Mu Chen stood up and stretched his body. Tattered pieces of his robes fell with every move. He sighed and went to the bathroom. After taking a bath and changing into a new set of clothes, he came out.

Mu Chen looked at the room which was in an unsightly state and felt a little guilty. "This room is no longer suitable for living. I hope Su Rong won't mind it too much."

The guilt didn't last long and Mu Chen came out to the courtyard. It was getting dark now. Li Kun and Su He were sitting at a table chatting with each other. When Mu Chen arrived, Su He gave him a strange expression.

"Brother Chen, you are finally here," Li Kun said. "I was about to leave."

"Hehe." Su He on the other hand sniggered and still hadn't stopped giving him that strange look. "Brother Chen's stamina is like a bull. Admire, admire…"

Mu Chen was puzzled. "What are you talking about?"

"There is no need to pretend to be modest, Brother Chen," Su He said. "Everyone here is an adult. Brother Chen's peach blossom luck is as tall as the sky..."

Mu Chen looked at Li Kun. "What did you tell him?"

Li Kun shrugged. "I just told him that you had something important to talk to Sister Mei―"

"Brother Chen, you didn't tell me you were the guy the Fire and Ice fairies settled on," Su He said with some envy.

"Ice and Fire fairies?" Mu Chen raised a brow. "You are talking about Zhou Mei and Liu Fengying?"

"Who else?" Su He said.

Liu Fengying and Zhou Mei had been staying at Su Family for several days, so Su He was already familiar with them. When the two of them arrived, they had caused a stir with their beautiful and unique styles. Several youngsters from the Su Family had been smitten and tried to woo them, but their attempts had failed to elicit even the slightest response.

Mu Chen looked at Su He's knowing expression and understood. He felt exasperated. "What are you making faces for? They weren't even there."

Su He was shocked. "They weren't there? Then all this time?" He stared at Mu Chen with his eyes wide. "You were doing it alone―oww!"

Mu Chen couldn't help and chopped Su He on his head. "Is your head filled with garbage?"

Li Kun laughed while Su He rubbed his head.

"You should know where your sister is?" Mu Chen said. "Let's go see her."

Su He nodded, still holding his head.

"Brother Chen, I won't be coming." Li Kun said. "I just came to give you the ring. I have to check on how my sect members are doing."

Mu Chen's face twitched. "I see." Why did it seem like he was the only one who had a lot of free time?

After seeing Li Kun off, Su He brought Mu Chen to Su Rong's villa and promptly disappeared. Mu Chen was a bit peeved by Su He's behavior but decided to ignore it for now. A maid guided Mu Chen to Su Rong's room.

Mu Chen knocked twice on the door and entered the room. As expected, Liu Fengying, Zhou Mei, and Su Rong were together discussing something. Liu Fengying and Zhou Mei saw Mu Chen and averted their eyes, but a red blush crept on their faces.

"Brother Chen, you are here?" Su Rong saw Mu Chen and greeted him. Seeing he was alone, she frowned. "Where is Su He? Did he cause any trouble?"

"Him? He just ran off." Mu Chen said. Seeing the frown on Su Ro
g's forehead getting deeper, he added, " "Don't worry, he didn't cause any trouble while I was with him. Instead, he helped me..."

Su Rong heaved a sigh of relief. "That's good then."

Liu Fengying looked at Mu Chen and bit her lip. "Why did you come? Do you need something?"

"I just came to see you," Mu Chen said. He turned to Zhou Mei. "Mei'er, I have something for you."

Zhou Mei tilted her head in response. "For me?"

Mu Chen took out the jade slip and handed it to her. "Go ahead, take a look."

Zhou Mei skimmed through the contents of the slip and her eyes widened and she stood up. "T-this…this is..."  The shock in her eyes turned into a pleasant surprise. Zhou Mei became teary-eyed and hugged Mu Chen. "Mu...Mu Chen!"

Mu Chen caressed Zhou Mei's back. "How about it? Do you like it?"

"Mmm," Zhou Mei sniffled. It took a while for her to calm down.

"Hey, what did you give her?" Liu Fengying said, sounding a bit sour.

Mu Chen coughed and patted Zhou Mei's back. Zhou Mei left Mu Chen's embrace with a red face and handed Liu Fengying the jade slip.

Looking through the slip, Liu Fengying also became surprised. "This is a cultivation technique for the yin element―there are also magic art and martial techniques. It's a complete set! Sister Mei, you hit a jackpot."

"A complete set?" Even Su Rong was surprised.

"Yeah," Liu Fengying said. "Both the cultivation technique and magic arts complement each other. With this, Sister Mei will catch up to us soon."

"I look forward to it," Mu Chen said. After chatting with the three for a bit more, Mu Chen left.

While walking back to his guest villa, Mu Chen was in an excellent mood. A few days later, they would enter the realm. His preparation was almost complete.

He had given the old man his broken armor to craft him some arm guards. He had discovered sword sense, adding more flexibility to his skills. The issue of Zhou Mei's cultivation that had been plaguing him was solved. Even if he couldn't find a heavenly treasure in the realm, he still had a spirit vein for use. He could purchase a pill to fix his dantian.

"Hmm?" Mu Chen frowned. "Why do I get a feeling that I missed something?" He stopped walking and stood in place, thinking hard. Then it hit him. "Right! Where's Xiao Xue?"

#

"Damn! Where the hell did that little brat run off?" Mu Chen cursed.

After realizing he hadn't seen Xiao Xue for a while now, Mu Chen went back to Liu Fengying. But to his surprise, Liu Fengying said she hadn't seen Xiao Xue since they came back. She thought she had been with him, and didn't bother to check.

At first, everyone thought Xiao Xue might just be somewhere inside the Su Family estate. But when the few of them failed to find her, they became nervous. In the end, Su Rong summoned the servants and had them check everywhere, causing discontent among the several family members.

But even after turning the entire Su Family upside down, Xiao Xue was nowhere to be found.

"Brother Chen, I think we should stop now," Su Rong said. "We've checked everywhere."

Mu Chen frowned. "Is she really not in the Su Family? There are still a few places..."

Su Rong shook her head."Those places are not convenient to search. But there should be no need to check them."

"We can't be sure about that," Mu Chen snorted. "What if Xiao Xue is there?"

Su Rong's expression turned stiff. "Brother Chen, they are the residences of sect elders…"

"We made so much noise, Xiao Xue should've already known we are looking for her," Mu Chen scowled. "Since she hadn't come, then it only means she can't come―"

"Brother Chen!" Su Rong raised her voice.

"Mu Chen." Liu Fengying saw sparks igniting between Mu Chen and Su Rong and stepped in. She squeezed Mu Chen's hand and said, "Sister Rong has already done her best."

Mu Chen controlled his frustration with some difficulty. Although he considered Su Rong as a friend and trusted her, but Su Rong was Su Rong. He could trust Su Rong, but that didn't mean he could trust everyone from the Su Family.

From appearance alone, that little fox was an excellent choice as a pet for the pampered high ladies from the noble families. Could some higher-up from the Su Family have kidnapped Xiao Xue? Just thinking about it turned Mu Chen's face ugly.

But it was indeed wrong of him to speak to Su Rong like that. Su Rong had already done a lot for him and the girls. He considered her as a friend, so he shouldn't have put her into such a difficult position.

Mu Chen took a deep breath and calmed himself. "Sister Rong, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"It's alright," Su Rong said. Seeing Mu Chen didn't press the issue, she was relieved a bit. If possible, she didn't want to disturb the elders.

But although Su Rong was not willing to disturb the elders, there was someone else who was itching for chaos.

"Isn't it just searching the elders' quarter? I have done that many―oww! Elder Sis, why do you hit me?" Su He rubbed his head and looked at his sister in annoyance. When they had started searching for Xiao Xue, Su He appeared. Like a shark that had smelled blood, Su He became enthusiastic and joined in the search.

"Can't you sit still for a moment? Haven't you made enough trouble already?" Su Rong said. She turned to Mu Chen once again. "Maybe Xiao Xue just went to wander around, she may come back on her own."

"Yeah, maybe," Mu Chen said.

"You don't have any way to contact your beast?" Su He said. "Don't all beasts have tokens to control them?"

Mu Chen shook his head. "Xiao Xue is not a tamed beast." He sighed. Even if he was unwilling, he had to accept the possibility that Xiao Xue was not in the Su Family. But it made looking for her more difficult. He was sure if Xiao Xue could only hear his call, she would respond. But how could he make her know?

Mu Chen's eyes fell on the pond in front of him. Some of the elders were eccentric and didn't allow anyone to disturb them. So the pond wasn't maintained and plants and weeds grew indiscriminately. An overgrowth of reed dominated the surface of the pond.

Mu Chen had an idea and he picked up a reed. He sliced its two ends with his knife exposing its hollow to air. Mu Chen blew hard into the reed and it whistled.

Mu Chen looked at everyone. "You heard that, right?"

"Yes," Su He said. "Umm, Brother Chen, is this important?" He was still eager to knock down the doors of other elders' residences.

Mu Chen shook his head. "I'm not yet sure." He chose a few more reeds and repeated the process.

Everyone didn't understand what Mu Chen was up to, but they were curious.

After dozens of trials, Mu Chen found a reed pipe that suited his purposes. When he blew hard into it, others didn't hear a thing, but Mu Chen's ears were still ringing.

Looking at everyone's blank expression, Mu Chen was satisfied. From his experience in the dark forest and with Xiao Xue, he knew that the beasts were capable of listening to sounds normal humans couldn't. Moreover, this type of sound could travel far and wide. It could even penetrate through the walls.

Mu Chen took a deep breath and played the reed once more. But instead of playing it without aim, he did his best to follow a certain tune. It was a lullaby that their mother often sang for them. While Xiao Xue was with her, Ningxue had done the same for her. Mu Chen was sure if Xiao Xue heard it, she would know it was him.

After playing for a bit, Mu Chen stopped.

"Umm, Brother Chen?" Su He and others' faces were full of doubts.

"Ssh! Quiet." Mu Chen strained his ears. But besides the murmurs of several spectators, he didn't hear anything. "Xiao Xue might not be here," Mu Chen sighed. As hard as it was to accept it, he didn't have much choice. "I will go and search the city."

"Mu Chen, are you sure?" Liu Fengying asked.

"I'm almost certain," Mu Chen said.

Liu Fenying and others were doubtful but seeing Mu Chen so confident, they didn't question.

"Then I will come with you," Liu Fengying said. She felt responsible for Xiao Xue's disappearance.

But Mu Chen shook his head. "You stay here. If Xiao Xue comes back while we are gone, we might miss her. Zhou Mei is cultivating, so you are the only one who she would trust after me."

"Brother Chen, let me come with you," Su He said. "I can help."

Mu Chen looked at Su He and wondered if he really wanted to help him or just wanted to have fun. "You?"

"In case you run into some noble, there won't be much trouble. Also, I know the city very well." Su He patted his chest. "With me alongside, things will be much easier."

"You do have a point." Mu Chen looked at Su Rong for her opinion.

Su Rong thought for a while then said. "Take him with you." She stared at Su He who was about to jump in joy. "Don't make any trouble."

"Alright, let's go," Mu Chen said, "If Xiao Xue returns, just send a message on Su He's token."