Meng Yu curled her lips, as if she had known Wang Xian's background all along. Not a trace of surprise showed on her face.
Instead, she took out a dazzling golden bead and, with a ribbon woven from white, black, red, crimson, and cyan threads, braided a bracelet beneath the moonlight.
Amid Wang Xian's protests, she slipped it onto his wrist.
Wang Xian lowered his head and saw that it was a string of bodhi beads, with a golden bead the size of a cat's eye in the middle.
He could not help chuckling. "Senior, I only shared half a divine flower with you. You didn't need to give me a gift."
Meng Yu shook her head and cautioned him, "I'm afraid that one day you'll eventually enter the Demon Realm. With the passage of time, you'll inevitably become entangled in demonic qi. Your cultivation method may be unusual, but if this continues for long, I'm afraid the demonic qi will erode your mind."
"The vajra knot woven from five colors, together with the golden-bead Bodhisattva at your side, may not aid your cultivation, but if it can help you guard your spiritual platform and keep outside influences from disturbing you, that will be a good thing."
At this, Wang Xian frowned and fell silent.
Jingjing quietly gazed at the Bodhisattva's golden bead on his wrist. Only after a long silence did she smile faintly. "In all my years, this is the first time I've worn such a treasure."
Meng Po smiled. "Isn't this something meant exclusively for women?"
Wang Xian lowered his sleeve, covering the golden bead and bodhi beads.
He glanced at the sky, then at the crescent moon reflected in the lake, and suddenly asked, "Setting aside the grudges of the martial world, Senior, if those fellows