Chapter 156 I Think You Are Unfit to Be a Mountain Lord

"That's enough about Qimu Peak."
"Hey? You didn't finish explaining how the background of that Peak Master Bai became such a mystery. Tell us again."
"Think about it yourselves, what kind of place is Qingqiu Lake?"
"Isn't it that legendary demon realm? Ever since the barrier between heaven and earth was forged and mortals were separated from gods, that place became utterly ordinary, and Qingqiu Lake turned into a dead zone." The man looked astonished. "How could a dead zone give birth to a human child?"
"That... is the part I dare not speak of!" The master of the Taluo Sect felt a slight flutter of panic in his heart. "The dead zone does not grow a single blade of grass; the fact that a child could be born there is precisely what makes it so bizarre. Furthermore, that Peak Master Bai can learn nothing except talismans, which makes it even more incomprehensible. Talisman masters of any renown in this world are vanishingly few, and none can achieve even a tenth of her mastery."
"This..."
"My senior sister indeed only knows talismans. All day long she just holds a brush and writes or draws, and I've never seen her use anything else," Wen Jingē said.
"Bringer of fortune, God of War, with her victory is certain..." Lu Wei's brows remained tightly furrowed. Perhaps stimulated by the outside world, he began to mutter in his sleep. "The Lord of Mang descends from the heavens... the great battle... to find a living path through the jaws of death... return date... undetermined... the eyes... have been taken away."
Wen Jingē had cast a barrier beforehand; they could hear the people talking below the corridor, but the people below could not hear the sounds from above.
Seeing Lu Wei like this, she merely patted him gently on the back to help him sleep more soundly.
"And you still claim you don't think that way." Qu Xi clicked his tongue a few times. "You might as well carve words across his face."
"Carve what words?" Wen Jingē asked, finding his gaze inexplicable.
"My man!" Qu Xi mouthed the words silently, earning several rolls of the eyes from Wen Jingē.
She let out a breath, composing herself to suppress the urge to strike him. "I've discovered that you are simply unsuited to be a mountain master."
"I know that too! But among my generation on this mountain, I'm the only one left. If I don't be the mountain master, who will?" Qu Xi sighed, collapsing backward onto the roof and staring straight up at the sun in the sky. "The weather is really nice today. Shall we continue listening to the tale of your own origins?"
"Why not?"
"That's hardly a good background." Qu Xi sneered, looking utterly helpless. "These minor sects of theirs, before they know it, have turned all three major sects completely upside down. Looking at the few of us from this generation, they probably all think we're madmen!"
"Isn't it completely normal to be called a madman?" Wen Jingē lay down as well, mimicking Qu Xi by staring straight at the sun in the sky.
She discovered that even as a master of metaphysics whose abilities surpassed ordinary mortals, she still did not dare to look directly at the sun.
How on earth did this Qu Xi manage it?
"Now, let's talk about that Immortal Wen. She's even more extraordinary."
"Cheng Han, stop keeping us in suspense. The disciples have already gone inside; for us to linger here meddling like this is already prone to invite criticism. If someone were to find out we're discussing the affairs of the three major sects, we'd probably be signing our own death warrants."
Cheng Han was the name of the Taluo Sect master.
"Fair enough, it was my lapse in judgment. I get so lost in my profession that I lose track of time."
A round of scoffing rose from the crowd. "If you're going to talk, talk; if not, we're all leaving!"
"Do me a favor!" Wen Jingē glanced at Lu Wei beside her; he was still sleeping restlessly. "Tonight..."
"You want to hide, right?" Qu Xi assumed he had her mindset completely figured out. "Do you want to hide?"
"No." Wen Jingē truly didn't know what to say to him. "Help me arrange a meeting with Cheng Han. I have a lingering suspicion that he has discovered us."
Qu Xi stopped looking at the sun and instead reached out a hand toward Wen Jingē.
Wen Jingē wore a bewildered expression, having no idea which of his nerves had snapped or why he was reaching out to her again.
"An immobilization talisman. I know you can draw them. Even if you're no different from an ordinary person right now, that robe of mine..."
"Didn't I say I'd return it to you?"
Disgusted by his fussy, nagging personality, Wen Jingē impatiently dug two sets of lavish robes from her spatial ring and tossed them at him.
These two sets of robes had originally been bought on the road, intended to be burned for Lu Wei after his tribulation failure. Now that Lu Wei was awake, Wen Jingē naturally had to destroy them—what if Liang Si accidentally let it slip someday?
"I want an immobilization talisman, not an invisibility talisman. What are you giving me clothes for?"
"Wasn't it you who brought up clothes in the first place? Weren't you just trying to dig up some good treasures from me? After all, I used to set traps for you guys in the exact same way."
"Ha? You actually knew that?" Qu Xi was amused into laughter. "Wen Jingē, stop assuming everyone else is a miser like you! That robe of mine was specially worn out to test the level of cultivation in your body. Your senior brother the sect master sold you out down to your very foundation the moment you went up the mountain. I only asked because I was afraid you and Shan Hongxing would fight to the death on the road! I harbor no other intentions toward you! Now that you have a man, stop letting your imagination run wild!"
"I already told you, he is not my man!" Wen Jingē ground her teeth and bared them at him.
"Excuses are just cover-ups; I know you well enough. Don't worry, even if he wakes up, I will definitely keep this secret."
"If it weren't for..." Wen Jingē flashed him her middle finger. "If it weren't for the fact that I'm waiting to pull off something big, I'd definitely beat you until even your own mother wouldn't recognize you right now."
"My mother probably wouldn't recognize me anyway, seeing as I'm an orphan picked up by my master!"
Wen Jingē had encountered formidable opponents many times, but this was her first time meeting one quite so entanglement-prone.
"I think..." Lu Wei opened his eyes, seemingly trying to determine where he was. After confirming the environment was normal, he continued, "I really did marry you."
It seemed like a memory from the distant past, just a vague fragment. Wen Jingē was still wearing that same set of military attire, but a sacrificial rite was taking place—a ceremony to celebrate a wedding, yet neither his face nor Wen Jingē's held any smiles; instead, their expressions were heavy, and Wen Jingē held a blood-dripping dagger in her hand.
Then, he had woken up, hearing every single word of their conversation without missing a beat.
"How much did you hear?"
"Not much, just a little bit, I suppose," Lu Wei said, looking somewhat dazed.
He felt that he shouldn't be afraid of Wen Jingē, yet upon waking, a lingering panic remained deep within his heart. The feeling was strange, as though he had done something deeply apologetic to her.
"Oh, since you haven't remembered, go back to sleep!"
Lu Wei stared at her in a daze for a long while before suddenly smiling, tilting his head. "It feels quite similar, but within myself, it seems something is still missing."
"What is missing?"
"Mm." Lu Wei lay on his side, raising a hand to block the sun, watching his own hand glowing red in the light. "When he vanished, he told me that the truth is not merely floating on the surface. Everything is far more complex than you and I imagine."
"You and I?" Wen Jingē pointed at herself.
In her perception, the consciousness generated within Lu Wei's body was supposed to be dormant, and the moment Lu Wei woke up, that consciousness should have receded entirely. He shouldn't have been able to sense her existence.
"Yes, you and I." Lu Wei scratched his head. "So, why is that?"