141 What do I know?

Hui Moxiang knew Young Master Yuan for a few years now.

But Yuan Xuelan couldn't really say the same. After the Waxing Moon Tragedy at the Wayward Wind Sect, Hui Moxiang escaped from Haishang Province and donned a new identity as Chen Anyue's handmaid Xiao Hei. Besot from tragedy and upset, she had spent her time drowning in gossip and the affairs of others to avoid confronting her situation.

And for that reason, she had thought she knew this Young Master Yuan quite well. Perhaps not anymore. Because he had changed in ways that Hui Moxiang couldn't quite follow after having met the Ivory Sword Saint. Alas, love changed people. This seemed to be true for shitty novels and reality alike.

Hui Moxiang nodded sagely to herself as she led Young Master Yuan down the dirt roads. The stars twinkled above them, and the residents were scattered and few. Lou Village was not one that experienced bustling markets or streams of travelers coming to and fro. It was quaint, quiet and surrounded by fields and rolling hills, peaceful and undisturbed. There was a single inn that saw no customers aside from the two of them that night, the majority of the building was a bit stale a and creaking.

Manned by a single kid who was more interested in curling up against the wall to sleep than serve the customers, Hui Moxiang and Yuan Xuelan were able to speak in relative privacy.

"Tell me why I'm here and make it quick," Yuan Xuelan snapped, quickly showing his distaste for the person that sat in front of him. Hui Moxiang raised a brow and poured them both a cup of tea.

"Why are you so unpleasant now? Don't tell me you're sad because you're away from your darling?" In hindsight, Hui Moxiang was in no rush and took her time to ease the atmosphere and tease the boy in front of her. She had spent days on the road and took the majority of her time to take care of Zhao Fanyu and shouldering his hateful glaring. Even if she loved him, it was tiring. She could afford to poke fun at this Young Master Yuan for a bit.

Yuan Xuelan flinched, pulling back from the table to sit up straight. He glared at the cup of tea being pushed toward him. "…"

Hui Moxiang blinked. And then snicked. A warmth bubbled in her chest, pointed grin lifting the corner of lips. "So you and the Ivory Sword Saint huh? Finally made up." Her eyebrows wiggled at him suggestively.

It was enough the make the boy jump in his seat, sputter with a cute shade of red coloring his cheeks. He glared at the demon, and she was reminded of a time he was smaller and sweeter. "Not like that!" He snapped at her.

It made her laugh, giggling into the sleeve of her dress. "Not like what? Just what did you think I was implying?"

Young Master Yuan's eyes were wide and his mouth opened but closed. He snarled at her and crossed his arms in front of his chest, "What did I say about not having all day…?"

"What would the Ivory Sword Saint think if he saw his Xuelan act like this? Wouldn't you be embarrassed?"

She hit the nail on his head, watching the way the blush glow even brighter in the cultivator's face. Hahaha, he was really cute! No wonder the Ivory Sword Saint took a liking to him, under all that vicious biting and violent snapping, Yuan Xuelan was like a puppy whose cheeks you couldn't help but want to pinch. Hui Moxiang sighed dreamily, trying to picture the flowery romance between the handsome Ivory Sword Saint and cute Yuan Xuelan. Danmei was the best!

"Sumeng isn't here right now so…"

"So that gives Young Master Yuan the pass for acting like a brat?"

The words made him deflate. Yuan Xuelan combed his fingers through his hair and sighed, "No…it doesn't."

Hui Moxiang blinked as she sipped her tea, a little surprised that Xuelan suddenly admitted to his faults just like that.

After another pause, he reached out and picked up the teacup and drank, "Sorry, Auntie Hui. I was rude. You're right. I'm just impatient to return to Sumeng, so I got a bit grumpy."

"..."Amazing. Except he was still calling her Auntie, which made Hui Moxiang uncertain about forgiving the kid for his misbehavior right away. She hummed with a smile, evading him again when he repeated his question about why there were meeting.

It took a bit more convincing and a few more apologies later. Yuan Xuelan was finally able to pry out the information he longed after.

"Say, Xuelan you know a lot of magical tools and treasures don't know?" Hui Moxiang hummed, circling the edge of her teacup with a fingertip. "Have you heard about the God Slaying Divine Weapons?"

Yuan Xuelan perked up, drawn in with interest. Anyone who cared a copper has at least heard tales about the weapons in stories of ages past. There were many theories about both their powers, origins and validity of their existence at all. "Of course, I have! Who do you take me for?"

Hui Moxiang smirked, "Did you know that there are people who have begun calling you Phoenix Craftsman?" She snicked when Yuan Xuelan shrunk at the name. There had been rumors floating around about a genius craftsman that existed under Chen Gaoyong's roof for years now, but Yuan Xuelan had only truly earned a name for himself after the Siege of Reling. He was not incredibly proud of the moniker, especially not when it had to do with the damned phoenix that now dwelt within his body.

He swore he heard chirping laughter somewhere in the corner of his mind. Yuan Xuelan screwed his brows together to ignore it. "I thought we were talking about the God Slaying Divine Weapons and not about me…"

The demon shrugged, "Those God Slaying Divine Weapons are pretty much just shadows of myths and legends. Even among old-timers in the Dark Kingdom, those weapons are just whispers of a bygone era."

"Then why are you bringing it up?" Yuan Xuelan asked, trying to mask the impatience in his voice.

"Back when the Ivory Sword Saint made me go around and run errands for him and spy on this and that, he also that it was suitable to set me off on a wild goose chase, searching for the God Slaying Divine Weapon called Xianlong. I refused him at first, but he was insistent on its existence."

Yuan Xuelan was stunned. He knew that Liu Sumeng had mobilized the last drop of his resources in search of the Celestial Sun Scroll, the third Forbidden Treasure, but he did not know that there were other things that the Ivory Sword Saint was after as well. For what reason? Yuan Xuelan questioned inwardly. And while it may be only because Liu Sumeng was seeking some sort of godly power to fight against their foes, Yuan Xuelan had found that his Sumeng rarely did anything without good reason.

So why Xianlong specifically? When there existed eight other God Slaying Divine tools amid tales of old.

"Don't ask me," Hui Moxiang poured them more tea as if reading Yuan Xuelan's thoughts. "If you're so curious why don't you ask that Ivory Sword Saint of yours. You know, sometimes I feel like it's almost as if he could read the future or something. Don't you think there are things that he keeps from you?"

Yuan Xuelan bristled at the words, "Don't talk about Sumeng like that--" But he could hear a chirping sound of agreement in the back of his mind that made him feel even more aggravated.

The demon laughed and pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She strategically veered the conversation back on track to avoid his foul mood, "Anyway, as I was saying, our friend the Ivory Sword Saint sent me on a wild goose chase. He said to strain my ears out to the northern plains or something… Listen for the hints of a Buried Graveyard or the Ghost Temple Labyrinth and the Mirage Gates. He told me just a bunch of vague things, but can you imagine my surprise when I really did hear something about the Mirage Temple popping up. I'm assuming it's got something to do with the Ivory Sword Saint's Xianlong but what do I know? I'm just a crow gathering a few rumors from here and there."

Yuan Xuelan furrowed his brows at her words. The legend of Xianlong was indeed tied to reflections and mirages but to assume some wild rumors about something called the Mirage Temple having to do with the Divine Sword Xianlong was little bit…

"I will have to ask Sumeng about it." He said, more to himself than to the demon.

Hui Moxiang nodded, "That you do. But hear me out on what I have about the Mirage Temple, okay? Don't go running back just yet!" She tapped the table, just barely preventing him from getting up and leaving. At the same time, she called over the sleeping boy to bring her a bowl of roasted peanuts.

He grumbled a little in complaint but realized that she did kind of have a point. Reluctantly, Yuan Xuelan sat back down to listen to the demon ramble on about the Mirage Temple Gates that was said to flicker in and out of existence around Mount Tianwei. This was a little bit of a problem because Mount Tianwei was one of, if not the tallest mountain known to the lands, its peak stretching high above the clouds where the air was both frozen and thin.

"I know what you're thinking," Hui Moxiang hummed, poking around at the little bowl of peanuts, "Can't just wander around on Mount Tianwei like a bunch of idiots. So about that, I heard that there's a guy who recently descended the mountain after having disappeared through one of those Mirage Gates. I think he'll be your best bet at a place to start, what do you think?"

Yuan Xuelan frowned but in the end he agreed with her words. It was better than nothing. Still, he couldn't understand the urgency of investigating these distant rumors for a mystical sword when they still have the Seven Moons sect at their doorsteps waiting for them.

He supposed he'd have to get back to Sumeng as ask him about his plans.

As much as he hated to admit it, and as much as he wanted to trust Liu Sumeng above all else, a piece of Hui Moxiang's words continued to nag him.

Liu Sumeng's actions and words had always been like he knew more than he let on.

"..." Surely, it was just his imagination, right?

But the more he thought about it, the more his mind became muddled, distant. It wasn't long before Yuan Xuelan lost control of his own body.

"And that's it, I suppose. I told everything that you need to know. Hurry back to your darling and make sure you get this information to him before he comes to find me. I really don't want to get on the Ivory Sword Saint's bad side, you know?"

Hui Moxiang was pushing out of her seat, about to make her leave but Yuan Xuelan's hand shot out and grabbed her sleeve.

"Not so fast, little chick. I have a few things I'd like to ask of you." Yuan Xuelan's voice turned different, smoother in tone and more lyrical. A glimmered in his iris that startled Hui Moxiang. "It's about that brother of yours and what became of the Dark Kingdom since several centuries ago. How about you sit a little longer with big sister?"

Hui Moxiang blinked.

Big sister?

First, she was being called Auntie, but now Yuan Xuelan was asking to be called big sister? No, this was too much!

"Absolutely not!" Hui Moxiang crossed her arm and huffed.