I courted death and then tried to escape, so the whole sect wants to get rid of me.

Now that my room is empty, there's no need for me to stay in my fourth junior brother's courtyard anymore.

Before dinner, Song Yao ran to move her things back. She noticed the two paper effigies standing in the corner, picked up a brush from the table, and drew big, bright eyes and thick, black lips on them before leaving satisfied.

I was thinking of telling my fourth junior brother, but it seems he went out and wasn't on the main peak.

Song Yao hesitated for a moment, but still didn't put the safety buckle directly in his yard.

If such a valuable item is lost, Fourth Junior Brother will really fight her to the death.

I'll return it to him next time we meet.

However, the fourth junior brother did not return to the main peak for the next two days.

Zhu Zhao was not often in the courtyard, as he was always busy handling sect affairs.

Cheng Yueming, Ran Jiang, and Jin, under the instruction of the teaching elder, dragged Song Yao down the mountain to study every day.

Not only that, but in order to prevent her from making noise and disturbing others, the teaching elders arranged a single seat for her in the first row, so that they could watch over her face to face.

Song Yao was forced to pick up a book, fainted in front of everyone, and slept soundly in the front row.

Cheng Yue was truly puzzled and raised her hand to ask, "It's not that Seventh Senior Sister isn't hardworking, but rather that she can't study due to health reasons. Why force Seventh Senior Sister to sleep here... to study here?"

The elder instructor stroked his white beard, a hint of stubbornness in his eyes, and glanced at Song Yao, who was sleeping soundly. He sighed, "Even a child in its mother's womb can be influenced by the outside world. There's a saying about prenatal education. She can hear some things even in her sleep."

He looked at his disciples, who were also drowsy, and said earnestly, "I teach these classes not for any other reason than that you should walk the right path and not be misled by unorthodox methods in the future. That would be enough."

"If I had insisted on letting that child attend the classes earlier, she wouldn't have ended up like that..."

The last sentence was spoken lightly, and most people didn't hear it.

Mingran, sitting behind Song Yao, raised her hand and said, "But won't it be bad for Seventh Senior Sister's health to sleep in this position every day? Will it affect her swordsmanship?"

She pondered, "My father just gave me an ice jade bed. Could I bring it to the school for my seventh senior sister to use?"

The instructor's temples throbbed: "...Listen to what you're saying."

Mingran: "Is that not allowed?"

Instructor Elder: "...Of course not!"

"Then should I bring her a pillow?"

"......no."

"Where's the blanket?"

"?"

The teaching elder was at a loss, so he changed the subject, "There will be an exam in half a month. If you don't pass, you will have to repeat the course. Don't blame me for being unreasonable then."

The disciples below looked sorrowful, but had no choice but to pull themselves together.

The bell under the eaves rings, signaling the end of the school day.

Song Yao was shaken awake by Ning Zhou and, still half asleep, followed him to Jiyue Peak for dinner.

The Fifth Elder placed a full bowl of rice in front of Song Yao, pressed down on her chopsticks as she reached for the lion's head meatballs, and asked in a flat tone, "Have you taken your medicine?"

Song Yao let out a soft "oh," remembered something, took out two large pills from her mustard seed bag, stuffed them into her mouth, and swallowed them after a long while.

This medicine was made by the Seventh Elder using the prescription given by Ji Duchuan.

Originally it was a medicinal soup, but fearing she couldn't bear the bitterness, the Seventh Elder turned it into a pill.

Little did they know that the pills were even harder to swallow.

The Fifth Master brought a bowl of fish soup to her and said with a smile, "Have some soup to help you settle down. Eat slowly, don't rush."

After taking medicine for two days and eating at Jiyue Peak for two days, Song Yao felt that her health had indeed improved.

At least when I woke up from the fainting spell, I wasn't so groggy anymore. Instead, I felt refreshed and didn't need to sleep much at night.

Moreover, yesterday, under the supervision of the Seventh Elder, she also consumed the Heavenly Thunder Cleansing Pill, which, apart from increasing her spiritual power, had no other significant effect.

The soul was not affected in the slightest.

It seems there's no other way but to find the missing part.

-

After dinner, Song Yao prepared to return to the main peak, carrying two large meat pies to eat that night. Suddenly, she remembered that her fourth junior brother had asked her to go to Wanchun Tower tonight to find him.

Now that she's an honest person, she definitely can't have both the benefits from her second senior sister and the things from her fourth junior brother.

Since I have nothing to do right now, I'll go and return the safety buckle, and then buy two jugs of wine to go with the meat pies.

Thinking this, she slowly strolled out of the Nine Saints Hall.

When we arrived in what seemed like a spring city, the sun was already slanting down to the eaves.

The Wanchun Pavilion here is quite different from other places; it's more formal. Most of the guests are scholars and literati in long robes with wide sleeves, and there are also quite a few sword cultivators who take the elegant route.

A faint scent of ink and the crisp aroma of wine wafted from inside the door, occasionally punctuated by the sound of strings being plucked.

Just as he reached the door, he was stopped by the servant guarding the entrance: "Fellow Daoist, there is an elegant gathering in the building today, and all the seats are reserved. Could you please reserve a seat in advance?"

Before Song Yao could answer, a girl in a light green dress came out from inside, her eyes crinkling with a smile: "Are you Miss Lin? The Fourth Young Master already gave the order, this way please."

The servant hurriedly bowed and said, "So you are the Fourth Young Master's guest. Please come in."

Song Yao followed them inside, and couldn't help but sigh a couple more times.

Fourth junior brother has really grown up.

They'd be perfectly at ease in a place like this.

She used to take him to brothels, and he didn't even dare to open his eyes. His face turned bright red, and he grabbed her wrist, insisting on taking her back to the sect.

However, it's also possible that the fourth junior brother only dared to come and play because Wanchunlou was the eldest senior brother's territory.

Just then, the commotion in the hall caught her attention.

In the center stood a carved platform, where a handsome man in a brocade robe held a gold-painted jade plate. On the plate lay a pill with petals like lotus petals, its spiritual energy flowing slowly around it, clearly no ordinary item.

The man raised his voice, his clear and melodious tone breaking through the noisy room: "Nine-Bend Lotus Pill, brightens the eyes and clears toxins, neutralizes hundreds of kinds of evil and miscellaneous poisons, top-grade spiritual medicine, starting bid 80,000 spirit stones!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the bidding below erupted in waves.

Song Yao understood.

It turned out to be an auction.

No wonder there are so many people.

She looked away and went upstairs to the second floor.

Pushing open the door to the private room, the aroma of tea wafted out, and Xie Zhou sat on a soft couch by the window.

He held a white porcelain teacup in his hand, his fingertips tracing the rim. He only looked up when he heard a sound, his gaze sweeping over her indifferently: "Sit."

Song Yao found it intriguing and sat down in the chair opposite him as instructed.

Xie Zhou raised his hand and pushed a bamboo scroll engraved with the hidden patterns of Wanchunlou in front of her: "List of items for today's elegant gathering. Bid for whatever you like and put it on my tab."

Song Yao glanced at the bamboo slips.

The items are not cheap, and some are extremely expensive.

Fourth Junior Brother is truly hypocritical. He claims to have a bad relationship with Second Senior Sister, yet he's so generous in helping her pay off her debts.

Song Yao shook her head: "No need."

She took out the safety amulet and pushed it back along with the bamboo slip: "Second Senior Sister is awake. I can just tell her what I need without troubling Fourth Senior Brother."