Chapter 27

—I like you.

Those were the only words left ringing in her ears, echoing through the heartbeat that had lost its rhythm.

She knew she would never forget them, no matter how many years passed.

She abruptly turned her eyes away.

The sound of gravel being brushed aside drew closer, then passed them by.

“He’s Xiao Chen. Xiao Chen, these two young ladies only arrived in the Savage Wasteland last night, but their strength is nothing to scoff at either. They’ll be coming with us today.” Big Brother Wei immediately introduced them.

The next step should have been for the two women to say something, but strangely, one stood staring blankly at the newcomer while the other remained motionless with her back to them.

“Ah.” Liufeng Xin suddenly let out a soft cry. She finally recognized him. Forcefully suppressing the excitement on her face, she glanced toward Lou Yue, only to find that her sister still had not turned around.

Liufeng Xin pinched herself and said in a breathy voice, “H-hello. I’m Mu Xin, and I cultivate the alchemical path. She’s my younger sister, Mu Yue.”

She deliberately emphasized the word “Yue,” but Xiao Rangchen merely nodded slightly without even looking at them.

For a moment, Liufeng Xin regretted having Lou Yue use the Voice-and-Visage Pill to alter her voice and appearance. Otherwise, she would have been witnessing the classic scenes of “reconciling after a breakup” and “reuniting after a long separation.”

Oh, and there would have been the added shock of, “So you’re actually a woman?”

But now, none of that was possible. The reunion after a breakup, the long-awaited reunion, the identity reveal—all of it had gone up in smoke.

Her fate was rather miserable.

Though, perhaps she had brought it upon herself.

“Then let’s get going.” Big Brother Wei waved for everyone to follow him out of the village.

Liufeng Xin hurriedly grabbed Lou Yue. Only after they had fallen some distance behind the others did she tug her close and whisper urgently, “You saw him yesterday, didn’t you? I was wondering why you’d lost your composure and chased after him. So you ran into Long Aotian!”

As she walked, she continued chattering. “The two of you really are fated to meet. You actually ran into each other again this quickly. What are you going to do now? This definitely wasn’t part of the plan.”

Lou Yue glanced at the tall, cold figure ahead and replied indifferently, “We’ll deal with it when it comes. Just keep your own tail hidden and don’t let anything slip—especially in front of him. Talk less.”

“Mm... sis, you really don’t plan to let him know it’s you?” Liufeng Xin was still unwilling to give up on her sweet reunion.

Lou Yue shot her a sidelong look. “Do you really need to ask?”

A little over a year ago, while she and Liufeng Xin were “eloping,” she had reached the peak of the Nascent Soul realm. In front of Liufeng Xin, she had directly transformed back into her true appearance, and the Formless technique had consequently begun working only intermittently.

Xuanba had said that the spiritual energy in that half of her inner core was nearly exhausted. If she wanted to maintain her Formless appearance, she would have to wait until she reached the Mahayana realm and use half of her spiritual power to activate it. Even then, the Formless technique would fail whenever she used too much spiritual energy.

Simply put, once she reached the Mahayana realm, she would be able to display her full strength in her female form. If she used her male form, however, she would only be able to exert half her power.

They had come to the Savage Wasteland to compete for the Ancient Sage’s inheritance. Using only half her strength would leave her with no chance of success, so she had no choice but to use her female form.

Fortunately, her true female body differed in build from the male form created by the Formless technique. Although her appearance had not changed much, no outsider could recognize her after she used the Voice-and-Visage Pill.

As for her techniques, what she had previously displayed in front of Xiao Rangchen were basic spells that nearly every member of the Lou clan knew. There was no need to worry about exposing herself.

“But it’s true. Your situation is complicated, so until you have enough strength, you’d better stay cautious.” Liufeng Xin had heard about the Lou clan’s female cauldrons long ago and knew how serious the matter was. She could only suppress her desire to indulge in the romance and mutter under her breath, “Only those who can endure loneliness will live to enjoy the sweetest reward...”

Lou Yue did not catch what she was muttering and merely told her to hurry up.

“Ladies, keep up! Don’t fall behind!” Fat Second called from ahead.

In an instant, the entire group transformed into streaks of afterimages and shot into the distance like arrows released from a bow.

Half an hour later, an endless range of vast, primeval mountains stretched before them. The peaks resembled crouching dragons, and an ancient, savage aura rushed toward them.

The moment they entered the forest, the light around them dimmed sharply. The rancid, moldy stench of rotting leaves and wet earth drifted through the air.

“There’s miasma around the outer perimeter. Anyone at the Golden Core stage can pass through by holding their breath. We’ll rest once we’re farther in!”

After passing through the miasma-filled forest, the group stopped beneath a massive tree.

“From here on, we’ll have to deal with savage beasts.” Big Brother Wei looked at Xiao Rangchen and spoke respectfully. “Xiao Chen, shall I lead the way as before while you bring up the rear?”

Xiao Rangchen gave a faint nod.

Lou Yue deliberately looked away from him.

“Xin, since you aren’t good at attacking, stay in the middle with Qiniang. Yue, follow behind them and guard both their sides. Second Brother and Third Brother, come with me and handle the enemies head-on. Xiao Chen, you take the rear. Does anyone have any objections?”

Everyone shook their heads. Big Brother Wei gave Lou Yue a deliberate look, and after seeing her silent agreement, he called out in a ringing voice, “Move out! If everything goes smoothly, we’ll reach the Ancient Sage’s ruins the day after tomorrow.”

The group set out once more. Since they had to guard against surprise attacks by savage beasts, their pace slowed considerably. Yet this arrangement proved troublesome for Lou Yue.

Xiao Rangchen was following right behind her. Although there were three or four meters between them, his presence was overwhelmingly strong. As a result, she kept unconsciously overtaking Liufeng Xin and Qiniang, whom she was supposed to be walking behind, as though some terrifying flood or wild beast were chasing her from the rear.

Liufeng Xin sent her a sly, teasing glance, while Qiniang looked at her in surprise.

Lou Yue pressed her lips together and slowed down.

It had only been two years since they last met. Was there really any reason for her to keep losing her composure ever since yesterday, needlessly giving him the upper hand?

He was the one who had lied. She was the one who should be standing tall and questioning him with righteous indignation.

Once the Ancient Sage’s inheritance was secured, she would make him pay sooner or later.

Lou Yue took a deep breath and banished the annoying man from her thoughts.

They encountered several waves of savage beasts along the way, but Big Brother Wei and the other two dealt with them all. As they ventured deeper, the beasts grew stronger, and the group’s progress slowed further.

They had just finished another fierce battle and were resting to recover their strength when Lou Yue sensed an extremely subtle disturbance.

It was coming from... directly beneath Liufeng Xin’s feet!

She suddenly seized Liufeng Xin and Qiniang and leaped to the side. The black bracelet around her wrist instantly broke apart in midair, transforming into dozens of black spears that pierced into the ground with ruthless precision.

“Screech!”

The earth writhed violently, and soil surged upward. After a tremor, everything gradually settled.

Big Brother Wei and the others pried away the shattered rocks and dug a spider-shaped beast from beneath the ground. Its entire body was pitch-black.

“It’s a two-hundred-year-old burrowing spider! This thing is sinister and exceptionally skilled at concealing its presence. Who knows how many people have died to it? We didn’t detect it at all!” Fat Second looked at Lou Yue with undisguised admiration. “Miss Yue, your senses are incredible!”

The corners of Lou Yue’s eyes lifted. She raised her chin slightly and accepted his praise.

With a slight lift of her fingers, the dozens of spears condensed back into a bracelet and clasped around her wrist. When she looked up, she happened to meet Xiao Rangchen’s eyes.

Before she could make out the depths of his gaze, his attention shifted to the Form-Manifesting Cube on her wrist.

Lou Yue immediately lowered her hand, letting her sleeve fall over the Form-Manifesting Cube.

What are you looking at? Even if you stare all you want, you still won’t recognize me.

Xiao Rangchen withdrew his gaze. At his side, Yu Youchun’s voice rang out:

“That girl’s artifact is rather interesting. It should be capable of changing into all kinds of forms—a useful surprise attack, to be sure.” He thought of how Xiao Rangchen had just raised his hand before lowering it again, and a hint of amusement and appreciation appeared in his eyes. “She’s only at the mid-Mahayana stage, yet her reactions are no slower than yours, a mid-Void Refinement cultivator. Her perceptiveness is unmatched among those of the same rank.”

“She was the one who followed you yesterday too, wasn’t she?”

“I can’t make out her features with that veil on, but that talent of hers does suit you. I say you should stop pining after that young man and take a look at the person right in front of you.”

Over the past two years, whenever Yu Youchun encountered a woman with promising aptitude, he would whisper sweet nothings into his disciple’s ear. Unfortunately, he had never succeeded even once. At first, he thought his disciple was gay and even tried to set him up with several outstanding men. Only after his disciple threatened to sever their master-disciple relationship with a cold expression did he finally give up on finding him a man.

But if his disciple wasn’t gay, then why was he so hung up on that young man, thinking of him day and night? Yu Youchun sighed. He simply felt that his disciple worked himself far too hard and wanted to find him a partner who might make him value his own life a little more. Staying so tightly wound all the time would lead to trouble sooner or later. Unfortunately, his disciple had no understanding whatsoever of his painstaking efforts.

Once everyone had finished packing up, they continued on their way. Yu Youchun kept chattering into his disciple’s ear. Clearly, they could communicate telepathically through the soul oath binding them, yet he preferred this lively method of teasing him.

【Master, be quiet.】

Xiao Rangchen leaped through the forest, his gaze occasionally drifting toward the dark-blue figure ahead.

As soon as the sun went down, night swallowed the forest in an instant.

Big Brother Wei stopped. “We’ll camp here for the night. Second Brother, Third Brother, go sprinkle the medicinal powder around the area. Us men will take turns standing guard tonight. The order stays the same: Third Brother, Xiao Chen, Second Brother, then me. Any objections? If not, get some rest. We’ve got a tough battle tomorrow!”

Lou Yue leaped into a nearby tree and leaned against the trunk, preparing to rest for a while. Liufeng Xin, however, seemed to have something in mind. She volunteered to help Fat Second scatter the medicinal powder, then returned after quite some time and eagerly leaned close to Lou Yue’s ear to whisper:

“I’ve found out all about him. Xiao Rangchen joined their group a little over two months ago. Before that, he apparently always entered the wilds alone. Sixth Brother, who died, had some connection with him, so he agreed to come only after Big Brother Wei invited him. They say he’s at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, but he’s actually stronger than that. No one’s seen his limits yet.”

Lou Yue said lazily, “Why bother finding out about him?”

“Ah, I thought you wanted to know.”

“I don’t.”

Liufeng Xin settled down beside her. “All right, then. Let’s just say I wanted to know.” With that, she closed her eyes and went straight to sleep.

“...”

Because of what Liufeng Xin had said, Lou Yue’s thoughts wandered into all sorts of strange and nonsensical directions. It took her quite a while to calm her mind and regain her composure.

When Fat Second passed by on his way to relieve the night watch, Lou Yue’s vigilance was aroused. Through her barely opened eyes, she soon caught sight of a swath of black fabric.

She did not move. She simply lowered her gaze and watched the empty ground below. The faint rustle of fabric rubbing together and the delicate sound of liquor being poured down someone’s throat trickled into her ears, thread by thread.

The sounds suddenly fell silent for a long while before she slowly lifted her eyes.

Beneath the silver moon hanging in the sky, the man leaned against the tree trunk, his right hand holding a wine flask loosely against his raised knee.

His left hand gripped something jade-green. His fingertips seemed to be rubbing it as he lowered his head and stared at it, a deep loneliness spreading around him.

Lou Yue couldn’t see the expression in his eyes beneath the mask, but she felt that his gaze was utterly focused.

She ​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‍really wanted to know what he was holding, but the object was hidden behind his raised leg, revealing only the green tip of its tail.

Suddenly, the man turned his head and looked over—

Lou Yue immediately closed her eyes.

...There was no way she, Lou Yue, would ever be caught peeking. How embarrassing!