Nothing happened all night.
Xie Huayao was like in the past. When the junior sister fell asleep, she would stay by her side, patting her gently and coaxing her. She coaxed Aling like this when she was at home, and she coaxed little Mu Wan when she came to Xue Yanzong. Later, when she grew up and left, she was replaced by Aling.
When she woke up the next day, Mu Wan felt very energetic. It seemed that she hadn't slept well like this for a long time. Before, her head would feel groggy no matter how long she lay in bed. Perhaps when the bitter water is poured out, people feel relaxed. It was already noon, but the surroundings were very quiet. I wonder where they went. But she wasn't worried at all - running around the house didn't matter. She stretched, got dressed, hung up the umbrella bucket, and opened the door.
"Yeah, she's awake!"
Aling, who was building sand dunes with Dai Luan in the yard, suddenly said this. At this time, a group of people came from nowhere, all familiar faces. They stayed far away when talking, for fear of disturbing her. Mu Wan was surrounded by a group of old friends and was a little at a loss for the moment.
"I, what, I haven't washed my face yet... Hey, why are you still watching the fun!"
Shan Hai, with his hands behind his back, stood far away from Xie Huayao and a few older brothers, smiling and saying nothing. It seems that some of her situation was exposed to the world by him and Senior Sister Yao early in the morning. More than a dozen people gathered around them enthusiastically, asking all kinds of questions, which made her a little overwhelmed. After watching the excitement for a while, the two men finally came to the rescue.
"She hasn't rested well yet. If anything happens, I'll ask you later. She must appreciate your kindness."
"Yeah, it's been a long journey."
Dai Luan muttered quietly to the side, but it didn't last long.
Although Mu Wan was in a hurry, he was very happy. But she kept looking around, looking left and right, but couldn't find her senior brother's face. This was inevitably a bit disappointing - maybe she was busy, but she didn't dare to ask any more questions.
"Young junior sister wants to find senior brother Wu," a senior sister said. "Someone went to tell him. He stayed up late to deal with things again, and most likely he is not awake yet."
Another senior brother said: "An Xin, everyone has already started organizing the dust-cleansing feast. You will definitely be able to see us before dark."
Mu Wan couldn't help but sigh, she was worthy of being a sibling who watched her grow up, and she couldn't hide her little thoughts.
Aling quietly said to Dai Luan: "No one has called me Senior Brother Wu for a long time."
"Who is it? The leader's first disciple? I heard Mu Wan say that. Why didn't you shout?"
"He doesn't seem to like saying that anymore. Those who are close or far apart are all called Yuan Gui. Those new disciples and some of his friends who are unfamiliar to us are called Head Wu directly."
"...It's so honorable."
"is not that right."
As expected, Mu Wan visited his old friends who had taken care of him one by one. Her senior brothers and sisters always wanted to get her to sit down and chat, but they all had things to do, and she couldn't sit anywhere, so they just said hello roughly. The first thing everyone said was to call me Junior Sister - even though she was no longer considered one, this was only for the disciples of the sect master. The second sentence is asking her when she will leave. It's not that he hopes she will leave quickly, but he is afraid that she won't stay long.
"Should I stay a few more days..." she said ambiguously, always smiling.
She was not idle even during lunch. Everyone was chirping like a flock of excited birds. Amidst the laughter and laughter, Shan Hai felt a little uncomfortable.
He couldn't say why. Those happiness did come from the bottom of his heart, but for some reason, he always had a strange feeling. The source of this feeling was soon confirmed.
As soon as Mu Wan put down his bowls and chopsticks, a man ran over to this side.
The moment she saw him, Mu Wan opened her eyes wide and didn't say a word. And the man didn't say anything. He suddenly hugged her tightly and let go after a long time.
"You, you're back..."
That should be her senior brother.
Shan Hai and Aluan both looked at him from afar. Wu Yuangui does have a good appearance, looks like a talented person, and looks like a gentleman, which is not much different from her description. But maybe after many years, he has a maturity that is stronger than what Mu Wan said, and a smoothness that is unique to adults. This was also reflected in his subsequent politeness to Shan Hai.
Watertight, flawless wording.
...if you ignore the silence of others.
Mu Wan, who was immersed in great joy, was unaware of it. She just smiled and listened to her senior brother's words stupidly. The latter had a string of witty words, ranging from his longing for her when she left to her surprise when she returned, and how he couldn't sleep or eat well, tossing and turning. Mu Wan didn't know whether he believed it or not, but he was quite happy to hear it.
strange.
"You suffered..." he said at last.
It's as if it's been rehearsed. It doesn't matter, maybe he has developed this kind of tongue in his position as acting head, dealing with all kinds of people in the world. But...other people should not all have a gloomy face.
There is respect, but it just feels like respect and fear, and fear takes over.
Wu Yuangui naturally asked about Shanhai. When he learned that he was a disciple of Linxiaoguan, he raised his eyebrows slightly.
"Then, the Taoist Priest must know... an Immortal Priest named Danning."
"Yes. How could we forget this, the founder of our sect? It's just that he has already attained Taoism and ascended to immortality - don't you know him?"
"No, no, Wu certainly doesn't have such a big reputation." He smiled, the corners of his mouth moving. "But I heard that the old man left some immortal artifacts, and he is famous in the world."
"Well, that's true."
"Taoist Master Lin, you must reward me for today's dinner. Thanks to your care all the way, my junior sister can return safely. This child has not made people worry since he was a child, and he must have caused a lot of trouble..."
Mu Wan did not refute, but she interrupted him:
"Actually there is..."
"Little Junior Sister, listen to me." Wu Yuangui suddenly held her wrist, "You should know about your Senior Sister Yan. I'm still sending people to look for it, but nothing has been found..."
Mu Wan was stunned for a moment.
She tried to turn to Xie Huayao for help - it seemed that she hadn't told anyone yet. It's just that she's not here right now, probably busy in the kitchen. The crystal dumplings she made were beautiful and delicious, and Mu Wan still remembered them in her dreams.
"It's really a blessing that you can come back... You must be afraid that we will be too sad and send you back quickly."
They seemed to have a lot to say, but Wu Yuangui still had things to be busy with. The two said goodbye reluctantly, leaving the rest of their words to the evening. Mu Wan had clearly just finished lunch, but Mu Wan was already thinking about the dinner. Senior Brother Wu also said that he would introduce many new disciples and friends to her.
In the afternoon, a group of people pulled her back and forth again. Shanhai and Xie Huayao followed. While walking on the road, Shan Hai distanced himself from Mu Wan and took the opportunity to ask Xie Huayao a question.
"Is your acting sect leader... also an Onmyoji?"
"It doesn't count," Xie Huayao said, "He is free to practice swordsmanship, and dealing with monsters is only for self-defense."
"Then does he have any shikigami of his own? Or is there a fusangshin born from some old object?"
"No. It should be... no. Master Lin, don't you also think..."
"Yes. We had a friend along the way. Only people who have been with monsters all year round can be infected with such strong monster energy."
"...Is that so? I haven't seen him very often. When I first noticed it, I asked the other brothers and sisters. They almost all grew up with Yuan Gui and didn't think there was anything wrong with it. I thought, maybe it was. I worry too much."
"you have not."
"..."
Although Xueyan Valley is always as warm as late spring, winter is approaching and it gets dark early. As soon as the lamps were lit in the valley, a disciple told them to attend the banquet.
There is no escaping the lengthy rhetoric that is an inevitable part of any banquet. However, no matter how slow Mu Wan was, she still noticed that the seating arrangement at this table was not quite right. Let's not talk about why the whereabouts of the master are still unknown, but the senior brother is sitting in the position of the leader - this is understandable. But those uncles and the disciples from other rows who came to the front were all sitting at the bottom. The seats to the left and right of the table were all filled with unfamiliar faces. And those people were almost expressionless, all of them had straight faces, contemptuous expressions, and extremely angry expressions. This made Mu Wan feel disgusted, but he couldn't say anything.
Anyway, the senior brother still takes care of her, and that's enough.
There is another seat next to Wu Yuangui, which has been vacant and no one has asked. Shan Hai briefly mentioned it, but he just said that he was a very important counselor, but he did not participate because of his poor health. He paid for a glass of wine for him.
At the end of the long banquet table, Dai Luan and Xie Hualing secretly ate crystal dumplings.
The dumpling wrappers are rolled out very thin and steamed until they are transparent. You can see the meat, green beans, corn, and diced radish inside... No wonder A Ling has been bragging to herself for so long that it is really delicious. They also included a lot of meat, eggs, vegetables and fruits grown in the valley, which were very fresh. The two of them had their mouths full of oil and felt refreshed.
"Are you bored?" Xie Hualing asked her, "Shall we run away?"
"But where to go? I'm not familiar with this place." Dai Luan said honestly.
"I'll take you to the place where the direct disciples live. It's very close and very impressive."
So Dai Luan followed A Ling and slipped away from the banquet. Anyway, there were a lot of people and it was very chaotic. Everyone's attention was focused on those three people. No one would notice the two little girls who ran away secretly. Those were the only people who could notice them. It was inconvenient for them to escape, so it was a good opportunity.
Walking in the exquisitely decorated building, Dai Luan followed A Ling who was holding a candle and felt a little emotional.
"I thought that in a place like this, the buildings would be simpler. Did you build these yourself? Mu Wan said, you all support yourself for food, clothing, housing and transportation."
"No. Senior Brother Wu only took over the position of head for half a year, and immediately hired people to renovate the dilapidated things. It is said to be renovation, which is no different from reconstruction. It seems that a lot of money was spent, but everyone can say that He was the beneficiary - who wants to sleep in a leaky house? So, no one asked him where he got the money. But he didn't expect that this was just the beginning... However, he told us that he would give Wan My sister has left a room, it should be on the third floor. Let’s go take a look.”
Dai Luan is not stupid, she has long realized that this place is not that brotherly and respectful.
"Who is the empty seat next to Wu Yuangui?"
"He is said to be a fortune teller. He has helped him a lot. He is the adviser to the senior fortune teller. His surname is She, and everyone calls him Master She. But we have never seen him. Those empty seats are all placed to show respect."
The two arrived at the third floor, which was also the highest floor. There was a door with staggered seals and a large lock.
"So...hey, why is there a note on that door?"
"Huh? Where..."
"Is this... could this be..." Xie Hualing hesitated, "could it be... Senior Sister Yan's room?"
"It's just...going out, why...I see that other rooms - Mu Wan's room is not sealed."
"It would be nice if I could get in."
Dai Luan blinked and asked, "You want to go in?"
"……Not so good."
While the two were secretly communicating by the candlelight, such a voice suddenly came from the darkness behind them.
"What are you doing here?"
