Much like Sisheng Peak, the Guyue'ye Sect also preferred to spend New Year's Eve merrily in the mortal realm before leaving for Zhuque. The disciples of the two sects thus met at the Yangzhou Port, from where they were supposed to travel together to Mount Jiuhua.
Although the number of disciples who belonged to Sisheng Peak was higher than Guyue'ye's, there were eight people from Guyue'ye who were selected by the feathered tribe as opposed to Sisheng Peak's meager number of four. This fact caused the disciples of the greatest medical sect to sneer at the four people from Sisheng Peak. They believed that these four people with their humble, unintellectual appearance were not good enough to share a ferry with them.
Xue Meng never liked Guyue'ye Sect. He especially disliked their sect leader, Jiang Xi. His hand twitched many times and he reached after Longcheng continuously whenever he heard the slightest provocation. Chu Wanning had to distract him a lot to prevent him from starting a fight.
Naturally, when it came to a fight using weapons, the Guyue'ye Sect disciples would lose. Their wits and not their swords were their strongest weapons after all. Still, they were not disheartened when gazing at Xue Meng's shining saber.
"How barbaric," a young man commented. "I always knew that Sisheng Peak is full of muscles without brains."
"I know, right..."
"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU SAY JUST NOW???" Xue Meng hollered.
"Xue Meng, don't mind them."
Chu Wanning pulled at Xue Meng's sleeve, but the latter ignored him.
Xue Meng was so angry that his face turned purple. He could not take the humiliation any longer. If he was unable to teach these little Jiang Xis the meaning of courtesy by the end of the day, then he was willing to switch his surname to Jiang!
And then, someone's icy voice cut through the air like an indiscriminate blade and shut everyone up.
"So noisy."
The voice preceded the speaker. Jiang Xi stepped out of the cabin into the deck, his brows slightly furrowed. Hua Binan followed directly behind him. When he spotted the four people from Sisheng Peak, he broke into a friendly smile.
"What a pleasure to meet again," Hua Binan commented.
Mo Ran did not think so. He had sworn to never come across either Jiang Xi or Hua Binan ever again in his life. These Guyue'ye people were nuts! Unfortunately, heaven was not on his side. Mo Ran's luck was so poor that he might as well move to Guyue'ye for good!
Xue Meng also thought that his luck was too poor. Why would Jiang Xi even come to Zhuque??? He was old! Could this old bag of bones even contribute to the cause???
Jiang Xi haughtily spoke to his disciples, "If you have time to waste, go read some of the medical manuals that I brought for the trip. Sharpen your brains and not your tongues."
"Yes, Sect Leader," the Guyue'ye disciples said obediently in unison. They quickly went inside the cabin as per their sect leader's bidding.
Chu Wanning lifted his head and exchanged glances with Jiang Xi. The latter cracked a little smile when he spotted Chu Wanning among his three unruly disciples. The subtle exchange did not escape Mo Ran's and Xue Meng's watchful eyes. The two shixiongs immediately pulled Chu Wanning to the side of the deck and spoke with him urgently.
Xue Meng, "Shidi, that man is a bad, bad, bad person. You should never interact with him."
Mo Ran, "Precisely. Remember how he tortured you back at Guyue'ye?"
"Tortured?" Xue Meng frowned at Mo Ran. "Jiang Xi tortured Xia-shidi?"
Mo Ran nodded fervently.
"Mengmeng, it was horrible. Jiang Xi used big fat leeches to suck blood from Shidi's arm."
Xue Meng looked part disgusted, part terrified. A weird sound escaped his throat. He had always known that Jiang Xi was sick! He did not even shy away from torturing a child as small as Xia Sini!
"You are wrong," Chu Wanning calmly replied. "He had to take my blood to suck some poison out."
Xue Meng stared at Chu Wanning in disbelief. He wanted to ask, "What poison?" but before he managed to do so, Mo Ran already started to admonish the little boy.
"Shidi, how could you say that? You don't even know him!"
Chu Wanning glared at Mo Ran and snapped at him unconsciously.
"Do you know him well then? Mo Ran, don't speak badly about people who you do not know at all."
The two shixiongs were speechless. They did not expect to hear such a harsh tone from the little shidi. For a moment they thought that the little shidi greatly reminded them of someone. And then it made a click in their heads.
Ah, of course. Xia Sini was Chu Wanning's son after all. The apple fell not far from the tree.
Chu Wanning leaned at his seat and closed his eyes in irritation. For some reason, his temper was particularly bad that day. Too many unpleasant things happened recently, and Chu Wanning could not catch a break. Whether as the adult Chu Wanning or the little Xia Sini, he just needed to be alone for some time. Away from everyone.
Seeing that Chu Wanning closed his eyes to rest, his three shixiongs did not dare to disturb him anymore.
The group arrived at Mount Jiuhua in the afternoon. The Peach Blossoms Spring, the seat of the feathered tribe, was a paradise-like land that was hidden behind a great waterfall. As soon as the group arrived, they were led to another feathered tribe folk who stood out among the rest. The flame mark on her forehead was more pronounced than on the others. This stood in direct correlation with her spiritual power. The envoys addressed her as the "Great Immortal Lord". The Great Immortal Lord came forward and introduced herself as "Eighteen" in a humble manner. Eighteen did not care too much about small talks. She went right down into business.
"Unlike the mortals who divide themselves into various sects, we in Peach Blossoms Springs believe in role division. All xianjuns will thus be split according to your roles, be it as healers, defenders, or attackers. Please pick your role to suit your nature. Once you have decided, you will live and train with the people of your division."
Mo Ran grinned. That sounded great. He would love to train alongside other attackers.
"It is not allowed to visit the area of other divisions."
That last sentence robbed the grin on Mo Ran's face.
Mo Ran, "Wait, why is it not allowed?"
Eighteen answered with a smile, "Because it is not necessary."
Mo Ran, "But what if we need to communicate with our shidis and shixiongs???"
Eighteen, "You can communicate through us."
Mo Ran, "But what if...!!!"
Mo Ran spent another fifteen minutes to haggle with Eighteen, but the latter remained firm in her decisions. It was not allowed to mix with other groups during their stay in Peach Blossom Springs. All divisions would gather at night for daily cultivation lecture. Other than that, even the residential areas were strictly divided with barriers that only authorized feathered tribe folks could pass through.
Gloom set on Mo Ran's face like a group of dark clouds.
After Mo Ran was thoroughly defeated, the disciples started to pick their groups. Mo Ran looked at Xue Meng, Shi Mei, and Chu Wanning one by one.
"Which division are you guys going to pick?" He asked.
Xue Meng, "Attack."
Shi Mei, "Healing."
Mo Ran, "Then Xia-shidi, why don't you go to Attack and I will go to Healing?"
Chu Wanning, "I am going to Defense."
The three shixiongs were baffled. Mo Ran in particular.
"Shidi, why would you stay alone in the Defense group? If you don't want to go to Attack then at least go to Healing..."
Chu Wanning shook his head resolutely. He had trained in the Attacker group in his previous life. It made no sense to repeat the same kind of training in this life. Besides, during the Heavenly Rift there were too many attackers and too less defenders. In the end, the knowledge that Chu Wanning got at Zhuque was wasted because he ended up mending the Heavenly Rift instead of killing the trespassing ghosts.
"I am going to the Defense."
Chu Wanning walked away as soon as he made his decision. As he thought, not many people wanted to join the Defense group. The young ones liked to brag about their abilities. Slaying a group of runaway ghosts sounded a thousand times more impressive than, say, holding the shields so others stayed alive and reaped the glory.
It was thus understandable to see a lot of Guyue'ye Sect disciples in the Defense group. Due to lacking martial art skills, they were either in the Defense group or the Healing group. The young men and women stood in the field with a familiar man in the middle. Chu Wanning was stunned to see Jiang Xi in the Defense group.
"You... Why didn't you pick the Healing group?"
Jiang Xi scoffed.
"Do you think there is anything else that the feathered tribe can teach me about healing? I am here to learn something new and not repeat the same mundane things I do daily."
Chu Wanning could not help but smile at that remark. He did not remember whether Jiang Xi was also in the Defense group in his past life, but it was good to have him in the same group this time around.
The feathered immortal who was tasked to lead the Defense group stood on top of a huge boulder in the middle of the field. She looked around and found that no more people came to join them, so she cheerfully spoke, "Is this it for the Defense group? Everyone, please follow me..."
"WAIT!!!!"
Everyone turned their heads at the newcomer.
Mo Ran ran toward the group while raising his hand.
"Me too, I am in the Defense group."
Chu Wanning's lips parted in surprise. What was Mo Ran doing in the Defense group? Didn't he want to join the Healing group? Even if he did not end up joining the Healing group, he was more suited to be an attacker.
Mo Ran spotted his little shidi, the youngest person in the group, right away. A broad grin was plastered on his face when he waved at Chu Wanning. His eyes wandered to the man next to his little Shidi, and his grin immediately faded away.
-Jiang Xi.
-It's Jiang Xi again.
-What the fuck is Jiang Xi doing around Xia Sini???
Mo Ran narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth in displeasure.