Junior Brother Pays Respect to You: Chapter 4 - Return to the Sect
Chapter 4: Return to the Sect
Qin Zheng stood beneath the grand hall of the Tianque Sect, looking up with a feigned expression of innocence and confusion toward the main seat of the hall.
There sat the sect leader of Tianque, and Qin Zheng was about to become his very first disciple.
Disciples of the Tianque Sect stood in orderly rows on both sides of the hall.
Qin Zheng was currently in the final step of the initiation ceremony: kneeling to formally acknowledge his master.
Once he completed the ritual, Qin Zheng would officially become an entry-level disciple under the person seated above.
However, Qin Zheng had yet to kneel.
The disciples watching the ceremony from the sides were already growing anxious on his behalf.
It had been nearly half a month since the day Qin Zheng was secretly attacked by Wei Feiluan.
The reason it was considered a sneak attack was that after Qin Zheng passed out and awoke again, he found himself already inside the disciples' quarters of the Tianque Sect.
He had lived in this place for nearly thirty years before, and he knew every tile and beam intimately.
From the mouths of the other disciples, Qin Zheng learned that he had been ‘picked up’ at the foot of Mount Yujing by the sect leader himself.
The sect leader had checked his body and concluded: no illness, just a bit weak.
That meant the words Wei Feiluan had spoken in the royal residence were all lies, and he likely didn’t know the Tianque Sect’s leader at all.
Qin Zheng suspected that Wei Feiluan was likely someone who bore a grudge, using some underhanded methods to trick his father into believing he had an incurable illness.
Still, Qin Zheng wasn’t particularly interested in what grudge that existed between his father and Wei Feiluan.
What he cared about most now was that, before he even had the chance to escape, he had already ended up on Mount Yujing. He hadn’t forgotten his purpose in arriving at this specific point in time.
As things stood, although he hadn't officially entered the sect, that day clearly wasn’t far off.
Sure enough, today—half a month later—after days of nothing but eating and sleeping, Qin Zheng was brought by a disciple to the main hall, named ‘Sword and Scroll Immortal.’
The sect leader had, without reason, chosen to accept him as his first disciple.
Qin Zheng had no memory of his original initiation because he had been too young.
But he knew the Tianque Sect never accepted disciples lightly. They always assessed both character and potential first.
This was why common folk spoke of the Tianque Sect as a land of immortals.
Those chosen to ascend the mountain were already considered elites.
Qin Zheng had no idea how someone like him—who lacked both virtue and talent—could become the sect leader’s coveted first disciple.
It was well known that the first disciple of every generation’s sect leader would one day become the next sect leader.
So over the past half month, Qin Zheng made a point of showing disinterest in cultivation, spending his days eating and sleeping, plainly exhibiting his ‘poor character’ and ‘lack of aptitude,’ hoping the sect leader would give up on keeping him on the mountain.
If he could return to the royal residence now, he might still live as a carefree mortal.
But what Qin Zheng hadn’t expected was that his master completely ignored all of this. The entire sect acted as if nothing was wrong, and even the usually stern senior uncle said nothing.
Now Qin Zheng stood beneath the main hall, making his final stand.
Though he wore an innocent expression, his heart was pounding rapidly.
He silently prayed that his master would realize from his behavior that he lacked talent and give up this idea.
Time passed, and still, the sect leader said nothing.
Instead, the senior uncle beside him finally grew impatient.
“Qin Zheng, are you still not going to kneel and bow to your master?!”
“Ah—” The sect leader raised a hand to stop the senior uncle and finally spoke.
“Qin Zheng is still young. It's understandable that he doesn’t understand these formalities. Let’s skip the kneeling for now.”
With that, the sect leader stood and slowly walked down the steps to stand before Qin Zheng. He raised his right hand and gently touched Qin Zheng’s brow with his index finger.
This was a ritual every new disciple underwent upon entering the sect.
Qin Zheng knew that from this moment on, there would be no escape.
After being touched, his forehead would now bear a mark just like all the other disciples in the hall.
Everyone in the Tianque Sect was no longer an ordinary person. In this chaotic world of cultivation, even after death, as long as the body remained intact, one could be exploited and turned into a tool of harm.
The mark was created to help the sect retrieve the bodies of their fallen members, should they die outside, to prevent their corpses from being used by malicious forces.
***
Since becoming the sect leader’s first disciple, Qin Zheng had become even more lax.
He hid in his room all day, eating and sleeping, with zero interest in cultivation.
He only hoped his master would see him like this and kick him out of the sect as soon as possible.
After thinking it through, Qin Zheng concluded that his longevity and immortality must have been due to spending too much time on the mountain, absorbing excessive spiritual energy.
Even if the sect leader had now accepted him as a disciple, he could still go back on it—after all, he had been expelled once before.
If he were kicked out early, he might still avoid the fate of immortality.
Perhaps he could even return to the royal residence and resume his position as heir apparent.
Qin Zheng calculated with his fingers—it had already been nearly a month since he arrived.
And his master still hadn’t made a move.
Creak—
Suddenly, the door to his room opened from the outside.
Qin Zheng turned his head and saw a small head poking inside.
He recognized the person—it was Qin Xuan, who had recently been tagging along with Qin Ke to pester him.
Qin Ke was the senior disciple of the sect uncle, a few years older than Qin Zheng, and seemed to hold a deep grudge about Qin Zheng becoming the sect leader's first disciple. He would frequently come around to cause trouble.
Qin Xuan grinned at the door and said, “Junior Brother Qin Zheng, I heard the sect leader brought back another disciple from outside. Looks like he’s finally realized you’re beyond saving.”
Hearing this, Qin Zheng scrambled up from the bed with a grunt.
Seeing Qin Zheng react so strongly, Qin Xuan assumed he had succeeded in provoking him and ran off, not even bothering to close the door.
Qin Zheng, staring at the door left ajar, couldn't help but feel secretly delighted.
Could it be that the heavens had finally been moved, and he could change his fate?
After wrestling with the idea for a while, Qin Zheng still felt uneasy. He decided to sneak out and confirm things for himself.
This kind of major event had to be checked personally to put his mind at ease.
Qin Zheng peered outside the door. It was currently rest time for most people.
He thought for a moment and decided not to take the usual corridor, instead sneaking out along a smaller, less-traveled path.
Lately, every time he left his room, he would run into Qin Ke and his group. To avoid unnecessary trouble, Qin Zheng had taken to using the side path.
The path cut through a small grove and was twice as long as the corridor, so few people ever bothered with it.
However, just as he entered the grove, he saw a few kids standing ahead not far away.
Leading them was none other than Qin Ke.
Seeing the group of kids who fit perfectly into his “annoying brat” category, Qin Zheng instinctively furrowed his brows.
Still, though he allowed himself to avoid them, he would not permit himself to flee from confrontation.
After all, even during the thirty years he spent in the Tianque Sect with poor talent, he had never been a coward.
Qin Zheng swaggered over to Qin Ke, lifted his head slightly due to the height difference, and looked him straight in the eye, innocently saying, “Senior Brother, could you let me through? Master’s calling me, and if I’m late, I’ll get scolded again.”
Qin Ke said nothing but clearly had no intention of stepping aside.
Qin Zheng glanced to either side of the path—rare flowers and exotic plants lined the way. Though he didn’t mind trampling them, now was not the time to stir up more trouble.
From behind, Qin Xuan poked his head out and laughed, “Didn’t think Junior Brother Qin Zheng, for all his youth, cared so much about appearances. The sect leader has a new disciple now—why would he still care about you?”
Qin Zheng was not a patient person, and now, with his heart anxious to check on things at the Sanqing Hall, his frustration began to boil over.
With a sigh, Qin Zheng looked coldly at the person in front of him and said, “Senior Brother Qin Ke, let’s be honest. You don’t dare fight me, and blocking my path won’t change anything. If you’re unhappy, take it up with the sect leader—why come looking for me all the time?”
“To tell you the truth, even if Master kicks me out, this position won’t go to you. And the role of sect leader in the future? Even less likely.”
That was the truth.
“Picking on a little kid—what’s the point?” he added, pushing past them and squeezing his way through.
Qin Ke and the others stood there dumbfounded.
Qin Xuan pointed at the now distant Qin Zheng, his face full of surprise.
“Senior Brother, Qin Zheng… he…”
Qin Ke said coldly, “He’s been pretending this whole time!”
Leaving those three troublesome kids behind, Qin Zheng jogged toward the Sanqing Hall.
This was where Master often went.
Sure enough, as he reached the outside of the hall, he heard two people conversing inside.
Judging by their voices, it was Master and the sect uncle.
“Junior Brother! You can’t just keep picking up kids like this—it’s not a real solution,” said the sect uncle.
“Senior Brother, I’ve done the calculations. The reincarnation of the Celestial Immortal is fated to have a connection with the Tianque Sect. If there’s fate with the sect, there’s fate with me. Given that, these children I happen to meet might very well be his reincarnation.”
The sect uncle sighed. “Then we’ll do as you say, Sect Leader.”
“So… will the child be under your tutelage or mine?”
Master paused and said, “Let’s keep him under my care. I brought in both this child and Qin Zheng. If I place them under different masters, it’ll seem unfair.”
Hearing their conversation, Qin Zheng felt his heart fall from the heavens straight into the ground.
He had nearly forgotten—after him and before Qin Su, Master had accepted another disciple named Qin Shuang.
Qin Shuang was about his age. That must be who they were talking about.
Did this mean there was now no possibility at all of him leaving?
Could it be that the past wasn’t something that could be changed so easily?
----------
If you like my translation, please support me by buying me a coffee:
0 comments: