Junior Brother Pays Respect to You: Chapter 30 - Descend the Mountain, Descend the Mountain
Chapter 30: Descend the Mountain, Descend the Mountain
Qin Zheng was full of joy. He tilted his head slightly, seemingly unintentionally glancing at Qin Su, hoping to catch a glimpse of his expression.
Given how obsessed this kid was with him, he must be thrilled—so Qin Zheng thought.
However, what he saw was Qin Su standing there expressionless, lost in thought. It wasn’t even clear whether he had heard the master's team assignments.
Qin Zheng silently curled his lips. Sure, keep pretending...
Once the master left, Qin Zheng turned around only to find that Qin Su had already walked off on his own without calling for him. Startled, he quickly ditched Qin Shuang and followed after him.
I didn’t even bully you this time—why are you acting colder than ever?!
Thinking back, little Qin Su from years ago was way cuter.
After stepping out of the hall, Qin Zheng jogged up to walk shoulder to shoulder with Qin Su.
This time he had nothing to feel guilty about, so he wasn’t scared of him at all.
Qin Zheng turned his head and casually said, “Master just said I’m teamed with you.”
“I know.”
Hearing Qin Su finally speak, Qin Zheng shot him a look. Doesn’t look like someone who “knows.”
“So when do we head out?”
Gotta cling to this junior sect leader’s golden thigh.
Qin Su replied as he walked, “Go get ready. We leave immediately.”
But Qin Zheng had no intention of going back to pack. He followed Qin Su straight to his place, even clapping his empty hands and saying, “I’ve got nothing to pack.”
As long as I’ve got you, that’s all I need.
Qin Su simply glanced at him and said nothing.
At the wooden house, Qin Su had just pushed the door open when Qin Zheng darted inside first.
Qin Su looked at Qin Zheng wandering around and inspecting everything, but said nothing.
The house was just the same as three years ago—Qin Zheng had already memorized every detail.
Now, he was pretending to look around curiously while trying to find the right moment to ask if Qin Su had read the letter he left.
Qin Su ignored him and walked over to a drawer, taking out some folded paper items and tucking them into his robe.
Qin Zheng’s eyes swept the room. When they landed on the only table, he paused.
Wasn’t there a frozen dish on that table? Where did it go?
It couldn’t have been eaten, right? It’d been there for so long...
Unable to figure it out, Qin Zheng pointed at the table and asked, “Wasn’t there some weird plate there before? Where’d it go?”
Qin Su turned to glance at the now-empty table and replied, “I threw it out.”
Threw it out?!
Those simple words struck Qin Zheng like a bolt from the blue.
His once-proud heart instantly chilled, as if doused in cold water.
A wave of inexplicable anxiety welled up in his chest.
How could Qin Su be empathetic so soon?
Impossible.
By all logic, they hadn’t interacted for three years. That shouldn’t be enough time for someone to fall out of love.
Unless...
Just then, Qin Su was already at the door, looking back and saying, “Let’s go. Descend the mountain.”
Snapping out of it, Qin Zheng quickly caught up.
Walking behind Qin Su, Qin Zheng stared at his back, bewildered.
I didn’t bully him, yet he’s grown cold. Could it be I didn’t show up enough and he lost interest?
Or maybe the junior brother has some... unusual preferences?
Qin Zheng shook his head hard. No way!
If that were true, after all the effort I spent bullying him back then, why would I end up being expelled?
Qin Zheng nodded to himself: It must be the three years apart. Feelings faded.
Take Xiao Bai, for example. If he disappeared for three years, I’d ignore him too.
Actually, forget three—he was gone for one and I was already fuming.
Feeling a bit better after rationalizing it, Qin Zheng nodded again.
But that wasn’t the main issue. The main issue was—did Qin Su ever see the letter I left him?
After much internal debate, Qin Zheng finally asked cautiously, “Hey... Qin Su, when did you wake up after coming back from the ice cave?”
“A month later.”
Qin Zheng looked surprised. “A month? That’s fast! You recovered really quick this time!”
“Then... did you see the message I left you?”
“What message?”
Qin Zheng’s brain spun rapidly. He couldn’t just tell the truth outright—he had to come up with something reasonable.
“Well, after what happened in the ice cave, I realized I was way too weak. I couldn’t protect anyone. So I wanted to train—try hard even without a spiritual root. But you hadn’t woken up yet, so I wrote you a letter and left it on your desk. You didn’t see it?”
Qin Su paused, then replied slowly, “That letter got soaked. When I saw it, the words were already unreadable.”
So... he really didn’t read it. No wonder everything feels off.
Suddenly, Qin Su stopped walking, turned his head, and asked, “What did you want to tell me?”
Qin Zheng, thinking that Qin Su no longer liked him, felt it was a bit inappropriate to speak directly. He could only shake his head and say, “Nothing much, just wanted to let you know I was in seclusion.”
“Mm—”
Qin Su turned back around and continued walking.
It was unclear whether he believed it or not.
Before long, the two of them stood at the gates of the Tianque Sect.
Qin Zheng looked down at the endless staircase before them, then looked at Qin Su and asked, “We’re... actually walking all the way down?”
“The situation is urgent—we don’t have the luxury to slowly descend the mountain. Maybe next time.”
With that, Qin Su summoned his flying sword.
Seeing Qin Su step onto the sword, Qin Zheng quickly followed, grabbing onto Qin Su’s sleeve with a smile, “Junior brother, take me along.”
Since Qin Su didn’t kick him off, it meant he agreed.
Once both were steady, the flying sword rose into the sky and took off.
Qin Zheng, startled, clung tightly to his junior’s waist.
If not for being this close, Qin Zheng wouldn’t have noticed that Qin Su, now fifteen, was already the same height as him.
This was Qin Zheng’s first time descending the mountain like this.
Mount Yuqing was the tallest and widest mountain.
When he had been expelled from the sect, he walked down every step by foot—it was beyond grueling.
Qin Zheng cautiously peered down at the forest flying past below and suddenly thought of what their master had said about the reason for this mission. He patted Qin Su’s shoulder and asked, “That barrier master mentioned—is it the same one we ran into last time?”
Qin Su responded, “Mm.”
“But it’s probably not the work of the same person.”
Qin Zheng nodded in agreement.
The Tianque Sect wasn’t the kind of place anyone could sneak in and out of easily.
“Did master figure out who did it last time?”
Qin Su shook his head. “No leads.”
“Hold on.”
Right after Qin Su said that, Qin Zheng felt himself suddenly dropping fast.
Qin Su, who had been flying in a straight line toward the base of the mountain, suddenly veered downward into the forest below.
Qin Zheng ended up clinging completely to Qin Su.
Fortunately, the two landed safely in the forest.
After landing, Qin Zheng nervously looked around. “What is it? Something wrong?”
It was so sudden—did Qin Su spot an escaping creature?
Before Qin Su could answer, Qin Zheng was already drawn to the flashing red light coming from within the bushes.
He glanced at Qin Su and saw he was also focused on it.
The two cautiously approached the source of the light. Pushing aside the shrubs, they discovered a red seal glowing on the ground.
That light was coming from it.
Qin Zheng pointed at the seal in surprise, his mouth opening and closing without managing to say anything.
Qin Su said, “This looks a lot like the red seal master used on senior uncle, but more complex. It must be sealing something more powerful.”
Qin Zheng nodded rapidly in agreement like a pecking chick.
This red seal looked exactly like the one he had seen above Tianque Temple! But due to the time and location, he couldn’t bring it up now.
Qin Zheng looked around. He was sure this wasn’t the place where the Tianque Temple had been built later on.
Tianque Temple was located closer to the foot of the mountain. This place was farther up.
Qin Zheng wasn’t well-versed in seals due to his low cultivation, so he glanced at Qin Su and asked, “Say... are there seals that look exactly the same?”
Qin Su examined the glowing red seal carefully and replied, “Small seals might be identical. But larger ones—those are rarely similar.”
Qin Zheng pointed at the seal. “So, is this a big one or a small one?”
Qin Su gave Qin Zheng a strange look.
Qin Zheng quickly explained sheepishly, “I just feel like this one is much more complex than Senior Uncle’s... so it should be a big one, right?”
Qin Su nodded. “This seal—there’s almost no way there’s a second one like it. Whoever cast it must have a cultivation far higher than Master’s. Creating it would also drain a tremendous amount of spiritual power.”
Looking around, Qin Su added, “Though we don’t know the mountain god’s true strength, this seal is likely his.”
While they were talking, the red seal flashed a few more times before disappearing entirely.
Qin Zheng stared at the ground in surprise. Judging from what Qin Su just said—could this be the same seal that later ends up beneath Tianque Temple?
Bonus Side Story:
After Qin Su recovered from his injuries and returned to his residence, he found that due to his weakened state, the frozen seal had lost its spiritual energy and melted.
The plate of steamed buns had long since vanished.
Glancing at the birds darting through the woods outside his window, Qin Su guessed they must’ve eaten them.
Under the plate was a letter envelope. It appeared to have been soaked by the melted ice water, now reduced to a wrinkled piece of paper with its writing completely smudged and unreadable.
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