“What do you think is my best means of locating that bastard?”
Towards Mo-laoban’s question, Nuo’er’s blinks her eyes, as she thought—
(…What do I do? How do I even answer this? Long-shao killed her twice, elder sister is definitely looking to get even…)
Turning her head in thought quickly, Nuo’er answers—
“Elder sister, let’s not be in a rush to search for him. Shouldn’t you be focusing your attention on the upcoming auction?”
Raising a chuckle, Mo-laoban answers—
“The funny thing is this is actually related to the auction.”
“…What even led to you two fighting in the first place?”
“A 100-year-old cold spirit ore was set to appear on the auction, he stole that from me. That’s quite a slap in the face for my restaurant’s reputation, don’t you think?”
“Un…”
Nodding subtly, Nuo’er thought—
(Long-shao, you really are daring. To even think of stealing from elder sister—not to mention succeeding at it, this grudge has definitely seeped into the bones.)
Just as Nuo’er is thinking of this, Mo-laoban continues to say—
“I was thinking of having that cold spirit ore be turned into a flute when I saw it for the first time. That being the case, I planned to offer the original seller a high sum for it. However, that’s no longer an option now that it’s out of my hands.”
With every word said, the more irritated Mo-laoban becomes, causing Nuo’er to be unable to formulate any words to reply with.
Fortunately, however—
*Kon, kon…* the door of the room is knocked upon, disrupting the awkward mood.
“Enter.”
With permission granted, a worker dressed in a red qipao enters, to report—
“Mo-laoban, a person just came in to register a vast number of treasures for the auction.”
“How much exactly?”
“It’s probably enough to fill a truck.”
“Oh?”
Surprise is rather evident on Mo-laoban’s face, as she asks—
“Did they say who they are?”
“They said, they’re surnamed Zhen.”
“Which zhen?”
“They didn’t specify.”
If zhen is mentioned as a surname, the first one to come to mind for both Nuo’er and Mo-laoban is Zhen Qing Huai. However, there’s no reason for Zhen Qing Huai to come here.
Narrowing her eyes with a frown, Mo-laoban says—
“Describe their appearance to me.”
“They have a beauty mark near their right eye. Also, long black hair that is tied into a tail.”
“Anything else?”
“He has a maid with him.”
Hearing the first two descriptions, Nuo’er had just about crossed Long Hua’s name off as this individual’s identity, but hearing this individual to be accompanied by a maid—
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(That’s definitely Long-shao… Enemies meet on a narrow road, as they say…)
“Hmm, most probably a Sinner who made it into the ruins’ main treasury.”
Nodding her head to this, the worker replies—
“That’s what Zhou Jin is thinking of as well. We’re wondering if we should give him a VIP membership card since they’ll most likely return.”
With ruins excavations expected to become a trend in this world, the auction house side of this restaurant is expected to get busy soon.
Shrugging a shoulder, Mo-laoban replies—
“That’s fine.”
“Then I shall begin making the arrangements.”
As the female worker leaves, Mo-laoban returns her attention to Nuo’er, and asks—
“Nuo’er, something the matter?”
“Ah, no, it’s nothing.”
Not even Nuo’er herself is convinced by her own words, as she thought—
(With how sharp elder sister is, she’ll definitely recognize Long-shao—even if he has a disguise on. If they meet up right now, this restaurant is going to get demolished for sure…)
Thinking of a way to prevent this, Nuo’er says—
“Elder sister, it’s been some time since we’ve last had a chance to meet, how about a meal together?”
“Sure.”
Replying with a nod, Mo-laoban takes out a menu from her storage pouch, and hands it to Nuo’er. As the latter browses through the menu, the former remarks—
“Ah, I just remembered. You mentioned how Bai Wen had made a new friend.”
“…Uh.”
Hearing this, Nuo’er’s right hand, which was just about to flip the page freezes, while Mo-laoban goes on to say—
“You said, he’s a practitioner, and he’s apparently not someone from the Ling Yuan family, correct?”
(Me and my big mouth…)
Despite not having many chances to meet in person, they routinely exchange text messages with one another.
“…”
“…”
Staring into each other’s eyes for a prolonged period, the two seem to be in the process of negotiating with one another.
Eventually—
(………Seems like this matter between elder sister and Long-shao is unavoidable.)
Thinking of this, Nuo’er raises a subtle sight, to which, Mo-laoban smiles with a hint of satisfaction, while the former remarks—
“Un, there’s also that Chen Shi family clansman.”
Shifting them away from the previous matter, Nuo’er brings up Yao Ying, to which, Mo-laoban raises a sigh, and mutters—
“Humans and their issues with one another.”
Crossing her legs, Mo-laoban presses a hand to her cheek.
“Elder sister, as the oldest among us, you’ve seen your fair share of human tragedies, have you not?”
Asking this, a somewhat bitter expression appears on Nuo’er’s face, to which, Mo-laoban answers—
“That I have.”
Mo, as in demon, and xiao, as in flute.
Mo Xiao, it is the name that the practitioners of the Everlasting Spirit Realm have come to call her by; which is to say, it is not her true name, but it is nevertheless the name that she has gotten used to being addressed as.
“I’ve met, and I’ve parted ways with many. Whether they be mortals or practitioners, each and every one of them—regardless of how pure they were in the beginning, they had all ended up being corrupted by power.”
“…”
As the oldest magic treasure created by the Ling Yuan Ancestor, Mo-laoban—in the form of a weapon, had been tossed from hand to hand.
Under the will of others, she had been instrumental in the creation of numerous tragedies—causing many to call her by her current name.
Recalling her history with humans, Mo-laoban raises a sigh, and recites—
“Mo Xiao in hand, who lives to hear its melodies?”
“Hm?”
As Nuo’er tilts her head, Mo-laoban chuckles lightly, and explains—
“It’s a saying that is associated with me as the blood spilling flute of demons.”
“…”
Forming a frown, Nuo’er finds it difficult to formulate any words of comfort, to which, Mo-laoban remarks—
“No need to make that face. Your elder sister isn’t too bothered by it. A tool has no right to choose their owner, and what a tool does is decided by their owner. For me—at the time, it was as simple as that.”
“Even so…”
Pausing her words, Nuo’er rearranges them, and says—
“At the time… And what of now? Come to think of it… Elder sister, you never mentioned why you chose to send a clone into this world.”
Having lived for as long as Mo-laoban has, a weapon spirit of her strength and class is no different from a genuine practitioner; hence her ability to create a weakened clone of herself.
That being said, this clone is none other than the current body that is sitting beside Nuo’er right now.
Leaning back in her seat, Mo-laoban explains—
“Part of it was because of my contract with the Ling Yuan Ancestor. However, my original self… Staying in prison all year round, instead of being tossed about like the tool that I am. For a time, that was quite relaxing.”
Due to the number of atrocities that she had caused, her original self in the Everlasting Spirit Realm was captured, and thrown into a prison located somewhere in the outer heavens.
Till this day, Mo-laoban is certain that her original self is still within that prison.
“But only for a time…”
“Indeed, only for a time was it relaxing.”
Nodding to this, Mo-laoban adds—
“The needs for entertainment were always in the back of my mind, so I guess it’s as simple as that? If this world ends at some point, the first purpose of this clone would be completed, and with it, my contract with the Ling Yuan Ancestor would be fulfilled. From there, I—who have developed my own sense of self, will return to my original self as a stream of memories. Whether or not these memories could serve as a source of entertainment… Hmm, hard to say, but it would be ideal if it could.”