Chapter 33: Killing Him Would Be a Shame

Chapter 33: It Would Be a Shame to Kill Him

Since when did Cangya Mountain allow unfamiliar women into the men's sleeping quarters? And the Altar Master's bedroom, no less!

Xue Youtan's gaze traveled up from the woman's clothing, and once he confirmed she wasn't someone he knew, he raised his hand, ready to cast a spell to throw her out.

"The Sect Leader sent me to do up the Third Master's hair. He said today's Chief Disciple Assembly is a big deal, and the Altar Master can't show up with his hair down." The woman spoke quickly, and only then did Xue Youtan retract his magical power.

Cangya Mountain had one drawback—whenever there was a large gathering, everyone had to get all dressed up.

The so-called formal attire wasn't about the clothes, but the hair bun.

To support the crown, which weighed several jin, all the hair had to be pulled up and styled into a bun that could support the headpiece.

Clearly, Xue Youtan had no idea how to do that.

And Feng Mingjue knew Xue Youtan couldn't, so he'd gone out of his way to arrange for a hairstylist, just like in the previous life.

The only difference was that in the previous life, the servant with his hair slicked back had been a man, but this time it was a woman.

A woman who liked wearing bright-colored clothes, at that.

Xue Youtan didn't think much of it. He got up, sat at the table, propped his head on his arm, and dozed off, letting the woman work on his hair.

About twenty minutes later, the woman finally finished.

"The Third Master is so gorgeous. I've dressed countless brides, but none of them were as pretty as the Third Master with no makeup on." Realizing she'd misspoken, the woman quickly smacked her own mouth twice. "Oh, silly of me. I shouldn't use 'gorgeous' for the Third Master—I should say 'handsome.'"

Xue Youtan was woken by her voice and glanced casually at the mirror in her hand.

Lips red without any rouge, brows dark without any pencil. Skin like snow, eyes full of life.

Especially with that crown—encrusted with who-knows-what, sparkling with every move—paired with a blooming white epiphyllum flower painted between his brows, he was an absolute vision.

But something was off. Wasn't the epiphyllum flower on his forehead only supposed to appear when his divine sense was wandering? Why was it visible now?

Xue Youtan went to touch it, but the woman stopped him. "I painted it. I thought since the Third Master's name has 'tan' in it, a flower would look even more beautiful."

Beautiful again! In just a few minutes, she'd used every word meant to describe women—beautiful, lovely, pretty—and Xue Youtan was starting to get annoyed. "An ordinary style will do. You're overdoing it."

"Should I take it off for the Altar Master?"

Xue Youtan was about to tell her to remove the flower, but the starting bell for the assembly had already rung. He didn't have time, so he let it slide.

By the time Xue Youtan arrived, the disciples below the stage had already packed the grounds. As he landed on his flying sword, the light reflecting off his crown danced across the crowd, hard to miss.

"Master is gorgeous!" Li Luoshu was mesmerized from below the stage.

"What's so special about that? Last year's flowing light hairband was the real classic—it had everyone on the mountain copying it," Ling Yue said with pride, as if the compliment were for her, and began filling in the newly-arrived Li Luoshu. "Every time Cangya Mountain has a big event, our Master shows up all dressed up. Every headpiece is gorgeous and unique. I heard..."

Ling Yue paused and lowered her voice.

Pei Zhi couldn't hear clearly, so he took half a step closer to her, tilting his head to listen.

"I heard today's crown was a gift from the Qingfeng Sect Leader, worth a thousand gold taels."

"Why would the Qingfeng Sect send such an expensive gift out of the blue?"

"Why do you think? The Qingfeng Sect is all women."

A hot commodity.

That was the only word that crossed Pei Zhi's mind after hearing this.

He turned his gaze to Xue Youtan in the main seat. Under the sunlight, the crown on Xue Youtan's head shone brightly, making the epiphyllum flower between his brows seem even more aloof and pure, like a deity descending to the mortal world.

Epiphyllum flowers wither easily, but Xue Youtan could last forever.

A beauty like this—it really would be a shame to kill him.

Xue Youtan of course had no idea what Pei Zhi was thinking. He sat in his chair, feeling like he was on pins and needles.

Too heavy. This crown was way too heavy. Who knows how much longer he'd have to sit here. But Yueli and Feng Mingjue were also wearing large crowns (though not as ornate as his) and weren't complaining, so he couldn't exactly ask to take his off.

What bugged him most, though, was the system.

The Nightfang main storyline was already complete, with no chance of changing it, yet the system in his head stayed quiet. Was 2484 not planning to give him a new mission for such a grand occasion as the Chief Disciple Assembly?

Or had he already hit game over, and this was just the lull before death?

At that thought, Xue Youtan sighed, leaned back against the seat, propped his right hand on the armrest, and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Not feeling well?" Yueli asked from beside him, snapping his fan shut and reaching out to take his pulse, but Xue Youtan pulled away.

"It's nothing. Just didn't get enough sleep."

As they were talking, the Chief Disciple Assembly began. Feng Mingjue and Yueli had their disciples put on a symbolic sparring match on the stage before selecting their predetermined candidates. When it came to Xue Youtan's turn, Xiao Yiheng was the first to jump onto the stage.

"Junior Fellow Pei, if you really did tame Nightfang, then bring it out now and maybe you'll have a chance against me. Don't wait until I beat you until you're crying to admit you were lying."

Provoking a fight right away—was he afraid the male lead wouldn't come up and steal his Top Disciple position?

But based on his knowledge of Pei Zhi from the previous life, at that point, Pei Zhi kept a low profile even after taming Nightfang. He'd only been at Cangya Mountain for a month; there was no way he'd compete with Xiao Yiheng for the Top Disciple position—huh?

Before he could even finish saying the word "position," Pei Zhi was already on the stage.

Xue Youtan took back what he'd just thought. He didn't understand Pei Zhi at all.

"Heh, you actually dare to step up!" Xiao Yiheng didn't waste words. He materialized a sword in his palm and thrust it at Pei Zhi. The two were immediately locked in battle.

Logically, Xiao Yiheng had joined the sect earlier and had already broken through to Foundation Establishment, well on his way to forming a golden core. Dealing with a newbie like Pei Zhi should have been settled within three moves. But twenty rounds had passed, and they were still evenly matched!!!

Not normal. Not normal at all. Really not normal.

So unusual that the chatter from below grew louder.

"Clang—" Xiao Yiheng's life-bound sword, Cangming, struck Pei Zhi's newly crafted peachwood sword. Not only did it fail to cut through, but the two blades let out a sharp metallic clang as they crossed.

"You bastard," Xiao Yiheng glared at Pei Zhi with venom in the brief moment their swords were locked. "When did you break through to Foundation Establishment? You've been keeping it well hidden."

Pei Zhi didn't respond. Instead, he shot a glance at the main seat.

Xue Youtan still had his hand propping up his head, eyes half-closed, not even looking at the stage. Obviously not paying attention.

Did he already think Pei Zhi couldn't beat Xiao Yiheng, so he didn't even want to watch?

Pei Zhi narrowed his eyes, annoyed for no reason. He didn't want to drag it out with Xiao Yiheng any longer, so he called out directly, "Cangya!"

In an instant, a massive divine beast—towering several men high, with a dragon's head and lion's body—appeared on the stage.