Wait a minute, where is my master?

Mr. Zhu was ultimately stopped.

Standing in the center of the rear hall, Song Xili deeply regretted that if the pigeon carrying the message had not been captured by Mei Shouyi, none of today's troubles would have arisen.

"Chuanren, the Taiji Bull's forebears perished in the war between the immortals and demons, and afterward, the temple master entrusted it to me. It was difficult for me to kill it. Furthermore, about Mr. Lan's incident, we had the temple master investigate it later, and it turned out to be a misunderstanding after all."

Mr. Song spoke in a gentle tone, trying to soothe him.

"But you deceived Fairy Lan, you clearly said that after the ox was expelled from the academy, you personally killed it!"

Zhu Chuanren shouted loudly.

"You know what temper Mr. Lan has, if I hadn't said that back then, she would have taken matters into her own hands! There wouldn't have been any investigation by the temple master afterward."

"True, Elder Zhu, have you forgotten how badly Boss Song was beaten back then? It was only after that he began the dual cultivation of Body Refinement."

Mei Shouyi had to bring up what should not have been mentioned.

"...shut up."

Song Xili waved his hand at him, signaling him to return to his seat.

He then continued in a placating tone to Mr. Zhu, "Chuanren, you know how badly I was beaten because of that misunderstanding back then.

Decades have passed since that incident, do you really have the heart to see me get seriously injured again?

We three have weathered countless storms together over thousands of years. Though not blood brothers, we are closer than that. After all, the misunderstanding has been cleared up. Whether that bull lives or dies, I believe Mr. Lan doesn't care either. It's better to let bygones be bygones."

Mr. Zhu fell silent for a long while, apparently pondering Song Xili's words.

In the end, he sighed deeply,

"Ah~~~ alright, you make a good point. I shall keep this secret for you."

It seemed that Mr. Zhu chose brotherhood over an unrequited love for a goddess, spanning thousands of years.

"Is that truly so?"

Mr. Song remained somewhat skeptical.

"Indeed it is true. I am not Mei, I am a man of my word."

Sitting nearby, Mei Shouyi, finding himself unjustly implicated, opened his mouth to respond.

However, he was silenced by a piece of throwing paper that Song Xili nonchalantly tossed at his face, temporarily stopping him from speaking,

"Alright, then I believe you."

Considering Mr. Zhu's usual character, Song Xili chose to trust him.

Having said that, he released the arm that had been gripping Zhu Chuanren's neck, letting him go.

Song Xili had been physically preventing him all this time.

Once released, Mr. Zhu stood up straight, took a few deep breaths, shook his slightly swollen neck, and returned to his original seat.

Spiritual Sense secretly stretched into his storage ring.

Song Xili looked suspiciously at him but seeing no signs of him intending to send messages elsewhere, he relaxed and returned to the main seat at the rear hall, settling back down.

The three resumed discussing the patrols within the borders of Qing State.

However, Song Xili couldn't shake the occasional chill creeping up his spine.

If Jin Xu were present, he'd definitely be able to see a big "dangerous" sign above the other's head with his Spiritual Eyes.

...

Near Qingmu City, a village.

The dark night made the moon and stars particularly prominent. The quiet summer night was occasionally pierced by the chirping of cicadas and insects.

The atmosphere felt somewhat pleasant.

However, at the village entrance, the hearts of Jin Xu, the two women, and the ox were extremely complex.

They had been waiting there for an afternoon and half a night already.

The elderly men and women at the village entrance, whom they had frightened away with canes, had gone home to sleep. The villagers, who had initially been curiously spectating, had lost interest.

Yet, Song Xili had not arrived.

If they continued to wait, even Little White might end up luring away all the dogs kept by the villagers!

At the village entrance.

The Taoist seated cross-legged suddenly felt that familiar surging sensation within him again, and after a burst of golden light across his body, he slowly opened his eyes.

He had just broken through in his cultivation, but where was Mr. Song?

With this question in mind, Jin Xu turned to look at the Taiji Bull beside him.

"Cough, Young Taoist, I guess the master must have been held up by something. Usually, as soon as the crow is released, he arrives within two hours. Maybe, we should wait a bit longer."

The Milk Cow Demon trembled fearfully, for the terrifying fluctuation of the golden spiritual power from Jin Xu had truly scared his little heart.

"You said that in the evening."

The young Taoist said expressionlessly as he stood up from the ground, patting the dust off his Taoist robe.

Then he realized there were too many weeds on him, so he decisively cast the "Body Purification Skill" on his robe.

The dark Taoist robe instantly became clean and tidy.

"Young Taoist, I swear, whenever I released the crow in the past, my master really did come to rescue within two hours. Today... I really don't know what's going on!"

Taiji Bull thought for a moment and felt that kneeling might show his sincerity better, so he chose to kneel and explain to Jin Xu.

The young Taoist, seeing him kneel so decisively, was somewhat at a loss for words.

Just then, in the village, Little White came trotting over, followed by a large group of dogs of various colors: black, white, and yellow.

"Temple master, I've got all the village dogs to follow me!"

The Husky looked excited, perhaps influenced by her identity as the daughter of the Snow Wolf Clan Leader, which gave her the heart of a wolf king wherever she went.

"...Quickly put them back, we've got things to do and can't take them with us. Little Yu, you supervise her."

Jin Xu, not entirely trusting Little White, also called Yu Yaoer, who had also been sitting cross-legged in cultivation nearby, to go with her.

After all, spending a night at the village gate, and then having the villagers wake up the next day to find all their dogs gone, what a dilemma!

"Oh, alright, temple master."

Little White looked disappointed.

"Alright, young master!"

Yu Yaoer stood up, dusting off the weeds from her body, and led Little White to return the dogs to each household in the village.

The Little Fish Demon also wanted the young Taoist to use the "Body Purification Skill" to clean the dust from his robe, but considering the embarrassing side effects of the magic, she ultimately didn't bring herself to suggest it.

Two hours later.

Yu Yaoer came back with Little White, and this time they returned clean, without any followers.

But Little White was holding a big pile of dried meats and hams in her hands.

"Hm? What are these?"

Jin Xu frowned, staring at the items.

"Young master, the dogs were very reluctant to part with Little White, so they especially brought things from their homes as farewell gifts for her."

"..."

Spending a night at the village gate, and then having the villagers wake up the next day to find all their dried meat gone, this wasn't good either!

However, the young Taoist didn't want to delay any longer, allowing them to return the meat house by house might just cause more trouble!

With that thought, he took out a cotton-wrapped package from his storage treasure and handed it to Yu Yaoer.

"Use magic to distribute the contents of this package to the villagers, and when it's done, we won't wait any longer but head straight to Qingmu City."

The package contained yellow and white items that were part of the loot collected from the Groundhog Demon Kings of Ten Bamboo Cave.

There are still dozens of these packages in Jin Xu's storage treasure.

A moment later.

Yu Yaoer cast her magic, completing the distribution of gold and silver.

Jin Xu activated his golden spiritual power, enveloping the four of them, not giving Taiji Bull another chance to speak, and shot up into the sky like a cannonball, heading towards Qingmu City!

No matter if Song Xili comes or not, they wouldn't wait!

As for the Milk Cow Demon, they would deal with it once they reached Qingmu City.

And he wondered if Jiang Xiulan would cook a roasted beef steak...