Inside the bamboo house, the fragrance of tea curled through the air.
Mu Chen and Ling Xi sat facing each other, their conversation gradually opening up.
They spoke of the past and the present, occasionally touching on inconsequential everyday matters.
Ling Xi said little, but responded to everything. Behind the rising steam, her cool features quietly softened a little.
"Just call me Sister Ling Xi from now on." Her voice remained clear and cool, but lacked its initial distance.
Mu Chen readily obliged. "Sister Ling Xi."
Mu Chen briefly explained his plans to repair the Spirit Gathering Array and study Spirit Arrays.
After listening, Ling Xi merely nodded gently. "Mm, I understand. Leave the array repairs to me. If you want to learn Spirit Arrays, just come over every day."
She was brisk and straightforward, without a single unnecessary question.
As for why Mu Chen knew of her existence, or how he had found her, Ling Xi did not probe.
She did not care about those things.
To her, it was enough that the person before her was Aunt Jing's son, that he was "Xiao Mu."
Some secrets, if he wanted to share them, he would tell her himself; if he did not, she had no need to know.
Ling Xi watched Mu Chen's retreating figure and smiled softly.
Aunt Jing, I've met him. Don't worry. Until I find you, I'll protect him and won't let him suffer the slightest harm.
In the days that followed, Mu Chen's life settled once again into a regular, fulfilling rhythm.
When the first morning light shone through, he would tread through the thin mist toward Ling Xi's Courtyard.
The mountain path was quiet, its stone steps covered in dark green moss that made almost no sound beneath his feet.
The farther he climbed, the thicker the mist grew, shutting out the bustle below and the academy's morning vitality, leaving only the faint whisper of wind past his ears and the distant, indistinct tolling of bells.
The gate to Ling Xi's Courtyard was often left ajar.
When Mu Chen pushed it open and entered, he would usually find Ling Xi already seated at the square table inside the bamboo house.
As always, a pot of tea was kept warm on the table, with two plain white porcelain cups facing each other.
Sometimes she was studying a scroll bearing an Array Diagram; sometimes she simply gazed absently at the old plum tree in the corner. Her figure, clad in white brighter than snow, looked as faint in the morning mist as a wisp of smoke that might dissolve at any moment.
Her teaching style was just like her: direct, concise, and without the slightest excess.
Mu Chen learned quickly, surpassing Ling Xi in less than a month.
This astonished Ling Xi, but once her surprise passed, she felt it was only natural. Aunt Jing's child ought to be this monstrously talented!
One day, Mu Chen spoke to Ling Xi as she sat quietly by the window reading a scroll. "Sister Ling Xi, I have something to take care of over the next few days, so I won't be coming."
Ling Xi lifted her eyes from the scroll, her clear gaze settling on his face, and nodded gently. "Mm, go ahead."
She neither asked further questions nor offered reminders.
She knew Mu Chen understood his own limits, and his mastery of Spirit Arrays already far exceeded hers!
Mu Chen left the bamboo house and descended the mountain through the morning mist.
The mountain path was silent, save for the occasional clear call of an early-rising spirit bird on a branch, its voice piercing the thin mist, ethereal and far-reaching.
Between cultivation sessions, Mu Chen often kept an eye on the various missions issued by the Mission Hall. Now, the mission he had been waiting for had arrived!
Low Heaven-grade, Spirit Treasury mission.
Simply put, a Spirit Treasury mission involved exploring a cave abode passed down from ancient times.
Mu Chen knew that although this mission called it the Heaven-reaching Spirit Treasury, it was actually the White Dragon Supreme's Spirit Treasury!
Within it lay an opportunity that would one day allow him to break through to Heavenly Sovereign!
It was also the perfect chance to take Luo Li and the others around the Northern Heavens Continent.
Whoosh.
The streak of light settled, and Mu Chen appeared on the bluestone paving of his own little courtyard.
Luo Li was just stepping out of the house, wearing a blue dress, her silver hair cascading like a waterfall. She was about to head to the High-grade Spirit Gathering Array to cultivate.
Seeing Mu Chen return so soon after leaving, the faintest trace of surprise flickered through her glass-clear eyes, but it was swiftly replaced by a deeper tenderness.
She gave him a smile.
It was a faint smile, yet like a clear spring flowing through a mountain ravine, it spread silently, making even the dew-laden morning air around them seem a little gentler.
Mu Chen smiled too.
The girl before him often gave others a sense of tranquil, far-off distance, like snow that never melted atop a distant mountain peak-cool, clear, visible yet beyond reach.
Only before him would that layer of ice and snow quietly melt, revealing the warm, gentle light within.
Under Mu Chen's lingering gaze, Luo Li suddenly grew shy. A faint blush quietly spread over her exquisite, porcelain-smooth cheeks, reaching all the way to her ears.
"What is it?" She lifted her slender, fair hand and touched her slightly warm cheek, her voice carrying a trace of bashful reproach at his unabashed stare.
Mu Chen did not answer. As Luo Li watched him approach, her heartbeat inexplicably quickened.
Guessing what he intended, she instinctively glanced toward the courtyard gate and around them. No one was there.
In the early-morning courtyard, there were only the two of them and the scattered patches of light falling through the branches and leaves.
In the instant her gaze wandered, Mu Chen had already reached her.
He extended his arms, his movements natural yet carrying a gentle firmness that allowed no refusal, and securely gathered the girl's slender waist, so delicate it seemed a single hand could encircle it.
"Ah..." Luo Li gave a soft little cry. Her body stiffened slightly, then quickly relaxed.
That token resistance melted away in an instant. She lifted her eyes and shot him a reproachful look, but there was little anger in it; instead, her gaze shimmered like water.
In the end, she yielded. After all, there were no other girls here now. This time belonged to them alone.
Luo Li even quietly pressed her small, soft body more tightly into his warm, firm embrace.
She knew Mu Chen's scent all too well. Whenever she breathed it in, she felt at ease, as though no matter what storms raged outside, this was where she belonged.
She closed her eyes in bliss, her long lashes casting faint shadows beneath them.
Mu Chen lowered his head and gently rubbed his chin against her cool, silky silver hair. Feeling the tangible warmth, softness, and trust in his arms, his heart filled with peace.
Only after a long while did he loosen his hold a little, though his arms remained around her. His voice sounded above her head, tinged with a smile:
"I accepted a Heaven-grade Spirit Treasury mission."
At his words, Luo Li lifted her face from his embrace and looked at him with questioning, glass-clear eyes.
Heaven-grade missions were already the highest difficulty in the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy's mission system. They usually involved extremely dangerous regions or powerful opponents, and offered exceptionally generous rewards, but often required several top students to form a team.
However, Mu Chen was now a Supreme, and his strength was beyond question.
"I'd like to take you and Sister Qian'er around the Northern Heavens Continent. What do you think?" Mu Chen continued, looking at her earnestly.
The Northern Heavens Continent formed the main expanse of the vast continent where the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy stood. It stretched without end, its various powers tangled in a complex web.
It was far more exciting than the academy's mountain range, and far more dangerous as well.
Mu Chen told her all the mission details and asked for Luo Li's opinion.
"I have no objections. Once Sister Qian'er comes back, ask her... and Wen Qingxuan, aren't you going to invite her?" Luo Li asked softly.
"If she finds out, she'll probably be upset."
His arms tightened a little around Luo Li's slender waist. Lowering his head, he looked into the girl's crystal-clear eyes, where he saw his own reflection, along with mischief and teasing.
She was testing him, and reminding him too.
Mu Chen smiled, a fair measure of helplessness in his expression.
"What do you think, Luo Li?"
At his question, the corners of Luo Li's lips curved slightly.
"Just invite her along."
It's good for Mu Chen to have more people around him. If I return to the Luo God Clan someday, he'll still have someone to keep him company.
If I die, he won't be quite so heartbroken either...
Before you continue