My Disciple Is Crazy! Chapter 4: Some Cultivators Pursue Power To Live Forever. No

The silence stretched between them, growing thick and uncomfortable. At least for Xu Kai. Chen Xi seed lost in her own world, staring into the middle distance as if trying to solve a puzzle that had haunted her for years.

Which Xu Kai knew would be impossible, because whatever secret the original Xu Kai had carried, she had probably been chasing about since childhood. And she'd never cracked it.

He cleared his throat.

"So. How does spending more ti on things other than cultivation relate to living in a forest?"

Chen Xi snapped back to the present, blinking.

"For resources!" she said, as if the answer were written in the sky.

"Resources?" He wasn't following.

"Yes, resources." She sat up straighter, gaining confidence. "The forest is one of the best, easiest places to find materials for whatever you want to make."

She raised a hand, ticking off points.

"Special forests, especially. And Lud Forest is a pri example. It's packed with useful things."

"It's not like gathering in a forest is automatically easier," Xu Kai countered.

"But it is! I found my Swan Leaf deep in the forest, and on the way, I barely faced any threat." She leaned forward, warming to her topic. "Lud Forest is massive. The opportunities are huge, which ans a lot of good materials. And did I ntion it's qi abundant?"

Xu Kai raised an eyebrow.

"With all that," she continued, "it's one of the easiest options. Well, it depends on what you're after. If you want to play it safe, you stick to the basics."

"That's just called being simple. And trust , nobody wants to settle for basic things their whole life."

"I know, Master." Her voice shifted, gaining an edge he couldn't quite place. "But you have to consider the risk. So cultivators pursue power to live forever. Not to die forever."

Since Chen Xi had known her master, probably even before he found her, her master rarely caught a break. Almost every waking mont, he was working on things her brain couldn't comprehend. He was like soone trying everything, excelling at everything. She was certain there wasn't a single craft or skill he hadn't mastered.

And yes, he seed to be okay with it. But she still wished he'd rest. Just once.

He'd embark on journeys to collect materials, and those journeys were anything but safe. Sotis she'd get furious at him for attempting such dangerous missions, for not prioritizing his own safety.

Each ti, he'd simply say he had to do it for his own good. She never understood what that ant. And he never explained, just told her, every ti she asked, that it wasn't yet ti to share.

She hated that. Hated that he kept things from her, handled everything alone. If he'd just let her in, maybe she could help. It wasn't that he didn't trust her, she was the only person he had, and she knew he trusted her completely. But for reasons she couldn't fathom, he believed so things were better left unsaid.

Her master focused on everything but cultivation. It might have looked like he'd given up, but Chen Xi knew better. He hadn't given up. He was doing what needed to be done for his cultivation. He just refused to explain why.

He always warned her not to follow his path. Focus on cultivating, he'd say. Focus on your own goals. He'd handle the rest. And he did, he supported her completely.

But Chen Xi was Chen Xi. She didn't listen. She couldn't help admiring him and the incredible, flashy things he created. Sotis she'd steal his learning materials, desperate to be like him.

It was always a spectacular failure. Chen Xi was too dumb for complex things like that.

But she never gave up. She kept searching for easier thods.

Her attempts often felt pointless, because her master simply gave her most of what he made anyway. And that was the core of it. That was why her chest tightened every ti she rembered.

He risked his life for rare, dangerous materials. And then he'd turn around and craft sothing for her out of them. Almost every single ti.

Whenever she tried to protest, he'd shut her off with a simple word: 'You're important to . Why wouldn't I do it?'

Chen Xi's expression shifted. She'd been talking nonstop, but now, silence.

She wasn't okay

Xu Kai knew she wasn't. But he didn't pry. Asking soone what they were thinking felt... rude. Intrusive. Whatever was going on in that head of hers, the worry etched into her features was plain enough.

He should do sothing. Calm her down. Except he had no idea how. He knew nothing about her, nothing about their history, nothing about what caused that look.

So he stopped thinking. His hand rose, almost on its own, and settled gently on top of her head. He stroked her hair, slow and steady.

Chen Xi blinked. The distant fog in her eyes cleared. She looked at him, and smiled.

Xu Kai breathed a quiet sigh of relief. She wasn't upset. She wasn't pulling away. Whatever he'd done, it had worked.

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'Didn't know I had it in ,' he thought, a flicker of pride warming his chest.

Then he noticed sothing else. Her hair was impossibly soft. Silky smooth beneath his fingers. The kind of soft that made you want to keep touching it forever.

For a mont, he seriously considered abandoning his plans to extract information from her. Just sitting here, stroking her hair, seed like a perfectly valid way to spend the rest of the day.

'No. Priorities.' He reluctantly reminded himself there were things he needed to learn. Important things.

'But... maybe just a little longer.'

He closed his eyes, savoring the mont. The warmth of the sun, the cool forest air, the absurd softness of his disciple's hair—

A sound. Close. Familiar... A snore!

His eyes snapped open.

Chen Xi was... asleep!

Her eyes were closed, her breathing deep and even, her head tilted slightly to the side. She looked peaceful. Completely, utterly unconscious.

Xu Kai stared, dumbfounded.

He was the one who'd woken up in a stranger's body. The one drowning in confusion and danger and a disciple who defied all logic.

He was the one who needed sleep. Not her.

Xu Kai exhaled slowly, watching his disciple's peaceful sleeping face. He should wake her. Kindly.

He considered ruffling her hair, a gentle shake to bring her back. But his hand stopped mid-motion.

'I can't. Not this hair,' he thought. 'It was too soft. Too perfect. Ruffling it would be a cri against nature itself.'

Then a different thod occurred to him. A much kinder one.

'I'm sorry,' he apologized inwardly.

He withdrew his hand from her head. His finger moved to her forehead. And flicked.

"Snore—Aww!"

Chen Xi jolted awake with a yelp like a dying goat, both hands flying to the reddening spot on her forehead. Her eyes snapped open, shooting daggers at him.

"Master—!"

Before she could form a full protest, Xu Kai raised a hand, cutting her off.

"Sleeping while having a discussion with your master is disrespectful, disciple. Don't you know that?"

Chen Xi's mouth opened to retort, but he cut her off again with a raised palm.

"However. I'll let this slide. Just this once." His voice dropped, taking on a grave tone. "Do it again, and I'll assign you a serious punishnt."

The daggers in her eyes vanished. In their place, pure terror.

A flashback hit her like a wave, countless punishnts over the years. Too many to count. Each one worse than the last.

She looked away quickly, her gaze dropping to the rock beneath them.

Xu Kai allowed himself a small, internal smirk. The nonsense he'd just pulled from thin air had actually worked.

Then he heard it. Low. Almost imperceptible.

"I'll get my revenge."

Xu Kai laughed inwardly, brushing it off.

'What could she possibly do? Throw a tantrum? Withhold information? Please.'

Then he saw it.

A slow, creeping grin spreading across Chen Xi's face. Devilish. Wicked. Full of intent.

His internal laugh died.

'Maybe I should just apologize.'

The grin widened. Whatever was brewing in that chaotic mind of hers had clearly passed the point of no return.

Xu Kai watched in growing alarm as she seed to descend deeper into her own scheming. If he let this continue, she might achieve so kind of dark enlightennt.

He needed to act. Now.

"So this True Beast," he began, steering the conversation back to practical matters. "Why do you want to kill it?"

He'd read enough cultivation stories in his past life to know the usual reasons. Resources. Materials. Breakthroughs. Territory. Subjugation. Vengeance. Specialized paths. The list went on.

"Revenge," Chen Xi said. Her voice was flat, her expression serious.

"R-Revenge?!" Xu Kai blinked, certain he'd misheard.

She nodded.

'Is this girl's middle na revenge?' His internal voice was spiraling. 'Why is she so fixated on getting even with everything?'

Chen Xi didn't just get revenge, she got worse. If soone wronged her, she returned the favor tenfold. And now she wanted to apply that philosophy to a wolf.

Xu Kai needed context.

"Why revenge on the wolf?"

At his question, her head dropped slightly. Her expression darkened, jaw tightening.

"It... It ate my friend."

Xu Kai's eyes widened.

'It ate her friend.'

All his assumptions crumbled. He'd thought she was chasing resources or glory, so reckless impulse that put them both at risk. But this...

He understood now. If soone, sothing, killed soone you cared about, devoured them like prey... revenge wasn't just an option. It was a necessity.

His expression hardened.

The wolf deserved what was coming. So things couldn't be forgiven. So things couldn't be forgotten.

Xu Kai watched Chen Xi, her face drawn with a sadness that looked years old. He waited, then asked quietly.

"So how did you lose your friend?"

She was silent for a long mont. When she spoke, her voice was distant.

"He was with when it happened." She swallowed. "One mont we were together. I went inside to get sothing. When I ca back..." Her hands gripped her robes. "He was already halfway down the wolf's throat."

'Halfway swallowed. Just like that,' Xu Kai's stomach turned. 'The wolf must be enormous. Big enough to treat a person like a bite-sized snack.'

A sudden image flashed through his mind, massive jaws, rows of teeth, a single gulp. He pushed it away.

'Maybe we should reconsider this.'

He'd never encountered anything capable of eating a human whole. The thought of facing such a creature made his newly acquired cultivation feel very, very small. He wasn't eager to share his predecessor's fate, or his disciple's friend's.

The sensible part of his brain scread at him to speak up. To tell Chen Xi that rushing into revenge now was a mistake. That they needed ti. Preparation. That walking into that wolf's territory right now was a great way to beco morning snacks.

The words sat on his tongue, ready. But they wouldn't co out.

'How do you tell soone to wait, to be patient, when their friend was eaten?'

He wasn't saying never. Just not yet. Just give him ti to figure out his body, to learn to fight, to actually be useful. He was technically stronger than the beast, but technically ant nothing when he doesn't even know how to use spells, or cultivate.

'But did Chen Xi have that kind of patience?'

She'd clearly been holding onto this for a while. Telling her to wait longer felt cruel. Insulting, even. Like her friend's mory didn't matter enough to act now.

But another life is at stake here. His. Hers.

Xu Kai exhaled slowly, the weight of it settling on his shoulders.

He'd have to find the right mont, and the right words to tell her soon.

Xu Kai studied her for a mont, then asked softly.

"So what was your friend's na?"

"Skinny." Chen Xi answered.

"Ah. Skinny." Xu Kai nodded, forming a ntal picture. "Must have been a really thin person to earn that na."

"Yeah, he's super skinny." Chen Xi agreed. Then her eyes lit up with recollection. "Actually, I think I have an image of Skinny in my bag."

She plunged her hand into her storage treasure, rummaging with the focus of soone searching for buried treasure. After a mont of serious digging, she produced a photograph and held it out.

Xu Kai took it.

He looked at the image. He looked at Chen Xi. He looked at the image again.

Then he laughed.

"Funny," he said, still chuckling, handing it back. "You gave the wrong photo."

Chen Xi didn't take it. She just stared at him, then at the photo, then back at him.

"I didn't."

Xu Kai's smile faltered. He frowned, bringing the image closer to his face, as if sheer proximity would transform it into sothing else.

It didn't.

"This isn't the right image," he said slowly. "This is... sothing else."

Chen Xi shook her head firmly.

"No. That's Skinny. It's the right photo."

Xu Kai looked again, then he laughed. But this ti, the laughter turned strange. His eyes began to water. Tears ford, then fell.

'I've lost my mind. That's it. I've officially, completely, utterly lost my mind.'

"Skinny," he choked out, voice cracking, "is a chicken?!"