Chapter 9: I don't want to be separated from you all as we descend the mountain!

What are you doing?

Pei Yuan, who was rushing back to Wangxian Mountain, happened to run into the person he was looking for. He narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the two people sitting together whispering to each other.

Cui Mingcan called out to him and explained, "I'm bandaging her up."

"Bandaged?" Pei Yuan stared at Bai Yuheng, his eyes full of scrutiny. "You're injured?"

"Yes, I hurt my hand, it's just a minor injury, Master, don't worry about it." Bai Yuheng lowered her eyelashes as she watched Cui Mingcan bandage her hand.

"..." Pei Yuan followed her gaze and, recalling the few drops of blood on the attic, felt a surge of emotion welling up inside him. "How did you get hurt?"

The burning gaze felt like it was going to pierce a hole through her hand.

Bai Yuheng took a deep breath, pondering.

Pei Yuan's cold gaze lingered on her face, scrutinizing her intently.

"Oh dear! It's all my fault!" Cui Mingcan slapped her thigh guiltily and explained to him, "We were just practicing the moves we learned in swordsmanship class, and my sword accidentally cut her..."

"A scratch?" Pei Yuan looked at her palm, his tone ambiguous. "You caught it with your hand?"

"Besides," he looked up at the sky, "it's already the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), why are you up so early to practice swordsmanship?"

Bai Yuheng knew he didn't believe her, so she nodded and said casually, "Yes, I don't know what illness I had at that time. When I saw the sword coming, I didn't dodge. I just instinctively reached out and grabbed it..." She seemed very annoyed that she had done something stupid, so she hit her head twice and laughed foolishly, "I must have been sleeping poorly these past two nights. I kept dreaming that a snake was tightly wrapped around me."

Cui Mingcan quickly explained to her, "Yes, yes, Yu Heng told me that this is why we got up to practice swordsmanship... Besides, the early bird catches the worm, and striving to be at the forefront is the only way to avoid embarrassing you!"

Cui Mingcan gave a fawning smile, trying to show how studious he was.

"..." Pei Yuan ignored Cui Mingcan, but subconsciously looked at her wrist. Her sleeve had been pulled back a little, revealing the gold. He took a deep breath, and the jealousy gripped his heart again. Although her words were unintentional, she knew how to make him feel bad. Pei Yuan nodded coldly, "Okay, I understand. Take good care of yourself. Don't attend class today. I have other things to do."

"Yes, disciple understands." Bai Yuheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

The two of them watched Pei Yuan's departing figure and breathed a sigh of relief.

Cui Mingcan grinned and said to her, "Luckily you came up with a good idea, otherwise we would have been in trouble!"

Bai Yuheng glanced at him and asked, "Why don't you stay out all night either?"

"Hey, it's because I was so bored. I'm telling you a secret, but you can't betray me!" Cui Mingcan whispered in her ear as she nodded, "I secretly went down the mountain..."

Bai Yuheng was surprised: "Disciples of the sect are not allowed to go down the mountain without permission, otherwise they will be subject to the sect rules."

"Oh! That's why I sneaked off!" Cui Mingcan waved his hand dismissively. "It's so boring up here on the mountain, all I do is attend classes or cultivate. I just came down for a little drink..."

“Drinking alcohol is a major taboo in the sect.” Bai Yuheng looked at the young man in front of her with complicated eyes.

"Anyway, none of the emperors know, and besides, I've hidden it very well!" He chuckled. "Hehe, only heaven, earth, you, and I know."

"By the way, why are you so late too?" Cui Mingcan asked curiously, touching his chin and examining her wound. "You even injured your hand. That's suspicious."

"I'll tell you the truth now," Bai Yuheng said mysteriously in a low voice. Cui Mingcan's eyes lit up as he leaned closer. "Tell me the details?"

“I went to the back mountain, the place my master strictly forbade us to go.”

"Huh? You're pretty daring!"

On the second day after they moved in, Pei Yuan told them where they could and could not go, especially the back mountain.

Cui Mingcan was eager to try, but fearing Pei Yuan, he dared not act rashly.

Why did you go to the back mountain? What's there? What did you see?

Bai Yuheng chuckled: "Of course, it's to verify whether Master actually built a grave on the back mountain, just like in the folk tales..."

Cui Mingcan had naturally heard this legend as well, and he excitedly asked, "Really? Does the tombstone have the words 'Tomb of My Beloved Wife' on it? Did Immortal Master Pei truly love Empress Hengluan and remain a widow for her for a hundred years?"

"..." Even after many days, Bai Yuheng was still speechless when she heard these words. She wondered who had spread the rumors. If she caught them, she would definitely ask them for the reason!

"Those things... of course not! The relationship between Empress Hengluan and Immortal Master Pei is purely that of master and disciple! The Empress is upright, beautiful, and kind-hearted, the most powerful being in the primordial world, unparalleled in heaven and earth. How could she possibly do something so rebellious and immoral?!"

Cui Mingcan moved further away, covering his ears, wondering why she was getting more and more agitated: "You're very strange..."

Bai Yuheng blushed, her heart skipped a beat: "How strange is it?"

"You wouldn't be..." Cui Mingcan stroked his chin, pondered for a long time, and then looked her up and down. "You wouldn't be in love with Emperor Hengluan, would you?"

"..." Bai Yuheng was speechless. It wasn't impossible for her to say that. "Of course! Empress Hengluan is such a good person! Her magic is the best in the world! She is both literate and martial, talented and beautiful. Who in this world wouldn't love her!?"

"Alright, alright, I know, it's probably just something those gossipy people made up." Cui Mingcan sighed helplessly, rubbing his forehead.

Bai Yuheng gave a soft hum and nodded in agreement.

"Sigh, because I was looking at this, I didn't see the road clearly and almost fell off the cliff. Luckily, I grabbed a rock. But the rock was too sharp, and that's how I got cut."

Cui Mingcan understood; no wonder her wounds weren't as smooth as those from swords and knives.

"It's still a while before dawn, I'll go back and rest first." He yawned, and made her promise not to tell anyone about what happened tonight. The two pinky swear and made a pact.

"Keep each other's secrets until the very last moment!"

"...It's a deal."

A promise is made when the thumbprint is on the hand.

Bai Yuheng didn't know if she had managed to evade Pei Yuan's wrath. She looked down at her bandaged hand and thought to herself, time is of the essence. She had rushed back before him and put on this show with Cui Mingcan, hoping to keep it from him.

But he's always been so intelligent, how could he possibly keep it a secret?

Can she keep it from him?

Pei Yuan thought to himself that he had glanced at her wound and it didn't look like it was cut by a sharp weapon, but rather like it was cut by the edge of something rather heavy.

The hands hidden in the sleeves were trembling involuntarily.

The spirit awakens, golden light shines before the attic, bloodstains on the ground, and a perfectly timed wound...

Pei Yuan didn't want to think about it too much, but he was also afraid that he would overthink it.

Is it really her? Could it be her? If she comes back, why doesn't she acknowledge him?

Is there something you're having trouble saying?

Pei Yuan clutched his chest, trying to suppress the dull pain in his heart caused by its frantic beating.

No.

She is not herself; how could she possibly be her?

Appearance, age, cultivation level... none of these are her!

Pei Yuan seemed to have convinced himself, standing on the edge of the cliff, facing the gusts of cliff wind that pierced his chest and made a rustling sound.

The next day.

The three elders had already made all the arrangements, and everything in the sect was proceeding in an orderly manner. Everyone heard the loud noise from last night, but no one suspected anything.

Everything is proceeding according to plan.

It wasn't until the three elders returned from searching for information about the Four Directions Mirror that they learned many demons had broken through the barrier and were harming the human world.

Meanwhile, the Tianyan Sect secretly reported the news to the other three major sects the day after the Four Directions Mirror was lost.

The four major sects—Tianyan Sect, Hehuan Sect, Wudu Sect, and Yunzhong Sect—gathered as quickly as possible to discuss countermeasures.

At this moment, those who were unaware of the situation noticed that a solemn atmosphere permeated the entire sect.

"The day after tomorrow is the day the four major sects select candidates to go down the mountain for training. Are you going?" Cui Mingcan asked Bai Yuheng and Cen Ying, who were standing to the side.

"We've only been here a short time, do you think we'll get this opportunity?" Cen Ying wondered.

"I saw on the notice that it says there are no experience requirements, as long as you've passed the competition, you can go. This is a great opportunity to hone your skills!" Cui Mingcan was clearly tempted. "Should we go? Should we go?"

Bai Yuheng glanced at him and laughed, "Do you want to go down the mountain for training, or do you want to go down the mountain for sightseeing?"

"Hehe, aren't they all the same? No difference, no difference!"

Cen Ying ignored him and turned to Bai Yuheng, asking for her opinion: "If Yuheng goes, I'll give it a try."

"Cen Ying has already spoken, are you going or not?" Cui Mingcan urged her.

"Of course I'll go."

Bai Yuheng knew her three old friends very well, and this trial was probably a cover for searching for the Four Directions Mirror.

The three of them agreed and signed up together.

However, there are conditions for registration. If one's cultivation level is insufficient, or if one's academic requirements are not met, one cannot be selected for the competition.

The selection results came out quickly, and all three of them were selected.

“I heard you can team up. I saw that they were all in groups of five or six. Why don’t we find a few more?” Cui Mingcan suggested excitedly.

Cen Ying: "But we've all been assigned different tasks, so the three of us might not even be together."

Cui Mingcan scratched his head and sighed, "That's true. I really hope we can be at the same mission point."

After hearing this, Bai Yuheng raised an eyebrow and comforted them, "Don't worry, the chances of us being together are quite high. After all, we are both newly recruited disciples. When assigning tasks, the higher-ups will rank the new disciples and then assign tasks of reasonable difficulty based on our overall abilities. I just calculated that since the three of us were selected to enter Chongguang Hall together, the chances of us being together are naturally even greater."

"Oh, that's good, that's good." Cui Mingcan felt much more at ease.

Before long, it was time to distribute the tasks, and all the task points were posted on the notice board.

Cen Ying pulled Bai Yuheng along, looking at each of the columns.

"Furong Town! Look, look! We're both in the same place!"

Cen Ying jumped up excitedly and grabbed her arm.

Cui Mingcan didn't see his own name, and a chill ran through him.

"No way, no way, I don't want to be separated from you guys!"

"Hehe, don't be sad. If it doesn't work this time, there's always next time!" Cen Ying couldn't help but feel a little smug.

Cui Mingcan snorted: "Stop gloating. Don't worry, even if we're not at the same mission location, I'll still haunt you like a ghost!"

Cen Ying shuddered and said with disdain, "Who wants to be entangled with you! If you turn into a ghost, I'll definitely ask a sorcerer to exorcise you!"

"What a vicious woman!" Cui Mingcan wailed. "Yu Heng, you must stand up for me!"

Bai Yuheng watched the two playfully bickering with a smile, without saying a word.

On the day of departure, Bai Yuheng got up early. On her way down the mountain, she happened to pass by her bedroom and glanced at it from afar. The faint candlelight flickered inside the bedroom.

"..."

I didn't expect this brat to be so clingy to her...

She didn't have much time to think about him; she glanced at him quickly and then met up with Cen Ying.

"Wait for me! Wait for me!"

"Hey ladies, wait a minute!"

Cui Mingcan waved and chased after him.

"Why did you follow me too?" Cen Ying crossed her arms and stopped to wait for him.

Cui Mingcan chuckled: "We agreed to go together, so of course I'll come along!"

"How did you do that?"

"You wouldn't have bribed him..." Cen Ying said in surprise, leaning closer.

"Hehe, I have a brilliant plan!"

Cui Mingcan was very tight-lipped and wouldn't say anything no matter how much Cen Ying and Bai Yuheng pressed him for answers.

The first rays of sunlight broke through the clouds and illuminated the earth.

The three of them, laughing and joking, descended the mountain towards the rising sun and embarked on their journey to Furong Town.

A note from the author:

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Recommended pre-orders: "The Demon Lord Actually Wants to Conquer Me" (righteous sweetheart x villainous love-struck villain, a domineering hero falls for love); "Zhao Ling Ye Xue" (powerful demon lord x righteous junior official of the Dali Temple, evil woman x delicate flower).

"Refusing to Be a High-Ranking Woman": True Rebellion, Pretending to Be Submissive, x Feudal Old-Fashioned

Xu Yingzhou traveled through more than ten years, adhering to a low profile and being careful in his conduct, for fear of revealing his extraordinary nature.

The only transgression she made was choosing a husband who suited her taste.

The family has a clean and upright tradition, and the person is exceptionally good-looking and talented.

His only flaw was his dull nature and numerous rules. Even his actions in bed were very rigid, not allowing him to exceed a certain time limit, even though he had no sense of restraint.

At first, Xu Yingzhou thought: Forget it, there is no such thing as a perfect person or thing in the world. As long as he doesn't take concubines or frequent prostitutes, so what if there are many rules? She has been detained for more than ten years, what is there to be afraid of?

Later, driven to the brink of despair, her eyes red and her anger barely contained, she grabbed the man who had coldly turned away and pressed herself against him…

As expected, he ordered her to stay at home and reflect on her actions, citing her "excessive indulgence and lack of virtue."

Overwhelmed by countless trivial matters, Xu Yingzhou finally snapped and threw a divorce papers in his face:

Screw you, high-society lady! Whoever wants to be one can be one!

I'm not putting up with this anymore!