Soon, Mo Yanfan’s cold, clear voice echoed outside the cave. It seemed that all those who practiced Tianyin Yanling at Xingzheng Hall spoke this way, though Mo Yanfan, being young and less accomplished in his cultivation, lacked the bone-chilling coldness present in Zhen Yunzi’s voice.
“Your injuries are superficial. Don’t move and apply the medicine properly.”
Superficial injuries? Apply medicine? The children’s excited footsteps suddenly halted as they exchanged suspicious glances. Lei Xiuyuan whispered, “Is it that woman who impersonated Lin You?”
Ji Tongzhou frowned and said, “That woman impersonated an Academy teacher and harmed people using Xingzheng Hall’s nightmare technique. How could Mo Yanfan…”
Li Fei blinked. She now knew that this woman had been framed by Zhen Yunzi. Earlier, Chang Yue had also mentioned that Mo Yanfan seemed to have an intimate relationship with this woman. Moreover, she remembered that the black-veiled woman had come down with Mo Yanfan. Where was she now? Could it be that Mo Yanfan had found this woman first, behind her back? If so, Mo Yanfan’s plea to Master Zuoqiu to let him search the restricted area was indeed not to capture her, but to save her.
“There seems to be some hidden story between them. Let’s listen for a while,” Lei Xiuyuan suggested, and the other two agreed. The children crouched against the cave wall, each straining their ears to eavesdrop.
The woman began to laugh coldly, “These injuries were given by that master uncle of yours! Xingzheng Hall of the Mountain Sect, huh! What a grand name! Falsely accusing and framing others! Do you think the East Sea Wanxian Hui is afraid? I don’t need your fake concern! You and that master-uncle of yours are in cahoots! If you’re a real man, own up to your actions! Since you dared to tell him about my affairs, don’t come back here pretending to be nice!”
She rattled off a long string of words like firecrackers, and towards the end, she seemed to have aggravated her injuries, inhaling sharply from the pain.
Mo Yanfan sounded like he was smiling bitterly, “Does it hurt? I told you not to move.”
“What are you touching? Get away from me!” A crisp slap echoed.
There was no sound from the other side for a long time. After a while, Mo Yanfan spoke calmly, “I didn’t tell Master Zhen Yunzi about your affairs, nor did I intentionally bring him to the Academy to expose you. Whether you believe it or not is up to you. If you truly hate me, at least heal your wounds and leave the restricted area first. Later, if you want to kill me or flay me, it’s up to you.”
“Ridiculous! If you didn’t tell him, how would he know? I don’t think his Tianyin Yanling is that powerful! He could have forced you to confess!”
Mo Yanfan said, “Master Zhen Yunzi has encountered a bottleneck in his cultivation these years. The power of his Tianyin Yanling and Ziling Yansu is not what it used to be. Otherwise, do you think you could have escaped so easily? As for how he knew, Master-uncle was just baiting you, but you angrily revealed everything yourself. Originally, there were already disciples at the Academy who couldn’t be cleared of involvement in the nightmare technique incident. By admitting you know Tianyin Yanling, didn’t you just give him solid evidence?”
The woman angrily retorted, “Are you saying it’s my fault?!”
“No, Ajiao, you’re being too reckless,” he sighed softly. “Why did you impersonate Lin You to come to the Academy? If discovered, this matter would surely end badly, and it would create a rift between the Mountain and Sea sects.”
The woman called Ajiao snapped, “Because I wanted to! What’s it to you?!”
Seeing her fierce words and overbearing attitude, Ji Tongzhou had long been displeased. He frowned and muttered disapprovingly, “This woman is so disrespectful! Hmph! A grown man being bullied by a mere woman! How useless!”
This young prince seemed unable to accept a woman dominating a man. Li Fei found it strange and asked, “Isn’t she just teasing him? Aren’t they a couple?”
“A couple?” Ji Tongzhou scoffed, “Don’t be ridiculous. Mo Yanfan is an elite disciple of Xingzheng Hall’s Mystic Gate! The Mystic Gate specializes in Tianyin Yanling and Ziling Yansu. How could he possibly have a Dao partner? Even if he did, he wouldn’t choose such an ill-tempered woman!”
He was convinced that Mo Yanfan would surely defend the dignity of an elite Xingzheng Hall disciple and that he would soon turn cold and arrest this woman.
Mo Yanfan spoke calmly, “Today’s mishap is partly your responsibility. When I first met you, you weren’t this reckless. As for Master-uncle’s actions, I apologize on his behalf. After you’ve healed, leave the Academy quickly. I’ll clarify your situation to Master-uncle.”
Ajiao’s voice suddenly carried a hint of choked emotion, “You… do you regret meeting me?”
Mo Yanfan replied, “No, but you harmed Lin You without reason, just to sneak into the Academy. Your teaching was also a mess, wasting those children’s time. Such selfish behavior, I really can’t agree with.”
Ajiao suddenly burst into tears, “Yanfan, I know what I did wasn’t right, but you… After you left half a year ago, I never saw you again. I just couldn’t help myself…”
He sighed again, and after a long while, said softly, “Let’s not talk about this now. Let me apply the medicine.”
The development of events was far beyond Ji Tongzhou’s expectations. He stood dumbfounded for a while, remembering that this woman had been beaten bloody by Zhen Yunzi. The so-called “applying medicine” probably meant she had to take off all her clothes. He suddenly blushed furiously, muttering, “Hmph! In broad daylight! Shameless!”
This young prince was noisy. Couldn’t he eavesdrop quietly? Li Fei glanced at him helplessly. Ji Tongzhou felt awkward, wanting to look but not daring to peek outside. His hands and feet became restless. Seeing Li Fei looking at him, he remembered the incident when she had fallen asleep on Lei Xiuyuan’s bed. Hmph! They were all shameless!
After a long while, Ajiao’s voice became gentle, even carrying a coquettish playfulness, “It was like this last time too, but you were the one injured, and I was applying medicine for you. Yanfan, do you remember?”
He seemed to chuckle softly but didn’t answer.
“How did I end up falling for you back then, being all shy and pretending to be proper? Completely different from the straightforward men of our East Sea! I tried to seduce you for so long, but you didn’t budge! It was frustrating!”
“Do you regret it?” he asked.
“What do you think?” she teased.
He didn’t answer again. Suddenly, Ajiao said, “Hmph, still blaming me? Do you think I would kill Lin You? I wouldn’t kill people recklessly!”
Mo Yanfan asked curiously, “Then where did you hide her?”
“I’ll tell you later. Anyway, her life isn’t in danger! I’ll release her once I’m healed! As for being a teacher at this lousy Academy, who wants to do it? You even wrongly accused me. I didn’t teach nonsense, it’s just that your Mountain Sect’s cultivation methods are vastly different from ours!”
He laughed, “Two months just to learn the Ice Condensation Technique? Is this how the East Sea Wanxian Hui cultivates?”
Ajiao’s voice suddenly became serious, “You Mountain Sect people always think that only high-level immortal techniques are powerful, but that’s not necessarily true. The lower-level Five Elements immortal techniques, when used, actually carry the pure power of heaven and earth. In our East Sea Wanxian Hui, disciples spend the first five years after joining practicing only basic Five Elements immortal techniques daily. Look at that tree—it would take you three breaths to freeze it with the Ice Condensation Technique, and the ice would only be three inches thick. But a disciple of our Wanxian Hui could use the Ice Condensation Technique in half a breath, creating ice over ten feet thick.”
Mo Yanfan pondered for a while, “This is the first time I’ve heard of such a cultivation method. It does make a lot of sense.”
Ajiao laughed, “The world is vast, and there are many cultivation methods. Your Mountain Sect’s way isn’t necessarily the orthodox one. That master-uncle of yours is cunning and vicious, with shortsighted views. He even called me a demon woman! I bet he’ll never break through his bottleneck in this lifetime!”
“Sharp-tongued as ever,” Mo Yanfan’s voice carried a rare hint of warmth. “But Master-uncle’s actions this time were indeed strange… His temper has been getting increasingly odd in recent years. I originally wanted to return to the sect to ask Master, but who would have thought I’d encounter Master-uncle not far from the Academy? I didn’t mention the nightmare technique incident, yet he seemed to have guessed it himself and asked me. I couldn’t hide it, so I had to tell him.”
Ajiao laughed coldly, “If you ask me, it wouldn’t be surprising if your dear master-uncle did it himself!”
“Don’t say such things carelessly. Ajiao, you can act as recklessly as you want in front of me, but don’t be so willful next time.”
Ajiao’s voice became so soft it seemed like it could drip water, “Alright, I’ll listen to you.”
This eavesdropping session had taken quite a turn. Just a moment ago, this woman had been furiously threatening to kill, but in no time at all, she had become as gentle as water. The two adults in front were obliviously exchanging words of love, while the three children behind were feeling increasingly awkward.
“Maybe… we should stop listening?” Li Fei coughed. “Um, should we go out and call for Teacher Mo now?”
Ji Tongzhou’s face was so red it looked like it might explode. Lei Xiuyuan said, “Let’s wait a bit longer.”
Mo Yanfan suddenly said, “The demonic aura is very strong here. This must be where the Academy’s founders have sealed away demonic creatures over the generations. We can’t stay long. I intentionally avoided that black-veiled woman earlier, but she’ll find her way here eventually. Fortunately, the spiritual energy is thin in the restricted area, so flying sword techniques can’t be used. Otherwise, it would be troublesome. Let’s leave first.”
A place where the Academy’s founders sealed away demonic creatures? Does that mean there are sealed demons behind the stone door? Ji Tongzhou couldn’t help but look back, but this glance almost made him faint. Not three feet behind them, a dense black shadow was silently coiled. Just as he was about to cry out, the black shadow suddenly entwined around him. He felt as if his body was being constricted by a giant python, his mouth and nose sealed. In an instant, his body felt like it was about to split open from the pain.
“Let’s go out now,” Lei Xiuyuan raised his hand to push Ji Tongzhou, but he pushed at empty air. He turned in shock to see a huge black shadow completely enveloping Ji Tongzhou, dragging him toward the depths of the cave.
“Ji Tongzhou!” Li Fei cried out in panic and chased after them, but the black shadow shrank incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared at the end of a forked path. The two children ran over to see Ji Tongzhou being dragged through the stone door, instantly swallowed by darkness.
Just as the two were about to rush through the stone door, they were blocked by Mo Yanfan, who had hurried over from behind. His usually ice-cold face finally showed a mix of surprise and embarrassment as he urgently asked, “What are you doing here? How long have you been here?”
Li Fei anxiously said, “Our friend was taken by a demon! Quick, go in and save him!”
Seeing that Li Fei and the others were still trying to rush inside, Mo Yanfan blocked them again, “Inside is where demonic creatures are sealed. It’s very dangerous. Your cultivation level is low, you can’t enter recklessly.”
“Ji Tongzhou was taken by a demon!” Li Fei flared up, “Are you going to watch him die?!”
Mo Yanfan shook his head, “I’ll go. You wait at the entrance. Ajiao, watch them.”
He flashed into the door. Behind him, the purple-robed beauty stepped forward to block the entrance, looking at them with an ambiguous smile, “A few little brats not behaving well, always hiding behind to eavesdrop on others. Last time at the Academy, it was you two as well, right? I didn’t expose you then, and now you’re at it again. This is your Academy’s restricted area. How did your little things get here? If you don’t tell me, I’ll twist off all your ears.”
Her purple robe was of a very strange style, revealing a pair of jade-like shoulders. Her hair was as black as ink, flowing down her back. Her features were charming and radiant, an outstandingly beautiful woman, a stark contrast to the plain and cold Lin You.
Lei Xiuyuan calmly said, “We were flying on our swords when suddenly the spiritual energy flow became erratic. All three of us fell together.”
Ajiao pondered for a moment before saying, “Falling while flying on a sword would surely disrupt the internal spiritual energy circulation of the stone sword. Someone with very profound cultivation must have done this… Hmph, it must be that bastard Zhen Yunzi! He’s been sneaking around doing who knows what evil deeds, and then pinning everything on me!”
She then scrutinized Lei Xiuyuan, “You’re the one who was affected by the Ziling Yansu, aren’t you? Failing to harm you once, he now cuts off your stone sword’s spiritual energy circulation. He wants you dead! And you let that bastard slander others! You little brats are annoying too!”
Just as she finished speaking, an earth-shattering roar came from behind the stone door. The sound was like metal being cut and jade being broken, a beast’s cry never heard before. Ajiao’s face changed instantly. Without a word, she dashed through the stone door. Li Fei and Lei Xiuyuan exchanged a glance. Lei Xiuyuan nodded, “Let’s go in and take a look. If anything seems off, we’ll come out immediately.”