It was yet another night of thoroughly refreshing dual cultivation, and as Chu Fangfang and Mo Caihuan stepped outside, they saw Chen Bufei standing guard at the door.
Mo Caihuan felt helpless; she had told him long ago not to stand guard, but he stubbornly refused to listen.
At that moment, they were staying in a compact, two-courtyard compound that Chen Bufei had purchased. Mo Caihuan had entered the inner sanctum, lived in his house, and engaged in dual cultivation with his fiancée, all while making him stand guard-she felt thoroughly embarrassed by it.
Yet Chen Bufei looked entirely pleased, smiling in response as he watched his fiancée and Mo Caihuan walk out side by side.
Thus, it was quite bizarre; Chen Bufei made Mo Caihuan the center of everything.
Chu Fangfang locked her eyes onto Mo Caihuan, her gaze lingering with a silky thread of emotion. Logically speaking, they were engaged in proper dual cultivation, borrowing Mo Caihuan's body to enhance the Misty Fragrance, yet for some reason her expression was filled with such deep affection.
"Academician Chen, save me!" Early in the morning, a miserable voice came echoing from the sky above.
An unfamiliar young cultivator stepped on a flying sword and landed in a disheveled state. Clad in white with a paper fan tucked into his belt, he possessed handsome facial features and cut the figure of a quintessential pretty boy.
After landing, the pretty boy looked quite surprised; the famously upright Chen Bufei unexpectedly had two breathtakingly beautiful women at his home. He immediately broke into a wicked grin and said, "Academician Chen truly keeps his secrets well hidden. He stays silent until he makes a startling splash."
Upon seeing the newcomer, Chen Bufei showed no anger at the intrusion into his small courtyard. Instead, he smiled and asked, "Brother Hua, which fairy is hunting you down this time?" The two men were old acquaintances, and this was not the first time he had shouted for help.
"Far from it, far from it. This time it's not a fairy, but that old codger, the Old Man of South Mountain." The cultivator surnamed Hua puckered his lips and said, "I merely wrote a book called Wind and Flower Treasure Mirror, recounting the emotional entanglements between men and women. Yet that pedantic old fool is relying on his Late Golden Core cultivation base to hunt down a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator like me, utterly devoid of seniorly virtue."
"Bah!" At that moment, an explosive roar came from the sky above. "Hua Jianqing, stop spouting nonsense! Is what you wrote about emotions? It's completely a matter of filthy dealings between men and women, simply corrupting the youth. I must teach you a lesson, otherwise Mount Li Academy will have all its dignity disgraced by you!"
"What I wrote are all facts and actual truths, what of it? I walked the half of Great Jin upon entering the secular world, spent fifty years visiting brothels and pleasure quarters, and witnessed all the joys, sorrows, partings, and reunions of men and women. Writing the Wind and Flower Treasure Mirror was purely to warn future generations, what wrong have I done?"
"Hehe, do you dare take the book out for everyone to see?" the Old Man of South Mountain said coldly.
"What is there not to dare?"
Mo Caihuan sized up the newly landed old man. Although he had a full head of white hair, he possessed thick eyebrows, big eyes, and an aura of upright righteousness-he had definitely studied the Confucianism Cultivation Method. His clothes were made of a peasant's coarse hemp cloth, making him look rather like a farmer.
"You all help me take a look and judge who is right."
Having arrived in Great Jin for half a year and having met quite a few cultivators, Mo Caihuan discovered that the relationships among cultivators were actually quite harmonious and nowhere near as tense and hostile.
She figured that most cultivators belonged to sects and factions where they met constantly, so they would not resort to fighting and killing at the mere sight of each other. Only Han Li always joined temporary treasure-hunting squads, where the atmosphere was tense and fraught with betrayal and selling each other out.
In a temporary squad, there was no foundation of trust, and personal interest always came first. If it were a long-term cooperative relationship, a harmonious atmosphere was crucial.
Therefore, the Old Man of South Mountain was entirely taking the attitude of a senior disciplining a junior; he did not intend to kill Hua Jianqing, but merely wanted him to stop spreading the Wind and Flower Treasure Mirror.
"Take a look, all of you." He produced three jade disks and distributed them to everyone, the copied contents already stored within them.
Regrettably, Mo Caihuan had not cultivated her Divine Sense and was unable to read them.
How could Hua Jianqing possibly neglect a beauty? He immediately produced a handwritten copy, handed it to Mo Caihuan, and shot her a flirtatious wink.
The book contained none of the unsuitable-for-minors content she had imagined. Not only was there no description of bedchamber arts, but there wasn't even the slightest touch of fleshly content. The material recorded inside was exceptionally hardcore-it was practically a textbook for emotional swindlers.
It detailed how men and women could deceive each other's feelings to defraud them of money and sex.
For instance, how a fallen woman could fabricate a pitiful background to stir up a man's protective instincts.
For instance, how a fallen man could fabricate a successful background to ignite a woman's desire for possession.
When men and women met, how one could make the other obtain emotional value so as to trick them into spending money. It was detailed down to a single sentence, a single action... If anyone wanted to become an emotional swindler, this book was practically a secret manual.
Chen Bufei finished reading with a frown and said, "Brother Hua, this book truly ought not to be circulated. Isn't this teaching people to defraud others of money and sex?"
"I am merely recording these things, it's not like I invented them. I am only recording, not creating. Even if this book isn't circulated, does that mean swindlers won't exist?" Hua Jianqing said with a straight face. "If this book is widely publicized, it can instead warn those ignorant men and women not to be easily fooled. What I am doing is an act of boundless merit."
"Stop trying to gild your own lily. You've written about the innocent emotions between men and women so nakedly, it's all about entanglements of interest." Despite his advanced age, the Old Man of South Mountain still believed in true love and pure love.
"Miss Mo, what do you think?" Chen Bufei took his cue entirely from Mo Caihuan.
Mo Caihuan said, "It certainly will corrupt the little ones, but the educational significance of this book is likewise not small."
The Old Man of South Mountain said with dissatisfaction, "You are Mo Caihuan, the School Master of the Mohism School? Heh, I thought there was something special about the Mohism School, but it turns out to be nothing much."
Hua Jianqing said, "Shut your trap, old man. The School Master surely has something to say. I wonder what brilliant insights the School Master has?"
"The book can be published, as long as some fabricated content is added to it. Being overly realistic is indeed bad, but not knowing the truth is also bad. So just add some fake content to make it impossible for everyone to imitate," Mo Caihuan said.
"Makes sense. Well, old man, you have nothing more to say now, right?" Hua Jianqing laughed heartily and said, "Your clichés are no longer suitable for the present times. Be off with you, be off with you."
The old man said, "You had better hope so. If I find out that you haven't revised it, I will surely report you to Mount Li Academy and make you face the wall in meditation for thirty years." With that, he turned and left.
Hua Jianqing chuckled dismissively, looked toward the three of them, and smiled as he said, "Many thanks to you three for speaking out with a sense of justice, especially Miss Mo, who truly is a paragon of our generation." He glanced at the three of them, a trace of imperceptible oddity flashing through his eyes.
"Brother Hua, it has been a long time since we last met. Why don't we call upon three or five good friends and drink until we're thoroughly drunk?" Chen Bufei said.
"Good! Academician Chen truly understands my heart." He grabbed Chen Bufei's hand and headed out the door.
"Little sister is quick-witted, elder sister admires you." Chu Fangfang watched the two men leave, not forgetting to praise her companion.
"It's nothing brilliant; you all would have thought of it too."
"Thinking of it and thinking of it at the right moment are two different things. Neither of us thought of it just now, but little sister did-that is little sister's credit." Chu Fangfang's gaze grew increasingly infatuated.
Mo Caihuan felt a creeping unease under that stare; those two definitely had issues. Both of them had powerful backers behind them, and if something went wrong, she wouldn't be able to escape.
Yet why? Mo Caihuan asked herself if she hadn't done anything to make them infatuated. As for the lectures, everyone listened together, and nobody else was this obsessed.
"Senior, have you noticed that Chen Bufei and Chu Fangfang are acting a bit abnormal?"
"You're only just realizing this? I noticed it long ago. Clearly they are betrothed, yet they act like ordinary acquaintances and instead treat you like a prized treasure." Food Immortal had also detected the strangeness and said, "I suspect it's because you're cultivating the Misty Fragrance."
"Then I should attract Chu Fangfang, or we should attract each other, or I should be attracted to her. That fails to explain Chen Bufei's change. I cannot possibly attract everyone, so why is it specifically the two of them?" Mo Caihuan's delicate facial features were full of perplexity as she said, "Besides, the Misty Qi is merely a bloodline power; at best, it's just a secret technique. Even if it allows one to cultivate without relying on spiritual qi, how could it be this magical?"
"Lass, that's not how you put it. I've seen plenty of demon beasts that identify their own kind by scent, yet sometimes young beast pups mistake companions and follow the wrong parents. Perhaps this pair mistook their companion because the Misty Fragrance magnified a certain characteristic of yours, causing them to make a mistake."
Young beasts mistaking their parents? Was that even possible?
Food Immortal did not know the specific situation either; he could only be certain that there were certain special points about Mo Caihuan that attracted the two of them, which most likely had to do with the Misty Fragrance.