Ch. 79 – Husband-and-Wife Duo

After flying for a day and a night, the ship safely returned to Lingxiao Sword Sect.

However, compared to the over one hundred people who set out, the number who returned was reduced by half.

But compared to previous years, the number of casualties could be considered low. Lingxiao Sword Sect had also made unprecedented progress after a hundred years, and had at last broken away from their bottom rank. This journey had been a complete success.

Although they had set out at noon, it wasn’t until the evening of the next day that they arrived back at the sect.

After disembarking, many disciples were impatient to return to their lodgings for one purpose – sleep.

There had been places to sleep on the ship, but it couldn’t measure up to the comfort of their own beds.

After journeying for nearly a week, everyone was exhausted and just wanted to go back and enjoy their own bedding.

Therefore, this night was particularly quiet.

The journey to the Floating Island Secret Realm had come to an end at last, and everything returned to normal.

After a good sleep, Fang Yang was fully charged up. As soon as the sun rose, he ran to knock on Feng Ye’s door.

When Feng Ye opened his eyes and saw the hazy morning sunlight filtering through the window, he was puzzled.

Cao Zirui should be here to run interference for him, so why had Fang Yang come to wake him up?

When he rubbed his eyes and sat up in his familiar bed, he realized that Cao Zirui, who had been staying by Fang Yang’s side, had returned to the peak after coming back to the sect.

And Fang Yang still lived at the foot of the mountain, where all of the junior disciples resided. He was unable to meet up with his friend due to the limitation of distance, so he went back to his old ways and came to wake up his Useless Shixiong.

Having been unwillingly awakened by Fang Yang, Feng Ye then went on to wake up the nearby Hao Chen.

Seeing Hao Chen’s similarly sleepy appearance, Feng Ye’s frustration at being woken up early was greatly relieved.

After the three of them had a quick breakfast, they took their cleaning tools and went to the martial arts square.

Now that everything was back on track, their cleaning work naturally could not be neglected.

Although Hao Chen wasn’t a disciple of this sect, due to the exaggerated farewell drama the day before, he took the initiative to sign a series of compensation treaties in order to earn Feng Ye’s forgiveness.

This included help with cleaning, as well as additional services such as warming his bed.

Of course, Feng Ye directly crossed out most of these additional bundled services and firmly rejected them.

When they went back to their rooms to sleep the previous night, Hao Chen had unconsciously started to follow Feng Ye to his room. As a result, not only was he kicked out by Feng Ye, but the slammed door almost hit him in the nose.

Disappointed, Hao Chen had no choice but to go back and sleep in his cold guest room.

But he still couldn’t get Feng Ye’s bed off his mind, and now that his sleepiness had faded completely, he brought up the old matter again.

And he deliberately laid the groundwork for it.

Hao Chen held a broom in one hand and rubbed his shoulder with the other, complaining: “The bamboo bed in the guest room is so hard. It’s really uncomfortable to sleep on.”

Feng Ye sent him a sideways glance. He already had a premonition regarding what Hao Chen would say next.

Sure enough, Hao Chen proceeded to say: “Fellow Daoist Feng Ye’s bed is more comfortable, and the size is just right, more than enough for the two of us to sleep.”

His intention to gain entry couldn’t be more obvious. Just as Feng Ye was about to refuse, Fang Yang, who was walking beside them, opened his mouth indiscriminately again: “But the rooms at the foot of the mountain all have the same bamboo beds. Shixiong’s bed should be exactly the same as the one you’re sleeping on, Hao-dage.”

“How could one be comfortable and the other uncomfortable?” Fang Yang posed this simple question.

Hao Chen was speechless.

Feng Ye chuckled. Although this person was silly and naive, his lethality could not be underestimated. Fang Yang was ruthless in his destruction, and didn’t discriminate between friend and foe.

Feng Ye had been unintentionally sabotaged by Fang Yang before, and now it was Hao Chen’s turn. It could be said that fortune never remained unchanged, nor did the target of this naive simpleton. 

The utterly defeated Hao Chen awkwardly shut his mouth and didn’t speak again the rest of the way.

The three of them walked to the martial arts training square, which was the area Feng Ye was responsible for cleaning.

It had been nearly a week since they’d left, and no one had cleaned the square during that time. The ground was currently covered in fallen leaves. 

Seeing this, Feng Ye rolled up his sleeves. Today would be a busy day.

And when Hao Chen caught sight of this, he turned toward Feng Ye and pretended to be ill: “Fellow Daoist Feng Ye, I suddenly feel a little unwell. How about…..”

Hao Chen tried to return the broom to Feng Ye as he spoke.

This fish is so lazy! Thought Feng Ye.

Unwilling to let Hao Chen have his way, he asked directly: “What’s wrong with you?”

Hao Chen averted his eyes and chose the most common excuse, pretending to be in unbearable pain as he covered his stomach: “I don’t know, my stomach just hurts…..”

His performance was so contrived and over-the-top that only Fang Yang would believe it.

Fang Yang asked with concern: “Why do you suddenly have a stomachache?”

Feng Ye scoffed, then asked Fang Yang a completely unrelated question: “Do you have any female relatives in your family?”

Fang Yang nodded. Then, after a moment’s thought, he wore a look of sudden enlightenment: “So that’s how it is! My cousin does have unbearable abdominal pain each month and can’t even work.”

He directed a sigh at Hao Chen and said: “I never thought that Hao-dage and my cousin, who haven’t even met, would have the same disease.”

Seeing how stimulated Fang Yang was, Feng Ye guessed what he was referring to and nodded in agreement: “That’s right, your Hao-dage also has such days each month.”

“It’s really too pitiful.” With a sympathetic expression, Fang Yang stepped forward to pat Hao Chen on the shoulder.

Hao Chen: “……”

A young boy like Fang Yang had no clue what his cousin was going through during those days, but Hao Chen did. He also knew that Feng Ye had seen through his performance and was secretly mocking him.

Hao Chen could no longer pretend. Although he was not a human being, he was a genuine male fish. He couldn’t give birth to offspring, so he naturally didn’t suffer such days each month.

“Cough, cough.” Hao Chen coughed dryly and changed his words. “It hurt for a while, but it’s suddenly better now.”

He took back the broom he had thrust toward Feng Ye and resigned himself to helping clean.

But Feng Ye wanted to teach this lazy fish a lesson, and deliberately donned a concerned look: “In my opinion, this inexplicable pain came about because Fellow Daoist Hao Chen’s body is too weak. Look at me, I clean and exercise every day, so I’m free of illness and pain.”

As he spoke, Feng Ye handed his broom to Hao Chen with a look that said, I’m doing this for your own good. “Starting today, Fellow Daoist Hao Chen should exercise more. This square is all yours.”

Hao Chen, holding a broom in each hand: “……”

The situation had developed in the complete opposite direction from what he had expected.

Just as Hao Chen was thinking of another excuse to return the brooms, an old acquaintance slowly approached the three of them. 

Administrator Zhang greeted them with a smile on his face: “You’re all back, ah. Great, great.”

He praised Fang Yang upon reaching them: “I heard you were the dark horse of this journey to the Floating Island Secret Realm. I never dreamed you would be lucky enough to find Ice Grass!”

Fang Yang touched his head with an embarrassed smile: “Thank you for your auspicious words.”

“Haha.” Although he knew he was being flattered, Administrator Zhang enjoyed it and sported a pleased look. “I was just speaking casually.”

Then he finally remembered to pay attention to the other two, the rumored inseparable couple.

He glanced at Feng Ye, taking in his far from cheap-looking clothes, before looking at Hao Chen with some puzzlement: “Is everything alright with your Tiangong Pavilion?”

He had no problem with outside disciples visiting, and was simply puzzled that this Tiangong Pavilion disciple hadn’t returned home for such a long time.

Hao Chen smiled and explained again how he had been kicked out by his sect leader due to obtaining zero points. In the end, he even bowed in a pretentious manner and apologized: “I’m sorry for being such trouble.”

“What trouble!” Administrator Zhang waved his hands repeatedly and patted Hao Chen’s shoulder, saying kindly: “Just treat this as your own home. We have plenty of rooms in Lingxiao Sword Sect, so one more person is no problem.”

Having said this, he lamented: “Your Sect Leader Wu is such a big fellow, but why is he so small-minded? Kicking you out just for getting zero points. Say, I heard that someone in our own sect got zero points, and our sect leader didn’t say a word, nor does he have any intention of kicking him out.”

Feng Ye, who scored zero points: “……”

It seemed that even someone as well-informed as Administrator Zhang still didn’t know the identity of the other zero-point contestant.

When they heard Administrator Zhang’s words, Hao Chen and Fang Yang couldn’t help but glance at Feng Ye, who remained silent.

Getting zero points was not a glorious thing, and he wouldn’t rush to admit it.

Administrator Zhang was a little surprised by their reactions, and asked: “Why are you guys looking at him?”

Hao Chen and Fang Yang immediately looked away, and Feng Ye gave a dry cough: “No reason.”

To prevent his status as a zero-point contestant from being exposed, and also to satisfy his long-held curiosity, Feng Ye changed the subject: “Our Sect Leader Ji is still the best.”

Administrator Zhang’s attention was successfully diverted, and he immediately echoed: “Of course! If you ask me, even though Lingxiao Sword Sect has always been ranked tenth under Sect Leader Ji, he is much more capable than the previous sect leader.”

Administrator Zhang was just such a person. Once he was given an opening, he could talk endlessly.

Seeing that Administrator Zhang had taken the bait he’d thrown, Feng Ye calmly proceeded to ask: “What do you mean?”

“Well…..” Administrator Zhang opened his mouth to speak, but when the words came to his lips, he remembered that the three newcomers probably didn’t know about the event that happened one hundred years ago, and hesitated.

Seeing this, Feng Ye continued to throw bait: “Is the former sect leader you’re talking about Ling…..?”

“Shh!” Administrator Zhang swiftly raised his index finger in a silencing gesture.

When he saw that Feng Ye didn’t speak the name, he patted his chest with a sigh of relief. Then he asked doubtfully: “How do you know about that?”

“Administrator Zheng told us when we went to retrieve a magic weapon last time.” Feng Ye unhesitatingly sold out Administrator Zheng.

“That loudmouth Lao Zheng!” Administrator Zhang accused with a lack of self-awareness.

“Since you already know, it’s fine for me to tell you.” Administrator Zhang appeared to be condemning his counterpart, but in fact, he was just happy to share gossip. His favorite thing was telling stories.

“When the previous sect leader was around, he single-handedly brought Lingxiao Sword Sect from being a stable member of the top three to the pinnacle of the world, making it the world’s number one top sect. But not long after that, he began to pursue a way to literally ‘soar to the heavens.’”

“He found Jianmu and tried many times to plant it, but consistently failed. As the sect leader, he neglected all of the sect’s affairs during that time and went off alone to plant that tree!” As he spoke, Administrator Zhang was still a little angry. “At that time, the entirety of the sect’s affairs were placed on the shoulders of Sect Leader Ji. He was clearly not the sect leader, but performed the work of one on behalf of his irresponsible shixiong.”

“But Ling…..what the former sect leader did wasn’t pointless!” Fang Yang couldn’t help but argue on Ling Yun’s behalf. In his opinion, Ling Yun’s extraordinary feat was unparalleled and unprecedented, making him a hero worthy of respect.

Ling Yun was not irresponsible. The original reason he planted Jianmu was simply to lead Lingxiao Sword Sect to a higher level.

“Then what was the point?” Administrator Zhang asked disdainfully. “What did he accomplish in the end? The result was that he drew the attention of Yinglong! He caused a catastrophic disaster. And not only did he die, he even caused Lingxiao Sword Sect to be accused of offending that great god!”

Administrator Zhang grew increasingly angry as he spoke: “He died a quick death, leaving behind a mess. Those who lost friends and relatives in the fire swarmed our sect, demanding compensation.”

“Why would they ask our sect for compensation?” Fang Yang was puzzled. It was Yinglong who had killed their friends and relatives, so what did Lingxiao Sword Sect have to do with it?

Administrator Zhang shook his head, saying: “Why else? Because we were leaderless at the time and easy to bully. They didn’t have the guts to ask Yinglong for compensation, so of course they targeted us. After all, it was our sect leader who planted Jianmu, and who also brought disaster upon them.”

“You all didn’t witness the scene at that time. That group of people said they had come to seek justice for their friends and relatives, and tightly surrounded our mountain gate. But in fact, they were no different from robbers. Lingxiao Sword Sect was very wealthy and powerful. Even before our previous sect leader took the position, we were always among the top three, so why did we decline so quickly after his death?”

“Because our substantial resources were emptied. Many of the magic tools and elixirs Lingxiao Sword Sect had accumulated over the years were taken away by those people in the name of compensation.”

At this point, Administrator Zhang sighed deeply: “Ai, after that incident, Lingxiao Sword Sect practically ceased to exist. The sect leader was dead, and so were many elders and disciples. If Sect Leader Ji had not stepped forward to take control of the mess and face the accusations and abuse from other sects, the name ‘Lingxiao Sword Sect’ would have likely been no more.”

“During these past hundred years, Sect Leader Ji worked hard step by step to finally save Lingxiao Sword Sect, and although it wasn’t as strong as it was before, it was still ranked tenth. The difficulty of accomplishing such a thing is unimaginable if you haven’t experienced it.”

A look of reminiscence came over Administrator Zhang. He was over one hundred years old, and had witnessed the rise and fall of Lingxaio Sword Sect. It was precisely due to his personal experience that he understood the difficulties faced by Sect Leader Ji Chengyue.

“Some people say that Sect Leader Ji is inferior to his shixiong in every aspect, that compared to his brilliant shixiong, he is as mediocre as a stone on the roadside. But if not for this stone that stood firm against the wind and rain, this sect that has existed for countless years could have ceased to exist.”

“So in my opinion, Sect Leader Ji is far superior to the previous one,” Administrator Zhang concluded.

After listening to this, Fang Yang didn’t argue further – because Administrator’s Zhang’s words made sense.

“Does Sect Leader Ji…..hate his shixiong?” Feng Ye, who had been listening quietly, suddenly asked.

Taken aback, Administrator Zhang touched his chin and took a moment to think: “I can’t say for sure. If it were me, I would certainly hate him. If it wasn’t for his mad shixiong’s crazy actions, the series of disastrous consequences that followed wouldn’t have happened.”

Had Jianmu not been planted, Yinglong would not have been provoked, and Lingxiao Sword Sect wouldn’t have gone into decline. Ji Chengyue was forced to bear the consequences brought about solely by Ling Yun, and took over the responsibilities of sect leader in a desperate situation while being condemned by the populace, all in order to preserve Lingxiao Sword Sect.

It would be expected for Ji Chengyue to hate his shixiong.

“However…..” Administrator Zhang changed the subject: “I am not the person in question. Sect Leader Ji and his shixiong actually had a very good relationship. The two of them grew up together and studied swordsmanship under Xuanxu-zhenren, and although they were sect siblings, their relationship was even closer than that of blood brothers.”

“We can’t know how Sect Leader Ji actually feels. He has never commented on the previous sect leader’s actions in front of others. Everyone says that the previous sect leader was an eternal sinner, but Sect Leader Ji has never uttered those words himself.” Administrator Zhang spread his hands.

After listening to this, Feng Ye thought to himself that Ji Chengyue’s attitude toward Ling Yun was actually a key factor that would determine whether or not he was likely to have hidden fragments of Jianmu.

He had deliberately questioned Administrator Zhang for this reason, although the result was still somewhat up in the air.

But this was still a win. Since there was nothing left to ask, Feng Ye sent the talkative Administrator Zhang away: “It’s getting late. We should clean up first.”

Administrator Zhang glanced at the square blanketed in fallen leaves. It was clear that a large project was underway. He patted Feng Ye and Hao Chen on the shoulders, telling them: “You can do it!”

Having said this, he placed his hands behind his back and leisurely wandered away.

He was not worried at all over whether or not the two would be able to complete their cleaning task. After all, there existed a saying that went: When a husband-and-wife duo works together, the work isn’t tiring.

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