Mu Ran had never dealt with Cangshu Fenming before, but that didn't stop her from feeling a bit of admiration for him.
After all, everyone in Zhenyue Mountain City knew how terrifying Cangshu Bai was.
And Cangshu Fenming's expectations were not wrong; his appearance had already triggered Cangshu Bai's murderous intent.
Cangshu Bai remained expressionless, but Han Yu darted out, staring at Cangshu Fenming and drooling.
Mu Ran looked at Cangshu Fenming, then at Cangshu Bai, and said, "It's rare for us to have a guest. I'll go brew some tea. Jinzhi, you stay here and keep our guest company."
Cangshu Bai lowered his eyes, watching Mu Ran take the basket from his hands. Seeing her smile, the hostility in his eyes gradually dissipated.
Mu Ran took a few steps into the house, and in a short while, she was out of sight.
However, Cangshu Bai still split off a strand of divine sense to keep an eye on her every move.
Once Mu Ran was no longer present, the warmth in his expression vanished without a trace.
Cangshu Bai said crisply, "Speak."
Cangshu Fenming didn't waste any time either. "The City Lord listened to your words and made a trip to Mount Chongyang. During that time, some unknown accident occurred, and we lost contact with him. Not long ago, I also went up Mount Chongyang. As you can see, I barely escaped with my life."
Cangshu Bai replied, "If something happened to Cangshu Linfeng, you could have just let Zhenyue Mountain City handle it."
"If the people of Zhenyue Mountain City knew that something happened to the City Lord, there would definitely be chaos in the city."
Cangshu Bai mocked, "After all these years, he still hasn't managed to subdue those with ulterior motives."
"When the City Lord first succeeded the position, those elders were secretly dissatisfied, but they never openly opposed him. Even if he wanted to kill them, he lacked an excuse."
"An excuse for incompetence."
Cangshu Fenming knew what was most important right now. He didn't argue, only continued to endure the pain and said, "You suspected there was a problem with Mount Chongyang long ago, yet you deliberately provoked the City Lord into risking danger there."
"He decided to go himself. What does that have to do with me?"
Cangshu Fenming couldn't hold back anymore and looked up at Cangshu Bai.
The other party maintained that cold and aloof appearance, with handsome features and an arrogant temperament, as if nothing in the world could enter his eyes, completely devoid of any human warmth.
Who could have expected that beneath such a seemingly unworldly, cold, and taciturn exterior hid a belly full of malicious schemes.
Compared to him, even Cangshu Linfeng seemed innocent.
Cangshu Fenming decided to change his approach. "It was indeed the City Lord's own choice to take the risk; no one else can be blamed. However, when that evil spirit tried to possess me and take over my body, it could pry into my memories, and I could also sense its purpose. Initially, it set its sights on my body. When it discovered there were stronger people, it shifted its target to the City Lord, and then, to you."
Cangshu Bai remained silent.
Cangshu Fenming continued, "When it escaped, it took a drop of your blood."
Cangshu Bai's fingertips rubbed together slightly; a tiny wound there had long since healed and disappeared.
"I could feel what it was planning, but I couldn't pry any deeper. I'm sure you can sense it too. If we don't eradicate them, I'm afraid there will be great trouble."
Cangshu Bai asked, "Are you done?"
Cangshu Fenming said calmly, "I'm done."
Then, Cangshu Bai said, "Get lost."
Cangshu Fenming looked up in surprise; he had thought Cangshu Bai would kill him.
Instead, Cangshu Bai stepped forward. As they brushed past each other, he said, "Don't dirty my courtyard."
Cangshu Fenming watched Cangshu Bai's retreating back. Recovering his senses, he swiftly vanished from the cozy courtyard.
Mu Ran walked out of the kitchen holding freshly brewed tea, only to see Cangshu Bai returning. She glanced outside and asked, "Did he leave?"
"Mhm." Cangshu Bai took the teacup, enjoying it himself, and said casually, "He had other matters to attend to, so he left first."
Mu Ran's eyes revealed suspicion.
Cangshu Bai chuckled lightly. "I'll go cook."
Mu Ran nodded. Having nothing else to do, she brought in the winter quilts that were airing outside and put them in the wardrobe, saving them for when the weather turned cold.
In truth, given their cultivation levels, they had long stopped fearing the bitter cold, but they both enjoyed living like ordinary people.
As Mu Ran placed the folded quilts inside, her fingers inadvertently brushed against something hidden deep within the wardrobe.
Curious, she took the object out. It was a bottle of pills.
Mu Ran worried that Cangshu Bai might be feeling unwell somewhere. Thinking about it more carefully, lately, it seemed he would sometimes do things behind her back.
However, Cangshu Bai's pocket dimension and Qiankun bag were completely unguarded against her, making it easy for her to check anything. But if he hadn't hidden the item in either of those places, it would actually be harder for her to notice.
Did his descent into demonic cultivation have some negative impact on his body?
The more Mu Ran thought about it, the more scared she became. Rolling her eyes thoughtfully, she called out, "Little Fish."
A faint blue light darted over like a shooting star. Arriving in front of Mu Ran, it transformed into a small blue fish with a poof.
It blinked its large, round eyes and wagged its tail, looking very excited.
Because Cangshu Bai allowed Mu Ran to play with Han Yu, Han Yu, which previously only answered to his summons, now responded even more swiftly when called by Mu Ran.
Mu Ran quietly closed the door. Knowing that Cangshu Bai could hear any subtle noise, she kept her mouth shut, took out a piece of paper, and wrote on it:
"You are not allowed to communicate telepathically with your master."
Although Han Yu didn't understand, remembering its master's instruction that it must obey the mistress's commands, it obediently nodded.
Mu Ran wrote again: "Is this your master's medicine?"
She took out the medicine bottle.
Han Yu had always stayed by Cangshu Bai's side, so of course, it had seen Cangshu Bai refine this bottle of medicine. Not knowing how to keep a secret, it nodded once more.
Mu Ran wore a serious expression and wrote rapidly, "Tell me, what kind of medicine is this?"
Han Yu looked at Mu Ran blankly.
Mu Ran realized the issue. "It's okay if you can't write, just demonstrate it for me."
Han Yu thought for a moment, then spat out a bubble. The bubble transformed into another small, red fish.
The red fish suddenly sprayed out a puff of faint pink mist.
Then, Han Yu swam up to it and sprayed out a small wisp of blue mist.
It seemed very dissatisfied with this and hung its head in dejection. But in an instant, it thought of a good idea. Another bubble turned into the shape of the medicine bottle. Pouring out the pill inside, it swallowed it in one gulp.
Following that, Han Yu puffed out its chest proudly and sprayed out a massive cloud of blue mist.
The two mists blended together, becoming indistinguishable from one another.
The next moment, more tiny bubbles emerged from within. As each tiny bubble popped, it hatched into one small blue fish after another.
Mu Ran stared blankly for a long time.
She seemed to have witnessed something extraordinary.
A moment later, she realized something even more extraordinary.
Mu Ran covered her face. "Are you saying Jinzhi is impotent!!?"
The sound of bowls and chopsticks shattering came from outside the door.
She hurriedly pushed the door open and rushed out, immediately spotting Cangshu Bai frozen in place.
The usually cold and self-possessed man had completely lost all his composure at this moment.
His fingertips still hovered in mid-air, trembling slightly. The hand resting at his side was clenched so tightly it turned white, yet the tips of his ears were flushed so red they looked ready to bleed, the heat burning all the way down to his jaw.
