Chapter 74 The Wrong Baby
The old ancestor was determined to die.
The wind was strong, and the rain was heavy. Liantang tiptoed into the main hall, peeking cautiously towards the inner hall. Through a screen displaying auspicious symbols, she could vaguely see Duan Jiuyou sitting up.
Liantang softly called out, "Ancestor."
Duan Jiuyou grunted, and after a moment of clarity, said, "They've arrived?"
She was in a half-awake state, not woken by the thunder and rain, but because she was thirsty and wanted a sip of cool tea.
Seeing that she gestured towards the table not far away, Liantang knew she wanted tea. She walked around the screen and poured a full cup for the old ancestor, handing it to her.
He replied, "The Emperor's men have arrived. This disciple will take the wolf cub out immediately. As for the Venerable Master..."
To be absolutely certain, Liantang inquired about Dijiang's whereabouts.
Duan Jiuyou, sipping his herbal tea, lifted the blanket and showed her the wolf cub sleeping inside. He said reproachfully, "He probably felt hot and crawled out halfway through his sleep. He's lying alone on that fleece blanket. I touched his fur halfway through my sleep and, worried he'd get cold, I tucked him back under the blanket."
Liantang hesitated and said, "It's best not to cover their head as well, in case they suffocate..."
Duan Jiuyou said, "It's not that bad. It's better to be hot than cold."
After speaking, he listened intently to the loud patter outside and said to Liantang, "Why is this rain outside so strange? Is the Four Seasons crying?"
Liantang was both amused and exasperated, saying, "That's right: she comes here and starts crying and making a scene outside, and we can't stop her no matter what we do."
Duan Jiuyou rubbed his eyes, still half asleep. As he lay down, he said, "Give her some fruit and snacks. Children are easy to coax. If she eats something nice, she'll stop fussing. Put everything else aside for now and take care of it when she wakes up."
The "he" here naturally refers to Di Jiang. Xiao Siji's mental instability was caused by his spell. Once he wakes up and restores Siji's complete primordial spirit, she will naturally be fine.
Liantang responded with another "Yes," before leaving the inner hall. Inside the main hall, the wolf cub was fast asleep on the cloud chair. Liantang went over to check on it and found it was sleeping even more soundly, so she went to pack her belongings.
Make sure to bring all these items in detail. The quilts should not be new; they should be neither new nor old, preferably older.
Duan Jiuyou once told Bai Yanxing that the wolf cub had lived by his side for several years, so naturally he should give it some old things to take with it to avoid arousing suspicion.
...
"You two celestial officials have been waiting for a long time. This is the ancestor's beloved pet, and I usually take care of it. There are some habits I would like to tell you two."
Liantang held a high position; although she lacked the rank of immortal, she was one of the most capable disciples of the patriarch. The two immortal officials dared not be presumptuous in front of Liantang. Since Liantang was polite, they would be even more polite than her, and they both cupped their hands and said, "Aunt, please give your orders, and we will certainly do as you say."
People of Dixi Mountain cannot be judged by their appearance. Even a seven or eight-year-old child may have lived for tens of thousands of years. Liantang was one of Duan Jiuyou's first disciples and has been immortal for 68.7 million years. Naturally, she deserves to be called "Auntie".
The group talked outside the side hall amidst the raging storm. Liantang gave them many instructions, as if the wolf cub had truly lived with them for many years. The two celestial officials took careful notes so that they would have something to say when the Emperor questioned them.
After some explanation, the two celestial officials took the wolf cub away, leaving behind the wailing and crying Siji. The "wolf cub" was sleeping so soundly that it had no idea it had been carried from Earthly Rest Mountain to the Hall of Diligent Governance, and no one noticed that the wolf had been switched at birth.
The immortals moved swiftly, and it wasn't long before the two celestial officials entered the Hall of Diligent Governance. Bai Yanxing was handling official business inside the hall, and when he saw them enter, he slightly raised his eyes.
"She's not up yet, is she?"
The question was asked so intimately that it made one feel that her relationship with him was far more than just that of a ruler and his subject. She herself was taken aback after asking the question; she had just rejected him yesterday, and it was truly inappropriate for her to address him so intimately.
But he didn't want to distance himself from her, so he looked up at the two celestial officials.
The celestial officials reported truthfully, saying, "Our ancestor has not yet risen; it was Aunt Lotus Pond who carried the wolf out."
Bai Yanxing hummed in agreement, then asked, "How is Siji? Is she still crying and fussing all the time after we arrived?"
The child had been crying uncontrollably ever since she heard she was leaving, and the torrential rain fell rapidly with her tears.
Seeing that things were not going well, the celestial officials hurriedly requested that the Four Seasons be sent out immediately. Otherwise, Bai Yanxing would not have let them go so early.
"Did they give any instructions from those at Earthly Rest Mountain?"
Bai Yanxing asked.
The celestial officials gave a lot of instructions, which Bai Yanxing listened to briefly. He didn't let them finish speaking, only saying that he should take care of them as instructed.
The wolf cub, still in the arms of a celestial official, listened and then asked for instructions.
"Shall I take it down first?"
Bai Yanxing's attention was focused on the memorials. As he reviewed them, he said, "No rush, put them here for now, let me take a look at them."
Where should I put it?
The celestial officials looked around; there were no extra chairs in the Hall of Diligent Governance, except for Bai Yanxing, who sat alone in one. As the Heavenly Emperor, he required all court officials to be granted a seat by his command before they could have one. Old Ancestor Duan was the only exception; the Emperor would always prepare a soft chair for her before each audience.
The wolf cubs obviously didn't receive this treatment, and the celestial officials were secretly worried. They couldn't just bring one over without the Emperor's permission.
The two exchanged glances, pondered for a long time, and decided to put it on the table.
The table in the Hall of Diligent Governance was spacious enough to comfortably accommodate a wolf cub. To Bai Yanxing's left were memorials, and to his right were memorials he had reviewed. Directly in front of him was a tea set. The celestial officials moved the tea set to place the wolf cub directly in front of Bai Yanxing.
After setting everything up, they went downstairs. Bai Yanxing focused on reviewing memorials. It wasn't that he intentionally left the wolf cub unattended, but rather that it was sleeping soundly and he was very busy with his own official duties. He thought he would finish his work first, but as he got busy, he became engrossed in it.
...
When Di Jiang opened his eyes, he saw Bai Yanxing reviewing memorials in front of him. The most immediate feeling this scene gave him was: What bad luck! The more I hate someone, the more I have to see them.
My second thought: When I get back, I'm going to skin that little wolf cub alive!
The whole story started with the "werewolf battle" last night.
The young wolf fought desperately against Di Jiang. If Di Jiang were in a normal state, he could easily send it flying out of the palace with a flick of his finger. But he happened to be in a state of spiritual turmoil and was in a weak moment. The young wolf charged around and threw him off the bed.
A man and a wolf were locked in a fierce battle under the bed. The young wolf had brought glory to its ancestors, and the emperor, exhausted from the fight, glared angrily for a long time before emerging from the inner hall and leaping onto the cloud-shaped chair in the main hall.
He was tired and needed to rest. Continuing to fight wouldn't win him the fight, and it would likely wake Duan Jiuyou. He didn't want to fight a wolf cub in front of her—what would that look like?!
The soft chair in the main hall was originally where the wolf cubs slept. Before Di Jiang jumped on it, he wasn't worried that they would mix them up. He felt light and was always alert, so he wasn't afraid of not being able to tell them apart.
No one expected that she would sleep so soundly until she was brought to Bai Yanxing's side and woke up.
This was a major stain on Di Jiang's life. He was unhappy, and his face was naturally unpleasant. When Bai Yanxing finished reviewing the memorials and went to see the wolf cub, it looked like it was about to die of anger, with its paws tucked in and its face tense.
If he could speak, Bai Yanxing felt that what he would say would be: I am truly impressed!
Bai Yanxing saw it take a deep breath, seemingly wanting to turn away, but then probably felt it was unnecessary. Since it was already here, where else could it go? So it raised its gaze and gave Bai Yanxing a hostile look.
Bai Yanxing looked at it for a while, but he didn't like it either. He asked someone to bring it over, just to verify one of his guesses.
Bai Yanxing rested his chin on his hand, raised the other hand in a sword-finger gesture, and once again probed into the young wolf's primordial spirit.
It was empty, and the same scent as last time.
Everyone's primordial spirit has an aura, even a primordial spirit in the void has its own unique "scent". This scent is not actually a fragrance, but a feeling of spiritual source. When Bai Yanxing last examined the young wolf's primordial spirit, he made a point of remembering this scent.
If the wolf cub belonged to someone else, Duan Jiuyou would have definitely given him a fake one this time, but she didn't. The wolf cub she saw last time was the same one that was sent this time.
—Is this wolf cub really alright?
Bai Yanxing fell into deep thought.
Di Jiang looked puzzled and fell into deep thought at that moment.
Why doesn't he have scars on his palms?
The war between the Desolate Clan and Tiansheng began when Tiansheng sent troops to attack the Desolate Clan's Da'ai Mountain. Dijiang had a brief encounter with Bai Yanxing that day. At that time, both of them were in their original forms. Dijiang used the power of splitting the sky to pierce through one of Bai Yanxing's dragon claws.
This injury has no chance of healing in a short time and will definitely leave a scar on the palm of the left hand.
But Bai Yanxing has no scars on his palms, so how can this be explained?
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