Yun Bei Fen nodded eagerly. Even though he still missed his own father and mother, he felt that living with his Master and his senior martial brothers was much better than living with his aunt and uncle and their children. "Master, then what about second senior martial brother? Was it also not good for him to live with his family?"

"Uh …" Elder Baili was thrown for a loop. "Well, it’s a bit difficult."

Yun Bei Fen looked at him uncomprehendingly. "How is it difficult?"

Once again, Elder Baili was at a loss. His little disciple seemed to be a little young to be told all of these stories. Well, he could make them more kid-friendly by leaving some things out but still. He wasn’t quite sure what to say.

Yun Bei Fen just tugged at his Master’s sleeve again. "What’s the matter, Master? Is it too difficult for you to understand as well?"

Elder Baili’s brows twitched when he was asked such a thing. "Of course not!"

"Then what happened?"

The Elder sighed and finally started to retell his first encounter with his second disciple. "At that time, I was once again out on a mission for Sect Master Zhang." Actually, looking back now, that guy had sent him out to do tasks for him awfully often. Were there no other Elders around? He would bet that Elder Feng was never sent to do such things!

Anyway … "At one point in my journey, I stopped in a prosperous city. It was close to another cultivation sect which — despite not being one of the four major righteous sects — was still doing very well. As such, the cities around it were able to profit from its splendor and the people there lived a good life.

"My impression of that city was really very good so I decided to stay there for the night. When I approached one of the guesthouses, a young boy called out to me."

"Was that second senior martial brother?" Yun Bei Fen’s eyes lit up immediately at that prospect. So that was how his Master and his second senior martial brother had met!

Elder Baili nodded with a frown. "Yes, that was him." And back then, he had already been the same brat that he was right now. "Anyway, when I turned to ask what he wanted, he told me that wherever I went, I definitely shouldn’t go into that guesthouse.

"Well, since he seemed to be a local I heeded his advice and even followed him when he told me that he could bring me to another guesthouse that was much better."

This time, Yun Bei Fen listened obediently but his expression showed just how excited he was about how knowledgeable his second senior martial brother was.

Elder Baili’s lips twitched when he saw that. "Anyway, while I followed him over, that brat led me by a food stall and then pointed over casually, telling me that this place sold the most delicious food in the city which also happened to be a local specialty. Then he asked whether I wanted to try some.

"At that time, your Master hadn’t needed to eat anymore for a long time since my cultivation level was very high but I felt that since it was a specialty, I might as well make an exception. Thus, the two of us sat down, both drinking a bowl of chicken broth and eating a few steamed buns. To be honest, neither tasted that well and I couldn’t see how they differed from those sold at other places but they were quite expensive so I felt that there had to be some merit to what the youth had said."

Yun Bei Fen nodded, absolutely believing that his second senior martial brother must have known a lot about that place. After all, his second senior martial brother knew about many things.

Baili Chao just sighed. "Well, after eating, he finally brought me to the guesthouse he had spoken about. To be honest, it did not look too good. The youth reassured me though that while it might not be impressive from the outside, the service inside was very well, and as far as the opinion of the visitors went, everybody he had talked to before had loved it there. Since he was so insistent I did indeed go inside and rented a room."

"It probably turned out again that second senior martial brother was right, didn’t it?"

Elder Baili looked at his youngest disciple and patted his head. "Sure, it did." His expression didn’t even change when he outright lied like that. Anyway, he had believed it for a while. That was until he saw that brat come by the guesthouse with another traveler the week after only to then go to a backroom and get handed some money. Ah, to think he had been tricked by a thirteen-year-old brat … That stung a bit. There really was no reason to let that ignorable past be known to anybody but the two of them.

While his Master was deep in thought, Yun Bei Fen tugged at his sleeve. "So did you take second senior martial brother on that day?"

"Uh … No, it took another month of me staying there to decide on that." In fact, he had not only lost time in that city but also quite a bit of money and maybe even some hair from pulling at it from anger. That brat … he had been a troublemaker from the very first day!