Chapter 117: Shameless

In front of the magnificent mountain gate carved from huanghuali wood, the bluestone floor was swept spotlessly clean.

Although it was nearing noon, the hottest time of the day, there were still errand-running disciples coming and going, performing cleaning duties in exchange for the contribution points required for cultivation.

Most of them did not recognize Yun Tianxin’s identity; they were merely stunned by the young woman's extraordinary beauty and cast envious and resentful glances toward Chen Qi beside her.

Some even muttered under their breath:

"Am I not as handsome as that guy? Why aren't there any pretty inner-sect senior sisters who take a fancy to me? Could it be that that fellow possesses some heaven-defying innate talent?"

Without a trace of anger, and actually rather enjoying these gazes, Chen Qi strode past, brimming with high spirits.

That's right, he was simply such a vulgar person.

Moreover, these gazes managed to slightly alleviate the anxiety gnawing at his heart.

In contrast, Yun Tianxin behind him felt slightly uncomfortable. Several times she wanted to speak up, but felt it inappropriate.

After all, this was also her first time walking alongside a male peer in full public view, with only a single step separating them.

Soon, the two arrived beneath the mountain gate. Standing on guard to the left and right were two children of about seven or eight years old. The slightly chubbier one on the left was even dozing off while secretly leaning against the gate.

Spotting the azure cloud-patterned uniform of an inner-sect disciple approaching, the slender boy on the right smartly nudged his companion. In unison, the two adjusted their clothes and bowed together, calling out in a synchronized voice:

"Welcome back to the sect, Senior Sister!"

Chen Qi stood coldly to one side, and seeing this, expressed his dissatisfaction:

"Hey, hey, hey! Isn't there a Senior Brother right here too?"

Unexpectedly, the chubby boy retorted:

"Only an inner-sect senior sister is a senior sister. An outer-sect disciple like you will probably be calling us two senior brothers before long."

"Hey! I've got a fiery temper." Instantly displeased, Chen Qi rolled up his sleeves and slowly closed in, preparing to teach this cheeky brat a lesson.

After all, he had always respected the old and cherished the young, which meant he never hesitated when it came to striking.

Seeing this posture, the chubby boy panicked and retreated a few steps, nearly tripping over himself. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he trembling pulled a signal arrow from his embrace and ignited it with a snap.

Then, he hastily cried out:

"You... don't come closer! Our elder said that whenever an inner-sect disciple returns, we must immediately fire the signal arrow, and the elders will arrive right away. Don't you dare bully a child!"

Hearing this, Chen Qi halted his steps. Suppressing the impulse to aim a kick at the kid's backside, he continued to taunt:

"Oh, now that you're about to get a beating, you know you're a child? Before the beating, you thought you were a senior brother."

With that, Chen Qi swept his gaze maliciously over the chubby boy round and round, until the latter felt compelled to sit down on the ground, before saying with a sinister chuckle:

"Little fatty, I've remembered you. You better watch your step in the sect from now on!"

After saying these words, Chen Qi felt a twinge of awkwardness deep down, finding the situation rather absurd and comical.

Never did he expect that, under immense psychological pressure, he would quite naturally find a way to vent by picking on a small child.

This truly was an innate instinct inherent to adults.

Beside him, Yun Tianxin smiled softly as she watched the interaction between this pair of comedic foils. Suddenly, she tugged at Chen Qi’s sleeve and gently reminded him:

"A powerful aura is approaching rapidly. Junior Brother, you should be careful."

At these words, Chen Qi instantly straightened his expression, stood tall, and assumed a solemn and dignified posture.

At the same time, a trace of curiosity flickered in his heart. He wondered what the identity of the newcomer would be, and whether it might be the elusive Master of the Cloud Sea Sect.

A few breaths later, a figure radiating red light appeared in the distance, instantly closing the distance to appear beside Chen Qi once more.

As the red light receded, Chen Qi caught sight of a head of untamed, free-spirited red hair, an elderly yet lean physique, and a sharp yet familiar aura. In his heart, the identity of the newcomer became crystal clear.

The arrival was none other than Elder Chi.

The moment Elder Chi stopped, his piercing gaze locked directly onto Yun Tianxin. He scanned her up and down repeatedly, his eyes finally lingering for a fraction of a second on the crook of her neck.

Only then did he shift his gaze to Chen Qi, wearing a knowing, teasing smile.

Accompanying that smile was a suddenly raised thumb.

Although the kiss mark on Yun Tianxin's neck had been smoothed over by her spiritual energy, an extremely faint trace of anomaly still lingered. In the eyes of a true grandmaster like Elder Chi, it remained as clear as observing a fire in a dark room.

The difference in their realms showed instantly. Under Elder Chi's gaze, Yun Tianxin's pretty face blushed and lowered, her breath catching as she found herself momentarily speechless.

However, relying on his thick skin, Chen Qi recovered quickly. Casting a glance at Yun Tianxin's exposed neckline, he spoke in a tone laced with a hint of entreaty:

"Elder Chi, help your disciple out!"

Elder Chi was momentarily taken aback. Following Chen Qi's line of sight, stark astonishment washed over his face. His playful smile froze awkwardly, making him forget how to speak for a moment.

Though he was already well aware of this disciple's brazenness, Chen Qi's current stunt managed to shatter his understanding all over again: Could there truly be such a shameless person in this world? He took advantage of a young woman and actually asked her elder to help erase the evidence!

At least in his not-so-short life spanning nearly a hundred years, he had never witnessed such a thing.

Just then, Chen Qi keenly sensed several majestic auras rapidly approaching. A look of panic flashed across his face, and abruptly, he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood while cupping his fists in a pleading bow:

"Master, please save your disciple!"

That mouthful of blood shot out like an arrow, carrying a foul, blackened hue as it plunged straight into the bluestone floor, instantly corroding the surrounding area.

This was precisely the Blood Arrow Technique that Chen Qi practiced and had made even more venomous.

Elder Chi glanced at the bluestone ground, which was already half-corroded, and showed a trace of emotional fluctuation. He raised his hand, intending to say something, but his finger was met by Chen Qi, who boldly thrust his face forward.

Glancing at the sorrow and despair brimming from Chen Qi's face, Elder Chi emitted a bitter laugh, poked Chen Qi's thick-skinned cheek a few times with his finger, and said word by word:

"Let this be the last time!"

Accompanied by these words was a majestic surge of crimson spiritual energy, roughly the thickness of an adult's forearm, which instantly descended upon the back of Yun Tianxin's neck.

Strangely enough, the moment the spiritual energy touched Yun Tianxin's exposed porcelain skin, its overwhelming might instantly softened. The energy delicately adhered to her skin, obscuring the previous mark even more thoroughly. A faint red glow flickered, reflecting Yun Tianxin's somewhat complex expression.

Clearly, she had never expected that there would come a day when she would collude with someone else to deceive her own mother.

Meanwhile, Chen Qi was marveling at Elder Chi's precise and impeccable spiritual energy control. Just as he was about to open his mouth to offer some flattering remarks, he heard the elder intentionally emit a loud, aged cough.

"Could it be?" Chen Qi instantly experienced an epiphany, quickly adopting a solemn expression of looking at nothing save his own nose.

Yun Tianxin reacted a fraction of a second slower, but she too swiftly recovered her usual dignified composure.

The next second, a classical, beautiful woman dressed in cloud-white palace robes appeared beside them. Her exquisite makeup could not mask the extreme anxiety in her eyes. The moment she arrived, her gaze locked squarely onto Yun Tianxin.

An instant later, her anxious expression flashed with joy before softening into tenderness. Forcibly suppressing the loss of composure in her eyes, she naturally shifted her gaze to Chen Qi with absolute grace.

"She's here..." Waves rippled across the lake of Chen Qi's heart. Maintaining his outward calmness, he bowed in a manner that was neither servile nor overbearing.

After sweeping her gaze over Chen Qi a few times, Yun Yuxi nodded with restrained dignity, and her calm, maternal voice echoed in Chen Qi's ears.

"Not bad. Elder Duan Hai mentioned to me that he had run into you, but I never expected you would actually be able to track down my daughter!"

At this moment, however, Yun Yuxi's internal state was far from as steady as her exterior suggested.

Just a moment before, she had been sitting despondently before the Purple Cloud Pavilion with a troubled frown while a group of elders tried to comfort her below; the very next moment, she had heard the unique sound of the summoning signal arrow.

Even though she dreaded the possibility of a false alarm, she had rushed over at top speed, even burning her spiritual energy to do so.

Never did she expect happiness to arrive so abruptly.

Had she not been mindful of outsiders present, she would have pulled Yun Tianxin tightly into her arms right then and there, using her divine sense to inspect her daughter's body inch by inch, terrified that she might have suffered some hidden injury.

"Heaven knows what kind of hardships my daughter went through these past few days."

Such thoughts inevitably churned in Yun Yuxi's mind, yet her outward appearance remained serene and tranquil, akin to an eternal, unchanging drift of cloud, revealing not the slightest flaw to outsiders.

And this was the very first impression that the Master of the Cloud Sea Sect left upon Chen Qi!

Calm, maternal, and unfathomably deep!