Chapter One Hundred: Unexpected Encounter

  Shen Bailian did not want to take in those few small Huai demons, but the elder repeatedly advised him, first with sincere words, repeatedly saying "These few little ones are the descendants of Huai Lianli, relying on your friendship with him, how can you not take care of them" and so on. Later, seeing Shen Bailian's hesitation, he took advantage of the situation to sweep them out the door with a flick of his old eyes. Shen Bailian stood helplessly outside the door, only hearing the laughter of that old man getting farther and farther away, apparently entering the inner chamber, his hand that was about to knock on the door could only fall back down.

  He turned his head again, and five pairs of shiny black eyes were staring at him intently, with a hint of pitifulness in their gaze. This made him feel inexplicably guilty, and he couldn't bring himself to refuse them. "Sigh!" Shen Bailian let out a heavy sigh, and could only wave his hand at the few little Huai Yao, "Let's go."

  The five little monsters were suddenly delighted and meowed loudly. If the tail that grew on their back was a bit longer, they might have wagged it long ago.

  After that, the five Huai Mi brothers settled down in Shen Bai Lian's home. Fortunately, they were small like kittens and could squeeze onto one bed with plenty of room to spare. Shen Bai Lian cleaned out her childhood bedroom for the little Huai demons and moved into the adjacent bedroom where her mother, Yan Jing, used to sleep. As the eldest of the five little Huai demons, Huai Mi was young and had weak powers, but he made up for it with his strong character and unyielding spirit. Shen Bai Lian saw how well he took care of his brothers and appreciated his clear sense of right and wrong, so she praised him highly and taught him with extra attention.

  Because of the guidance he had received from Xian Zeng, the opportunity to find the daughter of Yuanyu would come knocking on his door, so he didn't need to run around anymore. He simply stopped going out and spent his days helping the old man and woman in Gu's ancient city with some chores, occasionally pointing out the way for the five little demons' cultivation, and when he had free time, he would also communicate with Murong Ziyin who was far away in Kunlun Mountain, and his life was quite comfortable.

  Time flies, and Murong Ziyin's transmission jade sword came very frequently at first. Although each letter only had a few words, it was consistent with his usual calm demeanor, but the sincerity on the paper was also comforting to see. The first few letters only briefly mentioned the situation after returning to the Huamen School, and it seemed that the Qionghua School had been busy with many things lately, and the time spent in seclusion by the leader of the school had become longer and longer. Since his return, he had only seen Suoyao once or twice. Shen Bailian vaguely felt that something big was about to happen, but the unusual premonition in her heart flashed by in an instant and was soon overwhelmed by trivial matters around her.

  The letter became more interesting later on. Shen Bailian learned from Murong Ziyin that the Qionghua Sect had recently taken in three new disciples, and Su Xiang was so focused on her closed-door training that she didn't have time to worry about anything else, so she assigned the three of them to Murong Ziyin's care. It was said that the one boy and two girls were all around the same age as him, and thinking about this cold-faced young man trying his best to maintain a stern expression while scolding them made Shen Bailian smile to herself. As she read on, the names of the three people appeared more and more frequently in the letter, and it seemed that Murong Ziyin was quite frustrated with them, directly rebuking them for being reckless and prone to causing trouble, and even daring to sneak out of the mountain to play after only a few days of entering the sect. They had also borrowed his name to deceive the disciples guarding the gate. The complaints in that section were truly written with great emotion, showing that the person writing the letter was extremely displeased. There was even one time when Murong Ziyin severely scolded the young disciple for being disrespectful to his sword, saying "Not only do they not understand how to take care of and protect their swords, but they also recklessly insult precious swords, truly a waste of heaven's gifts." This made Shen Bailian unable to hold back her laughter. Looking at the next sentence, "Punishing them by making them enter the Reflection Valley to reflect for a day is actually being too kind," she couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  However, after some time, Mu Rongziying's messages gradually decreased, and later became almost non-existent. There was only one time when a letter brought by Yu Jian mentioned another matter. During that period, Mu Rongziying seemed to be following the orders of the sect leader to search for a certain Shifu (master) outside, and that person's name was very familiar to Shen Baoying - it was Su Xiang. According to Mu Rongziying, that Su Xiang Shifu had been very close to him when he was young, but later left Qionghua Sect due to some reasons. He searched for her all the way to a small city and finally found her, but Su Xiang said she had already given up on her immortal techniques and become a recluse, with no intention of returning to Kunlun Mountain again. Mu Rongziying's tone in the letter was naturally full of helplessness and regret. Shen Baoying's heart was also filled with such emotions - he only then realized that his fellow disciples from back when had all scattered and forgotten each other in the Jianghu (martial arts world). Yun Tianqing and Su Yu were dead, Su Xiang left Qionghua Sect, Su Yao became the leader of a sect, but there was no news about that one person. Thinking about these things, he couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.

  Before she knew it, another month had passed and Mu Rong Ziying hadn't even sent a single letter. Shen Baiyun thought to herself that the young man was highly valued by the sect leader and might have other important matters on his hands, so he didn't bother sending her any news.

  As the scorching summer gradually passed, a whirlpool that appeared once every nineteen years emerged again on Lake Chao. Shen Bailian happened to be passing by the bottom of the lake and looked up at the rippling waves spreading out on the sparkling surface, recalling how she had saved a little girl there when she was young, and couldn't help but become distracted for a moment.

  These past few days, Huai Mi brothers and Shen Bailian have become somewhat familiar with each other. Seeing the demonic creatures of the Nest Guard frequently patrolling the lake bottom, they appeared to be very busy, which piqued their interest. They urged Shen Bailian to take them to see the excitement. Coincidentally, on that day, a human woman fell into the whirlpool and was rescued by Ying Jing of the Nest Guard. Unexpectedly, the woman tightly grasped Ying Jing's hand and refused to be pushed ashore. Having no choice, Ying Jing could only carry her back to their nest country. The demonic creatures saw Ying Jing's green face turn purple, clearly both surprised and embarrassed, and they all burst out laughing. Shen Bailian, however, noticed that the woman was not actually unconscious and swept his sleeve across her wrist. The woman indeed let out a cry of surprise.

  "Meow, Mr. Shen, this person... why isn't she afraid of us? And how did she come to Ju Chao country with Shadow Thorn big brother?" Huai Mi poked her head out from behind Shen Bai Ling's back, curiously looking the woman up and down, "Meow, she... she looks pretty good, just like a cat transformed into human form..."

  Shen Bailian ignored him and furrowed her brow as she looked at the young woman, asking: "What reason do you have for following us into the depths of the lake?"

  The woman looked very delicate, her wet clothes clinging to her body made her look even more pitiful. She first glanced at the embarrassed Shadow with a red face, then turned her gaze to Shen Bailong. As soon as she saw him, her big eyes widened in surprise, and she blurted out: "It's you, Big Brother!"

  The monsters were shocked, and Yin Jiao couldn't help but ask: "You... do you know Bai Ling? You... did you come to Ju Chao country to find him?" As he spoke, his face turned pale, but his expression seemed somewhat unhappy.

  Shen Bailian's eyebrows furrowed even tighter as he carefully examined the woman's appearance, but he really couldn't recall where he had seen this young woman before.

  The woman was very perceptive and saw that Shen Baiyun looked puzzled, so she took the initiative to explain: "Big brother, don't you remember me? I remember you very clearly, my name is Mu Xuan... More than ten years ago, we met once in the woods by the lake." She paused for a moment, seeing that Shen Baiyun still had a hint of doubt on his face, and continued, "At that time, the county magistrate's wife was also there, and you two talked a lot..." She looked at Shen Baiyun's handsome face and couldn't help but sigh, "I didn't expect that after so many years, you're still as dashing as ever. I've never seen a man more handsome than you in all these years..." Maybe that's why the impression was so deep?

  Shen Bailian only vaguely remembered some things, and on the day he parted with Ruan Ci, there was indeed a fishing girl by their side. Nineteen years had passed, and she would be about this age now. However, he still furrowed his brow and asked: "What brings you to Juque Country?"

  Mu Xuan's face turned pale, and after a moment, she said in a low voice: "I didn't know there was a city under the lake, nor did I know there were... monsters here. I came to jump into the lake because I couldn't live on."

  "Meow, can't live without it? Why is that, you look so good?" Huai Mi curiously tilted her little head to look at her.

  She lowered her head again and remained silent for a long time before answering, "It's precisely because life is a bit too dull that I had to throw myself into the lake... Our family owes a lot of money to Old Man Huang's household, and Huang Tianba wants to force me to marry him as his concubine. I really don't want to... even death is better than marrying that scoundrel!" As she spoke, she fiercely wiped away the tears that had unknowingly fallen onto her face.

  "Meow, so the human tribe is this cruel to their own kind! Then don't go back, just stay in Ju Chao country." Huai Mi had already suffered persecution from the human tribe and drifted to Ju Chao country, hearing Mu Xuan say this made her meow angrily.

  The stupid Shadow Thorn on the side also nodded repeatedly: "Right, right! Although the monsters in our country of residence are not as good-looking as your human race, they are all very kind-hearted and will not make things difficult for you."

  Mei Xuan raised her head and glanced at Ying Jian, her face suddenly flushing again. She lowered her head and asked softly, "Are you really willing to take me in?"

  Ying Ke and Huai Mi were about to nod in agreement, when suddenly they seemed to remember something and turned their heads together to look at Shen Baiyue. Shen Baiyue slightly raised an eyebrow and only then said: "You want to watch me do what? You have to ask the elder first."

  "Then, bother Baiying to go and inform the elder first, I'll settle Mu Xuan down here!" Ying Jie plucked up his courage and said, then suddenly turned around and helped Mu Xuan up, rushing towards the city before anyone could react.

  Huaimi blinked her small eyes and stared at his back for a long time, suddenly saying strangely: "Meow, Mr. Shen, since the Shadow Thorn was arranged to protect Sister Muxuan, why did he go in the direction of his own home?"

  In the distance, Ying Ke's figure seemed to stiffen suddenly as he supported Mu Xuan.

  When the crowd of demons dispersed in front of the city gate, Shen Bailian finally walked towards the residence of the elder in the Nest Temple. Ao Xuan heard about Mu Xuan's situation and sighed a few times, saying: "If that human girl completely cuts off her connection with those humans on Nest Lake and promises not to reveal any information about Nest Country, it won't matter if she stays." After a pause, he said meaningfully, "However, humans and demons are different, so I advise Ying Jue to keep his distance from her."

  Shen Bailian had long seen that Ying Jing and Mu Xuan seemed to have a certain intention towards each other, where it was not something that could be dissuaded with just a few casual words, so she simply responded with an "en".

  He was busy with many things on weekdays, and a matter of a woman from another tribe was not worth mentioning to him. He immediately pulled Shen Baiying aside and started talking about other things, implying that he was old and weak and needed rest, hinting that Shen Baiying should help more. Shen Baiying could only smile wryly in response.

  Just as they were talking, a sudden commotion was heard outside, the sound coming from the Nest of the Gods Temple, and amidst it, the angry shouts of small demons like Huai Mi could be faintly heard. Shen Bailian's brow furrowed again, and he hastily bid farewell to Ao Xuan, hurrying out in a flurry.

  As soon as he stepped down from the stone steps, he heard Huai Mi angrily say: "It's really you, this evil person! You killed our father and mother, and still dare to come to Ju Chao country?"

  Then a very familiar voice coldly said: "I thought it was who? It turned out to be the demon of Nü Lao Yan, I didn't expect that day to leave behind you few fish that escaped the net!" Just then, a clear sound rang out, apparently the person had drawn his sword. "Well, today I will cut the grass and eliminate the roots here!"

  Shen Bailian widened her eyes and looked forward, just in time to see a purple glow condensing on the sword in that person's hand, apparently gathering strength for an imminent attack. The tip of his sword was pointing directly at Huai Mi and several other small Huai demons. She hastily cried out: "Ziying, stop!"