Chu Wanning felt so ashamed and humiliated by Mo Ran’s comment yesterday that he left Miaoyin Springs without looking back. He didn’t bother to speak to Mo Ran again since.

     People needed face, just as trees needed bark. How could Mo Ran have the face to say such shameless words? …Did he really think he would just nod his head in agreement?

     It was already shameful enough for him to do such things, so why did he have to ask him?!

     The next day, the elder in charge of teaching Classics and History fell ill, so Xue Zhengyong asked Chu Wanning to supervise the students’ memorization. Classics and History was a big class, with many disciples. He couldn’t manage it alone, so he asked Mo Ran and the others to help keep an eye on them and answer questions.

     Among the four of them, Shi Mei and Mo Ran were the busiest. The reason was simple—Shi Mei was handsome and gentle, while Mo Ran was kind and spirited.

     Both of their personalities were very popular with the young disciples, especially Shi Mei, whose narrow waist and charming features made him lose the immaturity of his youth. He was an elegant and handsome man, with a good temper and pleasant voice, so it was easy for both men and women to have a good impression of him.

     As for Mo Ran, he was currently trapped by a group of shimei and couldn’t get out.

     “Mo-shixiong, I don’t understand this sentence, can you take a look?”

     “Mo-shixiong, I really don’t understand the difference between these two incantations. Can shixiong teach me?”

     “Mo-shixiong…”

     After Mo Ran finished explaining to the ninth smiling shimei why the Thousand Waves Reversal spell had to look exactly like the original in order to work, Chu Wanning finally lost his patience. He frowned and glared coldly at Mo Ran across several rows of disciples.

     Mo Ran had been ignored since yesterday, so he felt a bit wronged.

     He was used to being rough and aggressive in his previous life, but in this life, he cherished Chu Wanning. Every step he took, he wanted to see if Chu Wanning was happy. He didn’t know what he had done wrong. Was he not supposed to ask that question?

     Or perhaps he’d addressed him incorrectly. Maybe he shouldn’t have asked, “My good Shizun, will you let me in next time?” but instead, “Baobei, will you let me in next time?”

     Having suffered an entire day’s worth of cold treatment, Mo Ran suddenly felt Chu Wanning’s gaze. Even though Chu Wanning was glaring at him fiercely, Mo Ran was still like a little cabbage that had been doused with water. He immediately perked up and smiled brightly at him.

     “...”

     This silly man didn’t understand where all these girls had come from, or why they had so many questions. If they didn’t understand, why didn’t they ask Chu Wanning, who was the creator of the Thousand Waves Reversal spell, instead of going in circles, calling, “Mo-shixiong”?

     Chu Wanning was unhappy, but he didn’t say anything. He only looked coldly and silently at Mo Ran.

     As he glared, Mo Ran suddenly felt that something was amiss. He looked back at Chu Wanning, just as a tenth little shimei waved at him eagerly, “Mo-shige~”

     “Sorry, I have something to do.” Mo Ran apologized and pointed at Xue Meng, “Ask your Xue-shixiong.”

     As he finished speaking, he walked over to Chu Wanning, leaving the little shimei behind with a disappointed expression. She bit the end of her pencil and let out a long sigh.

     “Shizun, what’s wrong? You seem unhappy.”

     Chu Wanning pursed his lips, but didn’t say anything directly. After a moment of silence, he only said, “I’m a bit tired. Let Xue Meng do the rounds in that circle, you help me watch this area.”

     Mo Ran didn’t suspect anything, and followed Chu Wanning dutifully through the area. Strangely, as he walked next to Chu Wanning, he suddenly felt that there were far fewer people asking questions. Could it be that this group of disciples were smarter than the rest?

     Chu Wanning’s mood improved a bit when he didn’t hear the annoying “Mo-shixiong,” or the even more annoying “Mo-shige,” but his face remained expressionless as he paced around the crowd of disciples who were reciting scriptures. As he walked, he suddenly heard a conversation between two disciples.

     “Shixiong, shixiong, I’m telling you, there’s a fox spirit at Miaoyin Springs.”

     “Ah? What do you mean?”

     “I was getting ready to go back after a bath at the plum blossom pool yesterday, and I heard a faint… uh… that kind of movement in the distance…”

     The shixiong seemed very surprised, his mouth hanging open in shock. After a while, he asked hesitantly, “Could it be that some pair of fellow sect members are so daring?”

     “Who would be so daring? That’s impossible. If Yuheng Elder or Tanlang Elder were to see it, they would have their legs broken! It’s definitely impossible for it to be disciples from the sect!”

     “Ah, you’re right.”

     “It must be a fox spirit seducing a fellow sect member to replenish its yin energy. Tonight, I’ll call a few of my brothers to go take a look and see if we cat catch that little fox. We would get some credit for making a contribution and not letting it seduce more of our fellow disciples, right?”

     “That’s true. But did you see who the fox spirit seduced yesterday?”

     “...The fog at Miaoyin Springs is too thick. I would’ve had to walk right under their noses to get a good look at their features. I didn’t want to go in, I’m still a child. What if the fox spirit caught my eye and took a fancy to me? I’m not getting pulled into dual cultivation,” the shidi muttered.

     Suddenly, he saw that his shixiong’s expression wasn’t quite right. He stretched out his hand and waved, “What’s wrong? What’s with that expression all of a sudden?”

     “...”

     The shidi finally felt a chill on his back. He faintly turned his head and saw Yuheng Elder standing behind him with an unfathomable expression, his aura chilling. He was so frightened that he let out a terrified cry and hurriedly apologized, “Elder, please forgive me!”

     “You’re supposed to be reciting scriptures. What are you talking about? Sneaky spirits and dual cultivation?” Chu Wanning’s face was gloomy, “You’re thinking quite well. Study properly. If you talk nonsense again, you’ll be punished.” With that, he flicked his sleeves and left.

     Mo Ran also heard this conversation. He wanted to laugh, but didn’t dare to. His eyes chased after Chu Wanning’s back as he thought to himself, How can this serious person love me so much? How can he be willing to be with me…?

     His chest was filled with warmth and bitterness, a mix of sweet and sour. After the class was over, he couldn’t help but hug Chu Wanning, who was busy tidying up the books. He held him in his arms lovingly, and gave him a doting kiss.

     Chu Wanning was furious. He took a bamboo scroll and hit him on the head, “It’s all because of your good idea. Miaoyin Springs… This is great, what have I become?”

     Mo Ran held back his laughter and rubbed the tip of his nose against Chu Wanning’s ear, asking knowingly in a soft voice, “What have you become, Shizun?”

     Chu Wanning didn’t think he would be so shameless. His eyes widened, “You—!”

     Mo Ran kissed him again and laughed, his dimples about to turn into honey, “Those shidi are really ridiculous. What fox spirit? Seeking yang to nourish yin?”

     “Say it again and I’ll kill you.” Chu Wanning almost stuffed the bamboo scroll into his mouth.

     Mo Ran laughed, “Oh… then, can I choose how to die? Being pulled to death by the vixen of Miaoyin Springs is also a very good thing…”

     “Mo Weiyu!!!”

     From then on, Chu Wanning refused to bathe with Mo Ran in Miaoyin Springs again.

     —

     A few days later, Madam Wang summoned Mo Ran to ask a question. She said, “Ran-er, when you were traveling a few years ago, did you see a strange girl in Snow Valley?”

     “What girl? What do you mean by strange?” he asked.

     “She should have been very pale; her face doesn’t have much color,” Madam Wang explained. “She likes to wear red and always carries a basket in her arms. She would talk to passersby in Snow Valley…”

     Mo Ran laughed, “Oh, auntie is talking about Xue Qianjin, right?”

     Madam Wang was surprised, then relieved, “You know of Xue Qianjin? I never would’ve thought you read about it before, such a strange monster… I was even going to describe it to you… I didn’t expect…”

     “It was in Shizun’s notes, I just happened to see it,” Mo Ran said. “Why is auntie asking about Xue Qianjin?”

     Madam Wang explained, “Nangong-gongzi came by a few days ago… I took his pulse and felt that the yang qi in his body is not uncontrollable, it’s just that the materials required are very rare. The hardest thing to find is the Ice Shilling Fish in Xue Qianjin’s basket.”

     Madam Wang sighed, “Nangong-gongzi and Meng-er are about the same age. Now that the tiger has fallen from the sky, I really can’t bear it. I want to help if I can, but that Xue Qianjin is very elusive. Twenty years ago, someone met her in Snow Valley, and if you were to look back further, she was recorded in Taxue Palace on Mount Kunlun a hundred years ago. So, I wanted to ask you and try my luck.”

     Hearing this, Mo Ran was both happy and worried. He was happy because if Nangong Si’s illness could be cured, he would be an ordinary person. Perhaps then, he and Ye Wangxi, who had deep feelings for each other, would be able to marry.

     But he was also worried because he had been in Snow Valley for more than a year, but had never seen the legendary Xue Qianjin.

     He said to Madam Wang, “After Xu Shuanglin’s matter is settled, I will personally go to Snow Valley and search from the foot of the mountain to the treacherous peak. Maybe I can find some clues.”

     After Mo Ran finished speaking, he was so determined that he immediately wanted to tell Nangong Si. Madam Wang called after him, “Aiya, Ran-er, don’t leave so quickly. I’ve already told Nangong-gongzi, you don’t have to…”

     But Mo Ran didn’t hear her at all. He was already far away.

     He looked around and found that Nangong Si was at the end of Naihe Bridge. Just as he was about to go over, he saw a person walk over to him from the other side of the bridge. Mo Ran looked over and realized it was Ye Wangxi. His heart skipped a beat, and he stopped before calling out to Nangong Si. Instead, he stood in the distance and looked at them.

     Ye Wangxi was still very handsome, her face hardly feminine at all. The techniques she cultivated her entire life made it so she was so indistinguishable from men that even she herself would have forgotten she was a woman if not for the fact that she still held a secret love for Nangong Si in her heart.

     Seeing her, Nangong Si coughed lightly and looked out at the boundless river again.

     “Gongzi called for me?” Ye Wangxi asked.

     “...Ah…” Nangong Si’s expression seemed a bit awkward. He folded his fingers and rested them on the stone lion on Naihe Bridge before he finally answered shortly, “Yes.”

     “Is something wrong?”

     “No, no.” He didn’t dare to look at Ye Wangxi at all, his fingers mindlessly stroking the curled mane of the stone lion, “It’s just… there’s something I want to give you.”

     Ye Wangxi stared blankly, “What?”

     Nangong Si lowered his head and slowly untied an ornament at his waist. On the other side, where Ye Wangxi couldn’t see, he clumsily untangled it for a long time before finally handing it to Ye Wangxi.

     He coughed softly, “Thank you for all these years… Forget it, I don’t know how to say it. I don’t have anything valuable right now, so I can only give this to you. It has been with me for many years. It’s not the best jade, but…” He didn’t say anything else, his face a little red as he lowered his eyes. He didn’t dare to look at Ye Wangxi.

     After a long time, seeing that Ye Wangxi didn’t respond, he suddenly felt very dejected. He hesitated for a moment, then abruptly and embarrassingly took the phoenix ornament back from Ye Wangxi’s hands, muttering, “I, I know it’s not pretty. If you don’t like it, then… just give it back to me. It’s okay, I, I won’t mind… After we revive Rufeng Sect, I’ll find you the best one, I…”

     Ye Wangxi was stunned for a long time before she smiled. There was a trace of a woman’s gentleness in her eyes, which seemed to be tinted with a thin layer of rouge that had never been there before.

     Her calloused and scarred hands, which were nothing like the slender and beautiful hands of a lady’s, grasped the jade pendant. The wind was blowing and the bamboo leaves rustled, “This one is enough. Thank you, gongzi.”

     Nangong Si’s face reddened even more, and he said woodenly, “You… as long as you like it, I also… sigh… I don’t know what to say.”

     Mo Ran: “...”

     Hiding in the bamboo grove, he almost wanted to smash Nangong Si’s head against the stone lion. Did this man know how to do anything other than raising a few faewolves? Why did he always go round and round to “I don’t know what to say”?

     Out of nowhere, Nangong Si suddenly said, “Madam Wang told me that the violent spiritual core in my body can be suppressed. Perhaps now, the method of dual cultivation won’t be necessary to resolve it.”

     Ye Wangxi was stunned, seeming to have misunderstood. She gave a soft “hmm,” and lowered her eyelashes, not saying another word.

     If there was no need for dual cultivation, then Nangong Si could be with anyone; she would no longer have a reason to shamelessly stay by his side. She also had dignity, and didn’t want to beg Nangong Si to love and pity her. Nangong Si wanted to use this jade pendant to end things, so that she could have something to think of in the future.

     “Do you understand… ah… do you understand what I mean?”

     “...Hmm.”

     Upon hearing this, Nangong Si was overjoyed, but still foolishly said, “Then, if you’re willing… actually… you can call me like you did when we were young, if you want… I, I think that’s fine… I’m sorry, I don’t really know what to say.” He sighed twice in a row, and by the end he couldn’t stand it any longer himself, covering his eyes and sighing, “Heavens, what the hell am I saying?”

     This time, it was Ye Wangxi’s turn to be at a loss. She looked up blankly, until suddenly her eyes widened as if she understood something, and a thin hint of color flushed across her face.

     The bamboo leaves on Naihe Bridge rustled, and her robes fluttered in the wind. The jade pendant was warm and smooth, the bright red tassel brushing against her fingers.

     After a long while, she hesitated and called in a soft voice, “A-Si?”

     For a moment, not knowing if it was an illusion or not, Nangong Si actually felt that her voice, which had been distorted by the voice-changing spell to the point where it was beyond repair, had become soft and gentle in the blowing wind.

     He suddenly raised his head and looked at Ye Wangxi’s face. The morning sun was like a tapestry, reflecting her brows and eyes as she smiled, still with her familiar handsome and upright appearance, but there were fragments of light flashing in her slightly narrowed eyes. She couldn’t hold back as tears rolled down from her smiling face.

     Nangong Si looked at her, at that face, and a vague image of a young child came back to him. It was a little girl, young and immature, with rosy cheeks and long eyelashes. She had a very soft and sweet appearance.

     At that time, Ye Wangxi hadn’t yet been sent to Dark City by Nangong Liu to practice her cultivation. She had just been taken in by Xu Shuanglin not long ago, and followed Nangong Si all day long as she learned some basic spells.

     On that day, in order to train them, Nangong Liu had them test their strength in the simplest illusions of Rufeng Sect. The illusion itself wasn’t difficult, but it was a little scary. There were several ghosts inside who died unjustly. they wandered around inside, their heads covered as they let out loud whimpers.

     At first, Nangong Si didn’t intend to pay attention to Ye Wangxi, and just ambled along on his own. But as he walked forward, he realized that Ye Wangxi wasn’t following him. Instead, the little girl was curled up in the ruined temple of illusion, not daring to move.

    He looked back at her and snorted. But just as he was about to leave, he suddenly saw a hanged ghost floating behind her. It stretched out its bright red tongue and was just about to wrap it around her throat—

     “AHH!”

     By the time the little girl realized it, it was already too late. She was so scared that she could only scream, hugging her sword in her arms and turning her head away.

     But nothing happened.

     When she timidly opened her eyes, she found Nangong Si standing in front of her. The hanged ghost had already been repelled by his sword and affixed with a lightning talisman spirit.

     Amidst the flickering sparks, he turned his head and lowered his eyes to look at her. He originally wanted to reprimand her, but the girl’s expression was so pitiful. She was like a frightened cat with her round eyes wide open. She couldn’t hold back her tears and could only allow them to pour out.

     Nangong Si was stunned for a while before saying, “You… why are you so useless? You’re even afraid of ghosts…”

     “It’s a ghost!” Ye Wangxi cried. “If I’m not even afraid of ghosts, what should I be afraid of?”

     Nangong Si muttered, “...Why are all of you girls so useless?”

     “Then, I also want to be of use!” The beautiful girl cried and cried. She felt so wronged that even her nose was running, “Who wants to drag you down? I want to help too, but you left so quickly, you didn’t even wait for me. I… I’m just afraid of ghosts…”

     “Uh…” Nangong Si had no choice but to crouch down beside her. He didn’t know how to coax and comfort her, so he could only blankly watch her cry.

      Ye Wangxi, who had not yet experienced Dark City’s tampering, was like the most ordinary girl, her tears flowing down her face. She cried and choked on her sobs, “What are you looking at?”

     “...I want to see when you’re done crying.”

     “...”

     “When you’re done crying, let’s go together. Who told you to be so weak?” Nangong Si sighed, raising his hand to flick the little girl’s forehead, “Follow me, I’ll protect you.”

     Rosy clouds rose in the sky, and the world was bathed in golden radiance. Only now did Nangong Si suddenly realize that in the illusory realm that day, it was actually the only time in his life that he saw Ye Wangxi as a girl crying out of fear.

     Later, she became cold and turned to ice, suppressing all her emotions under a pale face.

     While suppressing her emotions, not to mention Nangong Si, even she forgot what kind of person she was originally. She only remembered following the back of Rufeng Sect’s young master in front of her, from a child to a teenager, until she became a young master, until her beautiful face was no longer her own.

     And so, she followed him silently, without shedding a tear or dragging him down, for twenty years.