Who let him join the Sword Sect?!

Han Han rattled off a long string, sticking out his neck defiantly.

"Your wings have grown, huh! Spouting rhymes at every turn, are you planning to ascend to the heavens or what! Come on, take out that secret message and map, let's see if this is the West Ridge Path or the West Mountain Path!"

The boss was also getting a little heated.

"Gone, both the map and the secret message are gone." Han Han's bravado suddenly deflated.

"Gone?! Where did you put them! If someone finds them, we're doomed!" The boss's voice rose slightly but quickly dropped.

"You told me before that to be a professional assassin, I should act more professionally, so I burned both the map and the secret message with a candle..." Han Han pouted.

"Burn, burn, burn your grandmother's leg! It's not like we were in front of our employer, who are you showing off to? Today I've got to teach you a lesson, I..." The boss made a move to untie the Hooked Iron Whip he called the seven wolves from his waist.

"Big Bro, not the face!"

"Hush, someone's coming, shh~"

A woman's voice suddenly came from behind these two bumbling thieves.

Upon hearing this, the two bumbling thieves immediately quieted down, held their breath, and obediently looked down towards the official road at the foot of the mountain.

Yet, there was no one on the road, just an old ox leisurely strolling, occasionally pausing for a moment, then wandering to the roadside to nibble on some early spring grass.

"Big Bro, there's a cow!" Han Han looked like he'd never seen the world.

"I'm not blind! Where's the person?" The boss gave Han Han a flick on the forehead.

"Why worry about people, hurry and take the cow, let's go!" Han Han was urgent.

"Bull, didn't you just tell me someone was here?" The boss turned his head to look at Han Han.

"Who said that? Wasn't it you, Big Bro? Weren't you the one just imitating a woman's voice?" Han Han was a bit puzzled.

"Huh?"

The night wind blew through, making the boss's scalp feel chill. He recalled the employer, who was as sickly as a ghost about to die, the missions of eloping in the middle of the night, the silly little stories from the storyteller, and the strange events related by Jianghu folks in taverns...

The boss felt a bit of a chill...

Then the woman's voice rang out once more, "Can't you see? There's a white-haired girl sleeping soundly on the ox's back."

By this time, the boss was already shivering in his speech, "Fu... Miss Fu?"

"Oh, you know me?" Fuji looked a bit surprised.

Both bumbling thieves turned around simultaneously, only to see a girl in a black cloak squatting behind them.

The girl's face, caught in the moonlight, was a blend of blue and white, with a hint of translucency, no matter how you looked at it, she seemed alive.

Behind this girl was another girl who looked exactly the same, tilting her head and staring straight at something behind the two.

"Yikes!"

The boss, who usually led the charge, took one look, let out a frightened howl, and promptly fainted from fright.

Han Han, on the other hand, stayed strong. He tried to run down the mountain, but as soon as he turned, he felt he had bumped into something.

Was it a tree?

But how could there be a tree behind him?

Han Han looked up and saw a woman with white clothes, white hair, and red eyes floating in front of him.

Except she wasn't floating; beneath her skirt weren't feet but entangled tree roots.

The white-haired woman had a drifting expression, not looking at him, and though her mouth didn't move, Han Han heard a voice in his ear.

"Were you looking for me?"

"No, no, umm, that, umm..."

He really wanted to cry now, not knowing what bad luck he'd run into today, that he would stumble upon a ghost gathering.

Little Brother now only cursed himself for being too resilient. Instead of running again, he reached down to grab a rock and quickly knocked it against his own head.

With the aid of external force, he finally passed out blissfully.

The two Fuji merged into one, examined the two bumbling thieves for a while, then looked up at Xiaoxue.

"Are you Xiaoxue?"

"I am, who are you?"

"I'm Fuji."

"Oh, you're also tree-formed, I see you can also be doubled?"

"Nope, Senior Brother said I transformed from a mushroom, are you tree-formed?"

"Yeah, I'm Twin Sara, I can split into two."

"Humph, then I'm better, I can split into many!"

"Wow..."

The first historical meeting of two Harmonious Sect plants began just like that.

...

The next morning, in a town near Dragon Viewing Mountain.

The townsfolk and some loose cultivators from town were gathered around the plaza in front of the Beast Taming Sect's Yinhu Hall.

The plaza held a beautiful scene.

Two beautiful girls, one of whom was riding a bizarre magical artifact. It hovered, its exterior dazzling, exuding waves of spiritual power, making the loose cultivators around the plaza itch with envy.

Beside her stood a girl dressed all in white.

But what caught more attention were the 'things' behind the two girls.

The white-haired girl led an old ox, which was very calm, still ruminating on the grass it ate last night, paying no mind to the gaze of the people around.

Behind the blue-haired girl's ride were two people tied up, in a sweet slumber, securely bound.

It was unclear how this team came together.

The Beast Taming Sect disciple on watch at Yinhu Hall was confused; he had never seen such a scene. But after closely observing the white-haired girl for a while, he immediately recalled the task issued by the sect last night.

"Quick, report to the sect, we've found them," he nudged the equally stunned junior beside him.

...

Spirit Deer Valley.

"Ah, delightful~"

After Fuji and Xiaoxue stepped into Spirit Deer Valley, they felt relaxed both body and mind.

Xiaoxue spread her arms, rooted herself, and with a peculiar motion, squirmed forward. Despite being rooted below, she left no trace of her passage.