Chapter 33
Li Zhun paused for a few seconds before nodding slightly, and said indifferently, "When did you arrive in Jianshui City? Why didn't you inform me?"
Jin Huaran: "I just arrived yesterday. I thought my uncle was very busy and didn't want to bother him."
Li Zhun gave an "oh," walked over to Li Jingyuan, and pinched the back of his neck with a forced smile, indicating, "Why don't you call me cousin?"
Li Jingyuan reluctantly called him "cousin," and then stopped looking at Jin Huaran.
He An, who was standing next to Jin Huaran, was very dissatisfied with Li Jingyuan's arrogant attitude, but Jin Huaran just smiled and didn't care much.
Seeing that Chu Xianyue and the others were still there, Li Zhun assumed that they did not know each other yet, so he briefly introduced Jin Huaran, "This is the Seventh Prince."
Xie Wen nodded, feeling that something was off. Jin Huaran was the nephew of the city lord of Jianshui City, so his mother must be the city lord's sister.
Oh, Xie Wen had a sudden realization; she knew where that strange feeling came from. Jin Huaran and his uncle and cousin seemed completely unfamiliar with each other. In fact, they were quite estranged.
Xie Wen suddenly remembered what she had read in that book of palace secrets today—it stated that the former empress, who was labeled a "femme fatale," had given birth to what appeared to be the emperor's seventh son. The seventh prince? Jin Hua Ran?
It turns out he had such a background.
Xie Wen looked at Jin Huaran with a hint of pity in his eyes and sighed softly.
Now that the evil spirit has been successfully subdued, solving a major problem for Jianshui City, we should be happy and celebrating. However, it is late at night, and everyone has exhausted a lot of energy fighting the evil spirit. Now we just want to go home and find our own mothers.
However, no one seemed to care about today's only sacrifice. The man who was used as bait died a gruesome death, and Li Zhun simply ordered his men to dispose of him.
The dead man was a notorious scoundrel in Jianshui City, who spent his days eating, drinking, gambling, and beating his wife and children. His wife was forcibly married, and she lived on a meager few copper coins earned from needlework, which he always robbed of her gambling money.
He died a worthy death, and Li Zhun will even give his wife a huge sum of money for funeral expenses. It can be said that everyone is happy.
Li Zhun addressed the crowd, saying, "Thank you all for your help today. I will now take my leave." Li Jingyuan twisted his body, trying to break free from Li Zhun's grasp. "If you want to go back, go back yourself. I didn't say I wanted to go back. Let me go. Let me go. I have also performed a great service today."
Li Zhun mercilessly covered Li Jingyuan's mouth, "Shut up, I'll settle the score with you later!"
Immediately, City Lord Li Zhun, carrying the disgruntled Li Jingyuan, led the main force and disappeared into the warm moonlight.
After Li Jingyuan left, it suddenly became much quieter, and the chirping of insects and birds could be heard from the distant mountains and forests. Chu Xianyue turned to Jin Huaran and looked at the evil-suppressing pouch in his hand, "What do you plan to do with this evil spirit?"
Jin Huaran smiled faintly, "Immortal Venerable Qingheng, are you trying to steal my credit?" As he spoke, Jin Huaran raised his hand, indicating that he was going to hand the evil-suppressing pouch to Chu Xianyue, "Here you go, you can handle it."
Chu Xianyue glanced at him with disdain, but made no move. Yun Yan stepped forward and said, "Hmph, we don't bother fighting over such a trivial matter. You can keep it yourself."
Chu Xianyue seemed to have something to say but hesitated, his eyes flickering. In the end, he suppressed his doubts and called Xie Wenyun and the other person over, "Let's go."
As Xie Wen passed by Jin Huaran, he smiled at him and whispered, "That sword strike you just used was really cool. By the way, what kind of sword is that? How could it slay a high-level evil spirit?"
Jin Huaran seemed to smile slightly, very lightly, which, combined with his gentle and compassionate face, gave him an indescribable charm. He said, "It is the Demon-Slaying Sword, called Envy. It is specifically designed to slay evil spirits."
"The Demon-Slaying Sword." Chu Xianyue's voice rang out almost simultaneously with Jin Huaran's. Chu Xianyue didn't even glance at Jin Huaran, turning his head to look at Xie Wen. Xie Wen was startled and said to Jin Huaran, "The Envy Sword, it's a good name. Let's go." He then immediately jogged to catch up with Chu Xianyue.
This was Xie Wen's first time descending the mountain to exorcise evil spirits. Although she didn't wreak havoc or become a force to be reckoned with, she showed no stage fright in her first real battle. On the contrary, she handled the situation with ease and cooperated surprisingly well with Chu Xianyue. Xie Wen was quite satisfied with herself and in a good mood. She smugly pestered Chu Xianyue, "Master, how did I do when I was exorcising evil spirits?"
Yun Yan: "So-so."
"Isn't that amazing?"
Yun Yan: "I'm still the better one."
Xie Wen turned around and glared at Yun Yan. "Shut up. How dare you interrupt when your senior sister and master are talking?"
Yun Yan: "..."
Xie Wen continued to pester Chu Xianyue relentlessly: "Even if you can't be considered powerful, you should still be pretty good, right? Master, say something!"
Even if it's not great, "not bad" is a fair assessment, right?
...
Chu Xianyue was worn down by Xie Wen and had no choice but to obey, saying, "Very powerful."
Xie Wen continued to pester Chu Xianyue with nonsensical talk. She was taking advantage of her successful subjugation of the evil spirit today, considering herself to have rendered meritorious service, and was starting to feel somewhat smug in front of Chu Xianyue. Xie Wen didn't expect Chu Xianyue to actually utter those priceless words of praise.
So when Xie Wen heard Chu Xianyue say that, she was a little taken aback, but then she was overjoyed. It was an indescribable joy for a child who rarely received affirmation to receive praise from the person she most wanted to be affirmed by.
Xie Wen felt as if his heart had been struck by a small wooden fish, causing his body and mind to tremble.
Yun Yan, who had been mocking Xie Wen, was now embarrassed. Yun Yan said, "Hey, Master, aren't I your most beloved disciple? You've never spoiled me like this before."
The once bustling Jianshui City Square instantly receded like a receding tide, leaving only Jin Huaran and He An standing in the center of the vast square. Under the moonlight, the evil-suppressing pouch at Jin Huaran's waist suddenly trembled and swayed. Jin Huaran picked up the evil-suppressing pouch and said to it, "Mother, I told you, I will help you take revenge. Calm down first."
After he finished speaking, the pouch indeed gradually calmed down, no longer trembling violently and restlessly, and hung quietly at Jin Huaran's waist.
As the moonlight shifted and the tranquility faded, daylight finally broke through, erasing all traces of the earlier fight in the square, as if nothing had happened. In the soft light of dawn, the streets bustled with activity. A mysterious official was tearing down a notice from the bulletin board that warned of evil spirits, replacing it with a brand new one—"The evil spirits have been exorcised; the curfew is lifted effective immediately."
The notice wall was surrounded by people, and as soon as the notice was posted, everyone cheered in unison.
"Great! The evil spirits have been eliminated, and I no longer have to live in constant fear!"
"I can go out again tonight!"
"It's all thanks to the City Lord that we have such good deeds and protection!"
The people were overjoyed and began to kneel and bow in gratitude to the city lord for his great kindness.
The streets were filled with a festive atmosphere, comparable to the Lunar New Year. Chu Xianyue, Xie Wen, and the other two joined in the festivities as they prepared to cross the Canglan River to reach Huangqi Palace.
Of the four major immortal sects, the Tianyan Sword Sect, Kunlun Academy, and Wuxiang Temple are all located in the southeast, while Huangqi Palace and the Dynasty Palace are both located in the northwest, completely separated by the Canglan River. Therefore, Huangqi Palace is geographically far away from the other three major immortal sects.
Although the city lord of Jianshui repeatedly invited them to his mansion and prepared a banquet for them, Chu Xianyue disliked crowds, and Xie Wen and Yun Yan also felt it was unnecessary. They had already had enough of Jianshui and wanted to go to a new place to play right away.
The Canglan River is vast and boundless, with countless boats moored along its banks. Fishermen come and go, and many wait here for boats to cross the Canglan River.
Xie Wen asked, "Master, why don't we just fly there? Why go through all that trouble waiting for a ship?"
Chu Xianyue said calmly, "It's the same principle as not being able to fly over Jianshui City without permission. If you're not afraid of being shot down, then try it."
The Canglan River is said to possess a spiritual quality. To express their piety, people of all ages, whether cultivators or mortals, cross it in boats unique to Jianshui City.
Chu Xianyue turned to look at Xie Wen. Xie Wen's lips twitched. Why did he always feel that there was a deep cunning in Chu Xianyue's calm eyes? So cunning.
Xie Wen chuckled and said, "I'll go the same way as Master. Whatever you do is right. I just need to follow you."
Xie Wen was unaware that her words were sweet, her smile sweet, and her demeanor and words were all sweet. That's just how Xie Wen was; when she was truly sincere towards someone, she could be incredibly endearing.
Recently, when Yun Yan was with his master and senior sister, he always had a strange feeling in his heart. He thought about it and still couldn't figure out where this strange feeling came from.
At this moment, the boats crossing the river in the distance had already entered the ferry dock, their horns blaring. The waiting crowd boarded the boats one by one, and Xie Wen and the other two also slowly moved aboard with the main group.
The ship was huge, as tall as a two-story building. The three men found their cabin and began to wait quietly for departure, but they ended up waiting for half an hour.
Just as the ship was about to depart, a youthful shout came from afar. A figure flew over and was about to board the ship when a servant suddenly grabbed Li Jingyuan's leg, preventing him from leaving. "Young City Lord, Young City Lord! The City Lord said you can't leave! If you leave Jianshui City, the City Lord will kill me! Young City Lord, why don't you just stay in Jianshui City and not go to that Immortal Trial?"
Li Jingyuan was just one step away from boarding the ship, but he couldn't take that step. Just as he was about to shake off the servant who was clinging to him, he shouted, "Get out of my way! How dare you stop me from going wherever I want? Let go!"
The attendant wouldn't let go, and in the end, Li Jingyuan could only watch helplessly as the boat disappeared before his eyes. This was the last boat of the month; if he missed it, he would have to wait until the following month to cross the river again, but then he would miss the trials for the immortal disciples.
Li Jingyuan could only gaze at Xie Wen, who stood on the boat, from afar. Xie Wen winked playfully, "Young Master, do you want to get on the boat? Why aren't you coming up?"
Li Jingyuan gritted his teeth, but no matter what, Xie Wen continued to shrink in Li Jingyuan's sight until he became a speck on the river, seemingly able to disappear with the wind.
The boat sailed on the vast river for an unknown amount of time. Xie Wen felt stuffy inside the cabin, so she came out for some fresh air. She leaned against the railing, and the wind, carrying the damp river water, rushed towards her face, icy cold. Xie Wen felt more awake.
Suddenly someone approached, and Xie Wen glanced at them casually before turning around in surprise, exclaiming, "Jin Huaran? You're crossing the river too?"
Jin Huaran chuckled, leaning against the railing like Xie Wen, and said, "Yes, I'm going back too."
Xie Wen asked, "Back to the Jin royal palace?"
Jin Huaran nodded, "Let's go back to the palace."
Jin Huaran then asked, "Miss Xie, where are you planning to go? Aren't you going back to your sect?"
Xie Wen was simply used to Pei Xuan calling her "Miss Xie" all the time, so when she heard someone else address her like that, she was just not used to it and subconsciously wanted to object. But when she remembered that it was Jin Huaran, Xie Wen said, "You don't need to call me Miss Xie, just call me by my name."
Xie Wen then answered Jin Hua's questions, "We should be going to Leling in Huangqi Palace. We have important business to attend to there."
Jin Huaran opened his mouth slightly, then smiled and said gently, "Alright, thank you, Wen."
Jin Huaran leaned against the railing, seemingly deep in thought. "Huangqi Palace, Leling, I've heard it's very close to the State of Jin, located at the border between the State of Jin and Huangqi Palace."
Xie Wen said, "Really? That's quite a coincidence. Perhaps we can even travel together for a while." At that time, dusk had already fallen, and the bright red sun painted the river surface with a blood-red hue, making it look as if it were flowing with blood.
As dusk fell, the wind picked up, howling in gusts, and the temperature plummeted. He An took out a coat and draped it over Jin Hua Ran, saying, "Your Highness, you're not feeling well. Be careful not to catch a cold." Jin Hua Ran turned his head, coughed softly twice, and raised his hand, saying, "It's alright."
Upon hearing this, Xie Wen took another look at Jin Huaran. The first time he saw him, he thought he had a compassionate appearance that made people feel comfortable. Now, looking at him from a different angle, he found that he was indeed a bit weak. His complexion was an unnatural white, his lips were bloodless, and his skin was so pale that you could faintly see the veins.
Xie Wen was about to offer some words of comfort when, unexpectedly, a calm voice suddenly came from beside her. Turning her head, she saw that Chu Xianyue had come to her side at some point, and Xie Wen called out, "Master."
Chu Xianyue said, "You've been outside for so long, Yun Yan was worried about you, so she sent me to check on you."
Xie Wen found these words particularly awkward. She absolutely refused to believe that Yun Yan was worried about her, nor did she believe that Chu Xianyue needed to listen to Yun Yan. But she also didn't quite believe that Chu Xianyue had come out of concern for her. Xie Wen was more inclined to think that Chu Xianyue must have also felt that the cabin was too stuffy and wanted to come out for some fresh air.
The atmosphere seemed to become somewhat awkward when Chu Xianyue arrived. Xie Wen was caught between the two of them, and even she felt a little helpless. She was just about to say something to ease the awkward atmosphere.
Just then, Xie Wen noticed that the evil-suppressing pouch at Jin Huaran's waist was swaying. He asked, "Haven't you dealt with this evil spirit yet? It seems to be restless again. If it gets infected with enough evil energy, it will only become stronger, and it will be difficult to destroy it then."
Before Jin Huaran could answer, Chu Xianyue surprisingly spoke first, addressing Jin Huaran, "Since she is your mother, you must take good care of her. Don't let her escape again. If it happens again, I might not keep her."
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