Two days later, Southern Border.
Missing Moon Manor lay deep in the mountains, some four hundred li from the Ruizhou border. A small town stood at the foot of the mountain, while the manor housed over a thousand disciples. Painted white throughout, it stood out vividly among the mountains.
At dusk, Xie Jinhuan walked down the mountain path in a cloak, dressed like an ordinary Poison Rat, explaining to Great Immortal Zisu beside him as he went:
"Coal Ball and I passed through here three years ago. A steward from the manor even stopped me, said I had handsome, refined features, and asked whether I wanted to go up the mountain to study. He said their Manor Lord was especially beautiful. I figured Witch Cult Demonesses all knew how to plant gu poison, and I couldn't afford to provoke them, so I fled that very night..."
Lin Zisu was currently Missing Moon Manor's little Young Manor Lord, but she had never visited the Southern Border. This time, she had followed her Grandmaster back on a pilgrimage. Hearing this, she replied:
"Then doesn't that mean you spent three extra years taking the long way around, Xie Lang?"
"Ha ha, more or less..."
Xie Jinhuan knew Zisu was clever and had long since seen through his relationship with Sister Bu. He merely laughed it off without saying more and hurried down the mountain.
After receiving intelligence from the Directorate of Celestial Observation the afternoon before last, Xie Jinhuan had barely stopped. Once the party ended, he had set off for the Southern Border, arriving at Missing Moon Manor half an hour ago.
Among his companions, Big Ice Lump, as an important member of the Cinnabar Cauldron Sect, needed to attend two days of meetings at the Directorate of Celestial Observation. Ling'er had