After Transmigrating as an Immortal Master, I Hold a Group Meeting - Chapter 81

Ning Mingmei sat at the bedside, lifting the child’s eyelid slightly.

“The wound on his neck has already healed. Impressive,” he remarked to Gui Ruoxue. “How long until he wakes up?”

Gui Ruoxue answered, “At least seven days.”

Ning Mingmei hummed. “Seven days, huh…”

Gui Ruoxue had sharp instincts. “You’re really worried about him?”

Ning Mingmei asked, “There’s nothing unusual about his blood, right?”

Gui Ruoxue: ?

It was mid-spring in Lian City. Outside the latticed windows, willow branches swayed, casting shadows over the child’s pale face. Ning Mingmei stared at the shadow, but what he thought of was fire.

The flickering glow of flames in a dark room reflecting on the child’s face.

The way the child looked at the fire burning in his palm, how different was it from the expressions of the relatives passing around a university acceptance letter?

In that fleeting moment, the system inside Ning Mingmei’s mind caught that thought.

“Fine, let’s consider this a small investment,” Ning Mingmei murmured. “Taking something from me always comes with a price. Lian Chengyue, you will repay this gift in due time.”

After Gui Ruoxue left, Ning Mingmei leaned down and placed a handful of osmanthus petals into Lian Chengyue’s mouth.

***

Lian Chengyue dreamed of darkness.

He stood on a bleak, lifeless wasteland, surrounded by voices condemning him, calling him wicked and mocking him as a joke. Others claimed they wanted to save him, each insisting that they could ‘educate’ him and lead him toward goodness.

Then, there was his adoptive mother, lashing his palms with a bamboo board, gripping his throat, and demanding that he suppress his power.

Then came the high-ranking Golden Core cultivators of the Lian family, their gazes filled with jealousy and disdain as they called him Lian Zhao’s ‘worthless medicine residue.’

Such contradictions. They worshipped power as supreme, yet when true power emerged, they clung to ‘moral and ethical justifications’ to judge it.

In the midst of that filthy and twisted logic, something cool and sweet landed on his lips and tongue.

Lian Chengyue instinctively resisted. He was born to seize, never to receive something so rare and precious without reason. Yet rationality screamed at him to swallow it down.

Then, he heard that voice say, “…Repay it slowly.”

At that moment, all resistance vanished. Everything became starkly clear. He shut his eyes and allowed the elixir to flow down his throat.

“Looks like I’ll be able to draw blood sooner than expected.”

After feeding Lian Chengyue, Ning Mingmei left the room. But the moment he pushed open the door, he saw an unexpected figure.

Dressed in white, with a jade hairpin, and a gentle smile… was Qi Miancheng.

Ning Mingmei frowned. “Why are you here??”

Qi Miancheng said, “Junior Brother, I have already instructed my disciples to plant that Osmanthus Tree for you.”

“Thank you, Senior Brother, for reporting to me in person. You may leave now.”

Qi Miancheng acted as if he hadn’t heard the last sentence. “How is Junior Brother’s health? Are you still feeling unwell?”

“……”

With the Sect Master’s arrival, all the disciples peeked out to watch, including Hu Yang.

Qi Miancheng noticing Hu Yang was equivalent to Qi Miancheng noticing Wu Yun, which was equivalent to Qi Miancheng noticing Gui Ruoxue.

It wouldn’t have mattered if Qi Miancheng had only noticed Gui Ruoxue. Ning Mingmei believed that even if Gui Ruoxue had to flee at that moment, he would eventually find a way to sneak into the Supreme Clarity Sect, climb up Misty Peak, and continue his academic pursuits.

But Wu Yun was different.

If a criminal like Wu Yun wasn’t locked up in Misty Peak’s prison, where else could he be imprisoned? Wu Yun’s offense in Ye Province was tantamount to offending the imperial family of the mortal realm, which was equivalent to offending the celestial dragon, Fang Wuyu. Qi Miancheng and Fang Wuyu had a deep relationship. If Qi Miancheng were to discover Wu Yun’s presence, how could Ning Mingmei still uphold justice and fulfill Misty Peak’s social responsibilities?

Ning Mingmei was harboring three fugitives in the courtyard, namely Gui Ruoxue, Wu Yun, and Hu Yang, so he calmly said, “Senior Brother, this is my first time at the Lian family’s residence. Why don’t you show me around? Seeing new sights might make me feel better.”

Qi Miancheng hadn’t expected that request and frowned slightly. “I’m not very familiar with the Lian family.”

Ning Mingmei took a step forward, naturally blocking Qi Miancheng’s line of sight toward Hu Yang. “That’s fine. I just want to take a walk with Senior Brother.”

Qi Miancheng’s gaze flicked slightly past him and landed on an open window.

Ning Mingmei moved again, casually blocking his view once more. “Senior Brother.”

Qi Miancheng seemed to realize Ning Mingmei’s intent but, in the end, did not point it out.

He merely smiled. “Alright, I’ll take you for a walk around the Lian family’s residence.”

For now, the crisis of having his academic slaves confiscated was averted. Ning Mingmei naturally walked out of the courtyard with Qi Miancheng.

Qi Miancheng said, “I heard from the disciples that the child you took from Wangyue Town is now seriously injured? Just now, when you were in that room, you were checking on him, weren’t you?”

Ning Mingmei replied, “Yes. Unfortunate, really. But at least the incident in Ye Province is finally resolved, the villains have been punished, and I’ve gained a well-deserved… sense of achievement.”

A mere twenty million.

It was rare for Ning Mingmei to say something that sounded remotely conscientious. The system was pleasantly surprised. [You’re starting to think Lian Chengyue is unfortunate!]

Ning Mingmei: [What? Of course, I meant I’m the one who’s unfortunate.]

The blood source he had painstakingly acquired was either poisoned or injured, and he kept ingesting all sorts of bizarre substances. If Lian Chengyue were a bottle of drink, his ingredient list would be over a meter long by now.

[In this situation, I can still put aside past grudges and continue drinking his blood. I must be truly magnanimous!]

The system: …

So, in the end, there wasn’t even half a sentence of genuine conscience.

“Ye Province’s incident caused a great stir. I imagine in a few days, the imperial court will send people to investigate thoroughly. I’ve heard that one of the descendants of the Jiang family, one of the five deputy generals back then, moved out of Ye Province and later achieved scholarly honors in the capital, entering the court as an official,” Qi Miancheng said. “By then, the old case involving the Li tribe should also resurface.”

“Justice being served? That’s nice,” Ning Mingmei remarked casually.

“Junior Brother, do you really think that’s justice?” Qi Miancheng suddenly asked. “Delayed justice is never true justice. It’s merely a tool to give bystanders the illusion that they can still live well in this ‘fair’ world, so that they will continue to devote themselves to fulfilling others’ visions without hesitation.”

Ning Mingmei raised an eyebrow and glanced at him.

Hearing such extreme and cynical words from Qi Miancheng was rather bizarre.

Qi Miancheng was born into the most prestigious aristocratic family in the immortal realm, the Qi family. His father was the well-known patriarch of the Qi family and his mother was the renowned genius Lian Tingyu. On the day of his birth, the sky was filled with clouds of brilliant colors. At the age of five, he was discovered to have a rare, mutated heavenly spiritual root, an occurrence unseen in the cultivation realm for a thousand years. At ten, he was personally accepted as the first personal disciple of the Supreme Clarity Sect’s sect master, Spirit Master Inaction.

From then on, his life was smooth sailing and everything he encountered was bright and just. He never saw the scheming and infighting among fellow disciples for resources because Spirit Master Inaction had already prepared everything for his personal disciples, even down to their cultivation furnaces. He never saw mortals fighting desperately over scarce resources because his family’s sword-forging business provided him with everything he needed.

Even when he traveled in the fiend realm, he never had to fear powerful cultivators making a move against him because everyone knew that not only did he have a renowned patriarch for a father, but also a mother who was infamous for her ruthlessness and vengeance, Lian Tingyu.

In his world, ‘fairness and justice’ were natural and unquestioned and playing the role of a noble sage was also natural. Because he lived in a world where such things simply existed.

Therefore, for Qi Miancheng to say such words was something entirely unexpected.

Noticing that Ning Mingmei was looking at him, Qi Miancheng smiled. “Junior Brother, you truly care about that child. You endured the exhaustion of a long journey by donkey-pulled carriage, so tired on the road that you didn’t even have the energy to speak to me. Yet, as soon as we arrived at the Lian family’s residence, you didn’t think about resting first. The moment we parted, you went straight to see him.”

If the first half of the sentence was just polite concern between senior and junior brothers, the latter half felt a bit… off.

Why did it sound like he was sulking and jealous?

Servants of the Lian family bustled around them, all watching. Ning Mingmei said, “He is seriously injured.”

Qi Miancheng replied, “Yes. That child is indeed gravely injured, very fragile. But just a few days ago, I was also seriously injured.”

Ning Mingmei: “…”

Thankfully, in such a public setting, Qi Miancheng didn’t suddenly let a trickle of blood drip from the corner of his mouth again.

Had that peculiar talent of bleeding at will finally disappeared?

Or was it simply that Qi Miancheng always maintained a dignified and serene appearance in front of outsiders, yet in private, when dealing with him, he acted like a drama-loving artificial idiot?

Ning Mingmei never wasted time overthinking. He simply changed the subject. “Where are we now?”

As they spoke, they had already passed the guest quarters assigned to them by the Lian family and arrived at a new location.

Qi Miancheng said, “I don’t know. I’ve never been to the Lian family’s residence before.”

…Were they lost?

“The Lian family is your maternal family. Have you never visited before, Senior Brother?” Ning Mingmei asked.

“My mother, Lian Tingyu, was once part of the Lian family,” Qi Miancheng said flatly, “But ever since she left, she severed all ties with them. I came here now only to retrieve some of her belongings.”

Wait a moment… Lian Tingyu?

Wasn’t that the same Lian Tingyu that the Fiend Lord had mentioned? The one rumored to have had a connection with Jiang Heng, the infamous concubine who brought ruin to nations?

Ning Mingmei hadn’t forgotten his grudge against Jiang Duo. Without hesitation, he said, “Senior Brother, I’m truly sorry to hear that.”

Qi Miancheng replied, “It’s fine. My mother passed away decades ago.”

Ning Mingmei said, “My condolences, Senior Brother. I’ve long heard of your esteemed mother’s reputation. I’m also quite curious about her relationship with the Lian family. If it’s not inconvenient, could you tell me about it? If it is, I completely understand.”

As he spoke, he took a few more steps forward, only to realize that Qi Miancheng had stopped walking. “Senior Brother, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Qi Miancheng said, his face half-hidden in the shadow of the willow branches. “I just suddenly noticed that Junior Brother only ever calls me ‘Senior Brother’ when you need my help.”

Ning Mingmei lied with a straight face. “Really? But aren’t we, the Supreme Clarity Sect disciples, always united and supportive of each other?”

Qi Miancheng suddenly laughed.

“Yes,” he said. “Which is why I should find a way to make Junior Brother feel that I’m even more useful.”

That last sentence didn’t sound like something the composed and restrained Sect Master Qi Miancheng would say.

It sounded more like a snake, lurking in the shadows, flicking its tongue.

If Ning Mingmei had turned to look at him at that moment, he would have seen Qi Miancheng’s unguarded gaze, devoid of any warmth, lacking the slightest trace of human empathy, and resembling more the stare of a predator from the abyss.

But Ning Mingmei didn’t look back.

“Is that so? Senior Brother is the sect master of the Supreme Clarity Sect. Who would dare say the sect master of the Supreme Clarity Sect is useless?” he said.

His tone was light, as lazy as a cat lounging by a window, its eyes sharp in the dark and claws extending just enough to parry any force with ease.

Qi Miancheng said, “Is that so? Yet I always feel that Junior Brother resists me. You even seem to be closer to a mere child you’re taking care of than you are to me.”

Ning Mingmei: …

Why did that statement carry such blatant possessiveness and a thirst for dominance?

“That child helped me and he’s truly pitiful. Even if it had been a dog lying there, I would have saved it.” Ning Mingmei acted as if he hadn’t noticed anything amiss, his expression completely calm.

Qi Miancheng actually laughed. “Is that so? Then that’s for the best.”

…

I really can’t stand people who have no control over their emotions in social interactions.

“My mother’s connection to the Lian family begins centuries ago. Before that, we must first talk about the Lian family’s cultivation techniques,” Qi Miancheng smoothly redirected the conversation. “The Lian family’s technique is…”

“Master Qi, I finally found you!” A young servant spotted him and ran over, panting. “The patriarch asks you to come to the Hall of Virtue and Righteousness… and should Immortal Master Ning come along as well?”