In the instant when Yao Ranran froze in surprise, Shen Yuefu turned slightly, his gaze falling on the bamboo grove where a powerful force had carved out a straight, blade-like path. With a wave of his hand, he summoned a lingering wisp of black qi.
"This person's cultivation is unfathomable. Did you see his face just now?"
Shen Yuefu's voice was cold and clear.
Yao Ranran stared at the black qi in his hand and shook her head quickly. "I don't know."
Did he think that little thief was the one who wrecked the bamboo grove?
Yao Ranran lowered her head. If that was the case, then good—she wouldn't have to pay compensation!
Shen Yuefu looked at the black qi in his palm, his brows sinking slightly. His cool gaze swept briefly over the crown of Yao Ranran's head, a flicker of doubt passing through his eyes.
Could a person truly change their heart in just a few short months?
Yao Ranran seemed to sense his stare and tilted her chin upward slightly.
Shen Yuefu's eyes chilled. She had better not still harbor affection for him.
"It matters not if you don't know. Take ten portions of spirit materials and leave this place."
He paused, then asked, "And why have you trespassed into Yiyu Peak?"
Yiyu Peak?
Was this the same Yiyu Peak from the novel?
Yao Ranran blinked in surprise. Why would Sect Master Han arrange for her to live in such an unlucky place? No wonder both she and Xiang Yin always felt the chill seep into their bones!
"I'll leave right away! Sect Master Han assigned us here, it wasn't my choice. Once I find a new residence, I'll take the others and move out immediately!"
Her words tumbled out in a rush, almost blurting how cold and miserable it was.
Snow began to fall faster, six-pointed flakes pelting down like shards of stone.
Irritated, Yao Ranran activated her robe's protective warding. But because Shen Yuefu was standing close by, several thorned vines suddenly lashed toward him.
Her eyes widened in horror.
Shen Yuefu caught the thorned vines effortlessly between two pale fingers, lowering his head slightly. Through the tear in his white robe, a glimpse of skin showed.
"Elder Shen, let me explain! This robe has an automatic counterattack function. I didn't know it would treat you as the enemy. I really didn't mean to hit you, I swear… pfft!"
Yao Ranran clamped a hand over her mouth, unable to suppress a laugh.
Why was she so delighted to see the male lead injured?
Shen Yuefu's icy face darkened further. With a flick, he snapped the vines apart, his hands falling to his sides as he stared at her with frosty intensity.
"Hit me? What exactly just happened?"
"It's just my robe… wait—where did the tear go?"
Yao Ranran pointed to the ripped section of his robe. But even as she spoke, his long fingers moved swiftly, forming fleeting afterimages.
She blinked. The robe was flawless again, no trace of damage.
Staring at him in shock, she found Shen Yuefu's expression as cold as ever.
"What tear? What is Fairy Ranran trying to say?"
"I… I wasn't trying to say anything!" she stammered.
"Good. Collect the materials and leave. Yiyu Peak does not welcome outsiders."
Turning away, Shen Yuefu added, "Nothing has ever occurred between us. What happened just now is the same."
Yao Ranran watched his retreating figure, his silhouette like a dream spun from frost and moonlight.
"Tsk tsk, what a conceited man!
Who would've thought that the aloof Elder Shen could be caught off guard like that? His white robe pierced straight through by Thorned Blood Vines, revealing such a scene. If word got out, half the female cultivators would have nosebleeds!
If it were the old me, I probably would've stolen a few extra glances. But now… Amitabha, heart like still water."
She pressed her palm together solemnly, imitating Mu Jialing's serene pose.
As she lowered her head and shook it slowly, Shen Yuefu, who had not gone far, nearly stopped in his tracks and turned back.
"Does she not know how sharp my divine sense is? Was she saying all that just for me to hear?"
A faint irritation pricked at him, but after a moment's thought, he calmed.
No attachments was better. At least her stay on Yiyu Peak would pass quietly, and there was no need to trouble Senior Brother Han to move her elsewhere.
His divine sense lingered on Yao Ranran's pure, unblemished face for a breath before withdrawing.
The most important task now was to find the little girl from his ten lifetimes of reincarnation. He could not waste time on irrelevant matters.
Gathering spiritual power, Shen Yuefu flew away, faster than before.
"Why do I feel like someone was spying on me just now?" Yao Ranran muttered to herself.
She scanned the bamboo grove, frowning. "But now it's gone. Was that little thief watching me in secret?"
Suspicion gnawed at her. To test it, she flung out the Nine Lotus Ring.
Lotus blossoms bloomed in the forest, petals scattering like a rain of jade, the silence broken only by her own breathing.
"So, did he really leave, or was he never here at all?"
Retracting the Nine Lotus Ring, she doubted herself.
Looking at the dimming sky and the snow stinging her toes, she hugged herself reflexively. "In weather like this, I should be at home, heater on, snacks in hand, watching a movie in comfort!"
She hurried away.
Not long after, a streak of white light flashed across the grove.
Shen Yuefu caught a drifting lotus petal that had not yet dissipated. He rubbed it gently between his fingertips.
"Purifying Qinglian, soft yet unyielding. Could there be another powerful cultivator hiding within Wuxiang Sect?"
…
Perhaps due to the turmoil in Eastern Wilderness, Tang Xiangyin and Zhou Lili had grown unusually diligent. The two who normally loved to laze about had locked themselves in their quarters to cultivate, never once stepping outside.
When Yao Ranran entered the quiet courtyard, she almost thought she had come to the wrong place.
"They're actually behaving for once?"
Moving carefully, she slipped into the house, shut the door against the snowy night, and opened the forge.
"With the materials Nie Rong gathered, I have enough to craft the teleportation staff and the Fuqu flying boat."
Nie Rong had presented a gift when he took her as master, but she hadn't given him anything in return. Rather than feel shame, Yao Ranran found herself envying the rules of Wuxiang Sect.
If the master's status was this exalted, she would have formally taken Nie Rong ages ago!
Humming happily, she hefted her massive black-gold hammer—larger than her own body—and set the prepared spirit materials in place before bringing it down with a ringing strike.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
The clear sound of hammer on metal rang across the empty slopes of Yiyu Peak.
At his desk, Shen Yuefu frowned. His gaze pierced through the thin walls toward the brightly lit courtyard halfway up the mountain.
"So noisy. Can she really cultivate in that racket?"
His divine sense brushed over the rooms of Tang Xiangyin and Zhou Lili, then came to rest on a simple hut.
He could not see inside.
That was not strange. Many cultivators placed arrays to block divine sense from prying into their dwellings.
Since the resident wished for privacy, he had no interest in peeking further.
"Even divinations cannot reveal the mushroom girl's identity. Is she just an illusion, or does she not exist in this world at all?"
His jade-white hand held up a vivid mushroom, perfectly preserved, its colors striking against each other. Shen Yuefu let out a faint sigh.
"An invincible life is nothing but dull."