Unexpectedly, that afternoon, Lu Yaoyao and Li Daoxuan paid a visit and even brought some snacks.
As expected, Lu Yaoyao's original remark of "So powerful" had already changed to "What a pity".
Li Daoxuan also shifted from "initially pleasing rogue" to "extremely unfortunate rogue".
"Zhou, cheer up, as long as you're safe," Lu Yaoyao comforted him softly.
Li Daoxuan placed the snacks on the table and said sternly, "Maybe next time the Supreme Elders gather the herbs and reopen the Flame Spirit Blood Pool, they might make it up to you."
Zhou Qing really wanted to tell them that the thief appeared after he had already soaked for the entire night, and in fact, he didn't suffer any loss.
But after thinking it over, he decided to remain silent.
After all, this reward was already something that others envied; it would be better to make people laugh at him than to arouse their jealousy.
So Zhou Qing immediately pretended to be weak and said, "I'm fine, thank you for your concern, Junior Sister and Senior Brother."
Lu Yaoyao wanted to say more, but seeing Zhou Qing's frustrated expression, Li Daoxuan gently pulled at her and shook his head.
Understanding his gesture, Lu Yaoyao stood up and said, "Alright then, we won't bother you anymore. Get some rest and don't let it get to you, it's not a big deal."
After watching the two leave, Zhou Qing immediately perked up.
He opened the food box and couldn't help but lick his lips at the sight of the exquisite snacks inside.
Just now, he had smelled the delicious aroma, which tempted him greatly. It was clear that a lot of effort had been put into making these treats.
Since they weren't from enemies seeking revenge, there should be no poison in the snacks; he then began to feast heartily.
That night, while Zhou Qing was studying the "Silver Dragon Hand" and absorbing top-grade spirit stones, a message suddenly came through.
"Fourth, hurry to the foot of Yuqing Peak!"
Zhou Qing was initially stunned, then quickly packed his belongings, pushed open the door, and looked out into the night, feeling puzzled.
It's so late, why would the third brother ask me to go to Yuqing Peak?
Though full of confusion, he still hurried over.
In no time, he saw a person at the foot of Yuqing Peak, waving at him non-stop. Seeing this, Zhou Qing had no choice but to control his flying sword and land.
"Greetings, Senior Brother Zhou!" The person was an inner sect disciple dressed in yellow, with two strands of eight-beard at the corners of his mouth, appearing to be in his thirties.
Zhou Qing slightly frowned, but the man hurriedly said, "Senior Brother Zhou, Senior Brother Yan has been waiting inside for a long time, we can't be late."
"Late for what?" Zhou Qing became even more confused.
The man shook his head, "I don't know either, you'll know once you get inside."
Saying that, he immediately took out an array disc from his bosom. After activating it, the night restriction around Yuqing Peak silently opened a passageway.
"I'll lead the way!" The man said and then entered.
Looking at Yuqing Peak, Zhou Qing always felt it was inappropriate to intrude on someone's territory in the middle of the night, but thinking that the third brother must have something important, he wouldn't be in such a hurry otherwise.
He gritted his teeth and followed in.
Under the night sky, the two kept traversing, avoiding one patrol law enforcement team after another.
"Here we are!" Eight-Beard suddenly stopped and pointed at the solitary courtyard in front of them.
Zhou Qing crouched down and looked around, lowering his voice in shock, "Are you kidding, this is a core disciple's residence, and from the decoration, it's a senior sister's."
Eight-Beard looked serious, "Senior Brother Yan is inside, don't you know he has someone he fancies?"
Zhou Qing was stunned, his mind flashing with Yan Xiaohu's carefree image, and he shook his head repeatedly.
He wouldn't care about such romantic matters.
Zhou Qing suddenly became alert and took two steps back, "Who are you really? Where is my third brother?"
The message was indeed from the third brother, but the behavior now was very different.
Seeing Zhou Qing's guarded look, Eight-Beard couldn't help but laugh and make a tutting sound: "I didn't fool you, you do have some brains. To reward you, I made an effort to give you something you like."
Hearing the familiar yet strange voice coming from Eight-Beard, Zhou Qing's face changed drastically.
"Who's out there?"
Suddenly, the courtyard door behind burst open, and a figure wrapped in a bath towel flew up into the sky.
Her waterfall-like long hair was wetly draped over her shoulders, water droplets rolling down along her hair, her gaze like lightning, locking onto Zhou Qing at once.
"Shi... Shi Zhen Senior Sister!" Zhou Qing's face instantly turned pale.
A while ago, he had taken his first class taught by Senior Sister Shi Zhen, and she specifically explained the practice method of the "Cyan Wood Spirit Shield".
Zhou Qing hastily turned his head, only to find that the second uncle who had tricked him here had already vanished without a trace.
He gulped down a mouthful of saliva.
It's over, this time it's like mud falling into pants, whether or not it's poop, it looks like poop.
At this moment, Shi Zhen's exquisite face showed anger and shyness, her eyes seemed to burn with fire.
But then suddenly, Zhou Qing's legs went weak, and his entire body collapsed to the ground, starting to convulse uncontrollably.
His limbs flailed wildly, as if being pulled by an invisible force.
His facial muscles twisted, his eyes rolled up, his mouth wide open, making a painful "gurgling" sound from his throat.
White foam bubbled from the corners of his mouth, looking very horrifying.
Shi Zhen's face changed slightly, frowning and tentatively calling, "Junior Brother Zhou?"
Seeing Zhou Qing still convulsing, she quickly descended, grabbing her bath towel with one hand while feeling his pulse with the other, and soon was shocked.
"Why is this pulse so chaotic? It's not right, it looks like poison and also like going mad... Master, Master—"
Shi Zhen didn't dare to delay, quickly taking out a Help Talisman to call her master, after all, a core disciple had an incident in front of her door, she couldn't explain it away.
......
"What's wrong with this child?"
Yuqing Peak Master Tong Min looked at Mo Xingjian coming out of the room and hurriedly asked.
Mo Xingjian gratefully bowed to Tong Min and said, "Thanks to Junior Sister's timely assistance and sending him back to Little Spirit Peak, he's now fine, just needs one or two days of rest."
Tong Min finally sighed in relief after hearing that.
Then, Mo Xingjian looked at the somewhat uneasy Shi Zhen and smiled, "It's not your fault, this child's sleepwalking condition isn't new, just didn't expect it to be so severe now. You didn't scare him on purpose."
Shi Zhen realized it, remembering that sleepwalkers shouldn't be startled, or unforeseeable consequences could happen, it turned out to be true.
She quickly apologized, "Uncle Mo, it's still my fault, when he fully recovers, I'll personally apologize to him."
Mo Xingjian quickly waved his hand, "It's alright, as long as you don't misunderstand."
At this time, in the room, Yan Xiaohu was crouching stealthily by the window, eavesdropping.
Meanwhile, Zhou Qing acted as if nothing had happened, sitting on the bed and cautiously peering out.
"Third Senior Brother, have they left?" Zhou Qing dared not speak, using a hand gesture understood only by the two of them to ask.
Yan Xiaohu made a hush gesture, listened for a moment longer, then breathed a sigh of relief, "Master is off to see them out, Fourth, you're something else!"