The reinforcements sent from the demon realm consisted of twenty people, divided into two groups. Lin Anjing and his team were the first group, tasked with advancing quickly and gathering information.
There were ten people in total, with Lin Anjing selecting two to accompany Wen Fei and her group into the city for a meeting. The remaining seven were temporarily stationed on the immortal boat, waiting for the second group.
“Aunt, Junior Sister, I’ve arranged everything on my end,” Lin Anjing said politely, though he still found it difficult to meet Tang Muxi’s gaze. Despite his tall stature, he couldn’t help but hunch slightly, making himself appear shorter than her.
Tang Muxi didn’t notice this detail, but Wen Fei did. She raised her hand and gave him a slap. “Why are you hunching? Stand up straight.”
Lin Anjing was a close friend and subordinate of Wen Mingyu, and they had a very close relationship. As an elder, she was used to dealing with them unceremoniously, and if she saw something she didn’t like, she would act directly. In her eyes, this group was still like mischievous children who needed proper guidance, or they might cause trouble.
Lin Anjing’s face turned red, and he coughed lightly. “Aunt, Junior Sister is watching. Can we not resort to violence?”
Junior Sister is watching? Wen Fei was taken aback. Seeing the usually fearless person blushing, she immediately understood his thoughts and couldn’t help but cover her mouth and laugh.
She noticed Jiang Yin’s increasingly displeased expression and laughed even more heartily.
“Alright, fine. I won’t embarrass you in front of Junior Sister this time, but don’t blame Aunt next time,” she emphasized, seeing Jiang Yin’s face darken even more, feeling satisfied.
Despite the teasing, Wen Fei felt a bit sorry for the young man. After all, the “Junior Sister” he longed for was already someone else’s Dao companion, and this fool was still in the dark. But she had no intention of telling him, planning to take this opportunity to settle old scores.
Lin Anjing’s face flushed, but he obediently straightened up and followed his aunt into the city with the others.
Tang Muxi followed behind, puzzled, and quietly asked Jiang Yin, “Senior Sister, what were they talking about just now?”
Jiang Yin, expressionless, tightly gripped Tang Muxi’s hands and said coldly, “Don’t ask.”
“Huh?”
“Just don’t.”
Tang Muxi: … Alright, Senior Sister seems to be in a bad mood. Better not provoke her for now.
On the way back, Tang Muxi noticed Lin Anjing and her aunt whispering to each other, occasionally sneaking glances at her, thinking she hadn’t noticed, and quickly turning away.
Tang Muxi found it strange and curiously tried to listen in, but found her spiritual sense blocked, unable to hear anything, so she had to give up.
Senior Sister was also acting a bit off. Every time the people in front glanced at her, Senior Sister would grip her wrist a bit tighter.
Tang Muxi, feeling the pain, quietly protested, but each time she only received a fierce glare in return.
Tang Muxi had no choice but to endure it, feeling both unhappy and wronged, planning to get back at them later that night.
She thought these people were all acting strangely, as if they were having a stroke. Outwardly indifferent, she had already cursed them all in her heart.
Just as they entered the inner city and were about to head to the Heavenly Gift Pavilion, they saw Xia Qing waving and running towards them.
“Miss Tang, Miss Jiang, Senior Wen, the pavilion master wishes to host a banquet for everyone today. He has reserved a floor at Exquisite Delicacies House and specifically instructed me to inform you all. Please follow me to Exquisite Delicacies House.”
After he finished speaking, he noticed three unfamiliar cultivators and hesitantly asked, “Who are these…”
Wen Fei smiled lightly. “They are reinforcements from the demon realm. Due to the recent city alert, not all could enter, so we selected three to join us temporarily.” She said, pushing Lin Anjing forward.
Lin Anjing understood and respectfully stood to greet them. “I am Lin Anjing, and these two are my companions.”
The other two also stepped forward to introduce themselves.
“So, friends from the demon realm. I am Xia Qing, nice to meet you all.”
After a brief introduction, Xia Qing led everyone to Exquisite Delicacies House.
In fact, the food at the Heavenly Gift Pavilion was no less than that of Exquisite Delicacies House, but since it wasn’t a dedicated restaurant, Wen Mingyu found it odd to host a banquet there.
As Tang Muxi walked, she suddenly heard the voice of the Illusion God. “Master, I also want to taste the food at Exquisite Delicacies House. Can I go back and change clothes first?”
“Huh? Why change clothes just to eat?” Tang Muxi asked, puzzled.
The Illusion God was momentarily stumped, her expression changing rapidly before finally revealing the truth. “Since awakening in the ethereal mountain, I’ve only had one outfit, and it’s been several months now.”
Although she used spells to keep her clothes clean and dust-free, wearing the same thing for so long made her feel uncomfortable.
Tang Muxi, reminded by her, suddenly realized that the Illusion God hadn’t appeared for a long time and felt guilty for not considering such things.
Since there were outsiders today, it was necessary for her to make an appearance for future convenience.
“I’ll go back with you. I happen to have a few new outfits that haven’t been worn yet, complete with everything. I’ll give them to you. Do you have a storage artifact? If not, I’ll give you one too.”
The Illusion God lightly coughed, not refusing, and nodded in agreement.
After discussing it with her in the spiritual sea, Tang Muxi informed the others, “Senior Sister, Master, the Illusion God has some matters to attend to. I’ll accompany her back, and you all go ahead to Exquisite Delicacies House. We’ll join you shortly.”
Wen Fei was surprised but, recalling the Illusion God’s gluttonous nature after taking form, didn’t say much.
However, Jiang Yin was a bit worried. “Should I go back with you?”
Tang Muxi shook her head. “No need, we’ll be quick.”
Seeing that Senior Sister was still somewhat reluctant, she whispered in her ear, “Senior Sister, please save a seat for me and the Illusion God next to Master. I don’t want anyone else to take it.”
With that, Jiang Yin suddenly remembered that Lin Anjing was present today, and under no circumstances could he sit next to her Junior Sister.
Jiang Yin quickly calculated in her mind and reluctantly let go of her wrist. “Be quick.”
Tang Muxi smiled and agreed.
Turning her head, she noticed Lin Anjing sneaking glances at her, feeling something was off, but she didn’t show it and responded with a polite smile.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she smiled, he immediately looked away, as if displeased with her.
He had been glancing at her while walking earlier too. Did she have something inappropriate on her?
Tang Muxi froze, feeling hurt and falling into self-doubt.
However, she didn’t realize the impact her smile had on the sensitive and inexperienced young man.
If before he was just shy in front of a beautiful woman, now he was completely captivated by her clear, smiling eyes, his heart pounding, his mind dizzy, unable to tell direction.
Jiang Yin observed his reaction and stepped forward to deliberately block his view.
“Junior Sister, hurry up. Be careful of those with ulterior motives.”
This was a veiled insult to Lin Anjing, but Jiang Yin forgot that it wasn’t just this naive boy who coveted her Junior Sister; there were also those who had been lurking in the shadows for a long time.
Neglecting one thing for another always comes with a price.
The Heavenly Gift Pavilion was remote, and the journey back wasn’t short, but compared to the dozens of miles of Panlong City, it was a small matter. Tang Muxi jogged all the way and quickly returned to her room.
She shared a wardrobe with Senior Sister, divided into two levels, Senior Sister on top, her on the bottom. The new clothes Tang Muxi mentioned were ones she had bought during her free time. Although the materials weren’t as precious as those she made herself, the styles were very nice. She had bought double sets, intending to wear them with Senior Sister, but since she was giving them to the Illusion God now, she decided to give them all to her.
Otherwise, having Senior Sister wear the same clothes as Huanshen… it just feels weird. Tang Muxi took out all the new clothes she had, including small clothes and skirts.
“Here, these are all for you. Pick whichever you like to wear. The rest can be stored in this storage ring. Although it’s not of high quality and the space isn’t large, it should be enough for emergencies. You can use it for now, and tomorrow I’ll take you to the Treasure Pavilion to buy a better one, how about that?” Tang Muxi was now a VIP at the Treasure Pavilion, getting discounts on everything. She had been so focused on farming lately that she forgot to indulge in shopping. Tomorrow, she planned to take Senior Sister along and experience the thrill of spending lavishly.
“No need to spend money.” Huanshen opened her mouth to stop her, but realized her master wasn’t listening at all, so she simply stopped talking and focused on choosing.
She rarely took human form before, having been forged not long before she fell into slumber during that war. Now, taking human form and wearing clothes, the strangeness and shyness still lingered.
Why does a bow and arrow need to wear clothes? No one could answer that question. But at least she couldn’t go out naked.
“I want this one.” After thinking for a long time, she pointed to the light blue set in the middle. It looked like ice crystals, as beautiful as her master’s eyes.
Tang Muxi nodded and put the other clothes into the storage ring for her. Seeing Huanshen undress without a care, she was stunned and quickly turned away with a red face, “Why did you just take it off?” She was still here!
Huanshen was puzzled, “Is it not allowed?”
Tang Muxi was at a loss for words, patiently explaining, “Don’t expose your body in front of others, not even me. When you take human form, you should follow human etiquette.”
Huanshen heard that even her master wasn’t allowed, and was confused. Would she have to wrap herself in cloth before coming out when her master used the bow and arrow in the future? How silly.
Huanshen decided to let it go in one ear and out the other, pretending not to hear it.
After Tang Muxi finished speaking, she felt like she was sitting on pins and needles and hurriedly left the room. The room was hot and connected, and she could clearly hear the rustling inside, so she went outside to get some air.
The corridor was empty, not a single person in sight. Usually, there were staff at the corner of the stairs, ready to help with anything. But today, for some reason, there was no one at the stairs, which was really strange.
Tang Muxi leaned against the door, staring at the stairs for a long time. There was nothing particularly interesting there, but she couldn’t look away. Not only that, but her head felt increasingly dizzy and tired, making her want to close her eyes and sleep.
“Huanshen? Are you ready?” she called out, but received no response. The overwhelming fatigue hit her like a flood, quickly breaking down Tang Muxi’s will.
“Strange… why am I so sleepy today?” She yawned, swaying as her eyelids uncontrollably closed…
