"Xiaomi, you mustn't underestimate this Cosmos Bag," Jiang Zhiyu hurriedly said with a serious expression. "This is a magical artifact gifted by my master. This bag is named 'Mustard Seed Sumeru'. Although it looks ordinary on the outside, it holds a universe within. The grain of an entire granary, half a street of shops, and even rivers, lakes, and seas can be contained inside it. However..."
He paused, running his fingertips along the opening of the bag. "Opening it requires spiritual energy as a guide. Since you currently have no cultivation base, I'm afraid you won't be able to use it for now."
"But since it has been given to you, when the opportunity arises in the future, I will personally teach—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Wu Li suddenly reached out from the side. With a light hook of his slender fingertips, the seemingly ordinary opening of the bag rippled with a faint golden flowing light.
"Contain what?" He raised an eyebrow and casually picked up the celadon teapot from the table.
The moment the body of the teapot touched the opening of the bag, it was as if it had been swallowed by invisible water, vanishing instantly.
Chai Xiaomi's eyes widened.
Wu Li had already let go. The bag fell back onto the table, as light and airy as if it were completely empty.
The corners of his lips curled up slightly:
"It's probably enough to contain a teahouse. For a glutton, it can certainly hold quite a lot of food."
Jiang Zhiyu was taken aback. "I originally thought the Gu clan was only proficient in Gu arts. I never expected your control over spiritual energy to be so masterful as well. That saves me the trouble. Xiaomi, you can just learn properly from your own husband."
His tone was gentle, but his words carried a good-natured tease. His gaze shifted back and forth between Wu Li and Chai Xiaomi, carrying a strong implication of "Since that's the case, I can put my mind at ease."
Chai Xiaomi stared at the seemingly deflated Cosmos Bag, then looked at the vanished teapot on the table. After a long while, she swallowed hard and carefully reached out a finger to poke the bag.
Soft. Empty.
Her gaze grew fixed.
How was this a bag? This was clearly a portable pocket dimension!
Chai Xiaomi secretly made up her mind that she would definitely pester Wu Li until he taught her how to open this Cosmos Bag. In the future, if she ever encountered danger, she might even be able to hide inside to save her life.
After the joy of receiving such a generous gift, a wave of melancholy washed over her heart. This meant that they would soon part ways with the protagonists, completely stepping onto a path different from the original plot.
Just as Chai Xiaomi was feeling a headache coming on, she heard Wu Li suddenly speak:
"If the two of you are heading to Liangya State, we might be able to travel together. The place I need to go next happens to be within the borders of Liangya State."
Hearing this, Song Yueyao frowned. Although Liangya State was her homeland, it held little warmth for her. If it weren't for her mother, the Queen, who was under house arrest, she would rather wander the ends of the earth than step foot back into that palace city.
Furthermore, the current Liangya State was no longer peaceful.
Her muddle-headed and debauched father, the King, had listened to the slander of treacherous sycophants and become obsessed with evil arts of immortality, causing evil spirits to run rampant within the borders and plunging the people into misery.
"Where are you going?" she asked.
"Youquan Town."
Song Yueyao's brow furrowed even tighter. That was an extremely remote town on the border of Liangya State. The more isolated a place was, the easier it was for dark and evil things to breed.
"What are you going to Youquan Town for?"
"To visit distant relatives," Wu Li answered calmly and with ease. "We want to set off early while Xiaomi's body is not yet too heavy. If we delay any longer, I'm afraid it will be inconvenient for her to move around."
Chai Xiaomi quietly shot a glance at Wu Li, sighing in her heart: This man could spin a lie even more smoothly than she could.
The "pregnancy" she had casually fabricated earlier had now become his most convenient excuse.
However, what was he going to Youquan Town for? In the original book's plot, this place was never mentioned.
"Anyway, we are in no rush to get to the palace city." Jiang Zhiyu saw Song Yueyao's concerns and simply proposed, "Yaoyao, why don't we accompany Xiaomi and Wu Li on this leg of the journey first?"
Song Yueyao pondered for a moment, raising her eyes to look at the two of them. "If you don't mind, I am quite familiar with the terrain of Liangya. We can go with you to Youquan Town, so we can look out for each other."
"That would be too much trouble for you two." The corners of Wu Li's eyes lifted slightly, his gaze clear and innocent as if he were about to politely decline. Who knew the conversation would take a sharp turn as the corners of his lips curled into an obedient smile: "In that case, thank you, Sister."
Chai Xiaomi never expected that in just a few words, they would so naturally integrate into the protagonist group's itinerary.
The dilemma of separation that she had been worrying about earlier was actually resolved so easily.
But behind this smoothness, she always felt as if an invisible hand was gently pushing things forward. She raised her eyes, her gaze landing on Wu Li's profile.
It was him.
Whether it was his deliberate and calculated approach to the protagonists in the original plot, or this seemingly accidental shared journey right now—every step appeared unintentional, yet seemed to be entirely within his calculations.
Moving so methodically, taking the initiative to tie himself to the protagonist group—was it all for Song Yueyao?
Chai Xiaomi's knuckles tightened slightly as she gripped the soft fabric, her lips pressed into a thin line.
The low, hoarse "idiot" seemed to echo in her ears again. Those words felt like a sourness forming in her throat, unable to be spat out or swallowed down.
Fine, fine. He was so smooth when calling someone else "Sister," but when it came to her, all he had was an "idiot."
Never mind.
She wouldn't bicker with this Little Bitter Melon.
Who could blame him when he had fallen in love with the female lead at first sight anyway?
Since this was the destined plot, it was probably... an inescapable fate.
The word "love" was inherently mysterious and profound, entirely out of her control.
What was she, really? Just a bystander who knew the ending and was trying her hardest to change it. She had no way of manipulating anyone's thoughts.
Because of the independence he had developed since childhood, Wu Li was exceptionally quick and efficient when doing things.
In just a few swift movements, he had all the clothes packed away. His actions seemed casual, but when Chai Xiaomi looked up, the corners of every piece of clothing had been smoothed out perfectly flat, folded neatly into squares, and stacked together.
Probably truly finding her clumsy, he conveniently sorted out her pile of clothes as well.
To make the upcoming journey more convenient, Song Yueyao had even specially brought over a few sets of Central Plains women's dresses.
Girls' clothes were always layered and intricately designed.
By the time Wu Li had finished packing everything, Chai Xiaomi was surprised to find that her luggage was a full size larger than his, bulging and completely filling the cloth sack.
"It's not just that you have a lot of clothes; there's also a large bag of Duyun rice cakes. Isn't this what you love to eat?" Seeing Chai Xiaomi's surprised expression, Wu Li glanced at her. "Once we leave Mount Chi, you won't be able to buy it anywhere else."
"Since you can eat so much, don't go starving to death on me halfway there!"
He gave a soft snort and unceremoniously picked up the bulging bundle, tossing it toward her.
Chai Xiaomi hurriedly reached out to catch it. The heavy bundle pressed down so hard that her waist bent slightly, and she almost lost her footing.
*
As for the suspicions that the Gu clan members might raise, Wu Li had already prepared an excuse.
"Going to search for Gu insect larvae."
Possessing the purest of blood, he had a natural attraction to rare Gu insects.
Therefore, every year, he would be ordered to leave Mount Chi and travel to various places in search of rare Gu species. The clan rules strictly forbade members from leaving Mount Chi casually; Wu Li was the only exception, having received the personal permission of the Clan Leader and the High Priest.
No one worried that he would leave and never return.
Because the High Priest had long ago planted a Crimson Blood Silkworm mother Gu within his heart meridian.
Wu Li could extract all the other Gu worms by his own strength, but this particular one was different. Implanted through a dark, secret art, it was fused to his very heart and flesh, rendering it impossible to remove for as long as he lived.
Should he ever dare to defy the High Priest's command, the mother worm would awaken. It would gnaw at his heart and corrode his bones, subjecting him to an agonizing hell where he could neither find the peace of life nor the release of death.
It was an invisible thread suspended deep within his body, constantly tightening its merciless grip.
