New Commission
The New Year has passed, and the Silver Bamboo Sect has returned to its former tranquility.
Yun Xingjun forbade Qi Yuan from interfering in the investigation of Yun Qing's matter, but so far there has been no progress. Madam Ling has failed to find a solution and is waiting for the sect leader to capture the puppeteer and restore Xie Juxing to normal.
Ouyang Lanyue personally went to Honglin Peak to find Qi Yuan and asked her to take on a new commission: "I have a commission here, I don't know if you will take it. It is about a large country in the human world, and the scope of influence is quite wide."
"I happen to be free. Tell me what happened?" Qi Yuan listened attentively.
“A month ago, this country was struck by a large-scale plague without warning. If it were just a plague, I wouldn’t have come looking for you. The main problem is that this disaster is related to demons and ghosts. Not only are there sudden attacks from monsters, but those who die in the plague will also turn into vengeful ghosts. The king has locked those people indoors and declared that any brave warrior who resolves the crisis will receive ten thousand spirit stones,” Ouyang Lanyue said.
“I’ll take this commission,” Qi Yuan answered decisively.
Ouyang Lanyue hesitated and said, "But there is one troublesome thing. That king believes that the reason he cannot rule the entire human realm is because of the existence of those sects in the cultivation world, so he hates the disciples of those sects. When you accept this commission, you must hide your identity and appearance and not let anyone other than me know about it."
“No problem. Disguise will do, and I’ll make up an identity,” Qi Yuan said readily.
When do we depart?
"Tomorrow at noon."
Qi Yuan used her spiritual communication to tell Yun Xingjun about this matter, and he readily agreed, but with one request.
He returned to his sect two months later, before the disciple-acceptance ceremony.
After six years, the gates of the Silver Bamboo Sect have reopened to students. It is unknown how many inner or outer disciples they will accept this year, or even several personal disciples.
Two months should be enough. She felt relieved to hand over her weekly task of taking care of Ningning to Pei Yin.
The next day at noon.
Qi Yuan arrived at the Huai River Bridge as promised, where Ouyang Lanyue was already waiting.
After thinking for a moment, she transformed into an ordinary-looking woman, put on a green robe, deliberately changed her voice to be higher-pitched, and disguised "Frost" as an ordinary sword.
Ouyang Lanyue laughed and said, "Not bad. I still can't recognize it. That place is quite far from here, let's just use the teleportation array."
Qi Yuan was startled. Teleportation arrays were extremely rare and precious items. If Ouyang Lanyue could travel back and forth between that country and here, it meant that he had many teleportation arrays.
She followed behind and entered the teleportation array. Ouyang Lanyue handed her a veil and said, "Put this on."
"good."
Soon after emerging from the teleportation array, Qi Yuan found herself in the long-lost human world.
Shops lined both sides of the street, and the bright sunlight shone brightly on the red tiles and green walls. However, in such a large country, there were hardly any people on the streets, and all the houses in sight had their doors and windows tightly closed.
However, this is understandable, as no one wants to be attacked by monsters or contract a plague.
Ouyang Lanyue led her into the palace, saying as they walked, "This is Yansha Kingdom. Just tell the king that you are a rogue cultivator. Besides you, I have also invited two other people to help you solve the national disaster."
"...Won't the king question my abilities if I'm a rogue cultivator?" she asked hesitantly.
"No, after all, I was the one who introduced them." Ouyang Lanyue smiled mysteriously.
Upon entering the main hall, several people were already seated. At the head of the table were the king and queen.
Qi Yuan took the tea, and with a casual glance, she saw Mu Qinghuai sitting in the seat, which startled her so much that she choked and coughed.
? ? ?
Why is Mu Qinghuai here?
The king cleared his throat and asked kindly, "Grand Preceptor, who is this young lady?"
"Greetings, Your Majesty. My name is Yang Mei, and I am a rogue cultivator," Qi Yuan said calmly, regaining her composure.
"A rogue cultivator... It's alright, it's alright. Immortal Master Yang, you can stay in the palace. Immortal Master Gu and Immortal Master Mu will be your fellow cultivators. I hope the three of you can help each other to solve the national disaster. I will reward you handsomely!" the king said.
He then said, "Imperial Preceptor, please arrange accommodations for our three distinguished guests!"
“Okay.” Ouyang Lanyue nodded.
Wait a minute. Qi Yuan only just realized what was happening.
Ouyang Lanyue is the Grand Preceptor of Yansha Kingdom?!
She followed at the back, her mind racing, constantly pondering this question.
The car suddenly stopped, and she, not catching her breath, bumped into the man's back. That familiar scent filled her nostrils again.
"I'm sorry," she said.
There was no response. Qi Yuan looked up and met a pair of eyes, cold and devoid of warmth.
Qi Yuan was taken aback.
Mu Qinghuai gave her a cool glance and walked away without looking back.
Oh, right. She's not Qi Yuan now, she's Yang Mei.
Ouyang Lanyue pointed to a row of rooms and said, "There are three rooms here. You can choose whichever you like. Rest here tonight and you can take a look around the palace. Tomorrow you can leave the palace with me. After all, the three of you will be spending some time together, so you can get to know each other."
He shook his fan, turned and left, leaving the three people behind.
Gu Youtian smiled and said, "Ladies first."
Mu Qinghuai remained silent, which was taken as tacit agreement.
Qi Yuan casually chose the room on the left. Gu Youtian, seeing that Mu Qinghuai didn't speak, awkwardly said, "Then I'll stay in the middle."
Therefore, Mu Qinghuai should naturally stay in the remaining room.
“Fellow cultivator Yang, the three of us are teammates from today onwards. Why don’t we get to know each other?” Gu Youtian raised his eyebrows and gestured for him to enter.
"Okay." She went into the room and found a seat.
Mu Qinghuai frowned slightly, but still went inside, leaned against the wall, and uttered, "Okay."
Gu Youtian breathed a sigh of relief and introduced himself: "I used to be a disciple of the cultivation world, but I was expelled from the sect and became a rogue cultivator. My name is Gu Youtian, you can just call me by my name. As for me, I love money, and I'm here for the money this time."
After he finished speaking, Qi Yuan slowly said, "My name is Yang Mei, call me whatever you like. I refused to join a sect and have been wandering the world as a rogue cultivator. I came here for demons and ghosts, and money was also a part of the reason."
She looked at Mu Qinghuai, who lifted his eyelids and said, "A mere rogue cultivator, Zhu Fu."
Qi Yuan: ...
How could she not know that Mu Qinghuai was a man of few words?
"Okay, okay, then we're teammates now, let's take care of each other from now on!" Gu Youtian smoothed things over.
He asked curiously, "Miss Yangmei, what do you look like? You always cover your face with a veil."
"She's plain-looking, nothing to look at," Qi Yuan said.
"Oh, then Young Master Zhu Fu, what brings you here?" Gu Tianyou asked again.
"It's nothing. A friend asked me to come," Mu Qinghuai said casually.
He got up from the wall and said bluntly, "If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving now."
"It's nothing, it's nothing! Go ahead and do your work!" Gu Youtian laughed it off.
Qi Yuan stood up and asked, "I'll head back now too. Young Master Gu, please get some rest."
"Okay, okay. And just call me by my name!" he quickly replied.
Watching the door close, Gu Youtian couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Neither of these two seemed easy to get along with. All he wanted was ten thousand spirit stones!
After returning to her room, Qi Yuan spent the rest of her time meditating and cultivating until the sunlight on the balcony disappeared and darkness replaced the sky.
She lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. Why was Mu Qinghuai here too? What exactly did Ouyang Lanyue want? Just how mysterious was his background that he even held the title of Imperial Advisor in the mortal realm?
The crescent moon, like a hook, hung above the sparse clouds, emitting a soft, silvery glow. This moonlight was not as glaring as daytime light, but possessed an indescribable tranquility and gentleness.
It was the same night again. Qi Yuan lay on her side facing the moonlight, looking at the faint glow on her hand, and recalled what she had seen in front of the old maple tree in the secret realm.
The news from Tianxin Tower also mentioned that Mu Qinghuai had made a correction.
It would be a lie to say she wasn't shocked when she first learned Zhu Fu's true identity, but she quickly came to terms with it.
Mu Qinghuai was merely the newly appointed Demon Lord, and aside from his name spreading throughout the cultivation world, he hadn't done anything wrong. Through their time together, she truly realized that Mu Qinghuai was a good person.
She didn't believe he had no reason for becoming possessed by a demon.
What Qi Yuan is most curious about right now is who exactly Ouyang Lanyue is.
*
Gu Youtian called out, "Miss Yangmei is here!"
"Prepare the carriage," Ouyang Lanyue said. He walked up to Qi Yuan and whispered, "Actually, you can take off your veil now, but you should wear it in front of the king."
"..." Why didn't you say so sooner?
Qi Yuan removed her veil under Gu Youtian's expectant gaze, revealing a face that was utterly unremarkable and easily lost in a crowd.
Gu Youtian was clearly disappointed, but he seemed to have misunderstood that Qi Yuan wore a veil because she lacked confidence. He comforted himself, saying, "Don't be sad, young lady. Appearance doesn't mean everything. I believe you share the same dream of finding a good Daoist partner. You will definitely succeed!"
Qi Yuan paused for a few seconds after hearing his rambling, incoherent words, before saying, "Thank you."
Gu Youtian is a really kind-hearted person, and quite nice.
"Get in the carriage." Ouyang Lanyue pulled back the curtain.
Qi Yuan sat down in one seat first, while Mu Qinghuai sat down in the other row without hesitation.
There were two seats left. Gu Youtian sat next to Qi Yuan, while Ouyang Lanyue sat next to Mu Qinghuai.
The air froze.
To ease the tension, Gu Youtian told a joke: "The dog stopped barking after crossing the log bridge. Can you guess why?"
Qi Yuan was silent for a while before finally speaking: "...Guo Mu Bu Wang."
"That's right! Hahaha, so funny!" Only Gu Youtian was engrossed in his joke in the carriage, while the others remained silent.
He clutched his belly and exclaimed, "Haha, let's go again! What animal only has females?"
Mu Qinghuai: ...a centipede.
"That's right again, haha, I can't do it anymore, you know? Because it's useless!" Gu Youtian laughed, but a painful expression appeared on his face.
“…Stop talking.” Mu Qinghuai rubbed his forehead and handed over a bag of spirit stones.
Gu Youtian stopped laughing, his stomachache disappeared, and his eyes lit up as he immediately accepted the spirit stone, his tone becoming ingratiating: "Alright! I'll tell you when Young Master Zhu Fu wants to hear it!"
He was overjoyed and put the spirit stones into his storage bag. Wow, that's great! Two jokes are worth so many spirit stones! It seems that Young Master Zhu Fu really enjoys them; he'll have to tell them every day from now on!
"Everyone, we've arrived," Ouyang Lanyue said slowly and deliberately.
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