Cultivation Retirement Plan (BL)

4. Junior Sister, Senior Brother

Mu Yelian was the sort of petite, delicately pretty girl that fleshed out the classic model of a "junior sister" found in cultivation sects. If they weren't the female lead, then they were usually the extra in a love triangle, a cannon fodder with a villainous twist, or vapid eye candy used for extra appeal. She had long, straight black hair, large almond-shaped eyes, and an adorably round face that still held traces of baby fat despite her elevated status as peak lord. Many of the disciples under her instruction looked like her older sisters instead of students, but in terms of raw power, Mu Yelian outclassed them all.

As she grabbed for Mo Yixuan's arm, she noticed the torn fabric and exclaimed, "Your sleeve is ripped!"

Mo Yixuan had almost forgotten about it, but he wasn't liable to care now. "Peak Lord Mu, I'm here to ask for a favor."

"Why aren't you calling me junior sister today?" Mu Yelian protested instantly.

Mo Yixuan wrinkled his brow, a sign that Nan Wuyue had come to recognize as a visual cue of his annoyance. As expected, his next words were curt.

"My...disciple is injured." The pause between the first two words were obvious. It came from Mo Yixuan's reluctance to acknowledge Nan Wuyue at all, but the other three people heard it differently.

He's threatening my status as his disciple again! Nan Wuyue was convinced.

Peak Lord Mo's known Peak Lord Mu for so many years, but he's never called her by her title before! And now he's changing the topic to his disciple. Is he favoring him over our master instead? The female disciple that led them here was full of speculations.

Mu Yelian jumped straight into voicing her conclusions. "Ah! It's his fault, right? That Nan Wuyue's causing you trouble again!"

If Mo Yixuan could read minds, he'd chide them all for overthinking things! As things were, he fought to stay on topic.

"His eye is swollen," Mo Yixuan added. "Do you have something to fix it?"

Now he's making me the target of Mu Yelian's temper! Nan Wuyue "realized."

Peak Lord Mo really does favor Nan Wuyue! The female disciple widened her eyes.

"You should just let him go blind to teach him a lesson!" Mu Yelian said viciously. "Big Brother Xuan, is it true? I head Senior Brother Ouyang say that it was his fault you went to the qi refining pool!"

"Was it?" Mo Yixuan dismissed the claim. "I don't remember."

"It's true! I heard Senior Brother Fei yelling about—"

"Shizun, since you've walked all the way here, you should take a seat and rest," Nan Wuyue cut in smoothly. The last thing they needed was to drag the sect leader's name into this conversation.

Mu Yelian bit back her retort at the mention of Mo Yixuan and petulantly took his hand. "If that's the case, then come inside with me. You stay out," she added towards Nan Wuyue. "I don't allow disciples of other peaks into my quarters!"

"His injuries," Mo Yixuan said without budging.

"Oh, fine then!" Mu Yelian beckoned towards the female disciple. "Qing'er, take him to the healers and make sure they fix him up. That's enough, right?"

"Mm." This time, Mo Yixuan allowed himself to be pulled along. Just as he stepped over the threshold, he heard Nan Wuyue call out a final farewell.

"Shizun, don't take too long!"

Mo Yixuan paused, but didn't reply. Instead, it was Mu Yelian who shot Nan Wuyue a withering look before dragging her senior brother indoors.

Nan Wuyue's gaze followed after their retreating forms for a long time until Qing'er tapped on his arm.