"Actually, I've long felt like we're a pyramid scheme, Master."
"Shut up, hold this."
No love left... Got new Apprentices, forgot the old Apprentices.
Yun Ming smacked his lips, reluctantly taking the item Xuan Mingzi handed him, then watched as he eagerly began introducing Yun Kui Mountain to the two little ones.
He recounted everything about this big family.
The Senior Brothers and Junior Sisters loved each other, the Masters were all highly skilled, and on normal days, they would descend the mountain to save people, eliminate evil, and promote good.
Seven parts truth, three parts fiction.
It quickly captivated the two little ones.
During this, he even praised Yun Ming a couple of times, after all, in terms of talent and diligence, no one on Yun Kui Mountain could truly compare to him.
This was an undeniable fact.
Yi Jiang listened, unable to help but cast an admiring gaze at him. Yun Ming raised a hand, "Master, you don't need to say more. Your limited vocabulary will only diminish my image in the Junior Sisters' hearts."
Bang!
This time, the Qing Ming Sword landed squarely. "That's too much, you stinky old man!" Yun Ming snatched the weapon in a fit of anger, while Xuan Mingzi fumed, stroking his beard.
Kind Master, filial Apprentice... "What did you call me?"
"Stinky old man! I'm not to be trifled with either!"
"I'm the one from Shu Dao Mountain!"
"I, I'll hold the sword for you, Master. You've worked hard..."
The young Yun Ming ultimately couldn't resist the evil forces. When he practiced for a few more years, he would definitely pull that old man's beard!
He lowered his head, examining the snacks in the bag, but ultimately didn't touch them. Sneaking a snack would be too unfair to his Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters. He peeled an orange and fed it to Yi Jiang and Yi Xuan, taking it from another bag, of course.
There were apple trees planted at the mountain gate, and watermelons in the back mountain.
Everyone wasn't particularly surprised by these, but since it was winter, if you wanted oranges, you could only buy them. It's not too much for a Senior Brother who's looked after you for so long to eat a couple, right?
When passing the convenience store, he asked the owner, old acquaintance Grandpa Liu, for a hair tie and a hairpin, and also bought four lollipops.
One for each, very fair.
"Are these gifts for Yi Xuan and me?"
Below the mountain gate, beside the bluestone steps.
Yi Jiang stood under a pine tree, pointing in surprise at the hair tie and hairpin in the young man's hand. Gifts like these, it was the first time in her life.
Senior Brother, he wouldn't be trying to gain her favor, would he... "Hmm, I saw that the ones you're wearing are almost worn out. You sisters look so alike, this way it's easier to tell you apart."
Yun Ming truly wasn't thinking about gaining favor this time.
Although the thirteenth generation sect leader of Yun Kui Mountain was a cold and aloof Master, Yi Jiang, as the elder twin sister, looked just like Yi Xuan, and both fit his 'type'.
But a Junior Sister is just a Junior Sister; it's still a long time until she grows up. Since he transmigrated here, he had to change something, right?
The sect's destruction was unacceptable, and his elder sister sacrificing herself to protect her younger sister was absolutely out of the question.
An orphan in two lives, Yun Ming only wanted to protect his family.
The big family of Yun Kui Mountain... "Senior Brother looked unhappy just now?"
Yi Xuan secretly leaned into her sister's ear. She always felt a strong surge of sadness at one moment, as if loneliness had buried the entire world.
Oh right, what was Senior Brother's name again... Yi Jiang didn't notice this question. She took the hairpin and hair tie from Yun Ming's hand and put on the hair tie with the orange icon herself.
As for the hairpin, she clipped it to her younger sister's forehead. Hmm... if she wore a Daoist robe like Senior Brother's, her younger sister would look very pretty too.
"Yi Xuan looks so beautiful~"
Her eyes were sincere. Her Yi Xuan was the cutest younger sister in the world, and the most beautiful girl.
"Haha, is Yi Jiang praising herself?"
A blush suddenly appeared on Yi Jiang's face, a little embarrassed. Only then did she remember that she and her younger sister indeed looked almost identical.
"Tha-thank you for the gifts, Senior Brother. Yi Xuan and I will definitely repay you in the future."
Yun Ming scratched his head, feeling a bit strange.
Shouldn't it be, 'A humble girl has nothing to repay, only herself to offer, hoping you won't abandon her'?
Of course, he couldn't complain. He stopped teasing the two little ones and turned to look at his Master. He had just received a debt collection call, and the old man was there, forcing a smile... After all, accounts needed to be settled at the end of the year. He owed about a million yuan, and only a few Masters and core Apprentices in the entire sect knew about it.
Seeing Yun Ming look over, Xuan Mingzi returned a smile, hung up the phone, and then finally got up from the chair outside the mountain shop, leisurely walking towards his Apprentices, staring at his rebellious Apprentice with an amiable smile.
"Another debt collector?"
"Tsk, what are you saying in front of your two Junior Sisters..."
"Dying for face, suffering for it..."
"You child!"
Xuan Mingzi patted the young man on the head, then said irritably.
"Alright, if you've rested enough, carry your Junior Sisters up the mountain."
"Huh...?"
Wait, what!?
He just said to rest a bit before going up the mountain, so he meant for *him* to rest a bit... He couldn't feel sorry for Master for two seconds!
"Back then, I climbed the mountain myself."
When he said this, his voice was incredibly calm, but the snow in the sky instantly fell heavier, and the wind became fiercer. The two little ones immediately huddled together for warmth.
"Are you willing to let your two Junior Sisters climb up by themselves?"
"..."
That hateful stinky old man, smiling so brightly, your teeth will all fall out sooner or later, and you won't be able to eat anything.
Yun Ming didn't hesitate, gritting his teeth as he said.
"You're right, I'm not willing. But you're really willing, aren't you!"
"That's not right. Only by enduring hardship can one become superior. As your Master, I also wanted to test you, at least I made sure you ate well before climbing the mountain, right?"
"Tsk, you're still talking about enduring hardship, you'll just have endless hardship... You carry one, I'll carry one. Let's go, it's cold outside."
Yun Ming replied irritably, not wanting to engage in useless arguments with Xuan Mingzi anymore. Besides damaging his great image as a Senior Brother, there was no benefit.
He turned his gaze back to Yi Xuan and Yi Jiang.
"Which of you is going with Master? Hmm... don't look at him like an old man, he's actually more comfortable and stable to be carried by."
"Yi Xuan, you go with Master."
"Okay, I'll listen to my sister."
Yi Xuan blinked her eyes and walked towards Master. Master smiled happily and immediately picked her up into his arms.
Just like the grandfather she only had in her dreams.
Very warm, and his beard wasn't prickly.
So, was this really not a dream?
As the girl thought, she suddenly started crying. Could she and her sister really live a life where they were well-fed and warmly clothed?
What if Senior Brother and Master were both big liars... She cried louder and louder, making the three of them take turns trying to comfort her.
Finally, Yun Ming took out a lollipop from Master's pocket and put it into the little girl's mouth, which barely managed to calm her down.
The group finally set off, stepping on the bluestone steps towards the clouds. The path was slippery, but the Master and Apprentice walked with steady steps.
It was as if they were secretly competing, chasing each other, with protective Qi around them blocking the wind and snow.
Pfft~
Yi Jiang, lying on Yun Ming's back, couldn't help but laugh.
"What's wrong?"
"Senior Brother and Master are like children... We're running so fast, it feels like the great heroes the street storytellers talk about."
She hugged the young man's neck tightly. His back wasn't broad, but it was just right for carrying her, just like how she usually carried her younger sister. This feeling was very reassuring.
The martial artists treading through the wind and snow also made one curious. Yi Jiang gently passed her finger through the protective Qi; the outside was still cold.
She couldn't help but shiver and hugged him tighter.
"Haha, don't forget we are a cultivation sect. Master is in the Second Realm... Sorry, I forgot you don't understand. Yun Kui Mountain's cultivation method has four realms."
"Yun Qi, drawing Qi into the body, the body as the root of Yun Kui.
Yun Zhuan, spiritual power transforming into talismans, controlling the patterns of heaven and earth.
Yun Lu, words becoming law, establishing the order of the universe.
Yun Kui, the body transforming into Yun Kui, transcending life and death."
"It sounds profound, but most of Yun Kui Mountain are ordinary people. Those in the Yun Qi Realm are few, and there are only a handful in the Yun Zhuan Realm. Master is considered to be at the peak of the Second Realm? Plus the Qing Ming Sword, he barely counts as the Third Realm?"
"But don't worry... most who aren't exceptionally talented can only stay in the First Realm, or even can't enter the gate, but strengthening the body is always possible... And you two, your talents are excellent."