That night, I hurried to the main peak of Dust Ji Mountain.
I reported Zhiyan's name at the front hall of The Hall of No Evil, and the guards took me to a side hall. It seems that Moqing had already given them instructions.
When he said, "If she enters your dreams again, report to me," he wasn't just speaking empty words.
I was quite smug. Moqing must be itching with hatred, fearing that one day I would return to seize his position and wealth, just as he had done to me before.
I sat in the side hall for a while and no one came, so I stood up and looked around.
The side hall next to the Wuyidian was pretty much the same as before, the treasures were still there, the grandeur was still there, the fierce demons on the beams and pillars, the coiling nine-headed snakes around the pillars, and the skull on the top of the lamp all created a solemn and evil atmosphere.
The style of the Wuyimen when I was present.
Amidst this atmosphere, I felt as if I were still alive, holding the power of life and death, living a luxurious life that made all the people tremble.
I sat on the chair, leaned back, closed my eyes, and thought of the past...
A crisp sound of "dū" came from the main hall nearby. Huh, there's still someone in the main hall at this time? I was curious and quietly walked over, leaned against the door, and listened to the suppressed anger of an old voice on the other side, saying:
"The Lord's actions are increasingly contrary to the Wuyimen's principles."
His voice echoed in the empty hall, but it stirred up a myriad of waves in my heart. Yes! Yes! I didn't expect there to be such a vigilant person in our Wuyimen!
I felt that listening from behind the wall was not satisfying enough for me, so I opened the door a crack and peeked outside, wanting to see which old hero was speaking.
However, from my angle, the first thing I saw was above the main hall, Mo Qing sitting on the divine dragon chair. He had no expression, looking as serious as a deity in the hall. Completely different from him who used to always hide himself under a huge cloak for years.
His current posture was also completely different from my previous postures on that big chair.
Now, he looked more like the painting of that ancient demon king passed down a thousand years ago, silent and solemn, with a power that was not angry but authoritative.
I smirked, unwillingly admitting in my heart that Mo Qing did inherit the bloodline of that lineage, and now, with his grooming and dressing, he didn’t fall short of the title of the son of the demon king.
At this moment, there was no one else in the hall, only an old man with white hair standing below him. The old man leaned on a green steel crutch. The sound from earlier must have been caused by the movement of the crutch on the ground.
Though I only saw his back, I recognized this old man.
I have thousands of Wuyimen disciples, and I oversee countless branches throughout the world. I cannot handle it all by myself. Therefore, I have appointed four mountain masters under the Lord of the Gate, representing the east, south, west, and north. This old man is Yuan Jie, who I appointed as the North Mountain Master during my tenure.
He was stubborn, sinister, and extremely hateful of the immortal sects.
Before joining the Wuyimen, his whole family was killed by the immortal sects. Since then, he has been dedicated to practicing the demon arts and killing any cultivators he encountered. There used to be sayings like "Rather face a road full of bandits than the North Mountain Master" circulating in the immortal sects. He used to be one of my capable subordinates. Whenever there were ignorant immortal sects causing trouble, sending him to deal with them would always be effective.
However, because of his excessively stubborn and eccentric character, I never had a close relationship with him.
It’s understandable. In the current Wuyimen under new leadership, aside from such a stubborn person, who else would oppose the Lord's opinions.
Yuan Jie hoarsely said, "Before, the facade at the mountain gate was just a formality, which did not matter…”
Oh, you old man, saying this would make me unhappy. How could it be just a formality, it's a symbol! It's spiritual!
"Now, that new mountain, Jiang Wu, is a trouble. It needs to be eliminated. Regardless, the Wuyimen must not join forces with the Qianchen Ge at any cost!"
I raised my eyebrows. I haven't heard of this new mountain, Jiang Wu, but I think he must have emerged in recent years. However, I do know the Qianchen Ge.
Similar to the Jianxinmen, the Qianchen Ge is one of the top ten immortal sects. They also contributed to the battle at the Sword Tomb back then. However, because their contribution was not as conspicuous as the Jianxinmen’s, I didn't have much of an impression of them. But now, mentioning it, instead of holding grudges, what I remember more is their sect leader, Qinxian, who is a world-renowned beauty.
Moreover, he is not only beautiful, but he is also beautiful without a gender.
The Buddha's path cultivated by the Qianchen Pavilion has no distinction between men and women in its practice. Both men and women can practice it, and upon entering, gender begins to blur. The deeper the practice, the more ambiguous the gender becomes, resembling the legendary Bodhisattva. And this Qin Qianxian is probably the most Bodhisattva-like person in the world.
Therefore, his beauty is appealing to both men and women.
I still remember the first time I heard about the beauty of Qin Qianxian. I even caught and imprisoned him in a dungeon, watching him all night, which was truly satisfying. Now thinking back, I still have a bit of an itch, it wouldn't be bad to have the chance to take another look at him.
"The New Mountain is located at the border of the two forces of immortals and demons."
The voice of Mo Qing brought back my wandering thoughts. He coldly said, "Jiang Wu and others have been taking advantage of the conflicts between our two forces for a long time. Now, joining forces with the Qianchen Pavilion, not only can we quickly eliminate this threat, but also we will not be vulnerable from both sides. Isn't this appropriate?"
Listening to Mo Qing, I also felt that there was nothing inappropriate.
My principle is to keep things simple, convenient, and fast. Whether or not to join forces with the immortal sect is not important. What matters is that we want to get rid of this group of people, and in the end, this group of people will be eliminated quickly.
I nodded and decided, "Yes, this matter is settled."
"Master!"
"Enough, this matter has been settled," Mo Qing interrupted him.
At this moment, I also sighed sadly. The person who made the final decision today in this sect is no longer me... I hadn't finished sighing when I suddenly felt a surge of killing intent in front of the hall.
Looking forward, I saw Yuan Jie staring at me with a fierce look in his eyes.
Just when his proposal had been rejected by Mo Qing, he was infuriated. When our eyes met, I saw a sharp flash of killing intent in his hawk-like eyes.
"Who's here!"
As his voice fell, an invisible blade of energy struck, startling me. Just as I was about to dodge, Zhiyan's body proved to be uncooperative! Under the overwhelming pressure, all of her muscles stiffened, and I couldn't move!
The energy blade instantly reached me, and I thought, "This is it. I don't have to worry about paper money or my body anymore. I can hold hands with Zhiyan and play ghost-catching games by the green grave in the future."
But just then, the energy blade collided with some kind of barrier in front of me, emitting a loud impact that made me take two steps back. The huge stone door of the side hall outside the barrier had been reduced to dust.
Mo Qing waved his hand, and the guards who had heard the commotion rushed into the hall. Without any emotion on his face, he said, "The North Mountain Master has gone too far." He glanced at me, then looked at Yuan Jie, "It was just a report from my informant."
"I confess my sin."
Hmph, confessing your sin? I still don't know the true colors of you guys. This old man is just venting his anger after being humiliated by Mo Qing, taking it out on me.
Mo Qing didn't punish him, and Yuan Jie bowed and left. The sound of his footsteps with the jade steel cane rang out as he left the main hall. He glanced at me as he left, and I continued to stare at him without avoiding it.
He let out a contemptuous cold snort and then left the main hall.
I raised an eyebrow, suddenly remembering that the body I was using now was a cultivator's body. I sneered, remembering his words about Mo Qing defying the original intentions of the sect. I decided to overlook his offense and not confront him.
Just as I was staring at Yuan Jie leaving, I heard Mo Qing's voice from behind, "You're courageous at night." I turned around, only to see that Mo Qing had already entered the side hall at some point, standing three steps away from me with his hands behind his back. He glanced at me and said, "Waiting for you in the side hall, why don't you follow the rules as you did during the day?"
I casually made up a reason: "It's a matter of respect when visiting the grave during the day..."
"Oh," he responded, but in the blink of an eye, a dark shadow swiftly passed by, and the next moment, he stood in front of me, close at hand.
I looked up at him, puzzled.
I saw Zhiyan's face reflected clearly in his black pupils, "Are you not as afraid of me as in the daylight?"
He doubted me, but I couldn't panic or act disorderly. The more chaotic and nervous I was, the easier it would be to reveal flaws. So, I calmly responded to his suspicion, "Master, I must have been scared silly."
Mo Qing: "..."
The side hall fell into silence for a moment. I cleared my throat, not wanting him to continue thinking deeply, "Master, I took a nap earlier and dreamed of Luzhaoyao again."
"Alright." He turned around, walked to a nearby chair, and sat down, not as imposing as he had been in the main hall just now. He fiddled with something in his hand, "How was she in the dream?"
I made up some random nonsense, "Nothing much, just standing. But master, I don't think it's a good idea to let her keep appearing in my dreams." I approached Mo Qing step by step, "She is hidden, you are in the light, no matter what you do, you are at a disadvantage. Why don't we find her first?"
Mo Qing looked at me with a evaluating expression, "Can you find her?"
"Not at the moment." I slowly sat down in the chair next to Mo Qing, with only a square table between us. I leaned in, trying to make my breath touch Mo Qing's temples, "But if I had some books to refer to, perhaps I could find a way from our predecessors."
I firmly believed that Mo Qing had a fondness for Zhiyan's body, otherwise, he wouldn't have let me trick him so easily twice before.
But as I got closer to his cheek, an invisible wall separated us, and I ended up looking rather awkward, so I reluctantly moved back.
He didn't look at me, just focused on playing with the thing in his hand, "Tell me, how was she standing there, what was her expression and posture like?"
Mo Qing, this odd fellow, was so strange that I couldn't understand why he cared about such specific details. I turned my brain and said, "She was... floating in midair, with no expression."
"Didn't she ask you to burn paper money?"
"Yes... she did."
"Did she complain about the amount of money being too little? Didn't she ask to continue? What about tomorrow? Won't she burn more?"
Yes... the money was too little, and it was literally a matter of life and death. Tomorrow, I must find a way to make someone burn paper for me. Not burning was absolutely not an option! I answered, feeling sorrowful in my heart. As I looked up, I saw Mo Qing staring directly into my eyes...
Suddenly, I remembered a long time ago, when I hadn't established the Wan Lu Sect yet. I had just run out of Chenji Mountain and accidentally saved the little boy Mo Qing. I traveled with him, and he had always been silent, wearing a much larger black cloak that covered his face, unwilling to reveal himself easily.
But one evening, I got drunk and stayed in an inn at the foot of Chenji Mountain. I woke up in a daze at night, wanting to get some water. A small hand lifted my head and brought the water to my lips.
I saw his face, covered in bruises, frighteningly terrifying.
He noticed me staring at him, didn't finish delivering the water, and urgently tried to withdraw his hand. In his haste, the bowl broke, and the water spilled. He silently shrank to the side, frantically covering his face.
But I didn't remember the shape of the marks on his face, only his eyes: "Like they were filled with bright stars."
At that time, it seemed like... I had described it this way.
This scene had long been stored and covered in dust in my memory, until I saw him now, the dust of memory was lifted and shook off, and suddenly became clear.
I shrank back and unconsciously avoided his gaze...
In a daze, there was a kind of illusion, as if his overly clear eyes had seen my soul.