“Li Xuanxiao!” the girl suddenly spoke softly.

    “You are...? Ruyan?” Li Xuanxiao said in surprise.

    Liu Ruyan nodded. “That’s me. You still remember me.”

    Fragments of memories that didn’t belong to Li Xuanxiao started flooding into his mind.

    Liu Ruyan—his childhood friend.

    They were once engaged.

    Then Liu Ruyan’s family moved away, and the two of them were separated.

    This was Liu Ruyan’s divine power—she was the Happy Tower Master.

    She could inject memories that didn’t originally belong to someone into their mind.

    Of course, the memory had to be seamless and meet strict conditions, or it would easily go wrong.

    If there were no such limits, Liu Ruyan could have directly altered someone’s memories and wouldn’t have to go through all this trouble.

    The side effect was—once the power took effect on someone,

    even Liu Ruyan herself would get immersed in the memory, and sometimes even believe it was real.

    “Brother Xuanxiao, I finally found you,” Liu Ruyan said with delight.

    “Looking for me?”

    .........

    Inside a restaurant.

    Liu Ruyan was telling Li Xuanxiao about her experiences over the years.

    Liu Ruyan was being forced into marriage—to marry the Sect Leader of the Flowing Water Sect.

    Unwilling to marry that old man, Liu Ruyan ran away on her own.

    She’d heard that Li Xuanxiao had become a Mount Shushan disciple, so she came all this way just to find him.

    “The Sect Leader of Flowing Water Sect?”

    “An old geezer.”

    Liu Ruyan laid on the table, then suddenly lifted her head, her bright eyes looking at Li Xuanxiao.

    “I’m not marrying him~”

    Li Xuanxiao looked into her beautiful eyes and smiled faintly.

    He couldn’t help but sigh—girls really do change a lot when they grow up.

    No, that wasn’t quite right. In Li Xuanxiao’s memories,

    Liu Ruyan had always been very pretty since they were young.

    Now that she’d grown up, she was even more beautiful.

    “Brother Xuanxiao, can you help me find a place to stay on Mount Shushan?”

    “Isn’t there an inn at the foot of the mountain?”

    Liu Ruyan pouted. “The inns at the foot of Mount Shushan all charge spirit stones, and they’re expensive. I don’t have that many spirit stones.”

    “Then if you don’t have enough spirit stones, I guess you’ll be sleeping on the street.” Li Xuanxiao shrugged.

    “You heartless jerk!”

    Liu Ruyan suddenly snapped angrily.

    “Now that you’re a Mount Shushan disciple, you don’t even recognize your old friends? Have you forgotten how you tricked me into kissing you when we were kids?”

    To speak of Liu Ruyan’s looks—even in a place like Mount Shushan, where beauties were everywhere—she was undoubtedly a rare beauty.

    Her face was so delicate, like it had been carved with divine craftsmanship, every line just right.

    Especially when she was angry—her little face would puff up slightly, like an adorable little pufferfish that made people want to reach out and poke it.

    Li Xuanxiao panicked a bit on the spot and quickly motioned for her to keep her voice down.

    Liu Ruyan crossed her arms. “Hmph, I don’t care. You have to take responsibility. If not... I’ll tell your master you took liberties with me.”

    Li Xuanxiao nodded helplessly. “Fine. You really are a handful.”

    Liu Ruyan smiled. “Knew you’d come through, kid.”

    Li Xuanxiao couldn’t help thinking of the time he was starving in the village with nothing to eat.

    Liu Ruyan held up her steamed bun and told him to call her “Boss” and follow her lead.

    Liu Ruyan had truly been a reliable boss.

    During a year of terrible famine, when every household had no extra grain,

    if Li Xuanxiao called her “Boss,” Liu Ruyan would rather go hungry herself than let him starve.

    Later, when she stole food from home, her father caught her.

    He gave her a solid beating on her little butt.

    That day, Li Xuanxiao didn’t get to eat.

    The next day, Liu Ruyan came crying with her butt still sore and told him where she’d hidden food so he could go get it...

    Thinking of that, the corners of Li Xuanxiao’s lips lifted in a smile.

    He couldn’t help feeling nostalgic.

    Time had flown by. The poor kid who used to go hungry,

    was now plotting against powerhouses in the Tribulation Stage.

    (⊙o⊙)…

    I’d rather be hungry!!

    Li Xuanxiao shook his head and let out a bitter laugh.

    Life really wasn’t getting any easier.

    Still, the busy life of cultivation and scheming,

    Liu Ruyan’s appearance brought back many memories for Li Xuanxiao.

    Funny how childhood memories that should have been painful,

    seemed like a ray of light in the darkness, just because Liu Ruyan was in them.

    “I built a straw hut at the foot of the mountain earlier. If you don’t mind, stay there for now,” Li Xuanxiao said.

    “How much farther is it?” Liu Ruyan rubbed her ankle.

    “Almost there.”

    “After walking a bit more.”

    Liu Ruyan frowned slightly and looked up at him with a pitiful gaze.

    “Li Xuanxiao, my feet are sore.”

    “Sore feet?”

    Li Xuanxiao raised an eyebrow.

    Since when did she have that problem?

    A fairy girl with sore feet? That kind of ruins the image.

    “Carry me,” Liu Ruyan said.

    “You... your feet are sore, and you want me to carry you? There’s a little stream ahead. I’ll take you to wash them. Use more soap and scrub a bit—shouldn’t be sore after that.”

    Liu Ruyan: .........

    Before long, the two of them arrived at the straw hut Li Xuanxiao had built at the foot of the mountain.

    “Stay here for now. I’ll go up the mountain to get you some daily necessities,” Li Xuanxiao said.

    Liu Ruyan nodded. “Mm, thank you... Brother Xuanxiao.”

    She tilted her head and said softly.

    Brother Xuanxiao?

    Coming from Liu Ruyan, that name sounded a little unfamiliar.

    Technically speaking, Li Xuanxiao was a year older than her.

    Li Xuanxiao returned to Silver Sword Peak.

    Little Junior Sister Zhao Lu looked curiously at her senior brother.

    “Senior Brother... why are you smiling today?”

    Normally, her senior brother never showed emotion. He’d long since mastered the art of hiding it.

    Every smile and frown was acting—but this smile felt real to Zhao Lu, like it came from his heart.

    Very soon, Li Xuanxiao gathered some daily essentials and prepared them all for Liu Ruyan.

    “Just stay here and rest easy.”

    Liu Ruyan nodded. “I never thought my little bro would become a Mount Shushan disciple. So... how’s your cultivation level now?” Sёar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    “Foundation Establishment. Same as you.”

    Liu Ruyan rested her chin on her hand. “How come you haven’t reached Golden Core yet?”

    “Average talent. Limited ability,” Li Xuanxiao replied out of habit, downplaying himself.

    Liu Ruyan said, “It must be nice being a Mount Shushan disciple. People like us, itinerant cultivators with no one to rely on... I was hoping once you hit Golden Core, you’d cover me. You better work harder.”

    Li Xuanxiao gave a faint smile.

    “Look at how bright the stars are tonight.”

    “Like the blacksmith shop run by One-Eyed Liu at the village entrance, sparks flying all over the sky.”

    Liu Ruyan burst out laughing and nudged Li Xuanxiao with her elbow.

    “Hey, do you remember that guy from our village? He actually passed the exams and got a title.”

    “Which guy?”

    “You know, that guy.......”