The funny thing was that because there was an additional woman at Shangqing Palace, the sort of arrogant and tyrannical one at that, MeiLanZhuJu, and QinQiShuHua—those groups of people—finally understood how good Mo Tiange was. Consequently, they immediately changed their attitudes. Every two or three days, they’d run to her place, providing her with information and trying to provoke her into having a fight with that woman.

　　Not only did Mo Tiange find out every piece of news related to that woman, but she even found out what the woman did, what she ate, and what she was angry about for the day.

　　This martial nephew of hers… her name was Ruan Mingzhu. When Senior Martial Brother Qingyuan fell, she was only about five or six years old, an age when she didn’t understand anything yet, and she was immediately taken under master’s wing to be personally raised by him. At the same time, master also returned to the Qin Clan in the secular world from which he took Senior Martial Brother Shoujing. The two people were similar in age. Ever since they were children, they cultivated and lived together; one stayed at Mingxin Residence, while the other was in the Zhili Building next to it. It could be said they were childhood friends.

　　After being together for dozens of years, Ruan Mingzhu naturally believed Senior Martial Brother Shoujing ought to always be with her. However, Senior Martial Brother Shoujing had an introverted personality. Normally, he was always engrossed in cultivating, thus paying no heed to her kind intentions. She was angry, wanting the grandmaster, who always loved her dearly, to make a decision on her behalf. Unfortunately, having someone make a decision on your behalf was useless in these kinds of matters.

　　As the two of them gradually matured, the disparity in both their natures and temperaments grew increasingly wider. Senior Martial Brother Shoujing slowly stopped paying attention to her. If he wasn’t engrossed in cultivating, he’d be traveling to all kinds of places—he simply didn’t stay in his cave anymore.

　　Ruan Mingzhu had long been accustomed to getting everything she wanted; if she wanted something, her grandmaster who loved her dearly would immediately give it to her, so how could she possibly accept the fact that Senior Martial Brother Shoujing no longer cared about her? The more she couldn’t get something, the more she desired it.

　　Nevertheless, the distance between them grew increasingly farther along with the differences in their cultivation levels. After advancing to the Core Formation realm, Senior Martial Brother Shoujing moved out of the Shangqing Palace, but not only did Ruan Mingzhu not think she should cultivate diligently, but she even made things difficult for the female disciples working for Senior Martial Brother Shoujing every time she could, until it eventually led to a disaster.

　　News of all these incidents was passed onto Mo Tiange by Xiuqin and the others. None of those maids liked this Senior Martial Sister Ruan, but with grandmaster present, they couldn’t pull any tricks, so they were hoping Mo Tiange would step forward and give her a lesson instead.

　　Unfortunately, what they said just went through Mo Tiange’s left ear and came out her right—she was just engrossed in doing her own thing, utterly disappointing them.

　　Mo Tiange naturally knew that because master dug in his heels and refused to let Ruan Mingzhu came back, Ruan Mingzhu was outraged and troubled those maids in return. However, Mo Tiange had promised master, so she could only pretend to hear and see nothing. Besides, Ruan Mingzhu hadn’t provoked her; what would she trouble Ruan Mingzhu for? This was a matter that didn’t concern herself at all, so Mo Tiange was able to remain calm all throughout.

　　“Martial Uncle Mo, I heard Senior Martial Sister Ruan’s still calling Martial Uncle Shoujing ‘senior martial brother’!”

　　Mo Tiange, who was sitting before the pool in Mingxin Residence, holding Feifei in her embrace and feeding it, only answered with an empty “en.”

　　Upon seeing that Mo Tiange wasn’t reacting much, Qinqqi’s eyes shifted around then she continued to say: “I heard that back then, grandmaster wanted her to change the way she addressed Martial Uncle Shoujing, but Senior Martial Sister Ruan wouldn’t obey no matter what. As it happened, Martial Uncle Shoujing didn’t care about this either.”

　　Mo Tiange calmly continued to voice out an “en.”

　　Xiuqin had no other choice but to continue on: “Martial Uncle Mo, what do you think about it?”

　　After feeding Feifei a spiritual fruit, Mo Tiange placed it down so it could wander around on its own. At the same time, she said, “I don’t have any opinion about it.”

　　Xiuqin and Qingqi glanced at each other. Both seemed unwilling to give up. “Could it be that you don’t feel that Senior Martial Sister Ruan’s too… that?”

　　Unfortunately, Mo Tiange simply stared at them with a faint smile. It was only after she saw them getting nervous that she finally spoke: “What do you guys want? You want me to step forward and give her a lesson?”

　　Xiuqin and Qingqi chuckled fawningly. “Martial Uncle, that Senior Martial Sister Ruan’s very resentful towards you! When she heard you’re now living at Mingxin Residence, she almost smashed everything inside her room. Although she still restrained herself in the end, she always curses you behind your back!”

　　“Yes, yes, yes!” Qingqi took over the talking. “That day, I also heard everything. Senior Martial Sister Ruan said you were only a Foundation Building cultivator, so on what basis was grandmaster favoring you, on what basis could you worship grandmaster as your master, and on what basis could you live in Mingxin Residence—she also said you really thought of yourself as important, but the one grandmaster liked the most was still her…”

　　Mo Tiange was listening to Xiuqin and Qingqi telling tales to provoke her while flipping through the book in her hands. The moment she heard all that, she finally looked up from her book.

　　Xiuqin and Qingqi were rejoicing inwardly, thinking they finally managed to persuade her. Unexpectedly, however, Mo Tiange simply said, “You’re gossiping here… do you think master doesn’t know?”

　　“Em…” Xiuqin and Qingqi froze for a moment; they were unable to say anything in return. How could the matters occurring at Shangqing Palace escape grandmaster’s eyes? It was just that normally, grandmaster chose to ignore some things.

　　Mo Tiange chuckled, stood up, then tapped their shoulders with the book in her hand. “Why are you worrying about someone who’s going to leave sooner or later? She thinks she’s smart—why should you be stupid like her?”

　　Xiuqin and Qingqi looked at each other and suddenly became enlightened. The two of them instantly smiled and said, “Martial Uncle Mo, thank you for the advice.”

　　Mo Tiange just waved her hand without saying anything, intending to enter the cultivating room.

　　Right at that moment, however, she suddenly heard a voice ringing out from outside: “Wow! What’s this? It’s so cute!”

　　Mo Tiange turned her gaze towards the gate of Mingxin Residence; a wrinkle was forming on her brows.

　　The moment Xiuqin and Qingqi saw her expression, they immediately went outside. Before long, Mo Tiange also heard their voices.

　　“Greetings to Senior Martial Sister Ruan.”

　　“En.” Ruan Mingzhu responded haughtily as if they called her martial uncle.

　　“Senior Martial Sister Ruan,” Xiuqin said, “This is Martial Uncle Mo’s spiritual beast!”

　　“En?” Ruan Mingzhu’s voice sounded a bit louder. “Is that so? Is this a spiritual beast? Why have I never seen this before?”

　　Qingqi answered, “This is a Feifei that Martial Uncle Mo found in the Eastern Sea region. It’s a very rare beast!”

　　“Feifei?” Although Ruan Mingzhu obviously never heard about it before, she said happily, “It looks just like a raccoon dog but it’s completely golden—it’s really cute!”

　　With Feifei’s appearance, Mo Tiange believed only a few women wouldn’t like it upon seeing it. Its whole body was golden without even a speck of another color on it. It had bright, round eyes, a pointed tail, and four short limbs. Moreover, it was also very spiritual in nature. Even Xiaohuo’s level of cuteness fell short of Feifei’s. Ever since she brought Feifei back, QinQiShuHua and the rest would come to see it from time to time. Furthermore, Feifei had a gentle disposition; it never got angry despite being teased by them. All in all, it was extremely lovable.

　　Nevertheless, they knew Mo Tiange really valued this spiritual beast, so even though they teased it, they always attentively paid attention to propriety. Right now, they cautiously reminded Ruan Mingzhu: “Senior Martial Sister Ruan, Feifei’s a second rank spiritual beast!”

　　“I’ve naturally seen that!” Ruan Mingzhu answered unhappily. Quite a while later, she spoke again. “This is Martial Uncle Mo’s? Where’s she?”

　　She sounded very unwilling when she said “Martial Uncle Mo,” and she also didn’t seem to have the slightest respect towards Mo Tiange when she asked about her whereabouts.

　　Qingqi said, “Martial Uncle Mo’s inside Mingxin Residence. Senior Martial Sister Ruan, do you want an audience?”

　　“An audience?” Ruan Mingzhu seemed to dislike this term very much. After a while, she eventually answered, “Okay then.”

　　Mo Tiange thought Ruan Mingzhu would tell Xiuqin and Qingqi to come and report to her first, but in the end, the gate of Mingxin Residence was immediately knocked open—Young Lady Ruan Mingzhu walked in carrying Feifei in her arms.

　　Mo Tiange wrinkled her brows. Upon seeing Feifei, which Ruan Mingzhu was pinching around in her embrace, she sent her divine comprehension. Soon afterward, Feifei struggled to free itself, leaped from Ruan Mingzhu’s embrace then ran towards Mo Tiange.

　　“Hey!” Ruan Mingzhu shouted, “What are you running away for?!”

　　Mo Tiange picked Feifei up then said with an indifferent gaze, “Is there something the matter?”

　　Seeing Feifei plunging into Mo Tiange’s embrace and completely ignoring her made Ruan Mingzhu glare at it in anger for a while before she finally remembered her host. She slightly curbed her waywardness then said, “Martial Uncle Mo, can you give this Feifei to me?”

　　Although it was a question, there wasn’t even a bit of sincerity from the beginning to the end of her sentence. From start to finish, she didn’t even salute Mo Tiange.

　　“This is my contractual spiritual beast; I’m afraid I can’t,” said Mo Tiange.

　　Upon hearing her refusal and seeing her indifferent attitude, Ruan Mingzhu instantly frowned, shouting, “Then just remove the contract!”

　　Even though Mo Tiange’s expression was still the same, both Xiuqin and Qingqi already cried out in shock the moment they heard what Ruan Mingzhu said. “Senior Martial Sister Ruan!”

　　In Kunwu in general, spiritual beasts already recognized their masters before they hatched. As for this kind of contract, generally, it would never be removed throughout their lives. If it was removed, the master’s blood essence would be injured.

　　This Ruan Mingzhu… She obviously knew Mo Tiange and Feifei were bound by a master-subordinate contract and not a master-recognition contract, yet she still spoke in such a manner as if what she said was a logical thing to do—she actually didn’t consider the consequences other people might suffer!

　　However, Ruan Mingzhu remained ignorant of her wrongdoing and continued to question her. “How’s that? Do you agree with my request?”

　　With a frown, Mo Tiange said slowly, “Feifei won’t be given to others.”

　　“You—” Ruan Mingzhu’s expression changed drastically when she heard Mo Tiange’s refusal. But perhaps because she realized today wasn’t the same as the past, so her expression changed for a long time, but she eventually held herself back. “Martial Uncle Mo, give your spiritual beast to me and I’ll ask grandmaster to compensate you later, okay?” Her confident tone made the three people raise their eyebrows.

　　Qingqi couldn’t bear it anymore and shouted, “Senior Martial Sister Ruan, grandmaster always grants Martial Uncle Mo what she asks for. If martial uncle wants something, she only needs to talk to grandmaster.” This remark was meant to show off. If martial uncle wanted something, she’d only need to talk to grandmaster; would martial uncle still need her to speak on her behalf?

　　Ruan Mingzhu’s expression changed in an instant. Qingqi’s remarks were obviously meant to embarrass her. She originally wanted to put up with it but she eventually failed, thus saying furiously, “Grandmaster has always loved me. Isn’t her relationship with him like that just because I haven’t been here for sixty years? You actually dared to look down on me! What does a disciple who came in midway count for? Do you really think she’s more important than me?”

　　Mo Tiange smirked discreetly. She understood master’s attitude very clearly. When it came to who was more important, she indeed wasn’t as important as Ruan Mingzhu in master’s heart. However, master also wasn’t an unreasonable biased person who’d follow whatever Ruan Mingzhu said. Besides, master already gave up on Ruan Mingzhu—how could he possibly still indulge her? This Ruan Mingzhu was already more than a hundred years old, but she actually still had this kind of personality. Mo Tiange really wondered where those years she’d lived through went!

　　Xiuqin and Qingqi didn’t answer. It wasn’t appropriate for maids like them to have a say in this kind of talk. However, they also didn’t want to endure the way Ruan Mingzhu spoke, so both of them continuously directed their gazes at Mo Tiange.

　　In the end, Mo Tiange finally lived up to their expectations. She said slowly, “Martial Nephew Ruan, I’ll never give this spiritual beast to others. If you want it, you can go and ask your grandmaster.”

　　Ruan Mingzhu originally already felt reluctant when she had to call Mo Tiange “Martial Uncle Mo,” so right now, when she heard Mo Tiange confidently addressing her as “Martial Nephew Ruan,” her heart was completely livid. Hearing Mo Tiange stubbornly refusing to give Feifei to her made the fire in her heart rage even more furiously.

　　“You—” Ruan Mingzhu glared at her for a while before she finally said furiously, “Don’t regret it!” She then turned around and walked away.

　　Once they saw her leaving angered by Mo Tiange, both Xiuqin and Qingqi looked as if they’d vented the hatred they felt. Nevertheless, they then heard Mo Tiange saying in an exasperatingly slow manner, “The two of you—oh, no, the sixteen of you shouldn’t cause any trouble. Don’t think about using me to deal with her and vent your anger. The matters at Shangqing Palace have never been concealed from you, so I’ll also speak frankly—she won’t be living here for long. Out of consideration for master, you also shouldn’t cause her any trouble. Is dealing with someone whom master already gave up on necessary?”