While Chu Guiyi was still in a daze, the people in front of them also looked over.

"Who are you...?" Several young cultivators in blue robes looked at Chu Guiyi and his companion in surprise.

Chu Guiyi interrupted the blue-robed cultivator, cupped his fists and said, "I am Chu Guiyi, greetings to you seniors."

The leading monk in blue robes waved his hand at him and said, "What senior? What senior?"

"Hmm...who is it then?"

"And who are those two?"

Several cultivators in blue robes winked at Chu Guiyi.

Chu Wenfeng asked, puzzled, "Who? Who and that person?"

The monk in blue clicked his tongue. "It's that guy and that guy! Where are they?"

Chu Guiyi chuckled as she looked at them, naturally knowing who the "who and that" they were referring to were, but she couldn't help but frown slightly and say, "We parted ways not long after leaving Jiyue City. However, they should be heading to Sangqi City."

Upon hearing this, the several cultivators in blue robes frowned. "He doesn't know about his own destiny? And he still wants to go to Sangqi City?"

Chu Guiyi asked in surprise, "How did you seniors know about his fate?"

The monk in blue robes said, "Of course it was calculated."

"I see."

Chu Wenfeng rolled his eyes and said, "That idiot thinks he's not dying fast enough, so he insists on coming here to die."

Chu Guiyi glanced at him and said to the blue-robed cultivator, "Senior, he knows about his fate, but he has a reason to come."

Several cultivators in blue robes lowered their eyes and pondered for a moment. After a long while, they sighed and said, "Indeed, it was fate."

A junior cultivator lowered his head and murmured, "Is something that happened seven thousand years ago going to repeat itself again?"

Chu Guiyi's gaze froze, revealing a hint of disbelief.

——

After leaving Luofang City, Xie Shuci was extremely cautious. Whenever there was any disturbance along the way, he would use the barrier taught by Sikong Ye to protect himself.

Although the barrier consumed too much spiritual energy, it wasn't a big problem because he carried a bronze medicine cauldron with him.

However, the closer he got to Sang Qicheng, the easier it was for others to detect his barrier.

When a pair of cultivators, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, passed by his barrier, the leading cultivator appeared to sense something, frowning as he glanced in Xie Shuci's direction. He seemed to detect a trace of Xie Shuci's presence, perhaps only for a moment, thinking it was his imagination, and looked away after just one glance. But that glance terrified Xie Shuci, his heart instantly leaping into his throat. Only after those people had gone far away did he dare to breathe a sigh of relief.

We've barely reached Moonlit Dock, and we've already almost been discovered. What will happen if we get to the perilous Moonlit Dock?

However, Moonlit Dock is the only way to Sangqi City, and even knowing there are traps there, Xie Shuci has no choice but to jump in.

But how can he pass through Moonlit Dock safely? If he perishes there, he wonders if it would be part of his destiny.

"What do you think we should do?" Xie Shuci said, looking at the cranes grazing not far away.

Before approaching Moonlit Dock, Xie Shuci decided to temporarily stop and rest to prepare for what might happen next.

The crane glanced at him lazily and continued to eat its spiritual herbs.

Xie Shuci chuckled self-deprecatingly; he was so lost that he was talking to a horse.

But he really couldn't figure out how he could pass through Moonlit Dock safely.

Not to mention that his true appearance is now known to the world, even if it weren't, many people from the immortal sects who went to Sangqi City had seen Xie Shuci with their own eyes. If he swaggered in, it would only be a matter of time before his identity was exposed.

Even if he could temporarily protect himself with a barrier, no one knew who was in Moonlit Dock, and his barrier would be discovered sooner or later... If he was accidentally discovered, Xie Shuci had no doubt that with his small frame and meager skills, he would be beaten to his knees and begging for mercy in no time.

However, even if Xie Shuci couldn't find a solution, he absolutely couldn't let it drag on. There were still seven or eight days until the Immortal Sect Selection began, and perhaps the number of people lying in ambush in Yuemanwu and Sangqicheng wasn't that many yet. If it dragged on any longer, it would probably be even more dangerous for Xie Shuci.

Xie Shuci stared blankly at the clear, crisp sky, wondering how many more days he could enjoy such weather.

But inside, he was perfectly calm.

Xie Shuci stood up from the ground, dusted off the dirt on his body, and muttered, "I wonder if the little blind man can successfully enter Sangqi City."

However, his intelligence and cultivation are far superior to Xie Shuci's, so Xie Shuci has no reason to worry about him. Even if the Xiaoyao Sect uses the same old trick of the Demon-Subduing Formation to force him, he should be fine.

The problem is with myself...

Xie Shuci's robes were covered in damp dirt, which he couldn't shake off with his hands. The more he looked at it, the more annoyed he became, muttering under his breath, "So annoying..."

As he cursed, looking at the black mud covering his body, a sudden thought flashed through his mind, "Mud?"

"I've got an idea!" Xie Shuci hopped over to the crane and exclaimed in delight.

"Since they already know what I look like, can't I just disguise myself?"

Xie Shuci's eyes lit up. "There should be beggars in a place like Moonlit Dock, right?"

Don't be fooled by how dirty beggars always are; they earn a lot of money, especially in places with many wealthy families. He had even heard of someone who bought several houses for his son by begging. There should be such people in Moonlit Valley.

The crane gave him a disdainful look, but Xie Shuci didn't take it to heart at all. This was a method he had racked his brains to come up with. Although it was a little embarrassing, it was still a viable solution! After all, no one would have thought that he, a reclusive alchemist, would disguise himself as a beggar to sneak into Sangqi City.

Xie Shuci put the crane into the divine boat and disguised himself. Looking at his dark face in the mirror, if it weren't for the still sparkle in his eyes, Xie Shuci would hardly recognize himself.

"Done! I refuse to believe that anyone would recognize me!"

To test the results of his labor, Xie Shuci, with his messy hair, wearing tattered clothes that had been rolled in the mud, covered in dirt and grime, and even had a thick layer of yellowish stuff on his face—honey he had bought mixed with some mud, making it look exactly like poop. Even though Xie Shuci had applied it himself, he still found it disgusting. He picked up a thick tree branch from the roadside to use as a cane, and hunched over as he walked towards Yuemanwu.

Xie Shuci still retained some of his chuunibyou (adolescent delusions of grandeur) genes and had a bit of a dramatic streak in his bones. His portrayal of a beggar was incredibly convincing. Before he had even fully approached the gate, the few junior cultivators guarding the gate frowned in disgust and took a few steps back.

Who is it?

Xie Shuci had a sallow complexion. He was already quite thin, and when he hunched over, his bones protruded, making him look like he had been starving for a long time.

Xie Shuci chuckled and said, "Grandpa, I want to go in and beg for some food."

"Do you know where you are? Get out!"

"I...I haven't eaten for five days, sir, sir...please let me in, I'm starving to death..." Xie Shuci glanced at him weakly, her eyes wet, on the verge of tears.

The beggar was filthy, but his eyes were big and bright, making him look inexplicably pitiful. A cultivator stepped forward and said, "This is not a place for you; it's too dangerous."

"But I... I'm so hungry... I have relatives inside, relatives who have been begging all this way to seek refuge with them, but who would have thought... who would have thought... there's nowhere else around..."

"Alright, alright, stop crying. I warned you, this isn't a place for you. If anything goes wrong, the consequences will be..."

Xie Shuci suddenly threw down the tree branch and prostrated himself on the ground, "Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!"

"Alas!"

The cultivator looked at Xie Shuci's face with disgust as something smeared on the ground, and quickly took a few steps back, waving his hand and saying, "Go, go, go quickly!"

"Thank you, sir!"

Xie Shuci slowly got up from the ground, picked up a branch, hunched over, and slowly walked past them into the house. But when he passed the door with his own portrait on it, a victorious smile appeared on his lips.

At that moment, Xie Shuci clearly felt something flying towards him from not far behind. He gritted his teeth and forced himself not to dodge. He was just an ordinary beggar. If he dodged the thing behind him, wouldn't he be completely exposed?

Something behind him whipped up a gust of wind and pierced his back. Xie Shuci continued walking forward as if he hadn't noticed. At this critical moment, the cultivator guarding him drew his sword and flew behind Xie Shuci. With a "clang," the longsword and the dart collided, making a piercing metallic sound.

Xie Shuci turned around with feigned surprise, his legs went weak and he collapsed to the ground. Looking back through his messy hair, he saw a group of people slowly walking towards him in the distance. They were wearing crimson disciple robes, each with their heads held high and chests puffed out, looking down on everyone. Xie Shuci cursed inwardly, "What kind of damn luck is this!"

What a coincidence! He's a disciple of the Yin family!

There were also a few familiar faces among them; they were the Yin family disciples whom Xie Shuci had seen at Mengjia Immortal Mountain in Jiyue City.

"Why bother taking lives?" The cultivators of Moonlit Valley looked coldly at the disciples of the Yin family.

Xie Shuci quickly buried his head and quietly crawled forward a few inches, intending to slip away while they weren't looking.

He guessed that he would encounter people he had met before when he entered Moonlit Dock, but he did not expect to meet familiar faces before he even entered, and that he had had an unpleasant encounter with them before.

The Yin family disciple sneered and said, "Yue Manwu is truly thinking of the common people. Even a beggar like this can enter the most famous academy in the cultivation world? No wonder, no wonder you even accept disciples like this. No wonder it is the greatest and most prestigious academy in the cultivation world."

The speaker was someone Xie Shuci had never met before, but the arrogance and disdain in his eyes were exactly the same as those of the Yin family disciples he had seen in Jiyue City.

Xie Shuci scoffed inwardly. He was just enjoying the status that Yin Mingyuan had gained from his wrongful death, and he was acting so arrogantly?

"The disciples of the Yin family are indeed exactly as rumored. However, I heard that you offended Elder Meng. Even the alchemy families that were implicated in Yin Mingyuan have stopped supplying you with top-grade pills. Instead of kowtowing to Elder Meng to admit your sins, you still have the energy to participate in the Immortal Sect Selection? It's laughable."

"That's right. Elder Baimen gave you compensation because of Yin Mingyuan's wrongful death, and what did you do? Forgot who you are? You still dare to act wildly in front of Elder Meng? You're asking for death!"

"To be honest, a thousand disciples of the Yin family wouldn't be worth one Yin Mingyuan!"

Unexpectedly, the cultivators of Moonlit Valley were so eloquent. With just a few words, they turned the arrogant Yin family disciples cold and extinguished their arrogance. It seems that the matter between Elder Meng and the Little Immortal Sect has had a significant impact on the Yin family.

"What's wrong with beggars?"

"Some are not beggars, but they are worse than beggars."

"Even a beggar knows to say thank you when he receives alms, but what about some of you? Yin Mingyuan has been dead for so many years, how many of you have ever visited his grave? In that sense, you don't even deserve to be beggars!"

"You!" The Yin family disciple was so angry that his eyes turned red, but he couldn't say anything to refute it.

Xie Shuci looked back at the disciples of Yue Manwu with some doubt. They seemed to have a lot of opinions about the Yin family. Did they know Yin Mingyuan?

However, it's not impossible. After all, this is the best academy in the cultivation world, and Yin Mingyuan may have studied here back then.

Ignoring the heated argument behind him, Xie Shuci quickly slipped inside while the Yin family members weren't paying attention to him.

Xie Shuci's outfit was probably too shabby, attracting a lot of disdain as he walked along the roadside. Everyone avoided him. Xie Shuci was happy to be carefree, since no one would recognize him this way. Maybe he could use this outfit to sneak into Sangqi City.

Moonlit Valley was actually no different from any other town, except that the people coming and going on the streets were all dressed in ethereal disciple robes, each one of them incredibly handsome. Even the roadside vendors were often dressed in Moonlit Valley Academy uniforms, standing by the roadside hawking their wares. The scene was both pleasing to the eye and utterly comical.

Xie Shuci leaned on a tree branch, quietly observing the crowds coming and going on the street. They were mostly wearing the disciples' robes of their respective sects. Fortunately, he didn't encounter any familiar sects again, and Xie Shuci secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hello!"

Xie Shuci was just thinking about where to find a place to stay when a voice suddenly sounded behind him.

Xie Shuci recognized the voice, but he pretended not to hear it and quickened his pace.

Just then, a figure leaped over his head and landed steadily in front of Xie Shuci.

"I'm calling you! Why are you running away!" A fair-skinned and handsome young man blocked Xie Shuci's path.

Xie Shuci glanced ahead through his messy, disheveled hair, and that one glance nearly made him vomit blood.

The boy in front of them was none other than Li Song, the young master of the Li family who had been drugged by the "original owner" and almost had... well, you know.

Xie Shuci quickly lowered his head, cursing himself for his terrible luck. He hadn't even walked two hundred steps into Moonlit Dock when he ran into an acquaintance.

He suddenly remembered that the Li family wanted the dog demon's inner core because they planned to use it to participate in this year's Immortal Sect Selection.

"Young Master, is there something you need?" Xie Shuci asked in a low voice, his head lowered.

Li Song pursed his lips and slowly approached Xie Shuci, who nervously stepped back a few paces.

"Here." Li Song handed Xie Shuci a piece of yellowed paper, inside which were several steaming hot buns.

Xie Shuci's gaze froze, wondering what he was up to with all this.

Seeing that he hadn't taken it yet, the Li family disciples nearby started urging him again. Li Song clicked his tongue impatiently, shoved the big bun into his arms, and said, "Haven't you been hungry for days? Eat it while it's hot."

Xie Shuci stared blankly at the steamed bun in his arms. "Thank you."

Xie Shuci's feelings were a bit complicated, and for a moment he forgot to cover his voice.

Li Song paused upon hearing his voice, then suddenly leaned down to look at his face. Xie Shuci's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly took a step back while clutching the steamed bun. Li Song's gaze darkened slightly upon seeing this, "Who are you..."

But before he could finish speaking, an impatient Li family disciple walked up to him and asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

Li Song gave Xie Shuci a deep look and said to his disciple, "It's alright, let's go."

"oh."

Li Song didn't say anything more, and turned to leave with his disciple.

"Young Master, is the Xie Shuci that the Hundred Sects are trying to capture the same Xie Shuci who insulted you before? I wonder if we can see him in Sangqi City. Hehe, if we can capture him along the way, our Li family can directly enter the Floating Pagoda Mirror."

Li Song said, "It shouldn't be the same person."

"pity."

Xie Shuci breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the two walk away.

Unexpectedly, this kid is quite compassionate. He must have overheard what Xie Shuci was saying to the academy disciples at the door. Xie Shuci was indeed a little hungry. He wiped his hands, grabbed a big meat bun, stuffed it into his mouth, and took a bite.

It smells good! It smells so good!

Xie Shuci walked forward while eating, keeping his head very low, worried about running into some acquaintances. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a figure in a corner. Curious, Xie Shuci looked over and found a little beggar squatting in the corner, staring longingly at Xie Shuci—or rather, at the meat bun in Xie Shuci's hand.

The little beggar was quite young and looked much cleaner than Xie Shuci. However, she was huddled in a small corner, and no one noticed her.

Seeing her pitiful, drooling expression, Xie Shuci felt a little sorry for her. He slowly walked up to her and gave her the remaining buns wrapped in the butter paper.

The little beggar looked up in confusion.

Xie Shuci bent down, afraid that her appearance would frighten him, and gave him a kind smile, "Take it and eat it."

The little beggar was probably really hungry. He looked timidly at Xie Shuci, slowly reached out his hand, took the yellow paper, and then grabbed a bun and began to wolf it down.

Xie Shuci rubbed her head and said, "Eat slowly."

The little guy choked a bit, blushed, and stammered, "...Thank you."

"Xiao Bao, did you see that? You should learn to share too." A woman's voice came from the roadside.

Xie Shuci's body stiffened: "..."

"mother……"

What did you call me?

"elder sister……"

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

"Xiao Bao will share."

"Little Bao, would you like to share your chicken leg with Mom... oh no, I mean, your older sister?"

Xie Shuci knew who was behind him without even turning around.

Judging from their voices and conversation, Xie Shuci recognized the people behind him as Xiao Bao's mother and Xiao Bao, whom he had met in Jiyue City. Du Pingsheng was still in seclusion at her house writing the second part of the Strange Tales. They had actually come to Moonlit Dock.

no……

Xie Shuci was speechless, thinking to himself that this was too much of a coincidence. He turned around and found himself facing someone he had met before. He wondered if Xie Shuci's luck was too good or too bad!

Xie Shuci exchanged a few words with the little beggar, but didn't dare turn around, afraid of being recognized.

After Xiao Bao and his mother left, Xie Shuci said goodbye to the little beggar and left alone.

"Is your rouge made of gold? It's so expensive, why don't you just rob it?"

"Young lady, what are you saying? This is my own unique creation; there's only one of its kind in the entire cultivation world..."

Xie Shuci walked past a group of female disciples in red with a blank expression.

"Don't try to fool me. What kind of cosmetics haven't we seen in the Joyful Union Sect? You'd better be careful, or I'll kidnap you and use you as a furnace cauldron!"

"I swear to God!"

"Hey, you're Taoist priests from the Xu family, right? Do you have any exorcism talismans?"

"No."

Do you have mosquito repellent?

"roll."

"Brother Deng, Brother Deng! I heard that you have personally seen Xie Shuci and Xiao Xun. Are they really in that kind of relationship?"

“Absolutely true! I not only saw them, but I also fought alongside them in the Dragon Fang Secret Realm!”

Wow, you're so lucky!

Xie Shuci glanced over there and saw the Hehuan Sect, the Xu family of Huaizhou, and Deng Changqing, a disciple of the Xiaoyao Sect.

Seeing these familiar faces one after another, Xie Shuci was already numb; as long as they didn't recognize him, that was fine.

Even so, Xie Shuci really didn't expect that in less than an hour after entering Moonful Dock, he would have met almost everyone he had met in the past few months. If it weren't for the fact that this place was the only way to Sangqi City, Xie Shuci would have thought he had seen a ghost!

Xie Shuci's attire was so skillful that even as they passed right under their noses, they didn't give him a second glance.

"You filthy beggar! Stop right there! Don't run away!"

A roar came from the long street, and Xie Shuci subconsciously turned his head.

The little beggar, with a meat bun in his mouth, was being chased in a panic. In the blink of an eye, he ran up to Xie Shuci.

"Help! Help me!"

The little beggar saw Xie Shuci as if he had seen a savior, grabbed Xie Shuci's leg, and hid behind him.

Xie Shuci was about to ask her what was wrong when the person chasing her was already in front of her.

"Oh! So you're all in cahoots! You stole my meat buns..."

“It wasn’t stolen!” the little beggar retorted.

The commotion quickly attracted the attention of pedestrians on both sides of the street. Xie Shuci was inwardly groaning, but under the curious stares of the crowd, he forced himself to say, "This, indeed, was not stolen."

The steamed bun vendor said, "If they weren't stolen, were they bought?! Can you even afford them?"

"How could this be?" Several sisters from the Hehuan Sect frowned and stepped forward.

The steamed bun vendor accused them, saying, "They stole my steamed buns!"

Seeing that more and more people were gathering around them, the little beggar nervously peeked out from behind Xie Shuci and weakly retorted, "We didn't steal anything."

Xie Shuci: "..."

What do you mean, "we"? Who's talking to you or "us"?

Xie Shuci was speechless. He never expected to encounter such a thing as soon as he entered the city, which attracted everyone's attention.

Seeing that more and more people were gathering around him, and many of them were staring at Xie Shuci, Xie Shuci gritted his teeth and stomped his foot, thinking to himself, "Damn it, I'm going all out! I'll play the role to the end." So he hugged the little beggar to his arms and knelt down with a "thump."

"My daughter, my daughter has always been frail and sickly. I've spent all my savings on her treatment, and now I have no choice but to beg on the streets to survive. She hasn't eaten for days. We really didn't steal these buns; a kind young man gave them to her. Even if we're poor and can't afford a single meal, we would never steal! Please, sir, have mercy on us! Waaah..."

Xie Shuci held the little beggar and cried his heart out. The little beggar looked bewildered and leaned against him, the meat bun rolling out of his mouth.

Xie Shuci grabbed a meat bun and threw it at the bun vendor's feet. "Here you go! We don't want it anymore. We don't want anyone's charity anymore. We'd rather starve to death than accept it. Please give us a way to survive!"

The steamed bun vendor: "..."

The steamed bun vendor looked embarrassed, especially when he noticed that passersby were giving him strange looks, as if he was driving the beggar father and daughter to their doom.

“I just saw it; a young master did indeed bring them meat buns.”

"How can you beat and scold them without even knowing the facts?"

"To pay for my daughter's medical treatment... sigh!"

"Even if someone stole a steamed bun, it doesn't warrant driving them to the brink of despair, does it?"

"No, I..." the steamed bun vendor said awkwardly, "I didn't mean anything by it, it's just..."

At the same time, a person walked up behind Xie Shuci. The person glanced down at Xie Shuci and sighed, "Get up first, I'll take you to get something to eat."

Xie Shuci looked over through teary eyes, "Xie..."

The two locked eyes.

Xie Shuci: "..."

As expected, what was bound to happen eventually did.

Chu Guiyi: "..."