Junior Brother Pays Respect to You: Chapter 52 - Blocked on the Way Down the Mountain
Chapter 52: Blocked on the Way Down the Mountain
The two of them walked one behind the other toward the main gate of the Tianque Sect.
After deciding where to go, an awkward silence hung between Qin Zheng and Qin Su.
Qin Su wasn’t a talkative person, and after what had just happened, Qin Zheng didn’t know what to say either.
The atmosphere between them grew increasingly strange.
Qin Zheng felt he should explain his earlier behavior toward Qin Su, so that Qin Su wouldn’t get the wrong idea and think he had improper intentions.
Although… he had had them, it was definitely too early for that now!
It might seem like a small misunderstanding, but it could end up affecting something more important down the line.
Qin Zheng took a deep breath, cleared his throat, and casually said, “Junior Brother, what happened earlier in the room was mainly because I wasn’t fully awake yet.”
“And on top of that, my cultivation isn’t high, so I often have weird dreams. That’s why I woke up so confused.”
“So who were you doing that kind of thing with in your dream?” Qin Su suddenly asked.
Qin Zheng looked at him, puzzled, not understanding why he’d ask something like that.
Qin Su didn’t seem to want a real answer. He quickly said, matter-of-factly, “You don’t have to pretend—I know it was you.”
Qin Zheng paused, watching as Qin Su continued walking ahead of him. He pursed his lips.
Was Qin Su really certain, or just fishing for a confession?
Even if he admitted it now, it didn’t really matter anymore. If Qin Su had wanted to do something about it, he would’ve by now.
Still, Qin Zheng didn’t want to admit anything.
But since they both clearly knew the truth, he no longer felt guilty.
If Qin Su thought he wasn’t Qin Zheng—then fine, he wasn’t.
Qin Zheng grinned and ran to catch up, finally asking the question that had been bothering him all this time.
“So what exactly were you two doing in my room just now?”
“Oh wait—not me, I mean him.”
Qin Zheng said, pointing to his own body.
He didn’t think he’d ever been that beastly.
Then he winked at Qin Su and added with a smirk, “He wasn’t seriously trying to get with you, was he?”
Qin Su finally glanced at the man beside him and said calmly, “He was.”
Qin Zheng hadn’t expected such blunt honesty.
Even with a question like that, Qin Su couldn’t be bothered to be discreet?
Did this man have nothing in his head but cultivation?
No wonder the original Qin Zheng used to tease him.
With a face like that and no clue about anything—who wouldn’t tease him?
Qin Zheng stroked his chin as he looked at Qin Su, wondering if he should teach him some “anti-wolf” techniques.
No—more like “anti-Qin-Zheng” techniques. After all, no one else in the Tianque Sect had the free time to be thinking such indecent thoughts.
Qin Zheng knew himself well. When he used to get wild, even he was afraid of himself.
“You really don’t have anything to explain?” Qin Zheng asked, unwilling to give up.
He didn’t believe Qin Su could be that indifferent.
But Qin Su calmly replied, “That was just a way to express brotherly affection.”
It sounded like an explanation… but also not quite.
Qin Zheng stared at him, eyes wide, voice unconsciously rising.
“He told you that’s how you express brotherly affection?!”
He couldn’t believe he used to be such a beast. He started trying to recall everything he’d done in the past.
But aside from a few special incidents, the rest of his memories had long faded with time.
Today’s incident was just a blip in his long life, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t remember anything that connected to today—not even whether he’d ever laid a hand on Qin Su.
He distinctly remembered only having thoughts.
No—he needed to make sure this didn’t spiral.
Qin Zheng quickly grabbed Qin Su’s hand and began to lecture earnestly: “Junior Brother! You absolutely can’t trust a word that guy says!”
“You know what he’s like—been like this since we were kids.”
“Never says anything decent. Always doing dirty, sleazy things!”
……
As he insulted himself out loud, Qin Zheng groaned inwardly.
Probably no one in history had ever badmouthed themselves this thoroughly.
After completely tearing himself down, he looked at Qin Su with hope, wishing his efforts hadn’t been in vain.
But Qin Su just gave him a meaningful glance and said, “We’ve reached the gate.”
Qin Su’s words brought Qin Zheng back to reality—he suddenly remembered they were supposed to go down the mountain together. He quickly turned to look.
Ahead lay a long staircase descending into the mountain valley. It had been there for years, but probably only ever used by him.
It almost felt like it had been built just for him.
In the blink of an eye, Qin Su summoned his flying sword.
Qin Zheng shamelessly stepped onto it and winked at him. “Fellow disciples should help each other out.”
Qin Su seemed already used to this kind of thing and said nothing as he stepped onto the flying sword himself.
Once the sword rose into the air, Qin Zheng rested one arm casually on Qin Su’s shoulder while holding the map in the other hand.
“Nan Chuan, Nan Chuan... that’s to the south.”
Qin Zheng muttered, pointing in the direction.
Suddenly, the flying sword dipped downward slightly. The small jolt startled Qin Zheng so much that he grabbed Qin Su tightly around the waist.
After confirming that the sword had stabilized again, he slowly released his hand.
“There are three spirit pillars, placed exactly at the three corners of Mount Yujing. Each one happens to be near a large county. If we manage to repair them, we might even have time to enjoy a little sightseeing.”
Qin Zheng continued, sharing his thoughts.
But the sword swayed again, and this time Qin Zheng, becoming increasingly concerned for his safety, leaned fully against Qin Su’s back and wrapped his left arm tightly around his waist.
Qin Zheng glanced at Qin Su and complained near his ear, “Junior Brother, your cultivation is so high—why is your sword flying so unstable?”
Expressionless, Qin Su replied, “Because I rarely go down the mountain. I'm not very practiced at swordflight.”
Upon hearing that, Qin Zheng, who had been holding onto just Qin Su’s shoulder, quickly rewrapped his arms tightly around his waist.
Sure enough, as they continued, the sword kept wobbling from time to time.
Qin Zheng, trembling, handed the scroll to Qin Su and said, “Here, you read it. I need to keep my full attention on not dying.”
As soon as Qin Su took the map, Qin Zheng clung even more closely to him.
“Junior Brother, you really need to practice more. We can’t keep going on like this.”
Tsk tsk, so Qin Su isn’t invincible after all.
***
Even traveling around the entire Mount Yujing on a sword wouldn’t take more than half a day.
Before long, Qin Zheng spotted the familiar sight of Nan Chuan below.
Since the spirit pillar was located on the outskirts, Qin Su guided the flying sword toward the outskirts of Nan Chuan.
When the two finally touched ground, Qin Zheng couldn’t help stomping hard on the solid earth, only then feeling that the heart he'd been holding in his throat had finally settled.
He looked around the dense forest and asked, “Are you sure it’s here?”
Qin Su handed him the map without a word and walked around, observing the area.
Qin Zheng checked the map—the marked location of the spirit pillar was unusual, right at the very edge of the mountain ridge.
They were indeed in the correct place, as the terrain ahead rose steadily into peaks.
But at a glance, there wasn’t anything that looked like a spirit pillar—nothing even slightly unusual.
Just densely packed trees, all seemingly of the same species, enough to make someone dizzy from staring too long.
Qin Zheng casually asked, “Can you sense anything?”
To his surprise, Qin Su actually gave a quiet “Mm.”
As soon as he spoke, a sword appeared in his hand. He pointed it forward and said, “Come out!”
Seeing Qin Su prepare for battle, Qin Zheng immediately scanned their surroundings nervously.
If Qin Su had already drawn his sword, then the enemy must be strong.
Sure enough, three black-clad figures slowly emerged from the once-empty forest.
One wore a cloak that obscured his face, while the other two wore similar clothing—and most notably, both had crimson eyes.
“They’re demons!”
Qin Zheng recognized one of them—it was the same one who had kidnapped him last time.
Qin Su turned his head slightly and said to Qin Zheng, “Get back. I’ll handle this.”
The demon who had captured Qin Zheng smiled and said, “I know the Spirit of Time is in your hands. If you surrender it now, perhaps I’ll let you live.”
The Spirit of Time again!
Qin Zheng looked at Qin Su with concern.
Last time, Qin Su could have held his own in a fair fight, but he lost miserably because he used the Spirit of Time.
Hopefully, he wouldn't use it again this time.
Qin Su, however, showed no sign of compromise, staring coldly at the demon without a word.
The demon, annoyed at being refused, turned to the cloaked figure behind him and asked, “Lord Ling Yan, shall we just attack?”
The man addressed as Ling Yan said nothing, but nodded.
With his approval, the two demons immediately summoned their weapons and charged at Qin Su.
Qin Su responded without hesitation, skillfully blocking both of their attacks at once.
The demons quickly retreated after being countered. The one Qin Zheng recognized looked surprised and said, “As expected from the reincarnation of Yu Jingchen—your cultivation has increased so much.”
“But I didn’t expect that you’d bring along a burden without even a spiritual root for such an important mission.”
As he spoke, he glanced meaningfully at Qin Zheng.
Qin Zheng shrugged helplessly. He didn’t want to be here either—who knew what their master was thinking?
Also, why bring me into your fight? I’m just an innocent bystander!
When masters clash, the surroundings always suffer.
They had barely fought for a few moments, yet already, a huge swath of trees had been knocked down.
The two demons were clearly being crushed by Qin Su and had already switched from attacking to defending.
Even so, the cloaked man, Ling Yan, still made no move to help.
Noticing the overwhelming difference in strength, Ling Yan suddenly said, “Enough. You two return. We’re running out of time.”
His voice was clearly disguised.
Following the order, the two demons immediately ceased defending and turned into wisps of black smoke, vanishing into the sky.
Qin Su sheathed his weapon without pursuing.
A golden formation lit up beneath Ling Yan’s feet, and in a flash, he disappeared as well.
At the same time, the surrounding trees began to vanish one by one, as if dissolving into thin air.
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