MO TIANLIAO had only just stepped onto the zigzag bridge when he collided into Cheng Xi, who had been running with his head down. His sturdy divine tree body promptly knocked the young man over, and his hood slid off his head. It was like a scene straight out of a novel, where the incredibly handsome young master bumped into a harried young man. The inexperienced young man frantically tried in vain to grab his cloak from sliding off to reveal his…face covered in green fur.
The corners of Mo Tianliao’s lips twitched. This simple-minded child had actually taken that pill!
Now his archrival had seen him in this state too! Heartbroken, and crying even harder, Cheng Xi scrambled to his feet and fled.
At the center of the zigzag bridge stood Woxuan Sanctum’s Xuanning Palace. It appeared unremarkable from the outside, but inside, it was another world altogether.
The floor of the entire grand hall was paved with a kind of transparent crystal, and when the sunlight shone through, the crystalline lake waters beneath were visible through them. The light reflected by the water would create a mesmerizing display of rippling light on the floor.
“Greetings to Second Shibo.” Mo Tianliao stepped forward and bowed.
Xuanji nodded. “What brings you here?”
Mo Tianliao got straight to the point. “There’s something I’d like your advice on.”
“I see. Let’s go to the rear hall,” Xuanji said, looking pointedly at his three disciples.
“Oh, I just remembered I have to open the elixir furnace today!” Huaqing slapped himself on the forehead. “Oops! It’s already so late. They’ll burn if I don’t get back now. See you later!”
“The second-generation disciples are learning water spells today. I’ll check on them…” Trembling slightly, Yuli glanced at Mo Tianliao and fled before his master could even respond.
Yuanhai slowly trundled toward the exit, but his master grabbed him by the collar. “Yuanhai, I know you have nothing going on today.”
Xuanji dragged Mo Tianliao to the back hall, a lavishly decorated chamber. This room had a transparent crystal floor too, and it held a large number of intricately designed wooden racks with an assortment of hemp ropes wound around them. The long ropes trailed over the roof beams, intersecting as they coiled around the wooden racks, like snakes slithering all over the room.
Xuanji pulled out a basket of dry hemp from the corner and sat casually on the floor. “I saw the move you used yesterday, the one with the vines. What is it called?”
“All Become One.” Mo Tianliao joined him on the floor; he figured he should follow his host’s lead since he was here to ask for advice.
Resigned, Yuanhai sat down and helped his master sort the hemp.
Xuanji nodded. “It’s a good move.”
All Become One was a high-level wood-element spell. Mo Tianliao had seen wood-element masters using it in his previous life, and he’d memorized it because he’d thought it was powerful. Elder Yunsong had also used it yesterday, though much more skillfully than Mo Tianliao. Mo Tianliao wondered if Xuanji had studied it too.
“If you like techniques like that, you must like soft, long things, right?” Xuanji looked at him with shining eyes.
“…Huh?” Mo Tianliao was taken aback. What did that have to do with anything?
“You should come by when you’re free to braid hemp rope with me. You know, to temper your mind.” Xuanji handed Mo Tianliao a handful of dried hemp stalks and gestured for him to give it a try.
The corner of Mo Tianliao’s mouth twitched. He might have been fooled if he were truly a novice who had just joined the sect. Who had ever heard of braiding hemp rope to cultivate one’s mind? But he couldn’t say that aloud, so he picked up the hemp and started braiding. As the number one craftsman in the world, this was child’s play to him.
His long, slender fingers weaved the hemp nimbly back and forth as he braided the most complex eight-strand hemp rope variant. Xuanji’s eyes widened, and he slapped his thigh. A promising talent! He looked at his eldest disciple, who was still struggling to weave a simple three-strand rope. He dismissed him with a disdainful wave of his hand. “You’re not needed here anymore. Go play by yourself.”
Yuanhai stood up as if he had been granted a reprieve and slowly walked out of the rear hall. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to run—he just couldn’t. Reaching the main hall, he saw a silver carp swimming contentedly beneath the floor. Yuanhai tapped the floor, and the crystal slid apart. Splashing down into the water, Yuanhai transformed into a huge turtle and happily chased after the carp.
Heaven knows how torturous it was to ask a turtle like him to braid hemp ropes!
Meanwhile, as Mo Tianliao braided the ropes, he tried to wheedle more information out of Xuanji. “Seeing as Shizun is so close to you and the sect leader, I thought I should come more often to say my greetings.”
“That’s right. I grew up together with your shifu. All the ropes he played with came from my hands.” Xuanji beamed with pride.
Suppressing his mirth, Mo Tianliao asked about the divine soul in a roundabout way, but Xuanji flew into a rage at just the mention of it.
“Tongtong, that silly boy. I don’t know who he split his divine soul for, but if I ever meet that jerk, I’ll tie him up and throw him into the sea to feed the turtles!” He slapped on the floor, causing the turtle underneath to stumble and flip over underwater.
A stab of pain pierced Mo Tianliao in the heart at the word “split.” Overlooking the fact that Xuanji had called him a jerk, he quickly followed up with a question. “Is there any way to mend it?”
Xuanji lowered his head and shook it. After so many years, that portion of divine soul had probably merged with something else. Even if they could find it, how would they get it back? It was simply impossible.
✦ ✦ ✦
MO TIANLIAO TOOK the small ball of hemp ropes he’d made and returned to Woqing Sanctum with heavy steps.
“He’s back!” the tiger announced as he dashed into the house, interrupting the boisterously quarreling dog and cat.
Remembering how Mo Tianliao had thrown a rock at him before, the furious sect leader hurriedly jumped out the window and changed into his human form.
“Sect Leader, why are you here?” Mo Tianliao was astonished to see the dog-in-human-clothing sect leader. Hadn’t they said he’d gone out?
“Ahem! I noticed Qingtong looking pale yesterday, so I came to check on him.” Tianlang-zhenren stroked his beard and entered the main hall with Mo Tianliao.
One glance into the hall, and Mo Tianliao quickly moved over to Qingtong and pulled him into his arms, using his wide sleeves to conceal that snow-white hair. Pawpaw had always appeared with black hair all these years, so he must not have wanted the sect leader to know. However, his divine soul’s recent instability made it difficult for him to disguise his hair color. Mo Tianliao couldn’t let anyone see it.
The sect leader was just about to step over the threshold when his leg froze in midair. He almost fell over. Beside him, the tiger’s jaw dropped wide enough to shove in an entire goat.
✦ ✦ ✦
MINI EXTRA
Woozy Sect’s Gossip Weekly
Newflash #1: Breaking news! Qingtong-zhenren caught red-handed by the sect leader in a secret rendezvous with his lover!
Newflash #2: New disciple climbs the ranks by climbing into his master’s bed! The world is going to the dogs!
Newflash #3: *leaked photo of scandalous hug* Frontline reporter Tiger risks his life to send this photo.