Chapter 78: A Past Dream in the Mortal World
“This is all… all my money.”
Chu Xuan spoke in a hurry and left in a hurry, cutting off the transmission without even a greeting.
As the light of the talisman went out, Ning Ruoque summoned the Sudden Rain sword without a word and stepped on it.
Yin Buran patted her shoulder. “What’s the rush?”
Ning Ruoque said with a straight face, “To go back and cultivate.”
She had to improve her strength as soon as possible. The more cultivation she had, the fewer accidents there would be.
She was in no mood to look at the setting sun, the misty waves over the water in the distance. Her mind was full of cultivation.
Yin Buran covered Ning Ruoque’s eyes with a blank expression. The latter still flew steadily, her target clear.
So Yin Buran turned her head again and kissed the tip of Ning Ruoque’s ear.
The effect of this move was truly outstanding. The Sudden Rain sword flew crookedly for a moment, and Ning Ruoque hurriedly slowed down, scrambling to dodge.
“Hey! Don’t move, Ranran!”
Yin Buran hugged her and frowned. “I want to look at the scenery for a while.”
She sounded wronged and pitiful, and even made Ning Ruoque feel that she was extremely guilty for not even being able to satisfy this request.
The Sudden Rain sword thus hovered in the air, facing the distant mountains and the setting sun. A few white cranes flew past them, and the wind blew through their robes and hair.
Yin Buran jumped down. Because the body of the sword was too narrow, she could only stand close to Ning Ruoque.
So she naturally held Ning Ruoque’s hand, their fingers intertwined.
A cool, jade-like touch came continuously. At first, Ning Ruoque was not used to it.
Her hand was used to holding a sword. When she held Yin Buran like this, she was always worried that her grip was too strong and would make her uncomfortable.
But listening to the light breathing of the person beside her, and basking in the warm setting sun, the worries in her heart suddenly vanished.
Ning Ruoque let out a long breath and relaxed a lot.
At least this time, while she was watching the sunset with Yin Buran, she could give it without any reservation.
A white crane flew past the surface of the water and into the plum grove by the lake.
It was strolling around leisurely, looking for food. When it turned its head, it was startled by the two figures that had suddenly appeared beside it and flew away with a cry.
The Medicine King clicked her tongue a few times and went to hug Mo Jue’s waist. “You see, aren’t they back together again? So clingy. Young people are like that, with big tempers, not as stable as us.”
Mo Jue elbowed her back, her face full of annoyance.
The Medicine King easily dodged it, then affectionately stuck to her again, pulling her hand.
She called out sweetly, “Oh my, how can we fight in broad daylight? If we’re going to fight, let’s fight in bed.”
These words were already quite direct. Mo Jue’s ears were faintly red, and she flicked her sleeve and scolded in a low voice, “You… shameless.”
As soon as her voice fell, the Medicine King reached out and pinched her face without any reservation. “So angry, so cute~”
Mo Jue was so entangled that she lost her temper. In the end, she could only stand there helplessly and let the Medicine King hug her from behind.
She did not push her away and only sighed. “Stop fooling around. What are your plans?”
The Medicine King did not speak. She rested her head on Mo Jue’s shoulder, looked at the setting sun in the distance, her features gentle.
The flag of Azurefall Creek fluttered in the wind, and the competition in the distance was not yet over. Cheers could be heard from time to in time.
The setting sun and the evening bell, the tired birds returning to their nests. Azurefall Creek seemed to always be this peaceful and beautiful.
Only when the last ray of the setting sun fell into the lake and the world darkened did the Medicine King speak softly.
“Last night, the sect master of the Sword Pavilion sent me a message. The Immortal Alliance, under the pretext of clearing out demons, has arrested several rogue cultivators without any background.”
“She’s trying to find a way to intervene.”
Mo Jue frowned. “These guys, are they clearing out the poison or eliminating dissidents?”
There had already been several rogue cultivators who had openly criticized the actions of certain small people, and there were also people within the Immortal Alliance who could not stand them and had gone against them several times.
The Medicine King’s tone changed, and she said again, “I just received a message from Chu Xuan, asking if I need to reinforce Azurefall Creek’s mountain-protecting grand formation.”
“Of course we do.” She tilted her head and kissed Mo Jue’s face, her lazy smile gone.
Then she said with great seriousness, “I hope that Azurefall Creek can give you enough protection when the storm comes.”
“…”
After a long while, a soft sigh sounded in the wind.
Mo Jue turned around and hugged the Medicine King. In the faint moonlight, she saw the person in her arms with a smile as beautiful as a flower, leaning over to kiss her lips.
“Aren’t you moved?”
Mo Jue’s face and ears instantly turned red. “Nonsense!”
*
Time was tight and the task was heavy. Ning Ruoque wished she could split herself into three.
One to cultivate, one to learn dual cultivation, and one to pass the time with Yin Buran.
So Ning Ruoque cultivated during the day, read at night, and occasionally found time to admire the flowers with Yin Buran and make some sweet desserts.
When she was cultivating, Yin Buran would wrap herself in a cloak and curl up beside her, reading or sleeping.
Four days passed in a flash.
On the night before they set off, Ning Ruoque had even specially taken out a new book from the study to read.
She had originally prepared herself psychologically.
However, the first chapter was surprisingly useful.
How to make the spiritual energy circulate between two people, how to absorb more spiritual energy, and the key points of the dual cultivation mantra were all explained clearly.
It seemed that she herself was too shallow. She had believed those rumors and had thought that this thing was not proper.
Dual cultivation was indeed just a method of cultivation.
According to the book, she only needed to dual cultivate with Yin Buran for three days, which was equivalent to cultivating alone for five consecutive days.
Ning Ruoque was focused on reading, and she saw the candlelight by her side flicker, and another figure was printed on the wall in front of her.
A sweet fragrance domineeringly occupied this space, and then her shoulder felt heavy. Yin Buran had rested her chin on it, but she did not say a word.
Ning Ruoque thought she was in a light sleep, so she did not move.
When she was cultivating before, Yin Buran would also suddenly nestle into her arms like this, or hug her waist.
At first, she was at a loss, and her attention was always not focused.
Later, she gradually got used to it and even found that as long as she kissed Yin Buran’s face, this person would fall asleep contentedly.
Just as Ning Ruoque was about to turn to the next page, a cool hand suddenly reached out from behind her and held her wrist.
Ning Ruoque was puzzled. “Yin Buran? Are you also studying?”
Yin Buran’s expression did not change. “I’m just checking if you’re serious.”
After speaking, she let go and also helped Ning Ruoque turn a page. Then she sat opposite and also took out a book.
The book was rolled up, and Ning Ruoque could not see the cover clearly.
She only saw the lamplight dyeing Yin Buran’s white fox fur cloak with a layer of warmth, and her whole person looked fluffy and very touchable.
However, after Ning Ruoque had been staring for a long time, Yin Buran would glance at her. “What are you looking at me for?”
Ning Ruoque quickly lowered her head and pulled her attention back to the page.
The night was as quiet as water, and time slipped away at her fingertips. For a moment, there was only the rustling of the pages.
She lowered her voice, as if asking casually, “In the past, did we also get along like this?”
“…”
After a long while, Ning Ruoque finally heard Yin Buran speak calmly.
“You were traveling outside at that time. You would often come in the evening and leave at dawn. The time we saw each other would not exceed a day.”
This was different from what Ning Ruoque had imagined. She had thought that she and Yin Buran would travel together, visiting mountains, rivers, and lakes, and secret and strange sights.
But in the memories she had recovered, Yin Buran’s personality was also not quite the same as now.
After all, a hundred years had passed, so it was normal for there to be some changes.
Without dwelling on it too much, Ning Ruoque turned to the next page.
What came into view was an illustration with a delicate brushwork. Peach blossoms and flowing water, a half-covered light gauze, and a soft and warm fragrance—
Ning Ruoque was stunned for a moment.
Ning Ruoque slammed the book shut, and her face quickly heated up.
Ning Ruoque began to feel restless, and she was also afraid that Yin Buran would notice something was wrong.
So she could only pick up the teacup and drink it all, and then her gaze went over the rim of the cup, secretly peeking at Yin Buran’s reaction.
Yin Buran had no reaction.
She had already leaned against the window and closed her eyes, a faint crease between her brows, and it was clear that she was not sleeping comfortably.
Ning Ruoque got off the couch, walked over lightly, and carried the person to the bed.
Then she hesitated for a moment, and carefully kissed Yin Buran between the brows.
“Good night, sweet dreams.”
She returned to the couch, not wanting to touch that book for the time being, and just stared at the white crabapple blossoms outside the window out of boredom.
Finally, Ning Ruoque took out a small porcelain bottle from her storage bag.
It was a very ordinary bottle, about three inches long, and there was a clear sound of water when she shook it.
This was the thing that her master had thrown to her when she had returned to Mount Xuansu a while ago. She had said it was a secret treasure of the sect, a good thing that she would know after she drank it.
Ning Ruoque stroked the porcelain bottle and fell into a deep thought.
Although her drunkard master loved to play tricks on people, the suggestions she gave were quite useful, and she had never harmed her.
Ning Ruoque opened the stopper and first sniffed it cautiously.
A strong smell of wine rushed to her face, mixed with a hint of a sweet and cloying taste.
It looked like a small bottle of strong wine.
Ning Ruoque did not notice any problem and guessed that this might be a wine that her master had treasured.
Her master not only loved to drink, but was also skilled at brewing wine. There was even a special wine cellar on Mount Xuansu.
Occasionally, her master would also share a sip with Ning Ruoque, but Ning Ruoque did not like it.
Compared to the wine that burned her throat, she still preferred juice or tea.
Ning Ruoque shook the wine bottle again.
Could this really be a good thing, the kind of jade dew and ambrosia that could make one’s cultivation soar after drinking it?
Given that she had never been drunk before, and could even drink with her master for a whole night, Ning Ruoque only struggled for a moment before she decided to give it a try.
She first took a small sip, smacked her lips a few times, and did not taste anything.
As the wine entered her throat, her body gradually warmed up, and the speed of her cultivation mantra also became faster.
It seemed that there was no problem.
Ning Ruoque took another sip, and this time she finally tasted a sweetness like honey.
It was surprisingly delicious, and it didn’t burn her throat.
She quickly drank the third mouthful, the fourth mouthful, and half a bottle.
She did not notice at all that the strong smell of wine had already soaked the entire room and had not dispersed for a long time.
Half an hour later, Yin Buran was woken up by the smell of wine.
In fact, this sweet wine fragrance was not unpleasant, but when she turned over, she did not feel the person, and her heart suddenly jumped a few beats.
She got up too hastily, and the fox-fur cloak fell to the floor. Yin Buran did not pay any attention to it. After leaving the bedroom, she went directly to check on Ning Ruoque’s condition.
The window was half-open, and the smell of wine filled the air, not dispersing for a long time.
She waved her hand, and a gentle breeze entered the house, blowing the curtains and her sleeves.
The air was suddenly clean, but it also extinguished the candlelight.
Fortunately, the moonlight tonight was bright enough.
And Ning Ruoque was also very conspicuous. She was sitting on the couch in a daze, it was unknown what she was doing.
In the moonlight, Yin Buran swept her gaze over the porcelain bottle on the desk, and then at the dazed Ning Ruoque.
“What are you drinking?”
Hearing the familiar voice, Ning Ruoque’s pupils finally had a focus.
She shook her head in a daze and answered honestly, “I don’t know. Master said this is a good thing, so I’m just trying it.”
Yin Buran picked up the half-bottle of wine, first leaned over to sniff it a few times, and her brow furrowed slightly.
Then she touched it with her lips and took a sip.
In just a few breaths, she suddenly widened her eyes and, without a word, went to pinch Ning Ruoque’s chin.
“Spit it out quickly! This wine is highly poisonous! You can’t drink it!”
Yin Buran had tasted it. This was a wine brewed from a flower called “Drunken Life.”
But the Drunken Life flower was highly poisonous. Those who had smelled its fragrance would have hallucinations at best, and at worst, they would become a fool. And there was no cure, no matter what your cultivation was.
But this flower had been burned clean thousands of years ago. Only a few dried flowers were collected in the medicine pavilion of Azurefall Creek.
Where did Ning Ruoque get the wine?
Yin Buran was so anxious that she went to pinch Ning Ruoque’s face, trying to make her spit out the wine.
But for some reason, Ning Ruoque grabbed her wrist with her backhand and stared at her in a daze.
Yin Buran couldn’t break free, and she was anxious. Tears began to well up in her eyes.
“Why are you eating random things again!”
Ning Ruoque was so scared that she shrank her shoulders and finally came back to her senses.
She awkwardly wiped her tears and comforted her, “Don’t cry… don’t cry, I’m fine.”
“It’s just… a little dizzy.”
Ning Ruoque took a long breath, and her mouth was full of that sweet fragrance, so thick that it made her dizzy, and even her thinking became slow.
How could Yin Buran believe her? She tried to take Ning Ruoque’s pulse to treat her.
The latter obediently extended her hand and also slowly took out a storage bag and forcefully stuffed it into Yin Buran’s arms.
Yin Buran was annoyed and didn’t want to look, so she brushed the storage bag away.
However, Ning Ruoque picked it up again and stuffed it in with perseverance, and even explained haltingly, “This is all… all my money.”
Yin Buran squinted her eyes.
Ning Ruoque took out a few jade talismans from her storage bag and continued, “This is the key to Mount Xuansu, the key to the underground vault, and also…”
“The key to the kitchen.”
After she had finally finished, she stared at Yin Buran eagerly, as if she were asking for a reward.
Yin Buran let go of her hand, her expression complicated.
She’s actually not poisoned, just drunk?!
