“What!?” Xiao-Kai and Mengjun gasped. “It’s down there?”

Yuelong nodded. 

“But wait,” Mengjun interrupted. “How come you know so much about this? And about the old man too?”

Yuelong stared back at Mengjun, he had realized that he might have exposed too much information. He once again peered at the man in front of him, mentally judging his morals and whether or not he could be trusted. At last, Yuelong replied, “I’ve traveled to many places before, and naturally, I learned a lot.”

Without giving a chance to Mengjun to reply, Yuelong took off towards the town center. Mengjun crossed his arms and watched as Yuelong’s backside gradually disappeared into the crowd. He’s so young yet he has visited everywhere? And learned secrets? This dude isn’t some simple martial artist.

Given his tall structural build, it wasn’t hard for Mengjun to catch up to Yuelong. All he had to do was to straighten his back and slightly stand on the tips of his feet. He was a few centimeters taller than Yuelong when he stood upright. But his lazy nature makes him slouch a bit, which, if a normal person were to guess his occupation, they would never choose an opera actor.

Yuelong was strolling down the streets quietly, observing the shops of the city, when he felt a strong arm wrap onto his shoulder. He turned his face and found himself looking straight into Mengjun’s face. That’s when he realized how handsome Mengjun was.

Mengjun’s skin was a healthy colour, not too tanned and not too white, perfect for a masculine male, but it was incredibly smooth like porcelain. The shape of his eyebrows were like that of a curved blade, sharp yet strikingly charming. And his smile was the best part. Though Yuelong guessed that Mengjun must be around his age, his smile was one of everlasting youth. It brought about the warmth of spring to Yuelong’s dead heart. 

Instantly, Yuelong felt a tingling sensation throughout his entire body. Following it was a rush of blood into his cheeks. It was the second time that he had felt this way before. And his first time was also under a similar circumstance. 

It was the feeling of youthfulness that had caught Yuelong’s attention. The man next to him had the aura of someone he knew—his shi-di, Lanyue. They both had the charming smile of a youngster and similar personalities.

“Is this what Heaven had arranged for me? To meet Mengjun in the forest?” Yuelong thought to himself. 

A voice at the back of his head told him, “Why do you still lie to yourself? Why do you still grasp onto this thread of false hope that Lanyue is still alive?”

A sudden realization brought Yuelong back to reality. The warmth that he felt from Mengjun now dropped to a dead cold iceland. A looming feeling of depression once again began its haunting.

“We’re not that close,” Yuelong snapped coldly. 

The smile on Mengjun’s face faded slightly. “Oh, my bad.” He slid his hand off of Yuelong’s shoulder and kept both his hands behind his back.

The trio kept silent as they walked down the seemingly endless street. It was a completely different sight from southern villages. The streets were well lit with flaming lanterns, the buildings were all built from a reddish looking wood, which in contrast to the cold northern weather, brought about a cozy aura.

Surrounding them, the air was hot with the steam of boiling hot pots and steamers. On the two sides of the street were countless restaurants. From braised lamb spines to hot pot, the cuisine styles varied from north to south, east to west.

A restaurant with white skinned, blue eyed and brown haired waiters caught Xiao-kai’s attention. They seemed to be serving roasted poultry and fish. Even though he wasn’t familiar with the style of the local cuisine, It didn’t look like local food to Xiao-Kai.

“So…” Mengjun said, hoping to break the awkwardness between him and Yuelong. “How do we get into the Lishui Sect if it's underwater? And wouldn’t the residents drown?”

Yuelong smiled a bit, “Of course not, they are cultivators with supernatural powers. So of course there are ways to go down there without getting wet.”

Reaching the end of the street was a pagoda tower with nine levels. Different coloured lanterns circled the top of the pagoda, illuminating the entire exterior of the building. Surprisingly, the area around the pagoda was lifeless compared to the buzzing streets they had come from. Without hesitation, Yuelong walked up the stairs to the pagoda’s gate.

Creak!

The two followed Yuelong into the pagoda. While the outside world was lit with thousands of lanterns, the light doesn’t seem to travel into the pagoda, but rather, away from it. Inside, the trio found themselves engulfed in darkness. 

“Just keep walking forward!” Yuelong called out to his comrades. 

Surrounded by nothingness, Xiao-Kai panicked. He had begun to lose focus on what was his front and back. The entrance had completely vanished in the darkness, and he was alone.

“Ge?” Xiao-Kai called.

The darkness answered back with silence. 

His heart raced faster than the horses of the prairies, a buzz began inside his head, clouding his judgement. He held his breath. With a hand, he grasped the end of the ponytail from his head.

“Ge!?” Xiao-Kai called again. 

“Xiao-Kai!” a voice called back. “Follow my voice!”

His muscles relaxed at the voice, and he felt clear minded about his own actions. But nonetheless, he kept his hand fumbling with the ends of his hair. He followed the source of the voice and took one step, two steps, three steps… and he fell into nothing.

A soft blue light exploded under him, he felt his body sunk into something soft and bouncy, almost like the gelatinous substance of cold condensed chicken stock. His heart had thumped so rapidly that he thought his heart had stopped entirely. He had tensed up his entire body to the point where his nails dug painfully into his palms. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he found himself gawking at the sight in front of him.

A magnificent palace, shining in all its glory, stood in front of him. Upon closer look, Xiao-Kai realized that he was no longer on land, but underwater. The entire palace was covered by a huge bubble that kept the water at bay, preventing the palace from getting flooded. The palace itself sat on the riverbed, lit with silver light from floating orbs, and Xiao-Kai could see all the intricate details of the palace. 

“Xiao-Kai, come on!” A voice called.

Absorbed by the splendor of the palace, the teen had failed to see the other two companions already a couple meters ahead of him. He quickly jogged up ahead.

“You alright, kiddo?” Asked Mengjun.

Xiao-Kai nodded, still trying to sort out his mental state. The trio took their time to walk closer to the palace gates, all while admiring the gorgeous underwater view. Aquatic animals swam outside the bubble. Occasionally, a school of fish would peer inside at the trio with their glossy eyes.

“Long-ge,” Xiao-Kai started.

“Hm?”

“How did we end up here?” Xiao-Kai asked.

“It’s quite simple actually. People always knew that the headquarters of the Lishui Sect was somewhere in the Lishui River, and many have tried to search for it.” Explained Yuelong. “Only some knew that the entrance was through the pagoda, but what they didn't know is that water will always flow downwards and never upwards, hence you had to fall down in order to truly arrive at the Huajing Shuizhuang. But many never read Dao De Jing, and never understood this principle, so everytime they activated the trapdoor in the pagoda, they used their spiritual power to either fly away and escape rather than let nature take its course.”

“Ohhhh…” Mengjun exclaimed. “That’s a really smart move!”

“Mhm.” Yuelong replied.

As they reached the gates of the palace, a huge slab of wood hung from the top of the gates, it read, Huajing Shuizhuang. The three stood silently in front of the gates before a soft creak came from the doors. A black robed disciple appeared from behind the gates. He bowed to Yuelong.

“Yixiao Zhenjun, welcome to our humble sect. May I ask what brings you here?” 

Xiao-Kai looked up at Mengjun, expecting him to have a similar surprised look. But, to Xiao-Kai’s surprise, Mengjun had a relatively calm expression, as if he knew that Yuelong had a title and was well respected for it.

“I am here to see Leader Murong, to apologize for my rash actions the other day,” replied Yuelong, returning the bow.

“And these two are?” The disciple looked at Mengjun and Xiao-Kai.

“These are my friends, we have journeyed here on foot and I was hoping Leader Murong would be kind enough to lend us a warm bed to stay the night.” Yuelong explained.

“Please, follow me, Yixiao Zhenjun,” The disciple led the way into the palace. 

Inside the Huajing Shuizhuang, they were met with an even more splendid scene. An underwater garden. Colourful plants grew around a small pond of purple flowers. They had eye shaped petals and bloomed similar to that of water lilies. They released a faint scent of fruity honey that seemed to calm the senses.

Past the garden, they were led into a grand hall where they were to meet the Leader of the Lishui Sect, Murong Teng. 

“Please wait here while I go invite my Master,” the disciple bowed and left the hall.

Similar to Yanren Hall of Qianyang Summit, large pillars supported the enormous roof above their heads. Translucent tapestry draped down in an orderly fashion, concealing those who sat behind them. 

“So, Yixiao Zhenjun, why are you here to see this Lishui Leader?” questioned Mengjun, crossing his arms. 

“I’m only here to straighten out a misunderstanding between my…” Yuelong paused for a moment. He hesitated before explaining his background. There isn’t a need for me to hide my real identity with Xiao-Kai and Mengjun, they are only ordinary people who won’t understand the connections between the sects. 

“Between what?” inquired Xiao-Kai.

“Between my sect and the Lishui sect,” said Yuelong calmly.

Xiao-Kai’s face showed a hint of confusion. Yuelong expected this since Xiao-Kai didn’t know much of the world. However, Mengjun seemed to have almost no reaction whatsoever. But before Yuelong had any chance to question Mengjun, someone had walked in the room.

“So, my future son-in-law has finally decided to visit this old man?”

A tall figure walked onto the platform at the end of the room. Half concealed behind the tapestry, Yuelong could still recognize who the person was. It was none other than Murong Teng.

He wore a dark coloured robe with purple linings, with big elegant sleeves, he brought about the sublime aura of a sect leader. Different from that of Fan Haoren, Murong Teng didn’t have the eye piercing effect but rather, emitting an icy feeling, one that would freeze people in their tracks if they didn’t have a strong will.

First time meeting a sect leader, Xiao-Kai felt extremely anxious. He didn’t really understand the concept of a sect, less alone a sect leader, but he had the impression that it would be an extremely powerful person that can subdue hundreds of people with one move. But upon seeing Murong Teng walk into the room, he felt inferior to him and almost had the urge to kneel. 

Mengjun however, stood next to Yuelong, proud, tall and his arms still crossed in front of his chest. As someone who had experience on the stages of the world, he has met lots of different people. So for him, it was like meeting a possible sponsor for the opera troupe, standing tall and proud to show off how great of an actor he is. Or, he just wanted to show that this ordinary human is capable of standing up against a master of the cultivation arts.

Murong Teng sat down on his throne and rested his head on his right hand. A feeling of guilt emerged from Yuelong. Judging by Murong Teng’s current posture, he assumed that the Lishui Leader was tired and stressed from what he had done at the banquet.

“Qianyang disciple, Fan Yuelong, hereby greets Leader Murong,” Yuelong bowed.

The Lishui Sect leader gave a long sigh. With a wave of his hand, he said, “Rise.”

“I am here today,” started Yuelong. “To apologize for my actions during the banquet.”

Murong Teng sat unmoved from his tired position.

“And I also wish to tell you my true feelings for this marriage…”

Mengjun glanced sideways at Yuelong.

“I will not partake in this marriage.” Yuelong announced.

“What!?” Boomed Murong Teng, angrily.

He immediately stood up and lifted the tapestry. From the last time Yuelong had seen him, he seemed to be a lot older than he actually was. He had dark circles under his bloodshot eyes, and wrinkles around his mouth, hinting of his constant frowns. 

“How dare you!?” the Lishui Sect leader pointed at Yuelong. “Take them all to the dungeons! If you do not marry my daughter, then you shall never leave this place!”