Hou Niao left Tianxin Pavilion and wandered through the Nine Great Flower Towns of Year-End City, returning to his original appearance without anyone noticing.
He could vaguely sense several strands of Divine Sense tracking him, but shaking off this sort of pursuit was simple for him. He was an old hand at criminal investigation; whether as a mortal or after entering cultivation, he had always worked in this line. In this respect, he was a professional.
"My wife, we may have to prepare to leave." Facing Bai Qingqian, he felt guilty, but had to say it.
After all her tending over the past several days, the little courtyard was already beginning to take shape. It looked completely different from its former desolation, showing how much effort Bai Qingqian had put into it lately.
They had originally expected to stay for several years, yet had not even lasted a month. But Bai Qingqian showed no surprise. "Oh, are we going to the Northern Borderlands?"
Hou Niao gave a dry laugh. "To be precise, the Hundred Thousand Mountains in the Yaoguang Mountains... You don't seem surprised at all?"
Bai Qingqian pursed her lips in a smile. "Why should I be surprised? Isn't this perfectly normal for you? Wherever you go, the basic pattern is: stir up trouble, clash with someone, then run... I'd find it strange if you didn't run. I'd wonder whether the person beneath that mask was really you anymore."
Hou Niao could not help laughing. That really was how it went. Whether in Anhe, the Li Sea, Jianye, or the Northwest, even back at his home base in the Jade Capital, the pattern had never changed. Every so often, he would get kicked out...
But Bai Qingqian's next words surprised him. "But I don't want to run away with