By this point, Lin Xiao had already pieced everything together.
“Do you really think Ling Xi would leave with us that easily?”
Zhang Mu and Liu Hai exchanged confused glances when they heard Lin Xiao’s words. Ling Xi had been the one who suggested traveling together in the first place — why would she suddenly change her mind?
“What are you trying to say, Lin Xiao?” Liu Hai asked, incredulous. “This was Ling Xi’s idea. She wouldn’t just go back on her word, would she?”
But Lin Xiao shook his head. The real decision wasn’t Ling Xi’s to make, it lay with the YaoGuais who had raised her. Just like how, in the human world, a child wouldn’t travel far unless their parents agreed, Ling Xi wouldn’t leave without the approval of those who had raised her.
“You’re missing the point,” Lin Xiao said. “If you truly wanted to take Ling Xi with us, you should’ve discussed it with those YaoGuais in advance. But now, even if you talk to them, they won’t let her go.”
Zhang Mu and Liu Hai gradually emerged from their surprise. Lin Xiao had a point. If they were serious about this, they should’ve consulted the YaoGuais earlier. The mountain’s eerie silence likely meant that those YaoGuais were doing everything they could to stop Ling Xi from leaving.
But Ling Xi had already made up her mind. She’s grown now, surely they should respect her wishes.
“It was her decision,” Liu Hai said angrily. “They should respect what she wants.”
But he clearly hadn’t grasped Lin Xiao’s full meaning.
Zhang Mu, on the other hand, remained unusually quiet. Lin Xiao’s reasoning struck a chord. If those YaoGuais truly refused to let her go, then it doesn't matter what Ling Xi wanted; she might never be able to leave.
“So what now?” Liu Hai muttered. “We can’t just leave her behind.”
“At the very least,” Zhang Mu said. “We need to talk to her. If the YaoGuais really won’t let her go, then maybe she should stay. She can still
As soon as Zhang Mu heard that, he nodded decisively and set off in that direction.
Lin Xiao nodded. “She’s likely being kept in a small cave to the south. I think they’ve hidden her.”
Just as they approached the cave, a group of YaoGuais stepped out to block their path.
“Why have you come back?” One of them asked. “Didn’t you finish your business here? You should’ve left already.”
Zhang Mu greeted them with a respectful smile.
“We’re here to see Ling Xi,” he said. “She told us she wanted to leave with us, and we agreed. We just want to ask her again, in person.”
But the moment the YaoGuais heard that, their expressions darkened.
They had already disagreed with Ling Xi’s decision to leave, and now this man had the gall to return and challenge their wishes? Of course, they were furious.
“Leave,” one of them snapped. “Whatever Ling Xi said before, it was just talk. She won’t be leaving this place.”
Zhang Mu immediately realized that Lin Xiao had been right all along. But unless they heard it from Ling Xi herself, they weren’t going anywhere.
“I want to hear her say that to me, personally,” he said. “If she tells me herself that she’s not coming, we’ll go.”
The YaoGuais stiffened. They hadn’t expected Zhang Mu to be so persistent. No wonder even the powerful Black Mist had lost to them. This group was more determined than they looked.
“Believe what you want,” one of the YaoGuais said. “But I’m telling the truth. Ling Xi is too young. Her cultivation is weakened, and she can’t protect herself— let alone protect you. We won’t allow her to go.”
Zhang Mu and the others listened quietly. They understood where the YaoGuais were coming from. But the final choice wasn’t theirs to make.
“Have you ever considered letting her grow?” Zhang Mu asked. “You’ve kept her sheltered under your wing all this time. What happens if you’re not around someday? She won’t know how to face the world on her own.”