Zhou Lili fed a few Spirit Nurturing Pills into the beak of the limp green bird, her eyes glistening with tears. She wiped the corner of her eyes, then lifted her gaze to look around.
"The Fairy is right. In this situation, when those male cultivators see you, they only glance back again and again while walking away. None of them just stand there dumbly or step forward to speak with you. That is far too abnormal. If the green bird cannot fly, then the possibility is indeed very high!"
Yao Ranran: "..." So she was being used as the point of comparison?
After speaking, Zhou Lili untied the small bamboo tube from the bird's claw. She forced a drop of blood from her fingertip, opened the lid, and took out the mustard-seed paper slip, a communication medium commonly used in the cultivation world.
Yao Ranran's eyes lit with curiosity. "That little bamboo tube looks so ordinary, yet it has such a hidden mechanism. It can only be opened with the Zhou family's blood, right?"
Zhou Lili blinked in surprise. "No. As long as you feed it blood, anyone can open it."
"..." Then what's the point of it existing?
Her eyes suddenly widened as she read the slip. Zhou Lili sucked in a sharp breath, her mouth gaping like a chest about to burst open. "There really is a supreme treasure that has appeared! Who would have thought such a priceless thing would be auctioned in such a remote little city!"
"What exactly is it?" Seeing Zhou Lili's expression spin out of control, Yao Ranran instinctively reached out to lift her chin before it dropped open completely, then stepped back a few paces.
"Physician Zhou, can't you smell it? The air carries a strange, layered scent." Yao Ranran pinched her nose, her brows drawing tight.
Snapped out of her daze, Zhou Lili wrinkled her nose and sniffed. "What scent..."
Yao Ranran's voice drifted, calm and almost mocking. "It should be like the stench of rotten eggs, unbearably foul, yet laced with many more complicated traces. You can catch familiar hints of grains, mixed with sharp, acrid undertones. It often slips into crowded places without warning, invisible and silent. And no one can ever find the real culprit... Physician Zhou, do you understand?"
"Don't... don't say it!" Zhou Lili's face turned green as if she had been poisoned. She shoved the bird into Yao Ranran's hands and staggered to the wall to vomit.
Yao Ranran waited upstairs.
When Zhou Lili finished, the two of them donned veils to make walking in public easier.
But as they went on, Zhou Lili's body was clearly weakened.
Gu Ling Mountain.
In the surrounding ridges, several vines whipped through the air, slicing apart with flashing blades of qi. Xiao Rong was reclaiming a new patch of farmland.
A pair of white boots stepped into view. Xiao Rong looked up and blinked. "Ye Daoyou, why have you come?"
Pu Yehai's face was as pale as ever, lips bloodless. "Xiao Rong Daoyou, I have stayed in the village for some time, yet there is one thing I cannot understand. So I came especially to seek your guidance."
Seek guidance? From him?
Hearing such respectful address, Xiao Rong's little heart soared. He planted his fists on his hips and grinned. "What is it you don't understand? Say it and I'll tell you. In this village, there's nothing I don't know!"
A shadow flickered in Pu Yehai's dark eyes. He covered his mouth and coughed lightly, holding back weakness as he asked, "Xiao Rong Daoyou, after living in Bishui Village for days, I noticed that across from Gu Ling Mountain there is an unnamed peak. From what I can see, it bears signs of habitation, yet no one ever comes out from it. Could it be... that a hidden master resides upon that mountain?"
He finally voiced the question he had been pondering for so long.
Pu Yehai fixed his gaze on Xiao Rong's young face, not letting a single flicker of expression escape him.
Xiao Rong's little brows creased as he returned the gaze curiously. "Why would you think someone like that lives up there?"
Pu Yehai spoke slowly, measuring each word. "To be frank, before I even entered Longyin Village, I heard in Langgan City rumors that a Divine Transformation Zūnzhě dwelled in these lands. So when I saw signs of someone living alone atop that mountain, I could not help my curiosity."
Xiao Rong's face tightened. "Langgan City? The rumors spread that far already?"
Pu Yehai's heart sank. "Why was this little tree so tense? Could the rumors from Mingxia Sect actually be true?"
His thoughts spun rapidly. He feigned surprise. "Xiao Rong Daoyou doesn't know? Why, I thought the entire Eastern Wilderness knew by now! It's only uncertain when this Divine Transformation Zūnzhě will ascend."
Xiao Rong's expression changed drastically. "Ascend? What ascension? Don't talk nonsense! There's no such thing. Gu Ling Mountain has no Divine Transformation Zūnzhě. Those outside are spreading lies, all lies!
Ye Daoyou, you mustn't be deceived by such rumors! Never mention a Divine Transformation Zūnzhě here again, especially not in front of the Boss! I'm saying this for your own good!"
Worked up nearly to the point of stomping, Xiao Rong spat out his words with spittle flying, desperate to silence him.
But the more flustered Xiao Rong became, the deeper Pu Yehai's suspicion grew.
If there was truly nothing, why such an extreme reaction?
He was about to press further when Tang Xiangyin came walking cheerfully from another slope. "Xiao Rong, Ye Daoyou, what are you two talking about?"
At once Xiao Rong clamped his mouth shut and shook his head. "Nothing, nothing at all! Let's hurry and keep working, the Boss should be back soon!"
Tang Xiangyin blinked in confusion, but didn't think much of it. She smiled at Pu Yehai, then joined Xiao Rong in turning the soil.
Pu Yehai stood pale-faced at the side, lips pressed into a thin line.
Gu Ling Mountain... perhaps really did harbor a Divine Transformation Zūnzhě. His plans would have to be delayed.
As dusk spread its golden veil across the land, the fields glowed with warmth. Yao Ranran and Zhou Lili rode a flying artifact through a great formation that bloomed with seven-colored radiance.
From the village below rose curling smoke from kitchen fires. Dogs barked, roosters crowed. Families lifted steaming dishes from their pots as young men returned home from the fields.
High above, Zhou Lili looked down on them, then turned to gaze toward the scene outside the formation.
Recently, more and more people sought to enter Longyin Village. Not just mortals, but even cultivators with some skill longed to settle in this pocket of peace.
Outside was simply too chaotic.
"Thank you. This is for you." At the foot of Lone Star Peak, Yao Ranran handed over a small pouch of spirit stones.
Zhou Lili did not take it. She smiled faintly. "Fairy Ranran, there's no need to be so polite. It was just on the way. I should be going to Shiyan City's Baibao Pavilion to take a look."
Yao Ranran smoothly drew the pouch back without the slightest hesitation, as though she had been prepared from the start.
The corner of Zhou Lili's mouth twitched, her smile stiffening. "Fairy Ranran, farewell!"
If she stayed one second longer, she might actually curse aloud. No doubt even if she had taken the pouch, there would not have been more than five spirit stones inside!
Yao Ranran's brows arched in satisfaction, lips curved in a smile. "Zhou Lili has become so much easier to deal with."
She loosened the pouch, poured out five spirit stones, then slipped them back into her own storage bag.
"And these gifts, I must take to Lu Ziqian."