Yuanshi looked at Tongtian, then recalled Qilin Chen's recent behavior and the glance from his elder brother. He couldn't help but remember Qilin Chen's initial performance when he first joined.
While he wasn't exactly clever or quick-witted, he certainly wasn't this foolish. Had Qilin Chen been taught to be this dense by his foolish younger brother?
Or was it contagious? Yet, he and his elder brother had spent considerable time with their third brother, so it couldn't be contagion; it had to be his teaching.
Seeing Yuanshi staring at him blankly for a long time without a reaction, Tongtian waved his hand in front of Yuanshi's eyes. He wondered if his second brother had become foolish from his cultivation. As Tongtian waved, he softly called out,
"Second Brother?"
Yuanshi continued to gaze at Tongtian, his expression seemingly saying,
"Just see if I want to acknowledge you or not!"
Tongtian looked towards Taishang, about to ask something, when Yuanshi spoke,
"Why are you personally doing these tasks? Don't you have disciples with nothing to do?"
Tongtian breathed a sigh of relief at Yuanshi's words, realizing there was no issue.
Tongtian chuckled and said,
"Doesn't doing it oneself bring a sense of accomplishment? Second Brother! Think about it, once those delicious things come out, you'll have had a hand in it, won't that make them taste even better?"
Yuanshi looked at Tongtian's cheap grin and without mercy exposed him,
"That's Eldest Brother's excellent cooking, what does it have to do with you? I think you just want to eat more, not that it will taste better."
Hearing this, Tongtian's smile froze as Yuanshi effortlessly saw through his thoughts. He spoke with a lack of spirit,
"Brother! It's enough that our family knows, why must you say it out loud? Second Brother, you are truly boring!"
Qilin Chen, seeing his master embarrassed, immediately burst into laughter. When Qilin Chen looked up, he saw Tongtian staring at him, and he spoke with a lack of confidence, feigning innocence,
"Master, it was Taiyi who was teasing me! I really wasn't laughing at you!"
Taiyi: ?????
Taiyi silently took a few steps back upon hearing this. Although you are the senior disciple, we are not taking this blame!
Tongtian looked at Qilin Chen with the same expression Yuanshi had given him earlier.
Qilin Chen looked at Tongtian, scratching his head and said,
"Master, I am your disciple! You must believe me!"
Tongtian looked at Qilin Chen. He couldn't possibly punish him just because the boy laughed at him! How would that preserve his saintly dignity?
There had to be a reason! After all, their family valued reputation. So, Tongtian asked,
"Qilin Chen! Where are my lamb skewers?"
Tongtian assumed that since Qilin Chen had come up with Taishang and the others, he must have been slacking off.
Qilin Chen didn't immediately grasp Tongtian's meaning, thinking his master was simply inquiring. He replied,
"Master, they are still being prepared downstairs?"
Upon hearing this, Taishang slapped his forehead. Right, it was confirmed. He had indeed been too hasty. This foolish boy!
As expected, Tongtian's expression immediately turned stern.
"How did I instruct you?"
Qilin Chen saw Tongtian's change in demeanor and sensed something was wrong, especially the way his eldest martial uncle was looking at him, as if he were an idiot!
Although Qilin Chen realized something was amiss, he didn't quite understand. He weakly asked,
"Master, you told me to prepare the lamb skewers for you!"
As soon as Qilin Chen finished speaking, he felt as though he had said the wrong thing!
Tongtian chuckled maliciously, grinning as he said,
"Chen'er, what is the penalty for disobeying your master's wishes?"
Only then did Qilin Chen realize he had been tricked by his master. He immediately looked pleadingly at Taishang and said,
"Eldest Martial Uncle~~~"
Taishang was exasperated by this master-disciple pair. However, Qilin Chen was his personally recognized senior disciple, and even a useless piece of mud had to be supported. Taishang spoke,
"Third Brother, it's fine, let him off this time."
Tongtian glared fiercely at Qilin Chen and deliberately spoke in a stern tone,
"Hmph! You unfilial disciple, I will spare you this time on account of your Eldest Martial Uncle!"
Qilin Chen immediately grinned cheekily and said,
"Thank you, Master!"
Inside, he thought,
"Teehee, I have a protective charm! Hah! Can't hit me! Can't hit me!"
Tongtian looked at Qilin Chen's infuriating expression and truly wanted to discipline him severely, to let him know what "fatherly kindness" and "filial piety" truly meant!
Taishang and Yuanshi looked at Qilin Chen's expression and both thought: Hmm! This child is getting too naughty, needs a good disciplining!
Taishang was also contemplating how to find a reason to properly discipline this boy, Qilin Chen!
Seeing Yuanshi, Taishang suddenly had an idea. He looked at Qilin Chen's lively demeanor and thought to himself,
"Enjoy this day of carefree happiness!"
Taishang suddenly chuckled and said,
"Chen'er, it's getting late, go tell the disciples to hurry up. Time is almost up!"
Qilin Chen looked at the still high sun. It was still a long time until nightfall.
Although Qilin Chen didn't understand why Taishang would say this, he dared not disobey Taishang's command!
Moreover, Qilin Chen felt that his Eldest Martial Uncle's smile was a little unsettling.
Qilin Chen could joke around with Tongtian because he knew Tongtian's punishments were not serious and he was used to them. However, he dared not be presumptuous in front of Taishang and dutifully hurried off to urge the others.
Tongtian looked at Taishang's smile and suddenly felt sorry for Qilin Chen. After all, not many people could elicit such a smile from his elder brother.
He had forgotten who the previous recipients of this smile were – Ancestral Dragon, Hongjun, or Jieyin and Zhunti – but the outcome was always the same. Those individuals had suffered terribly. Tongtian suddenly worried about Qilin Chen, wondering if he could withstand Taishang's smile.
Yuanshi had frowned upon seeing Qilin Chen's unrestrained nature. However, after hearing Taishang's smile, his furrowed brow relaxed. His elder brother's smile had not appeared in a long time!
Taiyi also felt that his esteemed martial uncle's smile was a bit sinister. Earlier, when Qilin Chen, his senior disciple, had been so cheerful, his master had frowned, clearly displeased. But with his martial uncle's smile, his master's frown immediately vanished!
Taiyi was certain that his cheap senior disciple's future days would not be easy.
Taiyi silently noted Taishang's smile. In the future, if he encountered it, he would immediately admit fault, regardless of the reason or whether he truly knew what he had done wrong. Just admit it!
Taiyi also never expected that Taishang would soon give him a smile exactly like this one.
Nor did he expect that despite having already devised a plan to cope, he still wouldn't be able to escape it.
Taiyi also hadn't anticipated that details he previously never paid attention to, since the theft of Dijun's Hetu Luoshu during the Wu-Yao war, he would unconsciously observe these details.
After Qilin Chen left, Yuanshi instructed two disciples to take over Tongtian's task of stoking the fire. The dignified leader of a sect, actually tending a fire? Where was his saintly demeanor? Where was his leadership bearing?