Chapter 16

All along, Xiao Mo could vaguely feel the distance limit between himself and Chu Jinglan. The farther they were, the more obvious the feeling was. He only tried once, when Chu Jinglan was meditating, to see what would happen if the distance exceeded.

The answer is that it will be teleported back to Chu Jinglan instantly.

Even though his whole body was squeezed and kneaded during the process, it didn't hurt at all. It was just that the flash was too fast and he felt a little dizzy.

After that, he kept a strict distance, but today was the first time he lost his mind and was forced to go back.

Xiao Mo's ideas are not exhausted yet. The gilded dragon column is really beautiful. The carving is ingenious, exquisite and majestic. I want to get a few in my sea of ​​knowledge!

But if it is too high, it will not match the overall decoration of my Oriental Villa. Why not make it smaller and use it as a decoration? Or change it to wood and replace a few pillars in the attic with the same style.

Xiao Motuanzi bounced back onto Chu Jinglan's shoulder and happily planned the new design of his home.

Just as he was pulled back, people from the Su family arrived.

Su Baimo left the Su family behind and ran towards Chu Jinglan: "Brother Jinglan!"

Su Baimo dressed up nicely today, wearing a light blue robe with a very slim waist. She tied her hair up, probably to make her look more energetic, and tied sword sleeves, but her weak aura seemed to be innate and could not be concealed at all.

As he ran in such a flashy manner, more eyes were focused on Chu Jinglan.

Xiao Mo, who was on Chu Jinglan's shoulder, was passively bathed in these gazes. He was startled and came back to his senses from the design and planning blueprint, and subconsciously looked back in the direction of the gaze.

One of them came from Chu Yusheng. By the way, Chu Yusheng's eyesight was not very firm, and he kept jumping between staring straight at Su Baimo's waist and glaring fiercely at Chu Jinglan's back.

There was also a look from a young man from the Bian family. His expression was as if Chu Jinglan had stolen his wife from him and he wanted to eat him alive to vent his hatred.

The reason why we are sure that he is a member of the Bian family is that his family came here by a flying boat with the word "Bian" engraved on it.

Taking a flying boat for such a short distance is mainly to show off our wealth. Other families don’t have it, but we do.

Xiao Wutuan turned sideways on Chu Jinglan's shoulder and saw clearly from 360 degrees all the people who were gritting their teeth against Chu Jinglan openly or secretly. In the end, he couldn't help but sigh: Blue-faced people are a disaster.

Fortunately, Chu Jinglan had no friends to begin with, otherwise if Su Baimo had caused a drama of brothers turning against each other, it would have been a bloody and stinking drama.

Su Baimo seemed oblivious to it. She put her hands behind her back and shook her head in front of Chu Jinglan, shy and timid, and a little playful: "Brother Jinglan, remember to watch my performance later. If there is any deficiency, you must give me some advice after the competition."

Chu Jinglan was almost pierced by the gazes from all sides, but he remained calm and nodded: "Yes."

Upon hearing this, Su Baimo smiled shyly but sweetly.

The gaze that fell on Chu Jinglan successfully evolved from stabbing to sword flashes and sword shadows.

When two families get engaged, they will definitely give each other an engagement token. Chu Jinglan and Su Baimo got a pair of jade pendants. Chu Jinglan had never worn them before, but Su Baimo wore them today on purpose.

Su Baimo greeted Chu Jinglan, and then bowed to the head of the Chu family and the elder, saying, "I should have bowed to the elders first, but I saw that brother Jinglan was too happy. It's Baimo's fault."

The head of the Chu family and the great elder liked him more and more the more they looked at him, and said happily: "It's okay, it's okay!"

Su Baimo and Chu Jinglan waved and returned to the Su family team. The elder said with emotion: "Baimo is a good child. Jinglan, you should also wear the engagement jade on such an important occasion where you two will appear together."

Chu Jinglan neither refuted nor nodded, but just lowered his eyes and listened silently. He seemed obedient, but in fact, you say yours and I listen, and whether I do it or not is my business.

After each family took their turn to appear on stage, the selection meeting officially began. Chu Jinglan did not need to draw lots or fight, so he just sat down in a random seat in the audience.

With him as the center, the seats around him were all empty, and no one dared to sit next to him.

Xiao Mo once again lamented Chu Jinglan's poor popularity.

But there is an advantage, at least from this position the view is wide and unobstructed, and there is no noise around, so you can enjoy the competition on the stage to your heart's content.

Xiao Mo was very excited and prepared to study the fighting methods of the people seriously.

The disciples from various families who came to participate in the selection were between thirteen and nineteen years old, with the majority being sixteen or seventeen-year-old boys and girls. People like Chu Yusheng, who happened to be standing at the threshold at the age of nineteen, actually had a bit of an age advantage.

After all, geniuses are not everywhere. When the talent levels are similar, being older does have its advantages.

There are five competition stages in total, and all of them can be completed in one day.

Xiao Mo watched the fight carefully with the mentality of learning, but when the fight actually started, he found that it was different from what he expected.

There were sharp swords, spells and talismans, but it was neither thrilling nor exciting. From the cultivator's perspective, their fight was even more mediocre and full of loopholes.

Xiao Moben stared intently, but his gaze soon dispersed. After taking in the situations on several stages, the ball of mist that had bounced up fell back softly.

If you don't learn anything, it's easy for the devil to have a false impression: I can do it too.

When the third round came, Xiao Mo's group had completely collapsed. They yawned on Chu Jinglan's shoulder and said, "I'll learn more from watching you practice swordplay than watching them."

Chu Jinglan has recently added a training schedule to herself. In addition to the required classes in the morning, she has also added training in the afternoon. Xiao Mo practices the back-to-back method in the morning, and in the afternoon she will watch Chu Jinglan practice the erken.

Chu Jinglan noticed Xiao Mo's depressed tone. When a person loses his energy, his vigilance will also decrease. Although he didn't know whether this would be applicable to his inner demons, it was a good opportunity to ask him some questions.

As the others were sitting far away, Chu Jinglan whispered, "You should be familiar with my swordsmanship."

This time he did not ask a question back or interrogate, nor did he say anything sarcastic. Instead, he changed his approach and spoke in a casual, conversational tone.

Xiao Mo said lazily: "Not really. If I had watched it a few more times——"

He suddenly realized something and stopped talking.

But it was too late.

Chu Jing's voice was like an ancient well, without a single ripple, and also had the unique coldness of well water: "I started practicing swordsmanship when I was three years old, and it has been fourteen years now. How many more times do you want to see me?"

The stage was filled with the clashing of drums and horns, making it very lively, but Chu Jinglan's voice was like frost and snow, freezing Xiao Mo's scalp.

This is the bad thing about dealing with people who have eight hundred tricks on their backs. If you are not careful, you will create a big mess. Xiao Mo regretted his carelessness while his brain was working frantically. The system also screamed: "Host, host, use your smart brain to save me!"

Rescue, rescue...wait.

Xiao Mo's rapidly working little head gradually settled down and turned into a light yet condensed mantra in the indigo-colored meditation of the distant mountains - why should I save?

Don't forget, there are only two main tasks he must complete: let Chu Jinglan know that he has a demon in his heart, and let him kill himself at the right time.

As long as Chu Jinglan believes that he is the inner demon, it doesn’t matter what is special about the inner demon.

I've already been honest once and said that I don't want to give it up, so what's the harm in revealing a little more?

He didn't want to be on guard against Chu Jinglan's temptations and twists and turns all the time, and if he accidentally stepped into a trap, he would be scared and break into a cold sweat.

Chu Jinglan saw that the inner demon had been silent for a long time, and thought that he had finally grasped the key points this time. He was about to write down a few more paragraphs, but he heard the inner demon suddenly exhale, and then said openly: "Okay, I admit that I don't have all your memories."

Chu Jinglan was stunned.

"You've read a lot of books about inner demons these days, and I've learned a lot about them. I know that I'm different from other inner demons." Xiao Mo said leisurely on his shoulder, "I don't have any precedents to refer to. You see, the inner demon that appeared in the Golden Core Stage is a special case. I don't think I need to hide it from you. I can just pretend to be a normal inner demon."

Xiao Mo: "I am who I am, and I am different from other demons."

System: “…”

OK, it seems to be okay? Indeed, Chu Jinglan let him doubt, as long as Xiao Mo's inner demon vest was welded to his body, nothing else would be a problem.

Chu Jinglan was silenced by Xiao Mo's frankness.

He was prepared to be fooled, but the inner demon just acknowledged it.

To be honest, Chu Jinglan did have a bold idea among the many unreasonable discoveries, and he rekindled his initial doubt: Is Xiao Mo really a demon in his heart?

But since Xiao Mo admitted it so generously, the doubt seems to be completely off the mark.

The inner demon is still the inner demon, but it may be different from the ordinary kind.

Chu Jinglan: ...I really thought wrong?

Chu Jinglan was just pondering when a servant from the Great Elder came over and said to him respectfully, "Young Master, the Great Elder invites you to watch the fight at Young Master Su's ring."

The audience seats are a certain distance away from the ring. In order to watch the competition up close, many disciples will stand directly next to the ring. After all, they have formations in place and will not be affected by the fighting.

Chu Jinglan didn't even raise his head, and said calmly: "It's very clear here."

"The Great Elder said that when you are out, you must not let others think that you are neglecting Master Su."

The servant lowered his head, and his tone was calm, as if he was just delivering a message in a proper manner. When Chu Jinglan heard this, he frowned, and then slowly stood up.

The attendant knew what he would choose: "Young Master, take care."

Xiao Mo lay on Chu Jinglan's shoulder, looked at the attendant, and then looked at Chu Jinglan.

As long as Chu Jinglan is temporarily unable to take his mother away from the Chu family, he will be restricted by these people.

Chu Jinglan's profile showed no emotion, his features were handsome and sharp. He said nothing and walked silently to the side of Su Baimo's stage.

This was Su Baimo's last match, and quite a few people gathered around. When they saw Chu Jinglan, they instinctively wanted to move away, but there were only a few good spots next to the ring, and if they moved away there would be no room left, so these people had no choice but to stand with Chu Jinglan.

Chu Jinglan stood out in the crowd. Su Baimo saw him with eyes shining. He smiled at him on the stage with deep affection.

Xiao Mo heard the sounds of people grinding their teeth at Chu Jinglan from all around.

Unfortunately, his cultivation was not strong enough and he could only grit his teeth but not dare to take any action.

The competition on stage began soon.

Su Baimo is also a sword cultivator, and he uses a soft sword. Relying on the resources provided by the Su family and the Chu family, he has worked hard to build up his cultivation. The competition is scored based on the number of wins, so even if he loses this time, the points are enough to qualify for the secret realm.

I don’t know if it’s because Chu Jinglan was watching from a close distance, but Su Baimo fought very seriously.

But no matter how hard he tried, he found it increasingly difficult and could no longer withstand the opponent's moves.

Su Baimo's opponent was a simple and honest man who fought honestly and did not let Su Baimo win. In the end, he knocked Su Baimo's sword away and said to Su Baimo, "Thank you."

Su Baimo was sweating profusely, his breathing was unstable, his body swayed, and he smiled weakly: "Thank you for your advice."

He came down from the stage, and his steps looked very light and unsteady, but when he reached in front of Chu Jinglan, he couldn't hold on any longer and stumbled.

Su Baimo subconsciously raised his hand, wanting to grab Chu Jinglan's arm, but unexpectedly a hand came from the side and supported him.

Looking closely, it was the young master of the Bian family.

Su Baimo was also stunned. He held onto Young Master Bian's hand and stood steady: "Thank you, thank you, Brother Bian."

Young Master Bian looked at him with a complicated expression, then turned his head and glared at Chu Jinglan hatefully.

Chu Jinglan pretended not to see it, lowered his eyes and said to Su Baimo: "You had a chance to beat him."

Su Baimo, who had just stood up, said: "...Ah?"

"In the thirteenth move, you made a mistake in your steps. You should have jumped more nimbly. In the twentieth move, you drew your sword too hastily, and the opponent caught you and broke your flaw. And..."

Su Baimo: “…”

Young Master Bian also looked at Chu Jinglan as if he had seen a ghost.

No, didn’t you see that Bai Mo was exhausted and weak, and needed caring comfort and rest? Besides, he just lost the competition, and as his fiancé, you didn’t even offer him a word of comfort?

Chu Jinglan ignored the expressions on Su Baimo and Young Master Bian's faces and finished his words in a calm tone. He concluded: "You let me watch your competition, and I watched it."

Chu Jinglan said: "I have to practice harder when I go back."

Su Baimo was in a daze: "...Ah, um, okay."

He agreed, and when he came to his senses, he looked at Chu Jinglan aggrievedly, hoping that he could say something nice, but Chu Jinglan nodded: "Okay, I'll write it down."

Su Baimo's eyes were so pitiful that they turned red.

Xiao Mo couldn't help himself and fell down laughing on Chu Jinglan's shoulder.

"Haha, they've created all the conditions for you, and you tell them this? Look at the way the young master is glaring at you, he probably thinks you're hopelessly straight."

What is a "straight man"? Chu Jinglan wrote down this strange word, nodded to Su Baimo, turned around and left, not caring that his fiancé was supported by another man. He fulfilled the elder's request.

He did not leave the field, but walked over to the few members of the Chu family who had just finished playing.

Let's also do what the elder asked him to do to guide the Chu family.

Several disciples of the Chu family were gathered together discussing something, but were startled by Chu Lan's sudden arrival. They looked unnatural and stumbling as they saluted, calling him "brother" or "young master".

"The Great Elder asked me to instruct you." Chu Jinglan said without any expression, "I will only say it once."

Chu Yusheng was impatient: "Who wants you——"

Chu Jinglan was shocked: "You were kicked out of the field at the end of the last game. It didn't have to be so ugly."

Chu Yusheng: “…”

He suddenly stopped talking and stared at Chu Jinglan with wide eyes in disbelief. He lost so miserably in the last match that his disciples didn't even dare to mention it in front of him, and yet Chu Jinglan came right up and ruined his game!

Chu Yusheng was so angry that he was about to explode, but Chu Jinglan said coldly: "Do you want to do this again in the next game?"

"You—"

The disciples beside him hurriedly held Chu Yusheng and said, "Brother Yusheng, don't get excited! Young Master, Young Master, please guide us first!"

Chu Jinglan read the whole thing emotionlessly, pointing out their mistakes and how to improve them, and then left without any regrets, leaving behind the swearing Chu Yusheng and the people who tried to persuade him.

Xiao Mo heard Chu Xiaoshi say weakly in the crowd: "But what he pointed out is quite right. I think I——"

"Old Ten, stop talking!"

That sound was quickly drowned out.

Xiao Mo lay on Chu Jinglan's shoulder and together they left the noisy voices behind. The competition arena was bustling with noise and bustle, but it had nothing to do with Chu Jinglan.

It has nothing to do with Xiao Mo.

Sometimes loneliness exists in the most noisy world.

Others do not understand my heart, the breeze can understand my thoughts better.

Xiao Mo moved on his shoulder: "When are we going back?"

The crowd had already moved away from them. Chu Jinglan stopped in surprise and asked, "Don't you want to see it?"

"I've seen it, and I don't think it's interesting."

Chu Jinglan tilted his head in surprise, and glanced at Xinmo Tuanzi lightly from the corner of his eye: "We can only leave in the evening."

"Ah, so long." It was only noon, Xiao Mo was immediately disappointed. He thought about it and actively urged the original body, "Let's not go to watch their competition this afternoon. Let's find a quiet place to lie down."

Xiao Mo never thought that Chu Jinglan would agree, after all, Chu Jinglan would go against him.

Chu Jinglan: "Okay."

"Or—what did you say?"

Xiao Mo's chattering came to an abrupt halt, and the entire mist ball bounced out from Chu Jinglan's shoulder in shock, floating to Chu Jinglan's face, staring into his eyes - well, the mist ball has no eyes.

Chu Jinglan's expression was calm, while Xiao Mo's face was filled with anger.

"You said yes, you actually said yes?" If it weren't for his physical limitations, Xiao Mo would have wanted to pinch himself, "I'm not hallucinating, am I?"

Chu Jinglan looked at the mist for a moment, and then for some reason, he looked away without leaving a trace: "I'm not following you."

Chu Jinglan said: "It's just that I just wanted to do this."

"Oh, I told you, this is the right way to do it." Xiao Mo breathed a sigh of relief, "Otherwise I would really suspect that the toxin has invaded your brain."

Chu Jinglan's expression froze for a moment, then he turned his gaze back and glanced at his inner demon.

Xiao Mo was totally oblivious: "Let's go for a walk and find a place with a good view!"

There was a good place for an outing near the competition venue, and Chu Jinglan chose a spot under the shade of a tree. He swallowed a fasting pill and took out a newly acquired sword manual to study, while Xiao Mo took out his flute and started to play it.

In the sound of the flute, Chu Jinglan turned one page, then two pages. When he turned to the third page, Chu Jinglan closed the book and said, "It's better to go back."

Xiao Mo was playing the flute vigorously, and when he heard this, he took the time to reply, "Why?"

The scenery here is pleasant, fresh and natural, how wonderful.

Chu Jinglan had a blank expression on his face: "Although their competition was terrible, it didn't ruin my ears."

Xiao Mo: “…”

Xiao Xinmo complained: "Don't you think I have improved?"

"I don't think so." Chu Jinglan raised his eyelids, "But my character has definitely improved."

I can even finish reading two pages of sword manual carefully while listening to the howling flute.

Xiao Mo felt that he was targeting him and that it was reasonable and well-founded.

Chu Jinglan wouldn't really be addicted to quarreling. He would feel uncomfortable if he didn't argue for a day, right?

Xiao Mo snorted and was about to say something when he suddenly heard footsteps approaching.

The people who came were stepping on the fallen leaves, making rustling sounds. There was more than one person. They stopped about a distance away from Chu Jinglan and Xiao Mo. There were many tall trees around. Chu Jinglan did not see the people who came, and the people who came did not see him either.

But the voice of the person coming was one they had heard before.

A few trees away, the voice of the young master of the Bian family was clear and aggrieved: "We are childhood sweethearts, and you even said that you wanted to be my partner in the future. How long has it been, and you only have Chu Jinglan in your eyes?"

Xiao Mo's spirits perked up. Considering the situation today when the young master was holding someone, the person who came with him was not——

"Brother Bian, but I, but I am already his fiancé..."

Sure enough, who else could this voice be but Su Baimo?

Xiao Mo felt that this was an opportunity for Chu Jinglan to get to know her fiancé better.

But Chu Lan stood up in shock, obviously wanting to leave.

If Su Baimo really likes the young master of the Bian family, they can just be together after the engagement is cancelled. It has nothing to do with him. Chu Jinglan doesn't want to listen to other people's talk about love, but before he can take a step forward, a third person joins the conversation.

"Oh, what's childhood sweethearts? After he was ignored by Chu Jinglan in the Chu family, I was the one who took care of him. He even cried to me and said that it would be great if his fiancé was me, right, Baimo?"

Chu Yusheng?

Chu Jinglan frowned and stopped.

It would be fine if Su Baimo only loved one person, but the current situation... seems a little bit wrong?

Xiao Mo saw Chu Jinglan stopped and flew out to stick his head out. Well, he was a whole ball of mist that spun out openly and no one else could see him anyway.

I don't know if it was because of the influence of the inner demon race, or because he no longer had any long-term goals in life after traveling through the book, and lived a much more relaxed and carefree life. Xiao Mo, who used to dislike watching lively things, also developed an interest in creating chaos in the world.

There is indeed a gap between the melodrama in the book and the melodrama in real life.

Xiao Xinmo doesn't mind the trouble: It's wonderful, I want to see a lot of melodrama.