Why did they have to choose this name for Chapter 37?

Northern border, Cangzhou City.

The palace was filled with a misty atmosphere, with twelve rows of screens facing each other, and wisps of smoke rising from the burning ambergris in a brass incense burner.

Yi Jinxiang leaned against the balustrade in front of the palace, her large tail hanging on the armrest. She rested her face on one hand, her fingertips idly teasing the rabbit in her arms.

A young man with a high ponytail squatted beside the beauty, his four braids hanging on the cloud pattern of his white brocade robe. His face was as white as jade, and his eyes were bright and he blinked as he looked at Yi Jinxiang.

After staring for a long time, he heard a voice and said to himself, "Thank you for your permission, Master."

Yi Jinxiang ignored him and said calmly, "I didn't agree."

Hearing the voice, he was greatly disappointed and slumped to the ground, drawing out, "Why—Master, you always do this!"

Yi Jinxiang looked somewhat displeased and casually shooed the little rabbit off the chair.

"You think you can leave after only two years?" she said irritably. "Don't even think about going anywhere until you reach the Nascent Soul stage."

Hearing the voices, she knew that Yi Jinxiang was stubborn but soft-hearted. Still, she got up and grabbed the chair back with both hands.

"Good master..."

"No."

"Oh, Master, I'll only leave the city once, and then I promise to stay by your side for the next ten years. I'll study and cultivate diligently every day, and I'll do whatever you say, Master. How about that?"

After saying that, he pouted, his eyes bright and round, looking pitifully at Yi Jinxiang.

Yi Jinxiang couldn't stand him like this. She sat up and deliberately turned her back to him so she wouldn't see or hear him.

After bringing this little creature back from Fangze Mountain, Yi Jinxiang severed ties with the Heavenly Court and hid the entire Cangzhou City within a barrier.

She is not a martial god and has no ability to oppose the Heavenly Court. She can only use this method to temporarily protect Wenren Sheng and the Heavenly Spiritual Root.

But as the voices grew louder and louder, it gradually became unwilling to be a caged bird and always thought about sneaking out. It was caught and brought back several times a year.

Now they don't even bother hiding anymore. They wait in front of their altar every day to pray for the whole day. When they get tired, they go back to sleep, and when they wake up, they come back to pray again.

When asked what he was going out to do, he hesitated and refused to answer.

“Tell me the truth,” Yi Jinxiang sighed, shaking her fan, “do you want to go back to Fangze Mountain to find Cang Yu?”

The noisy Wenrensheng, who had been making a fuss just moments before, immediately fell silent.

“No,” he said, his tone becoming less enthusiastic. “I don’t want to go back, and I don’t want to see him.”

Yi Jinxiang turned around and glanced at him twice: "Then what are you in such a hurry to leave the city for?"

"..."

After a moment of silence upon hearing the voice, she suddenly stood up and said, "Fine, if I'm not going out, I'm going to the city to play."

After saying that, he deliberately left behind a cold "Goodbye, Master" and left Huagong without looking back.

Yi Jinxiang watched him leave.

After everyone had run away, she rubbed her temples and lay back on the chaise lounge, looking quite troubled.

"It doesn't seem like he's just being stubborn."

The little rabbit that she had just chased away jumped back up from her tail and started nibbling at her hair.

Yi Jinxiang absentmindedly scratched the rabbit's fur.

"But does this mean... resentment towards him, or no resentment?"

*

Not far from the palace was the market. After hearing voices and reversing his transformation, he slipped into a narrow alley.

The alley is deep, and at the end there is a teahouse with a small storefront and a wooden plaque that reads "Fufeng Pavilion".

Hearing the voice, it wagged its tail, transformed back into human form, and pushed open the door to go inside.

He discovered this wonderful place in his second year in Cangzhou. The owner was a reclusive figure who never showed his face, yet he managed the teahouse very well, and few people dared to cause trouble.

Most importantly, there's a type of tea here called "Longtuan Xue," which He Mu used to always bring him to drink.

Hearing the voice, he secretly blamed himself for not trying more different teas when he was a child, which made him so picky about tea now, insisting on drinking only this one.

He went upstairs to the second floor, chose a private room, and sat down, propping his face up with his hand as he looked at the Dragon Ball Snow tea that was swaying slightly in his hand.

Not long after, hurried footsteps were heard outside the private room. Then, a scarred man in a gray cloth shirt mysteriously pushed open a crack in the door and peeked inside.

Hearing a voice, their eyes met, and the two remained silent. The man then tiptoed into the house and closed the door.

"Brother Xu," someone called out.

This scarred man was a江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the underworld or a group of people) gossips, nicknamed "Xu Duoren." People in the teahouse mostly called him Old Xu, but upon hearing his voice, they would still respectfully call him "Brother."

Xu Ren looked like he was in a hurry. As soon as he sat down, he snatched the teacup from Wen Rensheng's hand and gulped it down.

"ha--"

"It's burning me!"

Hearing someone's voice, she took a new teacup, poured herself some more tea, and said, "Any news about what I asked you about, brother?"

Many people burned their tongues red, and while fanning their mouths, they picked up several pieces of pastry from the table and stuffed them into their mouths.

“Sanci? What did Sanci ask me?” he said, his tongue thick.

Hearing the voice, he was speechless, but still patiently said, "I heard that there is a kind of incense sold outside Cangzhou City that can temporarily separate the soul and take it to the underworld. It is called 'Rebirth Incense'?"

It took Xu Ren quite a while to swallow what was in his mouth before he mumbled a reply:

"This incense for rebirth... um, I kind of... I can't remember what it was...?"

Hearing the voice, she anxiously grabbed him: "Brother, don't joke with me. You said you would help me find out information last time, and I gave you a lot of money, don't you remember?"

Many people glanced at him guiltily.

"...Is there?"

Upon hearing the voice and seeing his attempt to swindle money, he immediately frowned, slammed his hand on the table, and stood up.

"Do you think I'm easy to fool?" Wen Rensheng said angrily. "Every time I come to you to ask for information, you do this!"

Seeing that he was angry, many people quickly waved their hands and said, "Hey, hey, don't be angry, don't be angry, you, you, you, sit down first!"

Hearing the voice, he realized that he was finally willing to speak, and he gave a soft hum before slowly sitting back down with his arms crossed.

He said impatiently, "Speak quickly, I'm in a hurry."

Xu Ren quickly clasped his hands in a gesture of respect to him and explained, "Little brother, it's not that I don't favor you, but too many demons have died in the last two years, and this kind of incense for rebirth is a rare item that everyone wants. I... really don't have any left..."

"A lot of monsters died?"

Hearing the voice, he raised an eyebrow, sat up straight, and leaned forward.

"I see that Cangzhou City is fine, and nothing major has happened."

Xu Ren shook his head and said mysteriously, "Cangzhou City is Cangzhou City. It is protected by the God of Literature. Humans cannot find this place, but it is a different story outside."

"How are they different?"

Xu Duoren said, "I heard that a bunch of people calling themselves 'Night Wanderers' have appeared in the martial arts world. They specialize in killing monsters in the immortal sects. They have also said that if any of the immortal sects ever recruit monsters into their ranks, they will wipe them out one by one."

"What?" someone exclaimed angrily. "That's outrageous!"

Xu Ren clicked his tongue and said, "Maybe. I heard that all the dead were great demons who were about to ascend. Anyway, things haven't been going well these past two years."

"It was Lord Wenquxing who had the foresight to lead Cangzhou City into seclusion in advance, so we could have survived until now, right?" Xu Duoren kindly instructed Wenrensheng, "You should stop thinking about things outside the city. Just focus on your cultivation and wait until you ascend to immortality before going out."

Hearing the voices, he didn't comment, but instead twisted his fingers in thought.

Two years ago, when I left Fangze Mountain, my master also said that the Heavenly Court was trying to capture him because of his Heavenly Spiritual Root.

It seems that even after living in seclusion for the past two years, they haven't given up and may not stop in the future.

I don't know who the mountain god is...

The thought of He Mu made Wen Rensheng's thoughts go tangled. He rubbed his hair in frustration and continued to ask, "Brother, is it really true that we can't find this kind of incense for rebirth in Cangzhou City?"

Xu Ren hissed and leaned back in his chair.

"Yes... there are some."

Hearing a voice, his eyes lit up: "Where?"

Xu Ren hesitated for a moment, then took out a folded piece of paper from his lapel and pushed it across the table.

"This is the contact person for the black market in the city recently."

He pointed at the piece of paper and lowered his voice.

"Go to the place written here around midnight and look for him. He might still have some supplies on him."

Hearing a voice say "Oh," he took the piece of paper as if it were a precious treasure and nodded solemnly: "Okay, I'll sneak out tonight and try."

Having said that, he lost all interest in drinking tea and eagerly got up to leave.

He had just taken a step when he heard voices and stopped, reaching for the money pouch at his waist.

Although I was paid in advance last time...

He hesitated for a moment, then took out two copper coins from his money bag and gave the rest to Xu Duoren.

“Here,” a voice said, “thank you.”

Many people stared wide-eyed at the money bag.

He swallowed hard, saying, "How could I possibly accept this?" as he pulled the money pouch containing the voice into his arms.

"Oh, you're welcome, you're welcome, it's my pleasure."

He thought to himself that the rumors about Cangzhou City were indeed true; the city lord's little apprentice was a gullible and kind-hearted spendthrift.

They had only known each other for a short time, yet Xu Duoren had already received several dozen taels of silver as payment from Wenrensheng, which made him feel somewhat ashamed.

But he seemed completely unconcerned by the voices, and quickly pushed open the window and stepped onto the windowsill.

A gentle breeze and the noise of carriages and horses simultaneously filled the room, ruffling the bangs on his forehead.

Hearing voices, it lightly leaped outside, landing on a rooftop not far away, and then, like a nimble cat, slipped out through the alley it had come from.

"At eighteen, his lightness skill is already so good," Xu Duoren said with a sigh, looking at Wen Rensheng's back. "Could he really ascend to godhood in the future?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a figure silently approached from the side.

Many people looked up and saw that the newcomer was a sword cultivator wearing a mask and a black bamboo hat. He was dressed in a black outfit and was tall and slender, probably half a head taller than himself.

He also carried two long swords on his back, which were wrapped tightly in white cloth strips.

Many people recognized him and quickly bowed to him with a smile: "Sir, I have taken care of everything you asked me to do."

The masked man said calmly, "Thank you."

Many people understood the rules of the underworld, so they honestly didn't ask any more questions. After nodding to the masked man, they picked up their money bags and got up to leave.

Just as he brushed past the person, a hand wearing a blue thumb ring suddenly pressed down on his shoulder.

"Wait a minute."

Many people felt a chill run down their spines and turned around nervously.

"W-What's wrong?"

The masked man paused, glanced down at Xu Ren, and finally took the money bag from his hand, then tossed him a new one.

"You take my money, and I get his money back."

"……ah?"

Many people held their new money bags and blinked blankly twice.

Is there a difference?

As soon as he finished speaking, a cool breeze swept through, and the room was already silent.

*

Hearing voices, he took the remaining two copper coins and bought a steamed bun. He sat on the roof to eat it, and then casually took out the small piece of paper he had just received, put it between his fingers and unfolded it to look at it.

He ate while mumbling something indistinctly.

"At the second watch of the night...the bell tower, Murong He."

Similar to what many people said, it was about going to the clock tower in the city around midnight to wait for a matchmaker named "Murong He" to lead him to the black market.

The bell tower wasn't hard to find, but the problem was Master's curfew. In the past two years, Yi Jinxiang had been very strict with Wen Rensheng. Once it was past 7 PM, he could only stay in the Hua Palace to study and couldn't go out anymore.

I need to think of something tonight.

As I pondered this, I noticed someone's gaze inadvertently drifting down to glance at the last three words on the piece of paper.

Murong He?

He snorted and tucked the piece of paper back into his lapel.

Why call it this of all things?

"It sounds unreliable, we need to be careful."

-----------------------

Author's Note: The mountain god is very possessive of even the puppy's allowance.

In short, put on a vest first, even though it will fall off soon.