Chapter 993 The Other Side of Chen Jiaxin
Wu Cui's joyful expression did not escape Ouyang Rong's notice.
After a moment of joy, Wu Cui couldn't help but ask:
"Liu Aliang, did the goddess say when she would give her guidance?"
Ouyang Rong nodded: "It's tonight. You can go there when you have time later."
"good."
Ouyang Rong then asked:
"I wonder if you know the personal disciple of the Five Goddesses."
Wu Cui thought for a moment and said:
"Is it that Jade Hall Fairy named Chen Jiaxin?"
Ouyang Rong raised an eyebrow slightly: "You've seen him before?"
Wu Cui honestly said:
"No, not really. I've just heard that the Five Goddesses have never taken on any disciples before. Although this Fairy Chen is young and was taken on by the Sixth Goddess on behalf of her master, she must have been appreciated by the Five Goddesses."
Her eyes couldn't hide the look of envy:
"I heard that among the most recent batch of Yue Maidens, this Fairy Chen and another Fairy Liu are the most talented. The two of them became direct disciples of the Queen's Palace, and the latter was even taken in as a disciple by the Great Goddess."
Ouyang Rong nodded and said:
"Yes, they're all very impressive."
Coming to her senses, Wu Cui looked down at her empty hands, then glanced around in a panic and asked:
"Liu Aliang, am I just going to go like this? Should I prepare anything..."
Ouyang Rong chuckled:
"You can just go there. There's no need to worry so much. The goddess and the fairy are certainly aware of your situation, and they also know about your usual efforts. There's no need to say more."
He paused, then put on a stern face and gave a half-serious instruction:
"Fairy Chen is very easy to talk to. If there's anything you don't understand, just ask her. Don't be shy. Hmm, she's the kind of fairy who's cold on the outside but warm on the inside. The more enthusiastic and eager you are to learn, the happier she'll be. Although she might seem a little reluctant or impatient, she's secretly delighted..."
Wu Cui was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help but ask to confirm:
"Is...is that really true? Is it not a good thing...?"
"Uh-huh."
Ouyang Rong nodded, his tone somewhat earnest:
"Remember, never be polite to the fairy. Look, the Five Goddesses seemed very cold when we first met, but when they passed on the sword manual to you, weren't they very gentle?"
"They're quite different. Fairy Chen is just like the Five Goddesses. Birds of a feather flock together, don't you think? So please don't stand on ceremony."
Wu Cui looked thoughtful and slowly nodded:
"That's true..."
She couldn't help but glance at the unusually talkative and taciturn young man, and asked with some curiosity:
"Hmm, Liu Aliang, how do you know so much about Fairy Chen's personality? It's like you know her very well."
Ouyang Rong's expression remained unchanged, and he nodded, saying:
"Have you forgotten that I was in the same year as Fairy Chen? It's just that she became a disciple of the Queen, while I only became a cook. I don't have her good fortune... We had some dealings with each other when we participated in the assessment before."
Wu Cui looked enlightened. After listening to Ouyang Rong's explanation, she sighed, stepped forward, stood on tiptoe, and gently patted Ouyang Rong's shoulder.
It seemed like an extraordinary sense of empathy:
"Alright, Liu Aliang, don't be discouraged, I'm just like you."
"But I always felt that as long as I didn't give up, I hadn't lost, and I still had a chance to catch up. Just like... just like the words that the Five Gods wrote on the title page of the sword manual before they left: 'If I hear the Way in the morning, I can die content in the evening!'"
Upon hearing this, Ouyang Rong raised an eyebrow slightly and gave Wu Cui a second look.
There's no reason to underestimate her ideas.
At that moment, after hearing what he said, the freckled girl seemed to have figured something out. She clenched her fist and nodded vigorously at him.
"Liu Aliang, I understand everything now. Thank you for conveying the message. I have remembered everything you said. If there is anything I don't understand this time, I will ask Fairy Chen for guidance. I will not be ashamed to ask questions... I will not waste this opportunity that you have secured."
Ouyang Rong nodded without changing his expression: "Okay, sure."
Immediately, he patiently explained to Wu Cui the location and details of his meeting with Chen Jiaxin that night—all of which Ouyang Rong had arranged in advance and had also spoken to the reluctant and unfriendly Chen Jiaxin.
Wu Cui focused intently, memorizing every word he said.
After listening to these key points for a short while, Wu Cui sincerely took her leave and turned back to prepare.
Ouyang Rong silently watched the freckled girl's back as she left, feeling a slight regret that he would be busy tonight and unable to be there in person to properly observe Chen Jiaxin's wonderful expression.
However, for the sake of the water prison plan, Miss Chen should be willing to teach Wu Cui well, even if it hurts.
Ouyang Rong nodded secretly, seemingly having great confidence in Chen Jiaxin.
Half an hour later, Ouyang Rong put the vegetarian porridge in the pot, instructed his aunt Wu to keep an eye on the heat, and then he took the prepared food and went out.
Wu Cui followed silently behind him.
There were still one or two hours before Li Ruotong and the others came to pick up their food at midnight, so Ouyang Rong planned to take Wu Cui to see Chen Jiaxin first.
As the night shift cook, Liu was under the jurisdiction of Ouyang Rong, and the other women in the dining hall were also under Ouyang Rong's control. In addition, there were rumors that this cook had a powerful background and might be protected by a fairy. The other women naturally obeyed Liu's words without question, and even if it was something that could be considered dereliction of duty, such as tonight's incident, they pretended not to see it.
Wu Cui followed Ouyang Rong into Qingliang Valley, glancing curiously at the food box in Ouyang Rong's hand.
These dishes are not vegetarian food, and do not seem to be prepared for goddesses or Yue maidens.
However, Wu Cui suppressed her curiosity. Tonight she still needed to rely on Ouyang Rong, so it was best to ask and look less, even though she knew that the taciturn young man in front of her had a very good personality.
Chen Jiaxin originally planned to have Madam Chen pick up Wu Cui so that Ouyang Rong could stay in the dining hall and avoid running around. However, Ouyang Rong refused. In order not to expose the truth, it was better for him to lead the way himself.
Wu Cui wasn't stupid. Although she was a bit slow on matters like sword manual cultivation, she could still keenly perceive some suspicious points. Therefore, Ouyang Rong decided it would be better to escort her himself, so as not to let Madam Chen expose her ignorance.
Wu Cui was unaware of Ouyang Rong's thoughts. She respectfully followed Ouyang Rong to an unfamiliar mountain forest in Qingliang Valley.
She saw a pavilion in front of her, its sides covered by curtains, and beside it seemed to be a spring, constantly making a clear, tinkling sound.
Wu Cui couldn't help but ask, "Liu Aliang, where is this...?"
Ouyang Rong remained silent and walked into the pavilion.
Wu Cui followed behind, and after taking two steps, she suddenly fell silent.
At this moment, the evening breeze stirred the curtains by the pavilion, revealing the scene inside. A tall girl in a sword-wielding robe with a ponytail sat at a table, her eyelids lowered, her profile turned towards the crowd outside the pavilion.
Ouyang Rong didn't need to turn around to know what Wu Cui's expression was now, after things quieted down behind him.
It's probably similar to when he first came to the pavilion and met Chen Jiaxin.
Ouyang Rong glanced at the table, where Chen Jiaxin's hand was resting on an old sword manual, which belonged to Wu Cui.
"Fairy... Fairy."
Wu Cui stammered, her eyes drawn to something on the table.
Chen Jiaxin nodded almost imperceptibly, but her gaze fell on Ouyang Rong and the food box in his hand.
The latter came to the table, took out the dishes from the food box, and placed them one by one in front of the spirited and arrogant girl in sword attire, despite her furrowed brows.
"Please enjoy your meal, fairy. This is a treat from the goddess, who knows you work hard in your cultivation and still took the time to help you."
Under Wu Cui's somewhat wide-eyed and flattered gaze from behind, Chen Jiaxin's left eyelid twitched slightly.
If Wu Cui weren't around, she would definitely give a good talking-to to that male subordinate who acted without consulting her first and had no respect for his elders.
Ouyang Rong, his face expressionless, calmly nodded to Chen Jiaxin:
“Fairy, she is Wu Cui, sent to you by the Five Goddesses.”
Having said that, he bowed his head, stepped back, and left the pavilion.
He gave the two women the private space inside the pavilion.
They were staring at each other at the table.
Wu Cui's face was flushed with excitement.
She exclaimed joyfully:
"I've long admired your name, Fairy Chen..."
Chen Jiaxin glanced at the abundant food, then took a deep breath and calmed her expression, as if she was trying to suppress something for the sake of the delicious food.
Ouyang Rong chuckled inwardly. Before leaving the pavilion, he caught a glimpse of Chen Jiaxin in the corner of his eye. After a moment of silence, she seemed to turn her head and force a gentle smile at Wu Cui inside the pavilion... It was quite a rare sight.
Because he rarely sees Chen Jiaxin smile, including this time, it's no more than three times.
No matter how arrogant and cunning she may be in private, Miss Chen still cares about her image.
Ouyang Rong nodded slightly and returned alone to the Qingliang Valley dining hall...
Wu Cui did not return that night.
Li Ruotong arrived as usual with Yu Tang and Yue Nu, and Ouyang Rong followed them to the water prison to deliver food.
They didn't notice Wu Cui's absence at all.
Upon arriving at the water dungeon, Yun Xiangyi was still the same as before, sitting alone facing the inner wooden door.
Ouyang Rong served vegetarian food, as usual.
Because of what happened last night, Ouyang Rong did not act on his own. He simply followed the rules, fetched a bucket of clean water, and reported the full moon situation outside to her.
Yun Xiangyi seemed to ponder for a moment, then turned her head slightly and said softly:
"I understand, thank you for your hard work."
A short while later, Ouyang Rong tidied up the dishes, took the food box, and left silently.
Time flew by and it was already evening of the second day.
After a good rest during the day, Ouyang Rong arrived at the dining hall and found that Wu Cui was unusually late.
After waiting for half an hour, the freckled girl finally arrived late. Ouyang Rong stood at the door and saw that she was holding a peach wood branch in her hand. She walked as if in a daze, gesturing with the peach wood branch from side to side.
Ouyang Rong vaguely remembered that there was a peach tree next to the pavilion where she and Chen Jiaxin were yesterday.
"Liu Aliang".
Upon seeing Ouyang Rong at the entrance from afar, Wu Cui excitedly called out and ran forward.
"Why are you late? We've been waiting for you."
Ouyang Rong's businesslike tone made Wu Cui swallow back the words she wanted to say.
"Uh-huh."
She nodded, entered the dining hall, and began her daily work. Ouyang Rong glanced at Wu Cui's back but said nothing.
When she was almost done with her work, Wu Cui carried the washed dishes to the stove and whispered:
"Thank you, Liu Aliang."
Ouyang Rong glanced at the barely concealed smile on her face and said:
"Looks like you had a good haul?"
"Liu Aliang, Fairy Chen is so kind! She explained things very carefully. Although she seemed a little impatient every time I pressed her for details, like you said, she always explained everything to me very thoroughly in the end. Indeed, Fairy Chen is cold on the outside but warm on the inside. She has such a good personality, and she's even a little cute..."
At this point, she noticed Ouyang Rong's stern gaze, immediately shut her mouth, and stuck out her tongue slightly.
I realized I almost said the wrong thing.
How could anyone speak of Fairy Yutang behind her back like that? She's a direct disciple of the Queen Mother's Palace! This can't be allowed to get out...
However, what Wu Cui, who was currently imagining things, didn't know was that Ouyang Rong's stern face was actually quite tense, and he was trying his best to maintain it.
Wu Cui gestured to the peach branch she had brought and said happily:
“Last night, Fairy Chen taught me by this peach branch by the pavilion. She not only helped me answer the questions in the book, but also taught me an extra set of sword techniques, which can also be used to cultivate the inner cultivation method of the Yue Maiden Daoist lineage. It’s so useful, Liu Aliang, thank you so much…”
Ouyang Rong suddenly interrupted, speaking in a serious tone:
"It has nothing to do with me. It's your understanding, your opportunity, and your hard work. Just accept it and don't thank anyone."
Wu Cui was stunned when she heard this.
After a while, the girl, her face slightly flushed, nodded forcefully:
"Okay, I understand."
Ouyang Rong asked again:
"It's only been one night, there must still be things you don't understand, right?"
Wu Cui blushed slightly and whispered:
"It's like this... Actually, Fairy Chen could finish explaining that sword manual in half a night, that's what she said... But I'm a bit slow, and Fairy Chen is quite busy, so she said she'd have to finish it over seven nights, and that I should go over every two nights for the next two weeks to teach her until midnight... She'll try to teach me the sword techniques in the manual within a month..."
Upon hearing this, Ouyang Rong's usually calm face showed a hint of surprise.
Even when Wu Cui just said that Chen Jiaxin was a very nice person, he didn't react to this extent.
I never expected Chen Jiaxin to plan so carefully for Wu Cui. Most importantly, she would spend so much time on it... This young lady used to be very sparing with her words and hated wasting precious time.
Ouyang Rong originally thought that Chen Jiaxin would only teach Wu Cui for two nights at most to appease him and repay a favor... Little did he know that she would take it so seriously.
Ouyang Rong, with a blank expression, nodded:
"In that case, you should just follow Fairy Chen and learn properly."
"good!"
After a brief meeting, the two went about their own business.
About half an hour later, just like the night before, Ouyang Rong slipped out of the dining hall, carrying a food box full of delicacies, and went to Qingliang Valley.
We arrived at the familiar pavilion.
After waiting for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, as the bright moon rose above the treetops, a young woman in a sword-wielding outfit appeared gracefully.
She remained calm as she walked into the pavilion, approached the table, and prepared to sit down for her meal, just as she always did.
But Ouyang Rong's first words made her eyelids twitch.
"Miss, are you really going to teach me?"
Chen Jiaxin: "?"
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
