The Junior Disciple Brother and the Guest Elder

The young man, clad in simple sleepwear, opened his eyes.

He struggled on the bed for a while, much like any corporate drone dreading the start of another workday.

Though he knew such a struggle was utterly futile, he persisted nonetheless, his gaze fixed on the ceiling, already dead to the world.

“Ugh, ugh, ugh…”

A long, meaningless moan escaped him.

He rose.

Shuffling in his deep-cut, horse-face shoes, he ambled towards the dim copper mirror to begin his morning ablutions.

He gazed at the somewhat blurry face reflected in the mirror.

His mind remained stubbornly numb.

Cultivators had no true need for sleep; it became unnecessary once they embarked upon their path.

Each night, they merely needed to meditate, circulating their Qi through the greater and lesser heavenly cycles.

Then, in the early morning, they would absorb the essence of the rising sun.

Such was the most common routine among cultivators.

He, however, was different; having transmigrated to this world, sleep remained his last stubborn indulgence.

Yet, the inability to sleep until he naturally awoke meant he started each day feeling utterly vexed.

Scooping a handful of water from the bucket beside the copper mirror, he splashed it onto his face, the cool droplets somewhat dispelling the irritation brewing in his heart.

“I’ve transmigrated, yet why do I still find myself in such a miserable state…” he sighed softly.

A self-deprecating smile then touched his lips.

At least he had a place to live, didn’t he?

Or rather, should it be called a ‘cave abode’  now?

Twenty years had passed since his transmigration, and fourteen years since he began cultivating. With his unremarkable talent, those fourteen years had only brought him to the peak of the Qi Condensation stage.

The Foundation Establishment stage, which lay beyond Qi Condensation, seemed deceptively close, yet in reality, it remained incredibly distant.

It was like the insurmountable distance between a devoted admirer and their goddess.

His feeling of closeness was utterly useless; it only mattered if ‘she’ deemed it acceptable.

Not to mention the even higher stages of Golden Core and Nascent Soul.

“Senior Disciple Brother.”

A knock echoed at the door, accompanied by a gentle, calm, and distinctly neutral voice.

“Coming,” Gu Bei answered.

He then pulled the door open for his junior disciple brother.

“Here so early again today,” he remarked with a smile.

As the door swung open, his eyes met the sight of a refined, jade-like face, the very picture of a distinguished young master amidst the mortal world’s chaos.

He had no idea how the other person managed it, but his long hair was smoothly, simply tied back behind his head.

Gu Bei’s own hair, in stark contrast, was always a tangled mess every single morning.

How to put it? Being struck by his junior disciple brother’s stunning beauty so early in the morning left him feeling somewhat dazed.

“I thought Senior Disciple Brother should be awake by now…” his junior disciple brother murmured, a shy smile gracing his lips.

It was that very smile that made Gu Bei sigh faintly, a helpless smile touching his own lips.

His junior disciple brother’s name was Nan Jiumu. He was the junior disciple brother Gu Bei had personally taken in, though they had met once before that. At the time, Gu Bei had simply felt the young man was full of youthful vigor, possessing the distinct aura of a young prodigy.

Yet, after taking him in and raising him for a few years, how had he transformed into… this?

Gu Bei gazed at the faint blush blooming on Nan Jiumu’s soft face, finding himself utterly at a loss for words.

“Nan Jiumu, why don’t you come in first? I’ll be ready in a moment.”

“Alright.”

As Nan Jiumu passed by him and entered the room, he carried with him a faint, almost imperceptible, clean fragrance.

Gu Bei’s expression became even more utterly indescribable.

After all, Nan Jiumu wasn’t an outsider; he was essentially someone Gu Bei had raised himself, so he didn’t bother avoiding Gu Bei while changing clothes.

As Gu Bei donned the daoist robe, a symbol of a sect’s direct disciple, he casually inquired, “How have things been with Junior Disciple Sister Wenren lately?”

“Junior Disciple Sister Wenren?” Nan Jiumu paused for a brief moment. “What could possibly be ‘how’?”

“You, you…” Gu Bei chuckled. “Won’t you be sixteen after the New Year?”

“Yes,” Nan Jiumu nodded.

“So, your coming-of-age ceremony is only four years away, and four years pass quickly. We only have one junior disciple sister in the sect; if you don’t seize the opportunity, that fertile water will flow into an outsider’s field~” Gu Bei said with a hint of teasing, sliding his hand into the wide sleeve of his daoist robe as he spoke.

“Cultivators don’t have such things as coming-of-age ceremonies,” Nan Jiumu replied with a gentle smile. “Senior Disciple Brother’s state of mind never truly seems like that of a cultivator.”

Looking at his gentle junior disciple brother, Gu Bei stroked his chin, a mischievous smile playing on his lips. “Or are you, perhaps, interested in our guest elder?”

“How could that be?”

“Hiss… Then, you wouldn’t be interested in Master, would you…”

“Senior Disciple Brother, what on earth are you talking about?!” Nan Jiumu exclaimed, his face flushing crimson with indignant shame.

“Heh heh, my point is, you needn’t hover around me every day. You’re young; why aren’t you out having fun with girls instead of constantly sticking with your Senior Disciple Brother?” He lowered his head, fumbling with his belt.

Yet, he couldn’t seem to tie it properly.

Since transmigrating, he had stumbled over the seemingly basic skill of dressing. There were simply too many elaborate garments; even as a direct disciple of a declining sect like his, his wardrobe held several outfits for different occasions.

Most of the time when he was within the sect, he merely draped this daoist robe over himself, but as he was going out today, that wouldn’t do.

“Allow me,” Nan Jiumu offered softly, then gently took the tie from Gu Bei’s hand.

A soft, smooth touch brushed across the back of Gu Bei’s hand.

He watched his junior disciple brother, who stood so close, head bowed, earnestly tying his belt.

‘Brother, you are so—’

‘No, no, that’s not right.’

‘An effeminate man is truly terrifying.’

To be honest, he had long suspected his junior disciple brother had issues with his sexual orientation.

Though he wasn’t very familiar with other sects’ situations, generally speaking, which junior disciple brother would help his senior disciple brother tie his belt in such a manner?

What was truly terrifying wasn’t his junior disciple brother’s sexual orientation, but rather that his junior disciple brother, simply by standing there, resembled a figure of jade on the path, and when he smiled, it was like the spring breeze thawing the ice.

And when he smiled with shy, reserved modesty…

The destructive power was truly terrifying.

It was probably to the extent that he could charm both men and women.

Sometimes, he wondered if his junior disciple brother was the protagonist of one of those ‘strong female lead’ novels, where a domineering and powerful female character would dramatically appear and stage a gender-reversed ‘overbearing CEO falls in love with me’ scenario.

But then.

His junior disciple brother always revolved around him!

‘C-could this story be… an Omegaverse tale…?’

‘That would be utterly terrifying.’

“Junior Disciple Sister Qingluan also wishes to stick close to Senior Disciple Brother, but haven’t you always been avoiding her?” Nan Jiumu remarked, a low chuckle escaping him as he unhurriedly tied the belt.

“Because every time I encounter her, she euphemistically calls it ‘exchanging experience,’ but in reality, she’s just looking for a fight with me. I don’t understand; we’re both at Qi Condensation, what’s there to fight about…”

“Because Qingluan has never won, after all. Senior Disciple Brother, you should at least show her some consideration.”

“You must be joking,” Gu Bei scoffed, then stated emphatically, “How could I possibly let her win? I’m the head senior disciple of this sect! Besides, there are only a few usable spells at the Qi Condensation stage—things like Clear Mind, Haste, or Fire Blaze. Ultimately, it still comes down to close-quarters combat.”

“She’s just a girl; how could I, a big grown man, possibly lose to her?”

Nan Jiumu subtly covered his mouth, chuckling softly. “Yes, yes, Senior Disciple Brother is right.”

“Alright, Senior Disciple Brother, how does it look?” Nan Jiumu stepped back two paces after finishing, hands clasped behind his back, observing his neatly dressed senior disciple brother.

He nodded, a hint of satisfaction on his face.

“Good, thank you.”

“Senior Disciple Brother is too polite.”

Once Gu Bei was fully dressed, he intended to head out and greet his Master.

But before he could step out, someone else entered even faster.

A beautiful female cultivator, with a stern, almost fierce, look between her brows, pushed open his door without a hint of hesitation.

Gu Bei’s expression stiffened.

“Awake?”

“Awake.”

The capable and stern female cultivator nodded slightly. “I have something to tell you.”

“Yes, please tell me,” Gu Bei replied with a welcoming smile.

This person could not, under any circumstances, be offended.

This was the entire sect’s sole guest elder.

Although he had personally invited her back, there was very little affection between them.

Any affection that might have existed had vanished as this capable and beautiful guest elder tirelessly worked day after day, securing resources and boosting their sect’s reputation.

“I made a trip to Three Rivers, and Clear Stream Valley has agreed to an initial collaboration with us.”

“I see, I understand. Then…” Gu Bei felt a flicker of confusion; typically, she wouldn’t specifically inform him of such matters.

“Clear Stream Valley wants you to make a trip there.”

“Oh, alright. In that case, I’ll trouble you to accompany me?”

“Nonsense,” the guest elder stated, her tone flat yet utterly unapologetic.

“Yes, yes, yes…” Gu Bei chuckled awkwardly.

“That trip left me parched. Go brew me some tea,” she commanded directly.

“Uh… Could you wait until I’ve greeted Master?”

“Go quickly and return quickly.”

“Alright, alright, alright…”

Nan Jiumu, standing nearby, listened with a deep frown.

But he remained silent.

In truth, Nan Jiumu had been dissatisfied with this guest elder for a long time, as she constantly ordered his Senior Disciple Brother around without a shred of politeness.

No matter what, she was merely a guest elder, while his Senior Disciple Brother was their Master’s only direct disciple and the sect’s head senior disciple.

Within the sect, his word was law; outside, he was the very face of the entire sect.

Nan Jiumu conceded that this guest elder was capable, but hadn’t the sect been doing perfectly fine under his Senior Disciple Brother’s care before she arrived?

Despite his dissatisfaction, he followed his Senior Disciple Brother out without uttering a single word.