It turns out, they were the main characters.

He wore his usual gentle smile, like a friendly older brother next door, and waved to her.

Then, he walked down the corridor toward the study.

Ye Lingxuan glanced casually at the two people behind her and said indifferently, "You may both leave. No one is allowed to enter this villa without my permission."

Zhou Cang frowned slightly and said, "Miss, isn't it a bit inappropriate to let a man in so late?"

Before he could finish speaking, the old man behind him slowly said, "In that case, we will not disturb you any longer, Miss."

Zhou Cang remained silent for a moment before speaking, "Very well, I believe Miss knows what she's doing. She's currently blinded by love simply because she hasn't seen enough. Once she experiences more—"

"After experiencing more, you'll find that Brother Mu is really great?" Ye Lingxuan asked with a smile, too lazy to hide her true feelings.

Zhou Cang was taken aback by the remark and didn't know what to say for a moment.

He had intended to give Ye Yu a little warning before he came... but he never expected that he would end up facing not Ye Yu, but a boy whose name he had never heard of before!

Aside from being a little handsome, Mu Zhian has absolutely no redeeming qualities, does he?!

Just as Zhou Cang was about to speak, an old hand placed on his shoulder. The old man slowly shook his head, signaling him to be quiet.

Then, in the next moment, he left the villa with the young man who seemed to have suffered a setback.

Before long, Mu Zhian entered the study and saw the girl sitting quietly at the desk.

Perhaps because it was evening, her long hair was draped loosely over her back without any embellishment, and her figure was slender and graceful. Even just her back view gave people endless imagination.

Ye Lingxuan turned her head and looked over, smiling as she asked, "What are you doing here so late?"

Mu Zhian glanced around, then subtly averted his gaze, walked to Ye Lingxuan's side, sat down on a nearby wooden chair, and said softly:

“You used to always be with Qian’er, but she’s not here these past few days, and I’m a little worried about you.”

Ye Lingxuan smiled and said, "I'm not a child anymore. Aren't you worrying a little too much?"

"We should still be a little worried."

As Mu Zhian spoke, he leaned forward slightly. Ye Lingxuan simply smiled at him, until his handsome face was almost completely close to hers. A hint of panic flickered in her previously indifferent eyes, and her cherry lips parted slightly as she whispered:

"What...what are you going to do?"

Mu Zhian didn't speak, but brought his lips close to Ye Lingxuan's ear and whispered, "Was someone here just now?"

A hint of surprise flashed across Ye Lingxuan's eyes. Her initial shyness gradually subsided, and she looked up at Mu Zhian with astonishment in her eyes.

Mu Zhian, however, continued to look at her with a smile, her gaze meeting hers.

He sensed an aura that didn't belong to Ye Lingxuan the moment he stepped into the study.

In the past, Mu Zhian might not have noticed, but now Mu Zhian is a born spirit body. Even if he is not a true born spirit body, he is still very sensitive to the spiritual energy around him.

Under Mu Zhian's gaze, Ye Lingxuan nodded silently and said, "My family sent someone to pick me up, but I told them I would go back by myself after six months."

"Who are your family members?" Mu Zhian asked curiously.

Ye Lingxuan was silent for a moment, looking into Mu Zhian's dark eyes, and said, "Can I not say?"

His tone carried a hint of pleading, a stark contrast to the coldness with which he had previously commanded his subordinates.

If Mu Zhian knew now, she was worried that he might back down because of the power behind her, or that their relationship might change in the future.

Of course, this is also because Ye Lingxuan was unaware of Mu Zhian's LSP nature.

As long as you're pretty, there's no reason for you to want to quit.

Mu Zhian smiled and said, "Alright, tell me when you're ready to talk about it."

"Did they go back?" Mu Zhian asked again.

Ye Lingxuan nodded gently and said, "I'll go back for now."

As she said this, her delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, clearly displeased that the two had come to disturb her sect life for no reason.

"I'll make sure they go back home obediently in the next couple of days," she said again, her tone cold and unyielding.

Looking at her cool and aloof face, Mu Zhian couldn't help but tease, "Lingxuan, you're so domineering."

Ye Lingxuan glared at Mu Zhian and said softly, "Don't joke with me, I'm in a bad mood right now."

"Then let's try to cheer ourselves up," Mu Zhian said.

"How could things possibly get better just like that?" Ye Lingxuan muttered.

"Since you can feel down because of one or two unrelated people, why can't you be happy because of someone else?" Mu Zhian smiled as he looked into her eyes.

"I came here late at night because I was worried about you. Can't you cheer up?"

Ye Lingxuan was stunned for a moment, repeatedly pondering Mu Zhian's words, and stared at him in a daze.

At this moment, Mu Zhian boldly took Ye Lingxuan's hand.

"Are you a little happier now?" Mu Zhian asked softly, holding her small hand.

The flickering candlelight in the study illuminated Ye Lingxuan's eyes, making them appear exceptionally bright and captivating. It took the girl a long time to recover from her daze, her face flushed slightly, whether from the candlelight or something else, it was unclear.

She let Mu Zhi'an hold her hand, looked at him with her bright and beautiful eyes, and asked softly, "Will Brother Mu blame me for keeping everything from you?"

Mu Zhian held Ye Lingxuan's small hand tightly, feeling the cool touch and smooth, jade-like texture of it, and smiled, "No matter what you do, I will believe you."

Ye Lingxuan raised her eyelids, her eyes seemingly filled with a layer of mist, looking at him hazily. Then, she suddenly thought of something and subconsciously tried to pull her hand out of Mu Zhian's palm.

But Mu Zhian refused to let go, holding her small hand tightly and refusing to loosen his grip.

"Don't do this... I can't let Qian'er down—"

Before she finished speaking, Mu Zhian reached out his other hand and placed his index finger on her lips.

"We'll all understand each other in the future, so let's not talk about this now."

"After all, it's just the two of us here, isn't it?"

Ye Lingxuan lowered her eyes slightly, seemingly agreeing with Mu Zhian's words, and let him hold her small hand.

After some time, Mu Zhian saw that it was getting dark and took his leave.

Ye Lingxuan did not stop him from leaving; she simply stood by the window and watched Mu Zhian's figure disappear into the night.

The previously heavy mood seemed to ease slightly, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.

That makes sense... If we can be unhappy because of certain things, why can't we be happy because of someone's arrival?

……

the other side.

After the inner disciple selection was completed, the nine main peaks each chose their preferred disciples. That evening, the nine chief disciples gathered together to discuss the inner disciple selection and future matters.

"This Junior Sister Yan is quite interesting. She has never taken the initiative to recruit an inner disciple before, but this time she is the first to choose one." Ning Yuan, the head of Drunken Dream Peak, said with a smile, toying with a wine cup in his hand.

The head of Tianji Peak wore a long black robe. Her face was extremely beautiful, with a faint smile that exuded mystery. Her graceful figure possessed a mature charm. She smiled gently and said:

"What was that disciple's name again...? I saw him before, he seemed to be at the sixth level of Qi Refining, his talent was not bad, but he probably wasted some time in the past, so he can't be called a top genius now."

"Mu Zhian, I heard from Junior Sister Lan that he performed exceptionally well in the sect assessment at Canghai Peak, and seems to have a unique understanding of formations," the head disciple said with a smile.

"As for Canghai Peak, it seems that Senior Brother Yi was personally monitoring it at the time, right? How did Mu Zhian perform?" Ning Yuan asked, turning his head to look at Yi Hao beside him with a smile.

Yi Hao seemed somewhat absent-minded today and did not speak.

After a while, he came to his senses and laughed, "Hmm... I guess the performance was alright, nothing special."

At this point, he subtly exchanged glances with Yu Ziyan and Xiang Yan, then looked at the head of Huabao Peak.

Apart from the four chiefs, no one else present knew about the Spirit Dragon.

The selection of inner disciples has now ended, but the immense value hidden behind Mu Zhi'an still exists.

If too many people know about the Spirit Dragon, their "advantage" will disappear.

If I can get along well with Mu Zhian, and have the opportunity to meet Senior Linglong in the future... it will be of great benefit to my future cultivation. I must seize such an opportunity.

"Senior Brother Yi doesn't look too well today. Did something happen?" Yu Ziyan suddenly asked with a smile, changing the subject.

Yi Hao was silent for a moment, then sighed, "I didn't see a single one of the eight-treasure cranes that I spent so much time raising today... I wonder who stole them."

"Oh?"

The chief ministers exchanged glances, all of them showing some interest.

Within the Liangyi Sect, is there anyone who dares to touch Yi Hao's treasured Eight Treasures Crane?

"Senior brother, haven't you tried using the tracking technique?"

"I used a secret technique to try and locate the Eight-Treasure Crane, but I couldn't find it," Yi Hao said, shaking his head.

"It seems the other party came prepared..." Yu Ziyan narrowed her eyes slightly, turned her head to look at the head of Tianji Peak, and smiled, "Why don't you let Senior Sister Yu do a divination for you?"

Upon hearing this, Yi Hao thought it made sense and was about to speak.

At this moment, Ning Yuan suddenly spoke up: "Look at that on the head... isn't it an eight-treasure crane?"

The head of Drunken Dream Peak, who wielded immense power within the Two Elements Sect, stared blankly into the air, his tone filled with astonishment.

All the chiefs looked up and saw a five-clawed silver dragon appear in their field of vision.

It was enormous, with a ferocious yet beautiful shape, and was carrying a giant crane with flapping wings in its mouth as it swooped off in a certain direction.

After a moment of stunned silence, the group exclaimed almost in unison, "Senior Linglong?!"

The thief is actually a spirit dragon?!

The chief ministers snapped out of their daze, exchanged glances, and immediately said, "Let's go and see."

Yi Hao first looked at the spirit dragon carrying the Eight Treasures Crane and flying towards a certain direction with a sudden realization and no words. Then he glanced at the chiefs who were setting off one after another and frowned slightly.

He exchanged a glance with the Dao Peak Chief and the Chunyang Peak Chief, then silently followed.

I originally planned to find an opportunity to gradually get to know Mu Zhian and cultivate our relationship.

After all, only the four main peaks knew about the Spirit Dragon.

but now……

It seems the truth can no longer be hidden.

……

When Mu Zhian returned to Tianhe Garden, he saw the spirit dragon in mid-air throw the eight-treasure crane it was carrying in its mouth to the ground, and then gracefully descend, transforming into a slender figure.