Chapter 34
Upon hearing this, Xie Wen exclaimed in surprise, "What Empress Dowager?"
You mean, the evil spirit that was suppressed was actually Empress Jin Huaran's mother, the former empress who died tragically—Li Zhaoxue!
Xie Wen needed some time to process this huge amount of information.
Xie Wen thought, no wonder, no wonder. Last night, just when Chu Xianyue was about to further activate the formation to completely destroy the evil spirit, such an accident happened, allowing the evil spirit to escape. Fortunately, Jin Huaran arrived in time and successfully subdued the evil spirit.
Perhaps, perhaps the man used as bait was manipulated by someone, which is why he suddenly jumped up and rushed towards the golden array? In that case, it is quite obvious who was controlling the man.
Furthermore, since the evil spirit is the former empress's sister, who is also the lord of Jianshui City, then Jianshui City is the former empress's ancestral home. Who wouldn't want to go home? Powerless in life, even in death, as a wisp of evil spirit, one still longs to return home.
Xie Wen looked at Jin Huaran, who only sighed slightly, a helpless smile seemingly flashing across her lips, "You still found out. That's right, she is my mother."
"My mother's life was full of hardship, and after her death, her resentment could not be quelled, transforming her into an evil spirit, which was originally suppressed in the deepest part of the Cold Palace. However, more than three months ago, due to a surge of evil energy, its power suddenly increased, allowing it to escape suppression and roam the world. I followed my mother's scent all the way to Jianshui City, intending to suppress it, but the power difference was too great, so I borrowed some of your power." Jin Huaran lowered his eyes and softly apologized to Xie Wen as he finished speaking.
Xie Wen did not answer.
Jin Huaran continued, "Don't worry, I will take them back and suppress them again."
Although Chu Xianyue did not understand Jin Huaran's intentions, since the person was dead and had become an evil spirit, what use was it to keep it around except to harm the world? If it were him, he would have destroyed it directly. Chu Xianyue said coldly, "You had better keep your word."
As night deepened, the ship docked at the shore.
Yun Yan emerged from the cabin, Xie Wen followed Chu Xianyue away, and Jin Huaran, also wearing a cloak, coughed briefly twice before disappearing into the crowd of people disembarking. Xie Wen glanced back at Jin Huaran several times until he was completely out of sight.
To be honest, even after learning the truth, Xie Wen wasn't particularly averse to Jin Huaran. The moment Xie Wen saw him, he felt he was completely different from all the princes he knew. Xie Wen had a good impression of him, and when he first told Jin Huaran he wanted to be friends, he meant it sincerely.
She just felt that he was also forced into it, and was very helpless and in a difficult position.
And so, the two parted ways after disembarking.
Xie Wen walked alongside Chu Xianyue and suddenly asked, "Hey, by the way, Master, how did you know that evil spirit was Jin Huaran's mother?"
Yun Yan, hearing this for the first time, was speechless.
Yun Yan looked at Xie Wen with a strange expression. "Senior Sister, what nonsense are you talking about?"
Chu Xianyue replied to Xie Wen: "I saw what it looked like when it was alive on the bronze."
The bronze was the five copper coins on Chu Xianyue's wrist. Xie Wen had never noticed them before. Xie Wen said, "This magical artifact has this function?"
As Xie Wen spoke, he began to "touch over" Chu Xianyue's wrist, looking it over from left to right. He noticed five copper coins stuck to Chu Xianyue's fair wrist, their color gleaming. These were ancient bronze talismans passed down through generations of the Chu family, effective only against evil spirits.
Feeling a little uncomfortable with Xie Wen fiddling with his arm, Chu Xianyue cleared his throat and quietly tried to withdraw his hand. "Have you seen enough?"
Xie Wen released Chu Xianyue's hand with a grin, "I can never get enough of Master's good things."
Chu Xianyue's hand, which had been put down, hung in mid-air and swayed for a moment, making him feel even more uncomfortable for some reason.
Meanwhile, Yun Yan was still processing the information in Xie Wen and Chu Xianyue's words, unable to understand what she had missed. Just a few words contained so much information!
Yun Yan: "Senior sister, are you telling the truth?"
Xie Wen crossed his arms and turned his head to the side, saying, "It's fake, don't believe it."
Yun Yan: "..."
Entering the territory of Huangqi Palace from the ferry crossing allows direct access to Fufeng City, one of the twelve cities of the Immortal Gate, where Huangqi Palace is located.
As soon as the three of them stepped into the territory of Fufeng City, a colorful spirit bird flew in from the horizon and landed steadily on Chu Xianyue's arm. It carried an envelope in its beak, which unfolded to reveal an invitation: "Inviting us to the Huangqi Palace Flower Banquet, which will be held in a few days."
Huangqi Palace is the only sect whose disciples are all women. It is said to be a place with flocks of spirit birds, flowers everywhere, and beauties everywhere. It is rumored to be a beautiful place, and many women want to join Huangqi Palace. Many people come here because of its reputation and are unwilling to leave.
The Flower Banquet at Huangqi Palace is one of its major features. It is held almost every year, inviting disciples from various immortal sects to attend. While enjoying the banquet, disciples from different sects inevitably discuss swordsmanship, philosophy, and engage in martial arts competitions. Over time, this custom has become a tradition.
Huangqi Palace even set up a special arena for this purpose, where a grand competition of immortal sects was held after each flower banquet. This was the "Immortal Sect Trial" that Li Jingyuan was supposed to participate in. Unfortunately, his father wouldn't let him go, so he couldn't come. Xie Wen suddenly felt his ears were a little noisy just thinking about Li Jingyuan.
Thank goodness he didn't come, otherwise it would have been incredibly annoying.
Chu Xianyue released the spirit bird, holding the invitation in his two fingers, and said, "Since we're already here, why not go and participate? Besides, I heard that Mei Da from the Mei family has long since joined Huangqi Palace, thus becoming the only surviving member of the Mei family. If we find Mei Da, we might get some clues."
Xie Wen nodded, excited for more fun, and said with a grin, "Okay, okay. Shall we find a place to stay now?"
Chu Xianyue nodded as instructed.
Fufeng City was bright as day at night, with fireworks for miles around, flowers blooming everywhere, ribbons fluttering, and colorful lights shining. In the darkness, the gentle voices of passing women talking and the shouts of vendors from their stalls could be heard.
A gentle evening breeze was blowing, making it very comfortable to walk in.
Xie Wen looked around with great curiosity. Fufeng City was indeed a beautiful and romantic city, attracting many travelers and bustling with activity.
Unfortunately, some people just don't understand romance.
Yun Yan said boredly, "What's so interesting about all this colorful stuff? It's all so gaudy."
Xie Wen rolled her eyes at Yun Yan, "Then get out of here."
Yun Yan fell silent. He knew he could never win an argument with Xie Wen, so he wisely ended the "battle" quickly. Xie Wen curled his lips, scoffed, and revealed an arrogant face.
As the three were walking, suddenly, a woman dressed in blue and white disciple robes approached. Her face was aloof and cold, and she looked like a senior disciple from some sect. Xie Wenxian said, "Eh, what's wrong with this lady?"
Sui Qian first bowed before asking, "Are the three of you from the Tianyan Sword Sect here to attend the flower banquet at Huangqi Palace?"
Xie Wen tilted his head, sizing up the pretty woman, wondering how she knew they were from the Tianyan Sword Sect and had come to attend the flower banquet.
Sui Qian said, "The spirit bird informed me that I have distinguished guests. I have been ordered by the Palace Master of Huangqi Palace to come and receive the three of you."
Huangqi Palace is filled with spirit birds. They have a keen sense of smell and are intelligent. If a distinguished guest arrives, they can detect it immediately.
Since they were from Huangqi Palace, they weren't too wary and went together to their assigned accommodations. On the way, Suiqian introduced herself, "My name is Suiqian, and I work under the Palace Master."
Xie Wen then briefly introduced herself, her master, and her junior brother.
Huangqi Palace is situated on Yandang Mountain, the largest mountain in Fufeng City. The mountain is not high or steep, but it stretches for thousands of miles. Flowers bloom and fruits ripen all year round, and the scenery changes with the seasons, with bright colors and perfect harmony, making it extremely beautiful. Huangqi Palace occupies most of the mountain.
At this time of year, the peach blossoms were in full bloom, covering the entire mountainside for miles. Sui Qian led the three of them to the palace, arranged their lodgings, and then took his leave.
Xie Wen saw people coming and going from Huangqi Palace, all preparing for the flower banquet that would be held in a few days. The rooms they had arranged for Huangqi Palace were quite nice; the Drunken Evening Pavilion in Huangqi Palace was a privilege reserved only for the four leaders of the Immortal Sects.
The room is situated halfway up Huangqi Palace, surrounded by peach blossoms by the window, offering a bright view. Opening the door reveals vast expanses of forest, with endless peach blossoms blooming like a sea of snow and clouds. A few meters further on, nestled among the dense peach blossoms, lies a hot spring, its steam rising gently.
As evening fell, the warm yellow lights automatically illuminated the hot spring. Xie Wen took advantage of this opportunity, bringing his yukata to the hot spring. He comfortably entered the water and immersed himself in the warm water. His fair and delicate body was faintly visible underwater. Xie Wen comfortably closed his eyes, soaking in the water with his head resting on the rocks on the shore.
This setup is practically a vacation; Xie Wen just wants to seize this opportunity and enjoy himself to the fullest.
Xie Wen closed her eyes, feeling somewhat sleepy. A short while later, she felt the cool rain falling on her skin. The hot spring water was instantly covered with fine, dense raindrops, the raindrops shimmering like fishing lines under the warm light. The rain wasn't heavy, and Xie Wen didn't want to get up. Since she was already soaked, she didn't mind getting a little more rain.
Xie Wen squinted contentedly, letting the raindrops soak him for a while.
Suddenly a gust of wind swept by, and Xie Wen abruptly opened his eyes. The fan that had been placed on the stone was gone. Xie Wen saw the gust of wind rushing straight into the depths of the hot spring. Without thinking much, Xie Wen plunged into the water and followed the wisp of demonic energy.
But underwater, the demonic aura would be diluted. If it ran far away, Xie Wen would no longer be able to detect its presence. No wonder it ran underwater. Xie Wen sneered. In this Huangqi Palace, who knew what kind of little demon was so audacious as to openly steal her things!
Xie Wen dived underwater and gave chase.
Chu Xianyue was bathing in the spring water with his eyes closed when he suddenly felt a vibration coming from underwater and abruptly opened his eyes.
Chu Xianyue frowned slightly, then turned around and dived into the water. He reached out and grabbed Xie Wen in one hand and a little demon in the other, who was holding Xie Wen's Yao Fang in her arms.
Xie Wen, his face flushed, glared angrily at the little demon. "Fine, little demon, you even dare to steal my things! Give them back to me!" With that, he snatched Yao Fang away, unfurled his blood-red fan, and a sharp gust of wind swept through, sending the little demon flying to the heavens.
With the gust of wind, Chu Xianyue's wet hair swayed, and raindrops fell from the pink petals of the nearby tree, which were covered with dew. The cool wind carried the raindrops, soaking Chu Xianyue and Xie Wen completely.
Xie Wen was relieved to see the little demon fly away. At this moment, Chu Xianyue was still holding Xie Wen's other hand, and he was being lifted up in a strange position.
Chu Xianyue turned his face away, his ears as red as peach petals. In that one glance, he felt that the person in front of him overlapped with that pure white figure in the depths of the cold pool, and some images came to mind, making him extremely embarrassed and annoyed.
Xie Wen also noticed this. She had almost forgotten that she was naked. She tried to break free from Chu Xianyue's hand and dive back underwater, but he was so strong that Xie Wen couldn't budge him no matter how hard she tried. Xie Wen looked directly into Chu Xianyue's eyes and said angrily, "Master, what exactly do you want to do?"
Chu Xianyue: "..." He had brought this "unwarranted disaster" upon himself for no reason, and he hadn't even asked Xie Wen how he ended up here! Although he could understand what had happened by thinking about it, what he guessed was completely different from what Xie Wen explained to him.
Chu Xianyue guessed that the little demon had taken advantage of Xie Wen's bath to steal her Yao Fang, and Xie Wen had chased after her and ended up here with her.
That's ridiculous.
Chu Xianyue was annoyed by Xie Wen's shout, and he subconsciously turned around. Xie Wen's body came into clear and complete view, unlike in the illusory pool where he was vaguely visible through the dust.
Now she was in front of him, bathed in warm yellow light and fine rain, her whole body glowing, as beautiful as a dream.
Although… but now that things have come to this, Xie Wen wasn’t particularly ashamed. It wasn’t like they hadn’t seen each other’s bodies before; in the illusion, what hadn’t they done? Countless times, countless days and nights. Xie Wen was perhaps somewhat immune to it, and even wanted to say, “It’s not like we haven’t seen each other before, why pretend to be such a pure and innocent man, Master?”
No, Xie Wen still didn't say those words. It wasn't like she was only going to live for one more day, and it wasn't like she didn't plan to continue being Chu Xianyue's apprentice.
Xie Wen sighed softly, twisted his wrist which was being held by Chu Xianyue, and said, "Master, you're holding my hand so tightly that I can't move forward or backward. What exactly do you want to do?"
Upon hearing this, Chu Xianyue realized that he was holding Xie Wen's hand tightly. He released Xie Wen's wrist as if he had been electrocuted, turned his head, cleared his throat, and his ears seemed to turn even redder.
Xie Wen fell into the water with a splash. She hid underwater and saw Chu Xianyue's figure on the surface of the water through the rippling waves. He was half-naked, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. His skin was fair and delicate, and large water droplets hung on his lower abdomen, winding downwards into the bottomless abyss.
His long black hair was gathered to one side, hanging down in the water and swaying like seaweed, gently brushing against Xie Wen's face underwater.
Xie Wen curled her lips. With Chu Xianyue's looks, she wasn't at a loss at all.
Xie Wen said nothing, and besides, speaking naked like this was truly inappropriate. Xie Wen plunged into the depths of the water, following the path back to his own hot spring. However, Xie Wen suddenly felt that the water temperature might be a little too hot.
Xie Wen touched his cheek; it was hot and had an unnatural flush. He then touched the bead of blood hanging on his neck; it had been trembling violently for a long time, radiating heat, and this time it had lasted longer than ever before.
Xie Wen was puzzled. Could it be that the blood droplets were so unusual, perhaps indicating some kind of omen? But what omen? Was something big happening? Or something else?
Xie Wen couldn't understand. Since this blood bead was Chu Xianyue's divine artifact, Chu Xianyue should know what was going on. She thought she would find an opportunity to ask him about it sometime.
On the other side, Chu Xianyue cast a spell to cool the spring water. He closed his eyes tightly, forced himself to meditate with a clear mind, and suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, which stained the spring water.
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