Chapter 83: Return After Departure

“Third Brother!” Ning Mofei cried out in excitement, leaping up to throw himself into his third brother’s arms, utterly oblivious to how childish such a gesture seemed for someone so tall and well-built. Yu Youwei, far from feeling any embarrassment, watched with a smile. The four ancestors secretly observing them shook their heads or nodded, each with their own thoughts.

Hooking an arm around his younger brother’s shoulder, Ning Baixia asked earnestly, “Would you be interested in watching one of our elders refine pills?” His gaze lingered on Yu Youwei, fully aware that his own brothers, upon entering the pill refining chamber, would only fall asleep.

“Forget pill refining. I have no talent for it, and Mofei hasn’t awakened yet,” Yu Youwei replied, clearly uninterested.

“Who says you have no talent for pill refining?” Ning Baixia’s expression became peculiar.

With an awkward smile, Yu Youwei said, “Third Brother, I truly tried to learn. In the Ning family, I had Mofei coax the ancestor into giving me a dedicated pill refining room. I wasted enough herbs to bury myself, and only managed to create a few low-grade pills with no quality at all.”

“Ninth Uncle says you’re a pill refining genius, and we’ve all seen the pills you made. Even when I once had the ancestor teaching me hand-in-hand, I wasn’t much better than you.”

“Stop! Third Brother, you may be shameless enough to say it, but I’m too embarrassed to hear it. You’re a busy man; surely you didn’t come just to chat with us. Is there something on your mind? If my presence in the Library Pavilion makes things difficult for you, we can leave right now.”

“Sister-in-law, you misunderstand.”

“Third Brother, caring for Mofei has its limits! His responsibilities aren’t yours to bear. You needn’t do things for me just so I’ll follow Mofei wholeheartedly, especially if it makes things hard for yourself.” She slipped the token back into Ning Baixia’s hand, smiled sweetly, and drifted away, holding Ning Mofei’s hand.

Could he say, even without his younger brother, he’d do anything for her? Ning Baixia stood there, dazed, watching the pair disappear from sight, powerless to stop them.

Atop the pavilion, Ancestor Hong asked in puzzlement, “What riddles are those two playing?”

Ancestor Ye, worried, looked at Ning Baixia silently.

Ancestor Ma stroked his chin and mused, “Does that girl really have talent for pill refining or not?”

“Falling blossoms are affectionate, but the flowing water is indifferent. Baixia’s in for a rough time,” Ancestor Shui said gloomily, not in the mood for jokes, and listlessly shooed them away. “Why are you all still here?”

“No wonder Qingyun said Baixia plans to cultivate the Severing Emotions Technique.” Ancestor Ye sighed and vanished from sight.

Ancestor Ma and Ancestor Hong left in succession. Ancestor Shui sat cross-legged on the cushion by the window but found it impossible to calm his mind, sensing he’d forgotten something.

“Mofei, why was that little fool allowed up to the third floor?” Suddenly struck by inspiration, Ancestor Shui slapped his forehead. “Could it be that the little fool also had a stroke of fortune in the Dark Emperor’s Castle?”

What Ancestor Shui realized, the other three ancestors, just returned to their caves, realized as well, and all rushed out together. The elder guarding the pavilion was humming a tune and sipping tea downstairs when Ancestor Shui brushed past him, leaving him with a bewildered slap on the back.

Ning Baixia returned to Gourd Studio and relayed the rewards decided by the sect master to Yu Youwei, but she still didn’t believe it. “Third Brother, even if we needed rewards, Mofei already received gifts from the sect master and several peak lords. Besides, we only reached here safely thanks to Uncle Ma and the others’ flying ship—otherwise, we might have been killed by the Black Witch long ago. There’s really no need for you to go to such lengths to find excuses to give me things.”

“Sister-in-law, it truly is the master’s reward,” Ning Baixia felt, for the first time, at a loss for words.

“Third Brother, let’s drop it. Actually, my main purpose in entering the Library Pavilion was to find a way to solve Mofei’s problem. He had a stroke of fortune in the Dark Emperor’s Castle…” Yu Youwei hadn’t finished speaking when the four ancestors landed in the courtyard, asking in unison, “He really had a stroke of fortune?”

Without answering, Yu Youwei stood quietly.

“Speak, sister-in-law. The ancestors won’t judge, and my Immortal-Slaying Sword was a fierce weapon to begin with.” Ning Baixia raised his hand, summoning a double-edged sword that instantly filled the courtyard with a violent, murderous aura, chilling to the bone.

The Black Witch pursued relentlessly; to protect Ning Mofei, she had to rely on his sect. Since Ning Baixia had no reservations, Yu Youwei held nothing back as she explained Mofei’s situation.

“That little fool really has good fortune! First he acquired the Soul-Devouring Sword Blade, then, while being hunted, seized the hilt as well. No wonder, Ye, you always protected him and let him run wild, with the sect’s forbidden grounds completely open to him,” Ancestor Hong remarked sourly, unclear whether it was praise or complaint.

“You’re just narrow-minded. If it’s not of your Hong clan, you can’t stand to see others well-off,” Ancestor Shui retorted.

“If you two want to argue, go find somewhere else to fight,” Elder Ma, rarely speaking more than ten words at a time, stunned Ancestors Hong and Shui, then turned to Yu Youwei, “Looking at Mofei’s situation, even if the cold poison can’t be completely eliminated, if some meridians are cleared, he’ll be able to cultivate, and eventually rid himself of the poison entirely.”

“That’s the theory,” Yu Youwei said, pausing before continuing calmly, “Mofei is asleep. Let’s continue our conversation outside the courtyard so we don’t disturb him.”

This stunned the four ancestors and the sect master’s heir as if struck by lightning!

Ning Baixia was fine—his own brother could go out for some night air. But if the four ancestors stomped their feet, the whole Eastern Continent would tremble. To avoid disturbing Mofei, they had to step outside the courtyard to talk?

“Sister-in-law, Mofei is asleep…” Ning Baixia’s next words would have been “not even thunder could wake him,” but he suddenly remembered something and changed it to, “May I invite the ancestors to the Immortal Pavilion?”

The four ancestors realized there must be a reason for caution and moved together to the Immortal Pavilion. Only then did Yu Youwei speak, “The soul remnant of Night Jiuyou, the master of Nine Nether Peak, is inside the Soul-Devouring Sword. He can control Mofei. Do any of you have a way to forge Night Jiuyou’s soul remnant into a sword spirit?”

“That’s a good idea,” Ancestor Ye applauded.

Yu Youwei sighed, “But Night Jiuyou’s soul remnant is cunning. If he senses we want to refine him into a sword spirit, he’ll probably go for broke, and all threats will be useless.”

“Girl, you threatened Night Jiuyou’s soul remnant?” Ancestor Shui asked, half-smiling. She truly adored this girl; if their attributes matched, she’d find any way to take her as a disciple.

Though Ancestor Hong appeared rough, he was an old monster himself. He quickly guessed, “She must have threatened to destroy Mofei’s body. But since Night Jiuyou’s soul remnant dwells inside the Soul-Devouring Sword, controlling the sword shouldn’t be hard. Why should he care about your threats?”

With the Frost Sword and Blaze Sword circled like bracelets around her wrist, Yu Youwei worried the elders might notice something unusual about the twin swords, but calmly took out the storage pouch given by Ning Zhongwu, grabbing a handful of spirit stones engraved with explosive fire arrays to show them.