In the middle of the night, Chu Wanning woke up from his light sleep. Mo Ran had already gotten out of bed and was properly dressed. He sat in front of the table with a single lantern lit, looking down at a pile of objects.

      The unease and helplessness from before had all faded away under the faint glow of the single lantern. Chu Wanning looked at him sleepily for a while, then said, “What are you doing?”

     “Shizun is awake? Is the light too bright…?”

     “No.” Chu Wanning asked again, “What are you doing?”

     Mo Ran pursed his lips and smiled, a little embarrassed.

     Chu Wanning got up, put on his robe, and walked barefoot to his side. He leaned against the table and looked at it. It turned out that his haitang handkerchief was on the table. Mo Ran had taken three other plain white handkerchiefs and was currently sewing patterns on them.

      “You’re embroidering a handkerchief?”

      “...I want Shizun to make one for me alone.” Mo Ran put down the needle and thread, wrapped one arm around Chu Wanning’s waist, and leaned over, kissing his chest.

     Chu Wanning had a scar over his heart.

     Chu Wanning never mentioned the origin of this scar, so Mo Ran didn’t ask either. It was just that when they touched, he would subconsciously kiss this spot tenderly.

     Mo Ran said, “I’ll just embroider the others’ handkerchiefs. They won’t know who made them anyway…” As he spoke, he picked up a handkerchief he had already embroidered, and asked with a smile, “Shizun, does the needlework look similar to yours?”

     Chu Wanning sighed, “I don’t even need to look to know it’s similar.”

     How could this man be so possessive?

     Chu Wanning stroked Mo Ran’s hair, and Mo Ran smiled as he raised his head to look at him.

     The lantern’s light was so dim that it hurt Mo Ran’s eyes. When he looked up, they were slightly bloodshot, but his face and smile were gentle and bright.

     Chu Wanning asked gently, “Are you still thinking about those things?”

     Mo Ran stared blankly for a moment, then said softly, “No, I’m not.”

     “Hmm.” Chu Wanning said, “That’s good.”

     “Let nature take its course…” Mo Ran seemed to be talking to himself, but also to Chu Wanning.

     Let nature take its course.

     Such days like this were too few and far between.

     He, Mo Weiyu, wasn’t a god. He was just a tiny duckweed floating in the vast world of mortals. Everyone had their own selfish thoughts. If one gave a person who was about to die of thirst a cup of water, and then asked them to voluntarily pour the entire cup of water onto the ground and choose to die of thirst… This was too difficult, and almost no one in the world could do it.

     Mo Ran thought to himself, I should drink some more sweet rain.

     In the future, when he entered the underworld again, it wouldn’t hurt as much. There was now a clear pool of memories, enough to comfort his dry life.

     —

     The next day, everyone gathered outside of the villa and set off for Mount Jiao.

     Villa Master Ma ordered his disciples to prepare a sturdy horse for everyone. There was also a qiankun pouch embroidered with a cat design on each black and gold saddle. Xue Meng sat on the horse’s back and picked up the bag to take a look. He immediately wrinkled his nose in disdain.

     Suddenly, he heard someone beside him chuckling, “Villa Master Ma’s taste is really terrible. Not only is there a big cat embroidered on the qiankun pouch, but there’s also a red Mǎ 马 character on the back. Interesting.”

     Xue Meng turned his head and saw Mei Hanxue sitting on a tall white horse, also playing with the bag. He raised his clear blue eyes and looked at Xue Meng with a smile. The droplet-shaped crystal hanging on his forehead exuded a gentle luster. It swayed slightly, causing him to appear even more enchanting.

     Xue Meng rolled his eyes and cursed him softly, “Scum.”

     The scum only smiled, with crescent eyes, not angry in the slightest. Instead, he said, “Xue-gongzi doesn’t look too good today. Did you not get enough sleep?”

     “...”

     “There’s a little shadow under your eyes, and your face is still dark. I have some herbal ointment here that can help you sleep…”

     “Mei Hanxue, are you so free?” After enduring for a while, he found that he couldn’t hold back anymore, and turned around in rage, “Did Taxue Palace expel you from the sect? What are you doing walking around Sisheng Peak?!”

     “My master told me to come here.” Mei Hanxue was still smiling, “To give your father some of the concealed weapons he asked for yesterday.”

     “Then hurry up and get lost after you’re done.”

     Mei Hanxue actually didn’t get angry. He smiled and said, “Mm, I’m out of here.”

     “???”

     Xue Meng simply felt that this person was sick. The last few times he had seen him, he was either as soft as a woman, or cold as stone. Last time, when he ran into him at Rufeng Sect, he was still secretly teasing him. Today, he had changed into a good person who said, “you hit my left cheek, so I’ll show my right cheek to you.”

     Xue Meng couldn’t help but think of this as he turned his horse around and stared at the extremely handsome man on top of the horse, “No. Mei Hanxue, I have no enmity with you, right?”

     “No,” Mei Hanxue answered.

     “Then do I know you well?”

     Mei Hanxue smiled, but didn’t answer quickly. However, his pair of light colored eyes shone with a fine light. When the wind blew, his fair blonde hair whipped under his hood and fluttered charmingly. When the sun shined on it, it only served to soften the color.

     Xue Meng didn’t really want to hear his response. He frowned and said, “Scram right after you deliver the concealed weapons. If you want to hook up with people from other sects, I don’t care. But don’t even think about having a good relationship with me if you dirty my little shimei of Sisheng Peak.”

     “...Pfft.” Mei Hanxue couldn’t help but laugh out loud. However, he then immediately clenched his hand into a fist and covered his mouth, coughing lightly. He looked at Xue Meng with amusement for a moment, then said, “Alright.”

     He took the reins of the horse, a silver bell tied to his pale wrist. When the wind blew, it jingled lightly. He cast a sidelong glance at Xue Meng, and said, “I’m leaving.”

     Xue Meng stared at him, “Hurry up and leave then. Do you want me to send you off with fireworks?”

     Mei Hanxue really did start walking away. But his horse had only taken two steps before he suddenly thought of something and turned his head, “Right, there’s one more thing.”

     Xue Meng didn’t want to hear it, but he was also a little curious, so he snapped, “What?”

     Mei Hanxue smiled faintly and pressed a pale slender finger to his lips. He laughed in a low voice and said, “You’re really hot.”

     Xue Meng’s face instantly turned green!

     “You… You—you!” He was completely disgusted. After sputtering for a long time, he didn’t even come up with half a word.

     The Sect Leader called for them to group up and prepare to leave, and Mei Hanxue smiled, taking the opportunity to wave at him and urge his horse away.

     When Mo Ran rode to Xue Meng’s side, Mei Hanxue had already disappeared into the sea of people. Mo Ran only saw Xue Meng fuming in anger, looking like he was about to throw up.

     Mo Ran was stunned, “...Did you eat something bad?”

     “Ugh—don’t talk to me now. It’s so fucking early in the morning and I ate dogshit…”

     Mo Ran: “...Even if you’re very hungry, you shouldn’t eat dog shit…”

     “Scram!” Xue Meng pushed Mo Ran’s chest, shoving Mo Ran and his horse away. He was so angry that he was about to ascend to the heavens. He roared towards the distance with a red face, “Dogshit! Who’s fucking hot?!”

     After things had settled down, thousands of people set off from Lonely Mountain and headed towards Mount Jiao.

     This scene was truly rare. Normally, when everyone left the city, they would use the imperial sword technique. Even if they gathered in a large group, they would be there in no time at all. It was rare to see a group of cultivators travel on horseback.

     Many of them hadn’t ridden a horse in a long time. It was fine on the first day, but it wasn’t easy to bear for a long time.

     Fortunately, Villa Master Ma’s qiankun pouches had everything. There were refreshing pills, scented fans for the breeze, and even a few books made of silk, containing the prices and suitability of the new products of Taobao Mountain Villa.

     Xue Meng stared at Villa Master Ma, who shouted from the shade while he rested. The second richest man in the world shouted happily, sparing no effort, “My lords, if there are any goods you want, just tick them in the booklet. I will deliver them once I return. I’ll guarantee a return in seven days, and exchanges in fifteen days.”

     There were many people who had nothing to do, and Villa Master Ma definitely did this on purpose. Even though they each had a huge qiankun pouch, there was nothing else to look at but these booklets.

     Even Xue Meng couldn’t help but draw a circle on the paper:

     Nanping Mountain Spiritual Swallow’s Nest Cake—delicious for the young and old, mild and beneficial, greatly increases spiritual power, made with the best choice of ingredients.

     At last, he understood what Mo Ran meant by “making money.”

     After seven days of traveling, Villa Master Ma had made a huge profit, and everyone was a bit tired. On this evening, they finally arrived at the mountain range of Mount Jiao.

     “The dragon has proud bones, I hope you will respect them.”

     Xue Zhengyong read the words on the huge boulder that stood in front of the mountain range. He turned around and asked Nangong Si, “Nangong-gongzi, what does this mean?”

     “It means that for the rest of the journey, we must walk on foot,” Nangong Si said. “Moreover, from the moment you enter the mountain range, until we get to the boundary of Mount Jiao, you must not speak foul words. Otherwise, you’ll be punished.”

     Since Nangong Si gave such a warning, the sect leaders immediately passed the message along.

     Each sect’s method of sending messages was different. The Palace Master of Taxue Palace picked up the jade flute at his side and played two notes. Master Xuan Jing of Wubei Temple shook the silver bell in his hand.

     However, Jiang Xi stood there unmoving. Instead, it was Hua Binan who passed the message. He waved his sleeve, and a black ball of smoke surged from his sleeve. Upon closer inspection, one would discover that it wasn’t actually smoke, but thousands of little flying insects. They flew to the ears of Guyue’ye’s disciples and warned them.

     Xue Meng was extremely disgusted, and said, “Cold Scale Sacred Hand is really abnormal. Could it be that his entire body is filled with insects?” Then, he suddenly thought of something and turned to Shi Mei, “Speaking of which, you went to Rainbell Isle to study. You didn’t interact with Hua Binan, did you? Don’t try to play with the bugs when the time comes. That’ll really be enough for me to deal with.”

     Shi Mei turned his head and smiled, “...Gongzi really is worrying too much.”

     At this time, Sisheng Peak also sent the message. The other sects more or less wanted to use this opportunity to show off their abilities, but Xue Zhengyong, on the other hand, only used a sound amplification technique.

     “After entering the mountain range, do not use profanity, or foul language! If you can’t control yourself, use a silencing spell to shut your mouth in advance! Do you all hear me?!”

     His loud voice echoed through the forest, shaking the trees and clouds. The echoes lingered in the air—

     “Do you all hear?! Do you hear?! Do you—?!”

     All of the cultivators were speechless.