He Lan Tianxia

"If that woman doesn't obey, you can just throw her into the 'Ancient City of the Primordial Wilderness'." The white-haired woman coldly tossed these words at the spirit monkey before heading into the inner room. The spirit monkey didn't react much, but after the woman left, it suddenly started jumping around wildly in the cave, as if it had a bellyful of anger with nowhere to vent.

The two held their breath the whole time, so neither the white-haired woman nor the monkey noticed. The monkey hopped around for a while and then ran into another inner room. Neither of them came out again.

"Let's go to the monkey's den." Murong Junlan didn't want to alert the white-haired woman; her alertness couldn't be tested. So, Murong Junlan took Yan'er's hand and slipped into the monkey's cave. As they walked, a sense of familiarity washed over them. They remembered—they had been trapped in this very cave with Luo Xie, Luo Rina, and Xiong Bao last time. The two hid behind a rock, and once the monkey was gone, Murong Junlan led Yan'er down into the cave through the rock-sealed opening.

What's going on? A den of snakes and rats? No, it's a den of snakes and bears. The dying Lingyi was bound hand and foot and thrown into a corner. The bears, though restrained, could move freely; they'd probably been there for months, looking somewhat dazed. Because they'd known each other before, as soon as Murong Junlan and her companion entered, the bears came over, rubbing against the woman. They certainly didn't dare to get close to Murong Junlan.

Murong Junlan quickly walked to Ling Yi's side, reaching out to check his breath. It was weak. Murong Junlan didn't know Ling Yi could no longer transform into a human, but he knew that Ling Yi couldn't do so when his body was weak. Seeing this, Murong Junlan took out a few snow lotus flowers from the plant growing next to the Snow Spirit Mushroom and, without thinking, put them into Ling Yi's mouth. He had originally saved these flowers for Yan'er. Although most of the poison in Yan'er's body had been removed, the remaining toxins still needed to be cleared. Right now, saving Ling Yi's life was the priority.

After eating the snow lotus, Lingyi struggled to open his eyes. Although he couldn't speak, he saw surprise and delight in Murong Junlan's eyes. He winked at Murong Junlan and then lay down again.

It seemed that Lingyi's body couldn't shrink for the time being, so he could only use the net to rescue Lingyi first, and then come back to rescue the bears. Murong Junlan told Yan'er about his plan, and Yan'er agreed that this was the only way. So Yan'er patted the bears a few times, telling them to rescue Lingyi first and then they could be rescued later. The bears seemed to understand, and rubbed against the woman reluctantly, which made Murong Junlan feel strangely uncomfortable.

Because they knew the way well, the two of them quickly led Lingyi out of the Valley of Destruction, and even took several bundles of snow lotus flowers back to the bear den, where they could only hide for now. The reason they rescued Lingyi so easily was mainly because the spirit monkey they were guarding had gone off to play on the snowy cliffs in a fit of temper, while the white-haired woman went into the ancient city of the primordial wilderness to continue repairing her territory.

To make Lingyi more comfortable, Murong Junlan gave up his stone bed for Lingyi and moved to sit with the woman. The woman initially objected, but Murong Junlan said, "If you don't mind your future husband sleeping in a bear's den, then I don't mind either." The woman had no choice but to draw a line, making Murong Junlan swear an oath never to cross that line before she agreed to give him half the bed. Murong Junlan was troubled. He, a dignified marshal-king leading an army of 100,000, had to live a life of dependence. As for crossing that line, even without the oath, he wouldn't dare, and with Lingyi in his sight, he wouldn't dare have any impure thoughts. Wait a minute, we were in the same cave a while ago, and I didn't have any impure thoughts then, so why didn't she make me swear an oath?

"You come and serve Brother Lingyi his medicine." Murong Junlan thought to himself, "Trying to tease me? You're secretly happy even though I'm not giving you any time to do it."

Upon hearing this, the woman was taken aback, then happily picked up a snow lotus flower and fed it to Lingyi. Lingyi gratefully winked at her in thanks. The woman smiled at Lingyi and then fed him another snow lotus flower. Murong Junlan initially didn't notice anything amiss, but the more he looked, the more uncomfortable he felt. He stood there like an outsider, thinking, "Why isn't that me lying there?" Remembering Lingyi's handsome and refined appearance, Murong Junlan suddenly emanated a chilling aura, startling Lingyi so much that he sneezed, inwardly protesting, "Your Highness, I didn't mean to! I really can't move!"

"Your Highness, please turn off the air conditioning. This is the Snow Region." Since the woman advanced in her martial arts training, she could sense the domineering aura emanating from those with high martial arts skills. She knew that Murong Junlan was jealous.

"I'll do it." Murong Junlan finally agreed to help. The woman threw the snow lotus into Murong Junlan's arms, said "I'm going out for some fresh air," and left on her own.

"Don't go too far," Murong Junlan loudly instructed the woman.

"I understand, thank you for your concern, Your Highness." Before she could finish speaking, the woman had already left the bear cave, afraid that Murong Junlan would change his mind and not let her wander around.

This was the first time the woman had ventured out alone since learning the "Silver Ring Dream Shadow" technique. Sometimes, having too much attention from others can be a form of confinement. She suddenly thought of life in the 21st century, where one could travel freely by car, unlike here amidst the clash of swords. She recalled scenes she used to only see on television; now she could be a martial arts master herself. She used to envy those idols, but those were just edited productions. Now she could fight with real weapons. Did this mean humanity had regressed in martial arts due to external factors? She had been here for a while now. How were her parents doing? Perhaps they were still searching for her, unable to sleep at night. It was a pity the white-haired woman had stolen the glass lock, meaning she had no chance to contact her father.

Unconsciously, the woman arrived at the spot where she had last met Luo Xie riding a sleigh. That Luo Xie, sometimes he was quite amusing. Luo Rina should have returned to Wubei Kingdom by now. Actually, the siblings were quite kind-hearted. The woman walked further and further away when suddenly she noticed a black dot moving towards her, followed by another black dot. They were getting closer and closer. She realized they were two people. If she wasn't mistaken, the child in front was Xiong Bao, and the one chasing closely behind was Jiang He. Without a doubt, Xiong Bao had run away on its own.

"Sister, save me!" Xiong Bao ran over and pounced on the woman like a monkey. The woman caught Xiong Bao in her arms. Jiang He, who was behind them, seemed to be panting a little.

"Jiang He greets the Princess." Jiang He bowed politely as always.

"From now on, you can call me Sister Yan'er. Anyway, I haven't agreed to marry your prince," the woman said, nodding to Jiang He.

What should I call her? Sister Yan'er, I wouldn't dare call her that even if you killed me. What if the Prince heard it and held a grudge? Jiang He said with a conflicted look, "Your Highness, I can't mess up the seniority. If the Prince blames me, I can't bear the consequences."

"If I tell you to, then tell me. If Prince Murong dares to cause you trouble, just tell me, and he'll be sorry." The woman patted her chest and assured him.

Jiang He was in a dilemma, thinking to himself, "If I shout like this, the prince will be in trouble."

"Oh well, I know your prince is a stubborn mule and loves to show off. Call him whatever you want," the woman said indifferently.

Jiang He secretly wiped the sweat from his brow. He mustn't let the prince hear what he said. How dare he call the prince a stubborn mule?

"Who dares to say that I am a stubborn donkey?" The voice came from afar, and in the blink of an eye, Murong Junlan was already in front of him.

"This humble servant greets Your Highness." Jiang He bowed, standing there with trepidation.

"Guard Jiang, did you hear anyone say that I am a donkey?" Murong Junlan looked at the woman in front of him with a serious expression, but asked Jiang He.

"This humble servant is hard of hearing and did not hear you." Jiang He took a step back.

"Since you didn't hear it, that's good." Murong Junlan was about to turn around and instruct Jiang He to serve Ling Yi. But Xiong Bao giggled and said loudly, "Brother Prince, Xiong Bao heard it."

The woman burst into laughter upon hearing this. She gave Xiong Bao a thumbs-up, and Xiong Bao made a funny face at her.

"Xiong Bao, why aren't you staying in Du Yan Kingdom and learning? What are you doing in the Snow Region?" Murong Junlan began to question Xiong Bao, thinking, "Trying to pull some tricks on me? You'll be sorry."

"Your Highness, Xiong Bao is bored in the capital Yan Kingdom."

"stuffy?"

“Yes, the children in Du Yan Kingdom are all very naive,” Xiong Bao said confidently, then paused and added, “The martial arts they teach are also naive. I don’t want to learn them; I want to learn from you.”

"Such a young age, yet you speak with such arrogance. I ask you, what do you wish to learn from me?"

"Anything is fine. As long as my brother, the prince, is willing to teach me, I'm willing to learn anything."

"Very well, as long as you complete my task, I promise to teach you a skill."

"Really? Xiong Bao thanks Your Highness, brother." Xiong Bao actually performed a proper kowtow to Murong Junlan.

"Where did you learn that?" Murong Junlan asked, staring at Xiong Bao. He thought Xiong Bao would say that he had taught himself.

"I learned it at a private school."

"Didn't you just say that you can't learn anything in the Du Yan Kingdom?" Murong Junlan pressed, wanting to see how Xiong Bao would react.

"That's useless."

Does this imply a veiled suspicion that there are flaws in the teaching methods of the Du Yan Kingdom?

"So what do you think would be useful?"

"Practice martial arts."

With a sudden "smack," Murong Junlan struck out with his palm, and Xiong Bao fell to his knees with a thud, startling everyone. Murong Junlan slowly said, "The governance of a nation begins with propriety, followed by martial prowess. The ancients spoke of both literary and military talents; this was foresight." Murong Junlan turned to look at Xiong Bao kneeling on the ground and continued, "Just now, I prioritized martial prowess over propriety. Are you now convinced?"

"Xiong Bao knows he was wrong, Xiong Bao pays respects to Master!" Xiong Bao kowtowed several times to Murong Junlan.

"Hmm?" Murong Junlan looked at the woman, and Xiong Bao immediately understood, then kowtowed to Yan'er several times.

"Xiong Bao greets his teacher's wife."

"Call her 'Master's Wife'," Murong Junlan corrected. "What 'Master's Wife, Sister' sounds a bit off."

"Xiong Bao greets Master's Wife." Xiong Bao performed another deep bow, and Murong Junlan smiled. This sounded much better.

"Who said I agreed to marry your master? Call me sister!" Yan'er glared angrily at Xiong Bao.

Xiong Bao looked at Yan'er with his two little eyes, then at Murong Junlan, and hesitated for a moment.

"It seems I need to reconsider taking on a disciple. Jiang He..." Murong Junlan turned to leave before he could finish speaking.

In a panic, Xiong Bao rushed to Murong Junlan and knelt down again with a thud. Then he turned to the woman next to him and shouted loudly, "Master's wife, please grant Xiong Bao's wish."

Seeing this, Murong Junlan's lips curled up. He glanced at the woman who was furious beside him and said, "Disciple, come here. Your master will first teach you the lightness skill. After you complete the task I gave you, I will have Guard Jiang teach you."

"Me?" Jiang He was completely confused. "What mental cultivation method?"

"Come here." Murong Junlan immediately taught the two the mental techniques for desert lightness skills, and at the end, he specifically asked, "Did you remember them?"

"Understood." The two nodded. But Jiang He quickly realized, "Your Highness, I don't know either."

"If you don't know how, you can learn. Back in the day, I was studying while reading books in the desert," Murong Junlan said casually. It was not appropriate for His Highness to reveal his embarrassing experience of falling into the desert.

"You two practice until you're ready and then show me," Murong Junlan said seriously. Jiang He was internally fretting. Had he been tricked by Xiong Bao, or had the prince set him up? He felt like he'd swallowed a dead chicken. But thankfully, Jiang He quickly thought of a way to escape. He cupped his hands to Murong Junlan and said, "Your Highness, this humble servant has important matters to attend to regarding Ling Yi, so I must take my leave."

"No need. Lingyi has already been found. You'll be in charge of taking care of him from now on." Murong Junlan thought to himself, "Trying to slip away? No way. You two have come at the perfect time. The task of picking snow lotus flowers and taking care of Lingyi will be yours from now on."

"You found Brother Lingyi?" Jiang He asked with delight. "Where is he now?" Jiang He was genuinely worried about the injured Lingyi.

"In the bear cave," Murong Junlan answered truthfully, without noticing anything amiss.

"Oh, that's good." A chill ran through Jiang He's heart. He thought there was still a difference, but he was good at hiding it, and Murong Junlan didn't notice it at first. Jiang He comforted himself, saying, "Fortunately, I didn't fall into the hands of the white-haired woman."

“Lingyi was rescued by the white-haired woman from me and the prince,” the woman suddenly added.

"Yan'er, Brother Lingyi is our benefactor, it's only right that we say so." Murong Junlan stopped Yan'er from continuing, and sure enough, Xiong Bao chimed in.

Who is Lingyi?

"It's my sister's..."

"He's a friend of Master's." Xiong Bao's question actually made Murong Junlan wary. Xiong Bao was still young, and there were some things he shouldn't know. Suddenly, Murong Junlan frowned. He didn't want Xiong Bao to know the secret that Ling Yi was a snake. So he said, "From now on, Yan'er, Ling Yi, and I will live in the Bear Cave, and Jiang He, you and Xiong Bao will live in the side cave."

What? The prince and his entourage all live in the bear cave? Should I change my opinion of the prince? But Jiang He quickly responded, "This humble servant will obey the prince's arrangements."

"I won't agree." Xiong Bao pouted and argued, "Bear Cave is mine, and no one is allowed to take it from me."

"I'm warning you, from this day forward, if you and Guard Jiang dare to step into the Bear Cave, you two are immediately sent back to the Du Yan Kingdom, understand?" Xiong Bao, this ticking time bomb, is really hard to deal with; you never know when he might explode at any moment. As a result, the task of taking care of Ling Yi in the Bear Cave still fell on his shoulders. Murong Junlan became increasingly annoyed, so he assigned the task of finding the snow lotus to Jiang He and Xiong Bao.

Over there, the spirit monkey, having lost Lingyi, was a little frightened, but it dared not utter a sound for fear of being blamed by the white-haired woman. It could only search everywhere in the Valley of Destruction. After searching for several days, it found no trace of her. Seeing that the white-haired woman was about to emerge from the "Ancient City of the Primordial Wilderness," the spirit monkey did not know what to do. After racking its brains for a long time, the spirit monkey finally came up with a solution that it thought was feasible.

That afternoon, the clever monkey carried a large rock from outside the cave and, taking advantage of the absence of others, slipped directly into the cave where the bears were tied up. The bears, thinking the monkey was going to attack them, actually huddled together, ready to fight. But the monkey, carrying the rock, went to a corner, raised it, and smashed it down with all its might! Boom! A large hole appeared in the corner. Then, the monkey waved its hand, signaling the bears to escape. At first, the bears were completely bewildered, unsure whether to go out. Later, one bear led the way and squeezed inside, and the others scrambled to follow. Once the bears were gone, the clever monkey vanished as well.