"Yes, I also think my life is quite resilient."
Chu Lingwei said this while deliberately glancing in the direction of the wine house. She was speaking to Mu Shuyang.
Mei Ji chuckled upon hearing this reply, "Weiwei, why don't we sit down and talk?"
"No need, I'm in a hurry to return to the Cultivation Academy," Chu Lingwei refused.
"Weiwei, in such a rush?" Mei Ji playfully teased, then whispered into her ear, "I have some important news, and after hearing it, you might not be in such a hurry to return to the academy."
Chu Lingwei's heart stirred.
"Still don't want to hear it?" Mei Ji continued to ask.
Chu Lingwei smiled and shook her head, "Then please don't tell me. Master has ordered me to return to the Cultivation Academy as soon as possible."
Disappointment flashed in Mei Ji's eyes. She had hoped to travel to Lingzhou with Chu Lingwei.
"Since that's the case, then take care." Mei Ji did not force the issue and released Chu Lingwei's hand.
"We shall meet again."
Chu Lingwei cupped her hands at Mei Ji and left with the Illusion Cat.
Mei Ji watched Chu Lingwei's receding figure, her expression unreadable. She returned to the table and looked at the man with a calm expression, "Did you scare her?"
"Do you think she could be scared by me?" Mu Shuyang poured a cup of spiritual tea for Mei Ji, "On the contrary, I think her returning to the Cultivation Academy now is the most sensible choice."
"Why?" Mei Ji was puzzled. Had something else happened to Chu Lingwei?
Mu Shuyang smiled without answering.
Chu Lingwei sat on the flying artifact, her cheeks puffed out in anger. She continuously swore in her heart that she would capture that Mu Shuyang and give him a good thrashing.
"Weiwei, are you angry?" the Illusion Cat asked cautiously.
"A little. I'm thinking about what method I can use to capture that scoundrel Mu Shuyang," Chu Lingwei crossed her arms. Every day Mu Shuyang remained at large, she felt a sense of urgency.
"Wanting to capture him, isn't that simple?" The Illusion Cat tilted its head. Weiwei has two spaces; no matter which space it is, as long as Mu Shuyang is trapped within, he will have no escape.
Chu Lingwei looked at the Illusion Cat, "What method?"
"It's... it's the space! Weiwei just needs to trap him inside." In the Illusion Cat's opinion, everything within the space was controlled by Chu Lingwei. Once Mu Shuyang entered, he would have no chance to struggle.
"That's one way," Chu Lingwei touched her chin, but she felt this method was unreliable.
"He definitely won't be able to break through the space to leave," the Illusion Cat stated with certainty. Even Grandpa Yu and the others couldn't leave the space on their own, so Mu Shuyang certainly couldn't.
Chu Lingwei's mind raced. This wasn't an unreasonable idea. If Mu Shuyang were to try to kill her again, she could use this method to trap him.
"Mm."
Ten days later, Chu Lingwei returned to the Cultivation Academy.
"Weiwei, you've been slacking off recently." Bei Chenfeng looked at his little disciple, whose cultivation had regressed, and shook his head.
"Master, this disciple knows her mistake." Chu Lingwei's cultivation had suffered some losses when she transferred her spiritual energy to the Sacred Tree.
"Go back and cultivate diligently." Bei Chenfeng nodded and waved, signaling her to return and cultivate.
Chu Lingwei... She was surprised her Master hadn't punished her, given how easily she had returned.
Back at her cave dwelling, before she could even catch her breath, her second senior brother, Nangong Luo, appeared before her.
"Slap."
A folding fan struck Chu Lingwei's forehead, "Little junior sister, you've been gone for so long, do you still remember you're a disciple of the Cultivation Academy?"
"Greetings, Second Senior Brother."
Chu Lingwei rubbed her forehead. Her second senior brother's habit of hitting people as soon as they met was not a good one.
"Xiushui Bay must have put you through some hardship." Nangong Luo appraised his junior sister, noting her regressed cultivation with a smile in his eyes.
"Second Senior Brother, you always tease me." Chu Lingwei touched her nose. Her trip to Xiushui Bay was also unavoidable.
"It seems, little junior sister, your luck is extraordinary. To return safely from Xiushui Bay, that's quite good." Nangong Luo had grown accustomed to his junior sister's defying-heaven-and-earth behavior.
Chu Lingwei sighed and sat on a chair in the courtyard, "This time, Second Senior Brother is mistaken. I was able to return because I signed a contract with someone."
"Oh, tell me about it." Nangong Luo's interest was piqued.
Chu Lingwei recounted the encounter with the bird in Xiushui Bay to Nangong Luo, "Second Senior Brother, do you know what kind of spiritual beast it is? I couldn't find any record of it in the Spiritual Beast Compendium."
The bird's name and species were unknown; it could only be described as a bird.
"The bird you're talking about, is it the master of Xiushui Bay?" Nangong Luo poured himself a cup of spiritual tea and said slowly, "I don't know what kind of spiritual beast it is either."
Chu Lingwei's face fell when she heard that even her second senior brother didn't know, her hopes dashed.
"However, it's not a spiritual beast, it's a cultivator who has been reborn into that bird." Nangong Luo had never seen the bird, so he naturally didn't know its species, but he knew it was a cultivator.
"He was framed by villains, his soul was cast into the body of a spiritual beast, and a curse was placed upon him, forbidding him from ever taking human form and from ever leaving Xiushui Bay, subjecting him to the torment of Xiushui's corrosion."
Nangong Luo's expression turned grave. All cultivators who entered Xiushui Bay would slowly lose their true selves if they left, becoming like beasts.
Chu Lingwei recalled the cultivators from Darknight City. A bold guess suddenly formed in her mind: perhaps those cultivators from Darknight City, even though far from Xiushui, would still be affected.
"He was originally a cultivator," Chu Lingwei finally understood why his behavior was so peculiar.
"Yes," Nangong Luo drank his spiritual tea, "The cultivators you saw can never leave Xiushui."
Just as she had suspected.
"He asked me to go to Xiushui Bay after reaching the Dominator realm. Is he hoping for help with transforming, or with leaving?" Chu Lingwei considered the bird's condition. She might have a way to dissolve the Xiushui poison in him, but helping him transform would likely be difficult.
"He seeks release." Being forever trapped in the body of a beast is a torment for him. His greatest wish is for release.
Chu Lingwei's heart stirred, and she gave a wry smile, "He really thinks highly of me."
"I, however, believe that little junior sister has the ability." Nangong Luo patted Chu Lingwei's head. The bird making such a request indicated that Weiwei had a high chance of achieving enlightenment.
"Second Senior Brother, is Eldest Senior Brother in the academy?" She had been back for a while, but she hadn't seen any sign of Eldest Senior Brother Leng Xingzhi.
"He's in seclusion." Nangong Luo saw through Chu Lingwei's attempt to hide her feelings, "However, he doesn't want to be disturbed."