Who let him join the Sword Sect?!-Chapter 581 - 332: Who let me have a good disciple

Snow always seems to come when it's time for farewells.

Zhang Ze pushed open the window, and the raging snowstorm outside blew into the room, dispersing the old man's smell that filled it.

The candle flickered, casting a long shadow of Li Guanqi.

"Open it wider," Li's feeble voice sounded behind Zhang Ze.

"It's cold, I can't open it any more," Zhang Ze was a bit troubled.

"I told you to open it, so open it... whew, cough cough, I'm tired of the stuffiness in this room."

Li tried to muster his strength, hoping his voice carried a hint of his former authority, but all he got was a wheezy cough.

"I really can't open it more!" Zhang Ze turned around, pressing down his master's attempt to rise.

"Even though there are only a few two-hour periods left, I'm still your master right now. Go on, open it wider, and also... bring the chive flower."

"If we open the window wider and they smell the food, what should we do then? You're just going to run off, leaving me here to get scolded."

Zhang Ze handed the chive flower to his master and casually put a plate of beef slices into the hotpot.

"What are those magical artifacts of yours for, if not to seal off the space in the room... hurry and scoop the meat, or it'll get tough."

Li lectured his apprentice while stirring the sesame paste in his bowl with chopsticks.

Zhang Ze dipped the ladle in, scooped up the boiled beef slowly, but looked a bit reluctant, as if he didn't want to give it to his master.

"Your dipping sauce..."

Li coughed again, pointing chopsticks at Zhang Ze, "For hotpot, you should mix sesame paste with fermented tofu and chive flower. Your oil dish won't do. Today I'm in charge, listen to me."

"Alright then."

Reluctantly, Zhang Ze tossed his pearls out once more, sealing off the space to prevent the aroma of the hotpot from escaping.

Receiving the well-mixed sesame paste dish from his master, Zhang Ze began to eat.

The spicy pot was evidently too spicy; Li would cough after eating for a while. Whenever that happened, he'd pick up one of the pills on the table, dipped in sesame paste, and put it in his mouth.

As the pill entered his stomach, his somewhat pallid face immediately regained some color.

There was an overall sense of exhaustion, like a flickering lamp running out of oil, a final burst of vitality before everything ends.

This body of Li Guanqi in the Illusion Realm wasn't much stronger than a mortal one; though well-maintained, it was also reaching its end.

Though it wasn't truly death, the sensation of the body gradually declining, the continuous depletion of vitality, the whole person heading towards life's end, felt incredibly real.

So real, it even scared Li a little.

He feared the possibility of never opening his eyes again once he closed them.

Of course, he wouldn't share this with Zhang Ze; after all, he was the master, how could he be frightened by such a petty Heart Demon?

The old duck still had to be stubborn.

As for Zhang Ze, since entering the room, he had seen the fear in his master's eyes. But as a good disciple, some things should remain unseen.

Moreover, the pretense of tearful farewells wasn't suitable for him, nor for Li.

So after driving everyone away, Zhang Ze brought out his artifact refining furnace, placed a divider in the middle, temporarily converting it into a divided hotpot.

The two master and apprentice, gathered around the pot, discussed sesame paste and oil dishes, keeping silent on matters of life and death.

Until the snowstorm outside subsided, the aroma of food faded from the room, and when the red pills could no longer withstand the spirit energy within the Dantian, Li finally sighed and put down his chopsticks, wanting to say something.

But before he could speak, Zhang Ze grasped his hand, "Master, don't say anything mushy. First, you're not truly dying, second, if you enjoy saying it, what happens when I end up crying?"

"Tears... cough cough." Li was exasperated by Zhang Ze's words into coughing, "Crying is crying; tears, what strange words are those. Besides, would you actually cry?"

"See how you put it, how could I not? You personally took me as a disciple, didn't you know I am the most sentimental? It's just a shame I'm not born a girl, otherwise, I'd definitely take an iron broom and sweep away all the flowers of the world."

Zhang Ze chattered incessantly, while Li's head drooped lower and lower...

"Master?" Zhang Ze called softly.

Li raised his lowered head again, "Did you remember something?"

In his heart, Zhang Ze thought his master indeed understood him; he had suddenly recalled something, so he didn't hesitate and spoke to his master.

"Once you leave, please check into something. In the 'Dongqi Chronicles', there is a record about Xiao Qingyun, the founding Emperor, and the attack on the Three Divine Mountains. The more detailed, the better. When Chen Qin enters the third time, have her bring it to me."

"That's all, just this matter."

After a long silence, Li ended his journey in the Illusion Realm, while Zhang Ze still sat at the table, holding his 'master's' hand, pondering a crucial issue.

Which was, what should he do with his master's 'body'?

Previously, when junior sister logged off, she would just disappear in a flash, leaving nothing behind. But his master's log-off left the 'flesh body' behind.

Zhang Ze walked to the window. The heavy snow had stopped, and looking at the snow illuminated by moonlight, Zhang Ze found himself in a dilemma.

His master wasn't dead, yet he had to hold a funeral in the Illusion Realm for his master. Was this right or wrong?

...

Meanwhile, while Zhang Ze was in torment, Miemie was occupied.

In Zhang Ze's room, she rummaged through drawers and cabinets, searching for the diary. Over the five years, Zhang Ze had been learning the Path of Artifact Refining, while Miemie was engaging in one-sided battles of wits with him.

Miemie had never given up on that diary because it was her task.