After two very eventful days, the third was supposed to be the lucky charm and be as normal as possible. But the world seemed to be playing some kind of game with Xiaomeng. When she energetically opened the door this morning, two familiar faces greeted her. This time, Xiaomeng walked out and completely ignored the two visitors as if they were air.
Liu Yue and Xiao Ming trailed behind her, not leaving her shadow. Xiaomeng roamed around the garden, circling the willow tree at the center multiple times, but to no avail. Finally getting fed up with the continuous attention, she snapped back at the two girls, "What is it?"
"We wanted some help," Xiao Ming said.
"No," Xiaomeng shook her head and made her way to her room.
"Wait, Rong Ning is about to get married," Liu Yue called from behind.
Xiaomeng stopped in her tracks. Her head turned back. "Say it again."
"Sorry. Not married but engaged. Rong Ning has gone back to her home to get engaged," Liu Yue didn't let the chance slip by. "Moreover, it is against her wishes. We wanted your help to rescue her."
"How did you know about it?" Xiaomeng narrowed her eyes at the duo. She was not the little fool who could be fooled with one lie from these two talkative vixens.
"Two days ago, a letter arrived at the Fifth Peak announcing the engagement of Rong Ning. She had left for her home five days ago due to some emergency and didn't tell us anything about it," Xiao Ming explained.
"What if it's love at first sight?" Xiaomeng pressed. The two girls gave her a look as if asking whether she herself believed her own words.
Xiaomeng lightly coughed and covered up her embarrassment. "But I am just a Foundation Establishment cultivator. What could I even do between Core Formation matters?"
The eyes of Xiao Ming and Liu Yue sparkled hearing this. "You don't have to do anything. It's just the thought that counts." Yes, it was definitely not because they wanted to push Xiaomeng ahead after getting caught, so that they would get less punishment from the Disciplinary Hall even after their shenanigans.
Xiaomeng thought for a moment. She felt something was off from the excitement in the voices of her two friends. However, after waking up from the long sleep, she herself was feeling a keen urge to cause some trouble. If something happened, she would just say she was threatened. A Foundation Establishment cultivator and a Golden Core cultivator, anyone could see who the real mastermind was.
The smiling tigresses gazed at each other, completely oblivious to each other's plans.
"So, who else is coming with us? You can't seriously be thinking of going with just us three?" Xiaomeng smilingly asked.
"Of course not," Liu Yue replied. "We have already decided to talk with a few others. You should check whether Tian Yao also wants to come. We haven't talked much with her yet." More like, except for Xiaomeng, nobody talked much with her.
Xiaomeng nodded and knocked on the small door to Tian Yao's current room. The door opened in a few moments, and the medicinal smell drifted out. "What is it?" Tian Yao asked with her forehead beaded with sweat.
"Are you okay?" Xiaomeng worriedly asked.
Tian Yao went silent for a moment. "Just a small problem. I will take care of it soon. So, what do you want?"
"Do you want to come with us to crash an engagement ceremony?" Xiaomeng didn't beat around the bush and directly asked.
"You can go and play. Just come back in a few days." Tian Yao closed the door and going inside sat down in a meditative posture. She once again began her battle against the final throes of the heavenly lightning.
Xiaomeng stood stunned with the door slammed in her face. Why does everyone think I am just playing around? Were my kind intentions not visible enough?
"If she doesn't want to come, she doesn't have to," Xiao Ming said from behind.
"Yes, yes. She must be doing something important. Let's not disturb her," Liu Yue added from the side.
Xiaomeng's fallen mood was boosted once again. "Let's go to the others."
The trio made their way to the training ground of the First Peak. Tian Yao's residence was secluded from the whole peak, which had always been a problem, since Xiaomeng had to walk a lot every morning to even go get food. This morning there was no dish cooked by her mother, leaving Xiaomeng still hungry.
When the trio reached a populated area, a very bizarre scene greeted them. The disciples of the Disciplinary Hall were tying up and dragging away male disciples.
"It really wasn't me. I have not even heard of that book," a tied-up disciple shouted, but his captors paid him no mind. This was not an isolated case. There were several others shouting beside him. And the more they shouted, the angrier the Disciplinary Hall disciples became.
"Seems like the First Peak is always very lively, unlike our silent one," Liu Yue commented. However, Xiaomeng glared at Xiao Ming to her right. "If you don't talk, nobody will think you are dead."
Xiao Ming swallowed her words. How did Xiaomeng know I was about to say something?
Sometimes, when you say something a lot, the habit also gets ingrained in the people around you. And with these two girls behaving like twins birthed by different fathers and mothers, it was just about time for their habits to be known by others. Ignoring the dumbfounded looks on the duo's faces, Xiaomeng treaded her way toward the training area. Of course, she stopped at the dining area and took a few buns to accompany her on her walk.
Reaching the training grounds, loud booming sounds were coming from inside. Xiaomeng looked at the masterminds of the plan. "Are you sure about this?" Sometimes it becomes harder to control your own group members than the enemy, and they were going to face one such person now.
"Yes. We need someone to take the vanguard," Xiao Ming said with anticipation. It would be even better if he broke down several buildings.
Going inside the enclosed area, the person standing at the corner caught Xiaomeng's eyes. She hopped toward the girl wearing a yellow dress. "What are you doing here?"
Shen Yao jumped to her feet. Turning back, she gazed at Xiaomeng, "Senior Sister, why are you here?" That 'Senior Sister' half-melted Xiaomeng from smugness. She would definitely take good care of this Junior Sister in the future.
"I was here to meet a friend. What about you?" Xiaomeng asked.
Shen Yao's cheeks blushed at this. She replied in a mosquito-like small voice, "Today, I was going to meet my fiancé."
A case of puppy love. Xiaomeng internally sighed but externally her smile was impeccable. "So, which one is it?"
Shen Yao pointed to a boy getting pounded around by Tieshan in the middle of the training ground. He was somehow managing to not get his body permanently crippled even when it was being used like a hammer to create a few large dents in the ground. It reminded Xiaomeng of the good old days with Tian Yao.
After Tieshan felt that his training partner could not hold on any longer, he stopped. He turned his attention toward the new presences he had sensed before. His happy, boisterous voice boomed in the open training area. "I heard you had woken up, but didn't expect you to be moving around so soon."
"If you were so worried about me, you should have come to meet me sooner," Xiaomeng retorted. Tieshan could not say anything in return. He only went to that place when he started to feel more confident about his strength. And every time he would come back with broken bones and burnt skin. It was not yet time to visit that place again.
"So, what are you all here for?" Tieshan's eyes roamed over the trio. Meanwhile, Shen Yao was helping up a badly bruised Meng Chou in the background.
"We are going to crash Rong Ning's engagement ceremony. Do you want to come?" Xiaomeng straightforwardly asked.
Tieshan thought for a moment before replying, "Where should I meet you?"
"Meet us at the base of the Central Peak a little past afternoon," Xiao Ming answered.
"Okay, see you all then." Tieshan made his way out of the training area. Since Xiao Ming and Liu Yue were involved, the situation might not be as serious as Xiaomeng made it sound. As secluded as he was, even he had heard of their legendary exploits. At one time, the Fifth Elder even tried to sell them to other peaks, but the other Peak Masters paid her in return to keep them.
"That went very smoothly," Xiaomeng turned her attention back to Shen Yao and her beaten-up fiancé. It was hard to even see his face properly from all that beating. "You both can take your time." Waving her hand, she escaped the awkward atmosphere that was about to form.
Liu Yue and Xiao Ming caught up with her. "So, where to next?" Xiaomeng asked her accomplices.
"Um…" Liu Yue took a pause before replying. "Li Mingjian and the Grand Elder's grandsons are in secluded cultivation. The only place I can think of is the Third Peak."
Their target set, the trio did not wait. Yet, Xiaomeng stopped in her tracks. "Shouldn't you two be able to fly on your swords by now?" she questioned the two girls.
"Sorry, we forgot about that," Xiao Ming replied with a guilty face. When enjoying something very much, both she and Liu Yue had a tendency of forgetting such small things.
Boarding the sword and clutching Xiao Ming's robes, Xiaomeng felt the cool air brush against her exposed arms. The journey to the Third Peak was over very soon. Luckily, they didn't even have to go inside since Gu Da, Gu Yichen, and Bai Wenjun were all discussing something seriously at the Peak's entrance. The two flying swords were lowered beside the group.
"We were just about to come see you," Gu Yichen looked at the new trio and said in a serious voice. "Do you know that Rong Ning is about to get engaged?" The three people all nodded.
"We wanted to ask whether you will come to bring her back with us?" Xiaomeng asked.
"Of course we would," Gu Da said from the side. "That was what we were all planning for now."
"Since a lot of people have already gathered, I will be leaving then. I have several books to go through by today." Bai Wenjun went back inside the Third Peak.
That was the moment when doubts bloomed in Xiaomeng's mind. These two girls parading around with her had made the situation seem very serious from their words. But from the reactions of the others, it did not seem so. But since she had already started it, she would just see it through till the end. Let the consequences be… not too damned.
Gu Yichen pulled out a rectangular mirror from his storage ring and said, "Contact us through the transmission mirror when you are ready to leave."
"Okay. By the way how did you guys know about Rong Ning" Liu Yue asked.
"My family also got invited and they told me," Gu Yichen replied as he also made his way inside the peak.
With the work here done, Xiao Ming and Liu Yue had once again taken to the air. "What was that mirror?" Xiaomeng asked while standing behind on the sword.
"A transmission tool that allows for message transmission even at a very long distance. It's like a transmission talisman but can be used repeatedly," Liu Yue explained.
Xiaomeng did not show much reaction. In the upper realm, there were several such artifacts, most of which she used daily.
The last destination was the Sixth Peak. Getting down at the gate, there was complete silence all around. "What happened here?" Xiaomeng wondered aloud, but no reply came back. Just yesterday, this place was filled with merrymaking. It wasn't long before the trio found the source of the problem.
The disciples of the Sixth Peak were all kneeling down in front of the Main Hall. Their expressions were pained, and sweat trickled down their foreheads.
"Shouldn't we get out?" Liu Yue asked.
"Yes, it will be a good idea," a soft voice said.
"I also thought the same," Xiaomeng said.
"We think a lot alike," the soft voice replied.
"I wanted to ask," Xiaomeng turned her head toward the voice. "What are you doing standing here, Lingling?"
"I saw you three come in and followed," Lingling innocently replied.
"And why are they like that?" Xiaomeng pointed at the kneeling Senior Sisters.
Lingling shook her head. "When we came back yesterday, the Peak Master was in one of her angry moods and suddenly punished all the Senior Sisters. Luckily, I had already gotten off at my room before that happened."
"What about Han Li?" Liu Yue asked in a suppressed voice.
Lingling shrugged her shoulders. "Still hammering away at the artifact refining forge."
"Let's go, then," Liu Yue pulled Xiaomeng along with her. "We need to talk to him to get you a transmission mirror."
Xiaomeng was dragged along, and Xiao Ming and Lingling followed behind. The only recollection Xiaomeng had of Han Li was a quiet boy who always kept to himself. He was small and scrawny, half his face always hidden by his uncut hair. During the inner disciple selection, he was selected by the Sixth Elder just before her own turn came. After that, she did not have much interaction with him. It was like he had disappeared from the face of the sect.
After several twists and turns in the corridors, the four girls appeared at the artifact refining forge. "Take care," Lingling warned as she put her hands to the door and pushed with all her might. The stone door creaked loudly as it opened, and a large gust of hot air shot out from the small crack. Lingling jumped back and waited until the air had calmed down. Then she once again continued to push the door open.
Coming inside, a loud hammering sound reverberated off the walls of the forge. At the far corner, only a single boy was carefully hammering at the metal held between hot tongs. There were several red and black burn marks covering his hands, but his movements were unimpeded. The new arrivals carefully approached him.
Looking at the boy patiently working his art, Xiaomeng's mind was blown away. It was the first time she had felt that three years had really passed. All her close acquaintances were now Core Formation cultivators, their youth retained due to their early advancement.
However, Han Li was still at the Seventh Layer of Foundation Establishment. His height had grown a lot more than she remembered, and those thin, twig-like arms now rippled with muscles as thick as her fists. His small face had developed distinct features, accompanied by his long black hair tied back in a neat braid.
"Why are you here again?" Han Li asked in a gruff voice as he continued to shape the sword blade.
"Xiaomeng recently woke up and does not have a transmission mirror yet," Xiao Ming said in a subdued voice.
"Just take one and leave." Han Li did not look up from his crafting.
"Okay." Xiao Ming approached a wall to the side and pressed on a brick. The brick went inside, and the mechanical sound of gears turning was heard. The wall parted to reveal a hidden stone compartment. There were several transmission mirrors lined inside. Xiao Ming took one and moved a few steps back. The gears once again creaked and started filling the gap. In moments, the hidden compartment was closed and nothing felt amiss.
"Let's go." Xiao Ming gestured, and everyone went out the door. Lingling closed the door while leaving, giving Han Li his peace back. Xiao Ming handed the transmission mirror to Xiaomeng. "Just drop your blood on it, and it will be yours."
Xiaomeng took the mirror and, with an unwilling face, gently bit her thumb to draw out a few drops of blood that were dripped onto the mirror. Even if it was for a good cause, Xiaomeng still hated pain. The mirror absorbed the red drops. Xiaomeng felt a spiritual connection develop with the mirror.
"What next?" Xiaomeng turned to the others.
"Now, let's pack our own things for the short trip ahead." Xiao Ming smiled.
This was how a few girls carefully orchestrated their friend's engagement crash. If they don't crash and burn a few things, what kind of friends were they?