However, Leng Mushi was good at making random excuses. After a brief panic, she quickly turned the tables.
"Brother Xiao, you stayed up late at night and went to a woman's room in Feihe Courtyard. Did you want to do something improper?" Leng Mushi raised her eyebrows at him frivolously. "Are you disappointed that you didn't find me?"
Xiao Mian: …
"What nonsense are you talking about! I didn't go in." Xiao Mian frowned seriously, "I don't need to go in to know whether you are in there or not."
Xiao Mian looked at Leng Mushi and said word by word: "I even know where you are."
Leng Mushi's hands behind her back were covered in sweat. She clenched them, then loosened them. For the first time without a plot, she approached Xiao Mian and tried to annoy him: "Why do you act like you're catching an adulterer? Although I went to see other men at night, I only have Brother Xiao in my heart."
Leng Mushi reached out and gently tapped her heart: "Brother Xiao can tell that I'm not here without entering the room, so can you tell that all of this is you?"
Xiao Mian's ears gradually turned red. Even though he knew she was talking about something else, he still felt a little hot.
How could there be such a woman in this world
Debauched and bold, evil and kind, witty and honest, cunning and sincere...
Which one is the real her
Xiao Mian felt that he had been overwhelmed every day since he started speaking to the Painted Skin Demon.
His eyelashes flickered. Leng Mushi took a step forward and he uncontrollably took half a step back.
Leng Mushi saw that he couldn't stand this, so she pushed him to a corner where no one could see him, and then the affection on her face disappeared instantly. She raised her chin slightly. She was half a head shorter than Xiao Mian, but she gave people a condescending feeling.
When she spoke, her expression was more serious than ever before, which was very intimidating at first glance, but a closer look revealed that she was learning from Xiao Mian.
"Xiao Mian, I have saved your life," Leng Mushi looked at him, almost staring at him, "You may not be willing to repay me with your body, but at least don't repay kindness with hatred. Since you know that I was not in the room last night, you must also know why I was not in the room, and you should naturally know that your sister Tianyin was involved. You love to stand up for her the most. Didn't you hate to see her being looked at by others on the way back to the restaurant?"
"Don't you want her to join the mountain sect so that you can see each other every day? Maybe she can join your master and become your junior sister. Then you can spend time together day and night, isn't that better?" Leng Mushi curled her lips slightly, "She is very cute, isn't she?"
Leng Mushi patiently persuaded him, using his beloved sister Tianyin as bait, not afraid that he would not fall for it.
After hearing what she said, Xiao Mian's expression changed slightly. He turned his head to avoid Leng Mushi's direct gaze, raised his hand and pressed his forehead to push back the little blue veins that had popped out.
He tried hard to hold back his overly strong and unclear emotions, but he couldn't suppress the corners of his mouth.
What was she talking about? What did Leng Tianyin's affiliation have to do with him? She wasn't his sister. He went to see her so late, of course, because of something else.
And when he returned to the restaurant, he didn't like the look in the shopkeeper's eyes. He saw her covering her face with a scarf and peeked at the scar underneath.
But seeing that she didn't care about other people's eyes today, Xiao Mian turned the anti-aging pill he had finally got under his robe sleeve with his fingertips and couldn't help laughing.
I don't know whose face it is... But he was so worried, afraid that she would be laughed at because of this.
But soon Xiao Mian remembered something, his smile faded a little, and he turned his head back, with that indifferent expression again.
What girl doesn’t care about facial damage
The reason why this anti-aging pill is in short supply in the sect is that not only women but also men would secretly seek it.
Xiao Mian still remembers the look of surprise and sadness on Leng Mushi's face when she was standing on the big monster's shoulder and dealing with her, and suddenly saw her ruined face in the big monster's eyes.
Even if it is fleeting, how can I not care
He looked at Leng Mushi, restrained his chaotic emotions that he himself could not distinguish, and after pondering for a moment, he said to her: "I can not say it."
Leng Mushi thought to herself that as expected, Leng Tianyin was still useful to him. In the plot, she could not enter the inner sect, but Leng Tianyin could become a disciple of the fifth elder, that is, Tianxuzi, who ordered Xiao Mian, Xingzhou and others to bring her and Leng Tianyin back.
What's the point of cutting off worldly thoughts and not caring about them? Tianxuzi had no intention of accepting disciples and only cared about spiritual roots. The only person he didn't want to care about was Leng Mushi himself, who had a poor spiritual root.
If she and Leng Tianyin were really sent down the mountain because of her actions last night, it would be very difficult for them to enter the Taichu Sect again.
Even if the plot will go back to the beginning in the end, the problem is that Leng Mushi doesn't want to go back to the beginning at all. She just wants to get through this terrible plot as quickly as possible so that she can live her own life alone.
As soon as Xiao Mian agreed, Leng Mushi felt relieved. She put away her serious expression and smiled, reaching out her hand, patting Xiao Mian's shoulder in a friendly way: "Senior Brother Xiao, you..."
"I can choose not to tell you, but you have to eat this." Xiao Mian interrupted her and handed the pill he had been holding to Leng Mushi's mouth, "Eat it and I'll pretend I didn't see anything last night."
Leng Mushi: "...What is this?"
Xiao Mian wanted to tell her the truth, but the first two times he mentioned the sect's anti-aging pills, she showed resistance and pretended not to care.
I'm afraid the more she cares and the more she resists, the less she can say it casually. Xiao Mian doesn't understand the twists and turns of a girl's mind, and it's really impossible for him to pledge his love to her. The only way he can repay her is to find this elixir for her to restore her appearance.
So Xiao Mian moved his lips and lied, "It's... a medicine that can improve your spiritual roots."
When he lied, he was not as excited as Leng Mushi, who gave a lot of indirect reasons to prove his point, which made people dizzy and naturally believed him and were willing to be led by the nose.
Xiao Mian lied without changing his expression or heartbeat, his face was impeccable, and he was so serious as if he was discussing some rigid and outdated martial arts techniques, making it impossible for people to doubt him at all.
"This... where did you get it from?" Leng Mushi said, "Isn't this against the rules? You..." I'm afraid you want me to break the rules and get kicked off the mountain.
Before Leng Mushi could finish her words, Xiao Mian had already quickly thrown the pill into her mouth while she opened her mouth to speak. Then, when Leng Mushi stared at him, he reached out and grabbed the side of her neck, and rubbed her throat under her jaw with his thumb.
Leng Mushi felt very itchy and swallowed her saliva subconsciously, then "gulp", the pill was swallowed.
Leng Mushi: …
Xiao Mian watched her swallow. He should have let go and waited for her to recover so that he could have repaid some of the favor he had done that day.
But as if possessed by a magic spell, he did not let go immediately. The skin under his hand was delicate and smooth, with a light sweat, which reminded him of the day when she was guiding the spirit bag and the spirit power entered her body, and her fragile neck that was leaning on his shoulder.
Xiao Mian didn't know what he was doing. He looked at Leng Mushi deeply with the eyes of studying a rare magical beast, and then not only did he not take away the hand that was supporting half of her neck, he even rubbed her neck gently.
"Gudong" This time there was no pill, but he swallowed his saliva.
"Gudong"
"Gudong"
Leng Mushi: "... I've already swallowed it, ah—look! Is my neck interesting? I don't have an Adam's apple here, why don't you pinch your own and have fun with it!"
Leng Mushi slapped his hand away and pinched his protruding Adam's apple. Xiao Mian was caught off guard, and a feeling as if he was whipped spread through his spine in an instant.
He tensed his back in astonishment, pursed his lips and took a step back, then quickly walked around Leng Mushi and turned the corner. His back seemed to be in a panic.
Leng Mushi made a "tsk" sound and walked out slowly. But when she looked up, she met Leng Tianyin's gaze.
Leng Mushi felt a little guilty for a moment. After all, Xiao Mian, who had just run away, was Leng Tianyin's future man.
However, thinking that the plot has just begun and there will be countless such misunderstandings in the future, she quickly regained her confidence as a vicious female supporting role.
She walked out from the corner calmly, not even bothering to analyze the emotion in Leng Tianyin's eyes.
They spent the entire morning visiting a total of six elders' and disciples' courtyards, all of which were basically the same, even the layout was similar.
In the end, Leng Mushi didn’t know about others, but he himself didn’t remember the names of the senior brothers who took them to see the temple in each academy, and who were the elders who were interested in accepting disciples.
It was time for lunch. The candidate disciples had been walking around for the whole morning. Even though this fairy mountain was filled with fairy air, they could not practice fasting. Mortals like them had to eat to stay alive.
At this time, there was only one courtyard left. They waited at the gate for a long time, but no leading brother came out to take over.
Moreover, this courtyard is actually hidden. The reason why it is hidden is that the grass and trees in front of the gate are growing wildly, and it is obvious that no one has taken care of them. Among the courtyards of the elders, which are either grand or elegant, this one is too crude and sloppy. It seems that there is not even a backyard wall, and there is a deep forest and cliffs directly behind it.
There was no plaque on the gate to indicate what courtyard it was. All we knew was that this was the courtyard of the second elder, Hua Yanyue, and that Immortal Yanyue practiced alchemy.
Everyone waited at the door for a long time, but no brother came out to take over. They took their inner sect brothers and tried to go inside to ask, but they were blocked outside by a layer of rune barrier.
It is late autumn and early winter at the end of September. In the mortal world, it should be the season to put on more clothes, but in Taichu Mountain, it is still like midsummer, especially the midday sun, which makes people sweat.
Hungry, tired and hot, no matter how curious everyone was about the immortal sect, after seeing so many elder councils, they had a rough idea of which sect they wanted to join.
As for this number, it would naturally not be in the unruly courtyard in front of them that kept them out.
Although the requirements for spiritual roots in alchemy are not that high and it is quite popular among other cultivators, it is extremely difficult for alchemy practitioners to achieve great success. They will either be poisoned by the elixirs they make or be killed by the explosion of the medicine furnace. Only one in a hundred can reach the Star Level and above.
The higher the level, the purer the elixir, and the greater the danger when opening the elixir furnace. The master must be there to watch over him the whole time, otherwise he would be easily blown to pieces.
Therefore, even though alchemy disciples are extremely scarce and are treated very generously in various sects, the number of people who truly practice this art is extremely small.
Just looking at this desolate courtyard half covered by grass and trees, there is no other disciple in the courtyard except Xuan Zhu. How can this alchemy elder be a good master? He doesn't even have a good environment, let alone any generous treatment.
So after waiting for a while, some people couldn't stand it anymore and started to ask to eat first. Anyway, if their spiritual roots were not pure and they couldn't be selected as inner disciples, even if they went to the outer gate to sweep the floor and do odd jobs to wait for opportunities, they didn't plan to become the disciples of Hua Yanyue, the second elder of the alchemy sect.
The senior brother who was leading the team now looked very friendly. Leng Mushi remembered that his name seemed to be Yan. Some people called him Senior Brother Yan, which was obviously not the right way to call him, but he never changed his expression.
After calming everyone down with a gentle voice, he still hesitated, but he had seen all the elders in the House of Elders who were interested in taking in disciples. If he took someone away in front of the Second Elder's door, according to the Second Elder's temperament, this group of candidate disciples would probably never be able to get in again in their lifetime.
When everyone was getting anxious, a handsome young man finally walked out of the yard. However, he was not wearing a disciple's uniform, but a neat black suit. He walked to the edge of the barrier, stood inside the barrier and looked for a moment. The look in his eyes did not seem like he was looking at people, but like he was estimating how many pounds of meat a pig could produce.
Everyone felt extremely uncomfortable with his gaze and began to whisper. At this time, the young man in black shook his head at the senior brother who led their group and said, "There is no disciple that my master wants to find. Please go back."
Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Some complained out loud impatiently. Senior Brother Yan laughed awkwardly, "Senior Brother Xuanzhu, what are you talking about? This is against the rules. Elder Manyue has announced to the sect this year that he wants to recruit disciples. These are all candidate disciples. Their spiritual roots have not been tested yet, so they may not all be qualified. Senior Brother Xuanzhu, just take your time..."
"Alright, alright, come in!"
The man called Xuanzhu raised his hands and clapped them, and the runes on the barrier lit up. Senior Brother Yan then led everyone in, handed over the goods to Xuanzhu, who looked impatient, before leaving.
Xuan Zhu looked at everyone with a bad look and tone: "Look, but don't run around, don't touch anything, be careful of your life."
Everyone was already feeling uncomfortable and didn't want to look at the disciple courtyard. It looked desolate if they didn't come in. When they came in, they saw that it was just a small country courtyard without any trace of an immortal sect's style.
At this moment, facing Senior Brother Xuanzhu's vicious words, no one wanted to become the disciple of the Elder of Alchemy.
Everyone was thinking, just take a look and wait for someone to come and take them to dinner after they are done.
Leng Mushi was also tired, hungry and hot, but she placed one hand on her head to block part of the sun, and was not as anxious as everyone else. She felt that this place was more than twice as spacious as the other elders' places, and as soon as she came in, she could smell the faint fragrance of flowers and plants, and the temperature seemed to be much lower than outside.
After a while, they stopped pretending. They found that the disciple courtyard was a more shabby place than a woodshed in the mortal world! So they all huddled under a fruit tree that bore some unknown fruit, talking in low voices, waiting for someone to pick them up.
Leng Mushi originally wanted to go over, but as soon as she took a step, she saw something rustling in the fruit tree that was more than three rooms tall. It was right above everyone's heads, and the leaves were rustling, but no one below noticed it.
Leng Mushi peeked at the body of the thing through the gap in the tree and was immediately shocked. The small part of it was as thick as an adult's waist, and seemed to be covered with scales, and was earth yellow in color!
What the hell
Leng Mushi didn't dare to scream, for fear of scaring the thing on the tree, so she quickly turned around to look for Senior Brother Xuanzhu in the yard.
Senior Brother Xuanzhu was standing not far behind Leng Mushi, with his arms folded in a nonchalant manner, but unlike his previous impatience, his face was now full of interest and he was obviously ready to watch the fun.
Leng Mushi looked at him. He stretched out a finger and put it to his mouth. Although no sound was made, Leng Mushi could still hear his voice in her ear: "Don't shout. If you scare it, it will eat people."
Leng Mushi: “…” What kind of evil elder and evil disciple is this!
Although the Taichu Sect would not raise evil spirits in the sect to harm candidate disciples who have not yet joined, if the full appearance of this thing were to be revealed, it would be enough to scare a few people under it.
Leng Mushi naturally didn't listen to the evil Senior Brother Xuanzhu and was about to walk over there when suddenly the Senior Brother put his finger in his mouth and blew a loud whistle...
Rustle, rustle, rustle—
This time the thing moved very violently, and the people under the tree finally realized something was wrong. They looked upwards and immediately started screaming and running away in all directions.
Leng Mushi saw the whole appearance of the thing and was so scared that she leaned back and bumped into Senior Brother Xuanzhu who had walked behind her at some point.
The creature perched on the fruit tree turned out to be a four-legged snake that was more than ten feet long!