Why do I have so many masters?

Yuchi Jie was the first to speak, his words laced with meaning as he smiled:

"You've arrived quite quickly."

"Faster than I expected."

Wang Anfeng thought for a moment, then said:

"The leader of the Baiyang Sword Sect is a reasonable and good person."

Hearing this, Yuchi Jie replied helplessly:

"Good person... such a good person is really too good to be true."

Wang Anfeng laughed and said, "I merely gave him something, and he agreed to my request—naturally, he's a good person."

Yuchi Jie squinted his eyes, staring at Wang Anfeng in silence for a long while, then said:

"Clever trick."

"Mutual."

Lin Qiaofu shrank her shoulders towards another direction, feeling that she could no longer eat the very delicious vegetarian meal, Lv Baiping swallowed hard and said in a low voice:

"Qiaofu, why does the atmosphere over there feel so strange..."

"Makes one lose their appetite."

Lin Qiaofu looked at her senior sister and said:

"Senior sister, you ask me, but I don't know either."

"Should we ask Master Yuchi?"

Lv Baiping glanced at Yuchi Jie, shaking his head like a rattle, and murmured in a low voice, "No, although I don't understand, that guy right now looks like he's not to be trifled with at a single glance."

Yuchi Jie looked at Wang Anfeng, his heart still filled with complexity.

Wang Anfeng, however, appeared indifferent, as if what was just said wasn't worth mentioning, with Old Lu standing behind Yuchi Jie and Taishu standing with folded arms, carrying Jue Que on his back, silently standing beside Wang Anfeng.

The Taoists looked at each other, each holding a bowl of food, but under these circumstances, they couldn't eat at all; the few sentences Yuchi Jie and Wang Anfeng had just exchanged, though they didn't fully understand them, seemed somehow more terrifying than blades and shadows, making their hearts pound with fear.

Even if they didn't understand, they knew that the matter with the Baiyang Sword Sect was related to those casually spoken few sentences, which made their scalp tingle even more.

Qing Yun rubbed his head, his mind filled with strangeness.

Why was there a feeling that they on this side were actually the antagonists?

These two young masters seemed like the behind-the-scenes villains seated in the back hall from the stories, smiling in a way that made one's scalp numb.

Qing Yan swallowed and cast a look of pleading towards the Observatory Master.

The old Taoist stroked his beard.

Looking at Wang Anfeng on his left and Yuchi Jie on his right, he merely smiled.

Gong Yu set her porcelain bowl down on the table with a bit more noise than usual, attracting glances at this moment, even Yuchi Jie and Wang Anfeng, who were subtly competing in secret, instinctively looked in Gong Yu's direction.

Caught by so many eyes all at once, Gong Yu seemed slightly startled.

She looked at the porcelain bowl she'd placed down, slightly furrowing her brows, pondered for a moment, and then looked up at Wang Anfeng, saying earnestly:

"I am done eating."

Wang Anfeng opened his mouth to laugh, while Yuchi Jie helplessly brought his hand to his forehead, sighing, the subtle standoffish atmosphere from before vanished.

Gong Yu frowned.

Yuchi Jie gave a rueful smile and said:

"Master, I finally managed to muster the temperament of those old undying folks from my home, and in an instant, it's gone. Miss Gong Yu is truly formidable..."

This time he did not call her a senior.

Wang Anfeng nodded in agreement.

He, too, was merely imitating his teacher just now, so he deeply empathized with Yuchi Jie's words, realizing they were all in the same boat.

Yuchi Jie raised his eyes to Wang Anfeng, pondered, and said:

"This time, shall we call it a draw?"

Wang Anfeng raised his finger and said:

"I only took one step."

Yuchi Jie pursed his lips.

Wang Anfeng and his companions couldn't stay in the Jade Ruin Temple forever. Afterward, they spent their days practicing swordsmanship, listening to the old Taoist recount stories of their parents from years past, and before they knew it, several days had passed. With matters concerning the Red Cliff Sect and the Baiyang Sword Sect concluded, they ultimately had to say farewell.

Before leaving, the old Taoist gave the group several small gifts. Lin Qiaofu received two volumes of the Taoist Scriptures not included in Qingfeng Edge, Lv Baiping was overjoyed with an ancient sword scabbard, Gong Yu received a jade pendant, and Old Lu and Taishu also received gifts appropriate for them.

Wang Anfeng and Yuchi Jie received two jade plaques, the size of a thumb, just right to hang on the side of their robe. Qing Yun seemed quite unhappy about this, claiming that the jade plaques were quite ordinary and carved by the old Taoist himself.

Over the years, many young people had also received them from here; they were truly not valuable.

Qing Yan wore an embarrassed expression, quickly pulling his junior brother back to prevent him from speaking further and tarnishing the old Taoist's reputation.

Wang Anfeng didn't mind, instead, he just smiled and carefully inspected the jade pendant, noting that it was indeed ordinary, but it bore an ancient seal character for the "Wang" surname, imbued with a sense of antiquity; on Yuchi Jie's pendant, the characters "Yuchi" were engraved.

It seemed they were surname plaques, meant to offer blessings for safety and peace.

After hanging the jade plaque on the side of his robe, the old Taoist said he disliked goodbyes, so he did not see them off, but instead, Qing Yun and Qing Yan, the younger Taoists, accompanied them down from the Candle Dragon's Nest.

As they stepped out of the temple gate, Wang Anfeng had an idea, stopped in his tracks, turned back to look at the temple gate. When he arrived, he had not been able to see the couplet on the gate clearly, but now as he was leaving, he intended to take a good look. Yuchi Jie also seemed interested, walking to the opposite side to observe.

To the left, the previous glimpse revealed "yin and yang unpredictable," and the right side displayed "all demons swept away," already quite imposing.

Now, having walked over to take a closer look, with iron paintings and silver hooks, five more characters were revealed on each side.

Wang Anfeng stood on the left, reading softly:

"Yin and yang unpredictable, is the master of gods."

Yuchi Jie frowned thoughtfully, standing on the right and murmuring:

"All demons swept away, is the truth of martial arts."