Chapter 18 "Grand Preceptor, Akamatsu..."

"Grand Preceptor, Lord Chishong." Xie Baoqiong broke the silence first, showing no embarrassment at having been eavesdropping, and greeted the two generously.

"Xie Zhuo's son, what are you doing here?" Chishong narrowed his eyes, a playful look in them. Before he could explain, he answered his own question:

"I don't think I saw you at the banquet just now. Does your father not want you anymore?"

Akamatsu's words did not stir the slightest ripple in his heart, and he did not even notice the implied offense in them.

He passed by the red pine tree, looked at another figure, and explained why he had appeared there.

Lin Zhechun's expression remained unchanged.

Whether she discovered his presence or heard his explanation, she maintained that bland, expressionless face, as if the smile she had given him during the day was nothing but an illusion.

After he finished explaining, she responded with a faint "Mm".

Just when he thought Lin Zhechun was going to send him away to continue discussing matters with Chishong, Lin Zhechun unexpectedly beckoned to him:

"Xiao Bao, come here."

Although he didn't understand, he obediently walked around Chishong and went to Lin Zhechun's side:

"The Imperial Advisor?"

“I will take you to find Lord Xie,” Lin Zhechun said.

Before he could decline Lin Zhechun's offer, Chisong's voice spoke first:

"Is the Imperial Preceptor Lin going to dump the task on me all by himself?"

Chishong sneered and continued, "He is accompanied by Xie Zhuo's guards, so he probably doesn't need the kindness of the State Preceptor Lin."

Lin Zhechun's voice was as cold and aloof as he was: "Didn't we just agree that you would deal with the twins?"

"And what about you?" Akamatsu clearly hadn't given up on this question.

"I still need to prepare for the spring festival the day after tomorrow." Sensing that Chishong was about to say something in rebuttal, Lin Zhechun sighed and said, "Chishong, you should know that I can no longer lift a sword."

Upon hearing this, Xie Baoqiong, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but curiously look up at the immortal with his eyes covered by a white silk ribbon.

The other person in the conversation showed no pity, instead mocking, "Who doesn't know that National Preceptor Lin's cultivation is profound, that even a flower or a leaf can be a sword..."

Lin Zhechun had no intention of listening any longer, so he pulled Xie Baoqiong, who was listening intently, and prepared to leave.

Akamatsu abruptly changed the subject, his words now directed at someone unrelated to the main topic:

"Speaking of which, why don't we let that Xie family boy go?"

I heard that the Grand Preceptor Lin personally selected him to participate in the Spring Festival. In previous years, the Spring Festival was always attended by people with considerable talent in cultivation, but none of them had caught the Grand Preceptor Lin's eye. This lad must have extraordinary abilities.

Chishong's words contained a lot of information, and Xie Baoqiong was momentarily dizzy from the shock.

He was just passing through, how did he suddenly get dragged into this?

Chisong, caught up in the conversation, nodded and continued, "Besides, the twins from the Western Regions are older than him. Even if they lose, it won't be a disgrace to our dynasty."

“I’m afraid the two of us can’t make this decision.” Lin Zhechun stepped forward, blocking Chisong’s gaze and pressing his head back down.

"If you want him to play, you'll have to ask him and Lord Xie."

With Lin Zhechun blocking his way, he couldn't see Chishong's expression. Considering the identities of the two, he didn't dare to use his divine sense to probe them rashly.

Only a few light footsteps could be heard. At the same time, Lin Zhechun released his hand from his head. When he peeked out again, he only saw Chishong's departing figure.

"Grand Preceptor, is Lord Chi going to see my father?"

“He won’t go to Lord Xie.” Lin Zhechun turned his back, took two steps forward, and stopped to wait for him when he didn’t follow.

He jogged up to catch up with Lin Zhechun and asked about the conversation between the latter and Chishong: "What is the competition that Lord Chi mentioned?"

"The envoy from the Western Regions has proposed to exchange ideas with extraordinary individuals in the court. You will see this at the banquet later."

Lin Zhechun's words were relatively polite. Not long ago, at the bonfire banquet, when the envoy from the Western Regions proposed a sparring match, he was practically trampling on the face of the Great Sheng.

Xie Baoqiong was actually quite curious about the twins who were skilled in witchcraft mentioned by Chisong.

But when he looked up and saw that Lin Zhechun's expression was gloomy and he didn't seem to want to continue, he shut his mouth and looked into the distance where the crowd was gathered.

In the center where everyone was gathered, a campfire as tall as an adult man burned fiercely.

The attention of the surrounding crowd did not fall on the blazing flames that stood out conspicuously in the darkness of the night. Instead, it was drawn to the open space in the center, where two figures stood facing each other by the campfire, their shadows elongated and distorted by the firelight.

Therefore, when he and Lin Zhechun entered the crowd from the shadows, the crowd in front was so engrossed in the surging emotions of the scene that no one paid any attention to them.

Xie Baoqiong stood on tiptoe, trying to jump over the crowd blocking the way to see the two people competing in the center of the arena.

The place where he had met Lin Zhechun and Chisong a moment ago was on high ground, and he could still see some of the scenery in the open space from a distance.

Unexpectedly, as they approached, they found a large number of people ahead, with even the gaps completely obscured by overlapping clothes.

His eyes scanned the surroundings, and seeing that no one was paying attention to him, he quietly mobilized a wisp of his divine sense to probe the two people competing in front of the crowd.

The moment his consciousness ventured outside his body, it was unexpectedly enveloped by another powerful and chilling aura.

He tried to pull his divine sense back, but it was still caught by that divine sense.

The aura enveloping his consciousness was not as imposing as he had sensed; instead, it felt like being bathed in the rare warmth of the winter sun, causing the demon to relax.

Seeing that all his thoughts of resistance and escape had vanished, the divine consciousness that enveloped him extended a tentacle and gently poked him.

Only after being reminded by the unfamiliar divine sense did he regain some vigilance from the sudden wave of languor and weariness, and begin to sniff out the source of the scent.

However, he discovered that the aura within his consciousness was vaguely familiar.

Just then, a voice suddenly boomed in his mind: [Xiao Bao, can't you see?]

He looked toward the source of the voice and saw Lin Zhechun standing beside him.

"Grand Preceptor..." A finger pressed against his lips, stopping him from saying anything more.

Lin Zhechun shook his head at him, and the voice in his mind continued: [Many people have come today, including quite a few extraordinary individuals. Do not casually extend your divine sense.]

He nodded as if he understood, and Lin Zhechun withdrew his hand, turning his face, covered by the white silk, back to the front.

Before he could ponder why Lin Zhechun wasn't surprised that he could probe with his divine sense, his divine sense, enveloped by Lin Zhechun's aura, pierced through the crowd and glimpsed the scene obscured by the people. He immediately dismissed his rising doubts.

There were two people in the room, one of whom was older and dressed in Dasheng attire.

The other person's clothing was one he had never seen before. The clothes were mainly indigo and black, with silver ornaments on the chest and waist. This must be the Western Region envoy that Lin Zhechun and Chisong had mentioned during their conversation.

Both men were wounded, and a faint smell of blood filled the air, indicating that they had been fighting for quite some time.

The young man, dressed in exotic clothing, rose and fell slightly as he adjusted his breathing, then raised the ocarina in his hand to his lips.

The melody, as pure as an orchid in a secluded valley, poured out from the ocarina, creating an invisible wave of air that swept towards the person opposite.

With the help of Lin Zhechun's "eyes", he could clearly see the shape of the air wave. Countless insects flapped their wings and were mixed in with the air wave. Even if he could avoid the air wave, he might not be able to avoid the insects in it.

The shockwave, carrying the insects, engulfed another figure. To an ordinary person, it would appear as if the other person raised their hand to form a hand seal to block the shockwave, but they would be unaware that danger was quietly approaching.

The young man in blue smiled and gradually relaxed, looking confident of victory.

As one of the insects burrowed into the middle-aged man's sleeve amidst the blast of air, the young man in blue pressed his finger against the flute hole, and the pitch suddenly rose.

The insects in the blast wave instantly became restless, and in a short time, the middle-aged man surrounded them so tightly that there was no gap.

The young man in blue slowly played the last tune, and the insects instantly swarmed toward their locked prey.

But upon touching the middle-aged man's skin, they collided, leaving only the middle-aged man's outer robe standing there. In the instant the illusion lost its support, they drifted to the ground.

The smile on the young man's lips froze, his pupils suddenly contracted, and a dark shadow crashed into his field of vision, followed by his gaze shifting upwards.

After a loud thud, the young man in blue fell to the ground.

The middle-aged man picked up his fallen outer robe, dusted it off, and put it back on. He strolled over to the blue-clad youth who had fallen to the side, helped him up from the ground, and, as he did so, sneered in a low voice:

"Kid, you're still too green to compete with me."

What Xie Baoqiong could see was the middle-aged man's mouth opening and closing, but she couldn't hear what he was saying.

He turned his head to look at Lin Zhechun, puzzled as to why the world had suddenly fallen silent, but Lin Zhechun seemed not to notice him, his expression absorbed in the duel between the two.

Loud cheers erupted from the crowd, and he realized his hearing had returned, so he refocused his attention on the field.

The middle-aged man cupped his hands in greeting to those around him, and said with a smile, "Please excuse my rudeness, everyone." He then patted the young man in blue on the shoulder, "Young man, you flatter me!"

The next match hadn't even started yet, and the people in the arena didn't disperse. Instead, they started chatting about the middle-aged man's last move.

The person in front of Xie Baoqiong also wanted to talk to someone, but when they sensed someone behind them, they turned around with a look of lingering interest.

What Xie Baoqiong saw was that the man turned around excitedly, then looked like he had seen a ghost, and stood up in fright.

"Grand Preceptor, when did you arrive?" Seeing that Lin Zhechun's expression was normal, the man asked again, "Do you have any instructions?"

The first sentence was spoken quite loudly, drawing the attention of those around him, and he himself received a lot of attention because he was standing between the two.

He could feel the gaze, and Lin Zhechun, needless to say, coldly replied, "It's nothing."

Then he concealed himself and headed to another location.

Seeing them disappear, those who had been holding back their words out because of Lin Zhechun suddenly burst forth.

"Hey, hey, that child is the Imperial Advisor? He doesn't seem like the one in the rumors?"

"The one behind the child with her face covered by a white silk cloth is the one."

"Isn't the Imperial Preceptor only allowed to appear in public during sacrificial ceremonies?"

"Who is that child following the Imperial Advisor?"

"Where is the Imperial Advisor? I haven't seen him yet!"

"It's a pity that the Imperial Preceptor doesn't accept disciples, but it would be good if I could experience his divine aura and attain enlightenment sooner."

"Could it be that the Imperial Advisor will play in the final match?"

"Hmph, a mere foreign brat doesn't deserve the Imperial Advisor's intervention..."

A note from the author:

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