Chapter 394 What are your feelings for the princess?
Dozens of cloud-carrying dragons were docked on the endless sea, and many more were flying and searching the entire Taiyi Sea area, all in an effort to find Gu Gan and Xun Zhiya.
The reason for such a large commotion was that it was led by the Sage Taiyi, and they were all worried about the safety of the boy who possessed the Yang Fish.
Zhu Lao and others mobilized manpower using the abilities of the Twenty-Four Sages of Taiyi to search for Gu Gan's whereabouts, but to no avail.
Many small search boats landed on the sea, and from above, they looked like a dense mass of slender fish surfacing.
Jiang Shulan stood at the bow of the ship, looking at the wreckage of the cloud chariot floating on the sea, her expression full of worry.
Blackbeard arrived at the Endless Sea before Yu Sui and met up with Jiang Chi and the others who had returned from Qingyang. They exchanged some information and then began searching for people.
Jiang Chi gazed at the sage and the lowly sorcerers from Taiyi not far away, pondering for a moment. It seemed that Gu Gan was important not only to the prince but also to others.
If I can't find him, or if he really is dead, I'm afraid it will affect my standing with the prince.
They should have drawn their swords and held them to Sheng Fei's neck to make him turn back.
Jiang Chi clicked his tongue inwardly and turned to direct his men to search the sea. He heard Blackbeard behind him instructing, "Pack everything up. The princess will need to take inventory when she arrives. They're all fragile items, so handle them with care."
"Princess?" Jiang Chi turned to ask Blackbeard, "Is the Princess coming too? Isn't the academy on night patrol right now?"
Blackbeard said, "Commander Jiang, you don't know this, but the princess cares a lot about Young Master Gu. As soon as she heard that Young Master Gu was in trouble, she immediately ended her night journey and came to look for him."
"Is that so?" Jiang Chi smiled knowingly. "Then why didn't I see the princess come with you?"
He glanced at the boxes behind the black-bearded man: "The princess has brought quite a lot of luggage."
They even had the leisure to pack their belongings in Taiyi, and said they cared a lot about it.
Blackbeard raised his hand to wipe away non-existent cold sweat: "Why would the princess need to personally handle something like packing luggage?"
When Jiang Chi's smiling yet sharp eyes stared straight at you without blinking, it always made you feel inexplicably uneasy and anxious. Blackbeard was still persisting when a sharp, long howl suddenly came from above.
The two looked up at the same time and saw a new cloud chariot flying from the direction of Taiyi. They could vaguely see a blue figure standing by the open carriage door and window.
After circling in the air, the cloud-carrying dragon began to dive and descend, hovering over the sea.
The long, golden car came to a stop alongside Blackbeard and his group. Jiang Chi watched as the carriage containing the blue figure stopped opposite them.
Jiang Chi first saw Zou Qian scratching his neck in the opposite carriage. He was standing in the middle of the open door, while the blue figure was leaning against the door frame with his back to them, seemingly talking to Zou Qian with his face upturned.
Zou Qian raised her hand and pointed to the opposite side. Jiang Chi then saw the slender figure turn slightly to the side, lower her eyes, and casually and slowly glance at where he was.
Although Jiang Chi was not often in the capital of Qingyang, he had seen Yu Sui from afar several times when he returned to the capital to report.
The princess in my memory was beautiful, with bright eyes, but also well-behaved and gentle, even somewhat frail.
And that glance just now...
Jiang Chi collected his thoughts and took a step back before Yu Sui turned around completely, exposing more of Blackbeard's view while he stood in the shadows behind him, concealing most of his figure.
When Blackbeard saw Yu Sui, he took the initiative to greet her, "Princess!"
Jiang Chi squinted and looked him over. The girl opposite him noticed the black beard and her eyes lit up: "You're here. I was just asking if anyone had seen you."
She lifted her skirt and was about to leap towards Blackbeard's direction. The two cloud chariots were neither too close nor too far apart. Yu Sui's leap was graceful, her skirt billowing in an arc, and she landed steadily at the doorway. However, as she turned around, she bumped her head on the door frame, clutching her forehead and letting out a cry of pain.
Blackbeard exclaimed in alarm, "Princess, are you alright?!"
Jiang Chi: "..."
You're overthinking it.
Zou Qian mocked from behind, "Can't you see where you're going?"
Yu Sui waved his hand to indicate that Blackbeard was alright: "Where are the things I asked you to pack?"
“Here it is.” Blackbeard led Yu Sui forward to inspect the goods. “I told them to handle it with care, and there will be absolutely no damage. Princess, you can rest assured.”
Jiang Chi saw that Yu Sui had actually started inspecting the goods in the box, and he remembered Blackbeard's words, "The princess cares a lot about Young Master Gu." The truth is, even if Gu Gan were dead in front of her now, the princess might not even give him a second glance.
On the other hand, he had also heard that the princess cared a lot about young master Gu, and that the princess had stepped in to resolve many of the messes young master Gu had made in the capital of Qingyang.
After Yu Sui finished checking the goods in the box, she turned to Jiang Chi and asked, "Who is this person?"
Blackbeard whispered, "Princess, that's Commander Jiang of the Nangong Three Departments, Jiang Chi."
Jiang Chi stepped forward at the opportune moment: "Princess."
"Are you here to find Brother Gu?" Yu Sui asked.
"I came here on the Prince's orders..." Jiang Chi was interrupted by Yu Sui before he could finish speaking, "Then hurry up and go. Do you think you can find Brother Gu by just standing here watching me for half a day?"
Jiang Chi gritted his teeth slightly, realizing that the princess had been waiting to challenge him from the start.
"I'll go right away." Jiang Chi planned to observe further and be patient for now.
He hadn't taken two steps when Yu Sui called out to him again: "Stop! I heard that Third Brother was also on that Cloud Chariot Flying Dragon. Could it be that my Third Brother is also...?"
"The Third Young Master has returned to the Prince's Mansion safely," Jiang Chi said. "The wanted criminals from Taiyi were also captured by the Third Young Master and brought back to Qingyang, but they were taken away by General Zhongli."
Yu Sui smiled at Jiang Chi: "That's good."
Even after Jiang Chi left, the girl's smile kept replaying in his mind.
There's a lingering sense of foreboding.
He stood at the bow of the ship, deep in thought. A-Jing called him twice from behind but received no response. Reluctantly, she stepped forward. A-Jing lowered her eyes, hesitating where to touch him, when Jiang Chi's voice rang out above her head: "What is it?"
Ah Jing quickly composed herself and took two steps back to create distance: "The divination traced the trail of Young Master Gu and the man in the black robe, and they both disappeared in the Endless Sea."
"What's the relationship between these two?" Jiang Chi glanced at her.
A-Jing said, "Judging from the divination, there's nothing strange about it."
Jiang Chi replied, "There's nothing unusual, which means someone took precautions beforehand."
A-Jing: "Yes."
Just then, another search party set sail, and Jiang Chi and A Jing both saw the girl in the blue dress standing at the bow. A Jing said, "The princess is accompanied by Zou Qian, the sage of the Yin-Yang School."
Jiang Chi only glanced at Zou Qian briefly before looking at Yu Sui again.
He asked A-Jing, "What are your feelings for the princess?"
After a moment's thought, A-Jing said, "Mediocrity, mildness."
This aligns with many people's perception of Yu Sui.
Even the sage of magicians in the capital of Qingyang once told Nangong Ming the same thing.
"She went to Taiyi as a sorcerer of the Ping Shu school, and in such a short time she has already become an eighth-level sorcerer. Is that considered mediocre?" Jiang Chi asked.
A-Jing said, "Divination refers more to a person's personality and behavior than to their innate abilities."
Jiang Chi seemed to be deep in thought, then asked her, "What do you think of the princess?"
A-Jing was somewhat surprised. Didn't he say not to get involved in the struggles between the young masters and young ladies? Why was she now asked to comment on the princess?
Jiang Chi didn't get an answer, so he turned to look at A Jing, raising his eyebrows slightly.
A-Jing looked at Yu Sui, scrutinized her for a moment, and said, "The princess is very beautiful."
Jiang Chi: "..."
That's all?
A-Jing looked back at him silently, and that was it.
Jiang Chi smiled insincerely and said, "I think the princess is in danger, just the opposite of what you say."
...
Yu Sui followed the search ship for Gu Gan for three days and three nights, searching the entire endless sea. She saw that Elder Zhu and other saints even used the power of the earth's core, but they still couldn't find any trace of Gu Gan.
“Is that possible?” Yu Sui stood at the bow of the ship, glancing at Zou Qian, who was drinking beside him with his head tilted back. “Even the power of the Earth’s core cannot detect Gu Gan’s whereabouts. Unless he also disintegrates his physical body, there will always be clues as long as he is within the Taiyi range.”
I want to see him alive or dead.
She was prepared to destroy the evidence if Gu Gan was found in the Endless Sea.
"You mean, the other saints lied and concealed Gu Gan's whereabouts?" Zou Qian squinted at him. "Just say who you suspect."
Yu Sui also said directly, "Elder Zhu."
“It is indeed possible that it is Elder Zhu, but there is no need for him to hide Gu Gan’s whereabouts at this time. Everyone else will know it is him immediately,” Zou Qian said. “After all, I also used the power of the Earth’s core to search, but I didn’t find anything.”
Yu Sui remained silent after hearing this.
Is it fair to say that Gu Gan truly lives up to his reputation as a prodigy? His cheat ability is so powerful that even the power of the Earth's core is useless against him.
Just as she fell into deep thought, four or five figures suddenly appeared around her using wind manipulation techniques. Yu Sui's eyelids twitched, and she looked up to see several saints who had suddenly arrived.
Even Wan Guiyue, who was seriously ill, came.
Old Zhu stood at the very front of Yu Sui, with Leng Rouyin on his left and Li Qiuwen on his right.
Wan Guiyue glanced at Yu Sui, her eyes flickering slightly. More than Gu Gan, she wanted to ask Yu Sui if he knew Mei Liangyu's whereabouts.
Jiang Chi and the others, who had originally planned to rest for a while, suddenly saw the princess surrounded by four or five Taiyi Saints, and they all stopped and watched quietly.
"What's going on?" Zou Qian scratched his neck and looked at everyone. "I just had a few extra drinks, why did you all rush over here?"
"Dean Zou, we didn't come here to see you." Old Zhu said gently to Yu Sui with a kind face, "We just realized that since Gu Gan has a yang fish in his body and Nangong Sui has a yin fish in his body, and the yin and yang energies attract each other, then releasing the yin fish might help us find the trace of the yang fish, and thus find Gu Gan."
Yu Sui chuckled inwardly. Unable to find Gu Gan or get the Yang Fish, they'd turned their attention to her instead.
Zou Qian stepped forward and blocked Yu Sui's way, saying to Elder Zhu, "Dean Zhu, if you think that since the Yang Fish is lost, why not lose the Yin Fish as well, so that our Yin-Yang School will have nothing left in the end?"
Old Zhu said, "With us here, how could we let the Yin Fish disappear?"
Zou Qian then asked, "With you all here, wouldn't the Yang Fish be lost?"
Old Zhu was speechless for a moment.
Zou Qian looked at Yin Ziwu, who was sitting on the tree trunk and arrived late, and asked, "Are you here to cause trouble too?"
Yin Ziwu chuckled and shook his head: "I'm here to object."
Wan Guiyue coughed softly and said, "The Yin Fish is inside her, yet you want to let her leave Taiyi?"
“She is a student of Taiyi, not a prisoner detained in Taiyi,” Zou Qian added. “She is free to come and go as she pleases.”
Leng Rouyin continued, "You knew perfectly well that her father..."
"Gentlemen, don't think that just because Dean Wu, who is best at cursing and opposing you, isn't here, we can compromise on the choice of the Yin-Yang Fish." Zou Qian scratched his neck and said, "The Yin-Yang Fish is a treasure belonging to the Yin-Yang family. No matter how well you plan on this matter, it will be useless."
Leng Rouyin pursed her lips, shut her mouth, snorted coldly, and left in a flash.
Wan Guiyue looked at Zou Qian. This was the first time in so many years that he had spoken so clearly.
Zou Qian looked at Elder Zhu: "Only Elder Zhu, I can understand why you're concerned about the life and death of your disciple Gu Gan."
Old Zhu sighed softly, "If you are unwilling, then so be it."
Li Qiuwen, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up: "Since we have searched the entire Endless Sea and found no trace of Gu Gan, I think Dean Zhu could expand the search area and look again."
This means that the search in the Endless Sea is about to end.
Old Zhu nodded and turned to leave.
The saints came together, and they also dispersed together.
Yu Sui remained silent from beginning to end. Only after everyone had left did she turn to leave, but Zou Qian stopped her: "What if I had really let you release the Yin Fish just now?"
“Then let it out,” Yu Sui said. “But no one but me can seal it. If things go wrong, all the saints will have to bleed. Dean Zou, you had the foresight to prevent a disaster for them.”
She smiled and complimented Zou Qian, looking lively and playful.
Zou Qian inexplicably felt that what she said wasn't just boasting, but the truth.
Yu Sui urged the boat forward, heading towards the direction where Jiang Chi and the others were. Jiang Chi and the others only saw Yu Sui surrounded by the saints, but could not hear the conversation over there. When they saw Yu Sui coming, they all bowed their heads in greeting.
"Princess."
Yu Sui said to them, "The saints have decided to end the search, so let's return to the palace to report."
Jiang Chi thought to himself, "So that's what we were talking about just now?"
He looked up and asked, "Is there absolutely no news about Young Master Gu?"
Yu Sui looked at him and asked, "You've been searching for so many days, have you found anything?"
Jiang Chi smiled neither humbly nor arrogantly, "I thought the saints could at least determine whether Young Master Gu was dead or alive."
If we can't even confirm whether they're alive or dead, and we go back to report like this, won't we be scolded to death by the prince?
Is the princess so stupid that she doesn't understand this?
“Brother Gu is very lucky. Since we can’t find his body, he must still be alive.” Yu Sui frowned and said unhappily, “I won’t allow you to curse Brother Gu to die.”
Jiang Chi lowered his head: "What the princess says is true." Then he turned around and sternly ordered the people behind him, "Fall back and escort the princess back to Qingyang."
Anyway, you're the one reporting directly to the prince, and you're also the one protecting Gu Gan in Taiyi, so the blame can't fall on us.
Before Jiang Chi could finish his thought, Yu Sui suddenly pointed at A Jing and said, "Come with me. I need a maid to serve me."
Suddenly, everything went quiet.
As A-Jing stepped forward, she glanced at Jiang Chi without making a sound. After receiving Jiang Chi's approving look, she stepped forward and went to Yu Sui's boat to return to the cloud carriage with her.
...
Yu Sui came out of the inner room and stood in front of the basin to wash her hands. A Jing stood by the table with her head bowed as she brewed tea for her, her expression serene.
"What's your name?" Yu Sui asked, washing her hands in a neither too loud nor too soft tone.
The woman in white at the table said, "Your Highness, you can just call me A-Jing."
"Ah Jing?" Yu Sui sniffed lightly. "Why does it sound like a nameless person? Did your father or mother give you this name?"
A-Jing remained silent for a moment, without answering.
Yu Sui turned her head to look at him: "Speak."
“I chose this name myself,” A-Jing said calmly, her eyes lowered. “Because I have no father or mother, I have no name or surname.”
After washing her hands, Yu Sui walked over and sat down at the table. She propped her head up with one hand and looked at the woman with a smile: "Why are you lying to me? Before I asked you, I had already heard that you were an orphan girl rescued by Commander Jiang, and that Commander Jiang also gave you your name. You two are as close as siblings and have a very good relationship. I only asked for your name, so why are you hiding it from me?"
A-Jing's eyelashes trembled slightly as she glanced at Yu Sui in surprise.
As Yu Sui finished speaking, she seemed to find it somewhat boring. She leaned back lazily, resting her chin against the back of her chair. Although she was smiling, her extremely dark eyes were like a starless night, cold and desolate.
A-Jing immediately withdrew her hand from the tea-pouring cup, stepped back, and bowed her head, saying, "Princess, please calm down. I did not mean to deceive you. When Commander Jiang named me, he gave me many options to choose from, so it can be considered that I chose the name myself."
Jiang Jing.
Jiang Chi always called her A Jing, so everyone else followed suit and no one remembered her full name.
A-Jing didn't confess because she was afraid that Yu Sui would follow up by asking her about her relationship with Jiang Chi. She didn't want to talk about those topics anymore, and she wanted to avoid trouble. However, she didn't expect Yu Sui to expose her, which made things even more complicated.
When the princess is not smiling... she inspires respect and makes people dare not treat her with disrespect.
While A-Jing was still brainstorming how to resolve the name crisis, Yu Sui stared at the sacred wood talisman on her waist, changing his previously dull tone to that of a curious child: "Why is there a flaw in your sacred wood talisman?"
What?
Yu Sui said, "Let me see."
"Yes." A-Jing realized what was happening and handed the sacred wooden slip to Yu Sui.
Yu Sui gently stroked the thin crack on the sacred wood talisman and asked her, "How did this happen? I see that other people's sacred wood talismans are very smooth, without any cracks."
"On the day Young Master Gu disappeared, he encountered a military strategist dressed in a black robe, concealing his identity, on the cloud chariot. He detonated the entire cloud chariot, and his power exceeded the capacity of my divination array. Therefore, the excess was reflected in the divine wood divination sticks, causing irreparable cracks." A-Jing explained to Yu Sui in a clear and fast voice.
Yu Sui remained curious: "How many years have you used this sacred wooden divination stick?"
A-Jing paused for a moment, then said, "Sixteen years."
"You've used it for sixteen years, yet this divination slip only has this one crack." Yu Sui looked up at A Jing. "In these sixteen years, is this the first time you've encountered an opponent whose divination skills surpass your own?"
A-Jing lowered her head and said, "Yes."
That's great.
Yu Sui narrowed his eyes. "This divine wood divination stick has been subjected to power outside of the divination array. Not only have cracks appeared, but its color and appearance have also faded considerably. I'm afraid it can no longer be used."
A-Jing then looked at the divine wooden divination stick in Yu Sui's hand. The princess was right; this divine wooden divination stick was equivalent to a severely injured body. If it was used one or two more times, it would become a death warrant.
"I'll get you a new sacred wood divination stick when we get back," Yu Sui said, handing the divination stick back to A Jing.
"Thank you, Princess." A-Jing reached out and accepted it.
Yu Sui suddenly laughed and said, "Why are you still a little reluctant? Could it be that this sacred wooden talisman, which has been used for sixteen years, was also a gift from Commander Jiang?"
Ah Jing said without changing her expression, "After all, it's been sixteen years, so there must be some feelings involved."
“That’s true.” Yu Sui turned to look out the window of the cloud carriage and said casually, “Pour some tea.”
Ah Jing breathed a sigh of relief and calmed herself as she poured tea for Yu Sui. For the first time, she began to doubt whether her intuition was wrong.
...
Yu Sui and his group set off at night and arrived at Sishui River at dawn.
A-Jing stayed with Yu Sui in the carriage all night. At first, the princess would chat with her, but later she fell asleep by the window. A-Jing didn't move around and just waited silently by her side.
After the cloud chariot came to a complete stop, A-Jing went forward to wake the girl.
Yu Sui rubbed her eyes, still half asleep, and asked, "Where are we?"
“The Sishui River,” A-Jing said. “Further ahead is the capital of Qingyang.”
Yu Sui said "Oh," and stood up, leaning on the corner of the table. While yawning, she said to her, "We're almost there. Remember to take the people locked in the inner room down with you."
A-Jing was stunned, her gaze following the direction Yu Sui pointed. When did people get locked up inside?
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