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Song Chi went down the mountain with Mo Feiyun, first stopping at Immortal Cloud Pavilion for a meal. It was probably an expensive place, since Immortal Cloud Pavilion was one of White River City's most famous restaurants.

Mo Feiyun merely flicked a token from his sleeve onto the table. The serving girl immediately broke into a smile and addressed him as the Sixth Young Master. From then on, every dish was prepared with even greater care.

Seeing Song Chi's curious expression, Mo Feiyun offered a brief explanation.

“Immortal Cloud Pavilion belongs to the Mo family.”

Song Chi understood at once. This was the extravagance of a wealthy young master. The Mo family was indeed one of the great clans of the southeast, one of the Eight Great Cultivation Families.

In truth, Mo Feiyun was nothing like the tortured, brooding figure Song Chi had initially imagined. He simply could not stand the atmosphere in his family. His parents had married as social equals, treating each other with the courtesy and respect of honored guests, yet each secretly loved someone else. After his father took the woman he loved as a concubine, Mo Feiyun had left home without a word. Alone, he crossed the southern end of the East Pole Continent, traveling countless miles to seek a master at the Azure Sword Sect.

Venerable Jade Balance had been an old friend of Mo Feiyun's mother.

The day Song Chi accepted her master, Mo Feiyun had appeared worn and weathered, dressed in slightly faded white robes. It was only because he had encountered a dangerous illusionary realm and exhausted every means to escape from it. He had even lost his storage ring. Covered in grime, he had pawned his jade pendant, bought a random set of clothes from a roadside stall, and gone straight to the sect to seek admission.

All the things she had imagined back then had been pure nonsense. This was not some embittered young nobleman fallen on hard times. He remained precious and extraordinary.

As for the wealth of Immortal Cloud Pavilion, Song Chi was not intimidated by it. Moreover, Mo Feiyun had probably realized that she loved meat. Of the seven or eight dishes, all but two basins of vegetables were meat. The vegetables were wonderfully fresh as well, and she enjoyed them all.

So she made no effort to be restrained and ate to her heart's content.

After the meal, they drank a little tea. Along the outskirts of White River City, fireworks began to thunder, and the entire city sprang to life. The Lantern Festival had magnificently begun.

Mo Feiyun rose and turned toward the window, assuming an expectant stance.

Song Chi understood. This was a custom in the cultivation world. Whenever her parents went out to eat, her father would also turn his back and look out the window, giving her mother time to touch up her makeup.

Mo Feiyun was leaving her time to freshen up, but what makeup did she need?

When he saw that she had not moved, he turned his head toward her in confusion.

“I don't have any cosmetics. Even my lip rouge was borrowed from Senior Sister Xi Ya.” In truth, it had been forcibly applied to her. She had given the scented powder her family sent her to Senior Sister An Yu. She genuinely had none of her own.

Mo Feiyun nodded at that.

Then they went downstairs. They had not walked even two streets when, to Song Chi's astonishment, Mo Feiyun took her to the finest cosmetics shop in the city, Fragrant Clouds Garden. The boy even knew enough to compare the colors with her complexion before selecting two sets of cosmetics.

They were not outrageously expensive, but they were certainly not cheap. Song Chi's few thousand mid-grade spirit stones would never have been enough to buy even one set.

When Song Chi said she did not need cosmetics, Mo Feiyun ignored her and had the shopkeeper wrap them up. He deliberately left out one box of lip rouge, handed it to her, and once again turned to look out the window.

Since they were seated in a private room on the second floor, no one else was nearby. His posture still meant to give her time to apply it.

Song Chi was speechless. Still, she humored him and put on the lip rouge. Its color was quite close to what she had been wearing before.

Mo Feiyun turned to glance at her, then quickly shifted his gaze away. The two of them went downstairs, only for him to lead her to Treasure Phoenix Pavilion after crossing another street.

It was a jewelry shop.

He had probably noticed that she wore only a plum-patterned gold hairpin in her bun and found her appearance too plain. Thus, the young master of the prestigious Mo family intended to display the full authority of a domineering noble heir—

Buy, buy, buy!

In the novel, Mo Feiyun had indeed bought the original owner scented powder and pearl hairpins.

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As soon as Mo Feiyun entered Treasure Phoenix Pavilion, he glanced twice at her hair. He ordered a set of butterfly-shaped gold hairpins suited to her hairstyle, along with several beautiful ornaments shaped like golden plum blossoms. He then bought another set of jewelry suitable for a plain-colored fan inlaid with pearls and jade.

He must have known that she liked wearing white.

As for the two sets of jewelry he chose, they truly suited Song Chi's taste. They were not particularly expensive, either. They were not defensive treasures enhanced with immortal techniques. Those would have cost far too much, and Song Chi would never have agreed to let him buy them.

Thus, to give the domineering young master his due, she accepted these two sets.

Mo Feiyun once again held his fan and turned his back toward the window. He did not turn around until Song Chi had selected two small floral ornaments and fastened them in her hair. Only then did he descend with her.

To be fair, Mo Feiyun's quiet temperament was rather comfortable to be around.

The original owner had certainly chosen well. If the novel had not made it perfectly clear that every tender feeling in Mo Feiyun's heart belonged to the heroine, and that he was hopelessly devoted to her, Song Chi might have thought that, if she ever had to find a partner, someone like Mo Feiyun would be an excellent choice.

The two of them could live together in serene tranquility, finding extraordinary comfort in one another's company.

But there were simply too many “ifs.”

Before long, beneath the splendid lanterns glowing among the ten-li plum groves beside White River Lake, they would encounter Immortal Master Mo Shubai and the heroine, Cui Xueren, who had arranged to admire the lanterns together.

Mo Feiyun's heart would immediately be filled with sorrow, and he would fall silent for the rest of the journey.

Song Chi was now somewhat worried. She might not feel particularly sad at all. In that case, everything she had done today would amount to nothing more than an elaborate, ill-conceived scheme. Not only would it fail to produce the desired emotions, it might even create trouble through unnecessary rumors.

Mo Shubai watched as the green and violet figures gradually merged into the crowd, where drifting plum blossoms and crimson lantern light mingled together.

Only then did he slowly reveal himself.

Naturally, their paths had crossed by coincidence. The road those two had taken simply happened to be the one he wished to follow.

So he had accidentally witnessed everything from beginning to end. What a coincidence.

He had originally worried that Ye Qingyu and those other boys would completely ruin this perfectly good date. Who could have expected that the three of Su Yu would not help Ye Qingyu and the others steal someone away as they had before, but would instead serve as guardians this time?

Perhaps the tranquil companionship between those two was so peaceful that no one could bear to disturb it.

That said, they were hardly sweet or affectionate. Most of the journey passed in silence, with only the occasional exchange of glances.

When they wandered through various shops, each simply examined the things that interested them.

At the cosmetics shop, Mo Feiyun chose the cosmetics while Song Chi accepted them without hesitation. The same happened at the jewelry shop.

To an outsider, the two might have seemed like childhood friends who had known each other for years—or perhaps a married couple of many years—simply because their time together was so quiet and effortless.

Even now, as they walked through the crowd admiring the lanterns, their silhouettes appeared utterly relaxed. The young man from the Mo family was naturally somewhat wary of the few people lurking in the shadows and plotting mischief.

Song Chi, who knew nothing of this, remained completely at ease. She held a jade-boned fan behind her back, her gaze gliding over the roadside vendors. At times she would tilt her face upward and close her eyes, allowing the wind to carry plum petals across her cheeks before they fluttered away. Then she would smile faintly.

The smile was exceptionally clear and tranquil.

She might not have known that this was perhaps the very reason those boys had fallen for her.

Even Shen Wenyuan revealed himself at that moment, his expression approving.

“That child is elegant and untainted. Such a rare disposition.”

He had likely received instructions from Venerable Paulownia and come to help this junior brother of his, Ye Qingyu, steal someone away. Naturally, Mo Shubai had made a few small efforts to stop him along the way.

The Plum Shadow Pavilion they had reserved stood beside White River Lake. At that moment, Song Chi pointed toward the pleasure boat on the lake with her jade fan and asked—

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“Why don't we take a boat?”

Mo Feiyun immediately waved toward an exquisite pleasure boat painted bright red. The boat quickly approached the shore.

From their seats on the second floor of the Plum Shadow Pavilion, they would be able to overlook the scenery of White River Lake. Thus, both of them decided that they might as well go upstairs and drink.

They had only walked a few steps and had not yet reached the Plum Shadow Pavilion when a soft, shy voice came from behind them.

“Immortal Master!”

A girl in pink, her robes stirring in the wind, emerged from the plum grove. Her hibiscus-like face was extraordinarily beautiful.

Who else could it be but Cui Xueren?

The surprise and shyness in her eyes, along with the courage she had summoned, nearly made Mo Shubai take half a step backward.

“Since Brother Shubai already has an appointment…”

Seeing the young princess of the Cloud Scripture Holy Land approach, her face flushed with shyness yet her bearing still light and graceful, Shen Wenyuan had immediately begun to say those words.

But at the pleading look from his friend, he stopped.

Shen Wenyuan sighed inwardly. This man truly had not had an easy time of it. Five years ago, the Orchid Fairy had nearly suffered cultivation deviation for his sake, and her cultivation had even fallen by an entire major realm. If not for the secret medicine of the Cloud Scripture Holy Land, she might have died in the prime of her beauty.

That was why Brother Shubai had been so melancholy these past few years. He avoided women almost entirely, and even the attendants around him had all been replaced with male disciples.

But with a face so fair and divine, even a heart cold as ice could not prevent women from throwing themselves at him like moths to a flame.

Ordinary female disciples were constrained by their talent and status, so they only dared to admire him in secret. The young woman from the Cloud Scripture Holy Land was clearly different.

Compared with her aunt, the Orchid Fairy, who had only dared to hide her feelings and remain friends with Brother Shubai, this seventeen-year-old girl was much more passionate and direct. She displayed remarkable courage.

“Immortal Master, they're over there, Senior Brother Mo.”

As the three of them from Shen Wenyuan's side walked toward the Plum Shadow Pavilion, they heard Song Chi's calm voice by the lake.

Her gaze slid briefly toward Mo Shubai and Cui Xueren, then flicked toward Mo Feiyun.

Although her eyes were perfectly tranquil, Shen Wenyuan inexplicably felt that the girl had probably imagined far more than she should have.

Of course, his friend's slightly awkward expression also made Shen Wenyuan smile.

So, boy, you have your day too!

Cui Xueren's little face, as delicate as a begonia, was flushed a drunken crimson. She practically fled into the Plum Shadow Pavilion. Yet even in her shyness, she could not bear to miss this beautiful evening—or this unexpected encounter.

Brother Shubai was bound to have a difficult time from here on.

“The boat is here, Junior Sister Song.”

At Mo Feiyun's urging, Song Chi followed him. He leaped onto the boat first and reached out to pull her aboard.

She had no need of his help and easily jumped onto the boat herself.

It was not a large vessel and could accommodate only four people, but it was clean and well kept. The tables and chairs, covered in pale green brocade, were elegant and comfortable. The boatman stood at the bow, rowing, while a young girl placed a pot of wine before the two of them and then went to the front as well.

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