In the depths of the pitch-black night, after an exhausting day for Chen Ming, who had been forced to scour the area for Morse and his disciple. On top of that, bizarre weather anomalies had been occurring across Jian Province, leaving him with a splitting headache as he fantasized about the day he could finally return to his sect and leave these troubles behind.
Still, he couldn't abandon his childhood friend. He suspected that Morse, who had no place at the inn, might have gone to the Morse family estate—the Xuan family. He even feared that Morse might have been harmed there.
When he finally arrived via his flying sword, he found the estate in utter chaos. Bing Xuan had already been rushed for medical treatment, and the entire Xuan household was in a state of turmoil he never expected.
Now, Chen Ming sat in his childhood home in Jian Province. He had returned only fifteen minutes ago and had already dispatched energy jade messages to his assistants to continue the search.
But just as he was relaxing in his wooden bath...
Knock, knock, knock.
A knock echoed at his door. He extended his Divine Sense to peer through the walls and identify the visitor. To his shock, he saw Morse's disciple—but more surprisingly, she was carrying his friend over her shoulder.
He lunged out of the bath, his robes magically snapping onto his body instantly. He rushed to the door and flung it open, his heart racing with anxiety.
"My God! What happened to you both?!"
Ni Ni Layan was utterly exhausted. She had been forced to fight for a long duration before managing to conceal herself, waiting until she recovered enough strength to reach the address Morse had given her.
Morse had acted very strangely; he woke up for a brief moment, tried to stand, but realized he was in no condition to move. He had managed to instruct Ni Ni Layan to take them to Chen Ming's residence. Once she regained some of her essence and reverted to her original form, she flew to the house.
Chen Ming welcomed them in, rushing to lay the injured Morse onto a bed.
"Where did you guys disappear to?! I've searched everywhere for you... Morse! Morse! Damn it, he looks badly hurt. Stay here—I'll call a doctor immediately!"
Ni Ni Layan signaled for him to stop.
"There is no need for that..."
She gestured for Chen Ming to stay exactly where he was, frozen. She looked directly into his eyes, and he felt her dangerous aura instantly. It was an absolute command; there was no defying her will.
Intimidated, Chen Ming quickly averted his gaze, looking away from those piercing eyes.
The girl placed her hands gently on Morse's body as he lay on the bed. She was still wary, believing the Xuan family warriors might be hunting them. She was still recovering, not yet at full strength—facing another assault would be difficult.
Morse's skin had already begun to knit over his wounds, though some scars remained on his back. Having reached the peak of the Soul Palace Realm, Ni Ni Layan successfully used one of her healing techniques to stabilize him.
She sat on a chair beside the sleeping Morse and began to enter a state of cultivation once more. Chen Ming watched her, bewildered. She had seemingly aged overnight; just two days ago she looked like a teenager, and now she was a fully grown woman at the peak of the Soul Palace Realm.
"Excuse me, My Lady... may I ask how old you are?"
Ni Ni Layan opened her eyes, her cultivation interrupted. She shot him a look so cold it made his skin crawl. It was a universal law: never ask a woman her age, no matter the circumstances.
"I... I'm sorry, My Lady. I meant no offense. It's just that Morse told me you were his disciple... I feel a bit confused. You look about his age. Are you... his lover?"
Ni Ni Layan closed her eyes again, attempting to return to her meditation. "None of your business."
Chen Ming felt a metaphorical stab to the heart. He realized he shouldn't have pried into people's secrets... but he was genuinely curious. He had known Morse since childhood; he knew how much of a "closet pervert" Morse was, despite his virtuous public persona.
"I didn't mean to be rude... it's just that I've never seen Morse accompany girls or fall for anyone. Ever since his mother died, he's been closed off. But that brat used to talk about girls in official training uniforms as if they were angels descended from heaven... but now, it seems he's chosen a different 'type'..."
Chen Ming suddenly realized his blunder. "Oops... I didn't mean that you are 'less' in any way!"
Ni Ni Layan's expression shifted to something unreadable. She stood up and approached him swiftly.
"What were you saying?"
"That he chose a different type?"
She shook her head, gesturing for what he said before that.
"The girls in official training uniforms?"
Ni Ni Layan nodded. "What do you mean, he speaks of girls in uniforms as if they were angels?"
She understood he was referring to the female cultivators in sects who trained together in groups. Chen Ming, thinking she was jealous, was terrified of lying to her.
"In the past... I don't know about now, I swear! In the past, Morse said his favorite type was girls wearing the grey official uniforms used for sword training. He said he loved watching them early every morning."
If Morse were awake, he would have screamed at his friend for leaking his private "research" without his consent.
"So, that is your favorite type... how lowly," Ni Ni Layan thought.
She couldn't believe the dignified Morse preferred girls in training uniforms over her—a celestial Phoenix. Yet, she felt a surge of secret joy. She smiled; now she knew exactly what clothes and what 'type' to use to ensnare him.
She could easily seduce him now. Despite his stupidity, Chen Ming had been incredibly useful. After all, if a mere kiss was worth 3,000 System Points, what about Dual Cultivation? One round would surely propel her to the Golden Core Realm.
"Where are the shops that sell this kind of clothing?" she asked.
"What?" Chen Ming blinked, caught off guard. He hadn't expected this. Did this girl love Morse so much that she'd buy a whole uniform just for him?
'Such pure, true love,' he thought. 'This relationship is definitely wholesome.'
Meanwhile, within the walls of the prestigious Xuan Family estate, in a massive chamber filled with all kinds of spiritual healing herbs... dozens of Level 2 and Level 3 healers were gathered. They were collectively channeling their spiritual energy to treat a man lying unconscious on a bed.
At the edge of the room stood the Head of the Xuan Family, Concubine Qian, the family elders, and Shen Li Xuan. They all hovered anxiously by the bedside of the completely unconscious Bing Xuan. Bandages covered nearly every inch of his body; he was in a truly dire state.
"My husband... look at what they've done to my son! Look at your son, suffering before our very eyes because of our negligence! This is undoubtedly one of Morse Xuan's schemes... that son of a bitch should have been killed from the start. It is my fault for letting him live another day!"
For the Family Patriarch, today had been one massive headache. He had been lured into a battle where most of his warriors were injured, and the intruder had escaped in the end. Not only that, but his home had been breached, and his son came inches away from death.
If not for the intervention of the Saintess of the Green Cloud Sect, who happened to be of their bloodline and was visiting her sister, Bing would have been a corpse.
As he pondered the situation, a cold shiver of fear ran through him. His son, Morse, was proving to be a terrifying threat. He now believed that the external display of power was merely a distraction to lure them away, while Morse's assassins infiltrated the estate. He had exploited the chaos to corner Bing and attempt to execute him.
For a moment, he felt a genuine fear of his own son. How could Morse be this cunning, this malicious—to strike his brother not on the battlefield, but within the safety of his own home? He never imagined Morse could harbor such a level of hatred.
He had assumed that once Morse's meridians were crippled, he would become useless. But he had returned, and he had returned far stronger than before.
"It is my fault... I should have known that her son would never be that simple," the Patriarch muttered.
He recalled the last time he saw Morse before the boy fell into the coma caused by Concubine Qian. He remembered Morse bringing him the weekly performance evaluation reports, his face etched with exhaustion. When asked, Morse had said he was drained from the nightmares haunting him. After that, he hadn't seen him again.
"Husband, you must avenge me! You must avenge your son!"
The Xuan Patriarch glanced at her before walking out of the room. He stopped abruptly in the hallway.
"What do you want...?"
There was no one in front of him, yet a voice manifested in the air.
"Oh, you're quick to respond..."
Suddenly, a tiny, demonic specter crawled out of his chest. Hovering before him was the distinct form of a Demonic Child, the product of the forbidden Demonic Child Technique.