Under the moonlight, Feng Rugu walked swiftly through the forest.

But with his current mortal body, after wandering the streets for so long and climbing up and down the mountain, he quickly became too tired to walk.

Since he was tired, he sat on the mountain steps covered in night dew, rested his hands on his knees, and panted for a while before shouting at the full moon in the sky, "Hey, come out."

Fifty steps away under a tree, a cold and clear figure in a white and gold monk's robe flashed out.

Ruyi stepped on the moonlight silently, arriving three steps behind him on the steps, and stopped, maintaining a distance, neither humble nor arrogant.

He had been following behind Feng Rugu since he left the Qingqiu Pavilion.

Protecting Feng Rugu was something Chang Boning had instructed him to do, so he naturally had to carry it out seriously.

Moreover, Ruyi had a guess in his heart that he urgently needed to verify in private.

Feng Rugu could be considered Ruyi's half-elder, but he was exhausted and had no trace of an elder's demeanor. He sat on the stone steps going down the mountain, slightly panting, his head covered in dew.

Ruyi lowered his eyes and stood quietly by his side.

Feng Rugu took him wandering around everywhere, picking remote mountain paths to go up the mountain to look for Lian Ruxin, and then aimlessly circled the mountain after that demon cultivator left, making Ruyi realize that Feng Rugu's purpose was not simple.

...He was doing it so that he wouldn't have the chance to kill the demon cultivator Yi Shangchen.

In some ways, Feng Rugu's guess was not entirely wrong.

Ruyi knew that Yi Shangchen had not done evil, however, Yi Shangchen was young and frivolous, was harmed by others, died once, and had a hard time coming back to life. The person he loved also abandoned him. After all that, even if this person's temperament wasn't completely twisted, it would still change greatly. It would be difficult to predict what he would do in the future, so it was better to eliminate him early and remove a scourge.

Eliminating demons was the duty of the righteous path nowadays.

And the Buddhist cultivator Ruyi, with his bodhi appearance and vajra heart, took eliminating demons as his own responsibility, which was known to all.

But Feng Rugu still guessed wrong.

...Today, Ruyi came out just to follow him and protect him.

The previous day at the battle in Qingqiu Pavilion, Ruyi saw Feng Rugu's body full of old wounds.

Because he saw this scene, Ruyi even somewhat understood Chang Boning's special tolerance and love for Feng Rugu.

After all, anyone who saw his knife wounds would probably think that Feng Rugu had suffered enough in this life and shouldn't suffer any more harm.

So, tonight, Ruyi just wanted him to wander around the market at ease and relax a bit.

When he discovered that Feng Rugu intentionally led him around, in order to let that resurrected demon cultivator leave this place early, Ruyi wanted to remind him that it was unnecessary.

However, Ruyi thought about it and didn't say anything more.

After all, he was practicing a vow of silence and it was inconvenient for him to speak.

Moreover, seeing the pampered Feng Rugu, who hadn't exercised in a long time, walking and panting, was also quite interesting.

Now that he was willing to call him out, he probably felt that the demon cultivator had gone far away and he could relax.

Ruyi quietly watched his shoulders rise and fall as he panted, and for once, his mood was a bit more relaxed.

After finally catching his breath, Feng Rugu turned his head back and smiled brightly, while reaching out his hand to Ruyi, indicating for him to pull him up.

However, Ruyi seemed to have misunderstood. He stepped forward a few steps, squatted down, and turned his back to him.

This respectful action, he did it with a calm expression, as if it was the most natural thing.

Feng Rugu was stunned for a moment, but was happy to take it easy. He placed a hand on Ruyi's shoulder, jumped onto his back, and turned to look at the monk's expressionless face, his own expression lively.

Ruyi pointed down the mountain, indicating if he wanted to go back.

Feng Rugu thought for a moment, "Go back. But I want to eat spring rolls."

That word "rolls" was dragged out very nicely, lazy and naturally coquettish.

Ruyi didn't say anything, just nodded slightly and stepped towards the market at the foot of the mountain.

With the lost souls in the city found, Lian Ruxin disappeared from the world, and the man in black gone without a trace, their investigation in Shuisheng City came to an end for now.

At least, Ruyi could now report back to Hanshan Temple the causes and consequences of the disciples' inexplicable deaths.

Now, the most important thing for Ruyi was to capture the man in black and kill him to avenge the deceased.

Also...

Ruyi gently stroked the red thread on his little finger, closed his eyes and concentrated, blocking out all the miscellaneous sounds such as the cicadas in the mountains and the elegant music below the mountain, trying to discern Feng Rugu's heartbeat rhythm.

He was willing to carry Feng Rugu on his back, also to get closer to him in a natural state, in order to get an answer.

Although he himself felt that his behavior was absurdly outrageous.

His adoptive father and Feng Rugu were two people who should never have crossed paths.

When Ruyi was young, his adoptive father carried him across mountains and seas. His father could still be in high spirits after practicing with a sword for a whole day, and he could ride the wind and waves to see the Qiantang River tidal bore, traveling for three days without showing fatigue.

His adoptive father loved to listen to music and once admired the name of a famous zither player. He went to the capital and offered a hundred gold, but learned that the zither player's personal Jiao Wei ancient zither happened to have been sent for maintenance the day before.

The zither player was quite proud, and at his adoptive father's request, she declared that except for the Jiao Wei ancient zither, she would not touch any other strings.

The Jiao Wei ancient zither was made by a famous craftsman a hundred years ago. There were only two of them. One was owned by this zither player, and the other was kept in the mansion of a prince who was very favored by the current emperor.

Upon hearing this, his adoptive father left in the moonlight, entered the prince's mansion at night, and stole the other zither.

His adoptive father, who returned with the zither in his arms, smiled and asked the beauty to play.

The zither player was not only unafraid, but instead fell in love with his adoptive father's free and easy manner. She played three songs and did not charge a cent.

After the three songs, his adoptive father's interest waned. He returned with the zither, returned it to its original owner, left a hundred gold as a reward for the songs, and left with a flourish.

In the four years Ruyi spent with him, his adoptive father had truly traveled the world.

His adoptive father sometimes acted beyond propriety, going freely with his heart. Although he had the reputation of a gentleman, he was actually quite unrestrained inside.

Ruyi believed that ten years could grind a not very steady and high-spirited young man into a calm and gentle upright gentleman who was good at dealing with people, but he could not believe that he would allow himself to become so lazy, so lazy that climbing a small mountain would make him pant like an ox.

Just like now, as long as no one talked to him, Feng Rugu would quickly fall asleep on his back.

With Feng Rugu napping, it was more convenient for Ruyi to conduct his test and end his unfounded speculation.

But Feng Rugu had the Seven Flowers Seal protecting his body, guarding his meridians within and setting up a barrier. Relying solely on hearing, with so much noise interference, Ruyi found it difficult to discern the heart rate clearly.

For Ruyi, this was a matter of utmost caution, so he dared not make rash judgments. He picked a clean, large rock and gently placed Feng Rugu on it. He then extended the hand tied with the heartstring into Feng Rugu's bosom, trying to test if his heartbeat matched the pulsation on his little finger.

... Unexpectedly, a sudden change occurred.

He didn't know what he touched, but a numbing sensation suddenly assailed his fingertips. Before he could react, it climbed along his meridians and blood flow at an extremely fast speed. Ruyi didn't have time to respond, only seeing a flash of blue light on his right forearm, and then a strange burning sensation in his heart.

His face changed slightly. He turned around, half undoing his monk robe, and checked the situation on his chest under the moonlight.

A blue Sanskrit character was branded over his heart, neither painful nor itchy, but indelible.

Ruyi pressed his thin lips tightly together.

This was a sign of his distress.

Was this the heart-protecting technique set up by Feng Rugu, or...