This time they kept traveling until their horses were tired, and finally arrived at a town after nightfall.
When Leng Mushi saw Painted Skin Fenlian again, the situation was very different from before. The reason why Fenlian became a great demon this time was not because she devoured the enemy who wiped out her entire family, but because Leng Mushi found a demon pill for her, which made her a great demon, and signed a mount contract with her.
So now she was ordered to wait here, in the Painted Skin Inn that had hosted them yesterday.
Leng Mushi, Xiao Mian and the others walked in, took a look at the Painted Skin shopkeeper, whose eyebrows and nose were not painted well but who was trying his best to look kind, then lowered his head and rubbed his eyebrows with his hand, finding it a little funny.
This time she did not raise any alarm, and no one noticed anything unusual. They stayed comfortably for one night, and when they set out on the next day, they met Fen Lian who was also preparing to go to Taichu Mountain to become a disciple. Taichu Mountain has never discriminated against demon cultivators, and the third elder's true form is a peacock.
So the number of people traveling together became six, and they successfully reached the town at the foot of Taichu Mountain. Because they arrived after sunset, they were blocked outside by the Cangsheng Formation and had to stay in the town.
The town here is still as prosperous as any imperial capital on earth, and it is peaceful and joyful, with doors left open at night. Leng Mushi settled Leng Tianyin down at night, then knocked on the door and asked Xiao Mian to go shopping.
"I need to meditate, so you can't bring worldly things into the inner sect of Taichu Mountain. After you become my disciple, I will distribute disciple clothes and daily necessities. You don't need to buy anything."
Xiao Mian had been avoiding Leng Mushi intentionally or unintentionally all the way. At this moment, he opened the door a little and rejected Leng Mushi righteously.
Leng Mushi smiled and put her foot into the crack of the door to prevent Xiao Mian from closing it, saying, "But the hairpin I liked is gone. It was thrown in the woods."
Leng Mushi said: "Vulgar things cannot be brought into the inner gate, but it is no problem for the outer gate. With my qualifications, I definitely cannot enter the inner gate. I am just here to accompany my sister. It doesn't matter whether I enter or not."
Those who come to become disciples all aspire to enter the inner gate. Even if they are temporarily in the outer gate due to their spiritual roots and state of mind, they will still practice very hard and arduously, and even try various unconventional methods, all with the same goal of entering the inner gate.
Leng Mushi actually said that it didn't matter whether she entered the inner gate or not. Xiao Mian couldn't help but think of the young man who chased after her with his servants after she left home.
The young master liked her so much, so it didn't matter if she didn't enter the inner sect. She could just go back home and find a good marriage partner waiting for her...
Then Xiao Mian followed Leng Mushi out shopping.
While shopping, he was wondering why he came out. He watched Leng Mushi looking around at things at the stalls in the night market, as lively as a restless little fox.
From time to time she turned to him with a smile on her face and asked him if he liked it and whether it looked good.
Xiao Mian kept a stern face the whole time, and convinced himself in his heart that he was worried about Leng Mushi's safety, and he had to bring her back to the sect safely as instructed by his master, and all this was for the mission.
That's it, yes.
The two of them happily strolled around the night market. In the end, Xiao Mian's expression softened and he followed Leng Mushi to look at the stalls one by one.
He had not cared about these mundane things for many years, but now, looking at the many ingenious little locks, he actually found them quite interesting.
Finally, under Leng Mushi's coquettish attack, Xiao Mian bought her a lantern with red ears.
It was in the shape of a celestial disk used by the Yan clan. Xiao Mian also bought her one in her previous life, but Leng Mushi burned it before she even mentioned it for a while.
This time she was full of joy as she carried the lantern back with Xiao Mian. Xiao Mian looked at the flickering candlelight in the lantern and felt his eyes almost burned. He quickly returned to his room and spent the whole night meditating and regulating his breathing.
He felt like he was possessed by a demon.
Then the next day, after the formation of Cangsheng Academy was opened, they returned to the sect. Leng Mushi and the others were assigned to Feihe Academy, just like last time.
But this time Leng Mushi and Leng Tianyin lived in the same room, and she also brought Fenlian with her, making it a triple room for three people.
Of course, Fenlian was brought in to serve Leng Tianyin.
Leng Tianyin fell asleep at night. Leng Mushi washed and dressed, preparing to block Xiao Mian on the way to where his disciples were after their evening classes.
Of course, people in Feihe Court are not allowed to go out at night, but there is no place in the world that can stop Leng Mushi.
Watching her standing in front of the mirror and looking at herself for a long while, Fen Lian couldn't help but say, "Are you going to pursue Xiao Mian?"
"Yes," Leng Mushi hung the last white jade pendant on her neck, which was slender against her neck. The front of her clothes was slightly spread out, revealing a bit of the beautiful scenery. This was not the alternate disciple uniform of Feihe Academy, but the mortal female uniform that Leng Mushi wore.
Fenlian didn't know what to say and kept clicking her tongue. Leng Mushi had already brought back her previous memories. Her purpose of going up the mountain this time was very clear. She wanted to become a disciple of the Third Elder, become Xiaomei's junior sister, stay with him, and be a good cultivator.
“Tsk tsk tsk…”
"You are a Heavenly Sovereign, why do you have to do this? He will like you sooner or later anyway. Why don't you strive to become the Second Elder's disciple this time?"
Leng Mushi finally dipped her fingers in water and straightened her sideburns. She looked back at Fenlian in surprise, "Why should I become her disciple? A few years ago, I stopped her from seeing the future and becoming possessed by the devil. So now her body and soul are still alive, and she no longer needs to rely on Xuanzhu to live. She relies on Xuanzhu all day long, being ambiguous and sticky with each other. Why should I go to Cangshengyuan to get involved?"
"Besides, I want to learn alchemy from her?" Leng Mushi chuckled, "I can make her alchemy."
Fenlian moved her lips, but this time she said nothing. She was always eloquent, but she couldn't express her feelings.
Until now, she still finds it difficult to regard Leng Mushi as a Heavenly Sovereign.
Who could have imagined that the incarnation of the Lord of Heaven was not as imagined, but a genius with an extraordinary appearance.
In many people’s minds, the incarnation of the Lord of Heaven should be an unattainable and cold immortal king who cares about the world and is benevolent.
This seems to be in line with the common sense in those storybooks.
But Fenlian couldn't explain why it was wrong. After all, why couldn't the Heavenly Monarch be a little girl who was also trapped by love? Why couldn't he be a person with both good and evil, or even not pure good...
It was rare for Fen Lian to think deeply, but before she could figure out any truth, Leng Mushi had quietly blended into the night.
Fenlian sat in front of the window, looking at the night view of Taichu Mountain across Feihe Courtyard, and felt that there was nothing wrong with a Heavenly Monarch like Leng Mushi.
In the end, she gave everyone and herself a chance to choose again. She still loved her people and Xiao Mian among them.
Fen Lian does not have Leng Mushi's ability to hide in the night and merge with the world, so even though she can't wait to see Xiaomei, she cannot leave Feihe Courtyard, otherwise she will trigger the restriction.
She muttered in dissatisfaction, "It's useless to be the mount of the Emperor of Heaven," and went to bed.
At this time, Leng Mushi was already waiting on the stone steps that Xiao Mian had to pass through, dressed in a gorgeous manner. She took out some food from the Five Grains Hall and was waiting for Xiao Mian with the food box.
The disciples dispersed. Xiao Mian usually went back and forth to the disciple courtyard alone, which was convenient for Leng Mushi, otherwise she would have confused the disciples who were with Xiao Mian.
"Brother Xiao." Seeing that there was no one on the long steps, Leng Mushi suddenly jumped out with a food box, scaring Xiao Mian so much that he shivered.
Xiao Mian swore that he hadn't noticed anything unusual before. Although his cultivation was not very high, he was not so bad that he couldn't even notice a person standing in the dark. He was really scared.
Therefore, before he could even see Leng Mushi, the Shuiyun Sword was unsheathed and pointed directly at Leng Mushi's face.
Leng Mushi didn't dodge or evade, with a happy smile on her face, "I made some food, you must be hungry since you have been in class so late!"
Xiao Mian put away the Shuiyun Sword in time and asked sternly, "How did you get out of Feihe Academy? Candidate disciples are not allowed to leave Feihe Academy! Who let you out?"
Leng Mushi shrank her neck when she was yelled at, and her little face turned pale. Then, tears started to flow down her cheeks as if they were in her pocket.
She bit her lip, "Wu, I... I, I just miss you and want to see you, why are you so fierce, I'll just go back!"
Then she turned around and ran away with the lunch box. Xiao Mian had already panicked when she cried. He had never made a girl cry like this before.
So he subconsciously chased after her. Leng Mushi was not running fast. There were tears in her eyes and a smile on her lips. She was counting, but before she counted to ten, Xiao Mian really grabbed her arm.
Then after some pulling and tugging, the two of them arrived at a secret cliff that Leng Mushi had been looking for, which was the place where they had tested medicine together many times in their previous life.
Xiao Mian regretted coming here with her, but he really couldn't stand Leng Mushi crying. Whenever she cried, his heart felt like it was being torn apart.
It didn't really hurt, but he suddenly felt the pain there.
He had no choice but to give in step by step. He should have punished her for leaving Feihe Court without permission, but in the end he had a secret meeting with her in this remote place...
For Xiao Mian, who has always followed the rules, this is really... indescribable.
Leng Mushi pulled him to sit down, and when she stuffed snacks into his mouth, he suddenly realized that he was indeed hungry. Although he was not fasting, he did not need to eat frequently, otherwise he would always have to take the purifying pill.
Therefore, he usually ignored his hunger, but at this moment, the food brought by Leng Mushi aroused his appetite.
He was only nineteen years old, which in the mortal world would be the age when a man could eat the most. Therefore, Leng Mushi only stuffed him with food once, and he ate the rest by himself.
It was Leng Mushi who was talking and asking questions the whole time, pretending to be a newbie and asking curious questions. Xiao Mian, being grateful for the favor, answered patiently.
He even said, "Since Master ordered me to take you sisters back to the inner sect, he will naturally take care of you and may even accept you two as disciples. Don't give up on yourself and don't take the risk of leaving Feihe Court again. Otherwise, if you are found not to guard the mountain and return, you will not even be able to be an outer sect disciple."
Leng Mushi sat next to him, a lunch box away from him. She was afraid that if she got too close she might scare Xiao Mian away, but there was no problem talking to him.
Xiao Mian suggested seriously, and Leng Mushi also asked seriously: "Then...what should I do if I miss you and want to see you?"
Xiao Mian froze. Leng Mushi pushed the food box aside and grabbed Xiao Mian's hand that was pressed to the ground. "Please, don't tell me that I have to wait for a month for the Immortal Gate test before I can see you. Brother Xiao, can't you see how much I like you? I will lose my appetite and starve to death in Feihe Courtyard."
Xiao Mian's ears were burning hot, and he shook off Leng Mushi's hand as if he was stung by a bee, stood up on the grass, and said coldly: "Don't talk nonsense, I will send you back to Feihe Courtyard now. You have to tell me who let you out, and you are not allowed to do anything privately again..."
Before he could finish his words, Leng Mushi had already climbed up from the ground and hugged his waist from behind, rubbing her arm against the most sensitive part of his waist.
Xiao Mian took a deep breath and nearly choked himself. Heat surged up on his face, and his back felt itchy and numb from the friction on his waist.
The author has something to say: Leng Mushi: I love you, brother.
Xiao Mian: ...Don't do this (heartbeat slows down)