Chapter 12 Senior Sister Appears in the Fog; Turns Out She Likes Spicy Food?
Just as Shen Lixia was heading towards the Third Domain, the main hall of the sect was in an uproar.
The main peak of Emperor Taihui was named Siling Peak. Siling Peak was usually quiet, except when there were important events or when a grand competition was held.
At noon today, however, a cacophony of cries and angry shouts could be heard inside the palace, creating quite a scene.
A group of young boys were led behind by a man in white robes, each in a disheveled state, some leaning on canes, others with bandages wrapped around their heads. The one at the front was both, with bandages wrapped around his head and waist, emanating a strong, bitter herbal scent. Some of them seemed to have suffered great injustice, and they were wailing and crying in the main hall, calling on their master to avenge them.
However, the master who was summoned did not seem to want to make the decision.
The white-robed man, his brow furrowed with anger, stood in the center of the hall facing the sect leader's seat at the top, showing no fear whatsoever—simply because there was no one above him.
"He injured an inner disciple and dared to flee on his own; he is truly audacious!"
The man shouted loudly and pushed Lin Fenghua out from behind him.
“Nine-Branch True Lord, this is your disciple! He has been deliberately persecuted to such an extent, don’t you feel heartbroken?”
Upon hearing this, a woman in a long black robe sitting on a chair in the lobby frowned and looked at Lin Fenghua, who was covered in wounds. After scanning him with her spiritual energy, she found that he was not seriously injured and narrowed her eyes slightly.
The woman beside her, dressed in fiery red and carrying a gilded longsword, seemed to think the scene wasn't chaotic enough. She smiled and whispered in her ear, "Chi Yueying, Chi Yueying, his injury will heal itself if left untreated. By then, it will be too late for you to care. Be careful that people don't say you're a cold-hearted master."
Chi Yueying snorted coldly, uttering only one word: "Pretending."
Their voices weren't loud, but they were clearly audible to all the cultivators. Lin Fenghua, feeling embarrassed, coughed twice, her voice barely a whisper, "My injuries aren't serious, so please don't trouble your master..."
Chi Yueying thought to herself: You're going to cough yourself to death.
The man in front of him glared and said sternly, "Those two have already escaped the sect's territory. Do you True Monarchs think that just because the sect leader is busy with important matters and has no time to attend to the situation within the sect, he can act with impunity? According to the rules, they should be captured and brought back to the sect immediately, and their cultivation should be abolished!"
Upon hearing this, the expressions of the two men in the hall turned cold.
Even if the sect leader were here, he wouldn't speak up for you.
"If any of my inner disciples were involved in this, then don't tell me about your injuries. Both of your new disciples are only at the Qi Refining stage, and some of you are even Foundation Establishment cultivators, yet you couldn't even defend against that Thunderfire Spirit Pearl... tsk tsk."
Yi Xiaohan shook her head, her fingertips tracing the long sword in her bosom. Though her smile remained, it lacked any warmth. After speaking, she turned to look at Chi Yueying and shrugged.
It means I don't care about this matter; the one under your name that was most seriously injured is the one you should explain.
The woman in black, seated on the chair, lowered her eyes, showing no intention of responding to the elder, as if she intended to end this farce in silence. The main hall was originally bustling with activity, with not only the elder but also several aristocratic cultivators accompanying them—so many people, summoning a True Monarch from within the sect, all for such a trivial matter.
When did the atmosphere within the sect become so weak?
It was fortunate that the person had been hiding in Maoyue Valley for a long time and had not seen this scene, otherwise the group of troublemakers would have been kicked out by her indiscriminately.
During the stalemate, the palace door was pushed open, and another person walked in.
Everyone turned to look and saw a woman in green, with snow-white hair tied up with lush green vines and pale flowers, a touch of tender green between her eyebrows, and wrists as smooth as jade, like a goddess of spring bringing warmth to the face.
“Cang Lingzhen…”
Before she could utter the word "you," the woman suddenly turned slightly to the side, leaping away like a fawn.
The man felt a lump in his throat, a chill running down his spine. He looked up and saw an icicle hovering just inches from his brow, silently hurtling towards him from the side of the woman in green.
Yi Xiaohan, who was sitting in the hall, suddenly stood up and rushed towards the hall door. His red clothes were as eye-catching as flames.
"Yan Xueya!"
This shout greatly shocked some of the more experienced people present.
Yan Xueya? The one who can generate three thousand sword intents in a single thought and wipe out an elite army of demons in the blink of an eye, the Mingji True Monarch who has been in seclusion since the last war between the three races.
Some were terrified, while others were overjoyed. For example, Yi Xiaohan.
Although being summoned to this grievance meeting today was extremely boring, who would have expected that someone who had been living in seclusion for so long would also participate? It had been hundreds of years since she and several others had last seen Yan Xueya.
Ruan Luoying chuckled lightly. Seeing Yi Xiaohan rush towards the people behind him, she went up the steps on her own and sat down in her own chair. Her gaze swept over the cultivators below who hadn't dared to utter a word since seeing the ice shards. She raised her voice slightly and said, "I heard someone wants to hold someone accountable?"
The elder, with an ice shard pressed against his brow, dared not even breathe when Ruan Luoying asked him a question, hesitating to speak. At that moment, Lin Fenghua suddenly appeared behind him and shouted to the gentle-looking Ruan Luoying, "True Lord Cangling, my disciple has been humiliated by two new outer sect underlings. I do not ask the sect for help, but only wish to bring them back to the sect to prevent them from tarnishing the sect's reputation with other shameless individuals and bringing shame upon the Taihui Sect!"
Chi Yueying raised an eyebrow, thinking that this person was a traitor who dared to complain because Ruan Luoying looked easy to talk to. On the other side, Yi Xiaohan was still pestering the other person, muttering things like "You've finally agreed to come out of Maoyue Valley" and "Come and spar with me," not letting the other person take another step inside.
Well, one's a knife-wielding madman, the other's an eternally cold old man, and the guy next to them is even more of a two-faced character. Chi Yueying raised her hand to her brow, already thinking about ending this farce and returning to her residence as soon as possible.
It would be better to say that his alchemy furnace is still burning, and if the things he refines inside were to explode, they would destroy the entire sect.
No, with the defensive formation she set up, at most people might be blown away, but the sect's buildings would be completely unharmed. She couldn't ruin her reputation.
Ruan Luoying leaned back lazily in her chair, her eyes slightly narrowed, looking extremely gentle, and said with a smile, "So... do you know that they went to carry out a mission assigned by the sect?"
Lin Fenghua instinctively felt a chill run down his spine.
"And this shameless scoundrel you're talking about, who's been associated with them and ruined the sect's reputation... seems to be my good disciple, Tang Huairou?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Fenghua broke out in a cold sweat and his words became slurred.
How could he not know that Qiao Yanshen and the others had gone on a mission with Tang Huairou?
In the evening, in Jingzhou, the third region, the small town was bustling with activity, and the clinking of cups and plates echoed from a restaurant.
Shen Lixia stirred the seasonings beside her, then took the vinegar bottle from the table, poured some into the bowl, and poured in boiling broth. Instantly, the delicious aroma spread, making people feel that it was sweet and sour and appetizing.
I never imagined that there was something similar to hot pot in this world. Although it wasn't sweet and didn't have her favorite satay broth, it still evoked a sense of nostalgia.
She also has a deep memory of hot pot—perhaps because being in a foreign land, even a hint of home can evoke uncontrollable memories.
but......
Why is my senior sister keeping adding ingredients to the spicy broth?!
When Shen Lixia watched Qiao Yanshen calmly pour the food from his plate into the bubbling, pungent, and spicy thick red soup, she felt a sense of her worldview crumbling. Her senior sister had always been a woman of gentle nature, and to cater to her imagined tastes, she always deliberately made the dishes bland, primarily using steaming, boiling, or stewing.
However, despite this, her senior always praised her cooking.
Tang Huairou's taste was just as she had imagined; she preferred the milky white mushroom soup in the middle.
The young man stared at the elegant woman with snow-white skin for a long time, then incredulously reached out with his chopsticks, carefully picked up a piece of lettuce from the red soup, hesitated for a moment, and then put it in his mouth without rinsing it in water.
Then her beautiful face visibly contorted.
It's so spicy. It feels like my tongue is on fire.
After swallowing her food, Shen Lixia picked up the plum juice beside her and drank two mouthfuls. She breathed a sigh of relief when the sweet and sour taste overcame the stinging pain. Qiao Yanshen glanced at her and couldn't help but chuckle softly, making Shen Lixia's ears turn red.
While using serving chopsticks to add food to the pot, Tang Huairou joked, "You guys are quite 'two-faced.' Junior Sister Li Xia, if you can't handle spicy food, don't try it, or you'll choke and get snotty."
Qiao Yan nodded, picked up a slice of bamboo shoot from the bright red dipping sauce in the bowl, and put it in his mouth under Shen Lixia's gaze. His expression remained calm and serene as he chewed.
Okay, so she's the clown. I thought my senior sister couldn't handle spicy food, but it turns out she was the only one with a sweet tooth present.
Shen Lixia ate the various dishes in the clear broth with a disgruntled expression, and together with Tang Huairou, they stopped eating before the red broth. This kind of small shop was different from the hot pot restaurants she remembered. Even the clear broth was not just water with a few goji berries, a couple of scallions, and a sprinkle of salt that was almost tasteless. The taste was very sweet and refreshing, and it seeped into the ingredients, further enhancing their flavor and freshness.
The three of them buried themselves in their food, seemingly having not experienced such a strong and warm atmosphere of everyday life for a long time, and tacitly maintained silence.
"Wait a minute," Shen Lixia mumbled, chewing on a meatball, "Senior Sister Tang should have already stopped eating, right..."
Tang Huairou put down her chopsticks and reached out to flick Chen Lixia's forehead. "I have been fasting for a long time, so occasionally tasting human food will not have any effect."
Shen Lixia touched the spot where Qiao Yanshen had flicked her, thinking that high cultivation level was indeed advantageous; one didn't need to eat or sleep, saving a lot of time. Looking at Qiao Yanshen's constant cultivation, it was truly perfect for a diligent person.
However, she still couldn't let go of it. To become an immortal meant she couldn't dream or eat such delicious food, which was somewhat cruel for Shen Lixia, who, although not greedy, still loved these things.
She also wanted to develop more dishes that suited her senior's taste, and see how her expression changed when she tasted them, so that her senior, who had been working hard all day, would be in a better mood.
Qiao Yanshen remained strictly abiding by the rule of not talking while eating, showing no intention of engaging in their conversation. The surrounding area was bustling with activity; the three of them left the restaurant smelling greasy, requiring Tang Huairou to apply several cleansing spells to them.
Leaving Jingzhou, the path leads directly to Kuizhou, the site of the incident. Kuizhou is named after a monstrous beast that once appeared in this area, known as the Drought Demon. Wherever the Drought Demon passed, nothing grew, and drought ensued, bringing years of drought to the state until an immortal passed by and slew the demon with his sword. To commemorate the past, the people renamed the place Kuizhou and developed a custom—burning the bodies of the deceased and scattering their ashes into the water.
Qiao Yanshen was very interested in such legends. She would often inquire about them and write them down in the notebook she always carried with her. Occasionally, Shen Lixia would also take it out and flip through it, just to broaden her knowledge.
To avoid alerting the enemy, the group did not use their swords, but instead chose to walk through the mountains and forests that were the only way to reach Quebec.
The sound of their footsteps echoed through the desolate forest. The surrounding trees were dense and grew exceptionally vigorously, almost blocking out the sky and allowing only a little light to pass through, making it difficult to see anything.
As they ventured deeper into the area, Tang Huairou suddenly stopped. A thick fog had risen around them, obscuring visibility for miles. She was a cultivator at the late Golden Core stage, and her five senses should theoretically be extremely sharp.
“That monster is already hunting.” A divine thought entered Qiao Yanshen’s sea of consciousness.
She also noticed something was wrong and instinctively turned around, only to find a pale white fog in her vision. A look of helplessness flashed across Qiao Yanshen's eyes. He reached into the thick fog, but couldn't find any familiar warmth. His chest tightened, and his heart seemed to skip a beat.
Shen Lixia has disappeared.
A note from the author:
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Senior Sister: (Anxious) Oh no, I wasn't watching my junior sister for a second and she's gone.
P.S.: After searching around, I still feel that the title of True Lord is not inappropriate for women... The masters, including the sect leader, are all women, so there are no men, which is reassuring.
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