After thinking for a while, Mo Tiange had made her decision. She looked up and said, "Master, I want to go."
Daojun Jinghe was not at all surprised by this outcome. He nodded and said, "If you want to go, your master naturally won't stop you. However, you must prepare thoroughly beforehand."
This was precisely what Mo Tiange was worried about. She said, "Master, I haven't refined my Life-Bound Artifact yet. I've only just advanced, so my Dharma Combat ability is truly weak. What should I do?"
Daojun Jinghe casually pointed at Qin Xi. "Then you should go with your Senior Brother. It'll be good to have someone to look out for you."
Mo Tiange was taken aback. "Isn't Master going too?"
Before Daojun Jinghe could answer, it was Qin Xi who spoke. "Master is a Nascent Soul Cultivator and has been invited by a group of friends. Naturally, he'll go with them. Taking us along would be inconvenient."
Over the years, experience had taught them which areas were suitable for what cultivation levels. The Nascent Soul Cultivators would naturally go to places with more treasures but also greater dangers.
Mo Tiange understood as soon as she thought about it. She asked further, "Besides Senior Brother Shoujing, are there any other Senior Brothers or Sisters going together?"
Daojun Jinghe said, "Within Tianmo Mountain, dangers lurk everywhere. Even if everyone wanted to go, the sect couldn't possibly allow them all. Moreover, for us sect cultivators, if cultivation proceeds smoothly, there's really no need to seek opportunities in such a dangerous place." He shot her a glance. "If I didn't know about your connection to Tianmo Mountain, I wouldn't allow you to go either."
Seeing Mo Tiange lower her head, Daojun Jinghe huffed, his beard seeming to bristle. "Why so aggrieved? Did you think a whole crowd would accompany you?"
"Not at all!" Mo Tiange looked up, her gaze bewildered. "I was just thinking about what to do. Master, you're overthinking it!"
"..." Daojun Jinghe glared at her for a moment, then said, "This time, among the sect's Nascent Soul Cultivators, only I and your Uncle-Master Huayan are going. As for Core Formation cultivators, there are a few, but your Senior Brother prefers quiet. He won't be happy with too many people. As for exactly how to proceed, you'd better ask him."
Mo Tiange was momentarily stunned and couldn't help but glance at Qin Xi. He still had his eyes lowered, gazing calmly at the teacup in his hand as if he hadn't heard anything.
She hesitated for a moment before finally asking, "Master, then... will I hold Senior Brother Shoujing back?" Given her current, newly Core Formation state without a Life-Bound Artifact, her Dharma Combat would inevitably be weaker. Traveling with her would surely burden him.
"It's nothing." It was Qin Xi who answered. He still didn't look at her, his tone flat. "Who I travel with is my own decision. You don't need to worry about this matter."
"..." If she had felt some sympathy for him before, hearing these words, Mo Tiange couldn't help but feel a spark of anger rise in her heart. So domineering and arbitrary—he clearly didn't regard her as a companion.
She understood clearly that her cultivation and abilities were still far inferior to this Senior Brother's. But his attitude made it plain that he was only protecting her because of their master's request. This feeling of dependence was something she disliked intensely!
Mo Tiange's expression turned very unpleasant. Qin Xi didn't see it, but Daojun Jinghe did. He shot Qin Xi a fierce glare and said to Mo Tiange, "Tian'ge, regarding this matter, your master has already discussed it with your Senior Brother and has a plan. You just rest assured."
Daojun Jinghe's words carried the implication of taking the blame upon himself. Hearing this, and out of respect for her master, Mo Tiange couldn't say much. She merely said, "Since Master and Senior Brother have already considered it, then I won't interfere further."
Seeing her being so reasonable, Daojun Jinghe breathed a sigh of relief. He took several jade slips and a map from his robe and handed them to her. "Since you've decided to go, familiarize yourself with matters concerning Tianmo Mountain. This map cost me a fortune to obtain from the Tiandao Sect. Study it well. And these are records from many great cultivators over the generations for reference. Go back and look them over first. If there's anything else, your master will send someone to inform you."
"Yes." These were things that couldn't be bought with spirit stones outside. Mo Tiange understood this and didn't want to make things difficult for her master. "Then your disciple will take her leave first."
As soon as Mo Tiange left, Daojun Jinghe's brow furrowed. He threw the book in his hand aside and shouted at Qin Xi, "You brat, are you trying to infuriate me to death? Look at your attitude!"
"My what?" Qin Xi finally looked up, seeing Daojun Jinghe's expression, and didn't understand what had happened.
Daojun Jinghe fumed. "I couldn't figure it out before, what exactly was going on. But seeing your attitude just now, I finally understand!" Seeing Qin Xi show not a hint of remorse, he grew even more furious and shouted, "What kind of talk was that just now? What do you mean 'it's my own decision, she doesn't need to worry'?"
Qin Xi wore a puzzled expression. "That's just how it is. I've already thought about how to proceed. There's nothing for her to do at the moment."
"You—" Daojun Jinghe pointed at the tip of Qin Xi's nose, hopping mad, pacing back and forth. "You stupid brat, you dead brat, you obtuse brat!"
After this chaotic string of curses, Daojun Jinghe sat down again, drinking a cup of tea to calm his anger. "I couldn't understand before why you two are stuck in this lifeless state, refusing to speak plainly. Now I see the root of the problem is your attitude!"
"What about me?" Faced with such accusations from Daojun Jinghe, Qin Xi felt bewildered and displeased. He turned his head away.
"You still ask 'what about me'?!" Daojun Jinghe raised his voice, glaring at him angrily for a moment. "Don't you realize you're looking down on her? Do you think that because your cultivation is higher, you should take charge of everything?"
Qin Xi was taken aback. "Isn't that how it should be? My cultivation is higher, and I'm a man. Shouldn't I protect her?"
"..." Daojun Jinghe was momentarily speechless. He pondered for a moment, then something clicked in his mind. Suddenly finding it rather amusing, he couldn't help but laugh.
His shifting from anger to laughter left Qin Xi even more confused. "Master, have you gone mad?"
Daojun Jinghe suppressed his laughter and asked him, "I recall that in your eyes before, there was no distinction between men and women. Even when traveling with female cultivators, you wouldn't feel the need to protect them, right?"
Qin Xi frowned. "They weren't anyone to me. Since we were traveling together for the same purpose, of course we were equals. Why should I do more?"
Daojun Jinghe laughed even more heartily. "Yet you feel you should protect her."
"That's... natural." Leaving aside other reasons, if one loves someone, naturally one wants to protect them.
Daojun Jinghe's expression turned serious. "But she doesn't feel the same way."
Qin Xi was stunned. "Master, what do you mean?"
And so, Daojun Jinghe once again played the role of the meddling Three Aunts and Six Matrons for his disciple's lifelong happiness. "Think about it. You think you're protecting her, but how does that sound to her? She's achieved Core Formation, finally in the same realm as you. Yet you still don't regard her as an equal cultivator, taking everything upon yourself as if she can't handle anything."
Seeing Qin Xi about to speak, Daojun Jinghe raised a hand to stop him. "Let me finish! Search your heart and ask yourself: have you been looking down on her?"
Qin Xi pondered internally for a while before saying, "I... I know her talents are extraordinary, and her character is decisive. If she were a cultivator of my age, she certainly wouldn't be inferior to me. But after all, she hasn't matured enough yet. Naturally, I should protect her more... And precisely because she's growing so quickly, I need to stay ahead of her even more..."
This answer satisfied Daojun Jinghe. "You child, over two hundred years old and still so muddled. Fine, your master will tell you what's really going on! You think you're a man, you should be stronger than her to protect her. But it's precisely this mindset of yours that makes Tian'ge feel you're looking down on her, that you think she's useless... Don't you know this too? She has a strong personality. How could she possibly accept you looking down on her?"
"..." These words made Qin Xi break out in a cold sweat. He didn't dare say that initially, he truly had looked down on her. If he said it out loud, his master would surely beat him severely. But when he became aware of this attitude, he had tried hard to discard it. That's why he thought that if both of them achieved Nascent Soul, this obstacle would no longer exist.
But regardless, even if they were cultivators of the same realm, and Tian'ge had grown to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him, he felt that as a man, he should stand in front of her. Not to look down on her, but out of a man's self-respect, he should at least do something for her.
His expression shifted uncertainly, his heart in turmoil. After a long while, Qin Xi finally said, "Master, what you're saying isn't the main reason. If I have no place in her heart, what does it matter how she feels? I... no longer seek anything. I only hope to form my Nascent Soul and wait slowly. Perhaps..."
Daojun Jinghe glared at him, exasperated at his failure to meet expectations. "Are you an idiot? If the impression you give her is bad, the goodwill in her heart towards you will naturally diminish. When it diminishes enough, of course she won't like you! You want to wait slowly? Your master can't control that. But if this negative impression keeps piling up, until in the end she develops a prejudice against you, even if she later realizes it's a misunderstanding, it'll be hard for her to accept you. Do you understand?!"
Qin Xi was somewhat enlightened, yet still confused. He thought for a long time, his eyes growing even more bewildered. "Master, how do you know so much about this? Haven't you never had a Dao Companion either?"
Daojun Jinghe hadn't expected him to say this. He froze for a moment, then a flush rose to his cheeks. He cried out in embarrassment, "Your master is nearly a thousand years old! What haven't I seen? Don't be so narrow-minded!"
"..." Qin Xi didn't press further. He lowered his head and thought for a long while, but ultimately shook his head. "I still don't understand."
"Then keep thinking until you do!" Daojun Jinghe glared angrily. "How did I end up with two disciples like you? Such a mess, it makes me anxious just watching!"
After venting his anger, he leaned in closer and said, "Hey, let me tell you, this is a good opportunity. Whatever misunderstandings exist between you and her, it's best to clear them up! For a clueless, foolish youngster like you who doesn't understand matters of the heart, if you can't figure things out, then just go and ask! Ai, young lovers are like this, never laying their cards on the table. So troublesome..."