Mu Ningzhu asked, "We're not even acquainted with Li Daoyou, nor were we invited. How would we attend the ceremony?"
The inn attendant immediately smiled and explained, "To be able to arrive in Shuangshan City at this moment is already a stroke of fate. On the day of the Dao Companion ceremony, everyone in the city will be offered a cup of spirit wine. The City Lord's Manor will also distribute some spirit pills, spirit plants, and magical treasures. No cultivator will leave empty-handed. It's a celebration for the entire city."
"Tsk tsk, the City Lord is really going all out for his son."
"Exactly. Li Cangyuan Zhēnrén has already been appointed as the successor by the old City Lord. This ceremony is as much about the marriage as it is to establish his future status."
The attendant spoke freely, holding nothing back.
They had just reached their rooms when the attendant added a few reminders. After receiving a tip in low-grade spirit stones, he happily headed back downstairs.
The group of four split into pairs. Mu Ningzhu took Zhang Yan, while Yun Xi shared a room with Qin Tongshuang. After resting for an hour, the four went out together to explore Shuangshan City. Yun Xi also wanted to pick up a few souvenirs for her siblings back home.
When they came down to the first floor, they happened to see that Fellow Daoist Zhou was already there, along with Zuo Die'er and Xiao Ya. The three of them were staring at the innkeeper.
The innkeeper wore an apologetic expression. "My apologies, honored guests. It's not that I don't want to earn spirit stones, but there truly are no upper rooms left. The last two were booked just an hour ago."
Yun Xi immediately perked up. This was clearly the continuation of yesterday's gossip. She slowed her steps deliberately, and Qin Tongshuang, catching her drift, followed suit.
Perhaps exhausted by Zuo Die'er's persistence, the innkeeper looked over and saw Yun Xi's group. He quickly pointed them out. "Those guests are the ones who reserved the last two upper rooms. I swear I wasn't lying."
Zhou Langchen turned to look, meeting four pairs of calm, clear eyes. In that instant, unpleasant memories rushed back. His expression stiffened. He gave a small nod and quickly averted his gaze, clearly unwilling to interact with them further.
Zuo Die'er, however, was not one to read a room. In a flash, she blocked their path.
"Daoyou, could you let us have your upper rooms? I'm willing to pay double the spirit stones."
After saying that, she realized her tone was a bit forceful and might leave a bad impression on Brother Zhou. She softened her voice.
"My companion is injured and needs a quiet room. The upper rooms are equipped with spirit-gathering formations. I hope you can understand. I'll make sure to compensate you."
Mu Ningzhu frowned slightly. Her tone implied that if they refused, they'd be in the wrong.
Yun Xi's eyes flickered. She immediately sent a voice transmission to Mu Ningzhu. Mu Ningzhu's expression paused for a moment, then she opened her mouth.
"We understand your difficulty, Daoyou. However, we are also staying in Shuangshan City for two days. Giving up both rooms isn't possible. But considering the fate that brought us together with Zhou Daoyou, we can give up one room. As for the spirit stones…"
Zuo Die'er had originally hoped to get a room next to Zhou Langchen. Now that they could share a room, it was an unexpected bonus.
Without hesitation, she handed over a storage pouch to Mu Ningzhu, fearing the other might change her mind.
Mu Ningzhu swept her spiritual sense through the pouch, transferred the spirit stones into her own pouch, and then tossed the room's restriction token to Zuo Die'er. She didn't linger and led the other three out of the inn.
The innkeeper also looked relieved. The group had made a tidy profit, so they were in good spirits. The only one unhappy was probably Zhou Langchen.
As they left, they could still hear Zuo Die'er trying to convince Fellow Daoist Zhou to stay in the same room.
Once they were out of earshot, Mu Ningzhu asked Yun Xi, "Junior Sister Wei, why did you help that Zhou Daoyou out of that situation?"
Yun Xi shook her head. "I wasn't exactly helping him. I just thought, since we'd run into a soft-headed fool, we might as well earn back the spirit stones we spent on the flying ship. It's safer for four of us to share one room anyway. Better to save when we can while traveling."
Qin Tongshuang's mouth twitched. She exposed her immediately. "Martial Aunt Wei, if you want to watch some drama, just say so. No need to make up excuses."
"Come on, don't spoil the fun. Don't you think we have quite the fateful connection with Zhou Daoyou? No harm in watching a little drama." Yun Xi chuckled as she spoke.
Mu Ningzhu sighed and gestured for them to keep moving. "Stop getting distracted by other people's messes."
After they divided up the spirit stones from Qin Tongshuang, they went out to shop. By the time they returned to the inn, Zuo Die'er's group was nowhere in sight.
The restriction on the neighboring room was still active. Someone was inside, though it wasn't clear if all three of them were there.
The next morning, the four awoke from their meditation. After breakfast in the inn, Mu Ningzhu said, "We'll walk around the city today. Tomorrow we set off."
Yun Xi blinked, then asked, "Senior Sister Mu, we're not attending the ceremony?"
"What ceremony?"
"The Dao Companion ceremony of Li Cangyuan from the City Lord's Manor."
Yun Xi gave her a look as if to say, "You forgot already?"
Mu Ningzhu looked surprised. "What does Li Cangyuan's ceremony have to do with us? It's not like we were invited."
Yun Xi's eyes widened. "Senior Sister Mu, yesterday the inn's attendant told us we could attend. The City Lord's Manor will even be giving out gifts. Didn't you say we'd stay for two more days before heading out?"
"Yesterday? We just got off the flying ship this morning."
Qin Tongshuang also looked curiously at Yun Xi.
Yun Xi frowned. A bad feeling surged in her chest. She immediately checked her storage pouch. Everything she had bought yesterday was still there. She let out a quiet breath, then said,"Senior Sister Mu, check your storage pouches. See if there's anything extra."
The three of them exchanged looks and sent their spiritual sense into their storage pouches. Moments later, their faces were full of confusion. They all turned to Yun Xi with questioning eyes.
Yun Xi sighed and began explaining everything that had happened the previous day. She even took out her purchased items to prove her story.
Mu Ningzhu's expression darkened. "So, you're saying we've lost an entire day of memory. Why are you the only one who remembers?"
Yun Xi paused. She began thinking hard, trying to figure out why only she had retained her memory. She glanced at the three of them staring at her and then looked down at herself, resting her chin on one hand as she began to analyze.
All four of them had entered Shuangshan City together. From the moment they disembarked, they hadn't separated. That meant no one had been targeted alone. If one of them had been attacked individually, the others would have noticed.
That only left one possibility: a powerful cultivator had acted on all of them at once. But why had she been the only one spared?
Yun Xi didn't believe she was important enough to warrant special treatment. The only explanation was that the other party had tried to erase her memory too, but had failed.
Suddenly, Yun Xi's eyes lit up.
Aside from concealing her cultivation, she had one other advantage. Her spiritual sense was far stronger than the others. Anyone capable of forcibly wiping away a full day of memory would need Divine Transformation level spiritual power. Anything lower wouldn't be enough.
The moment Yun Xi's expression brightened, the others could tell their little Junior Sister had figured something out.
After carefully choosing her words, Yun Xi said, "Someone erased your memories of that day to keep us here in Shuangshan City.
As for why I still remember, it's because an elder in my clan left a protective imprint in my soul. That's the only reason I wasn't affected. If you want to verify whether I'm telling the truth, there's a simple way. We just have to try leaving Shuangshan City."