“Yes, Young Master, what’s wrong with you?” the little maid asked.

Tian Fangfang thought for a moment, feeling that something was wrong somewhere, but couldn’t figure out what exactly was wrong. After a while, he shook his head: “Nothing.”

The maid went back to her work, and Tian Fangfang continued walking inside.

This residence was very large. After entering the main hall and walking further in, there was another courtyard. He randomly picked a direction to walk, entered a small courtyard, and went into a room.

The room was also very spacious, furnished with tables, chairs, and a bed. The mattress on the bed looked very soft, with hanging silk curtains. Incense was burning on the table, and dishes were also placed there. The dishes were abundant – fried fish, roasted chicken, roasted duck, all kinds of food and wine, with aromas drifting into one’s nose with the wind. He felt somewhat intoxicated.

Tian Fangfang sat down beside the bed.

This bed was indeed as soft as he had imagined, carrying a warm fragrance. When someone sat on it, it was like sitting on cotton. He unconsciously sighed, suddenly feeling very tired all over, so he leaned back and lay down.

In the incense burner, blue smoke quietly rose.

He fell asleep.

……

The wind blew up fallen leaves from the ground.

In the vast blue sky, wild geese flew south. The evening sun cast red clouds, and the autumn scenery was magnificent.

The young man stood under a tree and suddenly withdrew the long saber in his hand. The force brought by the blade edge scattered the fallen leaves on the ground in all directions. A girl’s voice rang out: “Big Brother Mu, take a break.”

Mu Cengxiao turned around. Liu Yunxin walked over, took out a handkerchief, and gently wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“It’s fine, Yunxin, I’m not tired.” He comforted her.

Liu Yunxin looked at him with distress: “You’ve already formed your Golden Core now, you don’t need to work so hard every day. Let yourself rest a bit.”

“I formed my Golden Core?” Mu Cengxiao was stunned.

“Yes.” Liu Yunxin answered: “Big Brother Mu, have you forgotten? A month ago, you successfully formed your Golden Core, already surpassing the Young City Lord. All of Yue City is proud of you. The old City Lord said he would exhaust all of Yue City’s spirit stones to help you cultivate and become stronger.” She smiled happily: “From now on, no one will ever come to bully us again.”

Mu Cengxiao stood in place, not speaking for a moment.

“What’s wrong, Big Brother Mu?” Liu Yunxin looked at him puzzledly.

Mu Cengxiao came back to his senses and shook his head: “Nothing.”

“Then let’s go back and rest first. I made your favorite clear-stewed fat duck today.” She pulled Mu Cengxiao forward. Mu Cengxiao’s gaze fell behind her. He felt that today’s Liu Yunxin was different from usual, but looking carefully, it was the same Liu Yunxin.

Perhaps he had been cultivating for too long. He put away his saber and followed Liu Yunxin forward.

……

In the back courtyard, a woman wiped the long sword in her hands.

Female cultivators’ swords were either delicate, nimble, and brilliantly clear or sharp-edged and heroically spirited. Meng Ying’s sword was different. Though named “Moon Soul,” it wasn’t pure and cold at all. The sword’s body was a deep black color, extremely blunt and heavy. Compared to her slender and graceful figure, it didn’t match.

Someone walked out from behind – it was Yueqin.

Meng Ying stopped wiping and stood up, calling to Yueqin: “Master.”

Yueqin looked at her with a smile. This master was the strictest one in the entire Taiyan Sect, and it was rare to see her as happy as today. Meng Ying asked: “Master, has something good happened?”

“In three more days, you’ll assume the position of Sect Leader of Taiyan Sect. Of course, your master is happy.”

“Me?” Meng Ying was shocked: “Assume the position of Sect Leader?”

“What, have you become confused from cultivation?” Yueqin looked at her strangely: “Back when you found the ‘Qing E Nian Hua Gun’ in the martial arts hall and received Qinghua Xianzi’s inheritance, the Sect Leader already intended to pass the position to you. If not for the Sect Leader wanting to test you deliberately, it wouldn’t have waited until today. However,” she looked at Meng Ying with relief, “You’ve completed these recent trials very well. Your usual handling of the internal and external affairs of the Taiyan Sect has also shown the bearing of a sect leader. We can all finally rest assured.”

Meng Ying frowned slightly.

Did she find the “Qing E Nian Hua Gun”? She seemed to remember it was found by someone else… but who was it? She searched carefully in her mind but couldn’t find that name.

“Later, I’ll have someone send you the clothes. For this appointment, all the major sects will send people to observe the ceremony – there must be no mistakes.” Yueqin instructed.

Meng Ying: “Yes.”

She felt somewhat dazed. Since childhood, she had been called the future sect leader of Taiyan Sect, and she had always worked toward this goal. However, now that everything had become reality and was within reach, Meng Ying inappropriately felt a sense of unreality, like being in a dream.

She lowered her eyes to look at Moon Soul. Moon Soul lay quietly on the stone table, its sword body dark and silent, watching her.

……

Clear bird calls came from the valley.

The bird calls carried some joy. Gray sparrows weren’t afraid of people and flew to the branches, tilting their heads to look at the person chopping wood below the tree.

The little child stared blankly at the sparrows.

After staring at each other for a moment, someone’s voice rang out from behind: “Dongdong, what are you looking at?”

The sparrows were startled and flew away, flapping their wings. Mendong turned around to see a middle-aged man carrying a basket walking up to him. This man was very strong and lifted him with one hand.

Mendong looked at him, and after a long while, he said: “…Father?”

The man responded, thought of something, and looked at him again: “You look a bit off – you haven’t caught a cold, have you?”

“I told you not to bring him up the mountain. What would be wrong with asking Auntie Chen next door to help watch him?” A young woman with a floral cloth wrapped around her head walked over and gently scolded: “It’s so cold on the mountain, and Dongdong is still small – how can you let a child be exposed to the wind?”

“I thought it wouldn’t be good to always trouble Auntie Chen, and I was thinking if I could catch a bird or something for him on the mountain, he’d be happy too.” The man answered sheepishly, then lowered his head to look at the small child in his arms: “Dongdong doesn’t blame Father, does he?”

Mendong blinked his eyes. For some reason, waves of sourness suddenly surged in his chest. He didn’t know where this bitterness came from, but that emotion was so intense that his eyes immediately reddened.

This frightened the young woman. She quickly reached out to take him, coaxing: “What’s wrong with Dongdong? Why are you suddenly crying? Tell Mother if you’re uncomfortable anywhere.”

This embrace was so warm that the irrepressible sourness in his heart suddenly turned into longing. So he reached out to hug the woman’s arm and buried his face in her neck.

The woman and man looked at each other in bewilderment.

“Maybe we should go back first.” The man said, “We’ve chopped enough firewood today, and I think Dongdong doesn’t feel well.”

The woman nodded, patted the back of the child in her arms, and coaxed: “It’s alright, Mother will take you home.”