Because she was worried that the realm would mysteriously vanish once again, Yun Ruoyan asked the first elder and Li Mo what sort of preparations that would need to make before heading to that mysterious realm.

The first elder said that he was trying to inscribe higher-ranked teleportation scrolls, ones that could allow the two of them to instantly teleport back to the southern tower if they ran into an unexpected situation. However, inscribing these scrolls required an immense amount of spiritual energy and the support of an array. Thus, the first elder would need a helper who was at the level of a sword saint.

Of the remaining four elders, two were in secluded cultivation, one had gone travelling across the continent, and only the second elder remained in Kongming Academy. The first elder was just about to leave in search of him when Li Mo said, “Master, let me help you.”

The first elder and Yun Ruoyan both looked at Li Mo, who raised his hands. One palm and wrist was suffused with hot flame, and the other with cold frost.

“Li Mo, you… you’re a sword saint now?!” the first elder exclaimed.

Yun Ruoyan likewise gaped in shock and admiration. She knew that Li Mo had been stuck as a ninth-rank blademaster for quite some time, and she was naturally quite happy to see him break through. “Li Mo, when did this happen? You were still a ninth-rank blademaster while dealing with Madam Qin, weren’t you?”

“Last night,” Li Mo smiled wryly, not hiding the truth from Yun Ruoyan.

“Last night…? When last night?” Yun Ruoyan seemed quite confused—they’d spent the entire night together, after all. When had Li Mo had the time to break through?

Unless…!

Yun Ruoyan’s eyes widened as she glanced at Li Mo, who smiled and nodded at her. After recovering from her shock, her face immediately flushed a deep red, and she hurriedly changed the topic after remembering that the first elder was also present.

“Ahem! First Elder, about how long would it take to make this teleportation scroll?”

Li Mo hadn’t informed the first elder that Yun Ruoyan was a human furnace, but the first elder had heard Empress Xue Tong bring it up. As a result, he was quite clear regarding what had happened, but he could only pretend as if he didn’t. “Half a day would be sufficient, but just in case something unexpected happens, I plan on inscribing four scrolls. Thus, I’ll need the entire day.”

They all went to the first elder’s laboratory and cultivation chambers, and the two sword saints began the laborious process of inscribing the advanced teleportation scrolls. Because the first elder had studied the process intensively over a long period of time, the inscription technique that he had developed wasn’t particularly difficult, but it required an immense amount of spiritual energy.

Yun Ruoyan stood to one side as she watched the two men stand on either side of a stone counter and infuse spiritual energy into the two scrolls at its center. As the spiritual energy permeated the scrolls, they slowly began to glow. 

It was dark outside by the time the first elder and Li Mo finally finished the first two advanced teleportation scrolls, but they only had a short break before they proceeded with the other two. After reaching ninth-rank, they could slowly replace food with spiritual energy for nourishment, so neither Li Mo nor the first elder needed to eat. Unfortunately, the same wasn’t true for Yun Ruoyan.

Just as it turned dark, she left the southern tower in search of something to eat. Because of the holidays, there weren’t many people remaining in Kongming Academy, and the cafeteria wasn’t open. She was wondering where she would get any food when she saw a shadow heading her way.

“Zhuo Yifeng, what are you doing here?!” 

Wasn’t Zhuo Yifeng supposed to be back home in the Lin manor, accompanying Zhuo Lin’er?

“I wasn’t accomplishing very much at the Lin manor, so I decided to return early to cultivate. It’s quiet here, and the air is full of spiritual energy,” Zhuo Yifeng replied. In the darkness, Yun Ruoyan couldn’t clearly see Zhuo Yifeng’s face, but he seemed to have gotten thinner and taller than before.

The last time she had seen Zhuo Yifeng was right before her engagement with Li Mo, near the start of the vacation about a month ago.

That day, she had gone to the Lin manor early in the morning. According to Lin Qingchen, Lin Qingxue was practicing her archery with Zhuo Yifeng. Because Yun Ruoyan recalled that she had promised Lin Qingxue to give her a good bow once she developed her archery skills further, she decided to watch them train, pulling Lin Qingchen with her.

As they entered the back garden, they saw Zhuo Yifeng standing directly behind Lin Qingxue, pulling on the same bow together. Lin Qingxue’s face was flushed red, a sweet smile on her face; Zhuo Yifeng was somewhat expressionless, but his body was plastered quite closely against hers.

Zhuo Yifeng had taught Lin Qingxue archery like this in the past, but had never been so intimate with her. Lin Qingchen’s face turned stern as she made to stride forward, but Yun Ruoyan pulled her back. Lin Qingchen frowned and acceded, but she watched on with a dark face and folded arms.

Zhuo Yifeng didn’t seem to feel any sort of emotion toward Lin Qingxue, but Lin Qingxue clearly thought differently. Her aura of happiness was so radiant that Yun Ruoyan could feel it even from a distance.

After that, she saw Zhuo Yifeng twice that month, both times with Lin Qingxue. The two of them had clearly seemed to grow closer.

Lin Qingchen was quite worried about the situation, but Yun Ruoyan claimed that it was a good thing for Lin Qingxue to be able to be with the person she liked. Furthermore, Zhuo Yifeng was very dependable, and he would hardly do anything untoward to her.

However, what Lin Qingchen was worried about was the fact that Zhuo Yifeng didn’t actually have feelings for Lin Qingxue. They both knew that Lin Qingxue liked Zhuo Yifeng, but Yun Ruoyan couldn’t tell if Zhuo Yifeng liked her back. Based on her understanding of Zhuo Yifeng, however, she didn’t think he would act so familiar with her if he didn’t like her.

When she told Lin Qingchen this, Lin Qingchen hesitantly asked her, “Sister Ruoyan, I keep feeling as though Brother Zhuo has someone that he likes, but this person isn’t Qingxue. Have you felt the same way?”

Yun Ruoyan hesitated for a moment. She really hadn’t noticed! Zhuo Yifeng didn’t wear his emotions openly on his face, and Yun Ruoyan frequently found that she had no clue what he was thinking. Despite this, she didn’t much mind, and had always considered him a dependable friend.

“He likes someone? If not Qingxue, who else could it be?” Yun Ruoyan asked, frowning.

Lin Qingchen also frowned at Yun Ruoyan’s response, but after quite a while, she finally sighed. “I don’t know either.”

Lin Qingchen’s question had stuck with Yun Ruoyan. When she found a chance, she had even asked Zhuo Lin’er if her brother had a girl that he fancied. Zhuo Lin’er told her that his brother had known some girls, but she didn’t think he particularly liked any of them.

As a result, Yun Ruoyan had been hoping to have a discussion with Zhuo Yifeng. As Lin Qingxue’s cousin, Yun Ruoyan felt as though she had some responsibility to help keep an eye out for her.

This coincidental meeting would be a good opportunity for doing so.

“Zhuo Yifeng, I was just looking for you!” Yun Ruoyan exclaimed. “Can we sit down somewhere and chat?” Yun Ruoyan’s stomach began to growl as she talked. She patted it gently, as if consoling it.

Zhuo Yifeng couldn’t help but smile upon seeing her behavior. Because she wouldn’t be able to see his expression clearly in the darkness, his smile was wider than usual. “You’re hungry?”

“Yes, very hungry!”

“The Slaughtering King didn’t make you anything to eat?”

“He’s busy at the moment.”

“In that case, I’ll fill you up,” Zhuo Yifeng said. He beckoned her toward a cliff, and Yun Ruoyan followed behind him. As they walked, Zhuo Yifeng asked her why she and Li Mo had also returned to Kongming Academy.

Zhuo Yifeng knew that they were newlyweds, so he was very surprised to see her here. Since he was a trusted ally and because the appearance of the realm wasn’t a secret, she told Zhuo Yifeng about what had happened.

They got to the edge of the cliff as they chatted. Because of how high Kongming Academy was, there were still regions of snowfall despite the fact that it was the start of spring.

Zhuo Yifeng dug out a little rabbit carcass from behind a large rock, one that he had hunted earlier. He started a fire and expertly roasted, seasoned, and dressed it.

As Yun Ruoyan held her hands against the toasty fire, she began seriously, “Zhuo Yifeng, I have a very important question for you, and you have to answer me honestly. You—”

Zhuo Yifeng broke her off, his hands still moving deftly as he did so. “Don’t ask me anything at the moment; wait until I’m finished with this rabbit. It’ll only taste good if I put my heart into it.” Zhuo Yifeng glanced at Yun Ruoyan, his eyes shining more brightly than she had ever seen them, before he lowered his head once more and focused on the meat in his hands.

Yun Ruoyan hadn’t expected Zhuo Yifeng would interrupt her—as far as she could remember, Zhuo Yifeng hadn’t ever done so. He would always sit quietly and wait for her to finish speaking, then either nod silently or reply quietly with his thoughts on the matter. However, he had never once broken her off.

The scent of wild rabbit permeated the air, but Yun Ruoyan was so engrossed in her thoughts about Zhuo Yifeng that she didn’t notice it at all.

“Alright, here.” Zhuo Yifeng handed Yun Ruoyan a rabbit’s leg. She took a deep whiff, then a big mouthful.

When Yun Ruoyan had devoured half the rabbit, Zhuo Yifeng finally asked, “Alright, what did you want to ask me just now?”

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