Xianle City.
The Xianle Grand Ceremony had ended, and the programs on the square's Celestial Stage had been replaced with evening bonfire performances. Numerous cultivators and commoners danced hand-in-hand around the fires in a rare moment of peace and tranquility.
Looking down from the night sky, the firelight illuminated the happy and joyful faces of everyone below, including many Tingyin Pavilion disciples.
Wen Li flew on her sword while Hua Cishu sat on it, arms wrapped around her legs. Zongzheng Huangyue and Xin Jiuxian each flew on their own swords behind them.
The four of them headed quickly toward the Tingyin Pavilion, fearing that if they returned too late, Xin Jiuxian’s soul might dissipate.
Out of the corner of her eye, Wen Li caught Hua Cishu gazing curiously at the bustling scene below. She patted his head, and noticing his forehead was a bit cool, she tossed a thermal blanket over him.
“What, do you want to go down and play?”
“No, I just think it would be even more lively if someone threw a hundred explosive talismans down there right now.” Hua Cishu looked up, his amber phoenix eyes darting around with a dark glint.
“It would certainly liven things up for them.”
Wen Li knew his nature contained a streak of mischievous malice, much like her own. Sometimes, when she was bored, she couldn't stand seeing others too happy; she wanted them to cry and hurt, to toy with them like playthings.
Behind them, Zongzheng Huangyue listened with a faint expression. She had no interest in such things, but if she learned the Soul Refining Technique, she quite wanted to see how powerful and spectacular it would be to refine the souls of these ten thousand people for her own use.
“If you want to play, then try it.”
Wen Li actually produced a stack of explosive talismans as thick as a deck of unseparated spirit money, her expression cold and indifferent.
She lacked even a shred of human compassion for life.
“...”
Cishu’s eyes froze. This was the first time he had revealed his wicked side; in the past, he had always acted well-behaved and coquettish, fearing his Master would dislike or detest him. Yet now that he had spoken like this, she was still willing to fulfill his request.
Although he had followed Wen Li for a long time and knew she wasn't a good person, her being a bad person was one thing—her bottomless indulgence of him was another entirely.
Hua Cishu reached out and took the explosive talismans. “Master, aren't you afraid I'll cause trouble for you if I throw these down?”
Wen Li looked at him with feigned disgust, acting as if she didn't know him. “You’re the one throwing them, not me. Don't forget the Sect Rules: you're not allowed to cause trouble for the sect when you're out and about, and if you do, you're definitely not allowed to use your Master’s name. If you want to cause trouble, I can help you, but you’ll have to bear the consequences yourself.”
To put it bluntly, she was just a passerby; he was the primary culprit.
“...”
Hua Cishu finally understood. His Master would indulge him in doing anything—except for drawing aggro to her from outsiders. Otherwise, she would turn her back on him in an instant.
Wen Li’s eyes were full of excitement, but she asked with refined poise, “Still want to play? I’ll help you throw half of them.”
“No.”
Hua Cishu refused decisively, returning to his well-behaved self at the last moment.
“Thank you, Master.”
Seeing that he wasn't going through with it, Wen Li felt a small pang of disappointment at the lost opportunity for fun.
“Alright then.”
“If Master wants to play, you can explode whatever you want after I'm strong enough to protect you. Right now, I rely entirely on Master’s protection. Even if I caused trouble now and didn't want to involve you, I know Master wouldn't have the heart to let me truly get hurt, so it would still end up burdening you. I can't do that.” Hua Cishu hugged Wen Li and looked up with a grin like a little sweetheart, adding a few more flowery words.
His words were beautifully phrased—not only did they explain his hesitation to blow people up and make her miss out on fun, but they also expressed his future filial piety.
Zongzheng Huangyue’s ears hurt from listening. She glanced at the expressionless, stone-faced Xin Jiuxian beside her.
She sent a message via Divine Sense: “Want to punch him?”
Xin Jiuxian, flying on her sword beside her, turned her head slightly.
She glanced at Hua Cishu’s cloying, manipulative act. Recalling how he had almost touched her zither and then used the opportunity to play weak—as if it were her fault, as if she were being petty and unreasonable—Xin Jiuxian gave a cold, aloof nod.
Zongzheng Huangyue’s brow relaxed. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
She continued the transmission, beginning to plot with Xin Jiuxian on how to deal with this black lotus later.
Everyone likes hearing sweet words, and Wen Li didn't care if he was being sincere or just making empty promises. She was amused and reached out to shake the silver bell on his black hair.
“Alright, I'll wait for you to clean up the messes I cause in the future.”
“Mhm!” Hua Cishu nodded happily in agreement.
Having finished her plotting with Xin Jiuxian, Zongzheng Huangyue couldn't help but look on with amusement. Flattery-monger. You dare to agree to anything. You might not be able to handle the people Master offends.
She looked forward to seeing the expression on Hua Cishu’s face in the future when Wen Li kicked him out to be her human shield.
...
In the night sky above the Tingyin Pavilion’s mountain gate.
Four people were standing there.
No, it should be five.
Because a person in dragon-fruit-pink robes was rushing toward them in a flurry.
“How could you not call for me? I’m an old friend of the Tingyin Pavilion, aren't I? So petty. You even called Yang Yankuan but not me? Where are your manners!”
Huo Yuntian stood beside Yang Yankuan with his beard bristling, casting a glance at Xin Feiliu on the far left, who was gazing into the distance with a complex expression. He didn't dare stand next to her.
In the afternoon, he and Yang Yankuan had chased after her, fearing she would be impulsive. As a result, she had searched frantically throughout the Fengyin Kingdom for half the day. Finding no aura of a Central Province cultivator within the borders, her suppressed anger exploded, and she had hacked at the two of them twice just to vent.
The five people were the Tingyin Pavilion’s Grand Elder Shengji, Second Elder Xin Feiliu, and Third Elder Linghu Ci; Yang Yankuan, an Elder of the Beast Taming Sect; and Huo Yuntian, an Elder of the Fire Lotus Sect.
“Who is it? Who exactly is outside the Tingyin Pavilion? Who are you waiting for, that all three of your Elders had to be mobilized?” Huo Yuntian asked curiously, looking for some gossip.
In the darkness of the night, the figures of the five were exceptionally small, yet any one of them was a significant Soul Formation powerhouse who could wipe out a small sect with a flick of a finger.
Currently, the Tingyin Pavilion was silent in the night. Though some disciples were still cultivating, most had returned to their own caves and rarely ventured out. Even if someone walking on the road looked up, they wouldn't be able to see them.
The sage-like Linghu Ci did not answer him, merely stroking his beard. “Why haven't you returned to your Fire Lotus Sect yet?”
Huo Yuntian crossed his arms over his chest, his aged face huffing. “Since when does a host drive out a guest? The juniors of the Fire Lotus Sect are still in Xianle City exchanging insights with your Tingyin Pavilion disciples. What’s my hurry?”
At this point, Huo Yuntian jerked his chin toward the Tingyin Pavilion. “I heard the little girl from the Beast Taming Sect is staying here. What, her father wants you to treat her chronic condition? He usually treasures that girl so much; isn't he afraid you'll poison her or something?”
His tone carried clear disdain for the Beast Taming Sect’s Sect Master, to the point where he wouldn't even mention the man's name.
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