Li Muyang walked alone on the road back to Tilewood Alley, with the cool moonlight casting upon him, dragging a long shadow behind him.
The shadow’s left hand was gently caressing the area of the right arm.
It was somewhat… utterly delightful.
Li Muyang smacked his lips.
Larger is indeed better!
Big is strong!
Not to mention, this world lacked thick padded bras, underwire, and no aficionados of padding shenanigans.
He felt that marvelous touch almost without any hindrance, and reflecting on it, Li Muyang was astonished by his own self-control.
To endure such a great temptation and yet manage to maintain a calm and composed demeanor.
Indeed, the potential of humans is infinite.
He had never discovered he could act so well before.
And now, his secret adventure with Yan Xiaoru had finally come to a safe conclusion.
This Elder Yan, seeing how sensible and obedient he was, should have no reason to silence him.
—If she had wanted to silence him, she could have done it earlier; there was no need to let Li Muyang go.
As for whether Yan Xiaoru would change her mind later, it was completely insignificant.
By the time Yan Xiaoru finishes her seclusion and heals her injuries, Li Muyang would have long since returned home to the Refinement Demon Sect, having fed the Startling Swan Immortal Sword plenty of top-grade Spirit Rice.
Even Yan Xiaoru, at the Spirit Travel Realm, would have to retreat three feet from the full power release of the Startling Swan Immortal Sword.
The current Li Muyang, having gained the ability to protect himself, no longer needed to be as jittery as a startled bird.
Returning to Tilewood Alley in high spirits, Li Muyang saw the white-robed youth, Cheng Feiyang, at the entrance of the alley.
This haughty little Brother Cheng still carried an expression of aloof pride, standing in the cold wind like a statue.
Li Muyang was somewhat surprised.
“Brother Cheng?”
Weren’t all the Inner Sect Disciples searching for the whereabouts of the Immortal Sword? Why wasn’t Cheng Feiyang among them?
After sizing Li Muyang up and down, Cheng Feiyang said, “Good to see you’re alive. Go in, your sister and Guan Xiaoshun are waiting inside for you.”
He obviously had received the news and showed no surprise at seeing Li Muyang, who had come back from the dead.
Saying this, the haughty white-robed youth stopped looking at Li Muyang and promptly closed his eyes, sitting cross-legged on the snowy ground.
And thus he entered meditation.
Under the cold moonlight, amidst the whirling snow, a young man in a white robe sat cross-legged at the dark entrance of the alley… Honestly, the scene was a bit cool.
Not having seen him for four months, this little Brother Cheng could still play it cool.
Li Muyang walked past Cheng Feiyang, entering Tilewood Alley, and soon he saw his residence crammed with people.
“Brother!”
“Brother Li!”
“Brother Li!”
Li Yuechan and Guan Xiaoshun were at the front, with a crowd of Outer Sect Disciples who had heard the news and rushed over to join in on the excitement, standing behind them.
Seeing her brother alive and well, Li Yuechan threw herself at him and hugged him tightly.
And in the yard, the other Outer Sect Disciples erupted into loud, joyful laughter, congratulating him.
“Congratulations, Brother Li, on your safe return!”
Even though Li Muyang was the least senior by both age and experience among these disciples,
yet these clever fellows started to respectfully call Li Muyang their Senior Brother, their enthusiasm boundless.
In the eyes of these astute Outer Sect disciples, Li Muyang had already been close with the Direct Disciple Ning Wan’er, and before his disappearance, he was regarded favorably by Elder Yan and was highly likely to be promoted.
Now, having disappeared along with Elder Yan and fortunately having served Elder Yan for four months,
now that Elder Yan has safely returned, Li Muyang, who served for four months as Elder Yan’s servant, should at least be promoted to the Inner Sect, right?
In the eyes of the still-living Outer Sect disciples, Li Muyang might still be wearing the cyan robe of the Outer Sect, but it had long since turned white.
Therefore, everyone wore bright smiles, brimming with enthusiasm.
Even the room where Li Muyang slept and his bed had already been cleaned up by this bunch of guys.
The courtyard had also been swept clean, with all the snow shoveled away.
Almost all of the still-living Outer Sect disciples were now crowded into this small courtyard.
Everyone was lifting the sedan chair, as the saying goes.
Surrounded by the crowd, Li Muyang’s smile was somewhat reluctant.
He disliked mingling in such anxious and opportunistic situations, but as the saying goes, “Don’t slap a smiling face,” Li Muyang still indulged everyone with a patient response.
Eventually, he excused himself on the pretext of needing to rest and had the crowd ushered out of the yard.
In the quiet courtyard once more, with the gate bolted, only Guan Xiaoshun, Li Muyang, and his adopted sister, Li Yuechan, remained.
Originally, three rooms in this small courtyard housed six people, but the one surnamed Liu died at the hands of demons in Centipede Ridge, and the unlucky three perished in the Bloodstone Mine.
Now, only Guan Xiaoshun lived in the courtyard.
Seeing Li Muyang’s return, the boy was deeply moved.
“Brother Li, you’ve finally come back.”
The ghost-fearing lad from the border town clutched Li Muyang’s hand, a face full of bitter past. Your next chapter is on empire
“These days without you, I didn’t dare to go out to pee at night, holding it in till dawn every day.”
“The wind outside… that sound… it’s just like the wailing of ghosts…”
Guan Xiaoshun clearly did not have an easy time over these four months.
After all, the city of the Demon Sect was rumored to be haunted, and a bunch of the Sect’s Outer Sect disciples died in the mines.
Sleeping alone in the empty courtyard, he had countless nightmares, huddling every night under the cold blankets, afraid to poke his head out.
Guan Xiaoshun’s tearful words left Li Muyang between tears and laughter.
After sending away the unrelated, the three closely connected individuals finally had the chance to talk about their experiences.
Li Muyang briefly recounted what happened in the secret realm. Of course, the story he told was not entirely consistent with his real experience; it was completely unrelated.
Li Muyang followed Yan Xiaoru’s version of the story, modestly embellished, as an explanation.
Some things, even to his own sister, could not be said.
Then, Li Muyang inquired about the recent situation inside the city of the Demon Sect, seeking to understand the current state of affairs.
Having been away for four months, he was completely in the dark regarding the power dynamics within the city.
Li Yuechan and Guan Xiaoshun were his best sources of information.
“Elder Yan’s three Direct Disciples have all switched allegiance to other masters, taking other Elders as their new mentors…”
“Only Sister Ning did not seek another master.”
“We Outer Sect Disciples have been confined to Wamu Alley, forbidden to leave…”
“The Sect reportedly mobilized ninety percent of its personnel, sending the Inner Sect brothers and sisters to scour the city, but the way they are searching doesn’t seem like a rescue mission for Elder Yan…”
“Since this month, a mysterious Demon Cultivator has appeared in the city, specifically killing the Sect’s Inner Sect Disciples, and already seventeen have fallen victim…”
“It is said that the Sect Master is furious, vowing to dig three feet into the ground to find the killer who is attacking our Sect’s disciples…”
The information provided by Guan Xiaoshun and Li Yuechan was imprecise, making it difficult to discern the reality of the situation.
After all, the two of them were merely Outer Sect Disciples, without access to the core secrets of the Refinement Demon Sect.
Although Ning Wan’er was a Direct Disciple, with Yan Xiaoru’s fate unknown over these four months, Ning Wan’er had become a marginalized figure and naturally could not provide Li Yuechan with any useful information.