Chapter 268

Chapter 268

The sky gradually turned black, and stars began to twinkle at the horizon, soon filling the dark canopy above.

Wen Qiao finally stood up, beckoned to the cloud beasts, and left the square.

The night in Xuzing Valley was particularly quiet, with only the stars in the sky accompanying her back to Chuyun Peak.

Wen Qiao first went to the pharmacy to find Ning Yuzhou, but upon arriving, she found that he wasn't there. A look of surprise crossed her face, and she turned to return to the guest room next door.

Ning Yuzhou was indeed in the guest room.

He sat on a couch by the window, holding a jade slip in his hand, studying the formations inscribed within.

When Wen Qiao pushed the door open and entered, he looked up at her, a smile on his face as he warmly said, "Chui is back."

Wen Qiao responded with a soft "Mm," glancing at his face, still somewhat unaccustomed to this face belonging to "Xu Haofei." But since they were in Xuzing Valley, it was best not to reveal their true appearances and get used to this for now.

"Where did you go today?" Ning Yuzhou asked, pulling her to sit beside him.

Wen Qiao replied, "Just wandering around. Why weren't you in the pharmacy?"

"I had been there too long and felt a bit tired, so I came back to rest."

Hearing this, Wen Qiao immediately stared at him, worriedly asking, "Is refining pills too tiring? If it's too difficult, we can take a break. We're not in a hurry."

She naturally believed in his abilities, but sometimes ability was tied to cultivation level. No matter how high one's aptitude, if the cultivation level didn't match, it wouldn't work out. This was true for both cultivators and alchemists.

Ning Yuzhou chuckled, "Not really. I was just refining some healing pills for Granny Tie. It wasn't too difficult."

"Then..."

"Chui hasn't spent much time with me lately," Ning Yuzhou said wistfully. "Recently, you've been going out every day, and I hardly see you. There's no one to help me process the spirit herbs and medicines."

Wen Qiao: "..."

Finally understanding, Wen Qiao blushed but felt a warm glow in her heart. She couldn't help but bury her head in his chest and wrap her arms around his waist, saying, "I'll stay with you tomorrow."

Ning Yuzhou gently stroked her back, smiling and agreeing.

The two quietly embraced, letting the night envelop them.

The night was bustling with stars twinkling, the mountain breeze blowing gently, making the world feel peaceful and gentle.

The next day, Wen Qiao kept her promise and accompanied Ning Yuzhou to the pharmacy, helping him process the necessary spirit herbs and medicines. Then she squatted nearby, watching him refine pills.

Ning Yuzhou refined pills incredibly fast, each gesture rhythmic and graceful, striking the pill furnace repeatedly until a fragrant aroma wafted out.

Watching him refine pills was like enjoying a visual feast.

Cultivation has a hundred arts, and although people often consider these arts minor, when practiced to perfection, they can lead to enlightenment. Ning Yuzhou's path was precisely this path of the hundred arts.

Suddenly, a slender, beautiful finger touched her forehead.

Wen Qiao snapped back to reality, realizing that a batch of pills had already been refined. The man who had been refining pills now had his finger on her forehead, his moist eyes smiling at her.

Though his appearance had changed, Ning Yuzhou's eyes and demeanor remained unchanged.

"Chui, what were you thinking about?" Ning Yuzhou asked with a smile.

Wen Qiao coughed lightly, feeling a bit embarrassed, "I was watching you refine pills, and it felt... very moving..."

"Moving?" Ning Yuzhou looked at her with a peculiar expression.

Wen Qiao wore an earnest expression, completely unaware that her words could be misinterpreted. She honestly said, "Yes, every gesture you make has a rhythm, and watching it feels quite touching."

Ning Yuzhou: "...So that's it."

Wen Qiao looked at him, puzzled. What else could it be?

Ning Yuzhou chuckled again and then said, "In the myriad worlds, each has its own path. Even minor paths can become great ones. Don't underestimate any minor path, but also don't overestimate them. Approach them with a calm mind. Pursue what you like, but don't be greedy, or you might lose your way."

Wen Qiao pondered his words, feeling enlightened and couldn't help but ask, "What about you, my husband? Are you being too greedy?" After all, he dabbled in alchemy, talismans, artifacts, and formations, among other minor arts, seemingly interested in everything.

"Me?" Ning Yuzhou smiled warmly, a hint of silent pride in his eyes, "I am different from ordinary people."

Wen Qiao looked at him, suddenly feeling like she was one of those ordinary people he was looking down upon.

"Don't worry about me. I know my limits and won't do anything beyond my capabilities."

Wen Qiao thought about it and realized he was right. He never did anything without confidence, and if something was beyond his reach, he would say so clearly, without pretending otherwise.

Wen Qiao spent the day in the pharmacy with Ning Yuzhou, but then disappeared again.

Ning Yuzhou: "..."

For several days, she kept running off. Every time Ning Yuzhou finished refining pills and turned around, he saw the empty space behind him and couldn't help but cover his forehead, laughing softly.

Habit truly was a terrifying thing.

In just a few decades, he had grown accustomed to her presence, unable to imagine how he had lived through the days without her. Those memories had become hazy, almost forgotten.

Initially, he thought he was the one keeping her company, but it turned out she was the one staying to keep him company.

***

Actually, Wen Qiao hadn't gone far. She was squatting near the square with the cloud beasts.

She remembered what the cloud beasts had said and wanted to find out who had stolen the fruits she had given them. So, for the past few days, she had been guarding the area near the square, using various methods to test, even having the cloud beasts carry the fruits around the square.

It's a pity that nothing was detected.

Cloud beasts don't lie. Could it be that the thing is afraid of being discovered by her, so it didn’t come out?

"Woof woof woof!"

The cloud beast whined at her, then started tugging at her skirt, begging for spirit fruits.

Wen Qiao took out a few spirit pills and handed them over. Suddenly, she thought of something and took out another pill bottle, pouring out the spirit pills inside.

Smelling the spirit pills, the cloud beasts swallowed the spirit fruits in a few bites, then stared pitifully at the spirit pills in her hand, whining. Their black eyes were watery, like those of innocent children.

"Let's play a game. Whoever runs the fastest gets the spirit pills," Wen Qiao said to the white balls.

The white balls whined and, as soon as Wen Qiao threw the spirit pills, their four short legs sprinted forward, like fluffy cotton candies racing toward the spirit pills ahead.

Wen Qiao squatted there, watching the white balls chase the spirit pills with great interest.

One, two, three...

She silently counted the spirit pills she had thrown, but suddenly noticed one had vanished into thin air.

She quickly stood up and darted towards where the spirit pill had disappeared, only to miss and nearly crash into a stone pillar ahead.

"Woof woof woof?"

The cloud beasts looked at her in confusion, not understanding what she was doing.

Wen Qiao wandered around the spot where the spirit pill had vanished, tapping and probing, confirming there were no spatial rifts or spatial artifacts. There was nowhere to hide on the ground or underground, and no signs of any spatial fluctuations in the air.

"This is strange..."

Muttering to herself, Wen Qiao took out more spirit pills and threw them.

The white balls excitedly rushed toward the spirit pills but missed, looking bewildered.

Where were their spirit pills?

Perhaps because they had been caught earlier, this time the thief who stole the spirit pills and fruits did not bother hiding anymore, swallowing all the spirit pills Wen Qiao threw without leaving any for the cloud beasts, clearly bullying them.

In Wen Qiao’s eyes, the spirit pills seemed to vanish into thin air.

Rubbing her chin, she threw another handful of spirit pills, which also vanished.

Then she threw a handful of spirit fruits, which also vanished.

Great, the thief was now stealing openly, not bothering to hide, leaving nothing for the poor cloud beasts below.

After throwing both kinds, she thought for a moment and took out some sea cane, throwing it. The sea cane vanished too, but soon reappeared with a thud on the ground.

Wen Qiao picked up the sea cane and continued scattering things.

She threw everything she had, some vanishing into thin air while others returned untouched. The items that returned were mostly inedible...

Just as she was about to discern a pattern, the talisman she threw was suddenly caught by a hand.

"Sister Wen has quite an elegant hobby," Brother Wang glanced at the talisman in his hand and widened his eyes. "It's actually a Grade Earth talisman. Where did you get this?"

Wen Qiao walked over, snatched the talisman back from him, and said expressionlessly, "I bought it before."

This was a talisman drawn by her husband; she wouldn’t give it to this guy even if she had to throw it away.

Brother Wang listened enviously, feeling even more that Sister Wen was indeed full of surprises. He asked curiously, "Why is Sister Wen playing with talismans here? Did the talisman offend you?"

Idiot!

Wen Qiao felt that calling him an idiot would be an insult to both "idiot" and "idiot," "Can't I just play with the cloud beasts?"

Brother Wang glanced at the surrounding cloud beasts, seeing them wagging their tails like dogs, looking excited, and was speechless.

He quickly dismissed the matter, seemingly oblivious to people's expressions, and said enthusiastically, "I've seen Sister Wen running here these past few days. Have you found anything here?"

Saying this, he subtly surveyed the square, his eyes filled with greed.

Wen Qiao gave him a fleeting glance, "Can't I just walk the cloud beasts?"

With that, she ignored him and left with a few cloud beasts trailing behind.

Brother Wang half-believed her words. Seeing the white balls following her like dogs, he clicked his tongue and muttered under his breath, "Animals are still animals." Then he began searching the square.

In the end, Brother Wang grew angry and couldn’t help kicking a stone pillar, then drew his spirit sword and slashed at it.

The sound of metal striking stone echoed loudly in the quiet square.

"What are you doing?"

A voice shouted, causing Brother Wang's hand to tremble. Looking up, he saw Su Molan with a cold face.

He laughed awkwardly, "Junior Sister Lin, why are you here?"

Su Molan looked at him coldly, thinking of what she had just seen, a surge of inexplicable anger rising within her. Her voice grew colder, "I should ask Brother Wang why you are here? What did these stone pillars do to you?"

"No, no..."

"I will report this to Auntie Tie. Brother Wang, watch your step."

Hearing this, Brother Wang was terrified. If that old woman knew, it would be disastrous. He wanted to say something but saw her already turning away.

Half an hour later, Brother Wang was summoned to Chuyun Peak.

When he left Chuyun Peak, he was carried away lying down by an adult cloud beast back to Juyun Peak.

The disciples of Juyun Peak, seeing his fate, felt no sympathy. They lifted the unconscious Senior Brother Wang from the cloud beast's back, threw him into his cave residence, and then ignored him.

This showed that Senior Brother Wang did not have good relationships with others.

News of Granny Tie injuring Senior Brother Wang in her fury instantly spread throughout Suzheng Valley.

After the disciples of Suzheng Valley learned the reason for Granny Tie's anger, they all thought he deserved it and felt no sympathy for Senior Brother Wang.

They knew very well what Senior Brother Wang had been up to. It was one thing on ordinary days, but this time, someone saw him attacking the eighteen stone pillars in the square and reported it to Granny Tie, which naturally infuriated her.

This incident also intimidated those with ulterior motives, causing them to curb their small tricks significantly.

Ning Yuzhou naturally witnessed Senior Brother Wang being carried away horizontally from Chuyun Peak.

That evening, when he returned to the guest room to rest, he asked Wen Qiao with a smile, "Did Chui see Senior Brother Wang today?"

"I did," Wen Qiao replied obediently. "I found him annoying, so I told Miss Su about him, and she took care of him."

This way, when she went to the square to look for whatever it was, she wouldn't have to worry about someone constantly spying on her, which was incredibly irritating.

Ning Yuzhou didn't expect her to be involved, and hearing her method of using others to do her dirty work, he couldn't help but laugh.

Dealing with Senior Brother Wang would not be difficult for her, but it was troublesome. If Granny Tie intervened, no one would dare question the outcome, achieving two goals at once.

Ning Yuzhou pulled her into his arms, kissed her cheek, and asked with a smile, "What has Chui been doing at the square recently?"

Wen Qiao didn't hide anything from him and told him about her discoveries that day, finally complaining, "I was about to figure something out, but some annoying person came over and disturbed me. It was really annoying."

After venting, Wen Qiao looked up at him and asked, "Husband, what do you think stole my spirit pills and spirit fruits?"

"I don't know."

"Do you think it could be a ghost cultivator or something?" Wen Qiao let her imagination run wild. "I heard that ghost cultivators can hide their forms, appearing and disappearing without a trace, unlike human cultivators..."

Ning Yuzhou laughed, "The passages between the three realms have long been closed. Ghost cultivators from the Netherworld cannot stay on the human cultivation continent, and Suzheng Valley doesn't have any places suitable for ghost cultivation."

Wen Qiao sighed, somewhat disappointed. So it wasn't a ghost cultivator.

Ning Yuzhou pondered for a moment and said, "Why don't I go with you tomorrow?"

Wen Qiao nodded with a smile, showing a confident attitude that "as long as my husband is there, all problems can be solved," which made Ning Yuzhou laugh.

However, it turned out that Ning Yuzhou was not omnipotent.

Perhaps because Ning Yuzhou was present, nothing disappeared this time, whether it was spirit pills, spirit fruits, spirit stones, or spirit tools.

Watching the cloud beasts happily catch and eat the thrown spirit pills, Wen Qiao wondered aloud, "It's strange. Yesterday, the spirit pills, spirit fruits, and spirit stones all disappeared, but today, nothing disappears."

During yesterday's tests, Wen Qiao noticed that spirit pills, spirit fruits, and spirit stones disappeared the fastest, especially those of higher grades, which seemed to be particularly favored by the entity.

Ning Yuzhou looked thoughtfully at the eighteen stone pillars ahead and said, "It might be because I'm here."

"Why? What's wrong with my husband?" Wen Qiao frowned, displeased.

Ning Yuzhou found her reaction amusing but felt touched inside. Only this silly girl would think everything about him was perfect, making him believe that his current serene demeanor was his true self.

Since the entity didn't give Ning Yuzhou face, he didn't force the issue and continued to refine pills.

Wen Qiao pouted, tossing the spirit pill in her hand, and said angrily, "My husband is great. If you don't like him, I won't give you any spirit pills, and I won't come to you anymore."

Saying this, Wen Qiao turned and left, with the cloud beasts quickly following her.

Soon, the vast square became quiet and deserted.

True to her word, Wen Qiao didn't bring the cloud beasts to the square for several days, even taking detours if she had to pass by.

Days passed, and Wen Qiao opened her eyes after meditating.

As she opened her eyes, she saw a shadow coiled around a pillar, flashing and disappearing.

Wen Qiao: "..."