Wait a minute, where is my master?

In the courtyard where the Three Friends of Suihan resided,

Fan Xiaonian knelt on one knee, holding aloft a transparent glass cover with both hands, his tone respectful as he spoke.

"Master, if you refuse to accept this Yin Moth, your disciple... your disciple..."

Standing in front of him, having already removed the prohibition of the No-Talking Talisman, Mei Shouyi spoke with a feigned touch of anger.

"What's this? Having just become a disciple, are you trying to threaten your master with your status?"

Having said that, he looked proudly at Mr. Song and Mr. Zhu beside him.

The message was clear: Look at how filial my disciple is; he insists on giving me even the things I said I didn't want.

"Disciple wouldn't dare."

Upon hearing Mei Shouyi say this, Fan Xiaonian, with a panicked look on his lowered face, hurriedly tried to defend himself.

"Alright, alright, your master isn't blaming you. Since you have such filial intentions, then I'll reluctantly accept it. However, as a master, I can't let you, my disciple, suffer a loss."

As Mei Shouyi spoke, he took out a greenish-blue ruler from his bosom.

"This item is a magical artifact that your master used during the Nascent Soul Realm, called the Small Measuring Heaven Ruler; I hereby bestow it upon you."

Saying this, he took the transparent cover from Fan Xiaonian's hands and placed the greenish-blue ruler into the uplifted pair of hands.

Having done all this,

Mei Shouyi didn't wait for his disciple to voice his thanks but cleared his throat and said.

"Ahem, Boss Song, Elder Zhu, now that I've taken on a disciple, haven't the two of you as his senior uncles shown any sign of generosity yet?"

As he spoke, he transmitted his voice to Fan Xiaonian, who was kneeling before him.

"Hurry up and greet your two senior uncles. They have far more interesting items than your master. If you can get one or two now, it will give you a bit more certainty on your cultivation path and help you go further."

Fan Xiaonian was startled upon hearing the mental transmission.

He faintly sensed that his master's personality seemed somewhat different from his behavior back at the street corner.

However, now that he had already taken him as his master, he would listen to whatever he said.

Hence, Fan Xiaonian hurriedly bowed and performed a salutation to Mr. Song and Mr. Zhu as well, calling them senior uncles.

"Old Mei, you truly are... Well, since the young fellow has called us senior uncles, we naturally won't let him call us that in vain. But really, I didn't expect that among the Three Friends of Suihan, you would be the first to find an heir to the path."

Mr. Zhu sighed, taking out a thick stack of talismans of various colors from his robe.

"This is the Vajra Talisman, which can withstand three full-force attacks from someone in the Void Refinement Realm.

"This is a Spirit Sword Talisman..."

"And this last one is a No-Talking Talisman, which can seal the speech of a Void Refinement Realm cultivator for three hours.

"You'll surely find use for them later on."

Fan Xiaonian did not understand why, amongst a bunch of attack and defense talismans, there was such a strange item mixed in.

He thanked his senior uncle bewilderedly, obediently accepting them.

As for Mr. Song Xili's gift, it was much simpler; he simply handed a small booklet to Fan Xiaonian.

"This contains some of my insights into Body Refinement. Even if you eventually follow the path of Magic Cultivation, your constitution shouldn't be too weak. Take it."

Mei Shouyi, seeing that his two old friends had given gifts, could not help but smile satisfactorily, nodding approvingly.

Then...

He turned his gaze to Elder Fan, who stood uneasily to the side.

"How about..."

As this thought barely formed, he felt a fragrant breeze entering his nostrils.

Immediately after, a pink silhouette silently appeared between the three friends and Little Fan.

"Fairy Jun Qiao."

"Fairy Jun Qiao."

"Little Ancestor?!"

Both Mr. Song and Mr. Zhu greeted her respectfully.

Mr. Mei subconsciously called out the nickname they used in private for each other.

Fairy Jun Qiao nodded slightly, as if to greet the others.

"Where is Little Yan?"

"Didn't he come to this island?"

After a moment of pondering, Song Xili from the Cold Season Trio spoke up.

"Fairy Jun Qiao, are you referring to the Old Dean? We three have been here the whole time and haven't seen him."

"Lying, I followed him all the way here... Eh, does the Lower Realm have such rare objects?"

Fairy Jun Qiao's face first showed annoyance, but when she saw the transparent cover in Mr. Mei's hand, her expression turned into curiosity.

She waved her hand, and the transparent cover instantly got sucked into her palm.

Then, Fairy Jun Qiao suddenly concentrated spiritual power into several fine needles and thrust them into the cover.

Inside the seemingly empty cover, as the spiritual power needles entered, a delicate moth with wings as thin as tissue and a body like jade appeared within.

It was originally fluttering in mid-air, but as soon as the needles pierced it, the moth's body stiffened dramatically and it fell straight to the bottom of the transparent cover.

"Impossible..."

Elder Fan, seeing this unexpected woman begin to agitate the Hidden Moth, couldn't hold back and cried out in shock.

Fan Xiaonian, understanding the importance of the situation, realized that since his teacher respected her so much, her identity must be extraordinary.

He immediately stood up and pulled his father back.

However, his face also revealed a hint of distress.

That was, after all, what he had just offered to his teacher.

The Hidden Moth was fragile, especially before any ritual refinement, and now, being treated so roughly by this female cultivator, it likely wouldn't survive.

"Fairy Jun Qiao, this creature is delicate. It's a gift to him from my second brother's new disciple, you are..."

Before Mei Shouyi could speak, Mr. Song, seeing the Hidden Moth stiffen inside the cover, questioned Fairy Jun Qiao in a firm yet respectful tone.

"Heh, although I am willful, I am not a bully, especially not towards those with lower cultivation than mine. You thought this little thing was a Hidden Moth of a few hundred years and now I've pierced it to death with needles."

Upon hearing this, everyone present was taken aback.

"May I ask Fairy Jun Qiao, is this creature not a Hidden Moth?"

Mei Shouyi spoke as he stepped forward, standing side by side with Song Xili.

"If this little thing were truly treated as a Hidden Moth for refining, that would be a waste.

"Come here, and I'll tell you what it is."

Fairy Jun Qiao pointed to Mei Shouyi and said, at the same time dispelling the spiritual power needles from the moth in the cover.

As the spiritual power needles were dispelled, the jade-like moth seemed to look around in an almost human-like manner, then its body returned to its transparent color.

Witnessing this scene, they were all astonished.

They had never heard of a Hidden Moth playing dead.

Mei Shouyi, as told, moved closer, and Fairy Jun Qiao gestured for him to bring his ear close.

Mr. Mei was puzzled, wondering why she couldn't simply use voice transmission to whisper. But, eager to understand what this Hidden Moth really was, he obediently brought his ear closer.

"Please enlighten me, Fairy Jun Qiao."

"Listen carefully, this thing is a variant within the Hidden Moth species, and even in the Upper Realm, it is an extremely rare existence.

"Its name is...

"Lettuce Devouring Young Butterfly!"

Upon hearing this, Mei Shouyi was startled.

Why is she cursing, he wondered?

Then, he suddenly caught a familiar glint of light from Fairy Jun Qiao's hand pressing towards his chest.

"It's over, 'Truth-Telling Skill'."