"These are both misunderstandings!" Yue Zhiyin retorted, pulling at the corners of his mouth.
"We understand, we understand," Yu Zhen nodded at Yue Zhiyin. "You and Xiao Liu don't need to explain."
"No, Shiniang, what do you understand? You don't look like you understand at all. My senior brother and I really have nothing going on. No, my senior brother and I are just ordinary fellow disciples," Ming Lou said frantically, looking at them.
Yu Zhen nodded.
Li Yu also nodded, then said with a serious expression, "Ming Lou, your Shiniang and I understand. But you two should also be more discreet... Who acts like this in broad daylight..."
"Shizun, you don't understand, none of you understand," Ming Lou's neck turned red. "I, I, I don't have that kind of preference!"
"Neither do I," Yue Zhiyin was pulling his hair out.
Yu Zhen, Li Yu, and Qi Yu across from them let out meaningful "Ohs."
Thus, Yue Zhiyin and Ming Lou finally exploded in frustration.
Seeing the two about to explode, Li Yu quickly changed the subject. "Alright, alright, no more teasing. Zhiyin, your second senior sister and third junior brother are coming back soon. They're bringing the things I asked them to buy. Go meet them, and then come see me directly."
Yue Zhiyin cupped his fists in acknowledgment.
Qi Yu, thinking about the long walk down the mountain, was about to slip away. However, before he could take two steps, Yue Zhiyin grabbed him by the collar of his clothes with one hand.
Qi Yu turned his head and pulled at the corners of his mouth towards Yue Zhiyin.
Just as he was about to say something, he was dragged away.
After that.
"Didn't Shizun say to go meet them? We've been walking for three hours," Qi Yu squatted on the ground, holding his ankles, unwilling to walk any further.
Ming Lou also complained beside him, "Senior Brother, can't we just use sword flight to meet them? Why must we walk?!"
"Isn't the purpose obvious? I'm tormenting you," Yue Zhiyin said calmly, continuing to walk forward with his hands behind his back. "Who told you two that one of you harbored improper thoughts towards me, and the other was watching the fun from the sidelines? Neither of you had good intentions!"
Qi Yu cried out, saying he was about to break apart again, and trudged along with Ming Lou at the very back.
After a while, when Yue Zhiyin saw that Qi Yu was truly unable to walk any further, he took pity and let her squat there alone to wait. He then pulled the already complaining Ming Lou and continued forward.
Normally, Qi Yu would never agree to something like this and would have followed the group. But today, she was truly exhausted, so she readily agreed to stay behind. She dragged her two legs, which felt like they were about to become disabled, and went to rest on a nearby rock.
However, after resting for less than half a cup of tea, Qi Yu realized that even though she was under the shade of the trees, there was no sign of coolness. Instead, it was getting hotter and hotter.
As a spiritual artifact, Qi Yu's heat resistance was relatively strong compared to ordinary humans. This was the first time she had encountered such a situation. After realizing that even a pile of ice cubes placed beside her wouldn't help, she was about to move to a different spot when a clear, lazy boy's voice suddenly sounded from above:
"Little Mirror, where are you going? Come back and sit down, and make a few more ice cubes."
Qi Yu was startled and quickly looked up.
Only then did she notice that on the large tree behind her, a young man in fiery red clothes had appeared at some point.
Not only were his clothes fiery red, but the tips of his upturned phoenix eyes were also tinged with red. His features were so beautiful that they were indistinguishable between male and female.
His overall demeanor exuded a sense of noble arrogance.
"...Are you talking to me?" Qi Yu looked at the young man, pointing at herself in disbelief.
"There's no one else around besides you," the young man leaned lazily against the tree. "Sit here and make more ice cubes, it'll be much cooler."
Hearing him say that, Qi Yu finally realized that the scorching heat she had just felt originated from him.
"...I don't want to be near you," Qi Yu said, feeling extremely hot, and tried to move further away from the young man.
Unexpectedly, the young man clicked his tongue at this, then flipped down from the tree, and with a bang, reverted Qi Yu back to her original form. Then... he pinched Qi Yu's mirror form and threatened and cajoled her into making ice cubes.
Qi Yu was about to cry from being bullied.
She refused to make ice, no matter what.
Not only did she refuse, but she also spat at the young man. Then, she pretended to be an ordinary mirror and ignored everything the young man said, until Yue Zhiyin and Ming Lou arrived, pushing two small carts and bringing a tall girl carrying a sack.
Qi Yu then cried out to them, "Senior Brother, I'm being bullied! Save me!"
Her original form was held pitifully in the young man's hand.
The young man pinched Qi Yu's original form, looking it over. When he heard Qi Yu calling out to Yue Zhiyin and Ming Lou as Senior Brother, he couldn't help but be surprised. "Holy crap, Senior Brother? Are they one of us?"
"Third junior brother, what are you doing? Quickly put Xiao Qi down," Yue Zhiyin said, half-amused and half-exasperated, as he went to rescue Qi Yu.
Qi Yu was taken back from the young man's hand by Yue Zhiyin. Feeling relieved, she transformed back into human form and pointed at the young man, complaining to Yue Zhiyin:
"He bullied me. He was very hot, and I wanted to get away from him, but he deliberately made me sit down and asked me to make more ice cubes! He even reverted me to my original form!"
"Ah, I, I thought you were just a little spiritual artifact that cultivated on Mount Beiyuan by yourself... so I bullied you a bit. I didn't know you were my fellow disciple. I didn't mean to, really! I just wanted to play a joke!" The young man quickly explained when he heard Qi Yu complaining to Yue Zhiyin.
Qi Yu ignored him.
The young man scratched his head.
Yue Zhiyin sighed and introduced:
"Third junior brother, second senior sister, this is the new personal disciple Master just accepted, Qi Yu, who ranks seventh."
"Qi Yu, the one who just... bullied you is Sui You, your third senior brother. Beside us is your second senior sister, Qi Nian."
"Hello, second senior sister," Qi Yu shyly greeted the cold beauty standing beside Yue Zhiyin, who had a sweet appearance and a strong aura.
When it was Sui You's turn, Qi Yu was still feeling wronged, so she just gave him a glare and said, "Hello, third senior brother."
After that, she ignored him.
Sui You looked at Qi Yu, wanting to apologize again, but Qi Yu gave him no opportunity.
"Hello, little junior brother," Qi Nian patted Qi Yu's head.
Ming Lou looked at Qi Nian from the side and suddenly exclaimed as if he had discovered a new continent, "I just realized that second senior sister's name and little junior brother's name have the same surname."
"It is indeed the same," Qi Yu nodded.
"That's quite a coincidence," Qi Nian reached out and gently stroked Qi Yu's hair, as if petting a small animal. "Perhaps, Qi Yu is my long-lost brother."
"Second senior sister, wasn't your long-lost sibling a sister?" Ming Lou raised an eyebrow. "Besides, Qi Yu is a Yan Zhen mirror and has lived for over two hundred years. He shouldn't be related to you. You can't use this kind of tactic to win over Qi Yu!"
"Haha, is that so?" Qi Nian's eyes curved. "I was just joking."
Sui You quietly tugged at Qi Yu's sleeve. "Little junior brother..."
"Don't pull me," Qi Yu pulled her sleeve back. "You're hot!"
Sui You said pitifully, "Junior Brother Qi Yu."
Qi Yu ignored him, helped put all the items into the Mirror Realm, then turned her back to Sui You and walked away.
Sui You sighed and looked at Yue Zhiyin, Ming Lou, and Qi Nian. "It's over. I offended little junior brother as soon as we met. Will he hate me from now on?"
"From now on?" Qi Nian raised an eyebrow.
"No," Ming Lou also nodded.
"Qi Yu already hates you. Where is there a 'from now on'?" Yue Zhiyin added slowly, twisting the knife.
Sui You: "..."