When she woke, Mo Tiange felt disoriented. Slowly, she recalled what had happened before she fainted. She jolted upright, nervously scanning her surroundings.
This... seemed to be an inn room, with simple furniture, a dull floor, and a quilt carrying a faint musty smell.
"Junior Brother Ye, you're awake?"
Mo Tiange turned her head, following the voice. Qin Xi was sitting at a table in the outer area, seemingly drawing talismans, his back to her without turning around.
Seeing this scene, her heart settled somewhat. Qin Xi being so leisurely meant they were probably safe.
However, she was puzzled: "Senior Brother Qin, were we discovered?"
Qin Xi set down his brush, burned the ruined talisman paper, then answered: "No, I was the one who knocked you out."
"Huh?" She was even more confused.
He offered no explanation, instead putting away the paper and brush on the table. "Since you're awake, we'll set off in a moment."
Mo Tiange nodded blankly, thinking that escaping from under the noses of two Core Formation cultivators... he must have used some secret technique, which was why it was inconvenient to tell her. Yet she always felt Qin Xi was strange. He always managed to do things she thought utterly impossible, yet his attitude was so calm it made her want to doubt him, only to feel she was being overly suspicious. Or perhaps he had a high-ranking senior backing him, hence the abundance of treasures?
"Oh, right," Qin Xi took several items from his Qiankun Bag and tossed them to her. "These were obtained yesterday. They're for you."
Mo Tiange caught them: a soft armor and a jade ruler. "These..."
"This is the Qiankun Cloud-Silk Armor and the Earth-Escaping Ruler. The former is a defensive item; wearing it can withstand several strikes from a cultivator of the same level. As for the Earth-Escaping Ruler, it's a good treasure. Use it when fleeing, and you'll instantly escape hundreds of miles."
Mo Tiange was startled. She knew how precious these items were. Though not magic treasures, they weren't far off. "Why give these to me?"
Qin Xi said, "I don't need them, and I thought it'd be a waste not to take them. Of course, I'll give them to you."
"But..."
Before she could finish her 'but,' Qin Xi cut her off: "No buts. You're usually quite decisive. Why are you acting like a little girl now?"
Wasn't it because he knew her true gender? She didn't want to owe him favors? But she couldn't say that, or she'd offend Qin Xi. He had saved her in a time of crisis; she already owed him a huge debt. She still wanted to maintain some distance, but if he knew, he'd probably think her ungrateful.
"Alright, I won't say anything more. I already owe you too many favors; one more won't make a difference..."
Qin Xi smiled. "That's more like Junior Brother Ye. Oh, I'll step out first. Get yourself together and come out when you're ready."
"Mm, understood."
A moment later, the two left the inn. Mo Tiange discovered they were still at the foot of Yunwu Mountain.
She thought to herself, this Senior Brother Qin truly came from a prestigious background. His courage was too great.
As they were about to leave, she looked back at Yunwu Mountain. The North and South Peaks towered into the clouds, shrouded in Spiritual Qi. Once, this was a place she had strived to enter. Now, she was desperately fleeing it.
"Junior Brother Ye, is there anything else you can't let go of?"
Mo Tiange was silent for a while, then shook her head. "It's not that I can't let go. I just think of the people I knew... It's a pity it's not convenient to see them now."
Qin Xi said, "Don't worry. Although Senior Brother Liu hasn't reached Foundation Establishment yet, he has gained the favor of a senior from the sect. His prospects look good. I've heard Junior Sister Murong is also cultivating smoothly. With her family's support, she has great hope of reaching Foundation Establishment."
"Really?" she murmured, but then thought of Jiang Shanghang. She didn't know if he had escaped or not.
Forget it, forget it. Right now, she could hardly take care of herself. Everyone had their own fate. If fate willed it, they would meet again someday.
"Senior Brother Qin, let's go."
Several days later, two people landed at the small market of Huanshan Dock: Mo Tiange and Qin Xi.
Huanshan Dock was northeast of Yunwu Mountain, originally not on their way. But Mo Tiange wanted to handle some matters, and Qin Xi agreed, so they detoured here.
The two first went to the small shop Tian Qiao had originally run. Sure enough, the door was closed.
Just as Mo Tiange was about to push the door open, someone emerged from the neighboring shop and called out, "Esteemed Immortal, you can't go in!"
Mo Tiange turned. It was a mortal dressed as a shop assistant. She frowned. "Why?"
The assistant quickly bowed to them, his expression respectful. "Esteemed Immortal, it's not that this humble one won't let you in. The management hall of our market has sealed this house."
"Sealed?" What did that mean?
Reading her expression, the assistant answered, "Yes. Esteemed Immortal, you must be from out of town? This shop had some trouble. The house has been reclaimed by the management hall. It hasn't been rented out yet; it's empty."
"Oh?" Mo Tiange frowned further. "What about the original owner of this shop?"
Hearing her question, the assistant sighed. "To be honest with you, the young couple who originally ran this shop are both dead."
Mo Tiange already knew this. She simply asked, "What about their remains?"
Her question was too direct. The assistant was full of questions but didn't dare say anything. "This humble one doesn't know. I only know the management hall handled it."
"Where is the management hall?"
"Oh, go straight from here. The biggest building is it."
Mo Tiange nodded and threw a piece of gold to the assistant.
The assistant, having merely answered some questions, received such a large piece of gold. He immediately beamed with joy, repeatedly saying, "Thank you, Esteemed Immortal! Thank you, Esteemed Immortal!"
The two turned and walked not far before easily finding the management hall.
"What business do you two Fellow Daoists have?" Inside the management hall, only a Qi Refining second-layer cultivator was on duty, drinking wine as he asked them, his attitude extremely impatient.
The man's overwhelming smell of alcohol made Mo Tiange frown. "Is this the management hall?"
The cultivator let out a drunken belch, squinting at them. He didn't adjust his attitude despite their higher cultivation. Pointing a wine bottle towards the door, he said with closed eyes, "If you don't know, look clearly before coming."
Mo Tiange was annoyed but still held her temper, about to inquire. But Qin Xi stepped forward, flung a handful of Spirit Stones onto the table, and said coldly, "We have some questions for you."
Seeing the Spirit Stones on the table, the man's eyes immediately lit up. As soon as Qin Xi finished speaking, his attitude changed completely. Not only did he put down the wine bottle, but he also stood up and bowed eagerly. "What do you two wish to ask? This humble one will surely tell you everything I know."
Seeing the man's completely different attitude before and after, Mo Tiange was speechless. These cultivators running the market truly only opened their eyes for money. Knowing their cultivation was much higher than his, he couldn't be bothered earlier. Seeing money, he immediately became polite.
She asked directly, "Some time ago, a couple in your market passed away. Where are their remains?"
The man thought upon hearing the question, then answered, "Fellow Daoist means the one surnamed Meng?"
Mo Tiange nodded. "Correct. How did you handle their funeral arrangements?"
"This..." The man raised his eyes, carefully sizing her up. "May I ask, Fellow Daoist, what is your relation to them?"
"Family."
Hearing the answer, the man glanced at her somewhat guiltily. "Fellow Daoist, we hadn't heard before that that Meng fellow had any relatives..."
His manner clearly indicated something was off. Mo Tiange frowned, saying bluntly, "Just tell us where the remains are!"
The cultivator looked at the Spirit Stones on the table and finally answered, "...Fellow Daoist, we truly didn't know they had family before. So we followed the usual practice: cremated them and buried the ashes in the back mountain..."
Mo Tiange's heart sank. "So, the remains are gone?"
"Not exactly..." Seeing her cold expression, the man answered honestly. "You could still find them, but they're buried in the earth. It's hard to tell what's soil and what's ashes... Fellow Daoist?"
Mo Tiange took a deep breath, turned, and walked away, lest she stay any longer and want to kill this man with one sword strike!
Qin Xi caught up, calling, "Junior Brother Ye!"
Mo Tiange paused, calming her anger. She had only wanted to handle Tian Qiao's funeral arrangements. When she had the chance later, she would take her and her husband's ashes back to Mo Family Village. But the result was actually—
"Junior Brother Ye, who exactly were you looking for?"
Mo Tiange was silent for a moment, then answered, "My cousin. We grew up together since childhood. She was the one who took care of me the most."
"Oh? You seemed to already know about them..."
Mo Tiange smiled bitterly. "Of course I know. They were implicated because of me."
"Implicated?"
Mo Tiange nodded, lowering her head, her expression downcast. If she hadn't taken that Foundation Consolidation Pill formula, she wouldn't have been noticed by Jiang Chengxian. If she hadn't been too careless and discovered at the Hu family, Jiang Chengxian wouldn't have recognized her, and Tian Qiao wouldn't have suffered the soul search. It was all because of her that Tian Qiao lost her life...
Seeing her expression, Qin Xi didn't ask further but sighed. "Do you feel very guilty?"
Hearing this question, Mo Tiange was dazed for a while before nodding softly. "Yes. If they hadn't met me again, they wouldn't have been in trouble..."
"If you found their ashes, would you feel better?"
"I..."
"After death, what difference does it make where the ashes are buried? Even having a gravestone only comforts the living. Even if you brought the ashes back, what difference would it make to them?"
Mo Tiange fell silent.
Qin Xi looked at her, speaking calmly, "Don't forget, you are a cultivator."
Though his voice was flat, without a hint of blame, Mo Tiange understood his warning.
A cultivator should not be bound by external things, should not cling to forms. If she couldn't even see through this, how could she talk of cultivation? Cultivation cultivated the heart. If she couldn't even pass this hurdle of external attachments, how could she advance her cultivation further?
She understood these principles, but...
"Back at the Yunwu Sect, I originally thought you were a free-spirited person, very determined on the path of cultivation. But now I realize you can't even see through your own state of mind! Junior Brother Ye, you must know, if this continues, at most you'll only reach Foundation Establishment. Core Formation... will be hopeless!"
Mo Tiange's heart shook. Right, her Second Uncle had just passed. How could she make the same mistake again? Some things had already happened. Guilt was useless; regret was useless.
She closed her eyes, sincerely saying, "Senior Brother Qin, thank you."