209: Chapter 209 Willing to Serve as Lord

Nanzhao Kingdom, in the small courtyard, inside the bedchamber.

The flickering candlelight cast the shadows of ambiguous entanglement within the bedchamber onto the paper windows. The air was permeated with a scent interweaving fresh grass after rain and warm fragrance.

Except for Xia Yingying, who had been "ordered" by Ling Hao and Yue Xinxi to go to the quiet room to Cultivate, the other five Personal Disciples were all present.

It had been a long time since they last met, and since everyone was here, a hearty and unreserved Dao discussion between Revered Master and disciples was naturally indispensable.

Chi Wanhe leaned lazily against Ling Hao's shoulder, her hair bun slightly disheveled, a few strands of dark hair sticking to her sweat-dampened neck, the sash of her pink dress hanging loosely, revealing her delicate collarbone.

She extended her lily-white fingers and poked Lu Changning, who was kneeling at Ling Hao's feet and panting softly. Her voice was hoarse and teasing: "Junior Sister Four, has your 'snack technique' regressed? You're already this tired after such a short while? Tsk, it seems your portion of Revered Master's double-yolk spirit egg custard will have to be halved next time."

Lu Changning's fair little face turned completely red in an instant, and even her slender ankles flushed pink. She was so embarrassed that she buried her head even lower, her voice as faint as a mosquito's: "Senior Sister... you, you are bullying me... I, I did my best..."

She stole a glance, darting a quick look at Ling Hao before lowering her eyes again like a startled little deer.

Qin Zhaoxue was sleeping soundly on the bed furthest inside; she had been the first to withdraw from this Dao discussion gathering.

Behind Ling Hao, the golden lotus mark on Du Yuqing's forehead shimmered brilliantly beneath beads of sweat.

Her dress was not removed, but it was wide open at her chest. She embraced Ling Hao from behind with an air of absolute possession, her full breasts pressed tightly against his back, overflowing significantly; the force was so great that it almost made Ling Hao lean back slightly. Du Yuqing's eyes were closed, her face buried in the crook of Ling Hao's neck, her breathing long and steady, as if she wanted to take every bit of the person before her into her own body.

"Hey, Junior Sister Three!" Chi Wanhe kicked Du Yuqing's calf in dissatisfaction. "Take it easy! Do you want to crush Revered Master to pieces? Is this the time to use the 'Dragon-Locking Strength'? Revered Master isn't your sandbag dummy!" Although her tone was fierce, it carried a familiar sense of helplessness.

Du Yuqing merely gave a vague "Mn," the strength of her arms loosening slightly, but she still held him in a death grip.

Lin Xiwei sat cross-legged on a cushion a little further away, the intricate silver star-trail patterns on her thighs appearing and disappearing in the dim light. A faint flush had stained her typically cold and self-restrained face.

Chi Wanhe's gaze drifted, landing on her, and a mischievous smile curled at the corners of her lips. She patted Ling Hao's thigh: "Junior Sister Five, don't just watch. Here, it's your turn to take the stage. This immortal mountain spirit platform that Revered Master has set up is still empty."

Lin Xiwei's body stiffened slightly. Her gaze swept over the cross-legged Ling Hao, a trace of hesitation flashing in her cool, clear eyes. She took a deep breath, finally making up her mind...

"...Wait!" Ling Hao suddenly pressed down on Lin Xiwei, "Girl Five! After so long, you still haven't found the array eye pivot! You really deserve to be punished!" He looked at the sulking Lin Xiwei with a wry smile.

Chi Wanhe immediately laughed until she was shaking, leaning on Ling Hao's left shoulder, unable to catch her breath: "Hahaha... Junior Sister Five... your way of breaking the array... haha... do you intend to dismantle all of Revered Master's array foundations?"

Lu Changning also couldn't help but cover her mouth and giggle.

Du Yuqing was immersed in her own world, as if everything in the outside world had nothing to do with her.

Within the bedchamber, it was filled for a moment with a charming yet absurd warmth.

By the small courtyard pond, under the moon. The moonlight was cold and clear, spilling onto the calm pond water, reflecting shimmering waves. Mo Li and her mother, Mo Yun, transformed into merfolk, their fish tails submerged in the cool pond water.

"...That is how it is, Mother." Mo Li's voice was soft as she recounted the situation of the Moonshadow Sect, Ling Hao's strength and promises, and the incident where Qin Zhaoxue had saved her earlier.

"Sect Master Ling is really very different from other Cultivators. He promised to help me find our tribe, and he doesn't want our merfolk pearl or merfolk fat, only the merfolk silk..."

Listening to her daughter's account, Mo Yun's graceful face held a complex expression. She gazed at the moon's reflection in the water, her fingertips grazing the surface, creating tiny ripples.

"Merfolk silk..." Mo Yun's voice carried a distant sigh. "Using moonlight as thread to weave fabric is not a difficult task. It's just..."

"With erosion qi permeating everywhere, that moonlight carries filth and corruption. When weaving merfolk silk, it is no longer a simple matter of drawing in moonlight; one must constantly circulate Soul Power, like drawing silk from thorns and purifying water amidst filth... Every thread wrapped requires a Divided Soul to remove that bone-eroding chill."

"And the weaving of a hundred-year soul pulse, especially on the night of the eclipsed moon—for me, every time I guide the needle and pull the thread, it is like walking through my own flesh, blood, and Divine Soul..."

Mo Li held her mother's cold hand, her heart aching.

After a moment of silence, Mo Li asked softly: "Mother... do we... really have to go back to the ancestral land? The outside world... is too dangerous." She thought of those greedy gazes and the fear of being hunted.

Mo Yun suddenly snapped back to reality, her eyes instantly becoming incomparably firm, resolute and decisive: "Of course we must go back! That is our root! It is the source of our Bloodline! If we lose even our Holy Land, what future is there for our Merfolk Race? And where would our descendants be born?"

Mo Li nodded; she understood this. Losing the Moon-Tear Coral Grove was equivalent to the Merfolk Race being directly severed—not just the Legacy, but—extinction!

"But... those Human Race Cultivators outside..."

Mo Yun fell silent. She gazed at the deep night in the distance, and after a long time, she slowly spoke: "Li'er... do you think... we... could ask for the protection of the Moonshadow Sect?"

Mo Li was stunned, and then a light of hope ignited in her eyes: "Mother! You mean..."

Mo Yun did not answer, but only held her daughter's hand tightly, her gaze looking deeply toward the direction of the bedchamber where Ling Hao was. Under the moonlight, her eyes were filled with a desperate, all-in determination and hope.

The next morning, in the courtyard. The dawn light was faint, dispelling the ambiguity of the night and the whispers by the pond. Ling Hao had just stepped out of the bedchamber when he saw the Merfolk Race Clan Chief, Mo Yun, already waiting in the courtyard with Mo Li.

Mo Yun had changed into a relatively formal merfolk silk dress adorned with pearls and coral, her expression solemn and grave.

Without the slightest hesitation, she knelt before Ling Hao and solemnly performed the Merfolk Race's most honorable grand salute, her forehead almost touching the ground.

"Sect Master Ling."

"Mo Yun dares to be bold, representing the remnants of my tribe, to earnestly beg for the Sect Master's mercy!"

Ling Hao stood with his hands behind his back, waiting quietly for what was to come.

Mo Yun raised her head, looking directly into Ling Hao's deep eyes, saying each word clearly: "Mo Yun earnestly begs the Sect Master to help our race retrieve our lost Holy Land, the Moon-Tear Coral Grove! This is the foundation of our race's survival!"

"Our Merfolk Race is willing to attach ourselves to the Moonshadow Sect! Mo Yun and all our people are willing to serve the Sect Master as Revered Master, pledging loyalty for generations, never to betray! We only ask for... a glimmer of hope, that our race may not perish!"

Xia Yingying's words, soon, probably.