In the domain of Gui Ye, during the Yin hour, Xu Mu returned to Feng Qing Village with two companions.
Candlelight flickered, casting a dim yellow glow within the room.
He disliked this color intensely.
His gray-white pupils shifted slightly, as if a thought had occurred to him. He raised his hand, extinguished the candle, and then pulled a rope hidden beneath the edge of the kang.
*Ding dong.*
With a soft chime, the light tube on the ceiling emitted a gentle white glow, astonishing the two individuals:
“Such a masterful artifact.”
The elder without eyebrows glanced at Xu Mu, then looked up at the electric light, a hint of curiosity in his gaze.
He could discern that this object was crafted from metal, and its construction was not overly complex.
Yet, the puzzling thing was that he could not sense any unusual energy from it.
Artifacts that did not require the expenditure of extraordinary energy were simply nonexistent. So, how did this thing light up?
“Sizzle!”
The water in the teapot boiled, its lid rattling. It then slid onto the stove, the steam evaporating with a sizzling sound.
Xu Mu ignored the elder’s perplexed gaze and silently poured a pot of tea for the two.
“Please, have some.”
Both the tea-making technique and the aroma of the tea leaves were of the highest quality.
However, the white-skirted woman, whose face was veiled, looked at the freshly brewed tea on the table. Thirst was evident in her eyes, yet she remained still.
Xu Mu noticed this and, naturally, became somewhat curious about her.
Since they had met in West Mountain and arrived at Feng Qing Village, this white-skirted woman had spoken no more than three sentences. It was primarily the elder, whose strength was clearly superior, who did the talking.
Furthermore, the veil covering her face appeared to be a high-grade artifact, adorned with intricate runes that could block all forms of detection.
Who were these people that they needed to go to such lengths to conceal their identities and faces?
—Most likely, a young lady of noble birth.
Xu Mu’s body silently observed the woman. Even though she remained silent and did not remove her veil, he could still discern from her voice and her gait that she was not very old. She might even be of his own age.
If she was a young lady of noble birth and his age, her appearance must surely be remarkable.
So… between her and Yin Shui'er, who would be more beautiful?
As Xu Mu pondered these thoughts, his vision was suddenly blocked.
He snapped back to attention, seeing the eyebrowless elder staring at him with a serious expression.
“Young friend, it is late.”
Xu Mu finally realized that the other party had misunderstood something.
In truth, he had been thinking about Yin Shui’er’s… eyes, and had no intention of being disrespectful towards the woman.
But it didn’t matter if he was misunderstood; he didn’t care.
“The tea hasn’t been drunk yet,” Xu Mu replied indifferently, averting his gaze.
This was tea he had brewed himself. Perhaps even the Emperor lacked such treatment. You wished to sleep without drinking it?
Upon hearing this, the elder before him chuckled.
Was this his attempt to use the pretense of drinking tea to glimpse my lady’s appearance?
“A petty trick!”
The elder’s expression turned fierce. He extended both hands, picked up two cups of scalding tea, and drank them down in one go:
“Gulp.”
“I happened to be a bit thirsty; my apologies.”
The elder’s lips were burned red, and he regretted his actions countless times in his heart, yet he maintained a slight smile on his face.
“Truly a master of the domain level.”
The gray-white pupils found this elder inexplicable. He had just drunk water that was boiling.
He shook his head slightly:
“It seems you are truly thirsty, senior. If you wish for more, I have another pot.”
Saying this, he made to get up and fetch water from the stove.
Seeing this, the elder was immediately surprised and quickly grabbed his arm, looking somewhat embarrassed:
“No need, young friend, I am no longer thirsty.”
“So, can we go to sleep now?”
Xu Mu raised an eyebrow slightly. Sleep?
If this question had come from the white-skirted woman, it would have undoubtedly been enchanting.
But when a bald, eyebrowless elder, craning his neck and squinting, asked this question, even a man imprisoned in a jail for thirty years would find it difficult to even think in that direction.
So, he pointed to a small room to the side:
“There is only one guest room. It is likely to be given to the young lady. Senior, you will likely have to sleep with me.”
“No problem,” the elder grinned sheepishly, rubbing his bald head. “We haven’t had a proper sleep for days. We’re quite tired.”
Xu Mu didn’t understand why the elder felt the need to explain this to him, especially twice.
But he could sense that this elder, who could summon heavenly lightning and kill a lord-level tiger demon with just two fingers, was genuinely exhausted.
So, he extended his arm:
“Please.”
…
Xu Mu found a set of spare bedding and, after some simple preparations, removed the excess items from the guest room.
The white-skirted woman stood by silently, gazing at Xu Mu’s dark silhouette, seemingly curious.
She always felt that this person possessed an inexplicable aura, a feeling difficult to describe. It was neither the pretense of an immortal descending to earth, nor did he resemble a noble young master or an ordinary villager.
This young man, who dared to draw his sword against a fourth-stage great demon, was unlike anyone she had ever met before.
The elder standing beside her exchanged a glance with the woman, a rare look of confusion appearing in their eyes.
He spoke the most with Xu Mu, and therefore, he could perceive more of the differences in the young man.
Moreover, he could not discern the boy’s cultivation level, which was extremely strange. How could he withstand his spiritual sense probe?
The elder frowned, recalling what he had seen and heard in Gui Ye during this period, and couldn’t help but sigh inwardly:
“The Domain of Gui Ye truly lives up to its reputation. It is a place where dragons lie hidden and tigers crouch.”
“This guest room has not been occupied, so it hasn’t been specially cleaned. The bedding is all new, but after being stored for a long time, it is inevitably a little damp.”
The woman nodded gently, “No matter.”
The eyebrowless elder returned to his senses and then smiled:
“It is good to have a place to stay. You have no idea how miserably we’ve been sleeping these past two days…”
Recalling their recent experiences, a sense of relief washed over the elder’s eyes, as if they had narrowly escaped a disaster.
The Domain of Gui Ye was indeed worthy of being one of the eight polluted lands. Venturing into West Mountain this time, let alone searching for the legendary sacred relics, he had almost lost his own life…
Xu Mu noticed the fleeting expression on the elder’s face and nodded slightly:
“That was the core area of West Mountain, where lord-level great demons are everywhere. It is quite remarkable that you were able to sleep there, senior.”
The elder’s smile froze.
Did this kid know mind-reading?
How did he know he had gone to the core area!
The white-skirted woman, however, showed no reaction. She simply entered the room and began making her bed.
“It’s getting late.”
This was the third time the elder had said this.
Xu Mu smiled knowingly, exited the guest room, and then plunked himself down on a wooden chair. Although it was already past midnight and very late, he still had no intention of sleeping.
The elder silently removed his boots, got onto the kang, and spread his bedding. He looked at the young man sitting on the wooden chair, drinking tea, with some surprise:
“You’re not sleeping?”
“I am not sleeping, so I do not need a pillow. Senior, it is best to elevate your head slightly; it is beneficial for your health.”
“More pillows are good for my health?” the elder squinted and replied with a smile. “Although I am not as young as you, I am not some frail old man, so why should I be so particular?”
As he spoke, for some reason, a sharp, eagle-like glint suddenly appeared in the elder’s deep eyes. He leaned his body halfway on the bedding, staring motionlessly at Xu Mu.
The elder did not understand. This young man had clearly witnessed him destroy a lord with heavenly lightning, yet showed no fear.
During their conversations, beneath the surface of respect, the dialogue was essentially equal. He had never held the initiative.
He hadn’t considered throwing his weight around as a senior expert, but every time he spoke with the boy, he found himself following the boy’s train of thought, inexplicably finding himself on the defensive.
And now, he was even telling him to use an extra pillow, claiming his health was poor.
Was this a test to see if he was injured, or had he truly seen something?
Myriad possibilities flashed through the elder’s mind, but his expression remained unchanged, his gaze sharp as he tried to suppress the young man’s aura.
But the gray-white pupils met his gaze calmly:
“Senior, there is no need to be a stranger with me.”
“I have considerable research in treating illnesses and injuries. At least half of the hundred acupoints within your body are blocked by blood stasis, your ribs are displaced, and your heart is constantly being compressed. If you lie flat, your injuries will only worsen.”
The elder’s complexion changed drastically upon hearing this. Just as he was about to retort, Xu Mu continued earnestly:
“Arguing like a stubborn child is something only three-year-olds do.”
“Senior, please use a pillow.”
…
The elder gazed at the smiling young man before him, his eyes narrowed, and he remained silent.
He was indeed different from ordinary elders, for he was a fifth-stage ability user.
An existence capable of destroying a lord-level tiger demon with just two fingers.
Yet, even so, he had sustained significant internal injuries in West Mountain.
However, he believed he had concealed it well; ordinary people would not be able to tell.
—But in reality, he had revealed a flaw from the very beginning.
When his first finger had failed to destroy the tiger demon, Xu Mu had already noticed something amiss.
And as a human who had studied psychology and sociology, the gray-white pupils understood very well why he wanted to conceal his injury.
Interpersonal relationships are complex. In a relationship like theirs, where they had met by chance, if one party exposed a weakness, no matter how strong they were, the other party might harbor ulterior motives.
Xu Mu’s reason for bringing the matter to light was that he wished to further bridge the gap between them.
Becoming friends with a fifth-stage ability user was something no one, regardless of their strength, would refuse. And how to bridge that gap was a profound art.
“I’m not injured; you’ve made a mistake.”
The elder placed the pillow to the side and sat up straight.
He was indeed tired, but meditating to heal was the most crucial thing to do. Now that the unspoken understanding between them had been revealed, there was no need for him to pretend any longer.
But he still had to stubbornly insist.
“Perhaps I can help you heal?”
Xu Mu smiled, retrieved a cloth bundle from a table in the corner, and brought it before the elder. Silver needles were arranged in sequence.
The two rows of silver needles, in the not-so-dim light, emitted a sharp yet ancient aura.
Upon seeing these objects, the elder’s face showed some confusion:
“Silver needles?”
…