74. Natural Barrier (Part Two)

Is she going to form a contract?

Southern Frontier Crimson Maple Sect.

The red maple leaves covering the mountains swayed in the wind like fire. At this moment, the sect was brightly decorated and filled with guests, a scene of celebration.

In the center of the main hall stood a couple in an intimate pose.

Lou Tinglan, along with the other guests, presented their visiting cards and entered the hall to witness the ceremony. The hall was filled with festive candles, suggesting it was a ceremony for cultivators to form a bond.

Once all the guests were seated, Lou Tinglan suddenly noticed that the person standing in the hall was none other than Ran Qinghe!

He was startled, completely unaware that he had accidentally spilled tea all over himself, his gaze fixed on her.

How is that possible?!

Ran Qinghe wore the crimson flowing fairy dress unique to the Crimson Maple Sect, her beauty beyond compare, a relaxed and carefree smile playing on her lips. Standing beside her was Hua Jin.

He was also dressed in red with dark hair, and he was talking to Ran Qinghe with his head down, making her eyes crinkle with delight.

The surrounding area was filled with the noise and blessings of the guests.

"The young sect leader and Senior Sister Ran are truly a match made in heaven!"

"Congratulations on becoming Daoist partners and embarking on the path of Dao together."

"Oh dear, yes, yes, you two are truly a perfect match, a handsome man and a beautiful woman."

Daoist partners?

Lou Tinglan felt a chill rise from the soles of his feet, instantly freezing his limbs and bones. He tried to step forward, but found his body bound by invisible shackles. No matter how much strength he exerted, he could not move and could only watch helplessly as the two performed the marriage ceremony.

A burning sensation surged through his mind, and he felt the world spinning before his eyes.

He closed his eyes tightly, and when he opened them again, the scene had suddenly changed; it was the night of the marriage ceremony.

For some reason, he broke free of his constraints and stood outside Ran Qinghe's door. The door was slightly ajar, letting in a warm, yellow candlelight.

He pushed open the door as if possessed and entered. Inside the room, Ran Qinghe was dressing in front of the mirror, removing her elaborate hair ornaments.

In the mirror, she looked pleased, and there was even a hint of unconscious anticipation in her eyes.

"Ran Qinghe".

He called her name, but as soon as the words left his mouth, he realized that his voice was hoarse and strained.

Ran Qinghe turned around at the sound of his voice. When she saw him, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes, but she quickly regained her composure and asked, "Senior Brother Lou, what are you doing here?"

She called him by the same unfamiliar, almost foreign, form of address.

"You and Hua Jin have become Daoist partners?" He tried to ask the question calmly, but his voice still trembled slightly at the end.

"Yes." Her answer came without the slightest hesitation, her face beaming with joy.

Hearing her confirmation, he felt as if something deep inside him had shattered, and the emotions he had suppressed for so long burst forth like a flood, breaching the dam of reason.

He stared intently at her, trying to find even the slightest hint of reluctance on her face, but there was none; her eyes remained curved.

The burning sensation in his mind almost drove him mad. He stepped forward and asked the question that had lingered in his heart for so long, a question that even he himself refused to admit:

"But, you initially...liked me?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, even he was stunned. He had never imagined that he would ask such a question so bluntly.

Ran Qinghe was clearly stunned as well. He was always aloof and composed, and had never shown such obvious emotion before. She remained silent for a moment, avoiding his intense gaze, and said softly:

"There might have been some differences at first, but Lou Tinglan, feelings change. After several years together, I now..."

"I don't know how to tell you, but Hua Jin really understands me better and makes me happier. I like him more now."

"You like him more?" Lou Tinglan repeated her words, but suddenly seemed to have grasped something important.

"So, you still like me, just 'more' like him, right?"

He was met with silence in response to this question.

"Then are you still willing to be with me...?" Before he could finish speaking, a spirit beast suddenly pounced on him from behind and bit his shoulder.

Lou Tinglan suddenly opened her eyes and sat up from the bed. Her forehead was covered with fine cold sweat, and her heart was pounding violently, as if it were about to burst out of her chest. The excruciating pain from her dream was so real that it still lingered in her limbs.

He rarely dreams, so how could he have such an absurd and bizarre dream?

He had forgotten most of the dream; he only remembered grabbing Ran Qinghe with one hand and summoning the Tranquil Heart Sword with the other, fighting desperately against the person.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm his erratic breathing and heartbeat, but Ran Qinghe's words, "I like him more now," seemed to be engraved in his mind, lingering there.

He raised his hand and pressed his temples, his usually cool eyes now filled with a hint of confusion and struggle.

Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, he pulled out the Tranquility Sword hanging on the side of the bed. The red mole on his forehead disappeared from the light of the Tranquility Sword.

This shouldn't be the case.

"Greetings to the Hall Master and all the elders. Although Tinglan's injuries have healed, I still feel that my cultivation level has not improved at all. Therefore, I am going into seclusion to cultivate quietly. I hope that you elders will not worry. Tinglan presents this."

He summoned the swallow and delivered the letter to the desks of the elders.

Lou Guan unfolded the letter, a slight smile curving his lips. He nodded quietly and casually tucked the letter into the pages of his book.

"Little sister, your method is indeed much more effective." Lou Zhen, who was sitting on the opposite couch, praised, "I thought you were out of your mind to recruit Ran Qinghe as a disciple of the academy, but I didn't expect that Tinglan would actually settle down."

Lou Guan gently closed the book, glanced at Lou Zhen, and said in a measured tone:

"Sometimes, the more you obstruct a relationship, the stronger it becomes; the more you let it run wild, the more fragile it becomes, like paper."

Lou Guan's words seemed to remind Lou Zhen of something, and a hint of anger appeared on his face. "I never thought that Ran Qinghe would be so cold-hearted and ruthless, resorting to such despicable means for the sake of a mere champion position."

He snorted coldly, "Tinglan is currently in seclusion, and Ran Qinghe, that scourge, is about to leave the academy. The two of them will probably have little to do with each other again, which is a great thing."

*

After leaving the academy, Ran Qinghe did not immediately activate the jade talisman given to her by Hua Jin. Instead, she lingered at the foot of Qingxiao Mountain for two days. After confirming that Qian Zhong was indeed too preoccupied with the changes in Qingxiao, she finally made her decision.

Within two days, she received no news about Lou Tinglan. She smiled to herself. Of course, she would use trickery to injure him during the big exam, even if he disregarded past grievances and saved her from Qian Zhong's clutches.

But why should he give up his prestigious position as the chief disciple of the Discipline Hall to follow her to Feifeng?

She took a deep breath, took out the maple leaf-shaped jade talisman from her storage bag, and infused it with a wisp of spiritual power.

In less than half an hour, Hua Jin came to find him in person, still wearing a lazy smile on his face, as if he had already anticipated his choice.

"The road to Feifeng is long, please trouble the young sect leader to lead the way." Ran Qinghe's expression was calm, but upon closer inspection, it was not difficult to see the melancholy in her eyes.

"The immortal boat is ready and is located at the foot of Qingxiao Mountain. Shall we depart immediately?"

Ran Qinghe nodded: "Okay."

The two went to the Immortal Boat Ferry together, only to find that the once bustling ferry, frequented by disciples, was now deserted with hardly anyone around.

Hua Jin, unaware that she came from the Valley of Mortals, said without a care in the world, "Recently, the Qingxiao Mountain Sect was attacked. No, it's not quite right to say it was attacked; it's more accurate to say it was occupied by someone."

Ran Qinghe tilted her head and asked, "Occupy?"

Hua Jin said, "It's those cultivators from the Mortal Valley. You may not know, but most of the cultivators in the Mortal Valley came from the mortal realm to comprehend the Dao, so their cultivation foundation is weak."

"It is said that the spiritual energy in the Valley of Mortals is so thin that even after decades of hard work, cultivators can hardly make any progress, which is why this riot occurred."

"The number of cultivators in Mortal Valley is large, so they took advantage of their numbers to seize this immortal boat and rush to Qingxiao Sect. However, they did not do much. They simply set up temporary accommodations at the entrance of Qingxiao and did not take any extreme actions. They just said that they would cultivate in a place with abundant spiritual energy."

Ran Qinghe thought to herself, "This Wei Lin does have some tricks up his sleeve. He doesn't take the initiative to attack, but just lingers at the mountain gate. Even if Qingxiao wanted to forcefully drive them away, he would probably get criticism and damage Qingxiao's reputation."

No wonder Qianzhong is currently overwhelmed with work. If this continues, the cultivators of Mortal Valley will surely follow suit, and Qingxiao Mountain Sect will likely be unable to accommodate so many cultivators. However, she is secretly glad that Wei Lin has stirred up trouble.

The two boarded the celestial ship together. Ran Qinghe stood on the deck, gazing at the gradually receding Qingxiao Mountains, her thoughts wandering, lost in thought.

However, the cat that had been lying next to her seemed to sense something, growling softly towards the cabin with its fur standing on end.

Their eyes met briefly, and following Miao Miao's senses, they slowly took a step forward. Ran Qinghe's talisman lit up, ready to trap the person in the shadows as soon as they appeared.

Could it be that Qianzhong sent someone to secretly follow them?

Her heart sank, and she pushed open the cabin door abruptly, but there was no one in sight.

"Awooo—", the cat following at her feet took the initiative and leaped towards the corner of the wall.

Ran Qinghe's talisman then attacked, but unexpectedly, the talisman only trapped... a spirit beast?

This spirit beast looked quite peculiar. It was pure white except for a tuft of light red fur on its forehead. Its shape was neither fox nor cat, and its pair of clear, glassy eyes were staring straight at her.

Seeing that it was a false alarm, Hua Jin also came over and looked it over for a few moments. "That's strange. How could a spirit beast suddenly appear on the immortal ship?"

"Although the grade is unknown, the spiritual energy seems to be quite pure. Could it be that we got separated from our clan? Strange, we clearly boarded the ship in the Azure Sky Territory."

Ran Qinghe reached out and grabbed the back of its neck, but the spirit beast didn't struggle. It just obediently let her hold it without making any move.

Seeing this, Hua Jin smiled and said, "It seems that it is destined for you. Well, the journey to Fei Feng is long, and having a little thing to keep you company will help you pass the time."

He didn't notice anything unusual and just thought it was a coincidence.

Inside the cabin on the boat, Ran Qinghe placed the spirit beast on a soft cushion and fed it a few spirit fruits. It ate slowly and deliberately, its movements carrying a natural elegance.

Ran Qinghe mischievously poked its body: "Why do I feel like I've seen you before?"

The spirit beast paused in its eating, looked up at her, and gave her a rather innocent look.

Upon closer inspection, Ran Qinghe suddenly realized, "Hey, your eyes... how come they look exactly like Lou Tinglan's?"

The spirit beast's body stiffened almost imperceptibly for a moment, then it grabbed a spirit fruit in front of it and ate it as if to cover up its actions.

Ran Qinghe didn't think much of it and tapped its head again, saying, "It does look like it. In that case, um... I'll call you 'Wooden Head'."