Xie Liufeng brought Chu Xinghui to his room’s door and hesitated for a moment before pushing it open.

The moonlight was just right, shining on the two of them, casting a very gentle glow on Xie Liufeng’s face.

Chu Xinghui looked at him, his gaze lingering on his face for a moment before glancing at the door and kindly saying: “You can still change your mind now.”

Xie Liufeng looked back at him with a smile, shaking his head: “I’m actually very conflicted right now.”

Chu Xinghui nodded: “I know. So if you change your mind this time, I’ll try not to be disappointed.”

A black bird sleeping in a tree nearby, seeing the two of them still pulling at the door late at night instead of going inside, curiously poked its head out of the nest.

It slipped out silently, flapped its wings softly, and landed at Chu Xing’s feet, folding its wings and wandering around.

Chu Xinghui glanced at it but ignored it.

Xie Liufeng chuckled lightly and pushed the door open: “Forget it. I promised you, so I won’t go back on my word.”

Chu Xinghui looked up and confirmed this silently with his eyes.

After confirming Xie Liufeng did not plan to change his mind, Chu Xinghui immediately followed him into the room.

The black bird circled twice around his feet and also slipped inside.

Chu Xinghui glanced down calmly, grabbed the bird’s wing, and threw it out.

The black bird cursed as it flew back to its nest.

Chu Xinghui closed the door, found the bed, and shyly placed his pillow next to Xie Liufeng’s.

Xie Liufeng actually did not often use a bed, but since this was his room, the bedding and pillow inevitably carried much of his aura.

Looking at the two pillows placed side by side, Chu Xinghui suddenly felt an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.

He even felt a bit inexplicably excited.

Xie Liufeng stood to the side, watching him diligently prepare the bed and enthusiastically tidy the whole room again. When Chu Xinghui almost couldn’t resist adjusting some items, Xie Liufeng finally stopped him, smiling: “Alright, alright, if you keep tidying, I won’t find anything tomorrow.”

Chu Xinghui could only stop regretfully.

Xie Liufeng pressed him down onto the bed: “Didn’t you say you came to sleep? Sleep then, I’ll watch over you.”

Chu Xinghui grabbed him: “…Just watch over me?”

Xie Liufeng asked: “Do you want me to sleep with you?”

Chu Xinghui nodded.

Xie Liufeng looked at him and felt a little hesitant again.

Chu Xinghui then directly pulled him and they both lay down on the bed.

To prevent Xie Liufeng from running off, Chu Xinghui deliberately pushed him to the inner side of the bed.

Xie Liufeng’s heart skipped a beat.

They lay facing each other.

They were still intimately close, but within this intimacy, another emotion seemed to quietly grow.

Xie Liufeng sighed, moved his fingers, used some spiritual energy to remove their outer clothes.

Chu Xing turned off the light.

In the darkness, the presence of the other person beside him seemed more obvious.

The bed really did seem a bit small.

Xie Liufeng started planning to buy a bigger bed tomorrow.

He hadn’t decided what size to change to yet when he felt Chu Xinghui shift closer toward him.

Xie Liufeng was almost pressed against the wall by him and said helplessly: “What’s wrong, little ancestor? Any other requests?”

Chu Xinghui rubbed against him and asked: “Aren’t you going to hold me today?”

Xie Liufeng chuckled and couldn’t help teasing him: “Who was it that said from now on you’d be the one holding me?”

Chu Xinghui said nothing.

Then, he moved forward on his own, reached out to hug Xie Liufeng’s waist, buried his whole body in Xie Liufeng’s arms, and slowly closed his eyes as if he had completely fallen asleep.

Xie Liufeng looked down at the person in his arms, his heart melting completely.

He reached out and hugged Chu Xinghui back.

He actually understood that his attitude toward Chu Xinghui had already exceeded the usual boundaries between elder and younger.

Normally, elders wouldn’t feel the need to keep distance from those they mentored.

Chu Xinghui’s clinginess toward him was also a bit excessive.

He didn’t know whether this was because the two of them had spent so much time together that a natural possessiveness had formed, or if it was something else.

Chu Xinghui didn’t resist him, and he could indeed continue allowing himself to get close to him in this unclear situation until he clarified his own feelings.

But he hadn’t figured it out himself yet, and Chu Xinghui was even more confused.

Xie Liufeng quietly discussed with Chu Xinghui: “There have been unusual movements among the evil spirits suppressed around Hanshui Marsh recently. We need to send some people over to reinforce the seals.”

Chu Xinghui had been pretending to sleep but opened his eyes upon hearing this: “Hmm?”

Xie Liufeng stroked his hair and asked: “Do you want to go?”

Chu Xinghui didn’t understand why the topic had suddenly changed, but he nodded: “Okay.”

He thought it over and felt something was off: “Are you trying to get rid of me because you can’t avoid me yourself?”

Xie Liufeng laughed helplessly: “Can’t you think of something good for me? I told you this because deep in Hanshui Marsh grows snow ginseng, which greatly benefits the Ice Spirit root.”

Chu Xinghui thought about it and finally let down his guard, nodding: “Alright then.”

He closed his eyes again and continued pretending to sleep.

The room fell silent once more.

Xie Liufeng sighed in his heart.

…Since neither of them wanted to force distance, the only choice was to let Chu Xinghui go out more and see the world.

Whether back at Wanling Valley or now at Qingjing Peak, it was always just the two of them. Being together day and night easily led to feelings that crossed boundaries, especially since Chu Xinghui was young and inexperienced.

Perhaps after meeting more people and seeing more things in the future, he wouldn’t only think about him.

His life was just beginning. He should have more possibilities and choices and shouldn’t be monopolized by him.

And before Chu Xinghui truly made his own choice, he would always stand behind him.

*

After cultivators reached the Golden Core stage, their need for sleep actually dropped significantly.

But maybe because the surrounding aura was especially reassuring, Chu Xinghui closed his eyes for a while and really fell asleep.

When he opened his eyes again, daylight had already brightened.

Chu Xinghui felt that he had slept very well and woke up refreshed.

Then he began looking for Xie Liufeng.

Xie Liufeng hadn’t run off while he was asleep and was lying beside him, looking somewhat tired.

Chu Xinghui looked at him with curiosity.

Xie Liufeng flicked his forehead with his fingers: “Stop staring. You kept squeezing me all night. Not only did you squeeze me, you wouldn’t let me move. Whenever I moved a little, you got unhappy. You held onto me and wouldn’t let go — oh, and you even hit me.”

He never thought Chu Xinghui would be so restless while asleep.

That sleep was more tiring than not sleeping at all.

Chu Xinghui reflected on this.

He himself never had this problem when he slept.

So he thought Xie Liufeng was slandering him, but he had no proof.

His expression was just too obvious. Xie Liufeng laughed and said: “If you don’t believe me, next time I’ll record it for you with a shadow recording stone.”

Chu Xinghui’s eyes lit up: “There can be a next time?”

Xie Liufeng: “…”

He pulled Chu Xinghui up from the bed.

*

After they got ready, they left together.

A black bird stood on a branch, looking sideways at them.

It still held a grudge over how the two had wrestled last night and thrown it out of the room, so it jumped down from the branch and stepped on Chu Xinghui’s foot.

Chu Xinghui didn’t bother arguing and casually fed it a pill.

The black bird hesitated, then finally stopped stepping on his foot and flew away to eat somewhere else.

The two parted ways at the door.

Xie Liufeng continued to handle his affairs, while Chu Xinghui went down the mountain to the task hall and took the mission for Hanshui Marsh.

*

Ten days later, the team headed to Hanshui Marsh.

Hanshui Marsh was complex and dangerous, so the sect specifically chose a Nascent Soul stage cultivator named Ning Yuanzheng to lead the team.

Chu Xinghui arrived at the meeting point early in the morning.

The meeting time was almost over when Ning Yuanzheng finished counting the people, frowned, and asked the assistant disciple nearby: “Who hasn’t arrived yet?”

The disciple answered: “It’s Uncle Ming Xiao, and a junior sister who temporarily canceled the mission due to some reason.”

The evil spirit sealing involved formations, so it was normal for Daoyuan Peak to send people.

Ming Xiao was not very sociable but never liked to be late.

Chu Xinghui hesitated whether to contact Ming Xiao when Ming Xiao finally arrived at the scene.

He apologized proactively: “Sorry, I’m late.”

Ning Yuanzheng relaxed his brow and nodded: “It’s not time to depart yet. Junior Brother, return to the group.”

Ming Xiao looked somewhat displeased, he hurried back and stood beside Chu Xinghui.

Seeing his unusual expression, Chu Xinghui asked: “What’s wrong?”

Rarely straightforward, Ming Xiao said directly: “Do you remember that Qin… ah, I forgot her name, the cultivator who always tried to find out your whereabouts?”

Qin Suyun had emphasized her name to him several times, and Chu Xinghui had barely remembered it: “Qin Suyun.”

Based on her style, Chu Xinghui guessed: “Is she coMing this time as well?”

Ming Xiao shook his head: “She did originally accept this mission, but something came up at the last minute.”

Chu Xinghui asked: “What happened?”

Ming Xiao hesitated, as if it was hard to describe the state: “This morning… she went crazy. She went mad while on Daoyuan Peak’s territory, and my master and I took a long time to subdue her.”

That was also why he was late.

Chu Xinghui was a bit confused: “Went crazy?”

Ming Xiao continued to explain: “It seemed like two people split off inside her. Sometimes she was as usual and even asked me if you were going on the mission today, other times she ranted nonsense. When she was mad, her strength was enormous—not like someone at the Foundation Establishment stage at all.”

Chu Xinghui asked: “What did she say while mad?”

Ming Xiao shook his head: “Hard to understand, but she mentioned ‘Bihai Peach Blossom’… Quite strange. The Beiyue Sword Sect is 108,000 miles from Bihai Taohua Island. Why would she mention that place?”

Chu Xinghui frowned.

The person controlling that body, besides Qin Suyun, could only be Yue Yao, who was missing.

If so… the problem was probably not Qin Suyun, but Yue Yao.

After asking Ming Xiao about the accident today, Chu Xinghui thought for a moment, stepped out of the crowd, and sent a message to Xie Liufeng.

Xie Liufeng’s voice quickly came back: “You heard about what happened just now?”

Chu Xinghui responded: “Mm, Ming Xiao just told me.”

Xie Liufeng updated him on the current situation: “Qin Suyun is already under control. She herself isn’t the problem—the problem is Yue Yao.”

It matched Chu Xinghui’s earlier guess.

As expected.

The matter wasn’t over yet. Xie Liufeng didn’t keep him in suspense: “Long story short, Yue Yao has disappeared.”

Chu Xinghui asked: “What did Qin Suyun say?”

Speaking of her, Xie Liufeng found it hard to describe: “She knows nothing. She’s busy distancing herself so her identity won’t be exposed.”

Qin Suyun still hadn’t realized she was already exposed, still trying to hide her identity, apparently unable to keep up with the developments… it was unclear if she was genuinely or falsely ignorant.

Chu Xinghui asked: “I haven’t left the sect yet. Should I stay and help?”

Since the trouble with Qin Suyun and Yue Yao somewhat involved him.

Xie Liufeng chuckled warmly to comfort him: “Alright, I’ve got this. You focus on your own matters. I’ll inform you if there’s any progress.”

Chu Xinghui replied briefly, didn’t continue the conversation, and didn’t end the transmission.

After he stayed silent for a long time, Xie Liufeng took the initiative: “Anything else?”

Chu Xinghui quietly said: “Be careful.”

He actually knew that given Xie Liufeng’s strength, there was no real need to worry.

But… as long as he wasn’t in front of him, he couldn’t help but worry.

Xie Liufeng laughed: “Okay, I understand. You too—if you face something you can’t handle, remember to call me.”

They ended the transmission.

Chu Xinghui returned to the crowd.

Ming Xiao looked at him with a completely new expression: “Can you teach me that phrase?”

Chu Xinghui didn’t understand: “Which one?”

Ming Xiao imitated his earlier tone, quietly saying: “Be careful.”

Chu Xinghui: “…”

Ming Xiao was puzzled but very interested: “I suddenly realized that every time you talk to you Master, your tone is very strange, but you never use that tone with me. Is there a reason?”

Chu Xinghui: “…”

He walked away to a corner, not wanting to talk anymore.

*

Three days later, the group arrived smoothly near Hanshui Marsh.

The evil spirit here was originally an aquatic demon born in Hanshui Marsh. Long ago, environmental changes caused the ground to subside, affecting countless nearby beasts. Corpses piled up in the marsh, generating intense resentment. The demon, whose cultivation was already high, was corrupted by this resentment, losing almost all sanity and becoming a destructive evil spirit.

Later, the Beiyue Sword Sect sent people to suppress the evil spirit in Hanshui Marsh, preventing it from causing harm outside. The marsh area became a well-known forbidden zone.

However, since the evil spirit wasn’t dead but sealed, it constantly gnawed at the seal daily, causing wear. Therefore, the Beiyue Sword Sect regularly sent people to repair and strengthen the seal and clear out beasts corrupted by leaked resentment nearby.

The resentment near Hanshui Marsh was so heavy that as soon as Chu Xinghui entered the area, he felt a chill that pierced deep into his lungs.

Dense, almost black mist covered the marsh.

Chu Xinghui applied his spiritual power to his body, feeling slightly better.

Most of his fellow disciples showed some discomfort.

Team leader Ning Yuanzheng distributed pills to resist the chill to those weaker members and said to everyone: “In about ten miles we’ll reach the seal location. There will be beasts corrupted by resentment in the fog ahead. Your task is to eliminate them.”

Some new disciples were curious: “Uncle Ning, since we could seal the evil spirit, why didn’t we kill it directly to avoid having to come back every time to repair the seal?”

Ning Yuanzheng was gentle by nature and patiently explained: “Although that evil spirit appeared as a demon beast, in essence it was no longer a demon beast, but an incarnation of grudges. As long as the grudges near Hanshui Marsh did not disperse, the evil spirit’s power kept flowing continuously and therefore could not be killed.”

Seeing he was easy to talk to, the disciples could not help but ask further: “Then why didn’t we find a way to eliminate the surrounding grudges and solve the root of the problem?”

Ming Xiao looked around and suddenly interrupted: “It wasn’t that simple. The terrain here was special and had already formed a natural formation, a gathering place for grudges in a large surrounding area. Unless the surrounding terrain changed completely, it was impossible to eliminate the grudges nearby.”

Chu Xinghui frowned.

After accepting this mission, he had once read some information.

The terrain of Hanshui Marsh had not always been like this but had become so after a change—turning into a natural formation that gathered grudges.

Was this matter… really a coincidence?

Ning Yuanzheng smiled bitterly: “What Junior Brother Ming spoke is exactly right.”

He didn’t waste any more time and raised his voice, finally advising: “Fellow disciples should act within their ability. If they encountered demon beasts they could not handle, they should retreat in time and seek help from fellow disciples. Preserving themselves was paramount.”

Then he turned to Chu Xinghui and Ming Xiao: “Junior Brothers Chu and Ming, both of you come with me. We will go to the center of the marsh to repair the seal.”

The reason Ning Yuanzheng chose these two was simple: the core of the seal was the most dangerous, and the surrounding area definitely had many high-level demon beasts. During the seal repair, cultivators with high cultivation were needed to protect. Ming Xiao was from Daoyuan Peak, so this repair required his operation.

Chu Xinghui and Ming Xiao followed behind him.

*

The three soon arrived deep within the marsh.

The seal was set on the surface of the deepest cold pond, and the evil spirit was completely suppressed underwater.

Through the translucent seal, Chu Xinghui vaguely saw a huge slender black shadow swimMing underwater.

The evil spirit’s “true body” seemed to be a huge snake, with strange patterns faintly visible on its body.

Countless demon beasts corrupted by grudges watched greedily through the mist.

Ming Xiao didn’t look at the surrounding greedy demon beasts and directly took out tools to start inspecting the surrounding seals.

Ning Yuanzheng drew his spirit sword and exchanged a glance with Chu Xinghui.

The two began clearing the surrounding demon beasts to prevent them from disturbing Ming Xiao’s repair of the formation.

With the three working together, they stayed here for half a month and finally stabilized the seal again.

The mist in Hanshui Marsh also dissipated somewhat.

Ning Yuanzheng sheathed his spirit sword, breathed a sigh of relief, and praised: “Junior Brother Chu’s swordsmanship was exquisite, truly worthy of being taught by the Sword Respect. Thanks to you two junior brothers, this mission was successfully completed.”

Ming Xiao was famously unsociable, and this new Junior Brother Chu didn’t like to show up in front of others either. He had not interacted with the two before and originally thought this mission would be difficult to communicate on. Unexpectedly, though they were unsociable, the two junior brothers were very reliable in strength and easy to communicate with.

After fighting side by side for several days, they had developed some camaraderie, and Ming Xiao couldn’t help but start showing his true nature, bragging: “If his swordsmanship was exquisite, wasn’t my formation equally exquisite?”

Ning Yuanzheng smiled kindly and followed the praise: “Naturally, it was superb. The strength of Daoyuan Peak was obvious to all. It was just that I wasn’t a formation cultivator and my eyes were poor.”

Ming Xiao immediately became modestly happy.

Chu Xinghui wiped the blackened blood stains off his spirit sword and listened half-heartedly to their talk, when suddenly he noticed something and narrowed his eyes: “Be careful!”

He reached out and pulled the combat-ineffective Ming Xiao behind him, raised his sword, and confronted the attack.

Two black small snakes as thick as thumbs tangled and hit the spirit sword, then separated quickly and swam away.

Ning Yuanzheng stood aside and just saw the two small snakes clearly, his expression changed: “The patterns on those two snakes—”

Chu Xinghui nodded and confirmed: “They were exactly the same as the sealed evil spirit.”

Ning Yuanzheng drew his spirit sword and asked Chu Xinghui: “Split up and chase?”

Chu Xinghui nodded and took the lead in pursuit.

Ming Xiao naturally dared not stay alone here, looked around, and then followed Chu Xinghui’s direction.

*

The black snakes led them into a rarely visited, overgrown cave.

They skillfully passed through the weeds and quickly slipped into the cave.

Chu Xinghui cleared the weeds at the cave entrance and entered with Ming Xiao.

As soon as he entered, Chu Xinghui noticed something was wrong.

The walls inside the cave were too regular.

…This was not a naturally formed cave but man-made.

Almost the moment he realized the problem, a muffled sound came near their ears, as if something huge and heavy was falling.

At the cave entrance… there was a hidden door.

The small snake that had led them here returned and attacked again.

In urgency, Chu Xinghui kicked Ming Xiao out, then turned back with his sword to meet the attack.

The black snake missed and didn’t linger but slipped deeper into the cave.

At the same time, the stone door at the cave entrance finally fell completely.

He was trapped.

Although trapped in the closed cave, Chu Xinghui did not worry too much.

Ming Xiao was already outside, and the sect’s people were nearby, rescue should come soon.

He tried several times to open the stone door by himself, and after failing, did not recklessly explore deeper, instead found a clean spot, set up a defensive formation in front of him, sat cross-legged, and began to restore his spiritual power.

Chu Xinghui restored about seventy to eighty percent of his spiritual power, withdrew the defensive formation before him, and held his spirit sword in his hand again.

The black snake did not appear again.

He guarded while waiting for rescue and suddenly sharply sensed a strange aura.

It was… a bloody smell.

It did not come from a demon beast or something else but from another person’s blood.

Chu Xinghui instantly became alert.

He held his sword and slowly walked toward the direction from which the bloody smell came.

Then, Chu Xinghui saw a familiar person.

The missing Yue Yao was kneeling deep inside the cave, the white light of the teleportation formation around her had not disappeared yet.

Her carefully matched hairpin and rings were scattered, and large patches of blood stained her robe, showing she was seriously injured.

This Saintess of Bihai Taohua Island had always been delicate and dignified, never showing such disorder before.

Seeing Chu Xinghui, Yue Yao staggered to her feet, walked forward, grabbed his arm, her eyes bloodshot, and said urgently: “You come with me.”

Chu Xinghui frowned, avoided her grasp, and blocked between them with his sword: “Cultivator Yue, you…”

Yue Yao closed her eyes, suppressed the surging emotions in her heart, and mentioned something most important to Chu Xinghui: “Senior Xie got into trouble.”

Chu Xinghui’s heart skipped a beat.

It concerned Xie Liufeng, he forced himself to calm down quickly: “I don’t believe you.”

Yue Yao looked at him solemnly. She tugged the corner of her mouth, as if trying to smile as usual but failed: “You can confirm with Senior Xie. I didn’t tamper with the communication here.”

Chu Xinghui took out a communication talisman and sent a message to Xie Liufeng.

On the other side… no one replied.

Chu Xinghui did not panic. He calmly sent a message to Ming Xiao.

Ming Xiao immediately responded urgently: “Are you okay? I have found Senior Ning, we are on our way. Wait a moment.”

Yue Yao snorted coldly: “Do you believe I didn’t tamper with the communication now?”

Chu Xinghui didn’t look at her and continued speaking to Ming Xiao: “I’m fine. I saw Yue Yao.”

Ming Xiao was momentarily confused: “The Saintess of Bihai Taohua Island? What…”

Chu Xinghui said to him: “She said Senior Xie got into trouble. I’ll go with her to check. Please ask Senior Ning to report this matter to the sect as soon as possible.”

He ended the communication, looked at Yue Yao, and said: “Let’s go. The stone door here shouldn’t be able to hold a Saintess, right?”

 

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