Mo Tiange stealthily carried Jiang Shanghang back, hauling him into the room before going to knock on Liu Yidao's door. "Senior Brother Liu, Senior Brother Liu?"
It took a while before Liu Yidao opened the door. "Junior Brother Ye, what is it?"
Mo Tiange pointed behind her. Liu Yidao took a look and was startled. Jiang Shanghang was slumped in a chair, his face covered in blood and barely breathing. Liu Yidao came out first to examine Jiang Shanghang's injuries, confirming there was no life-threatening danger, then checked outside the room. Seeing no one else around, he asked in a low voice, "What happened?"
Mo Tiange pointed at Jiang Shanghang, then at his room. "Senior Brother Liu, shall we go inside to talk?"
Liu Yidao thought for a moment and nodded. With the outer doors open, it wasn't a good place to talk. At that moment, the other two room doors opened, and Xu Jingzhi and Qin Xi also came out.
Seeing the scene, Xu Jingzhi was also greatly shocked, while Qin Xi merely furrowed his brows.
Liu Yidao made a shushing gesture to them, carried Jiang Shanghang into his own room, took out a medicinal pill to feed him, and then signaled for them all to come in.
Only after the other three had entered his room, closed the door, and activated the formation did Liu Yidao ask, "Junior Brother Ye, what exactly happened?"
Mo Tiange recounted the events she had encountered, concluding, "It seemed to me that Jiang Chengxian wasn't afraid at all of Senior Brother Jiang exposing the matter, so I didn't dare make a fuss and just secretly brought him back."
Xu Jingzhi interjected, "Junior Brother Ye did the right thing. Of the Jiang Family's two Core Formation Ancestors, one is Jiang Chengxian's direct elder. So, with an elder backing him, Jiang Chengxian is utterly lawless. Since he dared to beat Senior Brother Jiang to this state, others probably wouldn't dare do anything to him either. If people found out it was Junior Brother Ye who brought him back, Junior Brother Ye might even get implicated."
When it came to matters of family and sect politics, none of them were as knowledgeable as Xu Jingzhi, so they had no objections.
Mo Tiange said with a bitter expression, "I just thought that if Senior Brother Jiang was left there, even if he survived, he'd likely be left with lasting injuries. Besides, that Jiang Chengxian is truly too overbearing."
Liu Yidao patted her shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry. Only we few know about this. We just won't speak of it. In the future, we'll also tell Junior Brother Jiang to go out less. It's hard to guard against others' underhanded tactics." Among them, Xu Jingzhi was from a minor cultivation family, while the others were rogue cultivators. They had no fondness for arrogant young masters who bullied others with their influence. In comparison, Jiang Shanghang was merely aloof.
The group nodded. Xu Jingzhi asked, "How are Senior Brother Jiang's injuries?"
"His Dantian wasn't damaged, but his meridians were affected. It's not critically severe, but it will take some time to recover."
Once they confirmed Jiang Shanghang was out of danger, everyone dispersed. Xu Jingzhi and Qin Xi went to cultivate. Feeling she had meddled in others' affairs and embarrassed to leave the cleanup to Liu Yidao, Mo Tiange stayed behind.
The two chatted idly until nightfall, when they finally saw Jiang Shanghang stir.
Jiang Shanghang opened his eyes, looking at the two of them with confusion, then wariness flashed in his gaze. He abruptly sat up, but the movement caused pain from his wounds, instantly contorting his face.
Liu Yidao soothed him, "Junior Brother Jiang, don't worry. We won't speak of this."
Seeing this wasn't his own room and the two before him didn't seem hostile, Jiang Shanghang gradually calmed down. He asked, "Did you save me?" His tone, however, remained unpleasant, as if implying, "Why would you possibly save me?"
After all the effort of hauling him back, this was the reaction. Mo Tiange was somewhat displeased and snorted. "We just carried you back like a dead pig. Since you're fine, return the healing medicine to Senior Brother Liu and go back to your own room."
Jiang Shanghang didn't argue. He took out a jade vial from his robe, placed it on the table, and moved to get off the bed to leave.
Seeing him sway unsteadily, Liu Yidao supported him and advised, "Junior Brother Jiang, you should go out less in the future. This time, it was fortunate Junior Brother Ye saw you and brought you back. Otherwise..."
Jiang Shanghang grunted an acknowledgment. "Thank you, Senior Brother Liu." He then returned to his own room, closing the door right in Liu Yidao's face, clearly not appreciative.
Mo Tiange was annoyed and said to Liu Yidao, "He really doesn't know a good deed when he sees one!"
Liu Yidao didn't find him agreeable either, but with his richer experience and greater maturity, he merely advised her, "Forget it. Since Junior Brother Jiang doesn't want to associate with us, we just won't interact with him in the future."
Thinking about it, that was true. She didn't have much to do with Jiang Shanghang anyway. This time, she had just happened to bring him back. There was no need to get angry. "Fine then, Senior Brother Liu. I'll go back to cultivate."
Apart from this minor incident, her days didn't change much. Well, there was one thing. That Senior Sister Murong indeed often sought her out to play. Message Talismans frequently flew over. Her roommates thought she had actually hooked up with someone, often giving her suggestive smiles. But when someone invited her so enthusiastically, it was hard not to go. Besides, this Senior Sister Murong always lured her out with various seeds, and she couldn't resist not going.
"Junior Brother Ye, hurry up!"
"I can't go any faster, Senior Sister. Don't be so impatient."
From within the grass came murmuring voices. Two people were hard at work.
"Done!" Finally, Mo Tiange brushed on the last layer of seasoning and handed a piece of roasted meat to Murong Yan. This Senior Sister Murong really shared common interests with her. Calling her out had only one purpose: to roast meat for her to eat!
Thinking about it, these past days, they had been coming out almost every other day, and her cultivation hadn't improved at all. Mo Tiange frowned. "Senior Sister, eating like this all the time will affect cultivation."
Murong Yan, gnawing on a rib, rolled her eyes. "Don't think I don't know. Food infused with Spiritual Qi leaves even less residue than the pill toxins from the elixirs you take. You just don't want to roast for me!"
Mo Tiange smiled wryly. "It's not that I, your junior brother, don't want to give you face, Senior Sister. It's that you, leaning against a big tree, enjoy the shade and don't understand the difficulties of us ordinary disciples. The sect's Grand Competition is in three years. I'm only at the eighth level. If I don't work hard, I probably have no hope and will have to wait another ten years."
Hearing this, Murong Yan could understand. After thinking for a moment, she said, "I feel bad delaying your cultivation, Senior Sister. How about this: every time you come out for a secret snack, just send me a Message Talisman. Is that acceptable?"
What did she mean by 'secret snack'... Mo Tiange nodded gloomily. "That's fine."
Murong Yan tore off a large piece of rib, reached out with a giggle, and pinched Mo Tiange's cheek. "Ah, Junior Brother Ye, your expression really makes Senior Sister want to bully you."
Mo Tiange, her hand now greasy, resisted firmly. "Senior Sister, you're too mean. If you pinch me again, I won't roast anything for you."
Murong Yan continued giggling. "If you don't roast for me, I'll pinch you again."
Mo Tiange conceded defeat. "Alright, I'll roast one more piece for you. Just don't pinch me."
Having received the bribe, Murong Yan let go. Salivating, she stared as Mo Tiange roasted and asked, "Junior Brother Ye, are you really seventeen? You look more like fourteen or fifteen."
This comment made Mo Tiange even more depressed. There was no helping it. Even among women, she wasn't tall, let alone pretending to be a man? With smooth skin and a hairless face, pretending to be a man was quite a struggle.
Fortunately, Murong Yan was kind enough and patted her head again. "Don't worry. You'll still grow taller."
Mo Tiange inwardly smiled bitterly. If she were a man, seventeen wouldn't be too late. Unfortunately, she wasn't. The chances of growing taller weren't high anymore.
Gloomily, she handed the roasted meat to Murong Yan, told her she was going to find a place to wash her hands and face, and left.
This place was already upstream of that small stream. There was a waterfall above, its waters cascading down to form a deep pool below. After winding her way around, she was about to wash her hands by the poolside when she froze.
The waterfall was dozens of zhang high with rushing waters, yet there was actually someone sitting in meditation beneath the waterfall.
Saying 'sitting' wasn't quite accurate either. Below the waterfall was the deep pool, with no rocks to sit on. That person was simply sitting cross-legged, floating on the water's surface, allowing the waterfall to crash down upon his body.
What kind of technique was he practicing? Mo Tiange was stunned. This seemed more like martial arts from the secular world. Practitioners in the secular world actually cultivated Body Tempering Techniques, just not as advanced as those in the cultivation world. But this person... she couldn't quite tell. It was as if he didn't have the aura of a cultivator, yet also seemed very powerful.
This person looked very familiar to her. It seemed to be—Qin Xi?