After three days of seclusion and reckless behavior, Xue Huai’s cultivation plan was also completely destroyed.
At this time, the cultivators in the sect had a spring break one after another, and most of them were packing their things and preparing to go home. Only a small number of people couldn’t go back because their houses were far away or because they studied hard and did not go back during holidays and chose to stay in the mountain manor to learn instead.
Yun Cuo and Xue Huai are also two of them.
There are four holidays per year for all sects, and the time of holidays varies from faction to faction. Sword, medicine, and illusion are put together, while other sects such as witchcraft, illusion, and spirit beasts are staggered.
When each faction goes on vacation, it’s also the time for a new round of students to start. At this time, the disciples who stayed in the sect would usually be grabbed by the masters to help them prepare teaching materials, or guide new disciples and do other miscellaneous tasks.
Xue Huai originally intended to receive the new disciples, but Yun Cuo had told Murong Jinchuan several days in advance that he was not feeling well and needed more rest, so Yun Cuo took over Xue Huai’s job and completed Xue Huai’s task.
There was a stream of dark green robes everywhere in front of the Medicine Cultivation Hall, except for Yun Cuo, who was walking around in a white swordsman’s robe, politely and attentively guiding the new students. Those who didn’t know would have thought that he was a dual practitioner of swordsmanship and medicine and was quite skilled.
The little junior sister came to Xue Huai and sighed, “Yun Shidi is a sword cultivator, but he goes to the Medicine Cultivation Hall more often than our master does and knows the roads better than the disciples there. He can really be considered a romantic man.”
Xue Huai was not convinced: “He took care of all the fun things, like welcoming new students. I am bored all day long now. It’s all his fault.”
Although he said this, Xue Huai still happily held many biography picture books and snacks and relaxed in the warm room.
He ate a small snack and fed it to the gluttonous ghost. In the evening, when Yun Cuo came back, he also wouldn’t let him cook and went to the kitchen to cook many of his favorite foods by himself. Sometimes he didn’t even let Xue Huai wash the dishes.
Yun Cuo said, “Just leave it there. Go and have fun.”
Xue Huai held up his chin and looked at him: “You’ve been running around all day, you’re sleepy till you can’t even open your eyes anymore. The matter at Fengzhou also hasn’t been resolved yet, so I’ll wash the dishes. You don’t have to get busy again tomorrow, I’m well now.”
Yun Cuo said, “I like running around outside. It’s not tiring. You go, I’ll wash the dishes. It’s just a matter of magic.”
Seeing that he insisted, Xue Huai no longer forced him.
After a few days, Xue Huai always suspected that he was getting fat, but then he found that he was not. Sometimes he felt that Yun Cuo was like some kind of god from the ancient times described in some biography—working at sunrise and resting at sunset, going out to fight, and coming back to cook for his wife and daughter. Really pitiful.
But he also quickly dismissed this idea.
Yun Cuo was not tired, at least not as tired as he appeared to be—he still had the strength to hold him down and do whatever he wanted to. One time, Sha Hua Shixiong next door came to find Xue Huai for something, he knocked on the door outside, asking if Xue Huai was there.
“Xue Huai, are you there? I want to take another pharmacology lecture exam recently. Can I borrow your medicine notes?”
At that time, Yun Cuo covered Xue Huai’s mouth and pressed him against the wall by the window. Sha Hua’s figure reflected through the window, as if he would open the window from the outside and look in at any time. Xue Huai suppressed his voice, almost suffocating, with red eyes. There were several bloody marks on Yun Cuo’s back from his scratches, but he still kept on moving.
He pinched and bit him, wanting to make him slow down. He doubts that the person outside could hear their noise of nonsense, but Yun Cuo just gets worse and smothers him even harder, almost making Xue Huai cry. He stretched out his hand, wanting to make a soundproof spell, but Yun Cuo pressed his slender white hand against the wall and kissed the inside of his wrist.
Sha Hua asked from the other side, in confusion. “Did he go out? Or did he go to bed already? Why do I feel like there was someone there just now?”
The shadow behind the window disappeared.
After the other person had gone far away, Yun Cuo withdrew his hand that was covering Xue Huai’s mouth. As soon as he removed his hand, Xue Huai slapped him lightly a few times. He slapped him lightly with trembling and passion. It’s not like an angry beating; rather, he was flirting with him.
Yun Cuo smiled and coaxed him, “Don’t be angry, Xue Huai.”
Xue Huai could no longer get angry either.
This made him dare not see Sha Hua for several days. Although he knew that the other party probably didn’t hear anything, Xue Huai still felt embarrassed. That notebook was finally delivered by the gluttonous ghost.
After staying like this for a few days, Xue Huai finally went out for a walk—Cai Yi assigned a task to the students in the Medicine Cultivation Hall who had not returned home: to go to the mountains to collect elixirs and immortal herbs.
This job was tiring and tedious. Different immortal herbs had different ways of being picked. Yun Cuo had never learned these things, so he couldn’t do it for Xue Huai. Xue Huai also didn’t ask him to ask for a leave either, he happily took an empty storage ring and went over.
Before leaving, Yun Cuo looked a little unhappy and just said, “Don’t go, Xue Huai, you are not well yet, it is dangerous for you to go now. Shizun loves you so much, can’t you ask for a leave?”
Xue Huai stood on tiptoe and pinched his face. “Stop making trouble. We are short of manpower now. I’ll just go out and relax.”
Yun Cuo did not comment.
Collecting immortal herbs and elixirs is a technical job.
Murong Mountain Manor has contracted for more than 30 types of immortal families, including the Nanzhou Fengyu Clan, Biyiniao Clan, and Jiuwei Fox Clan, to collect resources. Several medicinal valleys inside the mountain sect are used by students and cultivators.
There is usually extremely strong spiritual power gathered in the Medicine Valley, which can suppress immortals. Just like when Xue Huai first came to this life and went to the Demon Realm to find the spiritual cave where Yun Cuo was, he couldn’t use any magic at all.
In this case, the herbalists who came to collect herbs usually traveled in groups or brought spiritual beasts that were born with the ability to fly, jump, and leap, such as the green bird or the nine-colored deer. Without magic, they were no different from ordinary people, and only when they confirmed that they had a spiritual beast with them would the disciples guarding the valley let them go.
Xue Huai just picked up the gluttonous ghost and took it for a walk. Although this guy can only soar a distance of more than ten zhang, which is truly a shame in the spirit beast world, but it is barely big enough to carry people on its back, and it also listens to him very well.
Along the way, Xue Huai was thinking about how to teach the gluttonous ghost to pick the fairy grass and conducted experiments.
It’s just that it’s a pity that the effect was not very significant. The gluttonous ghost grabbed the fairy grass, pulled it out, and swallowed it into its stomach. By the way, it also takes a few bites of the soil under the fairy grass and swallows it into its stomach as well.
Xue Huai teased it and seriously criticized it, causing the gluttonous ghost to spit out soil with tears in its eyes, howling at him, and even using its bald head to arch him. Xue Huai touched it and coaxed it with a smile. “Why are you so stupid and clingy like Yun Cuo?”
The gluttonous ghost was even more unhappy and plunged into his arms, refusing to go down.
Several fellow disciples saw him playing with the gluttonous and knew that he had been feeling lazy and wanted to slack off recently, so they ignored him and just took away his share.
Someone else said from a distance, “Xue Huai, we have finished picking here, we will go first, you should pick some too; otherwise, the master will scold you!”
Xue Huai responded and walked in that direction, holding the gluttonous ghost.
The mountain they are on is not far from the manor; it is not very remote, but there are not that many people. Because it is surrounded by mountains on all sides, next to it is Yunjian of the Murong Mountain Sect, which is very close. The sunlight is completely blocked, making it particularly quiet and desolate on weekdays.
At this time, Xue Huai looked up—the top of the “Yunjian” mountain was submerged in the clouds, and from here, he only saw the winding mountain path on the mountainside, which looked like a silver dragon. The highest place on the mountaintop is where Yun Cuo often practices his medication. It is shrouded in clouds and mist and cannot be seen clearly.
Xue Huai looked at the sun again.
It’s a cloudy day with cool breeze today. The sun is hiding behind the clouds and will not rise up, so it’s unable to dispel the mist.
He knows that Yun Cuo may not be on that hill today. Recently, Yun Cuo was sent by Murong Jinchuan to follow the Divine Weapon Maker to help and understudy. It was also for him to meditate and gain insights from the hardships.
Yun Cuo was not there, so Xue Huai just withdrew his gaze and walked to the other side, trying to catch up with his companions who were heading to the other hill.
Unexpectedly, before he had taken a few steps, his feet suddenly felt empty—at first he thought he had missed a step, but it was not until he fell off the cliff without any resistance that he realized what was happening.
This cliff under his feet unexpectedly collapsed directly at this moment, as if it had been cut off!
The spiritual energy in the Spiritual Medicine Valley was suppressed. Xue Huai could not use any spells, and only a weak inner energy was there to protect his body. All he could hear were loud noises and the sound of wind pouring into his mind.
The only thought that came to his mind at this moment was not that he was about to be killed by the fall, but—
If he died or was injured, Yun Cuo would cry, right?
His back hit something soft. The huge drop made Xue Huai almost vomit blood. His head buzzed, and his vision immediately became blurry.
He vaguely heard the gluttonous ghost groaning under him, as if it were also hurt by the tremendous force penetrating from the high charge. The gluttonous ghost suddenly grew five or six times larger and carried him on its back, trying desperately to avoid the rubble and dirt that fell from above its head and wanting to climb up. After dodging here and there and climbing about ten meters, Xue Huai was about to slide off its back again.
The gluttonous ghost turned around and grabbed one of Xue Huai’s arms, carefully trapping his arm between its own teeth, striving not to harm him. At this moment, Xue Huai also regained a little consciousness and reluctantly wrapped his other arm around the gluttonous ghost’s neck, whispering, “Xiao Tao?”
Seeing that he was fine, the gluttonous ghost stretched out its claws and tried to pull him up. However, it has no wings and cannot fly, so no matter how high it leaps, it cannot get out. Coincidentally, the rock wall was too smooth, and it climbed up several times, but each time it fell back to where it was, along with Xue Huai. Finally, it let out angry and anxious roars.
Xue Huai rubbed its head and spat out half a mouthful of blood foam, saying, “We can’t go up, Xiao Tao. It’s fine, go down first, go down first.”
The gluttonous ghost listened to his words and brought him back to the ground.
After being dizzy for a while, Xue Huai came down and checked on his little gluttonous ghost. After making sure that the gluttonous ghost was fine, he began to observe the surrounding environment.
On both sides were high mountains, and he and the gluttonous ghost were stuck at the bottom between the two large mountains, with thousands of mystery blades and only a line of clouds above their heads. Xue Huai walked a few steps and found some debris from the disciples—probably blown down by the wind—and there were also animal carcasses, wild flowers and fruits, and the like.
Xue Huai recalled the distribution of the surrounding mountains, then patted the gluttonous ghost’s forehead to make it shrink, and then picked it up. “We can’t get out of here, there is no way out at both ends, but it doesn’t matter, there are wild flowers and fruits here, we won’t starve, we can just wait here for them to rescue us.”
He was still in the mood to stroke the gluttonous ghost and said with a smile, “Well… wait for your mother to pick us up.”
He was not worried that Yun Cuo would not notice that he was missing. This Daoist partner of his was very concerned about him.
Xue Huai took a few steps and felt a sharp pain in his ankle. He didn’t know whether it was a broken bone or just a sprain. In short, he couldn’t move, so he broke off a branch to use as a crutch, held the gluttonous ghost in one hand, and found a huge rock to sit down on.
As he sat there, he noticed something unusual.
Two or three feet away from him, there fell an arrow, still looking brand new.
The arrowhead was made of black iron, and the shaft had broken into two pieces.
Xue Huai frowned. “Why are there arrow shafts in this place?”
Murong Mountain Sect does not train archers. This category is classified as one of the compulsory courses in the sword cultivation category. But Xue Huai knows that there is only one shooting range in Yunjian Mountain where sword cultivators gather to practice. In that shooting range, whether it is a bow and arrow or firearms, they are all set up in a sealed cave when practicing in order to avoid accidentally hurting pedestrians and flying birds.
Similarly, bows, arrows, and firearms are all subject to the control of the Cangbing Pavilion. The purpose and destination of each weapon used by the trainees are supervised and recorded by Vermilion Birds.
In other words, there couldn’t be an extra bow and arrow in Murong Mountain Sect unless it was used to assassinate someone from the beginning.
Xue Huai lowered his eyes and looked at the arrow.
The arrow pointed to the cliff on Yunjian Mountain, as if… it had been used to point to someone standing on the top of Yunjian Mountain. After dodging it, they crossed the top of the mountain and fell here.
The author has something to say: Three-year-old Yun: My wife is missing quq
