So he got out of bed, walked to the bookshelf, habitually opened the cabinet door, and reached in to rummage around.
As Fang Huo touched it, his two eyebrows gradually furrowed together.
When he stopped, he looked again and saw that the cloth was still the same red cloth, but the "mysterious iron sword" wrapped in the red cloth was more than ten times lighter.
Fang Huo, his hands trembling, lifted the cloth, and lo and behold, right in front of him was a fire poker!
Fang Huo was so shocked that his eyes almost popped out.
Damn it, which thief is stealing from Fish Eye Valley?
He gripped the fire poker, turned, and left.
But as soon as he strode to the door and yanked it open, he saw his own black iron sword.
The Xuan Tie sword was being held in the arms of Fang Huo's so-called "thief," who stood at the door with the sword in his arms, looking at Fang Huo with a smile through his bright and lively eyes.
Fang Huo loosened his grip, and the stick fell to the ground with a thud, rolled a few feet away, and then disappeared without a sound.
In the blink of an eye, Fang Huo sprang to his feet, bursting out the door while shouting as he ran, "My God, Senior Sister Ban is back..."
A smile spread across Ban Lan's lips as she used her light-footed skills to chase after Fang Huo.
Fang Huo was grabbed by the right shoulder and pulled backward.
Ban Lan stretched out her arms and suddenly wrapped them around his neck, squeezing and tightening them to firmly pin Fang Huo's head in the crook of her arm.
Fang Huo was already a head taller than Ban Lan, so he was forced to bend over and let Ban Lan hold his neck.
"Hehe, Fang Huo without a sword is like a turtle without a shell. Junior Brother Fang, why are you in such a hurry to report to your senior brothers?" Ban Lan stared at Fang Huo, smiling maliciously.
Fang Huo and Ban Lan were about the same age, and their favorite activity since childhood was fighting, not practicing martial arts. Moreover, their extremely deep friendship was built entirely on fighting.
Fang Huo forced a smile through his teeth: "This isn't a message, it's clearly an invitation for everyone to come out and greet you."
"Oh—" Ban Lan tightened his arms and said, "If you're going to welcome me, then welcome me. Why are you shouting 'My God!'?"
Fang Huo rubbed his hands together and said, "Recently, it's become popular to call someone 'Mom' when you're excited."
"I see." Ban Lan smiled and released her arm.
Fang Huo let out a long breath and had just stood up straight when Ban Lan slapped him on the head: "You brat, do you want everyone to hide what they need to hide?"
"Hey, Senior Sister, you took my Xuan Tie Sword as soon as you got back. I'm just letting you know so the other senior brothers are on guard, so you don't take a fancy to some other senior brother's stuff and then steal it or trick them into giving it to you," Fang Huo said, rubbing his neck.
Upon hearing this, Ban Lan immediately retorted, "Be wary of you! From now on, even if you throw all your rare and precious treasures into the yard, I won't care!"
Fang Huo smacked his lips and said, "Tsk tsk, you don't even care about the treasure anymore, then what do you care about?"
Ban Lan smiled, but for some reason, Fang Huo interpreted it differently.
"What I care about is none of your business, kid."
As Ban Lan spoke, she slowly turned her back to him.
A gentle breeze suddenly arose, scattering the smile from her face.
two,
Life in Yumu Valley is indeed carefree and unrestrained.
Wei Li's lack of discipline towards his disciples was well-known in the martial arts world.
Wei Li said that as long as they do not violate the three rules of Fish Eye Valley, the disciples can do whatever they want.
Ban Lan remembered that he once knelt on the ground for an entire day, holding a huge wine jar filled with wine, just because he hadn't memorized the three rules of the sect.
As for the three rules of the sect, Ban Lan would never forget them: the first rule is "listen to the master's words," the second rule is "listen very much to the master's words," and the third rule is "absolutely listen to the master's words."
How exactly to "listen to your master" depends on what Wei Li says. For example, when Ban Lan was punished, she clearly remembered Wei Li looking down at her and saying, "If I find out you've been stealing Snow Dew again, I'll punish you by making you kneel for three days."
Of course, apart from this "rule of the sect", it seems that Wei Li never mentioned any other "rules of the sect".
However, precisely because no one knew what Wei Li's next "rule of the sect" would be, no one dared to act recklessly. Only Ban Lan would occasionally covet the Snow Dew, hence the saying "three days after three days, three days after three days."
But whether Ban Lan had actually been punished for the full three days, only Ban Lan herself knew. She seemed to always forget her punishments, even when being punished, she would still sneak a few sips of Snow Dew. Therefore, her fellow disciples had always suspected that Wei Li was biased towards Ban Lan.
The truth is, after Wei Li announced the punishment for Ban Lan, he simply turned away and ignored her completely. As a result, Ban Lan would kneel for half a day and then sleep for two and a half days.
After greeting his fellow disciples, Ban Lan went alone to the courtyard where Wei Li lived. Before she even got close, she saw the door open and a figure in white lightly flash out.
If Ban Lan hadn't been extremely familiar with the jars Wei Li often used to store wine, she wouldn't have been able to tell in such a short time that the jar Wei Li was holding was a small white glazed wine jar.
Ban Lan followed Wei Li at a distance. Actually, she didn't need to follow to know that Wei Li was going to dig a pit in the back mountain to bury the wine. Wei Li said that this way, the Xuepei Lu (a type of fermented liquor) would have a more mellow and lingering taste.
Unfortunately, the Xuepei Dew would be dug up by Banlan every time it was buried for only two days. What puzzled Banlan was that at first Wei Li would change the location to bury the wine, but later he didn't even bother to change the location anymore, always burying it under the same metasequoia tree.
So this time was no different; Wei Li stopped under that familiar dawn redwood tree.
He held the wine jar, standing tall and elegant.
After a long while, he uncorked the wine jar, lifted it to his lips, took a sip, then sealed the jar again and placed it on the ground.
Ban Lan thought Wei Li would take off the short sword from his waist to dig a hole, but to her surprise, after putting down the wine jar, he turned around in the direction where she was hiding and slowly opened his mouth: "I thought you would run out because of the smell of Xuepei Dew."
Wei Li stood there, dressed in white with white hair, and incomparably handsome.
"Master," Ban Lan called out. It was no different from any other "Master" she had uttered in the past eight years.
"Come here," Wei Li called her. It was exactly the same greeting he'd given her in the past eight years.
Ban Lan walked towards Wei Li. She suddenly felt as if she had never left Fish Eye Valley.
She didn't just come back; she's been here all along.
Wei Li's expression was peaceful, or rather, Wei Li's expression was rarely unpeaceful.
Wei Li looked at the snow-white wine on the ground: "Want some?"
"No."
"What, you still prefer the stolen drink?"
"no……"
"Then why?"
"...I've quit."
Wei Li smiled.
"You got bullied, didn't you?"
Ban Lan fell silent. She felt that no one was bullying her, yet she also felt that everyone was bullying her.
"Sigh." She sighed softly.
A hint of surprise flashed in Wei Li's eyes.
He raised his hand and gently touched the space between Ban Lan's brows: "You look worried..."
"After coming down the mountain, I learned to feel sorrow." Wei Li slowly lowered her hand.
He looked at Ban Lan. Of the six disciples, he did indeed favor Ban Lan the most, and that favoritism began the first time Ban Lan stole and drank the Snow Dew.
Few people know about Xuepeilu, even fewer drink it, and even fewer truly love it.
Although he didn't mind Banlan stealing his wine, he still punished him slightly each time, because the wine was indeed not easy to brew, and if you wanted to drink it, you had to pay a price.
Ban Lan did pay a price, but it was negligible.
As a result, Ban Lan repeatedly stole from Wei Li without success, and Wei Li repeatedly punished him.
Even Wei Li found it funny, as if she were playing a game with a child.
But then Banlan suddenly stood in front of him and said that she had given up drinking.
Wei Li said, "If you're feeling sad, just say it out loud."
Ban Lan pursed her lips, then suddenly stretched out her arms and threw herself into Wei Li's embrace.
Wei Li gently patted her back. He couldn't remember when Ban Lan had last thrown herself into his arms. Five years ago? Six years ago? But even five or six years ago, Ban Lan would only deliberately squeeze into his arms when she was being unreasonable, unlike now…
Ban Lan buried her head in Wei Li's arms and said in a muffled voice, "I am very sad... but I feel like there is nothing to say."
Yes, true sadness is indescribable. Wei Li understood.
Wei Li always exuded a peaceful and tranquil aura, which made Ban Lan stay in his arms for a long time, unwilling to move.
Ban Lan suddenly said in a muffled voice, "Why don't I have a master's wife?"
Wei Li was stunned for a moment.
"With my master's wife around, I can't take care of you anymore."
"...But you don't care about us even without your mistress."
Wei Li said calmly, "I can manage you for a while, but not forever."
He paused, then continued, "After slacking off for eight years, your mediocre skills must have caused you a lot of trouble after you came down the mountain."
Ban Lan muttered, "What kind of master knows that his disciple is being lazy and doesn't care?"
Wei Li didn't take her complaints to heart and said, "How a person lives their life is their own choice."
Ban Lan remained silent, her black hair cascading down, obscuring her expression.
After Wei Li finished teaching martial arts, she never cared whether her disciples were lazy or not. Those who studied diligently, such as Ban Lan's senior brother or Wen Moyin, were among the top masters in the martial arts world. Those who didn't study diligently, like Ban Lan, would at best be second-rate in the martial arts world. In Ban Lan's words, she relied on techniques and experience to fight, while in Fang Huo's words, Ban Lan used everything except techniques.
Wei Li didn't care whether his disciples would embarrass him.
He didn't care about many things; even Ban Lan only knew one thing: his privately hoarded Xuepei Dew.
Ban Lan raised her head, her gaze passing over Wei Li's shoulder and looking towards the distant mountains, and said, "Master, you already knew what happened after I went down the mountain, didn't you?"
Wei Li nodded.
Although it was expected, Ban Lan still appeared extremely uncomfortable under Wei Li's gaze.
"Oh. I know... I know." This sounded more like a consolation to himself.
Wei Li couldn't help but smile.
"Banlan, what truly belongs to you will never be lost."
Ban Lan paused, her eyes flickering with a mixture of understanding and confusion...