Lei Xiuyuan smiled and said, "I just discovered a way to make money, and thinking about it makes me quite happy."
The disciples following Songfeng were all there for his wealth, so upon hearing about a money-making method, they immediately perked up: "What method? Do tell."
Without any pretense, Lei Xiuyuan promptly replied, "Last time, I saw a few senior brothers guiding ordinary disciples beneath the Cloud Sea. Considering the tens of thousands of ordinary disciples who only receive collective guidance from elders once every three days, it’s natural for them to feel anxious. Spending some money to seek guidance from disciples above the Cloud Sea is certainly an option."
Songfeng sneered, "I thought you were going to say something worthwhile. As expected, you’re new here and don’t understand the rules. Unauthorized teaching of inappropriate Advanced Immortal Techniques to ordinary disciples warrants severe punishment! Who are these senior brothers you mentioned? I’ll have to ask our master about this!"
Lei Xiuyuan looked surprised. "But I didn’t see them teaching Advanced Immortal Techniques. Would even giving pointers to ordinary disciples be punishable?"
The disciples around Songfeng immediately fell into deep thought. Indeed, this seemed like a lucrative opportunity. The rigid hierarchy and cultivation methods of No Moon Court meant disciples above and below the Cloud Sea rarely interacted. Upper-level disciples would never deign to descend unless ordered by their elders—doing so would be beneath their status. Ordinary disciples below would never expect any kindness from those above, so any guidance must have been given discreetly, away from prying eyes.
Most ordinary disciples came from wealthy families or even noble lineages. Selecting a few affluent ones to mentor wouldn’t be difficult. They wondered who the senior brothers Lei Xiuyuan had mentioned were and hoped this method wouldn’t spread further.
Lei Xiuyuan slowly scrubbed his clothes and added, "My cultivation is still too low to dare descend the Cloud Sea and teach without permission. But you senior brothers could give it a try. Later, I’ll ask other senior brothers if they’re interested. If this works out, it’d be a win-win situation."
The disciples quickly laughed and said, "Junior Brother Xiu Yuan, perhaps it’s best not to spread this too widely?"
Lei Xiuyuan replied indifferently, "I spend my days washing clothes and carrying water—it’s quite lonely. If I can’t even speak freely, then cultivation would be far too dull."
Someone immediately moved the clothes aside, helped him up, and even dusted off his robes, saying with a smile, "These trivial tasks should be ours to handle. Junior Brother Xiu Yuan is new to No Moon Court and should focus on cultivation."
Lei Xiuyuan gave a faint smile to the visibly displeased Songfeng and said gently, "Why don’t you try it too, Senior Brother Songfeng? With your profound skills, the financial prospects would surely be vast."
Songfeng’s face turned livid with anger. He had intended to put Lei Xiuyuan in his place, but instead, the latter had charmed away his followers. Being straightforward by nature, he couldn’t resist the urge to say something harsh. Suddenly, his vision blurred as a young girl dressed in an Elite Disciple Uniform landed before him.
The girl appeared to be only twelve or thirteen, yet her skin was as fair as snow, her dark hair like clouds, and her hairpin adorned with a string of glass beads made her indescribably lovely and charming. The moment she landed, she studied him with curious eyes, followed by a faint, refreshing fragrance that wafted toward him. Instinctively, Songfeng closed his mouth.
"Xiu Yuan," she called.
A trace of astonishment finally appeared on Lei Xiuyuan’s typically expressionless face. He quickly turned and strode over. "...What are you doing here?"Li Fei smiled, "I've been looking for you everywhere, turns out you're here. I can fly much faster now, so I finally got the chance to visit you." She then pulled out two letters from her bosom sent by Ye Ye and the others, adding, "Look, Ye Ye, Changyue, and Ji Tongzhou all wrote to us. I brought them for you to read. Later when they send some hair, I'll share some with you so we can correspond regularly."
This was her first time visiting Shining Light Peak. The scenery here was truly beautiful, with peach blossoms blooming halfway up the mountain—a stark contrast to the perpetual ice and snow of Jade Fall Peak, making it seem like a paradise on earth.
After a quick glance around, she noticed many male disciples staring at her, presumably all Lei Xiuyuan's senior brothers. She nodded at them amiably. Just as she was about to speak, her sleeves fluttering slightly, Lei Xiuyuan suddenly grabbed her sleeve and swiftly pulled her away. "Come with me," he said.
They flew all the way to the peach blossom grove halfway up the mountain. The riotous, dazzling display of vibrant peach blossoms overwhelmed Li Fei's eyes. Below, the lush greenery stretched for miles, while the fiery peach blossoms spread for leagues—even Green Mound couldn't compare to such enchanting and exquisite scenery.
"The view here is amazing," Li Fei said, taking a deep breath of the warm, fragrant air.
Lei Xiuyuan quickly read through the letters, folded them neatly, and put them away. He looked down at her for a moment before suddenly smiling and patting her head. "You've grown a bit taller in these past few months."
"Next time I might even be taller than you," Li Fei laughed. "I should get going now. Flying here was exhausting, and I need to be back before noon."
A small white cloud gathered beneath her feet—she was ready to leave at once.
"Wait," Lei Xiuyuan suddenly said, reaching out to break off a particularly vibrant peach blossom. A green glow flickered in his palm as he infused it with Wood Elemental Spiritual Energy before handing it to her. "Take this back to play with."
Li Fei felt an inexplicable flutter in her heart as she slowly accepted the peach blossom. She gently touched its delicate petals and looked up at him. His moist, misty eyes gazed back at her, and for some reason, the words Zhao Min Shijie had said last time suddenly surfaced in her mind.
She grew inexplicably nervous. The boy before her was someone she knew well—she'd seen him at his most wretched and his most cunning. Yet now, he suddenly felt like a stranger again. She averted her gaze, finding it oddly difficult to look directly at him.
"What time did you set off?" Lei Xiuyuan asked abruptly.
Lost in thought, Li Fei answered instinctively, "A quarter before mao shi."
Lei Xiuyuan said calmly, "You started flying here at mao shi, didn't you?"
Li Fei gave an awkward laugh—he'd seen right through her. After joining the sect, their training had become so demanding that they rarely had time to see each other. Lei Xiuyuan had only visited her twice, and now that she could fly faster, she'd seized the chance to see him when Ye Ye and the others sent letters. They'd only met three times in over half a year... Maybe that was why he felt unfamiliar now?
Lei Xiuyuan didn't say anything more. His long sleeve brushed lightly against her arm, carrying a faint, cool fragrance, like the incense often burned in the main hall.
Li Fei felt increasingly awkward standing there. She'd had so much to say before coming, but now it had all slipped her mind. Seeing that time was running short, she simply waved the peach blossom and smiled at him. "I should head back now. When I can fly even faster, I'll come see you again."When Lei Xiuyuan returned to the disciple room, Song Feng and the others were still there. Seeing him arrive, Song Feng unexpectedly greeted him with a pleasant expression and asked, "Xiu Yuan, was that little junior sister just now new here? Which elder's disciple is she?"
Lei Xiuyuan tilted his head slightly to look at him and suddenly asked, "Senior Brother Song Feng, may I ask how old you are this year?"
"Nineteen. Why?" Song Feng was baffled.
Lei Xiuyuan replied calmly, "She won't even be thirteen for another half a year."
With that, he soared away on his small white cloud. Song Feng stood frozen for a long while, pondering the words, before finally turning to the other disciples in confusion. "What did he mean by that? 'Another half a year till thirteen'? What's the issue?"
The others couldn't help but chuckle. One disciple laughed and said, "Senior Brother Song Feng, Junior Brother Xiu Yuan was reminding you not to be an old cow eating tender grass. That little junior sister is still very young—only twelve."
This Senior Brother Song Feng was truly something. The girl was so young—what kind of strange interest was this?
Song Feng finally caught on, his face flushing red with embarrassment. Furious, he wanted to find Lei Xiuyuan to vent his anger, but where could he possibly find him now? He could only stomp around in frustration.
It took over another month before replies from Ye Ye and Ji Tongzhou arrived. All three of them had enclosed strands of hair, and among them was an extra lock of soft, pale yellow hair tied with a red string. In her letter, Chang Yue mentioned that it was Baili Gelin's baby hair.
"Sending baby hair..." Li Fei was speechless. Continuing to read the letter, she realized that the mountain and sea sects had no means of communication at all. Message birds couldn't fly to the East Sea Myriad Immortals Assembly, and none of Ye Ye's group had any way to contact Ge Lin. Hearing that the No Moon Court's Message Transmission Art could work with just hair, Baili Changyue had sent Ge Lin's baby hair over.
Li Fei could hardly contain her excitement. She quickly dipped her brush in ink and spread out a sheet of paper, but with the brush in hand, her mind overflowing with countless words, she found herself at a loss for how to begin writing to Ge Lin.
Should she ask why Ge Lin had gone alone to the distant East Sea Myriad Immortals Assembly? Now that she was a little older, she could more or less guess the reason behind Ge Lin's departure. The more she understood, the harder it became to ask. Ge Lin had hidden it so well, only showing vulnerability in front of her—she must not have wanted Chang Yue and Ye Ye to be dragged into it.
Was she struggling with her cultivation now, all alone at the East Sea Myriad Immortals Assembly? Perhaps the hardship would help her cast aside those sorrows. Time was long, and they were still young—surely, they would meet better people in the future. But even such words felt too shallow to offer as comfort. What good would they do?
After much deliberation, she finally began writing about her own training: how she soared through the spiritual energy-laden skies of No Moon Court with her senior sister every day, progressing from crawling like an ox cart to now being able to travel back and forth between north and south in a single morning; how she spent afternoons carving alchemical furnaces under Chongyi Zhenren's guidance, maintaining five Immortal Techniques on five puppets, often collapsing from exhaustion.
She made no mention of Ye Ye. Finishing the letter hastily, she placed a strand of the baby hair within the paper, cast a spell to ignite it, and watched as the flames consumed the letter in an instant, vanishing before her eyes.
After what felt like an eternity, the shadows cast by the candlelight on the table suddenly began to shift, forming words—neat and elegant, unmistakably Baili Gelin's handwriting:
"All is well. Don’t worry."
Li Fei was both astonished and overjoyed. Was this the East Sea Myriad Immortals Assembly's Message Transmission Art? Shadows transforming into words? Far more intriguing than No Moon Court's method!She hurriedly wrote several more letters and burned them all at once, finally mentioning in them the matter of Ye Ye and the others sending the baby hair. However, this time, she waited until nearly dawn, but Ge Lin never responded again.
Li Fei pushed open the window. Outside, the wind and snow raged, and the land was frozen for thousands of miles. She truly didn’t know whether to tell Ye Ye and the others about this. Perhaps Ge Lin wouldn’t want her to speak of it—otherwise, she wouldn’t have remained silent in her letters.
For some reason, Li Fei suddenly recalled that night in the prince’s residence when Ge Lin had silently wept beside Ye Ye. It was a hopeless affection that had driven her to flee far beyond the mountains and rivers. Li Fei felt she could finally begin to understand Ge Lin’s feelings a little.
Perhaps leaving was for the best. Facing the vast and unfamiliar expanse of the Eastern Sea, might Ge Lin’s heart find a measure of peace?
With a sigh, Li Fei closed the window. Dawn was approaching. She bent to blow out the candle when she suddenly noticed a line of shadow-formed words on the table that hadn’t been there before: "Li Fei, I miss you all. Don’t tell Ye Ye or my sister."
For a moment, she was stunned, slowly sinking back into her chair. Her nose tingled slightly, and she felt a tumult of emotions—complex, poignant, and beyond words.
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