Chapter 20 Before she even opened her eyes, Xie Baoqiong…

Before she even opened her eyes, Xie Baoqiong could feel the presence of another person beside her on the bed.

He opened his eyelids a crack, and a familiar figure came into view. Xie Zhuo closed his eyes and leaned his head against the bed frame, his eyes still showing obvious dark circles.

When he went to bed last night, he didn't hear Xie Zhuo come back, and he didn't know when Xie Zhuo appeared here. He didn't even notice.

Xie Baoqiong simply opened her eyes, sat up, walked around Xie Zhuo, and got out of bed.

"Qiong'er?"

Just as he finished putting on his shoes and socks and got up, he caught a glimpse of Xie Zhuo rubbing his temples and opening his eyes. His gaze towards the empty bed showed a hint of helplessness, but when he looked at him, it instantly became clear.

He turned around: "Father, you're awake?"

Xie Zhuo didn't respond. She sat on the edge of the bed and watched him put on his outer garment. After a moment, she seemed to be unable to bear it any longer and went over to help him straighten his clothes.

"Going out?" His clothes were straightened and he was about to walk out when Xie Zhuo quickly grabbed him.

"Okay, I'll go find National Preceptor Lin." Xie Zhuo's strength wasn't great, and he could easily break free, but he still stopped in place due to the force.

"Why go see him?" Xie Zhuo's tone became more serious.

Confused, Xie Baoqiong looked up at Xie Zhuo and said, "Father, I told you yesterday that National Preceptor Lin asked me to do him a favor."

Xie Zhuo gradually loosened his grip on his hand and softened his tone: "Eat something before you go."

During the meal, Xie Rongjing asked Xie Zhuo curiously, "Father, how was last night's matter resolved?"

"It's still under investigation." Xie Zhuo glanced at Xie Baoqiong sitting next to him, seemingly unwilling to say more, and simply summarized it in one sentence.

Xie Rongjing wisely refrained from pressing the matter. "How are the four people on the field doing?"

"It's nothing serious. The two young ladies from the Xue family have ancestors who ate ear rats, so they are not afraid of Gu poison. They just absorbed too much at once and need time to recover."

The boy from the Western Regions was more seriously injured, but he was taken to be treated by his own people and has regained consciousness.

...

After the meal, someone from the Imperial Preceptor's staff came to inform him and brought Xie Baoqiong to the Imperial Preceptor's residence.

As always, they followed him wherever they heard the news.

When they arrived at another tent, the servants at the door saw them, raised their hands to lift the tent flap, and without thinking much, they walked straight inside.

A voice suddenly came from behind: "The Imperial Advisor has instructed that only Young Master Xie is allowed to enter. Please stop here."

Xie Baoqiong looked back and saw the servant at the door raise his hand to stop Wen Feng, who was a step behind him.

"Wen Feng, wait for me here."

Although Wen Feng still had reservations on his face, he obeyed the order and retreated to stand guard outside the tent.

"Sir, Young Master Xie has arrived."

The waiter settled him in the outer room, while he himself reported back in front of the screen that served as a partition.

"Okay, you can go now."

Lin Zhechun's voice rang out, and the attendant withdrew from the tent upon hearing it.

Xie Baoqiong's gaze followed the source of the sound to the screen.

A figure faintly emerges on the black lacquer and gold-painted landscape screen. The figure seems to step out of the painting, shrinking in size and solidifying from the illusory.

The next instant, a ripple spread across the top of the screen, and a pair of cloud-patterned black boots stepped out from behind the brocade screen.

Lin Zhechun stepped out from behind the screen and waved to him.

"Xiao Bao, come here."

He glanced curiously at the screen behind Lin Zhechun a few times, then took a few steps forward.

"Want to go in and take a look?" Lin Zhechun noticed his gaze and took his hand.

"This is a magical artifact that can contain a small world?!" Xie Baoqiong's face showed surprise. He originally thought that the screen not far away was just a teleportation artifact.

It should be noted that although there are magical artifacts in this world that can contain small worlds, they are more like legends.

Even he had only heard Su Xiaochun mention that there was a secret treasure in Qingqiu that, according to legend, could provide an alternative world for the fox clan to survive in times of trouble.

"good."

After saying that, Lin Zhechun tightened his grip on his hand, turned around and pulled him behind the screen.

He stumbled slightly and fell into the screen with the force of the impact.

As he passed through the screen, he vaguely sensed a thin membrane preventing him from entering the space.

But the force with which Lin Zhechun pulled him forced him to penetrate the thin membrane.

It seemed as if a force was subtly pulling him away from Lin Zhechun.

He heard a soft sigh, and then Lin Zhechun's aura completely enveloped him, and he smoothly fell into that space.

A gentle breeze came from ahead, and the scent of incense in the tent disappeared, replaced by a unique aroma from the woods.

Her hair was also blown by the wind. Xie Baoqiong braced herself with her hands on the ground, propped herself up, and looked up at the world around her.

Gazing at the boundless sky, the novelty in my eyes was completely irrepressible.

Suddenly, the open world in front of them was blocked by a figure in a brocade white robe.

"Come with me."

Hearing the sound coming from above, he quickly stood up from the ground, ignoring the bits of grass on his clothes, and chased after the figure that had already walked forward.

Lin Zhechun led him to a small courtyard.

As he walked, his emotions gradually calmed down, and he couldn't help but wonder why Lin Zhechun, whose "strength was not outstanding," possessed such a treasure.

He followed Lin Zhechun into the courtyard, his eyes darting left and right.

There were only two or three thatched huts in the courtyard, and a table and chairs in a pavilion.

Lin Zhechun had already sat down on a stool.

He then walked toward the table and chairs.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the only thing around the table was the stool that Lin Zhechun was sitting on.

Lin Zhechun noticed it too, paused for a moment, and said, "The other one is broken."

As he spoke, he took out another stool from his sleeve and placed it next to the table.

Xie Baoqiong was wondering how an ordinary object could be so easily damaged.

Then I saw the newly taken-out stool, with exquisite carvings on the legs, while the table next to it was ordinary and showed some rough marks.

After comparing the two, he realized that the tables and chairs in this small space were actually ordinary objects.

He couldn't help but wonder, "Why would the Grand Preceptor put ordinary things in such a precious magical artifact as the Small World?"

Lin Zhechun shook his head and said softly, "I didn't put it there."

This little space was a gift from an old friend.

One sentence completely extinguished his rising doubts, and the question of why Lin Zhechun possessed such a treasure was also answered.

It's possible that Lin Zhechun's old friend is a powerful cultivator.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, he noticed a hint of unease flash across Lin Zhechun's face.

Noticing that he seemed to have reverted to his usual calm and indifferent demeanor, she asked him a question as if it were nothing out of the ordinary:

"Xiao Bao, do you like it here?"

No one can help but like the Small World, a magical artifact that only appears in legends.

He hesitated a little when faced with this question.

But unable to find a reason to hesitate, he could only nod uncertainly and say, "I like it."

"Xiao Bao, do you want to become the master of this little world?"

Lin Zhechun's words struck him like hammer blows, leaving him momentarily dazed, as if he had heard similar words somewhere before.

A strange sense of emptiness arose in his heart, as if something extremely important had left him.

His pupils dilated slightly involuntarily, and he immediately said, "I don't want to!"

Lin Zhechun was startled by his sudden increase in tone, but ultimately said nothing.

After a moment of silence, he continued, "Xiao Bao, do you still remember our promise?"

Lin Zhechun's voice, ringing out again, pulled him away from his previous emotions. The familiarity vanished abruptly, leaving only an emptiness in his heart.

"I remember, I promised to help you with something." As she spoke, the sense of loss in her heart gradually faded away.

He turned his head to look at Lin Zhechun. Although Lin Zhechun's strength was not outstanding, it was still far superior to his own. There was nothing he needed Lin Zhechun to do for him.

Before long, Lin Zhechun cleared up his doubts:

“In previous years, a young boy would play the role of a shepherd boy driving the spring ox during the spring festival. However, this year, the original candidate was injured and has not yet recovered. Someone needs to replace him. Xiao Bao, would you be willing to help with this task?”

Completely distracted by these words, he recalled what Akamatsu had said that day and asked, "Why did the Imperial Preceptor choose me? There should be many people who want to participate in the Spring Festival."

"To prevent any accidents, the oxen used in the spring festival must be controlled by spiritual power, and the shepherds cannot be too old. There aren't many people your age in aristocratic families who are also cultivators. Although there are a few young sorcerers, they can only rely on magical artifacts and have no spiritual power of their own..."

He didn't pay attention to what Lin Zhechun said next, completely stunned by the word "illusion," and even the suspicion that Lin Zhechun knew about his identity was forgotten.

Xie Baoqiong spoke with a hint of unease, her voice lacking confidence: "Grand Preceptor, I am not skilled in illusion."

"It's alright. The reason I brought you here today is to teach you how to use spiritual power to conjure oxen for plowing."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Zhechun's aura, imbued with spiritual power, enveloped him, and strands of spiritual power seeped into his skin and meridians.

An unfamiliar aura crept in, and Xie Baoqiong instinctively used her inner energy to resist it.

The spiritual energy, however, enveloped the portion of spiritual energy he was responsible for resisting, with a powerful yet gentle force, much like the voice coming from above.

"Don't resist."

He gradually loosened his control over the spiritual energy as instructed, allowing Lin Zhechun to take over.

The spiritual energy flowed along the meridians through several acupoints, and Lin Zhechun lifted up his hand that was holding him.

A wisp of smoke rose from his hand and surged forward.

The smoke thickened, and dark shadows began to emerge from it.

As the smoke dissipated, a blue ox adorned with colorful ropes and copper bells emerged from the smoke and leaped into view in front of the two.

The spiritual energy within his dantian was also activated, condensing into an invisible line connecting him to the green ox.

The previously unruly spiritual energy was now like a lump of dough, which he could knead and shape at will.

With a thought, the blue ox took a step forward, its head slightly raised, and the copper bell hanging around its neck made a crisp sound.

"Remember this feeling." As soon as Lin Zhechun finished speaking, he withdrew his hand from his grasp, and another stream of spiritual energy within his body also withdrew.

The blue ox, which had been leisurely strolling in the courtyard, suddenly turned into a wisp of blue smoke and disappeared into the air.

He reached out and grasped at the air a few times, still dazed from the effortless control he had exerted over spiritual energy moments before. His eyes filled with confusion as he turned to look at Lin Zhechun.

"Your Excellency, the ox is gone."

"Hmm, practice diligently again, just like you felt earlier," Lin Zhechun replied calmly.

Xie Baoqiong took a breath, readjusted her spiritual power, and successfully released green smoke from her fingertips as she had not long ago.

The smoke gathered in the courtyard, thickening with spiritual energy, but the blue ox was nowhere to be seen.

The spiritual energy outside the body is no longer as easily controlled as it was a moment ago.

Lin Zhechun's voice rang out at that moment: "Guard your heart, and believe that the spiritual energy can be used for your benefit."

Lin Zhechun's words were strange; that was originally his spiritual power.

A thought flashed through his mind, and the spiritual energy that had left his body suddenly became obedient. He didn't care for Lin Zhechun's strange words for a moment and focused on controlling the spiritual energy to transform into an ox.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the green ox appeared from the mist.

He was still somewhat surprised after succeeding, and tried walking the ox again, which also went smoothly.

Joy was evident on Xie Baoqiong's face.

He turned and looked at Lin Zhechun.

A white-robed Taoist priest stood beneath the pavilion, a barely perceptible tenderness appearing on his face beneath the white silk.

A white silk ribbon covered Lin Zhechun's eyes, making it impossible to know where his gaze was falling.

Xie Baoqiong led the ox to Lin Zhechun's side. "Grand Preceptor, what are you thinking about?"

Lin Zhechun dropped his expression as he approached, raised his hand and patted his head: "Someone is looking for you, I'll take you out first."