Mo Li, a demonic woman feared throughout the cultivation world, never imagined she would one day set foot inside Xiaoyun Palace, the greatest sect of the righteous path.
On her first day undercover among the righteous, she ran into the little beggar boy she used to beg alongside as a child.
Back then, the child had clutched her ragged clothes and cried with snot and tears as they parted. Now he held a long sword, grown into a handsome young man with an elegant bearing.
Mo Li, meanwhile, was a brazen, arrogant demonic woman whose misdeeds were loathed by all. Every year, people dragged out her many crimes to curse her all over again, wishing they could kill her on the spot.
The one thing they had in common was that they both had dreadful reputations among their own people.
Mo Li silently lowered the brim of her hat and kept repeating to herself, He can't see me, he can't see me, he can't see me...
After the Ascension Platform, she was eight zhang away from Xie Jing, but he still caught her.
Mo Li jumped, forcing a smile. "Senior Brother Xie, what is it?"
Had he discovered who she was? Since when had this kid's eyesight gotten so good?!
Xie Jing raised an eyebrow. His first words after their reunion were, "Your name is Mo Huanjing?"
Mo Li nodded, at a loss.
Mo Huanjing was her alias at Xiaoyun Palace.
But Xie Jing smiled. Dressed in white and holding his sword, he had the bright, clear smile of a handsome young man. Looking at her with evident admiration, he said boastfully,
"Mo Huanjing... How did you know Mo Li likes me?"
Mo Li: "?"
Mo Li fell silent for a long moment.
Could cultivating with a sword ruin your brain, too?
-
Some time later, a rumor spread that the demonic woman Mo Li would come to the righteous path in three days to cause a scene. Xie Jing strutted around, dressed in flamboyant finery.
He was absolutely certain. "She misses me, so she's using this chance to come to the mortal realm."
Mo Li was so provoked that she retorted, "How do you know Mo Li definitely likes you?"
Xie Jing sneered, taking her challenge. "You can't see how obvious it is?"
"..."
What was obvious?
He began reciting the old rumors that had circulated throughout the cultivation world, one after another, as if he had them all memorized:
"When Mo Li stole our sect's secret treasure last time, she wore black, and I happened to be wearing white. She was wearing matching outfits with me!"
"She seriously injured that Li-whatever from the Xuanming Manor in the secret realm because she had come up and talked to me first. Mo Li was jealous."
"And she secretly burned off Elder Fang's beard." Xie Jing looked delighted.
"She's paying so much attention to me. How else would she know Elder Fang had punished me the day before?"
Mo Li: "…"
Some people smeared her name, while others loudly condemned her outrageous behavior.
But this was the first time she'd ever seen anyone try to claim her like that.
-
Xie Jing hated demonic cultivators more than anything. Once, he charged into Wuwang City alone with his sword and slaughtered his way through, striking terror into the demonic realm.
The person who had saved him, the one he could never forget, had been kidnapped into the demonic realm by demonic cultivators and vanished without a trace.
How could he not hate them?
Then one day, in a bad mood, he randomly picked a notorious scapegoat from the demonic realm to vent his anger on.
He opened the bamboo lot, and there, unmistakably printed on it, was Mo Li's face: the person he could never forget, the one he cherished most in this life.
Xie Jing: "..."
He thought of his reputation in the demonic realm and suddenly froze.
Sure enough, rumors spread the next day that Mo Li had cursed everyone in the cultivation world from top to bottom, with special emphasis on a certain head disciple from Xiaoyun Palace.
Xie Jing's smile froze on his face.
...I'm doomed.
Extra:
Xie Jing: "If you don't like me, just say so. Stop stringing me along. Your attitude makes it impossible for me to see any hope. Speak plainly: do you like me or not?"
Mo Li: "I don't like you."
Xie Jing (covering his ears): "I don't believe you."
Theme: Keep trying. Life will definitely get better.
