Yin Ci finished dealing with Sun Huaijin and returned to his room through the corridor pavilion. The moonlight was elegant and the night breeze was warm. Not far away on the eaves, there were two figures and the swaying of a large goose could be vaguely seen. Yin Ci paused to look for a moment, then turned and walked towards Shi Jingzhi's room.

Now that they had spoken openly, he disdained putting on a special show for Sun Huaijin to see. Even though the Sun Manor always kept a dim light, Yin Ci was no longer accustomed to enduring the long nights alone.

But this time he came up empty - Shi Jingzhi's room was pitch black, with no pillow or luggage to be seen. The sect leader's thick skin was not ordinary, and the two had once again thought of the same thing.

Yin Ci pretended nothing was amiss and turned a corner, sauntering back to his own room.

Sure enough, Shi Jingzhi was leaning against the head of the bed, his head nodding, looking like he was about to fall asleep at any moment. The candlewick had not been trimmed for a while, and the flame was stretched long, casting a shimmering warm glow on Shi Jingzhi's long hair. Yin Ci walked softly to the bedside, and Shi Jingzhi sniffed, not even opening his eyes, and embraced him without any hesitation.

"Mm, you're back." He wrapped his arms tightly around Yin Ci's waist and mumbled. "What did the old man say?"

"We agreed to wait until it's done, and I'll personally go to propose." Yin Ci laughed and patted his back. "Alright, move over and make some room for me."

Shi Jingzhi was startled awake with excitement: "You're serious?"

Yin Ci: "..." The reactions of the old and young were really two extremes.

"I'm serious." He said helplessly, "First we'll see the lanterns, then pick an auspicious day for the banquet. When the time comes, bring the servants, invite Huaijin, and do whatever you want, alright?"

"Then I must live well until next year." Shi Jingzhi smiled with emotion.

But Yin Ci frowned: "The smell of blood on you is heavy, did you cough up blood again?"

"It's still the same as before, nothing to worry about."

Yin Ci's expression was not very good, and he took Shi Jingzhi's pulse for a while. The pulse was no different from when they first met - no matter how Shi Jingzhi's martial arts progressed day by day, and he learned magic meticulously. This person's physical condition had not improved at all, and was still slowly moving towards decline.

At first, Yin Ci didn't take it seriously, but now it felt like there were hot coals in his heart, burning intensely. The flesh and blood was right before his eyes, and it was a wonder that Shi Jingzhi could still make up his mind to investigate the Immortal Gathering.

"The first time I met Sun Huaijin, I only thought about how to use him. Tonight, when he showed the appearance of a full-fledged elder, I was a little happy."

As if sensing Yin Ci's worries, as soon as he lay down, Shi Jingzhi hugged him from behind. A few strands of true qi shot out with Shi Jingzhi's movements, and the flickering candle in the room was instantly extinguished, leaving only a room of moonlight.

Sect Leader Shi's tone was lazy, with a heavy sleepiness, sounding strangely sincere.

"To be honest, I really want to stay here for a few more days." Shi Jingzhi buried his face in Yin Ci's long hair, "To have friends who have suffered together, elders connected by blood, and a beloved one by my side... Since the day we parted in Gathering Valley, I have never felt so satisfied."

Yin Ci grasped Shi Jingzhi's hand that was hugging him.

That hand was warm and strong, and the embrace behind was incomparably warm. Yin Ci's fingertips brushed over Shi Jingzhi's fingers, slowly prying them open, and turned over: "You're quite easy to satisfy."

Since the day he witnessed the "true form", the two had connected their hearts, and Yin Ci had never had the heart to tease this person. At this moment, hearing Shi Jingzhi's coquettish words, a bitter taste welled up in his heart, and he just wanted to shift his thoughts away.

The moonlight was just right, perfect for an intimate moment.

Who knew that as soon as he turned to face Shi Jingzhi, Shi Jingzhi spoke with a serious face: "Does Ah Ci remember the 'Battle of Shafu'?"

Yin Ci's disrespectful hand froze under the covers and slowly withdrew: "...What?"

"The Battle of Shafu, the most famous battle when the country was founded. The Qituo people also got involved at that time, and the front line was stretched very long. It was all thanks to General Sun Wang's efforts to turn the tide."

Yin Ci couldn't figure out how the soft night talk had turned into a historical review. He calmly said: "The main altar of the Red Hook Sect is in Shafu. I was the Red Hook Sect Leader for so long, I have to know even if I don't know."

"Which month was the Battle of Shafu?"

It really turned into an exam! Yin Ci only felt that the development of this night was getting more and more strange: "May... no, June, right?"

Shi Jingzhi meaningfully said "Oh": "Why was Ah Ci's first reaction 'May'? No matter which book, the records of the Battle of Shafu are all in June. You're immortal, could it be that you've seen that battle?"

"I just remembered wrong. I probably didn't see the battle, it was just a slip of the tongue late at night." Indeed, whether it was folk tales or book records, the Battle of Shafu was in June. It's just that before he realized it, the answer "May" had come out of his mouth.

Living too long has this disadvantage - everything looks like you've seen it before, and you can't tell the difference between real and fake memories. After going back and forth, Yin Ci completely lost the mood to tease this person, and lay flat.

However, Sect Leader Shi did not give up: "In mid-June, the Battle of River Luan, Sun Wang led troops in River Luan. Shafu and River Luan are far apart, could Sun Wang have shuttled back and forth on an Arrow Horse?"

"Perhaps the records are wrong. When the country was founded, there were big and small battles every day. It's normal for the dates to be inaccurate after 300 years have passed." Yin Ci calmly said, "I know what you want to investigate. Most of my knowledge of leading troops comes from my experience as Su Zhi. Not to mention leading troops, I'm also quite good at embroidery. Does Shizun want to go investigate the embroidery workshop from when the country was founded?"

Shi Jingzhi had never known how to follow this person's momentum. He sat up and continued to look at Yin Ci: "You don't seem to like talking about leading troops and fighting battles."

"I've investigated it myself before, with no results. Let's talk about the rest tomorrow, go to sleep."

There were countless illusions, and the "delusions" related to "leading troops" had the most inexplicable and desperate endings. When the Immortal Gathering was investigated, everything would have an answer. There was no need for them to be in a hurry.

As a result, the little fox's face got closer and closer: "I just found a book-"

This kid was endless.

Yin Ci took a deep breath, pushed Shi Jingzhi to the side, then hugged him tightly in a warning manner: "Save the trivial topics for the road to Shafu. You just coughed up a lot of blood, so you'd better rest early..."

With this hug, it was not a big deal. He hugged Shi Jingzhi tightly, and the little physical change did not escape Yin Ci's eyes.

Yin Ci: "..."

People say that a moment of spring night is worth a thousand gold, and they talk about romance under the covers. But when it came to Sect Leader Shi, what came out of his mouth was the history of the founding of the country. No wonder he was talking non-stop just now, turned out he was trying to cover up his nervousness.

Yin Ci couldn't help but chuckle. He immediately bit Shi Jingzhi's ear and said, "So Master is so nervous. You used to talk about getting married all the time, but now you're shrinking back?"

Discussing history is always better than biting one's fingers. This kid has made quite some progress.

"Dustless Words can deal with carnal desires, but the current situation is more trying than all the carnal desires in my life combined. I'm afraid I can't control myself, and it won't be a pretty sight." Shi Jingzhi spoke earnestly.

Yin Ci shook his head and untied Shi Jingzhi's hair tie, letting his long hair cascade down the pillow and mat. The faint medicinal fragrance wafted out as Yin Ci propped himself up. "Why think so much? You can touch me. If you lose control and hurt me here, you'd have to have that ability—"

Knock, knock, knock.

Who would have thought that at this moment, the sound of a cane tapping on the ground could be heard from outside. The sound was not loud, sometimes far, sometimes near. It sounded like an anxious old man was pacing back and forth outside the door.

...Perhaps there really was a restless old man wandering outside.

Sun Huaijin may not have had any ill intentions. The old man had lived for over a hundred years and never imagined that the two would be so shameless. He was just filled with tangled emotions and had nowhere to vent, so he could only walk around the corridor and pavilion to relax.

The sound of the cane hitting the ground was like the sound of a wooden fish, and the amorous thoughts that had just arisen instantly turned into smoke from a Buddhist hall. In the end, they weren't thick-skinned enough to knowingly frighten others—even if Yin Ci had no taboos, he couldn't do something to someone else's junior in someone else's home, in front of others.

For the second time, he slowly retracted his hand, his heart as calm as an ancient well. Shi Jingzhi wrapped himself in the blanket, looking like a lifeless silkworm cocoon.

The light tapping sound persisted for a long time. The two glanced at each other in frustration and could only dress and tie their hair as usual, sleeping together as they normally would.

On the second day after Shen Zhu's return, the Ku Mountain Sect group was ready to set off.

The news Shen Zhu brought back was quite certain. Through some roundabout connections, she had secretly examined the bones of the Yan family's concubine. Yan Budu's nominal "birth mother" had actually never given birth at all. She also verified the scattered rumors in Qizhou—that Yan Budu was most likely a stolen royal bloodline.

"It is said that someone told the Yan family woman who entered the palace that her son's condition was special and that he would definitely not meet a good end if he remained in the palace. So she spent money to bribe the palace maids and servants, and exchanged her son for a stillborn." Shen Zhu sighed with some emotion. "But there is no hard evidence. The people in the palace at that time handled it very cleanly."

Who would have thought that this royal bloodline would be so romantic, spreading his branches and leaves at an extraordinary speed.

A thousand miles away.

"...Yan Budu was originally of royal blood." A person sighed softly. "With the court behind him, no wonder our sect wanted to exterminate them back then. What crime did the women and children commit?"

Shi Zhongyu tightly grasped the Reverse Yang Token in her hand.

The back of the Reverse Yang Token had a small opening and closing mechanism, with the words "Knowing shame, then courage" engraved on the outside of the lid. The inside was engraved with hidden text in tiny fly-head calligraphy, requiring careful examination to read. Rather than recording the secrets of Taiheng, it recorded the secrets that generations of Taiheng's high-level members most regretted and felt guilty about.

"Sister, your carriage is ready. You... you're dressed so preciously, are you still going to ride in our carriage? This carriage is very bumpy. Why not go ahead and rent one? Their wheels are wrapped in bamboo strips, making for a comfortable ride."

Shi Zhongyu had applied some light makeup and was not wearing her usual vigorous attire. She looked more like an ordinary woman from a merchant family than a female warrior of the jianghu. She smiled at the carriage driver. "Your family's carriage to Shafu is the fastest, right? I'm in a hurry to return home. Sorry to trouble you, big brother."

The carriage driver was stunned for a moment, then scratched his head in embarrassment. "Ah, sister, to be honest with you, the northwest has been quite unstable recently. You'd better stay in Yi City for a couple more months and go back when things have settled down... You're all alone, I'm just afraid you'll run into the Demon Sect."

"Don't worry, big brother."

Shi Zhongyu crawled into the pile of goods and slowly lowered the curtain.

The Taiheng caravan to Shafu would depart in a few days, using the fastest horse-drawn carriages and taking the most level trade routes. Only such lightly-equipped small merchant teams would not be left behind.

"...In the end, I don't know if I'll run into the 'Demon Sect' or the 'Righteous Sects'."

Author's Note:

Sun Huaijin's revenge (×

Shocking! The Ku Mountain Sect master and disciple failed to get on the carriage. How could this be!