In the task hall, Fang Yan reported the progress of the past days to Xie Liufeng: “It’s confirmed that Cultivator Baiyun has fallen to the evil path. For now, we’ll follow the usual procedure for dealing with evil cultivators. However… her current form is strange, and ordinary methods won’t kill her.”

Although typically, evil cultivators would first undergo interrogation, Cultivator Baiyun had turned into a mass of black mist. While she still retained some human awareness, after some research, it seemed she could no longer speak, so interrogation would have to be skipped for now.

Moreover, she was extremely dangerous. Instead of wasting time extracting information from her, it might be better to just eliminate her directly.

Xie Liufeng relayed the information he received from Chu Xinghui through Yue Yao to Fang Yan and then gave his suggestion: “Don’t act until we find out how she’s still alive. Just keep her locked up for now.”

If they killed her now, she might just resurrect elsewhere, and that wouldn’t be good.

Besides, Cultivator Baiyun being captured so quickly and turned into this mute form was suspicious. Although there were traces to follow, he felt something wasn’t right, especially with Yue Yao.

Thinking of Yue Yao, Xie Liufeng casually asked: “What did Yue Yao say about this?”

Fang Yan explained: “Yue Yao said she wanted to avoid suspicion and would not participate in the decision about how to deal with Cultivator Baiyun. But she’s been visiting Cultivator Baiyun frequently.”

After all, she had been her master for many years, and although Cultivator Baiyun had turned into this state, it was understandable that they would allow the master and disciple to reminisce, even if they didn’t approve.

Xie Liufeng frowned: “Visiting?”

She was just a black mist now. What was there to visit?

“Our people have been monitoring them,” Fang Yan said: “Yue Yao has been talking about things from the past. Sounds like… it’s been kind of…” He paused for a moment, then found a word: “…kind of warm.”

Xie Liufeng: “…”

This Saintess from Bihai Taohua Island was really something.

Fang Yan couldn’t help but bring up another annoying issue: “Also, Mu Chengjin and Xie Huai insisted that they had nothing to do with the evil cultivators, but it’s obvious something’s off. So the people from Lingxiang Sect have been arguing a lot. They can go home and settle their mess, but they insisted on doing it here, so now the sect has to take care of their food and lodging. It’s really annoying.”

After this incident, Mu Chengjin would probably lose his position as the sect leader of Lingxiang Sect.

Xie Liufeng: “…”

That wasn’t something he could handle.

The two continued discussing the situation.

After they finished talking business, Xie Liufeng suddenly brought up another matter: “Oh, by the way, there are no big events in the sect needing a venue, right?”

Fang Yan checked the schedule: “None.”

Xie Liufeng nodded: “Then I’ll book one.”

Fang Yan passed him the schedule, still a bit confused: “Huh?”

Xie Liufeng, who usually either ran around on his own or hung out with Chu Xinghui, never had any big events. What was going on now?

Xie Liufeng had already found a date that worked for him and marked it down: “It’s on the 26th of next month, I’ll be marrying my Dao partner.”

Upon hearing this, other disciples working nearby couldn’t help but look over.

Many of them continued with their tasks but secretly strained their ears.

Fang Yan stared in disbelief: “Dao partner… who?”

Xie Liufeng, now completely confident, replied: “My Xingxing.”

Didn’t he have anyone else around?

Fang Yan: “…”

He had to admit, hearing that name didn’t surprise him in the least.

*

After receiving the message that the venue had been booked, Chu Xinghui began sending invitations to their friends and family.

He first went around the sect, then sent a message to Ming Xiao, who was digging soil.

Chu Xinghui asked: “Will you and Sect Leader Xue be returning to the sect next month?”

Ming Xiao estimated the progress: “I should be able to return. Whether my master returns depends on our progress here.”

Once the work was on track, they wouldn’t need to be there in person. Others would be able to manage, and they could just oversee things remotely.

Ming Xiao asked: “What’s going on?”

He had some understanding of his quiet friend.

If it weren’t something important, Chu Xinghui wouldn’t have contacted him just to chat.

Chu Xinghui thought for a moment, then said: “I’ll send you two invitations.”

Ming Xiao, a bit confused, asked: “You’re inviting me? What for?”

Chu Xinghui replied with a hum: “Yes, I’m inviting you. You’ll know when you get the invitation.”

“Alright then…” Ming Xiao was about to agree when he suddenly realized something: “Wait, wait! You’re sending me an invitation, so I have to attend? I’m not coming unless you personally invite me.”

Chu Xinghui, bewildered, asked: “Wasn’t I inviting you just now?”

Ming Xiao lifted his chin: “There’s no sincerity.”

Chu Xinghui had no choice but to sincerely invite him: “Alright, then, I sincerely invite you to come next month. How about that?”

“Let me see how I feel…” Ming Xiao suddenly remembered something important and hinted: “Uh… my invitation…”

Chu Xinghui patiently asked: “What’s wrong?”

Ming Xiao made his request: “I don’t want the standard style. Get me a bigger, fancier one, and write my name with golden powder, big and bold. Also, a nice box would be great.”

Chu Xinghui: “…”

What kind of ridiculous taste was that?

However, since Ming Xiao had played a strange but useful role in his path to having a Dao partner, Chu Xinghui reluctantly agreed to his request.

Anyway, it didn’t matter if the final product looked ugly, since it wasn’t for him to use.

Once he confirmed that everything was as big and grand as possible, Ming Xiao happily ended the brief message exchange.

*

After finishing the transmission, Chu Xinghui took out the invitation he had originally planned to give Ming Xiao and started thinking about what to do with it.

Yue Yao came down from the mountain and spotted him from a distance.

She had just finished telling her dear master some warm little stories and was in a good mood, so even seeing Chu Xinghui now seemed more pleasant.

Yue Yao waved her hand fan a couple of times and greeted him enthusiastically: “Oh, isn’t this Cultivator Chu? How have you been recently?”

Her original fan had been split in half by Xie Liufeng’s sword, so she had just replaced it with a new one.

Chu Xinghui glanced at her and honestly replied: “Very well.”

After all, he was now someone with a Dao partner, so life was indeed quite good.

Chu Xinghui waited for a moment and saw that Yue Yao was just greeting him and didn’t seem intent on weaving some half-truths. He politely nodded and planned to find a place to burn the useless invitation with spiritual fire.

He walked a little further and suddenly realized there was a place right in front of him where he could deal with the old invitation.

So, he turned around and walked back to Yue Yao.

Yue Yao was slightly surprised: “Cultivator Chu, something else?”

Chu Xinghui said to her: “Next month, Xie Liufeng and I will be holding a joining ceremony.”

Yue Yao’s smile froze slightly, and she stopped waving her fan: “Is that so? Congratulations, I wasn’t aware.”

Why was he telling her this?

It was bad enough when the two weren’t together, she didn’t want to know that they had now officially joined forces.

Chu Xinghui nodded: “Now you know, Cultivator Yue.”

Yue Yao silently stared at him.

Chu Xinghui explained his purpose: “Since you’re here, why don’t you come to our wedding banquet?”

After saying this, he crossed out Ming Xiao’s name on the invitation in front of Yue Yao, replaced it with Yue Yao’s name, and handed the invitation to her.

Yue Yao: “…”

She took the invitation, but couldn’t keep the smile on her face: “Cultivator Chu, you’re really frugal.”

Chu Xinghui honestly responded: “I wasn’t originally planning to invite you, Cultivator Yue.”

After all, he still held a bit of a grudge over what Yue Yao had said before, that he and Xie Liufeng weren’t suited for each other.

Yue Yao’s smile became even more forced: “Really, thank you both so much.”

Chu Xinghui politely replied: “No need to be so courteous.”

Once he had disposed of the old invitation, Chu Xinghui quickly left.

Yue Yao stayed for a moment, and the more she thought about it, the angrier she became, finally growing upset.

She stuffed the invitation into her sleeve, no longer intending to continue going down the mountain. Instead, she turned and walked deeper into the mountain.

She had to go back and tell her master a few more warm little stories.

*

Meanwhile, Qin Suyun was lying in wait in the grass near the path that Chu Xinghui would likely take.

Chu Xinghui spent half his time meditating at Qingjing Peak, and the rest of the time, he went straight to his destination without lingering. It had been a long time since she had managed to set an ambush for him.

Qin Suyun glanced down at the expensive clothes she had bought and silently swore—this time, she would definitely make an unforgettable impression on the Heavenly Dao Child.

Seeing Chu Xinghui approach, Qin Suyun immediately struck a casual yet beautiful pose.

However, Chu Xinghui didn’t notice her and simply walked by as if she weren’t there.

Qin Suyun held the pose for a while, and just as Chu Xinghui was about to disappear from view, she finally called out to him: “Senior Brother.”

Chu Xinghui didn’t realize she was calling him and continued walking.

Qin Suyun hesitated for a moment, then called out again: “Chu Senior Brother.”

Finally, Chu Xinghui turned around and saw her standing in the grass.

…Although he was indeed out looking for familiar faces today, it seemed like he was encountering quite a few of them.

Qin Suyun eagerly invited him: “Senior Brother, do you have time today? Would you like to come to the city and stroll around the market?”

Chu Xinghui looked at her with a complicated expression.

Perhaps because he stared at her for a bit too long, Qin Suyun, thrilled and shy, raised her sleeve to cover her face: “Senior Brother, do I look especially beautiful today?”

Chu Xinghui: “…”

He silently averted his gaze.

Thinking about it, this person was quite strange.

If this were a book, it would be as if everyone else had already gotten through most of the plot, but she was still stuck at the beginning, persistently trying to accomplish the same initial goal.

Chu Xinghui was about to leave when, out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly noticed a change in Qin Suyun’s expression, as if she had seen something familiar but out of place.

It seemed she realized her mistake. After a brief shift in her demeanor, she quickly regained her enthusiastic expression and continued to focus on him.

Chu Xinghui remained calm, as if he hadn’t noticed anything unusual. He politely rejected her and turned to leave.

As usual, Qin Suyun continued to invite him a few more times before giving up once he disappeared from view.

After Chu Xinghui was gone, she quickly changed her expression and hurried in a particular direction.

After a while, Chu Xinghui reappeared in the same spot.

He looked towards the direction where Qin Suyun had just gone.

Someone had just passed there, and their figure seemed somewhat familiar.

Since Mu Chengjin and Xie Hua were captured along with Cultivator Baiyun, Mu Zeqing hadn’t shown up.

Chu Xinghui didn’t rush to follow and first sent a message to Xie Liufeng.

Xie Liufeng quickly responded: “What’s the matter?”

Chu Xinghui asked him: “Do you know where Mu Zeqing is?”

Xie Liufeng replied: “The sect has been keeping an eye on him, he hasn’t left his original location.”

He quickly realized something: “Did you see him?”

Chu Xinghui nodded: “It should be.”

He wasn’t familiar with Mu Zeqing, at most he could tell that the person’s figure looked a little familiar.

But Qin Suyun was different. When she was still Qin Yuwen, she grew up with Mu Zeqing and was very familiar with him.

Seeing Qin Suyun’s reaction… it was probably him.

 

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