongku Pavilion.

He stared at the pool of blood on the ground for a long time.

Then, he reached out and gently stroked the courtyard gate that had been kicked and was somewhat deformed, his fingertips tracing the rough wood grain.

If we hadn't asked Junior Brother Taichu to come out of seclusion beforehand...

If that sorcerer from Quanxing really succeeds...

Zhang Zhiwei dared not think any further.

He shook his head, straightened his slightly disheveled robes, and even straightened his Taoist crown before taking a deep breath and stepping across the threshold.

"Junior brother, I'm coming in."

His voice was loud, yet tinged with a hint of caution.

squeak-

The doors of Rongku Pavilion were pushed open.

The room was dimly lit.

On the armchair directly opposite the door, a figure was lounging there with his legs crossed, completely undignified.

And in the wheelchair next to him.

Tian Jinzhong's eyes were red, and he was clutching a crumpled handkerchief in his hand, sniffing every now and then.

I heard the door open.

Tian Jinzhong suddenly raised his head.

When the tall figure at the door came into view, the old man, who never showed any weakness, pursed his lips and tears fell like beads from a broken string.

"Senior brother!!!"

A heart-wrenching and aggrieved wail instantly echoed throughout the room.

"You've finally arrived!"

"Do you know...last night...last night those beasts..."

While crying, Tian Jinzhong struggled to raise his arm and point out the window, his voice trembling uncontrollably:

"They're trying to drive me to my death!"

"If it weren't for Senior Brother Taichu coming..."

"You'll never see me again! Waaaaah..."

This cry.

Zhang Zhiwei was heartbroken from crying.

He rushed to the wheelchair, squatted down, and his large, powerful hands trembled as he wiped away Tian Jinzhong's tears.

"It's alright, it's alright."

"Senior brother is here, it's all over now."

Zhang Zhiwei's voice was hoarse and filled with self-reproach:

"It's my fault, senior brother. I was careless."

"Our Longhu Mountain..."

Snapped!

A crisp sound abruptly interrupted this touching scene of deep brotherly affection.

Zhang Zhiwei and Tian Jinzhong were both startled and subconsciously turned their heads to look.

Zhang Taichu, sitting in the armchair, was impatiently patting the armrest.

"Alright, alright."

Zhang Taichu rolled his eyes, his face full of disgust:

"What kind of melodramatic scene are you putting on so early in the morning?"

"Crying and sobbing all the time, aren't you ashamed?"

Then he turned his head slightly, his eyes staring intently at Zhang Zhiwei, who was squatting on the ground.

"And you."

Zhang Taichu extended a finger and pointed it at Zhang Zhiwei's nose without any politeness.

"Zhang Zhiwei".

"At your age, have you wasted your life?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhiwei showed no sign of anger.

Instead, he lowered his head even further and put on an awkward smile.

"Junior brother is right..."

"What kind of lecture is that!"

Zhang Taichu wasn't buying it at all.

He sat up abruptly, his languid demeanor vanishing instantly.

"Is this the Longhu Mountain you're in charge of?"

"Is this the Celestial Master's Mansion, hailed as the pinnacle of the supernatural world?"

"They got right under our noses and have been lying in wait for three years!"

Three years!

Zhang Taichu held up three fingers and waved them in front of Zhang Zhiwei:

"For three whole years, you didn't notice a thing?"

"He's just a little kid, yet he's already got you, the expert, completely fooled?"

"If I were you, I would have already smashed my head against a block of tofu and died. How dare you stand here pretending to be so profound?"

Zhang Taichu became increasingly angry as he spoke.

He pointed at Tian Jinzhong, who was pale-faced beside him, and his spittle almost landed on Zhang Zhiwei's face:

"If only I had been a little slower last night."

"If only that little bastard Gong Qing had been a little faster."

"What you saw when you came in today is Xiaotianzi's corpse!"

"What good will it do you to be so thoughtful or regretful later?!"

"Can you cry Odako's life back?!"

This barrage of questions, like a machine gun, left Zhang Zhiwei utterly defenseless.

Every word he uttered was like a knife, precisely stabbing Zhang Zhiwei in his weak spot.

This is the old Celestial Master who is very powerful and influential outside.

At this moment, however, he looked like a child who had done something wrong, with his hands hanging at his sides, head down, and not saying a word.

"It's...it's my fault."

a long time.

Zhang Zhiwei managed to squeeze out a few words through gritted teeth.

His voice was low and filled with remorse.

"If it weren't for you, junior brother..."

"I am truly guilty beyond redemption, even if I were to die a thousand deaths."

Seeing his senior brother in this state.

Tian Jinzhong, who was standing to the side, couldn't stand it anymore.

He reached out and gently tugged at Zhang Taichu's sleeve, whispering:

"Senior Brother... Senior Brother Taichu..."

"The main problem is that Gong Qing is indeed cunning; who could have imagined..."

"Shut up!"

Zhang Taichu turned his head and glared fiercely at Tian Jinzhong.

"And you!"

"At your age, is your brain just full of mush?"

"Just tell them your secret."

"And then he bit off his tongue and committed suicide?"

"Is this secret more important than your life?"

"At worst, we can just finish talking and have my senior brother take care of him."

Tian Jinzhong shrank back as he was scolded, and his earlier attempt to plead for Zhang Zhiwei instantly deflated.

Zhang Taichu rolled his eyes in anger.

He slapped his forehead, making a crisp sound.

"What a tragedy..."

"How could I, Zhang Taichu, who was so wise all my life, end up with two such foolish fellow disciples?"

"One's a fool, the other's a dazed one."

"The fact that Longhu Mountain wasn't ruined in your hands is thanks to the divine intervention of our ancestors!"

The room fell into a deathly silence.

Only Zhang Taichu's heavy breathing could be heard.

Zhang Zhiwei secretly raised his eyelids and glanced at the fuming Zhang Taichu.

Seeing that the other party seemed to have finished arguing, his anger subsided a bit.

The old Taoist master then cautiously moved his feet and crept up behind Zhang Taichu.

She stretched out her hands and gently placed them on Zhang Taichu's shoulders.

"Junior brother, calm down, calm down."

"I know that this was my carelessness."

"That's why we have you, the true god, to keep things in check."

"I knew it. As long as my junior brother is here, the sky won't fall."

As he spoke, Zhang Zhiwei skillfully massaged Zhang Taichu's shoulders.

The technique, the force.

It's obvious they've practiced.

"Um……"

Feeling the comfort coming from his shoulder, Zhang Taichu hummed contentedly.

My tense body gradually relaxed.

"To the left."

Zhang Taichu, with his eyes closed, lazily gave the instructions:

Yes, that's it.

"Give it a little push, haven't you eaten?"

"Hey, hey, go easy! Are you trying to kill me?"

"Yes, yes, junior brother is right."

Zhang Zhiwei had no temper at all and adjusted the intensity exactly according to Zhang Taichu's instructions.

"A little higher."

"Go further up."

"Yes, my neck is sore from all that movement last night."

While enjoying the VIP service from the old Celestial Master, Zhang Taichu didn't stop talking:

"Hey Lao Zhang."

"Don't just focus on practicing your internal energy."

"The brain, if you don't use it, will rust."

"Our Longhu Mountain is now like a giant sieve."

"Any Tom, Dick, or Harry can come in and wander around."

"This time it's the Quanxing Sect, what about next time?"

"If those old fogies from the Wang and Lü families also have wicked intentions, are you planning to wait until a knife is to your throat before you react?"

Zhang Zhiwei paused slightly before resuming his movements.

A hint of coldness flashed in his eyes, but his tone remained gentle:

"Don't worry, junior brother."

"After this, I will clean house."

"I will reinforce those fences that need fixing."

"As for those old geezers..."

Zhang Zhiwei's voice was a few decibels lower, but it still carried a domineering air:

"If they dare to lay a hand on me, I'll chop off all their claws."

"Alright, alright, stop bragging."

Zhang Taichu waved his hand impatiently, interrupting Zhang Zhiwei's statement.

"All talk and no action is useless."

"Let it go this time."

"If there's a next time..."

Zhang Taichu turned his head and looked at Zhang Zhiwei with a half-smile:

"I'll write a book about how you wet the bed when you were little and plaster it all over the streets and alleys of the entire supernatural world."

"I'll make sure you have nowhere to hide your old face."

Whoa, whoa, whoa!

Zhang Zhiwei, who was massaging the shoulders, almost lost his breath when his hand trembled.

His old face instantly turned bright red.

"Junior brother...this...this happened seventy or eighty years ago..."

"Can we not talk about this?"

Seeing his usually dignified senior brother in such an embarrassed state, Tian Jinzhong finally couldn't help but burst out laughing.

The previously heavy and oppressive atmosphere completely dissipated at this moment.

Just then.

Gollum-

A thunderous sound suddenly came from Zhang Taichu's stomach.

Zhang Zhiwei and Tian Jinzhong both looked at Zhang Taichu's stomach.

"What are you looking at?"

Zhang Taichu patted his belly confidently, looking completely at ease:

"Haven't you ever seen someone hungry?"

"You were hitting people and yelling last night, didn't you put in any effort?"

"I've shed blood and sweat for Longhu Mountain, what's wrong with eating something?"

talking.

He slapped Zhang Zhiwei's hand away and stood up from the armchair.

He stretched out a big yawn, and his joints cracked and popped.

I'm hungry.

"I want to eat meat buns."

Zhang Taichu turned his head, looked at Zhang Zhiwei, and held up two fingers:

"Pure meat filling, the kind with a thin crust and lots of filling."

"At least twenty."

"And tofu pudding, sweet, with less sugar."

Zhang Zhiwei was stunned for a moment, then a helpless yet doting smile appeared on his face.

"Okay, okay."

"Whatever you say."

"The food at the cafeteria should just be fresh out of the steamer right now, still piping hot."

"Shall I have someone send it over to you right away?"

"What are you giving away?"

Zhang Taichu waved his hand and strode towards the door.

"It was cold by the time it arrived; is that even fit for human consumption?"

"Let's eat at the cafeteria!"

"besides."

As they reached the door, Zhang Taichu suddenly stopped, turned around, and pointed at Zhang Zhiwei:

"You're treating today."

"Also, go and join the queue."

"I want to eat the steamed buns you made yourself."

"Consider this punishment for your poor performance in guarding the house this time."

Zhang Zhiwei was taken aback at first.

A dignified old Celestial Master, squeezing into the cafeteria and queuing up with those juniors for food?

If this gets out...

But looking at Zhang Taichu's attitude of "if you don't go, I'll keep scolding you."

Zhang Zhiwei shook his head with a wry smile, straightened his robes, and quickly followed after him.

"Okay, okay, I'll go, I'll go, alright?"

"As long as you can calm down, junior brother, I'll do anything, even stand in line for food."

"I'd even be willing to knead dough in the kitchen."

"You said it yourself!"

Zhang Taichu's eyes lit up, as if he had grasped some kind of leverage.

"Little Tianzi, did you hear that? This is what your senior brother said himself."

"Tomorrow morning I want noodles that my senior brother kneaded himself!"

Tian Jinzhong, sitting in his wheelchair, watched the two bickering and laughing, his face crinkling with smiles.

"Hey! I heard that!"

Tian Jinzhong responded loudly, turned his wheelchair with both hands, and eagerly chased after them.

"Senior brother! Wait for me!"

"I want to eat meat buns too!"

"I want sweet tofu pudding too!"