Pei Tianming took two steps back, looking at Zhong Changyuan incredulously, as if he thought he was hallucinating.

Is this still the same humble, restrained, and polite person he used to be?

If it weren't for Zhong Changyuan's imposing aura, Pei Tianming would have thought that Zhong Changyuan had been possessed.

"Did you consider Pei Zhi when you did this? People only talk about the weak and fear the strong."

Pei Tianming tried to use Pei Zhi to morally blackmail Zhong Changyuan and make him restrain himself.

"I will never separate from Pei Zhi in the future."

Pei Zhi stood behind Zhong Changyuan, no longer even having the right to speak.

"Therefore, no one will dare to gossip about her in front of her. As for what people say behind her back, what does it have to do with us?"

Pei Tianming finally understood that Zhong Changyuan was planning to throw caution to the wind and do nothing.

If they were to fall out, where would their Tianyuan Sect put their face?

"Pei Zhi, would you like to say something?"

Pei Zhi thought for a moment, "Master, we won't be going out often in the future, so there's no need for us to become the subject of other people's gossip, is there?"

Zhong Changyuan was clearly unwilling, still holding Pei Zhi's hand tightly, unwilling to let go.

"You only went with Si because of me...?"

Zhong Changyuan said coldly, "If you dare to mention his name, I will go to the demon realm and kill him right now."

Pei Zhi quickly shut her mouth. "What I mean is, even if I can't hear it, I don't want to be scolded."

Zhong Changyuan frowned, clearly deep in thought.

Pei Zhi feigned weakness: "Master, I've already compromised so much for you, can't you even grant me this small request?"

Zhong Changyuan had no choice but to let go.

Pei Zhi then quickly waved to Gao Shijie, "Come with me."

Gao Shijie pointed to himself, then cautiously observed Zhong Changyuan's expression.

“Master, we are not familiar with the area down the mountain, but Gao Shijie is. It will be easier to find the way with him.”

Zhong Changyuan could only nod, and Gao Shijie quickly stepped forward.

Pei Zhi has lost his cultivation, so the group descended the mountain on foot.

As they walked up to the main hall, the disciples bowed in greeting.

Some disciples who had never seen Zhong Changyuan before were dragged by their own disciples to bow, only to later learn that this was the famous sword immortal of their Tianyuan Sect.

After the others left, the disciples were all amazed.

The sword immortal truly lived up to his name; his ethereal, otherworldly aura made them feel weak in the knees just looking at him.

"Who is that fairy next to her?"

The disciple in green explained, "The Sword Immortal's disciple is our Sect Leader Pei's daughter."

The disciple asked, "Is that the one who is engaged to the Demon Lord of the Demon Realm?"

"Shh." The disciple in blue quickly silenced him. "Haven't you heard that the Sword Immortal defeated the Demon Lord of the Demon Realm and made him flee in disarray? The matter of the engagement must not be mentioned again."

The disciple asked naively, "Why can't we mention it again?"

The disciple in blue robes couldn't explain either, "Anyway, they said we can't mention it, and that's it. We'd better be careful to avoid being expelled from the sect."

Throughout the journey, Pei Zhi tried to find an opportunity to speak with Gao Shijie.

However, Zhong Changyuan stayed by Pei Zhi's side the whole time, and Pei Zhi didn't dare to ask Gao Shijie about Sikong Ren's situation.

Upon arriving at the clothing store, we found that many of the female cultivators on the mountain had their clothes custom-made at this store.

When the boss saw Pei Zhi, it was as if he were seeing an old friend.

"Fairy, we have a large batch of new styles in our store. Would you like to try them on?"

Pei Zhi had come down under the pretext of buying clothes, so of course she wouldn't refuse.

"This flowing, wide-sleeved fairy dress is only beautiful enough for a fairy-like woman to wear."

Pei Zhi picked up the clothes and went into the fitting room.

The shop owner immediately went to greet Gao Shijie, "Young man, we've got quite a few men's tailor uniforms in stock, would you like to take a look?"

Gao Shijie quickly nodded. Anyway, he didn't want to stand with Zhong Changyuan; it was too torturous.

Gao Shijie had just selected two outfits and entered the fitting room, intending to remove the jade pendant and other items, when someone suddenly walked in front of him.

Pei Zhi covered Gao Shijie's mouth, "It's me."

Gao Shijie nodded quickly, and Pei Zhi then let go of his hand.

"To make a long story short, I'm a little worried about Sikong Ren's situation. Find an opportunity to go and see him."

Gao Shijie agreed: "No problem, but Wuwang Peak is protected by a barrier. How can I give you the news if I get it?"

"After that, I'll try to persuade Zhong Changyuan to let you enter and leave Wuwang Peak alone. There shouldn't be any major problems."

Gao Shijie sighed, "That's all we can do. You... take care of yourself."

Pei Zhi didn't dare to talk any longer and quickly left Gao Shijie's fitting room.

After Pei Zhi came out of the fitting room, she straightened her skirt.

"After losing my cultivation, even changing clothes has become troublesome."

In the past, when I wanted to try on clothes, I could just cast a spell and the clothes would automatically put on me—it couldn't be more convenient.

Zhong Changyuan stepped forward and helped Pei Zhi re-tie her belt.

"Once you are feeling better, I will guide you to resume your cultivation."

The shop owner appeared at just the right moment and began to lavish praise on Pei Zhi's clothes.

"And this one, a red silk dress, perfectly suits your fairy-like气质 (qi zhi - inherent quality/temperament). Why don't you try it on, fairy?"

Pei Zhi was a little reluctant to try it on; the clothes were very complicated and it was troublesome to try them on.

Zhong Changyuan said calmly, "No need to try it on, just wrap it up according to her size."

The shop owner quickly replied, "Great!"

Zhong Changyuan glanced around and said, "This set, and this one, and this one."

Zhong Changyuan pointed to all the items he thought looked good in the store and had the shop owner get a set in Pei Zhi's size.

The shop owner's smile was impossible to hide.

As the shop owner packed the food, he praised, "Is this your senior brother? He's so kind to you."

Pei Zhi tugged at the corners of her mouth, merely smiling.

Zhong Changyuan retorted, "I am not her senior brother, but her fiancé."

Gao Shijie came out with the clothes and heard this sentence. He almost collapsed to his knees.

Gao Shijie quickly looked around and breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that he did not see any familiar faces.

It's a loss, though, because Zhong Changyuan doesn't usually come down the mountain, and the people down the mountain don't know who Zhong Changyuan really is.

Otherwise, what would happen if word got out?

As they left the clothing store, Gao Shijie quickly spoke up, "Let's go back first. I still have a lot of schoolwork to finish."

After saying that, Gao Shijie blinked frantically at Pei Zhi.

But we can't keep wandering around. If we run into someone we know, things could get really messy.

Pei Zhi came out to deliver a message to Gao Shijie.

The message had been sent, and the clothes had been bought, so there was no desire to continue shopping.

"Let's go back then, I'm a little tired too."

Zhong Changyuan didn't speak, but looked ahead thoughtfully.

Pei Zhi followed Zhong Changyuan's gaze and saw nothing unusual, just a father carrying what appeared to be a baby on his back.

On the way back to the mountain, Gao Shijie was about to suggest that they fly on their swords.

Then, Zhong Changyuan squatted down in front of Pei Zhi, gesturing for her to come up.

Pei Zhi: "?"