Si Zhuo only looked at her.
“You are a god, but I’m not. His malice affected me, so I also want him to taste that feeling. This is my personal choice. If you want to interfere, then at worst, we’ll just do what we usually do—have a fight.”

 

“Who wants to fight you? I’m busy doing real work!”

 

Sometimes Luan Ling really did find Si Zhuo irritating. But the dragon clan couldn’t control him, and neither could the gods of the Heavenly Realm, so whatever she said was naturally useless. If this were in the heavens, a cold war might have already turned into an actual fight. Unfortunately, something seemed to be happening on Xie Yuling’s side, and she simply didn’t have the time or energy to deal with Si Zhuo right now.

 

“If you keep this up, then all the demons and monsters will be mine,” she threatened. “When we get back to the heavens, I’ll tell Master Dugu that you did absolutely nothing in the mortal realm and get you kicked out of Qilin Hall.”

 

Si Zhuo narrowed his eyes. “You’re using this as an excuse to eliminate a personal enemy, aren’t you?”

 

Luan Ling replied without hesitation, “Yeah, I am. You’re allowed to indulge your personal grudges and let demons run wild—why can’t I indulge mine and kick out an annoying bastard like you?”

 

Seeing him raise a hand as if to cast a spell, Luan Ling immediately stepped back, made a face at him, and vanished in a flash.

 

She went off to deal with the restless minor demons nearby. Not long after closing her eyes to rest, she sensed movement nearby. Too lazy to open her eyes, she checked with her divine sense instead—and discovered that Xie Yukang’s group was heading toward Xie Yuling’s position.

 

She withdrew her divine sense, but soon enough, she heard the sounds of Xie Yuling’s group going on alert as well. It seemed that on this night, neither humans nor demons would be getting much sleep.

 

As for her? She was truly exhausted. After her encounter with Yu Yuan, she had forced herself to keep working nonstop to suppress the impact of that experience. But beneath that suppression lingered a nagging curiosity—what memories had Yu Yuan sealed away? She still remembered their conversation, remembered Yu Yuan accusing the gods of hypocrisy… and then—

 

Before she could finish the thought, Luan Ling fell asleep.

 

She was awakened the next morning by someone from Xie Yuling’s group inviting her to eat breakfast. She jumped down from the tree and immediately noticed Si Zhuo standing nearby with his arms crossed, staring at the food being handed to her. His expression looked even worse than it had the night before. When she glanced at him, he suddenly turned and walked toward Xie Yukang’s side.

 

What was wrong with him so early in the morning?

 

Luan Ling didn’t think much of it. She thanked the guard and accepted the hot food.

 

During the night, Xie Yukang and Xie Yuling had clearly crossed paths. Deep in the mountains, neither of them wanted to encounter the other—especially Xie Yukang, who had fewer guards, was faced with Si Zhuo forcibly joining his group and Xie Yuling, who was surrounded by capable military officers. He clearly wanted nothing more than to leave this cursed place as soon as possible.

 

Fortunately, both men were taciturn. After brief greetings, neither wanted further interaction. Each intended to take a detour after setting out so as not to travel together.

 

Luan Ling herself had just argued with Si Zhuo and didn’t want to see him either. But fate had other plans. No matter how they walked, there was only one exit. Not only did they keep running into each other, Luan Ling also encountered her senior sister and Xie Yuhe’s group.

 

The atmosphere on her senior sister’s side was strange as well. Although Xie Yuhe still appeared polite and refined, Luan Ling could clearly sense through her divine awareness that he harbored some dissatisfaction toward Zhu Yin.

 

Mortals were truly strange creatures. Xie Yukang was ruthless, Xie Yuling cautious—those two being ungrateful was one thing. But why was even the seemingly courteous Xie Yuhe two-faced as well?

 

“He wants me dead,” Zhu Yin said calmly, as if she weren’t talking about herself.

 

Luan Ling was stunned. “Senior Sister… you knew?”

 

Zhu Yin’s expression didn’t change. “It doesn’t matter. He’s just a mortal.”

 

“But why?” Luan Ling couldn’t understand. “Senior Sister, even if you can’t openly help him like we can, you’re still just a seemingly weak female musician. Even if he dislikes Xie Yuyan, as a gentleman, he shouldn’t target an innocent person, right?”

 

Zhu Yin turned her flute thoughtfully. “I don’t know. Mortals are complicated. Maybe it’s not Xie Yuyan he hates—but me.”

 

“That makes even less sense!” Luan Ling exclaimed. “You haven’t done anything wrong, and neither has Xie Yuyan. Just because he holds himself to strict standards doesn’t mean he gets to despise others for enjoying life.”

 

Zhu Yin shook her head lightly. She didn’t understand either—but she didn’t care. She only did what she needed to do and paid no attention to others’ thoughts.

 

Not long after, they ran into the very group they had just mentioned—Xie Yuyan and Xie Yuheng’s party. The previously awkwardly silent group finally became lively again with Xie Yuyan’s arrival.

 

“Miss Zhu!”

 

Xie Yuyan’s eyes lit up the moment he saw Zhu Yin. He dismounted and hurried toward her. Xie Yuheng had intended to follow but stopped when he saw this and instead stayed back.

 

“So everyone’s here,” Xie Yuyan said cheerfully, greeting them one by one. “Second Brother, Fourth Brother, Sixth Brother. You didn’t run into any danger, did you? My journey was terrifying—getting lost, wild beasts, traps—I almost ended up meeting our ancestors.”

 

“But—”

 

He pulled a book from his robe, straightened its pages, and handed it to Zhu Yin. “On the way, I stumbled upon a small Earth God shrine. Strange, really—there was no sign of people nearby, yet someone was still worshipping the Earth God. There wasn’t much inside the shrine, just this music score. I thought you might find it useful, so I copied it down and left some offerings behind. I’m sure the Earth God won’t blame us.”

 

It sounded far too coincidental, and Luan Ling didn’t quite believe it—until she took a peek and saw that it really was a music score.

 

An Earth God shrine. A music score.
This was absurd.

 

Xie Yuyan truly had remarkable luck. All the clues Qilin Hall had failed to find ended up in his hands.

 

Zhu Yin barely glanced at the score before becoming completely absorbed. She walked off to one side, and Luan Ling felt as though she could already hear the music in her mind.

 

As the group continued to grow, they drew closer and closer to the original camp at the mountain entrance. By nightfall, they finally arrived—and happened to run into Situ Meng and Xie Yujin there as well. Luan Ling figured they would likely need to rest another night before leaving.

 

Tomorrow, they would part ways. Luan Ling was already thinking about returning home to continue investigating the demon clan. But Xie Yuling hadn’t forgotten his earlier promise and sought her out, clearly wanting to say something.

 

“I didn’t bring much wealth with me on this journey,” he said, producing a jade pendant and offering it to her. “Please accept this token. Whether you travel with me or redeem it later, I will never go back on my word.”

 

Luan Ling had only mentioned compensation to put him at ease. She had no intention of taking a mortal’s valuables, so she gently pushed his hand back.

 

“Young master, what cultivators seek is not money.”

 

Seeing his expression shift slightly, she quickly added, “Nor is it anything else. For cultivators, helping others and upholding justice is our duty. Saving a life is what truly matters to our cultivation. So please don’t worry about repayment—this was simply part of my practice.”

 

Xie Yuling paused, then still pressed the jade pendant toward her. “Even if you don’t want wealth, please accept this token. We may never meet again. Let it serve as proof of your righteous deeds.”

 

That… actually made some sense. Still, the jade looked far too valuable.

 

“This kind of token is too precious for me,” Luan Ling said.

 

Then, somehow, she produced a massive red banner from her pocket. She pulled out a brush and handed it to him.

 

“Then write me something instead. Write:
‘Hero Luan Ling vanquishes demons and evil—clear winds, bright moon, peace across the land!’”

 

Xie Yuling was momentarily stunned by her smooth, effortless movements. Then he lowered his head and chuckled softly—a fleeting smile that Luan Ling caught immediately.

 

She put on a serious face. “This isn’t a joke. It’s very important to me.
…Though it’s rare to see you smile. Seeing you smile makes me happy too.”

 

Xie Yuling froze and looked up at her, only to see her smiling brightly again—eyes curved, expression lively and carefree, as though untouched by worldly dust.

 

Realizing he had been staring too long, he lowered his head and took the brush, wondering where to find ink. Luan Ling suddenly produced a fruit from nowhere, squeezed it, and golden juice flowed out.

 

“Try this?”

 

He dipped the brush tip into the juice. The two of them instinctively crouched down together. Luan Ling spread the banner over a large rock while Xie Yuling carefully wrote the words she had dictated.

 

The calligraphy was beautiful—his childhood training clearly evident despite the rough conditions. Luan Ling was extremely satisfied and already planning where to display it back home.

 

She lifted the banner, admired it in the moonlight, then turned to him.

 

“Thank you. I really like this reward.”

 

Xie Yuling’s lips curved faintly—but just as quickly, he realized that Luan Ling would likely be leaving the next day.

 

If only—

 

“Esteemed immortal.”

 

The sudden voice made Luan Ling stiffen instantly. She whirled around, glaring at the uninvited guest.

 

This bastard was doing it on purpose!

 

Si Zhuo approached slowly, his gaze falling on the banner in her hands. Luan Ling shot him a provocative look and lifted it higher.

 

“See this? There are people in this world who recognize what I do. What I do actually matters.”

 

She expected him to argue as usual. Instead, his expression was calm, his voice even.

 

“Tomorrow, we return home. Are you planning to hang that banner in your house?”

 

“Of course,” Luan Ling replied, confused.

 

“Then only you’ll get to see it,” Si Zhuo said. “I thought you might want to hang it somewhere we could all see it—so everyone could admire it.”

 

She found his words strange, but not unreasonable. “True. This is my honor. Don’t get jealous.”

 

Seeing him about to say something else, she cut in quickly, turning to Xie Yuling. “Young Master Yue, I have some matters to discuss with him. I really like your gift—I’ll treasure it.”

 

Xie Yuling understood and nodded. “In that case, I won’t disturb you.”

 

She smiled at him, then grabbed Si Zhuo’s arm and dragged him away. Xie Yuling watched their retreating figures, lowered his gaze, and turned away.

 

Once they reached a deserted spot, Luan Ling finally exploded.

 

“What exactly are you trying to do? Showing up in front of people like that—do you only feel satisfied after using a memory-erasing spell or something?”

 

She was ready for another fight—but when she turned around, she found Si Zhuo looking even more subdued than before.

 

“Hey.” She waved a hand in front of his face. “Why aren’t you saying anything?”

 

She stepped back warily. “Don’t tell me we’re unlucky enough to run into Yu Yuan again.”

 

He scoffed. “You should recognize my aura better than that.”

 

“Knowing you doesn’t mean I can recognize Yu Yuan,” she shot back. “You have no idea how terrifying she is.”

 

He stepped forward, filling the space she had retreated from.

 

“I don’t,” he said quietly. “That’s why the Twin Life Seal lets me know.”

 

That again?!

 

Luan Ling hurled the berry in her hand at him—but this time, he didn’t dodge. Juice soaked into his clothes as he continued walking toward her.

 

She finally sensed something was wrong. “What’s wrong with you?”

 

He didn’t know either. Seeing her with Xie Yuling had made him want to separate them, irrationally angry without knowing why. He wanted answers—and she was a god. Maybe she could give him one.

 

“Are you friends with Xie Yuling now?” he asked.

 

She blinked. “If you insist… maybe friends by chance. Who knows? We might meet again someday.”

 

He fell silent.

 

She hesitated. His mental defenses were tight—probing them carelessly could start a real fight. But his silence felt wrong. And suddenly, a terrible idea struck her.

 

He could sense her through the Twin Life Seal.
That meant she could sense him too.

 

She activated it.

 

A flood of emotions slammed into her—anger, conflict, confusion. She looked up just in time to see him realize what she’d done. He stiffened, then turned to leave.

 

“Wait!”

 

She rushed in front of him and looked up. “What’s wrong? Who bullied you?”

 

She rolled up her sleeves. “You may be annoying, but seeing you this upset—I won’t ignore it. Tell me. What are you sulking about? I’ll stand up for you.”

 

He glanced at her. She stared back.

 

He raised a hand and lightly knocked her on the head. “Who could bully me, you stupid god?”

 

“You’re the stupid one! I ranked first overall!”

 

She punched his chest repeatedly. “Stupid dragon! Stupid dragon! Stupid dragon!”

 

Feeling her relax through the seal, Si Zhuo felt his own heart ease. This was a comfort he hadn’t felt with Xie Yuling. He could understand her—and she could understand him. They were classmates, teammates, bound to walk the same path.

 

He spoke again, back to his usual tone. “Why don’t you try opening the Twin Life Seal now?”

 

She clicked her tongue. “Do you think I’m stupid?”

 

“Don’t you want to know what shared pain feels like?”

 

“…I’m not sick.”

 

“You already tried it just now, didn’t you?”

 

“…No. Absolutely not.”

 

“I knew it.”

 

“I said no! Hey—wait. You didn’t put that seal on me because you wanted to experience fighting a powerful opponent, did you?
You did it because you were worried about me, didn’t you?”

 

“Absolutely not. That’s disgusting.”

 

“You did too. You care that much—don’t fall for me, okay? Sorry, my mother doesn’t allow early dating.”

 

“……”

 

“You bastard! Give my artifact back!”