Indeed Lacking Experience

Inside the main chamber.

Chen Baiqing sat cross-legged on the bed, her eyes lightly closed, listening as the originally peaceful sounds outside the door began to grow noisy.

From time to time, Cui Hao's loud laughter could be heard.

"If you find this question too difficult to answer, just drink up. We're all fellow disciples here, who's going to laugh at you?"

"You're actually drinking?! Then I really will laugh!"

Chen Baiqing naturally found it a bit loud, but she didn't block out the noise. With the way Cui Hao spoke, it wouldn't be surprising if he got beaten up in the next second. Although Cui Hao had a loose tongue, he was still her genuine Fifth Junior Brother.

She had always favored her own people. If Cui Hao were to be beaten by outsiders, she naturally couldn't turn a blind eye, nor could she let him be bullied.

However, the atmosphere only grew more lively, and it wasn't just Cui Hao's voice getting louder.

Lu Lingyi also started shouting.

Hearing this, Chen Baiqing merely smiled. Mingling and building good relationships with others was perhaps one of Cui Hao's unparalleled talents.

Cui Hao seemed careless and outgoing, but he was actually quite meticulous at heart.

As time passed, the warm sunlight that had once filtered through the window screens gradually shifted into cold moonlight.

Voices continued to drift in from outside the door.

"Everyone! Even though Brother Lin Chuan lost and doesn't want to talk about it, we should still accompany him for a drink." Cui Hao's voice was extremely bold, tinged with drunkenness as he spoke.

"Wine is a priceless prescription, specifically curing the unspeakable troubles of the heart."

"Let us drink the wine in our cups together, and unlock the shackles in our hearts!"

The sounds of the crowd's agreement echoed out.

In the middle of the night, the noises in the courtyard began to gradually die down.

There were no more bold voices or the clinking of wine cups.

Chen Baiqing stood up at this moment. This group of people had probably drunk enough. When everyone was drunk, it was the most dangerous time. She walked to the door and pushed it open.

A swath of moonlight poured down.

It illuminated her breathtakingly beautiful face.

And it also illuminated the absurd scene ahead.

On the tables and chairs, a group of people were slumped against each other, with wine bottles piled up all over the floor.

A group of Nascent Soul cultivators, yet not a single one noticed Chen Baiqing pushing the door open.

Cui Hao's face was flushed red, his arm draped over Lu Lingyi's shoulders. Lu Lingyi's eyes were hazy; she tried hard to open them but couldn't quite manage it.

"Sister! You can't call that overestimating yourself! There is nothing wrong with liking someone!"

Lu Lingyi shook her head vigorously, her tone carrying a hint of a sob:

"But... but I'm not worthy... He probably doesn't even know that someone like me exists in the Xuanqing Heavenly Sect."

Hearing this, Cui Hao patted his chest, his tone serious:

"Sister! If it were anything else, your little brother might not be able to help you. But getting you to meet Martial Uncle Xu and having a meal together? I can definitely make that happen."

Lu Lingyi's gaze was hazy, but a look of doubt pierced through her drunkenness as she looked at Cui Hao.

The status gap between her and Xu Jin, a contemporary core disciple, was simply too vast.

She was merely an obscure inner sect disciple. Normally, catching a distant glimpse of Xu Jin's elegant demeanor as he passed by was her absolute limit.

She would only have the chance to greet him if she accidentally ended up close to him.

How could they possibly share a meal?

Lu Lingyi seemed to want to point at Cui Hao, but with her blurry vision, she poked Cui Hao's cheek instead, chuckling as she spoke:

"You... you lost. You've had too much to drink, you're just spouting nonsense."

"I'm not drunk!" Cui Hao smiled extremely smugly. "Don't look down on my low cultivation base, my master is strong! Just based on connections alone, Martial Uncle Xu has to give me face!"

Lu Lingyi paused upon hearing this. She fell silent for a moment before shaking her head:

"Even if I meet him... then what?"

Cui Hao's tone suddenly cooled a bit, becoming incredibly serious:

"Naturally, it's because you would be unwilling to go through this life without seeing him. But once you've met him, at least you won't regret it when you look back in the future."

"The most terrifying thing in life is not failure, but never daring to try. Even if we fail, we at least give the self in our hearts an answer."

Hearing this, Lu Lingyi looked at Cui Hao, her heart moved, and then she smiled:

"I really must be drunk... to actually be swayed by your words."

Cui Hao laughed again:

"It's good that you're drunk... If you're drunk, then I'm the winner."

"You win..."

Lu Lingyi propped herself up and stood. She waved off Cui Hao's outstretched hand and didn't continue to press him on whether his words were true or false.

She lifted her gaze and looked toward Chen Baiqing, who was standing at the doorway of the main hall:

"Leader... I'm drunk. Whatever it is... please let it wait until tomorrow when I've sobered up."

Chen Baiqing gave a slight nod.

Having received permission, Lu Lingyi staggered away toward her own room.

Hearing Lu Lingyi's words, Lin Chuan and Li Huazhu's drunken expressions suddenly sobered up a bit.

They forced themselves to stand, looked toward Chen Baiqing, and spoke in unison:

"Leader..."

Chen Baiqing said in a calm tone:

"Go rest. We'll talk about the rest tomorrow. I'll handle things here."

"Thank you, Leader..."

Lin Chuan and Li Huazhu cupped their hands together in a salute. The two then prepared to leave, but suddenly paused their steps, their gazes turning back to Cui Hao.

Cui Hao nodded with a hazy expression, then gave them a thumbs-up.

The two immediately revealed smiles before slowly taking their leave.

At this moment.

Only Chen Baiqing and Cui Hao remained in the courtyard.

Chen Baiqing's gaze swept over him, her eyebrows lifting slightly.

The drunken look on Cui Hao's face immediately faded by more than half. He then smiled and headed toward his chosen room.

Chen Baiqing walked into Cui Hao's room with a calm expression. With a casual wave of her hand, she set up a soundproofing array, then asked:

"Did you enjoy your drinks?"

Cui Hao let out a breath, his expression turning serious:

"Wine is the water of ruin. How could the word 'enjoy' be used to describe it?"

Chen Baiqing's tone seemed somewhat curious:

"Oh? How is it suddenly the water of ruin? Not long ago, you were calling it a priceless prescription."

Cui Hao looked smug. "Naturally, I must speak the truth to my Senior Sister."

"As long as you're not truly drunk, it's fine." Chen Baiqing turned to leave. "You seem to have drunk quite a bit yourself. Rest early."

Seeing this, Cui Hao was taken aback and immediately said:

"Your junior brother has managed to gather quite a bit of intelligence on their backgrounds and temperaments. Doesn't Senior Sister want to know?"

Chen Baiqing paused her steps and looked back at Cui Hao. Given that he was her direct junior brother, she spoke frankly:

"If our team consisted of rogue cultivators, I might be interested."

"But these people were specially selected by the Xuanqing Heavenly Sect, and we aren't without backgrounds ourselves. Sect Leader Li mentioned earlier that this trial wouldn't be easy, even though we have to start from scratch."

"However, that doesn't mean Sect Leader Li would actually find some useless riffraff to make our mission fail. On the contrary, he would carefully select people capable of being our teammates, making reliability the absolute top priority."

"With these people, regardless of whether I am domineering or dictatorial, the chances of them defying my orders are minuscule."

Cui Hao stared at Chen Baiqing, slightly dazed.

Facing Cui Hao's gaze, Chen Baiqing thought for a moment before continuing:

"It's just that what you did wasn't entirely useless. Having good relationships always has its benefits. It's just that your perspective can be a bit narrow at times. You are free and undisciplined, and you often stay by Master's side."

"You don't understand Master's current status. As his disciple, you inherently possess countless conveniences."

"Sometimes, you don't even need to think; others will think everything through for you."

"If we really get down to it, they are the ones profiting by being able to build a relationship with you."

"Master had his reasons for handing you over to me. You are indeed lacking in experience."

Having finished speaking, Chen Baiqing reached out to dispel the barrier and stepped outside.

Leaving Cui Hao standing in place, watching the back of his Third Senior Sister.

Only at this moment did a sudden realization dawn on Cui Hao.

His Third Senior Sister, who had once been so tiny when she scolded him for killing the fish, had truly grown up.