Ying Bing's Troubles, the Inheritance Ground

Autumn Water Pavilion.

At this moment, the aroma of cumin and sizzling fat filled the little courtyard.

"Grilled meat, five taels of silver a skewer. Pretty ones eat free."

"Here, you're a beauty, so you get one skewer~"

Li Mo had dug out the charcoal stove used in winter and turned it into a grill, skewering beast meat produced by Rare Beast Peak and roasting it until it hissed and dripped oil.

As he grilled the meat, he hawked his wares in an amusing tone.

"Good disciple, were you a cook before?"

Shang Wu took a bite, and her almond eyes went blissful.

She had eaten grilled meat before too.

So why was the stuff her disciple made this delicious?

Especially that strange fragrance, paired together with the charred aroma of the meat—it was simply perfect.

Li Mo smiled, then picked up a few more skewers.

"Wow, another beauty. This black-horn mutton nourishes yin and replenishes blood. I'll give it to you."

"It is very good."

Ying Bing took a gentle bite and chewed it carefully.

Ice Block gave it a high appraisal as long as four whole words, which proved the flavor really was quite good.

"Hoo-ha... hoo-ha..."

Shang Wu loved spicy food and kept panting.

Even Ying Bing, who had originally preferred light food, rarely let herself eat freely for once. After all, when they grilled and ate at the same time, she could no longer remember exactly how much she had eaten.

"Little Bing, you understand respecting your teacher better than anyone, so this skewer of grilled fish should be given to me."

"But you are not my master."

"You've eaten a lot already. If a little girl eats that much, she'll get fat."

"I am precisely at the age where I'm still growing."

"Aiya, you live together with Li Mo every day. Just have him make it for you again next time."

Shang Wu crossed her arms over her chest, cheeks puffed up in anger.

Even coaxing and tricking together had failed to get a single skewer of grilled fish from this little girl. How infuriating, darn it.

Ying Bing ate the grilled fish and tucked a strand of dark hair by her ear, not hiding that trace of a smile.

She thought of the past.

In those blurry memories of the Eastern Wasteland, only a few important people had left a deep impression on her.

Among them was Shang Wu.

When the Clear Abyss Sect fell, if not for Shang Wu, she likely would not have been able to leave Purple Sun Prefecture alive.

Unfortunately...

Shaking her head, Ying Bing scattered the stray thoughts in her heart.

In this life, those tragedies would absolutely not repeat themselves.

"Good meat naturally calls for good wine."

Li Mo also sat down at the table to eat.

He was holding a bottle of wine, stored in jade-colored white porcelain.

The moment he pulled off the stopper, a spicy yet refreshing scent spread out.

The wine poured forth.

Amazingly, it separated in the cup as clearly as the Jing and Wei rivers, forming two colors: red and blue.

"What kind of wine is this? It smells so good!"

Shang Wu twitched her fine nose and sniffed. She immediately perked up, her almond eyes widening slightly.

"Ice-Fire Wine."

Li Mo smiled and placed the wine bowl in front of Shang Wu.

As he spoke, he poured another cup.

This cup was given to Ice Block.

Ying Bing's crescent-moon brows lifted slightly. She picked it up and examined it carefully, her ice-mirror eyes reflecting the two-colored wine, making it extraordinarily beautiful.

This item was produced on North Sea Jade Spring Island.

There was a spring there, half cold and half hot all year round, with the miraculous effect of tempering the physique.

There was a winemaking clan on the island, and they specially drew from it to make wine. The wine they brewed was the same, and thus it was called Ice-Fire Wine.

Although that noble clan made wine, compared to the Clear Abyss Sect, it was still a colossal existence.

Every year, that clan would offer more than a hundred kinds of fine wine to Cassia Palace, and Ice-Fire Wine was among them.

Back then, she had long since had no use for it, so she would usually bestow it upon promising disciples.

Li Mo—why did he have this wine?

"Good little disciple-brother, where did you get this wine?"

After drinking the Ice-Fire Wine, Shang Wu's cheeks were flushed red; it was the first time she had ever spoken so softly and gently.

Her almond eyes blinked lightly, like ripples spreading across water.

"..."

Li Mo leaned back tactically.

It was hard to imagine that the delicate, charming woman before his eyes was an existence capable of blowing up a mountain peak with one punch.

"I stumbled into a secret place by mistake and obtained it there. I only got a few jars."

Little Li opened his mouth and spun it on the spot.

"Oh? You actually had such an opportunity. No wonder you could enter the third level of Divine Blade Cave without a scratch."

Shang Wu did not feel there was anything wrong with that explanation.

Ying Bing took a small sip, understanding in her heart.

She roughly had a guess in mind.

Li Mo had most likely obtained some inheritance.

Relying on the treasures left behind in that inheritance, he had changed his own constitution. The Ice-Fire Wine had also been left behind in the inheritance, used to temper the inheritor's physique.

Perhaps... it had been during those few days when she had opened her meridians in Purple Sun Prefecture City?

That was fine too.

At the very least, in the future, he would have a chance to inherit Shang Wu's mantle and become an elder of the Clear Abyss Sect.

To him, that was already an enormous change in fate.

"Hmph, fine then."

Shang Wu curled her lips and finished the wine in one gulp.

"There are still a few jars of Ice-Fire Wine left. If Master likes it, why not take one jar with you?"

"No need. You keep it. This wine can temper the body, but I have no use for it anymore."

"Then when I go down the mountain later, I'll bring Master a few jars of good wine."

Li Mo was somewhat surprised. He picked up a wine cup and took a sip.

Only—

In the next instant, he discovered something was a little off.

He remembered that he had not poured wine for himself, so what he had just drunk... was Ying Bing's cup?

"Little Bing, what's wrong?"

Shang Wu tilted her head. She found that Ying Bing seemed to have gone a little dazed.

"Nothing."

Ying Bing furrowed her brows and gently shook her head.

"Oh, oh. Then you have to drink more. This wine is greatly beneficial to those of you in the Blood-Qi Realm."

As Shang Wu spoke, she picked up the Small Gourd at her waist and gulped down two mouthfuls.

Li Mo coughed lightly, took a new cup for her, and filled it to the brim again.

"Mm."

Ying Bing sipped the wine.

Just now, in her calm heart-lake, there seemed to have been a faint, almost imperceptible ripple?

That was what she found strange.

Among the men who had pursued her, there had been those whose talent and learning shone through the ages, those whose natural gifts were unparalleled in the world, those with terrifying backgrounds—even before he became one of the Nine Heavens, Azure Heaven among the Nine Heavens had once expressed admiration for her.

Let alone treating them with a pleasant expression.

Not even a thought had ever stirred in her.

As time passed, everyone under heaven said that the empress who had long resided in Cassia Palace had a body and heart of ice, devoid of the seven emotions and six desires.

In truth, she had merely been pursuing the martial path with unwavering resolve.

The red dust wore away heroic bones; love and romance were only stumbling blocks.

Yet just now, when that strange feeling had risen in her heart, she had actually not rejected it...

"Perhaps it was because of the Ice-Fire Wine..."

Ying Bing drained the Ice-Fire Wine without carefully savoring its taste.

"My current realm still can't ignore drunkenness."

Drawing back her mind, she silently guided that wisp of alcoholic force, letting it circulate through her body.

"I'll spend this time cultivating properly."

"In a while, the sect will have a trial for newly advanced disciples. Don't embarrass your master."

After Shang Wu finished speaking, she yawned.

"A trial?"

Li Mo looked blank.

Shang Wu wiped the glistening wine stain from the corner of her mouth.

"They put you into the Clear Abyss Mountain Range to gather some medicinal herbs, kill some strange beasts, that sort of thing."

"For the Blood-Qi Realm, it counts as somewhat challenging. Some ninth-grade demonic beasts are quite hard to deal with too."

"When the time comes, you and Little Bing can look out for each other."

Li Mo nodded, roughly understanding what was going on.

It was the kind of plot that often appeared in novels.

Li Mo looked slightly speechless.

"Master, Ying Bing is the Sect Master's disciple. Her treatment is much better than mine. Why would she need to look out for me?"

Speaking of which, when his master had taken him in back then, it seemed to be because she was interested in Ying Bing?

They had only just met, yet she was already calling her Little Bing this, Little Bing that.

Ying Bing did not seem to reject it either. The two of them seemed as if they had known each other for a very long time.

"Who said your master doesn't care about you?"

Shang Wu sniffed with her elegant nose and took out a small booklet.

"Take this and practice it. An Intermediate Martial Art. For you right now, it's just right. In any case, it's much better than Six Harmonies Fist."

Written on the booklet was:

Prairie Fire Sword Technique

Do not look down on it just because it was only an Intermediate Martial Art.

Placed outside, it was already enough for many sects to take as their house-guarding treasure at the bottom of the chest.

Many small sects and minor schools still regarded Lower Martial Arts, and even unrated martial arts, as precious treasures.

"Thank you, Master."

"Hmph, and just now you were still complaining about me."

With that, Shang Wu waved her hand, carried off her own Small Gourd, and left Autumn Water Pavilion.

Before the table, Ying Bing set down her wine cup, her emotions returning to calm.

In the sect trial, no one could help her with what she had to do.

She was going to obtain an inheritance.

Although she did not know who had left behind the inheritance Li Mo had obtained, compared with the one she was about to get, it was absolutely the difference between cloud and mud.

After all, no true expert would leave their inheritance in the barren Eastern Wasteland Domain.

The inheritance she was going to open was different.

It was not left behind by a "person."