"Ruoxi, have you cooked the rice?"
By late afternoon, as the sun set, only Chen Qiuyun and Master Jin Yu returned from gathering dried goods in the mountains. They called out before even reaching the courtyard, but neither Zhou Ruoxi nor the smoke from the kitchen chimney was visible.
"Where did that girl go?" Chen Qiuyun couldn't help but wonder why Zhou Ruoxi wasn't around.
"Hmm, there's a bag by the door. It looks like his!" Master Jin Yu pointed to a backpack at the entrance. Chen Qiuyun recognized it as Wan Yunting's at a glance.
"Cough..."
Immediately after, they saw Wan Yunting walk out with an unnatural expression, smiling at them, "Master Jin Yu, Sister Qiuyun, you're back. What dried goods did you gather?"
"Why are you here?"
Chen Qiuyun and Master Jin Yu looked at him in confusion, then saw Zhou Ruoxi emerge with a flushed face, shyly adjusting her clothes, not daring to look up. "I'm going to cook."
"Do you need my help?"
Wan Yunting asked awkwardly. Being caught red-handed by Chen Qiuyun and Master Jin Yu in broad daylight made him a bit embarrassed.
"No need, you stay with Sister Qiuyun and Senior Uncle..."
Zhou Ruoxi quickly went into the small kitchen to cook the rice, not wanting the man to continue feeling awkward.
"Why did you come here out of the blue?"
Chen Qiuyun put down the basket and unloaded the dried goods they had collected, such as monkey head mushrooms, small mushrooms, and wood ear mushrooms, all of which had been dried on the mountain, along with many pine nuts.
"Before the New Year passes, I came to see you all and also to go into seclusion for ten days." Wan Yunting helped them organize the dried goods, saying with a smile.
Master Jin Yu brought over a tea tray and began to pour the boiled water to make tea. Wan Yunting immediately turned to her and said, "Senior Aunt Jin Yu, has Jian or Tie visited you?"
Master Jin Yu shook her head slightly, then Zhou Ruoxi came out and asked, "What's wrong with Junior Sister Jiang?"
"Oh, nothing."
Wan Yunting shook his head, but after thinking about it, he said, "However, the Emei Sect is not doing well recently, especially Grandmaster Yunbai!"
"Senior Aunt Yunbai?"
Zhou Ruoxi's expression tightened, and she quickly asked, "What happened to Senior Aunt Yunbai?"
Master Jin Yu's beautiful eyes slightly lifted, and she also stared at Wan Yunting. He sighed and said, "I heard it from Junior Sister Jiang and my Senior Mother. They said that Grandmaster Yunbai is currently facing great difficulties in the Emei Sect, being suppressed and harassed by Guo Yu."
"My Senior Mother originally wanted to invite Grandmaster Yunbai to the Wuliang Daoist Temple, but she refused, saying she wanted to stay in the Emei Sect and fight Guo Yu to the end, not letting him ruin the sect!"
These words made Zhou Ruoxi anxious. Although she had been expelled from the Emei Sect, she had grown up there, and Grandmaster Yunbai had been kind to her. Hearing that her Senior Aunt was being suppressed by Guo Yu in the sect made her very worried.
"Is Guo Yu going to sell the Emei Sect?"
Zhou Ruoxi worried more about the Emei Sect when she thought of Guo Yu.
"I heard that Guo Yu is willing to exchange the martial arts of the Emei Sect with other sects to obtain the martial arts manual of the Snow Mountain Sect!" Wan Yunting said.
"What?"
Zhou Ruoxi exclaimed in surprise.
Master Jin Yu's beautiful face sank, and she said coldly, "That scoundrel!"
"It's my fault too."
Wan Yunting said, "When the various sects came to the capital to get the Snow Mountain Sect's martial arts manual from me, I specifically told them not to give the martial arts manual to Guo Yu."
"You can't be blamed for this."
Zhou Ruoxi shook her head. Her pretty face was filled with anger, and she said coldly, "Someone like Guo Yu, even without the Snow Mountain Sect's martial arts manual, would do it for other reasons, or to please other sects, and would betray the sect."
Master Jin Yu, sitting beside them, had lost the mood for tea, her heart filled only with worry for her Senior Sister Yunbai!
Chen Qiuyun, who was tidying the dried goods, also noticed Master Jin Yu's unusual expression but said nothing.
Wan Yunting was also the same. He quickly shut his mouth and got up to chop some firewood.
As it grew dark, Wan Yunting ate dinner with the three women. Chen Qiuyun and Master Jin Yu sat on chairs by the door, drinking tea and spacing out.
Wan Yunting and Zhou Ruoxi were behind the wooden house. It wasn't snowing tonight, but the weather was still very cold. She, wearing a cloak, also covered the man. They sat embracing each other on a rock, listening to the calls and movements of nocturnal animals in the dark mountain forest behind them.
"Ruoxi, come back to the capital with me!"
After careful consideration, Wan Yunting felt it would be most prudent to take Zhou Ruoxi back to the capital.
Zhou Ruoxi's expression froze. She turned and looked at the man from the corner of her eye. Seeing that Wan Yunting was serious, she still smiled and shook her head slightly, "I quite like this peaceful life. No one bothers me, it's quite good."
Wan Yunting raised an eyebrow and said, "The major sects will find you sooner or later!"
"Then I'll hide."
Zhou Ruoxi smiled, "Kunlun Mountain is so vast, isn't there still a place for me to hide?"
"Besides, I didn't know the location of the Demonic Pool. Even if they find me, what can they do?"
Wan Yunting shook his head and said, "You know perfectly well what kind of people the major sects are. They are capable of anything."
Zhou Ruoxi immediately smiled, "Aren't you going into seclusion? Why don't we go into the mountains and seclude ourselves for a while tomorrow? I've also touched the threshold of the Outer Gang realm and want to quietly go into seclusion."
Wan Yunting gazed at her, his greatest concern being that people from the major sects might find her and something might happen.
He also understood why Zhou Ruoxi refused to return to the capital with him.
"Alright."
Seeing that Zhou Ruoxi was unwilling to leave and was determined to stay with Chen Qiuyun, Wan Yunting had no choice but to agree. Tomorrow, he would take Zhou Ruoxi into Kunlun Mountain and seclude themselves in a valley for a while.
As for the major sects, they shouldn't be able to find this place in a short time.
However, at this time, in the hospital in Buxida County, Qi Xiu, Chen Beixuan, Liu Zaiyi, Yang Fei, and Qin Yuan were also sent to the hospital for treatment.
After all, their dantian had been destroyed, and Qin Yuan and the others were weak and fell ill directly.
Qi Xiu, Liu Zaiyi, and Chen Beixuan were even worse off. Not only were their dantian destroyed, but their minds were also crippled by Wan Yunting, turning them into idiots, and they were not even conscious.
"How are things? When will Sect Master Zhong be able to...?"
Zhou Yizhen asked Zhang Wuji, the grandson of Elder Zhang Qing of the Kunlun Sect, after he hung up the phone.
"Sect Master Zhong, Sect Master Liu, and Sect Master Shi have already set off overnight and are expected to arrive tomorrow." Zhang Wuji replied.
"That Wan Yunting is too ruthless!"
Another young man speaking was Lei Gen, a disciple of Gu Song of the Diancang Sect. Everyone present was shocked by how fierce Wan Yunting was, directly destroying the dantian of Qi Xiu and Liu Zaiyi, and turning them into imbeciles.
"That guy is officially declaring war on us major sects!" Zhang Wuji frowned and said gravely.
Wu Chi shook his head slightly and sighed, "There's no point in us saying more. Let's wait until Sect Master Zhong and the others arrive tomorrow..."
...
In front of the wooden house, a candle was lit. Under the faint candlelight, Master Jin Yu, in a plain robe, and Chen Qiuyun, in a coarse cloth robe, sat on chairs by the door, drinking tea and spacing out.
Suddenly, Master Jin Yu said, "Qiuyun, I might have to leave!"
Chen Qiuyun, born with a charming disposition, turned to look at her. She was not too surprised by Master Jin Yu's decision, as if she had expected it.
Master Jin Yu sighed and said, "I must regard the Emei Sect as my home. Now that such a big incident has occurred, and my Senior Sister Yunbai is in deep suffering, I cannot stand by and watch her bear it alone!"
"Therefore, I must go back, even if it changes nothing, I must stand with my Senior Sister Yunbai and face it together."
"Senior Aunt Jin Yu, you are going back?"
Wan Yunting and Zhou Ruoxi returned just then and heard her words.
"Yes, I should go back." Master Jin Yu nodded and said very calmly.
Wan Yunting and Zhou Ruoxi exchanged glances, surprised by her sudden decision.
Although Master Jin Yu had always stayed in the Peach Blossom Forest behind the Emei Sect, remaining aloof from worldly affairs and sect matters, living a carefree life alone.
But now, with the Emei Sect under Guo Yu's control, not only harassing Senior Sister Yunbai but also betraying the sect, how could Master Jin Yu stand by and do nothing?