The City Lord’s Residence (Deep-Water Bonus Update)
Qi Xianqing and Yan Jue rested in the cave for a few more days. Once Yan Jue’s body had recovered sufficiently, they decided to return to Skyferry City.
The route out of the mountain followed the creek upstream.
Yan Jue had once carried Qi Xianqing along that path herself.
Back then, it had only seemed long, like it would never end. But now that they were walking together, they covered it surprisingly quickly.
Qi Xianqing wore a lake-blue cross-collar ruqun, with a long sword in a jet-black scabbard on her back. Her steps were light and steady.
The mountain path was clearly steep, yet Qi Xianqing’s fair face remained calm, her breathing deep and even.
She had been weakened by the loss of essence, but for some reason her complexion was especially good.
Yan Jue suddenly thought of the first time she had climbed a mountain with Qi Xianqing. Back then, when the four of them had gone to Nanxing Town, it had been the first time Yan Jue had seen just how terrifying Qi Xianqing’s stamina was.
Qi Xianqing sensed her gaze and instantly brightened. She turned back to look at her. “Why has Junior Sister been staring at me this whole time?”
Yan Jue couldn’t help asking, “Are your knees all right?”
After all, Qi Xianqing’s knees were something she had carefully nursed back to health over the past few days.
Yan Jue was very concerned.
Qi Xianqing’s eyes shifted. She lowered her gaze. “They hurt a little. Maybe the rotten flesh and bone haven’t fully grown back yet.”
Yan Jue let out a soft “Ah,” her eyes widening slightly. “You’re so stupid. If it hurts, why are you walking so fast?”
And yet she still looked completely blank. Yan Jue couldn’t help grumbling to herself.
Sensing Yan Jue’s concern, Qi Xianqing clasped her hands behind her back and turned to look at her. “Why don’t you come and see for yourself?”
Yan Jue smiled and said, “Do you even know how to take care of your own body?”
A curve appeared at the corner of Qi Xianqing’s lips. She sat down on a large boulder by the roadside and watched as Yan Jue took two or three steps toward her, crouched down, and rolled up her trouser leg.
Yan Jue had only just rolled it halfway up when the girl’s slender, pale ankle was revealed, and her movements suddenly froze.
Perhaps because she had been too close to Qi Xianqing lately, Yan Jue had unconsciously forgotten.
Although she and Qi Xianqing could now be considered half-dao companions, Yan Jue still found this level of intimacy a little hard to get used to.
Qi Xianqing lowered her head and looked at her deeply, her lips pressing together.
Yan Jue placed both hands over her knee and gently massaged it. “Does it hurt?”
These were two of the techniques she had learned from Song Miyun; they were supposed to help clear Qi Xianqing’s knee meridians. She didn’t know whether they would work.
Qi Xianqing frowned. “It hurts more and more.”
Qi Xianqing sat on the rock, bracing herself with her hands on either side, watching Yan Jue kneel in front of her with a furrowed brow.
Yan Jue was beautiful, with snow-white skin and a clean, youthful air about her. Her whole face was earnest.
Yan Jue was getting worried. “Didn’t you say it only hurt a little just now?”
“I’ll carry you?”
In one smooth motion, Qi Xianqing turned herself around and sat on Yan Jue’s back, her two arms, soft as if boneless, looping around Yan Jue’s shoulders.
Back when she was on Five Dragons Mountain, Yan Jue had focused on strength training. Not only her legs, but her arms and waist had all been weighed down with sandbags.
Qi Xianqing did not weigh much at all, and carrying her was especially easy.
What an inexplicable fate this was; when they had come here before, it had also been Yan Jue carrying Qi Xianqing.
Sitting on Yan Jue’s back with her body pressed against her shoulders, Qi Xianqing’s warm breath brushed Yan Jue’s ear. Then something soft suddenly grazed the side of her face.
Qi Xianqing’s voice was very light, carrying a hint of laughter. “Junior Sister, are you feeling sorry for me?”
Yan Jue’s face instantly turned bright red. Heat seemed to rise all over her body.
Qi Xianqing: “Junior Sister Yan, please walk steadily. If we both fall into the creek, we won’t be able to face Master.”
No sooner had she finished speaking than Yan Jue’s footing slipped. Her shoe came down hard on a protruding stone.
“...”
Yan Jue slowly got up from the ground and looked at Qi Xianqing with eyes that were practically rolling to heaven.
Seeing her like that, Qi Xianqing couldn’t bear to tease her too harshly.
Qi Xianqing stood up and said with a suppressed smile, “Sorry for making Junior Sister fall.”
She reached out one hand and took Yan Jue’s hand. “Let’s keep going up the mountain.”
The two of them walked on for a while, and all the while Yan Jue kept glancing sidelong at Qi Xianqing, still paying close attention to her knees.
Song Miyun had said that Qi Xianqing’s knees had only just recovered and couldn’t be subjected to too much strenuous movement.
When Yan Jue’s eyes drifted to Qi Xianqing for the fourth time, Qi Xianqing finally couldn’t help asking, “What is it?”
Yan Jue hesitated. “Your knees... are they really fine?”
Yan Jue was even more considerate than Qi Xianqing had expected.
Qi Xianqing frowned slightly and rubbed the small of her back. “After that tumble just now, they hurt even more.”
Yan Jue and Qi Xianqing stared at each other for a long moment. In the end, as if surrendering, Yan Jue closed her eyes.
Her body changed at once, becoming a large red fox. Six tails fluttered behind her in the wind like burning flames.
Qi Xianqing looked at her, a soft smile flashing through her eyes.
She reached out and gently rubbed the fur at her neck. “Our Ah Jue is so good.”
Ah Jue.
Just those two words were enough to make Yan Jue’s face, hidden beneath her fur, burn red.
Yan Jue scratched at the dirt behind her and bared her teeth at her in a fierce little show of temper, as if urging her to hurry.
Qi Xianqing’s lips curved. She swung herself up onto her back.
In the mountain forest, one person and one fox slowly made their way forward along the creek.
-
By the time Yan Jue and Qi Xianqing returned to Skyferry City, Yun Zhen was already waiting for them at the inn.
Yun Zhen had always been generous with money. This time, unsurprisingly, she had booked the top-tier suite as well.
The moment Qi Xianqing saw Yun Zhen, she knelt down solemnly.
Yun Zhen was lying on a chaise longue. “What are you kneeling for?” she asked in surprise.
Qi Xianqing: “I kept Master waiting.”
Yun Zhen waved the transmission token in her hand. “You didn’t know how to reply when it happened, but now that you’re standing in front of me, you know how to act pitiful? Your master is least fond of this sort of thing.”
Though she said that, there was no displeasure on her face. Instead, she asked, “What danger did you run into?”
Although Yun Zhen already had a rough idea of what had happened to Qi Xianqing, when she reached Fuxian Mountain that day, all she had found on the mountain was a cold tiger demon corpse. She couldn’t even find the demon core.
She didn’t know exactly what had happened.
Compared to all that, Yun Zhen felt this matter was a little more important.
Qi Xianqing briefly explained the matter of falling off the cliff, naturally leaving out the part about absorbing yang essence. “Thanks to Junior Sister Yan for saving me.”
Yun Zhen: “Very good. As expected of my disciple.”
Then she looked at Yan Jue with an expression full of concern. “Xiao Yan, thank you for saving Xianqing. And you—are you feeling unwell anywhere?”
Yan Jue’s scalp prickled. “No.”
Why did it feel like the way Yun Zhen was looking at her was a little strange?
Qi Xianqing stayed in the room while Yun Zhen gave her instructions. Yan Jue knew this probably involved some family matter of Qi Xianqing’s, so she left on her own.
Just as Yan Jue stepped out of the inn, she saw several men gathered nearby, speaking quietly.
Her hearing was extremely sharp; even from far away, she could clearly hear what they were saying.
“I heard that a beauty made a scene there a few days ago and almost tore the inn’s roof off. The moment the female guest from the top-tier suite came down, she stopped making trouble.”
“Both of them are peerless beauties.”
“I came to stay at this inn just for that, but I haven’t even seen a single beauty since I arrived.”
“They must be lovers, right? You know how it is between husband and wife; they fight at the head of the bed and make up by the foot of it. Now that they’ve already reconciled, what could you possibly see?”
Yan Jue: “...”
-
Actually, more than ten days ago, when Yun Zhen received the message in the transmission talisman, she had used immortal art, Traces of Light, to hurry over.
But after she arrived, she did not find Qi Xianqing in the mountains. Instead, she saw a cold tiger demon corpse.
Because Qi Xianqing had left a sliver of divine intent in the Soul Reflecting Ring during this mission.
If she died, Yun Zhen would sense it immediately.
Yun Zhen had been staying at the inn and was wondering whether she should create a clone to search the mountains for the two of them when she suddenly heard someone outside making a scene.
Hearing that familiar voice, she leaned out to look; sure enough, it was San Niang.
Lu Yanshuang grabbed Yun Zhen and cursed at her, saying Yun Zhen’s eldest disciple had drained her niece’s yin essence.
The reason Yun Zhen had taken Yan Jue as her disciple back then was not only because Yan Jue had exceptional talent, but more importantly because Yan Jue’s brows and eyes bore some resemblance to Lu Yanshuang. That had led Yun Zhen to keep her in mind.
Lu Yanshuang’s outburst only confirmed Yun Zhen’s suspicions.
Yun Zhen then promised Lu Yanshuang that if Qi Xianqing had truly absorbed Yan Jue’s yin essence, she would certainly punish her disciple properly.
As for Fuxian Mountain, Lu Yanshuang was definitely more familiar with it than Yun Zhen, so Yun Zhen transformed into a white butterfly and followed beside her.
One was looking for her disciple; the other was looking for the princess.
Yun Zhen also personally witnessed how shamelessly Qi Xianqing had called Lu Yanshuang “Auntie.”
She more or less guessed what kind of feelings Qi Xianqing had for Yan Jue.
After all, yang essence was precious, and Yun Zhen knew very well that her disciple was not the sort to seize advantage of others in a crisis, but she was also not a selfless saint.
Before this, Qi Xianqing had asked Yun Zhen for advice on many things regarding spiritual pets. At the time, Yun Zhen had only found it odd. Only now had she finally understood what Qi Xianqing had meant.
Though it was a little sudden, Yun Zhen only wanted to shout one word: good!
As expected of her disciple.
Yun Zhen lifted her gaze and looked at Qi Xianqing kneeling on the ground. She couldn’t help thinking that her eldest disciple always looked so serious; surely at times like this she’d still wear that same frost-covered face, wouldn’t she? How disappointing.
Catching Qi Xianqing’s odd look, Yun Zhen coughed lightly. “I have something to tell you.”
Qi Xianqing hurriedly said, “Please go ahead, Master.”
Yun Zhen spread her right hand, and in her palm appeared a green leaf. The leaf turned slowly in the wind, with faint wisps of black qi swirling within it.
Qi Xianqing was slightly stunned.
That leaf.
It was a magical tool used to cultivate ghost things.
Qi Xianqing’s brows rose slightly, and her heart gave a hard thump.
Yun Zhen: “This is the wandering resentment I saw scattered around after I arrived at Fuxian Mountain that day.”
Resentful ghosts were also a kind of ghost thing.
Those eaten by tigers would become the tiger’s slaves, also known as resentful ghosts.
Yun Zhen recited an incantation, and the green leaf in her palm suddenly enlarged. Two black figures faintly appeared within it.
Qi Xianqing’s pupils contracted sharply.
It was her father and mother.
Yun Zhen: “Resentful ghosts controlled by tigers cannot be reborn like ordinary souls. They must be transcended by a cultivator.”
“But because resentful ghosts are filled with fierce and violent energy, transcending them is a hundred times harder than transcending ordinary spirits.” Yun Zhen paused. “Originally, they were already soul-less ghost beings. If they are destroyed directly, there is a great chance their spirits will scatter and vanish from this world.”
Qi Xianqing frowned slightly. “Master means that if I want to transcend my father and mother, I must go to Echo Hall and ask a professional to handle it.”
Yun Zhen: “Exactly.”
“Xianqing, you also still have the guqin you brought out of the Qi family back then, ‘Fuhuan,’ in Five Dragons Sect. It is a famous inherited instrument; if played by a master, it can be used to transcend resentful souls. You’ve wandered the martial world for all these years, so you should know disciples of Echo Hall. Go find them.”
Qi Xianqing lowered herself further. “Yes.”
Yun Zhen flicked the green leaf in her hand; it floated through the air and in an instant came to rest in Qi Xianqing’s hands.
Yun Zhen also knew that matters concerning her parents had always been a knot in Qi Xianqing’s heart. Only if Qi Xianqing personally transcended her parents would one of her burdens truly be lifted.
Qi Xianqing held the green leaf carefully, seeing the two familiar yet unfamiliar resentful souls wandering blankly within it. Her arms began to tremble slightly, as though she were holding something weighing a thousand jin. She stood in silence for a long time.
Yun Zhen: “Keep it safe for now.”
Qi Xianqing: “Yes.”
She got up to leave, only to be called back by Yun Zhen. “Wait.”
Qi Xianqing came back to herself and paused in surprise.
Yun Zhen: “I have something else I want to tell you.”
-
After returning to the room, Qi Xianqing took out the huge tiger demon core from her sleeve.
The tiger demon core glimmered faintly, reflecting Qi Xianqing’s figure on its surface.
A demon core was the root of a demon’s life. It not only condensed a demon’s cultivation, but also held its memories.
With this core in hand, Qi Xianqing only needed to inject divine sense into it to search the life memories of the two tiger demons.
Qi Xianqing closed her eyes and used her divine sense to explore the core inch by inch. Very quickly, she found what she wanted.
Tiger demons were one of the Five Demons, and among them they were the most brazen and unruly in their actions.
These two tiger demons, male and female, were a pair of soldier-demons under the tiger demon leader, causing trouble in the western border for years.
The tiger demons had already sided with the demon race, which was why they could obtain news about the Immortal Spirit Physique.
In the core’s memories, they had indeed spoken with the Demon Lord.
As expected, it matched her guess.
Qi Xianqing suddenly discovered something; her divine sense gave a slight pause.
Within this core’s memories, there was also a very small detail that was easy to overlook.
Skyferry City’s city lord, Liang Tingmian, had not died.
She had been imprisoned by the tiger demons.
...
When Qi Xianqing came out of the room, Yan Jue was waiting for her beneath the corridor.
Yan Jue wore a light rose-colored pleated skirt, and the golden collar around her neck shimmered brightly.
She was lazily leaning against a long bench, drinking a bowl of soup.
In the sunlight, her lips were red and her teeth white; her complexion was much better than it had been a few days ago.
Qi Xianqing walked over and coughed softly.
At the sound, Yan Jue turned her head and met Qi Xianqing’s gaze.
Her brows and eyes curved. “Finished?”
Qi Xianqing looked at her, her voice slightly hoarse. “Mm. Finished.”
Qi Xianqing had too many things to handle; being busy was her normal state.
Yan Jue: “There’s a table full of food over there. You can go—”
Before she could finish, her whole body suddenly went rigid.
Qi Xianqing reached out, wrapped an arm around her waist, and gently hugged her, resting her chin on Yan Jue’s shoulder with a sigh.
The breath was very light, but Yan Jue still caught it.
Qi Xianqing was acting spoiled with her; she must be very tired.
Qi Xianqing asked, “What are you drinking?”
Yan Jue shyly hugged her back and tilted her head up with a smile. “Soup.”
Qi Xianqing asked her opinion, “Can I have a little?”
Yan Jue naturally had no objections. Smiling, she said, “If you want some, of course you can.”
Qi Xianqing had been talking with Yun Zhen in the room for quite a while and was already feeling hungry.
Although a cultivator’s appetite would lessen, one could not truly live without eating. Seeing the soup Yan Jue had brought over, she couldn’t help feeling her mouth water.
Over there, the innkeeper had already prepared a full table of dishes; Yun Zhen had ordered them long ago.
Yan Jue: “If Senior Sister wants to eat, you can go over there.”
“No need.” Qi Xianqing looked at Yan Jue for a while, then reached out and took the bowl of soup from her. “I’ll just have a little.”
She drank two mouthfuls of the soup Yan Jue had already drunk from, showing no disgust at all; only then did a sharp, spicy pain surge up her throat.
She couldn’t help coughing violently.
Qi Xianqing: “The soup is spicy?”
She coughed for a while longer, then lifted her eyes to look at Yan Jue accusingly. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Yan Jue held back laughter. “You were the one who wanted to drink it. I already told you there was a whole table of dishes over there.”
Qi Xianqing pressed her lips together, and a soft smile rippled in her eyes.
It was very spicy.
But the soup was sweet.
Qi Xianqing set the bowl down. “I won’t drink any more for now.”
She took Yan Jue by the shoulder and led her forward. “We still have important matters to handle.”
-
“So Master gave you the artifact storing...” Yan Jue paused, then said uncertainly, “Uncle and Aunt’s resentful ghost?”
Qi Xianqing nodded. “Resentful ghosts are different from other ghosts in the world. If you want to transcend a resentful ghost, you have to have a superior seven-stringed guqin play the Netherworld Soul-Severing Melody. I’ll keep them with me for now, and once the time is right, I can transcend them.”
Yan Jue: “But does that seven-stringed qin need to be bought, or borrowed from someone?”
Qi Xianqing: “I have one in my dormitory.”
Yan Jue suddenly understood. She remembered the first time she had gone to Qi Xianqing’s dormitory and seen a brand-new guqin placed in the room.
The qin in Qi Xianqing’s dormitory was the famous instrument Fuhuan.
Back then, she had wondered why a sword cultivator like Qi Xianqing would have a qin in her room.
It turned out that Qi Xianqing had grown up in a family of letters and etiquette. Her mother adored the qin immensely, and when the tiger demons wiped out the entire Qi family back then, all the valuable possessions in the home had been destroyed, with only this qin preserved intact.
When Qi Xianqing and Yan Jue arrived at the Skyferry City City Lord’s Residence, the entire manor was already in complete chaos.
The city lord Liang, impersonated by the female tiger demon, had already been killed by the two of them in Fuxian Mountain outside Skyferry City.
For a city lord to disappear mysteriously overnight was the kind of event that, if even the slightest whisper leaked out, would shake all of Skyferry City.
The steward could only suppress the news. Just as everyone in the residence was in a panic, two women suddenly came to the door requesting an audience.
The steward recognized at once that the two women were among the disciples from an immortal sect who had come to see the city lord more than half a month ago.
Recently, far too many disciples had come seeking to borrow the Sun-Moon Beast, and at times the steward had even suspected that these immortal sect disciples were of uneven quality, perhaps even having killed the city lord in order to borrow the beast.
Looking at the two women, the steward remained wary, and said with difficulty, “Two heroines, our city lord is ill at the moment. It is truly inconvenient to receive you.”
Qi Xianqing glanced at the area around the residence and indeed saw many immortal sect disciples gathered in twos and threes.
It was autumn; the season when jade-celestial grass bloomed in the mountains had arrived.
Jade-celestial grass looked no different from ordinary grass and plants, so there was no way to identify it by sight alone.
Only the Sun-Moon Beast in Liang City Lord’s residence liked to eat jade-celestial grass most. As long as the Sun-Moon Beast was released into the mountains, it could find the location of the grass.
Everyone still did not know what was going on; they only knew that the city lord had shut herself away and refused all visitors, so they were all blocking the entrance to the residence.
Yan Jue: “May we speak somewhere else?”
After a long silence, the steward hesitantly nodded.
Yan Jue stepped forward and lowered her voice to the steward. “City Lord Liang has gone missing because she was swapped with a fake. We already know where the real city lord is.”
The steward looked at her in shock and had no choice but to respectfully invite the two of them inside.
When the surrounding immortal sect disciples saw them enter, they all began whispering among themselves.
An irritable woman said, “What? Why? The jade-celestial grass season is almost over, and it’s about to wither. Why can’t we borrow it, but they can?”
The male cultivator beside her shook his head. “Did you see that woman? She seems to be Lord Meng Heng of Five Dragons Sect. She’s the chief disciple of the new generation of Five Dragons Sect, and she has many followers among the mortal world.”
“Maybe the city lord is one of her followers.”
“No way...” the woman frowned. “The person beside her looks familiar too, like the third-place winner from the Five-Dragon Summit...”
The Five-Dragon Summit was a grand immortal event, recorded in newspapers from all regions, so most immortal sect disciples knew about it.
“Exactly. Five Dragons Sect even sent their eldest and second disciples to look for jade-celestial grass, so naturally the city lord has to give them some face.” The man’s explanation was quite convincing.
The steward led Qi Xianqing and Yan Jue into the back courtyard, staring at them with obvious suspicion. “Two heroines, I wonder where exactly our city lord is?”
Yan Jue got straight to the point. “May we borrow the Sun-Moon Beast?”
The steward’s brows shot up at once. “Heroine, are you joking? Our city lord in the residence is missing, and the moment you come through the door you want to borrow the Sun-Moon Beast. You, you’re simply unreasonable!”
“I can only ask you to leave.”
Just as the steward was about to call for people, Qi Xianqing raised a hand to stop him.
Qi Xianqing asked gently, “May I ask, when City Lord Liang first obtained this Sun-Moon Beast, how old was it?”
The steward: “City Lord Liang bought the Sun-Moon Beast in Wanwu Fortress. When she first got it, it was only one month old.”
Qi Xianqing nodded. “If the steward can bring the Sun-Moon Beast out, then we can find the real City Lord Liang.”
“...”
The steward half-believingly had someone bring out the Sun-Moon Beast.
After all, Qi Xianqing was the face of the immortal sect, and she also had the Five Dragons Sect token on her. The steward was only a mortal; trusting that this otherworldly, transcendent immortal wouldn’t lie, he had the beast brought out.
When Yan Jue saw the Sun-Moon Beast, she couldn’t help pausing slightly.
A large snow-white cat was locked inside a dense iron cage.
A pale gold formation clung to the outside of the cage. The big cat lay inside, lazily licking its paw.
One of its eyes was a deep ocean blue; the other was a flame-like red.
The steward opened the cage and let the Sun-Moon Beast out. The big cat gave a “meow—” and walked out with elegant steps.
Seeing Yan Jue look at it with curiosity, Qi Xianqing smiled and said, “This isn’t even the strangest part.”
Yan Jue: “Then what is the strangest—”
Before she could finish, servants on that side lifted the Sun-Moon Beast by its two paws and hoisted it up.
Qi Xianqing instantly averted her eyes, expressionless.
Yan Jue, however, froze.
The Sun-Moon Beast turned out to be a hermaphroditic spirit beast, possessing both male and female organs.
The steward watched for a long while before finally unable to resist reminding them, “Two heroines, I’ve already brought the Sun-Moon Beast out for you. You should be able to help me find City Lord Liang now, shouldn’t you?”
Qi Xianqing stood up. “The Sun-Moon Beast recognizes its master most strongly. If it was raised by City Lord Liang from a young age, it will definitely be able to find its owner’s location.”
“Moreover, this is a Sun-Moon Beast that once entered into a master-servant contract.”
As though to confirm Qi Xianqing’s speculation, the Sun-Moon Beast licked its paw and lazily let out a “meow—”.
Yan Jue asked, “Why are you so sure that this Sun-Moon Beast had a spiritual contract with City Lord Liang?”
Qi Xianqing: “Sun-Moon Beasts are extremely difficult to train. If they hadn’t formed a contract, they would be hard to raise.”
As soon as the servant set the Sun-Moon Beast on the ground, it immediately began sniffing around. Its snow-white tail drooped behind it, sweeping back and forth.
Everyone followed the Sun-Moon Beast’s steps and soon arrived at a secluded corner in the back courtyard of the city lord’s residence.
It was actually an outhouse.
The moment the outhouse door was opened, a great cloud of dust fell out. The place had not been used for years; it was old and reeked terribly.
A large pile of weeds covered the floor. The Sun-Moon Beast’s paws repeatedly scratched at the weeds, and after it scraped them away, a large wooden board appeared beneath.
The steward hurriedly shouted, “Quick, lift the board!”
Several servants rushed forward, but the moment they touched the board, they were all repelled by a massive surge of spiritual power.
Faint blue light flickered around the edge of the board.
Qi Xianqing glanced at Yan Jue, and Yan Jue took out two Spirit Stones. Silently calculating the direction of the hexagram positions in her heart, she recited an incantation and stamped her right foot. The two Spirit Stones struck the four sides of the board separately, and the formation was broken.
The steward rushed forward anxiously. “City Lord Liang...”
The servants worked together to lift the board. Beneath it was actually a very deep pit.
Inside the pit lay a woman in tattered clothes.
It was the appearance the female tiger demon had transformed Liang City Lord into.
It seemed the female tiger demon had not killed Liang City Lord, but had instead locked her in this cellar...
The servants hurriedly and clumsily carried Liang City Lord up. The best physician in the residence was already waiting outside and immediately stepped forward to check her pulse.
Everyone stood by the bed and waited for a moment, only to see the physician frown and shake his head. “The city lord is not injured.”
Yan Jue’s gaze fell on Liang Tingmian’s face for a moment, and she quickly noticed something was wrong.
The woman’s brows were tightly drawn, as if she were in extreme pain. Her brow seemed faintly dark, her eyes tightly shut, as though she were trapped in an inerasable grief.
This was far too similar to Qi Xianqing’s expression a few days ago in Fuxian Mountain; it looked like she had suffered some kind of mental harm.
“Does the heroine mean that the person previously living in the city lord’s residence was an impostor?”
“How was the city lord swapped?” The steward knelt by the bed, frowning. “Our city lord is also a cultivator, and has already reached the fifth realm. If someone had forced her, then she would definitely have...”
She did not finish the rest of her sentence, but everyone understood what she meant.
The two tiger demons might have had high cultivation, but the formations within the city lord’s residence were not to be underestimated. A fifth-realm cultivator would already have developed very strong divine sense. Even if they had forcibly imprisoned the city lord in an outhouse, it would have been difficult to accomplish without a fierce battle.
The physician: “City Lord Liang may have suffered some kind of mental injury... but I don’t have any medicine here to recover from mental injury. Should I go back to the residence and then...”
Yan Jue suddenly said, “I can try.”
The steward turned back in surprise. “How would the heroine know how to treat mental injuries?”
Seeing the long sword on Yan Jue’s back, he could tell she was definitely not a medical cultivator.
Could it be that the immortals of Five Dragons Sect were all this omnipotent?
Yan Jue stepped forward and took out a jade seal from her bosom.
Just as she had done when helping Qi Xianqing a few days ago, Yan Jue gave a soft shout, and the jade seal slowly rose into the air. A faint glow soon enveloped Liang City Lord.
In the deep mountains a few days ago, Yan Jue had already figured out this jade seal’s functions very clearly. For example, it had extremely strong healing effects on mental injuries and damage to one’s dao heart.
Seeing Liang City Lord’s current condition, it was worth a try.
-
Skyferry City’s streets were bustling with noise.
After leaving the City Lord’s Residence, Yan Jue and Qi Xianqing passed through the busiest commercial street.
The people on the street came and went, laughter and chatter filling the air; they knew nothing about what had happened in the city lord’s residence.
Qi Xianqing was walking down the street when she seemed to suddenly notice something.
“Wait.”
Yan Jue paused in surprise and watched as Qi Xianqing slowly walked toward a roadside stall.
Yan Jue followed behind her and watched as Qi Xianqing reached the stall.
She lowered her gaze, her eyes sweeping across the things on the stall one by one.
They were all children’s trinkets: pinwheels, nine-ring puzzles, tangrams, shadow lanterns...
Yan Jue’s eyes lit up. She looked at them with great interest. She had always liked these novel little things, and these folk toys were made especially delicately.
But soon, Yan Jue’s attention fell on Qi Xianqing behind her.
“...”
Yan Jue let out a quiet huff; she would not show that she liked them in front of Qi Xianqing.
The two of them wandered around the street for the whole afternoon. Qi Xianqing seemed especially interested in the cloth stalls along the street and stood watching for a long time before choosing several bolts of colored silk.
Yan Jue stood beside her offering suggestions, whispering, “Plain colors.”
Qi Xianqing’s brows and eyes curved as she turned back to look at her. “Then does Junior Sister think I look good in plain colors?”
Yan Jue narrowed her eyes, said nothing, and gently nodded.
That was only a hint. Perhaps because she had spent too long as a canine, Yan Jue sometimes really couldn’t control her instincts.
Qi Xianqing did not feel the least bit embarrassed. Instead, she smiled and not only bought the colored silk, but also purchased several bolts of ivory-white fabric.
The two of them walked through the lively market and browsed every stall before returning to the inn.
-
Qi Xianqing, dressed in white and carrying Zhuying in its jet-black scabbard, pushed open the door and entered.
Yan Jue was holding a pile of colored silk and following closely behind her.
The two of them had just arrived in the main hall of the top-tier suite when they ran into Yun Zhen.
Yun Zhen looked at them as they came in, her expression thoughtful.
When Yan Jue met Yun Zhen’s gaze, her heart gave a faint buzz and she suddenly felt a little guilty.
Yun Zhen took a slow sip of tea and said lazily, “Well? How are things going for the two of you?”
The words “the two of you” stabbed Yan Jue deeply. Perhaps because she felt so guilty, Yan Jue kept thinking there was an ulterior meaning in Yun Zhen’s tone.
Yan Jue immediately cupped her hands and bowed. “Replying to Master, everything is done. I’ll return to my room first.”
With a bang, the door closed.
Qi Xianqing turned her head toward the direction Yan Jue had left in, but was suddenly brought back by Yun Zhen’s soft cough. “Tonight, one of you will sleep in this room, and one of you will sleep in that room.”
Qi Xianqing came back to herself and saw Yun Zhen pointing at the room beside them.
Yun Zhen said earnestly, “Nothing in this world should be rushed. You don’t want to scare away someone you’ve only just managed to win over, do you?”
Qi Xianqing: “...”
Yun Zhen was quite worried about her disciple.
Qi Xianqing had always had this wooden personality since she was young.
Yun Zhen was also rather worried that Qi Xianqing might end up alone for the rest of her life, and Qi Xianqing had always paid a great deal of attention to physical training. If it came to the bed... she might very well twist someone’s wrist off.
Yun Zhen intended to give Xianqing some guidance in this regard as well.
-
As expected of a top-tier suite, every room was fully equipped.
After bathing, Yan Jue came out of the room in a plain white inner robe, her jet-black hair loose over her shoulders, and suddenly saw someone sitting on the windowsill over there.
Yan Jue was stunned for a moment, inwardly thinking holy shit, then bit her lip and smiled as she walked over. “Why are you here?”
Qi Xianqing had already changed into clean clothes. Her long hair was pinned up with a pale purple jade hairpin, and she sat cross-legged on the windowsill, head lowered as she played with a spiritual candle fruit in her hands. She looked every bit the transcendent immortal, peerless and unrivaled.
At the sound of footsteps, Qi Xianqing turned back. “I missed my little fox baby, so I came to have a look. Can’t I?”
Yan Jue couldn’t suppress the upward curve of her lips. “You’re so clingy. It’s not even been an hour.”
Qi Xianqing jumped down from the windowsill and walked over with her hands behind her back, amusement in her eyes.
“Come here, little fox baby.” Qi Xianqing came to the bedside and lay down lazily. “It’s time to replenish spiritual energy again.”
Yan Jue wanted to cry and laugh at the same time, and strangely enough, there was even a faint sense of happiness in her heart.
“Didn’t Master say you weren’t allowed to come over?”
Qi Xianqing: “If I want to come, can Master stop me?”
She paused. “I just want to live with my own dao companion. If Master wants to interfere, wouldn’t that be a bit too broad-minded?”
Qi Xianqing had always been respectful toward her teacher. It was rare to hear such rebellious words from her mouth, and Yan Jue couldn’t help laughing.
Yan Jue then remembered the way Yun Zhen had looked at her today and asked, “Does Master know my identity?”
Qi Xianqing: “I don’t know what Master thinks. I only know that Auntie and Master have a very unusual relationship.”
Yan Jue laughed and scolded her, “Who told you to call her that?”
Qi Xianqing had adapted very quickly. It had only been a few days, and Yan Jue still hadn’t gotten used to it herself.
If Yun Zhen had known her true identity all along but never exposed her, that probably had something to do with her own San Niang as well.
Yan Jue faintly felt that the relationship between those two was not simple.
Yan Jue sat down beside Qi Xianqing. “I feel like I’m recovering very quickly lately.”
She looked at Qi Xianqing with confidence. “There’s no need to keep absorbing yang qi.”
Song Miyun’s medical advice had been to maintain yang essence intake for at least one month.
But who ever strictly followed medical advice?
Qi Xianqing’s spiritual energy was pure and intensely yang. After only a few days of essence exchange, Yan Jue felt completely recovered.
Qi Xianqing was not stubborn about it. “In that case, let’s do something else.”
Yan Jue was slightly startled. She saw Qi Xianqing take a bamboo-woven cuju ball from her sleeve.
Yan Jue stared at it for a long moment; in an instant, her blood seemed to start boiling. Unable to control her excitement, she looked at Qi Xianqing with bright, expectant eyes.
When she had been shopping with Qi Xianqing today, her gaze had lingered on this cuju ball for a long time. She hadn’t expected Qi Xianqing not only to notice, but even to think of buying it for her.
Yan Jue rolled once across the bed, pressed her head against Qi Xianqing’s thigh, and wrapped her arms around her waist. Her clear amber eyes narrowed slightly. “Senior Sister, I want to play.”
Although she was in human form now, Yan Jue still retained some habits from her little fox self; her whole body was soft and warm.
Qi Xianqing’s heart could not help but soften completely.
Qi Xianqing set the cuju ball on the bed, braced herself with both hands, and leaned over. She lowered her head slightly, looking down at her. “Playing is fine, but you have to agree to one thing first.”
Qi Xianqing’s scent drifted into Yan Jue’s nose, making her whole body tremble. She looked up at Qi Xianqing. “What thing?”
“Essence exchange isn’t only done one way,” Qi Xianqing said, her voice soft. “Today, let’s try a different method, all right?”
TL Note:
ruqun (襦裙) = a traditional outfit with a short jacket worn over a long skirt.
cuju (蹴鞠) = an ancient Chinese ball game, similar to soccer/football.