Qin Ke, however, had a look on his face that clearly said, “I don't believe you.”

 

Qin Zheng didn’t really care about Qin Ke’s reaction.

 

The next second, Qin Zheng deliberately walked over to the sect leader junior brother, slung an arm around his shoulder in a mock-friendly manner, and said, “Junior Brother, I’m still not used to being back in the sect. How about having dinner with me tonight?”

 

Qin Zheng had thought long and hard and could only come up with this excuse.

 

But no matter the excuse, as long as it annoyed Qin Ke—it was a good one.

 

Sure enough, Qin Ke glared at Qin Zheng and angrily shouted, “The sect leader is not just your junior brother anymore; he is the leader of Tianque Sect! Please show some respect!”

 

Qin Zheng looked provocatively at Qin Ke and said, “In my eyes, he’s always been my junior brother!”

 

Caught in the middle of their argument, Qin Su simply said calmly, “It’s fine.”

 

Qin Zheng noticed that when he spoke, he was looking at Qin Ke.

 

In other words, Qin Su was defending him.

 

Qin Zheng couldn’t help but feel a sense of smug satisfaction.

 

Qin Ke, who had originally intended to lecture Qin Zheng, found himself speechless after seeing Qin Su’s attitude. He pointed toward them for a long time, but couldn’t manage to scold them.

 

“!”

 

Qin Ke then flicked his sleeve angrily and left the council room.

 

Qin Zheng grinned as he watched the door shut behind him.

 

That old stubborn mule—why did he hate him so much?

 

It’s not like he was actually causing him any trouble.

 

Unless…?

 

“Did you need something from me?”

 

Qin Su suddenly spoke, pulling Qin Zheng out of his self-reflection.

 

Turning his head, Qin Zheng realized he was standing very close to Qin Su and still had an arm around his shoulders. Embarrassed, he quickly pulled away.

 

Qin Zheng rubbed his hands together and smiled. “I just wanted to ask—besides me, is there anyone else who can take care of Xiao Hua?”

 

“So far, only you can touch him.”

 

“If you don’t take care of him, I’ll just lock him up.”

 

Qin Su said it completely emotionlessly, as if talking about something of no importance.

 

But the moment Qin Zheng imagined the childlike Xiao Hua locked in a dark cell, his mood soured, and he immediately shook his head.

 

“I’ll do it!”

 

Qin Su seemed to see through Qin Zheng’s thoughts and, after a pause, said, “Xiao Hua has had his demonic nature removed. Because he spent so long sealed, his mind is still that of a child.”

 

“Even though his body won’t grow, if you teach him properly, his mind will eventually mature, and he can live independently.”

 

Mental maturity?

 

Wouldn’t that take another ten years or so?

 

Qin Zheng scratched his head in frustration.

 

“Sorry to bother you—I’m leaving!”

 

He threw out that sentence and rushed out the door—faster than when Qin Ke had stormed off earlier.

 

By the time Qin Zheng arrived at the wooden hut, night had fully fallen.

 

Irritated, Qin Zheng walked to the door and pushed it open.

 

He needed to vent on Xiao Hua!

 

Though he knew, because of the magical seal, he couldn’t really hurt him.

 

Inside, the hut was even darker than outside.

 

In the dim light, Qin Zheng could vaguely make out a shadow standing by the bed.

 

There was no need to guess—that figure was Xiao Hua.

 

Qin Zheng walked up, intending to pinch him a bit.

 

But just as he raised his hand, he froze.

 

A faint blue light glowed from under the pillow. The light source seemed to be coming from beneath it.

 

So Xiao Hua must have been drawn to the glow at the bedside.

 

Qin Zheng remembered the time scroll was placed under that pillow.

 

And that golden glow—wasn’t that from when the scroll was activated?

 

But he was sure he’d rolled it up and put it away.

 

Frowning, he lifted the pillow.

 

Sure enough, the glowing object was the time scroll—but it was rolled up neatly.

 

Still puzzled, he picked it up and untied the ribbon around it.

 

Freed from its restraint, the scroll floated out of his hands and unfurled mid-air.

 

A line of golden text appeared in front of him.

 

But the message was different from any he’d seen before.

 

“Due to your improper behavior, the event of your expulsion from the sect can no longer occur. History is about to change. If you still have remaining time jumps, please correct this event as soon as possible, or punishment will be administered after the current timeline ends.”

 

Qin Zheng read the warning three times.

 

Improper behavior?

 

Could it be that the awe he had carried for Qin Su while time-traveling had somehow affected his past self, making him too scared to write that letter?

 

Qin Zheng shook his head. That reason didn’t quite hold up.

 

But no matter the cause, fixing it should be relatively easy.

 

He breathed a sigh of relief.

 

Still, he didn’t expect to use his last time-travel attempt so soon.

 

Qin Zheng grabbed the scroll and a brush, and confidently wrote down the exact date of the day before he had originally been expelled from the sect.

 

He remembered that date clearly.

 

***

The dark wooden hut instantly transformed into a well-lit disciple’s room.

 

It was nighttime. He was lying in bed—apparently about to sleep.

 

He had written the exact time.

 

Qin Zheng jumped out of bed and went to his desk, preparing to write the infamous letter that had gotten him kicked out of the sect.

 

With confidence, he picked up his brush.

 

But as the tip touched the paper, he froze again.

 

Frowning and gritting his teeth, he still couldn’t bring himself to do it.

 

He finally set the brush down.

 

He remembered that right after coming out of seclusion, he had seen his beautiful junior brother for the first time.

 

Admiring beauty was natural.

 

As an ordinary person, he had failed to restrain himself and had impulsively written a letter confessing his feelings—only for Qin Su to hand it over to the sect leader.

 

Outraged, the sect leader had expelled him.

 

But he couldn’t recall what he had written. Just that it was a pretty tame letter.

 

He picked up a book, hoping for some inspiration—but none of them had anything romantic.

 

Staring at the blank paper, Qin Zheng clenched his teeth and picked up the brush again.

 

He wouldn’t let this trivial matter ruin his plans.

 

Wasn’t it just a letter expressing his dirty thoughts?

 

Though he had no personal experience, he’d seen and heard plenty in the mundane world over the past 20 years.

 

Those who write casually enough for the sect master to expel him/

 

He picked the mildest fantasy he could think of and swapped in himself and Qin Su, describing it in detail.

 

Soon, he had filled an entire page.

 

He even signed his name in big, bold letters—just in case Qin Su didn’t realize who wrote it.

 

He folded the letter, put it in an envelope, and stared at the blank paper again.

 

He still had a lot of positions left unwritten.

 

Since it was still early, he decided to keep writing for fun.

 

Time slipped by unnoticed.

 

By the time Qin Zheng came back to his senses, dawn was already breaking.

 

A thick stack of filled letter paper sat in the right corner of the desk.

 

Looking through them, he decided the first one was the most subtle—and would do the job.

 

Before full daylight, he sneaked out and walked toward Qin Su’s residence.

 

If he delivered the letter now, Qin Su could pass it to the sect master during morning class, and everything would go according to plan.

 

Regardless of whether Qin Su noticed him or not, he slipped the letter under the door and ran off like a thief.

 

After sunrise, Qin Zheng sat and waited eagerly for the sect leader’s summons—and his expulsion.

 

But noon came and went, and no one came.

 

Unable to sit still, Qin Zheng sneaked out to ask around.

 

Before long, he bumped into a few unfamiliar junior disciples.

 

He casually blocked their way and asked, “How’s the sect leader’s mood today?”

 

They glanced at each other and answered truthfully, “He seems the same as usual.”

 

“En!”

 

Qin Zheng nodded and walked past them.

 

How could the sect leader be “normal”?

 

He clearly remembered that time—the whole sect could feel how angry the sect leader had been.

 

Could it be Qin Su didn’t tell him about the letter?

 

That… actually made sense.

 

They no longer had the same relationship as before. Maybe he hadn’t been expelled because Qin Su’s affection level was too high?

 

Worried, Qin Zheng turned and headed back to Qin Su’s place.

 

If Qin Su was the reason, then no number of letters would help.

 

If that was the case, he’d need a new plan to get expelled.

 

Qin Zheng once again came to Qin Su’s wooden house.

 

For some reason, the door of the wooden house was still open.

 

“Junior Brother?”

 

He called softly, then peeked inside.

 

No one.

 

But the envelope on the desk caught his attention.

 

Qin Zheng tiptoed over.

 

The envelope was open, and on it were the words: For Qin Su’s eyes only.

 

It was the same letter he’d delivered earlier. 

 

Qin Zheng picked it up and looked at it — the opened envelope no longer had any trace of the letter inside.

 

So, Qin Su had read it.

 

And still didn’t hand it over.

 

Qin Zheng walked out of the room in frustration.

 

Was he going to have to confess to the sect leader directly?

 

But that would count as admitting fault—not enough to warrant expulsion.

 

After all, it was his refusal to admit guilt that had made the sect master furious last time.

 

“I just got word—the sect leader is gathering all the disciples this afternoon in the Sanqing Hall.”

 

“Apparently, there’s a big announcement!”

 

Qin Zheng ran into more junior disciples in the corridor.

 

Hearing their conversation sparked a new idea in his head.

 

Gatherings were the perfect time to make a scene everyone would remember.

 

Just as he was congratulating himself on the plan, someone familiar appeared ahead—

 

Qin Su, emerging from Sanqing Hall like the others.

 

Qin Zheng noticed that from the moment Qin Su saw him, he never looked away.

 

Remembering the letter he had read, Qin Zheng suddenly had the urge to flee.

 

But he couldn’t. He had more outrageous things to do later.

 

So he forced himself to stop in front of Qin Su.

 

“Come to Sanqing Hall a bit earlier this afternoon—I need to talk to you.”

 

Qin Su said, raising an eyebrow. “Why not now?

 

Qin Zheng replied seriously, “The vibe here is all wrong!” And with that, he dodged past him and walked off.