Chapter 261 Strange Movement
Lu Shaocheng clearly wanted to say something more, but after seeing the girl's expression, he understood her determination. "Then I wish Miss Mu a safe journey and all her wishes fulfilled."
He tried hard to make his voice sound less lonely and reluctant, but he could fool others, not himself.
When we first met, her appearance was ruined and her arm was broken. Now, not only have her appearance and cultivation been restored, but she can also walk out of here openly. Isn't that a kind of strength?
If he also chooses to cultivate immortality, will they still have a chance to meet?
Lu Shaocheng watched the girl nod and turn to leave, and silently made a decision in his heart.
——
In the mountains and fields, a horse-drawn carriage was swaying and bumping along a winding mountain road. The roadside was muddy and slippery, and the light rain made it even more difficult to travel.
On the city wall not far away, a man in a white robe stood in the rain, holding an umbrella, motionless like a statue, yet his whole being was filled with sorrow.
"Master, it would be good to stop them and say a few words." Shan Chuxue stood to the side, her eyes fixed on the carriage that was going further and further away, her eyes filled with reluctance and struggle.
Once you leave this city gate, you're out of Duyunfang's territory. I never expected that even though my master saw me off all the way, I only dared to stand at a distance and look at him. I didn't even have the courage to meet him and say a word.
“Without identity, and without reason,” Baili Mochen watched the carriage disappear around the corner amidst the picturesque scenery, then concealed the gloom in his eyes, turned and left. “Let’s go.”
"yes."
After nodding, Shan Chuxue composed herself and returned to her previous aloof and indifferent demeanor.
The rain intensified, and the two figures disappeared from the city wall.
——
Wan Xing lifted the wooden curtain of the carriage window, looked at the verdant mountain scenery shrouded in mist in the distance, and said softly, "Since you say you are a young lady of the Xuan Shuang Sect, your father didn't send anyone to look for you even though you've been missing for most of the day?"
Previously, in the Xuan Tian Secret Realm, she only thought the other party was a cultivator with outstanding talent, but she never expected that she would be a young lady from a sect.
You really can't tell from her temperament at all.
"Thinking about it that way, they don't really care about you that much," Wan Xing covered the smile on his lips, then suddenly pressed his whole body close to the person next to him. "Would you like to become a guest elder in our family?"
“I disappeared in Yingzhou, and even if you wanted to look for me, it would be hard to imagine that I would be in Duyunfang,” Mu Jianjian withdrew her gaze from the shadow of the phantom butterfly outside the carriage, picked up the white porcelain cup in her hand that was gradually getting cool, warmed it with her true energy, and then stared at Wan Xing, who was looking at her expectantly, “Didn’t they give you any means to save your life when you suffered this ordeal?”
Wan Xing's voice trailed off, "I sneaked out this time, and besides, our clan can only stay in the secret realm because the tree spirit is still recovering, how can we help me..."
He muttered these words intermittently, then turned his head and saw the girl next to him trying not to laugh, realizing that he had been tricked.
"Oh, you little Mu Jianjian, I only mentioned the Xuan Shuang Sect once, and I wasn't joking when I invited you to be a guest elder," Wan Xing pouted, "I meant it!"
From initially glaring at each other to now being as close as friends, she was somewhat amazed at how quickly their relationship had progressed.
“Then I’ll thank you for your sincerity,” Mu Jianjian smiled slightly, took a sip of tea, and politely declined.
Wan Xing's eyes widened in disbelief that her invitation had only received a two-word reply. "Your polite refusal is really just a 'polite refusal'?"
“You are my friend. If the Wood Spirit Clan suffers any hardship, I will do my best to help you,” Mu Jianjian recalled the forbidden technique that had been removed by the Tree Spirit. “There is no need for such an empty title as guest elder.”
This explanation made Wan Xing feel much better. She took a breath and then heard the other person continue.
"Do you know what forces exist in the Upper Realm now?" Mu Jianjian asked.
“I’m sorry, I really don’t know much about this,” Wan Xing hesitated for a moment before telling the truth. “I’ve been living in the clan since birth, and many clansmen who have told me about the things in the upper realm are talking about things that happened ten thousand years ago, so the information is naturally inaccurate.”
Moreover, most of the clansmen said nice things to her, things she wanted to hear.
The principles I couldn't understand before, I can now grasp immediately.
Mu Jianjian shook her head to indicate that she didn't need to apologize for this. Just as she was about to put down the porcelain bowl in her hand, a tremendous tremor shook the ground all around.
"Boom boom boom—"
The carriage shook violently. Wan Xing frowned and lifted the curtain. "What's going on? What happened up ahead?"
"Girl, there seems to be a monster ahead! Such a huge black shadow leaped over the mountain and knocked down many large rocks!" The coachman's voice was filled with deep fear. His hunched back was tiny in the mountains, but he never loosened his grip on the horse's reins.
Seemingly afraid of losing this big order, the coachman, seeing no movement inside, immediately added, "Although the mountain road is a bit congested, we can get through by taking a detour—"
"No need. Since there are demonic beasts ahead, you can just drop us off here." Mu Jianjian sighed softly, recalling that the original book said that demonic beasts often attacked the people, but most cultivators ignored them, which led to the lives of the common people getting worse and worse.
She took out a few spirit stones from the bag and placed them in the coachman's hand.
The coachman stared in disbelief at the handful of spirit stones in his hand. "So many... Miss, this is much more than we agreed on. Really, you don't need to—"
“Just keep it,” Wan Xing interrupted him, glancing at the darkening sky. “It’s getting late, so we should hurry down the mountain to avoid losing sight of the path.”
The coachman then stopped talking, and before driving the carriage back the way it came, he gave the two of them a few more subtle instructions.
Wan Xing watched the girl's retreating figure as she walked away into the deep mountains, feeling somewhat uneasy. "Why did you give him so many spirit stones?"
Mu Jianjian glanced at her, "We asked so many coachmen and only he was willing to lead the way, which already shows that this place is not simple and dangerous. Moreover, he had a faint smell of medicine on him, probably because a relative was sick and he had to take the risk to solicit customers."
Wan Xing snorted, "You did observe very carefully."
I doubt you've ever looked at her this closely.
"I really don't understand. It's not even on the way to the Xuan Shuang Sect. Why do we have to go here? Is there some special meaning behind it?" Wan Xing muttered to himself, but he obediently followed behind the girl.
“There are people here, be careful,” Mu Jianjian didn’t answer her question, but narrowed her eyes and looked at the leaves that were moving strangely deep in the forest. “The coachman just said there were monsters, but I don’t think so.”
With a gentle flick of his finger, the illusory butterfly in his right pupil's field of vision vanished.
The formation inside the mansion of the Sand Cave has spread to this deep mountain place. Is it a coincidence, or is it that the people of the upper realm have ulterior motives?
If nothing had been found, that would have been fine, but the unusual activity and presence of people in these deep mountains indicated that it was indeed something to be concerned about.
"You think it's a person?" Wan Xing also became alert.
“Yes,” Mu Jianjian said softly as she saw a flickering fire getting closer in the distance, “How could a demon beast suddenly make a sound and then disappear without a trace?”
The atmosphere here is strange. Logically speaking, even if it were a person, her divine sense that she just released should have no reaction.
"Knock knock knock—"
A series of hurried footsteps approached, and the two turned around to see a group of people carrying torches appear in their field of vision.
"It's getting dark. Why are you two young ladies here?" The leader was dressed in a black robe. He looked like a burly man over thirty years old with a rugged appearance. His voice was deep and resonant, exuding authority without anger.
"My sister and I wanted to rush to the Xuan Shuang Sect to find our relatives overnight, but for some reason the coachmen refused to go this way, so we came alone." Mu Jianjian keenly sensed the man's murderous intent and vigilance, and her demeanor changed abruptly the moment she spoke.
She raised a soft, gentle smile and looked at the group of people behind the man, her expression kind and innocent. "May I ask why these gentlemen have come here?"
Seeing Mu Jianjian silently blocking her way, Wan Xing took a deep breath and listened to the girl's nonchalant lies. Suddenly, she remembered that she had been fooled in the same way before.
What kind of rich girl is like this...?
"We are cultivators who came here to retrieve the reward. We happened to see some commotion over here, so we thought we'd come and take a look," the man said coldly.
Wan Xing glanced at the group of people and suddenly noticed that their robes all had a star-like mark embroidered on the corner. After realizing something, she immediately sent a secret telepathic message to Mu Jianjian.
"I guess it's another caravan that makes money by accepting bounty orders. Look at the corners of their clothes, only the man and woman in the center don't have any markings on their robes, so they are probably the employers."
She recalled how she had been betrayed by a similar caravan and sold into the Red Chamber, and a wave of nausea washed over her.
"Speaking of the noise, that big dark shadow inside just now really startled my sister and me. We don't know what it was, but it even made the ground tremble."
Mu Jianjian's lingering fear successfully caused many of the other party to look down on her.
Lacking both cultivation and experience, yet daring to venture into the deep mountains at night, one is either foolish or stupid.
Seeing the girl's stunning beauty and troubled expression, the leading man knew what she wanted to say. Sure enough, the next moment, she made a request.
"May I ask what brings you here, gentlemen? If it's convenient, could you give my sister and me a ride?" Mu Jianjian asked anxiously and fearfully. "We can pay with spirit stones."
Wan Xing's hands tightened, his eyes filled with rejection. He immediately transmitted his voice secretly, "These caravan people don't look like good people at all. Look at the woman among the employers, she looks at us like she wants to eat us alive. Besides, we're wasting our time, why—"
Mu Jianjian immediately turned her head and calmed Wan Xing down with her eyes. Then she heard the leading man's refusal, "I'm sorry, our employer has a mission to perform here and really can't take care of the two ladies."
“Brother Sun, it’s alright, let them in, cough cough,” the man among the employers said, his face pale and his voice weak but his cough loud, as if he could cough up all the blood in his chest with every word he spoke. “It’s getting dark now, and it would be bad if they encountered a monster, cough cough.”
"Brother!" The woman supporting him turned cold, her words carrying a hint of reproach, but she couldn't win the argument and could only watch as the two women became members of the team.
She glared at the two of them with displeasure.
"These are our employers, young master Ouyang Wenjin and his sister, Miss Ouyang Wenni," Brother Sun introduced the group of people with a frown. "You can all just call me Brother Sun."
Mu Jianjian greeted him as he spoke, thanked Ouyang Wenjin, and then began to tell Wan Xing about her plan.
"When I was thrown into the sand cave, I saw a talisman array from the upper realm inside. The countless threads in that array actually connected to this deep mountain with true energy. Don't you find that strange?"
Wan Xing was puzzled. "What's so strange about it? It's normal for cultivators to have residual true energy."
Wait, shouldn't she be focusing on why Mu Jianjian can observe the direction of true qi?
How can this person detect everything?!
“I was just keeping a watchful eye out using a secret technique, asking the coachman if there was nothing unusual about the route. But since we encountered them, things are not so simple.” Mu Jianjian’s eyes swept over the Ouyang siblings without revealing her expression.
Wan Xing disagreed, "With the two of us, we can easily walk out of these mountains. Why should we go with them and suffer their disdain?"
“It’s hard to explain why the two of us women are here. If we don’t bring it up, it will prove that we have cultivation and strength. Did you see Brother Sun’s eyes just now? If we don’t show weakness, he might attack us directly.”
"Why?" Wan Xing followed Mu Jianjian's words and felt that he had indeed touched on something strange. "But aren't they just young masters and young ladies from families looking for something? It's not strange that they would look for a caravan with higher cultivation levels. Besides, they even took us in."
“Only profit would make him act, which means there will be many competitors for what they’re after,” Mu Jianjian said as Ouyang Wenjin turned back to smile at her, leaning on his cane. She returned the smile with a gentle smile. “If there’s a treasure they covet in this remote mountain, why can’t we get involved?”
Most importantly, there was the man who was walking with a cane. He looked so frail that he could be blown over at any moment, but was that really the case?
I'm just afraid that the days of Islam will be postponed again.
She recalled Sang Wanyue's appearance and sighed softly.
"Oh, so this is what they call 'eating pigs and pretending to be tigers'?" Wan Xing's tone gradually became excited.
Mu Jianjian: ...
“He’s pretending to be weak to take advantage of others,” she corrected.
Wan Xing scratched his head awkwardly, "Okay, this is my first time pretending to be weak to take advantage of others, I don't have much experience."
Mu Jianjian burst out laughing when she saw her silly and blank expression. "You don't need any experience to do this kind of thing."
"What experience do you girls have?" Ouyang Wenjin slowed down and stopped beside the two of them. His face was so pale that you could even see the veins on his face.
"Experiences on how to deal with monsters encountered in deep mountains and forests." Mu Jianjian remained expressionless.
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