Liu Qiao’e felt as if she had a dream.
It seemed like a long time had passed, yet it also felt like only a moment had gone by.
At this point, Chen Yuro carefully examined her expression and smiled as she spoke. “Who angered you this time?”
Liu Qiao’e’s demeanor was even more arrogant than before, and all the previous sneakiness and caution on her face had vanished into thin air.
Liu Qiao’e strode into the hall like a master of the house and occupied the only long couch inside. She said hatefully, “You shouldn’t have arranged for me to serve by his side while my mind was unclear!”
Chen Yuro smiled softly. “Wasn’t that your wish?”
“I just didn’t expect that after so many years, even with a change in status, your obsession with him remains so deep.” Chen Yuro lit a lamp and gazed at her intently before sighing softly. Liu Qiao’e did not respond to that and fell silent for a moment.
Chen Yuro knew she had misspoke and was not flustered. She sighed faintly and lightly shifted the topic.
“How did it go? You’ve been by his side for so long—did you learn anything about the whereabouts of the Soul-Returning Lamp?”
Liu Qiao’e remained silent.
Over these past days, whether intentionally or in a daze, she had inquired about Ling Yuan and the Soul-Returning Lamp.
But Mu Daoying was truly a filial and good disciple.
His personality was upright and gentle, yet when it came to anything involving his master, he remained on high alert, his mouth as tight as a clam shell. No matter how much effort Liu Qiao’e put in, she could not pry a single word out of him.
Afraid of arousing Mu Daoying’s suspicions, she always stopped and did not push too hard.
Liu Qiao’e furrowed her brows. “He’s too stubborn. Interrogation and coercion won’t work, but fortunately, his nature is still somewhat naive. He pities the poor and weak, despises the powerful, and has no defenses against the vulnerable—he’s utterly without guile.”
She recounted how Mu Daoying had previously invited her to leave the Joyous Union Sect together.
Chen Yuro said, “That’s a good way to gain his trust. You could agree first and slowly coax words out of him. If that fails, be honest with him and bring him back here for a thorough interrogation.”
Liu Qiao’e agreed and then asked, “Any movements from Qi Mei?”
Chen Yuro replied, “Her? She’s been exchanging flirtatious glances with Luo Yinxian all day. The two of them have secretly contacted the Blood Devouring Sect and are making constant petty schemes, just waiting to stir trouble on the day of the Joyous Union Grand Ceremony.”
“Hmph. That old monster Luo Yinxian is truly muddle-headed. We shouldn’t have spared his life back then!”
Chen Yuro sighed. “Everything has been arranged as you said. We’re not afraid of them acting—only of them staying still!”
The two discussed for a while longer until the sky gradually darkened. Chen Yuro glanced at the sky and urged her to leave.
“They still don’t know your identity. Hurry back. It won’t be easy to explain if someone sees you.”
The two had depended on each other for so many years that they had developed a familial bond. In private, they did not stand on ceremony. Liu Qiao’e had a sharp temper, but she always listened when Chen Yuro advised her.
Chen Yuro held the lamp at the hall door, its star-like flame illuminating the pitch-black night. She watched until Liu Qiao’e descended the mountain.
The path of cultivation involved stealing yin and yang, seizing creation from the heavens—a path fraught with peril. Every time a cultivator wished to break through a realm, they first had to overcome a layer of demonic trials.
These were heart demons.
The higher the realm, the more ferocious the heart demons became. Heart demons mostly arose from one’s state of mind, born from personal obsessions—resentment, hatred, worry, love, greed, anger, lust, and afflictions. Over the past millennium, countless cultivators had fallen to these layered demonic trials.
Later, someone came up with a opportunistic method: create an avatar and separate one’s human obsessions and malicious thoughts into it to evade the heart demon trials. After breaking through the realm, retrieve the avatar.
By then, with great cultivation achievement and deeper power, dealing with heart demons became much easier.
This was commonly called “dodging heart demons.”
However, this method was essentially cheating. It might work temporarily but not forever. If not properly resolved, the backlash during future breakthroughs would be even more ferocious.
“Dodging heart demons” was typically only used in dire situations when a cultivator urgently needed to break through.
With Qi Mei harboring ill intentions and liable to act at any moment, Liu Qiao’e needed to break through quickly.
The manifested avatar occasionally retained past memories and knew its origins, but it was still trapped in illusory demonic barriers, with memories often in chaos, fixated on momentary love, hatred, and enmities—like a person in a dream, “not knowing whether it was Zhou dreaming he was a butterfly or a butterfly dreaming it was Zhou.”
The sky was still dark when Liu Qiao’e descended from Floating Petal Peak and returned to Watercloud Ravine.
The night wind made her shiver all over. Old memories blurred, and she awoke as if from a dream, reborn. Suddenly, she realized she was Liu Qiao’e.
The most disliked person in Joyous Union Palace—narrow-minded and petty Liu Qiao’e.
Mu Daoying had rejected her again!
She rushed back to her room, her back soaked in sweat. Even a cleansing spell did nothing. Liu Qiao’e fetched hot water and soaked her entire body in the bath barrel.
The hot water warmed her comfortably, rippling over her skin. She submerged her head and face underwater and gradually calmed down.
The rippling water reflected her cheeks flushed red from the steam.
Her angry eyes, bright as water, took on a hint of winsome charm.
Liu Qiao’e scooped up water and saw her skin was fair enough, her figure slender enough, her arms supple as willow branches. She bit her lip resentfully and cursed inwardly: This youthful body, this prime of life—why did no one cherish it!
–
Mu Daoying was no stranger to women who confessed their feelings to him.
Hesitation led to chaos. Mu Daoying knew well that he could not waver on this matter.
When Liu Qiao’e ran out, he did not chase her.
He did not move either, simply sitting quietly in the room and paying attention to every subtle sound outside. He waited until the moon rose and set, until the night deepened and dew formed heavily.
Liu Qiao’e finally returned to Watercloud Ravine.
Mu Daoying twitched his ears. He heard her open the door, close it, then open it again to fetch hot water.
After a moment, the sound of splashing bathwater suddenly came from the room—
Mu Daoying was stunned and secretly startled. He turned and left. As the water sounds faded into the distance, his porcelain-pale face involuntarily reddened.
He had not expected to hear that.
He had only been worried about Liu Qiao’e’s mood, but now he felt like a peeping rogue. Mu Daoying quickly reined in his mind and dared not listen or think further.
But since she could still boil water for a bath, she was not too heartbroken. He breathed a sigh of relief. He knew she was a resilient woman.
The next day, Liu Qiao’e left early. Mu Daoying heard her footsteps and knew she had gone out.
After days of conditioning his breathing, his spirit acupoints were mostly unblocked, but to avoid alerting others, Mu Daoying kept a low profile and concealed it, maintaining the appearance of a severely injured patient.
Chen Yuro had confined him to Watercloud Ravine and ignored him. There was little he could do each day, and the only person he saw was Liu Qiao’e.
In the initial days after settling in, some Joyous Union Palace disciples had sneaked over at night to seek pleasure with him, but Liu Qiao’e had driven them all away.
Liu Qiao’e was as fierce as a tiger, and the Joyous Union Palace disciples feared her brutality. Though unwilling, they did not dare press the issue.
Once Liu Qiao’e left, the vast Watercloud Ravine felt somewhat lonely.
She was a woman whose love and hate burned like fire. Perhaps influenced by her mood, Mu Daoying tried to meditate as usual that day but could not enter a trance.
With nothing to do, he took out the “Spring Thunder” qin to play for amusement.
His slender fingertips lightly plucked the strings, producing resounding, majestic notes—like spring qi awakening, ten thousand thunders blooming, all things sprouting.
At the climax of the melody, a suppressed call came from outside the room. “Daoist Mu, may I ask if Daoist Mu is present?”
Mu Daoying recognized the voice as that of the girl surnamed Bai. He set aside the qin and went to the door to investigate.
Upon seeing Bai Mengli’s appearance, Mu Daoying was immediately taken aback.
She had clearly suffered some mishap—her hair disheveled, clothes torn, cheeks unnaturally flushed, eyes filled with suppressed pain.
Mu Daoying felt a chill and quickly removed his outer robe to cover her. “Fellow Daoist Bai? What happened?”
Bai Mengli relaxed upon seeing him and endured her shame and anger as she whispered, “I… I was poisoned…”
In the past, Bai Mengli would never have come to Watercloud Ravine for help, no matter what.
She was beautiful and had a cold personality, refusing dual cultivation with other palace members, so she had long been harassed by fellow disciples.
Threats, temptations, poisons, traps—they were commonplace.
Bai Mengli had always been cautious these past years, yet she never imagined that despite all her defenses, a moment’s negligence would lead to her downfall.
“In this palace, I trust no one but you, Fellow Daoist Mu, a true gentleman!”
“I wanted to ask for help from Daoist Mu and Fellow Daoist Liu…” Bai Mengli paused.
Though her relationship with Liu Qiao’e was tense, she knew Liu Qiao’e excelled at medicine and poisons and was the only one who could save her now!
At this point, she had no choice but to thicken her face and seek her aid.
Mu Daoying was stunned. Even if he was ignorant of romantic matters, he knew this situation was beyond him. “Fellow Daoist Liu is not here right now—perhaps she went to the flower valley.”
All color drained from Bai Mengli’s face. “How could that be?”
Before she finished speaking, tears welled up in her eyes.
Rationally, Mu Daoying knew he should keep his distance from Bai Mengli, but seeing her in peril and so helpless, how could he ignore it?
Mu Daoying asked, “What exactly happened, Fellow Daoist? Please explain clearly.”
Bai Mengli bit her lip. “They… they wanted to dual cultivate with me, but I refused to submit! They actually used such vicious methods! Liu Qiao’e is the best at treating poisons, but she’s not here now—what should I do—”
Mu Daoying frowned slightly. “When were you poisoned, Fellow Daoist? How much do you know about this poison? Do you know the location of Floating Cloud Valley?”
“There are no fewer than a hundred types of Spring Poison in Joyous Union Palace—how could I know which one they used?” As the poison surged, Bai Mengli’s body heated up, her bones softened, and red flushes rolled across her face.
Gazing at the youth before her, she found him elegantly otherworldly, serene as a mountain. Suppressing the chaotic lustful thoughts in her mind, Bai Mengli said, “After realizing I was poisoned, I rushed here. As for Floating Cloud Valley—”
Her whole body felt as if devoured by ants. Answering while enduring was already difficult. Before she finished, her vision went black, and she could no longer hold on. She collapsed limply toward Mu Daoying.
Mu Daoying hurriedly reached out to support her. The girl in his arms had a flushed face, was soft as boneless, and exuded seductive charm. Yet Mu Daoying pressed his lips together, feeling quite troubled.
He resided in Watercloud Ravine in name only—he was under soft confinement. Aside from Pinewind Cliff before and behind the door, he could not easily leave half a step.
Without others coming to him, the only person he could contact was Liu Qiao’e.
Bai Mengli fainted before finishing. For now, he had no choice but to bring her back to Watercloud Ravine and settle her first.
The girl’s eyes were tightly closed, her chest rising and falling slightly, like a crabapple in spring slumber.
Mu Daoying saw it but had no extraneous thoughts: He could not leave Watercloud Ravine—even if he could—
If Bai Mengli’s words were true, those who poisoned her might come chasing at any time. He could not leave her alone here to seek help elsewhere.
For now, he could only wait for her to wake and plan accordingly. Though Spring Poison was potent, it would not claim a life in a short time. If she did not wake for long, he would think of something else.
As he pondered, the girl on the couch let out a soft whimper and slowly opened her eyes. Mu Daoying composed himself and looked back. “Fellow Daoist Bai—”
Before he finished, Bai Mengli grabbed his hand. “Daoist Mu—”
Mu Daoying calmly withdrew his hand. Bai Mengli asked anxiously, “Has Liu Qiao’e not returned yet?”
Mu Daoying replied, “Not yet. This one was waiting for you to wake. How do you feel? Can you contact a friend nearby?”
“I—I feel terrible.”
Mu Daoying asked, “Can you contact anyone else?”
Bai Mengli shook her head. “I didn’t bring a messaging jade token today… and in this palace…” She spoke euphemistically, “I have no close friends.”
Mu Daoying understood her meaning. In a way, Bai Mengli was the same type as him.
He did not know why Bai Mengli had joined Joyous Union Palace, but everyone had secrets, and Mu Daoying had no interest in prying into others’ privacy.
He was always kind to others. Whenever someone sought his help in distress, he would assist wholeheartedly.
“This one is now a prisoner and cannot leave Watercloud Ravine to seek rescue for you, Fellow Daoist. Would you allow this one to help regulate your qi and wait for Fellow Daoist Liu’s return?”
Bai Mengli nodded hesitantly. “If so, then I must trouble you, Daoist Mu.”
Mu Daoying asked her to sit, then sat behind her.
Bai Mengli felt a slightly cool large palm press against her back.
Mu Daoying’s upright, clear voice came from behind her head. “Please.”
A strand of vast, pure, moist true qi slowly entered through her back.