Chapter 44: He Won’t Leave

A few days later, Duan Tian Peak...  

Today, Luo Xing was once again being unilaterally slaughtered by “Ye Li.” But after these few days of practice, he had made some progress.  

At the very least, he wouldn’t be killed by “Ye Li” with a single sword thrust...  

It would take at least two!  

As for his skills...  

【Swordsmanship Lv.1: 14/20】  

【Parry: 0/10】  

The 【Parry】 skill still hadn’t budged, and he had no idea what it was even for. So Luo Xing decided not to allocate the experience points he’d accumulated from 【Swordsmanship】 to upgrade it.  

Meanwhile, while Luo Xing practiced his swordsmanship, Ye Li lounged gracefully on a rattan chair, a pot of hot tea and two plates of small snacks resting on the stone table beside her...  

She had to admit—taking on Luo Xing as her disciple not only added a bit of amusement to her peaceful life, but also brought her a strange new feeling...  

A feeling of living...  

And just then, her half-closed eyes suddenly snapped open, and she lifted her gaze to the sky...  

Two figures were flying toward them...  

...  

“Sis! Why are you here!”  

Seeing Luo Han, Luo Xing immediately broke into a smile. Come to think of it, he hadn’t seen his sister in a while.  

“I just came out of seclusion recently, so I thought I’d come see you.”  

Luo Han walked up to Luo Xing, a gentle smile on her face. “You’ve lost weight… and you’ve grown up too...”  

She subconsciously reached out to tousle his hair, just like she used to...  

But in that instant, a figure suddenly appeared in front of her.  

“Oh, Elder Ye.”  

Luo Han quickly bowed. She had been so focused on her brother that she forgot to greet Ye Li.  

“Mm.” Ye Li gave a slight nod, her tone aloof. “Come to see your brother?”  

“Yes.” Luo Han smiled and nodded again. “Thank you, Elder Ye, for taking care of Xiao Xing. Luo Han is truly grateful.”  

At her late Foundation Establishment stage, she could now tell that Luo Xing had already reached early Foundation Establishment, and was only a step away from the mid stage...  

Thinking this, Luo Han’s gratitude toward Ye Li deepened. After all, raising a disciple with nothing but a Medium Spiritual Root to the Foundation Establishment stage in such a short time must have taken a lot of effort on Elder Ye’s part...  

Elder Ye truly was a dedicated master...  

“He is my disciple. It’s only natural...” Ye Li’s tone was calm, betraying no emotion, but inside she was thinking...  

‘If anyone should thank me, it should be him. Why are you thanking me on his behalf?’  

“Ahem, ahem...” Dai Zifu, who had been invisible for a while, cleared her throat twice. “Junior Sister, didn’t you have something to discuss with your brother?”  

Say it quick!  

Then leave quick!  

It’s too uncomfortable being in front of Supreme Elder Ye Li!  

Something to discuss?  

Ye Li’s brows furrowed slightly at those words...  

She hadn’t forgotten that day when Luo Xing, drunk, had hugged his “sister” and said he wanted to go be a disciple at Cloud Mist Peak...  

“Huh? What is it?” Luo Xing looked puzzled. “Sis, did something happen?”  

“Nothing much. I just planned to go on an outdoor training journey with a few fellow disciples,” Luo Han said with a smile. “So I came to ask if you wanted to join.”  

An outdoor training journey—in other words, going out to hunt in the wild.  

As the saying goes: A calm sea never made a skilled sailor, and greenhouse flowers can’t withstand the frost. Outdoor training was basically a required course for every disciple.  

Besides, the sect’s cultivation resources were limited. Apart from direct disciples, there were also inner disciples and outer disciples. They didn’t enjoy the same treatment as direct disciples, but they still needed resources to cultivate.  

Thus, most direct disciples, once they had a certain level of strength, would go out to train and find their own resources. First, they might stumble upon legendary “opportunities,” and second, it would silence any criticism from other disciples—showing them exactly why these people were direct disciples.  

Of course, if you didn’t care about gossip, you could just ignore it.  

Hearing Luo Han’s words, the corner of Ye Li’s mouth lifted into a smile so faint no one noticed...  

An outdoor training journey?  

This little brat wouldn’t...  

“Of course I want to go! I’m definitely going!”  

Huh?!  

Ye Li turned to look at Luo Xing in slight shock...  

What did he just say?  

He wants to go?  

He wants to...  

Leave?  

“Sis, when do we set out?” Luo Xing was now as excited as a kid who just learned about a spring outing, his eyes sparkling. “Right now?!”  

His eagerness to go on the training journey wasn’t purely for those so-called cultivation resources—it was mainly because...  

Over the past few days, he’d been thinking: the reason he had developed some strange feelings toward Ye Li was not just because of “growing close over time” (he refused to admit that), but also because he had too few people to interact with while stuck on Duan Tian Peak.  

He had been cultivating so hard precisely so he could break through to late Foundation Establishment, fly on a sword, and go out freely. And now, a ready-made chance had presented itself—how could he miss it?  

Besides, he always wanted to find himself more powerful backers, in case Ye Li went dark like she did in the original story, so someone could come save him. But he couldn’t go out, so he couldn’t make that happen...  

But now...  

Wasn’t this the opportunity!  

What if he got super lucky, hit the jackpot, and pulled a fate’s chosen one on his first ten-pull? Then he’d be set!  

“I knew you’d want to come along.” Luo Han knew her brother too well. She smiled. “But not now—it’s three days from now...”  

First of all, disciples going on outdoor training could go alone or in groups to look out for each other. How they divided any opportunities they found was another matter.  

Second came safety assurance. Even though it was called training, they still needed basic protection. So every disciple who went out would find a guardian. This guardian could be anyone, and their strength couldn’t be too high, or it wouldn’t be real training.  

While Luo Xing was discussing the details of the trip with his sister, he didn’t notice the look in Ye Li’s eyes behind him gradually turning strange...  

He wants to go out...  

He wants to leave...  

He didn’t even ask if I agreed...  

Ye Li didn’t know what she was thinking at that moment. Only a voice kept echoing in her ears...  

She didn’t know whose voice it was, but it felt very familiar...  

She just stood there, woodenly, watching and listening as they talked, listening to how Luo Xing was going to leave, listening to how Luo Han was going to “take” him away from her...  

It wasn’t until their discussion died down, until Luo Han bowed and took her leave, until Luo Han and Dai Zifu had flown away, that Ye Li slowly came back to herself...  

“You really want to leave?”  

The sudden cold voice startled Luo Xing, who had been waving goodbye to his sister. He turned around to see Ye Li staring at him with an expression he had never seen before...  

“Uh… ah, yeah.” Her gaze was too unfamiliar, but Luo Xing didn’t think much of it. He just nodded.  

Then why didn’t you ask for my consent?  

Ye Li thought this to herself, but didn’t say it out loud. Instead, she asked in a detached tone, “Why?”  

Staying by my side...  

Isn’t that good?  

But he looks so happy...  

He clearly enjoys cooking me good food, brewing me good tea, massaging my feet...  

Caught off guard by her sudden question, Luo Xing didn’t know how to answer...  

He couldn’t exactly say he was afraid she might go dark in the future and so wanted to go out and make some powerful connections to secure his own safety, could he?