The sun dipped toward the horizon.
The entirety of Big Bamboo Peak was draped in the lingering glow of the setting sun. Back in his private courtyard, Lucian Qing was sprawled across a lounge chair, snoring softly.
Despite slacking off—or rather, "balancing work and rest"—for several months, he was well aware that his Shiniang and the others planned to personally supervise their cultivation. In all likelihood, his own behavior had been the catalyst for this decision.
Yet, Lucian was unperturbed. He had his cheat, after all, and had already broken through to the second level of the Jade Essence Realm.
"It seems it's time to give Shiniang and the others a little 'cheat-enhanced' shock," he muttered.
Watching the sky grow dim, Lucian rose and made his way toward the Big Bamboo Peak kitchens. The thought of seeing Du Bishu's miserable, long-suffering face filled his heart with a pleasant warmth.
Having been on the mountain for only a year, he wasn't yet intimately close with most of his senior brothers. However, he and Du Bishu were thick as thieves. They spent their days laughing, reading "idle books," and tormenting Da Huang—the dog Tian Buyi had raised since it was a pup.
Today, however, Du Bishu likely wouldn't be doing much laughing.
As the saying goes, speak of the devil and he shall appear. A cheerful voice rang out in Lucian's ear; he didn't even need to turn around to know it was Du Bishu.
The handsome young man jogged up to Lucian's side in a few quick strides. He glanced around warily, then leaned in with a dancing gleam in his eyes.
"Seventh Junior Brother! I took a trip down the mountain these past few days, and I brought back something special just for you!"
Looking at his exuberant expression, Lucian knew the man was still blissfully unaware of the fate awaiting him. Before Lucian could say a word, Du Bishu reached into his robes and pulled out a book.
Lucian focused his gaze on the object in Du Bishu's hands.
On the colorful cover was a strikingly voluptuous woman with eyes full of longing, her upper body half-exposed. Above her were four large, bold characters.
*The Sultry...
What kind of eye-catching "forbidden literature" was this?!
Lucian sucked in a sharp breath. He jerked his head up, scanning the surroundings with the alertness of a startled squirrel. Only when he was certain no one was around did he let out a breath.
He turned to Du Bishu, his voice laced with annoyance. "Senior Brother, are you itching for Master to rearrange your bones again? If you want to get thrashed, don't drag me down with you."
"Junior Brother, I'm telling you this in confidence—you can't report me!" Du Bishu replied, unbothered. "As long as you don't say anything and I don't say anything, how will Master ever know? Besides, I went to great lengths to find this masterpiece. Since you've turned sixteen, I thought I'd let you have a look. I wouldn't show this to just anyone!"
Du Bishu moved to shove the book into Lucian's arms, thinking to himself: As long as Junior Brother reads it too, we're crickets on the same string. If Senior Brother catches us, I'll have someone to share the blame.
What Du Bishu hadn't considered was that while his own reading habits were a known risk, giving such material to the sixteen-year-old Lucian was a much higher tier of offense.
Lucian scrambled backward, refusing the "gift." Though he caught a glimpse of the pale skin depicted on the cover and felt a pang of curiosity about the "forbidden" literature of this world, a year of living with Du Bishu had taught him his character well. He had suffered enough at the man's hands to know there was always a catch.
"The fact that you don't usually show me these things is exactly why I think this is a trap!"
Lucian looked at the persistent, "insidious" Du Bishu and felt his suspicions confirmed.
"Senior Brother, I appreciate the sentiment, but such literature will only pollute my heart's devotion to the Dao," Lucian declared. His voice was sonorous and filled with a feigned, passionate resolve, as if he were a martyr for the cause.
Du Bishu stared at Lucian, who looked as if he were bathed in a halo of righteousness. He let out a scoff of pure disbelief. Having spent so much time with Lucian, did he not know what kind of person his junior brother truly was?
Lucian Qing, a man of integrity?
Du Bishu would rather jump off the cliffs of Big Bamboo Peak and starve to death before he believed that.
However, he was desperate. He had to get rid of the evidence immediately, or he was doomed. Song Daren had been ordered by their Master to supervise Du Bishu's training, and as part of that "supervision," Song Daren had demanded that all such banned books be destroyed.
Du Bishu couldn't bring himself to burn this one; it was the crown jewel of his collection. He had planned to dump it on Lucian, pulling the rug out from under the situation. Senior Brother would never suspect he'd handed it to the youngest disciple.
But seeing Lucian's wary retreat, Du Bishu knew his plan had failed.
"Where is the trust between brothers? Where is the basic human decency?"
Lucian saw Du Bishu opening his mouth to argue again. Knowing that more talk only led to more trouble, he decided to cut the conversation short before he got dragged into the mud.
"Senior Brother is coming!" Lucian hissed, looking over Du Bishu's shoulder. He gestured frantically for the other to hide the book.
Du Bishu's heart lurched. When one is doing something wrong, their nerves are naturally on edge. Completely fooled by Lucian's alarm, he blurted out, "Junior Brother, don't you dare tell him!"
Moving with the fastest speed he had ever displayed in his life, he shoved the book back into his robes, smoothed his clothes, and turned around with a forced, beaming smile.
"Wait... where is he?"
Having waited for exactly this opening, Lucian had already activated his self-created Evasion Technique the moment Du Bishu turned his head. He was already a blur in the distance.
His voice drifted back through the air: "Keep your 'treasures' for yourself, Senior Brother! Once I'm an adult, I won't need that kind of help at all!"
Coming back to his senses, Du Bishu realized he'd been played. He watched Lucian's receding figure with a heart full of regret. To be fooled by a single sentence... it was a disgrace.
More importantly, he now had to ensure Song Daren didn't find out he was trying to corrupt the underage "Xiao An," or he would truly be dead meat.
Du Bishu watched Lucian's silhouette vanish, beating his chest and lamenting his failure. I should have just grabbed him. Why did I bother trying to be subtle?
Lucian, having reached the kitchen via his evasion art, checked behind him. Seeing no sign of Du Bishu, he let out a sigh of relief.
Du Bishu was only a decent person when he lost a bet. Every other second of the day, he was a menace. If you blinked or looked away for a moment, you were bound to be pranked.
Though he had dodged the bullet this time, Lucian knew the man would find another way to humiliate him soon. They had been "mutually assisting" each other into various embarrassments for the better part of a year.
Lucian sighed. The original story hadn't mentioned Du Bishu being such a handful. He truly regretted getting so close to the man. In his mind, he began to critique Du Bishu's behavior, concluding that a man of high character like himself was simply too refined for such company.
He conveniently forgot the ancient proverb: He who touches vermillion becomes red; he who touches ink becomes black.Personalities tend to attract their like.
Even as he judged him, Lucian was already plotting his counterattack.
The thought that Du Bishu would soon be training under Shiniang's watchful eye—and thus unable to smirk in his face all day—gave Lucian a sudden surge of energy. He decided he would "help" his senior brother work even harder.
Alas, how can there be a saint as selfless as me, returning malice with such kindness? Lucian wondered shamelessly.
He stepped into the kitchen. Aside from Master Tian Buyi, Su Ru, Tian Ling'er, and the currently-preoccupied Du Bishu, everyone was already seated.
"Oh? Our 'Greetings' Junior Brother has finally graced us with his presence for dinner," Song Daren teased from his seat.
"Quickly, brothers! Let us all give our 'Greetings' to Junior Brother!"
The room erupted in laughter.
Lucian was immune to the joke by now, though it had been embarrassing at first. The nickname was, of course, Du Bishu's invention, playing on the fact that Lucian's original name, Qing'an, sounded like the phrase for "paying respects" or "giving greetings."
In retaliation, Lucian always teased Du Bishu about his own name sounding like "bound to lose." Every time Du Bishu looked like he wanted to place a bet, Lucian would pipe up: "Oh? Senior Brother 'Bound-to-Lose' has the itch again? Who are you planning to lose to this time?"
Lucian looked at Song Daren with a resigned expression. "Senior Brother, stop teasing me. It is I who should be paying my respects to all of you."
With that, Lucian prepared to bow to the group.
Just then, Du Bishu—having temporarily abandoned his plot—burst into the kitchen. Seeing the scene, he let out a mock cry of outrage.
"What's this? Starting the show without me?"