Ming Li used to rarely dream.

Now, whenever she closed her eyes to sleep, she would dream of past events.

Some trivial ones, or ones that had always remained deep in her memory but had never been given much attention.

Yet coincidentally, they all featured Zhou Zixi’s figure.

Perhaps because Gray Scorpion’s Eight Demon Eyes had given her some trouble, she also dreamed of the Eight Demon Eyes.

It was during Northern Dipper’s annual Star Selection Assembly, where disciples who had just entered for a year could participate. The final winner from the seven sects would be allowed to enter Upper Wujian and choose a divine weapon.

After her junior brother Zhou Zixi won in the Yaoguang Academy, he narrowly defeated the Tian Quan Academy’s senior disciple.

The next day, he would face the Tian Ji Academy’s senior disciple, who excelled in the Heavy Eyes meridian. His Eight Demon Eyes technique had helped him win first place in last year’s Star Selection Assembly.

Ming Li had originally been in seclusion at Falling Star Pool. However, her usual style was rather solitary; she randomly chose places for seclusion without telling anyone.

Even her elder brother and father had difficulty finding her.

Falling Star Pool was below the cliff behind Yaoguang’s rear mountain. Though quiet with beautiful scenery, it was difficult for ordinary people to reach. The mountain cliff was jagged and steep, with a ten-thousand-foot precipice impossible to climb. Those who fell would be shattered to pieces, and those at the bottom could only look up at the clouds for a lifetime.

Even the seven sect leaders wouldn’t casually come here, so Ming Li never expected that when she walked out of the stone path and emerged from the shallow waterfall curtain, she would see Zhou Zixi reflected in the pool of water that mirrored the countless stars in the sky.

He was bare-chested, walking out of the water step by step to the shore. The sound of water splashed, with firefly lights flickering around, illuminating the water trails on the young man’s smooth back.

Zhou Zixi walked on water to the shore, bent down to pick up his clothes, and casually draped them over one shoulder. When he straightened up, he ran right into Ming Li, who had just come out from behind the waterfall curtain.

He was stunned for a moment.

Ming Li, who hadn’t expected to find a second person at Falling Star Pool, was also surprised.

“Is Senior Sister in seclusion here?” Zhou Zixi blinked and smiled. The casual air with which he had just draped his clothes over his shoulder disappeared, and he began to dress properly.

At that time, Ming Li had just turned eighteen.

But Ming Li was already the supreme powerhouse of the Ancient Continent, a Pilgrim worshipped and followed by countless cultivators. In the eyes of the world, she was lofty and untouchable, the proud moon in the sky.

In comparison, Zhou Zixi was just an ordinary Northern Dipper disciple. The only extraordinary thing was that after the Four Directions Competition, he had become Ming Li’s direct junior brother.

Ming Li had a good impression of this talented junior brother.

They had interacted before, always with senior brothers and sisters. Zhou Zixi had shown himself to be gentle and polite. This was the first time they had been alone together.

Ming Li asked him what he was doing there, and Zhou Zixi honestly answered: “I’ve been coming here to cultivate every night for the past two months.”

That coincided with the time of her seclusion.

Ming Li walked out of the pool to the shore and looked up at the clouds above: “You come and go from here every day. That’s quite impressive. If there’s an accident, you’d either be injured or dead.”

Zhou Zixi touched his nose and smiled: “Senior Sister is right. Injuries do happen frequently.”

Ming Li had originally planned to speak with the Sect Leader after coming out of seclusion, but she inadvertently noticed her junior brother looking at her with bright, clear, and attentive eyes as he smiled and spoke.

So she asked: “What have you been practicing?”

Zhou Zixi said, “Recently, I’ve been working on my Heavy Eyes meridian. Tomorrow I’ll compete with the senior brother from Tian Ji Academy in the Star Selection. His Eight Demon Eyes are formidable.”

“Senior Brother Fu Yuan’s Eight Demon Eyes are indeed formidable, and they’re quite effective against you.” Ming Li turned to look at him. “Your Eight Meridians Formation speed is very fast, the fastest I’ve seen, but the Eight Demon Eyes can seal star meridian power. Although he won’t always seal your Spiritual Court meridian, you still need to set up your formation faster than his Eight Demon Eyes can seal.”

This was almost an impossible feat.

Unless one was a Pilgrim.

But even Pilgrims needed some time to set up formations and deploy star lines, while the Eight Demon Eyes could seal one’s star meridian power in an instant.

Zhou Zixi lowered his eyelashes slightly, his expression serious as he listened to her explanation.

Ming Li knew the rules of Northern Dipper’s Star Selection and understood how tempting it was for disciples to be able to select a divine weapon from Northern Dipper’s Upper Wujian.

After listening, Zhou Zixi asked: “Does Senior Sister think I can win?”

Ming Li: “If you can be faster than my Eight Demon Eyes sealing star meridians, then you can win.”

Zhou Zixi: “…”

He pressed his lips together, smiling with some resignation: “Senior Sister, I can’t possibly be faster than your sealing speed.”

Ming Li said, “How would you know if you don’t try?”

Zhou Zixi tried.

And so he learned what a Pilgrim’s Eight Demon Eyes meant.

What it meant to be completely powerless.

Each time he attempted to use his star meridian power, Ming Li would seal it accurately. Even when he tried to mobilize three types of star meridian powers simultaneously, they could all be countered. Before Ming Li, he couldn’t use any star meridian spiritual techniques.

Zhou Zixi, who had fallen into the water several times due to having his star meridian power sealed during the process, was completely soaked. The previously dry upper garment now clung to his skin.

Zhou Zixi raised his head in the water to look at Ming Li standing on the shore.

Ming Li somehow felt he resembled a little dog that had fallen into water, pure, harmless, and adorable. A smile involuntarily appeared on her face.

Originally planning to practice with him for just a few rounds before leaving, she couldn’t resist the temptation to tease him, so she continued without calling a stop.

In the end, Zhou Zixi still couldn’t outpace Ming Li’s Eight Demon Eyes sealing. As daylight began to appear, Ming Li watched her junior brother rise from the water, soaking wet once again. Finally feeling a twinge of conscience, she smiled and said: “Shall I take you up?”

Her junior brother shook his head.

“Senior Sister, just wait for me up there,” Zhou Zixi rolled up his sleeves, his expression serious. “I can make it up. I won’t die.”

Ming Li chose to believe him and wanted to see how he would manage. If anything unexpected happened, she wouldn’t let her junior brother die before her eyes.

Zhou Zixi stood at the bottom of the ten-thousand-foot cliff, looking up at the graceful figure in the clouds.

The distance between him and his senior sister was farther than this ten-thousand-foot cliff.

One in the clouds, one at the bottom.

Yet he was determined to climb from the bottom to the clouds, step by step, toward where his senior sister was.

In Ming Li’s memory, Zhou Zixi had climbed up the cliff to reach her.

But in her dream now, she saw her junior brother fall from the cliff’s edge back to the bottom.

*

Ming Li woke from her dream, her brows furrowed as if she hadn’t slept well. She also smelled food being roasted.

Fang Hui was indifferent to what was happening, leaning against a huge rock, reading a book.

Qian Li was turning the roasting rack with one hand, occasionally blowing away star sparks. Seeing Ming Li, who had been sleeping at the carriage window, awaken, he waved at her and asked softly: “Did I disturb you?”

He wasn’t being overly cautious without reason; Ming Li looked somewhat angry at the moment.

Ming Li shook her head and raised her hand to pinch the bridge of her nose, calming the irritation she had brought out from the dream.

She got down from the carriage and went to the riverside to wash her face and clear her mind.

Qian Li called out, “Have something to eat. It’s ready.”

Ming Li looked back and discovered that he wasn’t roasting wild game like pheasant or rabbit, but the flatbread she had brought. The crust had been roasted to a golden, crispy finish.

Qian Li said with some pride: “It’s meat pie, with gravy beef filling! I got it from Uncle Xu earlier. His shop may be small, but it has and sells everything.”

Ming Li came to sit by the fire. The strands of hair on her forehead were still wet, with droplets falling onto her nose bridge.

Fang Hui handed her a meat pie wrapped in a lotus leaf.

Ming Li sniffed it; there was indeed a beef aroma, but she didn’t like eating it this way. She wanted to add some sour dip or spicy sauce.

If she were traveling with her junior brother, she would have everything she wanted.

Ming Li stared at the flames, her gaze slightly dazed.

She remembered her junior brother had returned safely to the cliff top, but had lost the competition the next day.

Ming Li had been discussing matters with the Sect Leader during the competition and hadn’t watched. When she learned that Zhou Zixi had lost to Senior Brother Fu Yuan in the Star Selection, she was surprised. She had believed Zhou Zixi could win.

From that day on, Zhou Zixi traveled to and from Falling Star Pool every day to practice against Ming Li’s Eight Demon Eyes, until he could be faster than Ming Li’s sealing speed.

Perhaps because he had lost the competition, or perhaps because she had nothing else to do at that time, Ming Li genuinely accompanied him in practice for quite a while.

It was during this time that she discovered her little junior brother wasn’t as aloof and distant as he had appeared at first glance. Instead, he was a young man who loved to smile and could even act coquettishly.

Gentle and attentive.

She would unconsciously smile along with him, feeling comfortable and at ease.

This comfortable state was subtly different from her interactions with her other senior and junior disciples.

Even her father and brother couldn’t find where she was in seclusion, yet every time she emerged, she would run into her junior brother.

Once could be a coincidence, twice could be chance, but the third time showed intention.

But Ming Li had never questioned him about it.

She had silently permitted and indulged Zhou Zixi’s presence.

It was five years ago, when her junior brother and elder brother were leaving the mountain, that he voluntarily brought up this matter with Ming Li.

At that time, Northern Dipper was covered in the scenery of full spring. The flowering trees in front of her courtyard had suffered from last night’s wind and rain, with flowers scattered all over the ground.

Zhou Zixi stood outside the courtyard without entering.

He had grown taller since their first meeting, becoming increasingly elegant. Only his eyes, when gazing at her, remained bright and focused, gleaming with light.

After Zhou Zixi explained where he was going, Ming Li asked: “When will you come back?”

“I’ll be back soon. I won’t let Senior Sister get bored for too long,” her junior brother said. “If you feel bored, Senior Sister can go into seclusion to cultivate for a few days.”

Ming Li placed both hands on the courtyard railing and lifted her chin to look at him: “Always being in seclusion makes it seem like I have nothing better to do.”

Zhou Zixi smiled brightly: “Senior Sister, when you come out of seclusion, you’ll see me again.”

“Just say the word, and I can be everywhere, or I can disappear forever.”

Without thinking, Ming Li said, “I don’t want you to disappear. What are you saying?”

Zhou Zixi lowered his head and laughed softly. When he looked up at her again, his gaze contained deep affection, but it vanished in an instant.

In retrospect, her junior brother probably had more to say to her that day, but for some reason, he had stopped.

After her junior brother left, Ming Li became busy.

*

Ming Li remained motionless for a long time, lost in memories of the past.

Qian Li waved his hand in front of her eyes, puzzled: “Doesn’t it taste good?”

Ming Li came back to her senses, lowered her head to take a bite of the meat pie in her hand, and frowned honestly: “It doesn’t taste good.”

Qian Li: “…”

Fang Hui stuffed the meat pie into his mouth, ignoring Qian Li’s exaggerated look of heartbreak, and asked Ming Li, “How was your rest?”

“We can go now,” Ming Li said. “I want to get to Zhu Que State quickly.”

Qian Li raised his hand: “I’m almost fully recovered. For the upcoming route, my enemies would never think of it, so we can perfectly avoid their pursuit.”

Ming Li glanced at his right hand, wrapped up like a rice dumpling, then at the bloodstains on his clothes and the blood scabs on his face. His condition was terrible, but Qian Li’s spirits seemed quite good. Since these were just external injuries, and thanks to his breakthrough in the realm and star meridian transformation, most of his internal injuries had been resolved.

Fang Hui asked: “What route?”

Qian Li pointed at the ground beneath their feet: “Through the underground mountain path.”

Fang Hui: “You’re going to dig it?”

Ming Li took another bite of the meat pie and said, “That would take several years.”

Qian Li looked at his two companions speechlessly, sighed, and said: “Of course, we’ll use an existing one. When my mother brought me to Ji Dan years ago, we used the mountain path to seek refuge. She told me it was discovered by a member of the Zhao clan.”

Ming Li asked: “Dug from Ji Dan to Zhu Que State?”

Fang Hui said with a wooden expression: “Besides Heavenly Net Myriad Phenomena, does the Zhao clan also specialize in tunnel digging?”

Qian Li: “…”

“Zhu Que State borders the Black Water River. The tunnel bypasses various city walls, following the flow of Black Water River, and can lead directly into Zhu Que State. Also, I solemnly clarify, my Zhao clan didn’t dig it! A member of my Zhao clan discovered it by accident!”

Ming Li said, “It leads directly into Zhu Que State?”

Qian Li nodded: “But only within these ten days, because during these ten days, Black Water River is at low tide, so the passage won’t be flooded. It’s impassable at other times.”

That’s why he was in such a hurry to depart during this period. If they missed the low tide and couldn’t use the underground passage, he would certainly die on the way to Zhu Que State.

The black hoods could rely on Heavenly Net Myriad Phenomena to force their way through, but Qian Li truly hadn’t expected Jiang Wuyue to interfere as well.

The three unanimously decided to continue their journey after finishing the meat pies.

The surface was not safe for them.

During the meal, Fang Hui said: “If the Jiang clan spared you due to the pressure of Northern Dipper’s Pilgrim, then given that Ming Li died five years ago, the Jiang clan, who hates you to the bone, has still honored the agreement until now.”

Considering Nan Que’s attitude toward Northern Dipper in recent years, it was remarkable that Qian Li had survived until now.

“The Jiang clan fears not only Northern Dipper’s Pilgrim but also Northern Dipper itself,” Qian Li said while eating his meat pie. “Northern Dipper was the last of the four super sects to have a Pilgrim, but that didn’t prevent it from standing equally with the other three before. After all, it’s a major sect with a thousand years of foundation. Without even considering the Pilgrim, in terms of overall strength, Northern Dipper had long left the other three far behind.”

Before Ming Li became a Pilgrim, the Northern Dipper Seven Sects were already a peak existence that the world looked up to.

“Besides, that Northern Dipper disciple surnamed Zhou gave me a Seven Star Token before he left.”

Ming Li’s eyelid twitched, and she turned to look at Qian Li.

Qian Li took out a small black jade tablet from his bosom, only as long as a little finger, with the three characters “Seven Star Token” engraved on it.

The Northern Dipper Seven Star Token, also known as the Northern Dipper Gathering Token.

When the Seven Star Token shattered, it could summon Northern Dipper disciples within the jade token’s range to come to one’s aid.

It was only used in urgent situations.

At that time, another beautiful sister was talking with his mother, and the atmosphere wasn’t good, so he didn’t dare enter the room. That disciple surnamed Zhou was also outside, standing casually under the eaves, listening to the people arguing inside.

Hearing his mother shouting herself hoarse inside the room, Qian Li couldn’t help but tear up, with mucus almost flowing out. He raised his hand several times to wipe it away, holding his breath, not daring to cry out loud.

“Kid,” Zhou Zixi clicked his tongue softly. When Qian Li looked up, he tossed something over, which Qian Li reflexively caught.

He said, “Your mother is unwilling to come with us to Northern Dipper. Keep this thing yourself. In the future, if you see your father, smash it immediately.”

Qian Li said hatefully, “He’s not my father!”

Zhou Zixi said nothing.

Qian Li wiped his tears and asked: “If I smash this, will Northern Dipper’s Pilgrim help me kill him?”

He looked up and saw the young man’s cold features: “To kill such scum, why trouble my senior sister?”

*

After recalling the past, Qian Li sighed: “Now this Seven Star Token is useless in the South, since Nan Que has forced all Northern Dipper outposts to withdraw from the South. Even if I smashed it, not a single Northern Dipper disciple could be found within a ten-li radius.”

Ming Li rested her chin on one hand and looked at him: “Try smashing it and see.”

Qian Li shook his head repeatedly: “I won’t try! It’s too precious! I’ll never smash it in my lifetime!”

Ming Li smiled faintly and said, “Indeed, it’s very precious. If you need to use it, make sure it’s at the most critical moment for you.”

Because when the Seven Star Token shatters, someone will surely answer the call.