You Siqi coming to thank him was something Liu Buli had actually guessed. After all, they had been friends for so long, and they understood each other's personalities quite well.
Just like Shen Muzhi, You Siqi was someone who remembered kindness shown to him.
They could see the goodwill from others and were willing to reciprocate it, which was why Liu Buli enjoyed being friends with them.
At least such friendships were mutual, not one-sided.
However, even so, he had only guessed the first half of You Siqi's statement. The latter half was completely unexpected, and after pondering it, he even found it incredibly unbelievable.
After a moment of silence, allowing himself to digest the news, Liu Buli finally blinked and asked You Siqi, "In Shen Muzhi's eyes, isn't becoming the Valley Master of Medicine Master Valley his goal? I thought he was dedicated to Medicine Master Valley, and I assumed he liked the position. To just step down like that, has he thought it through?"
"If he hadn't thought it through, he wouldn't have come to tell you," You Siqi smiled. "Shen Muzhi is quite a person with clear goals. He wouldn't even tell me if he hadn't thought something through. This is a conclusion he reached after a long period of deep consideration. Honestly, he's deviating further and further from the image of the male protagonist in the novel. Haven't you noticed?"
How could he not have noticed?
Liu Buli was not only a true fan of the novel but also a good friend to both of them. If he hadn't understood this, he would have been too foolish.
The male protagonist in the novel, now that he thought about it, was indeed somewhat flat, making it difficult to describe. His pursuit of justice was to an obsessive degree, and when justice reached its extreme, it was not much different from evil.
For example, the method the "Shen Muzhi" in the novel used to execute Lu Wuming had absolutely nothing to do with kindness.
However, eliminating Lu Wuming was indeed a contribution to this world. So, it was hard to say which category his actions fell into.
But the current Shen Muzhi was different.
He was clearly a human with flesh and blood.
He had people he genuinely liked, and he occasionally cared about his friends. Most importantly, he no longer pursued so-called justice with such obsession and madness. He was like a puppet whose strings had been cut, leaping out of the life that had been defined for him and forging his own path.
In comparison, Liu Buli preferred the current Shen Muzhi. Therefore, if the other party had truly made up his mind, as a friend, he would only offer support and wouldn't try to dissuade him.
After pondering for a while, Liu Buli spoke, "Shen Muzhi wants to resign, which, to put it bluntly, is to have more time to spend with you. Why not simply keep a nominal position in Medicine Master Valley? Having a sect as a backing can indeed be convenient in many situations."
"But any position would involve many daily affairs," You Siqi shook his head with a troubled expression. "You are also a sect leader; you should understand what I'm saying, right? This is indeed a big problem. You know, when Shen Muzhi gets busy, he even stays up for several nights without sleep. If I don't go to where he's working to find him, we might as well be in a long-distance relationship even when we're together."
As he spoke, he couldn't help but sigh.
He glanced at Lu Wuming beside him and felt a rare sense of camaraderie, saying, "Lu Wuming, is your master usually this busy? Being a sect leader's partner has this one downside; it's truly pitiful."
You Siqi spoke earnestly.
However, he didn't expect that after he finished speaking, both Lu Wuming and Liu Buli's expressions would become somewhat strange.
Lu Wuming's expression was easy to understand.
He was simply confused.
Without You Siqi even needing to ask, Lu Wuming proactively said, "My master is usually very free; he's not busy at all. I don't know why you have this impression, but I can guarantee you that my master's days are spent either teaching me to practice or practicing with me. Although he occasionally visits my junior sisters, he always takes me with him. As for sect affairs..."
Lu Wuming scratched his head.
Honestly, he couldn't recall Liu Buli handling much.
With Lu Wuming speaking so directly, Liu Buli had no room to explain. He could only clear his throat awkwardly and say, "It's like this, my management philosophy for the sect is different from Shen Muzhi's. My idea is that all matters, big or small, should be handled by the subordinates. I am the Sect Master; if I had to personally handle everything, I would surely be exhausted. So, I selected an excellent Grand Elder. Almost all matters in Dan Sect are handled by the Grand Elder alone. What I need to do is to offer a reminder when the Grand Elder is undecided or encounters matters he cannot resolve. That's all, nothing more."
After Liu Buli finished speaking, You Siqi was dumbfounded.
He had always wondered why, despite both being sect leaders, Liu Buli always seemed much freer than Shen Muzhi. Initially, You Siqi thought Liu Buli was a master of time management, and his apparent leisure was due to his efficiency in handling matters.
But now it seemed there was no such thing as a time management master.
Liu Buli was so free simply because someone else was busy for him.
The atmosphere became a bit awkward for a moment. After a period of quiet, You Siqi finally found his voice and said earnestly to Liu Buli, "When you get back, remember to give your Grand Elder an extra chicken leg."
"That's for sure," Liu Buli smiled, then, unashamed and even proud, he instigated, "Why don't you talk to Shen Muzhi about it? He could try my method too. Isn't that more comfortable than resigning? If you ask me, it's better to have some power in hand. Otherwise, wouldn't he feel a bit uneasy?"
You Siqi shook his head. "He doesn't. Shen Muzhi himself is the type of person who can't let go of anything, and Medicine Master Valley doesn't have any elders as capable as yours. If he continues to stay here, he'll just remain busy. So, it's better to resign. What you said is indeed a problem, but compared to the current issue, I think it's acceptable to not have a sect. After all, neither of us likes to cause trouble. Even as rogue cultivators, there shouldn't be any major problems, right?"
You Siqi said this, but there was a hint of hesitation and conflict in his tone.
After all, he had written this novel himself.
No one knew what this world was like better than he did.
The two of them indeed didn't like to cause trouble, and they were never that kind of people. However, there were too many people in this world who did like to cause trouble, and those people wouldn't care if you provoked them or not. Ultimately, the current world was simply too chaotic.
So, after a moment of silence, Liu Buli provided an answer. He said, "If you really plan to leave Medicine Master Valley, then join Dan Sect. Not just Shen Muzhi, but you too. It'll just be a nominal position, an elder's title. I won't interfere with what you want to do or where you want to go. At least when someone tries to bully you, having a sect behind you will make them hesitate."