Chapter 7: The Villain Senior Brother Is About to Turn Dark, the Psychotic Junior Brother Pretends to Be Blind [7]

Chapter 7: The Villain Senior Brother Is About to Go Dark, and the Crazy Junior Brother Pretends to Be Blind [7]

Bai Yan saw through Yue Qingxian's intentions at a single glance, then looked at Yue Moci—whose posture was clearly one of tacit approval.

He merely lowered his eyes slightly and accepted the task. "Yes."

Seeing that he had agreed, Yue Qingxian grew even more delighted, beaming and repeatedly praising him, then chatted with Bai Yan about other matters before finally letting him go.

Only after Bai Yan had left did Yue Qingxian's expression turn serious. He turned to Yue Moci and sighed softly,

"Senior brother, we've kept Little Yan'er here. As long as he doesn't go down the mountain, nothing will happen to him. You should stop worrying about that prediction of yours."

"I hope so... I only divined earlier that there was some karmic connection between that child Ye Beiyu and A Yan."

Yue Moci also sighed, shaking his head helplessly, unsure how things had come to this.

"But now, when I look at them, I find their fates have become intertwined—too tangled to sort out, too knotted to untie."

Yue Qingxian crossed his arms and gave a light snort. "If you ask me, senior brother, you shouldn't have had Little Yan'er take that boy in for you in the first place."

"That boy was born blind, and his aptitude is barely passable. Having Little Yan'er personally teach him is a real waste."

"If you hadn't personally asked, Little Yan'er wouldn't have neglected so many talented junior brothers and sisters, pouring all his energy into that boy."

As Yue Qingxian spoke, a small thought crept into his mind—perhaps Bai Yan would have found a cultivation partner long ago by now.

Yue Moci said helplessly, "I didn't expect things to turn out this way either. I suppose my divination must have been a bit off... But since we've already taken him in, we'll keep him."

With that, he looked out the window, his gaze dark and unreadable, his voice faint.

"I only hope this time it's my error as well... Keep him on the mountain, keep him from Lanzhou City, keep him from the brink of death, keep him from the road of no return."

"Don't worry, senior brother. I'll keep an eye on him in the meantime—I won't let him leave the Spirit Mountain Sect."

Yue Qingxian's expression turned equally solemn. He paused briefly, then added,

"As for Lanzhou City, since demons have been spotted there, we should send someone to deal with them sooner rather than later."

Yue Moci nodded in agreement, then after a moment's thought said, "I'll take care of this personally."

"That works... Heh heh, senior brother, don't worry. I'll also look after the people from the Divine Sword Sect when they arrive."

Yue Qingxian's eyes lit up as he spoke, and he said with some anticipation,

"I've heard that the Holy Maiden has exceptional talent and stunning beauty—she's hands down the number one beauty in the cultivation world. The Divine Sword Sect intends to seek a marriage alliance with our Spirit Mountain Sect this time. Little Yan'er is bound to like her!"

"By the time you return, senior brother, perhaps our Spirit Mountain Sect will have another happy event."

"Mm."

Bai Yan learned all about those two's scheming through 717.

As he walked toward his residence, having overheard their conversation, a slight smile curled at the corner of his lips.

"So they don't want me going to Lanzhou City..."

[They mean well for you, but we still need to trigger the blackening at this plot point, so we have to go.]

717 remarked with a sigh. According to the original plot development, Yue Moci and the others had known that the original host had been bullying Ye Beiyu, and their attitude toward him had been nowhere near as kind.

But Bai Yan had played the role of "Senior Brother" too well, acted too convincingly—other than Ye Beiyu, probably no one would dislike him.

"I know... But what's this about the Holy Maiden? I don't remember her being in the plot I received."

[Oh, I checked. It's probably just a world bug. After all, the current plot differs a bit from what we received. Don't worry about it.]

717 hadn't detected anything unusual, so it spoke reassuringly.

Bai Yan nodded thoughtfully and didn't press further, but his mind was already mulling over the Divine Sword Sect.

The Divine Sword Sect had only emerged in the past two years. True to their name, they possessed divine artifacts—several, in fact.

So even though they hadn't been around long, they had quickly established themselves in the cultivation world.

They didn't take in many disciples; instead, like the Spirit Mountain Sect, they pursued quality over quantity. Joining the Divine Sword Sect was no easier than entering the Spirit Mountain Sect.

Could a sect like that really just be a glitch?

But thinking more carefully, the Divine Sword Sect kept a low profile and indeed hadn't really affected the direction of the plot.

For now, they seemed more like a tool for Yue Qingxian and the others to keep him from leaving.

Bai Yan lowered his eyes slightly. He had no interest in the Divine Sword Sect or the Holy Maiden—he could just blow them off when the time came.

Judging by their demeanor, they weren't going to let him down the mountain. So he would have to find a chance to leave on his own.

As Bai Yan was mentally plotting how to slip away, he pushed open the door and found Ye Beiyu waiting in his room.

The warm pool had been refilled with clean, fresh water, and Ye Beiyu sat quietly to the side, with washed spirit fruits and medicinal ointment placed beside him.

Sensing movement, Ye Beiyu jumped to his feet and asked with a hint of hesitation,

"Senior brother, you're back?"

Even Bai Yan was momentarily caught off guard by the sight, but he quickly composed himself.

"Why are you here?"

Bai Yan closed the door, his voice no longer carrying the gentle warmth he reserved for other disciples—only cold indifference. Such blatant favoritism was truly chilling.

"I came to put medicine on for you, senior brother..."

Ye Beiyu said softly, then cautiously lifted his head, gazing at Bai Yan with those beautiful, unseeing eyes.

"I'm sorry, senior brother. Last night was all my fault—I wasn't paying attention... But senior brother's health matters most, so I came to apply the medicine for you."

Ye Beiyu spoke quietly, then as if remembering something, he quickly added, "Oh! Also! I found some spirit fruits in the back mountain! I brought some for you too!"

Only then did Bai Yan recall that he had tormented Ye Beiyu yesterday and never finished applying the ointment.

That explained why he had woken up this morning feeling sore and uncomfortable—probably because the medicine hadn't been fully applied last night.

Bai Yan looked at the items beside Ye Beiyu, then closed his eyes briefly to calm himself.

[717, are you sure Ye Beiyu is blind and not actually an idiot?]

He had humiliated and tormented him.

But Ye Beiyu showed not a trace of resentment toward him—not even close.

He's not avoiding him, and now he's even bringing all this stuff and walking right up to him!

This is way more than just pretending, isn't it?

[Relax, the male lead's totally fine. He's blind, not stupid.]

717's drawling voice rang through his head.

Bai Yan walked over to Ye Beiyu with a blank face. Before the guy could even react, he grabbed his wrist and tossed him straight into the warm pool!

"Ah!"

The huge splash soaked half of Bai Yan's own clothes, his drenched robes clinging tightly to his body.

A few droplets of water traced down his jawline, past his Adam's apple, onto his defined collarbones, and finally disappeared into his robes—yet he didn't even care.

He stared at the mess of a man Ye Beiyu had become, who didn't dare look him in the eye, and after a beat, let out a soft chuckle.

"Little junior brother, do you know what you look like right now?"

Bai Yan paused, then sat down at the edge of the pool, planting his foot on Ye Beiyu's shoulder.

One hand braced against the edge to hold himself up, the other grabbed Ye Beiyu's chin, inspecting him like a curious cat as he drawled:

"You look like a discarded, drenched... stray dog."

"So pathetic..."

Ye Beiyu pressed his lips together, forced to lift his gaze to Bai Yan. His Adam's apple bobbed, and finally, unable to hold back, he raised a hand to gently grasp Bai Yan's ankle.

"Woof..."

Bai Yan, fighting back a laugh: "???"

Bai Yan never saw that coming from Ye Beiyu.

He froze, not even getting a chance to kick the guy away.

He just let Ye Beiyu's hand wrap around his ankle, then slide up his calf...