Chapter 124: Night Talk on the Rooftop

It was a chilly night. After all the guests went to bed, Mo Ruyan left her room. She didn’t go down the flight of stairs. She went to the rooftop. From there, she could see everything in the surrounding area. If anything happened, she’d be able to react quickly.

She was holding her spear andwearing a cape. She took out a big gourd. When she opened it, the smell of alcohol filtered out. Mo Ruyan raised her head and brought the gourd to her lips. A hand grabbed the gourd before she could drink.

Mo Ruyan didn’t turn around. She didn’t bother looking at the person. She just put her hands around her knees and looked pensive.

“In the past, an old man told me something. He said traveling around the world is for men. Women should stay at home, have children. They should spend their time taking care of them and their husband,” said Mo Ruyan indifferently.

Mu Yi sat down next to Mo Ruyan on the rooftop after taking the gourd. Mo Ruyan had come up to the roof quietly. Nobody had noticed her but Mu Yi.

Thanks to his special hearing abilities and mind strength, he had noticed. Mo Ruyan hadn’t tried to hide either.

“But in this world, there aren’t many men on which you can rely. Therefore, I prefer relying on myself. I’m a woman, so what? Do you despise woman too?” said Mo Ruyan.

“I never said I despised women. Some time ago, a woman nearly killed me,” said Mu Yi.

“So that woman injured you?” said Mo Ruyan.

“Kind of,” said Mu Yi.

He didn’t feel like explaining what had happened because it was too troublesome. It was useless. Since she had come to that conclusion, why not let her believe that? In any case, his condition was similar to being injured. One more month and he’d be perfectly fine. It wouldn’t have any impact on his life.

“She’s that strong?” Mo Ruyan asked.

She hadn’t thought Mu Yi’s injury was caused by a woman. She was very interested now.

“Yes, extremely strong. You, right now, can’t compete with her at all,” said Mu Yi straightforwardly.

Even though Mo Ruyan was strong. There was still a big difference in strength between her and Qiu Yuetong who had recently had a breakthrough. Even if Mo Ruyan broke through, she might not be able to catch up with Qiu Yuetong, who had an advanced understanding of swordsmanship.

Of course, Mo Ruyan didn’t need to study swordsmanship. She studied the art of the spear. (translator’s note: the art of the spear is the equivalent of Soujutsu in Japanese culture) Nobody could help her with that. She had to rely on herself to advance.

“Is that so? I wish I could try and fight against her,” said Mo Ruyan.

While she was talking, she took back the gourd from Mu Yi’s hands. She took a sip.

“How pleasant!” said Mo Ruyan.

She sounded like an alcoholic. She glanced at Mu Yi.

“Do you want a sip?” she said.

“Nah, I don’t like alcohol,” said Mu Yi shaking his head.

He couldn’t handle alcohol. He didn’t have a habit of drinking either. He had a few sips once in a while thought.

“You don’t drink alcohol at all? Are you not a man?” said Mo Ruyan.

She seemed to have let go of all of her restraints. She looked at Mu Yi from head to toe.

“Maybe…you’re just a little Taoist priest. You don’t have a single hair on you.” said Mo Ruyan.

Mo Ruyan spent most of her time with male armed escorts. She appeared aloof but it didn’t mean she wasn’t sensitive. At the moment, having Mu Yi next to her reminded her of various things.

She took another sip, as if it was the only thing which could help her forget her fellow armed escorts. She wanted to forget the horrors of that battle. She wanted to forget her responsibilities and the pressure.

“You’re drunk,” said Mu Yi.

Even though Mo Ruyan had only taken two sips, the saying “liquor fails to intoxicate, yet one intoxicates oneself” applied to her situation. (translator’s note: “liquor fails to intoxicate, yet one intoxicates oneself” means that someone isn’t intoxicated because of alcohol but because of one’s worries and problems. It’s a famous Chinese saying)

When under pressure, people could get intoxicated even if they drank water. It was more a psychological issue.

“Maybe. I won’t make fun of you again anyway,” said Mo Ruyan trying to sit upright.

She whispered, “You’re a monk. How could you understand?”

Understand? Understand what?

Mu Yi didn’t ask though. She wasn’t really expecting a response. Mu Yi didn’t know what to say either. Mo Ruyan stopped talking after that. Mu Yi stood up.

“You should have a rest. No need to be exhausted,” he said.

“If anything happens to me tonight, will you help me?” said Mo Ruyan as Mu Yi left.

“I won’t,” said Mu Yi firmly before leaving.

“Petty little boy. No, stinky Taoist priest,” whispered Mo Ruyan.

She sniffled and looked at her gourd. She didn’t feel like drinking anymore. She threw it off the rooftop instead of putting it back. It crashed on the ground somewhere below her and the sound of it breaking filtered up to the roof.

She took a deep breath. Mu Yi went back to his room. He could only shake his head.In his room, Nian Nuer was sitting on Big Slave’s shoulders. When she saw Mu Yi, her eyes sparkled.

“Brother, what took you so long?” she asked.

“Was it long?” asked Mu Yi.

They had just exchanged a few words. Mu Yi didn’t say much. He went and sat on his bed. He took out the Bamboo Tree of Life.

Nian Nuer looked at him. She didn’t wait for him to call her. She went back into the Bamboo Tree of Life without making a sound.

When Nian Nuer went back into the tree, Big Slave looked sad. Mu Yi found his expression amusing.

“If I’m sound asleep tonight and anything happens, go and help her, alright? ”Mu Yi said.

Big Slave made a funny face but it was impossible to tell whether he had understood or not.

Mu Yi focused on the ritual after that. He cut his finger and blood dripped onto the Bamboo Tree of Life. The Bamboo Tree of Life absorbed the blood. After that, Mu Yi released some mind strength which surrounded the Bamboo Tree of Life and started the sacrificial ritual.

Mu Yi’s perceptions continuously improved during the ritual. The connection between him and the Bamboo Tree of Life was growing deeper. Even when he was a dozen meters away from the tree, he could sense anything that happened to the tree. It was as if it had happened to him.

He had never used the Bamboo Tree of Life to fight against enemies. Mu Yi was already convinced that it’d be much more powerful than the Ghost King Banner. Even though it was just a tree, it was almost as hard as diamond even before Mu Yi had started the sacrificial ritual. After the ritual was complete, it would be even stronger and solid.