Cangshu Bai caught her hand and pressed a light kiss to her fingertips.
Mu Ran smiled. "Are you still making a trip to town tomorrow?"
He nodded. "I asked Doctor Hu to help pick out a horse-drawn carriage. I'll go pay for it tomorrow and bring it back."
"Then take me with you," Mu Ran said. "We definitely won't be back in time for the New Year. Auntie Wang and the others have taken such good care of me, so I want to buy some gifts for them."
"All right," Cangshu Bai replied.
"Since we're going on a long journey, we need to pack enough dry rations. That way, if we don't come across any courier stations along the road, we won't go hungry."
"Oh, right, we should also prepare some fragmented spirit stones. If we run into bandits, we can just hand them over to buy our safety."
"And also, the wind will be biting cold on the road. I've packed two extra winter coats for you and sewed the cuffs tighter to keep the chill out."
"Jinzhi, what do your parents like? Since we're going back to pay our respects to them, we have to buy things they'd enjoy..."
She leaned against his chest, chattering away without pause. She was completely oblivious to the fact that the man beside her, whose eyes were usually as cold and fathomless as a freezing pool, now held the gentle warmth of candlelight, softened by her trivial yet heartfelt rambling.
The snow stopped around midnight, so there wasn't much accumulation by the following morning. However, a misty drizzle had begun to fall, making the wind feel even more bone-chilling.
Strangely enough, when Cangshu Bai opened their newly purchased oiled-paper umbrella over Mu Ran's head, the biting chill of the wind vanished without a trace.
Mu Ran looked up at the seemingly ordinary oiled-paper umbrella and asked suspiciously, "Jinzhi, did you spend a fortune again on something enchanted with spells?"
Cangshu Bai did not answer. He merely squeezed her hand and said, "It's almost time for our appointment to pay. We should walk a little faster."
Mu Ran was now absolutely certain that he had secretly spent a fortune again.
When they arrived in town, the atmosphere was inexplicably tense. Cultivators could be seen everywhere, their eyes darting around as if they were all secretly scheming something.
Cangshu Bai led Mu Ran straight to the medical clinic.
Doctor Hu almost blurted out "Godfather" again, but upon seeing Cangshu Bai's cold expression and noticing Mu Ran beside him, he swallowed the word back down. Clearing his throat, he put on the authoritative airs of a shop owner.
"Ah, Little Cang, you're so late today. I thought you didn't want the carriage you ordered anymore."
Cangshu Bai took out a pouch of coins. "Thank you for your help, Doctor Hu. Please accept this small fee for your trouble."
Doctor Hu accepted the money without hesitation, all the while secretly sending a telepathic message to Cangshu Bai. "Old Man Longsword escaped. Now every cultivator in town is trying to track him down to claim Old Man Longsword's treasure for themselves. Hong Fu was the one holding Old Man Longsword captive before, and while everyone was eyeing the prize, no one dared to make a move because of her profound cultivation. But rumor has it that Old Man Longsword managed to escape this time with the help of a demonic cultivator. Hong Fu was injured in the process, so her reputation doesn't carry as much weight anymore."
As he spoke, even Doctor Hu felt a stirring of temptation.
No wonder Old Man Longsword refused to reveal the treasure's location despite Hong Fu torturing him for so long. It turned out he had been certain from the very beginning that someone would come to his rescue.
Now that Hong Fu was out of the picture, Doctor Hu wanted a piece of the pie as well.
"There is something fishy about all this. If you act rashly and put yourself in danger, I will not save you," Cangshu Bai replied telepathically.
Doctor Hu's heart skipped a beat. He looked up.
Cangshu Bai had his eyes lowered. He picked up a small slice of licorice root and, much like one would feed a hamster, popped it into the mouth of Mu Ran, who was curiously examining the various medicinal herbs around the shop.
The licorice root was sweet.
Mu Ran covered her mouth, shooting Cangshu Bai a disapproving glare before sneaking a cautious glance at Doctor Hu.
She was afraid Doctor Hu would lose his temper. After all, Cangshu Bai was just a lowly employee, yet he had the audacity to feed her the shop's medicinal herbs as if they were snacks.
Doctor Hu could only dart his eyes around the room, pretending he hadn't seen a thing.
Cangshu Bai chuckled softly. "Let's go. We need to buy the gifts you wanted to get."
Mu Ran nodded and quickly dragged him out of the clinic.
Cangshu Bai opened the oiled-paper umbrella. Placing a hand on Mu Ran's shoulder, he considerately shielded her by his side. He kept the umbrella tilted toward her the entire time, leaving no opening for the biting winter wind to reach her.
Doctor Hu clicked his tongue a couple of times and sarcastically mimicked something a certain someone had once said: "I only married her to break through my cultivation bottleneck. A hundred years from now, when she dies of old age, I will return to the immortal path, and we will have nothing more to do with each other."
He put on an exaggerated expression. "Dies of old age, returns to the immortal path, nothing to do with each other—hah! His very soul has been snatched away by her! Talk about a slap in the face!"
Doctor Hu only dared to gossip behind his back. Remembering Cangshu Bai's stern warning, he shuddered and decided to drop any thoughts of joining the mad dash for the treasure.
Having earned a handsome sum of money over the past few days, Mu Ran decided to splurge for once and treat Cangshu Bai to a nice meal.
The restaurant was bustling with people coming and going.
A group of cultivators walked together, still discussing the matter regarding Old Man Longsword.
"With so many different factions gathering, our numbers are too few. I'm afraid we'll be at a disadvantage this time."
"Isn't there a branch of the Cangshu family nearby? We can use the bloodline command to summon them to assist us."
"As long as we promise them a little reward, they'll absolutely scramble to help."
"Exactly. Being able to assist the main family is a once-in-a-century honor for a mere branch family. Third Young Master, the Patriarch specifically sent you out to track down Old Man Longsword this time, surely intending for this to be a trial for you. If you handle this well, you won't have to worry about competing with your brothers for the Cangshu family's resources."
These cultivators all wore matching attire, but the most distinguished among them was a young man named Cangshu Haoxue.
Cangshu Haoxue had been rather reluctant to come to this desolate backwater in the first place. Hong Fu had captured Old Man Longsword first, and he hadn't dared to cross her. But now that Old Man Longsword was on the loose and Hong Fu was injured, he really ought to seize this opportunity.
If he could bring back the treasure that Old Man Longsword had snatched from the Void Mystic Realm two hundred years ago, his father and the clan elders would surely look at him in a new light. With that achievement, the position of the next Patriarch would practically be guaranteed to fall into his lap.
Cangshu Haoxue took out a jade token engraved with a wisp of blood-red veining. Anyone possessing the Cangshu family bloodline within a hundred-mile radius would be able to sense its command and come to present themselves.
As he brushed past the people entering the doorway, Cangshu Haoxue couldn't help but glance up.
A man in green robes folded his oiled-paper umbrella, revealing the face of the wife standing beside him.
Her features were delicate and gentle, and her skin was as luminous and white as snow.
Cangshu Haoxue had assumed she was just an ordinary woman. He never expected to find such a stunning beauty in this impoverished backwater. As she walked past, a faint, fragrant breeze seemed to trail after her.
One of his companions called out, "Third Young Master?"
Cangshu Haoxue snapped back to his senses and smacked his lips in regret. "It's a pity. If she were a female cultivator, dual cultivation with her would be highly beneficial. Even if she isn't, if she were still a maiden, it would still be quite a delightful experience."
His companions knew that the young master's lustful tendencies were acting up again. However, Cangshu Haoxue was a germaphobe of sorts—he disdained touching any woman who had already been touched by another man.
"Third Young Master, once we return, what kind of female cultivator could you possibly not get your hands on?"
"Exactly! That woman is nothing but a common village woman. How could she possibly compare to the women of our Zhenyue Mountain City?"
"Once you become the head of the family, Third Young Master, even women like Hong Fu will be rushing to curry favor with you, let alone an ordinary peasant woman like her."
Cangshu Haoxue felt they were right. He casually waved the jade token in his hand and said, "Fair enough. We will just let those useless fools from the branch family do our dirty work and act as our cannon fodder."
Mu Ran settled into her seat in the private dining room, pondering what to order for their meal.
Cangshu Bai poured her a cup of hot tea and said, "I left something behind at the clinic, Ranran. I will be right back."
"Got it," Mu Ran replied without lifting her head. "I will wait for you here."
