Ever since being forced to accept that damned "Elder's Recommendation Letter," the atmosphere on Lesser Peak had instantly switched from peaceful and quiet to a state of battle readiness.
Of course, this was only Lin Fan's unilateral feeling.
In Yue Qingqian's view, the so-called "Public Alchemy Class" was just a matter of taking a flying sword to the nearby Hundred Herbs Peak, a round trip of half an hour at most.
But in Lin Fan's eyes, this short journey was no less perilous than a mortal without any weapons attempting to cross the Ten Thousand Great Mountains infested with Yao beasts on foot!
He entered a state of extreme anxiety, a kind of pre-battle syndrome.
The night before the public class, he called Yue Qingqian to his cottage for an important strategic meeting titled "Regarding the Safety and Security Work for Junior Sister Yue Qingqian's First Long Journey."
On the floor of the cottage lay a map of the Sky Profound Sect's terrain, hand-drawn by Lin Fan with a precision comparable to a satellite map. On the map, the route from the Ninth Peak to Hundred Herbs Peak was marked with several "high-risk red zones" in red cinnabar.
"Junior Sister, look here." Lin Fan pointed to one of the spots, his expression extremely solemn. "This is the 'Sword-Inquiry Flats,' a necessary path from here to Hundred Herbs Peak. It's the favorite place for core disciples to spar with their swords, so sword qi is rampant there all year round. If you fly through here, you are very likely to be hit by stray sword qi. Risk level: High."
He pointed to another spot: "And here, 'Lover's Cliff.' This is the favorite place for those hormone-driven disciples in the sect to confess their love and go on dates. If you happen to pass by when someone's confession fails, the other party might take out their anger and frustration on you. Risk level: Extremely High!"
...
He talked nonstop for half an hour, and finally, after trying dozens of combinations, he planned out the safest flight path for Yue Qingqian, one that required more than doubling the travel distance but could perfectly avoid all known "high-risk areas."
Yue Qingqian was stunned as she listened. She had never thought that a small trip would require such meticulous tactical planning.
However, this was just the beginning.
For the rest of the night, Lin Fan practically turned his storage pouch inside out to prepare a comprehensive set of survival gear for Yue Qingqian's perilous "long journey," arming her to the teeth.
First was a silver inner armor as thin as a cicada's wing. This was woven by him over three days and nights using a material from his precious collection called "Heavenly Star Silkworm Thread." He had used a secret technique to brand ninety-nine miniature defensive runes on it. Although the defensive power of a single rune was not strong, their sheer number was an advantage, and it emitted no spiritual energy fluctuations at all, making it an excellent piece of equipment for... no, for protecting oneself.
Next was a whole set of special talismans he named the "Social Survival Series."
The first type was called the "Passerby A Talisman." Lin Fan explained, "This is not an invisibility talisman. It just greatly weakens your presence, making you completely ordinary and unnoticeable in a crowd. It's a divine tool for avoiding being the center of attention."
The second type was the "Awkward Conversation Ender Talisman." Lin Fan's expression became even more smug. "If you encounter someone who won't stop talking to you, just quietly crush this talisman. It will instantly create a silent atmosphere so awkward it makes your soul cringe. The other person will be instinctively driven to find an excuse to end the conversation and leave."
The third type was the "Honest Person Card." Lin Fan said solemnly, "This talisman allows you to exude an aura of extreme sincerity, honesty, and inability to lie for a short period of time. When you want to refuse someone's unreasonable request, using this will greatly reduce the probability of them suspecting you're making an excuse."
Besides talismans, there were also pills.
"Stomach Discomfort Pill," Lin Fan introduced. "If someone enthusiastically invites you to a dinner party and you find it hard to refuse, take this pill. I guarantee your face will turn pale and you'll break out in a cold sweat within a breath's time, giving you the perfect excuse to leave."
"Spiritual Energy Depletion Pill," "If an elder finds you exceptionally talented and wants to keep you for extra private training, take this pill. Your aura will instantly become weak and your meridians chaotic, as if you are about to suffer from cultivation deviation in the next second. Any responsible elder will immediately let you go back to rest."
Finally, from a jade box, Lin Fan took out a "prize" that he valued the most.
It was a peace buckle carved from some unknown warm jade, with profound spatial runes inscribed on it.
"Junior Sister, this is a 'Single-Use Emergency Return-Home Jade Pendant' that I spent a large amount of rare materials to create." Lin Fan's expression was unprecedentedly serious. "You must remember, only crush it when you encounter a true life-or-death crisis that you absolutely cannot handle! Once crushed, it will immediately activate a short-distance spatial teleportation, sending you directly back to your room on Lesser Peak."
He paused and added, "But remember, this thing causes a huge commotion and might attract spies, so absolutely do not use it unless you have no other choice! This is our last resort!"
Looking at the pile of strange but incredibly thoughtful life-saving equipment before her, tears of gratitude were already welling up in Yue Qingqian's eyes.
In her view, what her senior brother had given her were not magical treasures and pills, but the deepest and most profound care in the world.
...
The next morning, the day of the public class finally arrived.
Yue Qingqian had been armed to the teeth with Lin Fan's various equipment. She looked less like a disciple going to class and more like a top-tier secret agent about to go deep behind enemy lines on a mission with a high chance of death.
At the cliff's edge of Lesser Peak, Lin Fan was still giving last-minute instructions, unable to rest assured.
"Junior Sister, remember Article 17 of the 'Safety Rules for Going Out' that I summarized: Absolutely do not make eye contact with those who look very handsome, very beautiful, or very aloof. Those could all be protagonist templates!"
"And Article 42: Absolutely do not pick up anything that falls from the sky. Ninety-nine percent of the time, it's trouble!"
"And the most important, Article 99: If you hear someone nearby shouting 'I've discovered a peerless treasure' or 'Demon, don't you run,' immediately! Right now! Run in the opposite direction without looking back!"
"Mm! Senior Brother, I've memorized it all!" Yue Qingqian nodded firmly, treating her senior brother's every word as golden rules.
She mounted her flying sword and carefully, strictly following the "absolutely safe" route planned by Lin Fan, slowly flew towards the distant Hundred Herbs Peak.
Lin Fan stood alone on the cliff's edge, his hands behind his back, watching his junior sister's receding figure, his eyes filled with the worry of a father sending his daughter to school for the first time.
Sigh, another beautiful morning, perfect for drinking tea and daydreaming, was thus, completely ruined.