Chapter 185 Red beans symbolize the deepest longing, and red-clad beauties represent the most devoted love.
"Could she be a reclusive queen of the Queen's Palace? But she's so young..."
The old swordsmith took a sip of wine and murmured.
"A hidden female ruler?" Liu Zian asked curiously, a look of interest on his face.
The old swordsmith glanced at him:
"The Palace of the Queen is the ancestral hall of Yunmeng Sword Marsh. The Yue women who enter it are called Queens by outsiders, or in full, the Hidden Name Queen, because once they enter the Palace of the Queen, they must abandon their mortal identity and everything from the past, including their names."
"Then, take down an ancestral tablet in the ancestral hall, choose a title, and replace the original name."
"This is true for every generation of female monarchs in the palace, so some special titles have been passed down in the palace for nearly a thousand years and have been taken by many generations of anonymous female monarchs."
"The Yue women who can enter the Queen's Palace are not to be trifled with. They are either the direct descendants of the previous Queen, or extraordinary talents, or the current generation of Yue maidens found in the Wu and Yue lands."
"For the last type, they will unconditionally enter the Palace of the Queen and inherit the ancestral tablet with the title 'Yue Chuzi' within the palace. Their status will be extraordinary, and they will be the first in line to succeed the Yuanjun of Yunmeng Sword Marsh."
"As for the other hidden female rulers, they each have their own titles within the Female Ruler's Palace."
"Some idle people in the martial arts world once compiled a booklet summarizing the titles of the female rulers that have been passed down from the Palace of the Female Ruler. It includes both old and new titles and records the deeds of some anonymous female rulers. It sells quite well in the teahouses of the martial arts world..."
"Heh, the main reason is that the Yue women of Yunmeng Sword Marsh live deep within the nine hundred miles of Yunmeng Great Marsh, isolated from the crowd. The Queen's Palace within is too mysterious, and the few Yunmeng Queens, who are of noble status, are even more elusive."
"This sect is also recognized as the ancestral home of swordsmanship in the world. The swordsmanship has long been dominated by a small group of female cultivators. Most people in the martial arts world are curious and naturally want to learn more about it."
"Otherwise, do you really think that every five years, the Peach Valley Sword Competition would attract so many Qi cultivators to travel all the way to this remote, desolate place at the southernmost tip of the world to hone their swordsmanship and improve their sword skills?"
"Qi cultivators are already rare in the martial world, and sword cultivators are even rarer. Where would so many people come from? Aren't they all just here to join in the fun and see the new generation of Yue Chuzi and the hidden female rulers?"
The old swordsmith chuckled, shook his head, and drank his wine.
"I've heard that there's been a gap in the current generation of the Queen's Palace. The position of the original queen is still undecided. The new queens are all quite young. I've only heard of one so far, the Queen's Palace's eldest queen, known as 'Candle in the Snow.' What a 'Candle in the Snow' title! The last time this title appeared in the Queen's Palace was three hundred years ago. The anonymous queen who removed the plaque was also a ruthless person."
Liu Zian frowned slightly, "I hope this woman lives up to her reputation."
The old swordsmith suddenly asked:
"Has the Yue maiden of this generation appeared? Are there any specific details?"
Liu Zian frowned and recalled:
"Taogu Wenjian has appeared before. It seems his common name is Zhao Qingxiu. I don't know anything else. I've heard that he is extremely cold-hearted, doesn't talk to outsiders, and doesn't have much contact with the outside world... It's normal for such a cultivator to be arrogant."
Liu Zian shook his head.
"Haven't grown up yet?" the old swordsmith mused. "Attracting one Snow Candle should be enough..."
The two chatted for a few more minutes, and then Liu Zian suddenly said:
"That Mr. Li sent someone to tell us that the Wei family's people are already on their way."
The old swordsmith remained calm and nodded. "You're on time, after all."
The two exchanged a glance.
"Then where is the old man's sword?"
"Of course it's allowed." The old swordsmith paused. "Don't cause any more trouble at the Broken Wing Canal."
Liu Zian felt a great weight lifted off his shoulders.
"Don't worry, I've already stabilized things with Ouyang Lianghan."
As if remembering something, Liu Zian's expression turned somewhat grim, and he forced himself to say, "The Zheyi Canal has been blocked, and the second phase of repairs is underway. In the short term, unless that Ouyang guy goes mad, it won't affect the water level of Butterfly Creek."
That would be best.
After half a cup of tea.
In front of the sword furnace, the old swordsmith watched Liu Zian's relaxed figure disappear into the distance.
The old man glanced at the dawning sky, turned around, picked up the wine jug, shook it, and tilted his head back to drink the remaining wine.
The murky wine soaked his beard and his hand-me-down clothes.
In the empty, deserted sword-making room, the old swordsmith suddenly put down his wine jug and said inexplicably to the tightly closed forge:
"Are you thirsty too? Would you like to try some?"
The room was quiet.
Only the old swordsmith's own voice could be heard:
"I almost forgot, you little rascal can't drink alcohol, you prefer to drink things that are neither fish nor fowl... Fine, I can't be the only one who gets to enjoy it while you're left to suffer."
After saying that, the old man carrying the wine walked to the sword-forging furnace, casually opened the round iron door of the furnace, revealing the empty inner furnace to the entire room.
"Little one, go ahead. Since you like his aura so much, take advantage of the fact that little girl from the Xie family of Chenjun isn't here and inhale as much as you can... But remember not to let the water rise too high, or you'll flood the county town again..."
The old swordsmith let out a burp and mumbled a few words.
He took the wine out, stepped onto the lawn under the morning sun, and went down the mountain to buy more.
...
Gezao Mountain is located in Yuanzhou, Jiangnan Circuit.
It has been a place where Taoism flourished since ancient times.
More than twenty years ago, it was also designated as the "Thirty-Third Blessed Land under Heaven" by Emperor Gaozong of the Qing Dynasty.
The current landscape of Taoism in the world is that Louguan is in the north and Sanqing is in the south.
The ancestral temple of the Yuqing Sect, one of the Three Pure Ones, is located on this Gezao Mountain.
The Taoist priests of Yuqing became famous throughout the world for their practice of collecting herbs, refining elixirs, preaching, and healing.
On such a sunny day, people are flocking to the clinic seeking medical advice, medicine, and elixirs.
The wealthy and powerful officials of Jiangnan, who were known for their extravagant spending, would often come to hire Taoist priests from Yuqing to perform rituals and preside over religious ceremonies.
If you look down from a high place.
From the foot of the mountain gate to the Taoist temple at the top, the flow of lay Buddhists was like a continuous stream.
The Yuqing disciples, who greet lay Buddhists and walk among the temples and monasteries, chant "May the Heavenly Venerable grant boundless blessings," wearing blue Taoist robes and Nanhua headscarves, and with shaved heads.
He looked full of energy and spirit, and his Taoist robes were made of the finest silk fabric, giving him an air of wealth and nobility.
No wonder some people say that among the three sects of the Blood-Dripping Sect, the most wealthy and worldly is the Jade Purity Sect of Gezao Mountain. Just by looking at it, one can understand a thing or two.
At this moment, the plaza halfway up the mountain, bathed in sunlight, is packed with people.
Although Gezao Mountain opened its gates wide to welcome guests from all directions, the Yuqing disciples greeted them with smiles, displaying a warm and hospitable demeanor.
However, most of the lay Buddhists heading up the mountain were still blocked in the first half of the Yuqing Temple complex.
The closer you get to the top of the mountain, the more magnificent and tranquil the palace becomes.
The Yuqing Sect has a large number of registered Taoist priests, but most of them are secular nominal disciples or amateur disciples.
Unless they are core disciples of the Yuqing Sect, or nobles from wealthy families in Jiangnan who have a long-standing friendship with the Yuqing Sect and are willing to spend lavishly.
Otherwise, outsiders would not be able to enter the few quiet palaces deep within the Yuqing Temple.
Among them, the Yuqing Palace, located on the mountaintop, is particularly striking, with its upturned eaves and solemn atmosphere.
Furthermore, a faint purple mist lingered above the roof of Yuqing Palace.
It stands out prominently against the backdrop of blue sky and white clouds.
On auspicious days like today, when lay Buddhists prepare to go up the mountain, they only need to stand at the first step at the foot of Gezao Mountain and look up to see the main palace on the mountaintop and the strange purple mist slowly swirling above.
This extraordinary sight of abundant purple aura is of unknown origin, whether it was formed naturally or due to some ritual performed by the Taoist priests of Yuqing Palace below.
Whenever lay Buddhists visiting Gezao Mountain for the first time show a look of surprise, the Taoist priest leading the way at the mountain gate will proudly tell them that a senior monk of a very high rank in the temple is refining elixirs in seclusion, and that the purple mist rising above is just elixir mist, nothing to be surprised about.
With such a devout and solemn expression on the faces of the lay Buddhists, the incense offerings of the Yuqing Sect on Gezao Mountain would naturally become even more prosperous.
However, most of the lay Buddhists who go up the mountain every day to seek elixirs are stopped in front of the Taoist temple and cannot go deep into the Taoist palaces closest to the top of the mountain.
As for the Jade Purity Palace at its summit, where purple elixir energy rises and swirls, no one can approach it. Even a messenger sent by a nobleman from Chang'an a few days ago could only wait helplessly in the front hall.
However, these things were commonplace to the passing Yuqing Taoists, who remained unmoved.
However, what the many lay Buddhists in the front hall of Yuqing Temple did not know was that at this moment, on the mountaintop, near the main hall of Yuqing Palace, a beautiful figure in red was sitting alone by the water's edge.
This young woman in red, of marriageable age, is dressed as a man. Her hair is tied up and she wears a scholar's cap. She has no makeup and her face is bare.
However, even dressed in a bright red, smooth dress, she still couldn't hide the shameful waste of fabric on a certain part of her chest.
It's just that, among the dark and monotonous colors of the palaces, this red dress was too conspicuous.
The scenery here is still the best; most men in the world are picky about money and prefer women.
This pond is clearly located next to the right corridor of Yuqing Palace, and there are corridors on both the left and right sides that lead to Yuqing Palace and down the mountain. However, most of the Taoists dressed in the robes of direct disciples of Yuqing Sect unconsciously turned towards the right corridor after passing through Yuqing Palace.
As they passed by, many of the young Taoist priests unconsciously glanced at the pond scenery outside the corridor.
The red-clad woman, who had recently arrived at Yuqing Temple, seemed oblivious to the fact that she had become part of the scenery for the passersby on the corridor.
She was also looking at the scenery.
In the peripheral vision of the group of Yuqing Taoist priests who were passing by.
Blue sky, white clouds, pond, swimming carp.
The woman in red sat alone, her snow-white wrists wrapped around a small porcelain jar. She tilted her head slightly, her eyes reflecting the fish in the pond.
The sky is blue, and she is red.
The carp is moving, she is still.
The distant mountains are like dark eyebrows, and her features are like a painting.
No one knew what this strange woman in red was waiting for. Before they knew it, the sun had climbed high into the sky, and she had been sitting alone all morning.
Or perhaps he spent the whole morning daydreaming by the pond.
Xie Lingjiang never turned her head to look at the Taoist priests passing by in the surrounding corridor. Her plain face seemed even more beautiful than a flower, and she was somewhat lost in thought. Her heart felt as if it had fallen into a pond, turning into a swimming carp that slowly stirred the clear blue sky.
She would occasionally look up at the white clouds, her delicate brows furrowing slightly, a hint of worry on her face.
Sometimes she would gently brush a strand of hair behind her ear with her little finger, then quietly lower her head, a faint smile curving her lips. She would hold the porcelain jar containing the pickled radishes from the Yuqing Palace breakfast hall even tighter, so much so that the vast dining hall, which she had been searching for a good man for, was deformed under the weight.
I wonder what she was thinking about in broad daylight, that made her smile so sweetly.
Could it be that you've thought of something, that you can go back soon and feed some greedy blockhead with pickled radishes again?
Xie Lingjiang's smile lasted only a moment before she suddenly slumped her shoulders, her lips turned downwards, and she buried her face in her chest in dejection.
She wondered which scoundrel had offended her again... He kept doing things that deserved to have their merits deducted, but Xie Lingjiang was unwilling to let him do so.
Meanwhile, someone far away had actually forgotten that it had been a long time since he had deducted merit from his junior sister. Even when the two of them were face to face in the bumpy carriage, he couldn't help but steal a few glances, thinking he had hidden it very well, and there was no muffled wooden fish sound in his ears...
However, little did she know that as a seventh-grade Qi cultivator, she was all-seeing. She was only pretending to turn her head and be attracted by the scenery passing by the window, but in fact, her slender fingers under her sleeves were twisted into a pretzel and covered with red marks. Her heart was already filled with shame and embarrassment.
Xie Lingjiang didn't know whether to complain about the uneven road, or be annoyed by his indecent behavior, or perhaps... that the man outside named Liu Ashan was not good at driving a carriage.
Similarly, no one's merits increased much through this junior sister.
After all, he doesn't do anything that involves people...
The morning passed by in a flash.
As lunchtime approached, even more people passed by the right-hand corridor outside Yuqing Palace. For some reason, upon closer inspection, some of the figures seemed familiar, as if they had passed by several times before. Among the passersby, a slightly younger and more spirited Taoist priest paused slightly, as if hesitating whether to strike up a conversation and offer help to the lost female lay Buddhist.
Just then, the swirling purple smoke and cinnabar mist above Yuqing Palace were swept away by a gust of wind, returning to the blue sky and white clouds.
Suddenly, the vermilion gates of the palace below were pushed open from the inside.
The Taoist priests near Yuqing Palace all stopped and looked around curiously.
"New pills have been produced? How many pills were produced this time? Which Taoist priest has been using the treasure furnace recently?"
"It's Uncle-Master Chongxu."
"So it's Third Uncle. No wonder the aroma of the pills is so strong. At least half of this batch of new pills has been harvested; it's not a complete loss..."
A young Taoist priest sighed.
Chongxuzi is the junior brother of the old head of the Yuqing Sect. His status in the sect is only slightly lower than that of the old head. He is obsessed with alchemy and his external alchemy skills are among the best in the entire sect. However, he dislikes dealing with the powerful and wealthy people down the mountain and is known for his bad temper.
A group of direct descendants of the Jade Purity Daoist sect gathered in front of the wide-open vermilion gate, eagerly awaiting their arrival.
At the pond, Xie Lingjiang also glanced sideways.
"Congratulations, Third Martial Uncle..."
"Get out of the way."
Before the elegant and wealthy Taoist priests dressed in brocade robes at the entrance could offer their congratulations, an old Taoist priest in a Nanhua crown strode out of the hall and casually brushed aside the group of Taoist priests blocking the entrance.
Amidst the astonished gazes of those who retreated to the side, the old Taoist priest Nan Hua Guan took a detour and walked towards the red-clad beauty by the pond not far away.
"Senior, how is the antidote?"
Xie Lingjiang seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, stood up gracefully, and greeted them politely.
"I'm refining this batch of golden pills for my old friend from Longhu Mountain, and it's just a convenient task. It's not difficult at all. My dear niece, you've kept me waiting..."
The direct lineage Taoists in front of Yuqing Palace looked surprised to find that their usually irritable Uncle-Master Chongxu had actually given this unfamiliar young woman who had just arrived from the foot of the mountain a rare smile.
The old Taoist priest from Nanhua and the woman in red walked and talked for a long time.
Only the group of Yuqing Taoists were left standing there, looking at each other in bewilderment.
(End of this chapter)
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