Don't Cause Trouble Chapter 24: Tool

Silent Sect was a sect of sound cultivators. No matter where you went within its grounds, you’d hear objects producing sound—especially bells, which came in all shapes, sizes, and materials.

Whenever the wind blew, the bells would chime in varying pitches. It was said that within these chimes lay a killing formation that, once activated, would slaughter anyone caught inside.

Ye Su wasn’t foolish enough to cause trouble inside someone else’s sect. After entering, the disciples from Qianji Sect followed her quietly without a word.

Once they reached Elder Yang’s residence, Ye Su raised her hand, signaling everyone to stop.

"Elder Yang hasn’t met your new little junior brother yet. I’ll take him to say hello," she said to the others. "You all wait out here."

"Okay, Senior Sister, don’t take too long!" Xia Er replied loudly, making sure everyone nearby could hear.

They were using Elder Yang as a reason for their visit, so of course they had to at least pretend to pay a proper visit.

Ye Su tilted her head toward You Fushi. "Let’s go."

The two of them stepped onto the long, steep staircase. You Fushi seemed to sense something and glanced back—only to see the Qianji Sect disciples all sitting cross-legged on the ground, meditating.

He had no idea what they were doing.

Ye Su walked on for a while, but didn’t hear any footsteps behind her. She turned back and saw the new junior brother standing below with a frown.

…Please don’t let this be another Yi Xuan.

Ye Su sighed internally. Qianji Sect was already on the verge of being a washed-up sect, with zero resources to spare. Keeping up appearances simply wasn’t an option.

"Junior Brother," she called out, and only then did You Fushi begin walking up again.

The steps leading to Elder Yang’s residence numbered over a thousand, and the staircase was sealed with a restriction. Even a mid-level cultivator would have to climb each step manually.

Ye Su remembered Ning Qian Yao once saying Elder Yang did this so that disciples from Qianji Sect would have an excuse to stay longer in Silent Sect.

But Ye Su had her doubts. Elder Yang always looked at Qianji Sect disciples like he was doing them a favor—completely unlike their sect leader or Elder Hu, whose eyes were always tinged with worry.

A thousand steps were nothing for her—Jiuxuan Peak was taller, and they climbed it daily without even breaking a sweat.

That said, she was in no rush to see Elder Yang, so she walked slowly. Yet someone behind her moved even slower.

Halfway up, Ye Su noticed again there were no footsteps behind her. Sure enough, the new junior brother had stopped once more.

She stopped as well, figuring she could use the time to rest.

Her junior brother’s face was handsome yet distant. Without a word, he suddenly raised his hand toward Ye Su.

Ye Su: "?"

Before she could figure out what he meant, he lifted his long lashes and glanced at her.

In that moment, something clicked. Ye Su hesitantly extended her hand.

The next second, he placed his hand in hers, lifted his chin slightly, and began walking again—fully satisfied.

This mortal is quite obedient, You Fushi thought.

Ye Su: "…"

So that’s really what he meant?

His hand was a bit cool, the skin fair and smooth, but not delicate. Around the joints were some tiny callouses, but his nails had a soft pink sheen to them.

Very good-looking. And surprisingly nice to hold.

Ye Su squinted slightly. She had never met someone this shameless. But she ended up holding her junior brother’s hand the whole way up the stairs.

"Junior Brother, Jiuxuan Peak is even taller than this. If you don’t want to keep walking, you’d better cultivate seriously and reach the Foundation Establishment stage soon," she reminded him kindly as she let go of his hand.

"You said you’d take me flying on a sword," the new junior brother replied blandly, clearly lacking any ambition and brushing off her comment.

Ye Su grew serious. "I said you only get ten rides."

You Fushi turned his head and looked away, pretending he hadn’t heard this mortal speaking.

"Also, I swapped your welcome gift for materials," Ye Su added, standing directly in front of him to make things clear.

You Fushi turned back to face her. "I’ll give them back."

Not only did he return the materials she gave him yesterday—he even packed them into a Purple Pear Gallwood box and handed it over to her.

Two birds with one stone.

Ye Su hadn’t expected him to bring out Purple Pear Gallwood in plain sight—especially with people from Elder Yang’s place standing right at the door.

She quickly shifted to block their view and whispered, "Don’t take stuff like this out in public."

But You Fushi just hid his hands behind his back, acting like he hadn’t heard her.

Ye Su didn’t see a spatial pouch on his waist, but she could already feel the stares coming from behind. For now, she could only put the box away.

"…Let’s go meet Elder Yang." She rubbed her forehead and led him inside.

Inside the hall, Elder Yang was playing Go with Silent Sect’s headmaster, Zhi Ji. They had already been informed when Ye Su started climbing the steps.

Neither of them turned around as the footsteps approached—they were fully absorbed in their game.

"Elder Yang, my master recently took in a new disciple. I’ve brought him here to greet you," Ye Su said politely.

Yang Tan was holding a white piece between his fingers. With his dignified appearance and air of refinement, he looked like a perfect match sitting across from Sect Leader Zhi Ji.

Unlike their own sect master, who—despite being only two hundred years old, still considered young in the cultivation world—already had a long beard and carried a weary look in his eyes.

No one else in the hall spoke. Elder Yang hadn’t made his move yet.

"Is he deaf?" You Fushi suddenly asked, glancing at Yang Tan and not bothering to lower his voice.

"…"

Ye Su stared into his eyes, unsure if he was being sarcastic or genuinely curious.

Her last junior brother had liked upsetting himself. This new one seemed to enjoy upsetting others.

Everyone in the hall clearly heard him. Even Sect Leader Zhi Ji frowned and looked over.

Yang Tan slammed the white piece onto the board. A powerful pressure—typical of a late Nascent Soul stage cultivator—filled the air as he turned to speak. But the moment his eyes landed on You Fushi, his pupils shrank.

The robe that boy was wearing—it was clearly a high-grade magical item.

Zhang Fengfeng actually accepted someone like this as a disciple?

Anyone who could wear such a robe couldn’t be ordinary. He must have some powerful force backing him.

With that thought, Elder Yang quickly restrained his aura as though nothing had happened.

"So you’re the sect master’s new disciple?" he said with a mild smile. "Much better than Yi Xuan."

Yi Xuan?

You Fushi found the name familiar. A moment later, he remembered—this mortal once mistook him for that person.

"Who’s Yi Xuan?" he asked Ye Su, not even bothering to answer Elder Yang.

"He was our previous junior brother," Ye Su replied. "He went off on solo training."

Yang Tan’s expression darkened, but he quickly returned to his refined demeanor, even smiling warmly. "What’s your name? Where are you from?"

"You Fushi," he said, offering only his name. As for the second question—he acted like he hadn’t heard it at all.

In just half a day, Ye Su had already figured out this junior brother’s style: he only heard what he wanted to hear, and only said what he wanted to say.

—Reckless. Truly reckless.

"If there’s nothing else, you may go," Elder Yang said, his smile fading as he dismissed them coldly.

Ye Su bowed and turned to leave. Only when she moved did You Fushi follow.

Inside the hall, Yang Tan’s gaze turned sharp. "Zhang Fengfeng really picked up another impressive disciple."

Zhi Ji picked up a black Go piece. "I think Ye Su’s cultivation has improved too."

"She just got lucky and broke into mid-Foundation stage," Yang Tan replied, though the pride in his voice returned when he mentioned his own disciple. "Qian Yao’s there too now. She has a Yin Spiritual Body. Her future is limitless."

"Indeed."

……

Ye Su walked out of the hall with You Fushi and started descending the steps.

"Next time, don’t be so blunt," she said after giving her new junior a once-over. "Elder Yang only held back because he saw your fancy clothes and assumed you had some powerful background."

To be honest, it would be easy to give this new junior trouble—he didn’t show a single trace of cultivation. Not even at the Qi Condensation stage.

You Fushi, as usual, pretended not to hear. This mortal was noisy and had a bad sense of perception.

By the time they got down the stairs, several hours had passed, but many of their fellow disciples were still meditating.

"Senior Sister!" Xia Er came over as soon as he saw Ye Su return.

Ye Su glanced over the group still sitting in meditation and asked, "Where are your senior brothers and sisters?"

"Some disciples from Wu Yin Sect passed by earlier, playing flutes. Said they were cultivating," Xia Er pointed toward the nearby bamboo forest. "Second Senior Brother and Third Senior Sister thought their instruments sounded off and went to help them fix them."

Just bluffing, really. But disciples from Wu Yin Sect fell for it—afraid their magical instruments were actually malfunctioning.

Ye Su frowned. As long as the Wu Yin Sect disciples didn’t disturb them and only cultivated nearby, it technically didn’t violate their agreement.

If Qianji Sect had its own spirit veins, they wouldn’t be at the mercy of others like this.

Unfortunately, all the usable spiritual veins in the cultivation world had long been claimed by other sects. Qianji Sect’s own veins had dried up, and they were slowly heading toward ruin—it was just a matter of time.

Of course, a sect could still survive by burning through a mountain of spirit stones, but Qianji Sect had no way to earn them.

Ye Su frowned in thought. Now that she thought about it, Qianji Sect had never received any crafting commissions from other sects.

Soon, Ming Liu Sha and Xi Yu returned from the bamboo forest.

"All taken care of?" Ye Su asked.

"We just scared them a bit and they backed off," Xi Yu said, pulling out a mirror to fix her hair and muttering, "They want us to fix their gear but still don’t want us siphoning off any spiritual energy from here."

"For now, let’s save up some money and aim for a spot on the Baiqing Rankings," Ye Su told Xia Er. "I want to see if being on the list brings us any weapon crafting work."

The three of them always listened to Ye Su, and all nodded in agreement.

You Fushi stood off to the side, bored out of his mind and starting to feel sleepy. But Ye Su stopped him—she wanted to teach him how to guide spiritual energy into his body.

"Sit down," she said, crossing her legs and pointing at the spot across from her, gesturing for him to follow suit.

You Fushi glanced at the ground, then moved over beside her. He pinched the hem of her robe with two fingers, spread it on the ground, and only then sat down.

He didn’t even sit properly—leaned sideways, inching closer to Ye Su.

Ye Su: "…" Seriously?

Was this new junior brother here just to mess with her?

She was sure of it now—this junior clearly saw her as his personal assistant, just like when she’d helped him climb the stairs earlier.

"Sit properly." Ye Su pushed him back into place, barely managing to get him to sit on the hem of her robe. Then she demonstrated how to guide energy into the body.

She didn’t expect to explain it just once and be done. Beginners were always more work.

"Like this?" You Fushi mimicked her movements, and a wisp of spiritual energy curled up from his fingertips.

Ye Su fell silent for a moment. Then she asked, "You’ve learned this before?"

"Can’t remember," You Fushi said lazily. "Maybe."

With that face of his, he could do or say anything and somehow make it look perfectly normal.

Ming Liu Sha, Xi Yu, and Xia Er were nearby, but none of them even batted an eye. Whatever this new junior brother did, it seemed right to them.

Ye Su turned to study his nearly flawless profile and thought: There’s something off about him…