Chapter 57

Just as he was getting annoyed, a voice, gentle yet sending a chill down Qingxuan’s spine, sounded beside him: "Little Junior Brother, your Fourth Senior Sister’s two treasures are entrusted to you. Hehehe, with Little Junior Brother taking care of them, Fourth Senior Sister can rest assured."

Then, his shoulder felt a gentle touch, a delicate hand caressing him, and a faint apricot blossom fragrance wafted over. At the same time, a face as beautiful as a flower leaned in, and in a soft, gentle voice, she said words that made Qingxuan tremble with excitement: "If a single hair on my treasures is missing, you won’t need to comb your hair for the rest of your life, because you won’t have any hair to comb. If they get a scratch, you won’t need to look in a mirror for the rest of your life, because you won’t have any face to look at. If...” Just a few words, and Qingxuan was already drenched in cold sweat.

Finally, his dear Fourth Senior Sister Yue Qinglan smiled gently and said, "Little Junior Brother, rest assured. From now on, all your food and daily needs will be personally arranged by Fourth Senior Sister, ensuring the best treatment in the temple. As for other matters, I have complete trust in Little Junior Brother!"

A cold light flashed in her eyes, and Qingxuan’s heart tightened. This super slippery Fourth Senior Sister could really do anything. How could he have agreed to take on those two hot potatoes?

Not far away, Senior Brother Qingzheng, with a sympathetic look, was about to step forward to say a few words of comfort but was dragged away by the "gentle and virtuous" Fourth Senior Sister.

The equally pitiful Senior Brother could only turn back for a moment, showing a helpless expression.

Beast! Monster!

Bullying a child!

Qingxuan’s inner monologue was filled with anger, his face a mask of suppressed rage... but looking at the not-yet-far-away Fourth Senior Sister, he really didn’t dare to let out a single word.

What can’t that tigress do?

The only key point of this meeting was that after the grand competition, Qingyun Temple would close the back mountain, and all disciples would focus on martial arts practice, treating the competition as a stage to assess the talents of the disciples. The best disciples would be personally cultivated by the senior brothers, and with a ten-year deadline, they would prepare for a major battle. After ten years, the sect would reclaim Kunwu Mountain and re-establish the sect.

And the youngest Seventh Junior Brother, Qingxuan the young Taoist, was given a task that the entire sect considered extremely important—being the leader of the children.

The two little devils, the twins of Senior Brother and Fourth Senior Sister, who had no time to take care of them, were entrusted to Qingxuan;

The most troublemaking of the third-generation disciples were entrusted to Qingxuan;

The most incompetent of the third-generation disciples were entrusted to Qingxuan;

The most troublesome of the third-generation disciples were entrusted to Qingxuan...

Thus, Qingxuan’s grand cultivation plan was ruthlessly shattered. Now he was the class leader of a kindergarten, with a total of seven children, including three new disciples, all under six years old, entrusted to him.

Ancestors of the Three Pure Ones, I’m not even nine years old yet. Who will take care of me if I take care of them?

With a pained expression, he searched the room for someone who could comfort and help him.

Hey, Second Senior Brother is coming over.

Is that really Second Senior Brother? He’s like an angel, an angel with a halo of hope, walking over. Second Senior Brother, you still care for me.

Just as Qingxuan was about to open his mouth to ask for help, he was pushed into the abyss by a single sentence from his revered Second Senior Brother.

"The child I brought... uh..."

Qingxuan’s small eyes blinked innocently, trying to win sympathy.

"...sigh, you’ll have to handle it yourself, I guess..." He turned and left.

Qingxuan’s expression froze, tears welling up in his eyes...

None of them are human—

Qingxuan burst into tears.

*********

Midnight!

The moon was hidden, and cicadas chirped.

Xiaofeng, the little boy, had no sleep. His cold, lonely eyes still glowed in the darkness, fixed on the sleeping boys around him.

It had been more than two months since he came to Qingyun Temple.

Formally accepted into the sect, Xiaofeng became Xiaoyunfeng.

In the new environment, Yunfeng’s coldness and loneliness quickly became a topic of discussion among the children.

Children are very sensitive. They all came from troubled families, some even orphans, so they had a natural sense of kinship. Here, they quickly bonded, dispelling their fears and looking forward to the new life ahead.

Xiaoyunfeng was undoubtedly the most special among them. His coldness and aura of menace made the children very uncomfortable, and none dared to approach him. Thus, an invisible vacuum formed around Xiaoyunfeng, with no one willing to step into it, no one willing to get close to the boy whose eyes were like those of a wild wolf.

Although the existence of Xiaoyunfeng troubled the boys for some time, and they had whispered and pointed at him, things soon passed. Now, in the dead of night, they were all sound asleep.

For so many children from different families to live together was a kind of destiny.

Yunzhou was a place of great hardship!

This hardship had forged the resilient character of the people of Yunzhou.

This resilience could be seen in these children. They were weak, but they did not blame heaven or earth. If it were other children of the same age, perhaps many would have cried themselves to sleep or sobbed for their mothers. But here, it was silent.

Looking at these children of his own age, Xiaoyunfeng’s thoughts were many. Their backgrounds were much simpler and happier than his. Some still had parents and a home!

But this was precisely what Xiaoyunfeng couldn’t understand. Why did they leave their parents to come to Qingyun Temple, a place unknown in the martial world? Was it to fill their bellies? To learn martial arts? What could martial arts do for them? Chase fame and fortune? Was fame and fortune really so tempting?

None of them were there for revenge. So Xiaoyunfeng didn’t understand, didn’t understand their thoughts.

Xiaoyunfeng envied them. They seemed much happier than him. Even the orphans didn’t bear the heavy burden he did. He longed so much to have family, but fate had been cruel to him, leaving him with no one. Truly, fate was a cruel master!

Every time he thought of his parents’ kind and gentle smiles, his heart felt as if pierced by a sharp needle.

His parents had doted on him, but little Xiaofeng had never done anything for them. His sister, who was brutally violated right before his eyes, especially her desperate gaze, always appeared in his mind, as if accusing him, "Why didn’t you come out? Why didn’t you save her..." And he, just a few feet away, hiding underground, watched her in fear, not daring to move, not daring to make a sound, not daring to...

In his memory, it was this sister who, in his hungriest moments, gave him the last piece of bread; in his coldest moments, wrapped him in her only cotton coat; when he had a fever and shivered uncontrollably, she held him tightly for three days and three nights... His mother said that if it weren’t for his sister, he would have died... It was this deeply loving sister who, in her moment of crisis, he watched from a distance, watched her be violated, watched her take her own life... Just watched, doing nothing...

Xiaoyunfeng deeply hated himself, regretted, and suffered...

Why couldn’t he stand up then? Why couldn’t he be braver? It was just a matter of dying, why didn’t he dare to do it then, leading to such pain now...

Xiaoyunfeng buried his head between his knees, clenching his fists tightly in pain. He hated his own weakness, his cowardice, his decision back then, and why he was still alive...

Unconsciously, his tightly clenched hands had nails digging into his palms, blood flowing, but Xiaoyunfeng was unaware.

He couldn’t die, he couldn’t. The only purpose of living was to avenge his family!

He must avenge them!

But before the great revenge, how many more trials, hardships, and torments would this young boy, who was gradually approaching the netherworld, have to endure?

There were too many uncertain tomorrows, too many uncertain fates, and only by sitting alone in the dark corner, deeply pondering, could he find solace.

In his thoughts, a figure in blue descended gracefully, and with a wave of his hand, heads fell like rain...

He could definitely avenge his family, as long as he had such martial arts skills.

In a daze, the figure in blue slowly turned around, and the once carefree face gradually transformed into that of a sunny, smiling youth. The sword that had been stained with blood now held a few pastries, and he smiled, saying, "Little brother, it’s our first meeting, let me treat you—"

Xiaoyunfeng no longer remembered the taste of those pastries, only that they were the most delicious things he had ever eaten...

His eyes in the darkness remained cold.

But—unconsciously, Xiaoyunfeng’s tightly clenched fists—

Loosened...