"It's not too much trouble... I can do it myself... Huh? Huh!"
Shen Yebai suddenly moved closer to Qin Moyu and, taking advantage of Qin Moyu's momentary daze, quickly tied up his storage bag: "No trouble at all."
Shen Yebai's movements were too swift and smooth. Before Qin Moyu could react, Shen Yebai had already tied it up, and in the position that Qin Moyu usually hung it in.
Since the knot was already tied, Qin Moyu couldn't say anything.
"Mo Yu, aren't you going to check if anything is missing?" Shen Yebai's lips curled up slightly.
"...No need." Qin Moyu still trusted Shen Yebai, but looking at the distance between herself and Shen Yebai, she fell into deep doubt. "Were we this close before?"
“I don’t mind being closer.” As expected, Shen Yebai saw Qin Moyu’s ears turn red, and he found Moyu even more adorable.
But before he could continue teasing, Master Xuanjing pulled Qin Moyu behind him and stood between the two of them, shamelessly acting as a third wheel. He smiled on the surface but had already cursed Shen Yebai several times in secret: "But I mind."
Shen Yebai gave a forced smile: "You're really meddling in other people's business."
"This is called helping those in need when you see injustice on the road," Master Xuanjing chuckled.
Unseen sparks crackled and burned between the two, while Qin Moyu, the source of all the conflict, silently distanced herself from them.
Qin Moyu: I can't stop these two from fighting.
Fortunately, the two were mindful of their boundaries and glared at each other for a while without actually fighting as Qin Moyu had feared. Qin Moyu was also puzzled. He could get along well with either of them when he was alone, but he didn't know why these two were like enemies as soon as they met, as if they were born to be incompatible.
Seeing that things had calmed down, Xuanqing quickly stepped in to mediate, saying, "It's getting late, let's go inside."
No one objected.
Like the library, the treasure pavilion is equipped with a "fellow villager" formation. However, unlike the undefended library, it is guarded at the entrance and has many traps and mechanisms inside, making it like a maze. People who are not familiar with the area will probably perish on the outer layer. Even if they manage to get through, there are still several formations blocking the way at the end, and they can only pass through with a special token. It can be said that the defense has been taken to the extreme.
Xuan Qing led the way, followed by three others. To prevent Xuan Jing Zhenren and Shen Yebai from having another argument, Qin Moyu walked between them.
The commotion that morning came and went inexplicably. However, it eased Qin Moyu's unease with Shen Yebai. He asked Shen Yebai in a low voice, "Are you really okay coming out like this?"
"It's alright. I told Sect Master Xuanqing that he brought me here."
"Oh, I see." Qin Moyu seemed to understand, but then, remembering Shen Yebai's injured appearance yesterday, she frowned and asked, "And your injury? Is it any better?"
"Of course," Shen Yebai chuckled. "With the pills left by Momo, any injury will be healed."
"Those are pills, not miracle cures that can bring the dead back to life. They're not that magical." Qin Moyu scoffed, seemingly unimpressed by Shen Yebai's sweet talk, though her eyes started darting around again.
Ah, this thing is really pretty. Uh, that one looks nice too.
Shen Yebai smiled without saying a word.
It's unbearable to watch—Master Xuanjing watched the two whispering and interacting, his face full of disgust. He decided that when Qin Moyu returned, he would use his status as an old Taoist priest to give him a serious lecture, and it would be best to make Moyu and Shen Yebai break up completely, so that Shen Yebai could cry then.
Their goal was a box stored in the treasure vault.
The palm-sized box was placed deep inside, protected by multiple arrays. The box was engraved with intricate patterns, and although it was obvious at a glance that it was an old object, it still gave people a sense of weight and mystery.
Qin Moyu felt that the box looked familiar, but she couldn't quite put her finger on where she had seen it before.
Upon seeing the box, Shen Yebai's expression turned serious. He looked at Xuan Qing questioningly, and only after receiving a nod from the other party did he step forward to take the box.
"What is this?" Qin Moyu asked curiously as Shen Yebai put away the box, then looked at Xuanjing Zhenren with a puzzled expression. "Senior, are you going to give this to Yebai?"
This box looks very mysterious and is under heavy protection, so it must be even more extraordinary. Why did Master Xuanjing give it to Ye Bai, whom he dislikes?
"It's not for him, it's for the person behind him," Master Xuanjing said calmly.
Who's behind it? Who is behind it all?
Qin Moyu was completely confused.
Neither of them intended to tell him. Master Xuanjing told him the origin of the box: "This box was left behind by the senior before he disappeared, and it has been kept in Guanlan Sect for a long time."
Qin Moyu looked at the box more carefully, and the more she looked at it, the more familiar it seemed. Finally, she remembered where she had seen this box before—wasn't this the same kind of box that Mo Yuan and Nan Xun were fighting over at the Tengwang Pavilion auction that day?
"Did the senior only leave behind this one box? But how come I saw an identical box at the Tengwang Pavilion auction?" Qin Moyu was quite certain that the two boxes he saw were almost identical. At that time, out of curiosity about what the mysterious box that could be snatched by the villainous protagonist could be used for, he looked at the auction catalog provided by Tengwang Pavilion several times, and he was absolutely sure that he remembered it correctly.
Master Xuanjing was not surprised by this: "There is indeed only one box left in Guanlan Sect, but the senior left three such boxes in total, and the other two have been lost to the outside world."
The box auctioned at Tengwang Pavilion came from the Abyss – the battlefield of the Four Continents War. Why would the Guanlan Sect's items be there?
What's in this box?
“There is a legacy inside the box,” Shen Yebai answered Qin Moyu’s question.
"Inheritance?" Qin Moyu was slightly taken aback.
"Before our senior sought the path to heaven, he traveled throughout the four continents. On his last return to the sect, he left this box behind. He said that if anyone could decipher the secret of the box, they would find the legacy he left behind, which contained all his life's learning. Regardless of whether they were disciples of the Guanlan Sect or not, whoever found it would be that person," said Master Xuanjing.
"Doesn't the Guanlan Sect mind?" Qin Moyu asked, puzzled. If someone who hates the Guanlan Sect happens to obtain the inheritance and break the Guanlan Sect's formation, wouldn't the Guanlan Sect be in danger?
Master Xuanjing smiled bitterly and said, "Of course some people objected, but firstly, the sect was still relying on the senior at the time, and no one dared to stand up and speak out; secondly, the senior never came back after speaking, so the matter was left unresolved."
"Has Guanlan Sect not looked for any other boxes?" Qin Moyu asked.
Speaking of this matter, Master Xuanjing was also quite helpless: "After the news spread, many people were looking for this box. We did try to get it back, but the situation was complicated, and since even our own sect couldn't solve it, we didn't bother looking for the other boxes. Anyway, all three boxes are indispensable. As long as they are placed in the treasure pavilion, the enemy will not be able to get them."
Qin Moyu nodded, then turned to Shen Yebai: "Yebai, can I take a look at the box?"
Perhaps he can see something.
Shen Yebai handed the box to Qin Moyu without hesitation.