Chapter 8

Luo Chu gave Liu Chengzhi a beginner’s cultivation manual and sent him off to practice in the grove.

Why didn’t Luo Chu teach him herself? Because she couldn’t! Though she had some spiritual energy, it all belonged to the original body’s owner—how would she know how to unlock meridians or absorb the energy of heaven and earth?

“Well, well, if it isn’t the new disciple that Elder Luo Chu took in yesterday? What’s he doing practicing alone in the back mountains? Didn’t the Elder bother to come with you?”

A group of cultivators in white robes with yellow outer garments approached.

At a glance, Liu Chengzhi recognized Zi Chu—the one who had tried to throw him off the mountain peak at the observation deck yesterday.

Disciples of Xuanyu Peak.

“Hm.”

Liu Chengzhi shot him a glance before turning back to his manual.

Zi Chu, seeing how coldly Liu Chengzhi treated him, felt his pride sting.

After all, just a day ago, this guy had been a pitiful stray no one wanted—yet now, he was the personal disciple of the foremost immortal in the sect! Resentment swelled, and Zi Chu couldn’t resist the urge to humiliate him.

Burning with jealousy, he snatched the manual from Liu Chengzhi’s hands.

“Oh ho, look at you, acting all high and mighty! Let’s see what precious cultivation manual has you so engrossed!”

“Give it back!”

Liu Chengzhi’s fists clenched as he watched his master’s gift being taken.

“I thought it was some secret technique, but it’s just a beginner’s manual!”

Zi Chu laughed, holding it high.

The disciples tossed it among themselves while Liu Chengzhi, powerless, couldn’t retrieve it.

“You want it back? Kneel, and I’ll return it. How about that?”

Having the personal disciple of Elder Luo Chu kneel before him—what an honor that would be!

“I will only ever kneel to my master.”

Liu Chengzhi’s face tightened, dark currents swirling in his heterochromatic blue-and-yellow eyes.

“Since you refuse, then—”

Zi Chu casually tore the manual to shreds and tossed the pieces into the air.

The crowd burst into laughter, Zi Chu smirking triumphantly at Liu Chengzhi.

Liu Chengzhi suddenly raised his head, glaring at him—those eerie, mismatched eyes unfathomably deep, surging with murderous intent.

The disciples froze, instinctively stepping back.

Then, as if sensing something, Liu Chengzhi slowly reined in his fury, reverting to a docile demeanor.

Zi Chu was the first to snap out of it.

“You dare glare at me?! Beat him!”

The disciples rushed forward, kicking and punching Liu Chengzhi mercilessly.

His inky-black hair hung disheveled over his face, his once-pristine robes now stained with blood and oversized footprints.

Zi Chu stepped forward, gripping Liu Chengzhi’s bruised and swollen face.

“You think changing your name makes you noble? Listen well—you were born lowly, and that’s in your bones. And those freakish eyes? A wretch like you belongs in the mud. How dare you think you’re fit to be Elder Luo Chu’s disciple?”

People always bullied those weaker than themselves to feel superior, didn’t they?

“Whether he is fit to be my disciple is not for you to decide!”

A cold, feminine voice rang out—melodic, yet laced with barely concealed fury.

Luo Chu stepped forward, backlit by the sun, her silhouette edged in gold.

At her feet was an orange cat.

How irritating.

Liu Chengzhi glanced at the cat before lowering his gaze, masking his emotions.

The disciples fell dead silent, holding their breaths, expressions shifting—some awed, some worshipful, others guilty and terrified at being caught.

“Why didn’t you fight back when they bullied you?”

Luo Chu ignored them, looking down at Liu Chengzhi sprawled on the ground.

“Master, I… I…”

Liu Chengzhi’s fists trembled, fat tears rolling down his cheeks.

Luo Chu’s chest tightened, but she kept her voice steady.

“Those who wallow in self-pity, weeping and complaining about life’s unfairness, will never achieve anything. Let me tell you—life is unfair. What kind of person you become is up to you, not the judgment of the world.”

Liu Chengzhi went still.

The disciples, cowed by Luo Chu’s presence, didn’t dare make a sound.

Then—

The kneeling boy suddenly lunged, slamming a fist into Zi Chu’s face.

The two tumbled to the ground, grappling wildly, fists flying, teeth sinking in brutal bites.

The onlookers shuddered, too afraid to intervene.

In the end, Zi Chu was the one begging for mercy, wailing like a child.

“Chengzhi, stop. Don’t kill him.”

Liu Chengzhi halted at her command.

Zi Chu scrambled back, leaving a wet trail behind him.

Had he… pissed himself?!

Zi Chu’s vision swam, ears ringing.

The way he looked at Liu Chengzhi now was pure terror—as if he wasn’t facing a human, but a vengeful ghost.

“It seems my words yesterday fell on deaf ears,” Luo Chu said coolly.

“From today onward, you are expelled from Yunshang Immortal Sect.”

“Elder Luo! We’re disciples of Xuanyu Peak—”

“I’ll explain it to Xiao Qiang myself.”

The disciples paled. Zi Chu’s lips moved, but no sound came out.

Elder Luo Chu’s word was law—he was finished.

Then—

Luo Chu felt a sudden tightness around her waist.

Glancing down, she saw Liu Chengzhi bury his face against her abdomen, arms locked around her, lips pressed tight—his thin frame trembling violently.

A tear escaped, and then he broke, sobbing into her robes like a child.

Luo Chu pushed him back slightly, meeting his eyes.

“I have never taken a disciple before. Since I chose you, that means you are the best. Understood?”

“Yes. This disciple understands.”

Liu Chengzhi wiped his tears, grinning widely—his battered face making him look both pitiful and ridiculous.

“Doesn’t smiling like that hurt your cheeks?”

“It does.”

Yet he kept grinning, innocent as ever.

“Master, you can’t abandon me in the future.”

“Mn. I won’t.”

Luo Chu thought—he must fear being abandoned again.

That’s why he’s so uneasy.

Years later, Liu Chengzhi would often recall this moment.

But by then, he and she stood on opposing sides.

And he was no longer that small, pitiful child who needed her protection.

Such was the way of the world—people change, and those from the past never remain.