“There’s no need for you to worry yourselves,” Jing Yuan said with a faint smile, patting Chu Huaian’s shoulder. Speaking in the tone of an elder, he continued, “Chu Xiaozi, you must grow up quickly, and together with your disciples, shoulder the heavy responsibility of Jizhou.”
Chu Huaian hadn't expected Jing Yuan to entrust such a heavy responsibility to him, and for a moment, he was somewhat stunned. “Senior, I…”
“This Seat truly thinks highly of you all. If it really comes to that, Ziwei Sect will definitely stand before Hua Xia Sect, buying you more time.”
Bai Yue, who was standing nearby, was slightly moved. She looked at Chu Huaian, then at the many Hua Xia Sect disciples below, and said with a smile,
“Sect Master Jing is truly selfless, willing to sacrifice the entire Ziwei Sect to escort and protect Hua Xia Sect. It’s truly touching.”
Jing Yuan glanced at her and said, “Stop being so sarcastic. Ziwei Sect and Hua Xia Sect are already sister sects. What’s wrong with protecting them?”
“Sister sects?” Bai Yue was slightly startled, then rolled her eyes. “Your calculations are practically bouncing off This Seat’s face!”
“Who told This Seat to have such a promising disciple?” Jing Yuan raised his chin proudly.
“Hmph,” Bai Yue snorted disdainfully. She looked at Chu Huaian again and asked, displeased, “Chu Xiaozi, I’ll ask you one more time: are you coming to Hehuan Sect as a guest?”
“Uh…” Chu Huaian felt a bit awkward. He immediately shouted towards Fang Yuan, “Fang Yuan, go with Senior Bai Yue to Hehuan Sect and impart the Inverted Phoenix Primordial Nurturing Skill.”
Fang Yuan, who was trading with other players, immediately scurried over after hearing Chu Huaian’s voice.
“Senior Bai Yue, are you looking for me?”
“Get lost!” Bai Yue was furious and glared at Fang Yuan fiercely.
Fang Yuan was a bit bewildered. He scratched the back of his head and cautiously asked, “So, are we still going?”
“If you’re not afraid of death, then follow,” Bai Yue said, and her figure vanished from the spot.
“Hmph! How could I, Fang Yuan, be afraid of death?! Wait for me!” Fang Yuan sped up, chasing after Bai Yue.
Only after the two had left did Jing Yuan speak. “Chu Xiaozi, the Mo Yun Battlefield will open in another month. Prepare well for battle.”
“Thank you for the reminder, Senior,” Chu Huaian said, cupping his hands in gratitude.
“Then This Seat will take my leave. That girl, Yun Xiang, I’ll entrust her to your care.”
After Jing Yuan finished speaking, he didn't wait for Chu Huaian’s response and immediately disappeared from the spot.
Chu Huaian shook his head helplessly and flew down in front of Zhao Mubai.
“Greetings, Sect Master,” Zhao Mubai and the others quickly bowed in respect.
“What are your plans regarding Zhao Country?” Chu Huaian asked calmly.
Zhao Mubai raised his eyes to look at the imperial city, now reduced to ruins, his gaze filled with sorrow.
“Sect Master, could you grant this disciple some time to reorganize Zhao Country and return to Hua Xia Sect after finishing things here?”
“You may,” Chu Huaian nodded slightly. He also didn’t want to see so many common people displaced and homeless.
“If you encounter any insurmountable trouble, you can seek help from your senior brothers and sisters.”
“This disciple thanks the Sect Master,” Zhao Mubai’s voice was a little choked up as he bowed deeply to Chu Huaian.
The others also had reddened eyes and bowed to Chu Huaian.
Chu Huaian didn’t linger much. After giving a few instructions to the crowd, he led the players back to Hua Xia Sect.
Once everyone had left, a little princess timidly spoke, “Imperial Sister, are we still going back to Hua Xia Sect?”
“Imperial Sister, I don’t want to leave Hua Xia Sect. I want to play hide-and-seek with Senior Brother Fang Yuan, read with Senior Sister, listen to Senior Brother Xu Yuan sing, and eat Senior Brother Yasuo’s barbecue…”
Several little princesses wiped their tears, looking tearfully at Zhao Mubai.
“After we finish up here, Imperial Sister will take you back to Hua Xia Sect, okay?” Zhao Mubai gently ruffled their heads and said softly.
“Really?” The girls stopped crying and smiled happily.
“Really,” Zhao Mubai nodded firmly.
The recent events had caused a huge change in Zhao Mubai’s state of mind.
If before, staying in Hua Xia Sect was for the purpose of restoring her country, now, she only wanted to quickly resolve the matters here and then return to Hua Xia Sect, to that “home” filled with laughter and warmth.
…
On the other side, as soon as everyone returned to the sect, they immediately rushed to their small villas to undress and bathe.
Meng Ke’er scanned the area and didn’t see Fang Yuan. Her heart skipped a beat, and she immediately stopped Qin Hao and asked, “Where’s Fang Yuan?”
“He was taken to Hehuan Sect by Senior Bai Yue. She said it was to impart the Inverted Phoenix Primordial Nurturing Skill…”
Qin Hao had only spoken halfway when he saw Meng Ke’er fly up, disappearing into the sky in an instant.
“Is she going to catch him in the act?”
Qin Hao muttered to himself, rubbed the wound on his abdomen, and hummed a tune as he walked into his small room.
In the evening, two streaks of rainbow light landed in the villa area, one after another, followed by a loud “bang” as a door slammed shut.
“Open the door, I haven’t even gone in yet…”
Players nearby poked their heads out from inside their houses. Upon seeing Fang Yuan’s dejected face, they all grinned.
“What are you looking at? Haven’t you seen a handsome guy before?!” Fang Yuan glared at them.
“Which scumbag snitched?”
“Qin Hao, was it you?!”
Fang Yuan lifted his foot to walk towards the next door. Seeing this, Qin Hao immediately closed his door, and his voice came from inside, “Don’t talk to me.”
“Damn it!”
Fang Yuan gave a middle finger and then banged on his own door, shouting, “Baby, open the door! I’m innocent!”
Creak, the door opened.
Meng Ke’er walked out, her eyes red, and looked at Fang Yuan with a complicated expression. “Isn’t having me enough? Why do you have to go find others?”
“This wasn’t my idea! Senior Bai Yue suddenly gave me ten disciples and told me to impart the cultivation method. What could I do?” Fang Yuan protested loudly.
“Fang Yuan, if I hadn’t arrived in time, you would have been sucked dry!”
This was the first time Fang Yuan had seen Meng Ke’er angry. His heart inexplicably panicked, but he muttered under his breath, “Ten is all it takes to suck me dry? Who are you looking down on?”
Bang, the door slammed shut heavily.
“Hey, Meng Ke’er, I, Fang Yuan, have given you enough face. If you keep throwing tantrums, I’ll really go back to Hehuan Sect!”
“I’ll count to three. If you don’t open the door, I’m really leaving.”
“One!”
“Two!”
Creak—
A door opened not far away. Jiang Xiaoxiao poked her head out, spat in Fang Yuan’s direction, and cursed, “Bah, you scumbag!”
In front of her door, Chen Shaocong, holding a bouquet of crystal-clear flowers, eagerly rushed up to her. “Xiao Xiao, you’re finally out! This is…”
“You’re also a scumbag!”
Bang—
The door closed again. Chen Shaocong walked back with a dejected expression. This was the 68th time Jiang Xiaoxiao had rejected him.
Fang Yuan stared at him blankly. Their eyes met.
“Bah, scumbag!” Chen Shaocong snorted coldly and turned to leave.
“What the hell?! How dare you, you pathetic simp, curse at me?!” Fang Yuan angrily yelled from behind him.
Qin Zhenhua, across the way, leaned out from his second-floor balcony and said with a smile, “Scumbags look down on simps, and simps despise scumbags. Interesting, isn’t it?”
Fang Yuan felt a bit embarrassed. He continued to knock on the door and shout, “Meng Ke’er, you’re forcing me to leave!”
With that, Fang Yuan strode away, but secretly hid himself in the Primordial Qi Secret Realm to cultivate.
He sold all his valuable possessions, converting them into spirit stones, keeping only a Ten Thousand Souls Banner.
Meanwhile, inside the house, Meng Ke’er sat curled up on the bed. Hearing Fang Yuan’s footsteps leaving, tears silently streamed down her face.
Before, when Fang Yuan cultivated with other junior sisters, she hadn’t felt uncomfortable. But recently, she realized she cared too much about Fang Yuan.
Whenever she thought of Fang Yuan sleeping in the same bed with other women, her heart would inexplicably ache, and it was a very strong feeling.
She didn't know why this was, but Fang Yuan’s departure just now made her heart ache to the point of being unable to breathe.
At the same time, at the back of the mountain.
Chu Huaian opened his eyes from his meditation. The light screen showed that the reservation for the sixth batch of players was about to begin.
