Eldest Senior Brother, what did those two people come to talk about today?
Jiang Fan had asked this too and Mo Chen’s reply was the same.
It’s not anything important.
But it’s not a small matter either, right?
If it was a small issue, why would they make a trip here from so far away? From what Senior Sister said, Sword Burial Valley was quite a distance away from Returnflow Mountain. One of their elders had personally made this trip. If it was just a small matter – like passing on a message or sending a gift – would an elder have needed to come?
Speaking of elders, it seemed like every sect and clan had at least one, and apparently, grand elders existed as well. Aside from Master, their Returnflow Mountain, however, lacked any other senior. Their foundation was simply too frail. If anything were to happen, Master had no choice but to roll up his sleeves and take on the matter himself. He did not even have a helper to turn too.
In the future, their generation would have five people… alright, now there were only four of them, since Chen Jingzhi had run off. In the future when Eldest Senior Brother become sect master, Xiaodong felt like he might even be able to become an elder. When that time came, people would have to address him as
Elder Yun
. Heheh, why did this title seem so pleasant to his ears?
Mo Chen could not hear Xiaodong talking but he could certainly hear Xiaodong secretly chuckling to himself. He knew Little Junior Brother had gone into a daze again.
This child often zoned out, and there were several times when Mo Chen could not even guess just what kind of strange thoughts were running through that little mind of his.
He had clearly been talking about the guest that came during the day, but now his mind had gone floating somewhere else. He was secretly laughing alone inside the blanket, and so happily too.
Because Mo Chen was worried about Little Junior Brother, he had Little Junior Brother stay in his own apartment. Now that the two of them were in a single room, Mo Chen rarely got any sleep and simply meditated next to the eastern window. Xiaodong would then sleep on the bed that leaned against the northern wall.
Ever since Xiaodong moved to Eldest Senior Brother’s place, he felt like a hibernating bear, liking his nest more and more. Every day when the sun set, he would stay in the room, not wanting to leave. When he woke up in the morning, he would unwillingly get up. The moment he thought that Eldest Senior Brother was not far away from him, sleepiness would slowly flood Xiaodong’s mind. Like the ocean waves he saw in the past, the sleepy feeling would swash upwards and then recede back, over and over again.
A while later, Xiaodong fell asleep.
Mo Chen slowly opened his eyes in the dark. Looking at Xiaodong who had his arms exposed in the open while squishing the blanket between his legs, he walked over and covered Xiaodong with the blanket properly.
With his level of cultivation, he could clearly see everything even in the night. Xiaodong looked more innocent while sleeping than he was in the day. His face was still a little pale white. It had been a year since he started living on the mountain and it seemed like he had grown a bit. He was, however, still as skinny, like tender willow branches that just started growing in February.
Mo Chen really had no care for the two people that had come looking for their relative.
Since young, he had been smarter than others, and as he grew older, so did his experience. Elder Lu did not tell the truth today, or to be exact, not everything was true. The inheritance wars of Sword Burial Valley had always been filled with bloodshed, and this was considered an open secret many people were aware of. If Sword Burial Valley truly wanted to search for the lost child, then they wouldn’t have taken so many years to look for his traces.
It wasn’t as if this was his first day venturing into the world. He had already gone out for experience several times with Master when he was younger than Little Junior Brother. Even Jin Mian who had tagged along with Elder Lu today was someone he had met on several occasions. If they truly wanted to identify him, they would have done so long ago.
Most likely, he had been an obstacle at first, so he fell into a scheme during the struggle for inheritance of Sword Burial Valley, and was thus abandoned. Now that Sword Burial Valley was searching for him, it meant that they needed him again. Whether they needed him alive, or they needed him to appear temporarily and then die afterwards, he was still unclear.
However, Mo Chen did not find it important to know what the people of Sword Burial Valley were thinking. Whether Sword Burial Valley needed him or not, he didn’t care. He didn’t need Sword Burial Valley.
If he was just a five-year-old, he might possibly be expecting to see his own parents. If he was just thirteen years old, he might then be curious about his own birth. He would want to investigate his own past and find out the reasons behind everything.
Unfortunately, he was no longer a child, nor a teen. Sword Burial Valley was no different than strangers to him.
The two uninvited guests’ visit did not influence Returnflow Mountain much. Senior Sister Linglong followed her original plan and began her seclusion training.
Other than pure water, Senior Sister Linglong brought along three Grain Staving Pills.
This was the first time Xiaodong saw such pills from the legends. There was a small herb field on Returnflow Mountain, and there were people managing it. However, Xiaodong had always thought that the medicine field was planted with just regular herbs that could cure headaches and colds, and treat small wounds. He never thought that the herbs could be used to create mystical things like Grain Staving Pills.
Xiaodong’s eyes shone brightly as he stared at the bottle containing the Grain Staving Pills. If eyes could generate heat, then his enthusiasm was enough to set the bottle ablaze.
Linglong found it funny. She uncorked the bottle, poured the pills onto her hand, and then showed them to Xiaodong.
If you want to see them, then take a good look.
Xiaodong, however, looked as if he was frightened and hurriedly shook his hands, urging her,
Senior Sister, hurry and keep them. It would be bad if the pills lost their effectiveness.
These were medicinal pills and not some regular snack.
Because uncle was once ill for a long time, Xiaodong had extremely complicated feelings for things like medicine.
On one hand, he treated medicine seriously, hoping that medicine could cure his uncle. On the other, he hated and feared the medicinal scent a little. The smell of medicine in the air brought along the premonition of illness, death, and separation.
They won’t. They’ve already been processed. How can the medicinal effects wear off so easily?
Senior Sister Linglong asked him,
Do you want to try one?
Xiaodong shook his head like a den-den daiko.
How could medicine be taken so easily? Furthermore, these pills were not something cheap that could be found anywhere in the streets. He knew when he saw Eldest Senior Brother carefully took them out from Master’s room.
Senior Sister Linglong going into seclusion training was an important matter, and Xiaodong could not cause trouble so tactlessly.
Linglong smiled as she poured the pills back into the bottle, and then casually passed it to Xiaodong.
Help me hold it.
She still had things to pack.
Xiaodong carefully held the bottle while he stood at the side and listened to Eldest Senior Brother instruct Senior Sister on some important things to take of note during seclusion training, and some tips on energy circulation.
To tell the truth, he could not completely understand.
Even if he could not understand, he was not disheartened. In any case, he would figure it out in the future.
He listened very carefully. For the parts that he did not understand, remembering them now would do no harm. Later on, by slowly working through them, there would come a day he would comprehend them all. If he were to miss a rare opportunity like this, he would definitely regret it in the future.
Mo Chen and the rest sent Senior Sister Linglong as far as Headturn Slope at the back of the mountain.
In the next few days, Senior Sister Linglong would head to the glen cave at the back of Headturn Slope alone. There was an array there for protection as well, and because it was especially quiet and safe, it was the best spot for seclusion training.
After entering seclusion training, Senior Sister would not bring any other items into the cave aside from the Grain Staving Pills. She would then not leave the cave unless her seclusion training was over.
How could three Grain Staving Pills last for several dozens of days or even several months? Even if one would not starve to death by eating something like the Grain Staving Pills, it would definitely feel uncomfortable, right?
Xiaodong suddenly cried out.
Grain Staving Pills!
The Grain Staving Pills were still on him. Earlier, he was helping Senior Sister hold the bottle. In the end, he listened so attentively to his senior siblings’ conversation and had actually forgotten to pass the pills back to Senior Sister when they separated!
