Chapter 266
**Fortunately.**
The monk and Shang Qinqing seemed completely absorbed in each other, leaving no room for anyone else.
"You’re finally leaving."
"Benefactor, this monk does not know who you are..."
"Then you have the ability to open your eyes and see me."
"......"
Monk Huaikong let out a long sigh.
As he sighed, he opened his eyes, his murky gaze clearing up, and his dry skin quickly regained its color and elasticity.
In an instant, he transformed into a middle-aged monk.
"I knew it... Otherwise, you wouldn’t have placed the Yinyuan Tree in the temple."
Shang Qinqing glared at him, her teeth clenched.
The Qingluan symbolizes love.
The Yinyuan Tree does too; to be precise, it was because the only pureblood Qingluan in the world encountered its destined partner on this tree that this otherwise ordinary tree became extraordinary.
The power of all beings gathered at the tree, of course, was not just to condense the flavors of a hundred fruits.
This was also the reason why Shang Qinqing still retained some of her strength, allowing the Qingluan clan to remain self-sufficient.
Huaikong opened his mouth.
"If you lie, I’ll push the tree down, just like the Great Wind and the Nine-Headed Bird, turning it into a disaster beast."
"Don’t do anything foolish..."
Who knew where the other monks in the temple had gone? Perhaps their abbot had assigned them extra tasks.
In any case, Shang Qinqing wrapped her arms around the monk and began to nibble on him.
If the monks were here, they would probably be scared out of their wits— their revered abbot was being nibbled on by a demon beast! Who would care about that?
Li Mo leaned back, realizing why that elder from the Qingluan clan had looked at him and Bing Tuozi that way; it seemed they had been starved for too long and were just indulging their eyes.
You see, it proves that you can’t hold back for too long; otherwise, like Murong Xian, you might get tangled up in your own thoughts...
Ying Bing’s serene eyes reflected the scene not far away, and she gently pressed her lips together.
She remembered that day.
While he was asleep, she had secretly...
Looking back now, that hardly counted as a kiss...
Was it supposed to be like this?
She turned her head, unable to resist glancing at the corner of his lips.
......
**PS:** Something urgent came up at home today, so I’m sorry for the late update, dear readers.
I’ll stay up to write one more chapter, and it will definitely be ready by tomorrow morning. Muah!
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**Chapter 287: Thud~**
The battle not far away was one-sided.
It was shocking; the esteemed Huaikong, a master of the seventh realm, who commanded a path, could make the southern demons tremble with just a slight move, was now being suppressed by a demoness, utterly powerless to fight back!
To be honest.
Li Mo was feeling quite uncomfortable. He had just used the Divine Eye of Destiny to see and could understand how the two had been unable to contain their feelings for over a thousand years. He wanted to leave but was afraid that the noise would disturb the two across from him.
He glanced at Bing Tuozi and noticed a strand of her hair had been playfully blown to the corner of her lips by the wind.
So, he casually tucked it behind her ear.
"Bing Tuozi, your ears are a bit warm."
Ying Bing lowered her gaze, taking his hand that had brushed her lips and then rested on her ear away:
"It’s cold, just catching a chill."
"A chill?"
Li Mo wanted to believe her.
But he still remembered how her room used to be cold enough to freeze ice cakes; if she could catch a cold, that would truly be a ghost story.
Looking at her lips, glistening and tempting, Li Mo felt his own ears were probably quite warm too.
It seemed he had caught the same chill as her.
"Bing Tuozi..."
Li Mo’s gaze was as determined as Murong Xiao’s vow to abstain from desire.
"Mm?"
Ying Bing’s beautiful eyes widened, her frosty demeanor momentarily stunned.
In that instant, the supreme techniques and paths to immortality in the mind of the Phoenix Empress seemed to dissolve into pink bubbles, bursting into nothingness.
She could flit like a shadow in an instant.
But as she watched the boy close his eyes and lean in, she could only manage to close her own...
Thud—
A crisp sound echoed.
"Hiss..."
The two of them had a close encounter of the forehead kind.
Li Mo covered the spot where they had collided. His head was tough, so it didn’t hurt at all, but why did his heart feel like it was being squeezed, making it hard to breathe?!
Especially when he saw the girl’s fair forehead turning red, her eyes losing focus, looking less cold and more dazed...
"Should we do it again...?"
"No way."
"......"
Li Mo regretted reading so many novels. If he hadn’t, wouldn’t this first kiss have been given away?
Who said you had to close your eyes to kiss?!
Those damn novelists misled me!
"That must have hurt."
"It’s fine."
"Really?"
Bing Tuozi’s expression was flat, not a hint of a smile, which didn’t look like she was fine at all!
Well...
Actually, Ying Bing’s lack of expression was initially due to being a bit dazed, but then her thoughts became jumbled as she recalled the sensation of their lips touching last time.
Just thinking about it made her...
If what just happened really did occur, would she even need to activate the system for the next ranking?
Facing him, she probably wouldn’t even be able to lift her sword. According to the system’s comprehensive power comparison, could she win?
Ying Bing suddenly understood.
Why the esteemed Huaikong, a master of the profound, was so thoroughly suppressed by Shang Qinqing, who had fallen from the seventh realm.
There was no chance of victory, even with a whole realm difference!
That earlier ‘thud’ was particularly jarring.
Now, neither Huaikong nor Shang Qinqing could pretend they hadn’t noticed the two of them, as if everyone else had become air.
"Little ones are watching."
Shang Qinqing shot a playful glance at Huaikong, reluctantly letting go of him.
Huaikong: "......"
You clearly knew all along, and now you’re shy?
Amitabha, what a sin.
"This monk does not remember what just happened..."
"Mm?"
"Qinqing, I’m still the abbot."
Huaikong sighed heavily.
If no one took over his duties for a day, he could not return to the mundane world.
"I’ll wait for you; I’ve waited a thousand years."
"This bond... perhaps doesn’t need to last too long."
Huaikong’s expression was complex.
In every corner of Xuankong Temple, even if he didn’t deliberately investigate, he knew what had happened.
He knew about Murong Xiao giving Li Mo the prayer beads, and he was also aware of the Buddhist scripture that Li Mo had given to Murong Xiao.
Moments later, Huaikong removed his veil and turned to leave.
Not knowing how many glances they exchanged, Shang Qinqing concealed the tenderness in her eyes and replaced it with her usual nonchalant demeanor.
As she approached, she noticed the silence between the boy and girl. She couldn’t hide her smile, probably not hungry anymore, as they hadn’t even taken out any seeds to munch on. With a bright smile, she said:
"Ah, little Bing’er, what are you doing here?"
"Just arrived, planning to say goodbye to you. We were figuring out which path is the quickest."
Li Mo replied calmly.
It wasn’t that he was good at pretending nothing had happened; it was mainly because he had seen things he shouldn’t have and guessed that his ‘intimate contact’ with Bing Tuozi had also been seen.
Those who understood, understood; it was a tacit understanding.
"Tsk tsk, I can’t believe Shang Wu could teach a disciple like you. Quite rare."
Shang Qinqing looked Li Mo up and down, amazed.
"Do you know my master?"
"Not just acquainted; I was only at the seventh rank back then, not yet transformed, and she almost plucked my feathers to make soup!"
"......"
Li Mo was momentarily speechless.
He decided that in the future, when out and about, he would mention his master less. Not only was she powerful, but the way people knew her wasn’t exactly pleasant.
"You don’t need to overthink it. Her personality is not hard to understand..."
Shang Qinqing shook her head, not delving deeper into the topic.
She extended her hand, pointed at the map, and drew a line.
"You two should take this route back to Nanguan City."
"Isn’t this... taking a huge detour?"
Li Mo followed her finger along the route, puzzled. This was nearly twice as far as the path he had taken to get here, as it wasn’t a straight line but wound around several large bends.
But Li Mo was never slow on the uptake.
After a moment of thought, he blurted out:
"Because of the Yuhuang God?"
Murong Xian had also warned him.
This return journey was bound to be anything but peaceful.
"Not just because of the Yuhuang God; you two are also part of the reason."
"When the time comes, I won’t be able to help you openly; I can only ensure that the disaster beasts you encounter won’t be of the fourth rank."
Shang Qinqing smiled, but her words were quite imposing.
"Thank you, Clan Leader Shang."
Li Mo caught the underlying meaning in her words.
That meant they might encounter powerful demons?
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