Ye Fan followed Qing Xu to the back mountain, only to discover that the Xuan Sect’s mountain gate also had a wide back garden. Here, birds sang and flowers bloomed, with many melons, fruits, pears, and peaches planted. Perhaps due to the unique geographical environment of Shuangfeng Mountain, both peach and apricot blossoms could coexist and bear fruit at the same time, with fruits present throughout the year.
"This is my place. I love coming here to play; how about you come play with me here in the future?"
Hiding in the woods with a young maiden could be considered quite "tasteful," couldn’t it?
Qing Xu was delighted and continued, "There is a lot of Spiritual Energy in these peaches. My respected master often had me eat these peaches for nourishment... uh."
As she spoke, Qing Xu suddenly stopped, her gaze reaching afar, sensing someone had intruded into her back garden.
A few steps forward revealed several people inside. Judging by their attire, they were not disciples of the Xuan Sect but rather male disciples from the Tian Sect. Some were picking peaches, while others were munching under the trees, carelessly littering peach pits everywhere.
"Hey, who allowed you to come here!" Qing Xu shouted angrily at this group, her voice raised several pitches.
The shout startled those stealing peaches under the trees.
Some tossed the half-eaten peaches to the ground, swaggering out from the bushes. Ye Fan assessed these people’s cultivation levels, which were above his but not by much. He guessed they were all at the Golden Core Stage, likely inner disciples of the Tian Sect. Dıscover more novels at 𝗻𝗼𝘷𝗲𝗹•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝕟𝕖𝕥
"Oh, it’s just Little Master Aunt," a man around thirty years old stepped forward, smiling, "We were on business down the mountain and got thirsty after returning, so we thought to come here to eat some peaches to quench our thirst. Little Master Aunt wouldn’t be so stingy, right?"
Qing Xu retorted angrily, "These are all my peaches; you’re not allowed to eat them!"
The man replied with a displeased tone, "Little Master Aunt, that’s not quite right. We are all disciples of the Tianxuan Sect. What difference does it make if we come to eat a few peaches? We often visit, it’s just that you didn’t know, hahaha..."
This group burst out laughing, knowing full well that although this Little Master Aunt had high innate talent and her cultivation was advancing quickly, she was, after all, newly initiated into cultivation. Currently, she was at the same stage as them, the Golden Core Stage. They were keen to bully her while they still could, for a few years on, they would need to avoid her once her cultivation surpassed theirs.
As they were talking, two figures appeared from another side of the back mountain. The figures were obviously graceful women, but upon seeing the commotion and Ye Fan, the two hurriedly turned to retreat.
A male disciple from the Tian Sect remarked, "What a pity, this rotten girl disrupted our good deeds; we could’ve had some fun."
"What are you talking about?" Qing Xu had no clue what they were saying.
But Ye Fan understood it very well. It seemed these people didn’t come merely to eat peaches; rather, they were here for a "private meeting" with female disciples from the Xuan Sect. Those two female disciples must have been here to "meet their lovers," only to run away upon unexpectedly seeing Qing Xu and him.
Humans have passions and desires, and the cultivation methods of the Tianxuan Sect did not require severing emotions or abandoning desires. With male and female disciples residing on separate mountain peaks, it was only natural for them to sneak up the mountain for secret rendezvous. However, only two female disciples came for all these male disciples at once...
Ye Fan couldn’t help feeling a chill inside.
The leading man sighed, "Little Master Aunt ruined our mood. Let’s go to the outer sect disciples by the rear hall later. There are many female disciples there, and they will surely flock to us once they know we’re coming, then we can each have two beauties in our arms... Haha, this Little Master Aunt looks quite nice too. Why not have a little fun with her first?"
These men spoke with relish, much to Ye Fan’s displeasure. The fact that even within the Tianxuan Sect there was such depravity was unfortunate. However, being new to the sect and not highly cultivated, he couldn’t intervene in these consensual matters even if he found them distasteful.
But if they had any untoward intentions towards Qing Xu, that would be beyond disgraceful.
Qing Xu, with her hands on her hips and a sullen face, demanded, "What are you talking about? I don’t understand, but you’ve eaten my peaches. Now what are you up to?"
The man turned, mocking in tone, "Little Master Aunt, you’re mistaken. These peach trees belong to the Tianxuan Sect. You’ve eaten so many peaches over time, it’s only fair to ask for a little interest back, don’t you think?"
These men harbored thoughts about the innocent and endearing Qing Xu, considering themselves elite inner disciples of the Tian Sect. They freely roamed between the Tian and Xuan Sects, heedless of norms.
A group started walking towards Qing Xu and Ye Fan, not even factoring the Foundation Establishment Stage Ye Fan into their consideration.
Even if Qing Xu was naive, she understood they intended to bully her. She immediately summoned her inner magic sword, though short, it emitted a red glow, indicating it was a Spiritual Artifact-grade treasure. The Tian Sect disciples opposite her realized she was determined to resist and also summoned their own weapons, though they were merely standard Magic Artifacts.
"Little Master Aunt, we’re just looking for a friendly match. Alone as you are, better not resist. We’ll be gentle, and maybe you’ll come to like us and even beg us for more," they arrogantly stated.
"We’re older and our cultivation isn’t lower than yours. It’s respectful enough to call you Little Master Aunt. It’s unlucky you ruined our good thing today, but we’ll just have to take interest from you first."
Qing Xu glanced at Ye Fan, thinking, why am I alone, isn’t there another right here?
"There’re two of us, my junior brother is here too!" Qing Xu stated confidently.
"Hahaha..." They all burst into laughter at her words. "Little Master Aunt really knows how to joke. Think we can’t tell he’s just a Foundation Establishment Stage disciple? Little junior brother, have you taken a fancy to this boy and want to make him your furnace? Little Master Aunt, you don’t need to lower yourself for an outer disciple; you could just come to us. Besides... we’ve long wanted to spar with Little Master Aunt."
Qing Xu furrowed her brows. What they said was like a book from heaven in her little head, such terms as taking a fancy, furnace, sparring, she didn’t understand or comprehend at all.
"I want to spar with you!" Qing Xu was clearly led into their tempo.
"Hahaha..." Now they even mocked her.
The man said, "Little Master Aunt wants to spar? Feel free to come to me, then. I do quite like Little Master Aunt and upon seeing you, I have the urge to find a place to train well with you..."
Saying so, this man even began undoing his sash in front of a young maiden who was clueless about everything.
Qing Xu looked on puzzled, surprised she asked, "We spar, why are you undressing?"
"How can we spar without undressing? Little Master Aunt, there are some things you’re too young to grasp, why not let us nephews teach you?"
Though Qing Xu was powerful, she was still a little girl. Seeing these men advancing fiercely made her expose her girlish timidity, retreating and inadvertently ending in Ye Fan’s arms.
"Hm? Junior Brother..." Qing Xu looked at Ye Fan with grievance, "These people are so annoying, hurry and help me chase them away!"