At Invincible Sect.

　　The Spirit Qi was rich. The once quiet peak was now filled with bright golden lights that shone all the way to the sky. The Spirit Qi appeared like it was dancing in response to the light, gathering at the peak. The golden rays lit up the entire sect, turning it into a patch of gold.

　　Yi Qing secluded himself for over three months. Suddenly, he opened his eyes. The first thing he sensed was that the Spirit Qi around him differed from before. He immediately reacted by sucking the Qi into his body. The golden spirit Qi flowed into his body until they were all gone. Only then did the Invincible Sect’s appearance return to normal.

　　Yi Qing sensed his own body strength and realised he was already in the late stages of Soul Formation. He rejoiced in his heart and exited the cave, heading for the rear hall. He spotted Shen Ying from afar.

　　“Master, I’m out…” he stopped himself mid-sentence when he realised that there was a stranger seated next to Shen Ying. He was dressed in white and was standing extremely close to her with a plate in hand. He was handing the fruits on the plate to Shen Ying. His bright eyes were really… annoying.

　　Yi Qing felt his heart grow cold. How did this little kid appear in just a few short months?

　　“Hey, Chef,” Shen Ying glanced at Yi Qing. She tossed the fruit in her hand and walked toward him, “You’re out!”

　　“Master…” Yi Qing walked toward her, glancing at the person behind her. They locked eyes and the air between them charged with static.

　　“Who is this outsider?” he emphasised on “outsider”, subconsciously putting a distance between him and the two visitors. “Who is this Fellow Daoist?” Little bastard, you better stay away from my master!

　　凸(艹皿艹)

　　“Oh,” Shen Ying began to explain, “this is Director and Furball.”

　　“…” What ball?

　　“He is the Yi Family Patriarch,” Lonemoon explained, gesturing toward Yi Feng. He turned toward Bai Ze, “… and…” he frowned, not knowing how to address Bai Ze.

　　“Bai Ze,” Bai Ze said curtly. He turned to glance at Shen Ying and raised his voice slightly, “My name is Bai Ze.” He blushed. She would be the only one who can call him Furball.

　　Yi Feng: “…”

　　So Spirit Master was not hiding his identity anymore – he was planning on announcing it to the world?

　　Yi Qing frowned deeply and studied the two people’s cultivations. He suddenly understood something and his heart fell even further as he began to feel nervous.

　　“Fellow Daoist Bai Ze.”

　　“Yes,” Bai Ze nodded. He glanced at Yi Feng behind him and a look of contempt flashed past his face.

　　“Let’s not talk about this anymore,” Shen Ying interrupted the introductions and nudged Yi Qing. “Chef, to celebrate your re-appearance, let’s… start cooking now?”

　　“Yes, Mas…” he habitually nodded his head and scanned the group of people in front of him before he suddenly changed his mind. “Master, it’s only ten in the morning; it’s not lunchtime yet.” He had to keep watch around here to make sure that the little bastard did not try to steal his master.

　　“Er…” Shen Ying hesitated. This was the first time Chef rejected her. “Let’s take it as brunch?” There’s seafood!

　　“Master, didn’t you say you want to have meals at fixed timings?”

　　“Er, I mean… We can’t have meals late. We can eat snacks!”

　　“No!”

　　“…” Was Chef always so professional?

　　“Shen… Ying,” Bai Ze suddenly handed her something white. He stole a glance at her face and lowered his gaze immediately. “This is… for you. You can… eat this.”

　　What?

　　Shen Ying suddenly realised that the white flower in his hand looked exactly like it was hand-crafted. It smelled incredibly fragrant.

　　The moment Yi Feng presented Shen Ying the flower, a surge of pure spirit Qi burst forth from the flower to fill the surroundings. All of them perked up. The Spirit Qi around them felt a few times richer.

　　“This is…” Lonemoon could not help but step forward toward the flower. He had never seen a flower emanate Spirit Qi before.

　　“What is this?” Shen Ying asked.

　　Bai Ze stared blankly at her as if she asked him something important. He flushed red once more, “It’s… it’s…” he stuttered for a long while without completing his sentence. He turned around out of habit, but caught himself.

　　“A Black Spirit Blossom,” Yi Feng could not help but complete Bai Ze’s sentence. He had a pained expression as he continued, “This is a… monster of the Spirit Master race.” Even Yi Feng had only seen it a few times before. He found it hard to believe that Spirit Master was giving it away just like that.

　　“Oh…” All this fuss over a vegetable.

　　Shen Ying was just about to turn it down when the Radish suddenly bounded toward them.

　　“Little Big Sister, you said you would water…” Radish did not finish its sentence. It stared blankly at the Black Spirit Blossom in Bai Ze’s hands and blew up like a cannon. “This is too much. You’ve brought wild flowers in here. Take it away, take it away. Do you think my Little Big Sister can be bought over by this wild flower?”

　　Its eyes filled with tears as it complained to Shen Ying, “Little Big Sister, you said I would be your only plant. If you want flowers, I can give you some!”

　　It looked as though it wanted to tear open its robes as soon as it finished speaking.

　　“Stop it!”

　　Lonemoon, Yi Qing and Yu Hong suddenly recalled some biological knowledge and stopped Radish at the same time. All their expressions were dark.

　　They glanced at the Black Spirit Blossom and suddenly felt the Spirit Qi around them go still.

　　“Hey! Radish, stop throwing a tantrum. We have two guests,” Lonemoon’s mouth twitched as he muttered an Immobilizing curse to immobilize Radish.

　　He hurried and reached out to receive the flower that Bai Ze was holding out, “Thank you, Bai… Fellow Daoist Bai. You have come a long way. Why don’t the two of you go to our guest room to rest for a while?”

　　Yi Feng did not understand why they all suddenly held the green-clothed man back, but he sensed the tense atmosphere and nodded, “Thank you Sect Master Shen and Elders.”

　　“Yu Hong, show our guests to the guest room,” Lonemoon gestured toward Yu Hong.

　　Yu Hong understood and walked ahead of the guests, motioning for them to follow her, “This way, please.”

　　“Please,” Yi Feng turned around. Then, he noticed that the person beside him had no intention of moving. “Spirit Master?”

　　“I’m not going.”

　　“Ah! Huh?” Yi Feng hesitated and explained, “Spirit Master… we are only going to take a rest, we’re not…” We’re not returning to the Yi Family.

　　Bai Ze glanced at Shen Ying and replied coolly, “I have not finished eating.”

　　“…” What does that mean? What hasn’t he finished eating? Fruits? But wasn’t Sect Master Shen the one who was eating the fruits?

　　Before he could ask anything, Yi Qing interrupted with a cold expression, “Not to trouble you, Fellow Daoist. I have always been in charge of Master’s meals.”

　　Yi Qing stepped forward and took the plate from Bai Ze’s hands, but Bai Ze refused to let go of the plate. Yi Qing kept trying to pull the plate over, but to no avail.

　　They locked eyes and static filled the air between them once again.

　　“No need.”

　　“You’re a guest.”

　　“I’m comfortable holding this.”

　　“I’m Master’s only disciple. I am in charge of these things.”

　　“I served her food before.”

　　“That’s only because I was in seclusion!”

　　“You can continue to be in seclusion.”

　　“Sorry to disappoint you, Fellow Daoist, I will not go into seclusion for the next few hundreds of years.”

　　Bai Ze: I hate mortals.

　　Yi Qing: Master-stealing bastard.

　　The two of them tugged at the plate, neither willing to give in. The atmosphere got extremely tense.

　　A while later…

　　“Are you guys…” Shen Ying looked at the two of them and chewed hard on a melon, “flirting?”

　　“…”

　　“Don’t misunderstand, I have nothing against gays,” she gestured for them to carry on.

　　The group: “…”

　　“Master!” Yi Qing regained her composure and turned to Shen Ying, anger flashing in his eyes. He could take it no longer. He retreated and pointed to Bai Ze, “He calls himself Bai Ze, but Bai Ze is a legendary ancient immortal beast. No one has seen it before and nobody knows if it really exists. How can it appear in the mortal world? I think this person has come to Invincible Sect harbouring evil intentions.”

　　“I have no evil intentions,” Bai Ze grew increasingly irritated with this mortal, who seemed hell-bent on opposing him. “I am here to play, it is Shen… your Master who invited me here.”

　　“That’s impossible,” Yi Qing shook his head. Other than eat and sleep, Master never cares about anyone or anything else. She doesn’t even have many friends. Why would she invite you…”

　　“Er…” Shen Ying pursed her lips. “I did invite him.”

　　“Master!” Yi Qing’s eyes widened in disbelief. Betrayal was written all over his face. You’re helping this little bastard?

　　Under Yi Qing’s glare, Shen Ying’s hair began to stand. She explained, “I said so in passing. I didn’t think…” After all, he did look delicious as a beast.

　　“That… Furball, what did you come here for?” You couldn’t have come all this way just to play.

　　Bai Ze stuttered. His calm and cool expression became one of panic. “I… want to… want to…”

　　He was unable to complete his sentence, even after a long time. He looked at the Black Spirit Blossom in Lonemoon’s hands and thought of something to say, but not before he blushed a deeper shade.

　　“Want to what?” What are you trying to say?

　　“Pfft, are you blind?” Lonemoon could take it no longer. He walked up to Shen Ying and waved the flower in front of her face. “He came all this way, can’t stop stuttering, and even gave you a flower. What do you think he wants?”

　　Shen Ying hesitated. Her eyes widened, and she looked straight at Bai Ze.

　　Holy shit.

　　“You want to hit on me?”

　　Lonemoon: “…”

　　Yi Qing: “…”

　　Yi Feng:!!!

　　Bai Ze: o(*////▽////*)q