Chapter 88: Parting Words with Wine

  After that day, Murong Ziyin and Shen Bailian stayed in Xun City for several more days. Murong Ziyin was very interested in the smelting techniques passed down from ancient times to the present on Penglai Island, and every day he would eagerly stay by the iron forge furnace, often returning to the inn at dusk, truly rising early and retiring late, diligent and hardworking.

  The blacksmith was quite generous and didn't ask for anything in return. He had a good impression of them too. When he happened to learn that they came to Beiming to search for high-quality cold iron, an idea suddenly sprouted in his mind. However, he kept it hidden deep down and didn't mention it until the day Shen Bailong and Murong Ziyu were about to leave Penglai. On that day, he quietly sent a wooden box to their residence at the inn.

  When Murong Ziyin took over the wooden box, he only felt that it was quite heavy in his hand. As soon as he opened the lid, a cold air rushed to his face. Upon closer inspection, he was surprised and delighted to see that inside the box lay a heavy, black, square-shaped ore that didn't look impressive at first glance. However, with a discerning eye, he recognized it as identical to the description of Cold Iron in his master's notes, and its contained spiritual energy seemed to be of the highest quality, possibly having been infused with spiritual energy for hundreds of years at the bottom of the sea.

  He didn't know that Penglai Island was a blessed place, where the sun and moon revolved, and the four seasons changed without being related to the outside world. The island was rich in spiritual energy, with strange flowers and grasses growing everywhere. Outside the island, there was also the Minghai Sea, which blocked the cold air from the extreme north and the prying eyes of the outside world. Thousands of years ago, the ancient tribe had moved here to avoid war and had brought their advanced skills with them. The ironwork technique was passed down from generation to generation. Penglai Island was adjacent to Minghai Sea, where many rare treasures such as night pearls and cold iron were abundant. These treasures were not scarce on the island, but rather ordinary goods from the Central Plains were truly rare here. The blacksmith had stored some inventory at home and saw that Murong Ziyu's sword-casting technique was impressive, so he decided to take out a piece of his finest thousand-year-old cold iron as a parting gift. Murong Ziyu was overjoyed and grateful in her heart.

  Shen Bailian, however, was not interested in these at all. In the past few days, he had not been with Murong Ziyin in the iron shop, suffering from the heat of the stove. During his leisure time, he would wander alone in the city, and many delicious goods in Xun City were quite different from those in the Central Plains, which satisfied his curiosity and allowed him to find many rare and interesting things. So when it was time to leave, he felt very satisfied and returned with a full load.

  On the day of their departure, Tieguai Liang sent them off to the city gate and then to the seaside. At first, he was still puzzled about how they had arrived at Penglai Island and worried that they might not be able to successfully cross the underworld and ride the waves. It wasn't until he saw with his own eyes the two of them mounting their swords and disappearing into the sky that he realized these two were actually extraordinary people with great magical powers and mastery of immortal arts. Relieved, he couldn't help but praise them repeatedly, and when he returned to the city, he didn't reveal a single word about it.

  At this moment, Shen Bailong and Murong Ziyin were riding their swords at high speed, rushing back to the island where they had bid farewell to Xiang Qing earlier. Beforehand, Xiang Qing had agreed with them that the sea ship would anchor outside the port of that island for no more than five days. If the two did not return within those five days, he would not wait any longer. Now, after experiencing the battle with Kunpeng and visiting Penglai Island, it was already nine or ten days later. Shen Bailong couldn't help but feel anxious while flying on the road, secretly guessing that Xiang Qing had probably set sail long ago, leaving behind only an empty sea port. But when they returned to the island, they found that the ship was still anchored in the bay and had not yet set off. It was both unexpected and delightful, and with a smile all over their faces, Shen Bailong and Murong Ziyin landed on the bow of the ship.

  Those young sailors had loaded the cargo of fresh water into the ship's hold several days ago, and they were so bored that they had nothing to do every day except sunbathing and chatting to relieve their boredom. Who knew that on this day, while they were boasting and laughing, suddenly two beams of light, one blue and one purple, appeared from the horizon and landed in front of them in an instant. They thought they had encountered a monster, and amidst the chaos, someone quickly ran to call out Qing.

  When Qing hurried over, he just saw the purple light dissipate, revealing Shen Baiying and Murong Ziyin's two slender figures. He was stunned for a moment before bursting into laughter and welcoming them: "I thought I'd encountered some strange occurrence, but it turns out it's Brother Shen and Young Master Murong returning!" As he spoke, he had already arrived in front of them, stretching out a large palm to heavily pat Shen Baiying on the shoulder. "The sea is full of accidents, and you two aren't those who often go out to sea. This time, it's taught people to worry a lot. Now that you're back, it's good, it's good!"

  He was afraid that Shen Bailian and Murong Ziyin would encounter danger at sea, and he refused to set sail no matter what. He was worried day and night, but now seeing the two return safely, his face is full of joy. He didn't mention the hardships of being stranded at sea with a full crew for several days, opposing the ship owner's decision. Shen Bailian had already guessed a bit, feeling that this person treated others sincerely and was generous, truly a friend worth befriending. At this moment, although his shoulder was about to be patted off, his face still showed gentle smiles, and his eyebrows didn't even frown once.

  Since they had waited for them, they immediately ordered the sailors to set sail and took Shen Bailian and Murong Ziyin to their own house, asking them in detail about what they saw and heard on the sea. As for how the sailors on the ship discussed and speculated whether the two guests invited by the owner were monsters or gods, they didn't care.

  The return journey was much faster than the outgoing one, and in less than half a month, the seaport outside Qinglong Town had already appeared at the end of the sea. As the ship sailed into the harbor, Qing bade farewell to Shen Ge, with whom he had gotten along quite well, and grabbed him and Murong Ziyin, saying that he wanted to treat them to a meal, and dragged the two of them into the Haikou Inn in the town without giving them a chance to refuse.

  More than a month had passed, and the shopkeeper of Hai Ke's store still remembered Shen Bailian's appearance. From afar, he smiled and called out, "Young master, look at you covered in dust, aren't you back from sailing?" As he asked with interest, he turned his head to see Xiang Qing beside him, and his smile was filled with even more admiration, "Ah, isn't this Young Master Xiang of the Xiang family shipyard? How...". His eyes darted back and forth between them several times as he smiled, "Oh, I get it! This young master must have taken a ride on the Xiang family's ship! The young master really has good taste, the ships built by the Xiang family shipyard are the best in Qinglong Town. It's no wonder that this trip out to sea was so profitable!"

  A burst of laughter from Qing: "This little three is still so glib, hurry up and pick a good table, get some good wine and dishes ready. Today you're treating the old man to a meal, don't worry about not having enough money to pay the bill, just bring out the best!"

  The shopkeeper nodded and bowed, leading them to a table in the main hall. Before long, he brought out a pot of wine and several dishes of cold and hot food. Xiang Qing poured three full cups of wine and picked up one of them, smiling as he said: "Brother Shen, Brother Murong, you're about to leave Qinglong Town, who knows when we'll meet again? This meal is my way of seeing you off, so let's drink a toast!" With that, he downed the cup in one gulp and slammed it back onto the table.

  Shen Bailian couldn't refuse, so he picked up his wine bowl and was about to take a sip when he caught a whiff of the pungent aroma, which made him feel somewhat unwell. However, Qing's piercing eyes were fixed on him, and no matter what, he couldn't lose face in front of him. So, gritting his teeth and holding his breath, he downed the wine in one gulp.

  "Good, Shen brother is quite refreshing!" Xiang Qing smiled and praised, turning her head to urge Murong Ziyin to drink quickly.

  Murong Ziyin's eyebrows slightly furrowed, and she shook her head to decline: "A cultivator shouldn't indulge in excessive drinking——" Before she could finish speaking, a clattering sound came from beside her, followed by something rolling onto the ground. Then, an object tilted over and softly fell onto her shoulder.

  He cast a glance at Qing with his tiger eyes, and suddenly widened them in shock, exclaiming: "Shen brother?!"

  Murong Ziyin turned around, and his eyes were also filled with surprise. He took a closer look, and the head leaning on his shoulder was indeed Shen Baiying's. His scattered black hair revealed half of his profile, which was flushed red. His usually warm and luminous eyes had narrowed into two slits, with eyelashes like feathers, and the line of sight that could be seen through them seemed to hold a pool of water. His breathing was shallow but reeked strongly of alcohol, clearly having drunk himself into a stupor.

  But this guy... has he just had one bowl of wine?

  Murong Ziyin and Xiang Qing stared at each other, falling into a moment of silence.

  Half an hour later, in the guest room on the second floor of the Hai Keju Inn, Murong Ziyin sat quietly with her eyes closed, seemingly deep in thought or meditating. However, the faintly twitching vein at her temple betrayed a hint of emotion beneath her calm exterior. The person lying on the bed, however, was completely unaware, and with another turn, they hugged the quilt tightly to their chest, murmuring: "Mother... don't die..."

  Murong Ziyin opened his eyes, his lips pursed slightly, and the blue vein on his forehead seemed to be more pronounced. However, he still slowly got up, reached out to grab the quilt from Shen Bailian's hands again, shook it open and covered himself with it once more, then sat back down heavily.

  I didn't expect this person to be so gentle and steady on a daily basis, but after getting drunk, he's so troublesome! Murong Ziyin sat on the stool, wondering whether she should be angry or amused. Not to mention Shen Baiying's shallow alcohol tolerance, he passed out after just one bowl, but after getting drunk, he was still very willful. Originally leaning on his own shoulder as if he had fallen asleep, who knew that when Murong Ziyin and Xiang Qing were about to help him up and send him to the second floor, this person suddenly became very agile and struggled out of their arms, hugging the table and refusing to let go, muttering non-stop in his mouth, saying something unknown, leaving the shopkeeper staring blankly.

  It was easy to send him to the guest room, but this person was tossing and turning on the bed, restless, with an unpredictable expression, sometimes angry, sometimes joyful, sometimes sad, sometimes sorrowful. And then there's the habit of kicking the quilt off the bed, picking it up and covering himself again, only to kick it off once more. Mu Rong Ziying had a high status in Kunlun Mountain, having taught countless low-level disciples from various sects, but none were as difficult to take care of as this person!

  Helpless and depressed, the person on the bed called out softly again: "...Shidi..." This call was very gentle, with a hint of remorse, and listening to it made one's heart tremble slightly.

  Murong Ziyin turned back, and the gaze on that face full of melancholy was very complicated. This person usually appeared to be so calm and gentle, but in his sleep, he was so sorrowful. Which one was the real him? What kind of past had he experienced, that even in his dreams, he couldn't rest easy?

  "Shidi......" Shen Bailian's eyebrows were tightly locked, and she called out again in a soft voice. Suddenly, she stretched out one hand from under the quilt and grabbed at the air, precisely catching Mu Rongziying's hand that was propping up the bed. In an instant, her five fingers tightened, firmly grasping Mu Rongziying's hand and pulling it to her chest.

  Murong Ziyin's eyes widened slightly, and he instinctively pulled his hand back. However, Shen Baiying seemed to sense something in his sleep, and his grip on Murong's hand tightened. As they struggled, Shen's previously closed eyes suddenly opened a tiny slit. Murong caught sight of this and quickly tried to break free while calling out: "Brother Baiying!"

  Shen Bailian stared blankly at him, suddenly loosening her fingers.

  Murong Ziyin's heart had just relaxed a little, but the next moment his collar was tightened again, and he was pulled in front of that person by the hand that had just let him go. In the blink of an eye, that slightly pale and handsome face was close at hand, and his breathing could be heard clearly. Murong Ziyin's eyes widened, and he felt as if his ears were slightly burning.

  At this moment, the person grasping his collar muttered: "...Xuan Xiao Shidi... I'm sorry..."

  Xuan Xiao? This name sounds so familiar...

  Murong Ziyin's face changed slightly.