Arriving at the border of the Mystical Qilin Sect, the horses refused to proceed any further. Without any other options, Anji and Gu Ying would have to proceed on foot past the barrier.
"I guess this is where we part," Mingshen sighed heavily, dismounting.
Bai Dajin watched as the squirt and her Manchurian bodyguard exchanged parting words. Truthfully, he also wanted a hug from the girl. However, he was too embarrassed to request one as he watched her peck her brother on both cheeks.
As if reading his mind, Anji turned to the scarred warrior and raised her arms towards him in an unspoken request for a parting hug. Grabbing onto the chance, Bai Dajin covered the distance between them in two big strides and picked the girl up, hugging her carefully so he would not crush the fluffy little doctor.
"Remember to eat your meals regularly and grow taller," he reminded. "Squirts like you need all the food and sleep you can get at your age to grow into proper adults."
Secretly weaving and slapping a spell onto the back of Bai Dajin’s neck, Anji hoped her insurance card would never activate. It was not a harmful spell. However, as a doctor, she was still worried about her patients. Bai Dajin’s condition when she found him at the Golden Halo Hotel was worrying, and it required many years of therapy to treat the underlying cause fully. Yet, Anji did not have the luxury of time. The only thing she could do now was soothe the nightmares he suffered from and regulate his qi whenever he was in distress.
Once her sneaky treatment was in place, Anji let go of the man with a sulky look. Bai Dajin pouted slightly when he did not receive a peck on his cheek. Then again, it was understandable. Girls did not often like prickly beards. Unlike Zhao Mingfeng, who had a silky smooth beard, Bai Dajin’s beard was wild and untamed from years of neglect. He did not use razors to shave, only the blade of his sabre when it started to become dirty from his food.
Blinking at the unusual expression on the gruff martial artist who refused to put her down, Anji gave her brother a questioning glance. Mingshen only shrugged, equally clueless. Then, Gu Ying pointed to her cheek and Anji quickly got the hint.
Leaning forward, she wanted to place a kiss on the side of Bai Dajin’s face, but it was so full of beard that she could only do the next best thing and kiss him on the nose right in front of her.
Stunned, Bai Dajin’s eyes widened, and Mingshen was almost ready to throw hands at the action. Thankfully, Gu Ying was around to hold her young master back from picking a meaningless fight. Anji probably had no idea what her actions meant. Nobody could blame her.
Confused, Anji tilted her head to one side, questioning while Bai Dajin spluttered.
Putting the troublemaking girl down, Bai Dajin furiously blushed while lecturing her about the proximities of men and women. Anji had no idea what he was talking about. Was he the one who wanted a kiss?
"You don’t kiss the person on their nose, forehead or lips unless you want to marry them!" Bai Dajin eventually spat the words out. "You can only kiss someone on the cheek if they are your family and receive kisses on the forehead from your parents or older siblings!"
Receiving one last important lesson from the blushing man, Anji quickly apologised for not knowing any better. To save everyone from embarrassment at the accident, Mingshen quickly urged Anji and Gu Ying to start their journey. It would take them a few days to reach the main sect and cross these mountains. With only a few more hours until sundown, they should hurry.
Waving goodbye again, Anji and Gu Ying disappeared past the invisible barrier and vanished from sight. From outside, Mingshen and Bai Dajin stood unmoving. They might not be able to see Anji and Gu Ying anymore, but neither man wanted to turn their back so quickly. Only after an hour, Bai Dajin grunted and mounted the horse. His mood shifted quickly, and Mingshen mounted his steed as well. The atmosphere between them was no longer warm and harmonious without Anji. If anything, Bai Dajin, who had been acting like a huge kitten during the last week, returned to behaving like a ferocious tiger. Mingshen stopped his gentle behaviour. There was no need for kindness when Anji was not around.
They rode back to the Eternal Night Valley with ice-cold tension between them as agreed. After escorting Anji to the Mystical Qilin Sect, it was time to scout and establish a reliable base near Yan Ping’s territory. Unlike the other sects that manage their territory carefully, the Mystical Qilin Sect’s territory was full of unlawful settlers due to neglect.
"Where do we begin?" Bai Dajin asked. "Are you really going to pick up the guide from Eternal Night Valley?"
Smirking, Mingshen nodded. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on ⓝovelFire.net
"My sister created such a valuable opportunity for me. How could I pass it up? If we have control of that area where merchants frequently pass through, we can set up a base to control the northwest region easily with a natural defence line. Even if the imperial army supports those demonic cultivators, they would not be foolish enough to traverse this path."
Politics was more of Zhang Mou’s thing. Bai Dajin did not understand much of it. However, he did not mind becoming a powerful pawn on their chessboard. The two strategists had accomplished much more than the Rainbow Alliance in the past three years. If they wanted to eliminate the organisation, they could not do a sloppy job like the last time.
"We will be removing the organisation by crippling them until they have no choice but to show us their roots," Mingshen declared. "The children’s camp was only the beginning. My father would not have mercilessly killed them all in the name of righteousness. If you did not finish the job cleanly, they would use that as leverage against us in the future. If you’re uncomfortable with them, I won’t make you participate in such operations again."
A week ago, Bai Dajin would have insisted on sitting out of these operations. However, after meeting Anji, he had a new sense of purpose. They could not allow someone like Anji to reap lives when she was born with healing hands.
"No," the sabre master grunted. "It’s better to clean it up and corner them in the capital, far from where the squirt is."
Hiding his satisfaction, Mingshen agreed neutrally. Everything was going according to what Zhang Mou anticipated.