This High-End Game

"Brother, are you really not going?"

In the early morning, faint mist drifted through the mountain air.

Li Muyang stood on the edge of the field, holding a large watering ladle. He channeled the Lesser Cloud and Rain Art, causing misty vapor to dance above the spirit field and release a gentle, drizzling rain.

Behind him, a young girl dressed in a light green skirt held a food box, blinking her eyes as she spoke.

"Miss Ning agreed to go down the mountain with me today, you know~~"

"She knew I might ask you to come along, yet she still agreed to go. I'm sure that with your intelligence, Brother, you can understand the deeper meaning behind that, right?"

Li Yuechan spoke in a tone full of temptation.

Li Muyang, still holding the ladle and channeling the Lesser Cloud and Rain Art, glanced at her.

He had almost forgotten when the two of them had started talking, but now, whenever the siblings met for the daily food delivery, they would exchange a few words.

Usually, Li Yuechan would arrive at dusk with the food box, chat for a while, and then leave.

Today, however, she had come at the crack of dawn.

Just as Li Muyang had finished washing up and started watering the spirit fields, the girl in her pretty little dress had appeared on the mountain path, bouncing along.

She said she was going to Cloud City to have fun and might be back late, so she had brought the food early for Li Muyang to heat up for himself that evening.

In passing, the girl also revealed that among her companions today was that Miss Ning from the Ning residence in Jiuyuan City.

—The goddess whom the original owner had been a desperate "simp" for, but could never attain.

If the original owner had heard that Miss Ning was coming along, he would have been unable to restrain himself and would have gone immediately.

But Li Muyang remained calm. "I told you, I'm no longer interested in women."

"The one who admired Miss Ning was the Li Muyang of the past; the current Li Muyang only wants to cultivate diligently."

"You two go and have fun; don't worry about me."

Li Muyang's expression was indifferent and his tone was composed, much like an enlightened monk who had seen through the vanity of the world.

Hearing this response, Li Yuechan, holding the food box, blinked and said, "That's such a pity. I thought you hadn't gone to see Miss Ning for so many days because you were playing hard to get."

"I didn't expect that you really don't like her anymore... They say Miss Ning has excellent aptitude and a high chance of entering the inner sect directly to become an inner sect disciple."

"It's a shame for you to give up on her now. It's rare for Miss Ning to be willing to accommodate you for once..."

The girl sighed regretfully, still trying to persuade Li Muyang.

Li Muyang was somewhat surprised by this news.

Every year, there were indeed those with extraordinary talent who could earn the favor of the sect and be promoted directly to the inner sect.

But for Miss Ning to have such talent...

Li Muyang shook his head. "Then I definitely can't go."

"She is an extraordinary person with the hope of ascending to the inner sect; sooner or later, she will fly to the top of the branch and become a phoenix."

"And I am merely a menial disciple of the outer sect—lowly, weak, and shallow."

"The gap between us is so vast that even if a loser like me could win Miss Ning's heart, it would only bring endless trouble."

"So, it is better to keep our distance and let everyone be well in their own way."

In the original owner's memories, that young lady from the Ning residence was beautiful, refined, understanding, and as gentle as water—truly a peerless woman of the highest order.

But after Li Muyang stripped away the "simp" filter of the original owner and reviewed the memories, it was clear she was a "green tea bitch" with high emotional intelligence who had played the poor, desperate simp in the palm of her hand and drained him of every cent.

Li Muyang had wanted to warn his sister to stay away from a "green tea" like Miss Ning and be careful not to get played.

However, considering their relationship wasn't close enough for such advice, Li Muyang kept his mouth shut, continued to channel the Cloud and Rain Art to water the fields, and chose silence.

Seeing Li Muyang's firm attitude, the girl sighed and said, "Alright then. I was hoping to stroll around Cloud City with you."

"I'm leaving now, Brother. I've left the food at your door..."

After setting down the food box, the girl waved from a distance. Li Muyang nodded to acknowledge her.

But before she had gone far, the girl suddenly turned back.

"Oh, right, Brother. You suddenly don't like Miss Ning anymore... could it be that you've met a girl you like even more?"

Under the morning light, the girl suddenly asked this question.

Li Muyang was stunned by her inquiry, not yet having thought of an answer.

But the girl, as if she had already reached a conclusion, trotted away.

"It must be! Brother, you fickle-hearted radish! Always chasing the new and abandoning the old!"

"I'm going to tell Miss Ning later that you've had a change of heart!"

The girl ran off excitedly, disappearing down the mountain path.

Li Muyang watched her retreating figure and shook his head.

This little girl... although she had high emotional intelligence and a good temper, she was still a bit childish.

As for whether Miss Ning would be angry after hearing her embellished account... you are angry at Li Muyang of Jiuyuan City, so what does that have to do with me, Li Muyang the transmigrator?

Li Muyang turned back to continue casting the Cloud and Rain Art, watering the spirit fields.

Only by ensuring at least two spirit rain irrigations a day could the spirit grain maintain its growth.

Once the rain-casting was finished, Li Muyang could go back to playing his game.

Things in reality might not be real, but the gains in the game were certainly genuine.

As expected, I really have to play the game...

On the edge of the field, Li Muyang held a water ladle, casting the Cloud and Rain Art.

Meanwhile, at the flying ship dock of the Demon Refining Sect's outer sect, the young girl Li Yuechan, dressed in her most beautiful dress, had already met the Miss Ning who was waiting there.

Beside the bustling dock filled with coming and going crowds, Ning Wan'er from the Ning residence in Jiuyuan City looked somewhat surprised to see Li Yuechan arrive alone.

"Yuechan, you... are alone?"

Ning Wan'er's eyes held a hint of confusion.

She had assumed that the young master of the Li residence would be accompanying her.

Amidst the crowd, Li Yuechan trotted over to Ning Wan'er's side, took her hand, and led her onto the flying ship that was about to depart.

The two charming and beautiful young girls stood on the deck, letting the mountain breeze blow against them, and Li Yuechan sighed.

"Don't even mention it, my brother refused to come."

"I don't know what kind of soul-stirring soup the sect fed him, but now his mind is entirely focused on cultivation. He used to love joining in on the fun; he certainly wouldn't have missed a chance to go play in Cloud City."

"Not to mention that Ning Sister would be there too."

As she spoke, Li Yuechan winked at Ning Wan'er and said with a giggle, "Ning Sister, do you think my brother might have had a change of heart and met a girl he likes better in the sect?"

Li Yuechan's final question was incredibly sudden, even bordering on impolite.

--Who asks such a question directly?

And so abruptly, at that...

Ning Wan'er froze for a moment, then revealed a smile.

"The Demon Refining Sect is a major sect of the demonic path, and there is no shortage of outstanding talent within it. It wouldn't be strange for Young Master Li to have met someone he likes."

Facing Li Yuechan's probing and teasing remark, Ning Wan'er accepted it with a calm expression, her tone devoid of any emotional ripples.

She didn't exactly loathe the young master of the Li residence, but she couldn't say she liked him either.

It was just that he was indeed generous with his money, and without provoking him, Ning Wan'er had smoothly accepted many of his favors.

But actually marry this man?

Ning Wan'er had never entertained such a thought.

The Li residence held some power and status in Jiuyuan City, though in the eyes of outsiders, the Li residence couldn't compare to a gentry family like the Nings that had been passed down for generations.

But the current Ning family only had a large, ancestral mansion; in reality, most of their family assets had been mortgaged or lost by her father to others.

The Ning residence looked grand on the surface, but they could barely even maintain their monthly household expenses.

Although the Li family only rose to prominence in Li Damu's generation, Li Damu was highly trusted by the City Lord, held real power, possessed military strength, and had vast prospects.

Her mother had urged her to marry Li Muyang so she could live off this simple-minded boy from the Li family.

But Ning Wan'er had no interest in that.

She had never thought about getting married, even though her parents had long been plotting to marry her off to a good family to scrape together some benefits.

But in Ning Wan'er's view, selling herself off in exchange for a hefty dowry... that was the most inferior and ridiculous form of investment.

Her value as Ning Wan'er was absolutely not to be a wife.

In this great age of cultivation, human potential and hope held infinite possibilities.

Her parents were short-sighted, but she must never be foolish enough to follow them.

This young master of the Li residence, Li Muyang, was merely a stepping stone for her to climb higher.

Relying on this young master Li's generosity, she had quietly accumulated some spirit items that were beneficial for cultivation. Once she began her own cultivation, she would surely progress faster than the average person.

Not to mention that she now seemed to have a chance to enter the inner sect directly, so the young master of the Li residence from the remote Jiuyuan City was even less worth her concern.

On the other hand, this young lady of the Li residence...

Ning Wan'er looked at Li Yuechan's innocent and guileless smile and smiled gently in return.

"If there's a chance next time, Yuechan, you can ask your brother to see if he really has someone he likes."

This Li Yuechan from the Li residence looked innocent, lively, and cute, but Ning Wan'er vaguely felt she was somewhat troublesome.

Compared to her simple-minded brother, this sixteen-year-old girl was much harder to deal with.

Ning Wan'er laughed: "If he really has met someone he likes, then perhaps we can help him."

Ning Wan'er said this in a gentle tone, appearing for all the world like a caring, older sister.

With these words, she easily distanced herself—even though everyone in Jiuyuan City knew that Li Muyang had once been fond of her.

Li Yuechan blinked upon hearing this, then said with a giggle, "If Sister Ning is willing to help, that would be wonderful. Sister Ning is so clever; with your assistance, my brother will surely be very happy."

The girl's smile was innocent, like a small flower swaying in the breeze.

Ning Wan'er also replied with a smile, "We are all from the same hometown; looking out for one another is only right."

Amidst the mountain winds as the airship set sail, the two girls on the deck locked eyes, then both smiled faintly at the same time.

In that instant, their smiles were strangely similar.

The topic, which had been somewhat awkward and peculiar, came to an abrupt end following this simple probe.

Both of them chatted and laughed about the legends and interesting tales of Cloud City, as if no one had even mentioned Li Muyang just moments before...