Chapter 19, Your Majesty, please don't let Si Yao...
"Your Excellency, did you see that? That woman's skin is thicker than a city wall; she actually dared to try and cultivate with you. She's utterly shameless!"
Behind the Snowfall Courtyard, in the Clear Breeze Stream, atop the mountain, Xiao Yezi sat in meditation, while Yan Ao in front of him chattered on and on.
Xiao Yezi narrowed her eyes slightly. "Tell me, if I had really cultivated the Jade Yang Scripture back then, would she really have attacked me?"
Enveloped in black mist, Yan Ao stamped his feet anxiously. "Your Excellency, what are you still doubting? That's an elder of the Joyful Union Sect! How could she let you go!"
Xiao Yezi seemed to be deep in thought, her clear eyes looking at Yan Ao, "Why can't you just let me go?"
Yan Ao almost couldn't catch his breath. Sure enough, this Venerable One was not the same as the Venerable One of the main soul. It seemed that he had not yet experienced the harshness of the real world, so he still retained the innocence of a young man and actually had a bit of hope for that lustful ghost from the Hehuan Sect.
He then examined the Venerable One before him. The Venerable One was dressed in clean white robes, spotless, like a lotus flower in a Buddhist pond, untouched by mud.
This kind of Venerable One is indeed quite different from the ruthless and demonic Venerable One of the past.
After a moment, Yan Ao said, "Why would she let you go? Your Excellency is completely unaware of your own appearance. Back then, the threshold of Chonglou Sect was worn down by the women of our Demon Realm. Now that Your Excellency has reconstructed this body, you have slightly disguised your appearance. Although you are not as beautiful as you were back then, the extraordinary temperament between your brows is hard to hide."
After hearing this, Xiao Yezi gave a half-smile and asked, "Are you praising me?"
Seeing the Venerable One's smile, Yan Ao took a deep breath. Having accompanied the Venerable One for so many years, he had rarely seen the Venerable One so gentle.
After a long pause, he stammered, "In short, you must guard the line well and never let that woman Si Yao be bewitched!"
Xiao Yezi flipped his hand, and a mirror appeared in front of him. He looked at himself in the mirror and said, "Perhaps it's not as exaggerated as you say. She has been in the Hehuan Sect for so many years and has seen countless handsome men. Would she really be interested in my appearance?"
Yan Ao: "…………"
Something was wrong. Yan Ao felt something was extremely wrong. This Venerable One in front of him was actually curious about what Si Yao was thinking!
"It's over, it's over!" Yan Ao cried out in his heart, hoping that the other Venerable One would wake up and return soon!
※ ※ ※
Three days later, Si Yao received a sect mission from the sect leader.
As an elder of the Hehuan Sect, she is tasked with leading four disciples to Broken Soul Valley to retrieve treasures and magical artifacts that the sect lost ten years ago.
Over the past five years, Si Yao, who has held onto her position as an elder of the Chuixue Academy, is no longer as idle as she used to be. She often takes on tasks within the sect, and even her annual allowance has increased considerably.
Sect Master Yan Yu's impression of her was also gradually changing.
This mission can be considered the most important mission Si Yao has ever taken on.
In the main hall of the Hehuan Sect, Yan Yu gently waved the mission scroll in her hand in front of Si Yao. "This is a detailed mission guide, which also includes a map of the Broken Soul Valley. I have also selected the four disciples you will lead. In addition to your own disciple, the other three disciples will come from the other three elders."
Si Yao channeled a wisp of spiritual energy into the scroll and discovered that it already contained the list of disciples for this mission.
Besides the name "Xiao Yezi", the list also includes: Qi Lan from Huayingyuan, Luo Rongrong from Chifengyuan, and Qin Xuan from Yaoguangyuan.
After glancing through it once, Si Yao looked up and teased with a grin, "Sect Master, are the three elders, Qu Sui and the others, really comfortable with me taking their disciples down the mountain?"
Yan Yu's beautiful eyes fell on Si Yao, and she smiled, "Do you want to hear the truth or a lie?"
Si Yao said, "Of course it's the truth."
Yan Yu coughed once, "At first, the three of them naturally didn't think highly of you, but I explained many times that as an elder of the Chuixue Academy, you should fulfill your responsibilities as an elder and lead your disciples down the mountain to travel or carry out missions. So later, they didn't have anything to say, they just told you not to lead their disciples astray."
Si Yao chuckled dryly after hearing this, "What do you mean by 'leading someone astray'..."
Yan Yu's eyes held a meaningful look. "You understand."
Si Yao's lips twitched slightly. She put away the scroll and walked out of the main hall.
The mission was rather urgent. That afternoon, Si Yao led Xiao Yezi to the gate of the Hehuan Sect and saw that the three disciples who were with her were already waiting.
Among the three disciples, Qi Lan, who was in the lead, greeted Si Yao and Xiao Yezi first. The two female disciples behind him were Qin Xuan from Chifeng Academy and Luo Rongrong from Yaoguang Academy. They also bowed to Si Yao, but most of their attention was focused on Xiao Yezi behind her.
Si Yao waved her sleeve, and four scrolls floated in front of the four disciples simultaneously. "These are rubbings of the mission scrolls. You will each receive one."
"Our sect has just received a tip from a spy that a batch of treasures and magical artifacts that were stolen from our Hehuan Sect ten years ago are now very likely hidden in the Broken Soul Valley. The Broken Soul Valley is shrouded in miasma all year round and is often haunted by ferocious beasts."
Si Yao began to explain the origin and purpose of this mission: "The five of us are going to Broken Soul Valley to retrieve the stolen treasures and magical artifacts."
After saying that, they didn't waste any more time. After roughly understanding the key points of the mission, the four disciples began to leap onto their respective magical artifacts and ride them.
Si Yaoxing, the leader of the four disciples, said as the wind whistled past, "You all have a general understanding of the map attached to the mission scroll. The Broken Soul Valley is located west of our Lanzhou, within the territory of Cangzhou."
At this point, Xiao Yezi beside him couldn't help but look up at the sky.
“Master, look, the sky is full of dark clouds. It looks like a heavy rain is coming soon. I’m afraid we won’t be able to reach Broken Soul Valley today.”
Qi Lan chimed in, "It's difficult to travel in this heavy rain, Elder Si Yao. We should find a place to take shelter from the rain beforehand."
Having finally descended the mountain, Qi Lan did not want to immediately rush into the Valley of Broken Souls to engage in battle.
He glanced at the map again. "For example, it would be nice if we could find a town to have a meal and rest."
Si Yao tilted her head to look at Qi Lan, "That's right, that's exactly what I was thinking too. I didn't expect that as Qu Sui's apprentice, you don't have her impatient nature. Instead, you like to relax. That's just like me."
As soon as he finished speaking, Qi Lan scratched his head sheepishly, "Hehe, I haven't been down the mountain for a long time, so I thought I'd like to wander around."
Hearing Si Yao and Qi Lan's conversation, Xiao Yezi's expression tightened.
What does it mean that Qi Lan's personality is like Si Yao's?
Xiao Yezi quietly looked at Si Yao's back in front of him, his eyes distant, as if he wanted to say: Master, you have taken a fancy to Senior Brother Qi Lan and want to take him as your disciple, right?
Si Yao, who was flying on the wind, looked ahead and had no idea what Xiao Yezi was thinking. Instead, she turned her head and said to Qi Lan with a smile, "I have already made up my mind. We will stay in Tai'an Town first and then head to Duanhun Valley tomorrow."
Upon hearing this, Qi Lan nodded vigorously, clapping her hands repeatedly. "Elder Si Yao is wise! If it were my master leading us on this trip, he would have made us arrive at Broken Soul Valley before evening."
He grinned, in high spirits, and for a moment forgot himself and patted Xiao Yezi on the shoulder, "Junior Brother Xiao Yezi, your master is too open-minded. I really envy you for being Elder Si Yao's disciple."
Xiao Yezi slowly turned his head, his cold gaze falling on the hand on his shoulder. Only after Qi Lan awkwardly withdrew his hand did he say indifferently, "Senior brother wants to come to Chuixue Academy? I wonder if Elder Qu Sui will be willing to let you go. I overheard that you seem to be her..."
Before he could finish speaking, Qi Lan blushed and quickly waved his hand to stop Xiao Yezi, "Junior brother, don't say anymore! I was just saying it casually. Don't let my master hear this, or I'll be in big trouble when I return to the sect."
Xiao Yezi was speechless, but still kept a straight face.
As evening approached, thunder rumbled and thick, dark clouds pressed down as low as they could go.
Fortunately, Si Yao and her group had already arrived at Tai'an Town, a small border town at the junction of Lanzhou and Cangzhou.
They found an inn in the center of the city.
Si Yao used the mission funds provided by the sect to book a total of five rooms for each of them.
Holding five room keys in her hand, she walked up to the four disciples and placed the keys in front of Qin Xuan and Luo Rongrong first, saying, "Come on, let's girls choose first."
Qin Xuan and Luo Rongrong were initially delighted and were about to reach out their hands, but then they withdrew them, saying, "No, Elder Si Yao should choose first."
Si Yao shook her head, "Hurry up and choose, I don't care which room I stay in."
Qin Xuan and Luo Rongrong exchanged a smile, and then each chose their own room.
The remaining three rooms were quickly assigned.
Xiao Yezi's room number five is next to Qi Lan's room number six.
Before they could even go upstairs to check in, Qin Xuan and Luo Rongrong came over and blocked Qi Lan's way.
Luo Rongrong looked a little awkward, clutching her black hair in her hands, and whispered, "Senior Brother Qi, may I switch rooms with you?"
Qi Lan frowned slightly, glanced at the key in her hand, then at room number five upstairs, and instantly understood, "Oh, I see, you want to stay next to Junior Brother Xiao Yezi."
Luo Rongrong's cheeks flushed red, and she nodded, "I hope Senior Brother Qi will grant my request."
Qi Lan laughed heartily and tossed the key in his hand, "A gentleman helps others achieve their goals, take it."
Luo Rongrong was overjoyed and thanked them repeatedly while holding the key to room number six.
Qi Lan entered the new room, but down in the attic, Qin Xuan and Luo Rongrong started arguing.
Luo Rongrong was furious. "Qin Xuan, I personally asked for this key. Why are you trying to take it from me now?"
Qin Xuan said, "Didn't we just agree that we would exchange the key to room six first, and then we would play rock-paper-scissors to see who gets to stay in room six? Besides, you were the one who lost the game just now, so hand over the key now."
Luo Rongrong bit her lip, tears welling up in her eyes.
Si Yao, who had picked up a small pot of rice wine from the inn's counter, slowly walked over and discovered the two women arguing.
She took out her key to room number four and handed it to Qin Xuan, saying, "I overheard roughly what you were arguing about. Qin Xuan, room number four is yours now."
Qin Xuan was shocked, but then overjoyed. She accepted the gift with both hands, saying, "Elder Si Yao is so kind! Thank you so much, Elder Si Yao!"
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