Chapter 55
The wooden house was spacious and simple, furnished only with the essentials. Heng Yu opened the window, revealing the purple irises outside. She placed the clivia from the airship on the windowsill, brewed some tea, and started reading a formation book, trying to improve her foundational knowledge.
She read from morning till evening.
A knock interrupted her thoughts.
She opened the door, not surprised to see Wu Mei. “I thought you’d come earlier.”
Wu Mei tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Her purple dress flowed gracefully, the color matching the irises outside, making her look ethereal.
“When did you arrive?” Heng Yu invited her in and poured her some tea. “This morning. How long have you been at the Sword Sect?”
Wu Mei twirled a strand of hair around her finger, her expression languid. “Speaking of which, I have to complain. You have no idea, Yu Xia has been at the sect almost this entire year. I’ve suffered so much trying to sneak in and find him.”
Heng Yu took her words with a grain of salt.
Earlier, at the Sword Sect’s mountain gate, the mere mention of Wu Mei’s name had made the inner disciples uncomfortable. Clearly, she had caused some trouble.
“What heinous deeds did you commit to sneak into the Sword Sect?” Heng Yu asked.
Wu Mei raised her chin slightly, her expression both seductive and arrogant. “I did nothing heinous. I charmed my way in and made Yu Xia invite me personally.”
Heng Yu couldn’t help but laugh.
Regardless, Wu Mei had definitely been at the Sword Sect for a long time.
“Most of the disciples qualified for the Dharma Assembly are out on missions. Will our sect send any Nascent Soul cultivators?” Heng Yu asked.
“Of course. The sect will also send some Qi Refining disciples to broaden their horizons.” Wu Mei looked at Heng Yu. “I received a message from my master two days ago. Guess who’s leading the group this time?”
The way she asked meant the Nascent Soul cultivator was someone close to her.
And in the Hehuan Sect, there was only one Nascent Soul cultivator close to her.
A smile touched Heng Yu’s lips. “I didn’t expect Master to personally lead the group.”
Her master was a late Nascent Soul cultivator. Cultivators at his level usually spent their time in seclusion, trying to reach Soul Formation.
But after thinking about it, Heng Yu realized this was typical of her master.
He was carefree and probably bored of staying in the sect, so he came out to have some fun and perhaps find some romance.
Wu Mei refilled her teacup and played with the bracelet on her wrist. “How’s your inner sect mission going? Any progress?”
Heng Yu took a sip of tea and smiled without replying.
Wu Mei glared at her playfully. “Tell me! I can give you some advice.”
“You’re so enthusiastic. It seems your mission is almost complete,” Heng Yu said indifferently.
Her own mission…
Wu Mei didn’t want to talk about it.
She finished her tea and left, not wanting to give Heng Yu any more ammunition for teasing.
After Wu Mei left, Heng Yu continued reading the ancient text on formations.
As the sun set and the moonlight filled the sky, Heng Yu finished the book and was about to pick another one when she heard a knock on the door, accompanied by the faint jingling of bells.
Who was it this time?
Heng Yu rubbed her forehead. “Could it be Mu Huan? This is getting lively.”
Mu Huan’s revealing dresses were always adorned with bells that jingled with every movement. And perhaps due to her cultivation technique, the seemingly random jingling always sounded strangely melodic.
The door slowly opened, and Mu Huan, seeing Heng Yu’s exasperated expression, smiled faintly. “You don’t seem surprised it’s me.”
“Process of elimination.”
Mu Huan’s eyes widened, and she stamped her foot. “I came to greet you as soon as I arrived. Can’t you be more welcoming?”
Heng Yu shrugged helplessly.
Looking at Mu Huan, she rubbed her forehead.
With so many people with different agendas gathered here, plus her troublemaking master, things were about to get interesting.
“Did you come with the Dao Sect’s airship?” Heng Yu changed the subject.
Mu Huan pouted. “Yes.”
A faint smile appeared on Heng Yu’s face, and her tone softened slightly. “Go back and rest.”
Since Mu Huan had come to greet her first, she didn’t mind being a little nicer.
“Alright. Are you free tomorrow? Come with me to see Senior Brother Liaowu. I’ve been thinking about him,” Mu Huan said, seizing the opportunity.
Heng Yu’s smile vanished instantly. “What does your longing for Liaowu have to do with me? Goodbye.”
She stepped back and slammed the door shut.
Mu Huan: “…”
She shouldn’t have expected anything from Luo Heng Yu.
Closing Mu Huan out, Heng Yu clapped her hands, brushing off nonexistent dust, and returned to the window.
Bathed in the moonlight, she suddenly lost interest in reading. She took out a clean sheet of paper and quickly folded it into a lifelike paper cat. She dabbed a bit of formation liquid onto the cat’s eyes, easily attaching a sliver of her divine sense to it.
Closing her eyes, she controlled the paper cat with her divine sense, sending it out the window, across the Hehuan Sect’s residences, to the Undying Sect’s residences, and finally, with a flip, onto Liaowu’s windowsill.
Inside the bamboo house, Liaowu had just finished bathing.
Still slightly damp, he sat cross-legged on the bed, reading the Buddhist stories Heng Yu had compiled.
Suddenly, he heard a faint noise from outside. He put down his brush, opened the window, and saw a paper cat sitting on the sill, staring at him.
The scene was slightly eerie.
Liaowu stared at the paper cat for a few seconds, sensing a familiar divine sense. “Lord Luo?”
He gently picked up the cat and placed it on a pile of scriptures.
“Can you hear me?”
The paper cat twitched, indicating it could.
Liaowu, amused, touched the cat’s forehead with his finger.
The light touch made the cat take two steps back.
He chuckled. “Can you feel my touch?”
The paper cat moved forward, bumping against his finger.
“Are you having trouble sleeping? No, you must be studying formations. I was reading the Buddhist stories you compiled and thought of a few new ones. Do you want to hear them?”
With her divine sense attached to the cat, Heng Yu could hear his voice.
She listened while reading a formation book, her previously waning interest rekindled.
After Liaowu finished telling the stories, he fell silent and began organizing his scriptures. After finishing, it was already late. He picked up the paper cat and touched its forehead. “This poor monk is going to sleep now. Are you going to rest?”
The familiar divine sense attached to the cat detached and retreated.
Sensing it had become an ordinary paper cat, Liaowu bent down and blew out the candle.
In the moonlight, he walked to the bed and gently placed the cat on the bedside table.
Heng Yu had intended to read all night.
At her cultivation level, she didn’t need sleep. But after withdrawing her divine sense from the paper cat, she couldn’t focus on the formation book.
She closed the book, blew out the candle, and fell asleep on the soft bed.
She slept soundly.
Waking up the next morning, Heng Yu continued reading.
She finally finished all the books Liaowu had borrowed for her from the Undying Sect’s Scripture Pavilion in the afternoon.
She put the books away in her storage ring.
“I wonder when Master and the others will arrive.”
The Dharma Assembly was four days away. They should arrive within the next two days.
Heng Yu decided to greet her master first, then explore the Sword Sect. It was only proper for a disciple to greet her master after a long separation.
She didn’t have to wait long. Near dusk, a large airship arrived at the Sword Sect.
A handsome man in purple robes stood on the deck, his every move exuding charm.
He stroked the jade pendant at his waist. “I wonder how Heng Yu’s mission is going. Such an unfilial disciple, not even sending me sweet messages or regular updates.”
He muttered to himself, his expression slightly mournful.
Although they had been thousands of miles apart, Heng Yu had still sent messages. However, communication wasn’t easy, so she only sent brief greetings every few months.
Other disciples, like Wu Mei and Mu Huan, did the same, but You Yun was still unhappy. Didn’t a generous and charming master like him deserve special treatment from his disciple?
But his melancholy didn’t last long. As the Hehuan Sect’s airship landed, a middle-aged, mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator from the Sword Sect flew over to greet him.
You Yun’s expression instantly changed, becoming calm and composed, exuding the air of a master.
He bowed with a gesture, returning the Sword Sect cultivator’s greeting.
After the exchange of pleasantries, the cultivator invited You Yun to the main hall for a discussion.
You Yun nodded, agreeing to go. But before leaving, he called over a disciple and took off his storage ring. “Give this to Luo Heng Yu.”
The disciple respectfully accepted the ring with both hands and bowed.
Soon, Heng Yu met the other Hehuan Sect disciples and received her master’s storage ring.
Examining the exquisitely carved ring, Heng Yu realized it hadn’t been bound by blood, so her divine sense could easily enter it. The space within wasn’t large, containing a pile of spirit stones, some books on formations, and a collection of rare formation materials.
Seeing the books and materials, Heng Yu was surprised, then smiled. “I only casually mentioned to Master that I was studying formations, and he sent me such a generous gift even before arriving.”
This was the benefit of having a powerful backer.
Heng Yu smiled, put away the storage ring, and decided to thank her master later.
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