Chapter 239: Returning Together (Part IX)
Xiao Ji hesitated for a long time, but ultimately agreed.
He had anticipated that Zhong Yinnian would be very good at wearing people down, but the actual extent of it was still somewhat difficult for Xiao Ji to adapt to.
Since three years ago, Xiao Ji had stopped cultivating together with the other disciples on the mountain.
In terms of strength, he only needed to leave the mountain a few more times and make a few more contributions to the path of slaying demons and eradicating devils, and he could be promoted to an elder of Qingyang Mountain.
But he was unwilling to go.
For one, he had no interest in the position of an elder. He was afraid Patriarch Xiao would assign him tasks, and even more afraid of taking on the job of lecturing new disciples.
Secondly, he was already accustomed to attending lectures and cultivating at a fixed time and place every day.
When the rules and spellcraft essentials were being taught, he would sit in the corner spacing out.
When weaponry and practical combat spells were being practiced, he would stand in the corner lost in thought.
No one had ever come to disturb him.
But on the very first day Zhong Yinnian entered the mountain gates, he completely shattered his peace and quiet.
As usual, Xiao Ji sat in the spacious lecture hall at the beginning of the Mao hour, watching the others trickle in one by one.
When he saw a group of unfamiliar faces wearing the Xiao family’s wide-sleeved cloud-brocade robes today, he understood that these were people from other families.
Zhong Yinnian was the last to arrive.
The lecturing elder had already begun his loud and eloquent speech by the time he finally sauntered in, also wearing the attire of a Xiao family disciple.
As the saying goes, clothes make the man just as a saddle makes the horse.
When Zhong Yinnian wore those coarse black clothes, only his face was exceptionally eye-catching.
But standing at the lecture hall door at this moment, his tall and slender figure was breathtakingly handsome and unparalleled. The demeanor of a wealthy young master was instantly apparent; with his red lips and white teeth, he looked like a figure straight out of a painting.
“Which family’s disciple is so unruly?”
The Sixth Elder of the Xiao family looked at Zhong Yinnian, his face full of displeasure.
Zhong Yinnian looked rather obedient as he spoke, “Zhong Yinnian from Tianque Palace.”
The Sixth Elder looked him up and down. “Copy the Lingxi Sword Art three times and bring it to me tomorrow.”
As soon as these words were spoken, several Zhong family disciples sitting together in the lecture hall exchanged glances, their faces bearing poorly concealed worry.
Zhong Yinnian had come brazenly using a Zhong family identity.
The Zhong family disciples had received news and knew of this matter, but they were unaware of the hidden circumstances, much less Zhong Yinnian’s true identity.
They had merely been instructed by their elders and masters upon leaving Tianque Palace that whenever they saw Zhong Yinnian, no matter what he said or did, they were not to meddle.
However, while traveling outside, Zhong Yinnian was carrying the name of the Zhong family. If he were to do something that was hard to clean up, it would ruin the Zhong family’s reputation.
And as a result, on his very first day here, Zhong Yinnian was late.
Just as they were terrified that Zhong Yinnian was about to utter rebellious words against the elder in the next second and cause the Zhong family to completely lose face, they saw Zhong Yinnian obediently nod again and say, “Alright.”
Since they were children of other families, the Xiao family would naturally leave them some face. Seeing that Zhong Yinnian was relatively obedient, the Sixth Elder waved his hand, allowing Zhong Yinnian to go down and take a seat.
The lecture hall was very large, and the disciples attending the lecture were numerous, but there were always empty seats.
Yet Zhong Yinnian deliberately bypassed the group from the Zhong family and plopped himself down right on the right side of Xiao Ji, where a large surrounding area was completely empty.
Then he blinked at Xiao Ji and whispered, “Morning, Senior Brother.”
Xiao Ji nodded in response, then silently turned his head and looked out the window.
The entire lecture hall of Xiao family disciples turned their heads to look at Zhong Yinnian at this moment, and then, following a cough from the Sixth Elder, swish, they unanimously snapped their heads back to the front.
The Sixth Elder was advanced in years, and his lecturing tone was slow and utterly dry, but the content undoubtedly consisted of key points.
Everyone was rousing their spirits to listen attentively to the lecture, except for Xiao Ji and Zhong Yinnian.
“Zhong Yinnian!”
After finishing a segment of content, the Sixth Elder looked up and surveyed the lecture hall, only to see Zhong Yinnian sprawled over his desk, sleeping so soundly that he was drooling.
Presumably because sleeping on the desk lacked comfort, his entire body was twisted into three curves.
Hearing someone shout angrily, Zhong Yinnian opened his eyes, and a sharp, cold gaze snapped toward the Sixth Elder.
The Sixth Elder’s disciplinary ruler flew from his hand, rapped twice on Zhong Yinnian’s head, and flew back into his grasp. “You don’t even have proper sitting posture! If you are tired, stand up to listen. Do not waste the energy of your long journey and the earnest efforts of the Zhong family.”
Zhong Yinnian concealed the sharp look in his eyes, stood up honestly, and hung his head listlessly. “Elder misunderstands, this student was listening.”
The Sixth Elder had clearly just seen that Zhong Yinnian was already deeply asleep. Looking at him like that, it wouldn’t have been surprising even if he had suddenly started snoring.
Seeing that he still dared to talk back at this moment, the elder said strictly, “Repeat it.”
But very soon, the Sixth Elder stopped talking.
For the time it took a stick of incense to burn, his expression grew increasingly bizarre.
Because Zhong Yinnian began to repeat the words he had spoken.
From the very first sentence of the lecture, the content, the tone, including the pauses, and even the sounds of the Sixth Elder swallowing and clicking his tongue were all perfectly mimicked by Zhong Yinnian.
Except for not imitating the timbre of the Sixth Elder’s voice, it was truly as if time had flowed backward.
For a moment, everyone in the entire lecture hall fell into deep contemplation.
Even the Sixth Elder himself experienced a momentary daze.
After Zhong Yinnian had repeated more than half of it, the Sixth Elder finally called for him to stop. Staring at him for a long while, he said, “Pay attention to your sitting posture!”
The benches in the lecture hall had four legs and no backrests.
Zhong Yinnian sat back down and leaned his body back, causing three legs of the bench to lift into the air, with only one leg remaining on the ground for support.
From the corner of his eye, he saw that Xiao Ji seemed to be looking at him, so he turned his head, gazed at Xiao Ji, whistled softly at him, and whispered, “How was it? Did I sound like him?”
Xiao Ji didn’t answer. He merely looked at him for a moment before looking away.
Zhong Yinnian possessed an excellent memory and an agile mind. This sort of rote memorization was practically effortless for him.
During the noon break, Xiao Ji went to the dining hall to eat, and Zhong Yinnian followed right on Xiao Ji’s heels, chattering away:
“Is that Lingxi Sword Art very powerful? Do you know it? I see they all carry weapons with them, why are you empty-handed?”
“Sword arts can be paired with spells, so tell me, when the same sword art is matched with metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, which one is the most powerful? Do they mutually generate and overcome each other? Or are there other particularities?”
Xiao Ji carried his food and sat in a corner, and Zhong Yinnian also carried his food and sat opposite him.
His little mouth yapped non-stop; he seemed to have an endless stream of questions, and also seemed to not care at all whether Xiao Ji would answer.
Xiao Ji’s mind was wandering.
He was wondering what had happened to the last person who had been this noisy in front of him.
But no matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn’t remember.
Because other than Patriarch Xiao, it seemed no one else had ever been this noisy in front of him.
Xiao Ji was used to peace and quiet, and originally thought he would become impatient.
But in fact, he did not.
He didn’t develop any feelings of annoyance toward Zhong Yinnian.
Only after the other party had asked a basketful of questions did he say faintly, “What mutually overcome each other are the Five Elements, not the sword arts. Under different circumstances, matching the same sword art with different spells is the only way to maximize the sword art’s potential.”
Hearing this, Zhong Yinnian was visibly full of interest, itching to give it a try as he asked, “Can you practice with me?”
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