Ranran wrapped herself tightly in the quilt and prepared to go to sleep, but she couldn't help but look out the window at the sky, which was indescribably dark.
So she stood up and closed the window again, but through the window, she saw her master holding an umbrella, standing on the eaves, in the pouring rain, looking up at the direction of the lightning in the sky...
He was possessed by a white tiger and the aftereffects had not yet been completely cured, so it was not appropriate for him to be exposed to the rain. However, Ran Ran understood and did not disturb his master.
She could sense that there was a deep pool in her master's heart, and the wind and rain from the outside world could not disturb the bottom of his pool. However, what kind of sad past was hidden in that pool seemed to be beyond the ability of her, a disciple, to explore.
After breakfast the next day, Ran Ran prepared some medicine for Master to regulate his breathing and internal injuries, brought it to him on the water corridor, and watched him drink it.
Ever since the incident at Tianmai Mountain, Ranran has been reading medical books and specially prepared this soup for her master to nourish the vital energy, calm the mind and nourish the body.
Pills and the like nourish the spiritual energy. If you want to nourish the physical body, you will need these soups to be more effective.
Su Yishui couldn't tolerate the bitter-tasting medicine. He was usually calm and mature, but he could hold the bowl and stare at the medicine for a long time without drinking it.
Ran Ran had no choice but to stare at Su Yishui without blinking, lest he splash the medicine into the pool beside her when she wasn't paying attention.
In order to divert the master's attention, Ran Ran simply reached out and held the bowl and asked him to drink quickly, while talking to divert his attention.
"Master, shouldn't a cultivator give up the pleasures of the mundane world? Why do you set up so many businesses?"
This method seemed to work. Following Ran Ran's strength, Su Yishui finally drank the bowl of medicine happily. However, his thick brows were wrinkled into knots.
Ran Ran quickly took out the honey plums she had prepared, pinched the fullest one, and stuffed it into her master's mouth.
But she stuffed it in too hastily, and her pointed fingertips accidentally entered the mouth and were gently sucked by the thin lips.
Ran Ran was startled and quickly withdrew her hand. Before she could feel embarrassed, she heard Su Yishui slowly say, "Because at that time, some people liked to spend money and always accepted money from strangers for pleasure. At that time, I was thinking, if I had these, she wouldn't have to spend other people's money and be criticized..."
Ran Ran didn't expect that his master's answer would be like this. But at that time, the person who spent the most money around him was... Immortal Master Mu Qingge, right?
Ran Ran's expression was a little subtle for a moment, and hesitantly asked: "Master, don't you hate extravagance and waste the most? Why are you still encouraging extravagance?"
Su Yishui bit the plum pit in his mouth hard, looking at her, as if looking through her at another person, and whispered: "She was also a rich lady since she was a child. Because of changes in her family, she took her only sister to the West Mountain to practice Taoism. A genius in magic cultivation, any master would be like a treasure to get her, so he would be particularly strict in disciplining her. Maybe because of being too strict, she didn't have the romantic time of other children when she was a child, and there was always some regret in her heart. When she finally achieved great success, she liked to eat, drink and have fun, and lived like a disorderly child... She was raised in wealth since she was a child, and later she practiced hard in the mountains for many years. Can you expect her to have any concept of gold and silver after entering the world of mortals?"
If the "she" he was referring to was Mu Qingge, then it made sense. This was why Mu Qingge was so arrogant and particular about food and drink.
From Su Yishui's tone, there was no blame, but rather a tone full of doting...
Moreover, the way he works so hard to earn money for his master to spend... doesn't look like filial piety at all, but more like a poor boy working so hard to earn money to support his wife...
Thinking that behind all Su Yishui's annoyance, he actually liked Master Mu so much, Ranran felt a little sad for a moment.
It's not jealousy, just a subtle sadness, and more of a worry. If Master Mu is a good person, it doesn't matter how much Master loves her.
Such a fairy couple, and a perfect match!
But what a rotten character Mu Qingge is! She is so vicious, gloomy and scary. If the master still stubbornly likes this kind of serpentine woman, won't he be dragged into an irretrievable situation by her?
Thinking of this, Ran Ran became a little angry and said stiffly: "Master, why do you have to be like this? If someone is willing to spend other people's money, maybe she likes him. It's not like she will follow whoever has money!"
She said this in a fit of anger, but when she looked up, she found that the look in her master's eyes was... a little scary, as if she was possessed by a spirit...
He just stared at her like that, as if the matter would not be over unless she apologized.
It was rare for Ran Ran to get so stubborn, and at this moment she was possessed by the spirit of stubbornness, and she was determined not to succumb to the look in her master's eyes. So after she finished her harsh words, she calmly picked up the medicine bowl, turned around and left.
In other sects, teachers are worried that their disciples are too young and will indulge in romantic relationships, thus delaying their plans to cultivate immortality.
But in Xishan Lingxi Palace, everything is going on, and the disciples have to worry whether the master has loved the wrong person.
Ran Ran didn't sleep well that night, and when she was a little dazed, she dreamed of her master and Mu Xianchang making love, playing the piano together in the corridor, drinking under the waterfall, and kissing each other in the water...
In short, all the scenes between her and her master were performed by Master Mu in her dreams... As a result, if one had to describe the dream experience aptly, it would be to be fed a mouthful of dog shit.
So much so that when eating breakfast, Ranran was a little dazed. No matter how deep his spiritual energy was, it couldn't resist the decadent mood caused by the disgusting dream.
However, Su Yishui seemed to have forgotten that his disobedient little apprentice had made him angry last night. Early in the morning, he went out and bought some Sheng Ji's pan-fried buns for breakfast.
As Qiu Xier was eating, she realized that her junior sister seemed to be at odds with the master. The vinegar was clearly right next to the master's hand, but she didn't take it or dip it in anything. She just puffed up her little face and swallowed the bun.
The master also had a frown on his face and didn't say a word the whole morning.
After breakfast, Qiu Xier secretly asked Ran Ran what happened with her master. Ran Ran sighed and asked, "Senior sister, if one day, Mu Qingge became our master's wife, what would you do?"
Qiu Xier was also frightened by this possibility. She shuddered, then thought about it and sighed, "What else can we do? It's raining, my mother is getting married, and my master is getting married. These are none of our business! We have to save money to pay for the gift. But think about it, Mu Qingge's reputation was so bad in her previous life, but my master still ignored the controversy and gave up his cultivation to save her. What a deep relationship this is! If my master finally gets what he wants and marries a beautiful woman, even if she is a poisonous beauty, we, as his disciples, can only congratulate our master..."
After saying this, Qiu Xier shuddered again, and then laughed and said, "Ran Ran, you have a really interesting little head, always thinking about these nonsense. I think Master must be crazy now, thinking about renewing the relationship with her."
Ran Ran listened with eyes wide open, and felt that she seemed to have really misunderstood, and that she was not as open-minded as her third senior sister.
Who the master likes, whether it is a demon or a fairy, is his own business. As a disciple, what qualifications does she have to be stubborn and make trouble with the master?
Qiu Xier was right, she was too lenient! So in the afternoon, she couldn't bear to be angry with her master anymore, so she found an opportunity to talk to him awkwardly.
Fortunately, Su Yishui was not a petty elder. When he saw his disciple taking the initiative to show goodwill, he seemed to have been waiting for a long time and tried very hard to continue the boring, lazy and dry topic of his little disciple.
After a few times like this, the relationship between the master and the disciple seemed to be smooth again.
Although Ranran's mind had finally come to a point, she was still not in a good mood.
For a moment she watched a spider mending its web that had been torn by the heavy rain, and wanted to sigh for the spider whose work was in vain; then she saw the petals scattered on the ground under the pavilion, and felt that the flowers would not last forever, and it was in vain to see them fall into the mud.
In the end, the usually straightforward senior brother was influenced by the junior sister and sighed at the heavy rain outside. Qiu Xier asked the senior brother what was wrong, Gao Cang stared at the rain outside and said, "I just feel that it's... quite comfortable to let out a sigh of relief like my junior sister."
Qiu Xier also thought it made sense. She held her chin with her hand, looked at the falling flowers in the wind and rain, and sighed deeply.
However, they came to the capital for serious business. Even if the young man was experiencing sorrow for the first time, he had to finish his business first before continuing to feel sad about the passing of time.
If Su Yishui wanted to ask the emperor for an old book, he couldn't just knock on the palace door.
The foundation of Daqi's palace is special, with a hidden mysterious formation. All spiritual power will be dissipated and suppressed the moment one enters the palace.
In short, it was impossible to enter the palace with supernatural powers. And Su Yishui was also known as the illegitimate son of the rebellious king, so it was even more impossible for him to knock on the door of the palace and seek friendship with his uncle.
Therefore, they could only wait patiently for the opportunity for the emperor to go on a tour, pay homage to the ancestral temple, and visit the imperial temple to see if they could talk to Su Yu.
After Su Yishui came to the capital, he did not seem to be in a hurry to get books. He had been wandering among the rivers and pools in the capital for the past few days.
However, the compass on Ranran's neck never moved again, and there seemed to be nothing unusual in the river.
After a few days, Su Yishui finally took action, but he invited an old eunuch from the palace to have tea in the teahouse.
The eunuch seemed to recognize Su Yishui. He just shook his head and said in a low voice: "Didn't you leave far away? It's good to be away from the world. Why did you come to this place of trouble again? If the lady was still here and knew that you came to the capital, she would be very worried..."
Su Yishui seemed to respect the old eunuch very much. He personally made him a cup of hot tea and brought it to him: "After my mother passed away, her funeral was handled by you, Manager Zheng, so her body was not left to rot in the wilderness. I will always remember this kindness."
The eunuch named Zheng waved his hand and said, "There's no need to talk about the past. If you live well, your wife will be relieved in the afterlife."
Su Yishui continued, "I have some things in the palace, and I came here to take them. I wonder if the palace has been repaired in recent years?"
Manager Zheng frowned when he heard this: "Back then, the late emperor hired a genius to rearrange the palace according to Feng Shui, and all the palaces were built strictly according to the drawings. Your Majesty is very filial now, and has not made any changes to the palaces renovated by the late emperor except for daily maintenance."
Su Yishui asked calmly: "But I heard that the Wentan in the palace seems to have been expanded?"
Manager Zheng then remembered and nodded, saying, "If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten about it. It should have been 20 years ago, when His Majesty had just ascended the throne. Perhaps because he was young and playful, he liked to go boating on the lake with his concubines, so he ordered people to dig deeper into the Wentan and expand it into the Wenhu."
Su Yishui nodded: "Is your Majesty's study still the same one used by the late emperor?"
Manager Zheng nodded: "It hasn't changed, it's still the same room... I remember that you were summoned by the late emperor in the study. I thought you were going to return to your ancestral home soon, but unexpectedly Prince Ping... Well, let's not talk about the past. Now His Majesty's study does not allow us eunuchs to serve. The two palace maids who can enter are both mute. He usually allows them to enter when he summons important officials in the court or summons strange people in the Alien House..."
Su Yishui narrowed his eyes when he heard this, "The House of Strange People? I heard that His Majesty loves talents and has visited many strange people and stories. I wonder if it is true?"
The old lady watched the bustling crowd under the teahouse, then turned to look at Su Yishui wearing a gauze veil, and whispered: "That's right. To the east of the palace, there is a garden, known as the Yiren Pavilion, where all the talents recruited by His Majesty are located. Every time there is a newcomer, if he is special, he will occasionally have the opportunity to enter the palace and be summoned by His Majesty... By the way, a great man will enter the capital tomorrow, and His Majesty seems to be eager to see him. Yesterday, he sent a badge for entering the palace to the Yiren Pavilion..."
Su Yishui got the news and thanked the old eunuch. Ran Ran saw the master gracefully hand the eunuch a silver note of 100 taels.
The eunuch refused twice, then put the banknote into his sleeve, and finally reminded: "Madam Zhan is also living in the palace now, I think you'd better leave as soon as possible."
It seems that this old eunuch was also an eyewitness of the palace coup in the capital that year, and seemed to be an old acquaintance of Su Yishui's mother.
After saying this, the old eunuch stood up and left.
Alien House?
Ran Ran felt that the word was somewhat familiar, and suddenly she remembered that when she was eating buns at Sheng Ji yesterday, she heard her neighbor talking about it. He said that there had been a lot of carriages coming into the Alien House in recent days, and it seemed that a lot of strange people had come. However, in recent years, there were always new people coming in, but the Alien House had not been expanded. It was strange.
At that time, Ranran heard it but didn't understand what was going on. Now he finally understood the reason.
Su Yishui stood up and said to Ran Ran, "Let's go."
Ran Ran obediently followed his master and came to the teahouse at the city gate. They drank for another half a day.
Just after Ran Ran had eaten two plates of chestnut cakes, an eight-foot-tall, dark-faced man entered the city. He did not queue up, but showed his badge to the guards at the city gate and went straight in with his entourage.
Su Yishui stood up and walked out with Ranran, following the big man and his entourage at a moderate pace.
The moment they turned into the street, Ranran felt the air around him suddenly solidify. The master immediately set up a spiritual shield, and then when the big man turned his head, he hit him with a flick of his finger and knocked him to the ground. His followers were also knocked to the ground one by one as fast as lightning.
Ran Ran's eyes widened, unsure whether his master had switched to robbery.
Su Yishui bent down and took off the badge from the big man, and also found a letter of invitation from the Alien House.
According to the letter, this man is called Bao Ming, and he is from Suiyun Mountain. He is well versed in the supernatural powers of beasts, so he was invited by the Alien House to serve Your Majesty.
Ran Ran noticed that the right palm inside his wide coat sleeve was actually a beast's claw. It looked like a colorful leopard. He was indeed not an ordinary person.
This sight of a human body with an animal image reminded her of the woman in Wangxiangguan who had merged with a fish.
Could it be that... this Leopard Ming also knows forbidden techniques like the Seven Evils Transfiguration Curse?
"Master...what exactly are you going to do?" Ran Ran couldn't help but ask.
Su Yishui stretched out his right hand and looked at it silently. In a moment, his slender palm turned into a leopard claw. However, this was just a common trick.
It is fundamentally different from the magic skills that man knows.
He looked at it again and again, then said, "This deception won't last long. We need to hurry."
Ranran guessed what he was thinking. It seemed that the master wanted to use someone else's trick and pretend to be the Leopard Ming alien to go to the Alien House.
At this time, Su Yishui took out a box of oil paint that he had just bought and gave it to Ran Ran, asking Ran Ran to paint his face black, and he cut the beard of the unconscious Bao Ming for use.
After the beard was pasted on, the man who was originally as elegant as a banished immortal turned into a big man with a black face and black beard, looking... like a bandit.
Ran Ran had never done anything so sneaky before. While gluing the beard on his master, he asked worriedly, "Isn't this a bad idea?"
Su Yishui looked down at the half-pouting little girl and asked calmly, "If you don't think it's good, why do you still want to help me do it?"
Ran Ran lowered her eyes and whispered, "I believe in Master's character..."
Su Yishui curled his lips and said coldly: "I have never said that I am a good person."
Ran Ran glanced at him quickly and muttered softly: "Follow a good person to learn how to be a good person, follow a tiger to learn how to bite people... Master, if you get closer to people with noble character, you will naturally behave uprightly..."
Since the master likes someone like Mu Qingge, even if he has a good foundation, he will learn bad things from her. Ran Ran takes advantage of the opportunity to influence his master, hoping that he will not learn bad things from a bad woman.
This time Su Yishui glared at her and said nothing more.
As for those who were soundly asleep, Su Yishui finally did not leave them on the street. Instead, he found an inn and helped them to stay in, saying that they were drunk. He booked a guest room and let them continue to sleep. This way, they would not be discovered and his clothes would be exposed.
Su Yishui, along with Ran Ran and the others who had also changed their appearances simply, transformed themselves into Bao Ming and his followers and went straight to the Alien House to challenge them.
The Alien House on the east side of the Imperial Palace didn't look unusual at first glance, with a half-worn gate and even no plaque. Su Yishui had to ask passers-by to find out that this was the Alien House.
This "Yirenguan" was actually named by the common people in the capital. There was no such government office in the three departments and six ministries of the imperial court.
But looking at the people coming in and out of the door, I immediately understood where the word "aliens" came from.
A thin old Taoist priest who had just entered walked on tiptoe without moving, and slid into the door slowly and leisurely as if he was being carried by the wind.
There was also a woman, with full acupuncture points on her head and a pale golden complexion. She was obviously a person who had entered the Jindan stage.
As for the other people who have entered the sect, it can be seen that they have some basic cultivation.
It is said that this gate looks shabby and moss is all over the base of the wall, but inside the gate is magnificent, with beautiful food and beautiful maids. Your Majesty uses real gold and silver to support these extraordinary and talented people. If they can live in, they will never want to become an immortal again.
Ran Ran was actually a little curious. Even if His Majesty was thirsty for talents, it seemed unnecessary to keep so many extraordinary people in the capital. Even if secular people admired cultivation, they just wanted immortality. It would be more reliable to build a few more alchemy furnaces in the capital!
Su Yishui looked at the door slowly, while Yuchen walked over and reached out to knock on the door.
The door did not open, but someone shouted from inside: "Who is coming?"
Su Yishui bowed and said, "I am invited to come here by following Yunshan Baoming."
When he bowed, he just happened to reveal his leopard-patterned claw.
The people at the door saw it, and after a moment, invited him and his followers to go in.
The one who greeted the master was the old man who had just walked in. When he got closer, he found that the old man's left and right eyes were different. The right eye was black, while the left eye was light gold.
He looked at Su Yishui, who was wearing a gauze hat, with a sharp gaze, and said slowly, "Sir, may I take off my hat and meet you?"
Su Yishui took off his hat, revealing a...dark, hairy face.
The old man stared at his face, then looked at the leopard claws he had transformed into, paused for a moment, then slowly smiled and said, "When Wangxiang Pass presented me with a human corpse that had transformed into a fish, I was still thinking that there really was a lost magic like the Seven Evils Shape-Transfiguration Curse in the world? Now that I have met you, I believe it all. I believe that His Majesty will be very happy to have such a genius as you."
Su Yishui said calmly: "Thank you for the award. May I ask your Excellency's…"
The old man replied, "I am the head of this place. You can call me Lao Feng. His Majesty has been waiting for you for a long time. I will report back to His Majesty, and then you can enter the palace to see Him."
After saying that, he asked his servants to lead Su Yishui and others into a courtyard in the southwest.
When they entered the room, Yu Tong was about to speak, but Su Yishui made a gesture to keep quiet, then walked around the room and reached out to pull out several talismans from under the bed and on the beams.
Ran Ran had obtained many talismans from Yao Laoxian, and was somewhat familiar with this. He immediately recognized that these were voice-transmitting talismans.
The voices of the people in the room could be heard by the person who pasted the talisman. After she understood, she immediately cleared her throat and said, "Master, you have won the favor of His Majesty. You will definitely have a bright future in the future."
Su Yishui said calmly, "The palace is not a place for people like you who come from the countryside. When I enter the palace, you can go to the market and buy me some food and drinks. I'm afraid the chefs here don't know my taste and I won't be able to get used to it."
After this arrangement, when Old Feng brought Su Yishui into the palace for an audience, Ranran and the other children and their uncle had a reasonable excuse to leave the Alien House.
Thinking that her master was going to enter the palace alone, Ran Ran couldn't help but feel a little worried. Her master had originally been determined that she must stay by his side. But when they went deep into the dragon's den and the tiger's lair, he left her behind and went alone.
