Perhaps it was the comfort of being home that made Li Fei sleep so soundly. She awoke to find the sun setting, realizing she had been moved to the bed at some point, covered with a freshly sun-dried quilt that was soft and fragrant. Stretching lazily, she jumped out of bed and peeked outside to see Lei Xiuyuan still organizing the books in the courtyard.
Seeing her emerge, he frowned and said, “Are you a pig? Sleeping until now, leaving your guest bored and hungry.”
Li Fei walked over with a smile, “We ate so much at noon, and you’re hungry again already?”
She squatted beside him, watching as he carefully sorted the books into a box. The previously yellowed and moldy books had been cleaned after a day in the sun. It wasn’t just his diligence that impressed her, but his meticulous care for his master’s belongings. Feeling grateful, she softly said, “Thank you, you rascal.”
Lei Xiuyuan looked puzzled, “Rascal?”
Li Fei laughed, “Sometimes you make people so angry, I think I’ll never be friends with you again. But then you become so nice and always pull me back. This rascal skill surely wasn’t taught by Brother Lu, was it?”
He seemed to suppress a smile, turning his head away, “Alright, finish packing the books and hurry to make dinner. I want meat, catch me a rabbit.”
So demanding! Li Fei glared at him, “If I catch a rabbit, you have to roast it yourself. I can’t cook.”
That evening, they did catch a wild rabbit. Lei Xiuyuan set up a fire in the courtyard and roasted it himself, turning it occasionally and sprinkling some salt, making it look quite professional.
Li Fei moved a table into the courtyard, watching him roast as she laughed, “Master wasn’t as clever as you. If he wanted meat, he had to go down the mountain.”
Lei Xiuyuan suddenly asked, “Did he go down alone and come back alone?”
“Yes, Master climbs Tiger’s Mouth Cliff very quickly. Despite his age, he’s more agile than I am.”
He pondered, realizing that when he first arrived at Qingqiu, he felt a sense of discord. This place was indeed as rumored, a deep mountain forest teeming with demons. Even with the warding pearl, the rampant demonic aura couldn’t be concealed. The demons here were more numerous than expected. So, how did her master and she live safely here without the warding pearl?
If Li Fei’s master was truly as she described, just an old man with some minor magical skills, living in demon-infested Qingqiu with a little girl seemed odd. Had they never encountered demons? Such people, with only a bit of spiritual energy and weak abilities, were the favorite prey of demons that fed on human essence.
Putting aside the demon issue for now, after entering Qingqiu, he observed the surrounding terrain. Among the various perilous peaks and cliffs, only Tiger’s Mouth Cliff was slightly lower. Even if one were to tie a rope, they would first have to climb up barehanded. The cliff’s middle was concave and slippery, even monkeys couldn’t climb it. How could a mortal climb it? He could only speculate that her master could fly, at least the first time he came up.
Being able to fly and live safely in demon-infested Qingqiu, her master was likely from an immortal sect and quite powerful. His reclusive lifestyle, hiding his identity, and pretending to be a charlatan with minor skills, suggested he was avoiding someone. Leaving abruptly a year ago, leaving a letter, was probably because he was discovered. He also asked Li Fei to find her senior brother, seemingly intending to entrust her to him.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt her master’s survival was unlikely, fearing there was some internal conflict within the immortal sect.
Seeing Li Fei’s oblivious smile, Lei Xiuyuan chose not to voice his thoughts. She had never questioned her master’s origins, which was understandable. One naturally wouldn’t doubt their closest kin. Why burden her with the truth and cause unnecessary sorrow? Moreover, if it involved immortal sect disputes, it was best not to get involved. Her master likely thought the same.
“Why did you suddenly stop talking?” Li Fei handed him a bowl of rice and sat beside him, watching him roast the rabbit.
Lei Xiuyuan turned the rabbit over, “I want bamboo shoots.”
Li Fei calmly picked up a chopstick of bamboo shoots and offered it to him, “Here.”
As he opened his mouth to eat, she pulled her hand back and stuffed the bamboo shoots into her mouth. He glanced at her, and she grinned triumphantly, her cheeks puffed with food like a squirrel.
He couldn’t help but laugh, “Silly.”
That night, sleeping on the long-missed wooden bed, though hard and uncomfortable compared to the academy, was nostalgic for Li Fei. She fell asleep almost immediately.
She didn’t know how long she slept when a familiar voice suddenly shouted in her ear, “…Bed! Fool! Get off the bed now!”
Li Fei groggily opened her eyes to see Riyang perched on the quilt, his tiny green eyes glaring fiercely, “I’ve been calling you forever! Are you a pig?!”
Yawning, she turned over and mumbled, “Ah, Riyang, you’re out… I’m so sleepy, let’s talk in the morning…”
“Get down now!” Riyang was furious.
“What’s the matter?” Li Fei sighed, reluctantly sitting up and rubbing her eyes to look outside. The moon was still hanging on the treetops! It was the middle of the night!
“When did you return to Qingqiu? Why didn’t you tell me?” His voice unusually carried a hint of urgency.
Li Fei mumbled, “Last time you were awake, I didn’t know the academy would give us a fifteen-day break. Since we had a break, I came back to take a look.”
Riyang was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, bending over with mirth. Li Fei was startled, “What’s wrong with you?”
“Heaven helps me!” He floated to the ground, his ears and tail wagging, “Quick! Follow me!”
Seeing him about to dash out the door, Li Fei was bewildered, “Where are we going at this hour?”
“Stop talking! Get down here now!”
Li Fei, utterly confused, saw his anxious demeanor and had no choice but to dress and open the door. The cold wind of the midnight forest cleared her mind considerably.
Right, come to think of it, she and Riyang first met at Tiger’s Mouth Cliff in Qingqiu. Her heart suddenly stirred, and she whispered, “Riyang, have you lived in Qingqiu before?”
He jumped onto her shoulder, his ears twitching, “Indeed, I foresaw the coming of the Year of Calamity and sealed a portion of the demonic aura in the Realm of Gan Hua in Qingqiu, just in case.”
Li Fei gasped, delighted, “Where is it? I’ll go right away!”
Riyang snapped, “Quiet! You’re shouting so loud, do you want that cunning boy next door to hear?”
Li Fei immediately shut her mouth, glancing back to see the lights in her master’s room were out, indicating Lei Xiuyuan was likely asleep. She channeled her spiritual energy, silently leaping onto the stone sword and soaring into the sky.
“Riyang, we’ve been neighbors for ten years. Have you ever seen me before?” she asked curiously as she flew.
Riyang replied calmly, “Qingqiu is vast. Since I achieved my cultivation, I haven’t lived in Qingqiu for hundreds of years. Fly west.”
Li Fei adjusted her sword, flying westward at high speed. He occasionally directed her, and after a long flight, they suddenly saw two towering peaks connected, with the strange feature of a hollow center. Li Fei had lived here for ten years and never knew Qingqiu had such a spectacle.
“Now you should be able to see the Realm of Gan Hua. Fly towards that gap,” Riyang instructed.
The Realm of Gan Hua? Was it referring to the large gap in the mountain? Li Fei suddenly recalled when Master Dongyang refused to take her to Wuyue Court, saying she couldn’t even see where it was. She softly asked, “Riyang, is the Realm of Gan Hua similar to places like Wuyue Court where the spiritual energy of heaven and earth gathers? Could I not see it before?”
Riyang, surprisingly in a good mood, replied kindly, “Oh? You’ve guessed correctly. Previously, although you had spiritual energy, your spiritual apertures were unopened, making you no different from a mortal. You couldn’t see these places where spiritual energy or miasma gathered.”
A place where the spiritual energy of heaven and earth converges… and it looks so strange? The gap in the mountain looked bizarre no matter how you viewed it.
Li Fei flew swiftly to the mountain’s center, aiming for the gap, when Riyang suddenly said, “Wait, there’s someone behind us.”
Someone? Could Lei Xiuyuan be following? How had she not noticed?
Li Fei quickly stopped, looking back to see a shadow flit through the overlapping mountains, hiding in the forest. Her sharp eyes could only discern that the person was tall and long-legged, definitely not Lei Xiuyuan. The figure seemed to be an adult. She became tense and whispered, “There is someone! What should we do? Should we go in?”
Riyang closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them with a cold smile, “It’s that persistent fellow again. Such patience, following us from the academy, waiting for this opportunity?”
Li Fei thought carefully, and a cold sweat broke out. She murmured, “Could it be… that Zhen Yunzi?”
No way! Had he followed them all the way? Wasn’t he afraid of becoming the target of all the immortals?
Riyang chuckled coldly, “Driven by profit, he must be unable to endure any longer, forced to act. Ignore him, this fool will surely lose half his life here today.”
Li Fei was exasperated, “Riyang, I think the ones who will lose half their lives are us. What if he follows us into the Realm of Gan Hua?”
Riyang retorted coldly, “Do you think anyone can just enter my place? If I weren’t attached to you, even if you became immortal, you wouldn’t be able to break into the Realm of Gan Hua! If there weren’t such methods, wouldn’t the immortal sects have been blown to pieces by their enemies long ago?”
So, these places where spiritual energy gathers, even if visible to cultivators, require the owner’s permission to enter once a cave-dwelling is established?
“Alright, go in quickly,” Riyang urged.
Li Fei hurriedly said, “What about Xiuyuan? He’s still asleep! Zhen Yunzi might kill him!”
Riyang snapped, “Let him kill him! What’s it to you?”
“Of course, it matters! He’s my friend!” Li Fei was also angry.
Riyang was exasperated, “With your attitude, you’ll never achieve the Great Dao! Fine, you needn’t worry about that kid. At this moment, that so-called Zhen Yunzi’s mind won’t be on him. He’ll be anxiously waiting at the entrance for as long as we’re inside. Besides, there’s always a bigger fish! Now get in there!”