Xiao Mian's appearance has not changed much compared to a few months ago, but it is not completely unchanged either. His features are more distinct and he is one year older. His birthday was on July 20th this year, just two months ago.
Leng Mushi celebrated his birthday for him. Coincidentally, their birthdays were just two days apart, July 22nd and July 20th respectively.
It is said that people born in July have a strong destiny. Leng Mushi thought that since both of them had entered the immortal sect and their respective cultivation paths were going smoothly, they should be considered to have a strong destiny.
So now Leng Mushi is one year older, nineteen years old, and Xiao Mian is twenty years old, which is the age when a mortal man should reach the age of twenty.
It's only been a year, and much of his immaturity has disappeared. But compared to an adult man, he is not mature enough, just like a fruit that is half red and half green. This is the best age for a person.
Most of the cultivators of this age in the sect would go to the Fangcao Palace to ask for a rejuvenation pill so that they can stay at this best age. However, Xiao Mian did not go. He said that he wanted Leng Mushi to refine one for him.
Leng Mushi agreed, but she hadn't had the time recently, so she kept putting it off. She actually felt that Xiao Mian hadn't grown up completely yet, and for some reason she just felt that he should grow a little taller.
Therefore, she and Xiao Mian agreed that after returning from this training, she would refine the anti-aging elixir for Xiao Mian and stay in their best years with him.
After the date for the training was set, Leng Mushi was busy as a whirlwind. The secret realm they were going to this time was the ruins of the demon clan.
This was the place where the four great demon generals of the Heavenly Demon had stayed in the past. Leng Mushi had only read about the awakening of the Heavenly Demon and how the four great demon generals wreaked havoc on the world in books.
It is said that more than 17,000 years have passed since the last time the demon awakened.
Today, the Heavenly Demon is suppressed at the bottom of the Blood Demon Mountain, and the four great demon generals are also sleeping there with their master.
When they went to the Demonic Ruins this time, there were only some low-level monsters left that were not strong enough to cause serious damage to the cultivators.
This demon relic has been cleared out by various immortal sects as a training ground for disciples for thousands of years. Some of the monsters in it have also been domesticated for a long time by the guardians and have become friendly.
Among them, some puppet beasts made by the elders and immortals of each family were also released. They looked no different from demon beasts, but in fact, they would automatically dissipate when they forced the disciples into desperate situations.
The training of new disciples is naturally carried out with great caution, so the disciples accompanying this trip include not only high-level disciples, but also many mid-level disciples. They are divided into two groups, one led by disciples from the Punishment Hall, and the other led by the head disciple You Zishu.
Yes, it’s Leng Mushi’s enemy You Zishu.
I heard that his state of mind had a breakthrough due to the punishment, and his cultivation level increased.
When Leng Mushi heard that You Zishu was leading the team, she didn't feel any worries. Instead, Xiao Mian comforted her: "Don't worry, I'm here."
Leng Mushi smiled helplessly at the time and said, "How can he take revenge on someone else? As the leader of the team, there are so many eyes on him. He has training and a formation spirit mirror that can directly connect to the sect. How shameless is he to dare to do anything?"
However, what Leng Mushi was worried about was not You Zishu leading the team, but going to the demon clan ruins. For other disciples, it was an adventure, but for Leng Mushi, it was purchasing goods for opening a store.
She had to prepare enough storage bags, enough black glass stones for storing pills, a pill furnace that Xiao Mian gave her on his birthday that could be converted in size, and all the tools needed to obtain materials, etc.
Leng Mushi was so busy that she didn't care about anything else. Even Xiao Mian's storage bag was filled with Leng Mushi's things. He brought her a lot of clothes for changing, as well as food and dry food.
"Put it aside for a while, have a bowl of chicken soup and a chicken drumstick." Xiao Mian came in with a stewed chicken and placed it on the table. He then pulled Leng Mushi to the table, wrung out a wet towel to wipe her hands, and said patiently and gently as if he was serving a child, "You are too nervous. Do you want to move the entire Demon Clan Ruins back?"
Xiao Mian smiled with his lips pursed. His lips were bright red and shiny, obviously because he had just tasted something salty and sweet. He looked extremely beautiful. He had jade-like bones and an ethereal appearance, and was gentle and soft. Any woman in the world would find it hard not to be moved when seeing Xiao Mian like this.
But Leng Mushi seemed to be blind and had no reaction at all. She lowered her head to drink soup and said, "If I can move, I will definitely move."
Xiao Mian laughed helplessly. At this time, Xuan Zhu also came in from outside following the fragrance. These days, it was Xuan Zhu instead of Hua Yan Yue. Of course, Xiao Mian also knew this secret now.
"Senior Brother Xuanzhu, I made some chicken soup, come and have a bowl," Xiao Mian called out intimately, and eagerly served the soup.
Xiao Mian accidentally broke through Xuanzhu and turned into Hua Yanyue in front of him. Then Hua Yanyue grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and dragged him to the cellar, where he was fed the Heart-Swearing Pill and made him swear never to tell this to anyone, otherwise he would be cursed and die.
Xiao Mian's life was very bumpy. First, Xuan Zhu implanted the toad's blood in his body, and then Hua Yanyue fed him the Heart-Swearing Pill. However, he really had no interest in telling anyone about the master and disciple's dual souls. Instead, he was secretly happy.
He was worried that Xuan Zhu and Leng Mushi would fall in love with each other, but when he found out that Xuan Zhu and Hua Yanyue had two souls in one body, and even that the toad blood on the wrist was specially chosen by Hua Yanyue for Xuan Zhu, Xiao Mian was extremely happy.
He was so happy that he began to respect Xuanzhu. Every time he saw him, he would call him "Senior Brother" sweetly.
Xuanzhu thought he was sick at first, but he didn't hit a smiling person. After a while, his attitude towards him naturally improved, and he didn't try to make trouble for him. But Xuanzhu was a real bamboo shoot, and he didn't know that when people started to be mean, they were even meaner than bamboo shoots.
Xiao Mian could see that Xuan Zhu treated Hua Yanyue differently. Every time she smiled at him and showed kindness, she was mocking him.
Do you think I have no hope
You don’t even have that, you won’t even let the flowers cover the moon!
The tragic love story between master and disciple is so thrilling and hopeless hahahaha.
Every time Xiao Mian saw Xuan Zhu, he couldn't help but smile at Xuan Zhu when he thought of the Second Elder Hua Yanyue's attitude that said whoever touches him will die.
Sometimes Xuan Zhu laughed so hard that he felt creepy, so he would try to understand what Xiao Mian was thinking in his own way.
But after a long time, Xiao Mian also knew how to guide his thoughts so as not to let Xuan Zhu see through him quickly.
For example, at this moment, Xuan Zhu tried to peek into the mind of Xiao Mian, who had an innocent but inexplicably creepy smile on his face. However, what he found out was what Xiao Mian wanted him to know, which was the thought "Nian Ci is so cute".
Xuan Zhu simply sat down opposite Leng Mushi without any effort, picked up the soup spoon and drank the soup. Xiao Mian also sat down, and the three of them drank the soup in harmony.
"You put the paralysis fungus there," Leng Mushi looked at Xiao Mian, "was it an accident?"
Xiao Mian shook his head, "No, I just put one. I see you've been too nervous lately, and a little bit can help ease the tension."
After being with Leng Mushi for a long time, being exposed to elixir recipes all day long, testing medicines and helping to sort out medicinal materials, Xiao Mian inevitably had a deeper understanding of the effects of these medicines, and even of monsters and beasts.
Leng Mushi nodded after hearing this and continued, "Then why did you put dates and so many red fruits in there?"
Leng Mushi said: "I see you cooking with this every once in a while, why..."
Xiao Mian didn't say anything. This time Xuan Zhu couldn't help but speak up: "Eat your food. Why are you asking so many whys? You're so confused all day long."
Xiao Mian and Xuan Zhu looked at each other and saw a little embarrassment in each other's eyes. Leng Mushi really didn't pay enough attention to the problems in life.
She was almost a little lunatic who cared nothing about anything except refining the elixir. Xuan Zhu had been very pessimistic about Xiao Mian and always looked at him with the dead pig's eyes as if he was looking at his own cabbage.
However, Xuanzhu was convinced by the countless times he saw Xiao Mian and Leng Mushi make time at night to sew on the damaged defensive runes on their disciples' uniforms with thread condensed from spiritual power after they had found time to do so when they went to the back mountain to catch monsters.
In addition, all the food, clothing and daily necessities of Junior Sister, even... like today, whenever her period is about to come, I would cook something to dispel the cold for her to eat, in case she feels uncomfortable at that time. She would either take the Bliss Pill or the Hemostatic Pill.
There are so many trivial good things like this that make Xuan Zhu feel that it would be a good match if Leng Mushi really got together with Xiao Mian.
Not only is he a good-looking man, he also truly loves her and endures his pain and desires for her. Maybe he can make up for the pain of losing his mother with Xiao Mian's trivial goodness... Xuan Zhu thinks Xiao Mian can be a competent mother.
Anyway, Xuanzhu admits that he is inferior.
It seems that there is a reason why the master did not respond to him. Xuanzhu feels that he has not done enough.
The day to go down the mountain arrived in a blink of an eye. Leng Mushi was finally ready and gathered in front of the mountain gate with all the disciples who were preparing to go to the demon ruins.
Leng Mushi rarely goes down the mountain. In the entire Taichu Mountain, only the disciple of the second elder has the privilege of not attending the classes of other elders.
But Leng Mushi did not leave the mountain, but he was still very famous.
In the trial for new disciples a few months ago, she became famous in one battle. Later, because Leng Tianyin had good conduct among the new disciples and made rapid progress in her cultivation, Leng Mushi, as her sister whom she often talked about, had always been known to everyone as a forbearing and kind sister.
But the most important thing, which not many people know but those who know it are all shocked, is that Leng Mushi has now begun to refine daily medicines for the disciples in the sect.
Every month, the disciples who go to Cangsheng Academy to get pills would even specifically ask whether the pills were made by Leng Mushi, because the daily medicines she refined were of the best quality regardless of their grade.
And sometimes it has some different effects, and it is constantly innovating and integrating.
Therefore, all high-level disciples who went to Cangsheng Academy to get pills were very warm to Leng Mushi.
You have to know that the disciple of alchemy who can supply elixirs to the sect has only been in the sect for a short year. What kind of genius is he
During the entry trial, everyone saw that she had mixed spiritual roots.
Such spiritual roots have now advanced to the middle level of the star-level, which shows how much effort he has put in.
There are no shortcuts in the path of cultivation. When Leng Mushi’s advancement was announced after her birthday, some people said sourly that maybe the Second Elder had used elixirs to achieve his goal.
However, those disciples who were able to see Leng Mushi's solid skills and who could see the change in the elders' attitude towards Leng Mushi, no one would think that she relied on her master's elixir to advance.
Therefore, Leng Mushi is now a celebrity. When she and Xiao Mian arrived, many high-level disciples who had seen her when they took the elixir nodded to her.
Even You Zishu couldn't help but glance at Leng Mushi.
Leng Mushi just nodded indifferently to everyone. Leng Tianyin had grown up a year and now finally had some vision. Although she was still very close to Leng Mushi and her eyes were bright and watery when she saw her, she did not pounce on her regardless of Leng Mushi's wishes.
She was wrong in the past. At that time, her family was suddenly destroyed and Leng Mushi was the only blood relative left. She was young and had never experienced anything, so naturally she wanted to rely on him regardless of anything.
But over the past year, Leng Mushi's attitude of keeping her distance made Leng Tianyin gradually realize that she was the one who had always been fanciful, just like when she was a few years old and followed her mother into the family, causing her sister's mother to be seriously ill, but she was still confused and wanted to reconcile with her. She was just as ignorant.
It is an indisputable fact that her and her mother's existence is harmful to Leng Mushi.
Therefore, Leng Tianyin restrained herself and smiled at Leng Mushi, calling her, "Sister."
Leng Mushi nodded, and finally walked up to a thin and handsome man.
"Senior Brother Xiaomei, um..." Leng Mushi winked at him, asking where Fenlian had gone.
Yes, Senior Brother Xiaomei is the one who, when Leng Mushi became Hua Yanyue's disciple and went to receive the disciple's uniform, heard that she was the second elder's disciple and specially gave her the first-class disciple's uniform.
Fenlian was in a relationship with him, and Leng Mushi only knew about them when Fenlian took the initiative to bring Xiaomei back on her birthday two months ago.
The reason why Senior Brother Xiaomei did not hand over Fenlian, the wandering evil spirit, was because he himself was a plum blossom spirit who had just entered the mountain gate.
Xiaomei was a very shy person. She smiled at Leng Mushi and lowered her eyes to glance at her sleeves. Leng Mushi knew that the pink lotus was in her sleeves.
Xiaomei is a disciple of the Third Elder. The Third Elder travels all year round and is notoriously eccentric. All of his disciples are weird and have poor aptitude. They cannot practice the normal exercises that humans practice.
Therefore, most of the disciples under the Third Elder also wandered around the human world. Now, there is only Xiaomei in the sect. Because his cultivation is mediocre, but he is a kind person, he is often sent to guard various gates.
That's how he and Fenlian met. At that time, Fenlian's magical power regressed to the size of a small butterfly, and he caught her. Then he passed his magical power to her. He was careful, gentle and handsome, exactly the kind of immortal king that Fenlian wanted. What's more, he happened to be a monster, so he was a perfect match for her, so it was natural for them to be together.
Fenlian was so happy that she didn't want to leave, so it was natural that the rules were abandoned.
Leng Mushi also smiled and started chatting with Xingzhou Yitu again.
Xiao Mian had been following behind Leng Mushi. His seemingly cold gaze became warm when it fell on Leng Mushi. Everyone was used to it because Leng Mushi rarely went down the mountain to eat, and it was always with Xiao Mian.
After all those who were going for the training had arrived, they checked the life-binding belts on their heads and the protective runes on their disciple uniforms before setting off together.
Many new disciples have learned to fly the sword, but they cannot do so for a long time. After all, there are not many who can advance as quickly as Leng Mushi.
Therefore, they rode the fairy-feathered beasts raised in the back mountain.
The body of the Fairy Feather Beast is like a mortal horse, but it has a head like a large bird, a large and blunt beak, a gentle temperament, and it feeds on insects and fruits. It has wings on its back and can fly and run.
Its speed is not as fast as flying a sword, but it can run much faster than the best horse in the mortal world, and it can fly even faster. However, they have to pass through towns on their way to the demon ruins, so as to avoid causing panic, they cannot fly in the sky.
Moreover, the content of this experience is not limited to the demon ruins. They also took on low-level exorcism tasks that were sought after by the mortal world in the sect. They took this group of new disciples to see the real demons and evil spirits that were a disaster to the world.
This is a kind of inheritance and reincarnation. Practitioners absorb the vitality of heaven and earth, cultivate their own Taoism, and also exorcise evil spirits for the world, kill evil spirits to bring peace to the world and generate more vitality.
When the group left the range of Taichu Mountain, the senior disciples had no choice but to cast a blinding formation on these fairy-feathered beasts, making them look like ordinary horses to mortals.
It was the first time for Leng Mushi to ride this kind of fairy-feathered beast. Its back was very broad, and she patted and touched it from time to time out of curiosity, showing great interest.
Even if the Fairy Feather Beast does not flap its wings to fly, its four feet will leave the ground and walk on the wind. It is fast and steady. People sitting on it can practice sword skills on it without any problem, let alone sitting cross-legged and writing like Leng Mushi.
Xiao Mian rode another fairy-feathered beast and followed Leng Mushi right beside him, like an evil guardian. He did not stop all day long during the journey. From time to time, he would hand Leng Mushi some water, fruit, or something like that.
Leng Mushi didn't think there was anything wrong and felt at ease. After all, they had been getting along like this for the past few months. Leng Mushi's impoliteness was a natural way of bringing them together, which was exactly the effect Xiao Mian wanted.
But it was not the case for others. Many low-level disciples in the same group were eager to show off their cultivation in the past year and win honor for their master. They wished they could stand on their own and go out alone to kill evil spirits. Naturally, they could not bear to see Leng Mushi being treated like a fool and being coaxed and flattered by his senior brothers.
Alchemy is different from swordplay. They couldn't tell how powerful Leng Mushi was. They just knew that she studied hard all day long, or wrote and painted. It didn't seem like she was going out to gain experience, but rather, she was going into the city to take an exam.
After a day's rapid march, they finally settled down in the town. While staying in the inn, Leng Mushi dismounted the Fairy Feather Beast, while Xiao Mian negotiated with the waiter not far away about feeding the horses with fruits and vegetables.
The waiter was quite experienced, as there were many merchants coming and going, and he had seen rich people and rich horses, but the only difference was that they only ate food, not grass.
I have never heard of horses not being able to eat grass and only eating fruits and vegetables.
It's not that the store doesn't have these, but he saw that the horses these people were riding were not rare, so he couldn't help but remind him: "If you eat that specifically, you will have diarrhea."
The disciples' uniforms and even their faces were slightly modified using an illusion array. They were no longer eye-catching in white. Each of them looked indistinguishable from the crowd and did not cause any shock.
Therefore, the waiter did not show them any special respect for the immortal king. In the end, the waiter agreed because they paid a lot of money. After they checked into the room and went upstairs, he kindly reminded them not to open the window at night, as the town had been uneasy recently and they should be careful not to be harassed by the night crybaby.
This was the first request for help from a mortal that they had to deal with after leaving their sect.
The new disciples were all very excited. There were more than fifty of them in the group. They gathered in You Zishu's house at night to listen to him describe the person who went to Taichu Mountain to seek help from this town.
"This crying boy has not hurt anyone yet. He is a child who drowned two years ago in a family in the east end of Letan Town. His nickname is Erlang."
You Zishu's voice was indifferent, and his face was still as dead as ever.
"Everyone, take a rest tonight. You can go out and investigate separately tomorrow. But remember, if you encounter this night cry boy, you must not act on your own. This night cry boy will not hurt anyone, but will go to every window in the city and call for mother. It is not a ghost, but the condensed resentment of a child, which is very easy to enter the body and difficult to get rid of."
You Zishu said: "After we gather information tomorrow, we will gather here again after noon to exchange clues and make plans."
No one among the crowd had any objection, and everyone went back to their rooms to rest. If they were hungry, they would order some food and ask the waiter to bring it up, or they could eat in the lobby downstairs. It would also be nice to ask for information from some mortals who had not yet returned to their rooms.
Leng Mushi had no interest in going downstairs. She hadn't been out for a long time. Now she felt that the fireworks and mortals in this town gave her a familiar yet unfamiliar feeling.
In just one year, she already felt unfamiliar with this earthly life.
But it was almost nightfall and she had no desire to go out, so she returned to her room. Before she could even sit on the chair, there was a knock on the door.
Xiao Mian stood at the door and raised his hand to call her: "I see there is a persimmon tree in the backyard. You have eaten a lot of dry food during the day, so you must not be hungry. I will take you to pick persimmons. I asked the waiter and he said we can pick them."
He gave the waiter some money before being allowed to pick the fruits.
He was smart enough not to pick it back directly, but took the opportunity to interact with Leng Mushi. This was the experience he summed up during their time as "brothers".
Interact as much as possible. When you really can't express your regret anymore, do things well and give her surprises. Let her get used to getting close to you, then take the initiative to get close to you. In the end, you will miss him when you can't see him anymore.
Xiao Mian has been doing a good job. Leng Mushi sometimes feels that they are too good to each other, a little beyond brothers. But every time she shows a little sign, Xiao Mian remains the same, without any awkwardness. Leng Mushi feels that she is overthinking.
As time went by, she loved interacting with him more and more. She followed him everywhere and went to see new things, all as a way to relax herself while refining the elixir.
It can be said that apart from the time she was refining the elixir, and excluding the time she spent going to the toilet, taking a bath, and sleeping, Leng Mushi was basically with Xiao Mian.
Xiao Mian was still waiting for Leng Mushi's decision at the door. Leng Mushi glanced at the sky and said, "It's almost dark. What should I do if Ye Kulang pesters me?"
"Let's go quickly and come back quickly," Xiao Mian said, "If you're scared at night..."
He paused, cleared his throat, and said, "You can also come and live with me."
Leng Mushi looked at him, and he immediately said, "You sleep on the bed, and I'll just meditate."
Leng Mushi smiled and shook her head. Xiao Mian came into the house when he saw that she was relaxed. He naturally took her hand, closed the door, and quickly led Leng Mushi to the backyard. "Hurry up, I saw a big one on the top of the tree. The waiter said that he would pick it down and feed it to the Fairy Feather Beast."
Leng Mushi and Xiao Mian started running. The two of them passed through the hall. Many disciples who were eating and ordinary people in the mortal world looked over when they heard the sound, but they had already passed through the hall and into the backyard.
The wind created by the skirt blew up something as it went out the door.
The sky turned completely dark at this moment, and those fluffy little things that emitted light flew around the two people like living fireflies.
Xiao Mian drew his sword again and drew a big circle in the backyard, hula-la-la—
There are countless of them, like millions of scattered spiritual threads, and the entire small world in the backyard is filled with this fluffy light.
Even though Leng Mushi was not very girly, she couldn't help but be shocked by this scene.
She reached out to touch it, and relaxed for once in her tense state, thinking only of refining the elixir. She smiled and said, "It's so beautiful..."
Xiao Mian let out a sigh of relief, a tender smile on his lips, his eyes even gentler than the glowing plush in the sky, and he thought the timing was just right.
The author has something to say: Xiao Mian: Happy New Year’s Eve!
Shishi: Happy New Year’s Eve, would you like a pill of bliss
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Happy New Year's Eve, my dears! May you have this day every year!