Back at the academy, Mo Li told Jiang Zhu to wait until he had figured out how the Whale Rubber worked, then he would come find her.
Jiang Zhu seemed to have thought of something. Her pretty face flushed slightly, and she nodded before saying goodbye to Mo Li.
Mo Li returned to his lodgings alone.
From a distance, he saw a dark figure bustling about near the house.
When he got closer, he saw a fence had been put up around the house.
It was obviously Liu Erlong's handiwork.
"Sister Erlong, what are you doing?"
Mo Li poked his head over the fence and asked curiously.
Liu Erlong was busy arranging flowerpots. Hearing Mo Li's voice, she kept working without even looking up and said:
"Planting vegetables."
"Oh? There's a way to plant vegetables like this?"
"Get lost. Can't you tell I'm planting flowers? Come over and give me a hand."
Mo Li couldn't help laughing. He first took the bundle containing the Whale Rubber back inside, then stepped out and asked, "Sister Erlong, what do you need me to do?"
"Go get the seeds on my table."
Liu Erlong said without turning around.
Mo Li fetched the assorted flower seeds as she instructed, then walked into the garden enclosed by the fence. Together with Liu Erlong, he buried them in the various flowerpots that had already been prepared.
"Sister Erlong, what kind of flowers are you planting?"
Liu Erlong looked up at him and paused, a serene smile appearing at the corners of her mouth.
"Most of them are wildflower seeds that are easy to grow. A few are ones I bought specially."
"When they bloom, the area around our house will look even prettier."
Her voice brimmed with anticipation, and a glimmer of light shone in her eyes.
Looking at Liu Erlong's smile, Mo Li felt a stir in his heart. But he didn't say anything; he simply buried another seed.
He believed that when the flowers bloomed here, it would be beautiful.
And if Liu Erlong stood among them, wearing that same smile, she would be more beautiful than all the flowers in bloom.
The sun gradually sank, and evening mist began to rise. The last rays of dusk fell across the forest, draping the trees and grass in a veil of orange.
They managed to plant the final seed just before the sunlight faded.
They had been so engrossed in their work that Mo Li's hands and face were smeared with dirt. With a mischievous grin, he sidled up to Liu Erlong.
"Shoo, shoo," Liu Erlong said, eyeing him with disgust as she scolded him.
"Look at that dirty face of yours. Keep away from me."
Mo Li just grinned. When she wasn't paying attention, he swiftly swiped a finger across her fair cheek. Liu Erlong didn't dodge in time, and a streak of dirt appeared on her face too.
"Sister Erlong, now your face is dirty too."
A dignified Soul Saint had actually failed to dodge his sneak attack. Mo Li raised his hand and laughed triumphantly.
"You little rascal!"
Liu Erlong glared at Mo Li in exasperation.
After fooling around, the two went to the pond and washed the dirt from themselves in its warm water.
Birds returning to their nests skimmed swiftly over the treetops. Though it was dusk, the forest had a quiet, peaceful beauty all its own.
After washing themselves clean in the warm pond, Mo Li was called into the room by Liu Erlong.
"Go on," Liu Erlong said calmly from her seat at the table, looking at Mo Li as he sat down.
"Go on about what?" Mo Li asked, puzzled.
"About what you did today."
"Ahem, I'm entitled to some privacy too," Mo Li protested with a light cough. "Besides, Sister Erlong, you were watching from the shadows the whole time."
He absolutely didn't believe that Liu Erlong's appearance outside the auction house had been a coincidence.
"Oh? If I said it was a coincidence, would you believe me?" Liu Erlong rested her left arm across her chest and propped her chin on her right hand, a faint smile on her lips.
"No." Mo Li shook his head like a rattle drum.
"Hmph!"
"I don't care whether you believe me or not. Believe what you want. Now hurry up and tell me!" Liu Erlong lowered her arm and snorted.
"Which part do you want to hear about first, Sister Erlong?" Mo Li asked.
"Start with what the sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect wanted to talk to you about." That was the question Liu Erlong cared about most.
"Then why didn't you come with us, Sister Erlong?"
Mo Li was baffled. Liu Erlong had appeared and then left, and he hadn't understood what she was up to. Now she was interrogating him afterward.
"They were interested in you, not me. Why would I go?" Liu Erlong replied.
"Fair enough..."
Mo Li thought it over. Liu Erlong did have a point. If she had gone too, the conversation might have taken a very different turn.
"He asked if I wanted to join the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect after graduation."
Mo Li wasn't lying. Even Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling, who had been there, could hear Ning Fengzhi's clear attempts to recruit him.
But he didn't care.
"Hm?" Liu Erlong froze. "What did you say?"
"I said I'd think about it."
Before he could finish, Liu Erlong, who had been listening intently, immediately glared at him. "What did you say?"
Seeing that Liu Erlong was about to turn into a raging dragon, Mo Li felt a little awkward. Before she could erupt, he quickly explained with a grin:
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I didn't say that to him. Graduation is still a long way off, and I haven't even thought about it. I just turned him down."
Liu Erlong's anger hadn't faded. She slapped the table. "The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect actually dared to poach my people! The nerve!"
Seeing her puffed-up expression, Mo Li found her rather cute and couldn't resist teasing her.
"Isn't the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect a good place? It's known as the richest sect on the whole continent. Don't you want me to go, Sister Erlong?"
Liu Erlong froze at his words. Her body stiffened slightly, the fingertips resting on the table trembled, and her expression grew uneasy.
That was true. With Mo Li's talent, if he went to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, they would certainly spare no effort to cultivate him.
The help he could get from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect far surpassed anything her advanced Soul Master Academy could offer.
She parted her lips, only to find herself unable to argue back. She had no reason to, either.
But if that was the case, why had she suddenly gotten so angry?
Why did the thought of Mo Li leaving make her react that way?
Confusion filled her eyes. Her chest tightened as an inexplicable wave of bitterness and hurt welled up inside her.
She suddenly realized, with a sinking feeling, that wanting to keep Mo Li by her side was only wishful thinking on her part.
Or perhaps she had simply never imagined that Mo Li might leave her.
Thinking it over carefully, the help she had given Mo Li with his cultivation really had been negligible.
If anything, she had been responsible for quite a bit of the hardship he had suffered over the past two years. With that in mind, what right did she have to stop him from going somewhere better?
Her fingers curled unconsciously, gripping the edge of the table tightly.
A heavy sadness washed over her, and she let out a quiet sigh.
This wasn't like her at all, but Mo Li's words had made her feel this way.
"Sister Erlong?"
Seeing Liu Erlong suddenly fall silent, her expression laden with sorrow, Mo Li leaned forward in concern. "What's wrong?"
Liu Erlong looked up, suppressing the emotions in her eyes. After hesitating for a moment, she reached out and stroked his hair. Her eyes grew slightly warm, and her voice was tinged with bitterness.
"Actually, you're right. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect might be the best choice for you. It's just that I..."
The words caught in her throat, and she couldn't continue. How could she not feel miserable too?
"As long as you think it's for the best, nothing else really matters."
Liu Erlong forced a smile, but her eyes reddened further, as if tears would fall at any moment.
That was right. As long as Mo Li was doing well, what did it matter if he wasn't by her side? As for herself, she didn't matter.
"I'm not trying to keep you here," Liu Erlong said, shaking her head. Her voice grew even hoarser.
"Nor will I stop you from becoming better. I've been too selfish all along."
She just couldn't bear the thought of Mo Li leaving her so soon.
"Sister Erlong!" Mo Li was stunned. He had never seen Liu Erlong so emotionally shattered.
He quickly took the hand she had been using to stroke his hair and held it tightly in his palm. Their eyes met.
Mo Li's voice was just as pained. "Don't say that, okay? You know that's not what I meant."
"I don't care how much the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect could help me. No matter how many benefits they offer, it would still just be an exchange of interests."
"But what we have is different."
Liu Erlong's eyes were red as she stared blankly at Mo Li.
"In this world, you're the only person I trust. And I sincerely hope you can trust me just as much."
After a pause, Mo Li continued, "I have secrets of my own, but no matter what happens, I'll never hurt you—just as you would never hurt me, Sister Erlong."
He pressed Liu Erlong's hand against his cheek, his smile warm and resolute.
"I don't have any grand ambitions right now. I just want to become strong enough to protect everything around me. And you, Sister Erlong, are the person I want most to protect."
"..."
Liu Erlong's tears finally fell.
In that instant, the light in her eyes seemed to shine like a lamp blooming across a lake, soft and brilliant.
Her expression could no longer be told apart as either moved or relieved. Perhaps it was both.
A thousand words became nothing more than the faint tremble of her lips and the warm tears rolling endlessly down her cheeks.