Chapter 7: The Player Who Dislikes Doing Laundry

"Lu Monkey!"

Lu Dayou’s eyes lit up the moment he heard Linghu Chong call him. "Senior Brother, you’ve come down the mountain?"

"Yeah, it’s been almost a month now," Linghu Chong replied with a smile as he approached. Then he asked, "What about your little monkey? Don’t you always bring it wherever you go?"

Lu Dayou answered casually, "I lent it to the junior brother to play with."

Hearing Lu Dayou mention the junior brother, Linghu Chong seized the opportunity. "I’ve heard some of the other juniors mention him before. When he joined the sect, I was still up on the Reflection Cliff. Come on, take me to meet this junior brother."

Lu Dayou led the way. "Junior brother was just practicing swordplay by the pond, but judging by his habits, he should have returned to the guesthouse by the bamboo grove by now."

Linghu Chong was surprised. "He lives in the guesthouse?"

Hua Mountain Sect had once been quite prosperous. Back when disciples numbered in the hundreds and martial heroes came and went like schools of fish, it was only natural for the sect to have guesthouses for visitors.

Later, when the sect’s population thinned, it would have been more than enough for all disciples to live in the guesthouse. But Yue Buqun was a man who valued rules above all, so even with ample housing on the mountain, disciples were still crammed into the disciple quarters.

Though Linghu Chong had been forewarned by the sect mistress, he was still taken aback to learn that this junior brother lived so independently in the guesthouse. It piqued his curiosity even more.

As they walked, Linghu Chong inquired about Wang Jingyuan.

Lu Dayou replied as they went along, "This junior brother is no ordinary person. A few mornings ago, our master and mistress told us a new junior brother had appeared on the mountain. No one saw his initiation ceremony; we even suspect he might not have had one at all...

"But his character is pretty decent. You can tell he comes from a distinguished background, but he’s not some pampered noble brat.

"He’s humble to everyone and very diligent in his training, though he often says strange things that leave people puzzled. As for the junior sister... she often gets really annoyed by him."

Lu Dayou hesitated, but ultimately kept silent about Yue Lingshan’s shifting affections.

Their conversation flowed naturally as they reached the guesthouse. Swordplay sounds came from inside. Linghu Chong nodded—Lu Monkey’s words were true; this junior brother was indeed hardworking.

Linghu Chong pushed the door open, but as soon as they stepped inside, both he and Lu Dayou felt a chill run down their spines.

In the courtyard stood a pale figure, practicing swordplay completely naked.

Not a thread of clothing—his large white dragon beneath swayed freely in sync with his sword dance, flinging left and right without restraint.

Wang Jingyuan noticed their entrance, sheathed his sword, stood at attention, and greeted them, "Why are you back again? Do you need something?"

Wang Jingyuan began to step forward to chat, but seeing the looming white dragon, both men quickly backed away. Lu Dayou was the first to speak, "Don’t come closer! J-Junior brother, why aren’t you wearing any clothes?!"

Wang Jingyuan scratched his backside nonchalantly. "Hardcore, just too hardcore. Wearing clothes for long, especially after exercise, surprisingly lowers cleanliness. Low cleanliness affects training efficiency—who would have guessed?!

"And washing clothes isn’t just reading instructions; you actually have to scrub them by hand, then hang them to dry. I’ve never seen anything so hardcore."

Lu Dayou caught the gist. "Clothes do get dirty over time; don’t you have spare clothes to change into?"

"Oh, logistics... Mistress prepared everything for me. But I figured, even if I change into new clothes, they’ll just get dirty again. Might as well go without. Those clothes don’t boost attributes or provide armor anyway.

"By the way, is it mealtime? Let’s go eat."

Lu Dayou hurriedly pushed Wang Jingyuan inside and locked the door behind them. Linghu Chong finally came to his senses. "Junior brother, you’re not seriously planning to go out like that, naked, are you?!"

Wang Jingyuan looked down and twitched his trunk. "You’re as annoying as the guards at Fengkuang Valley. Wait, I’ll put on some underwear first."

"One pair of underwear isn’t nearly enough. No, wait! Is this really a problem of underwear?!" Lu Dayou felt like he was losing his mind.

Wang Jingyuan looked puzzled. "Do you want me to wear a bellyband? I thought only little boys wore those."

"You... you! Sigh! I don’t even know how to argue with you anymore!"

"Dressing improperly disrespects the Hua Mountain sect’s decorum," Linghu Chong instinctively said, words often recited by their master.

Wang Jingyuan glanced up at Linghu Chong. "Is this the senior brother?"

Linghu Chong was surprised. "Junior brother recognized me at once?"

"The big three characters on your back—anyone with sight can see them. Also, if I add an undershirt, that should be enough, right?"

Lu Dayou shook his head in resignation. "Better to dress more formally. Senior brother’s right—improper attire does dishonor the sect."

"Tsk, so hardcore, even about appearance requirements," Wang Jingyuan said, swaying his bare white buttocks as he turned back inside. Fearing he might do something even more outrageous, the two couldn’t help but follow reluctantly.

Inside, the first thing they saw was Lu Dayou’s monkey. It sat beside a large basin, vigorously scrubbing Wang Jingyuan’s dirty clothes with its tiny paws.

"Little monkey, you?!" Lu Dayou stared in disbelief.

The monkey grinned and chirped at its master as a greeting but kept scrubbing without pause.

Wang Jingyuan, dressing as he spoke, said, "Don’t look at me like that—I’m not exploiting it. It helps me wash clothes, and I give it dried fruits as payment."

Both men looked closely. Sure enough, beside the monkey was a fruit plate piled with dried fruits. Lu Dayou’s mind raced. Knowing the monkey had this skill, maybe he could... Wait!

His thoughts halted abruptly. Even if Hua Mountain Sect was still relatively affluent, dried fruit was rare and precious. At first, Lu Dayou thought the dried fruits must have come from the junior brother’s home.

But the fruit plate looked increasingly familiar. He felt he’d seen such a plate with dried fruits somewhere before.

Linghu Chong noticed Lu Dayou’s intense stare at the fruit plate and sensed something wrong. "Junior brother, that plate of dried fruits..."

"Oh, I took it from the ancestral hall."

"What?!" Linghu Chong, who already considered himself rather unconventional among Hua Mountain disciples, realized that compared to this junior brother, he was a mere novice.

But being a man of principle, he quickly stepped forward, scooped up the fruit plate, and tucked it under his arm. He weighed it lightly. "We should find some wild fruit pits to scatter underneath; it won’t be noticed. We have to return this quickly—if the master finds out, you’ll definitely get a beating."

Wang Jingyuan frowned. Pointing at the pitiful little monkey, he said, "This is the salary I promised it. Why take it away?"

Linghu Chong sighed deeply. "If it comes to that, give it some wild fruits later."

Wang Jingyuan took the plate back. "A promise is a promise. I have my difficulties, but what does it matter to me if I have to work like a beast of burden? I used to be one myself, and beasts of burden don’t make things hard for each other."

He returned the plate to the monkey, whose eyes welled up with tears. If it could speak, it would be performing a poignant lament.

Linghu Chong paused, then burst into laughter. "Junior brother really is a character—trusts people. I’ll share this burden with you; after all, I’m already ‘deep in debt and not worried.’"

Wang Jingyuan looked at him as if he were crazy. "You’re still a bit slow. I’m doing this so nothing will go wrong. If you take it upon yourself, the master would probably beat you into a pile of scattered Lego."

Although he didn’t know what Lego was, it didn’t stop Linghu Chong from laughing.