A night of good sleep.
When Zanxing woke up, the sky was already bright. Hong Su was feeding Mimi at the door, and hearing Zanxing’s movement, she turned around to look, then hurriedly brought a cup of hot tea to the bedside.
Zanxing took the tea and had barely taken a sip when she heard Hong Su’s voice ring in her ear: “Young Miss, have you already captured Young Master Gu’s heart?”
Zanxing nearly spat out a mouthful of water, looking up and asking: “What?”
“Haven’t you?” Hong Su was somewhat disappointed: “Last night, Young Master Mu was sent back to the neighboring Miaokong Hall by Miss Liu, and Young Miss was sent back by Young Master Gu. I thought Young Miss had already decided to choose Young Master Gu between the two of them, but nothing happened at all?”
Zanxing pushed her head away, getting out of bed while saying, “Of course, nothing happened.” When did it become her turn to choose between two options? This wasn’t some vulgar romance novel, and she wasn’t an emperor selecting consorts. Suddenly remembering something, Zanxing instructed Hong Su: “Also, don’t keep calling him ‘Young Master’ in front of Gu Baiying. He’s a virtuous and chaste man who won’t even let others see him undressed, extremely old-fashioned, knows male virtue better than the Heart Sutra by heart. If he hears you ruining his reputation behind his back, he won’t spare your life.”
“But…”
“But what?”
Hong Su swallowed the words that had reached her lips: “…Nothing.”
Seeing Zanxing getting up and dressing, Hong Su asked: “Is Young Miss going out?”
“I need to go to Great Master Uncle’s hall,” Zanxing patted her head. “You stay in the room and play with Mimi.”
Hong Su obediently agreed.
After Zanxing dressed, washed up, and casually grabbed a piece of rice cake, she headed toward Yueguang Daoren’s hall. Passing by Xiaoyao Hall, she happened to see Gu Baiying standing under the Biyi flower tree outside the hall, lost in thought.
The handsome white-robed young man under the brilliantly blooming Biyi flowers was truly both pure and vibrant, worthy of being one of Gufeng Mountain’s ten great scenic views.
Zanxing appreciated the beautiful sight for a while, feeling somewhat strange in her heart. Gu Baiying’s cultivation was high, and usually when someone passed by, he would notice immediately. Today, she had been watching here for quite a while, yet Gu Baiying remained completely unaware, not knowing what he was thinking about so deeply. Thinking of this, Zanxing took the initiative to greet him: “Seventh Master Uncle.”
Gu Baiying turned around.
The wind blew, and a Biyi flower fell from the tree, landing precisely in his hair. Zanxing walked over, reaching toward the top of his head. Gu Baiying instinctively stepped back, his back against the trunk of the Biyi flower tree, nervously staring at Zanxing: “What are you doing?”
“…You have a flower on your head.” Zanxing took down the fire-colored phoenix bird, waving it in front of him: “Master Uncle, why are you so nervous?”
Gu Baiying was annoyed: “Who’s nervous?”
Zanxing sighed: “Fine, I’m nervous then.” She turned to leave, but suddenly remembered something, turning back to Gu Baiying: “By the way, Hong Su said you were the one who sent me back last night. Thank you, Master Uncle.”
The young man was stunned: “Just that?”
Zanxing looked at him puzzledly: “Is there something else?”
“Don’t you have anything else to say to me?”
“What should I say?” Zanxing was somewhat confused.
Gu Baiying stared at her for a full quarter-hour, his expression very complex. After another while, he turned away: “Nothing.”
Zanxing felt that this person seemed to have something left unsaid, but right now she still needed to hurry to Yueguang Daoren’s hall and couldn’t delay. So she said: “Yesterday I drank too much and don’t remember anything. If I did something wrong, please don’t take it to heart.” After speaking, seeing that Gu Baiying did not react, she thought whatever it was could be discussed later, so she didn’t ask further and left first.
After Zanxing left, Gu Baiying returned to the hall and sat down on the long bench inside.
In Xiaoyao Hall, apart from the occasional cleaning boy, few people usually came by. Unlike the liveliness of Miaokong Hall, it often felt lonely and cold. Now he sat alone on the long bench, silently gazing at the azure bell in his hand.
He had once thought the Jiexin Bell would never ring. This bell had followed by his side for so many years, silent like a decoration. He had never known this bell could have such passionate chimes, such heartfelt emotion that even the Fuyin curse couldn’t contain.
It was hard to deceive himself. The moment before, he had hardened his heart to give up, but the next moment, he surrendered completely into the other’s hands.
Mendong’s voice came from outside the door: “Master Uncle, Master Uncle!”
Gu Baiying looked up, asking absent-mindedly: “What?”
“Master wants me to call you to his hall, saying he wants to discuss the matter of going to the treasure land… Eh, what are you doing with the Jiexin Bell?”
Gu Baiying put away the Jiexin Bell: “Nothing.”
The small child in pink gauze clothes blinked his eyes, asking tentatively: “Yesterday, when we were at Duoluo Terrace, when Senior Sister Zi Luo’s spoon pointed to you, that Xiangling Sect senior sister asked if you had a sweetheart… Master Uncle, do you have a sweetheart now? But I’m with you every day, how come I don’t know? I’ve never heard that bell ring either.”
“Chatterbox, you should worry more about your affairs.” Gu Baiying’s mood was terrible at the moment, and he didn’t want to say much to him.
“If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can ask me more.” Mendong was full of confidence: “Although I’m young, in the sect, I’ve delivered love letters for those senior sisters and brothers—if not eight hundred, then at least a thousand. Master Uncle, I’m not bragging, but when it comes to matters of love, I understand quite a lot. If you have any confusion, you can tell me anytime. I’ll give you some guidance, which is better than you figuring it out alone.”
“You give me guidance?” Gu Baiying said irritably: “You know how to flatter yourself.”
“When three people walk together, there must be one who can be my teacher. Don’t look down on people,” Mendong argued confidently, “Our sect’s Senior Brother Xiao Ming and Senior Sister A Juan were brought together by the love letters I delivered for them. Speaking of which, I deserve credit for their match. When they become Dao companions, they promised to give me a big thank-you gift.”
Hearing this, Gu Baiying’s eyelids lifted slightly: “Really?”
“If you don’t believe me, you can ask them.” Mendong patted his chest in guarantee.
After thinking for a long time, Gu Baiying leaned close to him, saying in a low voice: “Then fine, let me ask you. If a woman kissed a man the day before, but when they meet again the next day, she has no reaction at all—neither mentioning what happened the day before nor clarifying how they should interact in the future—what does this mean?”
Mendong answered without thinking: “What else could it mean? She doesn’t want to take responsibility!”
Gu Baiying was stunned.
“Let me tell you, Master Uncle, there are such people in this world who take advantage of others, do everything they should and shouldn’t do, and after taking everything they can, they turn around and pretend nothing happened. These people are typically full of bad intentions.” Mendong spoke with spittle flying: “These people usually use being drunk as an excuse to violate others’ innocence, then the next day they say to the other person: ‘Sorry, I drank too much yesterday and don’t remember anything. If I did something wrong, please don’t take it to heart.’ How cunning is that? When you encounter such people, needless to say, they’re scoundrels with extremely poor character. But…” He looked at Gu Baiying suspiciously: “Do we have such people in our sect?”
Gu Baiying said with a dark face: “I don’t know!”
“Master Uncle,” Mendong’s face showed suspicion: “The man you mentioned, could it be yourself?”
“Of course not!” Gu Baiying quickly denied, emphasizing: “It’s a friend of mine!”
“That’s good,” Mendong was relieved, “I thought it was you. Master Uncle, tell your friend to be very careful not to be deceived. This is treating him as entertainment—don’t let him fall in too deep to get out.”
Gu Baiying’s expression changed slightly. After a moment, he stiffly changed the subject: “What did you just say Big Senior Brother called me for?”
“Oh,” Mendong then remembered his purpose: “Master Uncle said he wants to discuss the personnel selection for going to the treasure land.”
Personnel for the treasure land—wasn’t it already decided that Yueqin, Zhao Mayi, and Zanxing would go with him?
Gu Baiying looked at Mendong suspiciously.
Mendong shrugged: “It seems the situation has changed.”
In Yueguang Daoren’s hall, Zhao Mayi, Xuan Lingzi, and Yueqin were all present.
Shaoyang Zhenren had gone into seclusion again. Out of 365 days in a year, he probably spent 300 days in seclusion, rarely appearing. The others—Li Danshu was busy with pill refining, Cui Yufu was busy with talisman drawing—rarely left their halls. Yueqin was busy examining disciples’ swordsmanship, Yueguang often organized the Heart Sutra, and Zhao Mayi spent most of his time accompanying Gu Baiying, searching everywhere for herbs to repair spiritual meridians. This left Xuan Lingzi, who always seemed like an idle person wandering around with nothing to do.
However, this idle person had also become busy recently.
Tian Fangfang and Mu Cengxiao had already arrived. On that side, Meng Ying walked in, and upon seeing the three of them, she was slightly stunned.
“Why haven’t Seventh Junior Brother and Mendong arrived yet?” Xuan Lingzi looked toward the hall entrance.
As soon as he finished speaking, Mendong’s voice came from outside: “Coming, coming!”
He pulled Gu Baiying running into the great hall, catching his breath before standing steady: “Everyone’s here!”
Gu Baiying was dragged along, stumbling by Mendong. When he met Zanxing’s gaze, he immediately turned his head away.
Zanxing was stunned.
On the other side, Xuan Lingzi cleared his throat and began: “Since everyone is here, let’s discuss the matter of going to the treasure land.”
“You all know about Baiying’s spiritual meridian issue, so there’s no need to hide it. It was previously agreed that this time, Baiying would go to the treasure land to search for the Sacred Tree, with Senior Sister Yueqin and Fifth Senior Brother accompanying him. Plus, since the treasure map itself was given to Zanxing by the Serpent Witch, Zanxing would also go—four people would be just right. But…”
Gu Baiying asked: “But what?”
Yueqin took over from Xuan Lingzi and continued: “But previously in Li’er Kingdom, Mo Sha attacked disciples of various major sects. Not only that, they’ve recently been causing trouble among the common people. The various sects of the cultivation world have decided to go to Li’er Kingdom again to thoroughly investigate the traces of Mo Sha. This matter concerns the Demon Clan and is of great importance. Fifth Junior Brother and I must also go to Li’er Kingdom together, so we can’t accompany you.”
“Aren’t there still Third Master Uncle and Fourth Master Uncle? And if not them, there’s still Master Uncle Yueguang, though he’s a bit older.” Tian Fangfang reminded.
“The sect cannot be left unguarded, in case the Demon Clan is using a diversion tactic. The three of them must stay in the sect.”
“So?”
“For this trip to the treasure land to search for the Sacred Tree, you all will go.”