Qin Xuanjiu was promoted due to his outstanding performance in the confrontation with Gao Kan. Mu Qingge, on the other hand, leaned on this big tree for shade and has now established her own sect, once again establishing her own school.
Even Yu Tong and the others were surprised. In just over a month, Mu Qingge's followers had become quite numerous, including many cultivators who have already attained their cores…
Even in her past life, Mu Qingge didn't have so many powerful disciples!
It seemed like some force was supporting her from behind the scenes…
Su Yishui should have looked for Mu Qingge to settle old scores, but seeing her acting like the founder of a sect parading around, he became extremely anxious.
Moreover, for some reason, ever since he returned from the Netherworld Realm, he always felt an inexplicable emptiness and a sense of desolation in his heart, making him unmotivated in showing off his strength.
This feeling of emptiness and desolation always struck him unexpectedly, and he didn't know how to reduce it. Although it didn't affect his daily life, it made him inexplicably annoyed.
Food that was hard to swallow, a tongue that had become unusually sensitive, along with lines and lines of beautiful handwriting and mischievous notes and annotations in the books he carried with him, all subtly revealed how someone had once boldly changed his lifestyle habits.
Su Yishui felt increasingly angry towards that girl named Xue Ranran, and this burning anger was set ablaze when he arrived back at West Mountain.
According to Yu Tong, the Rebirth Tree that was planted in Xue Ranran's yard had been dug up by its roots and taken away. Su Yishui had wanted to find a way to remove the effects of the soul-cleansing talisman, but he found that his study had been completely ransacked by a little thief.
The little thief even left a note, claiming to have borrowed them.
The words on the note, turned out to be exactly the same as the annotations in his books. Now Su Yishui finally believed what Yu Tong had said — he had once pampered this disciple a lot!
But no matter how much he pampered her, there should be boundaries, right? He never agreed, so how could taking away so many books without permission be borrowing? This was clearly theft!
As a result, Su Yishui suddenly felt very depressed. Every time he entered the empty study, he felt an inexplicable anger rising within him.
To counter Mu Qingge, he had also been recruiting disciples recently.
It was said that Xue Ranran had lived up to expectations and had made a name for Xishan Sect at the Tian Mai Mountain Marrow-Cleansing Pool meet. With this, the idea of establishing a new sect could be put off for a while. After all, West Mountain was spacious enough to accommodate more disciples. If he had to relocate and rebuild, who knew how long that would take.
A month passed this way, and Su Yishui just felt extremely hungry lately. Sometimes during meditation, he would be distracted. When he was in the empty study, he pulled out a book placed on the desk, and an old discolored menu fell out of the pages.
Looking at the handwriting, it should be written by Xue Ranran. There were even illustrations next to each dish name, such as Salt and Pepper Duck, Soup-filled Shrimp Dumplings, Dongpo Pork, all in all more than twenty dishes.
Beneath the dishes, there was a sweet little line: "Shifu, write down what you want to eat every day and leave it on the desk. I'll make it for you at noon…"
Although Su Yishui didn't remember, he could imagine himself flipping the dishes plaques like an emperor in West Mountain.
That little girl probably planned the ingredients for lunch while tidying up his study every day. After his morning meditation, he could enjoy delicious meals at noon.
But now, the menu was still here, yet the person who cooked the dishes had forgotten their gratitude and loyalty, and left the sect!
The gates of Xishan were too unsecured!
Later, Su Yishui didn't know what he was thinking. He just went out aimlessly by moonlight, followed the aura of the golden core and found Ranran like that.
Although he came without a purpose, perhaps just to retrieve his books and reclaim his core at the same time.
Unexpectedly, when he arrived, he saw the silly girl letting go of the precious Vermilion Bird.
Although he really wanted to break that Vermilion Bird's neck to obtain its spiritual blood, he inexplicably just stood by and watched with disinterest as Xue Ranran nagged incessantly to the Vermilion Bird, even bidding it farewell reluctantly.
This Xue Ranran wasn't as shrewd as Mu Ranwu had been in her past life!
Su Yishui squinted as he drew this conclusion. When he looked at this girl again, somehow, his disgust towards her seemed to lessen a little.
After eating the salt-baked Chicken, Su Yishui felt that even though half of the golden core was precious, it didn't matter to share it with this silly little girl for the time being.
At least her cooking was very delicious. Before ascending, having a good meal now and then, would be a comfort in the boring life of cultivation.
Since he had taken her as a disciple, there should have been some intent behind it, only he had carelessly forgotten it. With the power of his golden core in her possession, it was naturally safest for her to stay by his side.
Otherwise, if she fell into the hands of someone like Wei Jiu, wouldn't he unduly benefit from his core?
Considering it like this, retrieving the disciple who had left the sect without authorization became par for the course.
Under the strict and ruthless rules of the sect, Ranran's brief escape was declared over within a month.
Su Yishui seemed to be in a big hurry. Instead of waiting for Zeng Yi to return, he just had Ranran tell Qiaolian that her cultivation was insufficient and she had to return to West Mountain to cultivate. Then he was going to bring Ranran down the mountain immediately and go back.
Qiaolian, upon hearing this, became anxious as well. She spoke frankly to Su Yishui, "Master Su, our Ranran is not young anymore, and her cultivation is almost there. Her father and I were thinking of arranging a marriage for her soon. How much more does she need to cultivate? How about…we stop here?"
Ranran was afraid that Su Yishui would get angry at her mother, so she quickly intervened, saying that stopping her cultivation now wouldn't be good for her health.
After hearing this, Qiaolian, fearing for her daughter's life, quickly packed Ranran's things and let her leave with the master.
However, on the way back, Su Yishui once again angrily discovered, that this young girl seemed to have no respect for him as her master.
If they were going on the wind, it shouldn't take long to travel, but she was dragging her feet.
"Shifu, you see there's a town ahead. When uncle master Zeng Yi and I came over, we ate at a Scallion Pancake stall in the town. They also served a pig stomach soup with the pancakes, which was really delicious. How about having lunch there?"
Su Yishui coldly glanced at her, intending to refuse flatly. But seeing her pitifully looking at him with her big dewy eyes, what came out of his mouth was, "… Street food, will it be unsanitary?"
Ranran quickly said, "The stall owners are very clean. I saw that they used fresh ingredients, and the pig stomach they used was very fresh too. The soup just out of the pot, with a spoonful of hot oil and fried chili peppers, is really fresh and spicy."
Perhaps it was this greedy girl's longing expression that moved him, Su Yishui unexpectedly said again, "Alright…"
However, when he sat in the cramped and crowded stall, his handsome face gave a dirty look like the unwashed pig intestines. He silently wondered why he was squeezing with a bunch of mediocre people to drink pig offal soup?
And the young girl sitting next to him, was wearing a pink floral jacket… so unbearably common!
"Shifu, see if the taste I prepared is alright?"
Ranran seemed not to notice Su Yishui's dark expression, handing him the soup with added chili. Then she eagerly picked up a scallion pancake and started to eat.
Their scallion pancakes had crispy lard in them, making them incredibly fragrant.
Seeing the girl eating happily, Su Yishui hesitantly brought the pancake to his mouth and took a bite… Well, it was indeed soft, fragrant, and had a unique taste…
But he just couldn't get used to eating with a crowd, so he only took one bite and put down his chopsticks.
When Ranran asked why he wasn't eating, Su Yishui coldly said, "Buy more food later. Don't take me to crowded stalls like this again. Since you've been my disciple for so long, didn't you know that I don't like being too close to strangers?"
… Ranran really didn't know Su Yishui had this problem. Back in the capital city, he had patiently accompanied her, going to various stalls to taste food one by one.
The shops in the capital were even more noisy and crowded than these small-town stalls, and some even required queuing for an hour to get in!
But Su Yishui would accompany her patiently, never showing the annoyance he was showing now!
"Also, as a disciple of Xishan, dress more plainly. Don't wear clothes like the ones you have on now in the future!"
Ranran pursed her lips and looked at her jacket… Well, she was indeed wearing a brightly colored coat made by her mother. The color is a little glaring.
It seemed that Shifu's aesthetic sense hadn't changed at all, only liking plain colors. But his disdain was completely undisguised now, completely devoid of the patience he had when picking out new clothes for her.
Perhaps he was also very annoyed back then but managed to hide it well. In order to compensate for his guilt towards Mu Qingge, he added a bit of patience?
Suddenly, Ranran's heart was filled with mixed emotions, and even the delicious soup became difficult to swallow. She didn't know if the soul-cleansing talisman's effect would be lifted.
But Shifu had forgotten everything that happened after Mu Qingge's death, and also forgot about their past together. He seemed to have changed completely.
This made Ranran realize once again, that all his affection for her might have been due to his guilt towards Mu Qingge.
If that's really the case, Su Yishui might as well not regain his memories. Because she doesn't need this kind of affection driven by guilt and compensation.
After all, she is now Xue Ranran, having forgotten everything as Mu Qingge. If she were to mindlessly receive the favors from her past life, she wouldn't be able to be carefree in this life!
So Xue Ranran quietly took out a handkerchief, wrapped the unfinished pancakes in it, called the boss to settle the bill, and then said to Su Yishui, "I'm not eating anymore either, let's go."
On the rest of the journey, the two didn't have much to say. When they stopped, Ranran would find a shady spot, quietly drink water from her flask, and eat the somewhat dried-out pancakes.
Su Yishui originally wanted to meditate, but every time he closed his eyes, he couldn't help but open them and coldly watch the girl hiding to eat.
During the journey, one of the hair ties she used to tie her hair broke, so her long hair was loose, and she simply gathered it up, tying it into a loose braid that hung over her shoulder. Strands of hair fell softly on her face, adding a touch of innocence, and the sunlight filtered through the branches, making her face glow like a pearl and jade sculpture…
When Su Yishui was lost in thought staring, Ranran suddenly looked up at him. When their eyes met, Su Yishui immediately lowered his gaze. But after doing so, he felt why he should feel guilty? What's wrong with openly looking at his half of the golden core?
Thinking this way, he confidently opened his eyes again. But he found that that damn girl had turned around, facing her back to him as if to ignore him.
She… did she disdain him for looking at her?
Ranran was feeling upset at this moment. When she inadvertently met Su Yishui's eyes earlier, he immediately closed them in disgust, as if he had seen something dirty.
In fact, all the way here, Su Yishui had been nitpicking at her, his words cold and harsh. It was like the fierce beast in the "Playing Classics" had come to life.
It was also precisely because of this, that Ranran realized how restrained and tolerant Shifu had been before.
She couldn't remember the various wrongs Su Yishui had done to her in her past life, but she was very grateful for his quiet protection in this life.
In this case, she didn't want to dig up old grievances, and just wanted to find a way for both of them to get along comfortably.
He seemed to not like to see her eat, so she would just turn her back to him.
When they returned to West Mountain, she would not appear often in front of him. After he got into a better mood, he could take back his golden core, and they would be even.
Thinking that if Su Yishui knew she was Mu Qingge, he would probably treat her worse than he did now. Ranran was so sad, she actually felt like crying.
But, this was also the real Su Yishui, a man who wasn't bound by gratitude or guilt and acted according to his whims. If he could choose, Ranran guessed that her Shifu might prefer the current feeling of not owing anyone anything?
After walking for a while, they arrived at a mountain pass surrounded by mountains on all sides. The forest here was dense, and the scenery was lush and green.
When passing by a village, Ranran saw from afar several people kneeling and crying at the village's ancestral hall.
Ranran had originally wanted to go into the village to fetch some water.
But after listening to the cries of those people for a while, she turned back and said, "Shifu, several families' seven or eight-year-old children went to play in the mountains together, but they haven't returned. They said that in recent years, there have been monsters eating people in these nearby mountains, and many people from the village have gone missing. So, normally, no one dares to go up the mountain. Now that the children are missing, two families' men have gone to the town to report, but they haven't returned, so the women are begging the village's hunters and brave men to help find the children. But no one dares to go…"
Su Yishui seemed indifferent to these matters and only asked, "Did you get your water?"
Ranran shook her head and looked curiously at the surrounding towering mountains. "Shifu, do you think there really are monsters that eat people?"
Su Yishui replied indifferently, "It's getting late, let's hurry and go."
S
u Yishui seemed indifferent to these matters and only asked, "Did you get your water?"
Ranran shook her head and looked curiously at the surrounding towering mountains. "Shifu, do you think there really are monsters that eat people?"
Su Yishui replied indifferently, "It's getting late, let's hurry and go."
Ranran knew, that her Shifu was much more indifferent now compared to before, seemingly uninterested in things that didn't concern him.
However, when she saw the women kneeling and crying at the village entrance, pleading with the village's hunters to search for their children on the mountain, Ranran still felt somewhat unwilling to turn a blind eye.
She said in a small voice, "Shifu, how about you sit here for a while, and I'll go up the mountain to take a look."
Su Yishui suddenly opened his eyes wide and asked coldly, "What do these people have to do with you?"
Ranran blinked and said, "Shifu, didn't you tell me that *cultivators with higher cultivation levels should bear more responsibility? Not to single-mindedly seek immortality, and forget how to be a human first…"
*sorry I thought of with great power, comes great responsibility
Su Yishui furrowed his brows. "Did I say that?"
Ranran nodded confidently. Well… actually, it wasn't something Shifu actually said but rather how she concluded her exemplary master had been living his life before he lost his memory.
After all, back then, he willingly risked his life to rescue the people of the entire capital, avoiding a catastrophic disaster caused by the rampage of the little dragon. If it weren't for the damn Soul-Cleansing Talisman that was used on Shifu, he would never have let those women cry and weep without any concern.
Su Yishui squinted at the little girl's teary eyes, unmoved as ever, and said, "Are you cursing me for being inhuman?"
Ranran waved her hands urgently and said earnestly, "Shifu, you are the best person I've ever met!"
She said this without any reservation. In this world, besides her parents, there was no one better than her Shifu… Even if he might have harmed her in her past life, she believed she hadn't misjudged him.
Su Yishui looked at her extremely serious expression, snorted coldly, but still stood up and ordered in a cold voice, "Let's go."
Huh? Ranran was a bit puzzled, not knowing what he was up to.
Su Yishui said, "Aren't you going into the mountains?"
With that, he got up and headed towards the dense mountains. Ranran watched his back, feeling a slight tremor in her heart. It seemed like her tough-looking but soft-hearted Shifu has returned…
Of course, Ranran soon realized that this was just a delusion.
Shortly after entering the mountains, Su Yishui picked a large rock, sat down steadily, and said, "I'll give you an hour to find them. Don't take risks that would damage my core."
It turned out he followed her to constantly watch over the safety of his core, with no intention to search for people.
But what he said wasn't wrong either, so Ranran quickly closed her eyes and listened to the sounds in the mountains.
Her hearing has always been good. As long as she focused, she could hear the nearby sounds.
But strangely, there was no sound in the entire mountain, except for the cries of deer and birds commonly heard in the mountains. As for the howling of wolves, it came from very far away.
Since the mountain was close to the village, the wild animals were also afraid of people and naturally stayed away from them.
Ranran didn't hear anything unusual, so she lightly stepped and used the Wind Control Technique to quickly patrol the mountains.
Su Yishui got up and jumped onto the tallest tree, sitting on top of it, watching the little butterfly in a pink jacket fluttering up and down. A cold smirk curled at the corner of his mouth.
Wasn't he supposed to teach her how to be a human?
Next, he would teach her the first principle of being a human – Never meddle in other people's business!
There was a dark purple mist in the depths of the mountain… emanating an evil aura…
As for Ranran, she traversed the mountains without finding anything unusual. But when she arrived at a mountain hollow, she suddenly felt heavy miasma here.
Next, her legs seemed to be entangled by some sticky thin threads, almost causing her to fall from the branches. When she steadied herself, she looked closely and found that the trees in this mountain hollow were covered with large spider webs.
Ranran was considered a brave girl, but seeing such large spider webs as large as fishing nets, and a basin-sized spider crawling on them, made her hairs stand on end!
After her legs were entangled in the spider webs, it seemed to trigger movements from all over, and dozens of basin-sized spiders crawled out from various hidden corners.
And Ranran just learned that spiders could make noises too, as they moved their fangs-like mouths rhythmically, emitting a clicking sound, all while moving their eight legs towards Ranran.
Now Ranran no longer needed to draw her sword. She brandished three short swords and swiftly sent them flying towards the big spiders coming at her.
However, at the same time, she also drew out a sword to cut the spider webs entangling her legs, but the webs were sticky and tough, and she couldn't cut them off no matter how hard she tried.
In her haste, when Ranran looked down, she suddenly saw white skulls all over the ground.
Clearly, the missing villagers were all laid in eternal rest here…
At this moment, more and more spiders were coming from all directions. They spat sticky silk towards Ranran and her short swords flying in the air.
After the short swords, controlled by her vitality qi, were entangled in silk, they couldn't move anymore.
Even the mechanism stick that Ranran drew out was also entangled with a lot of silk.
…Su Yi Shui had been sitting on top of the tree all this time, waiting leisurely for Ranran to call for help. After she learned her lesson, he would naturally step in to save her.
But it seemed like the girl's mouth was also sealed by the spider webs. She just wouldn't shout for help.
Su Yishui raised his eyebrows, somewhat surprised, and thought: Is she dumber than the other three disciples?
Just as a string of large spiders was about to attack for their meal, Ranran suddenly acted quickly. She pulled out three Beast control talismans seized at the border and stuck them on the bodies of three big spiders ready to devour her.
The three spiders immediately stopped their attack, then, under Ranran's silent control, they turned around and pounced on their own kind.
Ranran pulled out another talisman and stuck it on another spider's body, letting it move its long legs and untangle the spider silk on her legs.
After breaking free from the siege, Ranran quickly disengaged and didn't linger in battle anymore. She leaped out of the mountain hollow as if flying and then rushed to the base of the tall tree, shouting, "Shifu, run! There are Spider Demons of the Web Cavern!"
Su Yishui jumped down from the tree, looked down at the young girl with a face full of sweat, and asked, "Why didn't you shout for help when you were in danger?"
Ranran was stunned, never expecting him to ask this. So she honestly replied, "Those spiders were so sinister, of course I couldn't call you over. What if you were also entangled and placed in danger?"
Su Yishui had originally thought she was just throwing a girlish tantrum because he didn't accompany her into the mountains.
But he didn't expect her to be fearful that he would also be entangled by the spiders, so she didn't call for him…