Chapter 124

It was a chilly night . After all the guests went to bed, Mo Ruyan left her room . She didn’t go down the flight of stairs . She went to the rooftop . From there, she could see everything in the surrounding area . If anything happened, she’d be able to react quickly .

She was holding her spear and wearing a cape . She took out a big gourd . When she opened it, the smell of alcohol filtered out . Mo Ruyan raised her head and brought the gourd to her lips . A hand grabbed the gourd before she could drink .

Mo Ruyan didn’t turn around . She didn’t bother looking at the person . She just put her hands around her knees and looked pensive .

“In the past, an old man told me something . He said traveling around the world is for men . Women should stay at home, have children . They should spend their time taking care of them and their husband,” said Mo Ruyan indifferently .

Mu Yi sat down next to Mo Ruyan on the rooftop after taking the gourd . Mo Ruyan had come up to the roof quietly . Nobody had noticed her but Mu Yi .

Thanks to his special hearing abilities and mind strength, he had noticed . Mo Ruyan hadn’t tried to hide either .

“But in this world, there aren’t many men on which you can rely . Therefore, I prefer relying on myself . I’m a woman, so what? Do you despise woman too?” said Mo Ruyan .

“I never said I despised women . Some time ago, a woman nearly killed me,” said Mu Yi .

“So that woman injured you?” said Mo Ruyan .

“Kind of,” said Mu Yi .

He didn’t feel like explaining what had happened because it was too troublesome . It was useless . Since she had come to that conclusion, why not let her believe that? In any case, his condition was similar to being injured . One more month and he’d be perfectly fine . It wouldn’t have any impact on his life .

“She’s that strong?” Mo Ruyan asked .

She hadn’t thought Mu Yi’s injury was caused by a woman . She was very interested now .

“Yes, extremely strong . You, right now, can’t compete with her at all,” said Mu Yi straightforwardly .

Even though Mo Ruyan was strong . There was still a big difference in strength between her and Qiu Yuetong who had recently had a breakthrough . Even if Mo Ruyan broke through, she might not be able to catch up with Qiu Yuetong, who had an advanced understanding of swordsmanship .

Of course, Mo Ruyan didn’t need to study swordsmanship . She studied the art of the spear . (translator’s note: the art of the spear is the equivalent of Soujutsu in Japanese culture) Nobody could help her with that . She had to rely on herself to advance .

“Is that so? I wish I could try and fight against her,” said Mo Ruyan .

While she was talking, she took back the gourd from Mu Yi’s hands . She took a sip .

“How pleasant!” said Mo Ruyan .

She sounded like an alcoholic . She glanced at Mu Yi .

“Do you want a sip?” she said .

“Nah, I don’t like alcohol,” said Mu Yi shaking his head .

He couldn’t handle alcohol . He didn’t have a habit of drinking either . He had a few sips once in a while thought .

“You don’t drink alcohol at all? Are you not a man?” said Mo Ruyan .

She seemed to have let go of all of her restraints . She looked at Mu Yi from head to toe .

“Maybe…you’re just a little Taoist priest . You don’t have a single hair on you . ” said Mo Ruyan .

Mo Ruyan spent most of her time with male armed escorts . She appeared aloof but it didn’t mean she wasn’t sensitive . At the moment, having Mu Yi next to her reminded her of various things .

She took another sip, as if it was the only thing which could help her forget her fellow armed escorts . She wanted to forget the horrors of that battle . She wanted to forget her responsibilities and the pressure .

“You’re drunk,” said Mu Yi .

Even though Mo Ruyan had only taken two sips, the saying “liquor fails to intoxicate, yet one intoxicates oneself” applied to her situation . (translator’s note: “liquor fails to intoxicate, yet one intoxicates oneself” means that someone isn’t intoxicated because of alcohol but because of one’s worries and problems . It’s a famous Chinese saying)

When under pressure, people could get intoxicated even if they drank water . It was more a psychological issue .

“Maybe . I won’t make fun of you again anyway,” said Mo Ruyan trying to sit upright .

She whispered, “You’re a monk . How could you understand?”

Understand? Understand what?

Mu Yi didn’t ask though . She wasn’t really expecting a response . Mu Yi didn’t know what to say either . Mo Ruyan stopped talking after that . Mu Yi stood up .

“You should have a rest . No need to be exhausted,” he said .

“If anything happens to me tonight, will you help me?” said Mo Ruyan as Mu Yi left .

“I won’t,” said Mu Yi firmly before leaving .

“Petty little boy . No, stinky Taoist priest,” whispered Mo Ruyan .

She sniffled and looked at her gourd . She didn’t feel like drinking anymore . She threw it off the rooftop instead of putting it back . It crashed on the ground somewhere below her and the sound of it breaking filtered up to the roof .

She took a deep breath . Mu Yi went back to his room . He could only shake his head . In his room, Nian Nuer was sitting on Big Slave’s shoulders . When she saw Mu Yi, her eyes sparkled .

“Brother, what took you so long?” she asked .

“Was it long?” asked Mu Yi .

They had just exchanged a few words . Mu Yi didn’t say much . He went and sat on his bed . He took out the Bamboo Tree of Life .

Nian Nuer looked at him . She didn’t wait for him to call her . She went back into the Bamboo Tree of Life without making a sound .

When Nian Nuer went back into the tree, Big Slave looked sad . Mu Yi found his expression amusing .

“If I’m sound asleep tonight and anything happens, go and help her, alright? ”Mu Yi said .

Big Slave made a funny face but it was impossible to tell whether he had understood or not .

Mu Yi focused on the ritual after that . He cut his finger and blood dripped onto the Bamboo Tree of Life . The Bamboo Tree of Life absorbed the blood . After that, Mu Yi released some mind strength which surrounded the Bamboo Tree of Life and started the sacrificial ritual .

Mu Yi’s perceptions continuously improved during the ritual . The connection between him and the Bamboo Tree of Life was growing deeper . Even when he was a dozen meters away from the tree, he could sense anything that happened to the tree . It was as if it had happened to him .

He had never used the Bamboo Tree of Life to fight against enemies . Mu Yi was already convinced that it’d be much more powerful than the Ghost King Banner . Even though it was just a tree, it was almost as hard as diamond even before Mu Yi had started the sacrificial ritual . After the ritual was complete, it would be even stronger and solid .