The air was fresh, and the entire Moonlit Domain gleamed with a rich, vibrant Qi that made it look utterly beautiful to humans or any race not used to this scene, the scent of Moira flowers filled with air and the scenery felt like heaven.
"How's it going, Red-Eye Brute?" a melodious voice came from a tall stone beside a lake. Its origin was a young fairy who seemed very gorgeous; it was Mu Xiaolu.
"Who's that??" Feng Wuji asked as he lay in the lake with only his pants, soaking and washing himself.
Mu Xiaolu humphed, crossed her arms, and said, "You, of course! And hey, how are you gonna repay me for trying to kill me?"
"But I didn't, though," Feng Wuji smirked. "So why do I owe you something??"
Mu Xiaolu's face became flushed with anger!! "You shameless humans!!!! What about the emotional scar you gave me? Sister Su Mei, tell this Red-Eye Brute to repay me!"
"Hahahaha, Su Mei can't force me to give you anything," Feng Wuji laughed.
Mu Xiaolu screamed, "Su Mei!! Tell Red-Eyes to pay for my mental scars!" She flew towards Su Mei, who was on the other side of the lake.
Su Mei sat on a rock at the other end of the lake and looked at the scene before her with helplessness. These two had been going at it for a while now, and they were disturbing her. Especially that bastard Feng Wuji, who was half-naked. Her face turned red.
"Feng Wuji, wear some clothes, damnit! No one wants to see your undeveloped body!?" she shouted.
Mu Xiaolu was stunned. Why did Su Mei suddenly scream?? "Sister Su Mei, why is your face red??"
Su Mei's cheeks became redder as she quickly dived into the water to avoid this shame.
"Hahaha, you don't like what you see?? Little girl," Feng Wuji laughed joyously. It had been a while since he had fun like this. Everyone in his sect treated him like a god, and since he entered this cursed land, he hadn't had a moment of rest. He felt incredibly relaxed.
Su Mei's head popped out of the water. "Not really," she smirked, but internally she was in chaos. She had never seen a man bare-chested before, and it was doing something to her. She felt strange. What is this feeling?? she thought.
Feng Wuji retorted, "You're sure?? Cause you're practically ogling at my body, haha."
Su Mei's cheeks were still flushed. "You bastard!!!" She raised her hands and sent a wave of flames charging at him.
Feng Wuji used his Qi to control some water to douse the flames and continued his verbal attack on her.
Mu Xiaolu watched this strange situation going on in front of her with confusion.
---
After a while, the three of them retreated into a room in the large tree they saw when they first entered the Moonlit Domain.
"So we're departing tomorrow," Feng Wuji said, his brows wrinkled.
"Yes, you are going to collect the sap of the Ever-Green Tree at dawn," Mu Zheng answered.
"Why are they going so early??" Mu Xiaolu asked.
Mu Zheng looked at her with a bored expression. "Well, some strange sounds have been coming from the location of the Ever-Green Tree, and the Matriarch feels they should retrieve the sap earlier to prevent any accidents."
"Ohh, isn't that dangerous?" Mu Xiaolu asked.
Mu Zheng's eyes squinted. "That's none of your business!" He looked at Su Mei and continued, "You two should have some rest now so you can be prepared for tomorrow's voyage."
Su Mei sighed, her eyes drooping. "Indeed, we should." Su Mei felt as if her fun had been cut short.
"Can I go with them??"
SILENCE!!
Everyone was stunned.
"What did you say??" Mu Zheng asked.
Mu Xiaolu took a deep breath. "They barely know the way to the tree. I know the entire domain like the back of my hand and can lead them to it faster."
Mu Zheng facepalmed and looked at her with a burning gaze. "No!!" he said calmly.
Mu Xiaolu's face turned into a pleading one. "But....."
"Stop. He's right," Feng Wuji said. "It's in a territory that's dangerous for fairies, and I don't want you in danger."
Mu Xiaolu looked at Su Mei, who just avoided her gaze. She sobbed and flew out of the room in a flash.
Mu Zheng smirked at Feng Wuji. "It's good you know your position and persuaded her from following you."
Feng Wuji's eyes glinted, but he just stayed quiet, treating Mu Zheng's words like air.
Mu Zheng didn't say anything else; he just flew out of the room, leaving two anxious teenagers alone.
"I'm scared."
Feng Wuji looked at Su Mei and shifted closer to her. "Why?"
Su Mei looked up and met his gaze. "Well, it's obvious that the place they're sending us to is very dangerous, and I can't shake this feeling that something will go wrong."
Feng Wuji sighed. He lifted his arms and placed them on Su Mei's back, patting her. "Don't worry. There's obviously something fishy about the area they're sending us to, but we'll deal with it. And don't forget, there's an elder watching over us."
Su Mei froze when she felt Feng Wuji's touch. It was soothing and strange; his pats were so comforting, and she felt safe in his arms. His voice was calm and melted all her worries away. "You're right. And besides, we still have our teleportation tokens to flee in case of danger."
"Yeah," Feng Wuji replied as he stared into the distance.
Su Mei looked at Feng Wuji worriedly and asked, "How much longer can you suppress the baleful Qi for?"
Feng Wuji smiled, the smile felt a little bland, as if it was made with pain. "I don't know, but I think I can hold on for about three days because of the Cleansing Dew that helped me suppress the Qi."
Su Mei bit her lips. "What if we just go back and forfeit this trial? You need help, and only your sect can give such help to you right now."
Feng Wuji looked at her. "I can't, though. I have too many responsibilities and hopes on my shoulders. If I give up now, I'll be nothing more than a failure and bring a bad reputation to my sect."
Su Mei replied, "It's true, but you sh....."
"Hush, forget it," Feng Wuji smiled bitterly. "I'm not going back."
Su Mei sighed. "Okay, then." Her body quivered a little, and she smacked her head. "Why didn't I remember sooner?"
"Remember what?"
Su Mei tapped her storage ring, and a book came out. She scrolled to the part where she found info about the Moira Fairies and said, "Ah ah!! I forgot we could've checked info about this so-called Ever-Green Tree and its territory!"
"Oh, that's true," Feng Wuji said. He removed his hands from Su Mei's back and used his finger to trace the words written in the book.
Su Mei's body shook when she felt him remove his hands; she felt a little disappointed. But she removed that thought and focused on the book before her.
"It says here that the Ever-Green Tree is located at the heart of the Moonlit Domain, in a mountain range. And it has a special kind of naturally formed array that blocks spirits of nature and fairies from going in, but it doesn't have many high-level beasts and is generally a safe space."
Feng Wuji sighed, bored. "See, I told you it'll be alright. Let's retire for tonight, and we'll meet tomorrow morning to discuss other things."
"Ohh, okay then. See you tomorrow," Su Mei said. She stood up and flew to her room, and Feng Wuji did the same.
They both knew they had to get enough quality rest since another quest was going to begin the next day.
---
At Saint Mu Xia's palace (Moira Nature Spirit), she was in thought as she looked at her hands worriedly.
Mu Zheng entered and bowed. "Greetings, Saint."
She waved her hands, signaling him to rise. "And how is it??" she asked, her voice shaking a little.
Mu Zheng sighed and took a deep breath. "I'm afraid the worst has come, my Saint. Mu Xiaolu is bonded with the female human, and it's a level seven blood bond."
"Damnit!!" Mu Xia grunted and squeezed the armrest of her throne until it bent, her finger marks shining clearly on it.
"And there's no way we can destroy this bond??" she asked, her eyes brimming with the light of hope.
"I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do. The level of the bond is too high, my Saint," Mu Zheng doused cold water on the small flames of hope she had.
"Get out!!!" she screamed.
Mu Zheng's face became cold for a second before it returned to normal. "But my Saint, we..."
"Out!!!! NOW!!" Mu Xia looked at him with such a chilly expression that Mu Zheng felt his blood go cold.
"Yes, my Saint," he said calmly as he flew away from the palace.
As he left, Mu Xia's body slumped into the throne as she lost her chilly expression and looked helpless. "Human bastards. They took Ming'er, and now they want my Xiaolu?? I won't allow it!!" She sobbed for a while and got lost in thought. Soon, her eyes became chilly once more as she made up her mind, and her eyes glinted as a cold smirk planted itself on her lips.