She glanced at Wang Suizhi beside her. He had been looking thoughtful when he saw Xue Ranran fighting with Master Kaiyuan just now.
She suspected that he had seen something wrong, so on the way back to Wuma Town, she asked, "Xiaozhi, what are you thinking about?"
Wang Suizhi is no longer the handsome young man he used to be, but when his master called him "Xiaozhi", he quickly responded, "Just now I saw the stick Xue Ranran used. It was exquisitely made... It didn't look like an ordinary thing, but more like the skillful hands of Old Fourteen."
Old Fourteen? Mu Ranwu immediately thought of the famous craftsman Zeng Yi. Speaking of which, he really had the ability to create things, and his skillful hands seemed to be connected to the gods...
Mu Ranwu's eyes lit up. Wouldn't it be a pity if she didn't recruit such a talented person under her command?
So she asked tentatively: "Do you know where Zeng Yi is?"
Wang Suizhi shook his head and said with regret, "Back then, he was arrogant because of his talent. He didn't get along well with us. When Xishan disbanded, his whereabouts were unknown. He never came to look for us afterwards... Oh, then... Isn't that Old Fourteen?"
While the two were talking, Wang Suizhi unexpectedly spotted Zeng Yi who had just got off a carriage at the edge of the street market in a border town.
It turned out that after the incident at the horse shop, the shopkeeper and the employees were arrested and have not been released. The other people in the store had no choice but to send a letter to Zeng Yifei, asking the boss to handle it.
Zeng Yi was not too far from Wuma Town at that time. Since the incident in the capital, he had not been in contact with Su Yishui and the others, and he had no idea about Ran Ran's current situation.
Later, he finally received a letter from Su Yishui, saying that he was coming to the border, so Zeng Yi took Bai Baishan and several servants and hurried here, exhausted.
Unexpectedly, as soon as I arrived here, I met an old friend before I even set foot here.
When his third senior brother Wang Suizhi suddenly appeared in front of him and called his name, Zeng Yi was stunned.
"Old Fourteen, you actually hid here. Do you know how long I have been looking for you?"
Zeng Yi glanced calmly at the woman wearing a veil beside Wang Suizhi and said with a smile: "Yes, Third Brother, long time no see. This is..."
At this moment, Mu Ranwu lifted her veil, revealing a face that looked like Mu Qingge in her previous life: "Yier, it's me..."
This face was always invincible in front of Mu Qingge's disciples, and everyone who saw it burst into tears. Just when Mu Ranwu was waiting for Zeng Yi to cry and come over to recognize him as her master, Zeng Yi hesitated and asked hesitantly, "You are... my master?"
Wang Suizhi smiled and said, "Of course it's Master. Don't you know that Master was reborn on the Reincarnation Tree?"
Zeng Yi calmed himself down before greeting Mu Qingge, but there was no enthusiasm in his words.
Mu Ranwu thought of what Wang Suizhi said, that the mechanical stick in Xue Ranran's hand seemed to be made by Zeng Yi. Seeing that he was not very enthusiastic about her, she immediately asked tentatively: "Yier, you don't seem to want to see your old friend again?"
Wang Suizhi also hit his shoulder and said, "What's wrong with you? Could it be that you have become crazy about making weapons and don't even recognize your master?"
Zeng Yi smiled bitterly and said gently, "Of course not. It's just that I'm running a small business to make a living and I no longer think about cultivating the Tao. If you two have nothing else to do, then I'll take my leave."
Wang Suizhi stretched out his hand to stop him, sneering: "Master was very kind to you in the past, how dare you treat her like this? Could it be that you have defected to Su Yishui, and the stick in the hand of that female disciple was made by you? I recognized it at the first sight...ah..."
Before he could finish his words, he was frightened by Zeng Yi's sudden raised hand.
There was not a single finger on those two bald hands, which really scared Wang Suizhi.
Mu Ranwu also frowned and took a step back: "What's wrong with your hand?"
Zeng Yi said, "When I was young, I was ignorant and offended people, so both my hands are disabled. Now I run a hot spring and a horse business, which are small businesses to support my family. I am also an ordinary person and I really don't have the fate of being an immortal. If you two have nothing to do, I will leave first."
Wang Suizhi felt a little guilty. Fourteen's hands looked like they had been useless for a long time. How could he help the tyrant and make weapons for Su Yishui's apprentice? It seemed that he had misunderstood Old Fourteen.
Zeng Yi was originally a man who was arrogant because of his talent. Now that he has become disabled, it is understandable that he is ashamed to see his old friends and does not want to think about the past. If Wang Suizhi had known that he was in such a difficult situation, he would definitely help this junior fellow apprentice...
He felt deeply moved when he thought about how everyone, including himself, had faced difficulties after leaving Xishan for a long time.
However, Mu Ranwu seemed a little disappointed when she saw Zeng Yi hurriedly leaving. She said with a hint of regret, "People with different ideals cannot work together. His hand is already disabled. Since he doesn't want to contact us, just let him go."
It's a pity for Zeng Yi's genius creation, but since it has become waste, there is no use keeping it around. Mu Ranwu never wants to worry about personnel and affairs that are not beneficial to her.
When she turned away, she did not see the momentary surprise on Wang Suizhi's face. Wang Suizhi was a businessman, so he was naturally smooth in dealing with people.
But he never expected that after his master knew about the horrific experience of his fourteenth junior brother, he would be so indifferent, as if he had just listened to a passage in a book...
Could it be that the reincarnation tree has made the once chivalrous and kind-hearted master become cold-hearted?
As for Zeng Yi, he was also shocked when he saw this fake person unexpectedly, but he couldn't reveal her identity to his former fellow apprentices directly.
It’s a pity that the master’s identity has not been made public. Thinking of what Su Yishui said when she was leading the soul up the tree, Zeng Yi knew that in this life, the master must never be Mu Qingge again.
Changing one's fate requires a price to be paid. Master actually changed the fate of the emperor!
Now, the fruit that fell prematurely from the tree has had its birth date changed, and all its spiritual energy has been taken away by someone else. I wonder if she can escape the punishment from heaven...
There aren't many people who can protect the Master nowadays, but even if he has to give up everything he has, he will definitely protect the Master!
In Wuma Town, this encounter between the master and the disciple seemed to end in vain. Ran Ran, who was riding on the Suzaku, landed lightly when he reached the dense forest at the foot of the mountain.
She saw Su Yishui, who had arrived earlier, sitting on a big rock, shaking the lantern she had punctured...
In fact, Ran Ran didn't know what happened to him at that time. He was angry and poked the lantern with his hand. Now, seeing his master looking at the punctured painting on the lantern, Ran Ran felt a little sorry.
The grudge or love between Master and Mu Xianshi was their own business. What right did I have to lose my temper and ruin the lantern that Master had worked so hard to make?
Thinking of this, she walked over hesitantly, took off her snack bag, and handed it to the man: "Eat it, you will feel better after eating it... Um... do you want me to go to the town to buy you another lantern?"
Su Yishui tilted his head to look at her guilty expression and said expressionlessly, "I don't want to buy it. You have to make it for me yourself."
How could Ran Ran do that? But coaxing the master is the same as coaxing a child, so just agree first.
Just like that, after Ranran fed him three honey plums in a row, the demon Su Yishui's mood finally improved.
So the two of them returned to the campsite. It was already bright the next day.
When they came back, they saw Yu Tong coming back from the back mountain. There was a lot of dew in the mountains, and her clothes were covered with water marks. It was unknown how long she had been standing in the grass. Or maybe she hadn't seen her and her master for a long time, so she went to look for them?
Sure enough, Yu Tong saw them and asked, "Master, where have you been?"
Su Yishui asked calmly: "Was there anything unusual last night?"
Yu Tong was stunned for a moment and asked in confusion: "What happened?"
Ran Ran couldn't help but look up at Second Master Uncle. After returning from the island, everyone else was fine, only Second Master Uncle was a little absent-minded. She remembered the time when she accidentally saw Second Master Uncle secretly shedding tears.
And with such a big fight yesterday, even a sound sleeper would be awakened by the sound of horse hooves. But Second Master-Sister looked confused and unaware, and it was obvious that she had left early yesterday and had only just returned.
Ranran was about to say something, but the master beside her suddenly reached out and grabbed Yutong's neck.
Ran Ran was startled, thinking that her master's evil nature had resurfaced. Yu Tong, on the other hand, did not dodge or evade, and let Su Yishui twist her neck, even with a look of relief on her face.
Just when Ranran was about to intercept, she discovered something strange - Su Yishui seemed to be forcing the spiritual power in his Dantian into Yutong's body.
Su Yishui's spiritual power is now demonic, and his luck is surging like the rapid waves of the river. Although Yu Tong has some foundation-building skills, he is unable to withstand it. For a moment, the spiritual veins in his body are prominent, and soon a bulge like an egg is transported from the abdomen to the throat.
At this moment, Su Yishui let go, and Yu Tong fell to the ground. With a gulp, he finally vomited out something that looked like a golden-shell beetle.
Ran Ran was startled. She originally thought it was a fairy bug, but then she realized that was not the case, because the bug looked very clumsy and didn't seem to be able to fly.
She raised her foot to step on it, but Su Yishui stopped her, bent down, aimed the mouth of his water bag at it, filled it up, put a stopper on it, and then threw it into a distant mountain stream.
"That thing is poisonous and cannot be touched. Well, if you have any unspeakable secrets, you can tell me now." Su Yishui spoke at this time.
Yu Tong fell to his knees with a thud, tears streaming down his face: "Master, my child was captured by the Su Yu people. I have no intention of betraying you... If I hadn't been worried about my son, I would have died a long time ago."
At this time, Yuchen, Gaocang, Qiu Xier and others also rushed over after hearing the noise. They were stunned by the scene in front of them.
It turned out that Su Yu had heard from somewhere that Yu Tong had a family in Xishan Town.
Before they left for the capital, they sent people to capture her lover and son. But Yu Tong was unaware of it at the time, and when she found out later, she had already been taken advantage of.
Later, Su Yu sent people to find Yu Tong and forced her to swallow the heart-eating worm.
This insect can release venom and transmit sounds, making it a true eavesdropping insect.
In other words, everything Yutong sees and hears can be transmitted intact to Lao Feng who controls the insect.
If Yu Tong dared to reveal it, the father and son would be killed immediately.
Although Yutong was determined to cut off her relationship with the world and had not even married her lover, she did so on the premise that she knew that the father and son were safe and well-fed.
Now they were trapped in a dangerous place. Although Yu Tong was loyal to her master, she didn't know what to do. If she told her master directly, Lao Feng would know immediately and would definitely kill her son. But if she left and refused to be Su Yu's eyes and ears, Su Yu would still not let the father and son go.
Therefore, Yu Tong could only try his best not to eat, drink or talk with them, and even deliberately avoided them when everyone gathered together at night, so as to avoid hearing any important news related to Lingquan and spreading it to Su Yu.
Last night, she did the same thing. She ran to the back hill and cried uncontrollably, so she missed the excitement of the horses galloping.
The terrain here is special. When you go around the back mountain, it becomes a natural barrier. You can't even hear the sound of horse hooves, so naturally you don't know what happened last night.
Ran Ran was also somewhat confused when she heard this, and asked in a low voice: "Did you leak the fact that Master was once possessed by a white tiger?"
Yu Tong nodded in shame, then shook his head: "I think it was leaked accidentally when I was chatting with Xuan Lang before. The speaker didn't mean it, but the listener took it to heart. Who knew that Su Yu would be so deliberate and take advantage of it, and almost harmed the master..."
Xuanlang was her lover living down the mountain. Who would have thought that these words would actually reach Su Yu's ears!
But Ran Ran was very curious about why the master discovered the eavesdropping bug in Second Uncle's stomach.
Su Yishui then said: "It was originally impossible to find it. But she has not eaten anything in the past few days, and the worms in her stomach are greedy. Because her blood circulation is not smooth, she heard the worms just now..."
Ranran suddenly realized that this was the case.
Yu Chen was so angry that he stamped his feet and shouted at his sister: "I told you at the beginning that since you are serving the master, how can you sneak down the mountain to start a family? Now you have left a handle for others to use against you. You have actually betrayed your master! You... "
As he said this, he suddenly pulled out a dagger, tore open his clothes to expose his chest, and cried, "My sister has done something unforgivable, and it is my fault as a brother. I can only die to atone for my sins. Please, master, spare my poor sister..."
As he said this, he raised the knife and stabbed himself in the chest. But Yu Tong flew over and tried to grab the knife and kill himself. For a moment, the brother and sister fought to the death, and the scene was very lively.
Ran Ran went up and snatched the knife, and threw it far down the mountain. Then she took a breath and said, "We'll talk about who is right and who is wrong later. Su Yu has a person in his hand. The child is only six years old. He might be scared now and is waiting for his mother and uncle to rescue him. If you all die, will you push this task to your master?"
The weight of Junior Sister Xishan’s words has always been second only to that of the Master.
As soon as she gave the order, everyone started looking for the water bag. Su Yishui was very strong and threw it too far, and he almost couldn't find it.
However, the little insect looked like it was dying. When it fell out of the water bottle, it flapped its wings a few times and then died with its legs stretched out.
Yu Tong knew that when the insect died, it must have known that the truth had been revealed. Thinking that the father and son might have died because of him, he suddenly became overwhelmed with grief and grabbed the dead insect and was about to swallow it.
Qiu Xier covered her mouth and vomited, thinking that she had saved a day's food and there was still hope for her to lose more weight.
After finally snatching the dead bug from her hand, he heard someone shouting loudly at the foot of the mountain: "His Majesty's decree, please accept it, Miss Xue Ranran!"
The people in Xishan glanced at each other quickly. They had not expected that someone would show up so soon after the bug died.
When Xue Ranran came down the mountain, he saw several palace maids in gorgeous clothes, surrounded by Da Qi guards, holding a letter sealed with yellow paper.
The letter was written by Su Yu himself to Xue Ranran.
He seemed to have anticipated that the bug would be discovered by Su Yishui and his friends, so in the letter he apologized to them on behalf of Lao Feng, saying only that the matter was done on Lao Feng's own initiative. The child and the scholar had been sent to Wuma Town and placed in a courtyard in the west of the town.
Such considerate words really seem like a misunderstanding.
Su Yishui was standing aside with a hint of red in his eyes.
It seems that this little Yu is still used to being a good person. After knowing Ranran's life experience, he wants to be a good person in front of her.
This behavior of using children to threaten mothers is so shameless that it is hard to justify it.
If Su Yishui hadn't discovered the bug and let this letter of goodwill arrive earlier, it would mean that Su Yu had discovered that his subordinates were not behaving properly and had taken the initiative to admit it. Now, Your Majesty has not lost his upright gentleman in front of Xue Ranran...
Such an effort to please others is really admirable! In the previous life, "Xiao Yu" gradually gained Mu Qingge's trust and gradually alienated him...
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but reach out and pinch Ran Ran's slender arm. Ran Ran knew that his evil nature was out of control again. Although she didn't know why, she held his arm with her backhand and said softly: "Master Zeng Yi should have arrived in Wuma Town. If Master is worried about fraud, you can ask Master Zeng Yi to send someone to inquire first."
When her hand was placed on his, the blush in Su Yishui's eyes gradually faded away.
Now that their whereabouts have been exposed, it is useless to stay in the mountains. It is better to return to the town.
The eunuch smiled at Xue Ranran and said, "When His Majesty was unconscious, the people below were ignorant and put the portraits of you and others on wanted orders. His Majesty is in good health now, and he has ordered people to remove the portraits of you and several immortal masters. Please go with peace of mind, young lady."
After delivering the message, the eunuch ordered his men to go down the mountain.
When Yu Tong heard that the emperor had ordered the release of his son and Xuan Lang, he was anxious to go down the mountain immediately.
However, the Su Yu was used to cheating, so they waited a day to find out what was going on before returning to Wuma Town. Gao Cang and Qiu Xier went to check the notice board, and sure enough, there was no wanted warrant for them.
Because the cause of the missing horse had been found out, all the employees of the horse shop were released.
Zeng Yi stood at the entrance of the horse shop to greet Ran Ran. Second Master's uncle's son and the scholar named Zhao Xuan were also brought over by Second Master's uncle.
Su Yishui checked their meridians and confirmed that they were not poisoned by the snake. Then the second uncle hugged the emaciated child and burst into tears.
After some twists and turns, the hot quilt and the braised pork were finally in place.
While Ran Ran and the third senior sister were taking a hot bath, Zeng Yi had a private conversation with Su Yishui.
"Why is the Soviet Union suddenly so friendly after such a big war?" Zeng Yi had originally planned to close all his industries and follow Xue Ranran and the others to wander around the world, but he didn't expect that things would suddenly take a turn for the better.
After asking this question, he didn't see Su Yishui answer. He turned around and saw Su Yishui sitting there with his hands clenched. Although his face was expressionless, the veins on his arms were bulging, obviously he was silently resisting the evil that suddenly surged in his body.
Zeng Yi sighed slightly upon seeing this, and took out a string of transparent glass prayer beads from his arms and handed it to Su Yishui: "This is the meditation bead string that your master went to the Eternal Life Tower to get for you when you were possessed by the devil. Wearing it close to your body can slightly offset some of the devilish nature. It's a pity that I never had the chance to give it to you back then, so I kept it with me temporarily. Now it can be used again..."
Before he could finish his words, the glass rosary in his hand was snatched away by Su Yishui. When he put it on his wrist, a refreshing coolness came over him, and the evil nature was indeed slightly reduced.
"It's not hard to understand why he did this. He must have known that the spiritual spring was in my body. For the sake of the well-being of others, he was eager for me to find the netherworld and return the spiritual spring. And he is not dead yet. Someone must have given him some poison to quench his thirst. If he wants to completely get rid of his illness, he still needs to go to the netherworld. So before we find the entrance to the netherworld, we don't have to worry for the time being."
After calming down his anxiety, Su Yishui explained slowly.
Zeng Yi nodded and sighed, "I know you have always resented Master for changing your destiny. But you should also know that if Master had not changed your destiny, even if everything went as you wished, what would have happened to you..."
Su Yishui didn't say anything. He stood up and stood by the window. Through the window, he could see the backyard of the horse farm. Two little girls who had just finished taking a bath were in the yard looking at a foal that was only a few days old.
The little girl with her slightly wet long hair was stroking the pony's mane and smiling brightly.
Su Yiping quietly touched the beads on his wrist. Only he knew that he really blamed her. At first, it was because she changed his destiny. But later, he realized that he blamed her too much... But what exactly was mixed in this resentment, only he knew...
Zeng Yi was used to Su Yishui not answering. He thought he had hit the nail on the head, and continued with a sigh, "Although you helped Master to be reborn, you can't take the punishment from Heaven for her. Master was not fully mature when she fell, and I don't know if changing her birthday will be of any benefit to her..."
This time Su Yishui finally spoke up: "I won't let anything happen to her..."
Zeng Yi nodded in relief. "When I first arrived in the town, I saw the Immortal Master Mu. All of my former senior brothers were surrounding her. She is cheating the world and stealing the reputation. She will really tarnish the reputation of my master... What do you think? Should I tell them the truth so that they won't be deceived?"