"That place..." Immortal Rong's expression shifted slightly. "Mount Fangcun?" Bai Qingcheng nodded.
Immortal Rong frowned. "At such a time, why are you going to Mount Fangcun?"
Bai Qingcheng's expression was low. She sighed. "Someone from Mount Fangcun sent me a letter a while ago, saying that Qingyin... I'm afraid..." Her expression flickered as she trailed off.
When Immortal Rong heard her mention "Qingyin," her face turned serious.
Bai Qingcheng sighed. "Back when I was cultivating in Kunzhou, I met Sister Qingyin, and we had the most compatible temperaments. After we grew up, we went our separate ways, but we never stopped writing to each other..."
"She inherited Mount Fangcun's lineage and cultivated heterodox divine arts. Her aptitude was extremely good... but that sort of thing was always the most dangerous."
"I warned her back then: walk by the river long enough, and your shoes will eventually get wet. Don't learn it too deeply, and don't pull yourself into those big karmic events."
Bai Qingcheng gritted her teeth, filled with a sense that her words had been wasted on a stubborn girl. "But this dead girl was too straightforward in heart. When she met danger, she would fling herself at it like a moth to a flame."
"About a dozen years ago, she wrote to me saying she was going to face a great tribulation, and she had no idea what lay ahead. The Old Ancestor had passed down the Three Purity Bell to her for protection."
Immortal Rong's expression changed slightly. "What great tribulation?"
Bai Qingcheng shook her head. "I asked her, but she couldn't tell me. She said she couldn't leak the karma, or else certain ancient and terrifying presences would learn of it and all her efforts would be wasted. She only told me before she left because she was afraid."
Afraid that if something went wrong, the living and the dead would be separated forever and they would never meet again.
Bai Qingcheng pressed her lips tightly together, her heart aching.
Immortal Rong said, "And then?"
Bai Qingcheng shook her head. "I don't know. I only managed to find out from Mount Fangcun that Qingyin and a few others had, in the unseen, resolved that great tribulation. But every one of them was seriously injured, and some even fell into a sleep from which they never woke."
"After that, I never heard any news of Qingyin again."
"Until recently, someone suddenly sent me a message, saying..." Bai Qingcheng suppressed her unease, her gaze turning cold. "...saying that Qingyin's karma had turned for the worse, and her life was hanging by a thread."
Immortal Rong's gaze became heavy, and his expression grew grimmer. Karma turning bad, life on the brink. These simple eight words held a danger that might be more than just "death."
"I really couldn't set my mind at ease. Remembering our old friendship, I couldn't eat or sleep. And then I also happened to hear some gossip about Zixi..."
She sighed in her heart. "...saying that Zixi was keeping a wild man. I thought I would come over and take a look at the same time."
Immortal Rong frowned. "But... the rules of Mount Fangcun. You can't get in."
Bai Qingcheng also took a breath, full of worry. "That's the problem. A reclusive sect has its own founding rules. Outsiders can't enter. And I can't very well just smash down their mountain gate."
Immortal Rong was startled. Remembering this Grand Aunt Bai's past "exploits," his brows jumped.
"Don't stir up trouble. This is Kunzhou, not Qianzhou. Mount Fangcun is not like other places."
Bai Qingcheng sighed. "I know."
Immortal Rong was still uneasy. "Then what do you plan to do?"
Bai Qingcheng shook her head. "This is very difficult. I can only think of a way to find some experts in Kunzhou and pass a message in, to see if Mount Fangcun will make an exception. I can't not care about Qingyin's matter. After all, what if..." Bai Qingcheng looked desolate.
Immortal Rong watched Bai Qingcheng and felt a pang of sorrow. Cultivating to their age, many former fellow disciples and friends had already passed away, one by one.
Some were stuck at a bottleneck, their lifespan exhausted, and died in misery. Some provoked mighty enemies and died in sieges or assassinations. Or they met with unexpected karma and died suddenly. Now, the old friends and fellow Daoists still alive and able to speak were fewer and fewer.
In the end, cultivating immortality often left a person alone, battling long loneliness and solitude, with no one to tell their heartache. Precisely because of this, having a sister of kindred temperament, sworn like gold and orchid, was all the more precious.
Immortal Rong sighed. Bai Qingcheng fell silent for a moment.
After a while, Immortal Rong suddenly thought of something. "Only... he also wants to go to Mount Fangcun."
"Mo Hua?" Bai Qingcheng was startled. "What is he going to Mount Fangcun for?"
Immortal Rong shook his head. "Not clear. Somehow he heard news of Mount Fangcun, and like a cat that smells fish, he's probably just curious and wants to see."
Bai Qingcheng sighed, thinking to herself that this little junior nephew of hers was curious about everything. Curiosity kills.
Bai Qingcheng's mind stirred. She needed to help Mo Hua set his heart early, found a family, build a career, and live a good life, that was the proper path.
For the next few days, Bai Qingcheng did not stay at Little Luan Mountain Blessed Land. She went off to do who knew what.
Because Bai Qingcheng had descended, Mo Hua and his Little Senior Sister seemed to have a "barrier" between them; they rarely met anymore. The days when the two of them would chat and study formations together seemed to be gone forever.
Until this day, Mo Hua was drawing formations in his room when a transmission suddenly sounded in his ear: "Mo Hua, come here."
Mo Hua recognized it as Senior Aunt Bai's voice. It was a divine-sense transmission at the Feather Transformation True Person level.
Mo Hua walked out of his room and into the small courtyard. The first thing he saw was his Little Senior Sister. It had only been a few days, but it felt like a long era had passed. When their eyes met, both carried indescribably complicated emotions, and then they each looked away, their manner clearly much more distant.
Bai Qingcheng watched the two of them like this and felt somewhat relieved, but for some reason, there was also a faint discomfort. The taste of love unrequited is terribly bitter. How could she not know it?
Only, living in this world, no one, most of the time, can do exactly as they please. Low cultivation has its own helplessness; high cultivation has its own things beyond one's control. Even Bai Qingcheng, as a Feather Transformation True Person, was no exception.
The happiest person in the whole courtyard was, without a doubt, Little Orange. She was still small and didn't know the pain of the human world; in other words, she was somewhat carefree and thick-skinned.
With her mouth stuffed full of the oranges Bai Qingcheng had given her, she looked up at the beautiful True Person Bai and affectionately called "Aunt Bai."
Bai Qingcheng treated outsiders with a cold expression, an aloof attitude, and an air of being high above. But she was actually very kind to people she knew. She was also good to Little Orange. Though her expression was still faint, her gaze toward Little Orange was very gentle. Yet hidden in that gentle gaze was a trace of pity that ordinary people couldn't detect.
Mo Hua keenly noticed this hint of strangeness and found it somewhat odd.
At that moment, Bai Qingcheng turned to Mo Hua and said, "Come out with me for a trip to meet some people."
"Meet some people?" Mo Hua's gaze shifted slightly.
"Mm." Bai Qingcheng said. "They can be considered elders."
Mo Hua nodded lightly.
"Let's go." Bai Qingcheng said. Her figure drifted, her feet barely touching the ground, as she walked out of the little blessed land.
Mo Hua glanced at his Little Senior Sister. The two of them looked at each other in silence. Mo Hua was silent for a moment, then turned and followed Bai Qingcheng away.
Bai Qingcheng led Mo Hua, riding in a luxurious carriage, directly to the Lu family estate.
Mo Hua was somewhat surprised. He guessed Senior Aunt Bai was taking him visiting, but he never imagined the visit would be to the Lu family's door. So when he got off the carriage, a slightly stunned look appeared on his face.
Bai Qingcheng looked at Mo Hua and asked, "Have you been to the Lu family before?"
Mo Hua nodded. "The Lu family head invited me to a meal once."
Bai Qingcheng was also somewhat surprised, then nodded. "That's perfect."
Afterward, Bai Qingcheng led Mo Hua directly into the Lu family's inner courtyard.
Last time Mo Hua came, he was only in the outer courtyard—the place the Lu family used for receiving guests, hosting banquets, and handling affairs. It was also where most of the Lu family disciples cultivated and lived.
The inner courtyard was completely different. A great clan's inner courtyard was somewhat similar to a sect's "inner gate." The true direct bloodline of the clan lived in the inner courtyard, and many of the direct-line women also lived deep inside. Ordinary outsiders, even those with honored status, were not easily allowed into the Lu inner courtyard.
But Bai Qingcheng was clearly not ordinary.
In the Lu family's evaluation system, Mo Hua was originally only "ordinary." But now, accompanying Bai Qingcheng, he was clearly not ordinary either.
After entering the inner courtyard, everything was resplendent—white jade steps, jade towers, golden gates. Mo Hua didn't look too closely. He knew that even with his eyes closed, everywhere was just "money."
In this world, all wealth and luxury, without exception, were piled up with money. And the Lu family, very obviously, never lacked money. Mo Hua was very short on money right now, so he was unconsciously very sensitive to such things.
They had not walked far into the inner courtyard when suddenly a fragrance of powder and perfume assailed his nose, the rustle of dresses sounded, mingled with the tinkling of jade pendants.
Mo Hua looked up and saw a group of noblewomen, every one with a face like a bright moon, graceful and noble, welcoming his Senior Aunt Bai. When they reached her, they all curtsied and said respectfully, "Welcome, True Person Bai."
Bai Qingcheng nodded slightly and said softly, "No need to stand on ceremony."
Only then did the elegantly dressed noblewomen relax, and smiles appeared on their tense faces.
"True Person Bai's arrival truly brings light to our humble Lu household."
"Sister Bai has the bearing of a True Immortal, transcendent and unmatched in grace, worthy of all our admiration."
"Sister Bai..."
The noblewomen's words were full of sincere praise, flowing endlessly.
After a while, their attention turned to Mo Hua. A woman exclaimed, "Oh, whose young master is this? He's so handsome."
"Is this... Golden Core? So young and already at Golden Core—unlimited prospects."
"Look at those eyes, bright and spirited; those brows like a mountain painted in a scroll; that face white as jade... His features seem painted by an immortal's brush, line by line. Truly exquisite."
"I think even a celestial descended to the mortal world would only look like this."
"No doubt about it..."
Even Mo Hua, who had weathered many storms, was momentarily overwhelmed by these women's honeyed words. He blushed, his whole body feeling uncomfortable, as if ants were crawling on him.
Bai Qingcheng glanced at Mo Hua, shook her head slightly, and said with a faint smile, "Alright, enough small talk."
Only then did the noblewomen stop, still reluctant. Some of what they had said was indeed flattery, but part of it was sincere. They truly hadn't expected that the young relative True Person Bai brought would have such a stunning face.
Bai Qingcheng said, "You all go gather in the garden first."
The group of noblewomen curtsied elegantly, then took their leave from Bai Qingcheng. Only one woman remained, beautiful and elegant, with a jade-round face, dressed in palace robes.
Bai Qingcheng introduced her to Mo Hua. "This is Lady Lu."
Mo Hua didn't know which Lady Lu she was, but he still politely bowed and said, "Greetings, Lady Lu."
Lady Lu looked Mo Hua up and down, growing more and more astonished. "So you're that Mo Hua?"
Mo Hua was stunned. "Lady Lu knows me?"
Lady Lu said with a smile, "Zhenlong often mentions you."
"Zhenlong?" Mo Hua was surprised. "Are you..."
Lady Lu smiled and nodded. "I'm Zhenlong's mother."
Mo Hua suddenly understood. No wonder... he had felt she looked somewhat familiar, and there was an inexplicable sense of familiarity in his karma. So she was Lu Zhenlong's mother.
But... Mo Hua didn't quite understand. "Lu Zhenlong... what does she say about me?"
"She said that at the Sword Discussion Grand Competition you used Fireball Technique to burn her face, and she wished she could tie you up, cut you into eight pieces, and roast you in a furnace..." Lady Lu said silently in her heart. Of course, she couldn't say that in front of True Person Bai.
Lady Lu instead said with a smile, "Zhenlong said that at the Sword Discussion Grand Competition, you were majestic and swept through all sides, and she was very impressed."
Mo Hua was dumbfounded. Could those be words from Lu Zhenlong's mouth?
Bai Qingcheng was also somewhat surprised and glanced at Mo Hua, thinking to herself that the rumors must be true—Mo Hua really had shone at the Qianzhou Sword Discussion Grand Competition.
But... how had an ordinary cultivator with a mid-to-lower-grade spiritual root managed to shine at a competition gathering of such prodigies? It was really rather puzzling.
Bai Qingcheng shook her head and said to Lady Lu, "Let the juniors go play by themselves."
Lady Lu's gaze was somewhat complicated, but she could only nod and say, "Young Master Mo, please follow me."
Mo Hua, with a strange expression, followed Lady Lu deeper into the inner courtyard.
He had not walked many steps when a young master came from the opposite direction, dressed in a lavish gold-and-jade garment, with handsome, proud features. When Mo Hua saw this young master, his pupils shrank.
The gold-robed young master also started when he saw Mo Hua, then his face changed, his gaze venomous, and murderous intent appeared. But that murderous intent was interrupted by Lady Lu.
Lady Lu scolded, "Zhenming, don't be rude!"
Her voice was gentle but carried a mother's authority. The brocade-robed young master didn't dare defy her, but anger rose in his heart. "Mother, why did you let this person in?"
"What do you mean 'this person, that person'..." Lady Lu said with displeasure. "This is Young Master Mo, Immortal Bai's nephew. You should be courteous."
Then Lady Lu pointed at the gold-robed young master and said to Mo Hua apologetically, "Young Master Mo, this is my third son, Lu Zhenming. He's usually spoiled, so please don't take offense..."
Lu Zhenming... Mo Hua's gaze moved slightly.
This gold-robed young master named "Lu Zhenming" was precisely the one who, at the Flower Queen banquet that day, had offered an Ice Jade Cicada-Silk Robe to court the Flower Queen. He was one of the four profligate young masters of Kunzhou. It was said his cultivation aptitude was excellent, and he was also the strongest contender for the next Lu family head.
Mo Hua hadn't expected to meet him in such a place. And Lu Zhenming, likewise, looked at Mo Hua with an icy gaze. Clearly, he still deeply remembered his grudge against Mo Hua.