Whether Mo Wudu would actually do something like that was not what Xi Menglan cared about most. What truly caught her attention was the fact that Mo Wudu had already taken in a disciple.
She did not even know whether this disciple was male or female. If it was a woman, then putting “female disciple” and “abuse” together already sounded extremely suspicious. But if it was a man, then connecting “female disciple” with “cross-dressing” made the whole situation even more questionable.
Xi Menglan immediately asked, “Is the disciple Mo Wudu took in a man or a woman?”
The other person replied, “I think it’s a woman. I heard them say that Mo Wudu’s disciple has no talent for cultivation and is also the princess of a fallen kingdom. She was being hunted down, and Peak Master Mo was the only one willing to take her in. Otherwise, she definitely would have died.”
A female disciple with no cultivation talent?
Why would Mo Wudu take someone like that as his disciple?
Could it be because she was beautiful? And there were only the two of them living on Jade Radiance Peak. If that was the case, wouldn’t they be able to do whatever they wanted without anyone else ever finding out?
This was bad.
The more Xi Menglan thought about it, the more uneasy she became. She immediately lost all desire to continue gathering information. Right now, she only wanted to find Mo Wudu and ask him about everything face-to-face.
Of course, even if Mo Wudu really had fallen for someone else, Xi Menglan couldn’t actually bring herself to break his legs.
Xi Menglan said, “That’s all I wanted to ask. Thank you.”
The other person hurriedly replied, “No need to thank me, no need at all. I should be the one thanking you, Fairy.”
Xi Menglan left with Yue Xinru and immediately mounted her flying sword, heading straight for Jade Radiance Peak.
Xi Menglan’s uneasiness only grew along the way. She asked, “Senior Sister, what should I do? I’m starting to panic.”
Yue Xinru replied, “My Lady, once this matter is over, you should return to the sect. You haven’t gone back in years. The Sect Master must miss you terribly.”
Yue Xinru’s greatest concern was that after taking Xi Menglan out to gain experience, she would eventually return to the sect with Xi Menglan somehow having acquired a boyfriend. That was precisely why Yue Xinru had wanted to separate the two of them. Otherwise, if the Sect Master found out, he would certainly punish her for failing to properly watch over Xi Menglan.
Xi Menglan dismissed the concern and said, “Even if I go back, Father will be busy dealing with sect affairs. He won’t have time to bother with me.”
Before the two could exchange more than a few words, they had already arrived above Jade Radiance Peak.
Jade Radiance Peak was quite large. Coincidentally, the direction Xi Menglan approached from did not lead to Mo Wudu’s residence. Instead, it brought her to the house where Ning Qingxue lived.
Xi Menglan naturally assumed that this was Mo Wudu’s residence, so she flew over on her flying sword. At that moment, Ning Qingxue was cultivating inside her room, completely unaware that two unexpected visitors had arrived outside.
Knock, knock, knock.
The sound of knocking came from outside the door.
Ning Qingxue assumed it was her Master. However, she couldn’t understand why he had come. Hadn’t he said that a guest would be visiting him? Barely any time had passed, so why was he already here? Could the guest have left already?
Ning Qingxue stopped cultivating and walked over to open the door. To her surprise, the person standing outside was not her Master. Instead, there were two women whom she had never seen before.
Ning Qingxue looked at them uncertainly and asked, “Who are you?”
Xi Menglan stared at the woman who had opened the door. When she saw that Ning Qingxue’s beauty was no less striking than her own, her heart immediately sank.
Xi Menglan demanded, “Where is Mo Wudu?”
As she spoke, Xi Menglan leaned slightly to look past Ning Qingxue and into the room, wanting to see whether Mo Wudu was inside as well.
Ning Qingxue replied, “Master is on the other side of the mountain. This is where I live.”
Only then did Xi Menglan realize that she had come to the wrong place. She asked, “You’re Mo Wudu’s disciple, aren’t you?”
Ning Qingxue nodded.
Xi Menglan asked, “What’s your name?”
Ning Qingxue answered, “Ning Qingxue.”
Ning Qingxue?
Ning Qingxue!
The woman from yesterday had also claimed that her name was Ning Qingxue. There was no way such a coincidence could exist.
That woman from yesterday had definitely been Mo Wudu dressed as a woman!
Then Xi Menglan suddenly noticed something even more serious.
The jade pendant she had given Mo Wudu was hanging around Ning Qingxue’s neck.
When Xi Menglan had originally given the pendant to Mo Wudu, she had never once seen him wear it. She understood Mo Wudu’s proud and arrogant personality well. He had never wanted to rely on the things she gave him.
Yet she had never imagined that Mo Wudu would turn around and give the jade pendant she had personally gifted him to Ning Qingxue.
Xi Menglan couldn’t help becoming suspicious of the true nature of their relationship.
Xi Menglan asked, “Qingxue, did your Master give you that jade pendant?”
Ning Qingxue nodded.
She had no intention of hiding anything from the woman before her. She could smell a familiar fragrance on Xi Menglan, one very similar to the scent her Master had brought back from the foot of the mountain yesterday.
Because of that, Ning Qingxue also decided to probe Xi Menglan a little.
Ning Qingxue explained, “It was my reward for tying Master’s hair.”
Xi Menglan’s expression stiffened as she repeated, “A reward for tying his hair?”
Ning Qingxue nodded and said, “Yes. Master said he wants me to tie his hair for the rest of his life.”
Xi Menglan nearly exploded on the spot.
Tying someone’s hair was such an intimate act, yet even she had never done anything like that with Mo Wudu. She and Mo Wudu had been together for roughly a year, but the two had always treated each other with courteous restraint. They hadn’t even held hands.
It wasn’t that Xi Menglan didn’t want to. Both of them were simply too proud to lower themselves first.
Yet Ning Qingxue was already tying Mo Wudu’s hair, and that alone was bad enough. Now Mo Wudu even wanted her to do it for the rest of his life?
There was definitely something wrong between these two!
Xi Menglan couldn’t suppress her suspicion and asked, “Are you very close to your Master?”
Ning Qingxue didn’t speak badly about her Master, even though she had once suffered inhuman treatment because of Mo Wudu. She merely replied, “We’re fairly close, I suppose.”
Xi Menglan pressed further, “You and your Master are only master and disciple, right?”
The question left Ning Qingxue somewhat bewildered.
If she and her Master weren’t master and disciple, then what else could they possibly be?
Ning Qingxue answered without hesitation, “Of course we’re master and disciple.”
Xi Menglan felt that Ning Qingxue wasn’t lying. Perhaps Mo Wudu really had given her the jade pendant simply because he cared about his disciple.
Considering her relationship with Mo Wudu, Xi Menglan was practically Ning Qingxue’s master’s wife. In that case, she ought to give the girl something as well.
After thinking for a moment, Xi Menglan took a jade hairpin from her spatial ring and handed it to Ning Qingxue. She said, “Qingxue, this is my first-meeting gift to you.”
Ning Qingxue immediately refused, “I can’t accept this.”
Xi Menglan replied matter-of-factly, “Why can’t you accept a first-meeting gift from your master’s wife?”
Ning Qingxue froze. “Master’s wife?”
Her Master was Mo Wudu.
Everything matched. It all made sense now.
Ning Qingxue had previously suspected that her Master had found a new lover. Moreover, the fragrance on the woman before her was extremely similar to the scent her Master had brought back from the foot of the mountain yesterday.
There was no mistake.
This woman was definitely her master’s wife!
Xi Menglan confidently said, “That’s right. I’m your master’s wife, so just accept the first-meeting gift.”
Since Xi Menglan was her master’s wife, giving her a first-meeting gift was perfectly reasonable. If Ning Qingxue continued refusing, it might seem disrespectful.
Thus, Ning Qingxue ultimately accepted the jade hairpin.
Xi Menglan said, “Qingxue, I’m going to find your Master now, so I won’t disturb you any longer.”
Ning Qingxue politely replied, “Take care, Master’s Wife.”
Hearing Ning Qingxue address her as “Master’s Wife” filled Xi Menglan with delight. Still, finding Mo Wudu was far more important right now.
Xi Menglan stepped onto her flying sword and quickly left, flying in the direction Ning Qingxue had pointed out.
Meanwhile, Mo Wudu was still sitting on the stone bench beneath the peach blossom tree.
He couldn’t understand why Xi Menglan still hadn’t come to find him after so long. Judging by her behavior yesterday, she had seemed extremely eager to see him.
Could she have lost her nerve halfway here?
That wasn’t impossible.
Based on the original body’s memories of Xi Menglan, it was perfectly normal for her pride to prevent her from taking that final step.