Zanxing heard her heartbeat—thump thump, urgent and powerful, one beat after another.

She murmured: “……Didn’t you say illusion arts could be maintained for one to two hours?”

Gu Baiying was startled, his Adam’s apple bobbed, then he sharply turned his head away, annoyance flashing in his eyes: “You… stay away from me!”

“Junior Sister! Junior Sister!”

Before Zanxing could react, she heard someone calling her name from behind. Turning around, she saw Tian Fangfang standing not far away, staring blankly at the two of them with an awkward expression: “……Junior Sister, sorry, I didn’t know you and Martial Uncle were… were… what are you two doing?!”

Gu Baiying snapped back to awareness, pushed Zanxing away from in front of him, straightened his collar, and didn’t forget to emphasize to Tian Fangfang with a heavy tone: “I was teaching Yang Zanxing illusion arts.”

“Right, right, right,” Zanxing hastily nodded in agreement: “Martial Uncle was teaching me illusion arts.” As soon as the words left her mouth, she secretly cursed herself—it was just teaching illusion arts, so why did she sound so guilty?

If others saw this, they’d think something else was happening here.

“Oh,” Tian Fangfang nodded knowingly and forced a hearty laugh: “Learning illusion arts is good, quite good.”

Zanxing asked: “Senior Brother, were you looking for me?”

“People from Yue City have come,” Tian Fangfang remembered his purpose and hurried to say: “Master asked me to come tell you. Do you want to go back and see?”

Zanxing glanced at Gu Baiying.

Gu Baiying waved his hand, as if he couldn’t wait for her to leave quickly.

“Then I’ll go first.” Zanxing walked a few steps, then suddenly turned around, startling Gu Baiying. She winked at him: “Martial Uncle, let’s practice again tomorrow. Don’t forget.”

After she left, Gu Baiying let out a long sigh of relief. He looked down at the azure bell in his hand, his brow slowly furrowing.

This bell had rung again.

It wasn’t his imagination.

……

In the courtyard of Miaokong Hall, Lao Niu was being led around by Hong Su to admire everything, his eyes full of wonder.

“The persimmon tree in Young Miss’s courtyard is the largest one in the entire Taiyan Sect, which shows how much the sect values Young Miss. Not only that, Young Master Mu also lives in our hall—he’s Young Miss’s senior brother. Also, in the hall next to ours, there’s a Young Master Gu. Don’t let his youth fool you—he’s truly a handsome talent, even more beautiful than Young Master Mu. Young Miss has already promised me that in the future she’ll make Young Master Gu my son-in-law. Uncle Niu, just think—in the future our family might have two sons-in-law. If this news gets back to Yue City, won’t it make everyone else envious?”

This was what Zanxing heard as soon as she stepped into the courtyard, and she couldn’t help but ponder. So in Hong Su’s mind, the more sons-in-law the better. She hadn’t noticed that this little girl, who usually appeared sweet, actually had quite wild ideas.

She entered the house and called out, “Uncle Niu.”

Uncle Niu turned around, and seeing Zanxing, he was first stunned for a moment, as if he didn’t dare recognize her. After a while, tears streamed down his face as he spoke: “Young Miss? This old servant’s eyes are dim—I almost didn’t recognize you at first. This sect truly nourishes people. Young Miss looks so different from the past!”

Perhaps it was because the fruits filled with spiritual energy in the cultivation world truly nourished people, or perhaps because cultivation itself broadened one’s horizons and knowledge. The face was still the same, but the temperament was completely different. Zanxing looked less delicate and charming than before, but more gentle and bright.

Charm might invite pity and affection, but brightness attracts genuine liking.

“You must have suffered quite a bit coming here. Is everything well at home?” Zanxing asked.

Not long after Hong Su came to Gufeng Mountain, Lao Niu had returned to Yue City. Regarding the Yang family, Zanxing had learned from Hong Su that ordinary families on the Duzhou continent generally favored sons over daughters, and the Yang family was no exception. Master Yang had many children and raised Zanxing like a pet, just waiting for the right time to marry her off to become the Yue family’s in-laws through the young city lord of Yue City.

“No suffering at all. Thanks to Young Miss’s blessing, everything at home is well. Now our Yang family has held its head high in Yue City. Many families with daughters have started letting their daughters cultivate, saying that after hearing Young Miss’s story, everyone believes that daughters can also enter sects to cultivate and bring glory to their families.”

“Really?” Zanxing thought this was an unexpected pleasant surprise.

“Truly. This time, besides coming to see Young Miss, this old servant also brought some clothes and items that Young Miss used to love eating and wearing. Master said that although the sect has everything, with so many disciples, they might not be able to take care of everyone individually. These are all the master and madam’s heartfelt intentions.”

Looking at the room full of boxes, Zanxing felt somewhat troubled, but since they were her family’s heartfelt gifts, she could only accept them.

After chatting with Lao Niu for a while longer, Hong Su took him to his room to rest. Zanxing opened the boxes in the room—one box of snacks, one box of rouge and face powder, one box of silk and ready-made clothes, and one box that was filled with storybooks.

Zanxing: “Really something.”

Did Master Yang think she had come to the Taiyan Sect for a vacation?

The happiest was Mimi. Like a house cat, the Yinlang Shi loved boxes intensely, and with four arriving at once, it immediately took turns rolling around in them. Zanxing first put away the box of rouge and face powder—she probably wouldn’t need these. In the sect, it was already difficult to get four hours of sleep daily, so where would she find time for grooming and makeup?

She lifted Mimi out from rolling in the clothes and picked up a piece of silk to examine. The silk had shining gold threads, and the auspicious embroidery was even more complex than that on Shaoyang Zhenren’s robes. It would be too eye-catching to wear in the sect, impractical, so it also needed to be put away.

The food could be kept, but as for the books…

The library in the Taiyan Sect already had quite a rich collection of books. Zanxing sat beside the box containing books and randomly picked up one, seeing “Records of Strange Events in the Demon Realm” written on the cover.

This Young Miss Yang seemed to also be someone who enjoyed reading leisure books.

Zanxing picked up another one. This one had an even more sensational title: “The Demon Empress’s Confession: On Our Wedding Night, I Discovered My Husband’s Illegitimate Son.”

The leisure books of the cultivation world certainly mastered the art of titling.

Another one: “A Fun Guide to Demon Clan Dialects for Beginners.”

Zanxing: “……”

Something felt off. Even if Young Miss Yang had broad interests, wasn’t she a bit too focused on the demon clan? And weren’t these all forbidden books in the Duzhou continent’s cultivation world?

Zanxing picked up another book. Upon seeing this book, Zanxing was stunned. She had seen this book in the library before—it was called “Remembering History: Commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the Human-Demon War Victory.”

Victory? Not defeat?

After hesitating, Zanxing opened to the first page.

“All demon clan members should remember this day—this is a day of shame for all of us demon clan.”

With a “bang,” Zanxing slammed the box shut, unable to hide her shock.

This was a disaster!