Chapter 18

Xun Yi sent Li Junde to buy things, from the east side of the city to the south end, and then to the Wenqu Temple, keeping him busy until the sky gradually darkened. As soon as he entered the house, he saw Xun Kun standing in the courtyard with a dark face.

Xun Kun had come to get the ledger, but he waited for a long time without seeing Xun Yi!

Xun Kun lost his temper in the hall, and Bai Shan and others couldn't persuade him. It wasn't until Liu Ziming returned and gave him a good beating that he finally calmed down.

"You're finally back!" Xun Kun gritted his teeth. "The city gates are about to close. Were you planning to let me spend the night outside?"

The old Xun family residence was not close to Qinglong City. By foot, it would take until the morning star rose to get home, even by carriage.

"Then stay here." Xun Yi smiled slyly. He deliberately had Li Junde take a detour to buy snacks, just to torment Xun Kun. Xun Kun had tried to harm him, so he wanted to teach him a lesson and temper his arrogance.

After all, they were of the same clan; he couldn't really kill him, could he?

Liu Zhenying and Li Junde seemed to sense the tension between the brothers. Liu Zhenying took out the ledger and handed it to Xun Yi, then pulled Li Junde away: "We've delivered everything, we'll leave first!"

Li Junde put down the various food boxes and nodded, following Liu Zhenying out.

"Don't go!" Xun Yi hooked Li Junde's collar. "Since it's so late, why don't you stay for dinner?"

"No, my family is waiting for me!" Li Junde smiled, unwilling to get involved in the Xun family's internal strife. But his voice grew weaker under Xun Yi's increasingly bright smile.

"Kun, don't go either, stay for dinner." Xun Yi called Bai Shan and others to bring the food boxes inside.

Xun Kun immediately refused: "Eating with you people would lower my status!" He walked towards the door, glared at Liu Zhenying with disgust, and said to Xun Yi: "Hanging out with those lowlifes every day, you're disgracing yourself and our Xun family! What kind of person is that Ma guy upstairs? How dare you take in someone like that?"

As he stepped out the door, before he could lift his other foot, a string of sugar-coated haws flew towards him.

He turned his head, and as he was about to counter, Xun Kun shouted, "Who's there!" Suddenly, he saw a girl in a green dress standing in the distance, and his face changed. "You... how did you come back!"

"Xun family?"

Xun Tan, holding a pile of food, slowly walked from the other end of the alley. "Speaking of the Xun family, only my brother can truly represent the Xun family. What right do you, the eldest son of the second branch, have to boss him around?"

Xun Tan had spent more time shopping than Xun Yi. Three teahouse boys followed her, carrying the food she had bought.

It had to be said, the siblings had similar personalities. The food Xun Tan bought, besides the sugar-coated haws, also included roasted fish and candied fruits, similar to Xun Yi's tastes.

"What are you all doing at the door so late at night?" Xun Tan stood at the door, and Xun Kun didn't dare to speak, seemingly remembering past encounters.

Xun Yi smiled at his sister. "How did you come back?"

"Brother!" Xun Tan hugged Xun Yi like a gust of wind, relieved after checking that he was unharmed. She glared at Xun Kun and the others. "Today, I'm meeting my brother, and we're going to celebrate. You all stay for dinner!"

Xun Kun knew that Xun Tan had practiced in the Qingyuan Hall for many years and was wary of her magical abilities, so he didn't dare to argue. Li Junde and Liu Zhenying exchanged glances and reluctantly agreed.

"Put the things down, Liu Ziming, go pay the bill!" Xun Tan instructed the teahouse boys to put down the food and directed them to serve tea and prepare the meal.

"Having a sister is really great," Li Junde said enviously as he and Xun Yi entered the house, looking at Xun Tan's figure.

"Don't you have a sister too?" Liu Zhenying smiled, watching the interaction between the siblings. Xun Yi's wicker chair was large, and the siblings sat together, sharing their recent experiences.

Xun Kun sat on the left guest seat, Liu Zhenying and Li Junde on the right.

"How can sisters be the same!" Li Junde, emotionally, pointed at Liu Zhenying. "You people with sisters don't know my pain!"

Thinking of his fierce older sister, Li Junde shook his head, remembering the past. Relying on her family's defense, she used her younger brother as a punching bag for martial arts practice, claiming it was to train him. She made him hold apples on his head for archery practice, claiming it was to build his courage. At night, she dragged him along to tell ghost stories.

"You all are so lucky! Each of you has a sister, so considerate, like a little cotton jacket for their brothers. Your sister Qizi is well-mannered, and the Xun family's little sister is also gentle and kind."

Gentle and kind? Xun Kun, drinking tea, looked at Xun Tan, who was leaning on Xun Yi. "This girl, besides being close to Xun Yi, who in the clan isn't afraid of her? Gentle and kind? Does that fit her? But Liu Zhenying's sister does have some manners."

Liu Zhenying, hearing Li Junde praise his sister, smiled. "Qier is far from well-mannered. When she has her mother's grace, that will be the time." Liu Zhenying, though from a humble background, had a virtuous mother and a hardworking father, and their small family lived a comfortable life.

"Hmph!" Xun Tan turned to Li Junde. "Considering how much you praised me, I won't tell my sister about this today. I saw her a few days ago."

"How is she now!" Li Junde asked eagerly. His sister admired the female general Ying Hou from the early days of the founding of the country and was dissatisfied with the arranged marriage. A few years ago, she left home with a red-tasseled spear and joined the army, almost giving the governor a heart attack.

After all, she was his own sister. Though she caused trouble at home, Li Junde still cared about her.

"Pretty well. A few days ago, I saw her ride a horse and charge with a spear, taking down three enemy knights." Xun Tan was impressed by Li Xinan's spirit. Xun Tan practiced the Twelve Flower Laws, using her spiritual senses to connect with the world, and with her intelligence, she reached the third level of Qi cultivation. But Li Xinan, a mere mortal, had honed her martial arts through military service and was not far behind her.

"That's good." Li Junde felt relieved and bowed. "Please help me send a message. If Sister Nan has time, she should come home and visit."

"I have a bad memory. Whether I remember this when I go back depends on how busy I am." Xun Tan smiled, almost identical to Xun Yi's, at Li Junde.

Li Junde shuddered, cursing the cunning siblings, and said honestly, "When you leave, just say a word, and I'll give you a big gift."

"That's too much." Xun Tan twisted her body. "How about this, there's a temple fair in a few days. Come with me and my brother then."

Oh, this is asking me to pay! Thinking of the Lantern Festival, when he lost a bet to Xun Yi and had to carry all the bags and spend all his savings on the siblings, Li Junde was hesitant.

Well, the siblings did leave him fifteen copper coins, claiming it was for the Lantern Festival. Since it was Xun Yi's birthday, they gave him the coins as a red envelope.

Calculating the silver in his savings, Li Junde looked conflicted.

"Alright, don't torment him. You rarely come back, so I'll treat you." Xun Yi comforted his sister and waited for dinner to be ready before eating with everyone.

Xun Tan was sent to the Qingyuan Hall for cultivation when she was young. The siblings rarely saw each other, and their first meeting was at their parents' funeral. Xun Yi's grandfather, Xun Yu, personally brought Xun Tan back from the Qingyuan Hall and then she returned once a year for a month.

Now that Xun Yu was gone, Xun Yi had only his sister as a direct relative. The siblings relied on each other.

Xun Yi asked about Xun Tan's life outside, while Xun Tan subtly inquired about Xun Yi's recent situation. What had happened that almost cost her brother his life?

The siblings were intimate, ignoring the other three.

Liu Zhenying and Li Junde quietly ate their rice, while Xun Kun, with a dark face, looked at the dishes he couldn't eat, cursing in his heart, "I knew they were up to no good inviting me to dinner! They picked things I can't eat!"

In the Great Zhou, people ate separately, with six dishes each. In the center of the table were the ready-made dishes Xun Tan bought, cut and placed on individual plates.

But none of these dishes suited Xun Kun's taste. He looked at the various liver dishes, stir-fried, spicy, five-spiced, and boiled. He never ate liver, so he reluctantly turned to the steamed fish.

This young master had been picky since childhood and wasn't used to eating fish. He carefully removed the bones, took a few bites, and suddenly felt dizzy. The room blurred, and double vision appeared. Finally, he saw Xun Tan's ghostly face: "You..." He pointed at Xun Tan, unable to speak, and fell onto the table, snoring loudly.

Bai Shan and Li Lan were shocked, and Li Lan accidentally cried out. Xun Tan glared at them. "What are you afraid of? I just gave him a sleeping potion. Take him to the guest room to rest, and send him away early tomorrow morning!"

Bai Shan and Qiu Pu carried Xun Kun away, and Liu Zhenying and Li Junde were uneasy, unsure if they should eat their food.

"Xun family's little sister, this..." Li Junde pointed at his plate, forcing a smile. "We didn't get drugged, right?"

"What do you think?" The girl smiled slyly. "Don't you know I run a black shop? If you don't leave something behind today, you won't leave."

Smack!

Xun Yi lightly tapped Xun Tan's head. "Don't torment them. Let them finish and go home; they have class tomorrow."

"Okay." Xun Tan, at her brother's request, waved her hand. "Qinghe Chenglu." A faint fragrance emerged, and a graceful water lily bloomed, petals floating into their food.

A beautiful, small peach blossom rose in each of their plates, then was neutralized by the white lotus petals.

"Alright, you can eat now."

Xun Yi tilted his head. "Shuotao Zui Chun?"

Xun Tan practiced the Twelve Flower Laws in the Qingyuan Hall, a technique said to be passed down by a flower deity and refined by the Marquis Maode as the highest law of the Qingyuan Hall. It could be seen as a cultivation method, a spell, or a martial art. It was a divine cultivation technique adapted to use the twelve flowers as the foundation, creating the Twelve Flower Laws, echoing the Twelve Tree Sword of the Maolin Sword.

"Yes. Shuotao Zui Chun, using the wood spirit peach to create a sleep-inducing fragrance. One petal can make someone sleep for a day. I used Qinghe Chenglu to neutralize the fragrance, so you can eat now."

Xun Yi didn't speak, deep in thought. The Maolin Sword, as a sword technique, had some limitations. If he could learn the Twelve Flower Laws, it might benefit his cultivation.

So, after Li Junde and the others left, he asked, "Is the Twelve Flower Laws easy to learn? If I want to learn, would it be convenient?"