Li Mo couldn't help but feel puzzled.
Since when did the ice block ever ask others for favors?
Ying Bing sat down at the stone table, habitually pouring tea, her cool and detached expression tinged with hesitation.
She cleared her throat.
"Come closer and listen."
Asking for my help but sounding like a superior lecturing me.
"What’s so important that you’re being this formal?"
"You don’t usually care about much."
Li Mo sat opposite her, casually picking up the teacup for a sip.
He didn’t even notice—
It was the same cup Ying Bing had just drunk from.
"Are you taking a sect mission that’ll take you to Ziyang Prefecture City?"
Ying Bing’s gaze flickered slightly, as if she hadn’t seen his action.
"I haven’t accepted any yet."
"But I do plan to pick one in Ziyang Prefecture City."
Li Mo leaned back, hands behind his head, grinning.
"Since coming to Ziyang, I haven’t had the chance to explore properly. Consider this my excuse to slack off a little."
"This trip won’t be too busy. If you’ve got some errands, just say it outright."
The mission was secondary.
Sect contribution points meant little to him—just picking an easy task to fulfill the requirement would do.
"I want you to find someone for me."
"She’s probably... a beggar now."
As memories surfaced, the frost in Ying Bing’s expression seemed to thaw slightly.
Back then, she hadn’t been able to join Qingyuan Sect.
She’d ended up squatting in an abandoned house in Ziyang Prefecture City.
That was where she met Jiang Chulong, who also had nowhere to go.
In this life, it was Li Mo’s help that unlocked her meridians and revealed her talent.
But in her past life, without Jiang Chulong’s mutual support, she wouldn’t have succeeded either.
Now that she was in Qingyuan Sect, Jiang Chulong was left alone, still struggling to survive those harsh days...
"I want you to find her and arrange food, clothing, and shelter for her."
Li Mo blinked at her words.
The ice block was worrying about someone’s basic needs?
Was this even the same person he knew?
Could it be... a relative?
Her hometown county had been ravaged by disaster beasts—her family should’ve all perished.
Maybe she’d gotten news that a lone survivor had ended up in Ziyang Prefecture City?
That would make sense.
Little Li naturally arrived at this conclusion.
So he replied earnestly,
"Don’t worry. Ziyang Prefecture City isn’t small, but finding someone isn’t too hard."
"If you remember what they look like, maybe sketch it out?"
As he spoke, he pulled out ink, brush, and paper.
Helping the ice block? He was all for it—anything related to her always brought great system rewards.
Besides, searching for family? Even without compensation, he’d gladly help.
Ying Bing took the brush calmly.
Little Li stared at the "masterpiece" on the table, expression grave.
"Tell me... do people actually look ?"
Looking at the abstract, Picasso-esque portrait, Li Mo had to ask.
If you want me to find someone, could we at least aim for realism?
This avant-garde mess—if I hadn’t seen a few of Picasso’s works in my past life, I wouldn’t even recognize it as a person.
"The features are clear."
"Female. Large eyes. Small lips."
Ying Bing’s gaze drifted elsewhere.
Li Mo: "......Any more... obvious traits?"
Ying Bing seemed to search her memories before adding,
"She has a horrific chest wound, stutters when speaking, and... if cleaned up, she’s quite beautiful."
"Uh... how beautiful?"
"Comparable to me, in different ways."
Time was of the essence.
Eventually, Little Li managed to extract a few concrete details.
He decided to set out that very day.
Before leaving, he left several days’ worth of wine for his master, instructing Ying Bing to ration it.
With that settled, he headed for the Divine Arms Peak.
A rather luxurious carriage rolled down the mountain.
Incense burned inside, tea swirling in its cup without spilling.
"Brother Li, why’d you take a mission to hunt some river pirate?" Murong Xiao studied the wanted poster on the table.
The sketch provided by the sect’s external affairs hall was also blurry.
This era lacked photography—without a live reference, portraits relied on verbal descriptions, which often varied even for the same person.
"Had to find someone anyway. Might as well make it count," Li Mo said offhandedly.
Cui Peng, a notorious bandit at the Internal Breath Condensation realm, had been severely wounded by an outer sect elder ten days prior.
A master of body refinement and saber techniques, with dozens of lives on his hands.
For other Qi-Blood realm disciples, even injured, Cui Peng was a tough opponent.
Just a decent sparring partner.
He’d yet to have a real life-or-death fight...
"Since Brother Li took the mission, I’ll turn Ziyang Prefecture City upside down to find him," Murong Xiao vowed, rubbing his head with a grin.
Had learning the Golden Bell Shield made Murong slightly... simpler?
"By the way, who else are you looking for besides Cui Peng?"
In the carriage, Murong Xiao scribbled notes diligently, hanging onto every word.
He planned to enlist his grandfather’s help upon returning home.
The Murong family’s intelligence network was reliable—Li Mo trusted that much.
Before long, the carriage entered the prefecture city, heading straight for the inner district, where the architecture outshone the outer city’s.
Li Mo glanced up at the gilded plaque—the Murong residence was among the grandest in the inner city.
"Young Master, Honored Li."
The steward, clearly forewarned, greeted them warmly.
"Brother Li, make yourself at home."
Murong Xiao relaxed visibly upon returning.
Passing through galleries and gardens, Li Mo observed with interest.
This place dwarfed his family’s estate back home—every detail exuded aristocratic refinement.
In the main hall, two elders sat before a lavish spread, sipping tea. The one in crimson robes beckoned Murong Xiao over.
The other, a purple-robed elder with half-black, half-white hair, fixed his gaze on Li Mo—then his sword.
"So this is the famed Li, the True Disciple."
"Truly a hero among youths, as expected."
The crimson-robed elder rose with a hearty laugh.
"The Prefect and I were just enjoying tea when we heard of your arrival. He insisted on staying longer just to meet you—drank half my stock of Cloud Mist Eyebrow!"