Marry the Demon Sect Girl with No Bride Price-Chapter 218 - 23: Fellow Daoist, the Night Is Cold and the Heart Is Chilled—Why Not Sit Down and Share a Drink?

Chapter 218: Chapter 23: Fellow Daoist, the Night Is Cold and the Heart Is Chilled—Why Not Sit Down and Share a Drink?

The room suddenly became quiet.

Mo Xiaolan stared blankly at Qiu Zhihe, and Qiu Zhihe also looked steadily at her.

The two women held each other’s gaze for a long time. Mo Xiaolan lowered her head, her slim fingers tightly clutching the hem of her skirt, and finally looked up to say:

"Taoist Friend Qiu, I only seek the Great Dao in this life. I will not indulge in romantic feelings, nor will I walk the path of dual cultivation."

Qiu Zhihe was silent for a moment, then responded faintly:

"My husband said when he met you, it was his most difficult time. He has always been grateful to you, but he knew you wholeheartedly pursued the Dao. So when he decided to find a Taoist partner for dual cultivation, he did not approach you."

Mo Xiaolan’s fingers clutched the skirt even tighter, biting her lower lip, and suddenly let out a bitter laugh:

"Taoist Friend Qin said I helped him through the darkest time in his life, but wasn’t I the same?"

She picked up the teacup, drained it in one gulp, and stared into the empty cup, her eyes misty, her voice turning gentle.

"I was born in a small village outside Yunling Town. That year, spirit beasts turned into demons and wreaked havoc. My parents and sister died, leaving only me in the village."

"A cultivator descended from the sky, killed those demonic beasts, and then flew on a sword to take me to Yunling Town." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"When she left, I asked if I could go with her. She said she sought only the Great Dao in this life and did not want any burdens."

"I remember when she flew away, the sunset in the sky was beautiful, dyeing the clouds red."

"From that day on, I resolved to seek only the Great Dao in this life."

Mo Xiaolan placed the teacup back on the table, her smile growing increasingly bitter:

"It’s just that my innate spirit root was poor, and after more than ten years of effort, I barely reached the third layer of Qi cultivation."

"Every day, I worked hard at my stall, practiced talisman drawing for sale to earn spirit stones, all just to continue cultivating."

"But over the years, I’ve tried to break through to the fourth layer of Qi cultivation over ten times, yet I’ve never succeeded."

Qiu Zhihe looked at Mo Xiaolan in astonishment. She was a rare genius, standing at the pinnacle from a young age, and indeed found it hard to imagine having to attempt over ten times to reach the fourth layer of Qi cultivation.

"When I failed for the sixteenth time, the spirit stones I had worked hard to earn were exhausted. I went to ask the manager at the Flying Post Tower if I could get an advance on my month’s wages, but that manager... wanted to dual cultivate with me instead."

"I refused him. He then publicly accused me of stealing spirit stones and wanted to expel me from the Flying Post Tower."

"That night, I set up my stall at the night market, and Zhou Kun took a liking to me, forcing me to become his concubine. When I refused, he threatened to cut off my livelihood."

"That day was the most desperate day of my life."

"That evening, it was snowing heavily. When I returned to Narrow Rain Lane, I saw Taoist Friend Qin sitting at the noodle stall at the entrance of the alley."

"I thought at the time, ’So there are others like me, who haven’t eaten yet in this cold, snowy night.’

Mo Xiaolan paused, a smile playing on her lips:

"Then, he suddenly looked up at me and said: ’Taoist Friend, the night is cold and our hearts are weary. Why not sit down and share a drink?’

"I thought, ’I don’t even know him, why is he inviting me for a drink?’

Qiu Zhihe said coldly, "Scoundrel!"

Mo Xiaolan laughed: "Yes, I thought the same at the time, but I was really too tired that day and couldn’t walk any further. Someone invited me to sit down, and I couldn’t refuse. That night..."

Mo Xiaolan lowered her head, her fingers slowly relaxing their grip on her skirt, and her smile lost its bitterness.

Across the table, Qiu Zhihe’s ten fingers tightly clutched the hem of her skirt, the fine veins on the back of her hand protruding slightly.

"He bought me a whole jar of wine, and my entire body was no longer cold. Then, I got up to say goodbye."

"But when I reached the door of the house I was renting, I turned around only to find out he actually lived right across from me. His eyes were wide, looking quite amusing."

Mo Xiaolan lifted her hand to cover her mouth, her face, full of heroic spirit, showing a girlish and innocent smile, which painted a picture of how interesting her first meeting with Qin Gengyun must have been.

"Later on, every morning when I went out to run errands as a post house cultivator, I would bump into him."

"Every night when I returned from the night market, I would encounter him as well."

"The times we sat and drank together at the alley entrance also increased."

"One day, he told me he was afflicted with pill poison and could only live until forty. He worked hard every day, earning spirit stones, cultivating, just to remove the pill poison before turning forty."

Mo Xiaolan let out a gentle breath, her eyes regaining their sparkle:

"From that moment on, I no longer felt that my own circumstances were so miserable, because Taoist Friend Qin was in more dire straits than I, yet he never gave up."

"I naturally could not give up either."

"I wanted to improve my cultivation quickly, to earn more spirit stones. If I succeeded in my cultivation, I could help Taoist Friend Qin find the ’Ice Heart Rejuvenation Pill.’"

Suddenly, Qiu Zhihe spoke: "Then why don’t you become his Taoist partner and assist him in dual cultivation?"

Mo Xiaolan was silent for a moment, then smiled: "He never asked me."

Qiu Zhihe was taken aback, and Mo Xiaolan continued: "Because I had told him, in this life I only seek the Great Dao. I see him as a soulmate; he naturally knows that if he asked me, it would put me in a difficult position."

"Soulmate..."

Qiu Zhihe gently bit her lip, her hands beneath the table still tightly clutching the hem of her skirt, and asked:

"If he had asked to marry you at the time, would you have agreed?"

Mo Xiaolan froze, remained silent for a long time, then poured herself a cup of tea and raised it to Qiu Zhihe:

"Luckily, he never asked, otherwise, he would have missed out on the best wife in the world."

"Taoist Friend Qiu, he is fortunate to have married you, and I am happy for him. Though I couldn’t drink at your wedding, today I wish you... a lifetime of happiness together!"

Qiu Zhihe silently watched Mo Xiaolan, seeing her smile like an orchid, her eyes sparkling like stars. After a while, Qiu Zhihe also raised her tea cup.

"Taoist Friend Mo, having a soulmate like you is his blessing."

The two tea cups met with a crisp clink.

Moments later, Mo Xiaolan walked out of Qiu Zhihe’s room, turned to her and asked:

"Taoist Friend Qiu, I’m worried about Xiaoxue and Sister Si’s injuries. Where are they healing? I’d like to check on them."

In the dungeon, Mo Xiaolan was frequently struck by the God-piercing Whip, her body covered in wounds, but strangely, her injuries would always heal within half a day.

During today’s battle, she wasn’t actually injured, though remnants of the poison suppressing her cultivation lingered within her. Luo Wenzhi had led a search at the Chang Mansion for an antidote, promising to deliver it the next day.

So aside from some weakness, Mo Xiaolan was not in bad shape.

However, Si Minglan and Fang Xue, already wounded, had their spiritual energy and primordial yin partially absorbed by an earth mole, making their condition not so good.

Therefore, Mo Xiaolan wanting to visit them was quite reasonable.

Yet Qiu Zhihe hesitated, seeing Mo Xiaolan’s puzzled look, she finally spoke:

"They are upstairs in the Cui Room."

Then handed her the talisman key to the room.

"Thank you, Taoist Friend Qiu."

Mo Xiaolan expressed her thanks, went upstairs, and came to the door of the Cui Room, knocked, but received no response.

Mo Xiaolan hesitated for a moment, used the talisman key to open the door, and gently walked in.

A moment later, she hurried out of the room, closed the door, her cheeks flushing red as she made her escape.