Spirit Hairpin
A noble and elegant green hairpin was handed to her.
Qi Yuan froze, her expression visibly stiffening.
"Not saying anything? That's rude," Zhu Fu said with a grin.
She soon understood what Zhu Fu meant by "rudeness".
Suddenly, Qi Yuan's high ponytail was pinned up, and something cool brushed against her neck. She touched the thing stuck in her hair and knew from the touch that it was something good!
Startled, she pulled out the hairpin and handed it to Zhu Fu, shaking her head and saying, "It's too precious, I can't accept it."
Zhu Fu refused to accept it, secretly glancing at her: "Gifts that have been given away are not meant to be returned. If you feel indebted, then fulfill the Zhu family's request properly."
Qi Yuan had only ever received gifts from her master, and now that a junior brother had given her an expensive gift, she still felt embarrassed.
She stammered slightly and said woodenly, "Thank you. I will return the favor."
Seeing that Zhu Fu was about to put a hairpin in her hair again, Qi Yuan gritted her teeth, quickly turned her back, and put the hairpin in her hair herself.
She had never received a gift from anyone other than her master, and her ears quickly turned red.
"I just bought these for you on a whim, don't overthink it." Qi Yuan tossed two bottles of elixirs and a secret manual behind her, which Zhu Fu caught.
She originally came for the magic treasure Yu Ye, and also to bring some talismans for her junior brothers and sisters. She thought that Zhu Fu had treated her to a lot of delicious food, and since she saw this, she figured they might need it, so she bought it as well.
"Thank you." Zhu Fu's wisps of hair fluttered in the breeze, and a faint smile appeared in her usually quiet eyes.
Qi Yuan said dryly, "These things are far less valuable than this hairpin. I will return a gift of equal value."
She's always like that.
*
"Ouyang Lanyue".
"Your Excellency, I am here."
"Is Ah Huai about to move on to the next step? I'm a little worried. What if Wei and Qi Yuan discover him when we get to the Zhu family?"
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I've already made contact with the Zhu family. I bet they'll come looking for me within three days."
The man fiddled with his fan, a deep, unfathomable smile on his face.
Below the sky, streets crisscrossed, lined with countless teahouses and perfume shops. Men and women gathered in front of the shops, selecting sandalwood and other fragrant spices.
"Is this all you've come for?" Seeing Qi Yuan fiddling with the headdress in her hands, Zhu Fu voiced his question.
What kind of treasure could possibly make her go through all this trouble to come here?
Qi Yuan did not answer, but raised the silted leaf and waved it. The dazzling golden light illuminated the night sky, and a large amount of high-quality spiritual energy surged outwards. Then, she turned her head and a fierce airflow attacked the air she pointed to. If it were a person, they would have been blown away by this airflow.
Wow... that power!
Zhu Fugang opened his mouth as if to say something, but his expression suddenly froze.
"What's wrong?" Qi Yuan asked, reaching out a hand to help him up.
Zhu Fu explained, "The Zhu family has sent a message. Please go to the Zhu family within two days. The number of victims has increased significantly."
Upon hearing that the number of victims had increased, Qi Yuan became extremely anxious. She cleared her throat and said, "Then we must go to the Zhu family first! This involves lives, and there is no time to return to the sect for instructions. I will not regret it whether my master agrees or not."
"Yes, thank you."
Qi Yuan stepped onto the sword first, as usual: "Please lead the way."
Faced with the narrow space on the sword, Zhu Fu stepped onto it without hesitation.
"Stand firm," she said calmly.
Zhu Fuhuan helped her steady her balance.
The frost-covered pen moved straight ahead, the surrounding scenery rushing past, and a howling wind swept by.
"Turn left."
Go straight.
"To the right."
Zhu Fu gave directions methodically, and kept bumping into Qi Yuan intentionally or unintentionally. The place they were going to was actually not far from the Zhu family home, about half an hour away.
"Does the Zhu family have guest rooms?" Qi Yuan asked casually, as she didn't want to sleep on the streets.
“Of course. I have a friend who can let guests stay at his house,” Zhu Fusi replied politely.
*
The creaking inn door was pushed open by Zhu Fu.
Zhu Fu seemed to be very familiar with this place, easily walking around to the front of the main house.
The inn was very luxurious, but Qi Yuan didn't see a single person the entire time.
"Knock knock knock," Zhu Fu knocked on the door.
"Enter."
Zhu Fu strode into the room, while Qi Yuan stood there hesitating whether to go in directly, since this was someone else's room.
"Come in," Zhu Fu said, his eyes lowered, his expression unreadable.
Qi Yuan forced herself to go in: "Excuse me."
The man, holding a folding fan, twitched his eyelids as he looked at Zhu Fu.
The man, dressed in a black robe and wearing a jade crown, exuded an air of mystery. He sat upright on a wooden chair, constantly toying with a gold and black fan in his hand.
"My name is Ouyang Lanyue."
"My name is Qi Yuan, courtesy name Wei Shuang. I thank Young Master Ouyang for letting me stay overnight." Qi Yuan lowered her head slightly.
Ouyang Lanyue nodded and said with a smile, "Miss Qi Yuan, please wait a moment while I catch up with him."
He frowned, pulled Zhu aside, and questioned, "Mu Qinghuai, what on earth are you doing?! And the way you look..."
"Shh, my name is Zhu Fu now. I still like this name." Mu Qinghuai put a finger to his lips, his smile chilling, and Ouyang Lanyue couldn't help but tremble.
The two chatted for a while before returning to their room.
“Miss Qi Yuan, let Zhu-fu lead you to the guest room. I have finished catching up with what I needed to say, and I have some important matters to attend to.” Ouyang Lanyue sat back down at the table and said unhurriedly.
He deliberately dragged out the words "Zhu Fu" (祝扶), he really couldn't get over this hurdle.
Qi Yuan nodded slightly, still feeling a little guilty: "Thank you."
Seeing Ouyang Lanyue's displeasure, Mu Qinghuai said, "It's getting late. Let's go." He turned and left first.
"Wait a minute!" Qi Yuan caught up with him. "Look at this!"
In Qi Yuan's hand was the brocade pouch left by the old man. With a solemn expression, she asked, "Do you still remember this?"
Mu Qinghuai's expression froze for a moment, but he quickly returned to normal. How could he not remember?
After gathering spiritual energy and pouring it in, the large character "冥" (Ming) appeared on the brocade pouch. The character was still distorted, as if it were a deliberate provocation by someone.
The meaning of the character “冥” is self-evident.
Mu Qinghuai, his face grim, tentatively said, "I think this is a secret weapon from the Ghost Realm. The Ghost King Di Ming has always acted in a very high-profile manner, and that old man may not be a demonic cultivator but a ghost warrior." He secretly observed Qi Yuan's reaction.
Qi Yuan pondered, and truly took Mu Qinghuai's words to heart: "I have indeed heard that people in the Ghost Realm are audacious and reckless. If he is really the Ghost King, my Silver Bamboo Sect has never attacked the Ghost Realm, and I have no dealings with him. Why would he inexplicably want to kill me?"
“Yun Xingjun is the number one person in the cultivation world. You are his most favored disciple and the next sect leader. If the Ghost Realm wants to attack the Silver Bamboo Sect, capturing you is the best option. They might even take you hostage to threaten Yun Xingjun.” When mentioning the name Yun Xingjun, Mu Qinghuai’s eyes showed undisguised disgust.
Qi Yuan's expression wasn't much better, and she blurted out subconsciously, "If he takes me hostage, he will never save me!" Her tone was somewhat agitated.
Realizing what she had said, her face turned pale, and she explained, "Of course, Master must prioritize the overall situation."
Mu Qinghuai skillfully caught the subtle fear and terror on her face, and a guess began to form in his mind.
He pretended to touch the brocade pouch, then brought it close to his nose and sniffed, feigning surprise, and said, "Isn't this the scent of Ghost Realm Herb!"
Qi Yuan hurriedly took the brocade pouch, and it was indeed the scent of the herb she had smelled in the secret realm. Although the scent was very faint, it could still be detected if one smelled carefully.
"Nianwan. It's also the work of the ghost realm that has trapped you in this nightmare."
"Does this Di Ming really think he can rule the human, ghost, and demon realms?" Mu Qinghuai sneered disdainfully.
Qi Yuan fell into deep thought and asked in confusion, "The Three Realms adhere to the principle of 'keeping to themselves,' and this situation has never occurred except for the Demon Clan." Her voice was steady. "But if the Ghost Realm really wants to attack the Silver Bamboo Sect, we will not sit idly by."
“The scroll won’t open. I’ve tried many methods, but it’s still tightly closed, without any change.” She knew what Mu Qinghuai was going to ask, so she spoke up in advance.
Her spiritual power was useless.
etc.
Qi Yuan suddenly looked up and exclaimed, "Mysterious Law! You can try injecting Mysterious Law!" She looked at him with slight excitement, afraid of missing this crucial outcome.
Strange noises came from behind the wall, as if something had fallen to the ground and exploded.
She rushed to the corner of the wall, but there was no one there, and nothing had fallen to the ground.
Taking advantage of this brief moment, Mu Qinghuai used his inner strength to feign severe internal injuries, while simultaneously making noises on the lawn in the outer courtyard with his right hand, hidden in his sleeve. As if that wasn't enough, he quickly drew two cuts on his back, deliberately controlling his movements to make them appear as if new wounds were layered on top of old ones. His real wounds had already healed, which was why he had to fake it.
Fortunately, he had many spiritual herbs on him, and their rich fragrance masked the smell of blood.
"Nobody's here." Qi Yuan returned to his side, still pondering who had made that commotion.
"He might be an assassin. There are quite a few people who want Ouyang Ming. It's really pitiful for him," Mu Qinghuai replied casually.
Qi Yuan, not wanting to continue interfering in other people's backgrounds, picked up the scroll again and solemnly said, "Let's see how it goes."
"..." He remained silent, his hesitant expression drawing Qi Yuan's attention.
He simply extended his arm, and Qi Yuan immediately understood. She quickly took his pulse and was shocked to find that his spiritual energy was mixed and chaotic, not at all like someone who could use his power.
"What's going on? Didn't you pay me back that time..." Qi Yuan's words were abruptly cut off.
It seems to be that incident at Lingguang Pavilion!
The ghost warrior's target was her, but it was Mu Qinghuai who was injured.
Qi Yuan felt a little embarrassed. The other person was injured because of her, and was too proud to talk about it. Instead, she asked the other person to use magic. Wasn't that just rubbing salt into the wound?
She stammered, "Are you...are you alright?"
Mu Qinghuai couldn't express his emotions, so he simply lowered his head and mumbled, "I... I'm fine."
He raised his head, revealing his watery eyes, which met Qi Yuan's gaze.
He would avoid showing his back if possible, and he didn't care about the pain. What kind of talk would it be to expose his skin in front of female cultivators? But he didn't mind playing the victim.
Qi Yuan froze, at a loss for words. She tried to say something apologetic, but her mouth betrayed her, and what came out was: "It's alright. Then go to sleep."
Qi Yuan: ...
Mu Qinghuai: ...
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