Li Xiuran hugged his sword and leaned to the side, truly both curious and awkward. He thought that later he must find a chance to ask Mo Xuanli. Anyway, he wouldn’t dare ask Gu Baiqing about this kind of thing. As Li Xiuran thought this, his gaze swept over them, and suddenly he saw something on their hands. Someone who understood that past farce immediately revealed a knowing smile.
At this time, Mo Xuanli stepped forward to look at Lou Zixiao. At first, Lou Zixiao looked at him with great wariness toward a stranger, but as she kept looking, suddenly a sense of familiarity arose.
“You… do we know each other? Why don’t I remember anything at all?” Lou Zixiao couldn’t help but speak up first.
Mo Xuanli knew that even if her constitution had changed, just like how he could still sense that Lou Zixiao was of the same kind, Lou Zixiao would also feel a sense of familiarity toward him. So he opened his mouth and made up nonsense, and since everyone else was present, it conveniently unified the story in one go.
“I am your sworn elder Brother Mo Xuanli, a disciple of Zixiao Sect. You are Lou Zixiao, originally a loose cultivator who practiced the medical Dao. We were both born as drifters. When we were young, we met by chance and became sworn siblings, then separated and hadn’t seen each other for many years. Not long ago, I heard that you came here to Immortal Medicine Valley for study, so I happened to pass by to visit you. As a result, something happened inside Immortal Medicine Valley, you were injured because of it, and it seems you lost all your memories. My companions and I then rescued you. You should still remember the medical skills you learned yourself, right? Can you cure your own amnesia?” After finishing, Mo Xuanli asked in return.
This led the originally suspicious Lou Zixiao to instinctively follow Mo Xuanli’s line of thought and try, “I seem to… know medical skills, but I’m not very proficient. It’s probably related to memory. You… really are my sworn elder brother?”
Mo Xuanli shrugged and said, “We also haven’t seen each other for many years. If you don’t have any memory of me at all, there’s nothing I can do. How about this, just casually ask the people of this inn whether we were drinking and chatting together here not long ago, talking happily. After that, people from Immortal Medicine Valley took us away together.”
Seeing how certain he spoke, Lou Zixiao already believed most of it. “Then I…”
“Immortal Medicine Valley is currently in chaos and not very safe. You were only here for study anyway, and probably no one was managing you. I have a suggestion: why don’t you temporarily come back to my sect with me? You can inquire about the reputation of Zixiao Sect. If you’re willing, it can be considered giving you a stable environment to recuperate for now. As for other matters, you can make plans later. How about it?”
Seeing that the few of them were all dignified in appearance, upright in bearing, and seemingly very high in cultivation, plus the fact that she indeed felt a sense of familiarity toward Mo Xuanli, and that the other party’s proposal was quite reasonable, Lou Zixiao hesitated and pondered for a while before nodding in agreement.
Mo Xuanli then introduced the others to Lou Zixiao again. Although Lou Zixiao was still a bit dazed, the good temperament cultivated in her allowed her to adapt quickly, politely greeting everyone. Especially toward Gu Baiqing, probably because her sworn elder brother said he was his Master, and his cultivation looked unfathomably profound, giving the feeling of a great immortal venerable, she was even more cautious.
Then Lou Zixiao asked, “Sworn elder brother, you… do you know what this is?”
Lou Zixiao raised her wrist and pointed at the red cord on it as she asked.
Both Mo Xuanli and Gu Baiqing were taken aback.
Mo Xuanli said, “It should be some kind of magical artifact, right? Your own item.”
Lou Zixiao felt puzzled, because after she woke up, she discovered that whenever she felt uneasy, she would reflexively reach for this red cord, as if she relied on it greatly. She thought it must be something very important to her.
“Then sworn elder brother, do you know if I have other friends? I must also have had a master, right? Was my master also a medical cultivator?” Lou Zixiao asked.
At this question, the entire room fell silent.
Mo Xuanli could only shake his head and say, “Sorry, we only met again not long ago. I don’t know much about your affairs, but I’ve heard that your master has already passed away.”
Lou Zixiao’s face instantly filled with disappointment, but there was nothing she could do. She wanted to ask more, but her stomach suddenly growled with hunger. She hadn’t completely fasted yet, so she still needed to eat.
Ji Chuling immediately stood up and said, “I’ll go get some food.”
“Sorry to trouble you.” Lou Zixiao said with a smile.
Ji Chuling returned the smile. Li Xiuran was just about to go along as well, but Ji Chuling instead shot a look at Gu Baiqing and said, “Big Brother Gu, come with me.”
Mo Xuanli quickly lifted his head and glanced at Gu Baiqing.
Gu Baiqing didn’t mind, turned around, and accompanied Ji Chuling out.
As soon as they were outside, Ji Chuling asked, “Are you really planning to take her into Zixiao Sect?”
Gu Baiqing nodded and said, “Mm. Now her constitution has completely changed. She’s no longer a mixed-blood, so it’s fine.”
Ji Chuling nodded. “That’s true.”
“Can you keep it confidential? About her past.” Gu Baiqing asked.
Ji Chuling immediately said, “If I weren’t willing to cooperate, when she woke up earlier, I wouldn’t have chosen to keep my mouth shut.”
Gu Baiqing smiled and said, “You’re truly a kind girl.”
Ji Chuling, however, said, “Actually, at first I thought you didn’t agree, and I even wanted to persuade you.”
“Ah?” Gu Baiqing was stunned for a moment. At this time, the two had already gone down the stairs from the second floor, but some of the guests staying at the inn kept secretly looking at him, then whispering among themselves.
The two arrived at the counter and ordered food from the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper kept sneaking glances at Gu Baiqing from time to time, finally making Gu Baiqing notice something was off.
“What are you looking at?” Gu Baiqing’s expression turned cold, his authority even greater. The shopkeeper wasn’t frightened, instead suddenly blushing, and said, “N-no, nothing. Please rest assured, honored guest, we’ll deliver the meal upstairs shortly.”
The two turned around. Gu Baiqing was still puzzled when he heard Ji Chuling say casually, “They must be afraid that you master and disciple will tear his shop apart. Everyone knows you two fought yesterday.”
Gu Baiqing’s steps halted, his expression instantly changed.
“W-what?”
Ji Chuling continued walking forward, shaking her head as she said, “I thought before that you were arguing over Lou Zixiao’s matter, so you fell out and started fighting. In the middle of the morning, the noises in that room—creak, creak—didn’t stop, the fighting was really intense. Although this kind of inn usually has basic protective formations, the two of you have too high cultivation. With one slip, you could level the place to the ground. How could they not be afraid? I originally wanted to go mediate, but Li Xiuran stopped me. I think Li Xiuran was just afraid of getting beaten, no loyalty at all. At the time he had that constipated look on his face, saying something about master-and-disciple matters being resolved by yourselves, and even put a barrier over you, saying to let you fight to your heart’s content as long as you didn’t disturb others.”
Hearing this, Gu Baiqing sucked in a sharp breath. His whole body felt as if it had instantly jumped into a furnace, flames surging up from the soles of his feet, about to burn his face clean off.
At this moment, they had already walked to the second floor, and it seemed he could still feel people downstairs casting strange looks from time to time, truly like thorns at his back. Actually, because they hadn’t gone all the way, there wouldn’t have been any shouting sounds, but the bed boards, wooden planks and such… at the time it felt like background noise, perfectly normal, but thinking about it now… the commotion really was huge.
Thinking back to the various looks and expressions before, probably only Ji Chuling, that silly girl, thought they were fighting in the middle of the morning. After all, some of the sounds were far too rhythmic, completely impossible to have been made by fighting.
And who fights for a whole day and night without either person going out!
So it turned out that Mo Xuanli hadn’t set up a barrier at all; it was Li Xiuran who couldn’t take it anymore and added one.
At this moment, Gu Baiqing’s face was already flushed red, it could truly be said to be anger born of shame. He stopped walking and said coldly, “I remembered some things. I’m going back to the room first. Later… after Mo Xuanli finishes his business, have him get back!”
Ji Chuling was stunned, looking at Gu Baiqing who had suddenly flown into a rage, completely confused. She shouldn’t have said anything, right? “Big Brother Gu, are you angry?”
Gu Baiqing stiffened his face and smiled faintly. “No.”
Ji Chuling went back with her head full of question marks.
After going back, she naturally couldn’t relay the words verbatim, and instead politely rephrased it, saying that Gu Baiqing had some matters and went back to his room first, and that Mo Xuanli should go back to look for him later.
Mo Xuanli felt puzzled. After the food was delivered, Lou Zixiao had finished asking what she needed to ask, and Mo Xuanli had also discussed the subsequent arrangements with Li Xiuran. Only then did he prepare to return to the room.
Li Xiuran came out together with him. Mo Xuanli knew he had something to say, and before speaking, Mo Xuanli pulled him aside and let him look at how he was controlling his red pupils.
Li Xiuran frowned and said, “Controllable?”
Mo Xuanli nodded and said, “But internally it hasn’t changed. It’s still a blessing in misfortune. I’ll study it carefully later. In the end, we may still have to rely on the God-Slaying Sword.”
Seeing how resolute Mo Xuanli was, no longer fearing change, no longer discouraged, Li Xiuran was truly happy for him. “Don’t worry. Now you have three pieces, I have two, Tianyuan Sect has one, the demon clan has one. Once we find the last piece, everything will be settled.”
Mo Xuanli also said, “Mm, I’ll definitely suppress myself before then.”
Li Xiuran suddenly laughed and said, “Isn’t this already finding a suitable way to suppress it?”
Mo Xuanli immediately couldn’t help hooking up the corners of his mouth, with no intention of hiding anything in front of his brother. “Actually, it’s not suppression. It’s just stabilizing the state of mind, then it can be controlled temporarily.” At this point, he thought of something and said awkwardly, “Thanks. I forgot at the time.”
Li Xiuran hurriedly waved his hand and said, “This kind of thing counts as helping a brother close the door. Forget it, don’t mention it. And also… congratulations. You got what you wished for. For your Master to be with you under these circumstances, he is sincere toward you. He truly is a very good Master and also a very good dao companion. Blessings to you both.”
Mo Xuanli’s smile spread. “Many thanks. I only hope that in this lifetime I can be with Master for a long, long time, living steadily day by day.”
Li Xiuran patted Mo Xuanli’s shoulder and said, “You will.”
Watching Mo Xuanli enter the room, Li Xiuran’s gaze gradually became firm.
For the sake of brotherly loyalty, Li Xiuran also made up his mind that he must improve as soon as possible, must become strong.
After all, back then when Mo Xuanli had fallen into demonic madness, and both were seriously injured, he simply couldn’t fight him. Watching Mo Xuanli suffer, he couldn’t help at all, feeling utterly useless and deeply guilty.
At that moment, Li Xiuran suddenly understood something in his heart. Helping a brother wasn’t just empty words. For Mo Xuanli’s sake, he too had to become stronger. There was no time to delay.
Just as he was setting his goals and aspirations, suddenly the sound of a heavy object falling came from that room, followed by the room being filled with lightning and becoming brightly lit. But very quickly, the barrier blocked everything.
Li Xiuran seemed to think of something. The corner of his mouth twitched, silently mourning for his brother.
As soon as Mo Xuanli returned to the room, he saw Master meditating. He hadn’t yet realized the danger, only feeling a tenderness fill his heart. His expectations for happiness were very simple. Knowing where Master was, so long as he went over, he could see Master waiting for him, within arm’s reach.
Mo Xuanli couldn’t help gazing foolishly. In the end, he moved closer wanting to kiss Master’s lightning mark. He especially liked kissing that mark, as if after kissing it, he could cover up Master’s authority, cross the boundary between master and disciple, and then he could…
Mo Xuanli’s eyes darkened. The morning’s grudge should be…
Suddenly, the Master in front of him opened his eyes. A crackling sound erupted, and before Mo Xuanli could react, he was struck by a bolt of lightning and sent flying.
He fell to the ground, still a bit dazed, and saw Master sitting there, his expression cold and severe. “Mo Xuanli… you actually deceived me… yesterday’s commotion was heard by others, you…”
As soon as Mo Xuanli heard this, he immediately reacted and hurriedly said, “Master, don’t be angry, I…”
Gu Baiqing didn’t listen to his sophistry at all. His face flushed with shame, another bolt of lightning fell. “And we even had to rely on Li Xiuran to help us set up a barrier, do you have any shame left?”
“Master… you can’t blame me for this. At that time, you were like that… how could I possibly still think rationally about anything else.”
“Sophistry! I clearly asked you. If it weren’t inconvenient for me to use spiritual power, would I have had to rely on you?”
“When you asked me, my mind was muddled too. I only wanted…” Mo Xuanli felt wronged.
Another bolt of lightning.
“Master, it’s also inconvenient for you to use spiritual power right now. Don’t be angry anymore. It’s all my fault. Next time I promise I’ll definitely prepare properly. I guarantee I won’t let anyone hear even the slightest bit.” In truth, he also couldn’t bear to let anyone hear even the slightest sound related to his Master.
Hearing this made Gu Baiqing even angrier. Lightning flashed and thunder roared. This kind of small lightning strike wasn’t even as powerful as the ring’s might, but Gu Baiqing was angry and had to vent.
Mo Xuanli was struck and ended up sprawled, kneeling on the ground, everything going quiet.
Only then did Gu Baiqing withdraw his hand and say, “Stop pretending. Get up. What harm could this possibly do to you?”
“It is harm.” Mo Xuanli lowered his head, his voice hoarse and aggrieved, making Gu Baiqing feel inexplicably uneasy. Had he struck too hard? He immediately became nervous and wanted to go over to take a look. But just as he approached, Mo Xuanli suddenly sprang up and pulled him into a bear hug, tightly locking him in.
“Master.” The tone was coquettish.
Gu Baiqing, however, felt the lethal force pressing up from below, and it even very roguishly thrust twice. He was instantly shocked, “You……”
“I was electrocuted by you into this state, tell me, does that count as harm?” Mo Xuanli said in a deep voice.
Gu Baiqing narrowed his eyes slightly, and immediately struck out with a heavy gravity lightning blow.
This time, it really sent Mo Xuanli flying.
When Ao Hang came in with Three Bean, he discovered Mo Xuanli with smoke rising from the top of his head, doing an upside-down punishment.
“What happened?” Ao Hang asked in surprise.
Mo Xuanli looked at Ao Hang innocently.
Three Bean jumped down and rubbed against Mo Xuanli, saying, “Did you provoke Master?”
Mo Xuanli let out a sigh, his pitiful puppy-dog eyes looking toward Gu Baiqing. Three Bean ran over and jumped into Gu Baiqing’s arms, rubbing against him.
Gu Baiqing held Three Bean and stroked his fur, but ignored Mo Xuanli’s gaze.
Ao Hang, not afraid of death, said, “Did you go too far yesterday? That makes sense, that kind of commotion really wasn’t simple.”
Gu Baiqing’s hand stroking the fur paused, his face turning iron-blue. Although he wasn’t afraid of people knowing about these things, knowing and hearing the process were two different matters.
Gu Baiqing didn’t bother arguing with Ao Hang, but he was going to argue with his master.
“Another hour of punishment.”
“Master……”
Ao Hang grinned mischievously and walked over, saying, “Immortal Venerable Gu, this won’t do. Getting out of bed and then turning your face and denying people? Starting chaos and abandoning it?”
Gu Baiqing shot Ao Hang an annoyed look, thinking that for a short time, he shouldn’t expect Gu Baiqing to give Three Bean any spiritual power.
Ao Hang, however, also thought of this and directly asked, “Since you’ve already dual cultivated, you still haven’t recovered?”
Gu Baiqing felt a blockage in his chest.
“Then at least you should have plenty of spiritual power, right? Share a bit.”
Three Bean immediately clung to Gu Baiqing’s hand, indicating no.
Gu Baiqing naturally followed his own spirit beast, “I just used it all up beating this rebellious disciple.”
Ao Hang: ……
Three Bean: !!!
Mo Xuanli: aggrieved.
At this moment, Gu Baiqing’s hand stroking Three Bean paused slightly, and he said, “What is this, there seems to be something on the neck……”
Three Bean moved his neck, looking gloomy.
Ao Hang said, “That’s the mark of a dragon companion. By the way, once this mark matures, you won’t be able to threaten me anymore. At that time, Three Bean can directly use my spiritual power.”
Gu Baiqing hadn’t expected this was possible. It seemed his time protecting Three Bean wouldn’t be long.
However, Gu Baiqing was quite satisfied with this… daughter-in-law. If the dragon companion mark had this function, logically Ao Hang could have done it earlier. Dragging it out until now was probably because Three Bean was still young and he cherished him. Only this time, as a helpless measure, did they truly become companions. It could be considered well-intentioned.
Alright then, this marriage was settled.
After that, they talked about arrangements.
It was just that Mo Xuanli was talking the whole time while upside down.
They planned to stay one more night and split up early the next morning.
Gu Baiqing and Mo Xuanli’s group would take Lou Zixiao back to Zixiao Sect first, then come back out to continue searching for fragments.
Li Xiuran and Ji Chuling would go search for fragments first. Mo Xuanli had already mentioned to Li Xiuran that that fragment might be something Qian Yue was looking for, telling him to pay attention. There might be a harmless demon accompanying Qian Yue, only possibly harmless, so if they encountered them, they should respond cautiously and not rush to kill.
They would decide the next arrangements based on how everyone’s matters progressed.
By nightfall, Xiayang City seemed to have some kind of festival and was rather lively. Ji Chuling couldn’t sit still, Lou Zixiao was full of curiosity about the outside world, and Gu Baiqing, who had been angry all day, finally, under Mo Xuanli’s begging for mercy, accompanied them out to have some fun.
But not long after going out, the group traveling together scattered.
In a dim little alley, a tall white figure pressed a black figure against the wall and kissed him, not stopping until the other couldn’t catch his breath.
“Master, are you not angry anymore? You ignored me for so long, didn’t look at me, I feel miserable.”
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