The next morning, the weather was fairly clear.
Yun Mu woke up early, just as he always did.
He meditated as usual, tidied up his clothes as usual, and just as usual, after preparing breakfast for Eleven, he left the Peach Blossom Grove.
But today, the direction he headed was completely different from the previous days.
Normally, he ought to be continuing to temper his mind in the Huanjing.
Although Tu Shan Huaizhi was unable to create another Memory Illusion Realm for now, ordinary Huanjing were still no challenge for her.
Yet all of this was stopped by Tu Shan Yunxi.
As for the reason, this Empress did not say; she simply told him to get some proper rest.
After completing the last type of training in a few days, he could begin preparing to participate in the Jiebai Trial.
So, following the principle of balancing work and rest, and at the insistent suggestion of Tu Shan Huaizhi, he abandoned his original plan for rigorous cultivation and decided instead to go out with his little sister today to strengthen their bond.
“Hmm, here we are. Huai Zheng told me to wait for her here. Seeing how excited she was yesterday, she’s probably already decided where to go.”
Yun Mu stood at the entrance of the Peach Blossom Grove, leaning back slightly so that he rested against the branch of a peach tree.
In his hand, he held a Mo Zhu Longgun—a long staff of deep blackish green, its surface etched with intricate inscriptions.
He had found this treasure yesterday, idly rummaging through the Yu Zhu Bracelet.
Compared to the Qiankun Pouch that Eleven had given him, the Yu Zhu Bracelet did not hold many things.
It seemed that, to match the bracelet itself, everything inside was bamboo-related: a Mo Zhu Longgen, a Zhu Mu Folding Fan, a Qing Zhu Longjian, a Yu Zhu Flute, and a set of Yin Zhu Qingshan Attire—that was all.
“Return.”
With just one word, the long staff in his hand instantly vanished into smoke, turning into a wisp of green mist that spiraled around his wrist and flowed back into the storage space.
“Come.”
At his next call, the Mo Zhu Longgun reappeared in his hand just as it had before.
“As expected… much more convenient. Now I’ll never have to worry about losing my staff again.”
The corner of his mouth curled up in satisfaction.
Just as he was about to put the staff aside and see if he could store it without touching it, someone suddenly hugged him around the waist.
“Hehehe, guess who I am, Yun Mu little brother.”
A deliberately lowered voice sounded by his ear, yet the familiar scent of daisies drifted to his nose.
Adding in the soft swishing of a girl’s tail that couldn’t help wagging—gently brushing over his hand—he didn’t even need to think to know who it was—Tu Shan Huaizhi.
“Hm… My dear little brother, could it be that you’re my mischievous older sister?”
He decided to tease the girl.
“No, no, guess again! How could I be that… I’m definitely not her!”
The girl was a little flustered.
She hadn’t expected her act to be so convincing and hurried to raise her voice.
“Then… could it be Miss Luo Yi?”
“She’s already gone. How could I be her?”
At this, the girl couldn’t hold it in anymore.
She lifted her hands to cup his face, pouting with a touch of aggrievedness in her eyes, “Yun Mu gege, you’re not teasing Huaizhi on purpose, are you?”
“Ah, so it’s Huaizhi, my little sister! Good morning.”
“Mhm! Good morning! No—don’t change the subject. Tell me, were you just teasing me on purpose?”
“No, it’s just that your disguise was too perfect just now, so I didn’t guess it was you. Sorry.”
“Rea-lly?”
“Of course it’s true. In this world, what brother would ever lie to his sister?”
But… teasing my little sister a little, that shouldn’t be a problem, right?
The girl looked Yun Mu up and down, finally fixing her gaze on his face, pouting again.
“All right. But next time, you’re not allowed to do that. You have to guess it’s me right away.”
“I will, don’t worry.”
“If you guess some other woman again, I’ll be mad—so mad you won’t be able to coax me.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t guess anyone else.”
‘After all, I did it on purpose just now. Since she doesn’t like it, I won’t do it next time.’
“That’s good. Hehe.”
Satisfied with his answer, the girl let go of his waist and, like a magician, took a Douli out from her arms and put it straight on his head.
“Huaizhi… what’s this?”
“A Douli! Mother specially prepared them for us,” she said, putting one on herself as well.
“It’ll help us hide our true identities.”
“Hide our identities?”
“Mhm. After all, the place we’re going to is the Auction that the Gu Kingdom Academy holds every year, inside the Wanbao Trading House within the Academy’s jurisdiction. There’s no strict rule that you have to hide your identity, but most people do—unless, well, you have absolute strength and aren’t afraid that everyone in the continent will find out if you win a treasure… Otherwise, it’s best to be cautious.”
As she spoke, the girl glanced back at her tail.
Satisfied that it was no longer visible, she smiled brightly.
“An Auction? So… is it like those places in stories, where a group of people bid for a treasure, and whoever bids highest gets it?”
“Mhm! Exactly! Isn’t it exciting? In a dark room, fighting for a treasure with a bunch of strangers… just thinking about it is thrilling, right?”
“It does sound… exciting… Is that why you were so hyped up last night?”
“That’s part of the reason, yeah. Mainly, mother never took me before. This is my first time, so of course I’m excited… hmm…”
As Tu Shan Huaizhi spoke, her eyes darted up and down Yun Mu.
“Ah, so that’s what’s off—I found it!”
As if discovering a new continent, she undid the lopsided knot Yun Mu had tied himself, straightened his Douli, and tied a neat butterfly knot, nodding with satisfaction.
“Mhm… not bad… Let’s go. We can talk more on the artifact.”
She grabbed his hand and, skipping, pulled him onto a flying artifact, soaring up into the sky.
After that, besides the wind rushing past their ears, there was only the girl’s, “Waaah! Waaah! Waaah!” echoing around them.
Yun Mu could tell the girl was really enjoying the flight, so he didn’t ask anything right away.
Instead, he quietly summoned the Mo Zhu Longgun and put it back in storage, sitting silently and letting the cool breeze brush his face.
After about half an incense stick’s time, the girl finally realized she’d gotten a bit too excited.
Her cheeks flushed pink.
She shut her mouth, stood up, shuffled over to his side with little steps, and pretended to sit casually beside Yun Mu.
“Yun Mu gege, you must have something to ask me, right?”
She tried to sound serious.
“Quite a few things. Which one do you want to hear first?”
“Pfft, what’s that supposed to mean? Are you telling a story or asking questions?”
She broke character in a second.
“Sorry, maybe it’s the change in our relationship. I remember back home, there was a pair of twin siblings. The brother always interacted with his sister this way, so it just came out naturally…”
“It’s not the same! Our kind of siblings are different.”
“No worries, go ahead and ask. Huaizhi will answer everything.”
“All right, in that case, I won’t hold back…”
“Okay, stop! Wait! We’re almost there. If you have more questions, let’s talk later, Yun Mu gege, please, let Huaizhi catch her breath, okay?”
“Mhm, all right?”
The girl glanced at Yun Mu, then let out a long sigh of relief, pressing a hand to her chest.
‘Ahh… so embarrassing. I want to crawl into a hole…’
She never expected that, while trying to act like a knowledgeable girl in front of Yun Mu, she’d get stumped by so many questions.
At first, it was fine—he’d only asked about things she could answer, like Secret Realms or the Jiebei.
But later, when Yun Mu started asking about Star Power and Spirit Power, she was completely lost, mumbling for ages but unable to answer.
As a genius who’d cultivated purely by talent, the girl had never studied anything properly.
She only learned techniques that interested her; otherwise, she’d toss them aside.
As for abilities, she barely knew how they worked.
Star Power?
She hadn’t even figured out Spirit Power yet—how could she understand human stuff like that?
Luckily, the artifact was fast and the destination not too far away, so she managed to escape this ordeal.
Maybe I really should study cultivation properly…
Otherwise, Yun Mu gege might think I’m an ignoramus…
Uuu…
It was the first time she’d truly wanted to apply herself to cultivation.
She lowered her eyes toward the distance, consoled herself a bit, then perked up and regained her cheerful tone.
“Mhm! I see it now, Yun Mu gege, let’s go.”
At her words, Yun Mu suddenly lurched forward, and before he could right himself, the sensation of falling came over him.
After a few seconds, he was steady again.
“Today is a wonderful day~”
The girl’s gentle hum sounded by his ear.
She held his hand, and he instinctively stood and followed her down from the flying artifact.
The wind had vanished, replaced by the bustling noise of countless voices in the distance.
Feeling the warmth from the girl’s hand, Yun Mu’s lips curled in a faint smile.
On that journey, he’d learned quite a few things he’d wanted to know.
For instance, the girl in the Memory Illusion Realm had been an accident—she’d planned to enter as an outsider with only her memories, but was affected by his power and became an actual participant, even though she shouldn’t have existed there.
For example, he found out what item they were here to bid for at the Auction: a Stele Fragment related to a Secret Realm.
And he got a general sense of the Jiebai Trial content—though the girl’s explanation was vague, it was better than knowing nothing at all.
Hmm…
If only this girl could explain her own abilities more clearly.
Walking slowly forward, Yun Mu felt the cherry-blossom pink Spirit Power pulsing inside him, the corners of his lips lifting.
This power from Tu Shan Huaizhi had grown much livelier ever since he’d emerged from the Huanjing—much like Qin Luoyi’s had before.
Withdrawing his internal gaze, he reached up to adjust his Douli, and instead of expanding his senses outward, he simply let the bustling sounds flow into his mind.
People, people, people, and more people.
Other than the familiar girl walking ahead of him, everyone else around him was a stranger.
But just as he was about to extend his senses, his heart suddenly trembled, and he stopped dead, pulling the girl behind him.
“What’s wrong? Gege?”
“Shh, don’t speak.”
His instincts told him—someone was watching them.