"You're quite bold. Who sent you, and what do you want?"
Su Luo's icy voice cut through the night as she walked over calmly. "Don't try to escape; you can't. Since I've found you, I advise you to surrender honestly. Otherwise, I won't be polite!"
The black figure remained motionless, as if frozen by fear.
"It's late, and I don't have time to play games with you. Get down on the ground, hands behind your head!" Su Luo commanded sternly. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
After another moment of waiting, the black figure still hadn't moved or spoken, its back to her.
Su Luo's impatience flared. She drew her Zhuyue Sword with a sharp hiss, aiming it at the figure ahead, ready to strike.
"Wait..."
The black figure finally turned. In that instant, Su Luo was stunned.
In the dim moonlight, his face was also somewhat shadowed, but... he was incredibly handsome!
With sharp eyebrows, thin lips, a straight nose, and eyes like deep black pools, complemented by long, straight, raven hair, he was an exceptionally handsome man, universally adored. His demeanor, however, was cold and indifferent, as if at absolute zero, unapproachable.
Compared to Li Tianjue, he seemed even colder, radiating an intense aura of repulsion. He appeared unwilling to see Su Luo, or anyone, isolating himself from the world with a profound solitude.
"Who are you?" Su Luo exclaimed in surprise.
Could such a stunning, icy-cold handsome man be a spy?
The great ice mountain stood still, hesitating for a long time before slowly walking towards Su Luo. He moved with agonizing slowness, slower than a turtle, as if she carried a plague and he didn't want to get near her.
A full quarter of an hour passed before the great ice mountain finally reached Su Luo and slowly raised his hand.
Su Luo saw not a hidden weapon or anything harmful in his hand, but a charming wooden carving of a doll.
Her eyes widened as she took it and looked.
The doll had long, flowing hair, its features delicately carved, and it wore a sweet smile. It had been painted and dressed in an outfit strikingly similar to her favorite set. It even bore a resemblance to her.
"Is... is this for me?" Su Luo asked uncertainly.
"Mhm."
The great ice mountain finally produced a sound, a low, slightly raspy tone that confirmed to Su Luo he wasn't mute.
After giving her the wooden doll, he turned to leave without the slightest hesitation. Before Su Luo could make sense of what was happening, she called out, "Hey, wait! Who are you, and why are you giving me this doll?"
She was sure she had never met him before. Otherwise, how could she forget such a handsome man?
And giving her such a strange yet adorable gift in the dead of night...
The great ice mountain paused, not turning back. After a long moment, three words drifted through the night wind: "Fifth junior brother."
Ah, why mention that now?
Just as Su Luo was about to ask again, a flash of realization struck her. Could he be...?
Fourth junior brother!?
That's right. On Mount Qingxu, the only person she hadn't met was her fourth junior brother.
Last time in the main hall, she had only seen his back, not his face. But thinking about it carefully, their emitted auras were indeed quite similar. Both were so indifferent, gloomy, and unapproachable...
By the time Su Luo came to her senses, the icy fourth junior brother had already opened the door and entered.
The door quickly closed, plunging the room into darkness without a lamp. Even if Su Luo wanted to ask anything more, she had no choice but to give up.
Holding the wooden doll, Su Luo stepped out of the courtyard and then noticed the characters on the door: Yongning Residence.
The next day.
Su Luo asked Tang Xiaoguo, who was equally astonished.
"What? Fourth junior brother came and gave you a doll? No way!"
Looking at the charming wooden doll in Su Luo's hand, Tang Xiaoguo could hardly believe it. "Sister Su, you don't know, but I've been brought back to Qingxu Heaven by Master for seven or eight years, and I've met fourth junior brother privately fewer than five times."
"Why? Doesn't fourth junior brother like seeing people?" Su Luo was very curious.
"Sister Su, I've only heard things."
Tang Xiaoguo looked around mysteriously, and seeing no one else, lowered her voice. "Fourth junior brother is quite scary. He was promoted from the outer sect to the inner sect, but it only took him two years to earn one hundred thousand contribution points."
"Some outer sect disciples said that fourth junior brother has a strange temper and never interacts with others, but he likes being with spirit beasts. Some even heard him talking to spirit beasts, I don't know..."
She pointed to her head, looking conflicted and hesitant. "They say fourth junior brother has issues with his mind. He even killed a few outer sect disciples before. It seemed like a big commotion at the time, and Master had to intervene personally. But I didn't see it, so I don't know the details. Later, I secretly asked the eldest senior brother, but he wouldn't tell me..."
So that's how it was. Su Luo's thoughts raced. This fourth junior brother was quite special!
But remembering what happened last night, she didn't feel that fourth junior brother was terrifying.
Someone who could carve such a lovely wooden doll, and who said he gave it to her because she saved fifth junior brother, must be someone with a pure and kind heart. Otherwise, he would be a great villain, cunning and treacherous.
But the fact that he could become an inner disciple, be accepted by the Sect Master, and be recognized by Li Tianjue, indicated that he was definitely not a bad person.
Fourth junior brother must have some secret.
After thinking for a while, Su Luo couldn't figure out the reason, but she didn't consider using the Divine Eye Mirror to probe.
She had that much integrity.
The Divine Eye Mirror could be used in danger, and in critical moments, she could use it effectively against enemies. However, she would not use the Divine Eye Mirror to pry into the privacy of those around her, unless she had permission or in special circumstances.
Everything has two sides.
There is no inherent good or evil; it depends on the person using it.
Su Luo placed the wooden doll into her storage ring. She would try to communicate with fourth junior brother next time she had the chance.
For now, the priority remained earning money, earning money, earning money!
With only three months left, she not only had to find the spiritual herbs fifth junior brother needed but also cover the expenses of the entire Qingxu Heaven. Fortunately, she had two deacons helping her manage the treasury and over ten servants to handle miscellaneous matters, giving her time to do other things.
Alas, being tricked by that cunning and manipulative man, Su Luo was now in a difficult position.
Otherwise, how could she have ended up like this?
"I should go to Yuxu City and hang out with handsome Jiang, and perhaps see if there are any opportunities to make a fortune." Su Luo thought, tidied herself up, packed some items, and left Qingxu Heaven alone.
From afar, someone watched her leave the mountain gate on a Feiyu.
Li Tianjue knew Su Luo was going to Yuxu City again, but she actually didn't come to find him!
"This impudent girl, she's actually obedient this time."
But he began to hesitate. He was well aware of Su Luo's talent for causing trouble. This time, her going alone to earn money would surely lead to even bigger incidents.
No! He couldn't rest easy; he had to keep an eye on her. Otherwise, what if she damaged Qingxu Heaven's reputation?