Are you really trying to cultivate immortality? Something feels off.

Nie Zhao's brow twitched.

Nie Shiyun's lips were pale, and she staggered.

"Be careful." Nie Zhao instinctively reached out to support her.

"Sister," Nie Shiyun's lips were dry and pale, a tear sliding down her cheek, "you should leave...leave the Nie family mansion..."

She had never known that her father, despite his high position, was always grieving. Although he wore a smile, his eyes were always cold and devoid of warmth.

She thought her father was depressed because he missed her mother too much. After all, although the Nie family favored daughters over sons, they had always provided him with a life of luxury and had never mistreated him.

It turned out to be the case.

When she smiled, she was both pale and radiant.

It turned out to be the case.

The Nanchuan bloodline is passed down only to women, not men. This tradition has been passed down through generations, and women are far stronger than men. In the cultivation world where the strong are respected, equality between the two can never be achieved.

Nie Zhao caught the teardrop on his fingertip; it was warm to the touch, but quickly turned icy cold.

"Sister," Nie Shiyun said hoarsely, repeating it again, "you should leave...leave this place."

As soon as she finished speaking, she turned her head and fainted in Nie Zhao's arms.

*

"Senior Sister," Shen Chunri said with worry in her eyes, glancing back at the tightly closed gates of the Nie Mansion in Nanchuan, "Do we really have to leave so soon? Your father... Shen Yuan's funeral hasn't even ended yet."

"I have never respected him, nor have I ever loved him," Nie Zhao tightened the reins, his red hair standing on end, his eyes cold. "What's the point of staying here now, pretending to be sad and shedding a few tears? It's disgusting. My mother still needs to recover from her injuries and shouldn't be disturbed. There's no use in me staying here. I might as well return to the sect as soon as possible."

Back then, she hated her mother so much, thinking she was too heartless. But now, seeing the true state of the Nie family, she has to admit that her mother's decision was right. If she hadn't been sent to the Feng Hua Sect, who knows what kind of person she would have become.

She was born in the Nie family mansion, but the sect was the place that raised her. The kindness of giving birth cannot compare to the kindness of raising her, and she has never regarded the Nie family mansion in Nanchuan as her home.

"Before returning to the sect," Yu Xintang raised an eyebrow slightly, riding her horse, "let's go out for a trip."

Sitting on Yu Xintang's horse, Shen Chunri chuckled, "Yes, yes, I support it."

Nie Zhao sensed something was amiss: "What are you planning to do?"

"I also have a feeling this is bad news," Xie Weixing said quietly.

Yu Xintang's lips twitched; she was very dissatisfied with him and started picking a fight: "Hey, I want to ask, why don't you two take a carriage and insist on riding horses?"

Tan Suiting glanced at him: "My senior brother said that riding a horse makes him look handsome."

"Did I ask that?" Yu Xintang chuckled coldly. "Riding a horse is indeed cool, but I'd like to ask, what are you two doing riding one horse?"

Xie Weixing leaned against Tan Suiting's chest, his smile smug and irritating: "Weren't you and Little Snake together too? Why are you bringing us up?"

"How can we be compared?" Shen Chunri chuckled coldly. "I can't ride a horse, brother. How can you ride a snake? Don't have such high expectations of me, okay? So you're riding one because you can't?"

She was brought by Nie Zhao when she arrived, and by Yu Xintang when she left.

No one was favored, and no one was spared.

Tan Suiting changed the subject: "Tell me what you want to play first."

"Yesterday when we left the mansion, we overheard a few people discussing that Wushan Tower has been open to the public for the past few days, and there's something really, really, really special—" Shen Chunri drew circles with his hands, his expression excited and a little lewd, "a rare performance called Wushan Meeting."

Xie Weixing leaned against Tan Suiting's chest, raising an eyebrow slightly: "Didn't you say you woke up this morning to find our room empty, got extremely anxious, and went out with the servants to look for us? Turns out you two idiots went to a brothel?"

Nie Zhao turned his gaze over, chuckled, and watched how they would try to argue.

"We've searched everywhere and still can't find them, so how else can we look? Little Snake and I can figure out with our bare hands that you two went on a date again," Yu Xintang said nonchalantly. "One is a Taixu Realm cultivator, and the other is a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator who can fight a Taixu Realm cultivator. Do we really need to protect you like you're little babies? Little Dragon is still a child, and Xie Weixing, what's with all the fragility of a lion? Touch your conscience when you say things like that."

Xie Weixing froze.

He can't stand hearing things like "Tan Suiting is not yet an adult."

"Snakes don't have legs! You two are just perverts!" Xie Weixing sneered, raising his hand to touch his chest. "It doesn't hurt, it feels very comfortable, both the elderly and children like it. My pectoral muscles are actually quite well-developed."

Yu Xintang and Shen Chunri were so disgusted that they got goosebumps all over their bodies.

"Anyway, it's definitely going to be a lot of fun!" Shen Chunri said. "And they only give out one hundred jade seals a day. So many people have money but can't buy them anywhere. It's bound to be incredibly fun. We haven't been there yet, isn't that a shame!"

Xie Weixing raised an eyebrow.

After a moment's thought, Nie Zhao finally spoke, uttering those four words: "Since we're already here, why not?"

"The problem is," Tan Suiting looked up, "how can we get in without the jade seal? What if Master finds out we're going to visit a brothel and skip out on the bill?"

A slight smile played on his lips, his expression a mixture of tension and sincerity: "I really will be beaten to death."

"Tsk," Shen Chunri waved his hand, "You underestimate me—"

Yu Xintang raised an eyebrow: "Hmm?"

Shen Chunri quickly changed the subject: "Young Master Yu is too young."

Tan Suiting followed her gaze and asked calmly, "What heinous thing have you done this time?"

"What are you saying? Looking down on me?" Yu Xintang rolled his eyes and, as if by magic, pulled out five thin jade pieces that looked like talismans from somewhere. "A mere Wushan Tower jade seal, that's nothing, it can come whenever I want."

The speed of the talisman cultivator's hands is terrifying.

Xie Weixing perked up a bit: "You actually managed to get it? Young Master is awesome!"

Yu Xintang twirled her long, slender fingers, her expression smug: "Praise me more, I haven't heard enough."

"How did you get it?" Nie Zhao asked. "Did you steal it while you were fast enough? If your senior uncle knew you used the speed of practicing talisman drawing to steal things, he would beat you to death."

"No, no, we have our bottom line," Shen Chunri said. "That's just how Tangtang is, that's how she is."

She made a few faces with her mouth crooked and eyes squinting, then shrugged and said, "That's it."

Everyone: ...

Tan Suiting calmly asked, "Are you pretending to be ghosts to scare people?"

Judging from this, Shen Chunri's bottom line is comparable to the little dragon doll in his room.

...Hmm. Not that hard.

Yu Xintang:.

His life has been ruined by long, crawling creatures.

"Oh no!" Shen Chunri exclaimed anxiously, tugging at Yu Xintang's sleeve. "Quick, quick, Yu Xintang, give us a performance."

Yu Xintang was nearly pulled off her horse by her. After regaining her balance, she flew into a rage: "Shen Xiaoshe! You're getting a little too excited!"

Shen Chunri froze, looking completely innocent: "Oh... hurry up and perform!"

Xie Weixing's lips twitched as he wondered in his mind when these two idiots had contracted their stupidity, and now they were both more brain-dead than the other.