Seeing the joyful expression in the boy’s eyes, Li Jingsheng once again felt that he genuinely possessed the suspicious tendencies of an abusive guardian.
Though upon closer reflection, that seemed to be precisely the case.
While fiercely condemning himself internally, he maintained his stern facade outwardly: “Of course it is true. When has your Senior Brother ever lied to you?”
Observing the other’s unconvincing performance, Mo Yu played along: “Many thanks, Senior Brother.”
Calculating the timeline, Li Jingsheng figured there was still some time before Xiaoman’s appearance, which shouldn’t disrupt Mo Yu’s spiritual root awakening.
He originally intended to take the boy down the mountain immediately, but on second thought, he hadn’t ventured down since transmigrating here and didn’t even know what the local currency looked like. Dragging the boy along blindly felt somewhat inappropriate and risked exposing his own ignorance.
Thus, he delayed the trip by a day: “Get your things in order today. We will head down the mountain tomorrow.”
Mo Yu’s eyes remained bright and gleaming, reminding Li Jingsheng of a small puppy he used to feed outside his school gates.
Whenever that puppy was fed, its eyes would light up with that exact same luster.
So adorable! So cute!
Fearing he wouldn’t be able to control his facial expressions, Li Jingsheng gave his instructions and quickly took his leave.
The onset of summer always carried a stifling heat, and Li Jingsheng felt as though he had worked up a sweat just making this trip.
He hadn’t thought much of it when he spoke those words aloud earlier, but now that he was back in his own room, a wave of excitement washed over him.
Whether it stemmed from the novelty of visiting a new place or the anticipation of his traveling companion, he couldn’t quite tell.
Overwhelmed with excitement, Li Jingsheng began pestering Xiao Yu: “Hey, do you know what currency they use here?” Before waiting for a reply, he answered himself: “This is a cultivation world, so they should use spirit stones, right? No, wait, ordinary people live at the foot of the mountain, what do they use? It couldn’t be copper coins and silver taels, could it?”
“Hey, say something!”
Lately, Xiao Yu increasingly felt that its host grew more abnormal the closer he got to Mo Yu. His brain wasn’t functioning well to begin with, but these past few days around Mo Yu made his mind operate like a broken machine where only basic instincts and common sense remained.
It rubbed its feathered tail gently against Li Jingsheng’s cheek while delivering a harsh sentiment: “Didn’t you use this world’s currency to place a bet just the other day? How did you forget already? Host, why don’t we just dump those unworn clothes of the original owner on him and skip accompanying him down there.”
Li Jingsheng froze instantly, pulling Xiao Yu right in front of his eyes. Supporting his chin with one hand, he gazed at it thoughtfully.
He sensed that Xiao Yu had been acting quite abnormal these past few days, specifically, the creature seemed to harbor an intense aversion to his proximity to Mo Yu.
It constantly tried to make him stay away or ignore Mo Yu altogether.
If it were simply a matter of not wanting him to treat Mo Yu well, he could understand.
Yet, despite his ongoing need to approach the protagonist for the sake of his mission, Xiao Yu had attempted to block him multiple times.
Moreover, no new tasks had been issued recently.
Narrowing his eyes, he scrutinized the feather: “You are acting strange, extremely strange lately. Why don’t you want me to get close to Mo Yu?”
Faced with the interrogation, Xiao Yu didn’t know how to retort for a moment. Combined with the glaring suspicion in Li Jingsheng’s gaze, it finally cracked under the pressure and prepared to surrender: “Actually, it is not…”
“Alright, you don’t need to make excuses! I already figured it out!”
Li Jingsheng cut off the apology directly.
At those words, every single downy feather on Xiao Yu stood on end.
Its voice trembled slightly: “Y… You figured out what?”
Logically speaking, his host’s brain shouldn’t be capable of deducing anything.
Noticing the creature’s cowardly reaction, Li Jingsheng assumed his guess was spot on. With an air of profound wisdom, he declared: “You must be afraid that I am spending too much time near Mo Yu and will neglect you, right?”
Hearing this, all of Xiao Yu’s bristling feathers flattened back down smoothly.
Clearly oblivious to this micro-change, Li Jingsheng continued his soliloquy: “Even though every time I go see Mo Yu I can’t talk to you, rest assured, you still hold a place in my heart. I would never abandon a friend for a new acquaintance.”
Mid-sentence, Li Jingsheng realized how that sounded and quickly appended: “Anyway, I won’t neglect you.”
With that, he rubbed against Xiao Yu’s feathered tail, recalling that the creature rather enjoyed his touch.
Sure enough, the moment contact was made, Xiao Yu’s soft feathers wrapped affectionately around his finger.
Riding the wave of his logic, Xiao Yu agreed: “As long as the host knows.”
Figuring he had successfully appeased the pet, Li Jingsheng resumed his endless stream of questions.
As dusk gathered and the final shadows draped over the phoenix trees, Li Jingsheng finally finished organizing his preparations for the next day.
Sprawling across the bed in an outstretched shape, he asked listlessly: “Say, if I tell Mo Yu right now that I’m not going tomorrow, do you think he’ll mind?”
Hearing this, Xiao Yu instantly floated up in front of his face, beaming with joy: “Really? Host, you finally came to your senses! I told you not to go, just toss him a few random clothes and be done with it.”
Observing the unrestrained delight on the creature’s face, Li Jingsheng concluded that this feather had a terribly petty mindset.
He had literally just placated it this afternoon, so why was it still holding a grudge against Mo Yu?
With a cheeky grin, he reached out to pet Xiao Yu while delivering a chilling response: “I was just joking.”
Xiao Yu deflated like a punctured balloon, swaying downward to land beside his cheek with a resentful tone: “Then why did you even ask?”
Finding the creature’s reaction immensely amusing, Li Jingsheng poked its face again: “I was just venting a bit. Haven’t you ever seen people in the real world like to vent to their friends?”
That remark left only a single word echoing in Xiao Yu’s mind: friends. Thrilled, it floated right up to Li Jingsheng’s nose: “Y… You said we are friends?!”
Startled by the abrupt reaction, Li Jingsheng blinked: “Aren’t we?”
Continuing to rub against his cheek, Xiao Yu smiled happily: “Yes, we’re friends. Host, I like you so much.”
The cheesy declaration gave Li Jingsheng goosebumps all over: “Can you speak normally? You’re making me want to take back what I just said.”
Xiao Yu promised eagerly: “I won’t say it anymore.”
Interrupted by this little exchange, Li Jingsheng suddenly remembered something he had forgotten to settle.
What was it, though?
The window inside remained unlatched, and a gentle breeze drifted through, rustling his robes.
Right, I haven’t decided what to wear tomorrow yet!
Meanwhile, the occupant of another small room was grappling with a remarkably similar dilemma.
Mo Yu stared at his wardrobe, which was almost exclusively filled with black garments, and fell into silence.
Senior Brother doesn’t seem to like me wearing black.
After pondering for a long time, he finally pulled out the pale-yellow outfit Li Jingsheng had gifted him.
In truth, he knew the other person seemed to favor the cyan set above all else, but that particular outfit had been ruined during the martial arts tournament.
At that thought, a flash of malice crossed Mo Yu’s dark eyes. That Wang Yong was completely worthless, how dare he even think of acting as Senior Brother’s friend.
Though he hadn’t seen Senior Brother hanging out with those people recently.
Caressing the pale yellow robes, the malice faded from Mo Yu’s gaze. Senior Brother must have realized the despicable nature of those people and distanced himself from them.
Having defeated that opponent, only he was qualified to stand by Senior Brother’s side.
The mere thought of heading down the mountain with Li Jingsheng tomorrow brought an involuntary smile to the corners of Mo Yu’s lips.
Early morning light filtered through the mist, distant mountains wore shades of deep cyan, and the phoenix blossoms on Qize Mountain burned a brilliant red.
By the time Li Jingsheng finished tidying up the next day, Mo Yu was already waiting at the doorway.
The boy was dressed in a pale yellow robe with cloud-patterned embroidered cuffs, secured at the waist by a cyan jade belt. He was the very picture of an elegant young nobleman.
With a high-bridged nose and lowered brows, his raven-feathered lashes cast delicate shadows across his face.
Li Jingsheng instantly understood why a certain internet buzzword called bone structure existed.
If Mo Yu’s appearance were placed in his own era, he would undoubtedly be praised as a god of bone structure!
Gazing at the youth’s tall silhouette, Li Jingsheng couldn’t help marveling: Kids in puberty really grow fast, they change completely every single day.
Looking down at the outfit he had carefully selected for today, he suddenly felt the effort was well worth it, otherwise, he might have felt too embarrassed to stand next to the boy.
Just as he debated whether to speak up first, Mo Yu lifted his gaze to meet his, the morning light catching in his eyes like molten gold.
Their eyes locked, and the youth’s gaze filled with undisguised joy.
Observing those puppy-dog eyes, Li Jingsheng marveled once more: This is just too cute!
Maintaining his poker face, he walked down the steps and offered an explanatory cough: “That outfit suits you well today.”
Startled by the compliment, Mo Yu froze for a fraction of a second before looking back at Li Jingsheng with radiant delight, offering a heartfelt praise: “Senior Brother, you look wonderful today too.”
Li Jingsheng was nearly melted by the sheer cuteness, relying entirely on willpower to keep his expression from cracking. Desperate to distract himself, he pivoted: “Where is Chu Wen? Why didn’t he come?”
At the mention, Mo Yu fell silent for a brief moment, the sparkling light in his eyes dimming slightly: “He’s been running off to the back mountains these past few days, seemingly practicing diligently, so I didn’t call for him.”
Li Jingsheng thought to himself: Diligence is a virtue, so I suppose I can just bring him back a few items later.
“Alright then. Wanting to work hard is a good thing, and ambition is always commendable, you mustn’t slack off either.”
Lowering his gaze, Mo Yu murmured: “Yes, Senior Brother.”
Watching the boy’s posture, Li Jingsheng felt as though he were looking at a large dog with drooping ears, his heart softening involuntarily in a sudden, fleeting impulse to pet the boy’s head.
By the time he registered his actions, his hand had already reached out and patted the hair.
So soft.
Mo Yu looked up at him in bewilderment, seemingly failing to understand the meaning behind the gesture. Li Jingsheng, thoroughly impressed by his own swift execution, quickly put on his senior airs again: “Just do your best, there’s no need to push yourself too hard.”
The words seemed to work wonders on Mo Yu, whose lips curved upward into a bright smile: “Yes, Senior Brother.”
Li Jingsheng finally understood the true meaning of the phrase that smile is brighter than the sunshine found in novels.
How can anyone be this damn cute!
Hastily retracting his hand, he stepped forward: “Let’s get moving, it’s getting late.”
Following closely behind, Mo Yu responded with a hint of cheer in his voice: “Yes, Senior Brother!”
The previous night, Li Jingsheng had already consulted Xiao Yu regarding the exact location of the market at the foot of the mountain and picked up a few pointers on travel talismans capable of covering a thousand miles a day.
Today, those tips came in handy.
Reaching the edge of the mountain pass, he produced a tunneling talisman prepared in advance, inscribed the destination upon it, and ignited it.
The scenery before them flickered from black to bright. Before Li Jingsheng even opened his eyes, the clamor of boisterous peddling reached his ears.
Opening his eyes slowly, he found himself greeted by a bustling, prosperous market.