Su Yi Shui understood now: no wonder Ranran had hesitated to say something when she saw him let Wei Jiu throw away the quilt. It turned out that she had sewn that quilt for him herself.
If he hadn't lost his memory, why would he let Wei Jiu that disgusting person, sleep on that bed with the quilt?
Thinking of this, Su Yi Shui looked at Ranran.
But Ranran continued to serve food to her mother as if nothing had happened, smoothly changing the subject.
After breakfast, it was time for Xishan disciples to refine alchemy and meditate. Wei Jiu and Wen Chunhui needed quiet rest due to their recent serious depletion before they could go down Xishan to settle the score with Fantian Sect.
After meditating on the Ice Lotus Pond, Ranran prepared to return to the alchemy room to refine pills.
In this life, she seemed to have surpassed her past self in alchemy. Perhaps because she was born from wood, she naturally amplified the furnace fire, so the elixirs she refined were even more effective than Su Yi Shui's.
However, during alchemy, besides the proportion of medicinal ingredients and the enhancement of the furnace fire, what mattered more was the mental influence of the alchemist.
One must not lose focus during alchemy. When the furnace fire stabilized without fluctuating temperatures, one could take a small break.
Ranran stood up and stretched lazily by the window. She happened to see someone rummaging through water buckets in the laundry room separated by a moon gate from the alchemy room.
Thinking of Wei Jiu being on the mountain, she couldn't help but remain vigilant and quietly approached.
To her surprise, it was Su Yi Shui, who had taken off his socks and shoes, stepping on the wet quilt in a large wooden tub.
That quilt… wasn't it the one Su Yi Shui asked Wei Jiu to throw away?
She remembered that Wei Jiu, in his attempt to save trouble, had directly thrown the quilt into the mountain stream. So… did Su Yi Shui go down to the stream himself to retrieve the quilt and then bring it to the laundry room for washing?
Su Yi Shui had thought she was refining pills and wouldn't have time to come to the laundry room. He didn't expect his embarrassing act of washing the quilt to be caught by her.
For a moment, his face showed some stiffness and discomfort as he stood in the tub with rolled-up pant legs, unable to find a good excuse.
However, Ranran burst into laughter, walked over, and pushed him playfully, saying, "Who washes a quilt like this? I'll take it to the stream and wash it with running water later…"
Su Yishui, with his handsome face, stiffly put on his shoes and muttered, "That guy threw the quilt onto a tree branch in the mountain stream, and now there's two holes torn in it…"
Ranran squatted down to inspect it, then looked up and said, "If you still want this quilt cover, I'll mend it and embroider bamboo patterns on it. How about that?"
This time, Su Yi Shui responded with an "Mm-hmm." As Ranran was about to take the quilt and leave, he held her back, stayed silent for a moment, and then said earnestly, "I will find a way to undo the Soul-cleansing Talisman…"
This was the first time since Su Yi Shui's memory loss that he expressed with such seriousness, of his desire to recover that period of missing memory.
Ranran's heart was filled with indescribable bitterness and sweetness. His words implied that that period of missing memory wasn't just cherished by her only. He also eagerly wished to recall their past together.
And his gesture seemed to be related to him accidentally throwing away the quilt she had hand-sewn. Ranran couldn't help but leaned over and kissed his cheek.
Su Yi Shui had expected this young lady to mock him, but he was surprised to see her so delighted.
His self-loathing for going around the mountains to pick up a quilt so early in the morning eased considerably. He even felt that his foolish act didn't seem so silly anymore.
However, he maintained his tough facade: "I thought you are not willing to marry me? Why be so frivolous with me now?"
Seeing him trying to act tough after getting a good deal, Ranran couldn't help but scoff and put on a fake embarrassed look, saying, "My mother said I've been learning skills in the mountains for so many years, and now I'm almost nineteen. If I don't marry soon, I'll become an old spinster. If there's no other young man I like, I guess I can just settle for you…"
Su Yi Shui pinched her nose, saying, "As if I would really want to marry you! You can be an old spinster for life!"
Ranran didn't expect him to curse her like that, so she playfully poured the basin of water on Su Yi Shui, and they ended up laughing and playing around, but slipped on the water on the ground and ended up sitting down together.
Wei Jiu had just finished cultivating his qi and was about to change into clean clothes. When he entered the laundry room, he saw Xue Ranran…laughing and sitting on Su Yishui.
Damn, the variety of styles in Xishan is quite something! So this master and disciple pair usually indulged in this kind of cultivation.
Of course, Wei Jiu believed he has more appeal. If Ranran hadn't been so confused and chose to be with him, he could come up with even more styles of play.
But now Wei Jiu just crossed his arms and coldly mocked, "The sect leaders of the major sects have all been replaced, and the survival of the cultivation world is in jeopardy. Yet you two are in the mood to play here? In my opinion, let's not bother saving them, let's just have fun together until the end!"
Ranran ignored Wei Jiu's sarcastic words and instead asked him as she stood up, "Hey, you said you have a way to take us back to Red Flame Mountain, is that true?"
Wei Jiu raised an eyebrow coldly and said, "Of course it's true, but… it will depend on Su Yi Shui's abilities."
It turned out that Red Flame Mountain had treacherous terrain, and the Crimson Gate sect had built many secret passages over the centuries.
Wei Jiu, having made enemies outside in recent years, valued the safety of his old nest even more. So in addition to the long-standing secret passages, he had newly built several more.
He had always been ruthless in his actions and didn't leave any craftsmen who built the tunnels alive. Therefore, there were several secret passages that only he knew about.
When he returned to Red Flame Mountain, he checked and found that the old secret passages had indeed been sealed. But the new one he had built was still there.
However, he hadn't dared to enter it earlier when he hadn't slept for several days. Now that he had gathered enough manpower, he could dare to venture into Red Flame Mountain.
Wei Jiu wasn't really concerned about the survival of the other sects; he just wanted to reclaim Red Flame Mountain and his many years of hard work.
So in spite of the pleasant scenery and delicious food in Xishan, he was still quite restless and just wanted to urge Su Yi Shui and the others to lead the charge for him.
But Su Yi Shui had a cunning and sly look, staying still as if waiting for something.
Wei Jiu, bored out of his mind, went to the alchemy room to tease Ranran, "He has completely forgotten about you, showing that he's not devoted to you. Don't you want to consider me and leave yourself a way out?"
Ranran fanned the fire in the alchemy furnace vigorously, making sparks fly dangerously close to Wei Jiu's face as he leaned in. She deliberately imitated Wei Jiu's smug yet restrained expression and said with a smirk, "Consider you for what? Consider you abandoning a woman in danger and running away alone?"
She couldn't forget Wei Jiu's indifferent attitude towards Tu Jiuyuan's survival in the Netherworld. It seemed thatTu Jiuyuan and Wei Jiu had a complicated relationship, but it seemed like she loved an unreliable man.
Thinking about this incident, Wei Jiu's face also darkened. After that trip to the Netherworld, Tu Jiuyuan had been seriously injured and took a long time to recover. Later, she repeatedly mentioned her slow recovery and wanted to go to the Southern Branch to manage things and recuperate there.
She wasn't stupid; she didn't directly say she wanted to leave the Crimson Gate, or she would have definitely been punished for violating the sect's rules. But this act of using her injuries as an excuse was annoying.
What was she? Did she deserve to act so pretentiously? Didn't she swear allegiance to the sect and offer her life to the superior when she joined the Crimson Gate?
But Ranran's distraction made Wei Jiu remember the fake who impersonated him and flirted with Tu Jiuyuan.
At that moment, Wei Jiu somewhat understood why Su Yi Shui had asked him to throw away the quilt. A woman who had been defiled… he didn't want her anymore!
Ranran initially had no intention to mock him, but Wei Jiu's face turned sour and stinky, like he had fallen into a pickling jar, and then he angrily stood up and stormed off, swaying his black robe.
Ranran quietly made a mental note that the next time Wei Jiu tried to flirt, she would bring up Tu Jiuyuan to deter him from flirting in front of her.
Another person as impatient as Wei Jiu was Wen Chunhui from the Kongshan Sect. She was also clueless about the current situation of her sect, so she tentatively asked Su Yi Shui when they could set off.
Su Yi Shui's attitude towards Wen Chunhui was still mild.
When Su Yi Shui was still a disciple of Jiuhua Sect, he had once gone to Kongshan Sect for a trial, and that was when he met Wen Hongshan. At that time, Wen Hongshan was also a rising star in the Kongshan Sect, constantly suppressing Wen Chunhui.
During their training sessions, Su Yishui could clearly feel that Wen Chunhui's cultivation was actually more solid than Wen Hongshan's, but she knew how to hide her strengths and never competed openly with her seniors.
It was only after Wen Hongshan and the sect leader passed away that Kongshan Sect found itself short of capable individuals, and Wen Chunhui reluctantly stepped up to take on major responsibilities.
So, facing this Abbess who was of a gentle temperament, Su Yi Shui didn't play dumb anymore and directly said, "We'll set off after Ranran finishes refining the last batch of pills."
However, Wen Chunhui was still worried. "We need to go to Red Flame Mountain first and then to Kongshan Sect. The journey is long, and if we don't set off soon, I'm afraid…"
Su Yi Shui poured a cup of tea and handed it to her, saying calmly, "Who said we are going to Red Flame Mountain first? After leaving Xishan, we will immediately head for Kongshan Sect!"
Just as Wei Jiu wanted to use him as a spear, Su Yi Shui also wouldn't mind using Wei Jiu as a hunting dog.
"But, all the mountain gates are sealed now, and Kongshan Sect doesn't have secret passages like Crimson Gate. How do we get in?" Wen Chunhui asked, concerned.
Su Yi Shui, however, was unworried. "Don't worry, I have my ways."
Wen Chunhui knew that Su Yi Shui was a meticulous person, so hearing his words, she felt slightly assured.
She wasn't one to talk too much. Later, when Wei Jiu tried to find out when Su Yi Shui planned to depart, she simply said she didn't know.
However, Wen Chunhui noticed that Ranran's pill furnace was constantly active. While others took ten months to refine pills like a pregnancy, she seemed to do it like cooking dumplings, opening and closing the furnace every few days and producing dozens of pills each time.
But all those beautifully shiny crafted pills ended up in the big mouth of the Gengjin White Tiger.
When the little white tiger consumed the pills, it was like eating seasoned beans, crunching down on those precious pills made from rare and valuable herbs.
The White Tiger had been seriously injured in the past, and its body had changed with its diminishing vitality. But unlike humans who could switch to pill cultivation if they failed in foundation cultivation, beasts had a slower recovery path.
But now, with a mistress who excelled in pill cultivation and refined pills like steaming buns, together with Wang Suizhi, the god of wealth who not only knew how to make money but also knew how to find treasures, constantly delivering various precious herbs to the mountain, Ranran's pill furnace became even more active.
In just a few weeks, the white tiger's size had continuously grown with the restoration of its vital energy, no longer able to shrink back to its former state.
Now it was twice the size of an ordinary tiger, and when it stood up, its white fur shimmered in the sunlight, and if it stared, it gave a sense of locking one's soul under its gaze.
A spiritual beast like the White Tiger, was originally born and raised by nature. Even with intelligence, it was difficult to reach the realm of great cultivation masters.
But now, Xue Ranran had forcibly led her spiritual beast onto the path of pill cultivation, and it grew dozens of times faster than ordinary pill cultivators, faintly showing signs of absorbing abundant spiritual energy, nearing the realm of ascending to gods.
Wei Jiu was startled several times by the White Tiger who liked to jump out at him, and couldn't help but ask Ranran, "Is this how you raise tigers in Xishan? If you keep feeding it like this, this tiger will become a divine spirit!"
Ranran ignored him, but privately she asked Su Yi Shui, "Do you think it's enough already? I'm afraid that if we keep feeding it like this, *Baibai won't be able to handle the sudden surge in spiritual power."
*白白 white tiger's name is white white hahahaha
Su Yishui approached the sunbathing white tiger. Even when lying down, it looked like a small mountain.
He closed his eyes, raised one hand, and the White Tiger obediently lifted one of its large white paws to meet Su Yi Shui's palm.
When the palm met with the paw, countless strands of golden light seemed to intertwine between them.
As Su Yi Shui slowly opened his eyes, golden light flashed in both his and the White Tiger's eyes.
"It's ready." Su Yi Shui said confidently.
In fact, some days ago, he had already taken the White Tiger secretly to the closest sect to Xishan, the Kongshan Sect.
Although those spiritual shields could block people, as he had suspected, they didn't block spiritual beasts like the White Tiger, similar to the spiritual shields of Tianmai Mountain.
However, when he tried to manipulate the White Tiger with talismans to enter, they were burned to ashes upon entering the spiritual shield.
So the only way to explore inside was to attach his spiritual power to the White Tiger's body, just like he did when entering Tianmai Mountain.
But this method consumed a lot of spiritual energy. When he returned, both he and the White Tiger had suffered varying degrees of exhaustion.
In the face of formidable enemies on all sides, Su Yi Shui couldn't afford such a fatal flaw in this plan. So, the only solution was to greatly increase the White Tiger's spiritual power, so it could reach the state of unity with his level of own spiritual power.
Only then could he freely possess the White Tiger and come and go as he pleased.
Now, the White Tiger, fed by pills, had skyrocketed in spiritual power, reaching a perfect state. It was ready to set off for exploration.
It wasn't until they were about to depart that Wei Jiu realized they were heading to Kongshan Sect. He was furious, shouting at Su Yi Shui for being deceitful.
Su Yi Shui, with half lowered eyes, replied indifferently, "If Lord Wei wants to pass up nearby options for distant prospects, and insist on going to Red Flame Mountain, no one will stop you. You can go there on your own."
Wei Jiu understood that he couldn't do without Su Yi Shui now. Without his protection, he couldn't even sleep peacefully.
He had nowhere else to find a more powerful ally than Su Yi Shui. For now, the only plan was to grit his teeth and follow them, finding a way to sneak into Kongshan Sect to investigate.
The founding master of Kongshan Sect was reportedly Wen Yi An, the senior sister of the great cultivator Duntian.
Back then, she harbored a secret love for her junior brother Duntian. Unfortunately, her love was unrequited, and Duntian ended up falling for Rong Yao, becoming a pair of cultivator companions with her.
Disheartened, Wen Yi An chose to establish Kongshan Sect opposite to Tianmai Mountain, where Duntian cultivated.
She remained unmarried throughout her life, never accepting male disciples, and all her disciples were girls who changed their surnames to Wen upon initiation.
That's why all Kongshan Sect disciples were surnamed Wen, unlike other sects.
However, Ranran learned from Wen Chunhui during their journey, that their sect ancestor's secular surname wasn't Wen at all. This "Wen" was actually the secular surname of the great cultivator Duntian.
Ranran immediately understood. This Grandmaster Wen Yi An's love was unrequited, so she secluded herself in Kongshan, living in a self-deceiving dream.
She remained unmarried, but took on her junior brother's secular surname, never bore children of her own, yet raised a group of girls surnamed Wen.
Thinking harder, the peak of Kongshan faced Tianmai Mountain. Wen Yi An used to gaze from afar at Tianmai Mountain, knowing full well that her junior brother had a family and descendants. She immersed herself in fantasies of having children for him, isn't it quite sorrowful?
As they arrived at the foot of Kongshan, before even getting close to the mountain, they saw a towering black tower reaching into the clouds.
Wei Jiu had seen a similar black tower constructed on Red Flame Mountain. Though its purpose was unknown, it inspired awe at first sight.
This time, Su Yishui brought along his four disciples, as well as Yuchen and Wang Suizhi.
Having the god of wealth with them meant they could easily find places to stay along the way, and Wang Suizhi, with his natural divination abilities, could determine if it was an auspicious day to set out.
But when they arrived at the town at the foot of Kongshan and settled in a temporary inn, Wang Suizhi stood at the inn's door for a while, shaking his head. "No matter how I look at it, it is *ominous in all directions. There's no sign of survival…"
*四处凶门 death gates in every direction
Wei Jiu, already frustrated during the journey, sneered at Wang Suizhi's words. "Do you think you're really a fortune-teller? Following your advice would mean the best course of action is to steer clear of this place."
But Wang Suizhi replied earnestly "It's too late there's no life gate for a way back. Once we leave this town, there are signs of danger everywhere."
His ability to discern life and death doors didn't often manifest, he can only sense it usually only in moments of life and death crises.
After entering the town, Wang Suizhi hadn't stopped breaking out in cold sweat. He sat on a chair and kept shuddering like he was ill.
Wei Jiu detested this display to waver morale at a critical moment, his temper befitting the Crimson Gate Sect Leader flared, and he sneered, "Since you're so capable, can you tell if today might be your last day…"
As he spoke, he drew his sword and aimed straight for Wang Suizhi.
Wang Suizhi's heart pounded in fear as he watched the sword approaching, unable to dodge in time.
Ranran casually took out a preserved fruit and used her spiritual energy to imbue it, deflecting the sword, causing it to veer off past Wang Suizhi.
After the scare, Wang Suizhi said, "I can't see my own end, but I can tell I will have good fortune today, so I don't think today will be my last day. However, if you step out of this inn today, you might encounter great misfortune!"
Wei Jiu didn't expect this merchant to keep going, acting like a religious conman with his divination, and wanted to teach him a lesson.
But Ranran protected Wang Suizhi and coldly said, "You dare harm my disciple?"
While Ranran usually appeared beautiful and easy going, a very friendly lady, once she was protecting her *disciples, the fierceness of a mother wolf would burst forth from her eyes.
*犊子 : 晚輩,小輩的含義 juniors
Twenty years ago, it was well-known that disciples from Xishan were all lacking in skills, but they had a fierce tigress master who stood by her disciples.
If you provoked a disciple from Xishan, their master would really ride a tiger to settle scores with you.
Under Xue Ranran's glare, Wei Jiu felt as if it was Mu Qingge who stood before him with her killing intent, so he instinctively took a step back.
Meanwhile, Wang Suizhi, with his scruffy beard, felt very blessed hiding behind Ranran, as if he was an old chick under the wings of a mother hen, basking in the long-lost affection of his master.
Su Yi Shui, on the other hand, glared coldly at him, ready to possess the White Tiger and tear Wei Jiu apart if he dared to harm Ranran.
Wei Jiu knew he was isolated and so he couldn't be bothered with the idiotic Xishan disciples. With a snort, he walked straight out of the inn and into the streets.
Xue Ranran acknowledged Wang Suizhi's abilities and said, "Since Wang Suizhi has divined the present dangers here, let's trust him for now. We'll stay in the inn for a day and decide tomorrow whether to go to Kongshan."
Wen Chunhui also nodded in agreement. She had always been more easy-going and different from those who loved to show off like Elder Kaiyuan. Since she had taken refuge with Xishan, she naturally listened to the majority.
So, the group stayed at the inn to rest.
Before long, Wei Jiu returned to the inn, not alone but with a woman.
Ranran looked closely and realized it was Tu Jiuyuan, who should have been on Red Flame Mountain.
Just then, Su Yi Shui flicked his fingers, and the White Tiger lying in the courtyard stood up, growling and roaring at the two newcomers, causing the loose hair by their ears to tremble slightly.
Ranran stood at the door and asked, "Tu Jiuyuan? How did you end up here?"
Tu Jiuyuan glanced at Wei Jiu beside her and spoke, "After welcoming back the Excellency from before, I quickly noticed something was amiss with that person and saw many flaws. Later, I inadvertently saw the real Excellency wandering at the foot of the mountain and understood instantly. So, I seized the opportunity to escape down the mountain through a secret passage and made my way here, finally meeting up with the Excellency now."
Wei Jiu spoke up at this moment, "She knows a lot of hidden information, let her come in and explain slowly…"
As he spoke, the two of them started walking towards the house.
Ranran, following Su Yi Shui's gaze without changing her expression, looked towards the courtyard at the sun's corona, and said with a cold smile, "Lord Wei Jiu, weren't you very imposing just now, saying you wouldn't come back?"
Wei Jiu sneered, "When did I say that? Don't try to test me."
With that, he started walking towards the courtyard. At that moment, the sun was at its zenith. The White Tiger stepped back slightly, allowing the sunlight to pour into the courtyard.
Ranran lowered her head and looked closely. There was no shadow under the feet of the two standing at the courtyard gate.