Hooooo~~
The sound of wind and snow could be heard outside the closed doors and windows, but the room was warm.
"Hehe... roasted chicken..."
An inarticulate voice mumbled next to her ears.
Xu Xiyue slowly woke up and opened her eyes, feeling somewhat gloomy. Next to her were the other two girls who had been kidnapped with her yesterday. They had been very frightened last night and were still asleep.
Xu Xiyue thought for a while before remembering what happened last night--- she was taken to the forest by the lady shopkeeper who was poisoned, met a demonic cultivator, and was rescued by Senior Ye and his wives...
She slowly got up, rubbed her head, and looked out the window. Seeing that it was already daylight outside, she thought that she must have slept until noon.
Just as Xu Xiyue was about to carefully get out of bed, she noticed that a girl with silver hair was lying on her side, sleeping with her eyes tightly closed and drooling.
"Young Master Ye's roasted chicken... hehe..."
Seeing Feng Yu Die, Xu Xiyue frowned. This senior should also be Senior Ye's wife, right?
This was the first time she had seen a Core Formation cultivator drooling while sleeping.
She didn't look too bright...
But then again, in her impression, Core Formation cultivators were like her sister, living in elegant pavilions, like the gentry, and exuded dignity.
However, yesterday, Senior Pei took the initiative to comfort little girls in the Qi Refining stage like them, put them to sleep, and even let them hug her...
Both Senior Ye and his wives seemed to be quite approachable...
Xu Xiyue stared at Feng Yu Die's sleeping face for a while before carefully climbing down from the bed, ready to change her clothes and go see how the shopkeeper and the others were doing.
However, at this time, a burst of hurried footsteps came from the corridor, and then the door was pushed open with a "bang".
"Xiyue?!!"
The one who rushed into the room was Xu Mulan, and her face was filled with anxiety.
Because Xiao Yunluo mentioned yesterday that Ye Anping was here to find her sister, after finishing a day's work this morning, she hurried over to ask Ye Anping about this matter.
But when she came to the Traveler's Pavilion and found that, although it was noon, the outer door was still sealed with wooden boards, she thought that something had happened.
Xu Mulan was very strong, and the sound of forcing the door open was also very loud.
Feng Yu Die, who was fast asleep on the side of the bed, woke up with a start and stood up with a confused face.
"What's wrong?!"
"..."
"..."
Feng Yu Die and Xu Mulan had never met before so they stared at each other for a while. Seeing the awkward situation, Xu Xiyue hurried to make the introductions. "Sister, this is Senior Ye's wife..."
"?"
Feng Yu Die, who had just woken up, tilted her head, still confused.
Xu Xiyue hesitated for a while. She didn't have time to ask for their names yesterday, so she only knew that the other two Seniors were called Pei and Xiao...
However, she vaguely remembered that Miss Pei and Miss Xiao had called her "Second something"...
"Miss Second."
"???"
And then, she continued the introductions. "Senior Second, this is my sister, the Snow Guard Commander of the Heavenly Wind City . Her surname is Xu, same as mine."
Xu Mulan frowned when she heard this. Not to mention that the surname "Second" was a bit strange, but what do you mean, wife?
Didn't Young Miss Xiao say yesterday that Ye Anping was her husband?
There was actually more than one?
Xu Mulan narrowed her eyes and sized up Feng Yu Die. Ye Anping already had three good-looking girls beside him, but was still thinking about her sister?!
Heh... look at this Master Ye...
However, at this moment, Feng Yu Die finally recovered from her drowsiness and hurried to explain. "My name is Feng, and I'm not Young Master Ye's wife. I'm Sister Pei's wife!"
?
And who the hell is Sister Pei?... Xu Mulan was even more confused by what she heard.
Xu Xiyue was also in a daze. What was going on...
The three of them just stared at each other for a while. Xu Mulan came to her senses first as she shook her head and smiled awkwardly, then cupped her hands.
"Greetings, Miss Feng, may I ask, is Ye... woo?!"
Halfway through her words, Xu Xiyue hurriedly stood on her tiptoes to cover her sister's mouth and gave her a wink, signaling her to stop asking.
Sisters know each other best. Xu Mulan immediately understood there was a reason and nodded. "Then, I won't disturb your rest, Miss Feng. I'll leave with my sister now."
"...Oh."
Feng Yu Die nodded in a daze, watching the two sisters leave the room, and then counted on her fingers with a blank face. "Well... if I am Sister Pei's wife? Then, I am Young Master Ye's... sister-in-law? No, no... well... sister? No, Young Master Ye is older than me, so I am the younger sister? But... Young Master Ye is my brother-in-law. No, wait, what is the relationship between Young Master Ye and me?"
After a while, Feng Yu Die simply stopped thinking about it. She looked at the two girls still sleeping on the bed, then got up to wash her face, preparing to order roasted chicken later.
...
After leaving the room, Xu Xiyue looked at the next door. Seeing that Senior Pei and Senior Xiao were also resting, she didn't disturb them. Instead, she dragged her sister to the lobby on the first floor.
"Sister, Senior Ye said that we should not tell his wives about his presence here. Yesterday, he and Miss Li moved to Wanderer's House across the street."
Xu Mulan frowned. Ye Anping was actually hiding from his wives?
She suddenly remembered a story she had heard from a storyteller in a tavern. It was said that Yun Tianchong of the Southern Region Sword Sect met a girl behind his wife once, but the night he wanted to seduce her, his wife suddenly barged into the house...
"Heh..." Xu Mulan sneered and looked at the empty hall, asking, "Xiyue, why is the Traveler's Pavilion closed today at noon? I remember that on weekdays..."
"It's because a demonic cultivator came to White Moon Town yesterday, and I was almost captured. If it wasn't for Senior Ye and his wives, I'm afraid that I and two other girls from the town would have been..."
"Demonic cultivator?! Then, you weren't hurt, were you?"
"I wasn't. Senior Ye acted in time. The other girls and I are fine, but the demonic cultivator seems to have escaped."
Xu Mulan pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. How could so many things happen in just two days...
However, she began to feel glad in her heart. Fortunately, Ye Anping had taken a fancy to her sister, and he and his wives protected her. Otherwise, the demonic cultivator would have taken her away...
"Phew..."
Xu Mulan heaved a sigh of relief and looked at the second floor. She had come here to ask Ye Anping about her sister but so many things had happened.
"I'm going to talk to Mr. Ye. You go get some hot water for Young Miss Xiao."
"Oh..."
Xu Mulan patted Xu Xiyue's head and walked out of the door, heading toward Wanderer's House across the street.
...
In a room on the second floor of Wanderer's House --
Li Longling fell asleep at dawn and was still lying on the bed while Ye Anping sat by the window, sipping tea and thinking about his backup plan to encircle Jiang Mojiao.
Thinking that Feng Yu Die would come looking for her roasted chicken soon, he especially went to the back small bamboo forest in the morning, roasted one, and put it on the table.
"Slurp~"
As he was taking a sip of tea, a gust of wind suddenly passed by, and there was a knock outside the window.
Knock knock---
Speechless, Ye Anping reached out to pull off the latch on the window. He thought it was Feng Yu Die, and just when he wanted to ask her why she didn't go through the door, he saw Xu Mulan jumping in through the window with a spear on her back.
"Mr. Ye... are you free?"
Hearing Xu Mulan's tone, and glancing at the spear behind her, Ye Anping felt that the visitor was not too friendly, so he smiled awkwardly. "Commander Xu, please take a seat. I happen to have something to discuss with you."
"Oh?"
Xu Mulan raised her eyebrows slightly and leaned the spear against the window as a deterrent. Then, she picked up her dress and sat down, hugging her chest. "I'm all ears."
"..."
Seeing her bad attitude, Ye Anping immediately guessed that most likely, Xiao Yunluo and the others met her yesterday and told her about Xiyue.
However, it wasn't a bad thing.
It was something he had to talk about sooner or later, and he had intended to be frank about it...
"Commander Xu, did you meet Miss Xiao and the girls just now?"
"Not yet."
"Yesterday, a demonic cultivator appeared in White Moon Town ..."
"Xiyue told me about it and said that you saved her life."
"I guess so." Ye Anping shrugged slightly. "Then, I won't waste my words. Miss Xiao and the others have already used a technique to detect the location of the demonic cultivator's cave yesterday. It is one hundred seventy miles north of Heavenly Wind City and he is a Toxic Parasites cultivator in the early stage of the Nascent Soul ."
Listening to this, Xu Mulan slowly loosened her arms which held her big watermelons. A serious look appeared on her face, and she propped her chin, thinking.
"Is that true?"
"It's true."
"In that case... it may prove difficult for the Snow Guards to deal with it alone. I have to report this to Cold Moon City and ask them to send help."
"I'm afraid it's too late." Ye Anping shook his head slightly as he poured a cup of tea for her. "Now that demonic cultivators are all over the Northern Region , the Cold Moon City can't spare too many men for you. Frozen River City , Moonfall City ... these cities are what the Empress, the Imperial Advisor, and the others have to protect."
"...What do you mean?"
"I mean, we can only deal with that Nascent Soul cultivator ourselves."
Ye Anping sighed slightly, took out the map he had prepared last night, and spread it on the table.
He had to explain to Xu Mulan the purpose of the demonic cultivators' invasion of the Northern Region , but he needed convincing evidence, so he made this map.
Countless lines were drawn on the map, recording the routes of the various demonic cultivator teams in the Northern Region , and the five most visible locations were marked.
"This map records the places I found out from the black market where there are suspected demonic cultivators, such as Turning Dragon Town ."
"What happened to Turning Dragon Town ?"
"Seven men went missing overnight. At first glance, it seems like a case of demonic beasts running amok. However, if we look at it from the perspective of demonic cultivators, it makes more sense."
"..."
Xu Mulan looked at the drawings on the map and frowned slightly. When she noticed the few dots marked above, her eyes widened, but she quickly regained her composure.
The protective formation in the Northern Region had a total of six main knots and twelve secondary knots...
As the commander of the Snow Guards of Heavenly Wind City , she knew the location of the main knots.
And Ye Anping's mark fell right there, on the main knots of the formation.
Xu Mulan naturally would not reveal anything, and she calmly asked, "What are these triangular red markings?"
"Something important is located here, as I deduced from the route of the demonic cultivators." Ye Anping smiled. " As for what it is, I don't know... I'm afraid it's their goal this time."
"..."
Ye Anping looked at the panic on Xu Mulan's face and said, "Commander Xu, although none of the demonic cultivators who entered this place are at the Deification stage, the area involved covers almost the entire territory of the Cold Country ... Cold Moon City can't allocate so many people to Heavenly Wind City ."
"So... what does that mean?"
"Together with Miss Li, Miss Xiao, and the others, we'll help you wipe out the demonic cultivators near Heavenly Wind City . What do you say?"
"But if what you said is true, that's a demonic cultivator in the early Nascent Soul stage... There's a huge difference between the Core Formation stage and the Nascent Soul stage. It's not that I don't believe you, Mr. Ye, but this..."
Xu Mulan's eyes revealed some hesitation, but at this moment, Li Longling's voice came from the bed next to her.
"Commander Xu, you can trust Anping. He killed a late Core Formation demonic cultivator when he was in the Qi Refining stage. Later, he killed five late Core Formation demonic cultivators at the Dragon House while in his early Foundation Building stage..."
"?!"
"..."
Ye Anping did not know why, but he felt a little embarrassed. It would have been better if he had said it himself, but hearing Li Longling speaking for him made him feel strange...
"It's just an exaggeration, not worth mentioning."
"What exaggeration? Can ordinary cultivators do that?"
Li Longling got up and walked to Ye Anping's side, then looked at Xu Mulan. "Commander Xu, actually, before my father died, he wanted to pass the legacy sword to him... He is just more introverted and doesn't like to show off in front of others."
"..."
Xu Mulan was already admiring Ye Anping for forming the Heavenly Dao Golden Core at such a young age. Now, hearing this, her heart was filled with ripples...
But at the same time, she was even more puzzled. Why would such a genius cultivator be interested in her sister, who was nothing but an ordinary girl...
"Then, why would you want to help? You are a Western Region cultivator. Is it because of my sister?"
Ye Anping felt embarrassed. On one hand, it was indeed for Xu Xiyue. If this matter succeeded, Xu Mulan would have made a great contribution toward the Cold Country and would receive a lot of rewards later on.
On the other hand, it was also the intertwined cause and effect of the Heavenly Dao and the Heavenly Evil . He was entangled with Feng Yu Die and could not avoid it...
In the end, it could be considered as the elimination of evil and protection of the moral way.
"...Immortals fight demons and defend the Dao, what other reason do they need?"
Xu Mulan narrowed her eyes at him and asked,
"I have another question. Why do you like my sister?"
When Li Longling heard this question, she also pricked up her ears and turned to face Ye Anping.
Ye Anping looked at the two of them and sighed helplessly.
"I dreamed of her, that's all."
Xu Mulan was silent for a while, then asked, "Then... Have you ever dreamed of me?"
"..."
"Forget it, there are so many people who want to marry my sister, you are not the only one." Xu Mulan let out a small bitter sigh. "But I have a condition, you are not allowed to force her to make a choice!"
"Of course..."
"Can I have this map..."
"Sure, take it."
"I will send this map to Cold Moon City with a messenger bird."
Xu Mulan looked at Ye Anping, then glanced at Li Longling beside her. She recalled Miss Feng and sighed softly, "Anything else?"
"Commander Xu, please meet with Miss Xiao later. They will probably ask the Snow Guards to surround and kill this Nascent Soul demonic cultivator. You can just agree directly."
"I understand."
Xu Mulan nodded before putting the map into the storage bag. Then, she picked up the spear, put it on her back, and jumped out the window.
After seeing Xu Mulan leave, Ye Anping breathed a sigh of relief. He was about to get up and close the window when he saw Feng Yu Die hanging upside down from the eaves, poking her head in from the window.
"..."
"Hehe~ Master Ye, where's my roasted chicken? Slurp~"
Ye Anping pressed her face with one hand and pushed her out. He grabbed the window with the other hand and said with a dark face, "Go through the door."
Snap!
Click...
The window was closed and bolted.