Xiao An is not such a person.
"I heard before that the leader of the Shuiyun Sect also used to be a disciple of the Misty Tower, but his relationship with the elders there was not very good."
"It is said that before Xie An became the leader of the Shuiyun Sect, he did a lot of evil. Many spiritual beasts and monsters died at his hands."
All this can be explained.
What happened back then was not Xie An's doing but was forced by Zhang Tianyuan, the leader of the Tianyuan Sparrow Clan. Not many monsters died at Xie An's hands, and he never intended to harm them.
But although Zhao Shuning knew this, others might not believe it.
"Do you know why the eldest lady of the Kong Family had a falling - out with the leader of the Shuiyun Sect?"
Bai Fan shook his head.
"This is just some one - sided information I heard. I'm not really sure about the details or if there are any hidden stories."
"Miss, I only asked because I heard you were also a student from the Misty Tower. I hope you don't mind."
Zhao Shuning nodded.
"Anyway, thank you."
Zhao Shuning left.
Bai Fan watched her back and could only sigh. He carefully put the well - cultivated amaryllis in his bosom.
He wondered if the amaryllis could withstand the coming winter.
The Dark Swamp Area.
It was originally the trial ground for second - level students.
Back then, Zhao Shuning couldn't create a spatial teleportation here and had stayed in the Dark Swamp Area for quite a while.
But now things were different.
She stood on the top of the mountain.
After a long moment of deep thought.
The phoenix could tell what was on Zhao Shuning's mind just by looking at her.
She couldn't ignore the matters of the Misty Tower.
"Master, don't be so entangled. No matter how long you think, there will only be one result."
Zhao Shuning sighed.
The phoenix had been with her for so many years and knew her very well.
"Phoenix, do you think people's hearts can change?"
"I don't know if people's hearts can change. But in our beast world, once a beast signs a contract with its master, it's a lifetime commitment. Nothing can change that."
Zhao Shuning stroked the phoenix's feathers.
Yes.
The animals in the beast world didn't have as many complex emotions as humans, yet they could interpret loyalty so deeply.
But what about people's hearts? After all these years, even though Zhao Shuning trusted Xie An, she didn't know if they were still the same passionate young people as before, doing what they liked without being muddled by worldly affairs.
"Phoenix, accompany me to the Misty Tower. After we deal with the matters there, we'll go to the Ghost Domain."
"Okay."
"You, the king of all birds, have been running around with me. You must feel wronged."
"Master, you're not the kind of person who gets so emotional. You don't need to say such things to me. Just remember to give me a huge night - pearl as a reward if I help you handle things well."
"Okay—"
Zhao Shuning ruffled the phoenix's feathers.
She murmured, "I really don't know why you like night - pearls so much."
The phoenix was taken aback.
It replied seriously, "I only remember that when I first opened my eyes, I was in a dark and boundless cave. I had nothing to eat at that time, so I had to rush out of the cave blindly to find food. The cave was rugged with strange rocks everywhere. It was so dark that I got many injuries. But one time, when I came back, there was a small night - pearl in the cave."
"So you like night - pearls because of what happened when you were young."
"Yeah."
"That was so many years ago, and you still remember it so clearly."
"Five hundred and twenty years."
"Five hundred and twenty years, and you really remember it clearly. You must have lost that small night - pearl long ago. The night - pearls you've collected now are all top - quality."
"Of course not."
The phoenix spat out a night - pearl from its mouth. For so many years, it had always kept that small night - pearl under its tongue, hoping to find the person who gave it the night - pearl.
But so many years had passed. That person should have passed away by now.
"This night - pearl is really small."
Zhao Shuning took a casual look and blurted out.
Then, she suddenly thought of something.
She took the night - pearl from the phoenix's mouth and examined it carefully.
Why was it so similar to the night - pearl she left in a cave in the deep mountains more than five hundred years ago?
Zhao Shuning remembered it clearly because that night - pearl had a flaw.
She turned the night - pearl over, and sure enough, she saw the black spot and scratch from back then.
Zhao Shuning suddenly laughed.
She pointed at the phoenix and said, "Don't tell me that the ugly bird in that cave that looked like a bird's nest, with a lot of weeds inside and extremely ugly feathers, was you?"
The phoenix was stunned.
It said, "What are you talking about?"
Zhao Shuning described the general situation of the cave back then.
Then.
The phoenix was even more surprised.
"Don't tell me you were the one who left this night - pearl back then?"
"Who else?"
Zhao Shuning was even happier.
She returned the night - pearl in her hand to the phoenix.
Then she said, "We're really destined. If I had known it was you, a young phoenix, living in that cave, I would have waited for you to come back."
"Wait for me to come back."
"Yes, wait for you to come back, and then remember your ugly, molted appearance. That way, every time you're narcissistic about your colorful feathers in front of me, I can bring up your embarrassing situation before."
The phoenix looked on coldly. How could it expect anything nice from its master's mouth?
"Okay, okay, stop talking. Let's go to the Misty Tower first. You should hide your identity. Either turn into a bird and stay on my shoulder or go into the Qiankun Pouch and have a good sleep."
Otherwise, once they reached the Shanhuazhou Peak, the appearance of the phoenix would probably scare all the disciples of the Misty Tower.
"Okay."
The phoenix turned into a small bird and landed on Zhao Shuning's shoulder.
"Then get ready. We're leaving."
The phoenix closed its eyes.
Zhao Shuning waved her hand, and a spatial interface appeared in front of her.
She walked in gently, her steps calm, no longer as rash as before.
The white light disappeared.
When it reappeared.
Zhao Shuning had already arrived at the Shanhuazhou Peak.
She didn't go directly to the Misty Tower. She wanted to gather some information first. Only after she was clear about the situation of the Misty Tower could she take action.
Zhao Shuning changed her appearance.
She went down the mountain and walked among the crowd.
There were many people coming and going on the street.
But most of them had heavy expressions on their faces.
Zhao Shuning saw a group of disciples in the Misty Tower's uniforms walking in front and wanted to go up and ask them something.
But the five or six people turned and entered a small alley.