“If she keeps vomiting like this, won’t someone die?” Although she felt this female cultivator was somewhat fussy and brainless, at most she was just a bit unlikable—it hadn’t reached the point of causing a death. She shuffled behind Huan Zong, avoiding Jin Ling’s gaze looking over, and said quietly, “Huan Zong, let’s still go.”

It must be because she had pulled up the Vermillion Grass here and ruined the feng shui that they encountered these strange cultivators.

“All right.” Huan Zong glanced at the pink-robed female cultivator below being surrounded and consoled by several cultivators. He pulled Kong Hou and jumped out of the tree house, waving his hand to put away the tree house. “Since we’ve already decided to walk slowly and look around, why don’t you ride in the carriage with me? Inside is more comfortable than on a flying sword.”

Previously, he hadn’t dared invite Kong Hou to ride with him, but after the two of them shared the wooden house last night, Huan Zong felt this invitation didn’t seem too presumptuous anymore.

“Sure!” Kong Hou agreed without thinking. When she had just succeeded at Foundation Establishment, she thought sword flight was especially fun. Now the initial novelty had long since worn off. Riding in a carriage could save some spiritual power—quite good.

“Fellow Daoists, please wait.” Zhou Xiao hurriedly caught up and cupped his hands to bow to the three people. “We gave great offense just now. Please forgive us, fellow Daoists.”

Huan Zong paid him no attention. He took out a jade flute from his bosom and blew it gently. The neighing of horses could be heard from within the forest. In the blink of an eye, two snow-white horses without any mixed colors ran out from the forest, pulling a carriage that stopped before Huan Zong and the others.

Lin Hu stroked the two horses’ heads and pulled out two stalks of spiritual grass from his storage ring, giving each horse one.

Wind Arrival Grass? Zhou Xiao thought there was something wrong with his eyes. Feeding horses with the expensive Wind Arrival Grass? He blinked and continued looking at the spiritual grass already half-eaten by the horses’ mouths. He had to admit it really was Wind Arrival Grass that cost nearly a hundred spirit stones per stalk.

Huan Zong got into the carriage and turned to extend his hand toward Kong Hou. “Kong Hou, come.”

Kong Hou placed her hand in Huan Zong’s and jumped onto the carriage. Turning her head, she saw Zhou Xiao still standing foolishly to the side, looking rather pitiful. She smiled at him. “Farewell.”

“Fare—farewell.” Zhou Xiao watched the young girl on the carriage smiling at him. He stood dazedly in place, suddenly feeling even this snowy day had become bright and cheerful.

“Senior Brother.” Jin Ling, covering her chest, walked to Zhou Xiao’s side. “Who are those three cultivators?” Would they spread word about what happened today? She couldn’t afford to lose this much face.

Zhou Xiao shook his head. “I don’t know, but cultivators who can feed horses with Wind Arrival Grass certainly have extraordinary identities.”

“Feeding horses with Wind Arrival Grass that sells for a hundred spirit stones?” Jin Ling thought she’d heard wrong, but she knew her head senior brother had a character that didn’t like lying and wouldn’t deceive her about this kind of thing.

Recalling that white-robed cultivator’s handsome features, Jin Ling shook her head and sighed. Mother often told her that women could use their beauty to make men run errands for them, make them work like oxen and horses. But men who couldn’t manage a household absolutely couldn’t be chosen, no matter how good-looking they were.

Using such expensive Wind Arrival Grass to feed horses? His brain probably wasn’t too good. What a waste of that face that could bring disaster to women.

“Junior Sister, we should hurry back.” Seeing Jin Ling fall silent, Zhou Xiao said, “Recently, there have been frequent incidents of evil cultivators committing atrocities. Two days ago at an inn in Qiu City, an evil cultivator dug out the deceased’s heart. Moreover, the deceased wasn’t an ordinary person—she was the maidservant of Zhaohan Sect’s Fairy Lingbo.”

“Lingbo?” Jin Ling snorted coldly. “She also deserves to be called a fairy?”

Having several maidservants following behind scattering flowers and carrying a palanquin—she really thinks she’s an immortal? If she has the ability, let her ascend for everyone to see. Relying on five spiritual root aptitude, that affected manner of hers—she could smell it from a hundred li away.

Zhou Xiao fell silent. Dull as he was, he also knew that at certain times, one couldn’t speak carelessly. He looked around. Those cultivators who were also going to Kui City had somehow already left. He didn’t feel surprised. There were many cultivators in the cultivation world who protected themselves wisely. Black-Robed Woman appeared suddenly. If she had killing intent, none of them would be her match.

It was just that the cultivation world had been peaceful for so many years. For evil cultivator murder cases to suddenly occur frequently was not a good omen.

“The carriage is so spacious inside—it doesn’t shake at all.” Kong Hou sat in the carriage lined with thick cushions, feeling that the carriage she rode in when she was a princess, compared to this carriage, was truly shabby to the extreme.

Huan Zong sat cross-legged on the cushions. Before him was placed a wooden table with a complete tea set on it. Tea poured into cups floated up in very shallow ripples but didn’t splash out. Kong Hou couldn’t understand—weren’t the horses running on a mountain road? Why was it so stable inside the carriage?

“Try it.” Huan Zong handed the teacup to Kong Hou. “Before dark, we can reach a small town called Three Trees.”

“Thank you.” Kong Hou took the teacup and lowered her head to smell it. “So fragrant.”

“I’m not skilled in this way. The tea leaves and tea implements were all given by fellow sect members. Now I brew it to pass the time.” Huan Zong gently stroked the rim of the teacup. His handsome features were hidden behind the tea’s steam, like an exalted immortal—all worldly matters had nothing to do with him.

Huan Zong hadn’t deceived Kong Hou. He entered Liuguang Sect at age nine and put almost all his energy into cultivation. He didn’t like wine, didn’t like tea, didn’t like indulgence, and didn’t like beauties. Only the sword accompanied him. If not for the accident in his cultivation, he wouldn’t be like now, walking slowly on the road, viewing scenery and drinking tea, even…

He raised his head to look at the young girl holding a cup drinking tea, her movements carrying some habits of imperial nobility. The him of ten years ago definitely wouldn’t have imagined that one day he would be sitting in a carriage, bringing Lin Hu, traveling aimlessly outside with a young girl only sixteen years old.

“Fragrant but not strong, spiritual energy doesn’t disperse—good tea.” Kong Hou didn’t know if it was her imagination, but after drinking this cup of tea, she felt the spiritual power in her spiritual platform had also strengthened slightly.

Huan Zong refilled tea for Kong Hou and chatted idly with her. “Kong Hou is only sixteen this year and already has Foundation Establishment fifth level cultivation. Although this is good, you’re still young. The most important thing is your mental state. Don’t rush to break through realms—this will be detrimental to you in the future. This morning I heard you mention your cultivation being stagnant. It might be related to your mental state.” No matter how strong one’s talent, it could still be limited by experience and knowledge. This wasn’t something talent could compensate for.

If someone narrow-minded heard these words, they would only think Huan Zong had ill intentions or was deliberately holding them back. But Huan Zong wasn’t the smooth and skilled social type. Many times he acted according to his heart. When he felt this was good for Kong Hou, he directly spoke up, not thinking at all that Kong Hou might possibly misunderstand his intentions.

Outside the carriage, Lin Hu listened to their conversation, very worried that Young Master’s way of speaking would soon cause him to lose this first friend of the opposite sex he’d made.

Fortunately, Kong Hou thought simply and trusted her friend Huan Zong very much. She hadn’t suspected his intentions at all. She sighed. “Huan Zong, why do your words sound exactly the same as my senior brothers and sisters?”

“They all think I work too hard at cultivation. Every time I come out of seclusion, they always worry I’ve exhausted myself stupid. They keep stuffing food and drinks at me and emphasize the importance of balancing work and rest.” Kong Hou set down her teacup somewhat resentfully. She hadn’t been out long and already missed them a bit. She wondered if they liked the specialties she sent back.

Lin Hu drove the horses over a gorge. The horses’ front hooves lightly touched the ground. They retracted the wings on their backs, transformed into the appearance of ordinary horses, and continued running forward. He looked back at the interior of the carriage. If this happened at Yunhua Sect, it wouldn’t make people feel strange. If senior brothers and sisters from other sects did this, it would make people suspicious—were they jealous of junior sister’s talent and deliberately distracting her to affect her cultivation?

Speaking of which, it was strange. Many things that would make people suspicious of intentions if done at other sects had completely different meanings when done by Yunhua Sect disciples. From this point, Yunhua Sect could also be called a magical sect.

“However, I think what you said makes sense.” Kong Hou lifted the carriage curtain. Outside was snowy white mountains—the earth a vast expanse of white, extremely beautiful. “After I was born, I always lived in the deep palace. My only entertainment was two tattered, incomplete story books. The first time I witnessed the excitement of the outside world was the day I came to Lingyou Realm. All these years I’ve stayed in the sect and never properly looked at this world.”

Speaking of this, she looked at Huan Zong, her eyes smiling into crescents. “But my luck is very good. Not long after coming down the mountain, I met you. I don’t have to eat alone or travel alone. It’s really good.” By nature, she still liked liveliness and didn’t like being alone. Especially after receiving the warmth Yunhua Sect gave her, she liked it even less.

Huan Zong shook his head helplessly with a light laugh. The one who was truly fortunate might be him, not her.

“You don’t believe me?” Kong Hou huffed. “I’m telling you, honesty is one of my strengths.”

“I don’t disbelieve. I just don’t agree with your way of putting it.” Huan Zong took out a plate of pastries from the wooden table’s drawer and placed them on the table. “Because the fortunate one is me.”

This young girl had extraordinary luck. Luck was something mysterious and intangible—invisible and untouchable. But cultivators with good luck often achieved twice the result with half the effort. It was something others couldn’t envy.

“Forget it, forget it. We don’t need to keep arguing. We’re both fortunate—that’s called fate.” Kong Hou, seeing Huan Zong had brought out pastries, also took out a bag of pastries from her storage ring. The pastries were made very beautifully—some shaped like fresh flowers, some like animals. Arranged on the table, they were extremely cute.

“These were specially made for me by a sister from the sect’s dining hall. The pastry bag has arrays added to it that can keep the pastries in their freshest state until taken out, so you can eat without worry—there’s absolutely no problem.” Kong Hou introduced the different flavors of differently shaped pastries. After finishing her introduction, she took a piece and placed it in Huan Zong’s hand. “Your taste seems to prefer light flavors. You should like this one. Spirit flower juice is added inside—fragrant but not cloyingly sweet. Try it.”

From the variety of pastries to the arrays on the bag holding them, everything proved the fact that Yunhua Sect was attentive about food. No wonder everyone outside said eating and drinking were best in Yong City. Even Yunhua Sect, the administrator, was like this—let alone the common people in the city.

Putting the pastry in his palm into his mouth, the fresh floral fragrance quickly filled his entire mouth. The moment he swallowed, his entire body seemed surrounded by nature. Even his breathing became fresh.

“Delicious, right?” Kong Hou looked at Huan Zong full of anticipation. Her face practically had “quickly praise my sect” written all over it.

“Very delicious.” Huan Zong took another pastry from the bag. “I’ve never eaten this kind of pastry before.”

“Of course!” Mentioning her own sect, Kong Hou felt everything about it was good. She could praise it for ten days and nights without any problem. “This kind of pastry can only be eaten by disciples of our sect. It’s not supplied externally. However, if you come to our sect as a guest, you can eat many delicious things. Unfortunately, many dishes aren’t suitable to bring out, otherwise I’d want you to try them right now.”

“How about after the journey ends, I invite you to come as a guest to Cloud Flower Mountain?” Kong Hou felt this idea of hers was very good. “I’ll have the sisters from the dining hall make delicious food for you every day.”

“All right.” Huan Zong smiled. “I look forward to it very much.”

“You’ll definitely like it when you go.” Kong Hou drank some tea to moisten her throat. “Previously, your sect’s Peak Master Song He went to our place. He ate all three meals every day on time. According to the dining hall sisters, he also ate the pastries delivered to Peak Master Song He’s courtyard every day very happily.”

Huan Zong was somewhat surprised. He hadn’t expected Uncle-Master Song He… also cared so much about food and drink?

Coming down from the mountain, they soon arrived at the town called Three Trees. Compared to Qiu City, Three Trees was much smaller. The city walls were worn, and even the characters “Three Trees City” on the city gate had paint peeling off.

It was already approaching evening. There were quite a few pedestrians on the street, most of them ordinary people without spiritual roots. Occasionally cultivators passed by, but they all had mediocre cultivation.

Passing through an alley, Kong Hou heard a child crying. She lifted the curtain to look outside. A three or four-year-old child lay on the ground, clutching a candied hawthorn stick in his hand. She didn’t know if he’d run too far while playing—there were no adults following him.

Just as she was about to get off the carriage to check on the child, a black-robed woman jumped out from behind the alley wall. She picked up the child who had fallen on the ground and bent down to pat the accumulated snow off him. She didn’t even care that her skirt hem was stained with dirty snow and mud.

Was that the eccentric-tempered female cultivator Xue Yu?

Xue Yu, crouching before the child, had a gentle expression without any trace of the sinister look from the forest. Kong Hou saw that to coax the continuously crying child, she pulled out a small bell from her bosom and waved it back and forth before his eyes, amusing the child so he forgot to cry and reached out to grab the bell.

Xue Yu gave the bell to the child. Seeing the child’s parents had found him, without waiting for their thanks, she turned and walked out of the alley. She hadn’t walked more than a few steps when she discovered Kong Hou sitting in the carriage.

She froze for a moment, then turned around without hesitation. Her toes tapped lightly and she flew away through the air.

Kong Hou, who had been preparing to show Xue Yu a smile, froze. She stared dumbly in the direction Xue Yu had flown away, then turned to look at Huan Zong silently drinking tea. “Huan Zong, am I really not frightening?”

Glancing through the carriage window at the direction Xue Yu had left, Huan Zong’s tone was calm. “She’s afraid of Lin Hu. How could such a cute young girl like you frighten people?”

“That’s true. She must be afraid we’ll hold her accountable for what happened this morning. She’s also worried she can’t beat Lin Hu, so she fled.” Thinking this way, Kong Hou felt much better in her heart.

Who could accept the situation of a great beauty running away upon seeing them?

So this definitely wasn’t her problem.

“This Miss Xue Yu is so gentle toward small children.” Kong Hou didn’t want to call her Black-Robed Woman. A female cultivator who could be so gentle even toward ordinary children probably wasn’t too bad by nature.

“She was originally a sect disciple. Later she fell in love with a rogue cultivator and left the sect to become Dao companions with him, traveling the world together.” Speaking to this point, Huan Zong’s tone paused. “Who would have known that after the married couple entered a secret realm, the rogue cultivator became ambiguously entangled with a young female cultivator. He even wanted to kill Xue Yu when seizing treasures. Xue Yu narrowly escaped death, but the child in her womb was lost. Later she devoted herself to cultivation and killed her unfaithful husband. From then on, she became extremely disgusted with pretty young female cultivators who liked to act coquettish. Her temperament also became more and more eccentric, so now many people call her Black-Robed Woman.”

Huan Zong told Kong Hou these things to make her understand one matter—certain good-looking, sweet-talking male cultivators in the cultivation world weren’t reliable. She was still young. It was best not to casually lose her heart to someone. Some feelings couldn’t withstand the test of time.

In the story books Kong Hou read, Miaobi Ke rarely wrote about matters between men and women, so she didn’t understand romantic love affairs. Even the story books she’d read related to romance all ended with the two protagonists living happily together. There were no stories where the male protagonist betrayed the female protagonist and the female protagonist finally killed the male protagonist.

She thought only people in the imperial palace wore false masks and dealt perfunctorily with people they didn’t love. But Xue Yu and that rogue cultivator had clearly gotten together because of love. Why did the rogue cultivator ultimately betray Xue Yu and even want to kill her?

“I don’t understand.” Kong Hou’s tone was somewhat dejected. “Weren’t they a loving married couple?”

Huan Zong wanted to tell Kong Hou that human hearts change easily. Before benefits and temptation, many people find it difficult to maintain their original intentions. But looking at her bright eyes, Huan Zong couldn’t bear to say it.

She was still small, still a young girl.

Some truths—he’d tell her when she was a bit older.

“Perhaps it’s because this rogue cultivator’s nature wasn’t too good.” Huan Zong pointed at the pastries on the table. “You just said this pastry shaped like a little horse—what flavor is it?”

“What do you mean his nature wasn’t good? He’s simply a bastard!” Kong Hou cursed quietly. “Poor Miss Xue Yu, harmed by this kind of person.”

She drank a large mouthful of tea, suppressing the anger in her heart. Only then did she remember Huan Zong seemed to have said something to her just now. “Huan Zong, what did you just say?”

“Nothing.” Huan Zong, seeing her anger seemed to have dissipated quite a bit, said, “I’ll have Lin Hu find an inn. We’ll stay at the inn for the night.”

“All right.” Kong Hou hurriedly drank a few more mouthfuls of tea. This tea could help eliminate the anger in her heart.

“Lin Hu, find an inn.” Huan Zong lifted the curtain and said to Lin Hu, “Find a quiet place.”

“Yes, Young Master.” Lin Hu didn’t turn his head. He was afraid if he turned back, he’d let Young Master see the shock on his face. He really hadn’t expected that Young Master, who wasn’t good with words, would also start learning to coax young girls.

On this journey, Young Master had learned quite a lot. This showed that practice produces true knowledge. Lovely young girls make men learn to grow.

“Huan Zong, there’s a question I’ve always forgotten to ask.” Hearing they were going to rest at an inn, Kong Hou put away the things on the table. “You already know I’m sixteen. I still don’t know how old you are.”

“I…” Huan Zong’s hands paused while putting away the tea implements. The wind outside the carriage window seemed a bit cold.