Chapter 989 The Subtle Female Ruler [Seeking Double Monthly Tickets at the End of the Month!]

Back in the dining hall, Ouyang Rong immediately began preparing the vegetarian meal for the night.

There wasn't much time left before the Yue women from Yutang came to collect their meals.

After a moment, Wu Cui came closer, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping herself.

Ouyang Rong knew perfectly well what was going on, but he didn't speak up immediately.

After a while, while the other women doing odd jobs went to prepare the food boxes, Ouyang Rong, without stopping, slightly turned his head and said to Wu Cui:

"The sword manual has been delivered to the Five Goddesses. The Five Goddesses ask you to wait a moment, as she may send someone to instruct you."

Wu Cui nodded like a chick pecking at rice, her face beaming with joy.

"Thank you so much."

Ouyang Rong smiled as well.

You're too kind.

Shortly after, the vegetarian meal was prepared, and just as the appointed time arrived, Li Ruotong led about ten Yue maids to the dining hall.

Ouyang Rong, carrying the vegetarian meal from the water prison, followed Li Ruotong's group and disappeared into the night, heading together to Qingliang Valley.

Behind them, at the entrance of the dining hall, Wu Cui cast an expectant glance at Ouyang Rong.

Ouyang Rong paid no attention to these things and continued into Qingliang Valley. In front of the waterfall where the water prison was located, he parted ways with Li Ruotong's group.

As usual, Li Ruotong left two Yue maids to help Ouyang Rong carry the food box, and together they crossed the pool and entered the waterfall.

Two silver-medal Yue maidens waited upstairs, while Ouyang Rong, carrying Yun Xiangyi's food box, descended into the water dungeon.

Arriving at the familiar wooden gate, Ouyang Rong gently knocked on the door.

"Enter."

"Squeak—"

Ouyang Rong pushed open the door and entered, his eyes lowered.

Yun Xiangyi sat at the table in the center of the room as always.

Nothing had changed inside the house.

The wooden gate opposite was quiet and still, like an inanimate object.

"Five Goddesses, the vegetarian meal has arrived."

Ouyang Rong gave a briefing, and Yun Xiangyi seemed to nod slightly without turning around.

He stepped forward, placed Yun Xiangyi's food box on the table, then went out to fetch the other food boxes.

After he made two round trips and finished transporting the food boxes, when he returned for the last time, the porridge bowl on the table in front of Yun Xiangyi was already empty; she had almost finished her vegetarian meal.

Although it was vegetarian food, Yun Xiangyi ate very quickly and attentively, and nothing outside could distract her.

Just watching her eat gives you a sense of being isolated from the world.

If I had to describe it, it would be "faint".

His posture was indifferent, his voice was indifferent, he ate indifferently, and his gaze was indifferent.

Even... it smells faint.

This was a woman as pure and simple as the white dress she wore.

It was as if only half of his body existed in the world, while the other half had vanished without a trace. The palace was shrouded in a thin white mist, just like the misty weather of Yunmengze.

She appeared calm and serene, yet Ouyang Rong felt that she was incredibly vivid as she sat in this water prison.

Perhaps it was because the figure was too white, so white that it was conspicuous.

At the doorway, Ouyang Rong, who was waiting for Yun Xiangyi to finish her meal and clear away the dishes, suddenly realized something.

Every time he entered the room, Yun Xiangyi would sit at the table with her back to him, seemingly not out of intentional arrogance.

The five goddesses were actually facing the tightly closed wooden door inside, looking directly into the depths of the water prison.

Like a conscientious wallfacer.

A moment later, seeing that Yun Xiangyi seemed to have put down her chopsticks, Ouyang Rong came to his senses, went over, and helped clear away the dishes.

Just then, Yun Xiangyi spoke:

"Did you make this?"

Her voice was like a cloud, soft and ethereal.

Ouyang Rong glanced at it; her fair finger was pointing at a small plate in front of the porridge bowl.

The food inside was completely gone; she had eaten it all.

Looking at the residue in the small dish, it wasn't the usual pickled radish side dish, but rather a food similar to sauerkraut.

"Yes, Goddess."

She asked again:

"How did you come up with this dish?"

Ouyang Rong's expression remained unchanged.

This is a special kind of pickled cabbage that he learned from Banxi. The little girl used to love eating it and often made it herself at her residence in Xunyang. She said it was a specialty from her hometown, which she modified to suit the tastes of Ouyang Rong and others.

Ouyang Rong thus guessed that this pickled cabbage should also suit the tastes of other Silla maids and Goryeo concubines.

"Reporting to the goddess, I used to work as a cook in the kitchen of a temple at the foot of the mountain. I learned the craft from a master chef. Vegetarian meals, including this pickled cabbage, were standard in the morning meal there. This dish is indeed very flavorful when paired with porridge or rice."

He paused for a moment, then asked with concern:

"Do the Five Goddesses like to eat it? I'll make some more when I get back."

Yun Xiangyi did not speak.

The atmosphere between the two of them was quiet for a while.

Ouyang Rong maintained a slightly bowed, clasped-fist posture.

I resisted the urge to look up.

However, being so close, Ouyang Rong could feel Yun Xiangyi's gaze upon him.

She was watching him.

Some people were taking a look.

"Liu Aliang, did you know beforehand that I like to eat this?"

These words caused an immediate silence to fall over the room.

Ouyang Rong felt a surge of energy rising from the soles of his feet.

Yun Xiangyi's calm words were like a sudden cold snap in autumn and winter, sweeping over his entire body.

This woman is too smart.

Although they seem indifferent and uncaring about everything, they actually take in everything around them.

Even though Ouyang Rong had never underestimated her since he entered the water prison and met her.

But upon hearing her sudden question, Ouyang Rong felt a wave of fear wash over him again.

While rushing to answer her question within three breaths without flinching, he began to think of other possible flaws and loopholes in his mind.

"Reporting to the Goddess, I was unsure beforehand whether you liked this pickled cabbage, but I do know that you didn't particularly enjoy the previous pickled radish side dish. Although the pickled radish was very popular among the other Yue women in Yutang, every time I came to clear your plates, I saw that you hadn't touched it..."

"So I, a lowly man, added something unnecessary and changed the dish to this pickled cabbage, hoping to give the goddess a different taste. Unexpectedly, it suited the goddess's taste perfectly."

Yun Xiangyi nodded gently: "Oh, I thought you were from Goguryeo."

Ouyang Rong's curious tone:

"People from the Dongyi region? I've never met them, only heard of them. Also, it seems the abbot of the temple once went to Dongyi to preach. He said that many people there are devout Buddhists, making it a suitable place to spread the teachings."

Yun Xiangyi remained noncommittal, simply nodding slightly and looking at him.

After answering the question, the taciturn young man was about to lower his head when, as if realizing something, he looked up in a daze and muttered:

"Wait, does the goddess mean that she is from Goguryeo?"

He seemed slow to realize the underlying meaning of Yun Xiangyi's words.

It was during that glance upwards that their eyes met.

"Goddess, from now on, I will serve pickled vegetables with all my vegetarian meals."

Seeing Ouyang Rong's bewildered and enlightened expression, Yun Xiangyi neither nodded nor shook her head, but simply said:

"Anything is fine."

Ouyang Rong resisted the urge to purse his lips.

I really want to reply, "If it's all fine, then don't eat it."

He answered honestly and respectfully:

"Yes, Goddess."

When Ouyang Rong arrived, he had already brought down a bucket of water, so there was no need for him to go up again.

After a brief exchange, Ouyang Rong packed up the food box and prepared to leave.

Yun Xiangyi suddenly asked:

Is the moon full outside?

Ouyang Rong paused for a moment, then answered:

"I just came in and forgot to check. I remember there was a moon. I'll go out and take a look. Goddess, please wait a moment."

"etc."

Yun Xiangyi called out to him, gently shaking her head:

"No need, you can go back. Take one look before you come in tomorrow night."

"Yes, Goddess."

Ouyang Rong didn't say much more. He left the prisoners their vegetarian meal, went straight out, closed the wooden gate, and returned to the upper floor.

When he returned to the waterfall, the silver-plated Yue women had already left, leaving only Ouyang Rong.

They left a spare umbrella and leaned it against the wall.

He opened his umbrella, walked through the curtain of water, and then suddenly realized that he didn't need to put the umbrella away anymore.

Outside the waterfall, heavy rain was pouring down.

The moon had long since disappeared behind the clouds.

Ouyang Rong stood alone in the middle of the pool in front of the waterfall, holding an umbrella, surrounded by pouring rain.

The sound of rain was drowned out by the magnificent waterfall. He hadn't heard the rain when he brought Yun Xiangyi vegetarian food in the water dungeon.

The sound of the waterfall drowned out everything.

Ouyang Rong suddenly remembered Yun Xiangyi's question.

Why did she say it wasn't necessary? Could it be that she had already noticed it was raining heavily outside?

Ouyang Rong gripped the umbrella handle tightly and squinted slightly.

Yun Xiangyi easily overheard the external details that even he, a mid-level Qi Refiner, hadn't noticed.

The noise was still coming from across a hundred-foot waterfall.

This woman is very likely to have a high-level cultivation level, and like Xue Zhongzhu, she possesses purple spiritual energy of the fifth rank or higher.

In terms of spiritual cultivation, she might even be slightly higher than Xue Zhongzhu, but in terms of killing power, Zhi Shuang Xiao Niang should be a notch above her.

The reason for the speculation is simple. According to the information revealed by Yue Nu such as Song Zhian and Yu Mili, Qingliang Valley Yutang has a very special status in Jianze. It is the hall where the Sword Sect's library is located. The Yue Nu's duty inside is to focus on cultivation and be ascetic as possible. They can ignore sect affairs and are equivalent to the benchmark of spiritual energy cultivation and swordsmanship in Yunmeng Sword Ze.

As the head of the Jade Hall, Yun Xiangyi should be even more committed to this approach.

According to the information currently available to Ouyang Rong, the various female rulers of the Female Ruler Palace have different personalities and control different halls, but they are assigned to their respective halls based on their personalities:

For example, the Great Lady Snow Candle is a master of killing and conquest. According to A Qing, her master has a directly subordinate branch, which consists of the elite Yue women, and their main focus is on subduing people with martial arts.

The second woman, Jun Yu Nianyuan, is in charge of the Lantang Hall, which oversees all administrative affairs within the Sword Swamp, except for cultivation and combat. She is essentially a head steward and also handles intelligence work.

Yunmeng Jianze's various businesses, retainer forces, and secret networks at the foot of the mountain are all managed by the Second Lady and Lantang.

The Autumn Hall, which is led by the Six Women, is similar to a gathering team, with missions to explore the Sword Marsh and collect materials for refining Qi.

There are also the three female rulers who have never appeared, and the Caotang (thatched cottage) she once led, who was in charge of criminal law within Jianze, all of whom are in similar situations.

The same applies to the Jade Hall; the responsibilities of each hall are matched with the personality and cultivation level of the corresponding female ruler.

Judging from this division of labor, Yun Xiangyi, as the master of the Jade Hall, should not be underestimated in terms of swordsmanship and spiritual cultivation.

Although Ouyang Rong could always "accurately control" Lady Zhi Shuang, he might not be able to suppress this Master of the Jade Hall.

Because Lady Zhi Shuang acts in a swift and decisive manner, after several encounters, he had already figured out her character and background.

However, Yun Xiangyi is different. Based on their time together, this "unassuming" Fifth Lady gives him a feeling of being shrouded in mist and not being able to see her clearly.

Like a dragon hidden in the clouds, its head and tail are difficult to see at the same time, so its whole appearance is unknown.

And this is the kind of person we should be most wary of, because we don't yet know their true nature.

It's hard to say, but compared to the Second Lady Yu Nianyuan, this Fifth Lady is actually the number two in terms of overall strength in Yunmeng Sword Marsh.

Last time, Ouyang Rong was ambushed and dragged into the Yangxin Hall by Lady Zhishuang. If Yun Xiangyi had been among those who came to help, it's hard to say whether he could have escaped.

Ouyang Rong returned with an umbrella, and along the way, a thoughtful expression appeared on his face, which was partially obscured by the umbrella.

Furthermore, what happened in the water dungeon today was also beyond his expectations.

Originally, according to the plan discussed by Ouyang Rong and Chen Jiaxin, he had "boldly" proposed to Yun Xiangyi that he enter the water prison to help deliver vegetarian meals.

He had originally planned to bring it up tonight, but Yun Xiangyi's sudden remark made Ouyang Rong swallow back all his lively thoughts and words.

Yun Xiangyi was not as indifferent as he and Chen Jiaxin had imagined. On the contrary, she was intelligent and perceptive, and could quickly detect anything unusual.

It's inconvenient to mention his request to deliver vegetarian food to the water prison again.

It's inconvenient at least tonight.

We need to wait two more days to let Yun Xiangyi lower her guard a little.

He cannot do anything unusual in the next two days, otherwise he will attract Yun Xiangyi's attention again.

As Ouyang Rong hurried along in the rain, the image of Yun Xiangyi's fair and beautiful face flashed before his eyes.

Her gaze at him was also indifferent, silently fixed on him, yet possessed an immense, invisible pressure...

The taciturn young man took a deep breath.

We need to discuss these changes with Chen Jiaxin to see if she has any other ways to deal with them.

The torrential rain in the early hours of the morning, accompanied by thunder and lightning, streaked across the sky.

Ouyang Rong had become familiar with this night path over the past few days, and entering and leaving Qingliang Valley was a piece of cake for him. He could walk it with his eyes closed. Rainy days didn't affect him much, or rather, he had long been used to this kind of weather in Qingliang Valley.

He wondered if it was just his imagination, but the waterfall in Qingliang Valley that he had previously thought had reduced its water volume seemed to have shrunk even more in the past two days.

I wonder if tonight's heavy rain will be able to help it continue.

Ouyang Rong's thoughts were wandering, drifting from one thing to another.

Walking with an umbrella in the heavy rain gave him a rare space for quiet reflection.

Although the sound of heavy rain can be chaotic and disturbing, once you're actually in the middle of it, the rain can easily transform into a calming white noise that soothes the mind of passersby.

When Ouyang Rong returned to the courtyard on the small island, it was already late at night, and he was soaked to the bone.

As he approached his home, Ouyang Rong glanced silently in the direction of the main house, without turning on any lights.

Ah Qing seems to be asleep.

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[PS: It's the end of the month, and there are double monthly votes, so I'm asking for a guaranteed monthly vote! Go for it or leave it at that!]

(End of this chapter)