“Young Ancestor, who were you talking to just now?”


  It seems that she heard Xue Qilin speak just now, yet didn’t see the person with whom she spoke. So Li Wanting asked this curiously. Xue Qilin, who just started walking, showed an “it’s indeed the case” expression.

  It appears that except for her, no one can see Beiming Youyu…… Xue Qilin is not surprised.

  “Er, this……”


  Considering that Beiming Youyu is using stealth, Xue Qilin turned to her and asked for her permission with her eyes. After getting an “it doesn’t matter” look of approval, she turned her face to Li Wanting, who is walking beside her with a puzzled look on her face.

  “Little Fish, she’s here.”


  “.…… Little Fish?”


  “Beiming Youyu!”


  Li Wanting was taken aback at first, and then showed a flabbergasted expression and asked, “Young Ancestor, do you mean Senior Beiming Youyu……?”


  Xue Qilin gave a short yet definite “yes” as an answer. Li Wanting immediately looked around, and her long ponytail made rustling sounds.

  “But I can’t see her……”


  “Ah, she’s in stealth. She said that shoe doesn’t want others to know –”


  Xue Qilin, worried about how to explain what “stealth” is, was halfway through her speech, when Li Wanting exclaimed in surprise. She covered her mouth, and her eyes, which have been wandering until now, fixed on the location of Beiming Youyu.

  “She’s really here……”


  Li Wanting’s dark orange eyes are reflecting a figure.

  Li Wanting seems to be able to see her, meaning that Beiming Youyu probably lifted her stealth.

  Maintaining a surprised expression on her face, Li Wanting clasped her hands and bowed to Beiming Youyu, while the latter nodded back in response.

  Several people noticed Li Wanting’s actions and threw startled looks this way. It’s understandable that they would have such a reaction. After all, in their eyes, Li Wanting just saluted empty air.

  After placing the firewood next to the tent that has been mostly set up, Li Wanting peeked at Beiming Youyu and asked in a suppressed voice, “Young Ancestor, why did Senior Beiming come here?”


  “Er, this……”


  Xue Qilin scratched her head, hesitating to tell her the truth.

  However, even if I don’t tell Little Ting, she will learn it sooner or later…… With this in mind, Xue Qilin slowly smoothed her wrinkled eyebrows.

  “Actually, it’s like this…… Beiming Youyu has come to keep things under control!”


  “Keep things under control?”


  “Um…… it’s because the other two Grandmasters seem to have come.”


  Xue Qilin started to set up a campfire.

  While piling firewood, she deliberately answered with a relaxed tone, hoping to slightly lessen the other party’s surprise after hearing the news.

  However, she seems to have worried too much.

  After hearing the news, Li Wanting simply sighed and said “sure enough”, not looking surprised in the least. She appears to have expected as much. Not only that, her lips even curved upwards a little.

  Is she pleased that mechanism arts can disturb Grandmasters? Xue Qilin keenly caught the meaning behind the smile and looked absentmindedly at Li Wanting.

  “Little Ting, you aren’t surprised?”


  “Hmm? That’s because I learned it from Younger Sister Temple Master and Uncle Teacher Ye.”


  “Really, they anticipated this?”


  “I think so……” Li Wanting smiled bitterly and helped Xue Qilin set up the campfire, “I’m relatively slow-witted and I don’t understand such things.”


  Li Wanting, who devotes all her attention to what she likes, must be a typical example of “both ears are shut to what goes on outside the window”. Xue Qilin thinks that even if Li Wanting could understand the cause and effect of things, she wouldn’t pay them any more attention.

  At this time, someone butted it, “Isn’t this obvious?”


  Suddenly hearing the familiar tone of banter, Xue Qilin looked back at once.

  Xia Xue, who returned at some point, is standing behind her. She nodded at Beiming Youyu. She seems to be able to see the other party, as well.

  “Senior Disciple Sister Li, there are a few freshwater fish inside. Can you process them?”


  Xia Xue is holding several packages wrapped in oil paper and tied with hemp ropes — this should be their dinner. She handed the biggest package to Li Wanting.

  “Oh, okay.”


  Li Wanting readily agreed.

  First she wiped the dirt off her hands with her clothes, and then took the oil paper package containing the freshwater fish from Xia Xue and went straight to the brook across the clearing.

  How hardworking — Xue Qilin mused.

  “The appearance of the School of Mo’s secret hall is enough to cause a stir that will spread to all four corners. The Western Regions and the Northern Kingdom are no exception. It was very likely that they would send people to investigate the secrets of the School of Mo’s secret hall, wishing to obtain benefits for their states. But since the School of Mo’s secret hall is located within the territory of the Hua Dynasty, it is impossible for the two states to overtly send troops. Without the protection of an army, who would dare to lightly intrude into the Hua Dynasty? In this way, the Grandmasters had to come forward. Do you understand now? Our stupid Young Ancestor!”


  “Firstly, I didn’t ask for an explanation! Secondly, I already knew it before you said it!”


  Xue Qilin raised two fingers successively and issued a stern statement.

  “Oh –” Xia Xue dragged out the interjection, and then put on an “I see you now in a new light” expression, “Then what was our Young Ancestor surprised about just now?”


  “I was just surprised by the fact that Little Ting wasn’t surprised!”


  As if reciting a tongue-twister, Xue Qilin replied quickly.

  “This pronunciation…… you sound like a three-year-old!”


  Xia Xue sighed helplessly.

  She chuckled, and then moved her eyes to the nearly completed tent with a straight face.

  “That’s enough for now, let’s talk about the tent instead. Why hasn’t our eloquent Young Ancestor finished the tent yet?”


  “Er……”


  While talking with Beiming Youyu, Xue Qilin forgot all about the tent. Her face is tinged with embarrassment.

  “Young Ancestor, before we set out, you patted your chest and guaranteed — “if there are any chores, just leave them to me”. So what’s the matter?

  Xia Xue her head tilted and smiled, yet Xue Qilin doesn’t sense a trace of a smile.

  “That’s right, Qilin. How can you be so careless?”


  Taking Beiming Youyu’s tail as a top-tier bed, Phecda, who buried herself in it, raised her head and chimed in, causing Xue Qilin to glare at her.

  “He-he!”


  Phecda stuck out her tongue and continued to dawdle on Beiming Youyu’s tail.

  Don’t quibble, don’t quibble, she is still a child, she still lacks tact…… Heeding Xia Xue’s advice to be kinder to Phecda, Xue Qilin silently recited the mantra she compiled and took several deep breaths, a twisted expression on her face.

  “Little Phecda, just you wait and see!”


  Xue Qilin, who ultimately couldn’t swallow the anger, yelled out this sentence. Immediately after, she was hit by a disdainful look from Xia Xue.

  “Who lost their child?”


  Xue Qilin almost choked to death due to this sentence.

  Although she wanted to scold back, but she is the kind to “bully the good and fear the evil”. In the end, she could only swallow it back into her stomach and, while complaining about a lack of human rights, continue to work on the unfinished tent, fuming.

  While sitting on the stone, Beiming Youyu watched the spectacle without a word. The shade of envy suddenly appeared on her face.

  — Xue Qilin didn’t notice it.