Chapter Eleven: The Emperor's Decree

  In the morning, Mo was woken up by a commotion. Hastily putting on her clothes, she pushed open the door and saw the whole courtyard full of people. She grabbed Xiao He who was standing at the doorway and asked "What's going on? What is this?" Because there were too many people in front, Mo couldn't see the person in the center of the scene.

  "Oh, they're fighting." Xia He didn't care who the people around him were, he just tiptoed to get a look at the two people fighting in the arena.

  "Who and who? Why are you fighting here?" Drowsy Mo pulled at his clothes to prevent them from falling off. Xiao He, who was annoyed by the noise around him, glared at Mo and turned back to watch the fight. Then, a shout of "Mo Zhu!" Everyone jumped and lowered their heads to mind their own business. Except for the two people in the middle, who were fighting with increasing ferocity.

  Only two figures, one in blue and the other in white, were seen flying up and down in the arena, with flashes of white light intersecting between them. Mo watched, his eyes dazzled by the rapid movements. As they fought higher and higher, Mo's head tilted further back, and the clothes in his hand loosened even more.

  A sunbeam shone on Mo's face, using his hand as a shield, his clothes fell to the ground silently. In the blink of an eye, two people's hands were placed on Mo's shoulder, each person holding a piece of clothing in their hand, while the other hand was exchanging blows, hard to distinguish between victory and defeat.

  "Stop!" Mo Mo couldn't take it anymore, as not only was his outer shirt disheveled, but even his undershirt was almost torn open. The two of them immediately stopped and restored Mo Mo's clothes to their original state.

  "What are you doing?" Mo Mo rescued his shirt from their hands and put it on.

  "Whoever wins will be yours..." Han Lin's words were cut off by Mo, "When did I say I'd marry?" Mo frowned tightly.

  "Master Mo!" Wang Guanshi hastily ran over, followed by three eunuchs.

  "Mozhu, these three are by the Emperor's side." Wang Guanshi bowed respectfully.

  "Moy Moy listens to the edict" Moy Moy was about to kneel when the Duke supported her and said, "The Emperor has an edict, Moy Moy doesn't need to kneel, just listen." Then he opened the high-held sacred edict and read: By the Heaven's will, the Emperor decrees that there is a nameless Moy Moy with great merits. Now Lou Lan is invading, dispatching Moy Moy to assist General Qian in jointly defending against external enemies. Respect this! The Duke handed the edict to Moy Moy, said some words of courtesy and left.

  "Ink Master. I'll go with you." Han Lin stepped forward, sheathing his sword.

  "Mèi mèi, I'm going with you" is not a suggestion, but an imperative tone.

  "You're not a nobody. Don't go." Mo Mo didn't respond to Wu Ye's tight grip on his hand, pulling it away as he was about to head back to the bedroom.

  "He's done." Han Lin adjusted his white robes and floated to Mo Mo's side, glancing up at Li Wu Ye before continuing, "Master Li said that if he can defeat me, I'll let him enter Wú Míng."

  Mo Mo looked back at Han Lin in disbelief. "How is that possible? I've seen your unparalleled skills under the heavens." Then, she turned to look at Li Wu Ye. After a moment of silence, "Follow me inside," Mo Mo said to Li Wu Ye.

  Just as he was about to close the door, Han Lin floated in. "Han Lin, I need to talk to Li Wu Ye about something." Mo Mo held onto the door and didn't let Han Lin in. Han Lin pretended to pounce on Mo Mo, who dodged out of the way. Han Lin successfully entered the house as he had wished.

  "Do you know this is a maiden's boudoir?" Mo Mo looked at Han Lin helplessly.

  "I know, but when you let him in, I'm a bit uneasy." Han Lin also sat down beside Li Wuye and started drinking the tea that Li Wuye had just poured.

  "What's wrong?" Li Wuye hastily took over the teacup and poured out the water, refilling it.

  "Why...?" Momo took a deep breath, "Why marry me?"

  "Because I love you." Mo's face stiffened, and a flush of red clouds spread across her cheeks. Han Lin hummed softly, pulling Mo back to reality.

  "Say something we can believe." Han Lin mercilessly exposed Li Wuye's words.

  "For the sake of the soul vessel" This time Li Wuye gave a straightforward answer to Han Lin's question, and also made Mo's heart sink to the bottom.

  "Ah, indeed it wasn't because of me. Holding back tears, I looked up at Li Wuye 'What about that scoundrel?' The tightly furrowed eyebrows revealed the pain in Mo's heart."

  "Yes" Li Wu Ye didn't look at Mo Mo's tearful eyes, and handed her the pendant. Mo Mo didn't take it. Li Wu Ye followed his outstretched hand to look at Mo Mo, but Mo Mo turned her face away and said "I'm giving it to you, so...you...can leave".

  "I won't go." Li Wuye held the pendant in front of Mo Mo, "Don't you see that its color has changed?" The pendant floating in mid-air was no longer the original azure blue, but a yellowish brown.

  "This is why I want you to give it to me willingly, only then will it be useful if it remains azure." Li Wuye said the words that broke Momo's heart, but Hanlin pulled Momo into a tight hug.

  "What exactly do you want to do with that?" Mo Mo blurted out what she most wanted to ask.

  "Long life!" Li Wuye spat out a sentence that made Han Lin stunned. Mo Mo felt Han Lin's reflection, turned his head to look at him, "Long life?"

  "Yes, Changsheng, I didn't think the rumors were true" Han Lin's eyes tightly grasped Mo Mo's gaze with a sorrowful smile.

  "What rumor?" Mo Mo wanted to know why the pendant given by that girl was a soul-requiem artifact. She grasped Han Lin's collar tightly and asked.

  "It is said that there are four immortal people in the world, but one of them has disappeared for some reason. However, that person only disappeared and still exists. To find out who that person is, three soul-calling instruments must be found. Obtain the elixir of immortality."

  "What does this have to do with me?" Mo Mo listlessly stared at the tea that was slowly cooling down.

  "Rumor has it that the person who possesses the Soul Vessel is the key to finding the missing person. Moreover, from the moment the Soul Vessel changes color, its owner only has three years to find the other two Soul Vessels; otherwise... they will disappear from this world."

  Li Sixing continued Han Lin's words and said "Now the soul-receiving instrument has changed color, Mo Mo..."

  "I want to go find General Qian," said Mo Mo as she left Han Lin's arms.

  "I'm going with you" Han Lin's resolute attitude did not allow Mu Mu to interject.

  "I'll go too, because I want you to love me, and willingly change the color of the Soul Vessel back." Li Wuye's domineering declaration could no longer stir up ripples in MoMo's heart lake.

  The imperial edict had a limited time for Mo to set out, so Wu Ming gathered the three hall masters and various officials together on the same day, and Mo read out the emperor's instructions once.

  "Don't worry, Master Li. I'll handle the trivial matters with Lian and Qian, and let Han Lin take care of protecting you." Li Si's serious demeanor made Xing Ru Yu giggle secretly, her rosy cheeks becoming even more lovely.

  "I'm going too," said Li Wu Ye, standing up. "Han Lin hasn't won me over yet. So I can stay in Wú Míng, stay by Mo Mo's side."

  "Mozhu, then Han Lin and Li Wuye will be your guards."

  "Be careful, the border is not like home, everything is small, I'll pack some things for you to bring along. I heard that Prince Xuan Ye of Loulan is not an ordinary person... " Lian Yue's voice became more and more choked, and finally couldn't continue, turning her head away from Mo Mo. Mo Mo's eyes also became moist. Qian Yi hugged her good friend, "Mo Mo still has Han Lin and Li Wu Ye protecting you, nothing bad will happen, don't always think of the worst."

  "En, I see." Lian Yue turned her head, gazing at Mo Mo with a piercing gaze, as if the one going on a long journey was her own child.

  Out of the nameless gate, Mo Mo looked at those withered trees and said, "Autumn is really passing quickly."

  But how many years can I see such a scene? Where should I go to find those two soul-seeking instruments?