"How so?" Song Siyao asked, a rare moment of interest on his part, arms crossed.

"Uh... he said he'd never seen such a cowardly dragon as me."

Baili Xijiang shrugged and awkwardly spread his hands.

Is that his problem? His senior brother looks very fierce, and he can't just transform into dragon form in public.

Besides... he's not stupid.

Getting beaten up hurts so much.

He didn't want to fight, so why should he get beaten up!

Xiao Long spoke with righteous indignation.

Song Tingwan chuckled.

Well, how should I put it?

I feel sorry for Senior Brother Chu Hou for a second.

but…

Oops, did her good apprentice reveal his true identity?

Just as Song Tingwan was about to turn around, a series of shocked and incredulous voices came from the side.

"What?!"

"What dragon?"

"Bai Li Xi Jiang, what nonsense are you spouting..."

Holding the flowers she was going to give them, Qin Xi couldn't help but ask in confusion.

Baili Xijiang paused, then turned around stiffly.

Wanqiji thought to himself, "This is bad," while Song Siyao watched the show with his arms crossed and his sword in hand, looking quite pleased with himself.

None of them reacted correctly.

"That...Qin Yuanyuan—"

Baili Xijiang tried to make amends, but Qin Xi gave him a forced smile and said, "Looks like everyone else knows except me, right?"

After saying that, she turned and left, suppressing the rising steam.

She knew it! She wouldn't be their best friend if she didn't go into the nine-story pagoda.

They all knew that Baili Xijiang was a dragon, but she didn't.

She walked away with tears streaming down her face, looking aggrieved. Song Tingwan lifted her skirt and followed her almost the instant she moved.

This made the already bewildered Baili Xijiang even more uncertain, so he gritted his teeth and quickly gave chase.

Wan Qiji and Song Siyao exchanged a glance.

They each grabbed their weapons and chased after them.

At the very front.

Song Tingwan and her apprentice stood on one side, exchanging glances with the aggrieved Qin Xi in the middle.

Song Tingwan winked at him, signaling him to hurry up and appease her, since he was acting like a sieve.

Baili Xijiang opened his mouth, but didn't know how to coax the person.

"Don't cry. Aji and her sister only found out in the Nine-Story Pagoda. If Master didn't know my uncle, he wouldn't even have kept it from me!"

Baili Xijiang stared at his master, his expression unchanged as he straightened his chest.

But Qin Xi didn't really listen.

She's about to return to Tianji Sect, and her friends aren't on good terms with her anymore.

"Why are you carrying so many flowers?" Song Tingwan looked at her expression and suddenly spoke softly.

Qin Xi paused in her crying, looked down at the deformed flower she had been holding tightly, and quickly loosened her grip.

"I…"

"When the Sword Competition ended, Aji and her sister won, and you gave them flowers. I overheard some elders outside saying that Ayao had reached the top, so I prepared this for everyone..."

As she spoke, her round eyes were filled with a thin layer of water, exceptionally clear.

Song Tingwan felt both touched and moved; she hadn't expected that she would remember to send flowers to celebrate.

Wow! Qin Yuanyuan, you're so thoughtful!

Baili Xijiang quickly took a bouquet from her arms, and exaggeratedly held up the flowers with a silly grin.

Song Tingwan and the other two also accepted their own flowers.

Finally, Song Tingwan plucked a bunch of fiery red flowers from her mustard seed space, the same flowers she had given to her sister and Aji that day.

“We all have flowers, how can Qin Yuanyuan not have any?”

"For my dearest Qin Yuanyuan."

Along with the flowers, a delicate little wooden box was also handed over.

It's about half the size of a palm, and it looks both rustic and grand.

Qin Xi instinctively wanted to open it and take a look.

Song Tingwan pressed her hand down, "Open it only if you encounter danger in the future."

"Of course, I hope our Yuanyuan will never encounter any danger."

Song Siyao glanced at it, then calmly looked away.

Qin Xi held the box, her heart skipping a beat.

She carefully put it away, then wiped away her tears and glared at Baili Xijiang: "No wonder you dislike my little flying carpet so much."

A dragon sat on her narrow, pink, and slow-moving flying carpet.

It's kind of funny when you think about it.

Seeing that she had finally stopped crying, Baili Xijiang breathed a sigh of relief. "I really didn't mean to hide it from you."

This is what my family told me to do.

Qin Xi, who had also been instructed by her family, gave him a gruff look and gave an awkward hum: "I know."

Then, changing the subject, she leaned closer and asked, "Can we ride dragons in the future? When we go back to Wan'er's house in a few days, will we no longer need my little flying carpet?"

Baili Xijiang's face immediately darkened. "Hey! Qin Yuanyuan, I'm warning you! Don't push your luck!"

"How did I push my luck! You kept this from us first!"

"Didn't you also keep it from us?"

The two argued and bickered, and before they parted, Song Tingwan returned the dragon scale that Baili had dropped to him.

Baili Xijiang generously divided it equally among the group.

"Dragon scales are very useful, you should be secretly happy about it."

Baili Xijiang looked at the few dragon scales in each of their hands and proudly raised his chin.

.

After everything was over, everyone returned to their dormitories.

Qin Xi closed the door tightly, took out the three magical artifacts given to her by her father, aunt, and uncle before she left home, filled her room with a solid barrier, and then took out a small wooden box.

The one Wan'er gave me today.

She had a feeling that the box was light to hold, but the contents inside were anything but.

Holding her breath, the round-eyed girl slowly opened the box.

The air is filled with a rich fragrance of cinnabar, and there are three eye-catching golden cinnabar patterns on it.

In an instant, Qin Xi snapped the box shut and deftly put it back into her storage ring.

My heart was pounding wildly.

Aaaaaaaahh ...

Wan'er sobs.

She knew that Wan'er loved her the most.

Fuqu Peak.

As Song Tingwan listened to the incessant ringing of the communication talisman, a deep smile curved her lips.

She knew Qin Yuanyuan wouldn't be able to resist.

The five of them worked together, and three of them entered the nine-story tower. In addition to benefiting their own cultivation, each floor also offered considerable rewards.

Although she did not enter, she obtained the Heaven-Mending Bamboo and the Moonlit Thousand-Silk Silk from her wrist.

Qin Yuanyuan, however, received nothing except for the rewards from the sect competition.

Qin Yuanyuan worked so hard that almost all the magical artifacts and weapons used by everyone during the Sword Competition were provided by her.

She was a partner who fought alongside her, and a good friend whose first reaction upon being unable to enter the nine-story tower was to look at her with guilt.

How could Song Tingwan bear to let her gain nothing?

She didn't show any favoritism and gave her the same Grade 8 Life-Generating Pill as her disciple.

It can save lives when necessary.