Chapter 613
**Wu—**
The gust of wind swept through, leaving the grass and trees withered in its wake. In the courtyard, even the trees seemed to lose their vitality with just a brush, their leaves fluttering down like whispers of despair, the entire tree quickly fading to gray before crashing down in a cacophony.
"Impressive!" Tian Xun exclaimed, peering through the tube, already sensing the power at play.
Ying Bing squinted her eyes. "It seems not quite..."
Li Mo took her hand, steering the conversation elsewhere. "Old Huang's inner world still doesn't have a name, does it? We should come up with something fitting."
"That’s only right."
Huang Donglai himself didn’t care much about this, but since Li Mo had brought it up, he felt compelled to contribute.
"I bloom and the hundred flowers wither; how about calling it 'Hundred Flowers Wither'?"
Little Li, ever the opportunist, chimed in with flair, causing Tian Xun's eyes to light up, adding 'eloquent' to Little Li's growing list of accolades.
But Huang Donglai shook his head. "It sounds nice, but it’s too nice. People will be on high alert the moment they hear it, and flowers are more like a woman’s tricks."
"Then you think of one, Old Huang."
"I like grass; it’s everywhere. How about 'Withered Grass'?"
Huang Dong seemed unsatisfied and added a prefix: "Since it was inspired by a hotpot, let’s call it 'Hotpot: Withered Grass!'"
Li Mo: "..."
That was indeed quite down-to-earth, considering it was meant for farming.
'Hotpot: Withered Grass' sounded terrifyingly lethal.
Once the meal was finished, Murong Xiao, Qin Yuzhi, Shang Qinqing, and Tian Miao finally dared to enter the courtyard.
"Senior Sister, where did you all run off to? We didn’t even get to eat!" Tian Xun puffed out her cheeks.
Tian Miao's lips twitched slightly. "What a pity."
"I just had a meal elsewhere," Murong Xiao said, fearing Tian Xun would cook up another pot; he wasn’t ready to meet the Buddha just yet.
"Huang, I’ve entered the inner scene. If you had come back earlier, you might have learned something," Huang Donglai said, his face pale but still smiling at Murong Xiao.
Observing a breakthrough in the inner scene was indeed a valuable experience.
Master Zang Ai wore a serene expression, like a sage:
"Apologies, I couldn’t spare my hands earlier. Alas... why must one’s life always be governed by worldly desires? Beyond the inner scene, there’s the outer scene; there are people beyond people, heavens beyond heavens."
"Life shouldn’t just be about reaching higher realms; it should be about pursuing more meaningful things, like doing good deeds."
Tian Xun seemed to grasp something from this. "No wonder you’re a high monk from Xuankong Temple; your words carry profound wisdom."
"Your hands that couldn’t spare time better not have been used for anything else."
Little Li, seeing his peaceful demeanor, knew tomorrow would be the first day of his vow of celibacy.
Doing good deeds likely referred to saving those who had strayed...
"Everyone, see you tomorrow."
Tian Xun didn’t understand their cryptic conversation, excitedly bidding farewell to everyone. She had learned so much today and had plenty to write about when she returned home.
Li Mo cleared his throat. "After a long journey, it’s good to rest. Qingyuan Sect has plenty of interesting stories worth covering; you don’t need to spend all your time on me."
Tian Miao nodded apologetically at Li Mo, quickly pulling her junior sister away from this place of gossip.
"Little Bing said you had something important to discuss with us. What is it?" Shang Qinqing recalled the purpose of her visit.
Once Tian Xun and Tian Miao were out of earshot, Li Mo began discussing his plans with Shang Qinqing and Qin Yuzhi.
"We’ll infiltrate the Demon Sect. We must be cautious and never let our guard down."
"Our background is from the Wuxiang Xian Sect, which is formidable, with immortals overseeing us and countless treasures. We need to maintain an air of superiority befitting our sect, and we’ll rely on you to keep things in check."
When it came to connections, Li Mo realized he didn’t have many who could help with significant matters.
"I’ll be the immortal, and you, Chief Shang, will be my accompanying divine beast. Qin, you’ll be my protector, and the elders of Qingyuan Sect will be my subordinates."
"I haven’t stretched my legs in a while; I’ll accompany you," Shang Qinqing readily agreed.
"I’ve always been a sect leader; I’ve never been a protector before," Qin Yuzhi pondered.
As an undercover agent in the Demon Sect, should she tone it down a bit?
"What about me?" Huang Donglai asked.
"Li, you still need a mount," Murong Xiao teased him with a smile.
Li Mo shot him a helpless glance and said, "Old Huang, you’ll infiltrate the Demon Sect and coordinate with us from the inside."
As he spoke, he handed Huang Donglai a Xu Mi object filled with precious items for self-defense.
Li Mo needed to hone his own skills and couldn’t use them himself, so he passed them to Huang Donglai. Although Old Huang was steady enough, this was still a dangerous task.
"Good, foster father," Huang Donglai said, his address changing.
"What about me? What about me?" Murong Xiao realized he had nothing to do.
"You keep doing good deeds, accumulating merit for us to ensure the plan goes smoothly," Li Mo said, patting his shoulder earnestly.
Everyone had their roles, and the arrangements were quite professional; this wasn’t something to be noted in Tian Xun’s little notebook.
After a while, they had discussed most of the details.
"By the way, where’s Bing Tuozi?" Li Mo suddenly remembered. Bing Tuozi had said she was going to fetch some tea but hadn’t returned yet.
He just stood up to look for her when he froze.
Not far away.
Smoke was rising from the kitchen again.
A hapless bird flew past the smoke and froze mid-air, falling like a kite with a broken string.
Not good!
Li Mo’s expression changed as he recalled something terrifying and dashed toward the kitchen.
Bing Tuozi, that thing should not be tasted on its own!
---
**Chapter 713: The Delicate Bing Tuozi**
Little Li darted forward, almost instantaneously appearing at the kitchen door.
But he was still a step too late.
As he entered, he saw Ying Bing frowning, holding a spoon, taking small sips to test the flavor.
"Bing Tuozi, hurry, spit it out!"
Li Mo, who had just shown off a pot of food, was alarmed, rushing in and pinching her ruby lips into an 'O' shape, genuinely searching inside.
Unfortunately, just like before, he found nothing.
"You swallowed it all?!"
"You ate it too, and a whole pot at that! Cough..."
Before Ying Bing could finish her sentence, her mouth was blocked, and a finger rushed to poke her throat.
She tilted her head to dodge, pursing her lips. "Don’t mess around; it feels strange."
"Spit it out! This isn’t a joke. Do you feel uncomfortable at all?"
"No... Huh? Li Mo, have you learned a new technique?"
As soon as Ying Bing finished speaking, she felt a chill, her body temperature rising.
"I haven’t learned anything," Li Mo quickly rummaged through the Xu Mi object for the Wuyun Ziling Dan.
"Then why do you have three heads?"
"Where did three come from? Clearly, it’s two... Huh?!"
Little Li suddenly looked up.
The cold fairy’s pale face was now flushed with a rosy hue, her eyes shimmering with confusion and haze, like mist rising over autumn waters, giving her a rather dazed appearance.
It might sound a bit heartless to say, but seeing the usually icy Bing Tuozi in such a soft and silly state, Li Mo’s first thought was that she was genuinely adorable.
"Ouch..." Ying Bing clutched her stomach, beads of sweat forming on her forehead.
She collapsed into Little Li’s arms, her vision fading into darkness.
...
The Empress hadn’t dreamed in a long time.
This time, the dream was particularly strange; the world became vibrant and colorful, everything seemed to stretch and spin, as if all things had transformed into a kaleidoscope.
She couldn’t remember what powerful illusion array she had fallen into.
Oh, right.
She had eaten the hotpot she made herself.
In her dazed state, she felt a pill being fed into her mouth, cool and refreshing, and then a familiar voice gradually became clear in her ears.
"How is Little Bing? She’s about to get married; what should we do?"
It was Aunt Gu’s voice.
Then she heard Xue Jing speak:
"Little Bing has a special constitution; it’s not a big deal. She’ll recover on her own after a while. Little Mo fed her the Wuyun Ziling Dan in time, which will shorten the recovery period significantly. Just pay attention these next few days and take some nourishing medicine to rest."
"I’ll take good care of her."
That voice was the most reassuring for Bing Tuozi.
Xue Jing asked curiously, "What exactly did Little Bing eat?"
"She made herself a meal," Li Mo replied helplessly.
The room fell silent for a moment.
Xue Jing decisively declined the invitation to stay for dinner, leaving behind a recipe for a nourishing soup before leaving, as if something terrifying was chasing him.
Li Dalong and Gu Xueqin exchanged glances, deciding to go prepare the medicine first.
"Dad, find a place to bury the pot. Make sure it’s hidden well, and dig the pit deeper."
After saying this, the room fell silent again, and then Ying Bing felt a warm hand resting on her forehead.
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