"You must wait for me to come back!"
Liu Yujiao, who was running, stumbled and almost fell before speeding up to escape the scene.
Liang Xin’an laughed happily, feeling like the happiest person in the world at that moment.
"Senior Brother Liang, she’s already out of sight, yet you’re still looking!"
Voices teasing him came from behind, waking Liang Xin’an from his blissful daydream.
Turning around, he found a group of junior brothers led by Gui Xuanqing looking at him with grins.
Someone even teased, "You must wait for me to come back, oh!"
The junior brothers erupted in laughter.
Even with Liang Xin’an’s thick skin, he couldn’t help but blush at that moment.
"Enough with the nonsense, let’s hurry and move on, or what if we lose track of time!" Liang Xin’an, in a senior brother’s stance, loudly reprimanded.
But these junior brothers weren’t afraid of him at all; instead, they laughed even more joyously.
"Senior Brother Liang, when will you invite us to your wedding banquet?"
"I was wondering why Senior Brother Liang kept going outside the mountain every day; turns out he had plans!"
"That’s not right to say; it’s not just plans, it’s premeditated!"
Liang Xin’an was amused by their banter.
"Of course, I’ll treat everyone!"
Meanwhile, at the front of the team, Jing Rou and Huang Liang looked at Liang Xin’an, who was joking around with the junior brothers, then exchanged glances.
Jing Rou spoke up first.
"Who would’ve thought, the once-fearless and rule-breaking Junior Brother Liang would actually develop feelings for a girl."
"Yes, and he’s so deeply in love. No wonder he often seemed absent-minded, always thinking about that girl," Huang Liang commented.
"This must be what they call ’when the sky thunders, it ignites the earth’s fire’; the colder a person is, the crazier they get once they fall in love," Jing Rou concluded.
After that little interlude, the team continued moving forward, turning past a canyon and disappearing into the vast wilderness.
And just after they left, Liu Yujiao emerged from behind a tree, gazing longingly in the direction where Liang Xin’an and the others had departed. Her grip on the tree tightened, her face pale and bloodless.
She didn’t know why she had done something so reckless.
She had clearly decided not to get too entangled with Liang Xin’an.
Yet inexplicably, she spent the entire night before making sachets, then arrived early at that path to wait for Liang Xin’an.
Is this what they call an uncontrollable emotion?
Liu Yujiao sighed softly and then turned to leave.
Meanwhile, as the people of the Mechanical Sect headed to the Northern Realm, Zhao Ya and Liu Yuhuan, after nearly two days and nights of nearly sleepless travel, finally returned to the Azure Dragon Temple.
Despite this, Zhao Ya showed no sign of fatigue.
After unlocking his brain, Zhao Ya’s control over himself reached an almost abnormal level.
Despite barely resting along the way, he managed to rest while traveling with his superior muscle control.
In addition to the many organ talents, Zhao Ya’s endurance was beyond ordinary comprehension.
But compared to this, Zhao Ya was even more surprised by Liu Yuhuan.
Despite having no Martial Dao training at all, this little girl kept up with sheer talent alone.
Even though she fell behind several times due to exhaustion, she would often revive after a brief encounter with Zhao Ya.
This made Zhao Ya wonder if his scent had any special effects.
Otherwise, why would this little girl act like she’s high after just a whiff?
But regardless, the two of them returned to the Azure Dragon Temple as swiftly as possible and met Guo Luming, Qin Jianji, Shen Yunshen, and others.
As soon as they met, nearly everyone noticed this new enchanting girl by Zhao Ya’s side.
But everyone was savvy, so no one asked any questions.
Even the hot-tempered Shen Yunshen wisely avoided the topic.
Zhao Ya, feeling embarrassed, took the initiative to explain Liu Yuhuan’s background.
Of course, Zhao Ya didn’t say it was because she was captivated by his scent; he merely claimed she had talent in lightweight skill and might be useful in the upcoming matters, so he brought her along.
After hearing Zhao Ya’s explanation, the reactions were varied, but they all held a common disbelief.
However, no one expressed this disbelief, and Guo Luming even smiled, saying, "This little girl seems to be quite likable."
Hearing Guo Luming’s praise, Liu Yuhuan’s face blossomed into a bright smile, and she sweetly replied to him.
"Thank you, Master."
Even the septuagenarian Guo Luming couldn’t resist such charm, smiling all the more kindly.
"Good girl, really obedient and sensible."
Liu Yuhuan, quick to take advantage of the situation, cozied up to Guo Luming, making the old man laugh heartily within a few words.
Seeing the grandpa and granddaughter getting along so well, Zhao Ya hurriedly changed the subject.
"What reactions have the major sects shown during this time?"
Upon Zhao Ya bringing up the serious matter, the room’s atmosphere suddenly tensed.
Guo Luming also put on a serious face and said, "The Celestial One Pavilion, Purple Swallow Forest Pavilion, Pure Zen Temple, and Wanghai Tower have already sent messages, stating they are preparing and will arrive by the first of November."
"But besides them, the other sects have not made any response."
This didn’t surprise Zhao Ya at all.
Even though the Azure Dragon Temple had just emerged, and he had killed the dean of the Dragon Elephant Institute, Wu Weili, with a single punch.
But it was nearly impossible to intimidate all the sects Beyond the World with just that.
The fact that Celestial One Pavilion and other sects expressed support was thanks to Zhao Ya’s personal visits.
"Those sects that haven’t sent messages might still show up. We’ll see by the first of the next month."
"How are preparations going in the temple now?"
"Everything has been prepared according to your instructions before leaving. Except for the mountain guard team, about three-quarters of the people can depart at any time," Qin Jianji said.
"Good, inform everyone to eat well and rest these two days. At dawn the day after tomorrow, regardless of how many sects arrive, we must depart promptly," Zhao Ya said solemnly.
Although he had rushed his journey as much as possible, without wasting any time,
the journey differed greatly.
Traveling to the Northern Realm Snowfield from the Azure Dragon Temple is at least five thousand miles further than from the Mechanical Sect.
That’s at least a two to three days’ difference.
Plus the delay back and forth, so the Mechanical Sect would naturally arrive at the Northern Realm Snowfield earlier.
But this was no excuse for Zhao Ya to relax.
Because the Mechanical Sect was taking a huge risk by leading the charge this time.
If he deliberately delayed at this moment, it would be unfair to the Mechanical Sect, who had put life and death aside.
"Understood!"
Everyone went off to prepare.
Zhao Ya chatted with Guo Luming for a few more moments before forcibly taking Liu Yuhuan away.
Liu Yuhuan was somewhat displeased by this.
"Sir, what’s wrong with me chatting with Master? He seems to like me a lot!"
"First of all, that’s my Master, and secondly, don’t try to hypnotize my Master," Zhao Ya retorted bluntly.
Liu Yuhuan pouted and stopped talking.
But soon, she became cheerful again, following behind Zhao Ya, curiously observing her surroundings.
"Wow, that dragon looks so nice."
"Hey, that building is so tall!"
Zhao Ya walked on, feeling helpless.
Despite wanting this little girl to stop talking, he knew that was impossible.
This girl’s energy levels were remarkably high.
Despite the exhausting journey, his body wasn’t tired, but his nerves were somewhat worn from constant tension.
He didn’t want to speak any more than necessary.
Yet, this girl still had such a strong curiosity.
"Sir, where are we heading?" asked Liu Yuhuan, looking at the increasingly sparse buildings and denser forests.
"To the back mountain!"