Nie Wushang's expression was calm, seemingly not worried at all about being captured by the Tianyan Sect.
Mo Tiange watched her for a long while before suddenly asking, "That day at the Yulin Pavilion, did you notice me?"
The smile on Nie Wushang's face froze as she looked at her. "Are you asking if I led them to chase you?"
"You could say that," Mo Tiange admitted frankly. She was suspicious by nature. Since she didn't intend to make an enemy of Nie Wushang, not clarifying this matter would always feel like a thorn in her side.
"No."
Hearing Nie Wushang's answer, she breathed a sigh of relief and asked again, "Then when did you notice me?"
"Also at that time," Nie Wushang said. "That day, I left the Yulin Pavilion and concealed my traces. Who knew those Tianyan Sect cultivators started chasing after you? I followed out of curiosity and discovered it was actually you, and that you were staying here just like me."
This matter also struck Nie Wushang as unbelievable. She had originally thought that she and Mo Tiange were walking two completely different paths. Now that Mo Tiange had achieved success in cultivation and had a Dao Companion by her side, she should be enjoying great success and favor in the Tianji Region. Yet, unexpectedly, she had come to Yunzhong, thousands of miles away, just like Nie Wushang who had fled in disgrace.
Mo Tiange stared at her for a long time, so long that Nie Wushang began to feel strange, before asking, "Why did you latch onto me? With Fellow Daoist Nie's personality, wouldn't you prefer to be alone?"
The smile on Nie Wushang's face instantly vanished. She silently looked at Mo Tiange for a good while before saying, "Can I not answer that?"
"..." Mo Tiange gave her a deep look and nodded. "As you wish."
With that, she straightened up, brushed her sleeves, and sat down on her own meditation cushion. "If you want to stay here, I won't drive you out. Make yourself at home."
Nie Wushang watched her close her eyes and begin meditating, no longer intending to pay her any attention. Looking down at her gloved hands, she suddenly felt a deep sense of confusion.
After all these years, she had finally escaped. But how exactly was she supposed to walk this path? She couldn't help but shift her gaze to Mo Tiange, who was meditating with her eyes closed, seemingly completely unguarded against her. Could this person give her an answer?
Mo Tiange opened her eyes and looked at Nie Wushang, who was truly "making herself at home" by cultivating in the corner, and couldn't help but curl the corner of her mouth.
She felt at ease letting Nie Wushang stay here, of course, because she was confident in her unique array formations. If Nie Wushang made any suspicious move, she could instantly kill her. However, it seemed now that Nie Wushang truly harbored no hostility toward her. In fact, one could say she was being overly familiar.
What ordinary person would cultivate in the same room as another cultivator? Even among friends, such closeness was rare unless they had shared life-and-death experiences. When cultivating, a cultivator would absolutely not want others to see. She herself dared to cultivate without reservation in front of Nie Wushang only because she had the assurance of her arrays; Nie Wushang's life was essentially in her hands. But what about Nie Wushang? Why did she dare to enter her cultivation chamber, which was layered with restrictions? Why did she dare to drink her tea, and even dare to cultivate in front of her? As Venerable Songfeng's disciple, she should be very wary. Why did she trust Mo Tiange so much?
This feeling made Mo Tiange find it very strange. It wasn't that she didn't have friends. People like Luo Fengxue and Ye Jingwen from the Xuanqing Sect could be considered her long-time friends. But she shared a sect bond with them, and their temperaments were compatible. But what about Nie Wushang? Nie Wushang's personality and experiences were worlds apart from hers, with almost nothing in common.
As Venerable Songfeng's disciple, she probably never lacked spirit stones or pills growing up, yet she was arbitrarily beaten and scolded by her own master, almost stripped of her self-respect. Would someone like her easily trust others?
As for Mo Tiange herself, although her childhood was turbulent and she lacked pills and medicine, her Second Uncle had given her meticulous care. After losing her Second Uncle, she gained a master, Qin Xi, and some friends. It was precisely because of such experiences that, while she developed a suspicious and cautious nature, she could also trust others and believe in genuine feelings. She and Nie Wushang were fundamentally two different types of people.
What was even stranger was that, logically, she herself wasn't averse to trusting others, and Nie Wushang had saved her before, so it was normal for her to hold some goodwill toward Nie Wushang. But given Nie Wushang's upbringing, she should be wary of Mo Tiange. Why did she seem even more at ease than Mo Tiange herself?
Mo Tiange felt she simply couldn't fathom Nie Wushang's thoughts. She had never met anyone like Nie Wushang before, and this particular Nie Wushang couldn't be reasoned with using common sense.
"Why are you looking at me?" Nie Wushang suddenly opened her eyes.
Mo Tiange smiled slightly and said frankly, "I was wondering what you're really thinking."
Nie Wushang was taken aback, then gave a faint smile. "Then why don't you just ask?"
"But you didn't answer me before," Mo Tiange said, looking at her. "I truly don't understand why you trust me so much."
"..." Nie Wushang lowered her head and remained silent for a long while before saying, "I don't know. Maybe after leaving my master, I want to try living a different kind of life."
"Even so, why me of all people? You're cultivating here in my place without any guard up. Aren't you afraid I might attack you?"
Facing this question, Nie Wushang let out a light laugh and looked up at her. "Just think of it as intuition. I feel I can trust you."
"..." Mo Tiange fell silent and said no more.
Nie Wushang sighed softly, closed her eyes again, and hid the desolation within them.
In truth, she still hadn't stated the real reason.
Since childhood, she had always dreamed of escaping that terrifying master and living a new life. But when she achieved it, she found herself lost. To live like a person—what exactly did that mean? She wanted to walk in the sunlight, to laugh and talk with others, to possess a strong inner self, to be willing to trust others. But now, with the Origin Demonic Qi deeply embedded in her meridians, she still couldn't be considered a complete person.
Over the past year, she had concealed her spiritual aura, hiding in this inn while searching for a method to dissolve the Origin Demonic Qi and contemplating what she should do.
After so many years, she no longer knew how to interact with people. How was she supposed to begin the life she wanted?
It was at this moment that she saw Mo Tiange again—this person she envied, resented, and felt ashamed before. She suddenly thought that perhaps this was her beginning.
This was a rare "old acquaintance" who knew her origins and didn't require explanations. Most importantly, she had saved her. So she could gamble on whether there was goodwill between them, or even whether they could build a friendship.
What if Mo Tiange didn't trust her? She had considered this question, and at that moment, a deep sense of weariness welled up from within. If that were the case, then... just disappear like this.
She had mocked herself for having such world-weary thoughts. After going through immense hardship to escape the Tianji Region, narrowly escaping death, she would ultimately place her life and death in someone else's hands.
Yet, she didn't want to change this decision. For so many years, she had never controlled her own destiny. So even after breaking free from her shackles, she was still this lost. If that was the case, what did it matter to let someone else decide for her once?
Now it seemed she had probably won the gamble. Mo Tiange did not intend to make an enemy of her.
This made her feel a bit of meaning in living. Her life wasn't a complete failure; at least there was someone willing to accept her trust.
Thinking of this, she suddenly felt a sliver of hope born from the desolation. This new beginning wasn't so bad.
Three days passed. Nie Wushang stopped cultivating and looked at the bright window.
"Leaving?" Mo Tiange opened her eyes and looked at her.
"Mm," Nie Wushang responded without turning her head. "It's time."
Mo Tiange thought for a moment and finally asked, "Do you have a foolproof method to leave?"
Nie Wushang glanced at her and said, "Are you leaving or not?"
Mo Tiange was momentarily stunned, then smiled. "If I leave with you, does that mean I've truly become your accomplice?"
Nie Wushang shrugged, saying indifferently, "Are you still worried about being implicated by me?"
"Two Nascent Soul Cultivators are more than I can afford to provoke," Mo Tiange said calmly. "However, I can't escape involvement in this matter either. It's better to leave Beiji Island as soon as possible."
Hearing this, Nie Wushang smiled. "So you're planning to leave today too?"
Mo Tiange smiled without answering.
Nie Wushang didn't press further. Right in front of Mo Tiange, she began her disguise.
She took out a pile of strange items from her Qiankun Bag and started applying them to her face. Various powders were patted onto her face—reds and yellows—until her complexion turned a peculiar sallow yellow. Then she added moles, shaped her eyebrows, and pasted on a beard. When she finished, re-tied her hair, and changed her clothes, she immediately transformed into a withered, skinny man.
Mo Tiange witnessed her transformation firsthand and was quite curious. "This is..."
"A secular Disguise Technique," Nie Wushang said, putting away the items on the table. She picked up a powder box and shook it toward Mo Tiange. "Want some?"
Mo Tiange shook her head and examined her carefully, finding no flaws. She couldn't help but sigh, "This method is good. Transformation spells are easily seen through by high-level cultivators, but a secular Disguise Technique can only be discerned by eyesight. No matter how high one's cultivation, it's useless."
It was for this same reason that she had disguised herself as a man when she entered the Yunwu Sect. Cultivators possessed spiritual power and often relied on divine sense, neglecting the most fundamental aspects of appearance. However, Nie Wushang's methods were far more advanced than hers back then; she had almost become a different person.
"I'm leaving," Nie Wushang said, putting away her things and looking up at her. "Thank you for taking me in this time."
Mo Tiange smiled slightly, not standing on ceremony, and asked, "What are your plans after leaving Beiji Island?"
"Naturally, to go to the Yunzhong Mainland," Nie Wushang said. "The teleportation formations on Beiji Island are all somewhat connected to the Tianyan Sect, so it's not very convenient for me to use them. I can only disguise myself as a cultivator going out to sea and fly directly over. I'll probably head to the Dongtang Kingdom first. By then, I hope fate allows us to meet again."
Mo Tiange nodded. Since she had crossed the South Sea to reach Yunzhong, she could certainly fly directly from Beiji Island across the strait to the Yunzhong Mainland. There was no need to worry about that at all.
"Alright. Until we meet again."
Nie Wushang sighed, then smiled again. She took out a bamboo hat from her robes, put it on, and waited for Mo Tiange to open the restrictions before pushing the door open and walking out, quickly disappearing without a sound.
Mo Tiange gazed at the place where she had left, silent for a long time.