Chapter 28 Demon Pet

“Alright, let’s not talk about him, let’s talk about you. Are you really planning to stay in the Qingxiao Sect permanently from now on?”

Li Qingqiu turned his head to look at Yang Jueding, his expression becoming serious and his tone very solemn.

Yang Jueding was stunned, then asked, “What do you mean? Do you want to drive me down the mountain?”

Li Qingqiu shook his head and said, “You joined the Qingxiao Sect because you were severely injured and we saved you. Your original intention was not to join the Qingxiao Sect. Now that your injuries have recovered and your strength has improved, you can do what you wanted to do before.”

Yang Jueding frowned and pressed, “You taught me unique skills; are you willing to let me leave?”

“You have also taught many martial arts to the Disciples of the Qingxiao Sect, even teaching Maner the palm techniques of your lineage. Why would I be unwilling? You don’t owe us, and we don’t owe you. After spending so much time together, we are friends. Isn’t it human nature to wish a friend well?”

Li Qingqiu replied calmly, his gaze shifting back downwards.

Hearing this, Yang Jueding fell into silence.

Li Qingqiu didn’t rush him, watching the Disciples spar below. He nodded slightly; the progress of these martial arts Disciples was quite good. With ten more years of training, they should be able to stand on their own.

His plan was to wait until the Qingxiao Sect became the number one in the Martial Forest before announcing its transformation into a Cultivation School. Before that, he would only secretly Cultivate Disciples with high talent and high contribution into Cultivators.

Such a plan required time, and they were still young, so they had plenty of time.

Yang Jueding took a deep breath and said, “Even if I go down the mountain, I’ll still be aimless. Although I’m called the Dragon-Subduing Hero, I can only help those in front of me, and I might even leave them with future troubles. It’s better to stay in the Qingxiao Sect and watch it grow from a small sapling into a towering tree; that’s quite meaningful. If the Qingxiao Sect eventually becomes a major School like the Seven Peaks Alliance, I can help even more people.”

His tone carried a hint of melancholy, clearly indicating a hidden story.

Li Qingqiu brought up the dao lineage panel and saw that Yang Jueding’s loyalty had both broken through ninety, instantly filling him with satisfaction.

Although loyalty doesn’t only go up, an increase indicates a stronger sense of belonging.

Li Qingqiu stood up, turned his head, and looked down at Yang Jueding, smiling, “Since you’ve decided to stay, then let’s make a big impact. The Qingxiao Sect is still in its initial stages, and all aspects need manpower. My goal is for the Qingxiao Sect to cover the entire Taikun Mountain Range, with Disciple residences and training grounds spread throughout the mountains.”

After hearing this, Yang Jueding also stood up and said helplessly, “How vast is the Taikun Mountain Range? There isn’t such a large School in the Jianghu; at most, they can only govern such a large territory.”

He understood Li Qingqiu’s meaning. If the Qingxiao Sect reached that level, the number of Disciples would be terrifying. Even an army would find it difficult to use such a vast area as a training ground.

If Li Qingqiu could truly achieve this, then the Qingxiao Sect might be able to shake the Foundation of the Great Li Dynasty.

Although it was unrealistic, why did it sound so exciting?

“It’s just setting a goal,” Li Qingqiu waved his hand.

Yang Jueding’s eyes became firm, and he responded seriously, “Then I will accompany you in working towards this goal.”

Li Qingqiu smiled, left a sentence, and then departed:

“Let’s wait and see.”

He walked towards the School, preparing to go to the back mountain forest to Cultivate.

Yang Jueding turned his head and watched Li Qingqiu disappear around the bend in the mountain path behind the mountain gate. He couldn’t help but mutter, “Such a young man, yet so cunning, even trying to win me over.”

His lips curved upwards; he wasn’t annoyed by Li Qingqiu’s little tricks. Li Qingqiu’s ambition indeed intrigued him… As the number of Disciples in the Qingxiao Sect increased, Li Qingqiu would be able to spend more time Cultivating. Currently, besides him, only Jiang Zhaoxia and Wu Maner enjoyed such treatment; even Xu Ning had to work.

Autumn deepened, and the temperature between heaven and earth began to drop.

Another month passed.

On this day, after noon, Li Qingqiu stood on the hillside, overlooking the farmland below. Zhang Yuchun and the Seven Sons of Qingxiao were following two farmers in plowing the fields.

These two farmers were the fathers of two Disciples, from a village down the mountain. They came at Zhang Yuchun’s invitation. The Qingxiao Sect was preparing to open its own farmland. This place was halfway up the mountain, about half an hour’s walk from the Qingxiao Sect, not too far.

Zhang Yuchun also dug a fish pond, but the fish fry were difficult to transport up the mountain in large quantities and needed to be delivered in batches.

Besides farmland and fish ponds, there was also a horse ranch. When the Seven Peaks Alliance sent people to attack, they brought many horses. Yang Jueding led Disciples to retrieve many of them, and now they occasionally encounter lost horses in the mountain forests.

Not only that, Li Qingqiu also encouraged Disciples to keep pets and hunt. Besides martial arts, they could also learn other skills. Every month, he would ask Zhang Yuchun to invite different Masters from down the mountain to come up.

“Chirp—”

A cry descended from the sky. Li Qingqiu raised his arm, and a small black eagle swooped down from the sky, landing on his arm.

He turned his head and began to tease the small black eagle.

The eagle’s nest Zhang Yuchun brought back originally had three eaglets and two eagle eggs. Two of the eaglets had already flown away, and only this one remained. The remaining two eagle eggs had just hatched, and the chicks couldn’t fly yet.

Li Qingqiu suspected that its staying was related to him regularly infusing it with Origin Qi, which made it dependent.

He wanted to see if he could use this method to Cultivate the eaglet into a demon pet. So far, it looked very promising.

“I wonder when you will become intelligent.”

Li Qingqiu looked at the small eagle, muttering softly, liking it more and more the longer he looked.

If one day he could ride it to fly in the sky, that would be amazing.

He stood there, holding the small eagle, enjoying the work below.

He found that compared to fighting and killing, he preferred his current peaceful and leisurely life. Watching his School grow little by little gave him a great sense of accomplishment.

“Senior Brother! Senior Brother!”

A voice came from the side, startling the small eagle away. Li Qingqiu turned his head and frowned.

He saw Li Sifeng walking quickly with a bamboo basket on his back. This fellow didn’t hide his ability at all, using the Gale Technique to rush over quickly, kicking up dust along the way.

Li Sifeng stopped in front of Li Qingqiu, supporting himself with his hands on his knees, panting heavily.

Li Qingqiu scolded, “You are also a Master now, why are you always so hasty and reckless? Can’t you have some decorum?”

Li Sifeng looked up and said, “People from the Yamen have come up the mountain, heading straight for our Qingxiao Sect.”

Upon hearing this, Li Qingqiu immediately said, “Go tell Cheng Canghai to hide.”

“Okay!”

Li Sifeng immediately ran up the mountain, like a small whirlwind.

Li Qingqiu suddenly realized that every time Li Sifeng ran to him like this, he brought bad news.

He didn’t think much of it and continued to stand there watching Zhang Yuchun and the others busy themselves. The Qingxiao Sect now had some confidence to deal with trouble.

About half an hour later, just as Li Qingqiu was about to leave, he saw a group of people emerge from the distant mountain forest. Leading them was a man in a close-fitting official robe, with a knife at his waist and an official hat on his head. He had thick eyebrows and large eyes, and his gaze was sharp as he scrutinized Zhang Yuchun and the others while advancing.

Behind him were nine Yamen Runners in uniform, also carrying knives.

The official-robed man led his group to Li Qingqiu and said, “I am Feng Dai, the County Magistrate of Heishi County, here to investigate the king of thieves, Cheng Canghai. May I ask who you are in the Qingxiao Sect?”

Li Qingqiu’s School robe was different from that of other Disciples, more imposing. Feng Dai and his group had encountered several Qingxiao Sect Disciples along the way, so they immediately felt that Li Qingqiu was no ordinary Disciple.

“My name is Li Qingqiu, and I am the Sect Leader of the Qingxiao Sect. I have never heard of the king of thieves. If County Magistrate Feng doesn’t believe me, you can bring people up the mountain to investigate. The Qingxiao Sect will fully cooperate.” Li Qingqiu replied with a smile.

Sect Leader?

Feng Dai was surprised, and the other Yamen Runners also exchanged glances. The seventeen-year-old Li Qingqiu looked too young; he didn’t resemble the leader of a School at all.

“Did your Master, Lin Xunfeng, really retire from the Jianghu?” Feng Dai couldn’t help but ask. Although he wasn’t involved in the Jianghu, many Jianghu figures were locked up in the county Yamen, so he knew a bit about Jianghu matters.

Upon hearing this, Li Qingqiu immediately showed a resentful expression. He replied, “How can you call it retiring from the Jianghu? He was possessed by a ghost and insisted on seeking immortals. I had to lead my Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters, unable to eat enough or dress warmly. So, I had no choice but to find a way myself. What Martial Forest School farms its own land?”

He spoke so sincerely that Feng Dai couldn’t help but sympathize with him.

“I see. Then we’ll go up the mountain first and try not to cause you any trouble.” Feng Dai said, then walked up the mountain.

Li Qingqiu didn’t stop him. He walked down the mountain, preparing to find a place to Cultivate.

When he wasn’t at the underground spirit lake, he could Cultivate anywhere he wanted, and so could the other Disciples; the vast mountain forest was full of Cultivation spots… As dusk approached, Li Qingqiu, Zhang Yuchun, and the Seven Sons of Qingxiao brought the two farmers up the mountain, preparing to host a banquet to thank them and invite them to stay the night.

As soon as he passed the mountain gate, Li Qingqiu saw many Disciples gathered in front of the courtyard gate, packed tightly.

Did something happen?

Li Qingqiu raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t quicken his pace.

As the Sect Leader, he had to remain composed!

Zhang Yuchun didn’t have his good composure and directly rushed up.

“Make way!”

Zhang Yuchun called out. The Disciples turned to see that the Sect Leader had arrived and bowed to Li Qingqiu.

As they dispersed, Li Qingqiu saw Feng Dai in the center of the courtyard. Feng Dai was sitting cross-legged, circulating his Qi, while the nine Yamen Runners surrounded him, vigilantly scanning the Qingxiao Sect Disciples.

“Master is here!”

Qin Ye saw Li Qingqiu and immediately shouted at the top of his lungs, causing everyone in the courtyard to turn their heads.

Li Qingqiu leisurely walked into the courtyard, his gaze sweeping around. He saw Yang Jueding, Wu Baoyu, and Zhang Yu, but Cheng Canghai was nowhere to be seen.

“What happened?”

Zhang Yuchun walked in front of Li Qingqiu and asked.

Li Sifeng, squatting on the eaves, grinned and said, “This person didn’t know his place and insisted on challenging Master Wu. As a result, he was severely injured by one move. His subordinates insisted it was our fault and wanted to arrest us and take us to the county Yamen.”

Li Qingqiu looked at Wu Baoyu. Wu Baoyu was still chopping wood, oblivious to his arrival.

Yang Jueding stood to the side, a gloating smile on his face.

Zhang Yu, however, frowned, looking at Wu Baoyu, wondering what he was thinking.

Li Qingqiu walked up to the Yamen Runners, and through the human wall, he asked with concern, “County Magistrate Feng, are you alright? I know a little about medicine and can help you.”

Feng Dai’s face was pale. Hearing Li Qingqiu’s words, he opened his eyes, turned his head to look at Li Qingqiu, and gritted his teeth, “Sect Leader Li, this person is a Demon Sect Protector who has massacred the Jianghu for twenty years! You’ve been deceived by him. He is utterly evil and commits all sorts of atrocities!”