After Escaping From Death, He Went Even Crazier By Criticizing Black Lotus Chapter 42
byChapter 42 Second Senior Brother
Outside the tavern lights, the sounds of drinking were boisterous, the light shimmering and clear.
Wei Yinzui stood up lazily, his face flushed like fire, swaying unsteadily. His left hand hugged half a jar of wine, his right hand rested on the vermilion pillar, and a heavy sword hung from his waist.
After meeting Su Huan, the sword, which had gained sentience, hummed incessantly, like a frolicking child.
Wei Yinzui clicked his tongue in annoyance, reaching out to press it down. The sword’s humming became muffled, seemingly expressing dissatisfaction.
He scrutinized the young man’s eyes, which had widened in recognition, and couldn’t help but laugh. Finally, he remembered to greet him properly: “Fourth Junior Brother, long time no see. You’ve grown up quite a bit.”
Su Huan was stunned for a long while before finally processing the memories that had suddenly surfaced in his mind.
In those memories, he was sent to the Xuanji Sect to study at the age of ten. At that time, Chongjiang True Lord already had three direct disciples and was unwilling to take on a child. It was Wei Yinzui who found him adorable and casually put in a good word, allowing him to be accepted into Lichen Mountain.
When he arrived on the mountain, Eldest Senior Brother Yin Pei of Lichen Mountain was already old enough to go down the mountain for trials. Chongjiang True Lord was often in secluded cultivation, so only Feng Jiangyue and Wei Yinzui took turns looking after him.
Both of them were scatterbrains.
One forgot that he had not yet achieved the ability to abstain from food, and only when he fainted from hunger on the third day did he frantically boil a spirit beast egg to fill his stomach. The other lived by wine, taking little him in and out of taverns. The big and small drunkards would get tipsy but have no money to pay the bill, resulting in them being detained by the proprietress to wash dishes in the back kitchen all night before they could escape.
Once, Wei Yinzui was sober for a rare moment. He found Su Huan practicing his sword, hid something mysteriously in his palm, and led him to the bamboo forest behind Lichen Mountain, sharing it with a grin.
A butterfly, half the size of a palm, rested quietly in his hand.
Its black wings fluttered gently, emitting a faint blue light, exquisitely beautiful.
But Su Huan only took one look before fainting on the spot.
When he woke up, he learned that it was a Dark Butterfly from the Barren Realm, and the powder on its wings could cause people to die silently in an illusionary dream.
Wei Yinzui was beaten half to death by Feng Jiangyue because of this. After his injuries healed, he turned around and called Su Huan a “weak beauty,” saying he would never play with him again.
It wasn’t until he cultivated to the Nascent Soul stage that the young man, who spent his days in a drunken stupor, also went down the mountain for trials and rarely returned.
Su Huan looked at his Second Senior Brother, who radiated unreliability from head to toe, and pressed a hand to his forehead, asking, “Second Senior Brother, did the shopkeeper kick you out again?”
“Of course not.” Wei Yinzui snorted a laugh, swaying closer to him, and whispered, “I, *hiccup*, came back to catch a Great Demon, *hiccup*…”
Seeing him about to fall, Su Huan quickly supported him, feeling puzzled. “Great Demon?”
Yue Jiusi, who was behind him, also walked over, crossing his arms and scrutinizing the drunken, slovenly man with a look of utter disdain. He asked, “Hey, is he really your Senior Brother?”
Before Su Huan could speak, Wei Yinzui narrowed his eyes and clicked his tongue. “A stinky sword cultivator from the Jianqing Sect? Fourth Junior Brother, you need to stay away from sword cultivators, especially those from the Jianqing Sect. They are the most cold-blooded and heartless.”
Yue Jiusi was enraged and immediately retorted, “You are clearly a stinky sword cultivator yourself! Why don’t you tell your Junior Brother to distance himself from you too! What a lunatic!”
Wei Yinzui took a swig of wine and shook his head, refusing to stoop to the level of this wet-behind-the-ears kid. He staggered toward the street.
“Where are you going? Come back and explain yourself!”
Yue Jiusi wanted to chase after him to argue, but the staggering figure quickly vanished into the crowd in the blink of an eye.
Su Huan advised, “Don’t be angry, don’t be angry. Second Senior Brother just has a terrible temper like that. Don’t take him seriously.”
Yue Jiusi snorted through his nose, but the expression on his face softened.
He said, “You have to order all the signature dishes at this tavern for me…”
Su Huan looked at the bustling crowd, thinking about the words Wei Yinzui had revealed earlier, and was somewhat lost in thought.
“Hey, are you listening to me?” Yue Jiusi suddenly reached out and waved his hand in front of Su Huan’s eyes. Seeing his confused expression, he felt a little angry. “Are you still thinking about that so-called Senior Brother of yours? If you’re so distracted, why don’t you just go find him!”
Su Huan pondered this and said, “That makes sense.”
He turned and instructed Yue Jiusi, “You go inside and order the food. I’ll be right back.”
Yue Jiusi’s eyes widened. He shouted, “You’re actually going to abandon us and go look for that guy?!”
But Su Huan had already squeezed into the crowd and disappeared moments later.
Yue Jiusi immediately felt frustrated. He vowed internally that if he didn’t thoroughly fleece the surnamed Su tonight, he would write his name backward!
When Nangong Yi and Xiao Jianming arrived, Su Huan was already gone. Nangong Yi asked him, “Jiusi, where is Fellow Daoist Su?”
Yue Jiusi replied loudly and angrily, “I don’t know!”
After speaking, he hugged his sword and ran upstairs.
Su Huan pushed through the crowd and blocked Wei Yinzui’s path, asking, “Second Senior Brother, the Great Demon you mentioned is…”
Wei Yinzui, his face flushed with wine, leaned closer, a strong smell of alcohol wafting over. He chuckled softly, “Fourth Junior Brother, do you want to catch the demon with me too?… Unfortunately, I don’t know who he is, only that he is the Demon Lord’s eldest son…”
The Demon Lord’s eldest son?!
Su Huan was inwardly shocked. Wei Yinzui babbled on, “That day, *hiccup*, I ran into that person contacting a demon… That demon looked exactly like the Second Highness Yin Rong and called him ‘Big Brother’… That person covered half his face with a mask, but the fabric of his clothes was produced in the Xuanji Sect’s territory…”
“I originally wanted to capture this internal spy, but I was knocked unconscious in a dark alley instead, and slept for three days and three nights…” Wei Yinzui hiccupped, giving a self-mocking smile. “He’s really strange. He actually spared my life.”
Yes, this demon was truly strange.
Su Huan could clearly see that his Second Senior Brother was clean, without a trace of demonic energy, not looking like he had been implanted with a demon seed.
In other words, the demon had merely knocked him out and then let him go.
Su Huan couldn’t understand. He opened his mouth to ask for more details when someone in the crowd suddenly called out to him:
“Junior Brother Su!”
A white figure suddenly descended before him—it was Eldest Senior Brother Yinzhu.
He descended on his Qing Bamboo Flute, clad in gentle white robes, as resilient as a lush green bamboo.
This chief disciple of the Xuanji Sect was not cold and heartless like the Xiao Jianming in the Heart Tribulation Illusionary Dream. Instead, he was a somewhat overly kind, long-winded “male mother.”
Yinzhu sighed in relief when he saw that Su Huan was safe and sound. “It’s great to see that you’re alright.”
After speaking, he looked at Wei Yinzui, who was hugging a wine jar beside him, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. “Junior Brother Wei, why are you here? Are your trials over?”
Wei Yinzui sobered up slightly and respectfully called out, “Eldest Senior Brother.”
Wei Yinzui had been the little tyrant of Lichen Mountain since childhood. Relying on his excellent talent, he didn’t diligently cultivate, preferring instead to spend his days down the mountain eating, drinking, and having fun, leading countless sect disciples astray. Even the Sect Master couldn’t do anything about him.
This level of respect, besides the Sect Master and Chongjiang True Lord, was only given to Yinzhu in the entire sect. Even Yin Pei only received the title of “Little Old Man” from him.
This was because Wei Yinzui was the abandoned infant Yinzhu had picked up.
Yinzhu blinked and said softly, “Junior Brother Wei is drunk.”
Su Huan nodded. Just then, Xiao Jianming came looking for him—
“Huan’er.”
This gentle call sobered Wei Yinzui up another three points. He turned to look at the person who had spoken behind him.
A young man in a dark blue robe slowly walked out of the noisy crowd, stepping on the lamplight on the ground. He had thin lips, a straight nose, and eyes like black lacquer—a handsome face indeed.
However, the look in his eyes when he gazed at his Junior Brother gave people goosebumps… like a cultist worshipping an evil god.
Su Huan also turned, seeing Xiao Jianming approaching him, and asked, “Why did you come over?”
Xiao Jianming looked down at him and said softly, “I saw you weren’t there, so I wanted to come and find you.”
He glanced at the Chief Senior Brother, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time, and then at the drunken young man. He nodded with a forced smile. “Eldest Senior Brother, Senior Brother Wei.”
Hearing the familiar and intimate tone of their conversation, Wei Yinzui’s heart sank. He tentatively asked, “Fourth Junior Brother, who is this?”
Su Huan then remembered that Second Senior Brother had never met Xiao Jianming, so he introduced him. “Second Senior Brother, he is the new disciple taken in by Sword Venerable Uncle-Master, named Xiao Jianming.”
Xiao Jianming looked at Wei Yinzui, saw his furrowed brow, and raised an eyebrow, deliberately adding, “He is also Huan’er’s Dao Companion.”
As soon as the words fell, Wei Yinzui’s brows furrowed tighter.
Yinzhu stood by, hearing this, and couldn’t help but ask in surprise, “Fourth Junior Brother, you two have already formed a bond? Why have I never heard of it? Did you not hold a Grand Ceremony for the bond?”
Su Huan was startled and shook his head. “No.”
Xiao Jianming held his hand and smiled. “We just returned and haven’t had time to inform our Senior Masters and Elders.”
Yinzhu’s brow furrowed slightly. “Heaven, Earth, Sovereign, Parents, and Teacher—you must not forget to hold the bonding ceremony, otherwise, it is an unsanctioned union and will not be recognized.”
Xiao Jianming didn’t particularly like him. Hearing this, he merely gave a faint acknowledgment, unwilling to say more.
Su Huan nodded obediently and promised, “Eldest Senior Brother, don’t worry, I will tell Master.”
Wei Yinzui carefully examined his expression, seeing no hint of being wronged or forced. He picked up the wine jar and took a swig, his drunkenness deepening slightly. He laughed, “You brat, *hiccup*, you quietly snatched my Junior Brother away… I’m telling you, *hiccup*, if you don’t treat my Junior Brother well…”
He paused, reaching out to slap the heavy sword on his waist. “I will definitely let you taste the flavor of this sword, *hiccup*…”
He accidentally used too much force, and his body swayed with the sword. Yinzhu quickly supported him, sighing, “Junior Brother Wei, if your alcohol tolerance isn’t good, don’t drink so much.”
Naturally poor alcohol tolerance was Wei Yinzui’s greatest regret in life, but despite his weakness, his addiction was great, and he just loved to drink.
Yinzhu thought of Junior Brother Wei’s incorrigible habit and sighed again, unconsciously starting to nag, “Drinking is so harmful to the body. If you truly like it, you should learn to drink in moderation. How can you drink all day long? Even for a cultivator, it will damage your body…”
At this moment, a shout came from the air in the distance—
“Su Huan, if you don’t come now, I’ll drink all the wine myself!”
The few people all looked up and saw Yue Jiusi standing on the flying eaves of the tavern, holding the jar of spirit wine he had bought from Zihuan True Lord, deliberately shaking the clear wine jar at them.
The evening breeze blew toward them. Across the myriad of lights, Su Huan smelled the fragrance emanating from the small wine jar.
He couldn’t help but exclaim inwardly, What fragrant spirit wine.
He quickly responded, “I’m coming now!”
After responding, he remembered the Great Demon Wei Yinzui had mentioned. He looked at Wei Yinzui, who was too drunk to walk straight, and his eyes showed conflict.
Yinzhu noticed this and smiled. “In that case, Junior Brother Su, go and enjoy your meal with your friend. Leave Junior Brother Wei to me. I will look after him.”
Su Huan’s eyes lit up at the words. He thought that since Second Senior Brother wouldn’t know who the demon was anytime soon, it would be better to enjoy the night with Yue Jiusi and the others and investigate later.
He agreed, “Then thank you very much, Eldest Senior Brother!”
Yinzhu supported the unsteady Wei Yinzui and smiled. “You’re welcome. Go quickly.”
Su Huan nodded and happily ran toward the tavern.
Xiao Jianming lagged a step behind, looking at the black energy that, though not excessive, constantly lingered around Yinzhu. He raised an eyebrow.
Yinzhu felt his gaze and smiled back at him, his eyes showing confusion. “Junior Brother Xiao, is there anything else?”
Xiao Jianming watched as a thin wisp of black energy separated, floating in the air like a claw. He could clearly perceive the desires and delusions within it.
Finally, that wisp of malicious delusion lightly drifted down and landed on the drunkard who kept shouting that he could walk by himself.
The corner of his mouth curled up. “Nothing.”
He turned and left.