After a while, the smile on Yong Shanling's face gradually faded. Suddenly, she said, "I really didn't expect that the person I saved would be the one who betrayed me."
Mu Yijie turned to look at her. Although she tried her best to keep calm, there was still a hint of hurt in her eyes.
A glint of pity flashed across his eyes. He stepped forward, pulled her into his arms, and gently patted her back as if she were a child.
"Don't be sad because of others' mistakes. You've done what you could. Just have a clear conscience," Mu Yijie said, his eyes looking far into the distance. He had experienced everything that Yong Shanling was going through. How could a huge group be so easily accepted?
What she needed at this moment was encouragement and affirmation, not self - doubt.
"Do you know? Some things can be understood intellectually, but one still gets hurt emotionally," Yong Shanling's muffled voice came from his arms. She leaned tightly against Mu Yijie's shoulder, as if she could draw some strength from it.
"I know. It will all pass," Mu Yijie said. Gradually, Yong Shanling calmed down.
After she calmed down, the two of them went straight to the airport and took a plane to leave Country M.
After all, their identities had been exposed. People involved in human trafficking usually had powerful backers. It was better for them to leave as soon as possible.
The Mu Family Villa.
"Ah, we're finally back. It feels like we've been away for a long time," Yong Shanling said, looking at the familiar Mu Family Villa in front of her.
"Let's go. The butler has prepared dinner and is waiting for us," Mu Yijie said with a smile. He took her hand, pushed the suitcase, and walked in.
"Surprise!" Two voices rang out, and then a person suddenly jumped out.
"Ah?" Yong Shanling was startled. When she took a closer look, she found it was Hou Hua.
"Ah, why are you here? I missed you so much. I even brought you a gift," Yong Shanling said as she rummaged through her bag, trying to find the gift she had specially prepared for her.
After searching for a while and not finding it, she looked at Mu Yijie for help. Mu Yijie smiled, opened the password box, and took out two boxes from it.
Yong Shanling happily took them and gave them to Hou Hua and Li Zhuo.
"Open it quickly. This is what I specially prepared for you," Yong Shanling said playfully.
Hou Hua raised her eyebrows and looked at her. She was intrigued. "Judging from how proud you are, it must be something practical!"
Saying that, Hou Hua opened the box and found it was a mirror. There was a small groove on the back of the mirror where a spirit stone could be inlaid.
"What is this? Did you buy it abroad?" Hou Hua curiously turned it over and over. By accident, she touched one part, and in the blink of an eye, the image in the mirror turned into Li Zhuo's head.
On the other side, Li Zhuo was also holding the mirror, curiously turning it over. When she saw the ripples on the mirror surface and a circle appeared, she gently tapped it and saw Hou Hua's face.
Yes, Yong Shanling had bought them a communication tool that ordinary people could use.
After all, electronic products couldn't be used in most places where cultivators went. But she thought that these two lovers couldn't always be in a long - distance relationship. They needed some way to stay in touch. When she saw this double - sided mirror, she decisively bought it and gave it to them.
"Thank you. I like it very much," Li Zhuo showed his signature smile, looking extremely bright.
"You're welcome. Who told you to be my best friend's man? You're lucky to be with my best friend. If you dare to treat my best friend badly, then you can wait for me to make 100 bad - luck talismans and make you unlucky 365 days a year," Yong Shanling said with her hands on her hips, like a little queen. She didn't seem overbearing but rather cute.
"Okay, okay. Don't worry. How dare I? You and Hou Hua can have a good chat. I just happen to have something to talk to Mu Yijie about," Li Zhuo said with a smile as he put his arm around Mu Yijie's shoulder and led him away.
Yong Shanling didn't mind. Instead, she excitedly told Hou Hua about her trip to Country M.
Hearing that there were really human - beasts abroad, Hou Hua's expression became solemn.
"So what should we do now? I think you should be more careful recently. After all, you showed your Soul - Rattling Bell on Beishan. The cultivation world has already dug into the identity of Yun Shan thoroughly. Once you take it out, your identity will be immediately exposed," Hou Hua said.
Yong Shanling forced a bitter smile. She remembered that in Country M, she had taken out the Soul - Rattling Bell in a hurry to fight the enemy. She bit her lower lip. "If they really find out, I'll just admit that I'm Yun Shan's disciple. Anyway, I've never done anything wrong. They can't do anything to me."
Looking at Yong Shanling's stubborn look, Hou Hua felt a bit heart - ache.
"Don't think of them as too noble. Once your identity as Yun Shan's disciple is exposed, you don't know how many people will come after you. They all want to ask you about the secret of Yun Shan's ascension. Maybe that's why your master didn't let you know his identity at that time," Hou Hua sighed.
Thinking of her master, the image of a little old man who always grinned and stroked his beard while constantly teasing her appeared in her mind.
"However, what your master did was really wrong! Using humans and spiritual beasts for cultivation is really against the natural order. You exorcise demons and eliminate evil, which can be said to be for the stability of the cultivation world and the safety of humans. But..."
"He didn't do it!" Yong Shanling suddenly interrupted her. She lowered her head, making it hard to see her expression.
As if realizing that her tone was too strong, she immediately explained anxiously, "After all, we've never seen him do those things with our own eyes, and he never admitted it. We can't say those things were done by him just based on some speculation. It's unfair to him."
Yong Shanling tightly clenched her hands and stared intently at Hou Hua, with a hint of pleading in her eyes that she didn't even notice.
Hou Hua sighed. She knew that Yong Shanling couldn't accept this fact and still had a glimmer of hope in her heart. So she didn't talk about this topic anymore.
"So you've made up with him?" Hou Hua asked curiously.
"Yes, we've made up. We had a good talk and figured out each other's thoughts. We realized that we had misunderstandings about each other. Don't worry about me. Our relationship is really good now," Yong Shanling cheered herself up and stopped getting lost in thoughts about her master. It was useless to think about these things now. After all, the person had ascended, and no one would ever know the truth.
"I can tell. You two are quite sweet. He still looked at you reluctantly when he left just now," Hou Hua said with a smile, teasing her.
"By the way, do you have any plans next?"