79. The Natural Barrier (Part Seven)

◎Contract, Protection◎

Wood deliberately flicked its tail with astonishing force, the tip of its tail carrying a strong gust of wind.

Hua Jin raised his eyebrows, reached out and took it, and the two silently engaged in a contest of strength.

Ran Qinghe was completely unaware of this. She tried to stand up, supporting herself on the wooden back, but the massive body did not move at all. Instead, it held her even tighter.

She patted the wooden back to indicate, "Okay, change back. We have important business to attend to."

Wood nodded obediently, but its eyes were still glancing sideways at Flower Ash, watching him straighten his clothes to cover the ambiguous red marks before returning to its normal size. It was still close to her leg, its tail occasionally brushing against her ankle.

Hua Jin, seeing its eyesore, couldn't help but say, "Your spirit beast is truly extraordinary. The art of beast taming lies in the word 'taming.' Cultivators chant incantations, and only then can the spirit beast respond to the incantation. But your spirit beast is different; it can't even transform into its beast form without your command."

Ran Qinghe glanced down at it, and it immediately looked up, its eyes filled with a mixture of grievance at being abandoned and lingering fear, making her words catch in her throat.

She belatedly realized that she was the one who had abandoned it first, and after a moment of softening, she replied:

"It's alright, it was just acting out of panic and sensed me..."

She suddenly realized something was wrong halfway through her sentence.

Strangely, her heart palpitation came suddenly. How did Mu Tou know her current condition and even change his form to rush over in a hurry?

If it were due to the connection between the spirit beast and its master, it would seem a bit illogical. She had no external injuries, so how could the wood sense her presence?

Even more strangely, it seemed that her pain was relieved almost immediately the moment the wood approached.

Even though she didn't want to doubt it, her experiences inexplicably connected it to her, making her think about it more.

At the same time, she suddenly remembered the strange behavior of Elder He and Sect Leader Ling Ge when they formed the spirit beast contract that day. According to Elder He, her contract with the wood was a so-called "soul contract".

Could it be because of the contract?

The sharp pain in her chest had subsided, leaving only a faint, dull ache. Ran Qinghe had no time to investigate further; perhaps... it was just a coincidence.

"Let's go," she said to Hua Jin.

Hua Jin led her not to the main hall of Feifeng Sect where guests were received, but through a series of twists and turns, to a secluded courtyard in the back mountain.

According to Hua Jin, Xiao Lingdang smuggled herself over on the immortal boat that Qingxiao and Feifeng traveled between. However, she was discovered by the disciples of the sect when she landed and was questioned. She kept calling out Ran Qinghe's name and only said that she came to find her, refusing to say anything else.

Under the eaves of the small courtyard, a young girl dressed in coarse cloth was anxiously rubbing her hands and pacing back and forth.

Hearing footsteps at the door, she turned around abruptly. The moment she saw Ran Qinghe, it was as if she had seen a savior. But then, when she caught sight of the beastly eyes that were faintly glowing in the dark beside Ran Qinghe's legs, she was so frightened that she shrank back half a step.

"Qing, Sister Qinghe..." her voice trembled slightly.

Just a few months later, Ran Qinghe felt that her height seemed to have increased a bit, her face had lost some of its childlike roundness, and her eyes still held a deep sense of helplessness.

"What do you want?" Ran Qinghe stepped into the corridor, her tone not warm.

But Little Bell suddenly knelt down, tears streaming down her face: "Sister Qinghe, please, save my mother, please..."

Before Ran Qinghe could make any move, Mu Tou stepped in front of her, his body tense.

Ran Qinghe calmly stopped it and said to Little Bell, "Get up first, what exactly happened?"

"If it were a matter concerning the conflict between Qingxiao and the Mortal Valley, I would have already left and would be powerless to intervene."

Little Bell obediently stood up, tears still streaming down her face: "My mother and father were bewitched by the neighbor lady and went to... to cultivate outside the gate of Qingxiao Mountain. But while Qingxiao Sect outwardly appeared to be indifferent, they secretly captured many people from the Mortal Valley."

“My mother didn’t want to… covet any cultivation level. I heard her tell my father that if her cultivation level didn’t increase, life in this valley would be even more difficult.”

She sobbed softly as she continued, her words broken: “Before she left, my mother told us that she would be back in seven or eight days, but half a month has passed in the blink of an eye, and my father and I have not seen her return. That’s when we went to look for Qingxiao, but we couldn’t find her.”

Ran Qinghe frowned slightly. Could it be that they were making an example of someone to scare others?

Qingxiao prides itself on being a prestigious and righteous sect, and its actions are always conducted according to rules and regulations. Such drastic methods are not in line with their usual style.

Unless the conflict escalates to an irreconcilable point, or a third party intervenes.

Seeing Ran Qinghe remain silent, Xiaolingdang said even more anxiously, "...Sister Qinghe, I know you are very capable, please..."

Hua Jin leaned against a pillar in the porch, casually toying with a red leaf. Hearing this, she chuckled softly, her tone carrying a hint of coolness:

“Young lady, do you know what kind of sect Qingxiao is? If they want to deal with a few cultivators, let alone Ran Qinghe, even my Feifeng Sect Master might not be able to intervene. If you ask her for help, you will only bring trouble upon her.”

Hua Jin's words, seemingly advising Xiao Lingdang, were actually a subtle reminder to Ran Qinghe not to get into trouble.

Ran Qinghe remained silent. Ye Buchen's wooden carving lay quietly in her storage bag, and fragments of those distant memories surfaced involuntarily.

She disliked trouble and didn't want to get involved in anything.

Suddenly, she felt a warm touch against her leg, and the wooden body rubbed against her gently, as if to comfort her.

Those eyes, which always reminded her of someone, were now quietly looking at her, filled with complete trust, inexplicably calming the anxiety in her heart.

Ran Qinghe finally replied, "Are you sure your mother was captured by Qingxiao, or did she just disappear at the Qingxiao Mountain gate?"

Hope rekindled in Xiaolingdang's eyes. Although she didn't quite understand what Ran Qinghe meant, she quickly replied:

“My mother did indeed disappear at the Qingxiao Mountain gate. My father asked around among the uncles and aunts who were with her and confirmed that she boarded the immortal ship and went to Qingxiao.”

"But apart from the possibility of being captured by the Qingxiao Sect, there is no other way..."

Ran Qinghe interrupted her, "I understand. Go back first, don't make a fuss, and don't go near Qingxiao Mountain again. I need to consider this matter further..."

"Sister Qinghe..." Little Bell wanted to ask again.

Hua Jin interrupted first, saying, "Young friend, know when to stop. She has already reached her limit by agreeing to 'consider.' If you continue to pester her, be careful that you don't even lose this 'consideration.'"

Little Bell trembled in fright, glanced timidly at Hua Jin, then at the expressionless Ran Qinghe, and finally murmured her thanks before disappearing from the courtyard gate, looking back every few steps.

The corridor fell silent instantly. Hua Jin couldn't help but say, "Are you really going to get involved? Qingxiao and the Mortal Valley are having a big fight. If you interfere, you might accidentally get yourself into trouble..."

"Besides, you originally came to Feifeng to avoid Qianzhong, so why are you now offering yourself up here?"

Ran Qinghe shook her head: "This matter has nothing to do with you or Fei Feng. I have my own plans."

Hua Jin lowered his head helplessly, turned to leave, then stopped, glanced back at the wooden creature clinging tightly to Ran Qinghe, and said meaningfully, "But Qinghe, sometimes, the seemingly most harmless one around you may be the one hiding the most secrets. Your spirit beast is quite interesting indeed."

Ran Qinghe remained where she was, and as soon as she slightly raised her hand, Mu Tou jumped into her arms as usual, letting her stroke the thick, soft fur on the back of its neck.

Is it a secret...?

She lowered her eyes, recalling the strength with which it had just pulled her into its arms, the hazy touch of that night, and those eyes that always softened her heart...

Various doubts slowly began to linger in her heart.

But seeing it so defenselessly exposing its most vulnerable neck to her hands, she hesitated.

In the end, she chose to suppress her doubts for the time being. Regardless of Mu Tou's identity, she was certain of one thing: Mu Tou had no intention of harming her.

"Never mind," she thought to herself, "it's just a coincidence."

She then turned her thoughts to the matter of the Valley of Mortals.

In her opinion, Xiaolingdang's mother might not be related to Qingxiao at all.

Firstly, if Qingxiao wanted to make an example of someone, she would definitely choose Wei Lin, the one who led the charge. Secondly, to Qingxiao, a female cultivator who had not yet established her foundation was nothing more than an ant; why would they care about her life or death?

Through this process of guessing and deduction, she had almost figured out the answer.

*

Night falls at the entrance of Qingxiao Mountain.

People were crammed together, some sleeping fully clothed, others meditating and regulating their breathing, while the gatekeepers had already changed shifts three times.

There were even monks who couldn't sleep who chatted late into the night.

"Hey, what's the point of Qingxiao just wasting time with us like this?"

"If you ask me, you're right. Why don't you just take us all in? I'd be happy even if we were just outer disciples sweeping and cleaning, instead of living like this, exposed to the elements."

"Alright, alright, go to sleep, go to sleep. You can have anything in your dreams. Why would Qingxiao accept you as a sweeping disciple? Even if you were to sweep the streets, Qingxiao wouldn't need someone like you."

"Hey, what are you talking about? What am I like?"

"Even Qingxiao's floor sweeper is at least a Foundation Establishment stage, what do you think..."

"That's because they had the advantage of timing and location, allowing me to be born and raised in Qingxiao. Let alone Foundation Establishment, I might not even be able to reach the Nascent Soul stage."

As the two were talking, a cultivator suddenly interrupted, asking directly, "Where is Wei Lin?"

One of them got angry: "Does Master Wei think you can just see him whenever you want? Don't you even know who you are..."

The cultivator deftly tossed over a storage bag, which the two opened to find a bag of high-grade spirit stones.

"My goodness!" one of them exclaimed, then changed his expression and said, "Wei Lin is on that Azure Sky Immortal Ship. Immortal Master, would you like us to show you the way?"

The cultivator cupped his hands in greeting and immediately turned to leave.

The next day, the topic of conversation in front of Qingxiao Mountain had changed: "Have you heard? Wei Lin had someone beat him up yesterday!"

"Ah, could it have been Qingxiao?!"