Mu Ran sighed with emotion again, "Dealing with Daoist Yue today, he really lives up to his reputation. He treats people with gentle courtesy and has an open, righteous air about him."
Cangshu Bai listened to her chattering about how wonderful the disciples of Chongyang Mountain were and let out an ambiguous "Mhm." "Do you want to chase after him and ask for his contact information?"
"There's no need for that. He'll be coming to the workshop again in two months anyway."
"I thought that if you exchanged contact information, you might be able to better feel his gentle courtesy and open righteousness."
Mu Ran, realizing this as an afterthought, lifted her face and carefully observed her husband's cold and detached expression.
He looked about the same as usual, forever wearing an expression of frigid indifference. However, the faint, profound gaze in those pitch-black eyes allowed her, as the person closest to him, to pick up on a different sort of mood.
"Mhm, that is indeed true," Mu Ran nodded with feigned seriousness, then quickly hugged his arm and smiled. "But I still prefer someone who is calm and composed, who heals the wounded and rescues the dying, and who smells of herbal medicine."
Cangshu Bai automatically ignored the phrase "heals the wounded and rescues the dying," which did not match him at all. Watched by her smiling eyes, his brow could not help but relax a bit, and a trace of a smile appeared on his slightly upturned lips.
Mu Ran sniffed at him in an exaggerated manner. "There's a sour smell."
He asked calmly, "Is there?"
She nodded. "Yes."
Cangshu Bai said, "If I've developed an unpleasant smell, then I must be quite off-putting."
Mu Ran laughed out loud. "Not at all, I like it!"
Cangshu Bai leaned forward slightly and, as if giving her a reward, fed her another sugar pill.
Mu Ran obediently held it in her mouth, feeling the sweetness spread, and mumbled, "Jinzhi, are these really just ordinary sugar pills you bought?"
"Why do you ask?"
The pad of his finger gently wiped the corner of her lips. The touch was soft, making him want to lean in for a kiss, but since they were outside, he could only let it go.
Mu Ran said, "Every time I eat a sugar pill, my body feels exceptionally comfortable, as if I have an endless supply of energy. When I went to the village entrance to listen to gossip these past few days, Auntie Wang and the others all said my complexion is getting rosier."
Cangshu Bai took her hand and continued walking forward, his tone completely unruffled. "The candy maker said that medicinal herbs for strengthening the body were added to the sugar pills."
Mu Ran, "Huh?"
"Don't worry. I'm a doctor. These are very common herbs and will do your body no harm."
Mu Ran pressed on, "Then you must have spent a lot of money, right? Do you still have enough pocket money? If others invite you out for meals and socializing, won't you be ridiculed for being tight on cash?"
Cangshu Bai felt rather helpless. Lowering his eyes to look at Mu Ran's worried face, his heart grew somewhat warm again. His fingertips gently pinched the flesh of her cheek. "Who would dare ridicule me?"
Mu Ran thought to herself, there are plenty of people in this world who would dare to ridicule you.
Considering his pride, she decided she should still increase his pocket money after they went back. After all, their life was much better now, and there was no need to keep making themselves suffer.
As the sun set in the west, the tree-lined path was enveloped in a dim yellow light. The woods ahead trembled faintly, and the birds were completely silent. The overly quiet atmosphere added a touch of eeriness.
Cangshu Bai suddenly grabbed Mu Ran's hand and stepped in front of her to shield her.
At the same time, a man with a twisted physique darted out.
His eyes were bloodshot, and the flesh all over his body was cracking inch by inch. Dark red beads of blood oozed out along the fissures. Beneath the cracks, bizarre crimson patterns suddenly surfaced, slithering and darting wildly under his skin like living creatures.
Mu Ran poked her head out from behind Cangshu Bai. Seeing the grotesque man in front of them, she clutched the hem of Cangshu Bai's clothes tightly. "It's someone who has demonized into a beast, just like last time."
"Blood... I need blood... I need lots... lots of blood..."
His eyeballs looked as if they were about to fall out of their sockets. He stared fixedly at the young man and woman on the path, his thirst for blood seemingly overflowing from his broken body.
Mu Ran thought of how her husband was a frail doctor and assumed he wouldn't be able to block a single blow from this demonic man. She was about to pull out the life-saving talisman she had bought at a high price from her storage pouch. However, before she could make a move, the demonic man charged at them with incredible speed.
An icy blue gleam faintly flickered in Cangshu Bai's eyes. He had already caught the hidden movements in the wind a step ahead. Lowering his eyes slightly, he raised his arm to shield Mu Ran in his embrace, leaving only his defenseless back to the demonic man.
Just as the demonic man's claws struck out, about to tear Cangshu Bai's back to shreds, a flash of sword light broke through the air, cleanly severing the demonic man's arm.
Yue Qingfeng arrived on his flying sword. "Vile demon, face your death!"
Yue Qingfeng tapped the tip of his toe against the sword, his figure swooping down like a startled swan. The sharp green sword spun a chilling flurry of sword flourishes, its cold gleam slashing straight down.
The blade grazed the demonic man's side, bringing up a spray of blood. As he spun around, the momentum of the sword suddenly sank, piercing straight into the center of the demonic man's brow. After a shrill, miserable shriek, the demonic man stood frozen on the spot. Blood gushed from the bloody hole between his brows, and the crimson patterns all over his body instantly dimmed and dissipated before he crashed to the ground.
The demonic man fell into a pool of blood. Red spider lilies suddenly sprouted from the dark red bloodstains, their bewitching petals growing wildly to wrap around his body. In an instant, they completely devoured his mangled corpse, leaving only the eerie shadows of the red flowers scattered across the ground.
Mu Ran grabbed the young man's arm that was shielding her head, stood on her tiptoes in his embrace, and revealed a look of joy. "Daoist Yue!"
Yue Qingfeng put away his sword, walked over, and asked, "Are you two alright?"
Mu Ran shook her head. "It's a good thing you arrived in time, otherwise my husband and I might both have been torn to pieces."
Cangshu Bai lowered his arm and stood guard by Mu Ran's side, not saying a word.
Like Mu Ran, he did not possess any innate aptitude for cultivation.
Yue Qingfeng withdrew his assessing gaze and said, "I heard recently that there was a demonic man harming people, and I was tracking its movements. I didn't expect such a coincidence to run into you two here. It truly is fate."
Returning the favor, Mu Ran said, "Thank you for stepping in to save us. How about this, I won't charge you for the items you custom-ordered from me."
Yue Qingfeng smiled. "That won't do. Business is business. Even if it wasn't you two I encountered today, I still would have stepped in to save you. You are a businesswoman who makes a living through your craft; I can't let you work for free."
Mu Ran said with admiration, "You truly have noble character and unquestionable integrity. Being so open and upright, you certainly live up to being a gentleman from Chongyang Mountain."
Yue Qingfeng cupped his hands in a salute. "Demonic people have been appearing frequently lately, and it's getting late. The two of you should head home early. I still have matters to attend to, so I will take my leave first."
With a sweep of the longsword in his hand, the spider lilies blooming in the pool of blood on the ground, along with the corpse and bones, turned into dust and vanished. After that, he nodded once more in farewell and departed on his flying sword.
Mu Ran watched the figure flying away on his sword in the sky and said, "Coming and going like the wind, so dashing."
Suddenly, a gust of cold wind swept up.
The sword beneath Yue Qingfeng's feet abruptly lost its balance. His body tilted, and his figure plunged like a falling meteor, plummeting down with his sword to who knows where.
Cangshu Bai remarked, "Indeed, coming and going like the wind."
Mu Ran: "..."
