Son, Put Your Father To The Test (FF)

Chapter 57: Chapter 57: The World Is So Big, He Wants to See It



At the edge of a cliff, under a crooked pine tree, an ancient stone table and two stone stools were set up.

A steaming tea kettle sat on the stone table, with a few light brown tea leaves swirling inside.

Zhao Yunsheng sat on one of the stone stools, waiting for Qin Zi to arrive.

"Senior Brother Zhao, you were looking for me?"

Finally, a cheerful voice rang out.

Zhao Yunsheng turned to see Qin Zi approaching with a bright, sunny smile, walking with the confidence of a dragon and tiger.

So full of self-assurance! Zhao Yunsheng took a deep breath as he looked at Qin Zi, feeling a heavier burden weighing on his heart.

He stood up from the stone stool and smiled, saying, "Congratulations, Junior Brother, on breaking through to the Nirvana Realm. You're the first among our generation of disciples in the Seven Martial Sect to do so—truly commendable!"

"Hehe, it was just luck. If it weren't for the sect's generosity in allowing me to enter the Nirvana Pool, who knows how long it would have taken."

Qin Zi humbly replied with a smile.

"That's something you earned with your strength. If you didn't have the ability, you could wait a lifetime and still never get such an opportunity."

Zhao Yunsheng remarked.

"Well..."

Qin Zi coughed lightly, not knowing what to say.

At this moment, he couldn't afford to be too arrogant, nor could he be overly humble, as either might inadvertently provoke Senior Brother Zhao.

He wasn't lacking in emotional intelligence.

Although Senior Brother Zhao was known for his good temper, having held the position of the sect's top genius for so many years, it was only natural that he would feel uncomfortable about losing it—whether he showed it or not.

"Have a seat."

Zhao Yunsheng gestured for Qin Zi to sit down, then looked at the kettle and said, "Not long ago, I found a rare tea tree in a valley. It's over two hundred years old but only about as tall as my knee, with just a few hundred leaves."

"Such a treasure is hard to come by. I figured if I didn't act quickly, someone else might find it and pick it clean in a few days."

"So, I made a bold decision, hehe... I stripped that two-hundred-year-old tea tree bare!"

"Though I stripped it clean, I only got about two pounds of tea leaves. I'm not a tea connoisseur, so I thought it would be a waste for me to keep them. I gave the tender leaves to my grandfather and kept a few old leaves for myself."

"These old leaves are a bit tough, and steeping them in hot water won't do. You have to brew them in a kettle to extract their essence."

"Ah, it's about ready."

After finishing, Zhao Yunsheng grabbed the kettle's handle and poured a cup for both himself and Qin Zi.

"This really is good tea."

Qin Zi inhaled the refreshing fragrance, smiling in admiration as he lifted the cup.

But just as he brought it to his lips, he suddenly stopped, remembering a lesson his father had taught him.

Never casually accept food or drink from others! "Junior Brother Qin Zi, what's the matter?"

Zhao Yunsheng sipped his tea and smiled warmly.

"Huh?"

Qin Zi snapped out of his thoughts and smiled awkwardly, saying, "It's nothing, just remembered something, got a bit distracted."

"I see."

Zhao Yunsheng chuckled. Noticing that Qin Zi had set his cup down, he asked, "Junior Brother Qin, why aren't you drinking? Are you not satisfied with the tea I offered?"

"No, not at all."

Qin Zi quickly defended himself.

"Then why not drink it? Do you think I've poisoned it?" Zhao Yunsheng said, feigning anger.

Feigning anger! It was a tricky expression—you could never tell if the person was joking or genuinely upset.

Sometimes it was playful, sometimes half-serious, and sometimes dead serious. One moment they might be laughing, and the next, they might turn hostile!

Faced with Zhao Yunsheng's expression, Qin Zi suddenly felt a bit nervous, unsure of how to respond.

This unease stemmed from his fondness for Senior Brother Zhao. He didn't want to lose such a friend.

He had heard that at Tianmu Mountain, Senior Brother Zhao had gone out of his way to defend him, even under pressure from the Southern King. It showed that he was a good senior brother.

Because he cared, he was nervous.

If it were someone he didn't like asking such a question... well, he would have bluntly said, "Yes, I'm suspicious of you. So what?!"

"Come on, Senior Brother Zhao, how could you think that? I trust you completely!"

Qin Zi smiled, then lifted the cup and drank it in one gulp!

In that brief moment, he had weighed his options. Even if Senior Brother Zhao harbored ill intentions, he wouldn't resort to something as blatant as poisoning him within the sect, would he?

Who would be so foolish?

Besides, he had asked his master to secretly check the tea, and it showed no signs of tampering. And if anything did happen, he still had his father.

Of course, there was still an element of risk.

Maybe Zhao Yunsheng would indeed do something out of the ordinary and use a poison that even his master couldn't detect...

But.

He was willing to take the risk! Senior Brother Zhao was worth the gamble! Zhao Yunsheng watched Qin Zi closely, observing all the subtle changes in his expression.

He saw the hesitation, the struggle, the doubt, and finally, the trust and resolve as Qin Zi drank the tea in one go!

At that moment, Zhao Yunsheng's heart clenched, and his right hand inside his sleeve instinctively tightened.

Then, he slowly relaxed.

He let out a soft breath, smiling as if a great weight had been lifted from him. "How was the tea? Good?"

"Yes, at first it was a bit bitter, but then it turned sweet, finally leaving a faint fragrance. It's quite delightful."

Qin Zi smacked his lips, smiling.

"Haha, since you like it so much, I'll give you the rest of the tea leaves as a gift to celebrate your breakthrough to the Nirvana Realm!"

Zhao Yunsheng said enthusiastically, taking out a small paper package from his spatial ring and handing it to Qin Zi.

At this moment, Zhao Yunsheng seemed completely different from before, as if a heavy burden had been lifted, leaving him light and carefree...

"This... doesn't seem right."

Qin Zi hesitated, smiling awkwardly.

"What's wrong? I'm giving them to you, so just take them, haha... If no one finds and uproots that tea tree, I'll go back next year and strip it bare again. I might get another pound or two of leaves."

Zhao Yunsheng laughed heartily.

"Well... thank you, Senior Brother."

After a moment's hesitation, Qin Zi nodded, thinking the tea would be a nice gift for his father.

"Haha, there's no need to thank me. We're brothers, aren't we?"

With that, the two began chatting.

They exchanged words about trivial matters, as if trying to bridge the years they had spent as strangers.

As the saying goes... better late than never.

After a long while, Qin Zi left.

By then, the sky was gradually turning to dusk, and Zhao Yunsheng stood alone at the edge of the cliff.

He stood with his hands behind his back, silently watching the sun as it set behind the mountains, casting golden outlines over the surrounding peaks.

Finally, he smiled.

It was a smile of relief, mixed with deep self-mockery, which eventually turned into a quiet chuckle.

"Heh, you're young, but you've got guts!"

He flung his right hand toward the setting sun, and a dark blue pill flew out, vanishing into the distance.

In the end, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Especially when Qin Zi drank that cup of tea, he felt a wave of relief and even a bit of fear.

Fortunately... fortunately...

This foolish junior brother, despite his suspicions, chose to trust him, even wagering his life on it.

How could he betray such trust?

"Grandfather was right. I shouldn't be so fixated on being the top of the Seven Martial Sect. Compared to the entire world, what is the Seven Martial Sect? What is the Nine Yang Dynasty, even?"

He took a deep breath, looking at the fiery sky, his dark eyes filled with unprecedented ambition.

"The world is so big, I should go see it..."


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