Chapter 709: Problem
“You’re an old fool!”
It was rather awkward for Elder Long to have received such a reprimand and his face turned red.
But there was something else that bothered Xiao Luo and Xiao Quanren more than the old man being reprimanded. It wasn’t even the heavy avalanche. They stared with disbelief at that girl in front of them—she looked only seventeen or eighteen years old. They were extremely shocked. Was that person Elder Long’s Junior Sister, the Tianshan Elder? How could she be a mere girl who was no older than seventeen or eighteen?
But who could blame them? The t.i.tle “Tianshan Elder” gave them the impression that the person would be an old and mighty warrior. If Gu Qianxue had not mentioned it before, Xiao Luo would have a.s.sumed that the Tianshan Elder was a man. But even knowing the elder was a woman, it still shocked him, for he would never have imagined the Tianshan Elder to be so young and attractive.
She was the Junior Sister of the Guardians of the World, and that meant she was from the same generation as them. She should be more than a thousand-years old, yet she looked like a young teenage girl. Did the Tianshan Elder have some technique to attain eternal youth?
“You old fool going by the surname Long, what business do you have here disturbing my cultivation practice?” shouted the Tianshan Elder angrily with her hands on her hips.
Unruffled, and with a look of nonchalance on his face, Elder Long said, “Look at you. Junior Sister. Being fellow disciples, don’t you agree we should cultivate our bodies by not staying idle? What is wrong with me being here?”
“Pah! Who are you calling Junior Sister? Stop pretending to be close to me! If it was not for you, our Master would not have pa.s.sed away so soon. Since Master’s pa.s.sing, we are no longer fellow disciples. You’re my sworn enemy!” said the Tianshan Elder fiercely.
“Junior Sister, Master had imparted to me all the techniques that he had perfected solely for protecting this world. He was well aware he had little time left, therefore, he had no other alternative,” Elder Long explained with a sigh.
“Stop spewing all this nonsense. Master died because of you, but you just cannot seem to admit it!”
Keeping her hands behind her back, the Tianshan Elder turned around and said, “Since I am in a good mood, you better hurry and get far away. I do not want to see you for even a single moment longer!”
Xiao Luo and Xiao Quanren turned to look at each other and both shared the same thought. The relations.h.i.+p between those two disciples was not all that good!
Embarra.s.sed, Elder Long’s face turned red again from the rejection. On their way to the Tianshan mountain, he had mentioned to Xiao Luo and Xiao Quanren that his relations.h.i.+p with his fellow disciple was extremely good and that a day apart felt like three years to him. But when he arrived, the Tianshan Elder had nothing but harsh words for him, and he was feeling terrible at that moment.
Elder Long forced himself to stay calm. He coughed a little to cover his embarra.s.sment, and said, “Junior Sister, your Senior Brother is here to discuss something important.”
“What could be so important?”
Tianshan Elder responded in a rather icy tone as she swung around to glare at him.
Elder Long hurriedly forced a smile. He gave Xiao Luo a signal and said, “I’m asking for Junior Sister’s help. I need you to use your technique to develop this young man’s hidden potential.”
“Senior, I respectfully seek your guidance.”
Xiao Luo took a step forward and spoke graciously, as he bowed respectfully to the Tianshan Elder.
Tianshan Elder looked at Xiao Luo impa.s.sively. Then, she turned to Elder Long and mocked, “I thought you said it was something important. So, you’re trying to get me to raise your junior’s strength.”
“That’s right, that’s right. Junior Sister, please help me. I intend to pa.s.s on the responsibility of protecting this world to him. It was also Master’s last words before he departed to the other world. As his favorite apprentice, it was my duty to…”
“That’s enough!”
Tianshan Elder waved her hand and cut him off. Elder Long chuckled in response. Junior Sister was visibly annoyed and said, “Stop using Master’s name to explain everything. He died because of you, therefore you may not mention his name ever again!”
“Junior Sister, the Master died because of us all,” Elder Long said with a slightly saddened look on his face.
“I do not want to listen to all your excuses. Do you expect me to help your junior? Then, you can carry on dreaming!”
Suddenly, Tianshan Elder levitated in the air, turned into a stream of light, and flew into the vast snowy mountains.
“Junior Sister, you don’t have to be this heartless. We can always talk things out,” Elder Long shouted after her. He gave Xiao Luo and Xiao Quanren a pa.s.sing glance before he went after Tianshan Elder.
Xiao Luo and Xiao Quanren understood his cue and immediately followed him.
With the towering snowy peaks as a backdrop, the sight of the four of them flying across the sky was even more breathtaking. It made them look like actual G.o.ds.
They eventually ended up at a cliff. There was a cave not too far away from that cliff. It was almost similar to the monster’s cave den in the cla.s.sic novel, Journey to the West. There was a ma.s.sive double-doored gate securing the cave entrance. When the Tianshan Elder landed, she waved her hands slightly, and the two enormous doors swung open. The doors immediately closed after she entered the cave.
“Leave now. If my mood gets worse, I shall snap your heads off and throw them down the cliff to feed the eagles!” They could hear the Tianshan Elder’s voice booming from within the cave, and she sounded vicious.
“Elder Long…”
Xiao Quanren was a little nervous. The Tianshan Elder’s ability to keep her youthful appearance was more than enough to show how powerful she was. If she decided to make good on her threat and take their lives, Elder Long might have the skill to protect himself. However, both he and Xiao Luo would undoubtedly meet their maker.
“Stay calm!”
Elder Long raised his hand and said, “My Junior Sister is a typical example of someone who has a razor-sharp tongue, but a soft heart. She has indeed killed many people, but all the people she killed were nasty villains. The both of you are not nasty villains. So, there is no way she is going to kill either of you. The most she might do is probably break your arms and legs. That is all.”
Break arms and legs?
Would that mean crippling both of them?
Stay calm? How could they possibly stay calm?
Upon hearing that, Xiao Quanren felt exasperated. Did Elder Long just say—that was all? It would seem broken arms and legs were insignificant injuries, and he wondered how badly crippled they would have to be before he considered it severe.
“Old man with the surname Long, you better not a.s.sume you know me that well. If it wasn’t because of your power and abilities, I would have already turned you into minced meat and fed you to the dogs,” Tianshan Elder’s voice came from within the cave once again.
“She could even hear that?”
A surprised Elder Long said, “Junior Sister, you still care about your Senior Brother. You have closed the gates, yet you are still paying attention to what is happening out here.”
“Don’t think too highly of yourself! I am merely monitoring your actions. If you dare mess up the area outside my cave, I will make sure I end that worthless life of yours.”
She shut him up with that one statement.
Xiao Quanren thought that Elder Long was not as reliable as he expected. They had come all the way here, but it now seemed like a wasted trip.
At that moment, Xiao Luo walked toward the cave entrance and stopped about ten meters away. He went on his knees and pleaded to Tianshan Elder, “Senior, I beg you. Please, you must help me! If not, I’ll remain here kneeling in this position until you do.”
“Junior, you must have watched too many dramas—is life so simply that expect gold every time you go on your knees? I despise people like you the most! Do not think that I will be touched by what you are doing. Let me tell you now—it will not work on me!” Tianshan Elder’s sarcastic ridicule could be heard from outside the cave.
Xiao Luo laughed inwardly and his eyes showed determination, for what the Tianshan Elder said did not bother him. He touched his head on the ground and continued pleading, “Senior, please help me!”
Throughout his life, other than his parents and grandparents, Xiao Luo had never kowtowed to anyone else before. And here he was kowtowing to the Tianshan Elder. At this moment, kneeling and kowtowing meant little to Xiao Luo. He was resolved to get the Tianshan Elder to help him attain the ability to rescue his woman, and he would not hesitate to give his life for Su Li.
Xiao Luo’s sincerity and determination were clear to those who were there. The Tianshan Elder refrained from making another sarcastic remark. Other than the sound of the howling wind, there was complete silence.