Brother, how come you're a witch?

The way Liu Baishuang left in front of Ning Jiu was so ethereal and mysterious.

But when she returned to Shuiyue Peak, she immediately hunched her shoulders and tiptoed slowly towards the pavilion behind the main hall.

"Cough cough."

Two crisp coughs made her frolicking figure stiffen. She straightened up, gave an awkward smile, and stuck out her tongue.

"Master, good evening."

"Do I look good?"

Xu Qinglan sat on an eight-immortal chair, holding a bamboo stick in her hand, casually tilting the armrest of the chair:

"Shuang'er, you've become quite accomplished! Do you even know what time it is?"

"You probably... know, right?"

"Knowing that, you still dared to come back at this hour?"

Xu Qinglan slammed her hand on the chair, making a loud "smack," and Liu Baishuang's thin shoulders trembled slightly.

"As you grow older, you become bolder, and you even sneak out to play when I'm not around? Tell me, where did you go?"

"I'm just going out to walk the birds."

Liu Baishuang pointed to the little oriole perched on her head and unhesitatingly shifted the blame onto it.

"Chirp chirp chirp?"

The little oriole felt Xu Qinglan's sharp gaze and was so frightened that it flapped its wings vigorously, as if trying to explain itself, only regretting that it couldn't speak human language.

"You've been walking your bird all this time?" Xu Qinglan squinted.

"It doesn't want to come back; it flies so fast I can't catch it."

Liu Baishuang's eyes darted away, then she went up to her master with a fawning smile and grabbed his arm:

"Master~ You said that we must be careful when flying on a sword, and not to speed. We must slow down even more when flying on a sword at night, which is why I waited until now to get back~ See, am I not following your advice?"

"Hmph, it's clearly because you were playing around, but you're blaming the spirit beast."

Xu Qinglan snorted coldly, and the little oriole immediately chirped in support.

It had a really tough day following Liu Baishuang out. There were wolves and rabbits, and the constant fighting left it mentally exhausted. It also had to endure the smell of medicine on its owner all the time.

It felt it deserved to be pampered and rewarded, rather than being unfairly blamed.

"No, I only played for a little while."

Liu Baishuang gently shook Xu Qinglan's arm.

Of course she knew her master wouldn't believe her lies; even if the spirit beast couldn't catch up, a single command could bring it back.

But she was just using it as an excuse to act cute.

Even her cautious demeanor when she entered the house was nothing more than a pitiful pretense.

Xu Qinglan knew her disciple's little thoughts. Her beautiful eyes lingered on Liu Baishuang's face, which was filled with sparkling light, and she raised her hand to tap her.

"Ouch!"

"Still talking back? Kneel down there!"

"oh......"

Liu Baishuang obediently knelt on the prayer mat beside her, feeling confident that she could get through tonight's ordeal.

Just as she had expected, Xu Qinglan smiled helplessly.

Shuang'er is, after all, just a child. She got a new and exciting pet and couldn't resist going out to play, which should be forgivable.

But he came back so late without leaving a note, which made her worry, so he still has to be punished.

"He shall be punished with twenty strokes of the cane."

Xu Qinglan maintained his composure and threw the bamboo stick in his hand in front of Liu Baishuang.

Liu Baishuang pursed her red lips, picked up the board, held it in her hand behind her back, and gently patted her bottom, which was resting on her heels.

"Heavier, the one from before doesn't count."

"oh......"

Liu Baishuang had no choice but to increase the force, making the bamboo clappers crack loudly.

How long has it been since we last had this playful punishment? It feels like we've gone back to when we first joined the Xuanqing Sect...

She was slightly lost in thought. Memories flooded back, warming her heart. Then, thinking that the risk of her identity being exposed was gone and that she could continue to stay in the Xuanqing Sect, she couldn't help but smile.

Hehehe, I can stay at Shuiyue Peak and stay with my master. I can still recruit Su Yan as planned.

Thinking of Su Yan, a scene from the cabin in the woods suddenly flashed through Liu Baishuang's mind, her face immediately flushed, and she rubbed her kneeling legs together, feeling a strange sensation.

Unconsciously, the force with which he struck the board increased again.

"...Stop."

Xu Qinglan, holding a teacup, watched as her disciple fought harder and harder, laughing and blushing at the same time. Fearing that she might awaken some terrible fetish, she quickly called for a stop.

"That's enough for now. This is to teach you a lesson. Go back and rest."

"Hmm? Yes, Master."

Liu Baishuang stood up, still feeling unsatisfied.

"Next time, the punishment won't be so simple."

Xu Qinglan slowly rose, put down her teacup, and adjusted her robe, revealing a patch of moon-white skin on her slightly slipped chest.

"I still have to go to Spirit Beast Peak tomorrow. You should stay here and cultivate. I don't want to find out that you've sneaked out again."

"Master, are we going again?" Liu Baishuang asked.

"It's only been a few days? Scholarly pursuits require meticulous attention to detail, just like your cultivation, which also takes time..."

Seeing that Xu Qinglan was about to launch into another long lecture, Liu Baishuang quickly covered her ears and fled back to her room.

......

The bell on Sichen Peak struck fourteen times.

Su Yan finally opened his eyes, stared at the ceiling, and let out a long breath.

Staying up late is bad for your health.

He yawned and got up, intending to take out his communication jade token to see if Li Changsheng had replied, when he suddenly noticed a letter under the door.

"Could something have happened to Liu Liu?"

Su Yan frowned, then felt something was amiss.

If Liu Liu had something to do, it would definitely be Ye Jingqiu who would call her. This girl would just barge in and come straight in. How could she possibly use such an elegant method as writing a letter?

Moreover, he trusted Ye Jingqiu's abilities quite a bit, and with him watching over things, nothing should go wrong.

Su Yan rolled out of bed, walked to the door, picked up the letter, and found that the stamp on it was from the Spirit Beast Peak.

Upon opening it, he found an invitation from Elder Chen Yixing, asking him to come to Spirit Beast Peak at Shenshi (3-5 PM) today.

"No wonder he sent such a formal letter; it suits his scholarly temperament."

Su Yan folded the letter and put it away, then decided to set off without a second thought.

Although he didn't know why Chen Yixing wanted to see him, he had already planned to visit this elder of the Spirit Beast Peak to ask about the disappearance of the fish.

Su Yan headed from the outer disciples' residence towards Spirit Beast Peak.

He took out the wooden plaque given to him by Ji Yi, went straight into the inner gate's private area, and after inquiring around, found Chen Yixing's spirit beast research room.

Just as he was about to knock, the door opened by itself, and Chen Yixing was waiting for him with a smile inside.

"Hehe, Su Yan, you actually arrived early. It's really good that you have such a passion for academics. I admire you."

"Elder Chen, you flatter me."

Su Yan cupped his hands in greeting, his lips trembling slightly; he had arrived a quarter of an hour early.

Chen Yixing was clearly praising whatever came to mind, and he hadn't given up on wanting to take him on as a personal disciple.

"Don't just stand at the door when you get here, come in quickly and have some tea first."

Chen Yixing greeted them warmly.

Su Yan also walked in with great courtesy, just about to ask why he had been called here, when he suddenly saw a slender figure sitting next to the tea table.