120 If you keep doing that...!

Yuan Xuelan wanted to bite his tongue off the moment the words left his mouth. His heart was racing like a panicked mare. Why did he have to push his luck like this when Liu Sumeng was already being so kind and generous to him!?

And the moment held, suspended into an agonizing eternity, and yet, he, the damned fool couldn't even look away. How could he? When Liu Sumeng was as enchanting and as alluring as such.

So he stared like the dumb dog that he was, ready to swallow the rejection that his heart had no more capacity of taking.

Liu Sumeng's angled eyes suddenly turned soft, twisting Xuelan's already tangled guts. His thin lips quirked upward, "I will think about it."

Yuan Xuelan turned to stone.

Was it too far of an assumption to believe that he was being teased?

Was the Ivory Sword Saint leading him on?

'Just kiss him!' Huo Tang screeched loudly in his head.

But no! He couldn't! It wasn't like Liu Sumeng actually said yes. In the end he was left like that, awkwardly floundering without knowing at all what to do.

Liu Sumeng took pity on him and reached over to pat his head. He stepped in so painfully close that Yuan Xuelan got a hint of his scent. He trembled, resisting the urge to bring Sumeng closer into a hug and really claim those lips for himself.

"Xuelan is cute." Was all the Ivory Sword Saint said before walking off.

Yuan Xuelan decided that then was a good time to drop down dead.

Again, the thought of going back to Reling troubled him. He desired nothing more than to steal Liu Sumeng away and flee from all the stupidity of war and other headaches that surrounded them.

Alas, reality was not so kind.

Hengsheng wasn't at all far from Reling. It should have been a quick and painless return.

However, they noticed something off surrounding the valley, a shift in gusting winds brought to them the familiar scent of that vacant Fallen Goddess.

Liu Sumeng and Yuan Xuelan both shared a look of alarm. They were painfully close to Reling by now, and about to miss the height of Mid-Autumn Festivities. At first, their main concerns had been the scolding and punishments awaiting the two idiots that had gone away at such an important time.

But now, they had even greater concerns.

They took a detouring route, circling around the city perimeter to check the direction of that stifling aura.

Reling was a city that sat in a basin, surrounded by a mountain range that hugged its north, east and west side. The main road led into the city from the south, where there was a valley that merged into wetlands.

There were many watchtowers that loomed over the south and a few scattered around the precarious mountain roads, particularly the northward one which was relatively well-traveled.

However, these main roads were marked by vigilant watchtowers, making a surprise attack difficult.

And yet…

Even from a distance, it was evident that the watchtowers were not alerted of any change. It did not help that the Fallen Gods had auras neither demonic nor devilish in nature and were difficult to pick out until after one has encountered the being before.

To Liu Sumeng and Yuan Xuelan there was no mistake.

They already knew there was nothing to be found along the valley nor the main road and thus they circled around to the north-facing mountains.

Carefully and wearily they explored the mountain tops, hiking along the cliff edges for any signs of abnormality.

A full day went by without any evident clues unearthed but the two were persistent and did not relent. Liu Sumeng even came upon a few wayward patrols, none of which were helpful. And yet his suspicions refused to relent.

The mountain tops were dusted ferns and shrubs. Only a portion was forested and provided suitable coverage for stealth. They raked through that area only to come up with nothing.

Or so they had first thought.

Luckily, there were still glimmers of daylight and Yuan Xuelan's eye caught a clue under the dust of dead leaves.

"Wait," he said, motioning Liu Sumeng to retrace their steps. With a foot he parted the leaves, revealing partial footsteps left behind. They were large, too big to be human and the ground around each print was slightly eroded and gray, the nutrients and life in the dirt wilted.

There was more than one set, but where they came from or led were blurred. The tracks had been covered.

"How did no one notice this?" Yuan Xuelan hissed with annoyance.

There should have been way more patrols circling around the back of the city. They couldn't just expect their enemies to be stupid and only think of attacking head-on, right!?

Liu Sumeng did not want to point out that even they almost overlooked this tiny detail. He examined the trails closer and determined that they weren't too old, a few days at most.

"It's better to notice it late than never."

Eyes following the direction in which the footprints led, Liu Sumeng wondered if it was possible for the tracks only to have moved forward in a straight line. Based on his past experiences with Fallen Gods, aside from their movements in battle, the way they traversed land was very straightforward and predictable, unless their master gave more detailed and specific commands.

However, his line of sight only pointed towards a tall cliff wall. He looked at either side of the cliff but there was no further evidence of anything having come by. No branches were left snapped for indents in the ground.

Clearly, there had been someone following the Fallen Gods, erasing their trail.

"Where could they have gone…" Yuan Xuelan stroked his chin, eyes furrowed in frustration.

Liu Sumeng continued to look. But then as light fell into dusk with bright orange hues blanketing them, he noticed something peculiar about the cliff face.

There was a spot in the rocks that did not glisten or shine in the same way as dusk's orange glow reflected on their surface. Upon closer investigation, he saw that it was as if these particular stones did not have any mineral deposits within, different from the surrounded rocks.

Cautiously, he knocked with an ear pressed to the stone.

"Did you find something?" Yuan Xuelan eagerly approached, leaning in close enough that Liu Sumeng could feel his heat.

Now wasn't a good time to get distracted. "Maybe. Can you get rid of this?" He asked, pointing at the rock face in front of them.

Xuelan perked up and Liu Sumeng could almost imagine a tail wagging behind him, "Of course I can." He drew Silei in one swift motion.

The Ivory Sword Saint only had a moment get out of the way before Xuelan unleashed a torrent of flame and lightning. With a thunderous boom, rocks crumbled. A large slab of stone slid off the cliffside and fell, revealing a dark cavern behind it.

An unmistakable stench of power came from within, stilling the two cultivators.

No doubt, there were Fallen Gods deep down inside the mountain.

"This is…" Yuan Xuelan jolted from realization, his feet automatically stepping inside the cavern. But Liu Sumeng's hand wound around his arm and held him back.

"It's not wise to face them now."

Yuan Xuelan swallowed down the itch of impatience that had his heart beating wildly. Their foes were already at their doorsteps and no one even knew!

"Did you know about this cave?" The Ivory Sword Saint asked.

Yuan Xuelan looked at the large black cave mouth and the winding paths within that were illuminated only lightly with a touch of fading dusk.

"No," he admitted, "there are a few small caves around the mountains but I don't know of any large networks that lead deep into the mountain.

"Then let's return and see if there are old records."

"Right."

It was important to know where the other side of the cave led, after all, they did not want to be caught off guard by their enemies.

There was still the matter of the talismans that Yuan Xuelan carelessly failed to fix. A sense of urgency took hold and Yuan Xuelan was itching to return to Reling and report their findings.

…

By the time they returned it was already dark. The gates opened and the first thing Liu Sumeng had wished to do was make a report to Sect Leader Chen.

But instead, he found himself assaulted by requests. Two different servants to him with urgent words.

"Young Miss Chen wishes to speak with you at once."

"There is an urgent message waiting for you in your office. I was given the instruction that it is the first thing you attend upon your return."

The two servants looked at each other with a glare.

Liu Sumeng held back a sigh and asked, "Where is Anyue?"

"I-I believe she is in her study."

"What, didn't she go take a trip to the city?" The other servant asked.

"I don't know," the first admitted.

Luckily for them, Liu Sumeng had a stiff face and wasn't the type to roll his eyes at a few confused and bickering servants.

"Your messages have been received." He tersely waved them off.

"Are you going to find Shijie?" Yuan Xuelan caught up after the servants made themselves scarce.

"No," Liu Sumeng shook his head, "I will go to my study first since I am not certain where she is…" His brows furrowed slightly, a bit annoyed.

Yuan Xuelan was able to read Sumeng's concern and nudged him lightly, "Don't worry. I'll go report our findings to Yifu. Please depend on me okay? I'll go work on the talismans after. I promise I will make them work this time."

Amidst all the chaos, all the worry and anxiety, Liu Sumeng looked up and saw Xuelan's sweet boyish smile. In his eyes were only sincerity and adoration, and Liu Sumeng could not remember what he did to deserve any of it. He reached up and instinctively patted down Yuan Xuelan's head, even though the teenager was already taller than him.

A blush raced up Yuan Xuelan's face, barely visible from the lantern light that danced around the front courtyard. "If you keep doing that, I'm seriously going to kiss you!"

If it was meant to be a threat it was the cutest threat in the world. Liu Sumeng continued to pat his head. He was almost a little disappointed when Yuan Xuelan ducked away and ran instead of going through with his little threat.

Huh.

Liu Sumeng did not think about it too much and pocketed the precious little moment that allowed during a time so dire and terrible. There was an urgent message still waiting for him and Anyue as well. He couldn't begin to imagine the chaos that was going to ensue.