After just a moment of thought, Mo Tiange already made a decision inside. She looked up and said, “Master, I want to go.”

Lord Daoist Jinghe wasn’t at all surprised by her decision. With a nod, he said, “Master naturally won’t stop you if you want to go, but you must make proper preparations beforehand.”

This point was precisely what Mo Tiange was worried about. “Master, I have yet to refine my natal magic weapon, and I’ve just formed my Gold Core—my abilities in fights of magical power are a bit weak, so what should I do?”

Lord Daoist Jinghe effortlessly pointed at Qin Xi. “Then go with your senior martial brother. At least someone will look after you.”

Mo Tiange was startled. “Master, aren’t you going to go too?”

Before Lord Daoist Jinghe could answer, Qin Xi already spoke. “Master’s a Nascent Soul cultivator. He has a group of close friends who invited him; he’ll naturally go with them. It’d be inconvenient for him to take us along.”

They’d long familiarized themselves with cultivation level restrictions on different areas of the mountain after so many years. Nascent Soul cultivators like them would naturally go to areas with more treasures, which were consequently more dangerous areas.

Mo Tiange immediately understood, but she then asked again: “Aside from Senior Martial Brother Shoujing, are there any other senior martial brothers or sisters going with us?”

Lord Daoist Jinghe said, “Danger lurks everywhere on Demonic Mountain. Even if everyone wanted to go, the school wouldn’t let them all go. Besides, for us cultivators from a cultivation group, if our cultivation is progressing smoothly, we have no need whatsoever to go to such a dangerous place just to look for some fated chances.” He then shot her a glance. “If Master didn’t understand how you’re related to Demonic Mountain, Master also wouldn’t allow you to go.”

Seeing Mo Tiange’s downcast head made Lord Daoist Jinghe flare up. “What are you so aggrieved for? Could it be that you want a whole bunch of people accompanying you?”

“I don’t!” Mo Tiange immediately looked up, looking somewhat at a loss. “I was just thinking about what I should do. Master, you’re overthinking!”

“…” Lord Daoist Jinghe kept glaring at her for a while before he spoke again. “This time, the only Nascent Soul cultivators from the school who are going are just me and your Martial Uncle Huayan. As for the Core Formation cultivators, some are going, but your senior martial brother likes quiet. He’s not happy about traveling with too many people. Regarding what you should do, you better just ask him.”

Dumbfounded, Mo Tiange couldn’t help but direct her eyes at Qin Xi. His gaze remained fixated at the teacup in his hands. It was as if he hadn’t heard anything.

She hesitated for a moment but eventually asked: “Master, I… won’t I drag Senior Martial Brother Shoujing down?” She just formed her Gold Core and she didn’t have a natal magic weapon yet, so she’d inevitably be weak in fights of magical powers. If they journeyed together, he’d certainly be burdened by her.

“It doesn’t matter.” It was Qin Xi who answered. He still didn’t look at her, and his tone was also extremely flat. “I have my own plans on who I’ll go with. You don’t have to worry about this.”

“…” Although she originally still had some sympathy for him, a trace of anger emerged in Mo Tiange’s heart upon hearing him talking like that. Such an arbitrary attitude—he actually had no intentions of considering her as his companion!

She was well aware that her cultivation level and abilities were still far inferior to this senior martial brother, but this attitude of his… He obviously put her under his protection only because master entrusted her to him. The feeling of having to depend on others… she really hated it!

Mo Tiange’s expression was very unsightly. Qin Xi didn’t see it, but Lord Daoist Jinghe did. He shot a ferocious glare at Qin Xi then immediately said to Mo Tiange: “Tiange, Master has discussed this matter with your senior martial brother, and we already have a plan. Rest assured.”

She naturally understood that Lord Daoist Jinghe clearly intended to take the blame, so out of consideration for her master, she also couldn’t say anything about the matter. She only said, “Since Master and senior martial brother have thought about it, I won’t meddle much.”

Upon seeing her being so tactful, Lord Daoist Jinghe heaved a sigh in relief. From inside his collar, he took out several Jade Slips and a map and gave them to her. “Since you’ve decided to go, you better familiarize yourself with Demonic Mountain. This map was purchased by Master from Tiandao Sect with a lot of money—you should study it properly. And there’s also these. These are records from many great cultivators of previous generations—they can be used as a reference. Go back and take a look at them. If anything else happens, Master will send someone to inform you.”

“Yes.” These things couldn’t be bought with spirit stones in the outside world. Mo Tiange understood this, so she didn’t want to make things difficult for her master. “Then Disciple will take her leave first.”

The moment Mo Tiange left, Lord Daoist Jinghe immediately wrinkled his brows and threw away the book in his hands. He shouted at Qin Xi: “Brat! You’re trying to anger me to death, aren’t you? Take a look at your attitude!”

“What did I do?” This time, Qin Xi finally raised his head. When he saw how Lord Daoist Jinghe looked at the moment, he was at a loss over what was going on.

Lord Daoist Jinghe was panting with rage. “I didn’t understand what the matter was at first. However, seeing your attitude just now, I finally understand!” Seeing Qin Xi’s unapologetic look enraged him even more, so he continued to shout: “What do you think you said just now? What do you mean you have your own plan and she doesn’t need to worry?”

With a completely puzzled expression on his face, Qin Xi said, “That’s how it really is, what do you want me to say? I’ve long thought the matter through, so she doesn’t have to do anything now.”

“You—” Lord Daoist Jinghe pointed at Qin Xi’s nose then sprang up from his seat and started to walk back and forth. “Stinky brat! Damn brat! Dense brat!”

After cursing at him in all ways possible for a while, Lord Daoist Jinghe finally sat in his seat again, drank a cup of tea and straightened out his breathing. “I originally didn’t understand why you two remained in a deadlock and refused to straighten things out with each other—so the problem’s with your attitude!”

“What’s wrong with me?” Qin Xi looked away, feeling both baffled and unhappy to be criticized like this by Lord Daoist Jinghe.

“What’s not wrong with you?!” Lord Daoist Jinghe raised his voice and glared at him for a while. “Do you not feel like you’ve taken her too lightly? Do you maybe feel that because your cultivation level is higher than hers, you should take on everything yourself?”

Qin Xi was stunned. He said, “Isn’t it supposed to be this way? My cultivation level’s higher than hers and moreover, I’m a man—shouldn’t I protect her?”

“…” Lord Daoist Jinghe didn’t say anything and sank into contemplation. After pondering the matter for a while, he suddenly felt amused and burst out laughing.

He was angry one moment and was laughing in the next, so Qin Xi felt even more baffled. “Master, what are you acting all crazy about?”

Lord Daoist Jinghe held back his laughter and asked him: “I remember before, there was no difference between men and women in your eyes. Even if you traveled with female cultivators, you wouldn’t have wanted to protect them, right?”

Qin Xi wrinkled his brows. “They’re nobody to me. Since people travel together for the same purpose, of course everyone’s equal—why would I have to do a bit more work than the others?”

Lord Daoist Jinghe laughed even more jubilantly. “But you think you should protect her.”

“That’s… Of course.” Not to mention other factors, but if you loved someone, you naturally wanted to protect them.

Lord Daoist Jinghe’s expression suddenly became serious. “But she doesn’t think so.”

Qin Xi was dumbstruck. “What do you mean, Master?”

Thus, for the sake of his disciple’s marriage, Lord Daoist Jinghe once again played matchmaker. “Think about it. You think you’re protecting her, but how would she feel upon hearing what you said? She’s formed her Gold Core; she’s finally in the same realm as you, but you still don’t consider her as an equal cultivator. You take on everything as if she can’t do anything.”

The moment he saw Qin Xi trying to speak, Lord Daoist Jinghe promptly held out his hand to stop him. “Listen to me first! Ask yourself, have you taken her lightly?”

Qin Xi gave it much thought before he spoke: “I… I know she’s extraordinarily talented and her character’s also very decisive. If she was a cultivator from the same year as me, she definitely wouldn’t be inferior to me. However, she hasn’t grown enough after all, so I naturally have to protect her more… Moreover, it’s precisely because she’s growing too fast that I have to walk in front of her even more…”

His answer made Lord Daoist Jinghe extremely satisfied. “Brat, you’ve lived for two hundred years but you’re still so foolish. Fine, Master will explain to you what’s going on! You think you’re a man, so you should be stronger than her to protect her. However, it’s precisely because of this kind of mentality of yours that Tiange feels you’re looking down on her and thinking she’s useless… Don’t you know? She has a proud and rather ambitious character. How can she stand you looking down on her?”

“…” This drenched Qin Xi in a cold sweat. He didn’t dare to say that he indeed looked down on her in the beginning. If he said this, his master would definitely beat him to a pulp. Nevertheless, ever since he realized he had this kind of mentality, he’d been trying his best to abandon it. That was why he thought that if the two of them formed their Nascent Souls, this kind of barrier wouldn’t exist anymore.

But in any case, even if the two of them were already cultivators in the same realm and Tiange progressed enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with him, he still felt that he should stand in front of her as a man. This wasn’t because he was looking down on her, but for his pride as a man, he should at least be able to do something for her.

His expression changed continuously, and his heart was a mess. It took Qin Xi quite a while before he spoke again. “Master, everything you said isn’t the main point. Since she doesn’t have me in her heart, would her good perception of me make any difference? I… don’t hope for anything. I just want to form my Nascent Soul and wait slowly, maybe…”

As he expected better from Qin Xi, Lord Daoist Jinghe glared at him in exasperation and shouted: “Are you stupid? If you make her unhappy, the good opinion she has of you will deteriorate. Once it’s gone too far, she naturally won’t like you! It’s not Master’s business if you want to wait slowly, but if these ill feelings continue to pile up, she’ll be prejudiced against you in the end. Even if she later finds out everything is only a misunderstanding, it’d still be hard for her to accept you. Understand?!”

Qin Xi seemed to somewhat understand but he was also somewhat confused. He thought for a long time, but his gaze seemed even more bewildered. “Master, why do you know so much? You haven’t performed Dual Cultivation either, right?”

Lord Daoist Jinghe never expected Qin Xi would suddenly bring this up, so he froze for a second. Immediately afterward, a hint of red appeared on his face, and he shouted awkwardly: “Your master, I, am about to be a thousand years old soon—what have I not seen yet? It’s nothing to be surprised at!”

“…” Qin Xi no longer pursued the matter. He dropped his head and continued to think. A while later, he eventually shook his head and said, “I still don’t understand.”

“Then just think until you do!” Lord Daoist Jinghe said while glowering at him, “How can I have two disciples like you guys? Everything about you two is a mess, and seeing you two just makes me worry!”

Once his anger passed, Lord Daoist Jinghe once again approached Qin Xi and said, “Hey, I’m telling you; this is a good opportunity—you better explain and clear up any misunderstandings between you! A kind of dim-witted naive guy who doesn’t understand matters of the heart like you… if you don’t understand something, then just ask directly! Ay~ This is how lovers are! They have something to say but never say it. Really troublesome…”