"There's an old saying, 'A single chopstick breaks easily, but a bundle of chopsticks is unbreakable!'"

Upon hearing Su Bei's voice, Mo Li's eyes swept coldly over Xiao Ruoching. She snorted, "A bundle of chopsticks unbreakable? Her cultivation level just isn't high enough!"

Xiao Ruoching spat on the ground and looked at Mo Li beside her with a sneer, saying quietly, "A bundle? You're overestimating her. She can't even handle one chopstick!"

Su Bei watched his wasteful disciple with a strange expression. He coughed loudly, then, feeling he should assert his authority as a Master, suddenly slammed his hand on the table! SLAM! His face darkened as he thundered, "Still talking back? Not convinced?

"Your Master is still hungry! Is arguing fun? What is there to argue about?

"You want to fight? Fine! The Twenty-One Provinces Grand Competition is coming up soon. Go fight your hardest. If you don't make it into the top three, don't come calling yourself my disciple."

Having said that, he waved his hand dismissively and swept out of the room. His voice drifted back from a distance, "If this grass hut isn't cleaned properly, neither of you will sleep tonight—"

Sensing that Su Bei was truly angry, the two young women glanced at each other, remained silent, and then began to clean the messy grass hut.

Su Bei returned to the pigsty with a headache. The animosity between his two disciples seemed even greater than he had imagined. This was not a good sign.

Fighting back and forth, only to end up splitting me in half, one for each? How would that even work?

The mere thought made Su Bei shudder involuntarily.

While he was sighing, he suddenly heard a knock at the door. Su Bei's senses sharpened; he knew it was his two wasteful disciples. He snorted, "The door's not locked. Come in yourselves."

CREAK—

The door opened.

The two neatly dressed disciples looked at Su Bei with smiles, each holding a steaming bowl of dumplings. They approached Su Bei with fawning expressions.

"Master, the grass hut has been tidied up..."

Su Bei snorted softly, lay back on the rocking chair, and gazed at the bright moonlight, ignoring them.

Xiao Ruoching walked over to Su Bei. A pleasant smile curved her lips as she placed her bowl of dumplings on the table and began to gently massage Su Bei's back.

Mo Li shot Xiao Ruoching a cold look, then stepped forward, a meaningful smile also touching her eyes. She scooped up a dumpling with a small spoon, blew on it to cool it, and gently offered it to Su Bei's lips. "Master, eat a dumpling!"

Su Bei looked at Mo Li skeptically and swallowed.

The dumpling looked perfectly normal and smelled fragrant, but for some reason, Su Bei instinctively felt there might be something in it.

Seeming to notice Su Bei's hesitation, Mo Li licked her lips and said softly, "Master, eat the dumpling. There's nothing else in it."

Su Bei cautiously opened his mouth and took a bite. A rich, mellow flavor instantly filled his taste buds. His eyes brightened, and he nodded. "It's quite tasty!"

Mo Li lightly bit her thin lip, her eyes crinkling at the corners. Her delicate and beautiful ears were slightly flushed, appearing almost translucent under the moonlight, as exquisite as a piece of art. Her red lips parted as she said, "Naturally. It's filled with your disciple's deepest love!"

Deepest love? What "deepest love"?

A hint of confusion flashed in Su Bei's eyes, but he didn't dwell on it. He said, "Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival. Hmm... Your Master will be going out to buy some clothing and supplies for Sword Maiden and the others."

Xiao Ruoching quickly picked up her bowl of dumplings from the table and, beating Mo Li to it, fed one to Su Bei. She asked in puzzlement, "Buying supplies? Is Master going alone?"

Su Bei hastily swallowed the dumpling, feeling a little guilty. He then said vaguely, "Yes, I should be going alone..."

Xiao Ruoching's eyes immediately lit up.

The Lantern Festival! Lanterns, riddles, poetry... it's the most enjoyable festival in the Mortal World!

She quickly spoke up, "Your disciple wants to come along too!"

Su Bei frowned. Why does she want to come along? Wouldn't that interrupt my time with Eighth Junior Sister... He coughed and said, "No. You two stay at No-Sword Peak and cultivate properly! I'm just buying a few things. What's the point of you going?"

Xiao Ruoching looked suspicious and slightly confused. "Is Master hiding something from his disciple?"

"Of course not!"

"Then your disciple insists on going..."

After who knows how long of her pestering, Su Bei pursed his lips and said with a resigned sigh, "Alright, fine, you can come with me. Mo Li, you stay at No-Sword Peak and cultivate diligently, understand?"

Mo Li showed no particular expression, merely nodding faintly.

A joyful smile touched Xiao Ruoching's lips, as if she had finally triumphed over Mo Li. A flicker of elation showed at the corners of her mouth as she thought to herself, Finally, I can go see the lanterns with Master... just the two of us. This is such a rare chance!