Mo Yu's arrival made the palace even more lively. Although he was Li Xinzhai's senior brother, he was not familiar with everyone. Wang Yanzhou and his men were still wary of him, intentionally or unintentionally, although Tang Chen didn't know what they were guarding against.
In Tang Chen's opinion, this man was not only open-minded, but also funny and silly. Almost every day when Tang Chen met him, he was either digging out bird nests in the trees or playing with Xiao Shuang'er; he was either watching ants moving house or engaging in a man-goose fight with a swan.
The weather was cool today, and Tang Chen had nothing to do, so he just went out for a stroll. As he passed the garden, he saw Mo Yu holding a flower hoe he had picked up from somewhere, tinkering with the corner of the wall.
Tang Chen was curious and went forward to take a look. The man was digging and burying under the wall, as if he was looking for something. "Hey, big brother, what are you looking for?"
Seeing that it was her, Mo Yu whispered in her ear with a mysterious look on his face: "When I came here, I heard that there was a treasure in Qingliang Valley. I was looking for it. Do you want to join us?"
Tang Chen burst out laughing. She had done this kind of thing many times before. So, as someone who had experienced it before, she could tell Mo Yu: "If you are looking for a treasure, it is definitely not here. I suggest you look outside the house."
Mo Yu asked, "How do you know?"
Tang Chen patted Mo Yu's shoulder and explained, "I go here every day. If I had it, I would have taken it long ago. Why would I wait until now?"
Mo Yu nodded thoughtfully and said bluntly, "That's right. Do you know where the treasure is?"
No one knew who had spread the rumor that Qingliang Valley held a treasure. Everyone claimed it was there, but no one had actually seen it. Although Wang Yanzhou claimed his mother had hidden a fortune there, he didn't say where. Even the Valley Master didn't know, let alone her.
Everyone was rushing to get the treasure, but they didn't know what Mo Yu wanted to do with it. "Senior Brother, what are you looking for the treasure for?"
After Mo Yu casually put the flower hoe away, he waved his hand and said, "I want to exchange money to repair the house first, and then build a road down the mountain."
Tang Chen smiled. From his description, she seemed to see a "hermit" who had been imprisoned in the mountains for many years, wanting to actively participate in the world. "What a lofty ambition! Good luck to you. I'll leave first."
"etc!"
Tang Chen had barely taken two steps when Mo Yu pulled her back. When she turned back to look at him, he seemed a completely different person. His eyes held a bottomless abyss. Beneath that a bewitching beast growled at her.
Seeing the confusion in Tang Chen's eyes, Mo Yu whispered, "Don't worry, I won't kill you. I just have something to ask Little Tang."
At the same time, Xihe also arrived at the study on time. She had only read half of the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" that Yaochen read to her yesterday, and she didn't know what magical content she would hear today.
Although Yao Chen was standing in front of the bookshelf, he didn't have a book in his hand. If Xihe hadn't called him, he would have stood there blankly for a while: "Aren't you going to read today?"
Yao Chen came back to his senses, picked up a book and said, "I won't read it anymore. Do you know where the master went?"
Xihe didn't know where Wang Ruo had gone, so she just thought she had gone out for something and didn't say anything more. She originally thought Yaochen was looking for Wang Ruo for something, but when she learned from her that Wang Ruo was indeed not there, he actually breathed a sigh of relief: "...Come with me."
Xihe followed Yaochen, twisting and turning in the cave until they arrived at a secret room not marked on the cave map. This place was very hidden, and the area around it was a patrolled gray area. Furthermore, the entrance was very narrow, and the surrounding stone walls were uneven, clearly carved out by someone. "What is this?"
After Yao Chen brought Xihe to his secret base, he lit the candle in the cave. Wherever the light reached, he saw all kinds of rare treasures. Yao Chen pointed at these treasures and said, "If you do me a favor, everything here will be yours."
The relaxed smile on Xihe's face gradually solidified and disappeared: "I said, I won't help you make medicine. The idea of immortality is just an illusion, just let it go."
Yao Chen shook his head. He understood Wang Ruo's intention in asking him to read the book. He could give up immortality, power, fame, and wealth, but he couldn't let go of the hatred in his heart that had supported him from hell. "Help me restore my appearance."
Upon hearing this, Xihe's body trembled slightly, and she agreed without a second thought: "Recovery is impossible. I don't know what you used to look like, but I can help fade the scars on your body."
She, in fact, had contributed to the terrifying appearance beneath Yao Chen's mask. If she hadn't harbored a tinge of "malice" back then, if she hadn't been blind, perhaps those horrific scars wouldn't have remained on his face. If she hadn't come here, even Xihe herself would have forgotten how many memories she had left behind in the darkness of that time.
Yao Chen gently touched the cold mask on his face. For many years, he didn't dare to look at his own face. "That's enough. Just tell me what you need. I will get it all as soon as possible."
Xihe said, "Before that, I must remind you; this is a long process, and it will take at least three months for the effects to show up."
Yao Chen calculated the time in his mind and frowned. If it was according to her, then it would probably take three to five years for him to no longer need a mask. If it were before, perhaps he could wait, but not now. "... Maybe I can't wait that long. How about your disguise skills?"
Xihe shook his head slightly and said, "I've only read about it in books, but I haven't tried it myself."
"I have nothing to do here anyway, how about giving it a try?"
Xihe was finding it increasingly difficult to understand the man before her. He was insane and cold, treating life as if it were nothing. Yet, he was also gentle and considerate, perceiving people's likes and dislikes. He was a complete tangle of emotions. From the time he asked her to refine the elixir of immortality to his sudden abandonment, she couldn't understand: "What on earth do you want to do?"
"I want to bring a dead person back to life."
Xihe didn't know how to understand Yaochen's words for a moment, wondering if they were meant literally or if there was a deeper meaning behind them:
"...You guys are all so hard to understand, not even as good as Achen."
Yao Chen chuckled and said, "That woman, perhaps, is not as simple as you think. If a person has never experienced despair, it is impossible to truly know whether the person sleeping deep in his heart is good or evil."
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