Junior Brother Pays Respect to You: Chapter 1 - Sect Leader Junior Brother
Chapter 1: Sect Leader Junior Brother
The Tianque Sect, located at the summit of Mount Yujing, was a legendary place where true cultivation happens, as passed down by word of mouth among the common folk. Anyone who could reach it was said to live a long life. However, the location of the Tianque Sect was ever-shifting and mysterious. Without a guide from within the sect, ordinary people could never find it.
The Tianque Temple, situated at the foot of Mount Yujing, was under the protection of the Tianque Sect and was the only place where mortals could come close to the world of cultivators.
The temple enshrined the god of Mount Yujing, and its incense offerings burned strong year-round.
Wherever a sect existed, so too did fortune-tellers.
In the open-air courtyard of the Tianque Temple, there was always a fortune-teller stationed—a man with graying hair, dressed in plain gray robes.
According to some of the older folks, this fortune-teller was likely already in his forties.
His name was Qin Zheng. Though his hair had turned gray, his face remained as youthful as that of someone in their twenties.
Due to his lack of skill, Qin Zheng's fortune-telling was hit or miss—sometimes accurate, sometimes not.
Even so, he had managed to maintain his position at the temple for twenty years.
All thanks to his eternally young-looking face.
Qin Zheng has always claimed to be from the Tianque Sect atop Mount Yujing, saying he had to descend the mountain for a 20-year journey of experience because of his incomplete training.
At first, the worshippers at the temple were skeptical. But with thick skin, Qin Zheng clung to the temple and refused to leave.
As the years passed, people noticed that aside from his changing hair color, his youthful face hadn't aged a day.
Gradually, more and more people began to believe him. And so, Qin Zheng successfully put down roots at Tianque Temple.
Today, the weather was beautiful—a perfect day to offer incense.
Qin Zheng sat on the grass at the temple gate, hugging a bamboo pole hung with a divination banner, looking rather unhappy.
In less than the time it takes for a single stick of incense to burn, another dozen men and women crowded into the courtyard.
The Tianque Temple had always been popular, and Qin Zheng knew this was one of the reasons he managed to stick around for so long.
But today, there were more people than he had ever seen in twenty years. And none of them were leaving—only coming in.
If this kept up for another hour or two, even the large courtyard would be packed to the brim.
After a rare moment of accuracy in a recent fortune, Qin Zheng had received a small payment.
That money had allowed him to take a week off from fortune-telling.
This morning, however, he discovered that the payment was completely spent.
To avoid going hungry, he had no choice but to grab his sign and return to his usual spot outside the temple, figuring that after a week off, people might already be waiting.
Because his skills were unreliable, Qin Zheng only charged one coin per reading.
If he got it right, people felt lucky. If not, it was cheap enough not to be a loss.
When he arrived at the temple today, there were already quite a few people present. Qin Zheng was initially pleased, thinking they’d come for readings.
But once he sat down, he realized that not a single person came to see him.
They all voluntarily avoided entering the main hall, stayed clear of the central path, and crowded onto the grassy areas on either side.
That happened to be where Qin Zheng had set up his stall.
The crowd kept growing, shrinking the space around his stall more and more.
It looked like someone very important was coming to offer incense.
But Qin Zheng couldn’t care less.
The more powerful the person, the worse it was for him.
His half-baked fortune-telling only worked on regular people. The powerful were too unpredictable—one wrong prediction, even for free, could cost him his life.
Qin Zheng may have lived humbly, but he was still afraid of death.
He touched his empty stomach and sighed, ‘Looks like my poor organs are going hungry again tonight…’
He pushed himself up, ready to leave this crowded temple courtyard.
Rip—
Suddenly, a sharp pain on his scalp made him suck in a breath.
Holding his head, Qin Zheng frowned and turned to see what had happened.
Behind him stood a little boy, about three years old. No one knew when he had snuck up there, but now he had a tight grip on Qin Zheng’s hair.
Smack!
A loud slap landed on the child’s hand as Qin Zheng yanked his hair free with a scowl.
Children were Qin Zheng’s least favorite thing in the world.
The little boy froze for a moment at the sudden slap, then immediately burst into loud sobs, tears streaming down his cheeks like falling pearls.
Which only made Qin Zheng dislike him more.
Just then, a woman pushed through the crowd.
She seemed to be the boy’s mother.
As she comforted the child, she pointed at Qin Zheng and scolded, “You’re an old man bullying a kid—have you no shame?”
Qin Zheng didn’t bother responding. He glanced around and saw the temple was even more crowded now.
His indifference seemed to further anger the woman. She raised her voice and shouted to the crowd, “Everyone look! This lousy fortune-teller is bullying a child again!”
Expressionless, Qin Zheng glanced at her, then slung his sign over his shoulder and prepared to retreat. If he didn’t leave now, he might not be able to get out at all.
The woman tried to grab his sleeve, still wanting to argue.
But just then, a burly man squeezed through the crowd and exclaimed excitedly, “Stop it! The immortal has arrived!”
At those words, the onlookers immediately turned their attention, and even the angry woman let go of Qin Zheng’s sleeve.
Before he realized it, she had completely released him.
Immortal? What immortal?
The man's words reached Qin Zheng’s ears as well, and he couldn’t help but glance curiously toward the temple entrance.
The earlier jostling had conveniently pushed Qin Zheng to the edge of the pathway.
He craned his neck to look, but due to his position deeper inside, his view was limited, and he still couldn’t see the so-called immortal. He quickly patted the person next to him.
“What immortal are you talking about?”
The person he tapped gave him a disbelieving look. “Today is the day the head of the Tianque Sect is leading the senior members to the temple to offer blessings. Aren’t you a disciple of the Tianque Sect? How could you not know that?”
Qin Zheng sighed knowingly, “Looks like this time the scammer put in a lot of effort—managed to draw such a huge crowd.”
In his 20 years of drifting around the temple, Qin Zheng had encountered countless fraudsters claiming to be from the Tianque Sect. He couldn’t even count them all on his fingers and toes. Just as many people had been deceived.
Usually, people remained skeptical of such claims. As long as the trickery wasn’t too clever, Qin Zheng could drop a few hints and snap them out of it.
But today’s spectacle seemed beyond help. All he could do now was hope people didn’t lose too much.
Although he’d lowered his voice, a nearby man in his 40s overheard him and instantly grabbed Qin Zheng by the collar. “I knew you were a fraud!”
“If you were truly from the Tianque Sect, how could you not know what happened 20 years ago?”
“You can’t fool me. I was there and witnessed it myself.”
Qin Zheng had used his youthful-looking face to trick most people, but thanks to his terrible fortune-telling skills, plenty still had their doubts about him.
The man sneered when Qin Zheng didn’t reply, “Twenty years ago, the Tianque Sect’s head personally ordered this temple to be built, and asked the villagers to come burn incense often. He even promised to return every 20 years to bless the people.”
Several others of similar age nodded in agreement. “I saw it with my own eyes. I came to offer incense on the very first day the temple opened.”
Qin Zheng slapped away the hand grabbing his collar, smoothed his wrinkled clothes, and couldn’t be bothered to argue further.
Internally, he scoffed: They’re acting like it’s all true.
Twenty years ago, I was still in the Tianque Sect. How could I not know?!
“Sigh! Make way, everyone. I’ll just leave and make room for you all.”
Qin Zheng called out as he edged along the side of the path toward the entrance.
However, the closer he got to the gate, the more people ignored him. They were all staring toward the entrance like they’d seen something.
Qin Zheng found himself stuck in this awkward, in-between spot.
Annoyed, he glanced at the people blocking the way, then looked at the clear path down the center and decided to ignore the pious pretense. He stepped directly onto the open walkway.
‘I was willing to play along with your little devout act, but if you won’t let me leave, don’t blame me for not playing nice, he thought.’
Those closer to the shrine hadn’t seen the immortal yet, but now they noticed someone stepping onto the sacred path meant for the immortal’s arrival. They started pointing and whispering, but no one dared drag him off.
Qin Zheng strode confidently down the middle, carrying the bamboo pole that signified his trade. As he walked, he even turned his head to provocatively glare at the judgmental crowd.
But when he turned back, he saw someone in blue and white robes standing directly ahead.
With every step the person took, more figures appeared behind him in pairs.
Though it had been 20 years, Qin Zheng immediately recognized the familiar robes.
‘They’re really from the Tianque Sect!’
As they approached, the crowd fell completely silent.
Realizing something was off, Qin Zheng quickly looked at the man in front—judging by his hair ornament, this was the current sect leader of the Tianque Sect.
At the exact moment Qin Zheng looked up, the sect leader was glancing at the steps.
Just as their eyes were about to meet, Qin Zheng panicked. He bolted back into the crowd and ducked his head, silently praying he hadn’t been seen.
He hadn’t expected that in the 20 years he’d been away, the sect had already changed leaders.
It looked like his master had ascended to immortality.
But what shocked him most was that the new sect leader was none other than his junior, Qin Su—someone he had bullied mercilessly when they were kids.
Though two decades had passed, Qin Su’s face hadn’t changed much either.
If anything, he looked more mature now.
No wonder no one ever came down the mountain to fetch him after 20 years.
From the looks of it, he’d never be able to return to that place.
As Qin Su passed by the gray-haired man, he cast a subtle glance at the tall, gray-robed figure.
Even with his eyes closed, Qin Su could have recognized him.
Once Qin Zheng was sure everyone had passed, he bolted from the crowd and quickly slipped away along the cleared steps, eager to escape this mess.
If he’d known today was the once-in-20-years blessing, he would’ve gone hungry rather than show up at the temple.
Inside the main hall, the Tianque Sect was surrounded by waves of onlookers.
Qin Su didn’t turn back, but he was well aware—that man in the crowd was already fleeing.
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