Chapter 512: But I Am His Master

Hearing the captain's words, Xu Qing recalled his previous trip to the Corpse Ban, where he had observed that his master's position in the formation appeared even more critical than the Ancestor's. He nodded in profound agreement.

Seeing Xu Qing agree to his proposal, the captain's spirits soared. He whispered, "We need to find Master, but we can't use voice transmission, and it's not ideal to rely on the Sword Holders' Tribunal to relay this message…" The captain blinked, his gaze sweeping over Xu Qing. "We can only trick Master into coming here first, so we can tell him in person."

"So?" Xu Qing asked, a hint of suspicion in his voice as he noted the captain's unusual gaze.

"So... we need to carefully consider how to make Master rush here immediately, with utmost urgency, without delay, and eagerly."

The captain cleared his throat. "Little Junior Brother, for this to work, one of us has to be on the verge of death, and it must be convincing. Even if I said I was dying, Master would rush here instantly because he dotes on me. However… if the rest of my head is perfectly fine, Master would likely realize it's a trick after a moment's thought."

"Is there no secret code?" Xu Qing asked calmly, his expression unreadable.

"No secret code, none at all!!" The captain buried his face in his hands, sighing deeply. He stole a glance at Xu Qing and continued, "We'll just have to inconvenience you, Little Junior Brother. To make it convincing, don't resist. I'll go easy on you, and your injuries should heal in seven days."

"Don't worry, at most, it'll just be a few broken legs, a few extra holes in your body, a hundred or so shattered bones, and a bit of brain matter spilled. We've done this many times before; I have experience."

"The main thing is, once Master sees your injuries, he won't think we've tricked him. Then we can smoothly tell him about the situation, and everything will go perfectly, don't worry. I often did this before." The captain chuckled, eager to try it out. Every time he broke a seal, he wanted to assert his authority as Senior Brother in front of Xu Qing.

Given that he had previously almost fallen behind Xu Qing's cultivation speed, this prospect ignited a fervent desire in him to properly establish his authority.

Xu Qing nodded, took out his command token, and swiftly used his voice transmission access with the Grand Elder of the Sword Holders' Tribunal. "Grand Elder, please deliver a verbal message to my Master."

Xu Qing glanced at the captain, then continued to transmit his message with the token, a transmission that outsiders couldn't hear. "Please inform my Master that my Senior Brother intends to marry a Cloud Beast in the Commandery Capital. I've been unable to dissuade him, and the wedding is in three days. He didn't dare tell Master himself, so I am. I invite Master to definitely attend the wedding."

The Grand Elder was silent for a moment, then chuckled, clearly discerning the true meaning behind the words. He calmly replied, "I imagine your Master will be very pleased to hear this news."

"Thank you, Grand Elder!" Xu Qing said solemnly, then put down the token and looked at his Senior Brother, who appeared suspicious.

"Little Junior Brother, why do I feel like something's off? Did you say exactly what we discussed?" The captain scrutinized Xu Qing.

"Senior Brother, you have to trust me." Xu Qing said earnestly, gazing into the captain's eyes.

The captain still felt something was amiss, but he rubbed his hands together, his eyes sparkling. "Alright, I'll go easy on you, Little Junior Brother. I've just had a breakthrough and am quite powerful now. It's a good chance to practice on you." As the captain spoke, he prepared to act.

Xu Qing looked at his Senior Brother and shook his head. "Senior Brother, the message I sent was about poison—poison I can't cure." With that, Xu Qing took some poisonous herbs from his storage bag and swallowed them.

The captain's eyes widened as he watched Xu Qing. Xu Qing looked back at him with an innocent expression.

"If it were just injuries, Master wouldn't believe us; they're too common. So I said poison. You know I understand the path of poison, and if even I can't undo it, it means the poison is extremely severe."

As Xu Qing spoke, he took out some more prepared poisons and swallowed them.

The captain watched Xu Qing consuming the poisons, instinctively sensing a trick, yet it also seemed logical. Moreover, Xu Qing had already consumed quite a lot in such a short time.

Recalling past experiences, he blinked, a faint, knowing smile playing on his lips. "Little Junior Brother, your trick is still too amateurish. Do you really think I'd fall for that, huh?" the captain said indifferently, then stretched.

"From Yinghuang Prefecture to here, even with teleportation, it would take at least three days. Alright, I won't hit you. You can keep eating. Eat more. I'm leaving now to gather information about the Immortal Ban."

With that, the captain walked away, his hands behind his back, a triumphant look on his face, as if to say, "I definitely won't fall for that."

Xu Qing watched the captain depart, shook his head, and continued to consume the poisons.

Outside the Sword Pavilion, the captain walked calmly, swaggering along, until he reached a corner within the Commandery Capital. Only then did he quickly lower his head to look at his right hand.

An eye had sprouted on his hand, reflecting the image of Xu Qing consuming the poisons. "Still eating? Could he have detected the eye I placed? No, that's impossible. With my seal broken, Little A-Qing shouldn't be able to sense it." The captain hesitated.

"I'll observe a bit more."

Two days passed. With only one night remaining until Master could arrive from Yinghuang Prefecture at the fastest possible speed, the captain returned to Xu Qing's Sword Pavilion. He patted his stomach after entering and sat down in front of Xu Qing.

Xu Qing's face was devoid of expression, his entire body a mottled black and blue, looking as if he had been severely poisoned.

"Um... Little Junior Brother, there's no need to go that far, is there?"

The captain looked at Xu Qing's appearance, his heart growing even more uncertain. He had observed him multiple times over the past two days and found that Xu Qing had indeed been continuously consuming the poisons.

"When Master arrives, if he finds out we tricked him, he'll certainly be very angry." Xu Qing said, then took a poisonous herb and crunched on it a few times.

"So, if I look more miserable, Master won't be as angry."

The captain's heart thumped with unease, and he worried about Xu Qing's analysis. If it were true, then Master, although angry at being tricked by the two of them, would see Xu Qing's sincerity and complete commitment to the act, which demonstrated great respect for him.

Even trickery has its principles.

If so, it was highly likely that Master's anger would subside. However, if he himself appeared unharmed... based on his understanding of Master, he would certainly be seen as disrespectful.

After all, deceiving Master, regardless of the reason, required a good attitude.

It would have been fine if there were no comparison, but now there was one.

Thinking of this, the captain became conflicted and shot Xu Qing a resentful glance.

As time ticked by, and the sky outside began to faintly lighten, the captain gritted his teeth fiercely, raised his hand, and reached out to Xu Qing. "Give me some poison!"

Xu Qing looked surprised. "You too?"

"Give it to me!" the captain said with a face full of grief and indignation.

Xu Qing silently handed over the poison.

The captain took it, closed his eyes, and swallowed it in one gulp. His face quickly turned black and blue. Seeing Xu Qing still eating, he wailed inwardly and continued to consume the poisons.

Time flowed. An hour later, as the sky outside fully brightened, Xu Qing's voice transmission jade slip suddenly vibrated. Xu Qing quickly picked it up, and Seventh Master's low, deep voice came through.

"Where are you two?!"

Hearing Seventh Master's voice, the captain quickly swallowed all the poisons in his hand, then feigned being on the verge of death, lying there and deliberately trembling all over.

Xu Qing glanced at the captain, then informed his Master of his Sword Pavilion's location, and raised his hand to open the Sword Pavilion's door.

Before long, Seventh Master's figure appeared silently outside the Sword Pavilion's door, as if an invisible brush had painted him into existence.

He walked into the Sword Pavilion, his face expressionless. Xu Qing tried to stand, but couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of poisoned blood. He lowered his head and softly spoke, "Master…"

"Quite a good act. So, you know it's wrong to deceive your Master now? Looking at this poison, you've been taking it for a few days, haven't you? Hmm, your attitude is still acceptable." Seventh Master glanced at Xu Qing, his expression softening slightly.

The captain watched this scene. Lying there, he struggled to stand, then also spat out a mouthful.

Seventh Master sneered, walking past the captain and couldn't help but kick him. With a thud, he sent the captain from a lying to a sitting position, landing hard on his backside. "Your act isn't convincing at all. From the looks of it, you probably only just started consuming it. Trying to learn from your Junior Brother?"

"Master, I missed you," the captain said, feeling his backside ache, and looked pitifully at Seventh Master.

Xu Qing, standing nearby, wore a bitter expression, wanting to speak but holding back.

Seventh Master snorted coldly and glared at the captain. When his gaze turned to Xu Qing, it softened again. "Fourth Child, you've always disliked lying. I know this. Your Senior Brother must have coerced you. He's a habitual offender."

Xu Qing lowered his head upon hearing this and softly said, "Master, it was something my Senior Brother and I came up with together."

"Even at a time like this, you're still trying to speak up for your Senior Brother." Seventh Master's eyes showed approval, and he quickly took out several valuable antidote pills from his person, handing them to Xu Qing. "Quick, eat these to detoxify. You, child, are just too straightforward." With that, Seventh Master turned and glared fiercely at the captain again.

"Look at you! As a Senior Brother, how could you pressure your Junior Brother like this? If you wanted me to come, why didn't you use the secret code? Your Junior Brother joined late and doesn't know, but don't you know the secret code? Didn't I teach you when I took you out before?"

"What, just because one seal is broken, you're getting cocky again? Is your skin itching for a beating?"

The captain shivered, quickly shook his head, and seeing Xu Qing quietly watching him, he gave an awkward cough.

Xu Qing, expressionless, put all the antidote pills into his mouth, then took out a few medicinal herbs and swallowed them. All the poison in his body instantly dissipated.

The poisonous herbs he had consumed over the past two days were all mutually countering, a type of mixed poison; by simply swallowing the key herb, he could instantly detoxify.

As for the captain, he had only consumed a portion, so his face was now black and blue.

Noticing Xu Qing's complexion rapidly recovering, the captain's eyes widened. He was about to speak but was interrupted by Seventh Master's cold snort. "Alright, tell me what trouble you've gotten yourselves into that you had to trick your Master into coming all this way."

Hearing this, the captain was about to speak again, but Seventh Master glared at him. "Shut up! Just hearing you speak makes me angry!"

The captain felt wronged and depressed, silently thinking, "Didn't I just intend to assert my authority in front of Little A-Qing after my seal was broken? How did things end up like this…"

"Fourth Child, you speak."

Xu Qing, with a respectful expression, meticulously recounted everything he had discussed with the captain from beginning to end, including his acquisition of the divine finger and the subsequent transformation of his body.

The captain heard such detailed information for the first time, his eyes wide in astonishment.

Seventh Master glanced at the captain, his expression seemingly normal, as if the matter hadn't stirred any ripples within him, though his eyelids would occasionally twitch slightly, uncontrolled.

Not until Xu Qing finished speaking did Seventh Master, appearing perfectly calm, let out a soft hum.

"You two Heavenly Palace Golden Cores have quite some guts, daring to scheme against a deity. Fortunately, Fourth Child, you're still sensible enough to have told your Master about this."

"Your Master knows about this matter now. You don't need to worry about it. Everything is normal; just proceed into the Immortal Ban."

Having said that, Seventh Master turned and walked out. Before leaving, he shot the captain another fierce glare, then his figure slowly blurred and vanished into the world.

He reappeared within the Commandery Capital. As he concealed his aura, his breathing became rapid, his heart already churning with immense waves. He muttered to himself.

"I've taken on a monster…"

After saying that, he couldn't help but laugh triumphantly, a proud expression on his face.

"But I am his Master!"

Meanwhile, inside the Sword Pavilion, the captain was looking wistfully at Xu Qing.

"Little Junior Brother, what message did you send to Master? Why did he look so angry the moment he saw me?"

"Senior Brother, so there really was a secret code after all," Xu Qing said calmly.

"Oh, it's nothing," the captain said, scrambling to his feet. He put his arm around Xu Qing, took out a familiar greenish stone, and slipped it into Xu Qing's hand.

Then, with a sincere smile and eyes full of affection, he softly spoke, "Little Junior Brother, your Senior Brother was just joking with you. Do you feel that the bitterness and sadness of the battlefield have faded a little now?"

"After we returned, I was very worried about your state."

Xu Qing paused, looking at the captain.

The captain smiled at Xu Qing, his eyes gentle. At that moment, the light of the morning sun streamed in through the open door, falling upon the captain and making him appear entirely warm.

"You, you tend to keep everything to yourself and don't show much emotion, especially sadness. That's not healthy."

"Little A-Qing, you're not alone. You have Ancestor, Master, me, Second Senior Sister, and Third Senior Brother. We all care about you. We're family, so you don't have to keep everything bottled up inside. You can talk to us."

"I told you, in this life, we walk together. I mean it. Not only us, but our whole family will walk together!"

The captain said softly. In that moment, he truly seemed like an elder brother.

Xu Qing was moved, and as endless warmth filled his heart, the captain coughed. "So, can you please detoxify me first?"