A Secret Meal and a Trip Down the Mountain

Senior Disciple Brother retrieved the bowl of rice and ran off to hide. She quickly put the rice pot back on her head, closing her eyes as if oblivious to worldly affairs. But a faint aroma of chicken meat made her peek one eye open.
"Senior Brother."

Brother Qian quickly covered her mouth, shushed her, and said, "Speak softly. Junior Sister, look, I brought you chicken."

A clap echoed, "Ah, Junior Disciple, is that you?"

Brother Qian gaped in astonishment, not expecting Senior Disciple Brother to be there. "Senior Disciple Brother, why are you here?"

She didn't think much and honestly confessed for Lun Peng, "He brought me food to eat."

Brother Qian lost all fear and joked freely, "I thought Senior Disciple Brother was so cold and aloof. Turns out he also knows how to care for this starving blockhead."

Brother Qian whispered just loud enough for Senior Disciple Brother to hear, "Yet before, he said..."

Before he could finish, Senior Disciple Brother covered his mouth. Lun Peng, covering his embarrassment, laughed and said, "Nonsense."

Junior Disciple broke free and pointed at Lun Peng, "Then what's behind Senior Disciple Brother?"

Finally, Senior Disciple Brother had to admit defeat and sat down to eat with her and Junior Disciple.

Wan Ru broke off a chicken drumstick, took a bite, and praised, "Senior Brother's cooking is indeed different. Much more delicious."

Senior Brother chuckled, pulled off the other drumstick, and offered it to Senior Disciple Brother, but Lun Peng waved his hand, "Junior Disciple, aren't you afraid Master will find out?"

Senior Brother happily gnawed on the remaining drumstick, "That can't happen. This chicken has been hidden by Junior Disciple for a long time."

All of this fell into the eyes of someone standing in the shadows. That person did nothing, merely quietly left.

Tonight's moon was very bright, as if revealing people's hearts.

Lun Peng quietly left, checking if everyone was asleep. Alone, he went deep into the dark forest, his eyes deep and profound, not a single ray of light penetrating them.

Walking along the path, Lun Peng suddenly said, "Come out, all of you."

In an instant, a group of people surrounded Lun Peng. He smirked, made the first move, and sent a man flying into a nearby tree. Lun Peng fanned himself with his fan, using only one hand to deal with them. A voice echoed from a tree, "Retreat, you are not his opponents."

Lun Peng felt eyes watching him from behind. He turned back and saw a White Tiger Demon staring intently at him. Lun Peng smirked, flying to a tree like lightning, but someone was even faster, rushing in and carrying a person out. Following that, the black-clad figures also vanished, and the White Tiger Demon ran away. Lun Peng merely stood watching, doing nothing, and spoke, "Don't dare to compete with me? If not, at least return the item."

With a whoosh, a small object flew towards Lun Peng. He quickly raised his hand to catch it. Lun Peng opened his palm; it was a jade pendant.

The lotus pond in the late night was illuminated by fireflies, creating a poetic scene. The faint scent of lotus helped people fall into a deeper sleep. Wan Ru had changed her kneeling spot closer to the lotus pond to avoid Master's inspection.

A figure in elegant, pristine white robes approached her.

Senior Disciple Brother came before her, gently taking the jade pendant from the pot she had placed on the ground. The two jade pendants in Lun Peng's hand were identical. Senior Disciple Brother placed the jade pendant he had just retrieved from the mysterious group back into the pot.

As for the jade pendant from the pot, Lun Peng crushed it, his eyes following the strange demonic qi emanating from his hand. The jade piece in the pot suddenly lit up.

The next morning, she groggily got up to stretch a bit. Taking the jade pendant from the pot and hiding it on her person, she carried the rice pot to the well, where she saw Senior Disciple Brother and Brother Qian busily cooking. Hao Qian saw her and smiled, "Finally here, are you?"

"Don't you dare tease me."

Senior Disciple Brother, who was cooking, said, "Junior Sister should go apologize to Master."

Wan Ru thought it made sense and said, "This time, let Junior Sister cook a meal to apologize to Master."

Hao Qian was startled and immediately pushed her away, "We two Senior Brothers don't need you. Go apologize to Master."

She sighed, obeyed his words, and faced Master alone. Wan Ru entered the main house, saw Master, and immediately ran to bow, "I know I was wrong, Master."

Yi Jia walked to her, helped her up, looked at her with a sigh, but his gaze had softened. "It's good that you know your mistake."

She smiled cheerfully. She understood that yesterday's punishment was very light compared to the rules she knew. That jade pendant symbolized the entire Zhong Xia sect. An idea popped into her head, "Then I will cook for you, is that alright?"

Yi Jia said, "Of course, how could I refuse?"

Her eyes sharpened. Wan Ru went to the kitchen and said mischievously, "Let me into the kitchen."

Indeed, such was Master's influence that they allowed her into the kitchen, but only permitted her to make one dish herself: steamed buns, as they were quite easy to make and edible even for a first-timer.

Wan Ru carefully read the instructions and followed them. Just a few hours later, her meat-filled steamed buns were born, emitting an indescribable aroma, and surely everyone would think they were edible.

The steamed buns were brought and offered exclusively to Master. Yi Jia picked up a bun; it was neither soggy nor hard to the touch, perfectly cooked. Brother Qian looked at her with a very proud expression. All three watched Master intently as he tasted it. Yi Jia took a bite, his eyes widened, his mouth stopped chewing, and he looked at her, trying to maintain a satisfied expression, forcing a smile so no one would realize the bun was terrible, then he forced himself to swallow.

Hao Qian thought it was actually edible and grabbed one, then immediately spat it out, "Too sweet!"

Senior Disciple Brother didn't eat, as if he knew beforehand, and said, "Perhaps the sugar was added by mistake."

She was a little sad, seeing all the effort she had put into making the buns now wasted. Senior Disciple Brother, seeing this, comforted her, "Don't be sad anymore. My eighteenth birthday is coming soon. I will take you down the mountain to play."

Brother Qian excitedly said, "Senior Disciple Brother, let me come too."

Master said sternly, "I haven't agreed to let Junior Sister go down the mountain yet, so why do you speak like that?"

Senior Disciple Brother realized he had acted improperly, "I forgot to ask Master. But Master, please trust me, I will protect my two junior disciples well."

She hadn't been down the mountain for a long time; this was an opportunity to have fun to her heart's content. Wan Ru coquettishly tugged at Master's sleeve, "We won't cause any trouble."

Brother Qian responded in agreement, "We swear it."

Master sighed and nodded, "It only serves to further deplete the treasury."

Hearing just that, Hao Qian and Wan Ru held hands and celebrated happily.

A week later, they bid farewell to Master to go down the mountain. Before they left, Master gave them some money to enjoy themselves freely, and their belongings were also carefully prepared for an overnight stay. The three of them disguised themselves as commoners, claiming to be blood siblings so as not to reveal their identities.

While Senior Disciple Brother went into the inn to book rooms, Wan Ru and Hao Qian playfully frolicked outside, joking with each other. She was poking at ants with a stick when Hao Qian shook her, "Look, Junior Sister."

A group of fierce-looking men with shaggy beards, holding thunder maces, stormed menacingly into the inn. Only then did she notice that the inn was truly dilapidated. Wan Ru quickly pulled Brother Qian inside, where they saw Senior Disciple Brother protecting the innkeeper. A large man, seemingly the leader, stepped forward, "You there, are you going to pay or not?"