Opportunity Beckons

Hearing him say this, Mo Yuanjiao's eyes immediately lit up, and he nodded repeatedly, promising:

"Rest assured! I absolutely won't tell anyone! I will definitely keep it a secret!"

The old man motioned for him to come closer, then leaned into his ear and whispered with a voice as quiet as a mosquito:

"In our Xiushui Village, there is exactly one."

Mo Yuanjiao, who had excellent hearing, heard him clearly, but was a bit surprised:

"Xiushui Village? That sect is in a village?"

"Shh—keep your voice down, young man!" The old man hurriedly waved his hand to make him lower his volume. "What's wrong with being in a village? Let me tell you, the youngster in our village's sect is incredibly powerful..."

Saying this, the old man shot him a sidelong glance. Seeing his face full of disbelief, the old man immediately flicked his sleeve and was about to walk away,

"Hmph! If you don't believe me, I'm not willing to tell you anyway."

"Hey, hey, hey! Old man, don't go! I believe you, I believe you!" Mo Yuanjiao hurriedly stopped him,

"Then please tell me, where is this Xiushui Village?"

The old man snorted, but his footsteps still stopped, and he pointed the way toward the road to the east:

"See this road? Keep walking along it. When you reach the three-way intersection ahead, take the middle path. Don't turn, just walk to the end. As for that sect... once you enter the village, just ask anyone how to get to the foot of the North Mountain near the mountain stream."

Mo Yuanjiao memorized it very seriously.

"Thank you very much!"

Seeing him nod in thanks, the old man waved his hand and said,

"No need, no need."

Then he entered Cuifeng Town.

The oil at home was running out, so he had to hurry and buy some oil to take back.

This old man was none other than Du Liushui, Village Chief Du of Xiushui Village.

Today, his daughter-in-law took his grandson back to her maiden home to visit relatives, and his sons had all gone to work in the fields. He happened to be idle at home with nothing to do. Seeing that the oil was gone, he thought he would come to town to buy some oil, treating it as a way to stretch his bones.

Who would have thought he would actually run into a young man looking for a sect.

Du Liushui then thought of how Lin Xiao had previously tried to recruit disciples for his small sect in the village but had failed to recruit many.

Now that someone had actually delivered themselves to the door, Du Liushui thought he would introduce him to Lin Xiao, considering it a good deed.

Having done a good deed, Du Liushui felt comfortable all over.

He hoped that Brother Xiao's sect could grow soon and provide some protection for the village.

Du Liushui and Hu Deli had a very good relationship, and the two old men would often get together to chat.

Previously, he had heard that old fellow Deli say that the sudden change in weather in the village last time was most likely resolved by Brother Xiao.

On the other side, Mo Yuanjiao was extremely excited after getting the news. He looked at Guard Mo with bright eyes. Although he didn't say a single word, Guard Mo felt as if he had already heard the words he left unsaid.

See! There really is a fortuitous encounter!

Guard Mo felt very helpless.

"Young Master, this is just what some old man you pulled over on the side of the road said. It's not very credible! What if it's the lair of some mountain bandit stronghold..."

Mo Yuanjiao completely ignored the dissuasion in his tone. He just mounted his horse and urged,

"Let's go, let's go, Old Que, let's set off quickly! It's going to get late soon!"

The current Mo Yuanjiao had developed selective deafness, his heart filled only with the fortuitous encounter that haunted his dreams.

By the time they followed the route given by the old man all the way to Xiushui Village, the sky had already darkened somewhat.

Looking at Xiushui Village with its intersecting paths and the sounds of chickens and dogs, the villagers starting to pack up their farm tools from the fields to go home, and the curling smoke rising from the village households—this tranquil rural scene slightly calmed Guard Mo's heart, which had been terrified that his young master would be tricked into some bandit stronghold.

Mo Yuanjiao raised his eyebrows at him, his smug look seeming to say: You see, it's my fortuitous encounter! Not danger!

Guard Mo silently looked away.

He really wanted to tell his young master that many bandit lairs looked no different from ordinary villages on normal days.

But, forget it.

This was a young master blinded by fortuitous encounters, and he had no choice but to follow him.

Seeing Mo Yuanjiao dismount and stride toward the village leading his horse with one hand, he hurriedly followed.

Upon entering the village, Mo Yuanjiao and his companion, dressed in luxurious martial attire and leading tall, fine horses, received gaze after gaze.

Fortunately, everyone was currently hungry and tired after a busy day, only wanting to hurry home to eat and rest, otherwise the two of them would definitely have been surrounded by onlookers.

Mo Yuanjiao casually found a kind-looking aunt and very politely asked where the foot of the North Mountain near the mountain stream was. After getting directions, he excitedly rushed over.

He completely ignored the stares and scrutiny of the villagers passing by them.

From childhood to adulthood, he had received plenty of such staring gazes.

At this time, the people in the Lingxian Sect had also finished their day of cultivation. They were all coming down the mountain one after another, and upon seeing Mo Yuanjiao pass by them, they also joined the crowd of onlookers.

It was rare for their village to see outsiders who obviously looked like they were from out of town come in.

Truly a novelty.

By the time Mo Yuanjiao followed the aunt's directions to the bottom of the mountain, the sky had completely darkened.

Mo Yuanjiao took out a torch from his storage bag, lit it, and handed it to Guard Mo to hold. The two of them went up the mountain along the narrow mountain path by the light of the torch.

Recently, because this mountain path had been walked on a lot by the people of the Lingxian Sect, it had also become somewhat wider.

After walking for only a short while, Mo Yuanjiao suddenly stopped, his nose twitching slightly as he said to Guard Mo:

"Old Que, do you smell anything?"

Hearing this, Guard Mo, who had stopped closely behind him, sniffed carefully and then nodded:

"It seems to be peach blossoms?"

Mo Yuanjiao nodded repeatedly:

"It is peach blossoms! But as we walked all the way here just now, I kept looking at this mountain, and I didn't see a large patch of peach trees anywhere."

As he spoke, he suddenly seemed to think of something. His bright, piercing eyes sparkled under the illumination of the firelight.

"It must be my fortuitous encounter calling to me from ahead!"

Instantly, as if wind was beneath his feet, he led his horse and ran forward, causing his horse to follow him with a clip-clop sound.

Guard Mo: ...

What should he do with an obsessed young master who saw everything as a fortuitous encounter?

Inside the Lingxian Sect.

Little Luan, who had just finished dropping organic fertilizer in the spirit field, walked to the front of the thatched shed. Just as it was preparing to go in and continue educating its three stubbornly ignorant little disciples, it suddenly heard a commotion coming from the mountain path.

It was a bit curious and walked over on its two little chicken claws.

It saw a figure sprinting up from below, then with a bang, crash into an invisible layer of something, and rapidly bounce off.

Little Luan was startled by the loud noise and closed its little chicken eyes.

Immediately after, it heard an anxious shout.

"Young Master—!"

Little Luan opened its eyes and saw a man below holding another man, shouting in panic. The person holding the other would also occasionally pat the cheek of the person in his arms who had been knocked unconscious.

Little Luan used its chicken wing to scratch its own head, imitating Tietou's usual mannerisms.

Should it go and tell that piece of Black Wood about this?