Don't Feel That You Did Something Wrong

Central Prefecture, Heavenly Derivative Sect.

San Dong hummed a little tune that Cui Hao had taught, while leading Qian Qing in tending to a small spiritual field he had cultivated himself.

This was a small plot carved out within the "Family of Love and Kinship Peak." Nobody had any objections to it, and the seeds had even been provided by Yan Yun.

Following San Dong's instructions, Qian Qing carefully pruned the branches, then sprinkled some naturally glowing, obviously valuable materials as fertilizer around the spiritual plants.

The world of immortals truly felt different from the mundane.

It was unhurried, as if there were no urgency at all.

People could spend months or even years just to accomplish a single task.

Qian Qing had already been staying at the Family of Love and Kinship Peak for over half a year—so long that he had grown quite familiar with the place.

But to San Dong, those six months felt like yesterday.

Whenever Qian Qing showed occasional unease, San Dong would ask in confusion—after all, it was only half a year; one should have a little more patience.

These past six months had left Qian Qing somewhat dazed. The life of an immortal was indeed peaceful and serene.

Yet when chatting with San Dong, he also heard tales of a completely different immortal world.

There were people who, in order to capture San Dong, had set fire to an entire mountain covered in magnificent blossoms, the blaze raging for days on end.

Even the meeting between San Dong and Li Yingling had happened because San Dong had coveted an unremarkable piece of moonstone.

San Dong himself admitted that if he hadn’t encountered the kind-hearted eldest senior sister back then, his fate would have been far worse.

At this moment, Qian Qing began to understand—the cultivation world possessed transcendent kindness, but also transcendent methods and evil.

When immortals turned to evil, they could be far more ruthless and decisive than mortals.

Perhaps only a great sect like this could safeguard such hard-won peace in a chaotic world.

San Dong had cultivation, and often just a slight raise of his hand sent spiritual power to trim branches and apply fertilizer, spirit ores flying and spinning into place effortlessly.

Although Qian Qing was a martial artist and could move quickly, he still had to do things step by step, naturally slower than San Dong.

The field was mostly handled by San Dong.

“Alright—” San Dong clapped his hands, nodding with satisfaction. “We’ll stop tending here for today.”

Qian Qing patted the dirt off his hands and gazed at the neatly arranged spiritual field.

San Dong raised a hand to summon a ball of water with a technique, and Qian Qing naturally washed his hands with it—clearly not the first time.

“Qian Qing did well.” San Dong familiarly sat down on Qian Qing’s shoulder, praising, “Tonight, San Dong will treat you to a big meal!”

Qian Qing let out a relieved breath and chuckled softly:

“I’ve been relying on San Dong’s hospitality lately. How about tonight, I treat San Dong to a big meal, and I’ll cook?”

San Dong’s face lit up with a brilliant smile:

“Good! Qian Qing is a really good person too!”

Qian Qing smiled and began walking toward the mountain peak.

There were usually few people on this peak, aside from San Dong and himself, only a half-white-haired old man named Ning Kun.

He was the sect’s construction overseer, but since there wasn’t much to build, Ning Kun always found things to do—repairing objects and crafting small items.

Qian Qing often chatted with Ning Kun, who would always recall how Chu Xingchen had once pulled him and his daughter back from death’s door, repeatedly sighing that Chu Xingchen was such a good person.

Ning Kun’s daughter was Ning Qianqian, who occasionally visited the sect.

Ning Qianqian was a cultivator herself, but upon learning that Qian Qing was a guest, her demeanor and words became extremely humble.

This flattered Qian Qing, since he was merely a mortal—hardly a true guest of the immortals, no matter how politely it was phrased.

But Ning Qianqian said that she was just the smallest steward in this small sect; showing respect to a guest meant showing respect to the sect leader—it was the basics.

These two had left the deepest impression on Qian Qing, perhaps because they returned most often.

The rest were some outer disciples—equally friendly, but each busy with their own cultivation and seldom back at the peak.

Thinking back carefully, over the past half year, those outer disciples had only returned once or twice.

San Dong said that this was because the sect leader wasn’t around. If the sect leader were present, everyone would unconsciously gather at the Family of Love and Kinship Peak without needing to be told.

There would be Yan Yun, Lu Xuan, Bai Xuanling, Xie Lingyu, and maybe even Xu Jin and Daoist Yuyang.

So many people, so many friends.

Hearing this, Qian Qing understood. Chu Xingchen, whom he had met and drunk with before, was the core that connected everyone.

The mountain path wasn’t very long.

Qian Qing chatted with San Dong on his shoulder, and soon they were almost there.

Walking past a familiar corridor, Qian Qing suddenly stopped in his tracks, staring in disbelief at the two people sitting on a bench.

One wore white robes, holding a teacup with a calm, expressionless face.

The other was Chu Xingchen, whom Qian Qing had met once before.

San Dong on Qian Qing’s shoulder reacted the fastest, darting forward with a joyful voice:

“The sect leader is back! Sister Bai Xuanling is back too!”

Chu Xingchen caught San Dong as he flew into his arms, then took out a high-quality moonstone he had prepared earlier and placed it in San Dong’s embrace.

“I didn’t expect to meet you again here. The twists of fate truly are wondrous.” Chu Xingchen gently stroked San Dong’s head, then turned his gaze toward Qian Qing with a smile. “Have you been settling in well here? I trusted San Dong to take good care of you.”

Qian Qing stepped closer and performed a very martial-arts-style fist-and-palm salute:

“I have troubled you, Senior. San Dong has treated me extremely well.”

“No need to be so polite. By seniority, you can call me Master,” Chu Xingchen said lightly. “I have passed on your words to Yuan Kong.”

“I have asked Yuan Kong to first experience the trials of Hanging Temple Monastery as a mortal, so he can understand how hard it was for you to get this far.”

Qian Qing’s lips tightened slightly, suddenly feeling that Chu Xingchen truly seemed like a good person.

Sometimes, those unspoken hardships get brushed aside lightly.

People work so hard for something, only to be crushed by someone saying— “this is just what you were supposed to do.”

But one must understand that what really matters is the sincere intention to never back down, no matter how difficult.

Qian Qing didn’t hesitate to change his address: “Thank you, Master.”

“A sincere heart deserves to be seen,” Chu Xingchen gestured for Qian Qing to sit, then continued, “Besides, the issue here is that Yuan Kong didn’t handle things properly.”

“If I had just abandoned my disciples like that, they probably would have behaved even worse than you.”

“Some things can’t be settled with just a few half-hearted words.”

Chu Xingchen pushed a cup of tea toward Qian Qing:

“I’ve been too busy lately. Only today did I finally have a moment of free time, and I felt I had to come see you first. After all, if I didn’t come, you would always feel that things weren’t properly settled.”

“Stay a few more days. Let Yuan Kong think things over, and give yourself some time to think as well.”

“Besides, if you want to stay here forever, that’s also fine.”

“I’ve always believed that in life, if possible, it’s best to avoid painful farewells.”

“All the effort you and I have put in—this is exactly what it’s for.”

“So don’t hesitate, and don’t feel that you’ve done wrong.”