At the Yakshas' residence.
Just as Chen Meng was about to enter, the doors swung open and the Five Yakshas stepped out.
"Lord Chen Meng, you're here," said Fuxue.
"Mhm. Morax should've told you why I'm here, right?"Chen Meng asked.
"Yes, the Lord has informed us. Today, please patrol with Xiao,"Fuxue said, turning to look at Xiao behind him.
Xiao stepped forward and addressed Chen Meng.
"Lord Chen Meng, let's go."
With that, he started walking ahead.
"Lord Chen Meng, Xiao, he—"Fuxue began to explain, but Chen Meng raised his hand, palm open, stopping him.
"I understand. The dream left too deep a shadow on Xiao. It's alright. See you."
With that, Chen Meng followed after Xiao.
The four remaining Yakshas watched the two slowly disappear from sight. Yingda turned to Fuxue and asked,
"Big bro, are we sure Xiao will be okay?"
"Don't worry. If Xiao didn't refuse, it means he understands."
Fuxue turned and walked away, with Minuo following close behind.
"Come on, let's trust that Xiao can handle it."
Vanan pulled Yingda along as they left the residence.
Xiao and Chen Meng arrived near Mt. Tianheng.([Note: Not sure if Mt. Tianheng's name has changed—let's just go with the current one.])
Xiao walked ahead, while Chen Meng followed, wondering how to start a conversation.
"L-Lord Chen Meng, how's your development with your powers?"Xiao suddenly turned and asked.
Chen Meng was caught off guard and took a moment to answer.
"Cloning, illusions, transformation, and… right, control."
When Xiao heard "control," his body suddenly trembled. He took a deep breath to steady himself, and the trembling gradually stopped, though he still gripped his weapon tightly.
"How do you control?"
"I trap the enemy in an illusion, then manipulate their body. But so far, I've only tried it on Hilichurls—haven't tested it on other creatures yet."
Xiao visibly relaxed after hearing that.
He turned and said,
"Lord Chen Meng, the path ahead will be rough. Please stay close to me."
Then he donned his Yaksha mask and leapt up the mountain wall toward the peak.
Chen Meng looked up at the glowing trail Xiao left behind, admiring the streaks of light.
"Xiao's trail looks amazing! System, I want one too."
"(?_?) Don't you already have a purple trail?"
"Yeah, but mine's just a cloud of mist. Look at Xiao's—glowing and cool, with smoke too."
"..."
The system, clearly unimpressed, went quiet.
Seeing the system ignore him, Chen Meng looked up and saw Xiao nearly at the summit. He flew up to catch up.
At the peak, Xiao removed his mask and looked at Chen Meng, who stood ahead, facing the landscape.
Chen Meng gazed at the view, unconsciously placing his left hand behind his back and bending his right arm forward.
"If only we could buy osmanthus and wine together again… but alas…"
At that very moment, in Guili Assembly, Morax suddenly looked toward Mt. Tianheng, puzzled. For a second, he felt like someone had just logged into his account.
"Lo—Lord Chen Meng, what are you doing?"Xiao shook his head. Just now, Chen Meng had felt oddly like the Lord himself.
Interrupted by Xiao, Chen Meng snapped out of it.
"Ahem, don't worry about it. So, why are we on the mountain top again?"
"To spot the presence of monsters more easily."
Xiao replied, scanning the view below. Chen Meng lowered his gaze too—but instead of searching for monsters, he looked at Xiao.
"System, can I purify all of Xiao's karmic debt right now?"
"You can, but your current strength can't handle the backlash."
"And if I force it?"
"Two possibilities: best case, your body dissipates and reforms after a few years. Worst case, you're corrupted by karmic energy and lose control. Suggestion: embed the purification ability into an item so they can carry it around—this will ease the burden."
"Good idea. What level do I need to be to fully purify all the Yakshas' karma?"
"Take a guess (???)"
"...Was that last evolution of yours really a proper one?"
As Chen Meng pondered what item to embed purification into, Xiao suddenly spoke.
"Lord Chen Meng, I've found monsters."
"Oh, alright. Want me to take you over there?"
Chen Meng snapped back to the moment and glanced in the direction of the monsters.
"Thank you, Lord Chen Meng, but I'd prefer to go myself."
Though Xiao was slowly warming up to Chen Meng, he was still uncomfortable with the purple aura around him.
Chen Meng noticed Xiao's lingering discomfort—but at least it wasn't as strong as before. It was a start.
"Alright then, let's go."
The two headed toward the monsters' location.
Meanwhile, Yingda and Vanan had just finished clearing out a monster camp.
"Vanan, do you really think Xiao will be okay?"
Yingda sat on a rock and asked.
Vanan walked over and reassured her.
"You've asked that like ten times. Trust Xiao."
"Fine, fine, I'm good now. Let's go."
Yingda jumped off the rock and charged ahead.
Vanan sighed and followed.
Fuxue and Minuo, having finished their patrol, were resting.
"Fuxue, who are we heading to next? Let me guess—you want to check on Xiao, don't you?"
Minuo teased.
"No, we're going to find Yingda and Vanan."
Fuxue replied, but Minuo could tell he really wanted to see how Xiao was doing.
"You keep telling us not to worry about Xiao, but you're just as concerned."
"Sigh… Now that Lord Chen Meng's joined Guili Assembly, we'll be seeing him often. Xiao needs to gradually accept him."
Fuxue turned to Minuo and asked,
"Do you think I'm pushing Xiao too hard to interact with Lord Chen Meng?"
"It's fine. Lord Chen Meng is kind. Xiao knows that too—otherwise he'd have refused outright. Come on, let's go find Yingda and the others first."
Fuxue sighed and left with Minuo.
Back at Mt. Tianheng
Xiao leaned against a tree, keeping alert, weapon in hand, ready for battle. In front of him, Chen Meng was absolutely tearing through a group of monsters.
A few minutes earlier—
Chen Meng stopped Xiao just as he was about to attack.
"Xiao, wait."
Xiao looked at him, puzzled.
"You know Morax asked me to gain more combat experience, right? So… let me handle this. If I mess up, I'll rely on you. Thanks."
Before Xiao could even react, Chen Meng had already dashed into the monster horde.
"All eyes on me!"
The monsters watched as a cloud of purple mist surged toward them and morphed into a person.
Chen Meng glanced around at the monsters staring at him, then pulled out the Tigerfish Blade from his system space, gave a wicked grin, and said,
"You're all trash!"
With that, he unleashed his power, taking control of the monsters nearest to him and launching his attack.