The room became quiet for a moment.

Mo Xiaolan stared at Qiu Zhihe blankly, and Qiu Zhihe also stared at her steadily.

The two women stared at each other for a long time. Mo Xiaolan lowered her head, her slender fingers tightly grasping the hem of her skirt, and finally raised her head and said:

"Fellow Daoist Qiu, I only seek the Great Dao in this life. I will not indulge in the love between children, nor will I take the path of dual cultivation."

Qiu Zhihe was silent for a moment, then said calmly:

"My husband said that when he met you, he was in the most difficult time. He has always been grateful to you, but he knew that you were devoted to seeking the Tao, so when he was planning to find a Taoist partner for dual cultivation, he did not look for you."

Mo Xiaolan's ten fingers grasped the hem of her skirt tighter, bit her lower lip, and suddenly smiled bitterly:

"Fellow Daoist Qin said that I helped him through the darkest moment of his life. In fact, wasn't I also the one who helped him?"

She picked up the teacup, drank it all, looked down at the empty cup, her eyes were hazy, and her voice became soft.

"I was born in a small village outside Yunling Town. That year, the spirit beasts turned into monsters and caused disasters. My parents and sister all died, and I was the only one left in the village."

"A cultivator descended from the sky, killed those monsters, and then took me to Yunling Town on a flying sword."

"When she left, I asked her if I could go with her, and she said that she only wanted to pursue a great cause in her life and didn't want to be burdened by anything."

"I remember that when she flew away, the sunset in the sky was very beautiful, dyeing the clouds red."

"From that day on, I made up my mind to pursue the great path in my life."

Mo Xiaolan put the teacup back on the table, and the smile on her face became more bitter:

"It's just that I was born with a weak spiritual root. After more than ten years of hard work, I have barely reached the third level of Qi training."

"I work hard every day to set up a stall, practice drawing talismans to sell, and earn spirit stones, just to continue practicing."

"However, I have attempted to reach the fourth level of Qi training more than ten times in these years, but have never succeeded."

Qiu Zhihe looked at Mo Xiaolan in astonishment. She was a rare genius who had been at the top since she was young. It was really hard to imagine that she had to make more than ten attempts to reach the fourth level of Qi training.

"When I failed for the sixteenth time, the spirit stones I had worked so hard to earn were all gone. I went to ask the manager of Feiyi Tower if he could advance me one month's salary, but the manager... wanted me to practice dual cultivation with him."

"I rejected him, and he slandered me in public for stealing spirit stones and wanted to kick me out of Feiyi Tower."

"I went to set up a stall at the night market at night, and Zhou Kun took a fancy to me and forced me to be his concubine. When I refused, he threatened to kill me."

"That day was the most desperate day of my life."

"It was snowing heavily that night. When I returned to Narrow Rain Alley, I saw Fellow Daoist Qin sitting at the noodle stall at the entrance of the alley."

"I was thinking, there are people like me who haven't eaten yet so late in the snow."

Mo Xiaolan paused, and the corners of her mouth curled up:

"Then, he suddenly looked up and said to me: Fellow Daoist, the night is cold and my heart is chilled, why don't you sit down and have a drink together?"

"I was like, I don't even know him, why did he invite me for a drink?"

Qiu Zhihe said coldly: "Lecher!"

Mo Xiaolan smiled: "Yes, I thought so at the time, but I was too tired that day and couldn't walk. Someone asked me to sit down and I couldn't refuse. That night..."

Mo Xiaolan lowered her head, her fingers that were grabbing the hem of her skirt slowly relaxed, and the smile on her face was no longer bitter.

Across the table, Qiu Zhihe's ten fingers tightly grasped the hem of her skirt, and the small blue veins on the back of her hands were bulging.

"He made me drink a whole jar of wine, and I was no longer cold. Then I stood up and said goodbye."

"But I didn't expect that when I walked to the door of the rented house, I turned around and found that he actually lived opposite me. His eyes were wide open and looked very funny."

Mo Xiaolan raised her hand to cover her mouth, and a girlish smile appeared on her heroic face. One can imagine how interesting the scene of her first meeting with Qin Gengyun was.

"After that, I would run into him every morning when I went out to do postwork."

"I would run into him every night when I came back from the night market."

"We sat together in the alley and drank more and more often."

"One day, he told me that he was actually infected with the poison and could only live to the age of 40. He went out early and came back late every day, desperately trying to earn spirit stones and practice, just to get rid of the poison before he turned 40."

Mo Xiaolan exhaled lightly, and her eyes regained their spirit:

"From that moment on, I no longer felt how miserable my experience was, because Fellow Daoist Qin's situation was even more difficult than mine, but he still didn't give up."

“Of course I can’t give up.”

"I want to improve my cultivation as quickly as possible and earn more spirit stones. If I succeed in my cultivation, I can also help Fellow Daoist Qin find the 'Ice Heart Rejuvenation Pill'."

Qiu Zhihe suddenly spoke up: "Then why don't you become his Taoist partner? Help him practice dual cultivation?"

Noila Mo was silent for a moment, then smiled: “He never asked me.”

Qiu Zhihe was startled, and Mo Xiaolan continued, "Because I said before, I only seek the great way in this life. I regard him as a confidant, and he knows that if he speaks to me, it will embarrass me."

"confidant……"

Qiu Zhihe bit her lips lightly, her hands still tightly grasping the hem of her skirt under the table, and asked:

"If he asked you to marry him, would you have agreed?"

Mo Xiaolan was stunned and silent for a long time. She poured herself a cup of tea, picked it up, and said to Qiu Zhihe:

"Fortunately he didn't ask, otherwise he would have missed the best woman in the world."

"Fellow Daoist Qiu, it is a great blessing for him to marry you. I am happy for him. I was not able to drink your wedding wine that day. Today I wish you... a hundred lifetimes of eternal love!"

Qiu Zhihe looked at Mo Xiaolan quietly. Her smile was as beautiful as an orchid and her eyes were as bright as stars. After a long time, Qiu Zhihe also picked up the teacup.

"Friend Mo Dao, it is his blessing to have a confidant like you."

Ding, the two teacups touched lightly, making a crisp sound.

After a while, Mo Xiaolan walked out of Qiu Zhihe's room, turned around and asked her:

"Fellow Daoist Qiu, I'm worried about Xiaoxue and Sister Si's injuries. Where are they recovering? I want to go and see them."

Mo Xiaolan was often whipped with the Thorn Whip in the dungeon, leaving her body covered with scars, but strangely enough, her wounds would only heal in half a day each time.

She actually didn't suffer any injuries in today's battle, but there is still some poison in her body that suppresses her cultivation. Luo Wenzhi has led people to search for the antidote in Chang Mansion at night, and will send it to her tomorrow if they find it.

So apart from feeling a little weak, Mo Xiaolan was otherwise fine.

However, Si Minglan and Fang Xue were already injured, and some of their spiritual energy and vital yin were absorbed by the earth mole, so their situation was not too good.

So it was reasonable for Mo Xiaolan to want to visit the two of them.

However, Qiu Zhihe hesitated. Seeing Mo Xiaolan looking at her doubtfully, she finally spoke:

"They are in the Cuizi room upstairs."

Then he gave her the key to the room.

"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Qiu."

Mo Xiaolan thanked him, went upstairs, came to Cui's room, and knocked on the door, but no one responded.

Mo Xiaolan hesitated for a moment, used the talisman key to open the door, and walked in gently.

After a moment, she hurried out of the room, closed the door, and ran away with her cheeks flushed.