“Huan Zong?” Seeing Huan Zong walk into her room and close the door, Kong Hou thought he had some secret to tell her and hurriedly lowered her voice to ask, “What happened?”
After closing the door, only then did Huan Zong realize how ridiculous his action just now had been. His gaze swept over Kong Hou’s neck and quickly moved away. “Nothing, I just came to check on you.”
Kong Hou instantly understood—so Huan Zong was worried about her body. She bent down to carry the quilt from the soft cushion back to the bed. “I’m really fine, just overused spiritual power a bit.”
“Mm.” Huan Zong watched Kong Hou fold the quilt, then watched her arrange her hair. His consciousness told him he should leave Kong Hou’s room now, but his feet were rather disobedient.
The room had a magical tool that automatically stored water. Kong Hou fetched water to wash her face and rinse her mouth. Turning around, she saw Huan Zong with his back to her and couldn’t help but smile. “Fortunately, you were there yesterday.”
“Perhaps if you hadn’t traveled with me, you wouldn’t have encountered these things.” Since Kong Hou had met him, she had been continuously accompanying him in searching for medicine. If she hadn’t met him, perhaps she would have encountered several like-minded, young and energetic good friends and ridden flying swords to tour thousands of mountains and rivers. Rather than accompanying him, this sickly and uninteresting sword cultivator, encountering quite a few mishaps along the way.
“Can’t think that way. Perhaps if I hadn’t met you, I would have been bullied by other cultivators long ago.” Kong Hou seriously refuted, “Or perhaps I wouldn’t have found the opportunity to break through my mental境 realm, and would still be stuck at the Foundation Establishment stage bottleneck now.”
Huan Zong turned back. Seeing Kong Hou had already sat before the dressing table, a ridiculous thought suddenly appeared in his mind. Many years from now, would there be an outstanding male cultivator accompanying her side, watching her arrange her makeup, drawing her eyebrows for her?
Substituting this male cultivator’s face with any of Liuguang Sect’s notable male disciples made Huan Zong feel these disciples simply weren’t worthy of such a good girl as Kong Hou.
“Huan Zong? Huan Zong?” Kong Hou was asking Huan Zong what his sword was called, but when she turned around, she discovered him staring blankly at her dressing table. Kong Hou looked down at the table surface in confusion. Apart from rouge and powder, there was only a hairpin and ring jewelry—what was worth Huan Zong’s attention?
“Huan Zong, are you feeling unwell?” Kong Hou worried that Huan Zong’s body had problems but he wasn’t telling her. Last time when killing that Nascent Soul stage evil cultivator, Huan Zong’s inner breath had been somewhat chaotic. The Painless Old Man was that evil cultivator’s master with even more profound cultivation—did Huan Zong’s spiritual platform have no problems?
“No.” Huan Zong recalled the experience of Kong Hou ignoring him last time and shook his head. “I apologize, I was a bit distracted just now. Can you say that again?”
“Really nothing wrong?” Kong Hou got up and walked to his side, using spiritual power to probe his spiritual meridians. After confirming there were no major problems, she walked back to the dressing table to continue combing her hair. “What I wanted to ask just now was the name of that sword of yours.”
“It’s called Longyin.” Huan Zong brought out the Longyin Sword, stroking the dragon pattern on the scabbard. The dragon pattern seemed alive, with every scale clearly visible.
In Huan Zong’s hands, the Longyin Sword looked like an unremarkable dark iron sword, but when unsheathed, it could possess incomparably dazzling light. Kong Hou sensed a very strange aura on the sword—majestic yet unlike the pressure of spiritual power.
Could this be sword intent?
“This sword… has already opened its spiritual intelligence?” Kong Hou said, “When you used it, I heard a dragon’s cry.”
“When casting it, I took the dragon-held pearl from the imperial palace’s throne and threw it into the dark gold iron.” Feeling the trembling of the Longyin Sword in his hand—it wanted to leave its sheath, wanted to fight shoulder to shoulder with him, its master. “Perhaps having been touched by imperial dragon qi, when the sword was completed, dragon clouds surrounded it, so I named it Longyin.”
“Good name.” Kong Hou gently rolled this name on her tongue. “Longyin.”
“It suits you, and you suit it too.” White-robed immortal hero with black-gold sword, slaying all evil demons under heaven. Kong Hou listened to the Longyin Sword emit a faint trembling sound. “I’ve heard that when a sword cultivator’s sword technique reaches the heavenly realm, they can communicate spiritually with their sword. Is that true?”
“Not only sword cultivators—all cultivators can achieve spiritual communication with their life-bound magical treasures.” Huan Zong raised his head to look at Kong Hou. “I believe you’ll achieve it in the future too.”
“Too?”
Kong Hou realized Huan Zong and his sword had already achieved spiritual communication. “So is it in a good mood now?” She pointed at the sword in Huan Zong’s hand.
“Yes.” Huan Zong put away the Longyin Sword. “It knows you’re praising it.”
“Really?” Kong Hou was somewhat surprised. She hadn’t expected swords to have emotions too.
“Naturally.” Seeing Kong Hou’s eyes open wide and round, Huan Zong’s expression became gentle. “It likes you very much too.”
Kong Hou smiled until her eyes curved. Even swords liked this kind of praise—it was really too pleasing to her.
“Huan Zong, your sword techniques are so formidable, you’re younger than Daoist Zhong Xi and better looking than him too. Why do people outside only praise him?” Thinking of how Huan Zong, as Liuguang Sect’s personally transmitted disciple, was clearly no worse than Daoist Zhong Xi in anything, yet people outside only extolled Zhong Xi—this made her inexplicably feel indignant.
This matter had nothing to do with Daoist Zhong Xi, and she had no right to blame this daoist who had slain demons for the cultivation world. But looking at Huan Zong’s pale, handsome face, Kong Hou found it very difficult to develop good feelings toward Daoist Zhong Xi. If not for Huan Zong’s weak body, he would definitely do better than Daoist Zhong Xi, and the world wouldn’t only know Zhong Xi without hearing of Huan Zong.
Huan Zong froze. He looked at Kong Hou holding her face, feeling indignant on his behalf, and couldn’t help but laugh. “You don’t like Daoist Zhong Xi?”
“Not that—I just think you’re better than him, Huan Zong.” Kong Hou inserted the hairpin transformed from the Shuishuang Sword into her hair bun. “Besides, I’ve always helped those close to me rather than those in the right. No matter how good Daoist Zhong Xi is, he can’t compare to you.”
This kind of “I think you’re good, so you’re the best. If others don’t know you’re good, it’s because they lack discernment” mentality of a young girl—Huan Zong would have only found it childish and laughable in the past. But when these words came from Kong Hou’s mouth, Huan Zong only found it adorable.
“Silly girl, actually I’m…”
“Miss Kong Hou.” Lin Hu’s voice sounded outside the door. After Huan Zong confirmed Kong Hou’s clothes were properly worn, he walked to the door and opened it. Outside the door, Lin Hu stood in the courtyard with five Jixiang Pavilion disciples. He looked down at them. “What matter?”
Lin Hu looked at Huan Zong, then looked at the room behind him. “The Jixiang Pavilion disciples are concerned about Miss Kong Hou’s body, so they came to check.” However, why would Young Master be the one opening the door? Although their cultivation world didn’t pay much attention to the separation between men and women, a man several hundred years old staying in a young girl’s room early in the morning—wasn’t that somewhat improper?
After Hong Ling discovered Huan Zong had entered Kong Hou’s room, she both felt she was overthinking and worried something might happen, so she brought her senior sisters, junior sister, and junior brothers to find Senior Lin. Under the pretext of caring about Xianzi Kong Hou’s body, she had Senior Lin bring them to Xianzi Kong Hou’s room to visit.
Seeing Huan Zong come out with his clothes neat and tidy, Hong Ling secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed she had overthought things. How old was Xianzi Kong Hou? Daoist Huan Zong came from a famous sect with profound cultivation—what kind of woman hadn’t he seen? How could he be that kind of impatient, lustful person?
“You’re all up?” Kong Hou walked out from behind Huan Zong. “Since everyone is already prepared, let’s set out now.”
“There’s no rush to return. With Daoist and Xianzi here, we don’t need to worry about safety issues. Why not rest here for a few more days and leave after Xianzi’s body has fully recovered?” Ge Jin recalled that palm strike the Painless Old Man had landed on Kong Hou’s chest and couldn’t help but feel pain on Kong Hou’s behalf.
“It’s fine—aren’t I lively and energetic?” Kong Hou worried that evil cultivators acted without any pattern. Arriving at Jixiang Pavilion sooner would make her feel more at ease.
Hong Ling, who had been following behind Ge Jin without speaking, secretly observed Huan Zong. She discovered that Daoist Huan Zong, who appeared cold and emotionless, kept his gaze on Xianzi Kong Hou most of the time. Even when Senior Sister was speaking, the other party didn’t spare them Jixiang Pavilion disciples a single glance. As if their existence was insignificant to him—whether they were present or not made no difference.
This was a man born with a cold heart and cold feelings.
“Huan Zong.” Kong Hou reached out and tugged Huan Zong’s sleeve. “Let’s go now, all right?”
Huan Zong was silent for a moment. “All right.”
Before Kong Hou, it was difficult for him to say no.
Having experienced yesterday’s events, when stepping onto the flying palace again, Kong Hou had lost her interest in viewing scenery. She sat cross-legged on the floor, holding a story book she hadn’t turned more than a few pages, her gaze frequently looking outside.
Outside, Huan Zong stood leaning against the railing. Lin Hu stood behind him, passing him a messenger talisman just received.
The content in the messenger talisman was very simple. The general meaning was that the gift he sent had been received, and in the future when buying these valuable things, he didn’t need to pay out of his own pocket—he could have the sect subsidize it.
Huan Zong swept through the messenger talisman with his divine consciousness several times, confirming there was no coded language or other meaning inside. But… hadn’t what Kong Hou sent back last time been a bag of salted fish the shop owner couldn’t sell?
Within Yunhua Sect, newly entered disciples saw the sign hanging at the entrance that read “Today’s Main Dish: Twin-Winged Fish” and thought their eyes were playing tricks on them, or that the uncles in the meal hall had written the wrong characters. With so many of them disciples, Twin-Winged Fish was not only expensive but difficult to buy—how could it possibly be used as a main dish?
However, when they came out carrying their meal trays, their entire beings were in a daze. It really was Twin-Winged Fish, and moreover, it was a large basin of Twin-Winged Fish. They began to involuntarily wonder—could the reason Yunhua Sect couldn’t become a top-three sect in the cultivation world be because they ate too extravagantly and ate the sect into poverty?
Even Gui Lin, who was usually somewhat picky with food, also fell silent upon seeing a full plate of braised dried salted fish. He really couldn’t believe Twin-Winged Fish would be made into such ugly dried salted fish. What was even more terrifying was that Yunhua Sect actually placed such good things in the meal hall where even them newly entered disciples could get so much.
“I’ve inquired about it.” The nimble junior sister returned carrying her bowl. “I heard from an inner sect senior brother that these Twin-Winged Fish were sent back by flying sword messenger by Master Uncle Kong Hou who’s out traveling. Master Uncle Kong Hou even specifically instructed that all disciples should have a taste.”
“Master Uncle Kong Hou is truly amazing.” Gao Jianyan sincerely sighed. To encounter so many Twin-Winged Fish and still be willing to spend a great sum to buy them back for them to eat—what kind of deep affection and regard was this?
Gui Lin recalled that day he first entered the mountain gate—that beautiful woman flying in the air.
Swallowing the fish meat in his mouth, Gui Lin’s impression of Yunhua Sect became even more complex. Looking across the entire cultivation world, what other sect would use such expensive ingredients to let all disciples taste?
Shouldn’t it only be given to personally transmitted disciples or disciples who performed better, using this to stimulate other disciples’ drive to improve?
So the entire Yunhua Sect from top to bottom being so lazy and lacking in ambition wasn’t without reason.
After the flying palace entered Feng City territory, it descended outside the city gate. Seeing the familiar city gate, the Jixiang Pavilion disciples couldn’t quite control the excitement in their hearts. If not for considering that Kong Hou, Huan Zong, and the others were still present, they would have run over long ago.
After entering the city gate, Kong Hou saw quite a few pedestrians on the road greeting these disciples, and there were also elderly men and women carrying rice, flour, chickens, and fish asking them for divinations.
“Miss Ge Jin, the hairpin my old man gave me is lost. Can you help me divine where I dropped it?”
“Miss Ge Jin, please help me divine where my lost ox has gone?”
“Miss Ge Jin…”
Hearing the continuous rising and falling calls, Kong Hou grabbed Huan Zong’s sleeve and rapidly retreated several steps, saying quietly to Huan Zong, “The people’s fighting spirit is boundless—let’s hide farther away.”
“Kong Hou?” Cheng Yi saw Kong Hou and Huan Zong standing outside the crowd and thought there was something wrong with his eyes.
His adorable, tender, incomparably obedient, and ambitious little junior sister had just pulled another man’s sleeve?!