Chapter 90 Ambition

This time the illusion was unexpectedly trivial, almost like a daily plot without any pauses.

Shenhong followed behind Ziyi, watching her being bossed around by the young man Jian Shiyuan. She couldn't help but sigh, "Goodness! If Ziyi wasn't the same to everyone, I'd have suspected she had a crush on the Sect Master. How could there be someone so easily deceived in this world?"

A wealthy daughter, she trotted along behind the clan leader, paying, picking up goods, and even taking the time to remind the young man, Jian Shiyuan, to watch his step. She was as busy as a servant. Her forehead was slightly damp, but her eyes were bright, not a trace of displeasure at all.

Song Mu watched them walk into the teahouse. Zi Yi put down her bag first and then busied herself with pouring tea for the young man Jian Shiyuan. A few strands of hair hung loosely at her temples, and she didn't have the hands to straighten them.

Shui Jing Zhu: "Zi Yi is accustomed to putting herself in the position of protector and sacrifice. She is accustomed to caring for others and giving in for others."

Crimson: "She's a good person, but I don't want my friends to be like that. In this world, such a kind girl won't live long."

As he spoke, he looked at the young man, Jian Shiyuan, curling his fingers, feeling the slight tingling sensation of his nails digging into his palms. "It's good to be like the Sect Master. Kind but not worrying."

When the young man Jian Shiyuan walked past him, Shenhong heard his mumbling.

Not everyone is worth saving.

Save those who are worth saving.

This way you can maintain your kindness and avoid saving ungrateful people.

The only thing to measure is the scope of "worth"

Shenhong sighed in his heart, can the sect leader really find the standard of measurement?

Shenhong looked at the young man, Jian Shiyuan. He sat by the window. A pot of unknown white flowers with green stems rested on the wooden window bars. They resembled daffodils, but the flowers were fuller. The pure petals framed Jian Shiyuan's handsome face. The flower's color was elegant, its fragrance exquisite, but beside the Sect Master, it seemed rather cliché.

The young man Jian Shiyuan held the teacup with his slender white fingers and took a sip of the light tea. His lips were wet by the water vapor, revealing an even brighter red. He slowly enjoyed the tea. A petal fell on the windowsill and slowly landed on the table with mercy.

People were coming and going downstairs, and the noise was loud, but the young man Jian Shiyuan had his own barrier, and the moment he saw him, the noise naturally went away.

Song Mu was stunned, as if he were lost in silence, his mind and eyes filled with only the young Jian Shiyuan. The young sect leader smiled, as if he had heard something interesting. He put down the teacup, resting his fingers on the table, sliding them along the curved surface of the teacup, sometimes up and sometimes down. His fingertips were stained with red, and when they rubbed against the white porcelain teacup, they were like drops of blood in the snow, bright and dazzling.

Song Mu came back to his senses and saw Shui Jing Zhu beside him talking to Shen Hong.

Deep Red: "This mad emperor is too Jack Su, he holds the power of the world when he is awake, he can kill whoever he wants, and he sleeps on the lap of a beautiful woman when he is drunk. All the famous beauties in the world are his wives and concubines."

Shui Jing Zhu: "Are you envious? Do you men really like being studs?"

Crimson: "It's not that I like studs, I just think the Mad Emperor is very charming. He came from a humble background, created his own way of doing things, and was unbeatable in a one-on-many battle. Except for the last battle, he never lost. That's really amazing. Most importantly, his wives and concubines truly loved him. After his death, they even fell into the Glazed Heavenly Palace to be buried with him. How much love must that be?"

Shui Jing Zhu sneered, "In the end, it's still a stud. Compared to the Crazy Emperor, I think Madam Fen, Yun Yeting, is the hero."

Shen Hong tutted, "Don't be so hypocritical. What's the difference between Yun Yeting and the Mad Emperor? She has a lot of male confidants, and there's no man in the world who doesn't love her. If she hadn't found a gigolo and been stabbed in the back by him, with her status, she could have married three thousand male concubines."

Shui Jing Zhu: "You are hypocritical! A confidant is not a lover, so why are you comparing them? One has many friends, the other has many sex partners, how can they be the same?"

After saying this, both of them snorted coldly and ignored each other.

Song Mu was in a daze just now and didn't hear the story told by the storyteller. He was confused at this moment. He looked at the listeners in the teahouse who were also discussing the story with great interest.

Male guest: "If I were the Mad Emperor, how glorious it would be! A real man should be like this!"

Another male guest said: "The mad emperor is so lucky to have so many women in his three palaces and six courtyards! If I could see Lady Mingyue's beauty with my own eyes, I would die immediately."

The female guest teased, "Madam Fen is the most beautiful woman in the world. How can Lady Mingyue be more beautiful than her? You might as well take a few more glances at Madam Fen."

The man stroked his beard and said in an ambiguous voice, "You don't understand men. The Crazy Emperor has tasted all the beauties in the world, from slim and plump to stunningly beautiful. He should have been tired of women a long time ago, but when he met Lady Bright Moon, he willingly obeyed her orders. How beautiful must Lady Bright Moon be to be so captivating that the Crazy Emperor would bow down to her?"

Another female guest retorted, "Lady Mingyue conquered the Crazy Emperor with her own temperament and talent, and they became brother and sister. How can you speak so vulgarly?"

The male guest sneered, "Come on, if the Mad Emperor truly loved his adopted sister, why would he kill all the cultivators in the world and not dare to capture Lady Mingyue's face? It's said that Lady Mingyue is gentle and affectionate, but who has ever seen her? The leader of the righteous path, Kaiyuan Sect's leader, Yun Yeting, has left a portrait, but there's not a single portrait of Lady Mingyue showing her face."

Another male guest also agreed with him, "This Lady Mingyue was made famous by the Mad Emperor. Without the Mad Emperor's support, how could she have such a good reputation today? What's the point of 'adopted sister'? Isn't she just the Mad Emperor's forbidden lover?"

The young man Jian Shiyuan, who had been silent the whole time, spoke up. "Why make such a fuss? The Mad Emperor is always open about who he loves. When has he ever hidden his feelings? If he loved Lady Mingyue, he wouldn't have acknowledged her as his adopted sister."

"Whatever you say is fine, there's no need to maliciously speculate on others' intentions. Not wanting to leave a portrait is a personal choice. If you leave a portrait, it will be coveted and fantasized by people like you a thousand years later. It's better not to leave it."

This is a very unpleasant thing to say.

The expressions of several male guests present changed instantly.

A female guest, seeing the handsome young man Jian Shiyuan, took a liking to him and agreed, "This young man is right. The Lady Mingyue is unparalleled in swordsmanship. She could have made a name for herself even without a sworn brother. But you guys, if it were a thousand years ago, would you still dare to disrespect the Lady Mingyue?"

Her sisters were also cheerful and immediately responded, mocking her, "Don't think of 'I am the Mad Emperor'. If you had looked down on Lady Bright Moon a thousand years ago, I'm afraid you would have been killed by the Mad Emperor."

The male guests were too embarrassed to admit their mistake and stood up angrily, wanting to cause trouble for the young man Jian Shiyuan.

The young man, Jian Shiyuan, remained seated, his eyes downcast, not looking at them. Seeing Jian Shiyuan's youth, slender build, and lack of strength, the men exchanged glances, then rolled up their sleeves and approached him. The man in purple glared, clenched his fists, and stood up, as if ready to attack.

The young man Jian Shiyuan still had a calm expression. He picked up a teacup and flicked it out casually.

clang.

The teacup repeatedly passed over the foreheads of the male guests, leaving a shadow like floating light, knocking the target down heavily, then spun around and hit the corner of the table, which bounced back and used the force to rush towards the young man Jian Shiyuan.

When it rushed in front of the young man Jian Shiyuan, he stretched out his hand and grabbed it casually, and the clean porcelain white teacup was pinched between his two fingers.

"scare--"

Seeing this scene, everyone present gasped in shock. The storyteller who was drinking tea and taking a break nearby was also shocked. It seemed as if he saw the Mad Emperor walking out of the storybook.

The mad emperor in the story also killed a group of heroes with just one cup of wine, and his voice shocked the world.

The players were also shocked.

Crimson: "Isn't the Sect Master blind? Can he see now?!"

Song Mu: "Damn! That cup turned around? How did it do that?"

Shui Jing Zhu: "The sect leader's eyes were still dim. He might be recognizing people by their voices. A cultivator's five senses are stronger than those of ordinary people. He didn't bump into anyone along the way. He was no different from a normal person."

The male guests knew that they had offended someone they shouldn't offend, so they got up from the ground in embarrassment and ran away with their tails between their legs.

The young man Jian Shiyuan was not disturbed by this little episode. He propped up his right elbow, played with the teacup in his left hand, and murmured, "I am the Mad Emperor?"

Zi Yi sat down and didn't ask any questions. She just changed the teacup to a clean one and poured him tea.

The eyes of the young man Jian Shiyuan were calm and peaceful. He seemed to have thought of something interesting, and a smile deepened at the corner of his mouth.

"Then I wouldn't be myself."

He is Jian Shiyuan, he will not become anyone, and there is no one worth imitating.

Thinking of this, the young man Jian Shiyuan took the teacup handed to him by Zi Yi and took a sip.

At this moment, Song Mu suddenly saw something and hurriedly pulled out the Shui Jing Zhu beside him, "Look at the Sect Master! His image is shaking!"

The entire illusion was natural, with only the young man Jian Shiyuan flickering, just like an old-fashioned TV with poor contact, and the whole person flickered in and out.

Crimson sighed, "Oh, is this the legendary special effect for the protagonist's appearance? So shiny and special, it blinds my eyes."

Shui Jing Zhu frowned, "Is the illusion about to change its scene?"

Crimson: "Except for the Sect Leader, all other characters are fine. It shouldn't be over so soon, right?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Shenhong was slapped in the face, and the scene in front of him was shattered.

Song Mu:

Waterways Notes:

Deep Red:

This time the screen switching is different from the previous ones. It does not appear as a complete picture, but countless small fragments are merged together to piece together a continuous picture.

The girl in purple in the picture finds a job in the embroidery room, and the next second she turns into the young man Jian Shiyuan who takes her purse, then she goes to give hot porridge to the beggars on the street, and then she hands the wages she earns to the young man Jian Shiyuan.

Players:

Zi Yi repeats [earn money] - [hand over wages] - [help the poor]

Young Jian Shiyuan repeats [take money] - [go out for a stroll] - [exchange money for rice and flour to give to the poor]

Shen Hong: "Is this the Sect Master's record of being a gigolo? Good fellow, Zi Yi is so easy to deceive, all the money he made was given to the Sect Master, tsk."

Song Mu: "I don't want to work hard anymore."

Shui Jing Zhu: "What does the clan leader want the purple-robed girl's money for? He gave it to the poor and didn't keep it for himself. Is he teasing the purple-robed girl?"

Shen Hong: "Tsk, Zi Yi asked him to help find Uncle Wang, but the Sect Master just released a paper crane. He's really being passive and lazy."

Shui Jing Zhu: "It should be a magic trick used in the world of immortal cultivation to find people. This paper crane is folded quite beautifully."

Song Mu: "Why does this scene look like a brothel? The Sect Master has gone in!!"

Shen Hong: "The Sect Master is not thinking about his girlfriend, right? Why is he so depressed? Those prostitutes are not as good-looking as him. It's not certain who will win."

Shui Jing Zhu: "Can you guys stop getting so excited? You're disturbing me. And Shen Hong, not everyone has a head full of dirty trash like you. The Sect Master must be into a brothel..."

Waterways Notes:!!!

"Why did the Sect Master jump onto the roof?"

In the picture, the young man Jian Shiyuan changed into black clothes. He jumped onto the roof with a paper crane resting on his index finger.

He bent down, quietly removed a piece of tile, and peeked at something, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

The next second, he disappeared from the screen.

Players:!!!

Crimson noticed, "Is there anyone in the house? I see two figures on the window!"

Song Mu noticed, "The Sect Master's eyes are healed? I see light in his eyes. Is he healed?!"

Shui Jing Zhu: "Did the Sect Master find Uncle Wang? The paper crane in his hand is the one he released earlier. Finding people in the world of immortal cultivation is really easy."

Before the players could finish their joy, the picture began to distort and change again.

Crimson looked down and could see the ground beneath his feet spinning, shrinking, and squeezing inward, with countless colors twisting into a ball of black.

He frowned and instantly understood what "Colorful Black" meant.

Looking up, the picture is completely stable.

This is the courtyard where Zi Yi and the young man Jian Shiyuan live.

The players walked in familiarly. The light was on in the room where Zi Yi lived. The players went over to take a look and saw that she was sewing under the light.

Crimson: "It's so tiring. It's already late at night and you're still not asleep."

Song Mu: "There are several pieces of clothing piled on the table. I guess I'll have to embroider them for a while longer."

Shui Jing Zhu: "Where are your eyes? Didn't you notice that the purple robe was mended without a needle?"

After she reminded them, the male players realized that Zi Yi's ten fingers were suspended in the air, with waves faintly moving at her fingertips. The golden thread controlled by her shuttled back and forth, quickly moving down along the cuffs, and a lifelike crane was slowly embroidered.

Shen Hong and Song Mu said in unison, "Beef beer."

Shui Jing Zhu had had enough of these two idiots and couldn't help but reach out and pinch their arms, "Where are you focusing your attention? She's a cultivator too!"

No wonder there were no scissors in the carriage. She didn't need any external tools like needles or scissors to embroider.

Shui Jing Zhu looked at Zi Yi in the candlelight. She really looked like the Sect Master in some aspects, but they were two completely different people.

The image of Jian Shiyuan flashed through her mind, and the corners of her mouth could not help but curl up. The Sect Master was a

Thinking of something, she raised her eyes with a smile, but unexpectedly, she met the eyes of the young man Jian Shiyuan.

Shui Jing Zhu took a step back and watched the young man Jian Shiyuan walk into Zi Yi's room. Zi Yi also noticed the young man Jian Shiyuan approaching. As soon as he said the word "Jian", he was directly fixed in place.

Not only Zi Yi was confused, but even the players were confused.

The young man, Jian Shiyuan, had loose hair and a very beautiful face. He looked at Zi Yi and said slowly, "Do you know that you are stupid?"

"Why do you trust others so easily? Why are you willing to give away your savings?"

He pointed his finger at Zi Yi's brow and said, "Look, it's easy for me to kill you."

As he said this, he smiled at Zi Yi.

At that moment, he no longer suppressed his negative emotions. He exuded a dangerous aura the players had never seen before, like a water demon from the fallen abyss, his eyes filled with temptation and malice. He traced his fingers across Zi Yi's brow, applying a slight pressure, as if warning her, but also as if telling himself, "How could you be so stupid?"

Zi Yi could speak, but she didn't know what to say at the moment.

Young Jian Shiyuan said to himself, "Remember the girl who sold herself to bury her father? You gave her a hairpin, and she's still laughing at your foolishness. She didn't thank you, but just used your kindness as a topic of conversation, telling it to her patron in bed."

His fingers were not cold, but touching Zi Yi's eyebrows made her feel cold.

“Is it worth it?”

"Is she really worth your help?"

The young man Jian Shiyuan looked into Zi Yi's eyes, as if he was looking at another self through her.

Zi Yi did not avoid his gaze. She pursed her dry lips and showed a light and gentle smile. She was still so kind.

"I didn't need her gratitude for helping me. I just didn't want to make myself sad. If I didn't help her, I would be constantly questioned by my conscience for many years to come. If that girl really needed money to bury her father that day, and I clearly had the ability to help her but didn't, leaving her helpless and hopeless, would my conscience be at peace? Could I still live a clear conscience in the years to come?"

"She lied to me, she laughed at me, and I pretended not to know so I wouldn't be sad. If she hadn't lied to me, but I had doubted her and left her, I would have lived in self-blame and sadness for the rest of my life."

The young man Jian Shiyuan figured something out, "Are you saving people for yourself?"

Zi Yi sighed, "There are always more bad people than good people."

"I used to want others' gratitude, but later I found that out of ten people I saved, only one would be grateful to me. The rest would find various reasons to resent me. Some resented that I could only help them once and couldn't take responsibility for their future lives; some complained that I distributed things unfairly, saying that other people's buns were bigger than theirs; and some even complained that the things I gave them were not refined enough."

Listening to Zi Yi's calm narration, the players felt a surge of nameless anger in their hearts.

Zi Yi didn't care. She continued gently, "Then I stopped thinking about it. I saved them for my own good. I didn't want to hurt it. God gave me a compassionate heart, but it's so hard to polish it into a hard one. I also tried not to help others, but then I found that I would regret it, reminisce, and make assumptions. I would ask myself, 'Why didn't I save him?' It made me feel very sad, even sadder than losing my property."

As she spoke, she tried to give the young man Jian Shiyuan a bright smile, "Brother Jian, if you don't want to be disappointed, don't try to get anything in return from others."

The young man Jian Shiyuan asked again: "Have you ever been betrayed?"

Zi Yi smiled faintly, "Not yet."

The young man Jian Shiyuan pulled his hand away, his smile deepening. "Then remember this feeling, and never forget it."

Zi Yi's pupils shrank slightly.

The young man Jian Shiyuan took a step back. A group of people walked in from outside the house. He stood in the shadow of the candlelight with an inexplicable expression.

The leader was a burly middle-aged man. Zi Yi recognized him as soon as he appeared, "Uncle Wang! You're not dead?"

The middle-aged man ignored the immobilized Zi Yi and simply took out a storage bag and handed it to the young man Jian Shiyuan, "This is what I promised you."

The young man Jian Shiyuan took it, weighed it, and asked, "Do you want me to help you kill this stupid girl?"

The middle-aged man frowned and said, "Take the things and leave. I will handle the rest myself."

The young man Jian Shiyuan stretched out his index finger and waved it in front of Uncle Wang, "This is not enough."

Uncle Wang hadn't expected him to raise the price at the last minute. He raised his eyebrows and said impatiently, "Don't be too greedy!"

The group of people behind him drew their weapons and stared at him warily, as if to say, 'If you dare to bother me again, we'll kill you.' The young man Jian Shiyuan raised his eyebrows, put away his storage bag, and turned to leave.

He left, but the players stayed.

The candlelight flickered, and the atmosphere in the dim environment was extremely depressing.

Shen Hong: "The Sect Master is just going to leave like that? What if they attack directly? Will they be able to save Zi Yi in time?"

Song Mu: "Uncle Wang kept Zi Yi here to force him to reveal some information."

They knew that the Sect Master would not betray Zi Yi, but they were worried that Uncle Wang would suddenly have an attack and the Sect Master would not be able to arrive in time to rescue him.

Shui Jing Zhu hissed, "Just be quiet and listen to them."

Zi Yi spoke first, "Uncle Wang, help me untie the xue position."

Uncle Wang sneered, "Miss, now that things have come to this, I won't waste my words with you anymore. Hand over the inherited treasure."

The smile on Zi Yi's face faded, "Didn't I give the treasure to you to take away? Why ask me what I want."

Uncle Wang was furious. "Still trying to play dumb! There's no cloud leaf material in that box! Now that you're in my hands, don't blame me for disregarding the bond between master and servant. If you refuse, I'll pour this mercury through your fingernails."

As he said that, he grabbed Zi Yi's right hand. The girl's fingers were delicate and white, and her nails were neatly trimmed.

Uncle Wang's face was as ferocious as a ghost. He raised Zi Yi's hand and pinched her chin fiercely. "I have served your family like a slave for half my life. You were always on guard against me until your death. That day, I risked my life to help you escape, but you gave me a fake box!"

Zi Yi is not stupid. Uncle Wang betrayed her. Some of the previous details are interesting when you recall them.

Being threatened, Zi Yi showed no fear or anger on his face. He simply said calmly, "Did you lure the monster that day to try to trick me into inheriting the inheritance?"

The group of monsters came and left inexplicably.

What is worth pondering is what Uncle Wang said before he left. He asked Zi Yi to escape with the inherited treasure. Zi Yi thought that if she escaped alone, her survival rate would not be high, and she was afraid that the inheritance would be cut off, so she gave the box containing the treasure to Uncle Wang for safekeeping.

In fact, that day, she didn't think she could survive.

Uncle Wang's face twisted, and he exerted force. "So what? You pretend to be kindhearted, but in reality, you are more vicious than anyone else. You used a fake box to trick me. You are so cruel."

Zi Yi sighed, "That box is real, but only the descendants of the clothing slaves can open it. If you take it to find my relatives, you will naturally be able to obtain the inheritance."

Uncle Wang's fingers trembled slightly. "Wearing slave?"

Zi Yi smiled faintly, "Uncle Wang, you have followed my father for decades. Don't you know that we are the former royal family of Chen? Since you know about the cloud leaf material, you should understand that our family are all clothing slaves who exist to serve Madam Fen."

"My last name is Chen because the country was once called Chen. Madam Fen committed suicide and the Chen Kingdom collapsed. Most of my ancestors volunteered to be buried with them, and the remaining bloodline lingered on, changing its name to Chen."

During the Yunye Court's time, most of the states in Zhongzhou had pledged allegiance to the Kaiyuan Sect and become its vassals. The royal families of those states were proud to serve Madam Fen. Take the purple-robed Chen State, for example. Because Madam Fen favored white silk and gold-embroidered robes, the royal family of Chen State volunteered to cultivate the secret art of garment-making, crafting clothes for her and becoming her garment-making slaves.

Uncle Wang was greatly offended, "You still want to lie!"

Zi Yi said calmly, "Take out the box and I'll open it for you to see. Then you'll know if I'm lying or not."

Uncle Wang was completely panicked.

Trembling, he pulled a box from his bosom. He opened it, and it was empty. But as he approached the purple-robed figure, a light began to appear, faintly visible, emanating from the carved pattern in the center of the box.

When the players saw this, they realized that Zi Yi was not lying.

Uncle Wang gritted his teeth and said, "That's perfect, open it for me!"

He forced himself closer to the purple-clothed man, his facial features distorted, and at this moment, a magic circle appeared under their feet, and the young man Jian Shiyuan came back.